Cover of Prince’s song, Nothing Compares 2 U. Although composed by Prince, this was made famous by Sinead O’Connor, but the version that inspired me to record it was Chris Cornell’s rendition. I originally recorded this in April of 2021. I added an electric guitar solo in December of 2021. That’s the version linked below.
I loved the original version you posted, and with the additions this one is equally good. Love the lead you added. Such a haunting song, and you really bring feeling to it. Gorgeous.
You’ve got a little croakiness in your vocals that really brings that Chris Cornell vibe. Not sure if that is a natural feature of your singing, or if you’re deliberately effecting it because you’re covering Chris. Either way it totally works.
The solo was lovely.
Have you considered adding some backing vocals? On some of the recordings I’ve heard, there is a “ah ahhh-ah ahh” in the back, after “since you took your love away”, repeating in the same line of each verse. I kept expecting to hear it in this version, and being a little let down when it wasn’t there
If I ever manage to sing half as well as you do here, I would extremely happy.
I wasn’t really thinking about it when I recorded it, but I do hear a little more vocal fry on this one. I usually just sing the way I want the song to feel, so maybe I subconsciously did it because I had Cornell’s version in the back of my mind. I’ll have to go back and listen to some of my other recordings and compare the character of the vocals. Interesting.
Originally I intended to include a cello or viola part that would cover those notes. I even scored the part for my daughter (who is a violist). But I (or we) never got around to recording that.
I appreciate the compliment; thank you. I’d encourage you to practice singing. Just like any other instrument, the more you practice the more you improve. I’ve thought about taking some vocal lessons, but again, it’s one of those things I never seem to get around to. I content myself with reading free/online stuff and watching videos that sometimes pop up in my youtube feed.
My pleasure, Stefan. I missed it first time as well. I found it searching the community as I’m interested in trying the song and wanted to see if anyone had done it before. So happy to have found this great recording.
I always loved the song, was introduced to it by Sinead. Your version was really well put together. At first I thought the bass and drums were rather weak but when the vocal came in, they fell to their proper place in the background as the focus was clearly on the incredible voice. Great mix!
I totally downloaded the mp3 an popped it on my phone. Thanks for this interpretation.
I know what you mean about the bass and drums being kinda weak. They’re very basic – just something I put down to keep time and give me a harmonic reference, really. I do that on quite a few of the songs I record. I really should devote more time to bass and drums when I’m recording.
@J.W.C a short while ago I came across your cover (and @LievenDV who I name checked on the night) of Nothing Compares 2 U while I was looking for a song to do on the community OM, that was held on Saturday. Your recording got me hooked on the idea of doing it for the OM and consequently I did. So thanks for leading the way. I would never have thought of doing it otherwise. I did listen to Cornell’s version a lot and it’s superb.
Cool; love the dynamic of members inspiring other members. loved your version on the OM @Willsie and still enjoy this one by @J.W.C as well because it is superb
