Poll: Sound of Silence...Which Version is Better?

[sXeth]

I'm going to be that guy and say the Original Original beats both.
So yeah, the only thing that can beat Simon and Garfunkle, is Simon and Garfunkle.

Genuinely, I came here thinking it was between the two Simon and garfunkle versions, and I completely agree that the original original is better; it's more stripped down, eerie and haunting.

No contest that either version kicks disturbed

I'm in the weird camp of preferring the electric guitar, but hating the lazy half-assed way it was mixed in. I'm not sure if they've done a rerecord at some point where you can't blatantly pick out the extra guitar being thrown in from a separate source.

As for Disturbed, Draiman just can't seem to get a non-snarly vocal down for an entire song. I don't know if its just his voice in those ranges, or the producer was telling him "Alright, but we need more Disturbed sound on it".

 

[Hawk eye1466]

The original just gives me chills like it's just perfect and was meant to be. I dunno to me nobody will be able to top that.

 

[major_chaos]

Even though Disturbed were, at best, a joke in this decade.

Among "TROO METAL!!1!" purists maybe, but Immortalized (their first album since 2010) debuted at number one and tickets to their shows seem to be selling as reliably as ever. I also find it hard to believe that this cover was some kind of cynical calculated cash grab because 1. I don't think David Draiman is that kind of guy (although I'm a huge Disturbed mark so I'm not going to lie and pretend that means a whole lot coming from me) and 2. Disturbed has been covering random songs from the get-go starting with their hysterically terrible cover of Shout by Tears for Fears and continuing to do one every album except on Believe.

OT: I prefer the cover on entirely subjective grounds. I assume the original is going for a deliberate contrast with the dark heavy subject and the almost cheerful instrumentation and "chirpy" (for lack of a better word) vocals but it doesn't really work for me. The Disturbed version mixes the heavy subject with a impactful bombastic sound that adds gravitas.

Again, entirely personal as I have next to no mechanical understanding of music. Although my music major friend also adores the cover version so there must be something to it.

 

[Gottesstrafe]

I'm going to be that guy and say the Original Original beats both.
So yeah, the only thing that can beat Simon and Garfunkle, is Simon and Garfunkle.

Agreed. The Disturbed cover ain't that bad necessarily, but I'd equate it more to a (somewhat) pleasant surprise than something I'd listen to multiple times, let alone call better than the original. It's certainly not Johnny Cash's cover of Hurt, The Clash's cover of I Fought the Law, Gary Jule's cover of Mad World, or even that cover of Afternoon Delight done by the cast of Anchorman.

Spoiler

 

[sniddy_v1legacy]

Tricky, as they're different beasts

The original is a classic, but I also find the ideas being put forward aren't given justice by their voices

While the disturbed cover isn't maybe as complex it's got power behind it...if I had top pick one I'd go here, it's more accessible, easier listing and will fit in more lists and moods as depending on my mood, I could go either way...am I reflective and chilling then S&G, more looking for some inspiration or just background gaming music, disturbed - can't see me removing either from my collection, both will get skipped on random all playlists depending on what I fancy at the time

 

[Dwarfman]

Whilst I enjoyed Disturbed's cover, the gold star goes to Simon and Garfunkel.

Yes The singer from Disturbed nailed it when it came to vocals but he doesn't hold a candle to Paul Simon let alone someone with the vocal range of Art Garfunkel - The man's a jackass but damn that voice!

 

[major_chaos]

and for musicians who made their name on [...] and a soundtrack for high school bullying,

I'm not even going to pick through the rest because it's obvious your technical/mechanical understanding of music is leagues beyond mine and "*shrug* well I liked it" is hardly a scintillating counterargument but what the heck is this supposed to mean? I would totally get if you were talking about, say Five Finger Death Punch or Lamb of God, but Disturbed? Nah. Especially not after Immortalized and Device made a concentrated effort to be more conscious and have songs about real issues (can "Legion of Monsters" just play every time the media does their thing?). And ever before that Disturbed's running themes have always been more about pain and struggle, with occasional dives into triumphant songs about overcoming the above and deliberately dark songs like "Divide", with a more recent shift to issue songs like "Another Way to Die". The only time they ever really went for the angry macho sound consistently (imo) was on Down With the Sickness and small parts of Indestructible.

 

[ScrabbitRabbit]

I might be a bit biased since I just don't like Disturbed and one of the primary reasons for that is that I dislike his voice quite a lot. I'm not going to get into any technical discussion on his voice, I just don't like it.

That said, even if Dio or Jeff Buckley were singing the Disturbed version, I just like the S&G arrangement a LOT better. The Disturbed one is a bit overwrought for me, it sounds like the finale song to a Baseball movie or something.

The Wednesday Morning 3AM version that some other posters have mentioned is fantastic, too. I love that whole album, I managed to get it for ?6 on LP a couple of years ago. People should definitely buy it right now.

 

[1981]

The cover is okay, but I got a boybandish pop song feel from the later parts of it.

And I wouldn't say I'm biased. I like many covers. Jeff Buckley's Hallelujah is on par with Cohen's. Some are even better than the originals.



And of course Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire and Metallica's Whiskey in the Jar.

 

[Nismu]

my favourite version

 

[Nico4]

The original, without a question. David's singing surprises me, in that it gives him a chance to show his wide vocal ranges, which is quite surprising. That said, it's a rather typical cover that makes it more cinematic than it needs to be. As such, it kind of loses a little bit for me.

 

[Kenbo Slice]

and for musicians who made their name on [...] and a soundtrack for high school bullying,

I'm not even going to pick through the rest because it's obvious your technical/mechanical understanding of music is leagues beyond mine and "*shrug* well I liked it" is hardly a scintillating counterargument but what the heck is this supposed to mean? I would totally get if you were talking about, say Five Finger Death Punch or Lamb of God, but Disturbed? Nah. Especially not after Immortalized and Device made a concentrated effort to be more conscious and have songs about real issues (can "Legion of Monsters" just play every time the media does their thing?). And ever before that Disturbed's running themes have always been more about pain and struggle, with occasional dives into triumphant songs about overcoming the above and deliberately dark songs like "Divide", with a more recent shift to issue songs like "Another Way to Die". The only time they ever really went for the angry macho sound consistently (imo) was on Down With the Sickness and small parts of Indestructible.

Never put Lamb of God in the same category as Five Finger Death Punch. Disturbed and Five Finger Death Punch are more or less in the same league, two bands filled with mid-40's guys playing the lowest common denominator style of "metal". Lamb of God are fantastic musicians and songwriters and are infinitely better than Disturbed.Go sit in the corner and think about what you've said.

 

[major_chaos]

Never put Lamb of God in the same category as Five Finger Death Punch. Disturbed and Five Finger Death Punch are more or less in the same league, two bands filled with mid-40's guys playing the lowest common denominator style of "metal". Lamb of God are fantastic musicians and songwriters and are infinitely better than Disturbed.Go sit in the corner and think about what you've said.

You know it occurred to me I might accidentally summon a LoG fan or two with that post. Also, though about it, nothing changed. Randy Blythe's indecipherable belching does nothing for me and looking up what he's supposedly saying reveals it's just bog standard faux-edgy Metal(TM) and if I'm in the mood for that I'll just listen to .5 The Grey Chapter because at least Cory Talor's voice is pleasant. Or Arch Enemy's new album for the uniqueness of a female led death metal band.

And sure LoG's instrumentation is 10000x better than FFDP but I wasn't comparing the two musically, I was saying they are both hyper macho and douchey and you're gonna have a reeeal hard time convincing me otherwise after that cringtastic spoken segment on delusion pandemic.

Also The Concrete Confessional > Sturm Un Drang, just sayin.

 

[Kenbo Slice]

Never put Lamb of God in the same category as Five Finger Death Punch. Disturbed and Five Finger Death Punch are more or less in the same league, two bands filled with mid-40's guys playing the lowest common denominator style of "metal". Lamb of God are fantastic musicians and songwriters and are infinitely better than Disturbed.Go sit in the corner and think about what you've said.

You know it occurred to me I might accidentally summon a LoG fan or two with that post. Also, though about it, nothing changed. Randy Blythe's indecipherable belching does nothing for me and looking up what he's supposedly saying reveals it's just bog standard faux-edgy Metal(TM) and if I'm in the mood for that I'll just listen to .5 The Grey Chapter because at least Cory Talor's voice is pleasant. Or Arch Enemy's new album for the uniqueness of a female led death metal band.

And sure LoG's instrumentation is 10000x better than FFDP but I wasn't comparing the two musically, I was saying they are both hyper macho and douchey and you're gonna have a reeeal hard time convincing me otherwise after that cringtastic spoken segment on delusion pandemic.

Also The Concrete Confessional > Sturm Un Drang, just sayin.

I'm gonna let you in on a secret, most of the douchey macho white trash dudes I know listen to FFDP and Disturbed and not Lamb of God. They're just a metal band, and their shows always draw in a diverse crowd of people. I've (sadly) had to see FFDP and Disturbed in concert and their crowds were filled with the macho douchey dudes.

 

[Loop Stricken]

My vote goes to this version which I found just today.

 

[BoogieManFL]

I like them both, but I overall I like the Disturbed cover better. Saw them at Rockville in Jacksonville FL a few months ago and it was pretty awesome.

 

[DeimosMasque]

I have to give it to the original. Mainly because, to me anyways, the Disturbed version doesn't really have anything to it but an orchestra as the music.

I would have lovex a cover in Disturbed's style of metal. But instead just got its lead singer singing with aN orchestra behind him. To me it?comes off more as trying to upstage the original rather than original take?on a classic.

 

[Secondhand Revenant]

The original has a wonderful subtletly to it that the cover lacks. There's a feeling to it that really suits the lyrics, the softness of their voices at the start and a nice strength to it at just the right moments. Like he starts quiet *volume-wise* in the cover but his voice lacks a sort of quiet quality that their voices did at the start. And the escalation felt far too quick to me. The angry tone while not bad also lacked a cool sort of subtlet that their tone has. Also prefer the duet over a singular voice.

So didn't dislike it, but it lacks points about the original that make it amazing to me

Edit: also didn't realize how much I liked this song to comment on this. Usually don't comment on music stuff

 

[Shoggoth2588]

While I like both, I prefer the original. When it comes to a cover that I prefer over the original though, I think this one is the best example:


Dio can't hit the high notes but that's the only nit I have to pick about this version of the song.

 

[Teshi]

The cover is fine for what it is, but it doesn't hold a candle to the S&G versions. The lyrics ask for a more subdued arrangement with a touch of irony. Also, I think the song-long crescendo in the cover suffers in comparison to one of Simon and Garfunkle's other famous songs, Bridge Over Troubled Water, which did the same thing much more adroitly.