Tag: cover

“The Astrologer’s Song” or “The Song of the Stars”

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Alexey Rybnikov is a legendary composer who, in addition to several great rock operas, gave us unforgettable music and songs for many films we love. I adore all of his work, but as the first song set to his music, I decided to talk about “The Astrologer’s Song” (also known as “The Song of the Stars”) from the fairy-tale film Pro Krasnuyu Shapochku (About Little Red Riding Hood) by Leonid Nechayev, released by Belarusfilm in 1977. Besides the melody, the song also features wonderful lyrics written by Yuli Kim.

As usual, I’ll remind you of the song itself and also show a few of its most interesting performances. And for those who read the post to the end, there will be a small surprise waiting (I’m sure it will be a surprise for most of you).

So, the film itself is a musical fairy tale very loosely based on the well-known original. The wolves there are a whole family, led by a strong-willed she-wolf played by Galina Volchek; the wolves are not evil at all and even a bit clumsy; and there’s also a wonderful wolf cub played by Dmitry Iosifov, who two years earlier had played, for the same Nechayev, the most famous Buratino of the Soviet screen.

Besides the story of Little Red Riding Hood, the Wolf (or rather, the wolves), and the Grandmother, the film weaves in many other plotlines and colorful characters. And on top of that, it became famous for several songs set to music by that same Alexey Rybnikov. When I was a child, the song most often performed outside the film was Little Red Riding Hood’s own number — the one that goes, “Ah-ah-ah, in Africa the mountains are this high.” There was also a well-known conversational song with a spoiled child. But no less famous — and perhaps even more so — was “The Song of the Stars,” performed by the Grandmother (Rina Zelyonaya) and the Astrologer (Evgeniy Evstigneev). Both musically and lyrically, it’s far more lyrical than the film’s other songs. That’s probably why it became so beloved.

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Covers of “April” by Kino

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Recently, completely by accident, I came across a cover of “April” by Kino. It hit me so hard that I put it right up there with the original. I decided to share it with my wife—and that’s when I found out she doesn’t even know the song at all. Which, honestly, stabbed me straight in the heart. I genuinely have no idea how we managed to live together for 23 years if she knows Kino’s music that poorly.

As for me, I’ve been a longtime fan of the band. I remember laughing back in fourth grade during music class at a classmate who asked me whether I listened to “movie.” (In Russian, ‘Kino’ means ‘movie’). Yes, that’s exactly how I heard it. I even thought it was a funny idea—listening to movies. And I actually followed through: I bought a couple of reels and recorded all three episodes of my favorite film at the time, D’Artagnan and the Three Musketeers, off the TV—because I could listen to the songs from it over and over.

But back then I forgot about the band Kino. I discovered it and fell in love with it a few years later—right after I stopped being a diehard fan of another legendary group, Laskovyi Mai (or groups, really, since there were like ten different lineups touring the USSR). Yes—straight from Laskovyi Mai to rock. And like with a lot of things I did, I went all in.

And “April” is one of those songs I loved then, and still love to this day.

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Song: Geoff Castelucci “Sixteen Tons”

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Last time, when I showed a couple of unusual covers, one of them was an a cappella version by the group VoicePlay. This group is worthy of attention in its own right, because they release genuinely interesting takes on well-known hits. Still, what captivated me most in that cover was the performer with the astonishing bass—Geoff Castelucci. He’s not just one of the members of VoicePlay; he also selects and arranges songs for the team.

Besides that, Geoff has his own channel where he gives lessons on singing in a low register (while noting that the lessons can help anyone, you’ll only be able to sing low if you naturally have the right kind of voice). As I said, his voice simply mesmerizes me. It gives me goosebumps. And he also puts together excellent staging for his performances.

Today I want to show one of the very best, in my opinion—his four-part rendition of the famous “Sixteen Tons”:

SIXSTEEN TONS | Low Bass Singer Cover

Song: Unusual Covers of “Nothing Else Matters”

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I think when talking about the song “Nothing Else Matters,” you don’t even need to name the performer. It’s hard to imagine anyone not knowing this — one of Metallica’s most famous and awesome songs. So this time I’m not even going to put a link to it here.

However! While roaming the internet, I came across two very interesting covers that differ strikingly from the original. And I found them so unusual that I decided to share them with you.

The first is a multi-voice performance by the Polish women’s group Tulia. It is both unmistakably Nothing Else Matters and at the same time has clear notes of Polish folk. I’m not sure I’d want to listen to this version every day, but the first time it definitely grabs your attention:

Tulia – Nothing Else Matters

And the second cover is a fully a cappella version by VoicePlay. I’ve always loved a cappella renditions of any songs. But this one is done really well. The guys have gone far from the original, yet they’ve managed to preserve all of its beauty. And oh, what the bass does here! Be sure to listen until the moment he comes in (around 2:30). I literally got goosebumps. I don’t know how women react to men like this, but for a voice like that I’d give a lot!

Nothing Else Matters – Metallica (acapella) VoicePlay Ft J.NONE

Song: Måneskin “Beggin'”

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Sometimes it happens that a song written decades ago suddenly re-enters the charts and becomes a massive hit. Sometimes it happens again, and sometimes—for the first time with such overwhelming success (like the case with “Trololo”).

After Eurovision 2021, this fate befell the song Beggin’, originally released in 1967 by the American band The Four Seasons. That’s 54 years ago!

However, I first heard and knew this song from a later 1974 version by the Dutch band Shocking Blue, also known in the USSR for their hit “Shizgara” (actually the song was titled “Venus,” but since most people in the USSR didn’t know English well, they referred to the song by the phrase they thought they heard in the chorus, “Shizgara,” which was actually “she’s got it”).

But back to Beggin’. I really like the version of the song performed by Shocking Blue, and I like the original 1967 version significantly less. So why now, and what does Eurovision have to do with it? The reason is that in spring 2021, the Italian band Måneskin won Eurovision with a completely different song, of course. But the band’s journey started on the Italian version of “X Factor,” where they performed their variation of Beggin’ during one of their appearances. Although this song was never released as a single, after their Eurovision victory, everyone started looking up this “Måneskin.” That’s when their performance from “X Factor” resurfaced, and unexpectedly, this song began climbing the charts again—perhaps even overshadowing their Eurovision-winning track. This is one of those cases where Eurovision really helped the winner. The band’s fame skyrocketed, and it turned out they had quite a few good songs in their repertoire.

Måneskin’s performance of Beggin’ is very emotional and captivating, stylistically much closer to Shocking Blue’s rendition than to the original by The Four Seasons. In short, the song has earned a spot in my playlist alongside the Dutch version.

There are currently two video versions of the song: an official music video made by Måneskin after their cover unexpectedly gained popularity, and a recording of their performance on “X Factor.” I honestly can’t decide which one I like more. I’ll share both.

Let’s start chronologically, with the live performance:

Live performance

And here’s the official music video:

Official music video