Soundalike Songs

Stig

On the back of Prague's successful Christmas song thread, I thought I'd ask if anyone can help with a little project of mine. I'm building a playlist containing pairs of songs that are similar in some way. Maybe a shared riff or chord progression. Maybe a similarity in the lyrics or just the overall feel. Quite happy to consider songs that use a sample of another - as long as there's some originality, but I'm definitely not looking for cover versions.

If anyone has got suggestions, I'd be very grateful. Can't promise all suggestions will make the list through; I have to like them for that.

Thanks in advance. 

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2FxLIRcyOZ1AmED3zSsPSv?si=9475438c758e4ff1

DaveMehmet

The Beatles - Taxman
The Jam - Start

Chizz

Let It Be, by the Beatles, No Woman No Cry, by Bob Marley and the Wailers and So Lonely, by the Police. On the face of it, it's hard to think of three more dissimilar songs. 

But the fact is they're all in the same key, with the same chord progression for the main part of the song: C, G, Am, F. 

bobmunro

He's So Fine - The Chiffons

My Sweet Lord - George Harrison

;-)

eastterrace6168

bobmunro said:

He's So Fine - The Chiffons

My Sweet Lord - George Harrison

;-)

Harrison was found guilty of Plagiarism in a case brought by The Chiffons, the judge said he "subconsciously" copied "He's So Fine" when he wrote "My Sweet Lord"...?
In fact Harrison said he was inspired by The Edwin Hawkins Singers "Oh Happy Day"...🤷‍♂️

Addick Addict

The intro to Dolly Parton's "We Used To" couldn't be more similar to that of "Stairway To Heaven" if it tried. The fact that she went on to record the Led Zep classic makes that even more ironic.   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf9Q2-vuz30

RalphMilnesgut

22 Dreams - Paul Weller
I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night) - The Electric Prunes

aliwibble

I was going to suggest Computer Love and Talk, as I'd only heard the Kraftwerk track for the first time the other day, and was struck by the similarity but you've got that. Other suggestions:
Barry White "It's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next To Me" and Robbie Williams "Rock DJ" (video is NSFW) for the underlying beat

The Hollies "The Air That I Breathe" and Radiohead "Creep"  - I think it's the opening guitar riff on Creep or possibly a chord progression thing, I'm not sure. (Apparently this gets mentioned in the recent Hugh Grant film Heretic, along with another more modern song, but I've not seen it so I'm not sure which one that might be)

Chic "Good Times" and The Sugarhill Gang "Rapper's Delight"  - I think there are a fair few songs that have nicked the bassline from Chic, but Rapper's Delight is probably the iconic example

Of course, once we get into rap and hip hop we could be here all day - Eminem's "Stan" sampling Dido's "Thank You", De La Soul's "Say No Go" sampling Hall and Oates "I Can't Go For That" and Coolio's "Gangsters' Paradise" reworking Stevie Wonder's "Pastime Paradise" are the ones that immediately spring to mind. Oh, and that reminds me of all the Weird Al parodies - Amish Paradise spoofs Gangsters' Paradise, and there's loads of others.

seth plum

Steve Miller. Rock n Me
Free. All Right Now

letthegoodtimesroll

Chuck Berry’s Sweet Little Sixteen and the Beach Boys Surfin USA…same tune

SuedeAdidas

Blockbuster - The Sweet
The Gene Genie  - David Bowie

letthegoodtimesroll

My Way and Comme d’habitude

letthegoodtimesroll

Valley Floyd Road and Mull of Kintyre

charlton_hero

I Got The - Labi Siffre
My Name Is - Eminem 

Redvaliant

Taking care of business -Bachman Turner Overdrive

Rocks - Primal Scream

MrOneLung

letthegoodtimesroll said:

Valley Floyd Road and Mull of Kintyre

These are the words to the Forest version of the song:

City Ground

Oh mist rolling in from the Trent

My desire is always to be here

Oh City Ground

Far have I travelled and much have I seen

Goodison, Anfield are places I've been

Maine Road, Old Trafford still echo to the sound

Of the boys in the red from the City Ground

City Ground

Oh mist rolling in from the Trent

My desire is always to be here

Oh City Ground

Passing the leather like Clougie's great men

Please take us back to the days I knew then

Games when we sang in the Nottingham choir

When we thrashed the sheep from Derbyshire

City Ground

Oh mist rolling in from the Trent

My desire is always to be here

Oh City Ground

Smiles in the sunshine, Football like champagne

Still take me back to where my memories remain

Flickering embers growing higher and higher

And a new squad of players for us to inspire

City Ground

Oh mist rolling in from the Trent

My desire is always to be here

Oh City Ground

Masterbrew

War canoe, Rolf Harris 

Prince Charming, Adam and the Ants

paulbaconsarnie

Church of the poison mind - culture club
I’m your man - wham

https://youtu.be/j5t7o1R5JlI?feature=shared

paulbaconsarnie

The beginning of All Night Long by Mary Jane Girls is very similar to Risin’ To The Top by Keni Burke.

Off_it

"The Greatest Love of All" by George Benson (covered by Whitney Houston) nicks a chunk out of Gordon Lightfoot's "If you could read my mind".

Off_it

Nirvana 's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" nicked the riff from Boston's "More than a Feeling"

redlanered

Something in the way she moves - James Taylor 
Something - Beatles

George Harrison consciously opens his song with the same first line, presumably James Taylor didn't complain at the time (he was signed to Apple at the time, and Harrison appears as a backing vocalist on an early version of Carolina on my Mind)

redlanered

Sweet Little Sixteen - Chuck Berry
Surfin' USA - Beach Boys

Beach Boys simply stole the tune

Off_it

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9YrllfAMwHI

Any guesses what this became?!

Stuart_the_Red

aliwibble said:

I was going to suggest Computer Love and Talk, as I'd only heard the Kraftwerk track for the first time the other day, and was struck by the similarity but you've got that. Other suggestions:
Barry White "It's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next To Me" and Robbie Williams "Rock DJ" (video is NSFW) for the underlying beat

The Hollies "The Air That I Breathe" and Radiohead "Creep"  - I think it's the opening guitar riff on Creep or possibly a chord progression thing, I'm not sure. (Apparently this gets mentioned in the recent Hugh Grant film Heretic, along with another more modern song, but I've not seen it so I'm not sure which one that might be)

Chic "Good Times" and The Sugarhill Gang "Rapper's Delight"  - I think there are a fair few songs that have nicked the bassline from Chic, but Rapper's Delight is probably the iconic example

Of course, once we get into rap and hip hop we could be here all day - Eminem's "Stan" sampling Dido's "Thank You", De La Soul's "Say No Go" sampling Hall and Oates "I Can't Go For That" and Coolio's "Gangsters' Paradise" reworking Stevie Wonder's "Pastime Paradise" are the ones that immediately spring to mind. Oh, and that reminds me of all the Weird Al parodies - Amish Paradise spoofs Gangsters' Paradise, and there's loads of others.

Living in France and renovating a house I’ve spent a lot of time listening to a French internet  radio call Jazz Radio. As the name suggests they play a lot of Jazz, but they also have a lot of “speciality” channels, my favourite being “Stax and Motown”.

Just recently they have played a lot of the original songs that Will Smith nicked, sorry! “sampled” for a load of songs!

Men in Black sampled “Forget me Nots” by Patrice Rushen
Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It sampled “He’s the Greatest Dancer” by Sister Sledge
Miami sampled “And the Beat Goes On” by The Whispers
Wild Wild West sampled “I wish” by Stevie Wonder

I could go on, but there’s a good page here that identifies sampled tracks:

https://www.whosampled.com/

The 70s and 80s being my formative years I believe that all the originals were better!

P.S. let’s not forget MC Hammer sampling the great Rick James's Super Freak on “Can’t Touch This”! 

aliwibble

Off_it said:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9YrllfAMwHI

Any guesses what this became?!

Bittersweet Symphony by the Verve. (Although even if I didn't know it, it wouldn't have been that hard to guess since once you stop the video playing it shows up in the "more videos" selection.)

Stig

Thanks for all your suggestions. There's some great ones there. I reckon it's about 50/50 between ones this will make my playlist and those the won't. For the most part that's just a matter of personal taste. I still appreciate the ones that won't though, it's always good to know/hear this stuff.    

Grovenuts

10538 overture by ELO and changing man by Paul Weller the riff is exactly the same, I seem to remember back in the day that a DJ put one over the top of the other and it was note for note the same!!
Weller does seem to copy a lot of others work.. still love the jam tho

Stig

aliwibble said:

Off_it said:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9YrllfAMwHI

Any guesses what this became?!

Bittersweet Symphony by the Verve. (Although even if I didn't know it, it wouldn't have been that hard to guess since once you stop the video playing it shows up in the "more videos" selection.)

There's an interesting video about it here. The real sting is that it wasn't even The Stones song in the first place - they nicked it from The Staple Singers.

https://youtu.be/I_s90-Hi2ZY?si=CgD4mGvZQW2uH3Xk

Stig

letthegoodtimesroll said:

My Way and Comme d’habitude

In a way I kind of like the idea of this being the last song on my playlist. I'm in two minds though, musically it's just a foreign language cover version of Comme d’habitude. But, lyrically Paul Anka did re-work rather than just translate it (looking at the original, I think he had to), so maybe it does fit.  

Raith_C_Chattonell

Pete Waterman describes Pachelbel's Canon (Canon in D) as the Godfather of pop music.

The ones that are directly lifted are Altogether now by The Farm and the Pet Shop boys Go West.  But actually there are many more examples.#

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachelbel's_Canon#:~:text=The Farm's 1990 single,a sample of the piece.