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Lyrics: (Chorus lyrics are in parentheses.) Can anybody find me somebody to love? Each morning I get up I die a little Somebody (somebody) I work hard (he works hard)
Somebody (somebody) (He works hard) (Oh Lord) Got no feel, I got no rhythm Get It: Get your copy of Stone Cold Queen: A Tribute here: You can get Queen’s A Day at the Races on Amazon here: |
By now, it should be no surprise that we here at the Dances with Bass underground laboratories love cover songs. In fact, we like them so much, we have entire playlists devoted to our favorite covers. Sometimes, we like covers that are reinterpretations of classics. Sometimes, we like covers that pace the original and add a bit of the cover artist’s personal flair to the song. And other times—and today is one of those times—we like covers that take on the impossible task of singing a spot-on version a song we’d have previously thought impossible to mimic. Welcome to Geoff Tate’s cover of Queen’s Somebody to Love. As some of you might know, Geoff Tate is the former vocalist for prog-metal band Queensrÿche. What’s that you say? A metal singer singing a spot-on version of a Freddie Mercury classic? No way. Way, dude. Way. Unfortunately, many people don’t know that while Geoff Tate is a metal singer, he certainly is no prototypical metal singer. In other words, dude can sing. And we mean sing. Tate’s voice is a force of nature and is easily in our top five rock vocalists (along with Mercury) of all-time¹. Yes, we just said that. And we meant it. Check out Queensrÿche’s Chasing Blue Sky, Silent Lucidity, and its almost unbelievable cover of Simon & Farfunkel’s Scarborough Fair before you call foul. Tate’s version of Somebody to Love is shockingly on-point and dare we even say it, possibly better (by a nose) than Queen’s version. I know, I know. I’m a heretic. But before you burn me in effigy, strap on a pair of good headphones and fire up Tate’s version and tell me what you think. I think you’re about to have your socks blown right off your little feet by a prog metal god. Queensrÿche formed in 1982 in Bellevue, Washington, and for many years, was one of the most popular hard rock bands in the world. Many referred to them as the hard rocker’s Pink Floyd because their lyrics were exceptionally deep and their musical arrangements were exceptionally intricate—similar to Floyd, only much louder. Queensrÿche has released 15 studio albums, 5 live albums, 5 compilations, 1 EP, and 34 singles. In 2014, amid a very acrimonious riff with Tate, the band split with their long-time frontman and now continues with Todd La Torre at the mic. Queensrÿche’s Operation: Mindcrime and Empire records will forever remain desert island records for the staff here at Dances with Bass Radio. Give this cover of Somebody to Love and decide for yourself whether the rock gods shall soon smite me. I think perhaps they’re a bit pissed, but mostly because they know I’m right about Tate having thrown down the proverbial gauntlet for a vocal duel with Mercury in the afterlife. If you find me in a charred pile of ash and scorched titanium parts, you’ll know I was wrong and that the rock gods were not amused. ¹ If I had to pick the top five male rock vocalists of all-time, first, I’d put on my helmet and assume a defensive position to fight off those of you who disagree; second, I would choose the following five, in no particular order:
Note that I said “best vocalist” and not most famous, most striking, loudest, and so on. These are the five vocalists who I think could pick up nearly any song and nail it. That means god-like vocalists such as Robert Plant were not included. Plant is amazing, but I don’t think he could pick up a copy of, say, Ave Maria, and blow the doors off a church. (Cornell did that…sang Ave Maria anyway; I don’t know if he’s damaged any churches.) That also means I must leave off excellent frontmen like Mick Jagger. Dude is a rock and roll deity and fronts my favorite band of all-time, but he’s going to sound pretty weird singing Somebody to Love. Note that I wish the number five really contained eight items because I am heartsick to have left Paul Rodgers (Bad Company, Free, The Firm, and Queen after Mercury’s death), Joe Lynn Turner (Rainbow), Brad Delp (Boston) off my list. Video: Following is an audio track of Geoff Tate performing Somebody to Love:
And because we don’t wish to further taunt the rock gods, here is Queen’s original version of Somebody to Love:
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