Love the guitar solo.

Dirktooth wrote:

WHAT a comment; beautiful. Influences me to listen more attentively. Thank you

ad4tise wrote:

Sounds like Boz Scaggs on a bender...

Since I haven't seen it mentioned here yet...

Yes, this song is a cover of Portishead's "Glory Box", but that song draws heavily from Isaac Hayes' "Ike's Rap II". So much so that I would consider Glory Box a Hayes cover; the whole loop (strings and all) was sampled, only the vocal part (and some drum machine acrobatics) were added by Portishead. If I remember correctly, Tricky (or was it JJ Johanson?) also used the same loop in one of his songs.

That said, I still like the Portishead version best, but this one isn't bad at all. It's fun to play all four versions one after the other, and let your friends wonder who stole from whom :-)

I'm not a fan of this type of music, but I swear, it sounds like he is either in pain or drunk.... or both.

This is a great song - It makes the original sounds even better.

I notice that most of the positive comments seem to be coming from Europe, where they might have heard more of John Martyn.
Originally from Scotland, he invented a unique style of slap guitar to go with his slurred bluesy vocal delivery, and was very influential in the folk circuit during the 70s.
Anyone with a passing interest should check out his album 'Solid Air' . Now that was a truly great album.

Edit: This sadly doesn't come close to his best material for me.

While I'm not generally a fan of covers, especially of songs as recent as this one, this isn't too terrible. I guess I wish this one was left untouched because Portishead's stuff is so unique and like it only as theirs.
While we're at it why don't we remake songs from Radiohead, Tool or any other unique 90s band.

Thea wrote:

Portishead - Glory Box

I'm not a fan of this one. At all. This guy declared World War III on the original and decimated it, in my humble opinion...

Thea wrote: Portishead is the original....this cover is pretty darn cool too. Thanks God he changed that lyric. "Give me a reason to be your woman." LOL

this is pretty cool. I was startled to not hear the woman's voice start singing. Which *is* the original, anyway?

anniebear wrote:
Original is better BECAUSE it's creepy... but when a cover takes the song in a different direction, I'm usually a fan. This ain't bad!

this is gorgeous. I do like the portishead version a lot too though. but they are both completely different takes--

love the original but this bluesy cover is not bad at all.

such a SWEET version of this song! To me, the portishead version is kinda creepy

I like the Portishead version better.

So, who's version is the original? Portishead or JM?

Haven't heard the original and don't know this artist, but this really caught my ear. Very soulful vocals. Love the subtle interplay of the blues guitar.

Edit: Ok, I listened to the Portishead version. I am not a fan of "synth" sound, so the cover works much better for me. The high-pitched strings sound in the background was very annoying. Also thought the singer was very good, but the arrangement was just too diva.

Two VERY different takes on the same song.

fortyonejb wrote:
I absolutely agree!!! This doesn't have 1/2 the feeling!

NOT knowing something can have advantages. I don't know Portishead from lo mein, so I'm free to assess this song as it stands/plays.
I like it.

sounds like the guitarist is afraid to play.

Is he singing "Give me a reason to be a WOMAN ?!?!?"

i'm gonna stick with portishead, this just doesnt do it for me

gntlemanartist wrote:

This was the first time I've heard this.
It's interesting, but once is enough.
The Portishead is truly orignal, unique, powerful, emotive.
This guy sounds like a drunk in a bar.
Substituting drunkeness for originality...

John Martyn may be an underrated artist (i don t him at all), but his version of glory is way overrated imho

John Martyn may be an underrated artist (i don t him at all), but his version of glory is way overrated imho

I like the Portishead version better.

Good God, this is awful! Turn it off! It sounds like a bad karaoke version of Portishead sung by a drunk businessman in a Hong Kong dive bar.

What a heart-breaking voice......you can hear the mixture of depressive carelessness combined with alcoholic roughness slurring out his words and dragging any sense of hope down.

Not a song of enouragement.....but strong none the less.

I saw JM in concert in 71. As close to musical genius as was ever possible, and groundbreaking for the time. That was 30 odd years ago and time has not been so kind I think, but you can still hear the vestige of a monumental artist. Or maybe that's an echo in the space time continuum...