Ripoffs

[Rick and Roll]

I was listening to the local radio in my car today (I know, it wasn't a long enough drive to put in a CD). This tune by Audioslave comes on - "Show Me How to Live". Kick ass - however, I felt upset after I thought about it. Not only is it a blatant King's X ripoff, Chris Cornell even sings like Doug Pinninck! (Soundgarden has done this before - e.g. "Spoonman").

Does anyone else know a song that sounds just like another one or another band? For example, there was a metal band Kingdom Come that had a Zeppelin-sounding hit. Or even riffs - listen to Spock's Beard "The Light", and after the intro, compare the next passage to "Tarkus", and then the next one to "21st Century Schizoid Man".

Fire away!

[KeithieW]

Originally posted by Rick and Roll
Does anyone else know a song that sounds just like another one or another band?

Fire away!

Marillion's "Grendel" could be Supper's Ready on any other day.... still like it though.

Same with Haze's "Dig them mushrooms" and Genesis "Cinema Show".

The delightful world of Prog is full of soundalikes.....Cairo and Yes, Starcastle and Yes etc. rtc.

Doesn't mean that it's all bad though.

When I first heard Discipline's "Unfolded like Staircase" the first few bars reminded me of Led Zep's Kashmir but I went on to love the album and now it's a permenant fixture in my CD player.

[Yesspaz]

"Show Me How to Live" does absolutely rule! Audioslave is Rage Against the Machine with a new singer.

[Yesspaz]

Perhaps the most famous, blatant, evil, wrong, horrific, audacious ripoff ever is Kansas' "Carry On Wayward Son." They COMPLETELY stole the main riff of Journey's "I'm Gonna Leave." Journey opened for Kansas in 1974 and played IGL in their set. In 1975, LEFTOVERTURE came out and, well, looky-there at that first song! Neal Schon was livid and wanted to sue them, but he couldn't because LOOK INTO THE FUTURE didn't come out until 1976, and there were only bootleg performances of the song - nothing that would stand up on court. That was Kansas' break-out song. They made a fortune off Neal Schon and he didn't get a dime. He got 'em back though. Journey went on to be huge and Kansas, not-so-huge.

[Rick and Roll]

Well, let's see:

Neal Schon got his $ anyway.

Carry On Waywayd Son is one of the most perfect songs structurally ever. One of the rare occasions a great tune is overplayed, and still sounds great.

Maybe Kerry Livgren felt bad and found God. (Just a joke!)

Not their fault they didn't have the sexy Steve Perry on vocals!

I see Journey is touring with Styx, and they used to be bitter rivals. So expect Journey & Kansas to reunite.

[Yesspaz]

I'm fixing to request "I'm Gonna Leave" so the truth can be known! Now you immediatley request "Carry On Wayward Son" so that they'll play back-to-back!

[Rick and Roll]

Hope it comes on after noon my time.

I would rather not subject the listeners to an overplayed tune, so I won't request it - we all know what COWS (hey, cool acronym) sounds like.

I don't doubt it's a ripoff - looking forward to hearing it.

[Rick and Roll]

Glad you got that request in - I have to go out for awhile now - it is a carbon copy! Kansas could have switched it around a little, huh? And it wasn't needed, they could have gotten around it, and it still would have made $.

Now hearing a straight rock & roll tune on AM, hmmmm don't open the floodgates to say....Budgie?

Surprised it's on the playlist.......hmmmmmm

[Yesspaz]

It's prog.


Anyway, how about when a band rips-off themselves?

Pink Floyd - "The Final Cut" rips "Comfortably Numb"
Yes - "The Miracle of Life" rips "Survival"


Then, of course, there's the half-dozen classical rips Yes did....

[Rick and Roll]

Bands do that all of the time!

I heard a Steve Howe tune on AM that had the same main riff from "I Could Have Waited Forever" from Union.

King Crimson's first two albums: the opening tunes are carbon copies, and "Epitaph" and "Posiedon" are identical.

Dog Years and Bastille Day share the same main riff.

Many more examples, I'm sure.



That song was prog? Hmmmmmm..... Excellent musicianship, though - and enjoyable.

[progdirjim]

Fonya - Delirium's Gate is an acknowledged ripoff of Gates Of Delirium. It's playing right now, and that reminded me.

[progdirjim]

Here's another one playing now - Bruford Levin's "Cracking The Midnight Glass" rips off Led Zep's "Kashmir" (the signature riff) in a big way.

[Rick and Roll]

this stuff is great!

[Avian]

Originally posted by progdirjim
Fonya - Delirium's Gate is an acknowledged ripoff of Gates Of Delirium. It's playing right now, and that reminded me.

Well, this is and Bruford Levin songs aren't really ripoffs - just covers with different names. Bruford Levin's song only rips off that main theme for the cello... but I think they made the mistake of not acknowledging it, porbably to avoid paying royalties. The "controversy" made it all the way to MTV! Yes, prog did appear on MTV news if for a brief second!

[Rick and Roll]

is still on?

I remember seeing Steve Morse 20 years ago, and he played a tune called "Cruise Missile", and called it "The Official Party Tune of the 1984 Olympics", and also said "You will hear this on MTV at 5:58 AM on Sunday mornings".

[PlayingTheFool]

Originally posted by Yesspaz
It's prog.


Anyway, how about when a band rips-off themselves?

Pink Floyd - "The Final Cut" rips "Comfortably Numb"
Yes - "The Miracle of Life" rips "Survival"


Then, of course, there's the half-dozen classical rips Yes did....

Hmm...good point,

how about another self rip off:

King Crimson-"Pictures of A City" Rips "21st Century Schizoid Man"

[Rick and Roll]

I mentioned that exact one (King Crimson) - in fact most of the cuts are carbon copies!

[PlayingTheFool]

Originally posted by Rick and Roll
in fact most of the cuts are carbon copies!

Very true...:p

[KeithieW]

I guess it's a well known fact that Mr Fripp (bless him) basically quotes Holst's "Mars" from The Planets Suite almost note for note on 'The Devil's Triangle' and even had the nerve to give himself song writing credits for it. Very cheeky as the statutory copywright period of, I think, 50 years hadn't expired.

The Doors were taken to court (and lost) over 'Hello I love you' for plagiarising The Kinks 'All day and all of the night'.

[Rick and Roll]

The Doors lost on that? I don't get it, they're not that much the same.

There's always the famous "My Sweet Lord" doo lang doo lang doo lang stolen from the Chiffons' "He's So Fine". And of course "Ghostbusters" and "I Want A New Drug".

I'm still fascinated by the one Yesspaz said about Journey and Kansas.

Speaking of the Kinks, dada payed a little of "I'm So Tired" as part of one of their songs. That and the instrumental "Eleanor Rigby" section of a song was killer.

And with the Kinks, like Oasis, must you English brothers always fight?

[KeithieW]

Originally posted by Rick and Roll

And with the Kinks, like Oasis, must you English brothers always fight?

LOL! Where would we be without a bit of sibling rivalry.

I think the difference is that Ray and Dave Davies had real talent and could really DO it.

Oasis................complete shite IMHO.

And while we're on the subject of Oasis would we have Oasis if it wasn't for the Beatles' Revolver.....................I THINK NOT!!!!!

[Rick and Roll]

I love Revolver.

I was in a now-defunct bar about 20 years ago (it had a poster of Zappa's shut up and play your guitar!) and the bar owner played "In My Life". He asked what album it was off of - I couldn't decide between Revolver and Rubber Soul - some poor schlep guessed Revolver, was incorrect, and I swooped in! I got a poster of the Shea Stadium concert from 1966 (in cardboard of course). I have tortured my Beatles-loving friends with it ever since.

[KeithieW]

Originally posted by Rick and Roll
I love Revolver.


I think Revolver is their finest album. It ranks in my Top 10 albums of all time.

Second best album by the Beatles? Rubber Soul no contest.

[Rick and Roll]

but mine is easily Abbey Road

[Yesspaz]

Sting got away with one. On Dire Straits' "I Want My MTV," Mark Knofler got Sting to come sing back-up. Sting got in the "I Want My, I Want My, I Want My MTV" which happens to be identical to "Don't Stand So, Don't Stand So, Don't Stand So Close to Me." Sting wound up getting song-writing credits for it and Knofler couldn't do anything about it, so he changed the name to another lyric in the song - "Money for Nothing."

[KeithieW]

Wow Yesspaz! It all seems so obvious when it's written in front of you.

Nice one!!!!!

[Yesspaz]

Danke

[Rick and Roll]

Oh Sting... I used to know how many times he said "Sending out an SOS" on Message in a Bottle. I think it's 34 - I'm not going to listen to confirm!

[KeithieW]

Originally posted by Rick and Roll
I think it's 34 - I'm not going to listen to confirm!

Neither am I but when I first heard Message in a Bottle I was a tad out of it and the only reason it got my attention was that I thought he was singing "Massage in a Brothel".

[Rick and Roll]

SEX

[Steady Stan]

on Michael Quatro's "In Collaboration with the Gods" you can hear snippets of "Stairway to Heaven" and another hit song (which escapes me now) in the background during some of the quieter passages.

[Zozzy]

I don't really dig Rush much... but was listening to AM yesterday and heard The Fountain of Lambeth or something from 1975...
That seems to have a huge rip-off from Yes's 1974 Gates of Delirium! (or something from Relayer)
Of course... it makes the song worth listening to ;)

[Rick and Roll]

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Those two songs have as much in common as Ozric Tentacles and Ambrosia.

Let's see, Didacts & Narpets, I can see Anderson singing that da da da da da da da da "Listen". Yes would NEVER have a song sound like "No One At The Bridge" or "Bacchus Plateau".

Let me know what drug induced that comment and ship me some posthaste! :D

[Zozzy]

no... theres a passage of heavy guitar that is almost one on one for about 10 seconds... it appears a few times in the song.
I'll have to get hold of the mp3 so I can tell you the times...

[Zozzy]

maybe it was shorter.... but wanna bet an amazon cd on it? ;)

[Rick and Roll]

Originally posted by Zozzy
theres a passage of heavy guitar that is almost one on one for about 10 seconds... it appears a few times in the song.
.

then you say maybe shorter.....

Doesn't sound like a huge ripoff to me!

I still would like to hear it, could be cool.

[Yesspaz]

as the (self-appointed) resident Yes expert, there is not a single not of similarity between Fountain and Gates. QED.

[KeithieW]

I thought I heard an e-flat in both of them somewhere.

[Zozzy]

ok... then someone send me an mp3 of fountain and i'll show you the bit side by side... I'm positive I can't have mixed Gates with another relayer track..

[Zozzy]

I'd call it a prominent rip-off rather than a huge one ;)
(gotta cover my back here in case i'm wrong)

[Rick and Roll]

Originally posted by Yesspaz
as the (self-appointed) resident Yes expert

do you get points off for expansive knowledge of the "Open Your Eyes" period?

[byzantium]

Does the intro of the Tull song 'We Used to Know' remind you of a certain The Eagles' song...?

[Rick and Roll]

not sure - give me a hint - a slower Eagles tune or faster one? If anything, I'm thinking either Best of My Love or Hotel California.

Let me know.

[KeithieW]

I'm sure I read somewhere that Ian Anderson himself reckons the Eagles ripped off WUTK for HC.

Edit:

After a bit of research (sad git that I am) it seems that Don Henley wrote HC after getting inspiration from touring with Tull.

[byzantium]

Yes, I was thinking of 'Hotel Californa'. I'm no Eagles fan myself so I didn't connect it the Tull song until a person brought my attention to the similarities.

[Rick and Roll]

that the Eagles did not invade Sweden.