The Original vs. The Cover – “Crazy Horses”

We haven’t done an Original vs The Cover in quite a long time, so I thought I’d do one. And why not pick something a little out of the ordinary and pick a song from The Osmonds…yes, that’s right, The Osmonds. The song is off their 1972 album called ‘Crazy Horses’ and was written by Alan, Wayne and Merrill Osmond. The album saw the band go from a boy band into this grown up guys band. They finally get to write and pick the songs where the label had done that prior to this album. It is probably the heaviest song they have ever done.

The single was really big going to #2 in the UK and #14 in the U.S. It brought a new audience to the band that had been mostly women and now the guys were taking notice. The song was actually banned in several countries as they thought the song was about drugs as Horses is sometimes used for heroin. And there was a line about smoke in the air and that was mistaken for drugs as well. But this is The Osmonds, the song was actually about the big gas guzzling cars of the 70’s and how they were not good for the environment. The brothers were actually a little ahead of their time with an environmental song.

It has been covered by so many bands over the years, but I wanted to pick the version that made me love the song and that was a cover by the Swedish band, The Poodles. Their version was the opening track to their 2018 covers album called ‘Prisma’. I don’t like covers album, generally, but this one kicked some major ass. Let’s get to the music.

THE OSMONDS:

The Osmonds wanted to rock out and they did that with this song. The opening notes are supposed to be a horse neighing using a Y[C]-30 Yamaha organ with an open-wide wah-wah pedal. This song was the first time Jay Osmond actually sang on a song. He took the verses as his vocals were pretty gritty compared to his brothers and it fits the tone of the song perfectly. His brother, Merrill, took the chorus as it required a higher pitch. The two together were a natural fit and took the song to another level.

Being the Osmonds, you wouldn’t expect such a heavy song and might be the heaviest they’ve ever done. The drums were heavy, the guitar ripped and even spit out a great solo. A nice driving bass line, some horns…it all made for a really great rock song.

THE POODLES:

The Poodles opened up their 2018 album with this Osmonds cover of “Crazy Horses”. They took this heavy rock song and made it even heavier. The horse neighing on this version is handled by the guitar rather than an organ. The drums pound even harder and add a meaner, tougher punch to it. When we get to the chorus, the horse neighing is then handled by what sounds like Jakob Samuels’ screams. His vocals on this song are so strong, filled with some grit, but also very melodic and he can hit the lower pitches and the higher ones with ease.

They stick to the original essence of the song, the energy is amped up but they pay a great homage to the original. But it is done to where it sounds like The Poodles. When I originally heard this from them, I didn’t know the original and I quickly fell in love with the song and couldn’t believe it when I found out it was originally done by The Osmonds.

THE VERDICT:

I’ll be honest, this is a tough choice for me. I’m a huge The Poodles fan as I have everything they’ve released. Jakob Samuel’s has such a great voice and I think he is always spot on. Their version is what made me find this song and go back and listen to the original. However, the original is so damn good. An unexpected surprise for a band that had been a boy band basically before this song. I like their neighing horse better and I think having two singers, one for the verses and one for the chorus adds a lot to the song and might be what puts this one over the edge to be the winning pick. But if you are looking for something a little heavier, The Poodles version should be your first pick.

Let me know what you think. Which version is better in your opinion as there are no right or wrong answers here, only an individual’s taste. Thanks for stopping by and have great day.

LYRICS:

“Crazy Horses”

There’s a message floating in the air
Comes from crazy horses riding everywhere
It’s a warning, it’s in every tongue
Gotta stop them crazy horses on the run

What a show, there they go
Smoking up the sky, yeah
Crazy horses all got riders
And they’re you and I

Crazy horses
Crazy horses

Never stop and they never die
They just keep on puffin’
How they multiply
Crazy horses
Will they never halt
If they keep on moving
Then it’s all our fault

What a show, there they go
Smoking up the sky, yeah
Crazy horses all got riders
And they’re you and I

So take a good look around
See what they’ve done, what they’ve done
They’ve done, they’ve done
They’ve done, they’ve done
They’ve done, they’ve done

Crazy horses
Crazy horses
Crazy horses
Crazy horses
Crazy horses
Crazy horses
Crazy horses
Crazy horses

Writer(s): Merrill Davis Osmond, Alan Ralph Osmond, Wayne Osmond