All Along The Watchtower; On The TV Show Lucifer
Here's Tom Ellis as Lucifer singing All Along The Watchtower from the epilogue of Season 2, Episode 1 of Lucifer.
This song shouldn't work. It's not that I'm precious about it; after all Dylan thought the Hendrix cover was superior to the original*. It's been covered more times than you can shake a stick at, (unless you're especially dedicated to shaking sticks at cover versions) notably including Bear McCreary's orchestral arrangement for Battlestar Galactica.
One of the things the more successful covers have in common is that they are more; bigger, louder, more dramatic. And for this reason if you had asked me if a voice and piano version would be good, I'd have said no.
Ellis, and the music producers on the show, pull it off. Not perfectly, but like taking an opera solo and arranging it for a great singer and pianist. And this, I think say something about the show Lucifer.
Lucifer, the character, is powerful, and also extremely cool. But it's not effortless. He has to work at it. He always wants to breeze in and find things solve themselves around him; fix everything with a flash of intuition, a burst of violence, or a quick question about desire (his real superpower, which is why they show restraint in using it**).
It's here where Lucifer's otherworldliness meets a recognisable humanity. He has more-than-human wants, and more-then-human ways to get them. He can do it with style and panache. But he has to try, and try hard, and sometimes, even then, he looks foolish (tipping over the line from eccentric and perverse, which he revels in). As though he's taking a great song that shines with a full band or orchestra and then does a storming performance for solo voice and piano.
(This is not a review of Lucifer; regular readers know that my reviews end with a Watch This and Don't Watch This suggestion for who might and might not want to watch it. If you haven't seen it I'll just tell you that it is a stylish supernatural murder of the week show that keeps trying to push at the limitations of the form; it works hard at it but mostly stays within the bounds, so make up your own mind if you want to take a look.)
* Dylan, a superb songwriter and excellent performer who on his worst day can sing better than I ever have, nevertheless does not have the best voice in music. Sorry.
** Unlike other super shows which use the powers sparingly as much to keep the special effects budget down as to avoid breaking the plot, Lucifer avoids using his power in order that it retains an effect on the audience. One or two deep, cleverly written desires an episode is cool. Everyone blurting out their secret wishes would be banal and stupid.
Versions: Bob Dylan
The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Bear McCreary/BattleStar Galactica
This song shouldn't work. It's not that I'm precious about it; after all Dylan thought the Hendrix cover was superior to the original*. It's been covered more times than you can shake a stick at, (unless you're especially dedicated to shaking sticks at cover versions) notably including Bear McCreary's orchestral arrangement for Battlestar Galactica.
One of the things the more successful covers have in common is that they are more; bigger, louder, more dramatic. And for this reason if you had asked me if a voice and piano version would be good, I'd have said no.
Ellis, and the music producers on the show, pull it off. Not perfectly, but like taking an opera solo and arranging it for a great singer and pianist. And this, I think say something about the show Lucifer.
Lucifer, the character, is powerful, and also extremely cool. But it's not effortless. He has to work at it. He always wants to breeze in and find things solve themselves around him; fix everything with a flash of intuition, a burst of violence, or a quick question about desire (his real superpower, which is why they show restraint in using it**).
It's here where Lucifer's otherworldliness meets a recognisable humanity. He has more-than-human wants, and more-then-human ways to get them. He can do it with style and panache. But he has to try, and try hard, and sometimes, even then, he looks foolish (tipping over the line from eccentric and perverse, which he revels in). As though he's taking a great song that shines with a full band or orchestra and then does a storming performance for solo voice and piano.
(This is not a review of Lucifer; regular readers know that my reviews end with a Watch This and Don't Watch This suggestion for who might and might not want to watch it. If you haven't seen it I'll just tell you that it is a stylish supernatural murder of the week show that keeps trying to push at the limitations of the form; it works hard at it but mostly stays within the bounds, so make up your own mind if you want to take a look.)
* Dylan, a superb songwriter and excellent performer who on his worst day can sing better than I ever have, nevertheless does not have the best voice in music. Sorry.
** Unlike other super shows which use the powers sparingly as much to keep the special effects budget down as to avoid breaking the plot, Lucifer avoids using his power in order that it retains an effect on the audience. One or two deep, cleverly written desires an episode is cool. Everyone blurting out their secret wishes would be banal and stupid.
Versions: Bob Dylan
The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Bear McCreary/BattleStar Galactica
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