Comparative Analysis of Cover Songs by Marilyn Manson and Emily Browning

So many great songs have been recorded. There are also many songs that have been remastered by various artists and recorded with their own spin on the song. Most covers sound entirely different from tempo to the instrumentation. The song “Sweet Dreams” by Eurythmics is one of many to be rerecorded. Two great covers in particular have been made by Marilyn Manson and Emily Browning. These covers have many great qualities that make them extremely unique and different from the original version of the song.

The original song “Sweet Dreams” was first recorded by Eurythmics. It has a very funky and dance feeling. It is sung by a woman with a very ‘retro’ feel to it due to the keyboard effects being used. It is very upbeat with a faster tempo. She does use a little vibrato and also uses a range of pitches. The dynamics also vary from the same steady tempo to changing to a very quick tempo further into the song after the main chorus. It is the kind of song that just makes someone want to move a little!

The first cover found is by Marilyn Manson. This cover has a whole new instrumentation. Manson has put a much darker feel to the song. He sings much lower in his pitch throughout most of the song with some changing in the dynamics. Marilyn Manson also has a slower tempo. The instrumentation has changed to a rock with the use of the drums and guitar. It most certainly does not have the same old feel to it as the original song. Later into the song he also uses a technique where he uses an almost staccato-like technique with the way he sings some of the words. Also noted is the old scratchy sound similar to a record player starting in the beginning and end of the song. It is a very unique cover.

Lastly, the second cover found of “Sweet Dreams” is by Emily Browning. This cover differs from the original by Eurythmics in many ways. It has a slower tempo and is sung much softer. It sounds like something that could be sung by a choir in the beginning, but sounds like an orchestra playing towards the end. Emily sings with a much wider range of pitches. There are also harmonies being sung in the background. Browning’s version has a bit of a darker feel towards the end with the guitar and drums being played, but she has also incorporated violins and an organ. The dynamics also change a lot. It really is a great cover all around.

The two covers have both many similarities and differences. The similarities are that they are both slower in tempo, both have the use of drums and guitars, and have a strange darker feel to them. The differences are in the instruments being used in the two covers. Browning’s cover has a violin and organ being used when Manson’s version of the song does not. Manson uses singing techniques that Emily does not use with the use of the staccato and singing notes very short and sharp.

The best cover out of the two has got to be Marilyn Manson’s version of “Sweet Dreams”. The darker feel that is in the song and for the fact that the song has so much use of the guitar are just two reasons as to why it is the best. The guitar is really featured a lot throughout the song. Also, the way that Marilyn Manson sings overall in the song is very unique. He always puts his own oddball twist on everything that he does musically and it really shows in this song, as it does in many other songs.

Overall, both of the covers of “Sweet Dreams” by Marilyn Manson and Emily Browning are fantastic. They both show unique qualities that the other covers do not have as well as the original. They have many outstanding techniques that the other covers lack from the use of the guitar in Manson’s version, the use of the orchestra instruments in Browning’s cover, and to the use of the retro-feeling keyboard in the original recorded version by Eurythmics. The original version of the song will always be a great classic.