Song Deconstruction

Cover Song

"Where Did You Sleep Last Night"

Leadbelly

WZRD

LISTENING FRAMEWORK (Leadbelly)

LISTENING PHASE 1 (Rhythm) 


Tempo [slow, medium, fast]
The tempo is slow to medium, a bit faster than WZRD's version.


Source [where is the rhythm coming from?]
The rhythm is strictly from his guitar and voice.


Groove [describe how the personality of the rhythm]
The groove is very southern and bluesy.
          
LISTENING PHASE 2 (Arrangement) 


Instrumentation [which instruments drive the song?]
Leadbelly only uses a guitar and his voice for this song.


Structure/Organization [how is the song built? Order, patterns, etc.]
The songs structure is very consistent throughout.


Emotional Architecture [Draw how the song build and drop?]
The song has a consistent flow much like a lot of southern blues classics.


LISTENING PHASE 3 (Sound Quality) 


Balance

• -  Height [high and low of frequency]
  The instrumentation gives a very low frequency and maintains a mellow sound. His voice is very loud compared to the guitar so he gives off a much higher frequency.
  
• -  Width [stereo panning left/right]
  No panning somewhat consistent monotone in this version.
  
• -  Depth [layers of instruments - via loudness] 
  
• His guitars plays a consistent chord and doesn't get too fancy. His voice is probably his strongest instrument.

LISTENING FRAMEWORK (WZRD)

LISTENING PHASE 1 (Rhythm) 

Tempo [slow, medium, fast]

Tempo is very slow and mellow

Source [where is the rhythm coming from?]

The rhythm also derives from the guitar in this version

Groove [describe how the personality of the rhythm]

The groove is very interesting in that it fluctuates by raising and lowering constantly.   
      

LISTENING PHASE 2 (Arrangement) 

Instrumentation [which instruments drive the song?]
The guitar and drums are a very important part of the song. His voice is very instrumental as well, you'll know what I mean when you hear it.

Structure/Organization [how is the song built? Order, patterns, etc.]
The structure is very similar compared to the original.

Emotional Architecture [Draw how the song build and drop?]

The build and drop was very consistent and full.

LISTENING PHASE 3 (Sound Quality) 

Balance

• -  Height [high and low of frequency]
• The instrument, including Cudi's voice are a low frequency to start but fluctuates to and from a high frequency throughout the entire song.
  
• -  Width [stereo panning left/right]
• The guitar has small hints of panning but thats the only instrument I noticed.
  
• -  Depth [layers of instruments - via loudness]
• Cudi uses many instruments in his cover. He has a guitar, piano, drums, and several beats of his own. Nothing really over powers any of the others.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST

These two songs are similar in that they, for the most part, have the same melody and lyrics. The only noticeable differences are they instruments that are played and the style of song. Leadbelly is a legendary blues musician which gives him a much more southern feel while WZRD is a modern hip-hop artist. WZRD's version is more of an expansion of the previous. It is a much more fuller song because of the many instruments Kid Cudi uses. Such as, the electric guitar, the piano, drums, and especially the multiple beats he incorporates. Leadbelly's version is very simple because it  contains just a guitar and his voice. Leadbelly's voice is much more high than Kid Cudi's which seems to have a mellower feel. Leadbelly's voice adds to the originality of the song because it is constantly fluctuating. WZRD kept the original lyrics from Leadbelly, both versions are written exactly the same. Leadbelly uses a very simple yet catchy melody which I think is the best part of the song. His voice is very southern and bold, you can feel the blues in it. The melody in WZRD's is much more rounded in that has much more fuller or layered. Kid Cudi's work was very well done in my opinion. He brought the song to a different level with such a different style yet a similar tone. The musical quality for Leadbelly's version has a consistent feel pretty much throughout. The rhythm is steady and mellow while the intensity is subtle.  Although each song carries a different vibe they are similar in that they both have about the same speed. The speed is slow paced making it an easy listen. Another similarity with both of the songs is they have the same pitch. The only difference would be that Leadbelly's has more of raw southern draw, whereas Cudi uses modern day instruments to create a  new twist on the original pitch. I enjoyed WZRD's version a little better only because its more my style. Leadbelly's version is definitely a beautiful yet simple song, it's got a raw, southern feel and a mellow rhythm. Whereas Kid Cudi's is very full and layered. I think he covered the song very well. He maintain an original melody and transformed it into a complementary rendition.