VEGANGELICA

While watching "The Full Monty" yesterday with my parents, I realized during the final scene that I'd heard the song, "You Can Leave Your Hat On," in another movie, "9 1/2 Weeks."

So I became curious about the song...although perhaps that was due to its tendency to be paired with scenes of stripping. I don't know, maybe that has something to do with it. Below is the original, followed by my ranking of its covers:

THE ORIGINAL:
Randy Newman - "You Can Leave Your Hat On" (1972)
This song appeared in his album Sail Away. It's a good song. It serves its purpose well. My only real complaint about the original is that it lacks a little pep compared to some of the future covers.



* * * * * * *

COVER #1:
Tom Jones - "You Can Leave Your Hat On" (1997)
Tom Jones covered the song for the British film "The Full Monty." This cover has a lot more pizzazz and excitement than the original. I like the trumpets! Below is the song used in the cute final scene from the movie, which I feel is sweet because it shows how anyone can be sexy, since sexy is an attitude and not just a look. My favorite scene happens earlier, though, and is when Dave, who feels self-loathing and shame over his weight, doesn't want to strip and asks his wife dejectedly, "Who would want to see this?!" She looks at him and answers, "I would." Awwwww.



* * *

COVER #2:
Joe Cocker - "You Can Leave Your Hat On" (1986)
Used in the movie "9 1/2 Weeks." Maybe I'm biased by seeing Kim Basinger's playful striptease, but I think the cover is pretty nice.



* * *

COVER #3
Michael Grimm - "You Can Leave Your Hat On" (2010)
I didn't expect to like this cover, since I wasn't too impressed by Michael Grimm's style of singing on America's Got Talent, but I admit his voice works well for the song. This was a disappointment, because I liked disliking his music.



* * *

COVER #4
Ty Herndon - "You Can Leave Your Hat On" (1999)
I also didn't expect to like this version, since Ty is a country singer. Although I don't prefer his country accent and I feel the song seems a little bland, I still didn't hate the cover. I think that's because I feel the song is simply a good composition: short, sweet, amusing, seductive. Even a country singer couldn't kill off its good qualities entirely.



* * *

COVER #5
Three Dog Blind - "You Can Leave Your Hat On" (1975)
Sounds a little sluggish and I don't care so much for the singer's slurred voice or the organ (of course) in the background.

__________________