This Sunday (17 May) beatboxing extraordinaire Tom Thum will unveil the world premiere of 'Thum Prints' with Gordon Hamilton and the Queensland Symphony Orchestra.
Audiences will witness a world first, with the result a musical watershed that hovers somewhere between jazz, hip hop and an off-the-wall 'Rite Of Spring'. In between playing with the “orchestra in my mouth” Tom shared his favourite covers of all time.
1. Nina Simone - 'Feeling Good'
I always regarded this as the best version of this song, and up until recently I also thought it was the original too. Turns out I was mistaken. The original first appeared in a 1964 English musical called 'The Roar Of The Greasepaint, The Smell Of The Crowd', and was written by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse. But as far as re-imaginings go you really can't beat that descending brassline married to the unmistakable voice of Nina Simone.{youtube}oHs98TEYecM{/youtube}
2. Jacob Collier - 'Close To You'
This is another classic song (Burt Bacharach and Hal David) that has been re-recorded so many times over: The Carpenters, Richard Chamberlain, Dionne Warwick. But Jacob Collier's version re-injected life into it for me. It's a kind of wonky Dilla-esque take on the original that is really stripped back and sung very staggered, but 100 percent preserves all the sentiments of the original. It's really dope; shouts to my main man Miro for putting me on to it.{youtube}9s1baxrxGHU{/youtube}
3. Feist - 'Inside And Out'
This is the best. Put it in your ears. Feist kept all the funk of the original ('Love You Inside Out') by the Bee Gees and it's super crispy. Whoever produced it is a genius.{youtube}NmG0sPyZJBg{/youtube}
4. John Legend/ The Roots - 'Hard Times'
The original by Baby Huey is definitely the best, but in terms of giving it a red-hot go and smashing it out of the ballpark, John Legend and The Roots did exactly that. Same killer, soulful vibe and melancholic approach to the lyrics. The horns are the best. In the original I can actually envision Baby Huey sleeping on hotel floors and drinking Thunderbirds.{youtube}rYCKkmM0Tu8{/youtube}
5. Jamie Woon - 'Wayfaring Stranger'
I couldn't find out who wrote this or when it was written, but I know it's another song that many people have put their stamp on including Johnny Cash and Ed Sheeran. But personally, Jamie Woon's version is the one that my musical sensibilities connected with the most.{youtube}0lq2k7rmjdY{/youtube}
6. Bonus round
Daniel Merriweather and Mark Ronson doing The Smiths 'Stop Me'; so different to the original but so dope.{youtube}878ixmkVWcE{/youtube}
Tom Thum joins the Queensland Symphony Orchestra for two shows (6pm & 8pm) at the Brisbane Powerhouse on 16 May.
