Cover to Cover: Any Way You Want It

Hoody Hoo! It’s time for another C2C! That’s Cover to Cover in case you’re not paying attention.

This time around I’ll be covering the song “Any Way You Want It.”

The Original:

The original version was recorded by San Francisco rock band Journey. This band formed in 1973 by former members of the band Santana. They were pretty big commercially in the late 70s through the late 80s. Their success was at its highest when they had Steve Perry as lead vocalist. The band is still active and to date has released 15 LPs, 5 live albums, 11 compilation albums, and a soundtrack album. Their first album, released in 1975, was their self-titled album.

The song “Any Way You Want It” was written by vocalist Steve Perry and guitarist Neal Schon. It was the opening track on the album Departure. Departure was released in February 1980 by Columbia Records. The album was pretty successful, reaching #8 on the US Billboard 200 chart and has achieved triple platinum status.

The Cover:

Our cover version this time around was done by Chicago based melodic hardcore band Rise Against. They were formed in 1999 by former members of the punk band 88 Fingers Louie. Lyrically speaking, this band is well known for their social commentary. Their discography consists of 9 LPs, 11 EPs, and 2 compilation albums.

Their version of “Any Way You Want It” was released on their 2013 compilation album Long Forgotten Songs: B-Sides & Covers. As the title suggest, this album is a collection of B-sides and cover songs, as well as alternate versions of songs that they previously released. In addition to their cover of the Journey song, they also covered songs by Sick of It All, Pete Seeger, Minor Threat, and Black Flag. The album performed well, reaching #19 on the US Billboard 200, #2 on the Billboard Hard Rock Albums chart, #4 on the Billboard Top Rock Albums chart, and #4 on the Billboard Alternative Albums chart. Personally, I think this album is quite a treasure and if you haven’t listened to it, go here and do that.

The Verdict:

Let me start this little verdict out with this: In my opinion, Steve Perry’s singing voice is quite better than Tim McIlrath’s. However, while the voice itself in the Journey version is better than the Rise Against version, I prefer the vocal delivery from Tim. Does that make sense? It does to me.

One could say that the musicians in Journey are better, technically, than the musicians in Rise Against. So you could say that the guitars, keyboards, drums, etc….are better overall. And while they might be better technical musicians, it’s all about delivery.

When it comes down to which version I, personally, find more sonically pleasing to the ear (wait, was that redundant) I have to go with the Rise Against version. The Journey version is absolutely amazing and probably one of their best songs so I absolutely give them credit for writing a killer tune. But, at least for me, Rise Against does it better.

The Poll:

But what do you think?

Okay, that’s all I’ve got for this edition of Cover to Cover. Hope you enjoyed it. See you again next time.