Blood on the Sand: Five really bad attempts at Reggae

Blood on the Sand: Five really bad attempts at Reggae

02 November, 2012
by: Spoonfed Live Music Team

Leave Snoop Lion alone!

So as a lot of people probably clocked this morning, Snoop Lion has released his first proper reggae song 'La La La', with this odd, '90s inspired video by Eli Roth. Honestly if you haven’t seen it, you should check it out, it's absolutely insane. Reading the comments left under the Noisey article this morning, a lot of people where mostly put off by Snoop's sudden descent into patois, which even we have to admit is pretty mental.

That got us thinking, in the grand scheme of things, is it really that awful? I mean a lot of other people, a lot more critically acclaimed that Snoop Dogg have dabbled in reggae and come a cropper. Before we consign Snoop Lion to the dustbin of history, let’s at have a look at how it stands up to other people's ill thought out attempts.

The Rolling Stones – Too Rude



Arrogance can be a real double-edged sword. On one hand it has led the human race to land on the moon, climb Everest and invent the fridge-freezer, on the other it led to the Rolling Stones thinking they could a) let Keith sing a song, and b) do a dub cover Lindon Robert’s Too Rude.

Paris Hilton – Stars are Blind



As a billionaire heiress with body of a supermodel, Paris Hilton has probably spent quite a lot of time hanging around the Caribbean, so you would of thought she’d picked up a bit more of the culture than on show in ‘Stars are Blind’. In her head, she no doubt thought this was going to turn out all Gwen Stafani, but the result is a song even Peter Andre would turn his nose up to.

Sid Owen – Good Thing Going



There was a time in the mid-90s when soap actors thought they could sing and people wore those t-shirts with no sleeves on them. Sid Owen's 1995 cover of 'Good Thing Going' is the reason why these were two of the worst ideas ever.

Eric Clapton – I Shot the Sheriff



British rockers have a bit of a love/hate relationship with reggae. 10cc, The Police and The Clash have all had fairly decent stabs at it, but when it goes wrong it’s spectacular. Eric Clapton’s cover of Bob Marley’s ‘I Shot the Sheriff is a case in point. Rather than putting his own spin on it, he basically sings over a straight rip of the original, making the whole thing feel like you’re watching some middle class British tourist attempt the jam with the house band at Club Med. Not cool.

Olly Murs – Please Don’t Let Me Go



There’s musical chameleons, there’s musical chameleons, and the there's Olly Murs. Let’s see, in his short, so far lamentable career, he’s attempted hip hop, indie, electro and Amy Winehouse-style vintage jazz rock with predicatble results. He tried reggae on ‘Please Don’t Let Me Go’ and it sort of sounds like a car crash involving Will Young and Big Mountain. Thanks Essex.

Then there's this:



See, Snoop's effort really isn't that bad.

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Spoonfed Live Music Team