Some chord progressions, lyrics, and melodies just lend themselves to a particular style of music, but sometimes an artist plays around with a few different styles before finding one that fits the song best. Here are six great songs that were originally written in different styles.
1. Bob Dylan - "It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry" (1965)
"It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry" was released on Dylan's classic Highway 61 Revisited LP in the middle of his electric period, and some early versions of the song were recorded in a fast tempo not unlike "Tombstone Blues" or "From A Buick 6." However, the version that ultimately ended up on the album was in a relaxed country blues style instead.
2. The Beatles - "Revolution" (1968)
The version of "Revolution" that most people know is the fast and fuzzy version released as the B-side to "Hey Jude," but this was actually an updated version. The original "Revolution," titled "Revolution 1," appears on "The White Album" in a much slower acoustic blues style.
3. R.E.M. - "(Don't Go Back To) Rockville" (1984)
One of R.E.M.'s many all-time classics is 1984's "(Don't Go Back To) Rockville," a country-tinged number written by bassist Mike Mills. However, the song was originally done in a punkier, more typically-R.E.M. style, but was supposedly changed to country as a joke on the band's manager Bertis Downs.
4. Bruce Springsteen - "Born in the USA" (1984)
The ten songs that make up Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska album were intended to be arranged for the E Street Band, but were ultimately released in their acoustic demo form. One song from the Nebraska sessions that was arranged for the E Street Band, however, was "Born in the USA," which morphed from a dark acoustic song into the arena rock anthem we know today.
5. Radiohead - "Thinking About You" (1993)
One of the best songs on Radiohead's debut album Pablo Honey is the ballad "Thinking About You." It's the album's only acoustic track, but its original arrangement was in a fuzzy alt-rock style similar to the rest of the album. The electric version of the song was eventually released the following year on the Itch EP.
6. Carly Rae Jepsen - "Call Me Maybe" (2011)
This may seem difficult to believe, and I can't even imagine it myself, but Carly Rae Jepsen's massive pop hit "Call Me Maybe" was originally written by Jepsen and her bandmate Tavish Crowe as a folk song, instead of the dance-pop song we all know and love/hate/tolerate. Maybe Jepsen has a different conception of folk music than I do, because I just can't see Joni Mitchell singing, "Your stare was holdin'/Ripped jeans, skin was showin'."
