By Josh Schonfeld

 

I’ll admit, I was not enthused when I heard Norwegian DJ Kygo was planning on releasing a new version of Tina Turner’s 1984 classic, “What’s Love Got to Do With It”.  Sure, I absolutely loved his updated remix of Whitney Houston’s cover of Steve Winwood’s “Higher Love” last summer, but that was a forgotten bonus track on the Japanese edition of Houston’s 1991 album, I’m Your Baby Tonight.  There was no prior knowledge of how a Houston cover of “Higher Love” would sound and it’s not like Steve Winwood is a household name these days.  Lightning couldn’t strike twice, could it?

 

“What’s Love Got to Do With It” is a powerful song for Ms. Turner, as it is her comeback hit after separating from ex-husband and longtime collaborator, Ike Turner.  The song champions the value of self-worth and empowerment and realizing when love isn’t enough.  Kygo provides a welcome refresh on an already perfect song, something incredibly difficult to do.  By retaining the integrity of the original, Kygo embodies the more than 35 year old song and reinvigorates it for a 2020 audience without diluting the meaning.  By emphasizing the song’s own instrumentation as well as placing a spotlight on the impeccable vocals of Turner, he’s able to fiddle with the pitch and arrangement of the chorus without damage.  He even creates intense moments not seen in the original, such as the dramatic pause at the key change as well as the buildup after the key change as Turner belts her iconic chorus, “who needs a heart when a heart can be broken!”

 

Should we continue this trend however?  Sure, Kygo is 2 for 2 on recreating 80s hits with legendary divas, but should we be condoning this?  It’s only a matter of time until he flops or worse, we get copycats who don’t have the same ear as Kygo.  In fact, we’ve already gotten a few terrible remakes and remixes such as the odd mash-up of Destiny’s Child’s “Girl” and Brandy & Monica’s “The Boy Is Mine” from 99 Souls, which is so overpowering that it strips all essence of the originals.  Do we really want Skrillex attempting to update Kim Carnes’s iconic 1980 single “Bette Davis Eyes,” or get yet another dance cover of “Total Eclipse of the Heart”?

 

There are pros and cons to this prospect.  On the one hand, it’s clearly not original and almost feels like cheating since these respective songs or artists have their own built-in fan bases to give the song hype regardless of how it sounds.  On the other hand, it introduces these incredible artists and songs to an entire new generation.  “What’s Love Got to Do With It” has already gotten me and my friend to watch the 1993 film of the same name as well as read Tina Turner’s book, I, Tina, and sort through the rest of her discography.  Imagine if we put a spotlight on other forgotten artists such as Janet Jackson or Donna Summer, or revived an oldie but a goodie like “Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover” by Sophie B. Hawkins or “Hold On” by Wilson Phillips.

 

This isn’t a new concept either.  The 80s and 90s had plenty of remixed and repackaged songs for the next generation like Real McCoy’s “Come and Get Your Love,”Ace of Base’s “Cruel Summer” or INOJ’s “Time After Time”.  Those are all covers, which is a slightly different product, but the sentiment remains the same – recycling iconic songs for a second life.  While we should always be forward thinking, it’s imperative that we learn from the past and understand how we got to where we are and what came before.  In the end, a song will succeed or fail based on its own merits, but even a failure can bring attention to these important songs in music history.