Ah, Smashmouth. The band who came up with great hits such as “Walking on the Sun” and “All-Star” (look how cute Dane Cook and Joel McHale were back in 2001!). You know, I really forgot how much I like this band until just now when I was looking up their videos! Though they formed in 1994, their most popular years were from the late 90s to early 2000’s. Another great song of theirs though is WAR’s “Why Can’t We Be Friends?”
WAR was a very popular funk band in the 70’s who had such hits as “Low Rider” and “The Cisco Kid” but “Why Can’t We Be Friends” is the one we’ll be covering in this week’s Covers Revue!
You’ve probably heard WAR’s version of this great track during any movie that has two good friends having a feud or during some sort of disagreement between two people. The song is so good at bringing people together, in fact, that NASA played it during the linking of Soviet cosmonauts and American astronauts in 1975! “Why Can’t We Be Friends” is so upbeat and just gets you moving; it’s hard not to like! Who cares if it’s so repetitive that it sounds like a broken record?
The instrumental arrangement contains a great little drum beat but what makes this song so funky is the bass line that hops around all over the place and the ska-like guitars. Remember how much I love gang vocals? Well, WAR’s “Why Can’t We Be Friends?” is full of them as the entire band seems to be joining in with the age old question!
Smashmouth definitely does this song justice in their version of “Why Can’t We Be Friends?” At first when the song starts out with slow guitar dripping with wah-wah effects and a church organ, you’re not quite sure where the song is going to go. But then the song picks up and takes WAR’s ska influences to the next level. Smashmouth’s version has a quicker pace and the focus seems to be more on the guitars than the funky bass line. The organ is still heard throughout the song but it’s not overbearing … You’d think it’s a little out of place but oddly enough, it goes great! About halfway through the song, it gets hard when the guitars pick up with distortion and gives it a grungy feeling but then horns come in here and there … Don’t get confused!
Smashmouth mixes it up with their version but it’s still great! It’s a little all over the place but it’s a refreshing take on WAR’s original. Like the 70’s funk band, Smashmouth’s gang vocals sound great accompanied by the organs and guitar at the end. The “gang” gets a little silly during the end but that just adds to the charm of the song. It’s really difficult for me to choose a favorite because though WAR wrote the song and made it popular, Smashmouth gives it a little zing! But then again, how can you go wrong with Eric Burdon (of the Animals), who ends up WAR? I can’t choose! … Do you have a favorite?
I think it would be wrong to pick a favorite in this situation.. but if I HAD to choose… I’d probably .. no, wait.. I can’t. I love both versions, even though, I personally only have the Smashmouth version in my iTunes library.. Let’s just be friends here, and say, both are equally awesome!
Sounds like a plan!