The internet can be a magical place. Sometimes you are wandering about and you run across something that you weren't looking for and didn't expect and it turns out to be brilliant and wonderful. When I was wandering the internet recently, I came across Shirley Bassey's cover of Pink's song Get the Party Started. I didn't know what to expect, or even what it was when the video first started, but within a short time I was wondering why I had never seen this before.
Bassey is best known as the singer of several Bond theme songs, and with this arrangement and Bassey's voice, Pink's mediocre pop tune was transformed into something magnificent. I'm not sure what the Bond movie would be about, but in Bassey's hands this song could be used as a theme song for a 007 adventure. This video could be used as the opening credits for a Bond movie. Alternatively, this version of the song could be used as the anthem of a Disney animated villainess.
Either way, what this video shows is the transformational ability of timeless talent. A bland and somewhat forgettable pop song about drinking and dancing can be completely changed when it is handed over to someone with a brilliant vision and the skill to execute it. And Bassey gives the song atmosphere, mystery, and a little bit of menace that was completely lacking from the original. Pink's version made me think of sweaty nightclubs and cheap beer. Bassey's version makes me thing of tuxedos, caviar, vodka martinis, and insanely complex death traps. I never much liked the song when Pink sang it. I love the song when Bassey sings it.
Previous Musical Monday: Over the Hills and Far Away by Led Zeppelin
Subsequent Musical Monday: Fuck You by Lily Allen
Shirley Bassey Musical Monday Home
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