Who Did It Better? Torn

Who Did It Better? 

Torn

As we've seen in the past, sometimes it takes a song awhile in order to resonate with the general public. Or, it could be just a matter of it finding its way to the right artist. Today's Who Did It Better ? offering moved its way through several countries, touching the careers of four different artists, all with varying results.

Torn was written in 1993 by Scott Cutler, Anne Preven and producer, Phil Thornalley. It was initially conceived  as a solo song for Preven. And while Cutler and Preven's band Ednaswap would perform it live, the band didn't rush to record it.

In fact, the first recording of the song was by Danish singer, Lis Sørensen in 1993. Her producer, Poul Bruun suggested the song to her. Danish lyrics were written by Elisabeth Gjerluff Nielsen, and the song was recorded under the title Brændt (Burned.) The song, featured on her album Under stjernerne et sted (Somewhere Below the Stars) served as the album's lead single, becoming a hit in Denmark. 

Ednaswap recorded a version in 1995. It was the second single from their self-titled debut album on Eastwest Records, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Records. The album never received a wide release or much promotion, and it would end up being the only album the band would record for Eastwest Records.

In 1996, the song surfaced once more, sung by American-Norwegian singer, Trine Rein. It was included on her album Beneath my Skin on Parlophone Records and released as a single. Rein's version reached #10 on the Norwegian charts.

The next year, Australia's Natalie Imbruglia would take on the song. As her debut single, it would serve as her introduction to the world.

And the world was ready to listen.

With song's co-writer, Phil Thornalley serving as her producer, her version was recorded in Kilburn, London and was included on her Left Of Center album for RCA Records. 

The physical single of Imbruglia's version has sold more than 4 million copies worldwide. Selling more than 1 million copies in the UK alone, it's ranked as the 85th biggest selling single of all time in that country. Chart-wise, the track held the #2 spot for three weeks in November 1997, dropping to number four the week before December. 

In the US, the song suffered a strange fate. Due to rules which prevented tracks that had not been released as physical singles from charting on the Billboard Hot 100, the song failed to chart in the US during its peak of popularity. This, despite the fact that it held the #1 spot on the magazine's Hot 100 Airplay chart for 11 consecutive weeks. Once the song's popularity began to wane, Billboard changed it's rules and song managed to chart on the Hot 100 for two weeks, stalling at #42. 

Elsewhere, Imbruglia's version hit #1 on the singles charts in Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Spain, and Sweden. In 1999, Imbruglia received Grammy Award nominations for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, Best New Artist and Best Pop Vocal Album.

And that's the whole story.

Now? On to the competition!

The Song: Torn/Brændt

The Competitors: Sørensen vs. Ednaswap vs. Rein vs. Imbruglia

Brændt - Lis Sørensen

Torn - Ednaswap

Torn - Trine Rein

Torn - Natalie Imbruglia

Lis Sørensen

Love the trap set beat. Very atmospheric. And I love the guitar. Her voice has depth, which is refreshing. Too often female singers are pushed to go breathy in order to sound sexier and younger. These are very adult sounding vocals. The harmonies are fine, too. 

I love that tiny descending string synth on the second verse. Nice touch. 

Oh, Spanish guitar. Unexpected. I works, I guess. Never my favorite sound. 

The rest of the arrangement - the guitar work, the synths, the trap set... present, but not in the way. There's a drive to this whole thing I'm enjoying.

She digs in a little more on that third chorus. I like her grit. 

At the 3:50 mark we move into the big fade. 

I liked it. My head was bopping along from note one.  

Ednaswap

A much more menacing approach. This is a band, after all, so I suppose the guitarist really wanted to make his presence known. That hollow drum sound is almost instantly annoying. The vocals are underplaying the pop aspects of the melody, and, small wonder, considering the whole alternative sound was very popular at the time. If you appeared too commercial you were accused of selling out. That sneer is there for a reason.

The ramp up to the chorus falls flat in these hands. I think guitarists Culter and Anderson are too busy falling over each other to give the song enough shape. That intro held such promise, but the sparse jeopardy it promised seems to have been tossed aside in favor guitar hero antics. Listen to that fuzztone smeared across the chorus. I do like the breakdown heading into verse two. There's a dash of the danger I wish was evident throughout.

The other problem has to do with the production work. The mix is sloppy. Nothing's crisp. There's a lot going on between Culter and Anderson, but the mix is so muddy my ears can't distinguish much. I don't know where the bass is at and the drumming adds very little to the proceedings. 

At the 2:18 mark we move into something unique, however, it quickly loses focus and all its shape - so, another promise unrealized. And then it simply melds back into the chorus? Meh. At the 3:00 mark, I am ready to wave this one good-bye. 

From 3:25 on? Shapeless and messy.

Sadly, Preven's vocals aren't distinctive enough to save this, either. 

Trine Rein

Same trap set intro as Sørensen's version, but shorter and less atmospheric.

Where Sørensen's vocals seem to come from the throat/under the chin, Rein's sound a bit nasal. Her technique, very adult, is intriguing and colored with a couple of vocal tics evident on the chorus. It works.

The arrangement feels all of a piece. There's almost zero separation in the mix, with the exception of Rein's vocals which ride on top, as they should - it's her personality that has to sell this thing. 

There's a few unique features in the arrangement. Early on there's that electric guitar that bubbles up on the ramp up into the chorus, and then, after the first chorus we get whacka-whacka percussion, like it's Theme From Barretta time. Keeps things engaging. However, that strummed acoustic is pummeling its way through the center constantly... it would nice if things were allowed to breath a bit more. 

The synth 'ahhs' on the chorus actually work nicely. Unobtrusive, but help usher in a bit of air. Rein's vocals are very adult contemporary, and nothing wrong with that. Though the term 'secretary rock' does spring to mind. 

That fill section that starts at the 2:27 mark adds nothing to this. It seems without purpose. 

I really like her vocals on the third chorus. She's doing something I can't even describe with her voice - there's a tremor, a bit of very controlled vibrato, she's moving in that break between her head voice and mouth cavity. There's even the occasional rasp. I've come to like her sound. 

Love that guitar sound floating over the fade out. 

Yep. This works. 

Natalie Imbruglia

A solid descending synth bed and a strummed acoustic intro - okay. More trap set drums. 

There's a cute little pout to her voice, which doesn't strike me as very strong. Waiflike. A bit on the thin side.

I do wish there was more space between her and the damn drums. She may be bringing a bit of personality to this, but it's hard to distinguish from the claptrap.

I like the guitar work behind the second verse. Honestly, Imbruglia isn't making much of an impression. The harmony vocals on the second chorus help warm things up a bit, but the vocals seem so thin; they just dance on top of the mix and never make a statement. Who is her vocal coach? Margaret Keane? (Bonus points if you get that reference.)

I like how the backing vocals - all 'ahhs' end up driving this thing at the end; that's how uninvolving and unevolved Imbruglia's vocals strike me. 

Enough.

The Verdict

I tell you... big-eyed pixie girl vocals do nothing for me. Give me a female vocalist who at least aspires to be a woman. 

So, yeah. Imbruglia may have had the hit, but it is not the best version here. There's no tension. There's no atmosphere and Imbruglia's vocals sound as if they have no calories. No taste. No smell. They possess all the flavor of a well-chewed piece of gum.

Endnaswaps' version is also out of the running. It's so unfocused. There's no shape. There's a couple of promising ideas in there, but none of it even comes close to being brought to fruition and the vocals, while colored with a nice sneer, keep ducking all the important stuff and fail to make a statement. The whole thing comes off as more of a pose than something organic or genuine.

That leaves us with two, rather adult takes on the song. I like Rein's vocals. She's an interesting singer, but it takes her a bit of time before she hits her stride and the arrangement, while interesting, doesn't really provide her with a bed to call her own. Her version actually owes a lot to Sørensen's original take on the song. 

I like Sørensen's voice, a lot. There's something full-bodied at work there, like a nice merlot. The arrangement and the production work is actually the best of the bunch, too. The guitars don't fall all over themselves or get in the way. There's atmosphere to spare and... and I can't stress this enough... it is the only version where I danced with my hands more than I typed. My head bopped all the way through. All the others had me working my way through them, but not Sørensen's. I just got lost in it from note one. 

So, even though I have no idea what she's singing/saying, it's Lis Sørensen for me.

Am I surprised? Yes.

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And that's enough of me.

Okay, your turn. Leave your choice and thoughts in the comments section. I love to hear a differing opinion. 

That's all for now. Until next time...

Thanks for reading... and listening!

Brændt - Lis Sørensen 

Torn - Trine Rein

Torn - Natalie Imbruglia