The Verve’s Bittersweet Symphony sounds like the Rolling Stones’ “The Last Time”
Okay, so this is an example of the fine line between using a sample and ripping off another artist. Here’s the story from Wikipedia:
“Although the song’s lyrics were written by Verve vocalist Richard Ashcroft, it has been credited to Keith Richards and Mick Jagger after charges by the original copyright owners that the song was plagiarized from the Andrew Oldham Orchestra recording of The Rolling Stones’ 1965 song “The Last Time”.
Originally, The Verve had negotiated a licence to use a sample from the Oldham recording, but it was successfully argued that the Verve had used ‘too much’ of the sample.[5] Despite having original lyrics, the music of “Bitter Sweet Symphony” is partially based on the Oldham track (the song uses the sample as its foundation and builds layers upon it, though the prominent violin melody is Ashcroft’s creation),[citation needed] which led to a lawsuit with ABKCO Records, Allen Klein’s company that owns the rights to the Rolling Stones material of the 1960s. The matter was eventually settled, with copyright of the song reverting to ABKCO and songwriting credits to Jagger and Richards.
After losing the composer credits to the song, Richard Ashcroft commented, “This is the best song Jagger and Richards have written in 20 years.”[7]“
Oldham Orchestra “The Last Time” (’66)
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The Verve: Bittersweet Symphony (’97)
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What do you think about this one? Although Ashcroft stakes claim to “Bittersweet Symponhy’s” catchy string melody, I find it highly derivative of the bells in the Oldham version of “The Last Time”
More sound-alikes:
Flaming Lip’s “Fight Test” sounds like Cat Steven’s “Father and Son”
Walt Disney’s “Spoonful of Sugar” sounds like John William’s “Imperial March”
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Related Sound-A-Likes:
- The Beach Boys’ “Surfin’ USA” sounds like Chuck Berry’s “Sweet Little Sixteen”
- Royksopp’s Eple sounds like Bob James’ You’re as Right as Rain
- Green Day’s “Warning” sounds like The Kinks’s “Picture Book”
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If you sync up the two videos just right, they work well together. Which means to say, they do sound just alike. Good find! We have that Stones album on vinyl.
ewww… i had no idea they didn’t come up with that song! that’s not even funny how one and the same they are.
ewww…The Stones didn’t even write the melody that was sampled in “Bittersweet Symphony” and “The Last Time” is a rip-off of an old gospel song called “This Could be the Last Time”! That’s not even funny how ol’ Keef and Mick are getting money from a song that sampled a completely original interpretation of a song that they stole in the first place!
God forbid an artist like the Verve get creative with a short string melody, write some amazing lyrics and a great vocal melody to it and end up creating one of the best pop songs of the 90s. At least one person was able to make that terrible song interesting and catchy.
The Stones wrote a completely new song with that one line from the Staple Singers “This may be the last time”, the words in the refrain (not the music) as the main lyrical hook. The musical hook is the riff written and played by Brian Jones. Today Jones would have been credited but not the Staple Singers. The Verve sampled and copied and recorded the orchestral version of the Last time, released in 1966(?). The copied it note for note, changed the instrumentation on some parts.
jason derulo has the same beat for one of his songs, riding solo