3A UNDER PRESSURE

Under Pressure- Queen & David Bowie

Under Pressure - The Used & My Chemical Romance

Under Pressure is one of my all time favorite songs and will always remain a special song to me. I chose this song and cover because the first time that i heard the cover was when The Used and My Chemical Romance performed it together on stage at the Taste of Chaos tour in 2005.  I remember it being one of the first concerts that i went to, alone at least. It was an amazing concert and at the end of the show My Chemical Romance returned to the stage to Join the Used in a duet performance of Under Pressure. I was not too familliar with either of these bands when i first saw them play at this show, But i will always remember them coming together on stage to perform this song live. It was one of the coolest things ive ever seen at a concert and ive been to endless ammounts of concerts.
The Used and My Chemical Romance do an amazing job with this song. Being that it is a classic song by the one and only Queen and then never forgetful David Bowie, its almost sacreligious to remake this song. The Original is perfect in every sense and is the type of song that transcends time. Freddie Mercury was truly a genius for what he did and his voice was angelic. At the time The Used and My Chemical Romance were relatively small bands and for them to perform such an audacious cover was iffy. Nevertheless, they killed it and the song is a rocker.
The Used and My Chemical Romance, use the same LYRICS, The same MELODY, and the same ORGANIZATION for the song, that was used in the original version. This is very respectable of the bands because Under Pressure is  a song that no one should even begin to think about rearranging or rewording, especially after the late, Freddie Mercury.  THe melody is another thing that should not be changed in this song. The song is just classic, and no one should attempt changing a classic.
Initially what we first notice when we first hear the songs is the SPEED that The Used/My Chemical Romance used for their cover. The Queen version clocks in at around 112 BPM (beats per minute) and the Used/My Chem version clocks in at about 130 BPM. Although this is not too much faster, It is fast enough to make an audible difference, and the Used/My Chem version sounds a little more upbeat and foreward moving than the original.
Usually if i had to pick between an original and a cover, i am either on one or the other side of the scale. However, for this song and cover i am surprising neutral. Now to be fair if i HAD to choose one to listen to i would choose the Original by Queen and David Bowie. Nevertheless, i would be equally satisfied listening to either of the versions because i think the Used/ My Chem did a fantastic job. Not to say that they measure up to the greats, Freddie Mercury and David Bowie, when it comes to vocals, but Bert McCracken (The Used) and Gerard Way ( My Chemical Romance) both have terrific voices and i dont think two better frontmen could have teemed up to do  a cover of this classic song.

Listen and Judge for Yourself