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* 2009: [[Escala (group)|Escala]] on ''[[Escala (album)|Escala]]''
* 2009: [[Escala (group)|Escala]] on ''[[Escala (album)|Escala]]''
* 2010: [[Gregory Porter]] in his album Water''
* 2010: [[Gregory Porter]] in his album Water''
* 2010: [[Asa]] via http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-fx_PPxAuY and www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7uwm8l8PM0
* 2010: [[M.I Abaga]] in his album "Illegal Music"
* 2010: [[M.I Abaga]] in his album "Illegal Music"
* 2011: [[Jennifer Hudson]] album track from ''[[I Remember Me (album)|I Remember Me]]''
* 2011: [[Jennifer Hudson]] album track from ''[[I Remember Me (album)|I Remember Me]]''

Revision as of 21:45, 26 August 2013

For other uses, see Feeling Good (disambiguation).
"Feeling Good"
Song
Written1964
Songwriter(s)Anthony Newley
Leslie Bricusse

"Feeling Good" (also known as "Feelin' Good") is a song written by English singer-songwriters Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse for the 1964 musical The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd, where Cy Grant first sang the song on the UK tour, a year before the 1965 Broadway première.[1] The song has notably been covered by artists such as Nina Simone, Muse, Michael Bublé , Eels(see longer list below).

Nina Simone version

"Feeling Good"
Song

Nina Simone's version appeared on her 1965 album I Put a Spell on You. Simone's version is also featured in the 1993 film Point of No Return, in which the protagonist uses the code name "Nina" and professes to be a longtime fan of Simone's music. The song was also featured in the promotional video of the TV series Six Feet Under (4th season), and is included in the show's volume 2 soundtrack. Simone's version is in the soundtracks of the 2006 film Last Holiday,[2] the 2010 film Repo Men, the French 2011 film Intouchables,[3] the 2009 video game The Saboteur (set during World War II, long before the song was written),[4] and the Chuck episode "Chuck Versus the Honeymooners". It is also used – incongruously and possibly ironically – in the 2006 Italian film Nuovomundo (Golden Door) about the emigration of poor Sicilian peasants to the US.

Versions and other songs containing samples of Nina Simone's version

The George Michael version contains samples, and is featured in Swedish hip hop group Fjärde Världen's song "Ingen Annan".

Simone's version was remixed by Joe Claussell in 2002 for the first volume of the Verve Remixed series.

The track "About You" on Mary J. Blige's album The Breakthrough features an unusual take on the song. The bulk of the recording consists of new lyrics, composed by Mary J. Blige, will.i.am and Keith Harris. However, the chorus samples several lines from "Feeling Good" as performed by Nina Simone. The original vocals are distorted so that the voice is almost unrecognizable. For this reason, Simone receives a credit as a feature artist, and writers Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse receive credit as writers. The track is produced by will.i.am. A song by 50 Cent Bad News contains a sample from the Nina Simone's version as well, as does Lil Wayne's "Birds Flying High." The song is also sampled in the song "New Day" from the debut collaborative studio album by American rappers Jay-Z and Kanye West Watch the Throne, released August 8, 2011. The song is also sampled in the song "How I feel" by Wax Tailor, on the album Tales of the Forgotten Melodies.

In April, 2011, PBS used the song to promote their airing of the remake of "Upstairs, Downstairs".

The vocal from the Nina Simone recording is also sampled in numerous house and dubstep tracks. Like by Huff & Herb or in Viper's – The Twister together with the Duran Duran sample.[5][6]

Muse version

Main article: Hyper Music/Feeling Good
"Feeling Good"
Song

Muse crafted a version on their album Origin of Symmetry and with "Hyper Music" as part of a double A-side. In a poll by Total Guitar of "the best covers ever", the Muse version came 5th in the list.[7] It is also featured in the 2008 movie Seven Pounds starring Will Smith and in one episode of the TV series Queer as Folk as well as during the end credits of an episode of TV series Luther.

In September 2010, NME readers voted the Muse version of the song the greatest cover song of all time, beating The Beatles' version of "Twist and Shout" and Johnny Cash's "Hurt".[8]

The song has featured prominently in many forms of media. The Muse version was used by Nescafé for their advertising, but without the band's permission, so Nescafé replaced it with the Nina Simone version. Muse was subsequently paid settlement money, which they donated to Oxfam. Virgin Atlantic used the Muse version as the soundtrack for a global television commercial which debuted in October 2010. The ad prominently features the song as accompaniment to a surreal sequence of vignettes depicting Virgin Atlantic cabin crew members.

Michael Bublé version

"Feeling Good"
Song

"Feeling Good" was later covered by Canadian crooner Michael Bublé, and released as the lead single from his second major-label studio album, It's Time. The single was released on April 4, 2005.

Background

Feeling Good was also used as the opening track for Bublé's live album Caught in the Act, which was recorded live during his performance at the Wiltern Theater. Bublé's version has since been used in several television commercials, and introductions for ESPN's 2005 World Series of Poker Tournament, and for the 2010 NBA Draft Tournament. It has also featured in a number of films. The most recent appearance of his version occurs on advertisements for Virgin Holidays. The music video for the track was directed by Noble Jones. The single peaked at #162 in the United Kingdom, #70 in Australia, #36 in Germany, #66 in Austria, and #14 in Poland. Despite this, the song has became one of his most popular singles, and is performed during almost all of his concerts. The track finally became a hit in May 2010, when it reached #69 on the UK Singles Chart after it was featured in a series of British commercials.

Tracklisting

  • German CD single[9]
  1. "Feeling Good" - 3:57
  2. "Softly As I Leave You" - 3:23
  3. "You'll Never Know" (Live) - 3:48

Chart performance

Chart (2005–2010) Peak
position
ARIA Singles Chart 70
UK Singles Chart 69
Polish Singles Chart 14
Austrian Singles Chart 66
Netherlands Singles Chart 61
German Singles Chart 36

The Pussycat Dolls version

"Feeling Good"
Song

American girl group The Pussycat Dolls recorded "Feeling Good" for their debut studio album, PCD (2005). The cover was received negatively by music critics who criticized describing it as "pointless" and "misguided". It charted at number 23 on the Billboard Smooth Jazz Songs. The song was performed solely by lead singer Nicole Scherzinger on their first headlining tour PCD World Tour (2007). It was additionally included the 2006 DVD Live from London as the fourth track.

Critical reception

The Pussycat Dolls' version of "Feeling Good" received mostly negative reviews from critics. Nick Butler of Sputnikmusic criticized for all of the four covers located in the album.[10] In particular of "Feeling Good" he criticized the song's inclusion on the album writing that it's "a pretty pointless vocal workout for Nicole."[10] He added that "None of them stand up to other covers of the same tracks, let alone the originals."[10] John Murphy from musicOMH gave a negative review writing, "All the emotion and melodrama of the original is ripped out of the heart of the song and we’re left with a pointless, faux-jazz version. They may as well have strutted over to [Nina] Simone’s grave and performed a stiletto clad dance upon it."[11] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine commented that the "rendition of 'Feelin' Good' [...] is misguided at best."[12] However, in contrast, Spence D. of IGN wrote that "Feeling Good" "comes too late in the game to really save the album from spiraling into a melange of innocuous pop-cum-R&B studio crafted fluff." Spence D. praised the song for returning to the "retro vibe with wondrous results."[13]

Chart performance

On the Billboard Jazz Songs chart, the song peaked at number 23 becoming The Pussycat Dolls' only song to appear on that chart.[14]

Chart (2007) Peak
position
US Billboard Jazz Songs[14] 23

Live performances

The song is included on their 2006 Live from London as the fourth track of the DVD.[9] The song is solely performed by Scherzinger.[9] The song was also included on their first headlining tour, PCD World Tour. While delivering an acapella version of the songs Scherzinger wears a "virginal hoodie-cum-headscarf." Helen Pidd of the The Guardian while reviewing their show in Manchester commented that "she sure can sing."[15]

Selected list of other notable recordings

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Feeling Good", The Originals, BE, retrieved 2013-04-11.
  2. ^ "Soundtracks". Last Holiday (2006). IMDb. 2009-05-01. Retrieved 2011-08-25.
  3. ^ "Intouchables (La bande originale du film)". iTunes. CH: Apple. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
  4. ^ "The Saboteur Video Game, E3 09" (Trailer HD) (Video Clip). Game Trailers. 2009-05-29. Retrieved 2011-08-25.
  5. ^ "Nina Simone, Feelin' good", Disco GS (search).
  6. ^ "Nina Simone, Felling good", Who sampled (search).
  7. ^ "TG's Best Covers EVER! | Total Guitar". MusicRadar.com. 2008-06-23. Retrieved 2011-08-25.
  8. ^ "Muse beat The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Cash to win best cover song of all time" http://www.nme.com/news/muse/53090
  9. ^ a b c d Amazon: Feeling Good - Michael Bublé Retrieved 2013-04-11 Cite error: The named reference "Amazon" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  10. ^ a b c Butler, Nick. "Review: Pussycat Dolls - PCD". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
  11. ^ Murphy, John. "The Pussycat Dolls – PCD - Album Reviews". musicOMH. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
  12. ^ Cinquemani, Sal (September 7, 2005). "The Pussycat Dolls: PCD - Music Review". musicOMH. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
  13. ^ D, Spence (September 14, 2005). "The Pussycat Dolls - PCD - IGN". IGN. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
  14. ^ a b "Pussycat Dolls Album & Song Chart History". Billboard.com. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  15. ^ Pidd, Helen (November 30, 2006). "The Pussycat Dolls, MEN Arena, Manchester". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  16. ^ "Feeling Good (original version)". Youtube.com. 2010-04-24. Retrieved 2011-08-25.
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