How close to the original do you prefer covers to be?

[RaccoonButler]

When I was younger, I would get annoyed at covers that added extra or different things to songs (ex. extra harmonies, talking, lyric changes such as pronoun switching)
Because I was sort of obsessive about songs following certain formulas, because if it were different it wouldn't sound as satisfying to me or I'd get annoyed by the songs pattern getting broken. (I still liked hearing different voices sing the same song though.)

Now though, I like extra things adding a level of quirkiness or character to a cover, or showing off the skill of the person covering.

How uniform do you prefer covers of a song to be? Do you get annoyed by extra harmonies/talking?

 

[Kiyoteru]

I'm 1000000% for personalizing covers! Honestly, just changing the vocals of a song and leaving everything else the same kinda shows a lack of effort. A cover is another vision of a song, which I think should show through. (For example, postmodern jukebox's covers are really interesting.) Pronoun swaps (switching the "me"s and "you"s) can show another perspective in the lyrics, which I'm experimenting with.

 

[stormylullaby]

I love improvisation but you should probably know what you're doing. There's a thin line between "awesome" and "unnecessary," and if you don't know how to make it blend then it could easily make the cover not the greatest. In reality though I don't really care, improv stuff is a nice surprise when I listen to covers but I don't fault people if they don't include it.

 

[partial]

I am definitely a fan of covers with new or changed parts. They're so much more memorable to me... though I usually only hear them in utaite covers...

 

[✧ Elfrida ✧]

I think its fun to see a few new things here and there in a song. Whether its a slight lyric change, an extra talk bit, extra harmonies or anything really. As long as it's something that still fits the flow of the song then I see no harm done.

 

[na4a4a]

I find that improvisations require a certain level of finesse to sound good. In other words it's gotta fit in.
But when done right it can add a really nice touch.

 

[Katsumi]

When I try them they have to be 100% correct, but I really don't mind if anyone personalizes them as long as they don't change a lot of the song.