I always love hearing people cover well-known songs. Some of them can be great, but some of them can be truly cringe-inducing (See: Nearly every other person on the first two nights of “American Idol” or a similar show). Then there are those that are so sublime that they make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. I would include this video here as an example of one that can do that.
We see a 15-year-old British teen girl named Lauren Tate sitting in a recording studio. She seems a very artsy type, with multi-colored hair. Two guitar player sit next to her, one on her left, the other on her right. After a nod from her, they start playing Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love”. They play for about 15 seconds and then she starts singing. When I hear the first lines: “You need cooling/Baby, I’m not foolin’/ I’m gonna send ya/ back to schooling..” I get chills up my spine.
It’s amazing to hear Tate’s vocal range in this song. There are times that she sounds like a female Robert Plant with some of the notes she hits. I had goosebumps quite often throughout. This was when she was 15 too – Tate has an enormous ceiling, almost limitless if she applies herself and keeps on working at it. I’m really looking forward to seeing what she does over the years.
She released that video in late 2012. Since then she’s covered a lot of other songs and posted many of them on YouTube. The groups have included Hole, Nirvana, and Janis Joplin, among others. While the musical landscape is strewn with talented teens who failed to make it big, I think her talent gives her a chance. She just has to be careful and take care of herself, surrounding herself with people who look out for her and not their wallets.
What did you think? She sounds like she could be a daughter of Robert Plant. Well, maybe not that far, but she does nail his cadences at certain points. Please leave your opinions in the comments section below!
