Taken By Trees: Sweet Blog O Mine

So I go to see the new Friday The 13th and one of the previews really caught my eye and ear. The preview starts with a few kids hanging out and then being attacked by these crazy prison rejects. By the middle of the preview I noticed a subtly yet recognizable melody that rang a bell that only Pavlov's dog would hear: Sweet Child O Mine. It was a slow and haunting piano ballad version that really did justice to the famous Guns N Roses single.

Indie pop artist Victoria Bergsman, under the name Taken by Trees, covered the song and her version was used in the trailer for the remake of the Wes Craven film The Last House on the Left. Victoria Bergsman is a Swedish songwriter, musician and vocalist best known as singer of the indie pop band The Concretes from 1995 up until her 2006 departure.

While listening to it and engaging interest in the preview, I wondered , "Would this song have been better had the original not been written and instead the cover be the only testament to its existence?"

That being said, the cover is surprisingly true to Bergsman's roots -- and after checking out her catalog, it sounds like a Taken By Trees song. Because of a movie preview I have become a fan of Taken By Trees.

Taken By Trees is definitly the kind of artist that Solarcade would love to play with. Solarcade and Taken By Trees played at The Roxy about a month apart and my only regret is that I didnt know about them back then. Growing up and playing guitar, Slash was a definitive reason for me to play guitar so i am alway VERY critical when I hear artists cover delicate songs of this nature.

It is almost the equivalent of a Nazi crime to do covers of sacred bands Beatles, Queen, and U2 but my hat goes off to Victoria Bergsman. If you haven't already, you really should check out the new Taken By Trees single, a beautiful cover of "Sweet Child O' Mine" by Guns N Roses. Victoria Bergsman gives the classic track a charming makeover that lovingly reinvents it.