Better than the original?
Covering David Bowie is one of the more treacherous areas young artists can enter. Many have tried to adapt some of the legends back catalogue, but few have succeeded in making his songs their own, and even fewer have been any good. I direct you, for instance, to the indescribably bad version by the X-Factor finalists, typifying this point, and rest my case. This is not to say that it hasn't been done well: remember Nirvana's unplugged 'Man Who Sold the World', and The Divine Comedy's fun live take on 'Life on Mars?' - the former was, arguably, far better than even the original, so I'm not saying it can't be done, but it has been attempted many times, badly. This is fortunately not the case for Films of Colour, even being positively endorsed by the legendary producer Tony Visconti, producer of the often overlooked original 'Slow Burn'.
Films of Colour here have taken the original and given it a modern update. Where the original might have appeared to focus more on the vocals, Films of Colour seem more impassioned about the music they accompany, using almost completely different techniques to craft a cover that is very much their own. From the swirling opening guitars to the epic, yet controlled chorus, this is definitely a cover worthy of hearing. Upon hearing it, I had the audacity to claim it better than Bowie's original, but have since revisited, and now I'm not so sure. This being said, it is a cover of an artist who does not lend himself well to reinterpretation, but it is done well.