You have to be very careful when you decide to add horns to your arrangement. A good horn section can bring a song to a whole new level. A bad horn section can singlehandedly kill a song.

The Toreno Brass “All My Loving” (The Beatles)
Easily one of the cheesiest mariachi brass bands you’ll ever hear.

Wilson Pickett “Fire And Water” (Free)
I recently read a blog that included this song in a list of the worst covers ever. What kind of alien do you need to be to not like Wilson Pickett? The horns give this version a punch that was completely lacking in the original.

The Dirty Dozen Brass Band feat. Dr. John “It’s All Over Now” (The Valentinos)
This song’s got the kind of lively New Orleans horns that make tourists want to stagger and vomit all over the French Quarter.

Paul Anka “Jump” (Van Halen)
The sad thing is that even though this sounds like Richard Cheese doing a parody of a schlocky Vegas lounge singer, Mr. Anka is serious. That’s either a tribute to Mr. Cheese or an indictment of Mr. Anka. Go ahead, knock yourself out.

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy “I Wanna Be Like You” (Louis Prima)
Here’s a spicy latin jazz treatment of the tune from Disney’s Jungle Book.