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While I know we shouldn’t hold on to our favorite music as tightly and as preciously as we do, I also can’t help it. In doing so, it means that I am defensive when it comes to people covering my favorite songs, especially when it is by artists as singular and truly iconic as the likes of Kate Bush, David Bowie or, in this case, Sinead O’Connor.
But then, anyone brave enough to even attempt such a makeover must have good reason for doing so, knowing they can bring something new to the table. And such is the case with Darling Black’s reimagining of “Jackie,” the opening track of O’Connor’s magnificent debut album The Lion and the Cobra, a song which, after her single “Mandinka” was, as the needle dropped onto that album, the second song I ever heard by that much-missed artist.
A song’s story is never finished; this is just another chapter penned in a different hand. Whereas the original is a beautiful blend of ethereal vocals and brooding, distant guitar squalls, the vibe here is more cool and clinical, clipped and digital, but no less gorgeous in its own way. And if the former is a balancing act between heaven and hell, for her take on it Darling Black walks a line between the organic and the digital, between man and machine.
If you are unaware of the original, then you will find that this is a tremendous track. If you know the O’Connor version, you might find yourself in a more difficult place, one conflicted between loyalty and creativity, old favorites, and new sonic adventures. For my money, there is room in the world for both versions; of course, there is, but I’m not prepared to relinquish my love of that first brilliant album and all that it contains just yet.
But then, that was never Darling Black’s intention. Of course, it wasn’t. This is a tribute to Sinead O’Connor, and a fine one at that, the perfect balance between originality and faithfulness, and anything that keeps her spirit alive and people interested in her music can only be a good thing.
