Covering famous songs is always a tricky business. You don’t want to be accused of bringing nothing new to the table, of merely riding the coattails of the original artist. But neither do you want to change these precious pieces so much that they become unpalatable to existing fans. A good approach is that of Johnny Cash on his now iconic American Recordings. Here, he took well-known songs, ones from far outside his own recognisable genres, kept them authentic, thanks to an understated sound, but made them very much his own. And it is the same approach that Steel & Velvet take here.
“Orphan’s Lament” is a perfect place to start, for if Robbie Basho’s song is defined above all else by the artist’s startling voice, Johann Le Roux delivers equally rich and resonant, classically-trained tones. The minimalism that lies behind his exquisite voice makes everything seem even more stark and compelling.
Most people covering Bob Dylan tend to pick from his sixties catalogue, so finding “Man in the Long Black Coat” from his much-overlooked, return to form late seventies album, Oh Mercy is rather rewarding. Steel & Velvet’s starker and brooding take on The Meat Puppets “Lake of Fire” proves to be another excellent selection from the less obvious part of the contemporary music canon.
People Just Float delivers an unexpected sound, taking a popular, carefully curated selection of songs into the realms of, if not quite the operatic, then indeed the classical world. The results might not be for everyone (what music is?), but they are, without doubt, astonishing!
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