Sunday 28 April 2013

Andre 3000 and Beyonce Cover Amy Winehouse - Oh Boy...

This morning, I was indulging in one of my favorite Sunday morning hobbies - trawling entertainment news on the internet (don't judge me, it's what I do :p ), and I found this: Andre 3000 x Beyonce "Back to Black" in full.

Naturally, my interest was piqued because Amy Winehouse was a freaking genius, and anyone daring to touch her music will always make me a bit sceptical. Covers in general make me sceptical, because anyone who is brave enough to take one on, can't really win. It's either too similar, or too different, and for the most part, it can never stand up against the original.

 This re-recording of "Back To Black" was made for the soundtrack of "The Great Gatsby," and, regardless of whether the cover fits the tone of the movie - my first impression was - it's a pile of crap.

Andre 3000's monotonous voice on such a great track made me flinch because it sort of sucks out every bit of life there ever was in the original. BUT, then I watched the trailer for the movie, and suddenly, it worked.


Once you've seen the trailer, the song sounds different. Edgier. Not crap.

When Beyonce steps in, a little of Andre's damage (Yes, I still sort of consider it damage) is repaired. The former Destiny's Child star brings a haunting quality to the track, and although different to Winehouse's version, it actually works. Of course, Beyonce could sing the phone book and it would sound awesome, but this is particularly stunning.

Genius as it is, I can't see how this will be well received by Winehouse fans, just because it's SO different. But it serves a purpose in the movie it was made for, so I do hope people give it a chance.

1 comment:

  1. I'm a huge Amy fan. It's hard to even want to like a remake of what she's sung and slayed so hard. Especially since Back to Black is one of my fav songs...that having been said, it's not what I was expecting either. And I tend to agree with you, it's good for what it was created for! :)

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