Just in time for Valentine’s Day
comes Sweetheart 2014, a collection of indelible, handpicked covers from a
remarkable group of modern musical dreamers who artfully grapple, in one way or
another, with that most vexing of subject to ever befall mankind, L.O.V.E. Sweetheart 2014 (Hear Music/Concord Music
Group) will be available on CD exclusively at Starbucks and all digital outlets
beginning February 4th, 2014.
The
fifth in a series created exclusively for Starbucks, Sweetheart 2014 features
13 all-new recordings by Jim James, Vampire Weekend, Fiona Apple,
Phosphorescent, Brandi Carlile, Beck, The Head and the Heart, Ben Harper,
Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Valerie June, Blake Mills, Bahamas and Thao
& The Get Down Stay Down. The eclectic performances also serve as a love
letter to the essential songwriters covered here. Jim James’ soulful turn on Bob Marley’s “Turn
Your Lights Down Low,” Beck’s mournful version of John Lennon’s “Love,” Fiona
Apple and her sister, cabaret singer Maude Maggart’s imaginative rendering of
Anton Karas’ “I’m in the Middle of a Riddle,” (a song from the landmark
soundtrack to 1949’s “The Third Man”), Phosphorescent’s luminous cover of Bob
Dylan’s “Tomorrow Is a Long Time” and Vampire Weekend’s superlative
interpretation of “Time to Say Goodbye [Con te partirò]” made famous by Andrew
Bocelli, are just a few examples.
The
absorbing performances also include Bahamas’ meditative version of Willie Nelson’s
“Always on My Mind,” Thao & the Get Down Stay Down’s cover of Ray Charles’
“If You Were Mine,” Ben Harper’s intense translation of Mazzy Star’s “Fade into
You,” Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings’ rave up of Stevie Wonder’s classic
“Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours,” Brandi Carlile’s paean to Fleetwood Mac
with “The Chain,” Blake Mills’ singular stamp on Bobby Charles and Stanley
Lewis’s “I Hope,” The Head and the Heart’s adaptation of Harry Nilsson’s “Don’t
Forget Me” and Valerie June doing the Carter Family proud on “Happy or
Lonesome.”
Its
clear each performer brought something very personal to this project. “I chose
this song from Nilsson ‘Don’t Forget Me’ because I had recently lost touch with
a very important person in my life,” confides Head and the Heart singer Josiah
Johnson, its swelling strings bringing to mind the music of a bygone time.
Phosphorescent
mastermind, Alabama native Matthew Houk, reflected on Dylan’s “Tomorrow Is a
Long Time,” “It’s one of the most longing songs I’ve ever heard. It’s special
that such a slight thing can carry so much emotion in just a few lines and
chords.” Houk’s haunting version leaves a similarly wistful impression.
Ben
Harper says of his minimalist piano reworking of Mazzy Star’s alt-rock classic
“Fade Into You,” “My friend Jason Yates played piano on the original, so I
always listened to that part closely. It’s one of my favorite songs and I’ve
wanted to cover it forever.”
The
charming Anton Karas waltz “I’m in the Middle of a Riddle” is another one of Sweetheart’s
gems. Fiona Apple and Maude Maggart’s sibling harmonies transport the listener
back in time. Karas, who became a
sensation thanks to his massive mid-century “The Third Man Theme,” was a
zitherist and the reverberating, melancholy sound of the zither can also be
heard in this duo’s tribute.
Vampire
Weekend’s version of “Time to Say Goodbye (Con te partirò),” made famous by the
Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, is another grand eccentricity. Calling it “one of
the greatest love songs of all time,” frontman Ezra Koenig attests, “Its beauty
transcends language.” Vampire Weekend transform the “poperatic” mega-hit with a
deft, old school electronic rhythm and ultra-romantic Italian vocals.
For his
part, Jim James is unequivocal about the meaning of Bob Marley’s “Turn Your
Lights Down Low,” stating simply, “This song is the sound of love.” He makes it
his own with the signature resonance Rolling Stone once described as
“echo-drenched spirituality.” Beck, meanwhile, sings and plays guitar, bass,
drums and particularly affecting piano on the Plastic Ono Band-era Lennon
classic “Love.” The outing recalls Beck’s own Sea Change.
It’s
Valerie June, however, who may have the last word on love. The Memphis-born
folk/blues/soul performer lends her supernatural presence to a rendition of the
Carter Family’s 1934 classic “Happy or Lonesome.” “In every moment of true
love, there are moments of parting,” she says. “The story of this song is
sweetness and hopefulness even though we can’t hold on to those we love forever.
Wild hearts must run free. But nothing of loving is ever lost – it only changes
form.” It’s the perfect distillation of
Sweetheart 2014’s many splendored charms.
Sweetheart
2014 Track List:
1. Turn
Your Lights Down Low – Jim James (5:00)
2. Time to
Say Goodbye (Con te partirò) – Vampire Weekend (3:14)
3. Love
– Beck (3:16)
4.
Tomorrow Is a Long Time – Phosphorescent (4:19)
5. Don’t
Forget Me – The Head and the Heart (4:08)
6. Happy
Or Lonesome – Valerie June (1:53)
7.
Always on My Mind – Bahamas (4:16)
8. If
You Were Mine – Thao & the Get Down Stay Down (2:47)
9. Fade
Into You – Ben Harper (4:30)
10. I’m
In The Middle Of A Riddle – Fiona Apple featuring Maude Maggart (2:38)
11. The
Chain – Brandi Carlile (4:17)
12. I
Hope – Blake Mills (3:08)
13.
Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours – Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings (2:36)
Executive
Producers: Holly Hinton and Matt Marshall
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