When artists cover songs well, they make tracks their own by transforming the original into something new and often better. Unfortunately, Macy Gray didn’t quite get the memo.

Her latest album, fittingly called ‘Covered,’ features songs that stray far from the originals in the worst way possible. Listeners should try not to forget that Macy Gray is an amazing artist. She entered the music scene with her signature raspy and soulful voice in 1999 with her debut album, ‘On How Life Is,’ featuring smash hit ‘I Try.’ She’s since won a Grammy, released four more albums and stands out with her larger-than-life boa-adorned outfits – and even larger afro.

With ‘Covered,’ she decided to step outside of the box, but it just did not come together. Gray gives slowed down, jazz-inspired renditions of many well-known tracks, which make the songs worse instead of better.

Gray first takes a stab at Colbie Caillat’s ‘Bubbly,’ the disgustingly catchy pop song from summer 2007. However, Gray’s version of the mellow tune is strange and won’t make listeners want to sway along like the original did. Instead of actually singing the lyrics, Gray seems to recite the lyrics like spoken word, a strange choice for the singer. To wrap it up, Gray collaborated with actor and singer Idris Elba, who doesn’t help elevate the song either. His unnecessary monotonous vocals clash in the duet.

I felt similarly disappointed about the covers of Kanye West’s ‘Love Lockdown’ and Sublime’s ‘Smoke 2 Joints.’ A strange, computerized auto-tune effect overtakes the track, failing to create the lonely feeling of West’s version. The latter’s sloppy vocals only sound good if you follow the directions in the title.

But Gray’s cover of Metallica’s ‘Nothing Else Matters’ might be the album’s biggest flop. The ’90s rock ballad is known for its somber verses and powerful chorus. Gray’s cover showed potential with a bluesy sounding start, matching the somber lyrics. However, she refuses to speed up the tempo in what is supposed to be an emotional chorus. It takes listeners on a roller coaster that creeps up to the top of a hill with suspense as the chorus builds. Instead of having an exciting drop, listeners get stuck at the top in disappointment.

On the positive side, there are a few triumphs on ‘Covered.’ In her covers of Eurythmics‘ ‘Here Comes the Rain’ and Radiohead’s ‘Creep,’ Gray sets aside her complicated interpretations and simply sings the songs. Lo and behold, it actually works. Both songs were beautiful in their original states, and Gray’s choice to not mess with them was not only wise, but also gave the album some substance.

In a March 28 radio interview with Mike Ragogna of The Huffington Post, Gray said she recorded the album because she always wanted to cover songs she liked. She also talked about the songs she chose to record: ‘There are a lot of great songs out there, but some of them should just be left alone, and some of them I didn’t sound very good on at all. So those were the ones that came out the best and that I felt I could interpret and make my own.’

My thoughts exactly. Gray’s intentions as an artist are admirable. But the complicated arrangements and unimpressive vocals bring the whole album down. Despite its few high points, ‘Covered’ simply messed with too many good things. As the saying goes: ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’

ieinyang@syr.edu

Published on April 2, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Ibet: ieinyang@syr.edu