Antony Hegarty
“Landslide”
Just Tell Me That You Want Me: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac (Hear Music/Concord)
If Antony Hegarty ever decided to quit being a brilliant singer/songwriter, he could become the world’s best lounge singer. Though he is known for his enchanting, lush arraignments, a good chunk of Antony and the Johnsons frontperson Antony Hegarty’s finest moments are his quietest, and for whatever reason, a few of those seem to be his covers. Don’t get me wrong, I believe he is one of the five best, most important pure songwriters of his generation, but he also has an incredible knack for knocking out beautiful, subtle covers. Along the lines of his showstopping takes on Beyonce’s “Crazy in Love” and Bob Dylan’s “I Was Young When I Left Home” comes his newest cover: an arresting, sparse take on Fleetwood Mac’s classic, “Landslide.” Taking on a song with that much cultural capital is dangerous, but the California native handles it with incredible care, deploying his delicate warble to staggering effect. His new symphonic LP, Cut the World, is out next week, and this should do well to tie us over till then. Lovely.
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/51196670″ iframe=”true” /]
And just because it’s incredible, here’s the video for his cover of “Crazy in Love.”
