Al Green Releases a Soulful Rendition of R.E.M.’s Hit Ballad ‘Everybody Hurts’
It’s nice to see that Al Green is still releasing music these days. The soul and R&B legend, who is also a pastor, still has the ability to sing unlike anybody else with a trademark cadence. Lately, Green has been releasing his own versions of music from other artists and bands, with his rendition of Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day” getting a lot of acclaim when it was unveiled last year. Today (November 19), he plans on continuing that trend with a soulful and heartfelt cover of R.E.M.’s 1992 hit “Everybody Hurts” via Fat Possum Records. In an effort to not make it a cookie cutter interpretation, his take on the tune has a bit of a jazz feel with a string section, which was arranged by Lester Snell, having a major presence.
The organ courtesy of Reverend Charles Hodges along with the bass from Leroy Hodges, piano from Archie “Hubbie” Turner, guitar from Will Sexton and drums from Steve Potts round out the instrumentation. With the recording sessions being done at a recording studio in Memphis, Clay Jones and the folks at Fat Possum handled the production duties.
“While we were in the studio recording ‘Everybody Hurts’”, Green says via a press release, "I could really feel the heaviness of the song and I wanted to inject a little touch of hope and light into it. There’s always a presence of light that can break through those times of darkness.”
For the guys in R.E.M., they’re astounded by Green’s rendition of the song with frontman Michael Stipe saying, "Speaking on behalf of the entire band — we could not be more honored, more flattered, more humbled. This is an epic moment for us.”
For anyone who enjoys Green’s material that he released during the ’70s, and even beyond that decade, they’re going to love his version of this alt-rock ballad. Click on the link below to give it a listen and dive right in.
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