Darin's cover of "Viva La Vida" is in all likelihood only going to appeal to a limited demographic, but for those of us who love his voice--on my part, I'd say it's my favorite male voice going in pop--it's a special treat. It never fully soars, never fully explodes, never gives us that moment of totally swooning, but that was my main problem with Coldplay's original version (the "ohh-ohh-ohh-ohh-ohh"s of the middle 8 come close, but, particularly on the original, never quite got there for me).Strangely, much as the the main vibe of this song is one of contemporary electronic somewhat R&Bish pop (no violins here...I think I might have welcomed having them somewhere in the mix), Darin's cover actually comes closer in a moment or two the the U2esque production I think I would have loved the original to have. It's just a second or two that comes around no more than a handful of times, but it's reminiscent of the soaring filtered electronic guitars we heard in that band's classic era.
As I said, though, in general, it's a mid-tempo reworking thoroughly in Darin's style. There's no particular musical edge or bite to it--we're talking gentle electronic, not hard electro--and it's perhaps not quite as grand as I'd like (fun diversion to tie in with Idol, not future classic Christmas single or the mark of a new album campaign), but in that context, it gets my approval.
Anyway, for any of you out there who are as interested in the song as I am...
(I'm still seeking good options for uploading songs that will allow people to stream them in full and not be ridiculously easy to download as mp3s. Yes, I realize it's still pretty easy with Imeem, but there's at least one more step involved. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd love to hear them. I guess I could go the YouTube route, but I'm reluctant to do so.)
Darin's new single "Viva La Vida" is not yet available for purchase, but you should soon be able to buy it from here (digital). In the meantime, I HIGHLY recommend his latest album, 2008's Flashback, to any lover of modern chart music. You can buy it here (physical) or here (digital). There are far too few popstars, especially male popstars, making music like this.
11 comments:
Yo Poster Girl!
Kermit "Johan B" has produced this one as well!
/Tom
....and I agree with you that the production doesn't have that edge that Kermit usually has....but I still like it somehow. Cool with that U2 gits.
/Tom
Love it. Love it love it love it. Yes it could have done with a few more whistles and bells but overall i'm hugely satisfied :)
Totally love your blog, as you know, and was addicted to the clip you posted!
Just saw the performance and bloged it on my page HERE... hope you like it!
I thought he had! A bit different for him, but I like it (though it's really Darin's voice that makes the song for me).
So glad you are, Paul :)
His performance on Idol was great. The wind machine cracked me up--maybe he's practicing for Melodifestival next year?
You're right, PPG. It's good, nothing electro-spectacular, but I still like it.
This is such an excellent song. Perfect pop update. I'm in love.
It's all over the radio here in Sweden so it's doing something... I am guessing he'll appear in MF this year with some new song.
Glad you've got some appreciation for it, Yuri :)
He/they really did a great job with it. Darin could sing anything and there'd probably be at least a 67% chance I'd like it more than the original, but this works particularly well.
Is it really, Rick? I knew it was selling well, but it's nice to know that's not just built-in fanbase (which might not be that large anymore for him--big, but not HUGE huge) but actually getting out to a general audience.
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