Saint Slumber decided to cover a well-known song. Although many people may consider “Fever” an Elvis Presley song, it was in fact made popular in 1958 by Peggy Lee, two years after Little Willie John released it – although his version did hit #1 on the Billboard R&B Chart for three weeks as well. The track has been covered several times, including by Elvis, of course, and more recently by one of our old favorites here at Lemonade, Meiko. As is the case with Meiko‘s stomp and finger snap version, more often than not most covers of the song tend to be minimalist.
Saint Slumber, on the other hand, went down a different path. The post-pop indie rock band has taken a classic and turned it up a few notches. Their style is anthemic and brash, but while covering “Fever” the band has tapped into something that feels a bit more aggressive than the original. It no longer feels like a tender, love song that burns with passion, but an inferno that consumes everything.
“Our new track “Fever” is a huge departure for us: we wanted to create an atmospheric, brooding track that blended intense synth and rock elements,” Saint Slumber stated. “The song is a hybrid-cover of the classic rhythm and blues track by Peggy Lee. Reworking such an iconic song felt like a big undertaking, but there’s something so hypnotizing about Peggy Lee’s performance that we’ve always wanted to put our own spin on it. In our version of “Fever”, that spin is focusing on the sinister, obsessive undertones of the song, and we really feel that we’ve turned it into something all our own.”
Even if you are a traditionalist and do not enjoy covers of classic songs, you may want to try this one. It sounds very little like the original and may give you a completely different outlook on what a cover could and should be!
Check out the cover of “Fever” by Saint Slumber on SoundCloud below and do not forget to pick up the single on iTunes now.
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