Mar 272014
 

In celebration of the 40th anniversary of Elton John‘s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, a deluxe reissue of the 1973 album is being released, complete with a tribute album of various artists covering the album. Some artists you would expect to cover Elton John, such as Fall Out Boy and Ed Sheeran. Coming completely out of nowhere is Miguel featuring Wale with a mesmerizing interpretation of “Bennie & The Jets.”

To diehard fans, the cover may border on sacrilege. The signature piano line is distorted, phony cocktail party chatter clogs up the background, and Wale’s verse that comes in around two and a half minutes feels unnecessary. But with Miguel’s silky vocals and an emphasis on a dizzy electric guitar,  it’s hard to not enjoy the interpretation at least a little bit.

Miguel’s done a fantastic job,” John told Rolling Stone. “It really makes the best of what the song is all about. And it is an unusual song. It’s not what I think is a hit record, but then that’s probably why it was a hit record, because it didn’t sound like anything else before. It’s important not to copy, and that’s what Miguel did.” You can’t argue with that.

See what else Miguel is up to on the singer’s official website.

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