“We’re Going Wrong” is a rarely covered Cream deep cut from their second album, Disraeli Gears. It’s the rare Cream song that lead singer Jack Bruce actually wrote the lyrics to, as he often worked with collaborators. There are few lyrics, though, which helps explain Bruce elongating every phrase. The song is notable for the slow pace of the Bruce’s voice and bass contrasted with Ginger Baker’s manic drums, which both build to a climax.
World-conquering electronic musician Moby has teamed up with singer Brie O’Banion for a downtempo-esque cover, keeping a lot of the moody vibe. Baker’s frantic drums are replaced by a steady drum machine beat. The bass is nearly as active as Bruce’s original, but subtler. Moby’s guitars are lower in the mix and a little less manic than Eric Clapton’s original rhythm part. O’Banion’s voice is softer, more hushed than Bruce’s moody original but she’s triple tracked, given it layers.
As the song builds, he adds a drum kit and the mix gets denser in the second verse. As with the original, the song builds to a climax at the end of the song, this time with swirling keyboard strings and with horns coming in for the end. The refrain repeats a few times stretching out the song longer than the original.
Though the vocal melody is pretty much the same, the rest of the arrangement is noticeably different from the original’s psychedelic sound. Despite the hushed vocal, this version still has a lot of the drama of the original, but with a modern, almost wall-of-sound feel.
Check it out:
