Roy Orbison‘s “In Dreams” is notable for being the rare Top 10 hit single that is through-composed, i.e. no sections of the song repeat. And of course it’s also notable for Orbison’s bravura vocal performance.
Legendary gypsy punks Gogol Bordello encountered the song, like many, through its appearance in David Lynch’s Blue Velvet, a film that reintroduced the public to the power of Orbison’s songs and voice. It was arguably “In Dreams” appearance in that film that helped launch Orbison’s brief career renaissance in the late ’80s before his untimely death at 52.
Gogol Bordello lead singer Eugene Hütz flat out admits before their performance for A.V. Undercover that he cannot sing like Roy Orbison. But of course not many can. So the goal for them was to do something different. Hütz compares their idea to the Nick Cave/Shane MacGowan cover of “What a Wonderful World,” a song not really within MacGowan’s very limited range.
Only three members of Gogol Bordello showed up for the cover, leading to some interesting instrumentation: Hütz is backed up only by accordion and fiddle. Hütz commits fully despite his limitations, leaning fully into his manic gypsy punk reputation. His vocal runs the full range, almost cracking as he tries and fails to hit the highest notes and full of his deep growl. It’s an impassioned performance by someone who clearly loves the song. And the accompaniment gives the cover that very Gogol Bordello feeling of something with one foot in the present (or the recent past) and one foot in the past of the folk traditions they draw on.
The performance starts at 1:05 in the video below:
Well, that was fucking awful. I love it.