Under the Covers – Newton Faulkner 'Teardrop'
One cover version doing the rounds at the minute is Newton Faulkner‘s stripped down rendition of Massive Attack’s ‘Teardrop’. The original, when originally released, was a breathtaking record – both ethereally beautiful and undeniably unsettling. It was a strange and beguiling record that deservedly won the Bristol outfit many more fans.
So, Newton Faulkner has tackled it with no more than a mic and an acoustic guitar. The result? Whilst his ability to play the beat and pick the strings at the same time is very clever (read over to watch a video of Faulkner performing the song live), you can’t help but feel that there is something missing. That absent ingredient is soul. The delivery is sweet enough and all the notes are in the right place, but without Liz Fraser’s almost broken delivery, the song falls a bit flat. The difference between the performances is almost unquantifiable… one has it… the other just doesn’t.
