Marcus King Tackles Gnarls Barkley For Spotify Singles
King and his band also recorded a new version of his song ‘It’s Too Late.’
Marcus King has released two tracks for Spotify’s Singles program, an afrobeat inspired version of “Crazy,” famed by Gnarls Barkley, as well as a full band reimagining of King’s song “It’s Too Late.”
Regarding the session, King stated, “Recording music at Electric Lady Studios was like a religious experience for myself and the band. We were greeted at the door by our dear friend and engineer William Garrett at the iconic entrance way of the studio. The downstairs neighbors complained about the guitar amplifiers in the bathroom, it was a dream recording session!”
He continues, “The songs were chosen carefully by myself and the group to fully represent all we can do musically. We started the day performing the opening track of Young Blood, ‘It’s Too Late,’ this time with a brass section. ‘Crazy’ by Gnarls Barkley has long been a cover we’ve performed on rare occasions. It seemed befitting given the lyrical content of the most recent album, and where I was mentally at the time. We wanted to add a different spin to it so we decided to intertwine Fela Kuti’s ‘Zombie’ within our own take of ‘Crazy.’ We hope you enjoy it! Thank you to Electric Lady Studios and Spotify for the hospitality!”
These new songs, exclusive to Spotify, feature the esteemed Marcus King Band, cut while in New York on an arena tour with Chris Stapleton in 2022.
The release follows Young Blood, King’s critically acclaimed album which is out now on American Records/Republic. King’s tales of salvation, break up, and addiction draw on some of his lowest moments with drug and alcohol excess following a crushing break-up. King turned to his most stadium sized 70s rock influences, both for musical comfort and also as a foreboding warning. The album features songwriting collaborations with King, Auerbach, and songwriting legends Angelo Petraglia and Desmond Child, noted for their work with everyone from Kings of Leon and Aerosmith.
