Photo Credit: Shervin Lainez
Believe – Lady Lamb The Beekeeper
Lady Lamb the Beekeeper’s (@ladylambjams) cover of “Believe” by Cher is all you could ever want it to be and more. Aly Spaltro makes the song so much her own that if (by some unfortunate miracle) you found a person who had never heard of Cher, they might believe it’s an original. She slides into notes with her signature smoky voice and turns this late 90’s dance gem into a plodding, yet powerful ballad. The simple arrangement of guitar, percussion and vocals, and the raw, off-the-cuff nature of the recording (done in her bedroom) bring an honest, down to earth quality to a song that has always been larger than life, much like Cher herself. I feel like “Believe” is one of those songs that people pretend to like ironically, but deep down in their soul know they truly love it. Lady Lamb the Beekeeper’s cover both enables and legitimizes this love, and for that I am forever grateful.
While we all wait with heightening anticipation for her new album due out in 2012, Spaltro has been periodically releasing covers and live versions of songs including, in a not-so-similar vein, covers of Sam Cooke, Daniel Johnston and a beautiful rendition of Emmylou Harris’ “I Will Dream”. Head over to her SoundCloud page to listen and keep an eye out for a debut album coming (hopefully) soon!