A song for everyone is rarely one of unity, especially not when the chart battle has changed. Listeners are influenced by snippets shared before release. It’s a poor way to experience music, and those who do top the charts can hardly say they are offering the truth and beauty which is required for a song including everybody. Robert Plant gets close with his cover of Everybody’s Song, finding much to love about the intensity hidden away in the folk genre. A tremendous change of pace for the Low track and veteran musician, who has tapped into the raging, beating heart which forms the very best of honest folk sound. Acoustic bliss is the core of this, but what forms a protective ring around it is the harshness, the bitterness of listeners no longer united. Division is difficult for everyone, and so Plant offers a song for everyone. This tone will likely last through Saving Grace, and Everybody’s Song is a chance for listeners to get on board.
Everybody’s Song proves to be a solid cover from Plant. The Low original is a hidden gem for those who have not enjoyed a deep dive into their discography. Veterans of the studio finding interest in songs which do not quite fit their musical style is a great way to introduce yourself to these songs. It’s not quite Johnny Cash covering Hurt, but Plant is of a similar vintage and has a clear vantage point in reflecting on life through the songs of others. Plant’s rendition of Everybody’s Song rids itself of the heavier clang and percussion Mimi Webber brought to the song. Instead, there is a folk endurance. Plant and the instrumentalists at the core of his upcoming album will stop at nothing to fill the quiet of nature with a foreboding, reflective rage. Listen back to the Low original and queue up Plant’s version right after. It’s a difference in instrumental work but not in intensity and meaning.
Plant manages to keep the core of the Low track, a song of resentment and satisfaction bleeding into one another, relevant. Suzi Dian is the vocalist who gets most of the focus here, though. Plant operates as a still strong performer who knows his voice can back the higher notes of another artist. Dian does not outshine him but becomes a formidable part of the song, a counter to the doom and gloom. She still maintains the severity of the message, though, and that fine blur is kept alive thanks to some excellent chemistry. Part of that is also the instrumental depths, with the usual folk tones drawn on well, a brilliant contrast to the heavy pangs of bass on the Low original.
Where the crunch of electronic music is lost, the gain of folklore-like mystery is gained. It gives Plant a period sound, especially in the instrumental break. There’s a boldness to any cover of an established song. Ripping it from its genre happens often, but hearing said version succeed away from the original is rare. Everybody’s Song manages that. Plant has stripped the song to its bare necessities, its lyrical purpose and rage, and added a series of broad instrumental changes that give it a tremendous new meaning. It’s solid work, which does not sound better than the original, but does not need to. Difference is the necessity, not the quality. Plant still offers a very strong interpretation of the song, though it feels a little slack compared to the tight rage of the Low original. Apples and oranges that, though, because on a standalone listen, Plant’s version is a success.
