The covers album David Bowie said added a “new level of beauty” to his songs
The elusive art of the cover song is a difficult thing to master; what is usually intended as a tribute could turn out to be an insult. As a result, some songs are generally considered off-the-table when it comes to covers, and the work of David Bowie tends to fall within that category. One of the greatest songwriters of all time, Bowie’s work has a certain aura of sacredness, which generally puts artists off from attempting to rework it.
Unphased by the daunting nature of covering David Bowie, the Brazilian pop master Seu Jorge set about recording not just a cover song but an entire album of David Bowie covers. Jorge is among the most influential modern artists in Brazil, renewing the popularity of samba and MPB music within the South American nation. The idea for Jorge’s cover album was proposed by the acclaimed film director Wes Anderson for use in the soundtrack to his 2004 comedy-drama, The Life Aquatic.
Music has always been an essential element of cinema, something that Wes Anderson knows all too well. From his iconic use of Françoise Hardy in Moonrise Kingdom to Jarvis Cocker’s album of French pop covers in The French Dispatch, Anderson’s use of music has been instrumental to the success of his films. Within The Life Aquatic, Seu Jorge plays the role of Pelé dos Santos, a salty sea dog who spends the majority of the film strumming an acoustic guitar and singing beautiful covers of David Bowie in his native Portuguese.
Within the context of the film, little is made of Jorge’s Bowie covers; they merely act as background music to Bill Murray’s existential crises. However, following the release of the movie, Hollywood Records released a double album composed of Jorge’s covers, putting the pulchritude of his work into the spotlight for the first time. The album, The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions, features five covers from the film that we rerecorded for the album release, as well as seven that were recorded specifically for the album’s release.
Recorded entirely in Portuguese, Seu Jorge takes some liberties with the lyrical content of Bowie’s originals but maintains the melodies and general themes of the originals. The majority of the covers come from Bowie’s early career, as well as his glam rock period. Iconic tracks like ‘Rebel Rebel’, ‘Life On Mars’ and ‘Oh! You Pretty Things’ sound almost unrecognisable when sung in Portuguese and accompanied only by the sounds of Jorge’s acoustic guitar.
Jorge’s Bowie covers proved popular on release, reigniting an appreciation for the beautiful nature of his glam rock era. Such was the success of the album that the Brixton-born singer himself chimed in, praising the effort of the Brazilian singer, saying, “Had Seu Jorge not recorded my songs in Portuguese, I would never have heard this new level of beauty which he has imbued them with.”
In addition to releasing The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions in 2005, Seu Jorge took his touching tribute to David Bowie on the road. Performing orchestral versions of his Bowie covers in venues around the world, including a 2019 show at Hammersmith’s Everytim Apollo, Jorge reaffirmed the brilliance of his interpretations. Despite its elusive nature, Seu Jorge has the cover song down to a fine art.
