Listen to Dinosaur Jr’s J Mascis sing Mazzy Star song ‘Fade into You’
Mazzy Star‘s dreamy version of alternative rock, helmed by Hope Sandoval’s mesmeric vocals and Dave Roback’s gorgeous, mellow instrumentations, paved the way for current artists such as Lana Del Rey and Beach House.
After Sandoval replaced Kendra Smith as the vocalist in Roback’s band Opal, the pair decided to “start something completely new”, changing their name to Mazzy Star as a result. They released their debut album, She Hangs Brightly, in 1990, which sold 70,000 copies in the UK.
The band received moderate success over the following decade, releasing their second album, So Tonight That I Might See, in 1993. The album was well recieved and noted for its hypnotic qualities, folk influence, and lustrous instrumentation. However, a year later, ‘Fade Into You’ became an unexpected hit, reaching number 44 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number three on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. The melancholic song focuses on the theme of unrequited love, with Sandoval yearning for deep connection, “I want to hold the hand inside you.”
The acoustic guitar, paired with gentle piano notes, tambourine and slide guitar, make the instrumentals alone feel nostalgic and warm, yet the melody and Sandoval’s vocals are tinged with bittersweetness. However, Roback once said: “It was never intended to be a nostalgic song. Unless you were meant to think about nostalgia for the present because it really was about the present.”
The song has frequently been labelled as one of the greatest of the decade, yet the classic track only took the band a day to write. Roback shared: “It came almost at the same time. We weren’t trying to write a hit song – we were just writing a song. I think we had a melody and a feel and we just followed that feel. And that became the song… It was acoustic guitar and both of us singing, and after we’d written the song, then we arranged it for other instruments – piano and slide guitar, and drums. But it started out as an acoustic song.”
‘Fade Into You’ has appeared in countless television shows and movies, from Gilmore Girls to American Horror Story, which has helped to bolster its popularity. Furthermore, the track has also been covered by artists spanning various genres, including Perfume Genius, American Football, Miley Cyrus and Valerie June.
However, one of the best covers of the track belongs to singer and guitarist J. Mascis. Best known for fronting Dinosaur Jr., the musician has had an impressive career as a member of countless other projects, such as stoner metal band Witch and hardcore punk outfit Deep Wound, as well as completing several solo albums. He even has production and backing vocal credits on Sonic Youth’s seminal album Goo.
Mascis has covered the track several times, performing a cover on Late Night with Seth alongside actor Fred Armisen. In 2013, Dinosaur Jr. designed a shoe for the brand Keep, inspired by Mascis’ guitar strap, which was accompanied by a 7″ picture disc version of his Mazzy Star cover. Despite Mascis’ usual style of distortion, impressive solos and grungey rhythms, he opts for a more subdued style to cover ‘Fade Into You’.
Although the track doesn’t quite reach the heights of Mazzy Star’s sublime original, Mascis’ cover is full of emotion and tenderness, making it one of the best alternate versions of the track.
