Some cover songs take a classic song for a politely restrained reinterpretation. They’ll adjust the chords slightly, or maybe swap an acoustic for a piano. They’ll slow things down by 10 BPM and assume that’s job done. Others seem to take the approach that is marked “Crazy ideas”.
Magumbo’s “cover” of Mariah Carey’s “We Belong Together” most definitely falls into the latter category. For the purpose of total clarity, let me reiterate exactly what is occurring. Somebody heard one of the most emotionally devastated ballads of the 2000s-a song that is delivered by Mariah Carey as though she is going through every possible stage of grief-and determined, “This track requires the application of a LinnDrum, several extremely colorful-hued synthesizers, the energy of an 1985 aerobics class, and a gentleman singing the entire thing exactly as High as Mariah sang it” and against the will of all logical reasoning and natural law, it worked. One of the main reasons is that Gallagher has no intention of treating the cover as some kind of mere novelty act.
In Josh Gallagher’s overall artistic philosophy, popular music should be treated as if it were a toy box to be systematically deconstructed.
If a song has the ability to successfully withstand complete demolition and the resulting assembly as something utterly outlandish, then it probably had more resilience than was given it. This production commits completely to the fantasy. Shimmering, vintage synthesizers are present at all times.
In some instances, the track sounds less like a rendition of a Carey number and more akin to a lost tape featuring an alternative reality duet between Prince and Meatloaf.
Gallagher isn’t just imitating the key simply as a gag. He tackles these high notes with all the theatrical abandon found in the singing parts of musical theater compositions whereby performers may not know, at any given time, if they’re a breath away from triumph or complete, utter physical meltdown. And the surprising part isn’t his ability to actually nail them. Rather, it’s his ability to render them joyously.
By enlisting Dopamaid as another vocalist on the song, Gallagher was able to resolve the central issue which has foiled most “We Belong Together” covers: attempting to emulate Mariah Carey is never a particularly great idea. The song instead becomes a playful exchange between the duo, clearly in the throes of a thoroughly enjoyable imaginative process. And in the end, that’s exactly what this cover gets correct.
Magumbo appears to have understood what numerous musicians often forget. And that is that joy is not the opposition of artistry, but its constituent part. If there’s one thing a talented musician might achieve, it’s by observing a widely accepted master-piece, pose a question that any individual might consider to be nonsensical and after all that, have the sheer skill to be able to answer the question in a meaningful way.
Magumbo belting out “We Belong Together” by Mariah Carey over sound effects of shiny ’80’s synthesizers should undoubtedly flop, yet this track works out of sheer glorious camp.
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About the Author
A tenured media critic known working as a ghost writer, freelance critic for publications in the US and former lead writer of Atop The Treehouse. Reviews music, film and TV shows for media aggregators.
