I heard this afternoon that Sierra Kusterbeck and Blake Harnage, two of three members of Versa Emerge, a band I greatly enjoy, had done a cover of a Christmas song. Now, I love Versa Emergeand I love Christmas songs so I figured I would fall in love with this cover.Unfortunately, this song was markedly different from previous music by the extremely talented Sierra and Blake. I was very disappointed.
The song, Santa Baby, is one that has been covered a million other times and I’ve honestly never been the biggest fan of it. I had quite hoped that Versa Emerge’s rendition of this classic would make a fan out of me but sadly, it failed. The mood of Versa Emerge’s cover isvery laid back and tranquil. This, I thought, undermined the cheeky, cute nature of the song.
The original song was recorded in 1953 and had a nice jazzyf eel to it. This actually fits the lyrics, whereas Versa Emerge’s cover didn’t really make sense, melodically, with the lyrics. They used very slow rhythms and beats to accompany Sierra’s smooth vocals which at some points were muffled behind an odd sound effect that makes it seem as though Sierra’s voice is being heard through a phone. Through out the song, I kept hoping that the beat would suddenly pick up and I would hear some of those belted out notes that I’ve always loved Sierra for but it stays at the same gentle pace for the entire song.
If you enjoy calming songs with a Christmas-y twist, I urge you to download this song. However, it is quite possible that VersaEmerge fans will be disappointed. Better luck next time, Sierra and Blake