Jennifer Hope – “Bring Me To Life”
Jennifer Hope – “Bring Me To Life” – Single Review
Well…on the one hand, you can rest assured good ol’ Amy Lee is sitting on the couch squandering her talents anyhow…so the way that I see it, no reason the music of Evanescence should sit there wasting time with her. Open season on the entire catalogue if you ask me…the world is long tired of waiting for the next ANYTHING to come from that camp; a carrot dangled so long and so far away from us all that it rotted and dropped from the rope once holding it.
I honestly thought this review would prove to be tougher to write. Not only is my not-so-much-love-affair with Evanescence long documented here at the pages of our site – but one of the hardest things that comes along our way is a first experience with a new artist, band or sound via cover-song. We’re always looking for that next voice to help lead the way in music…and it can be extraordinarily tough to do that when being sent material performed but written by someone else. In theory…everything should be working against me here when attempting to review Jennifer Hope’s new version of Evanescence song & massive-hit, “Bring Me To Life.”
All this being said…she’s done a fantastic job of reincarnating “Bring Me To Life” in a way that even I’d want to hear it! Her extraordinarily textured, layered and atmospheric version of this song that is still plenty-fresh in everyone’s mind even now more than a DECADE after its release is blissfully unique from the original version. If it wasn’t…the tone of this review would end up being much, much less supportive; not only do we all still know each and every word of the song long past its radio-heyday, but of course it’s always important to put yourself into the music and identify yourself…to put your own stamp on the sound or idea and somehow twist it just enough to not alienate the fans of the original, but also to audibly-declare the reasons for choosing to cover it in the first place through the end result.
Rather than take the edge straight to your face as the original once did – the energy of Hope’s version here is much more slower-burning and satisfying as a result. Really exploring the depth of the writing in this dynamic tune, she’s taken it to a nearly-tribal place with the clever percussive-rhythms that shine throughout this cover. With the thick atmosphere provided by the swelling bass and electro-elements that jam alongside the drums and guitar…this version finds its way to a much more mystical and magical combination to the song you know. With the beautiful & brightened icicle-tones of Jennifer leading the way throughout “Bring Me To Life” – it nearly resembles a result that’s closer to the stunning results achieved on “Silence” by Delerium, which featured the stunning voice of Sarah McLachlan. With Hope voice here on the cover of this tune finding solidarity on any side of its tone whether light or dark…it’s tough to tell if she’s more towards the angelic McLachlan sound or the more rock-inspired Lee sound outside of this song without feeling like you’d be making a complete guess.
What I do really like is that you can hear that the planning and the work went into writing this one into a completely new existence. It retains enough of what you know to still keep the hooks intact – and in my opinion, there’s a lot more working for this cover than its original version. I think the potential for Jennifer Hope is very big…from the sound of her voice on “Bring Me To Life” – she could audibly pull you in any direction with confidence and charisma…it’ll just be a matter of which direction she chooses to take her music in. She has excellent moments on the mic throughout this cover and in that respect, does it justice for sure; she doesn’t go overboard-huge like Lee did…she keeps it with a smoldering intensity and fits perfectly into the layered-textures of the music. No complaints here – Hope sounds stunning and I can hear the extraordinary potential of her future from the way she’s approached this Evanescence tune. I’d have to hear some original stuff to be certain…but I have a feeling there’s something pretty special brewing here with real depth, mysticism and melody…excited to hear what she might do next.
And in that respect – hats off to Hope! The job of that lead-single or EP is always to entice us in…a preview of sorts of what’s to come. Something to get us excited and wanting more.
Jennifer’s done all that and more here on this cover of “Bring Me To Life.”
Take note Amy Lee…I mean…I’m assuming you’re out there on a couch squandering your talent somewhere reading this.
Find out more about Jennifer Hope at her official page: http://www.jenniferhope.com/
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