9/27: COVER: Mystic Rhythms (Mike Massé)
A beautiful acoustic guitar rendition of a synth-heavy classic.
Mystic rhythms
Capture my thoughts, carry them away
Nature seems to spin a supernatural way
Mystic rhythms
Under city lights, or a canopy of stars
We feel the powers and we wonder what they are
Continuing with unofficial Power Windows week here, we have this lovely cover of “Mystic Rhythms” by Mike Massé.
I’ve talked before about how Alex disliked the synth-heavy sound of Power Windows and Hold Your Fire, feeling his guitar got swallowed by the keyboard. That’s why I knew I wanted this year to highlight an acoustic guitar cover of something from Power Windows, if for no other reason than to better acquaint myself with how that might sound.
Turns out, “Mystic Rhythm” benefits tremendously from stripping away the over-production to focus on the musicality and heart underneath. I love this rendition. I love how Mike plays around with the volume of his guitar, strumming more quietly at the verses, more boldly on the synth parts. I watched the entire video, transfixed, and I have no idea how he’s making those strings hit those notes in that order. (Guess this is why I’m not a guitarist!)
On top of this, Mike’s voice is astonishingly well-suited for this song. He offers a strong, authentic read of the lyrics that really makes you believe he’s captivated by the wonder of the natural world around him. I’m glad I stumbled on this one!
Fucking amazing. Apologies for the curse but it feels the right adjective. This is my favorite song on Power Windows. And this cover shows what a fantastic song it is. It also shows what lovely lyrics Neil wrote and how much vocal range is required to sing it too. Mike takes the vocals to new places in the 2nd half of the song which gave me chills. I wish Alex could have recorded an acoustic version of both albums, just to prove the guitar's essence on both.
Hmm … two videos in a row unavailable in my country (err … the US) because it contains content from SESAC. Anyone else running into this?