Justin Vernon and Peter Gabriel’s split 7”, which features Bon Iver’s cover of “Come Talk To Me” off Gabriel’s 1992 album Us and Gabriel’s take on “Flume” from For Emma, Forever Ago, won’t hit independent retail shelves until Record Store Day, but both songs are currently available to purchase on iTunes today. Perhaps Gabriel’s previously released orchestral version of “Flume” isn’t your cup of tea, but I dare you not love Vernon’s gorgeous rendition of “Come Talk To Me,” even after hearing only the 1-minute preview in the short video below.
In the 10-minute clip, Gabriel, producer Bob Ezrin, arranger John Metcalfe, and Vernon each discuss their respective approaches toward adapting the songs to their personal aesthetic. “Through college and things like that I was a religious studies major, and I’m not a religious guy at all, but that song was just like this… if there was a religion it was that song,” says Vernon. He goes on to describe his version a bit:
It’s pretty fast-paced… There’s like a banjo and some heavier kind of distorted guitars. Just trying to bring it to my own kind of divine place, from where I first got to know the song, I guess.
Watch the video and hear a preview of Bon Iver’s “Come Talk To Me” here or below (song clip starts at about 7:40):