Frank Ocean sent out a truly lovely late-night valentine, surprise-releasing a moody and moving cover of the romantic standard “Moon River” on his Tumblr page late last night.
Captioned simply “in the late nite,” the embedded YouTube link features an instrumentally sparse but vocally ornate take on Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer’s pop classic, originally heard in Blake Edward’s beloved rom-com Breakfast at Tiffany’s. It’s a gorgeous little candy for the end of the holiday, and does what the best covers do: it finds the artist both respecting the original, and making the song their own.
Give it a listen:
We’re not ones to give career advice to Mr. Ocean, and he’s hinted that he’s completed a new album, but (in his words) “I JUST AIN’T PUT THAT BITCH OUT!” But if he’s contemplating what to do next, maybe a record of pop standards isn’t the worst idea? Worked for Bob Dylan!