For the record, I know and love the original version of this song. Green Day happens to be one of my top 10 favorite bands ever. When I saw Luke Potter did a cover I knew I had to hear it, and if I’m going to listen to it I’m going to review it. This is not a song you can hide behind. As an acoustic song it’s all about the vocals. Not to trash the guitar line in the song but let’s be honest if you can’t sing, this song falls apart.
I liked some of the vocal styles he’s working with in his cover however I think some of it came out a bit harsh. I was looking for a specific connect to this track that I didn’t get. To be fair I may be judging this one a bit harshly due to the love I have for the original. My suggestion would be to use a filter when doing this type of song. That would reduce the sharpness of his s and t sounds. I liked his voice enough I would love to hear some of his other songs. I suspect that this was just not the right song for me to review. All that being said, take a listen and check out his other music with me.
Who They Are:
Luke is a young artist / songwriter from the UK who’s starting to make a buzz with his songs.
He cites “Iris” by The Goo Goo Dolls as the song that, the moment he heard it playing, made him realize he wanted to be a songwriter.
Shortly after, at the age of 17, Luke picked up an acoustic guitar for the first time and started writing songs not only about love but also about growing up…
Other artists that have influenced Luke include the likes of Jimmy Eat World, Jason Mraz, Fountains of Wayne, Goo Goo Dolls and the music of his father who played in bands way back when…!
In a short time he’s become a natural songwriter and emerging artist in the making. Music Week selected Luke as one of their ten ‘favorite’ new talents of 2011 and commented saying “Luke’s songs are beautiful.” Promo Only agrees saying it’s “exciting hearing such a fresh new and exciting talent like Luke… it’s perfect for US radio”.
Luke’s debut radio single, “We’re Alive” impacted several stations on the East Coast in the summer of 2012, having top 30 airplay in Boston and San Francisco with video rotation at Hard Rock Cafes (“Great video”) around the world.
In his relatively short career Luke has got to work with some of the finest producers in the industry including Steve Power (Robbie Williams, McFly, Andrea Bocelli…), Eric Rosse (Sara Bareilles, Tori Amos…), Ken Caillat (Fleetwood Mac, Colbie Caillat) who commented “Luke Potter is a great singer-songwriter” and Bleu who writes “Luke Potter writes ear-sticking songs that just won’t leave your brain!”
January 2013 saw the release of Luke’s EP, ‘One Day’ which met with a great critical reaction.
Ken Morton of LA based ‘Highwire Daze’ wrote, “The combination of Potter and Bleu has presented a stunning work of pure pop perfection that is not to be missed. Judging by the three wondrous tracks heard on the One Day EP, expect the future to be very bright for this massively talented singer / songwriter. It will be exciting to hear what exquisite tunes Luke Potter has in store for the world at large in the months ahead.”
Luke has recorded an album of his songs with Bleu (Demi Lovato, Jonas Brothers…) and is just waiting patiently for the right time to release them to everyone.
In September 2013 he signed a management contract with WEG (Wright Entertainment Group) and Orrigami.
Since then he’s been even busier with writing trips to Sweden, Canada and USA during 2014 where he’s worked with some amazing collaborators.
He also did a short UK school tour and a small tour (10 shows) in the USA in July / August 2014 to a great reaction.
The ‘So Sugar’ album (CD, iTunes and all places digital) was self-released on November 18th, 2014 to a great critical reaction (see reviews section on this website) and alongside it a video for the title track was also uploaded to YouTube.
And at the end of the year Luke played a set at The House of Blues in Orlando. This was very special as it was on the same stage that Luke had seen so many of his heroes perform (Goo Goo Dolls, Parachute, Ed Sheeran etc) and he received a great response.
With a 2nd album planned for 2015 and tours being lined up it’s all set to be a great New Year!
The Band is:
Luke Potter
Where You Can Get It:
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