NEWS
NEWS
Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty has teamed up with Ryan Shaw for “Love in Pain,” the second single from Shaw’s upcoming Marvin Gaye-inspired record, “Imagining Marvin.”
The track was co-written by Shaw, Thomas and Derek Fuhrmann and also features guitarist Derek Trucks. It’s due out soon, though a release date has yet to be announced.
The collaboration marks Thomas’ first writing session with Round Hill Music, after signing a publishing deal with the company in September, commending the team’s passion for music and “infectious” songwriting. Shaw is also signed to Round Hill Music.
“It was such a pleasure to write something with Ryan for his amazing voice that, honestly, I was really surprised when he asked me to sing it with him,” Thomas tells Variety. “It’s really a thrill to work with that kind of talent.”
Well, even though fans of Grammy-nominated Ryan Shaw already know about and are waiting with bated breath for the arrival of Shaw’s forthcoming album, Imaging Marvin, on November 27, 2020 (via FORM Records,with distribution via Broadway Records), the multi-faceted performing artist is ready to further stoke the hype fires with American Songwriter today, giving some teaser insight around the album’s next single, “Love in Pain.”
Following the release of leading single “Strong Men Can,” which saw Shaw co-write with Valerie Simpson – herself known for writing music for Marvin Gaye, the iconic singer and producer who shaped the sound of Motown – “Love in Pain” now has Shaw teaming up with none other than Rob Thomas, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and member of Matchbox Twenty. Together, Shaw and Thomas co-wrote the forthcoming track, which continues to build on Imagining Mavin‘s concept of music deeply inspired by Gaye. Additionally, Grammy-nominated guitarist, Derek Trucks, is featured on the track as well.
I know why an artist would be enticed by the prospect of diving into the Marvin Gaye catalog. So much good music. I also know why an artist would choose to remain socially distant from the Prince of Motown’s music. So much good music, so it’s been done to death. What can any artist do with a song like, say, “I Want You,” that has not already been done. Then, I heard the version of the tune included on Ryan Shaw’s Imagining Marvin project and I thought, “well, an artist can do this.” He can give the tune an arrangement that alternates between a piano jazz number and a pulsating, bumping funk number. He can do that because he has the vocal chops to bring a level of theater and church and sensuality to the number that Marvin gave it back in the day. In short, Shaw found that sweet spot between reinterpreting the song and keeping the elements that made the “I Want You” quintessentially Marvin – that soulful and seductive vocal.
And Shaw manages to do this on all of the Gaye covers found on Imagining Marvin, an album that includes both imaginative Marvin Gaye remakes and Shaw originals. In addition to “I Want You,” Shaw covers “Mercy, Mercy Me,” “Save the Children,” and “Sexual Healing” and does an excellent rendition of the Ashford and Simpson penned “Good Lovin’ Ain’t Easy” in a duet with Shoshana Bean. That track is the most straight forward of the covers. The album features Shaw’s cover of Gaye’s two songs that were remakes when Gaye covered them. “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” is a song that Gaye’s label mates Gladys Knight and the Pips scored with before Gaye had a hit with it in 1968. Shaw also covers the Johnny Mandel, Paul Francis Webster Oscar winning song “The Shadow of Your Smile,” a tune that Gaye remade and was released after his passing.