Charles Bradley’s Cover of Black Sabbath’s "Changes" Is Named Best New Track
Change has always been a favorite theme in both politics and soul music. It’s an idea that moves and motivates listeners and voters alike, whether it’s Sam Cooke singing “A Change Is Gonna Come” in 1964 or Barack Obama offering us a little hope in ’08. For that reason alone, it’s a wonder nobody has transformed “Changes” into a stirring soul anthem before now. Originally released on 1972’s Vol. 4, the song is one of Black Sabbath’s best numbers, featuring an arrangement that’s ethereal rather than heavy.
Charles Bradley got ahold of the song in 2013, making it the A-side to a 7″ and featuring it in live shows. But he’s just now making it the centerpiece and title track to his third album, due in April. It’s almost like he’s been saving the song for the right moment. With its gently thrumming organ, a group of sympathetic horns, and a guitar riff that echoes Tommy Iommi’s original piano theme, Bradley doesn’t just make the song sound natural in this setting. He makes it sound as big as all of America, his vocals so commanding, so authoritative, so majestic that he explodes the notion that “Changes” is only about losing a lover.
“Changes” is powerful as a single, but especially on an album that opens with a completely heartfelt and utterly unironic version of “God Bless America.” It sounds like Bradley is taking stock of the country at this very moment and trying to figure out why something he loves so dearly and unreservedly could turn so ugly. So when he sings, “I’ve been going through changes,” and when he testifies, “It hurts so bad!” he’s speaking to something greater than himself. In an election year when violence, ignorance, and hate have become viable political platforms, this beautiful and devastating new national anthem might be more than America deserves.
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