PINEO & LOEB have never shied away from tackling the greats; their 2019 album, Elevation, had the duo taking on the hits of Led Zeppelin, U2, Arcade Fire, Michael Jackson and giving them their own spin. Now, with a little help from their friend Alan Frew of the legendary Canadian Grammy-nominated band Glass Tiger, they’ve taken on their biggest song to date, one of the greatest songs ever written by the biggest band of all time, The Beatles’ monstrous 1968 hit, “Hey Jude.”
Pitting yourself against some of the most iconic songs to ever hit the charts (not to mention their avid fans) is no small task. Inviting those comparisons is practically an act of self-sabotage and yet PINEO & LOEB have consistently impressed us with their creative, energetic, festival-ready reimaginings.
If there were ever a song that might prove to be their undoing, however, it could possibly be “Hey Jude.” This is one of those songs that they’d play over the closing credits on the universe. We could be collapsing into a single infinitesimal point or experiencing the heat death of the universe and when The Producer queues up the music, it’s going to be a toss-up between Georgia Allegri’s “Miserere mei, Deus” and The Beatles’ “Hey Jude.” And PINEO & LOEB have the audacity to think they can do it justice.
Admittedly, they have. Frew’s voice puts a fresh edge on the song and brilliantly weaves in bits of “I Am The Walrus” while PINEO & LOEB open up the lower end to cater to festival crowds. They also brought in saxophonist Young Il Kim to rip an amazing sax solo.
“Both Alan and ourselves really put our hearts into this, in the name of peace and love,” says Mitchell Pineo.
The song was written by Paul McCartney to comfort John Lennon’s son Julian after John had left his wife and Julian’s mother, Cynthia Powell for Yoko Ono. Julian himself has given his nod of approval for PINEO & LOEB’s version and even offered some advice on how to make the song their own.
“Julian’s feedback inspired us to rearrange the song’s structure and work in some of his father’s lyrics to the ending,” says JR Loeb.
If and when we’re ready to get back to festival season, it’s safe to expect the duo will be breaking out into some sing-alongs with this one.