Listen to soul icon Al Green’s heartfelt cover of R.E.M.’s ‘Everybody Hurts’

nme.com:

Reverand Al Green has shared a soulful cover of R.E.M‘s ‘Everybody Hurts’. Check it out below.The American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer has released a handful of covers in recent years.

In 2020 he shared his version of Freddy Fender’s ‘Before the Next Teardrop Falls’, followed by a cover of Lou Reed’s ‘Perfect Day’ in 2023.Now, he’s taken on R.E.M.’s seminal 1992 hit from their eighth studio album ‘Automatic for the People’.

Green’s version strays from the sombre tones in the original, introducing a more optimistic energy into the song.“While we were in the studio recording ‘Everybody Hurts’,” he says, ”I could really feel the heaviness of the song and I wanted to inject a little touch of hope and light into it.

There’s always a presence of light that can break through those times of darkness.”It’s R.E.M.-approved, too. Frontman Michael Stipe gave the cover the green light, saying: “Speaking on behalf of the entire band—we could not be more honoured, more flattered, more humbled.