Singer/songwriter Audrey Assad recently teamed up with sE Electronics—the maker of high-end recording gear—to perform a beautiful cover of Bonnie Raitt’s exquisite 1991 masterpiece “I Can’t Make You Love Me.”
Assad’s version is more than a little indebted to Bon Iver’s sparse, well-loved 2011 cover than Raitt’s power synth’d out original. Raitt’s follows the tradition of late 80s ballads that told sad stories in deceptively beautiful melodies, while Justin Vernon and Assad make the implicit a bit more explicit, bringing the heartbreak to the surface. Both styles have plenty to recommend them, depending on your preferred heartbreak recipe.
The entire song was recorded in one take on a single microphone.
