Charles Bradley Preps ‘Changes’ LP With Powerful Black Sabbath Cover
Charles Bradley delivers a stark, speechless performance in the new video for his cover of Black Sabbath’s “Changes,” the title track from his upcoming LP out April 1st via Daptone Records imprint Dunham.
Bradley previously released a version of “Changes” as a Record Store Day Black Friday single in 2013, making this the first time the song has been available to purchase digitally. The Screaming Eagle of Soul transforms Sabbath’s eerie, somber ballad into a bruised, beaten-down anthem for the brokenhearted.
The accompanying video comprises only a close-up of Bradley’s face as he reacts to the song, which he said evokes the drastic turns his life took after his mother died. “I think about the lyrics very closely when I sing ‘Changes’ and get emotional,” Bradley said in a statement. “It makes me think of my mother and the changes in my life since she passed away.”
Director Eric Feigenbaum said that the video was supposed to feature Bradley singing “Changes” in Times Square, but he kept returning to the footage of the singer responding to the song in real time. “We only did that once,” Feigenbaum said. “By the end of the take, everybody in the room was holding back tears.”
Changes follows Bradley’s 2013 LP, Victim of Love, and marks the 67-year-old’s third album since his 2011 Daptone debut, No Time for Dreaming. Bradley has two U.S. shows scheduled this month: a December 30th gig with Trombone Shorty at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York and a New Year’s Eve concert at The Hamilton in Washington D.C. A European tour will follow next spring.