Can’t wait for the final season of Sons of Anarchy?
While we don’t have footage of Jax (save for that creepy photo above!), Billboard can exclusively premiere two songs — both incredible covers — from the final season: “Bohemian Rhapsody” by The Forest Rangers feat. The White Buffalo, Billy Valentine & Franky Perez, and “Never My Love” by Audra Mae & The Forest Rangers feat. Billy Valentine.
“When I turned Sly’s ‘Everyday People’ into a 5-and-a-half minute Forest Rangers/SoA anthem, I couldn’t imagine anything more challenging,” Sons of Anarchy music supervisor Bob Thiele Jr. tells Billboard. “But [SoA creator] Kurt Sutter is one to push the envelope just about as far as anyone conceivably can. And here we have ‘Bohemian Rhapsody,’ truly as epic and grand a rock opera as ever condensed into 5 minutes. Forest Ranger-izing has turned out to be my ultimate challenge (and accomplishment if I do say so myself). It is very important that our covers are authentically unique and different from the originals. Further, the tone and color of these recordings must share the same palette that our actors do.
“I’ll never say, ‘Got this down’ but I will say tackling ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ would’ve been impossible had we taken it on in any season prior to this one. It’s kind of the sum total of all our musical adventures. It’s rock, it’s blues, it’s a bit traditional country, and we even have some kids singing on it. No point in trying to match Freddie’s incredible opening salvo!!!”
“‘Never my Love,’ The Association hit, is a delicate musical montage that underscores some very troubling drama on screen,” Thiele tells Billboard. “Irony is what we do best and this is the Sons musical moment at its ironic height. The voices are absolutely beautiful. Miss Audra Mae and Mr. Billy Valentine — two of my favorite singers on the planet. The fact that neither are household names strikes me as lunacy! Hope you dig it. In spite of the graphic visual accompaniment, no reason why you couldn’t play this at your wedding!”
Sons of Anarchy premieres Sept. 9 on FX.