Nellie McKay took a retro approach to her upcoming album — My Weekly Reader, out March 24, is entirely composed of 60s covers, from Zappa to Steve Miller to Country Joe McDonald.
But no collection of 60s songs would be complete without a contribution from the decade’s (century’s?) most defining band: The Beatles. McKay, who recruited Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick as co-producer for the album, chose to share her rendition of the group’s romantic classic “If I Fell” off of A Hard Day’s Night.
“Having been associated with the original recording of “If I Fell” with The Beatles,” Emerick tells Billboard, “the opportunity to revisit this song with an artist as unique and talented as Nellie McKay was a thrill. Her interpretation of the song stayed true to the original, and her vocals are nothing less than angelic.”
Of Emerick, McKay says “working with Geoff is like eating chocolate pudding…pure pleasure!”
Listen to the results of their collaboration below, and preorder My Weekly Reader here.