There’s no mistaking Macy Gray’s voice.
The smoky, seductively soft voice that has won her millions of fans is as distinctive as the vocal styling that has won her fame as a singer and actor. And with the release of her new album, “Covered,” it’s easy to imagine her fans will fall in love with her voice all over again.
“Really, for me, it came down to the lyrics,” she said of how she chose the 16 cover songs on the album. “I felt like I needed to do things that I could sing honestly.”
Fortunately for fans, that covers a gamut of artists and formats, from the Eurythmics’ “Here Comes the Rain Again,” which was the first single off the album, to “Smoke Two Joints” by the Toyes. Though the Grammy-winning Gray has never been fond of her own voice, its distinct tone and quality are what allow her to put such a fine stamp on each song, making it her own.
| Onstage |
| Seal with Macy Gray |
| When: 8 p.m. Tuesday |
| Where: Wolf Trap Filene Center, 1551 Trap Road, Vienna |
| Info: $30 to $45; 877-WOLFTRAP (965-3872); wolftrap.org |
Though Gray has made her career singing lush R&B, “Smoke Two Joints” has grittiness. The recently released video for the song has the same feel.
“We listened to the Sublime version, I’m a huge Sublime fan, but it didn’t sound right for me” to sing it in the same way, said Gray. “We really worked on it and it came together.”
The project is one that Gray, who also continues to act, said is close to her heart.
“The ‘Covers’ album is something I have been thinking about doing for a long, long time,” Gray said. “My label was always trying to push me away from it. Cover albums don’t sell as well as originals. But sometimes artists want to do them and they work.”
Not that Gray is abandoning her original songs. In concert, fans will hear her do a lot of songs from “Covers,” a medley from her 1999 debut album, “On How Life Is,” and her more recent hits. Though she’s putting out a new album of original material on her birthday, Sept. 6, and is also involved in other projects including a clothing line, she said she’s enjoying her time touring behind this album.
“I love the record. I think it’s awesome,” she said. “I hope more people want to hear it. It’s a good 42 minutes. Even if it wasn’t mine, I would love it.”
