Jazz crooner, Ben Fuller, opened his debut LP, Reset, with the heavy cinematic artillery in his heart-wrenchingly impassioned single, It Had to Be You. Hopeless romantics will greet their kryptonite when they hit play on the timelessly resounding reworking of the Frank Sinatra record.
As classic and sincere as Sinatra’s iteration, you’ll instantly succumb to the vibrato in Fuller’s naturally oscillating vocal notes which add warmth and fervent richness to his register as it sweeps across the ornate classical strings and jazz piano keys.
With Batu Sener’s instrumental arrangement delivering the gravitas of a 50s Hollywood score and Fuller adding contemporary touches through his vocal melodies that pull you into the heart of the song’s emotional underpinnings, It Had to Be You is almost too profound for words. By balancing the magic of the original with his own ineffable talent, Ben Fuller unleashed so much more than a cover, the creative interpretation almost unravelled as a divine sonic intervention.
It Had to Be You was officially released on April 5th; stream the single on Spotify.
Review by Amelia Vandergast