This song certainly has overt shades of Stevie mixed with Bowie’s “Fame.” From a production standpoint, this song is a real highlight for me because it was kind of a playground. Freddie recorded the drums for this song on his electronic drum kit. He then sent the MIDI file to me to assign the sounds we wanted (we could have made the drums sound like a chorus of didgeridoos if we wanted – maybe on the next record). I then mixed in samples of Bethlehem as part of the drum track. A self identified “vocussionist,” Bethlehem’s vocal and percussion stylings can be heard playing along with the hit hat and kick drum most notably, and then she is featured prominently in the drum break before the final chorus. We thought this would underscore the lyrical content with Bethlehem playing the part of “She.”
The verses contrast between the groove held together by the fluid drums, bass, and keys against the choppy guitar and horn section (baritone saxophones stacked with Moog synthesizer), and then the chorus opens up with some counter melodies in the synth and bass. Then the bridge hits, with Beach Boys inspired vocal harmonies. Yes, Imani Roach did hit those high notes all in one take. There was really no other way to sing it.