We devoted some space to a selection of recent cover tunes last month here at GDW, and just as we were ready to move on into this current month, lo and behold, one final corker of a cover song landed in our laps. Learning that the single would have an early June release date, we could not squeeze this song into our May features, and had to shelve it until now – but there was no way we were skipping over this one…
Toronto, ON singer-songwriter and guitar-slinger Nelson Sobral is no stranger here to the GDW faithful, but it really has been a while since this blues-rocker last graced our pages – back in the spring of 2023 when we featured his “Twice the Price” single. Two years! Revisiting Nelson’s music is long overdue – so the timing here is perfect with this interpretation of a popular 80s mainstream tune.
“I play a lot of cover gigs – part of the job. Some songs I play straight. Others, I bend until they feel like they came outta me,” Nelson shares. “Cyndi Lauper’s classic ‘Time After Time’ is one of those.” A track found on Lauper’s debut 1983 “She’s So Unusual” album – one co-written with Rob Hyman (The Hooters) – for many, this pop-ballad is considered Lauper’s most popular hit.
As a proud Gen X-er, I fondly remember when Cyndi’s breakout single “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” first burst across the airwaves, bringing her slightly quirky pop sensibilities to the mainstream. And if you’ve followed our musings for a while now, you may recall that Toronto-based artist SHEAL recorded a stripped-down acoustic rendition of this smash hit for her 2022 “Courage Again” album… But as the title suggests, “Time After Time” is Lauper’s tune that continues to transcend generations and stand the test of time.
“If you’re lost, you can look, and you will find me / Time after time / If you fall, I will catch you, I’ll be waiting / Time after time.”
So, as an artist whose influences lean heavily towards Americana, soul, blues and rock & roll, why did Nelson Sobral dig around in the mainstream pop genre for his latest inspiration? “It started out as just another tune in the set. But night after night, it kept landing differently,” he recalls. “Somewhere along the way, it stopped feeling like a cover and started feeling like mine – like something I’ve written. This isn’t about reinventing anything. It’s about taking an already powerful song and saying it in my own voice.”
Photo Credit: Official Press Release
The British guy that crossed the ocean and crash landed in central Pennsylvania (to quote Greg Keelor, “And I wonder what am I doing here?”). As the youngest of four siblings, exposure to music from a very early age nurtured my passion and appreciation for many musical genres. Continuing to discover some amazingly diverse and talented musicians based in Canada, I gravitate to live music experiences and remain devoted to spreading the word about such a vibrant music scene.
