It’s got soul. The groove is sleek. The melody is immediate and sensual. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of a woman aching for love she’s never felt. The kicker: it all happens in 21 seconds. Detroit beatsmith Joey Pecoraro creates a full song’s worth of tension and resolution in a fraction of the time by carefully arranging samples of “Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?)” by cabaret jazz mainstay Blossom Dearie. “Outro” by Joey Pecoraro shuffles by so quickly that its easy to miss it at the end of his album, The Strange and Impossible (2014), but it’s in your best interest to give it your full attention.
For a track that passes so effortlessly, piecing the history of the source material together seems ironic. Pecoraro’s “Outro” may be a snapshot, but the original song’s timeline arcs across the entirety of pop music. “Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?)” was first released in 1945 by Billie Holiday and has been covered by the likes of Charlie Parker, Etta James, Dinah Washington, Blossom Dearie, and many more. The particular version Pecoraro samples is the most restrained of those mentioned above; a candlelit affair with warm piano and Blossom Dearie’s reedy voice blending into espresso-dark goo. Like a potter, Pecoraro reshapes that smooth clay into a snappier tune, with a heavy kick drum and hand claps driving it along. The additions preserve the lonely romanticism of Dearie’s recording while updating the rhythm section for the 21st century.
Using the original lyrics like clippings in a collage, Pecoraro minces, matches, and ends up with this: “Never had no lovin’ / got a moon above me / but no one to love me / you’ll whisper sweet / someday we’ll meet.” It is a savvy distillation that sacrifices none of the original message. The concept of longing for a future love, which is central to “Lover Man,” is entirely intact in “Outro,” but it unfolds in fast forward. It is musical artificial scarcity. Pecoraro could make “Outro” longer. He could loop it twice to double the length, he could flesh it out into an entire two minute beat if he wanted to. But he doesn’t. He provides a taste, the first potato chip that triggers satisfaction incomparable. Like the catch phrase goes: bet you can’t have just one. Indulge, play it again.
Sources: “Lover Man” by Billie Holiday Discogs Info. “Lover Man” Original Genius.com Lyrics. Wikipedia List of “Lover Man” Covers. Joey Pecoraro Bandcamp. Joey Pecoraro Twitter. Blossom Dearie PopMatters Article.
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