February 14th. Valentine’s Day. A day that capitalizes on a sacred emotion as a corporate money-grab scam. On that very day of this very year, Frank Ocean came out of hiding to restore true love within our tragic world. Frank Ocean is my number one, all time, favorite musician, yet he is known to take excruciatingly long hiatuses from his craft, only to return with utter perfection and revolutionizing the entire music industry. And Frank did just that. He released a cover of “Moon River” from the classic film Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961). Everything about it, from the details of the cover art to the melodic beauty of the track itself, is flawless.
The artwork is a zoomed-in image of the upper half of a pink human body. The only discernable features of this outline are its blackened lungs. The name of the track is written atop this image, with small hearts within each letter. In the top left hand corner, next to the title, is the full version of the male body. If you look very closely, the lyrics to the song are written next to it, each line pointing to a different part of the body. These are the type of meticulous details that Frank Ocean consistently incorporates into his art. The song itself is synthy, takes influence from r&b, and has variegated tones of Frank’s voice overlapping and harmonizing throughout. It begins with a pitched-up croon that fades in and out, echoing and complementing the entire song. The only instrumental accompaniment is the constant strum of a guitar and, at times, some faint piano. This works perfectly in putting emphasis on the beauty and strength of Frank’s voice, even though the song has a softer melody. Overall, his cover is a phenomenal rendition that shows both his individuality and his true dedication to the source material. Audrey Hepburn is one of my all-time favorite actors and humanitarians, and Frank Ocean truly did the song and film justice.
Live in Peace. Best Wishes, Madee