Bob Dylan, St.Vincent & Others Rework Wedding Songs On ‘Universal Love’ EP

Bob Dylan and St. Vincent are among the participants in a new covers EP Universal Love – Weddings Song Reimagined. According to The New York Times, the six-track collection of reimagined songs “are intended to function as wedding anthems for same-sex couples.”

Dylan contributed a reworked version of the 1929 Great American Songbook classic “She’s Funny That Way” that he recorded as “He’s Funny That Way.” St. Vincent reinterpreted The Crystals’ 1963 Phil Spector hit “Then He Kissed Me” as “Then She Kissed Me.”

Death Cab For Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard reworked The Beatles “And I Love Her” as “And I Love Him,” while Valerie June arranged a version of “Mad About The Boy” as “Mad About The Girl.”

MGM Resorts International funded the project, which also features Kele Okereke performing “My Guy” (a reworking of The Temptations’ “My Girl”) and Kesha’s performance of “I Need A Woman To Love” (a reimagined take on “I Need A Man To Love” by Janis Joplin).

“If you look at the history of pop music, love songs have predominantly come from one heterosexual perspective,” Universal Love co-producer Tom Murphy told The Times. “If we view music as something that brings people together, shouldn’t these popular songs be open to everyone?”

Stream Universal Love below:

Universal Love – Weddings Song Reimagined Tracklist

1. He’s Funny That Way – Bob Dylan
2. And Then She Kissed Me – St. Vincent
3. My Guy – Kele Okereke
4. Mad About the Girl – Valerie June
5. And I Love Him – Benjamin Gibbard
6. I Need a Woman to Love – Kesha