Vampire Weekend – “Con Te Partirò” (Andrea Bocelli Cover)

Sweetheart Comp

Vampire Weekend – “Con Te Partirò” (Andrea Bocelli Cover)

Sweetheart Comp

Starbucks’ Sweetheart 2014 compilation, the coffee chain’s latest Valentine’s Day-themed collection of contemporary artists covering older love songs, looms imminent, and we’ve already posted Beck’s version of John Lennon’s “Love” and Jim James’s take on Bob Marley’s “Turn Your Lights Down Low.” But this morning, we get to hear maybe the most fascinating track on the comp’s tracklist. Vampire Weekend have taken on “Con Te Partirò,” an Italian neoclassical song made famous by the overblown operatic belter Andrea Bocelli. VW have swapped out the swelling strings for something approaching reggae, but Ezra Koenig actually sings the entire thing in Italian and acquits himself shockingly well. Koenig tells Rolling Stone, “‘Con te Partirò’ is one of the greatest love songs of all time. Its beauty transcends language. Thank you, Mr. Bocelli, for introducing us to this majestic gem.”

Sweetheart 2014 is out 2/4 on Hear Music/Concord Music Group.

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