A RADIO DIAL EXTRA: "Friday I'm In Love" by Natalie Imbruglia

   It’s a rare occurrence when a modern recording catches our ears here at Kyle’s Radio Dial, and this time, it’s a cover which recasts an iconic early 90s alternative hit with bouncy folk pop sensibilities, a creative country & western arrangement, and melodic female vocals. Give a listen to Australia's Natalie Imbruglia and her rendition of The Cure’s 1992 hit “Friday I’m In Love”.

Natalie is best known state side for her monster 1997 pop smash “Torn”, and while she was relegated to one hit wonder status in America (though she scored many hits in the UK, Italy, and her native Australia), she continued to record, releasing five LPs from '97 through last year.

“Friday” is taken from her most recent offering, 2015’s “Male”, in which she covers material by male songwriters across a very diverse musical landscape. In addition to her cover of The Cure, you can also hear her treatment of tunes by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Pete Townshend, The Zac Brown Band, Daft Punk, Modern English, and Iron & Wine, among many others.

I discovered “Friday” when I took my 4 year old daughter (the youngest Radio Dial Kid) to the library back in March. While walking through the music section, Natalie’s “Male” CD caught my eye, as I wasn’t aware she had released anything recently. Being a big fan of “Left of the Middle” (the album from which “Torn” was the hit), I checked it out, and queued up “Friday” as my first selection for the drive home.

Despite this particular library visit falling on a Saturday (and not a Friday), I instantly fell in love with Imbruglia's sweet vocals, and the bluegrass style banjo blew me away! My little girl started clapping along with the hand claps around the 1:00 point, and said… "Daddy, I like this song, turn it up!”

Check it out, and see if you agree with her! So far, in her four years on this planet, she’s demonstrated a good ear for quality tunes, however, you’ll understand if I am just a little biased.

“I don't care if Monday's blue, Tuesday's gray and Wednesday too…
Thursday, I don't care about you, it's Friday, I'm in love”