The Bobs - Press

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"They're Playing My Song"
Written by Rashaun Hall
Billboard, April 14, 2001

"Light My Fire"
Written by John Paul Densmore, Robert A. Krieger, Raymond D. Manzarek, and Jim Morrison Published by Ruminating Music (ASCAP)

Covering a classic song is often a risky endeavor, especially when that song is by the Doors. Re-creating that song a cappella raises the musical stakes even higher. That's the risk the Bobs are willing to take with their cover of the Doors' "Light My Fire", which is on the group's latest album, Coaster, on the Primarily A Cappella label.

"We had a gig four or five years ago where we were supposed to do a retrospective of music through the ages," says the Bobs' Richard Greene, explaining how the cover came about. "We were suppsoed to be doing classical music all the way up through rock'n'roll, hip-hop, and everything current. That was just too many things to get into one evening, so we decided to combine stuff. So, we took a classical piece — a magical piece from the 16th century — and combined it with a piece of classic rock."

Once the group — which also includes Amy Engelhardt, Joe Finetti, and Matthew Stull — decided to combine the two genres, Greene took on the task of arranging the song. "It wasn't that difficult to arrange. It was just a matter of making the words fit with the music. I found this old piece of sheet music, and I played it on the piano and figured out how to make it happen with that."

Greene's unique arrangement of "Light My Fire" has struck a chord with fans.

"It doesn't become apparent to them until about halfway through the song, unless we announce it at the beginning," says Greene. "We start out and it sounds like we're singing [something] magical, and gradually people start to realize what they're listening to."

According to Greene, the key to covering a song a cappella is knowing what fits that format. "We just try to pick a song that has a strong enough hook that will work being done by a vocal band."