Under the Sea - Kevin Davis and Jason Lamb

Hey, Ray here from Cover Me. Kurtis was nice enough to let me take the helm – an appropriate metaphor for today’s song – and I hope to return the gesture soon.

As a kid, The Little Mermaid was the Disney movie I hated. It had too much girl-whining and hair-combing for a seven-year old boy who is far more interested in a pirate’s sword or a dwarf’s axe than a redhead’s clam-shell bra. However, there was one song I’d rewind the tape for again and again, a song probably thrown in the movie just to give all us Y-chromosome children something to enjoy, Under the Sea. Ariel doesn’t sing a word and any ideas about boy-girl romance (ew, cooties!) are miles away. Practical issues such as breathing didn't enter my mind as, hearing how much fun the ocean's depths sounded, I planned my move there.

Turns out though the song doesn’t need Sebastian the crab’s faux-Jamaican accent or careening steel drums to be effective, as evidenced by Kevin Davis and Jason Lamb’s guitar and harmonica rendition. A songwriter from southern Illinois, Davis is a little-known, record-label-less gem of a performer, using simple instrumentation and straightforward singing to focus on the melodies. It’s a technique that lends itself to great covers like this one: just enough instrumentation to make it interesting, but not to distract from the great lyrics and vocal presentation. Add in Lamb’s harmonica wailing in the background on this one and you’ll see just why it’s hotter under the water.

Under the Sea Kevin Davis and Jason Lamb 2006