Another non-Sunday, another fantastic in-concert cover. This time it’s Brandon Flowers, The Killers’ frontman whose debut solo album, Flamingo, is out September 14.
Currently on a brief pre-release tour on this side of the Atlantic before taking his new tunes to the UK, Flowers stopped first in his hometown of Las Vegas on Saturday for a surprise gig at Wynn’s Surrender Nightclub. In addition to tracks from Flamingo, Flowers turned the clock back nearly three decades to perform a fantastic take on Kim Carnes’ 1981 #1 smash, “Bette Davis Eyes.” Oh, he’ll tease you, all right:
Kim Carnes spent nine weeks in the top spot with “Bette Davis Eyes,” but her best-known hit was itself a cover. The song was originally recorded by Jackie DeShannon in 1974, who co-wrote the tune. Her take features quite a different arrangement, to say the least.