Of Cheerios and Macy Gray
It’s the mark of a great song when its qualities are recognizable even if you only hear a short snippet, or when it’s been transformed by a thoroughly deconstructive arrangement. There’s been a Cheerios spot on Canadian television recently with a soundtrack with just those qualities. Turns out it’s Ben Taylor with his rendition of I Try 
. Its hauntingly familiar, but I would never have guessed it was the same song originally written and performed by Macy Gray on her debut album On How Life Is . If you’re going to download Taylor’s version, you owe it to yourself to download Gray’s original version as well, and play them together. It’s a case study at how great songs not only tolerate, but are often enhanced by diverse arrangement styles. It turns out there’s another reason the song is familiar — turns out that Ben Taylor is the son of James Taylor and Carly Simon. I knew I had heard that voice somewhere before.