Always On My Mind is a song that has been recorded by several artists and surely you have heard at least once in your life; specially on the original ballad style with either Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson and more recently with Michael Bublé. Is fascinating how this song has trespassed generations for decades since its first early releases as performed by Gwen McCrae & Brenda Lee on the 70´s.
Nevertheless there is a version so different than the original recordings; not a ballad and no calm rhythm but a dance version that you might think, how was that even possible? Did make sense? Was that cover going to be something outrageous? Well… It ended up as one of the best covers of all time interpreted by the synth pop and electronic British duo Pet Shop Boys.
The intro of the song is so distinctive with the synth and the particular voice of Neil Tennant; impressive how he continues to sound the same while performing live considering that the cover of Always On My Mind was released on it´s dance version back on 1987. There are so many live versions on the internet such as the one in the record Inner Sanctum from 2019, but following the generational crossover that has been emphasized on this article, particularly there´s a collaboration on Glastonbury 2019 with The Killers that will blow your mind.
The first verse is performed by Neil and the second by Brandon Flowers, to afterwards join their voices to keep singing together in one of the most energetic versions of this song, showing that the classics continue to transcend generations as can be seen in the performance where from the younger to the veterans of thousands of concerts kept singing “If I made you feel second best, I´m so sorry I was blind, You were always on my mind, You were always on my mind” On this dance version the lyrics turn somehow as a confident happy statement of redemption vs the original ballads with regret and sadness after not cherishing the beloved one as you should have… has that happened to you?
I´m pretty sure that new cover versions will come in the next years so new generations can feel the meaning of this song, but this Pet Shop Boys cover will always be a reference and yes, it will be always on our mind, always on our mind.