Doin 'time

The song first appeared on the third album of Sublime , released in 1996, after which the band broke up due to the death of the vocalist. “Doin 'Time” is, in fact, a version of the aria “ Summertime ” (1935), written by George Gershwin for the opera Porgy and Bess . The track of 1997 contains samples of the Summertime cover of American jazz flutist Herbie Mann , a live version in the style of the boss from his album Herbie Mann at the Village Gate (1961). Initially, Sublime recorded a song with the words “doin 'time and the livin's easy”. To release a song using the Gershwin melody sample, the band had to agree to use the line “summertime” instead of “doin 'time”. However, the song was already recorded with the words “doin 'time”, and their vocalist Bradley Knowell died suddenly from a heroin overdose (this happened on May 25, 1996). The lyrics were re-recorded by friend and producer of Sublime Michael Happoldt , performing the words "summertime". This version of the song appears in the album of the same name Sublime ^[1] .

On May 7, 2019, Lana Del Rey posted the first teaser of the song for the first time and reported on its forthcoming release ^[2] . Cover Del Rey officially appeared on May 17 at the same time as the premiere of a documentary about the broken Sublime group at the Tribeca Film Festival ^[3] .

Soon after the release of Lana Del Rey's cover version, among many critics, a general consensus began to emerge that noted the obvious relationship between “Doin 'Time” and other songs from Sublime and Del Rey’s own songs. Most critics have come to the conclusion that the decision of Del Rey to make his cover of the song was the right decision, which gave a satisfactory final result. One of the reviewers, in particular, expressed the opinion that the cover was so authentic that "it could easily appear on one of Del Rey's own albums." Another agreed, adding that the unique aesthetics that Del Rey brings to the song make her version of "hardly [even sounding] like a Sublime cover." Much of the praise for Del Rey's cover was aimed at how the singer simultaneously remained true to the original Sublime sound, and also used her own well-established vocal niches and techniques ^{[4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]} .

The version of “Doin 'Time” performed by Del Rey received critical acclaim after its release, and not only critics, but also former Sublime bandmates and their families praised Del Rey for processing the song ^{[8] [10]} .

An article from Rolling Stone magazine in which Del Rey's cover was described as “flickering” and “sparkling” included a personal assessment of Del Rey’s version by Bad Gu of the drummer of Sublime, in which Bud praised her well-recognized vocal style when she worked on song, saying that “the smoky, sexy and cult sound of her voice breathes a new life into one of our favorite singles” ^[8] . In a separate interview with iHeartRadio , given by Troy Dendecker, the widow of Sublime frontman Bradley Knowela, she also praised Del Rey's cover, describing him as “magical and ghostly”, and explained that with his release it does honor to the talent of Del Rey and complements the sublime legacy of sut " ^[10]

In a very positive review from Billboard magazine , reviewer Jill Kaufman emphasized how Del Rey included her own “sleepy, intimate atmosphere in an easy rhythm of the song” ^[11] . Alex Zaragoza from Vice magazine, welcoming the Del Rey version, said that this is “the image of SoCal ... so perfect that it is reasonable to think that the poster of the Sublime group is hanging somewhere in her house in Malibu” ^[9] .

In another very positive review, Megan Garvey of The Fader stated that “the song of the summer is Sublin’s“ Doin 'Time ”group, but such as Lana herself sings,” and continued, she attaches so much importance and respect to the cover because “ I can even assume that the [Del Rey] version of “Doin 'Time“ improves the original, thanks to its more elegant arrangement ” ^[12] . In a separate article, the second author, The Fader, also praised the Del Rey version, calling it a “great” version and, at the same time, criticized the track a little, saying that “the new Sublime cover version of Del Rey is… sublimated.” Compared to other reviews, D'Souza noted that Del Rey's distinctive artistic approach and vocals ultimately formed her own version of the song: “Lana has such a constant aesthetics that she barely sounds like a Sublime cover; this song could easily be included on her latest album, Lust For Life ^[7] .

Steely, Kili Quinlan from Stereogum, spoke positively about the song, praising it as a “very, very good” cover, stating that “Del Rey's folded vocalized with reverberation adds a great deal of sweetness to this atmosphere, and some additional percussions add great sweetness” ^[13] . Erik Torres of Pitchfork gave a positive review of the Del Rey version and shared many of the same opinions as other reviewers when he described the cover as “decisively in Del Rey style”. Torres also stressed how Del Rey “adapted Bradley Nouvelle’s expressive speech in her own crazy style.” ^[14] In a positive review from Radio.com , it was said that Del Rey had released a “floating” cover version of the song, and that it “could not be more perfect”, and that the song “was born again” with a slow tempo Del Rey, the introduction of strings, and flowing harmony " ^[15] .

Rob Arkand published his positive review for Spin , especially noting Del Rey's dedication to the original material, saying that her version "remains surprisingly faithful to the original with the plucked harp intonations." He completed his review by expressing his admiration for Del Rei's arrangement, and expressed doubt that another performer could have made the song in a way that was true to the original as well as with a special SoCal sound. ^[16]

On June 22, 2019, Lana del Rey performed the song “Doin 'Time” for the first time, performing at her concert near Castle Malachide near Dublin ( Ireland ) ^{[17] [18] [19]} .

Sublime

Lana Del Rey

•   "Doin 'Time" (audio-video) (English)