Close to You by Frank Ocean Song Info
“Close To You” is a cover of Stevie Wonder’s cover of “Close To You” by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. You can read more about Stevie’s cover here. This brief track follows the “Facebook Story” told by French producer SebastiAn, whose ex-lover longed to be close to them, albeit through electronic means. The irony is that SebastiAn’s vision for connecting with his partner was precisely antithetical to the technological connection his partner sought. From his 2019 GQ interview: ”I was living in a hotel, and I remember listening to it and being really nailed to the floor by Stevie Wonder’s interpretation of it. That version moved into my favorite-songs-of-all-time list, right there with Prince’s “When You Were Mine.” I don’t know what creates that feeling of “I have to sing this song.” Frank appears to be using the “Prisimizer” effect, developed by Francis and the Lights and heard on “Summer Friends” and “All We Got” from Chance The Rapper’s Coloring Book. Francis confirmed this on Twitter: ”The effect builds a choral harmonization around the vocal track to make it sound like layered vocals. You can see it being used live by Francis and the Lights.” Frank sampled a remix of “Close to You” by The Carpenters. This remix was made by Stevie Wonder and titled “Talkbox Medley (Close To You / Never Can Say)”.
