When Megan O'Neill announced that she would be covering "Time In A Bottle" it stirred a mixture of emotions. First off it was great kudos for Megan for even knowing it, something of a lost classic written and originally sung by Jim Croce, who was sadly taken away by a plane crash at the age of 30. Jim himself is a sadly overlooked talent and anyone stirred by this version enough to seek out the original would do well to then watch a rather splendid documentary "Songman - The Jim Croce Story" for more on this lost performer.
The second emotion stirred was one of worry - there is a definitive version of this song in existence already - and as much as we love Megan could she possibly even come close to touching the original whose whole poignancy is entwined with the fate of its creator.
Megan's version starts with just a piano playing and something of an ethereal background created by Megan just "ooohing" and some very faint strings. Megan's actual vocals when they come in are slightly distant and haunting as if it is already too late and time has passed. Personally I prefer it when Megan drops back to her normal timbre for the chorus for it is here she really captures the essence of the song especially as she lingers on the last word in a quite splendid vocal.
In later verses there is the arrival of a mandolin and Megan's voice is less ghostly which again works better as she sings the third verse
"If I had a box just for wishes
And dreams that had never come true
All things considered, it is distinctly different enough to stand on its own merits and with it being used in the title sequence of the new Netflix series "Firefly Lane", it can only bring more coverage for both Megan and indeed Jim Croce and that cannot be a bad thing can it?