When he’s not busy picking fights with next-gen rockers, David Crosby continues to make singular, beautiful music. The folk rock legend has had a prolific run of five solo album releases since 2014, many of them in collaboration with a cadre of younger, progressive, genre-roving musicians — among them, members of Snarky Puppy, Becca Stevens, Cory Henry and his own son, producer James Raymond. Crosby pushes forth with an open mind and spirit (and another cross-generational collaboration) on his latest release: a stirring cover of Joni Mitchell’s “For Free,” featuring singer-songwriter Sarah Jarosz on duet vocals.
Crosby and Jarosz offer a performance that feels both weighty and delicate, harmonizing in synchronicity for the full tune. It’s a profound take, and the arrangement — just vocals, plaintive piano and bass — is sparse enough to let the song’s intrinsic beauty shine through. “For Free” is the title track on Crosby’s forthcoming full-length record, due out July 23rd.
Beyond only Crosby’s version, Joni Mitchell’s “For Free” has gotten a surprising amount of mileage as a cover among other newer collaborators in the last year too. The song had a massive appearance as the compelling closing track of Lana Del Rey’s pandemic-era release, Chemtrails over the Country Club, with Zella Day and Weyes Blood joining the fray on additional vocals.
Check out more covers by David Crosby.
Check out many more Joni Mitchell covers here.
