Baskery have never been shy of their influences, with the Swedish sisters indebted to the “file under country and folk” of North America. Although they self-describe their music as “killbilly”, or banjo punk, the reality is that they are a world apart from any of the frantic fringes of cowpunk, a closer reference point being maybe as an amalgam of the (Dixie) Chicks and the Roches. It is a good brew, though, and their previous releases contain a melodic fusion of country rock tropes. Greta Bondesson manages to combine playing drums with a guitar/banjo hybrid, with sister Stella playing bass and sister Sunniva handling guitars and cello. All sing, their sibling harmonies a characteristic feature. As well as playing all the instruments, the three usually write their own songs. However, The Young Sessions – Live to Tape sees them doing a cover album, selecting ten Neil Young tracks to cover, most of them from his 1969-1972 peak.
The Young Sessions opens with a medley of “Out on the Weekend/Don’t Let it Bring You Down/A Man Needs a Maid”, and that opening shot proves that Baskery has the Harvest soundscape down just pat. The drums mimic the simplistic metronome of the originals, and Greta’s harmonica is Shakey-level authentic. Indeed, so much so that, as the tripartite vocals come in, it sounds… odd, a little Chipmunks-do-Neil. Not to say they are shrill, sticking much to the singer’s own timbre; it is just the novelty of hearing three Neil-adjacent voices all at the same time. This is least apparent for “Maid,” given, clearly, no orchestration, leaving the sisters to garnish it with just what they have to hand, which makes for a first hint of new light through the old windows.
“Old Man” returns to superior karaoke, but the sibling harmonies make the exercise worth that conceit. The sound of the guitar/banjo hybrid gives an idea of the instrument’s capabilities, it sounding actually exactly as billed, the plucking pitched between the sonic of both instruments. “Heart of Gold” actually benefits from this, not least as it granted some slide styling for the familiar riff.
“Alabama” is the first to have you wonder whether the sisters are up to reproducing the idiosyncratic boxing-gloves guitar style of Young. The answer: nearly, if more in spirit than execution, the soloing more prosaic and decidedly more conventional. It’s fine, but there remains a yearning for the cack-handedness of the original.
That said, spotting a running time of over 10 minutes for “Down by the River,” the feel is, and the hope stronger, that this is maybe where Baskery let rip. And, as they begin, they deliver a wonderfully aspirational assault. The interplay between orthodox guitar and the hybrid is superbly monosyllabic and repetitive, where each of these are essential facets of the Neil Young Experience. For me, this is where the album comes suddenly to life, my hand casually dialing up the volume, and then some more. Too late for our best covers of the year list, this song might have had my vote.
Sadly, “Cowgirl in the Sand” doesn’t get quite the same length of workout, but the looser swagger the trio have now unleashed is still present, notably in the now more ragged vocals. Quite how Greta is managing her multitasking still seems hard to handle, until the penny drops around possibly how little is expected of the various drummers employed on all those iconic albums. No disrespect to Ralph Molina and Kenny Buttrey, but what were you doing with your hands in all those recording sessions?
The Young Sessions finishes with the more muted acousticity of “The Needle and the Damage Done” and “Sugar Mountain.” The solo sung verses of the former are sweetly redolent of the original, if the guitar play, again, is a little too fluid. Expecting the second song to also be a facsimile of Young’s own rendition, the sisters instead apply a little more vocal and instrumental welly, which alters the whole shape of the song. I can see and respect why they took this approach, but, like “Needle,” it is a song where less is emphatically more, and I felt the embellishment a distraction. But thanks for trying, and I don’t mean that to be as glib as it may sound.
My opinion of The Young Sessions changed a lot as I played it, with initial opinions lifting, exponentially, whenever I got to “Down By the River.” With that in mind, perhaps I should leaven the enthusiasm I have for it, but heck, it’s Christmas and I can’t. Buy it for that track alone and you’ll be delighted.
The Young Sessions – Live to Tape tracklist:
1. Out on the Weekend/Don’t Let It Bring You Down/ A Man Needs a Maid
2. Old Man
3. Heart of Gold
4. Alabama
5. Down by the River
6. Cowgirl in the Sand
7. The Needle and the Damage Done
8. Sugar Mountain
