On his new EP, bluegrass musician Michael Daves pays tribute to fellow Georgians R.E.M. with a unique take on the quartet’s material. Fables is a six-song EP that pays tribute to R.E.M.’s third album, Fables of the Reconstruction.
With the backing of his usual group of musicians, featuring Alex Hargreaves on fiddle, Jacob Jolliff on mandolin and Erik Alvar, Daves offers a thoroughly bluegrass-ed take on six of R.E.M.’s songs, including “Feeling Gravity’s Pull,” and “Driver 8.” You can watch his cover of “Can’t Get There From Here” below.
“It was really important for me to try to make something that would stand on its own, even if people didn’t have any connection with R.E.M. or don’t even like them,” said Daves. “I tried to make something that just works by its own logic as much as it’s paying homage to the original.”
The EP is the second release on Daves’ own Wild Geranium label and is available as a digital download or as a cassette with two additional live tracks.
