Tim Edgeworth, Author at Cover Me

Tim Edgeworth

Tim Edgeworth likes many different types of music, but has a special place in his heart for blues, jazz, and all things Americana. His dream is to travel back in time to attend a B.B. King concert. Tim writes about the work of Bob Dylan on his blog, the appropriately-titled Talkin' Bob Dylan.

Review: Emma Swift, ‘Blonde on the Tracks’

Posted by Tim Edgeworth at 9:30 am 1 Response »

Aug 142020

Putting together a cohesive, flowing covers album has always been no small feat – even more so in the age of streaming and playlists – but it can be done. Proof of this has recently been provided by Bob Dylan, who spent the mid-to-late 2010s releasing a series of Great American Songbook cover albums that, once he had finished with them, sounded like he could have written them himself. Now, Nashville-based singer songwriter Emma Swift has taken on a similar challenge with eight of Dylan’s own songs, for her new album Blonde on the Tracks.

The title references two of Dylan’s most famous records, 1966’s Blonde On Blonde and 1975’s Blood on the Tracks, but it’s the spirit of the latter album that comes through the strongest. Like Blood on the Tracks, Swift’s Blonde on the Tracks seems to be a snapshot of the end of a relationship. Also like Blood on the Tracks, there is sense that the story is being told out of sequence, with past, present and future melding into one.
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In The Spotlight: Leonard Cohen

Posted by Tim Edgeworth at 2:00 pm 1 Response »

Jul 032020

In the Spotlight showcases a cross-section of an artist’s cover work. View past installments, then post suggestions for future picks in the comments!

Leonard Cohen was known for being something of a perfectionist. “Hallelujah,” for example, was apparently whittled down from around 80 verses, while “Anthem” was the product of ten years’ arduous rewriting. With this in mind, it’s safe to say that Cohen took the same considered approach on the rare occasion that he covered a song. Not the type of person to hastily record a cover to fill up space on an album, each one of Cohen’s covers appear to have been chosen and performed with a great deal of care.
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Cover Classics: Albert King’s ‘Blues For Elvis – King Does The King’s Things’

Posted by Tim Edgeworth at 1:00 pm No Responses »

Jun 102020

Cover Classics takes a closer look at all-cover albums of the past, their genesis, and their legacy.

Albert King is one of the undisputed Kings of the Blues, but he didn’t get to that point overnight. It took ten years, hundreds of nightclub gigs, numerous day jobs, and one name change (an attempt to present himself as a relative of B.B. King) before King was able to record his first album, The Big Blues, in 1962, for the appropriately named King Records. After that, it was another five years of hard graft on the road before King finally settled into his home-for-life, Stax Records. At Stax, King formed a formidable partnership with Booker T. & The MGs, with whom he finally recorded his second album, Born Under A Bad Sign, in 1967.

It’s not entirely clear whose idea it was for Albert to record an album of Elvis covers for this, his sixth album on Stax, but the decision was an inspired one. Since Elvis’s brand of rock ‘n’ roll in part derived from the blues, Albert would simply be “bringing it all back home.”
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They Say It’s Your Birthday: Noel Gallagher

Posted by Tim Edgeworth at 4:30 pm 4 Responses »

May 292020

They Say It’s Your Birthday celebrates an artist’s special day with covers of his or her songs. Let someone else do the work for a while. Happy birthday!iv>

Unlike many singer-songwriters, Noel Gallagher has no problem admitting that his earlier material will probably be his legacy. “From an artistic point of view, your best years are in the first few years,” he recently told Matt Morgan on the Funny How podcast. “You do your best work when it’s f***ing vital and you are in the same circumstances as your audience.” Not many performers would be willing to admit that, but consider the caliber of the songs Noel was writing at the start of his career: “Live Forever,” “Rock ‘n’ Roll Star,” “Supersonic.” These early Oasis tracks are more than just songs; they’re anthems, often expressing a relatable desire to trade a life of hardship for something better.

The fact that Noel’s songs are so beloved makes them endlessly coverable, and we’ve picked a few of the best to celebrate The Chief’s birthday. Happy Birthday, Noel!
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Exploring Frank Sinatra’s Later Albums

Posted by Tim Edgeworth at 10:00 am 3 Responses »

May 142020

In Memoriam pays tribute to those who have left this world, and the songs they left us to remember them by.

Frank Sinatra hailed from an era where singers were singers and songwriters were songwriters, and rarely the twain did meet. Great American Songbook standards penned by the likes of Irving Berlin, the Gershwin brothers, and Cole Porter were tailored to Sinatra’s specifications by master arrangers like Nelson Riddle, Gordon Jenkins, and Billy May, and brought to life by Sinatra’s formidable interpretive skill. “I’m a real stickler for perfection, in my work and most other people’s work too,” Sinatra said of his approach in 1956. “I find myself picking whatever I do apart, which I do believe is quite healthy.” Continue reading »

Cover Classics: Bob Dylan’s ‘Good As I Been To You’

Posted by Tim Edgeworth at 2:00 pm No Responses »

May 122020

Cover Classics takes a closer look at all-cover albums of the past, their genesis, and their legacy.

Similar to Superman’s periodic retreats to his Fortress of Solitude, Bob Dylan occasionally turns to the music of the past to gather strength for challenges ahead. Most of the great comebacks of Bob’s career – including the one we’re seeing right now – have been proceeded by intense periods of covering old songs. In 1992, after a decade of butting heads with producers and wrestling with 1980s recording technology, Dylan decided to strip things back – all the way back. No producer, no band; just Bob Dylan, his guitar, and a bucketload of folk and blues songs.

The idea had probably been taking shape in Dylan’s mind since the summer of 1988, when he began what would soon become known as the Never Ending Tour (or NET to its friends). While the earliest NET shows were largely devoted to Bob and his band tearing through his back catalogue punk rock-style, the highlight for many fans were the mid-show acoustic sets, where Bob often unearthed traditional songs from the western world’s distant past. “Trail of the Buffalo,” “The Lakes of Pontchartrain,” “Barbara Allen,” “The Wagoner’s Lad,” and many others made regular appearances. Bob didn’t just perform these songs: he inhabited them.
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