Review: “Old No. 1 Revisited”

 Posted by at 3:30 pm  1 Response »
Jul 012026
 

Well, this was an unexpected pleasure.

Old No. 1 Revisited drops a full half-century plus one (gulp) after Guy Clark issued Old No. 1, a timeless pillar of honest country roots music. Not a huge seller at the time, it is only with the passage of time and, inevitably, with Clark’s passing in 2016 that its value has become truly realized and recognized. It’s not the first time others have celebrated Clark’s songs; an earlier all-star tribute, 2011’s This One’s for Him: A Tribute to Guy Clark, helped defray the not inconsiderable medical costs of his fight with lymphoma. But fifteen years have passed since then, and Old No. 1 Revisited gets the happy task of introducing Clark to the next generation.

Here we get a bevy of the current great and good in country and Americana, ranging from Margo Price and Sarah Jarosz to a returning Rodney Crowell, present on the earlier tribute as well as the original. Producer Dan Kobler put the album together, in conjunction with the Guy Clark Family Foundation. Players as noteworthy as Sam Bush (mandolin) and Mickey Raphael (harmonica) turned up, and guest harmony vocals come courtesy of the likes of Rosanne Cash and Ruth Moody. (Raphael appeared alongside Crowell on the original Clark release.) Besides the faithful track by track recreation of the original, there is a 100-page book, by Peter Blackstock, full of interviews of those involved with Clark at that time, and photos that document the process. All proceeds will return to the family trust.
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The Best Cover Songs of April 2021

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Apr 302021
 
best cover songs april 2021
Dave Richardson – Bright Phoebus (Lal & Mike Waterson cover)


Vermonter Dave Richardson digs deep into folk-rock history on his new album Palms to Pines, covering the title track of Lal & Mike Waterson’s 1972 album Bright Phoebus. Deeply obscure at the time – only 1,000 copies were initially pressed – it became known as “folk music’s Sgt. Pepper” among the very, very few people who actually heard it. The record has seen a recent resurgence with champions like Arcade Fire and Jarvis Cocker leading to a 2017 re-release on überhip Domino Records. Richardson makes it sound like a classic all along. Continue reading »

Under the Radar: Jade Bird

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Feb 162018
 

Under the Radar shines a light on lesser-known cover artists. If you’re not listening to these folks, you should. Catch up on past installments here.

jade bird covers

On the 25-track David Bowie tribute album Howard Stern’s show released this week, many of the names were familiar: Billy Corgan, Dawes, Peter Frampton, etc. One that didn’t ring a bell was Jade Bird. But her version of Bowie’s Hunky Dory deep cut “Quicksand” was a surprising highlight. I wondered how I was so late to discover her.

Turns out, I wasn’t. Despite running in such heady company, Jade Bird (her real name) has only released one EP so far. But things are moving fast for her, and by the time she releases her debut record, she might not be so under the radar any longer.

She was just nominated for the BBC Sound of 2018 which, if you’re not in the UK, might not mean much. But it’s as good a measure as any of who might blow up in the next year. Winners in the past decade include the then-little-known Sam Smith, HAIM, and, oh, Adele. Hell, the losers include The Weeknd, King Krule, and Savages (and that was just in one year!). Continue reading »