November
4
Dave Alvin Adds to His Singles Collection
Dave Alvin, the fine chronicler of people who struggle in the America west, has added a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Seeds" to his series of digital singles being released through Yep Roc's website.It is his 14th release in the last 15 months. The series has included a surf tune, some honky-tonk and a nod to viper blues.
On the site, Alvin, a great songwriter in his own right, calls Springsteen "simply a great damn songwriter."
Alvin recorded "Seeds" in 1997 for a Bruce Springsteen tribute album for Capitol Records. He writes: "I liked the lyrics that tell one side story of what was going on down in southeast Texas during the rough times of the 1980's. Back then a lot of people ventured down to Houston and similar oil towns looking for work and were often disappointed by what they found. If that isn't a good subject for a blues song I don't what is.
"We only had a couple of hours of studio time to record "Seeds" so we didn't have the luxury of fretting about our arrangement or performance too much. We just gathered in a circle in the studio, played it through once for rehearsal and then cut it live in one take. Some songwriters don't mind when someone changes one of their songs while other songwriters can get a little upset if too much liberty is taken with their material. I don't know if Bruce Springsteen ever heard our version of 'Seeds' but I hope that he'd kind of dig it. I hope that you dig it too."
His current tour includes a show Saturday at Largo at the Coronet in L.A.
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