Category: Rani Arbo and Daisy Mayhem


Looking Back, Looking Forward: On Half a Year of CLD plus more covers of and from your favorites and mine

March 30th, 2008 — 01:40 am

Image copyright Adam Pesch, 2003

Six months ago today I jumped into the world of music blogging with both feet and no expectations. Since then, Cover Lay Down has become many things to many people.

To me, Cover Lay Down is sometimes a haven, often a playspace, always a way to try to put into words why I love what I love. But even though it is work, it is never a burden. And it is a place I am proud to call my home on the web.

But as a home is nothing without a constant stream of dinner companions, houseguests and couchcrashers, a blog is nothing without its readership. Though I only hear from a tiny percentage of the thousand or so of you who visit on an average day, it is clear from those who do share thoughts and songs that Cover Lay Down has served you well. The outpouring of interest, support, and kind words has been validating. I treasure every comment and email, and consider many of you friends.

More surprising has been the relatively recent recognition by promoters, labels, and artists themselves. It has always been my aim to support artists first and foremost, as organically as possible, but as a cover blogger, I never expected to hit the radar. Thanks to every promoter that reaches out to me, to every small label that works with me to keep the focus on artists and songs, and especially, to every artist who has not only shared their gifts, but more and more often, their words of encouragement.

It is a rare privilege to serve as a bridge between the music I love and the community I cherish. Thank you, all, for your trust, your recommendations, and your encouragement. Together, we really are making a difference.

For those who are curious about what this place looks like behind the scenes, it’s worth noting that careful hit-tracking shows a steady rise in readership pushed by periodic blips of discovery from the blogosphere and web-based press. It is neat to be noticed, and I really appreciate recent mentions from the likes of Muruch, Berkeley Place, Copy, Right via WFMU’s Beware the Blog, and many others I truly respect. I owe these folks, too, and am proud to consider them mentors and peers.

But even if not all posts make The Houston Chronicle, Weblog Wannabe, or what appears to be the German version of MTV, or garner notice on those carefully selected linklists of incredible folk and coverblogs you see to the right, I am proud that such recognition keeps driving the average size of our readership ever upwards. I may be wrong, but I’d like to think our growth after each blip underscores the fact that so many who find this place come back on their own — which in turn validates the continued good balance we’ve managed to create between featuring songs and songwriters, and the performers that cover them.

I enjoy writing them all, though I am proudest of the continued work trying to define the myriad ways and means of folk itself — a thread that wends its way through every post, whether it explores the possibility of a single subgenre or song, or focuses on a given singer or songwriter. And, now that labels and artists have begun sending me their work, I am increasingly excited about the unique opportunity to use cover songs as a vehicle for audiences like yourselves to find new artists.

But today is as much about looking back as looking ahead, and we meet here for the music more than anything. So enough about us — let’s get to the coversongs, shall we? Today, a very special installment of our (Re)Covered series, wherein we revisit the past, and add new value to older posts. After all, isn’t building bridges between the past and the now, too, what folk is all about?

One of the reasons I started this blog was that I was so blown away by South of Delia, the new cover album by singer-songwriter Richard Shindell, that I needed to share it with the world. Since then, I keep coming back to that amazing album, and to the artist who recorded it, who recently released the first in what promises to be a wonderful series of live concert recordings. It seems especially fitting to look back to that first post today, for a deeper look at Richard Shindell, plus young folk group We’re About 9 with an a capella cover of one of his most poignant songs.

  • Richard Shindell, Lawrence, KS (orig. Josh Ritter)
  • Richard Shindell, Fourth of July, Asbury Park (orig. Bruce Springsteen)
  • Richard Shindell, Darkness, Darkness (orig. Jesse Colin Young)
  • We’re About 9, Money For Floods (orig. Richard Shindell)

    Most of our first few months we were seriously under the radar. Though my early look at Britney Spears — a post originally intended as a Halloween “mask” — brought some recognition, it says something that even as family friend Sam Amidon garners mention in Rolling Stone and Spin, and even though my look at him was more exhaustive than any I have read, no one seems to remember that we, too, did a feature on Sam Amidon way back in November of last year, before many of the big guns spotted him. Here’s a trifecta of Amidon covers I originally posted way back when, one each from his new work and his two previous albums; pick up a bunch more of his cuts at that original post.

  • Sam Amidon, Head Over Heels (orig. Tears for Fears)
  • Sam Amidon, Louis Collins (orig. Mississippi John Hurt)
  • Sam Amidon, Little Johnny Brown (trad./ arr. Ella Jenkins)

    Just before the momentum really started to build, I put up a gigantic but generally unnoticed post about local folkfaves Rani Arbo and Daisy Mayhem, and mentioned I hadn’t yet heard their newest album Big Old Life. Since then, I’ve made friends with the folks at Signature Sounds, a wonderful label/studio who first produced the work of Josh Ritter and Lori McKenna, and currently work with folkblog fave Eilen Jewell and previously-covered Jeffrey Foucault and Caroline Herring; they sent me a copy of Big Old Life, and I’m happy to report it was all I had hoped for: fun, quirky, and full of surprises. Rani deserves a real shot at my current audience, so here’s two of my favorite tracks; the Dylan, especially, is both wonderful and awesomely odd.

  • Rani Arbo and Daisy Mayhem, Farewell, Angelina (orig. Bob Dylan)
  • Rani Arbo and Daisy Mayhem, Heart with No Compassion (orig. Leonard Cohen)

    Speaking of Leonard Cohen: if email responses were the best measure of success, our Single Song Sundays would hands down be counted as our most popular entries. In almost every case, from features on tradfolk songs like House Carpenter and Amazing Grace to heavily covered singer-songwriter cuts like Joni Mitchell’s River and Dylan’s Girl of the North Country, posting multiple versions of a song has brought in choice submissions from fans and artists alike. I truly appreciate these emails, and love learning about new artists this way. Here’s the best of what came in after my most recent post on Leonard Cohen’s Famous Blue Raincoat, with much thanks to two new e-friends for introducing me to Antje Duvekot and Karen Jo Fields, two singer-songwriters I’ll be listening to over the next few months.

  • Antje Duvekot, Famous Blue Raincoat (orig. Leonard Cohen)
  • Karen Jo Fields, Famous Blue Raincoat (ibid.)

    What’s next on Cover Lay Down? Plenty. I’m working with several artists I love to bring forward some great covers they’ve done over the years, and anxiously awaiting word on a few “in the works” cover projects from folksters new and old. With the folk festival season soon upon us, I expect to be more in tune with what’s new in the folkworld, and hope, as well, to be able to renew and strengthen connections with artists, fans, and promoters.

    In other words, much of what you’ll continue to see here is that which we do best, only deeper. But even that is not static. Folk is culture, so as culture changes, folk changes, too. As long as new gems and rising stars shine among the new and unheard CDs that clutter my desktop, it is my hope to add more short features on newer artists still below the radar. I’ll have an experiment of sorts in that vein coming along later this week. But to the extent that we can say so, I think the model we’ve created together is largely a success. Expect more of the same as we go forward.

    One last word before I go. In the end, the purpose of this blog truly is to best support folk music, and the artists who make it. Regular visitors may have noticed that we disdain mass market commercial sources for music here wherever possible. My recent connections with artists and labels has only strengthened my belief that the best way to support the music we love is not just to buy it, it is to buy it through the artists themselves, at shows, on artist websites, and through distribution centers like CD Baby — sources which genuinely send the bulk of the profit back to the artist herself.

    Please, folks: if you like what you hear, buy, and buy local. Else one day, there might be nothing left for us to talk about except the oldies. And if I could ask for anything back from all of you, it would not be words. It would be that this community, this scene, this sound is still vibrant a hundred years from now, for our children and theirs.

    Thanks for staying with me for so long, both tonight and since you found this place. We’ll be back Wednesday, and again on Sunday, ad infinitum. But come back any time you like. For you, the door is always open.

  • 1,250 comments » | (Re)Covered, Antje Duvekot, Karen Jo Fields, Leonard Cohen, metapost, Rani Arbo and Daisy Mayhem, richard shindell, Sam Amidon, We're About 9

    Folkcovers For A Winter’s Night: Snowsongs, sleigh rides, and other nondenominational carols

    December 5th, 2007 — 01:49 am

    Raising Jewnitarian children means working hard to balance the outer culture’s overabundance of Christmas music with alternative seasonal sounds. This is sometimes harder than it sounds, especially when it comes to covers. Though there have been a few originals over the years that would fit the category, most notably a recent spate of Hannukah music from the fringes of the indierock world, it’s harder for these songs to enter the canon, driven as it is by the tick and tinsel of gift-giving and public holiday display in a predominantly Christian culture.

    In some ways, it’s surprising, given the national push towards multiculturalism over the past decades, that there aren’t more songs of not-just-Christmas. There are plenty of modern, entirely secular songs about Christmastime, it’s true — common themes here might include “I miss you more this time of year”, “I want stuff”, and, more recently, “crass commercialism is getting kind of evil, isn’t it?” But ultimately, these songs are still about Christmas. After all, it’s not like I miss people more this time of year just because it’s cold.

    Still, there’s a small, stellar selection of nonedenominational songs that have crept into the songbook over the years, many lying unnoticed among paeans to Christmas trees, Jesus, and holiday celebration. And a few great, well-covered songs out there which are appropriate for a snowy December day, even if they’d never make it on a holiday sampler.

    Today, as an antidote to the already-overfamiliar Christmasmusic that fills ears and airwaves this time of year, a few select songs of solstice, snow, winter, and other alt-seasonal delights from the world of folk covermusic. Plus the usual bonus covers, just for kicks.

    • Erica Wheeler, Song For A Winter’s Night (orig. Gordon Lightfoot)
    • Quartette, Song For A Winter’s Night (ibid.)
        Gordon Lightfoot’s mellow Song For A Winter’s Night fits the folk mindset perfectly: the hearth, the snow, the story of us in a house. A spare cover from Erica Wheeler and the rich harmonies of Canadian folk supergroup Quartette do it justice, twice over.

    • Robert Earl Keen, Snowin’ On Raton (orig. Townes Van Zandt)
    • Rani Arbo & Daisy Mayhem, Snowbird (orig. Gene McLellan)
        The cover of snow becomes a metaphor of darkness and loss in Robert Earl Keen‘s latenight honkytonk cover of Snowin’ on Raton, and a mantle in Rani Arbo and Daisy Mayhem‘s light, swinging version of Elvis/Anne Murray classic Snowbird.

    • Elizabeth Mitchell, Jingle Bells
    • Sufjan Stevens, Jingle Bells
    • The Roches, Jingle Bells

      As always, all artist links above go to artist/label storefronts — the best way to give artists the most bang for their buck. And remember, kids: music is a present that fits any occasion, any season, any connection between you and your family and friends, no matter what you celebrate.

      Today’s bonus coversongs:

    • Jill Sobule, Merry Christmas From The Family (orig. Robert Earl Keen)
        Okay, so it’s not nondenominational. Folkpopstar (and Jew) Jill Sobule covers this drunken anti-spiritual paean to dysfunction with such aplomb, it transcends the holiday setting.

    • Nanci Griffith, Ten Degrees and Getting Colder (orig. Gordon Lightfoot)
        This one’s not technically about winter, just cold. Lightfoot was Canadian. I guess it gets chilly up there. From coveralbum Other Voices, Other Rooms.

    • The Roches, Winter Wonderland
    • The Roches, Frosty The Snowman
        Two more familiar, playful, tongue-in-cheek “traditional” songs of snow from The Roches’ mostly-Christmas album We Three Kings.

      Haven’t had enough of Christmas coverfolk? Never fear! Stay tuned over the next few weeks for a plethora of acoustic holiday cheer still to come!

    169 comments » | Elizabeth Mitchell, Erica Wheeler, Holiday Coverfolk, Jill Sobule, Nanci Griffith, Rani Arbo and Daisy Mayhem, Robert Earl Keen, Sufjan Stevens, The Roches

    Rani Arbo Covers: The Beatles, Springsteen, Holiday Songs and more!

    November 28th, 2007 — 11:45 am

    Rani Arbo knows good music. As sole female member of New England’s premier folkgrass roots combo Salamander Crossing, she was the stunning, crystal-clear voice behind some of my absolute favorite originals and interpretations of songs from the traditional to the popular. She was also founding member of honkytonk act Girl Howdy, where she lent her crisp fiddle-playing to a fun, authentic group of women that moved on without her before recording a lick. And, since the turn of the century, as the leader of Rani Arbo and Daisy Mayhem, she’s been consistently blowing the minds of those who thought folk-tinged bluegrass was nothing more than country music in disguise.

    I’ve been lucky enough to have seen this amazing artist in small venues in all three of her musical incarnations. Over that time, I’ve seen Arbo — who originally presented herself as just one vocalist/instrumentalist among several in Salamander Crossing’s first release — grow into a powerful vocalist, arranger, and bandleader, first tentatively, and then with the kind of easy, grinning confidence and control that brings her name to the front of the marquee.

    There’s a reason why reviewers compared Salamander Crossing’s later work favorably to that of Alison Krauss and Union Station. But since then, as leader of Rani Arbo and Daisy Mayhem — a band which also features fellow ex-Salamander Crossing member Andrew Kinsey and Arbo’s husband, percussionist Scott Kessel — Rani and her cohorts have gone far beyond the simple genre-work of Krauss. From their first release, each Daisy Mayhem album has spanned an incredibly broad spectrum of style, from honkytonk to folk to blues to bluegrass to swing — and with the support of her powerful bandmates, each of whom contributes to authorship, arrangement, and leadership, Rani makes it all work exquisitely.

    Rani Arbo’s life hit a snag a few years ago when she was diagnosed with cancer just around the time she and Kessel became parents. During that time, Rani stopped touring much, and we moved away from the Northern Massachusetts region that Rani calls home; I haven’t seen her live in a while, with or without her incredible band of musical cohorts. But now, after a four year gap between albums, Rani Arbo and Daisy Mayhem are back in swing. Critics love their newest release Big Old Life, which like their previous ventures, is a solid mix of up- and down-tempo traditional songs, originals, and just plain fun. (It also includes some sweet covers of Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen songs.) I think you’ll love it, too.

    Today, a history in covers — both in the hopes that you’ll support Rani and the rest by picking up their catalog, and in celebration of an artist that, like the beautiful and ever-changing musical phoenix that she is, keeps rising from the ashes to shine once again. Listen for a range of musical styles, the playful stretching of a still-evolving musician comfortable in every mode from slow ballad to acoustic swing to the familiar bluegrass style made popular by Alison Krauss. Then listen again. Then buy. And repeat, ad infinitum.

    One note before we get to the tuneage. There’s a lot of music here today, but only because it was damn hard to keep from posting every song on every album. Instead of just going for the “popular” covers, why not try ‘em all for once? I promise your ears will thank you.

    • Salamander Crossing, Things We Said Today (orig. The Beatles)
      (from Salamander Crossing)

    • Salamander Crossing, Two Faces Have I (orig. Bruce Springsteen)
      (from Passion Train)
    • Salamander Crossing, Five Days in May (orig. Blue Rodeo)
    • Salamander Crossing, Ain’t Gonna Work Tomorrow (trad.)
      (from Bottleneck Dreams)

    • Rani Arbo and Daisy Mayhem, Limo To Memphis (orig. Guy Clark)
    • Rani Arbo and Daisy Mayhem, I Do My Cryin’ At Night (orig. Lefty Frizzel)
      (from Cocktail Swing)

    • Rani Arbo and Daisy Mayhem, O, Death (trad. / Bessie Jones)
    • Rani Arbo and Daisy Mayhem, Turtle Dove (trad.)
      (from Gambling Eden)

    • Rani Arbo and Daisy Mayhem, Oil in My Vessel (trad.)
      (from Big Old Life)
    • Rani Arbo, I Saw Three Ships (trad.)
    • Waters, Moore, and Arbo, Nowell Sing We (trad.)
      (from Wonderland: A Winter’s Solstice Celebration)

    Still wavering? To make purchasing easy, I’ve linked each album mentioned above directly to a purchase page at long-time Pioneer Valley folklabel Signature Sounds, which is currently offering their yearly artist sampler free with any purchase. This years sampler includes Winterpills, Crooked Still, new work from previously featured folkartist Peter Mulvey, unreleased Erin McKeown and more!

    Today’s bonus coversongs:

    • Electric bar-blues band the Tarbox Ramblers cover O, Death
    • Mountain music pioneer Ralph Stanley covers O, Death, too

    Yesterday’s bonus coversongs:

    746 comments » | Bruce Springsteen, Guy Clark, Holiday Coverfolk, Lefty Frizzel, Ralph Stanley, Rani Arbo and Daisy Mayhem, Salamander Crossing, The Beatles

    Thankful Folk: A Thanksgiving Holiday Special

    November 23rd, 2007 — 10:32 am

    The web is full of Thanksgiving originals this week: Alice’s Restaurant, Loudon Wainwright III’s Thanksgiving, songs about helping others, the odd song about pie or turkey. Here at the Boyhowdy House, we’re feeling grateful for a few choice folk-tinged coversongs of thanks and blessing-counting that stand out in a small pond of hymns and secular songs just right for the season. Without further ado, here’s some particularily Thankful Folk.

    • Chris Smither, Thanks To You (orig. Jesse Winchester)
      The opening cut from previously featured Chris Smither’s powerful, well-produced Small Revelations, this cover just plain rocks, from the first bass growl (I know I’m a sinner/I ain’t no beginner) to the last sustained blues lick.

    • Erin McKeown, Thanks For The Boogie Ride (orig. Buck/Mitchell)
      This short, crisp boogie-woogie tune from diminuative-yet-powerful folkartist Erin McKeown comes from Sing You Sinners, her full album of old Tin Pan Alley tunes. You can hear her infectious grin throughout.

    • Dave Van Ronk, God Bless The Child (orig. Billie Holiday)
    • Eva Cassidy, God Bless The Child (orig. Billie Holiday)
      Two blues versions of this Holiday tune from two very different folk artists stolen from this world far too soon. Dave Van Ronk‘s slow, bluesy solo acoustic fingerpick and Eva Cassidy‘s electrified loungeclub blues swoon make the perfect counterpart. Off Your Basic Dave Van Ronk and American Tune, respectively.

    • Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem, The Farmer Is The Man(orig. J. Carson)
      A mournful paean for the oft-invisibles who bring our table’s bounty and a gruff, loose-fiddled reminder to those who would forget. From Gambling Eden, which, like most of Arbo‘s work, is chock full of wonderful interpretations of old folk and gospel tunes. (Buy before 2008, get free shipping! And 10% of all profits go to Rock and Roll camp for girls!)

    • Sufjan Stevens, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing (trad.)
      My absolute favorite hymn, ever since I heard Sufjan’s five-EP set Songs For Christmas last year. Our hymnal lists this song as a hymn of Thanksgiving, so there’s no need to wait a month to hear the beautifully torn banjo-jangle plainsong approach Sufjan brings to it.

    As always here on Cover Lay Down, wherever possible, all artist/album links above go to that artist’s preferred purchase source. Help make some artist thankful — buy their music today!

    Psst! Looking ahead towards our next holiday? I usually try to hold off on celebrating too early, but yesterday, on our way home from an authentic 1830s Thanksgiving feast, we passed a family cutting down trees and putting up reindeer, and it reminded me of a song lyric. So stay tight until Sunday for our first post of the 2007 holiday season: a Single Song Sunday feature on Joni Mitchell’s River.

    958 comments » | Chris Smither, Dave Van Ronk, Erin McKeown, Eva Cassidy, Holiday Coverfolk, Rani Arbo and Daisy Mayhem, Sufjan Stevens