Cover Lay Down

The songs of Gillian Welch – predominantly written and performed by Welch and her long-time partner David Rawlings – have been a constant presence here at Cover Lay Down, both here-and-there as warranted, and in two discrete features: the first a 2008 tribute to the artist, the second a 2009 ten-track collection of covers of the song Orphan Girl.

As such, we’ve written about the musical duo known as Gillian Welch thoroughly, and there’s little need to recap, save to note that if you don’t already own her entire four-record discography, you really, really should take the time to pick it up.

But although the Gillian Welch songbook is so highly respected as to offer an extraordinarily rich and diverse opportunity for those of us who appreciate the tribute and transformation that coverage brings, so, too, do the archives host a precious collection of Welch’s own interpretation of others’ songs, rarities and b-sides all, from the broken-souled troubadour poets Townes Van Zandt, John Hartford, and Robert Earl Keen to Jimi Hendrix, Radiohead, Gram Parsons, and other astute chroniclers of the human condition.

And tonight the unseasonable heat wave here in New England pushes down on the soul, putting us in mind of some true-blue dustbowl-driven American Primitive music: sultry, sepia-toned, heroin-paced, thick with drawl and Rawling’s ever-so-sweet harmonies and trademark 1935 Epiphone guitar, and steeped in the sweat of the downtrodden, the lean, the hopeless, and the God-forsaken. Bring on the good stuff.

• Gillian Welch: I Don’t Want To Go Downtown (orig. Robert Earl Keen)
  (from the Revival demos, 1995)

• Gillian Welch: Pancho & Lefty (orig. Townes Van Zandt)
  (live bootleg, circa 1997)

• Gillian Welch: Snowin’ On Raton (orig. Townes Van Zandt)
  (live in Germany, 1999)

• Gillian Welch: Hickory Wind (orig. The Byrds)
  (from Return of the Grievous Angel, 1999)

• Gillian Welch: Pocahontas (orig. Neil Young)
  (from Music From The Revelator Collection, 2001)

• Gillian Welch: In Tall Buildings (orig. John Hartford)
  (from Live From Mountain Stage: A Tribute to John Hartford, 2001)

• Gillian Welch: Summer Evening (orig. Greg Brown)
  (from Going Driftless: An Artist’s Tribute to Greg Brown, 2002)

• Gillian Welch: Make Me A Pallet On Your Floor (trad., via Mississippi John Hurt)
• Gillian Welch: I Had A Real Good Mother & Father (trad.)
  (from Soul Journey, 2003)

• Alison Krauss & Gillian Welch: I’ll Fly Away (orig. Albert Brumley)
  (from O Brother, Where Art Thou, 2000)

• Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings: Green Pastures (trad.)
  (live, unknown source, 2001 )

• The Chieftains & Gillian Welch and David Rawlings: Katie Dear (trad.)
  (from Down The Old Plank Road: The Nashville Sessions, 2002)

• Robin Hitchcock, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings: Trying To Get To Heaven Before They Close The Door (orig. Bob Dylan)
  (from UNCUT magazine’s Tracks Inspired by Bob Dylan, 2004)

Today’s Bonus Track: Welch and Rawlings haven’t released an album under the Gillian Welch name since 2003 tour-de-force Soul Journey, but last year’s A Friend Of A Friend, which was released under the Dave Rawlings Machine moniker, is still a partnered work, albeit with Rawlings’ voice and slightly sharper string-style at center stage, and it features a delicious dual Conor Oberst/Neil Young cover. The pair are pretty bent on keeping the studio recording off the blogs, as is their right, but here’s a live version done up right from a recent visit to the Daytrotter studios.

• Dave Rawlings Machine: Method Acting/Cortez The Killer (orig. Bright Eyes / Neil Young)
  (from a January 2010 Daytrotter session)

Previously on Cover Lay Down: Gillian Welch covers Radiohead’s Black Star, plus two solar systems’ worth of other coversongs about space.

It’s been almost two years since we first featured the songs of Gillian Welch here on Cover Lay Down, though we’ve certainly had reason to revisit her works now and again as the coverage continues. As we noted way back when, Welch’s talent is a revelation, both in performance and as a lyrical interpreter of the rural backporch mindset of the American South, and the dustbowl longing and religious overtones so often found in the works of this modern American Primitive are here in spades.

There are several well-known folkcovers of this tune, including Emmylou Harris‘ classic Wrecking Ball take and, more recently, Crooked Still‘s upbeat cello-driven folkgrass version, both of which we’ve posted previously. But Orphan Girl has been well covered in its time; as I suggested two winters ago, “the infinite possibility of nuance and power keeps this oft-covered, well-worn tune fresh, despite its weary lyric.”

Two new discoveries, vastly different but equally precious, lead the pack today: a slow, rich, stunningly complex, atmospherically orchestrated cover from indiefolk darlings Horse Feathers, just released on B-side and still available free as of press time over at Amie Street, and an anthemic radio-ready folkpop take from Alathea, sure to please fans of Dar Williams and The Greencards.

Elsewhere, bluegrass singer-songwriter siblings Tim and Mollie O’Brien bring a gentle, summery warmth to their interpretation. Dakota Blonde lend a fluid, mournful tone to bare-bones folk-americana production. And though I don’t usually go for Christian Contemporary, Irish whistler Bob Pegritz and friends feature a hauntingly pure, crisply performed Celtic version on their spiritual album Whistleworks II: Be Thou My Vision well worth the price.

Live covers worth sharing include a pair of raw, unmixed small-room covers from Gary Entsminger/Susan Elliott project Gooseberry Summer, both slow and fast, with lo-fi success in each. And Over The Rhine‘s live take, available on Live From Nowhere, Vol. 2, is typically uplifting, floating sweet vocals over barrelhouse piano chords, ringing guitar, and banjo plucks to make a wash of sound that embraces the longing inherent in the lyrics.

Taken together, the diverse set proves an exercise in song-stretching, a paean to the flexibility of folksong and the raw relevance of the songwriter, who will next appear as silent partner on the highly anticipated Dave Rawlings Machine release A Friend of a Friend, due November 17th. Enjoy.

• Alathea: Orphan Girl

• Horse Feathers: Orphan Girl

• Bob Pegritz and Friends: Orphan Girl

• Tim and Mollie O’Brien: Orphan Girl

• Dakota Blonde: Orphan Girl

• Over the Rhine: Orphan Girl

• Crooked Still: Orphan Girl

• Emmylou Harris: Orphan Girl

• Gooseberry Summer: Orphan Girl [fast]
• Gooseberry Summer: Orphan Girl [slow]

As always, our Single Song Sunday posts places all purchase links in the paragraphs above; if you like what you hear, please consider lending your support to both Gillian Welch and those who cover her so well.

Buy the albums. Get the T-shirt. See the concert. Donate to bloggers who help spread the word. The richness of our music depends on your patronage.

A long weekend of solo parenting while my wife headed off to Sonoma County for a long-overdue vacation has left me too exhausted for deep thought. Happily, thanks to reader emails, new releases and new discoveries, I’ve got plenty of material for yet another installment of our popular (Re)Covered series, wherein we recover songs that dropped through the cracks too late to make it into the posts where they belonged.

A few weeks back, when my laptop went kablooie, Jamie — host of the ever-miraculous coverblog Fong Songs — stepped in to save the day with a fascinating guest themepost on Boxing coversongs. Jamie is one of the good guys, and he’s been a great friend since we started Cover Lay Down, giving me an open invitation to share the occasional non-folk set of covers over at his place, and even encouraging his own readers to take advantage of our great promotion for artist-friendly music source Amie Street. So I was thrilled when his guest post turned out to be one of the most popular posts we’ve had here at Cover Lay Down. You guys have good taste.

As a tip of the hat to this fine coverblogging peer, here’s two more covers of that most obvious Simon and Garfunkel classic from a few great women on the edge of the folkworld: the slow but bright post-country popfolk of Deana Carter (with vocals from Paul Simon’s eldest son), and a surprisingly old-timey take from Emmylou Harris just dripping with tight countryfolk harmony.

• Deana Carter w/ Harper Simon, The Boxer (orig. Simon and Garfunkel)
• Emmylou Harris, The Boxer (ibid.)

Though our Subgenre Coverfolk feature on Freak Folk is long past, I continue to struggle with Freak Folk and its relationship to folk music writ large. I called it a subgenre when I blogged about it, but the lines around it remain fuzzy, and the question of whether this counts as folk or not remains too entwined with the new indie usurpation of the term “folk” for me to feel totally confident, even now, that I got it right.

Looking back, I think I agree that Iron and Wine probably doesn’t belong in the roster, despite critical clumping, though I continue to believe that Sufjan shares more sensibility with Devendra Banhart, both as a performer and as a composer, than, say, Vetiver, who tend towards the electronic end of things. But looking at my ever-growing roster of song, I would have no problem including both “chamber pop” singer Antony and the Johnsons and “dream-folk” singer-songwriter Marissa Nadler in any feature on Freak Folk as a subgenre of folk music if I was to post it today. In addition to sharing Banhart’s peculiar wavery lyrical delicacy, both go for a swim of sound which is mystical and grand and personal all at once. It’s eminently folk, and eminently authentic. Freak Folk may be hard to describe, but this music matches my sense of what it is.

• Antony and the Johnsons, Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door (orig. Bob Dylan)
• Marissa Nadler, Famous Blue Raincoat (orig. Leonard Cohen)
• Marissa Nadler, Cortez the Killer (orig. Neil Young)

In the comments section of what was otherwise a pretty thorough exploration-through-covers of the songs of Gillian Welch way back in January, several folks mentioned that Over the Rhine covers Orphan Girl live in concert. Having just become a fan of these post-folkers after hearing (and reviewing) their holiday album, I spent the next few months gathering in bootlegs, and — though the piano is a little heavy in spots — have come to the conclusion that the “official” version from their Live from Nowhere, Vol. 2 album remains the best recording of a great, fleshed-out anthemic approach to this song.

While we’re on the subject, how about another couple of covers of and from the mistress of the new “American Primitive” movement? It’s a little to the left of center, as folk goes, but I just love this americana/ alt-country cover of Look at Miss Ohio from newcomers The New Frontiers. And I’ve been looking for an excuse to post Welch’s dreamy cover of Townes Van Zandt’s Pancho and Lefty for ages, since it combines one of my favorite songs with one of my absolute famous performers. (PS: Gillian Welch’s entire catalog is newly available at Amie Street, too…)

• Over The Rhine, Orphan Girl (orig. Gillian Welch)
• The New Frontiers, Look at Miss Ohio (ibid.)
• Gillian Welch, Pancho and Lefty (orig. Townes van Zandt)

Finally, we’ve been slamming the feedreaders this week over at collaborative music blog Star Maker Machine with our Fifty States theme: I missed the Massachusetts connection, but was happy to provide a few great songs (originals and covers) for the likes of Rhode Island (Erin McKeown, Blossom Dearie, Jennifer O’Connor), North Dakota (Lyle Lovett), New Jersey (John Gorka, Cliff Eberhardt), and Virginia (Johnny Cash, Dave Alvin, and Crooked Still).

The planning process took me back to our Carolina Coverfolk series week; while I was there, I found I had missed a few great songs. I ended up choosing a favorite John Hartford song about North Carolina for Star Maker Machine. But since we’re looking back, here’s an old kidsong from North Carolina tradsong savior Doc Watson, and one more Sam Cooke cover from North Carolina emigrant James Taylor, that really shouldn’t have been missed….plus a bonus pair: local singer-songwriter and labor activist Tom Juravich with a true campfire folk cover of James Taylor’s Millworker, and a cover of Fire and Rain by alt-rock/pop/folk artist Dido, just because it made me totally rethink her musicianship.

• Doc Watson, My Grandfather’s Clock (trad.)
• James Taylor, Everybody Loves to Cha Cha Cha (orig. Sam Cooke)

• Dido, Fire and Rain (orig. James Taylor)
• Tom Juravich, Millworker (ibid.)

Cover Lay Down is proud to support music through raising awareness, but musicians can’t eat awareness. As such, all artist links above lead to websites and stores where you can buy music without having to support corporate cash cows that pay suits better than musicians. And if you’re planning on going digital, remember, folks: Amie Street is not only cheaper than most download sources, it gives back 70% of all profits to artists. Use the code coverlaydown when you sign up for Amie Street, and you’ll get three bucks towards your music purchase absolutely free!

Coming soon on Cover Lay Down: more folk covers of plenty more popstars, a tribute to my elder child (who turns six in a week and a half), something vaguely patriotic, and a few more single-track cover featurettes from some great new albums and artists which I just can’t seem to shake, and wouldn’t want to. And it’s only two more weeks until Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival!

Still here? Then P.S. and FYI, coverfans:

1. I don’t usually promote upcoming radio shows/podcasts, but the folks at The Waiting Room, a radio show out of Cardiff, Wales (UK), will feature three hours of Tom Waits covers on tonight’s broadcast. Their Drunk Covers series is generally good, with vast genre influences, and there’s been a spate of Waits covers around this year…so expect to hear some Tom Waits covertracks you’ve heard here in the last few months…and a whole bunch more you haven’t. The show is broadcast on ErrorFM, which can be heard everywhere; podcast available here on Thursday!

2. If you haven’t been to Covering the Mouse recently, now’s the time: friend and occasional reciprocal guest-poster Kurtis will be celebrating his one year bloggiversary this month, and to honor the occasion, he’s collecting votes on your favorite past posts for a midsummer review of the best and worst Disney covers. Make your mark: vote now!
3. I’m not thrilled about Doveman’s cover of the entire soundtrack to Footloose, but My Old Kentucky Blog seems okay with it. Maybe you’ll like it. It’s free…

Boston-based “alternative folk/bluegrass” band Crooked Still emerged at the edge of the newgrass movement just after the turn of the century, and much of their subsequent success is due to the talents of the group members and founders: banjo wizard Dr. Gregory Liszt, double bass man Corey DiMarino, and breathy, emotive singer Aoife O’Donovan. But if their star rose quickly, it was thanks in no small part to a then-novel approach to traditional song, one which placed master cellist and all-around oddball Rushad Eggleston’s innovative, improvisational style and high-energy stringplay at the center of what was otherwise a sparse yet nuanced tradfolk stringband sound.

And rise it did. By 2004, the band was playing mainstage sets at both Newport Folk Festival and Falcon Ridge Folk Fest, where their debut album Hop High outsold all competition. Two years later, the release of Shaken By A Low Sound brought us more of the same, cementing their reputation in both the folkworld and the bluegrass circuit as a band worth watching.

And then, last year, Crooked Still announced that Rushad would be leaving the group.

Many of us in the folkworld feared that this would be the end of Crooked Still. Long before Ben Sollee’s avant-folk celloplay made him the darling of the blogworld, Eggleston had set the pace and standard for the cello as a contemporary instrument outside of the string quartet or orchestra setting, both through his work with Crooked Still, and as a member of several groups with master fiddler Darol Anger. Replacing Eggleston with another cellist seemed like a no-brainer for a group that had made their name trading on the interplay between Rushad and the other group members; adding another string player seemed like a safe bet, too. But would it be enough?

In a word: YES.

Since their inception, Crooked Still has always handled traditional folk music exceptionally well, and this new line-up continues the tradition with aplomb, bringing new life to timeless songs. But where their previous albums leaned heavily on tradsongs such as Little Sadie, Shady Grove and Darlin’ Corey — songs made familiar, if not popular, by older generations of folk and bluegrass artists, from Doc Watson to Jerry Garcia — their new album Still Crooked, on folk label Signature Sounds, digs deeper than previous efforts, tracing the roots of traditional folk through other, more obscure carriers, such as Ola Belle Johnson and Sidney Carter. The result is a set of songs that sound both fresh and timeless, in ways that their previous efforts could not be without escaping their songs’ history.

There’s also some surprises, here. Tristan Clarridge plays the cello with more subtlety than than Rushad did, but this only deepens the sound from where it was before. The addition of fiddler Brittany Haas brings a keening high note to the mix; in slower songs, especially, the higher stringsound rebalances lead singer Aoife O’Donovan’s breathy voice towards the sonic center of the Crooked Still sound, where once her vocals competed with the cello for prominence. The fuller setting brings out a side of Aoife as singer that is even better than before. The bigger sound that results is potent, and totally enveloping.

Those who could not imagine Crooked Still without their founding cellist need not be concerned. More importantly, though, those who thought it was impossible to improve on the Crooked Still sound will be surprised. The “new” Crooked Still sound is more traditional, in terms of genre, but it is also simultaneously something more than it was, a stellar maturation of previous efforts. Nowhere is this more evident than in Low Down and Dirty, Aoife’s first original composition for Crooked Still, a classic revenge ballad with a twist that comes across as some of the best folk I’ve heard in ages. Still sharp, wielded exquisitely, the cutting edge of traditional folk music remains in good hands.

Wanna hear it for yourself? You’ll have to buy the album for the originals, and the tradfolk; almost every song is a ten out of ten. But here’s a genuine label-approved Cover Lay Down exclusive, not one but TWO covertracks from Still Crooked, which hits stores next week: a wild, spunky take on an old Mississippi John Hurt tune, and a sultry, quiet public domain number with stunning backing vocals from Levon Helm’s daughter Amy, a fine musician in her own right. Plus a few older covertracks from Crooked Still’s earlier releases, to give newcomers a sense of their overall sound. Listen, and then run right out and buy Still Crooked to hear the rest. Or just come on out to Falcon Ridge Folk Fest this July, and see ‘em in person.

• Crooked Still: Baby, What’s Wrong With You? (orig. Mississippi John Hurt)
• Crooked Still: Captain, Captain (trad.)
  (from Still Crooked, 2008)

• Crooked Still: Come on In My Kitchen (orig. Robert Johnson)
  (from Shaken by a Low Sound, 2006)
• Crooked Still: Orphan Girl (orig. Gillian Welch)
  (from Hop High, 2004)

Since we’re in the mood, today’s bonus coversongs feature other cello players from the folkworld: newcomer Ben Sollee and his amazing Sam Cooke cover, and a cut from Fiddlers 4, a wonderful neo-appalachian quartet from some of the best genre-crossing string players in the business, featuring none other than Rashad himself on the low notes. Plus a youtube link for a great, spare solo cover by young folkcellist Lindsay Mac, who will also perform at Falcon Ridge this year.

• Fiddlers 4: E. St. Louis Todalo (orig. Duke Ellington)
• Ben Sollee: A Change is Gonna Come (orig. Sam Cooke)

• Click for VIDEO: Lindsay Mac: Use Me (orig. Bill Withers)

Previously on Cover Lay Down: Crooked Still covers tradsong Wind and Rain

Further reading: Folk tastemaster Songs:Illinois has two MORE Crooked Still songs: one from Still Crooked, and one from Hop High.

Singer-songwriter and folk interpreter Mae Robertson is my kind of person: a lover of cover songs, and a true fan of the environment, who ran a chain of New York natural fiber children’s clothing stores for twenty years before returning to Alabama in 2000 to pursue her musical career. Many of her albums to date have been released as part of her Lullaby & Lovesong Collection, which has won numerous awards in the world of parenting. And the brightly-colored, flower-shaped plantable business card she sent along with her newest album, the aptly titled Meet the Sun Halfway, really won me over.

If this were a blog about cool people, I could have stopped there. But though it was the flower-shaped business card, and the personal note that accompanied it, which caused me to give Mae’s work a second listen, it was the music which ultimately won me over. And that’s saying something. Because for most of my life, I’ve dismissed Mae’s sort of music. And now I think I owe some people an apology.

Mae Robertson comes from a school of folk way on the other end of the spectrum from the lo-fi, sparse, acoustic folk which characterizes the current indiefolk movement. This is folk for those who love Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, and others in the rich-voiced songstress vein — strong-voiced women who are primarily singers and interpreters of song, rather than storytellers or songwriters per se.

It’s not generally my favorite branch of the folkworld. And, I’ll be honest, at first I didn’t think this was going to be my cup of tea. But Mae has a lot going for her. Her organic business sense parallels themes of growth in her song choices and, increasingly, in her own emerging songwriting, which is surprisingly direct and vivid. She has an exquisite taste in folkworld cover songs, and an uncanny ability to pick songs and lyrics which best match her sweet, pure alto voice. The emotional honesty and carefully tuned craft she brings to her work is equal to the greatest of the words she sings, whether they are her own, of those of others. And her warm, bright delivery is like the sun itself.

Like much of this sort of Adult Contemporary folkpop, the way in which we hear Mae’s voice is subject to the whim of the producer, and in this case, the production on some songs is a bit too strong for my own taste. This is a common complaint for many folkfans when faced with this part of the genre, I suspect — I had the same reaction to much of Shelby Lynne’s newest coveralbum. But as with Shelby’s work, the songs here run the gamut, from sparser work in the americana folk vein all the way to the jazzpop stuff, and there’s plenty of gems.

Even when it works, the heavy, almost syrupy production Mae Robertson chooses for many of her best covers can take some getting used to. It’s startling to hear the likes of Lucinda Williams and Gillian Welch covered in such dulcet tones, and with such lush orchestration. But like the seeds that will sprout from her business card, this is music that truly grows on you. It says something that I’ve continued to listen to these CDs long after I first sampled them. There’s a warm, celebratory tone in Robertson’s voice, and a genuine love of the songs she sings which shines though to the heart.

My kids hear it, too. Of all the CDs I’ve recieved, these are the only ones my older daughter has asked about; when I asked her why, she said “I like this music; it’s really pretty, and really nice” — high praise, from a five year old. It’s also the only folk music that both kids will dance to. They twirl and smile, like full-grown music box ballerinas, when I put Mae Robertson on. Believe me, this is music that will stay on the turntable for a while. Why not take it for a spin yourself?

• Mae Robertson, Paper Wings (orig. Gillian Welch)
• Mae Robertson, Seven Shades of Blue (orig. Beth Nielsen Chapman)
  (from Smile)

• Mae Robertson, The One Who Knows (orig. Dar Williams)
• Mae Robertson, Dreamland (orig. Mary Chapin Carpenter)
  (from Dream)

• Mae Robertson, All For The Love (orig. Beth Nielsen Chapman)
• Mae Robertson, Almost Blue (orig. Elvis Costello)
  (from Meet The Sun Halfway)

Meet The Sun Halfway was released in February; it includes more stellar covers, and some sweet and cohesive originals from Mae Robertson herself. Cuts above also come from Mae’s two all-cover albums: last year’s gorgeous award-winning lullaby collection Dream, and 2002 release Smile, which has the lightest production of the three CDs mentioned here, and features such back-up folk and bluegrass luminaries as Tim O’Brien, Viktor Krauss, and Sloan Wainwright. Pick up these, and sample all of her previous albums, at CD Baby (Mae’s preferred source) or via her website.

Today’s bonus coversongs, because Mae Robertson’s fondness for Beth Nielsen Chapman sent me to the stacks.

• Beth Nielsen Chapman covers Judy Collins’ Since You Asked
• Beth Nielsen Chapman sweetens Elvis standard Love Me Tender
• Willie Nelson covers Chapman’s Nothing I Can Do About It Now

Tomorrow is the first day of Spring, and someone forgot to tell the sky.

In the morning, says the weatherman, the world will turn to slush. And if we are truly blessed, all our sins will be washed away.

Outside the snow sulks in great mounds where the plows have pushed it aside. Hard ice falls on three-inch shoots and tufts of new grass. We stay up late, and sit by the window together, and wait for the rains that do not come.

Send rain, O Lord. For it has been a hard Winter, and we are ready for Spring.

• Mary Chapin Carpenter, Spring & All (orig. Greg Brown)
  A beautiful, pensive portrait of rural loss and reclaimation from Going Driftless: an Artist’s Tribute to Greg Brown; go get more Mary Chapin Carpenter here.

• Erin McKeown, They Say It’s Spring (Clarke/Haymes)
  Sultry acoustic swing from Queen of Quiet Erin McKeown. From her album of classic american jazz and vaudville standards Sing You Sinners.

• Elizabeth Mitchell, Winter’s Come and Gone (orig. Gillian Welch)
• Elizabeth Mitchell, Pom Na Tu Ri (Springtime Outing) (Korean folksong)
  Tiny, delicate Springsongs from You Are My Little Bird, one of our three most favorite albums from kidfolkie Elizabeth Mitchell.

• Cassandra Wilson, Waters of March (orig. Antonio Carlos Jobim)
• Damien Rice and Lisa Hannigan, Waters of March (ibid.)
  Two vastly different interpretations of Jobim’s now-standard Brazilian folktune: a sparse, acoustic take by Damien Rice and Lisa Hannigan off the Goldfish Memory soundtrack, and the spicy smooth jazzpop of Cassandra Wilson’s Belly of the Sun.

• Ann Percival, Tide and the River Rising (orig. Cindy Kallet)
• Ann Percival, Green Grow the Rushes Oh (trad.)
  A pair of my favorite spring tunes from clear-voiced Contrafolk vocalist Ann Percival‘s sole solo album The Sweetest Hours.

• Greg Brown, Green Grows The Laurel (trad.)
  A bittersweet stand-out track from bullfrog-voiced Greg Brown‘s underrated collection of traditional folksongs Honey in the Lion’s Head.

• Emmylou Harris w/ Ricky Skaggs and Dolly Parton, Green Pastures (trad.)
  Spring pastures as metaphor for Heaven. Great authentic countryfolk gospel from prolific coverartist Emmylou Harris‘ 1980 album Roses in the Snow, now available in remastered form.

Happy Spring, everyone. May the darkness turn, and the world turn green and alive for each of us.

Hope no one minds an early “Sunday” post this week; my brother and his wife are on their way in from Brooklyn for the long weekend, and I don’t get to see them as often as I’d like. I’ll have a short post up for Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, if I can; in the meantime, enjoy today’s feature on “American Primitive” folkartist Gillian Welch and her partner David Rawlings, the tenth post in our popular Covered in Folk series, where we pay tribute to the songwriting talents of a single artist.

I saw Gillian Welch at the Green River Festival a while back, and it was a revelation. From ten rows back, her summer dress blowing in the hot breeze, her twanged voice, the doubled guitars, her narratives of Southern poverty and pain, all conspired to bring the hot scent of jasmine and Southern dust on the breeze even as we lounged on the New England grass. The crowd swelled. The rest of the afternoon passed in a haze.

Though it was her vocal talents in O Brother, Where Art Thou which put her on a mass-marketable par with Alison Krauss and Emmylou Harris, it was clear to anyone watching that, as a musical phenomenon, Gillian Welch was a force to be reckoned with in the growing americana folk movement.

More often than not, Gillian Welch is the performing name for two musicians, Welch herself and her ubiquitous partner David Rawlings; when they work with others each gets billing, but in performance as a duo, the pronoun “she” is the standard convention. Welch appears as frontwoman, and can certainly stand her own as a powerful force in a particular subgenre of american folk music, but they share writing credit on many songs, and their harmonies — vocal and guitar — are notable and recognizable.

And what is the Gillian Welch sound? Welch’s voice is well-suited for the raw, backporch paces she puts it through; together, as songwriters and performers, these two musicians build on this vocal base to create an americana sound Welch calls “American Primitive”, something simultanously sparer and more richly nuanced than anything a solo artist could do with guitar or voice. Call it old-timey folk — unproduced and jangly, sparse and stripped down from the more traditional old-timey sound of groups like Old Crow Medicine Show, Welch and Rawlings’ musical compatriots and touring partners.

There are times when Gillian Welch sounds like an old Alan Lomax field recording, something timeless, raw and elegant in its simplicity and honest rough presentation. The lyrics, too, tend towards the trope and narrative themes — rural life, loss and hardship — of early American southern field folk. Given all that, it’s no wonder that over the last decade or so, since even before the release of debut album Revival in 1996, the folk end of the americana movement has begun to pick up her songs and give them the traditional treatment.

Today, some select covers from the increasingly vast spectrum of sound that pays tribute to this weathered, shy, still-young matriarch of the new americana folk set. Interesting, how many retain the original Welch/Rawlings close harmonies, as if the tenor echo were as much a part of the original text to be covered as the powerful words, melody, and chord. Perhaps it is.

• Crooked Still, Orphan Girl
• Emmylou Harris, Orphan Girl
• Dakota Blonde, Orphan Girl

Crooked Still hops with cello, banjo and bass; Emmylou Harris fills out the sound in her inimitable style; newcomers Dakota Blonde mourn a life alone with accordian and guitar and drumthunder. The infinite possibility of nuance and power keeps this oft-covered, well-worn tune fresh, despite its weary lyric.

• Ryan Adams, Revelator
• Glen Phillips, Revelator

Two electrified covers which take this heavy tune to its natural folk rock conclusion. Alt-country rocker Ryan Adams‘ shortened version, off the Destroyer Sessions, is full-on Neil Young, guitars and vocals tangled up in angst. Singer-songwriter and ex-Toad the Wet Sprocket frontman Glen Phillips‘ version is darker, more pensive, more beautiful.

• Peter Mulvey, Caleb Meyer
• Red Molly, Caleb Meyer

At first listen, Peter Mulvey‘s classically-fingerpicked version teeters on the overly maudlin, and previously-posted girlgroup Red Molly‘s three-voiced approach seems to cost them emotive potential. But listen again — these grow on you.

• Alison Krauss & Union Station, New Favorite

Fellow Gillian Welch O Brother, Where Are Thou muse Alison Krauss and her star-studded band Union Station make a sweet live bluegrass ballad of an old-timey wallflower’s love song.

• Elizabeth Mitchell, Winter’s Come and Gone

Kidfolk queen Elizabeth Mitchell brings us a light-hearted tale well-suited for the bedtime ears of the next generation of traditional folk fans.

• Elan Mehler Quartet, Elvis Presley Blues

This sultry gospel-jazz take from the Elan Mehler Quartet is sweet with breathy sax and slow-rolling piano. It isn’t folk, but it makes the perfect capstone to any set of Gillian Welch covers.

Don’t forget to click on artist names above to purchase the best of the modern folk world from bluegrass to bluesfolk direct from the source. And, if you don’t already have them, buy Gillian Welch’s four incredible albums direct from her website.

Today’s bonus coversongs hold back a bit, that we might eventually bring you a full post of Gillian Welch covering other artists. But here’s two collaborative efforts that give Rawlings and Welch their own billing, to tide you over until then:

• Gillian Welch and David Rawlings join The Chieftains for traditional song Katie Dear
• Robyn Hitchcock, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings cover Dylan’s Tryin’ To Get To Heaven Before They Close The Door

Brooklyn-based folkgrass band The Jones Street Boys released their first album, Overcome, back in October of 2007; since then, they’ve raised a couple of eyebrows on the americana and alt-country blogs, but not nearly enough. I heard them for the first time last week, but I’m not afraid to be late for the party when I’ve got such a great housewarming gift for all those out there who appreciate the No Depression end of modern folk music.

At heart, The Jones Street Boys are a bluegrass band; their members have played Merlefest alongside Gillian Welch and Nickel Creek, and their instrumentation is heavy on the banjo, acoustic guitar, mandolin and upright bass. But add a sweet harmonica worthy of Springsteen, a barrel-house piano, and the ragged, heartfelt delivery of Wilco or The Band, and the result is gorgeous, stripped down, pulled back, intimate blues-tinged americana.

If this is bluegrass at all, it’s lo-fi alt-country bluegrass music with a hint of midnight trainsongs and fireside song circles, a dollop of happy roots rock, and the pure infectious joy of making plumb great music. In fact, their sound is so damn infectious, I haven’t listened to anything else in days.

The range of these five top-notch musicians is impressive, too. Their ability to hold back and control the flow, floating the sparse harmonica and lead vocals over a bed of solid bass, mandolin, and drumkit and some sweet campfire harmonies, creates a ragged alt-country tension that lends the perfect note of longing and exhaustion to their slower songs. And when they cut loose, the result is pure acoustic glee.

Overcome runs a pretty broad spectrum, from full-bore youngfolks jams to sparse, weary americana; of these, the three covers that appear on this self-produced album hover around the americana end, but I’m not complaining. All are excellent, as covers and as song. Their cover of Twilight, my favorite song by The Band, bears the sound of encores at midnight; John Hartford’s Tall Buildings, which closes the album, beats Gillian Welch’s version hands down. And in these capable hands, lesser-known bluegrass classic Walls of Time, originally by Bill Monroe and Peter Rowan, becomes a majestic, bittersweet masterpiece.

This is great stuff, a perfect meld of traditional blues-and-bluegrass instrumentation and No Depression-esque sensibility. Thanks to The Planetary Group for allowing us to pass along these covers, that you, too, might get The Jones Street Boys stuck in your head.

• The Jones Street Boys, Walls of Time (orig. Monroe/Rowan)
• The Jones Street Boys, Twilight (orig. The Band)
• The Jones Street Boys, Tall Buildings (orig. John Hartford)

Want to hear more? Stream the entire album over at The Jones Street Boys website, and then buy Overcome via Insound, the band’s preferred source for purchase. And when you do, keep an ear open for Argentina, a beautiful, uptempo original easily worth the price of purchase.

Today’s bonus coversongs offer other artist’s versions of the same songs covered on Overcome, for comparison’s sake. It says what it needs to about the genius of The Jones Street Boys that, in other contexts, these covers would stand out more.

• Gillian Welch, In Tall Buildings (orig. John Hartford)
• Shawn Colvin, Twilight (orig. The Band)
• Slamander Crossing, Walls of Time (orig. Monroe/Rowan)

Though I spend plenty of time at the foot of the stage, I don’t usually care much for live recordings: I prefer the perfection of the studio to the roar of the imaginary crowd, and poor sound quality bothers my ears. But every once in a while, when there’s a good engineer at the sound board, something truly special results. Such is the case with Red Molly‘s strong first full-length album Never Been To Vegas — which, when added to their four-song in-studio EP, is the sum total of their recordings.

And, with the exception of a few previously-sung notables by Red Molly dobro player Abbie Gardner, every single song on these albums is a coversong.

The three folksingers that comprise Red Molly — Gardner, bass player/mandolinist Carolann Solobelo, and banjo/guitarist Laurie MacAllister — met around covers, so it’s no surprise that their entire recorded output consists of them. Formed from the early morning remnants of a latenight songcircle high above the darkened mainstage of Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, the trio returned to the festival two years later to win the highly-competitive FRFF Emerging Artist showcase. (Full disclosure: I’m crew chief for the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival teen crew).

Since then, the girls of Red Molly have toured with the other 2006 showcase winners, opened for such luminaries as Jonathan Edwards and John Hammond, and come back to Falcon Ridge as featured performers, wowing crowds and winning admiration from fellow musicians with their sweet harmonies and full acoustic sound. Throughout, they’ve been playing covers — banking admiration for such time as they might return to either their own solo work, or a fuller existence as the rarest of American folk creatures: the folk group.

Mostly, Red Molly’s interpretations lean towards the Americana end of folk music — coverchoices include Gillian Welch, Hank Williams, and old traditional folk/gospel songs such as Darlin’ Corey and When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder. But regardless of subject, their tight crystal-clear harmonies and brightstringed musicianship bring each song forward as a gift to be shared, a glittering gospel.

Today we feature a trio of songs from the folktrio’s Never Been To Vegas, with kudos to engineer Dae Bennett for changing my mind about live recordings, even if this one turns out to have been recorded in a studio, not a coffeehouse. Don’t forget to check out the bonus songs below for a sweet pair of covers from their self-titled EP, and a wonderful version of You Gotta Move by Abbie and fellow 2006 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival Showcase winner Pat Wictor.

• Red Molly, Caleb Meyer (orig. Gillian Welch)
• Red Molly, Coal Tattoo (orig. Billy Edd Wheeler)
• Red Molly, Blue Night (orig. Kirk McGee)

Support these fast-rising, red-wearin’ women by buying Red Molly, plus solo albums from Abbie, Laurie, and Carolann, from CD Baby via the Red Molly website. While you’re there, follow the link to pick up this year’s Naked Folk Calendar (the girls of Red Molly were the November 2006 pin-up); all calendar profits go towards health insurance for struggling folk musicians.

Today’s bonus coversongs:

• Red Molly wrings new life from old Elvis-covered chestnut Are You Lonesome Tonight…
• …and jams through Susan Werner’s Yellow House
• Abbie Gardner and Pat Wictor wail the doublesteel blues on You Gotta Move (orig. Mississippi Fred McDowell)
• Previously posted: Red Molly covers Patty Griffin