Category: Beth Orton


Rainsongs: Folk Covers for a Stormy Night

June 1st, 2008 — 08:30 am

Written last night in a rainstorm’s aftermath. Posted this morning in bright dappled sunlight.

They say April showers bring May flowers, but I’m not so sure. This evening’s thunderstorm was a big one, and in our end-of-the-wire rural existence, even when the power stays on, thunder knocks our ‘net connectivity for a loop. Meanwhile, now that the trees have finally filled in, our newly-terraformed backyard doesn’t seem to be getting more than a few hours of sun each day; as a consequence, we’re having trouble getting flowers to do much of anything back there.

I’ve got dozens of posts half-formed and half-written, in my mind and on the screen: new and beloved artists to feature, a long-overdue return to our Covered In Kidfolk series, a few great songwriters to rediscover through folk covers. But writing this with a waning battery and no ‘net access means being shut off from my usual research materials. And in the darkness, the sounds of rain pattering against the leaves, punctuated by the intermittent gutterball of thunder, are sweeter than any music I could play – so sweet, it’s hard to think about anything but the world outside.

Instead, I spent the last hour watching the flowerbeds all but wash away, and the muddy water wash the fill from between the flagstones. The rain against the windows turned the yard beyond into an everchanging pointilist dream. And I lost the thread of anything but the present.

Some rainstorms disrupt; some destroy; others help things grow. All involve chaos, in their own way; even if it is only because rain challenges our default image of the world outside as inherently sunny and easily navigable. Here’s a playlist compiled quickly, in the dark, and researched only afterwards: a set of coversong, from the usual wide variety of folk artists and singer-songwriters, that celebrates storms both real and metaphoric.

Previously on Cover Lay Down:

  • Single Song Sunday: Rain and Snow

  • 1,046 comments » | Beth Orton, Cassandra Wilson, Edie Brickell, Grant Lee Phillips, Jimmy LaFave, Joan Baez, Juju Stulbach, M. Ward, Nanci Griffith, Neko Case, Northern Lights, Petty Booka, Rani Arbo

    Rock ‘n Roll is Here To Stay: Mellencamp, Madonna, and the Philly Soul of Gamble and Huff

    March 8th, 2008 — 02:26 am

    A small but select group of big names in the music world will be inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this Monday. I’ve got a Single Song Sunday feature on oft-covered fellow inductee Leonard Cohen scheduled for Sunday, and I couldn’t find any folk covers of the theme to Hawaii 5-0, but to whet your appetite a bit, here’s a few choice covers of and from three other artists who will be strutting their way across the stage to get their due.

    As songwriters and producers, Philadelphia soul pioneers Gamble and Huff had their fingers in the pies of thousands of songs; separately and together they’ve made 170 gold and platinum records, and you know a bunch of them, including the theme to Soul Train. They’re also one of the few major players known for celebrating the use of their music for remixes and as hip-hop beats. Here’s a few choice covercuts from their stable of songs. (Winehouse song removed, as it was not a cover after all.)

    The roots rock of John (Cougar) Mellencamp transformed my childhood when a family friend who wrote music reviews for a national weekly gave me a copy of Scarecrow; up until that point, other than a few pop 45s, the only records I owned were Thriller and a used copy of the Bee Gees greatest hits. Today, every time I post a song, I’m paying it forward. Here’s two surprisingly well-done Mellencamp tributes to his folk predecessors.

    The wholesale reinvention which typifies Madonna, both as a musician and a cultural icon, is essentially anathema to the whole authenticity thing that practically defines the folkworld; as such, it’s especially hard to find earnest acoustic covers of Madonna songs. Neither of the two male coverartists below can keep from laughing at the sheer audacity of trying to take their live covers seriously. All three versions are lighthearted romps worth hearing nonetheless.

    We’ll be back Sunday with a short but solid set of covers of my second favorite Leonard Cohen song. Hint: it’s not Hallelujah.

    1,033 comments » | Beth Orton, Billy Bragg, Eva Cassidy, Gamble and Huff, Jack Johnson, John Mellencamp, Keb' Mo', Lavender Diamond, Madonna, Ryan Adams