Sunday, January 27, 2008

Shelby Lynne Covers:
Johnny Cash and Dolly Parton
plus covers from Allison Moorer, Steve Earle, and Cash, too!

Just a few days left to win an autographed copy of Just A Little Lovin', Shelby Lynne's new acoustic country tribute to the songs of Dusty Springfield! To tempt you a little more, today we're featuring a pair of older covers by this perpetually on-the-verge singer-songwriter, plus a matching set by her equally talented sister Allison Moorer.



If Shelby Lynne was pure contemporary country, you'd not find her here on a coverblog devoted to folk music. But though she's made her share of slick pop country albums, since the confessional turn of 1999 recording I Am Shelby Lynne, which garnered her a much-belated Grammy for Best New Artist in 2001, Shelby Lynne no longer considers herself a country music artist in the same vein as Carrie Underwood or Shanaia Twain, and it's not hard to see - or hear - why.

The relationship between country music and folk music is complex, especially since the advent of alt-country. In one way, it's true, for example, that bluegrass is to country as folk and blues are to rock...but it is equally true that bluegrass, folk, and the more traditional forms of country music share more with the modern alt-country movement, and more with each other, than they do with the kind of pop country that makes the crossover to what's left of the mainstream radio spectrum.

It is not necessary to reconcile these parallel truths in order to enjoy Shelby Lynne's wonderful new release Just A Little Lovin'. That's not to say it defies categorization, necessarily; if anything, with a few powerful exceptions, this is both a sweet in-genre tribute to a seminal 60s-era pop-folk artist and a sultry pop record, in the same vein as KD Lang's later work, or the best of Diana Krall, if a little farther South, geographically speaking. But where Lang and Krall slip too easily into softpop torch songs, Lynne's choices on this powerful collection of Dusty Springfield covers span a wider, warmer spectrum, from the piano bar ballad to the smooth bass-and-snare jazz trio to the pulsing, driving alt-country of Lucinda Williams or Michelle Shocked.

It's all good. At its best, in cuts like the dark, bluesy Willie and Laura Mae Jones, or the deep, slow jazz of the title cut, Lynne's delivery bleeds raw at the edges, creating a nuanced, powerful, mature balance between vocal control and roots-ragged empathy. Her ability to truly reinterpret Dusty is both honorably unique and, on an emotional level, uncannily accurate. And the stripped down acoustic instrumentation, heavy on the languid piano and acoustic guitar, supports this sound exceptionally well.

I've been asked not to post tracks from Just A Little Lovin' until Tuesday, the album's official release date; as we come to the end of our contest, I'll able to share a few tracks to tempt you one more time. Happily, however, Shelby Lynne's previous coverwork is diverse enough to speak to both the complicated relationship between folk and country, and the overwhelming power of this Grammy-winning vocalist at her interpretive best. Here's two of my favorites: A truly country Johnny Cash cover, and an absolutely stunning folked-down version of Dolly Parton's The Seeker which hints at her work-to-come.


Interested in hearing for yourself? Hedge your bets: pre-order Just A Little Lovin' directly from the fine folks at Filter, and enter our contest to win an autographed copy!


Today's bonus coversongs continue in a countrified vein, with a unique twist: I was able to find both a companion Cash cover and a companion Dolly Parton cover from Shelby Lynne's sister, the equally wonderful, slightly more alt-country chanteuse Allison Moorer, who is also slated to release a coveralbum in the coming months:


And, just for fun, Allison's husband, country folk rocker Steve Earle, with his own take on a Cash tune...and Johnny Cash himself, with a cover of Earle, for the extra point:

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Saw Allison in Birmingham. Amazing. Got a flyer for a £1 off the album too at Amazon. Just type "amoorer1" at the amazon checkout.

Anonymous said...

reverse phone detective -
richard mackenzie direct -
rich garbage man -
rocket chinese -
rocket french -
seize cars -
shop until you drop -
six figure yearly 2009 -
sleep tracks -
spyware nuker -
spyware stop -
sunshine 4u -
the bad breath report -
the cash1234 system -
thedietsolutionprogram -
Auto Content Cash -
Banner Ad Blueprint -
Copy Paste Systems -
Every Other Day Diet -
Farm Ville Secrets -
Plugin To Green Profits -
Rapid Mass Traffic -
Tinnitus Miracle -
Tweetomatic Profiteer -
Woodworking 4 Home -
24 Hour Internet Business -
Blogging To The Bank -
Burn The Fat -
Earth 4 Energy -
Fap Turbo -
Fat Burning Furnace -
Fat Loss 4 Idiots -
Foex Auto Money -
Hemorrhoid Miracle -

Anonymous said...

Legit Online Jobs -
Magic Of Making Up -
Magni Work -
Micro Niche Finder -
Plr Article Software -
Pregnancy Miracle -
Software Submitter Pro -
The Affiliate Code -
The Diet Solution Program -
Truth About Abs -
Zygor Guides -
the diet solution program -
the free car -
the lazy marketer -
tonsil stones remedies -
truth about abs -
truth about diets -
turbulence training -
vincedelmontefitness -
vince del monte fitness -
violin master pro -
warp speed fat loss -
wedding speech 4u -
xp repair pro -
yeast infection no more -
2ip hosting -
10 minute forex wealth builder -
30 minute back links -
500 love making tips -
acid alkaline diet -
advanced defrag -
affiliate jackpot -
anti spyware -
art of approaching -

Anonymous said...

membership gold rush -
minute sites -
musclegainingsecrets -
muscle gaining secrets -
negative calorie diet -
one minute cure -
one week marketing -
pc on point -
pc tv 4 me -
perfect optimizer -
php link cloaker -
pick the gender of your baby -
profit lance -
public records pro -
quit smoking today -
recipe secrets -
reg clean -
regi cleanse -
registry easy -
registry winner -
reg sweep -
reverse mobile -
reverse phone detective -
richard mackenzie direct -
rocket piano -
rocket spanish -
satellite tv to pc -
smtp 2 go -
spam bully -
spyware nuker -
the bad breath report -
thedietsolutionprogram -
the diet solution program -
the stop snoring exercise program -

Anonymous said...

Once again, not all waxes can be utilized; beeswax and carnauba are the the best option waxes for organics. For delicate colored supplies including holly and ivory, white refined thomas sabo charms is more advisable as to never darken the holly and ivory a lot of. More importantly, in removing stubborn dirt, try not to be tempted with employing water to completely clean dirt off; use light natural oil like thomas sabo bracelet instead. In cleaning organic jewelry, you have to make sure that it's free of dirt and excess oil just before continuing with all the method. As such, irrespective of your local area in the globe, you could find some good good pieces on your own. A full-range of fantastic designs including flesh thomas sabo , circulars and pinchers, hooks and plugs, tusks and spikes, talons, and twists and u-bolts are conveniently available on the internet.