Country Music By Amanda on February 4, 2009 10:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (0)
So maybe some of you are thinking "hey this is a COUNTRY MUSIC blog. It says it right there <----- Enough with the mopey skivvy-wearing singer-songwriter downers!" I can unify the desires of us all.
Great YouTube with Leonard Cohen doing "Red River Valley" (70s) which I present for your edification. The interview bit at the beginning is actually from an NPR profile I was listening to just yesterday. $2.99 in iTunes Audiobooks but now I see you can listen to it free. Recommended for free or three bucks, but Terry Gross' carping about whether he thought he was good looking got v. annoying at some point. His ambivalence about the zen retreat thing (from about 16:00) is fascinating though.
And of course "Tennessee Waltz" (this is from Dear Heather) Dig that frigging steel guitar:
By Francis Xavier Holden
on February 4, 2009 10:57 PM
Lenny started off as a country singer. He's a sophisticated Johnny Cash - only he doesn't do other people's songs.
Time for Lenny unplugged produced by Rick Rubin, close miked singing Our Nick, Cash, Bobby, Nirvana, Artic Monkeys, Michael Jackson, Kylie.....
By Francis Xavier Holden
on February 4, 2009 11:00 PM
I think the most moving version ever of Red River Valley is by James Talley a sinfully overlooked artist.
By Amanda
on February 4, 2009 11:03 PM
My friend, Johnny Cash is the sophisticated Johnny Cash.
It did occur to me this week that the only singer I still listen to that I have been listening to longer than LC (from primary school) is Cash (from birth). Some might think it an odd pair, I don't. I didn't get into Dylan until university, for instance.
By Amanda
on February 4, 2009 11:06 PM
Talley is good I have particular fondness for : "Are they Gonna Make Us Outlaws Again?"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=WpVkPM_4EVg
By Francis Xavier Holden
on February 4, 2009 11:22 PM
Have you heard that doco/interview by the Swedish (?) lassie with LC that was on RN a while back -I have it here.
By Francis Xavier Holden
on February 4, 2009 11:26 PM
Oh I see they put it back up to listen online and the Swedish lass has turned Norwegian - they all look the same to me:
"Norwegian producer Kari Hesthamar, Cohen looks back over his life and shares some thoughts about earlier days. Along the way he considers the different paths his career has taken, talks about various creative projects he was (and still is) involved with, and sweetly reminisces about a beautiful young woman he shared some time with on a wild Greek island, whom loyal fans will know by the name "Marianne."
We'll also hear a brief excerpt from an interview Leonard Cohen gave to Robyn Johnston in 1985, when he last toured Australia.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/intothemusic/stories/2009/2436307.htm
By Amanda
on February 5, 2009 7:04 AM
Good find.