Revisited: The Denison Witmer Covers Project
(on old files and a renewed commitment to artists)
Moving to our own domain last November meant deserting a year’s worth of old files — a move consistent with our desire to keep Cover Lay Down from becoming a permanent archive for commercially available tracks, since that would ultimately undermine the livelihood of the very artists we are trying to support.
I’ve had many requests for various “lost tracks” since then, and while I appreciate any and all contact from fans and visitors, my answer is generally the same: though I am sometimes willing to send a sample for those who have never heard a given track, and though I do hope to run a “reader’s choice” vote sometime in the near future which would reinstate a few choice “lost tracks” in the name of reinvigorating interest in a particular artist or feature, Cover Lay Down is avidly, unapologetically pro-artist. And, as such, we cannot and will not be a clearinghouse for those who would prefer to snag music without artist recompense.
A surprising majority of those emails, however, have asked about the acoustic covers from our Denison Witmer Covers Project. To the best of my knowledge, those tracks are one-of-a-kind, produced for the web, and currently unavailable elsewhere. And since the original intent of that project was to provide a permanent archive for the five delicate, sparse covers Denison recorded in the weeks leading up to the late 2008 release of Carry The Weight, with Dension’s permission, I’m reposting them here for all to share.
- Denison Witmer: Comfort You (orig. Van Morrison)
- Denison Witmer: Champagne Supernova (orig. Oasis)
- Denison Witmer: Have You Forgotten (orig. Red House Painters)
- Dension Witmer: I Can’t Make You Love Me (orig. Bonnie Raitt)
- Denison Witmer: Is There A Ghost (orig. Band of Horses)
Bonus covers, from the wonderful archives at Happy Birthday Dension, a charity project with over 30 tracks:
- Denison Witmer: Northern Sky (orig. Nick Drake)
- Denison Witmer: These Days (orig. Jackson Browne/Nico)
Dension Witmer’s well-crafted work is available through his website; all his albums, up to and including Carry The Weight, come highly recommended. Coverfans will find an especially rich and diverse set in Recovered, his 2003 cover tribute to Gram Parsons, Neil Young, Big Star, Leonard Cohen, and the other artists and songs which have influenced his own songwriting and performance.
More generally, please support the artists and albums we promote here. Without the ability to profit off their work, artists must remain hobbyists, producing their work in hours stolen from families and full-time jobs. And though, as an amateur myself, I’m all for hobbyism, the best work comes from those who can devote their lives to it.
Buy the albums. Get the T-shirt. See the concerts. Donate to bloggers who help spread the word. The richness of our music depends on your patronage.
Previously on Cover Lay Down:
Category: Uncategorized
June 10th, 2009 at 11:09 pm
I’m a relatively new reader, so I missed these the first time around and have not really listened to Witmer before. I am absolutely blown away by all of these, especially the Van Morrison one. Thank you for reposting them - and thanks to him, too.