Slaid Cleaves Covers:
Fred Eaglesmith, Del McCoury, Ana Egge
and a bunch of other musicians you’ve never heard of
I was introduced to Austin-by-way-of-Maine singer-songwriter and unmatched musical storyteller Slaid Cleaves at the turn of the century through local radioplay, and the subsequent purchase of then-new release Broke Down. But I was grateful to be reminded of Slaid’s genius last week through a thorough and appropriately celebratory look back at Broke Down over at This Mornin’ I Am Born Again, where fellow folkblogger and Star Maker Machine co-contributor Payton uses Slaid’s setting of Woody Guthrie’s lyrics as a namesake song.
To the extent that anyone knows who he is, Slaid Cleaves is known for twangy, dusty songs of the downtrodden and stubborn, adeptly strung in meters both upbeat and down, and for the wry optimism that surfaces in odd moments on stage and in songs like Breakfast in Hell. But to say that Slaid lives and works under the radar is an understatement. This is a man who won the Kerrville New Folk competition in 1992, yet whose albums from that entire decade remain out of print; a man who several years ago went public about his low paycheck ($17,000 a year!) and high incidence of life on the road on the cover of a Sunday newspaper supplement. For a talent as large and a heart as gentle as his, the man is sadly, sorely undersung.
Touting strong performers in need of recognition is one of the things we do best, of course. But this is a coverblog, too: for us to sing praise, an artist has to have a record of coverage. Happily for us, Slaid’s no stranger to covers. But where others cover popular songs, his body of coverage serves as less a push for reframing the familiar as it does an introduction to a whole ecosystem of other, equally under-recognized troubadours. And for that, Slaid deserves kudos, too.
Slaid’s 2006 covers album Unsung takes this tendency towards obscurity to its logical conclusion, presenting 13 songs by people he admires as friends and musical peers, all of whom you’ve probably never heard of. That the album sold few copies says what it needs to about the marketing difficulties of the obscure covering the obscure. But in many ways, though Broke Down provides the perfect introduction to his versatile style and substance, Unsung is Slaid’s most consistent album, envelopingly beautiful from start to finish, and that says something valuable, too, about his ability to pluck the pithy and astute from life, whether through the lyrics of others or his own poet’s mind, and use them to create and sustain both the hilarity of life’s underbelly and darkest of dark, quiet moods, even as hope lurks around the corner.
The artist’s most recent cover, a slow and bluesy take on Ray Bonneville’s Run Jolee Run, comes from his 2009 album Everything You Love Will Be Taken Away; like so much of his work, it speaks of working class underdogs - in this case, the story of a working woman on the lam from an abusive boyfriend - in a fine high and twangy baritone over well-strummed acoustic guitar. The song is especially fitting here and now, as October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and this week’s theme over at Star Maker Machine has us posting songs of domestic violence and sexual abuse; I’ve included it below, along with the usual coverset. When you’re done listening, check out another original over at Payton’s place, and then pick up Unsung, Broke Down, and a plethora of other fine works direct from Slaid Cleaves himself before joining us both over at Star Maker Machine for more songs in the key of consciousness.
- Slaid Cleaves: I Feel The Blues Movin’ In (orig. Del McCoury)
- Slaid Cleaves: Lydia (orig. Karen Poston)
(from Broke Down, 2000)
- Slaid Cleaves: November Skies (orig. Mark Farrington)
(from Holiday Sampler, 2001)
Slaid Cleaves: White Rose (orig. Fred Eaglesmith)LINK REMOVED BY LABEL REQUEST
(from Eaglesmith: The Songs Of Fred Eaglesmith, 2003)
- Slaid Cleaves: Blue Yodel #1 (orig. Don Walser)
- Slaid Cleaves: Texas Top Hand (orig. Don Walser)
(from Live at Little Brothers [bootleg], 2004)
- Slaid Cleaves: Call It Sleep (orig. Chris Montgomery)
- Slaid Cleaves ft. Mary Gauthier: Fairest Of Them All (orig. Ana Egge)
(from Unsung, 2006)
- Slaid Cleaves: Run Jolee Run (orig. Ray Bonneville)
(from Everything You Love Will Be Taken Away, 2009)
Cover Lay Down goes all-out with the coverfolk features each Wednesday and Sunday, plus the occasional otherday.
Category: Uncategorized
October 6th, 2009 at 11:06 pm
That ain’t Blue Yodel #1.
October 6th, 2009 at 11:47 pm
Great Post.
You’re always able to articulate the things I’m thinking in a much more fluid manner. Thanks for the shoutouts and for still considering me a contributor at SMM. I really need to get back over there soon.
I had never noticed that November Skies was a cover - further proof of his ability to own any song he undertakes. And Slaid’s version of White Rose is a true masterpiece. I love the way the band behind him emulates the sound of the whirling oil sign.
October 7th, 2009 at 5:19 am
404 for Texas Top Hand(texa.mp3)
October 7th, 2009 at 5:27 am
Problematic links fixed, folks, so have at the live stuff; it’s grrrrreat!
October 7th, 2009 at 7:44 am
Payton,
I don’t believe “November Skies” was a cover for Slaid.
Originally written and sung by Mark Farrington of Cattle Call.
October 7th, 2009 at 9:04 pm
Never heard of Slaid before tonight. Now I own his latest release. Thanks for the intro.
October 15th, 2009 at 11:55 am
Another great cover of “I Feel The Blues Movin’ In” can be found on “Trio II” from Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt and Dolly Parton.