Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Kasey Chambers Covers:
Son Volt, Ben Harper, Cyndi Lauper, Dolly Parton, Crowded House & more!





I keep missing Kasey Chambers when she comes through town, but it’s not for lack of trying. The Australian singer-songwriter with the airy twang in her voice does heartache so well, it’s a dream of mine to sit on the grass at some summery festival, eyes closed, letting the bittersweet music burn through me like the sunshine.

Kasey’s talent springs from growing up with music in her veins: the daughter of steel guitar player Bill Chambers, she picked up her first strings early, and spent an adolescent decade on the road with her parents and brother as the Dead Ringer Band, a mid-nineties staple on the Australian Country charts. When her parents separated in 1998, the band broke up as well; Kasey went solo, emerging with a debut album in 2000, and brother Nash moved behind the scenes as her producer. The Captain was a perfect showcase for a well-honed sense of song, but more than anything, it was the tension between that girlish voice and the mature, direct depth of her sentiment which caught - and kept - the minds and hearts of her listeners.

Since then, Chambers has continued to demonstrate a knack for the perfect hook, and a true-blue countryfolk craftswoman’s sense of emotional lyrics. Like Payton, who does a great artist spotlight, Nelson, who calls Kasey’s music “life-changing”, and Simon, whose recent celebration reminded me I was long overdue for a feature on her, I have a special place in my collection for her still-short post-millennial canon, up to and including last year’s decent (but sadly coverless) collaboration with hubby Shane Nicholson, and consider her 2001 sophomore effort Barricades and Brickwalls an essential component of the modern folk-listener’s soundscape.

But like her own heroine Lucinda Williams, who we featured here last May, Kasey is a powerful interpreter of song, too. And though as a fellow child of the late eighties I come back to her Crowded House and Cyndi Lauper covers more than anything, she’s especially, undeniably adept with others from the country side of folk, where Americana and alt-country live. Fred Eaglesmith, Son Volt, Lucinda Williams, Dolly Parton and Gram Parsons may represent the farflung corners of a musical subgenre, but in Kasey’s capable hands, their songs take on angst, ache, and the lonely sorrow of a universal outback. Were it not for that slight Aussie intonation, the music could come from any country’s dustbowl heartland or country barroom.

Here’s the aforementioned, and a few others, with thanks to Simon of Beat Surrender for passing on several of the rarities included below; though they cover but a few years in total, they show a strong diversity of style and substance, and speak well of why so many of us celebrate Kasey’s life and music. I’ve arranged the solo cuts, at least, in rough chronological order, with hopes that someday the list will stretch from here to infinite summer.



Kasey’s solo albums all come highly recommended, and they can all be purchased direct from the source along with the usual wearables. Her most recent project, an original family-made kids album called Kasey Chambers, Poppa Bill and the Little Hillbillies, is a bit sparse and silly, but it has its sweet moments; I can’t find a source for hardcopy US sales, but the album is available through iTunes.



But wait! There’s more! Today’s bonus tracks include a pair of collaborations, both early and more recent…



…and a lone cover of Kasey’s work - there’s not that many Kasey Chambers covers to be found this side of the equator - but it’s well worth the space, both for its exquisitely bitter lyric and for the weary live interpretation which local hero Lori McKenna brings to the tune:

  • Lori McKenna: Ignorance (orig. Kasey Chambers)
    (from Signature Sounds 10th Anniversary Collection [out of print], 2004)



Previously on Cover Lay Down: Bill Chambers covers Mary Gauthier, and other drunkard songs.

Category: Kasey Chambers

14 Responses to “Kasey Chambers Covers:
Son Volt, Ben Harper, Cyndi Lauper, Dolly Parton, Crowded House & more!”

  1. Susan
    November 18th, 2009 at 10:56 am

    Hey, BH ~

    Loving these - thanks!

    I have a great (live) cover of Kris Delmhorst doing Tear Stained Eye, and am glad to share - let me know…
  2. muruch
    November 18th, 2009 at 1:20 pm

    I love, love, love Kasey Chambers and I’m so glad you posted about her. Why her “Rattlin’ Bones” album didn’t get more hype is a crazy mystery to me.
  3. Nelson
    November 18th, 2009 at 1:40 pm

    Thanks for the link… and the tunes.

    I don’t think I’ve heard her version of “Top of the World” before.
  4. michiganDAN
    November 18th, 2009 at 7:37 pm

    wow, I honestly could not make it through even 10 seconds of any of 5-6 samples. hers is a voice at the far negative end of my acceptance spectrum. this is not remotely a blog complaint, but just an observation on how different all of our tastes truly are. it is the reason that Ford doesn’t only make black cars and why Denny’s is not the only dining choice we have. :-)
  5. Ed
    November 18th, 2009 at 7:52 pm

    I have had the privilege of seeing her live in concert and she did a cover of the song “Water In The Fuel”. Perhaps you could add that one to your list as well.
  6. David
    November 20th, 2009 at 2:14 pm

    Joshua,

    Just received a spam email from you… it looks like your email might have been hacked. Didn’t want to send this via email, as I don’t know the extent of this, but just wanted to give you a heads up in case you weren’t aware.

    David
  7. boyhowdy
    November 20th, 2009 at 9:47 pm

    Thanks, David — problem identified and solved; apologies for the unintentional spam!
  8. JoeG
    November 21st, 2009 at 10:18 pm

    Three more Kasey Chambers covers you may not have are “Round Here” (Counting Crows), “Dam” (Matthew Ryan) and “Driving With The Brakes On” (Del Amitri). Let me know if you’d like them. As always, great post. I have a long-standing crush on Kasey Chambers.
  9. Rick.
    November 21st, 2009 at 11:56 pm

    I think the original version of She Thinks I Still Care, and the most popular, is by George Jones.

    Anyway…I’m a big fan of this blog and of Kasey. Thanks for the tunes.
  10. Maine Character
    November 22nd, 2009 at 7:25 pm

    Always loved Kasey Chambers since her first album and really appreciated all these covers, but what floored me most was that Lori McKenna cover. Heartbreaking lyrics sung so beautifully. Thanks.
  11. On The Commodification of Folk: Billboard Adds Folk Charts; Public Radio Drops Folk Programming. — Cover Lay Down
    November 22nd, 2009 at 7:49 pm

    [...] The Commodification of Folk: Billboard Adds Folk Charts; Public Radio Drops Folk Programming.Kasey Chambers Covers: Son Volt, Ben Harper, Cyndi Lauper, Dolly Parton, Crowded House & more!(Re)Covered, XIII: An interview and exclusive live tracks from Caroline Herring plus live Chris [...]
  12. Mark Ferrie
    November 25th, 2009 at 7:16 pm

    Check out Kasey’s cover of Kylie Minogue (!) here:

    http://www.sbs.com.au/rockwiz/past/184/Kasey-Chambers
  13. boyhowdy
    November 25th, 2009 at 7:22 pm

    Wow - an absolutely stunning transformation, Mark. Thanks for passing it along!
  14. MF
    November 25th, 2009 at 10:02 pm

    No worries. Check out some of the archives on the Rockwiz site. Each episode ends with cover song performed as a duet by the two artists who appear on the show.

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