March 2, 2008

Occasionally Music: Gillian Welch Covers a Multitude of Sins


I've always felt that I should like Radiohead more than I do given my age and social circles (point me out to me in a crowd and I would assume that I was a "Radiohead guy"), but truth is . . . .mmmah, its not really me.  I am however a pretty doting Gillian Welch fan and if Radiohead sounded like Gillian covering Radiohead then I would be an enormous Radiohead fan.  If you've ever been to one of Gillian's shows you know that she and partner David Rawlings are leading virtuosos in the fine art of covers and they are almost always guaranteed to pull out one or two gems in the midst of a set of their own stellar material.  Their cover of Radiohead's "Blackstar" is one of my favorites and this is a version I recently acquired which they did in New York while touring last year with Bright Eyes.  The trumpet accompaniment on the track is by Bright Eyes' Nick Walcott and it makes a lovely song even lovelier.  Enjoy. 

* Photo from their performance the night before, you know, just in case you've got continuity issues.  

Gillian Welch and David Rawlings (w/ Nick Walcott): Blackstar - Live at Town Hall, New York, June 1, 2007

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