Wednesday 23 January 2013

Griffin, Buckner & Cleaves: covers, compilations and colabs


Patty Griffin, Richard Buckner and Slaid Cleaves are three singer-songwriters that are well respected in the alternative country scene. Often under acoustic accompaniments, all three supply a brand of poetics that strike deep and true into the hearts of the listener. From the rough whiskey-drenched sorrows of Buckner, and Griffin's tender ballads of yesteryear, to the woefully energetic tales told by Cleaves - all three paint darker, slightly more realistic portrayals of American life - portrayals that distinguish themselves from its source material of the country genre, yet nonetheless highlight its roots.

From time to time these artists' musical careers have collided. Both Buckner and Griffin, for example, have collaborated in the past. Together they contributed to the song 'Remember' from the movie 'Dream Boy' (unfortunately this is not available on Spotify). Further still, both provide outstanding tracks for the politically charged compilation '13 Ways to Live', of which both appear in this collection.

One thing Spotify is great for is hunting down one-off tracks from compilation albums, covers from tribute albums, and collaborations amongst other artists' work - tracks which may have gone unheard to a fan in times before music streaming services such as Spotify. What exists in this playlist is a collection of these three offshoots of a musician's career: the cover, the compilation one-off, and the colab.

Though I'm sure there may be disagreement in my three choices of whom I've placed upon the pedestal of "great alt-country artists"; this playlist provides listeners who may be familiar with the three artists' work, with a treasure trove of musical pieces that they may not have heard before. After all, it's all too easy to scan just the albums of a Spotify artist, without dabbling into the 'singles' and 'appears-on' sections. Often this is because siphoning through such sections can be unfulfilling, especially if tracks in compilations are on main releases.

The tracks that appear here are not, at least to my knowledge, featured anywhere else but upon the release.


Tracklisting:

Patty Griffin
The Cape - Patty Griffin
I Love - Patty Griffin
Cain - Patty Griffin
The Best is Yet to Come - Patty Griffin
Dear Old Friend - Patty Griffin
Waiting for My Child to Come Home - Mavis Staples (feat. Patty Griffin)
Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground - Willie Nelson (feat. Patty Griffin)
Misery and Happiness - John Cowan (feat. Patty Griffin)
Desdemona - The Alternate Routes (feat. Patty Griffin)
Changing Your Mind - Bob Schneider (feat. Patty Griffin)
I'm Right Here My Love - Scott Miller and the Commonwealth (feat. Patty Griffin)


Richard Buckner

Poor Old Tom - Richard Buckner
The Song of the Low - Richard Buckner
Dogwood - Richard Buckner
Lovin' Her was Easier - Richard Buckner
Do You Want to Go Somewhere? - Richard Buckner





Slaid Cleaves
Pickin' California - Slaid Cleaves
She Moved Through the Fair - Slaid Cleaves
The Streets of Laredo - Slaid Cleaves
Pretty Boy Floyd - Slaid Cleaves
Stepstone - Slaid Cleaves
For the Brave - Will Taylor & Strings Attached (feat. Slaid Cleaves)
The Ballad of Nick and Betty - Slaid Cleaves




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