So I heard this at our local pizza joint the other day. I've been listening to a lot of Neil Young recently, so the opening harmonica immediately grabbed my attention, sounding as it does like an amalgamation of several different NY tunes, most especially "I Am a Child" and "Comes a Time," but shifted into the minor.
I couldn't hear very well, but enough to grok that it wasn't ol' Neil on vocals, and then some of the harmonic movement made it clear that if the song was written by Mr Young, it wasn't one I knew.
But then came the solo at the end I thought, damn, if these boys don't have the Neil Young aesthetic down pretty cold.
I've embedded this oh so pretty version of the song rather than the official video because the official video is about half the length and doesn't have the guitar searage.
Turns out Blue Rodeo was founded in the early 1980s and I'm only listening to them now. Seems about par for the course.
I admittedly haven't listened to Jason Isbell or his former band Drive-By Truckers anywhere near as much as I should. Whenever I hear alt-country, or even think about it, I make a vow to myself to listen to more. Alas, I usually don't. This is just one of my many failings.
But here's one of the many reasons I should. And a hat-tip to good pal and huge Isbell fan Steve Coates for cluing me into this.
Here is a simply stunning version of a rather obscure track by the late, great Warren Zevon, "Mutineer," by Isbell and his wife Amanda Shires during a recent appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman.
For the most part I'll let this performance speak for itself, from the letter-perfect harmonies to the unceasing tenderness of their vocals to Mickey Raphael's harmonica work to the beautiful reverence they pay to this offbeat love song of an offbeat songwriter. But I will add one thing. Check out Dave's reaction following the performance. Warren Zevon was a friend of his, and for years Letterman was pretty much the only TV personality who would pay him any attention. The two had a bond that befit their renegade personalities. So when Dave thanks Isbell and Shires for this performance, he seems genuinely moved, almost choked up at one point.
