And anyway, the Tom Waits songbook is eminently adult, both in the way it looks at the world through bleary, jaded, ancient eyes and the way it rattles about with themes of alcoholics, lonesome trainwatchers, tired prostitutes, and others past their prime, struggling to capture the last licks of a life that has almost finished passing them by. Indeed, the world that Waits inhabits often seems to burn with unfinished life-energy, the heat haze of a drunkard’s sweaty existence in every growl - sometimes festering, sometimes flickering, sometimes roaring out of control.

But there’s also something about a Tom Waits song that suits the stillness of winter. There’s ice in these bittersweet, boozy ballads: the chill of an outsider’s threadbare coat, the thin layer of frost that forms on a dying relationship, the icicle weight of the guillotine metaphor, an observer’s frozen distance from the ideal. In Waits’ capable hands, as in winter’s quietude, the world aches with wistfullness; time captured in crystal, the pessimistic inevitabilities of future and the hard roads of the past ever present in the hopeful moment.


Tom Waits is well-covered, and he should be. His melodies are simple, his imagery clear. The gaze of his narrators and the desires of his subjects resonate with us. The icewall that he places between the world as it is and the world longed for is a familiar one, for it represents our innermost fears and projections. And as long as they are treated tenderly, there are a multitude of ways to interpret these songs.

But where the songs of Bob Dylan and Richard Thompson are, by definition, folk songs, which lend themselves to a universal opportunity for coverage, Waits writes songs for his own distinctive voice. The coarse, gravelly vocals and slow piano-driven delivery that mark Waits’ beautifully broken performance wring every drop of poignancy from their underclass hearts and streets so exquisitely, it poses a particular challenge for would-be interpreters. And sure enough, as a bevy of mediocre, mixed-bag tribute albums proves, it’s surprisingly hard to cover a Tom Waits song with efficacy - to transform that rawness without shaming it with antiseptic beauty, or overwhelming it with rage and despair.

Too many miss the tenderness Waits feels for his subjects. Too many fall too quiet, focusing on melody to the detriment of the necessary nuance. Balance is key, here, lest the longing turn maudlin and cheap, or the chill turn to heat and anger.

Still, there are many ways to capture winter well. Ice can be fragile or fleeting, jagged or muddied, brittle or echoingly still; it can trap us, or shatter beneath us, or even sustain our careful footsteps across it, if we mind our surroundings. Here’s a few folksingers and singer-songwriters who manage to get it right.

• The Cottars: Hold On
  (Barely-restrained Celtic folkpop, a thrillride from Nova Scotian sibling act The Cottars’ Forerunner)
• Redbird: Hold On
  (Sparse, touchingly ragged singer-songwriter fare with rotating lead and harmony vocals from Peter Mulvey, Jeffrey Foucault, and Kris Delmhorst, performing as folk collective Redbird.)
• Kathryn Williams and Neill MacColl: Innocent When You Dream
  (A lighthearted, slightly twee lo-fi lullaby waltz from UK singer-songwriters Kathryn Williams and Neill MacColl’s 2008 duet album Two.)
• Anna Ternheim: Anywhere I Lay My Head
  (Echoey demo-quality indiefolk from Swedish poprock singer-songwriter and indie darling Anna Ternheim. Off 2005 EP Shoreline.)
• Heidi Talbott: Time
  (Lovely, delicate Irish-American tradfolk from “carefully understated” Celtic singer-songwriter Heidi Talbott; from I Love + Light, featured here two summers ago.)
• Emiliana Torrini: I Hope That I Don’t Fall In Love With You
  (Broken-voiced pianofolk from Icelandic alt-pop singer Emiliana Torrini’s 1996 import-only underground gem Merman.)
• Arrica Rose: I Hope That I Don’t Fall…
  (Whispery grungefolk from LA indie singer-songwriter Arrica Rose, whose 2008 release LA La Lost first gave us opportunity to rant about doing Tom Waits right - and wrong.)
• Shawn Colvin: (Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night
  (Sweet live coverfolk from Shawn Colvin, released just before her AAA popstar era; from fave 1994 Columbia Records release Cover Girl.)
• Madeleine Peyroux: (Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night
  (Sublime, shimmery Holiday-esque brushfolk from jazz/blues chanteuse Madeleine Peyroux, whose 2006 release Half The Perfect World lives eternally on my mellow playlist.)
• Sarah Jarosz: Come On Up To The House
  (Sparse acoustic jamgrass from Song Up In Her Head, this year’s debut from bluegrass wunderkind Sarah Jarosz, first featured here back in April.)
• Mike and Ruthy: Long Way Home
  (Softly strummed late-night americana-string-band music from married folk couple and ex-Mammals Mike and Ruthy’s gorgeous post-wedding album The Honeymoon Agenda.)
• Norah Jones: The Long Way Home
  (Sultry bluesfolk from everyone’s favorite slippery-voiced popjazz chanteuse Norah Jones, whose new album ain’t bad, either.)
• Holly Cole: I Don’t Wanna Grow Up
  (Fragile jazzplay from perennial Tom Waits interpreter Holly Cole. Her tribute album Temptation is one of the great ones.)
• Vamosbabe & Pascal Fricke: Bronx Lullaby
  (Classical jazz guitar and quiet vocals from the second of three Waits cover albums by Pascal Fricke, aka Waitswatcher, a great Cover Me find.)
• Botanica: Broken Bicycles
  (Eerie, slightly melodramatic folk rock from Botanica, off the same New Coat of Paint tribute album as that everpresent Neko Case cover. Trust me, it grows on you.)
• Clara Bakker: Temptation
  (Live full-throated bluesfolk with just the right touch of tango from Dutch vocalist Clara Bakker.)
• Dave Alvin: Blind Love
  (Low-down and bluesy rootsfolk from alt-country progenitor Dave Alvin’s high-production West of the West, a strong tribute to a diverse mix of his favorite California singer-songwriters.)
• Hayes Carll: Bad Liver & A Broken Heart
  (Broken-down troubadour folk from young alt-country blogdarling Hayes Carll, recorded live on Mountain Stage this past February.)

Tom Waits coverfolk previously on Cover Lay Down:

• Alt-country goddess Lucinda Williams covers Hang Down Your Head and a host of other fitting songs.

• Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks cover The Piano Has Been Drinking. Plus: more drunken coverfolk.

• Contradance band Popcorn Behavior covers The Briar and the Rose, one of a dozen rose songs for Valentines Day.

“Other people write about the bling and the booty. I write about the pus and the gnats.
To me, that’s beautiful.” ~ Vic Chesnutt, in the NY Daily News, April 10, 2005


UPDATE: both the New York Times and Constellation Records have now confirmed that Vic Chesnutt passed from this world at 2:59 p.m. today. The below text, originally written when the circumstances of his passing were still in question, has been adapted accordingly. Rest In Peace, Vic.

Sad and conflicted news for a Christmas morning: Athens, GA folk-rocker Vic Chesnutt came close enough to death last night - allegedly as a result of complications after an overdose of muscle relaxants - for supposedly well-informed major media news outlets to report his passing. Many blogs and news sources then rescinded those reports, while sources close to Vic continued to maintain that Chesnutt was still alive, though the circumstances of his hospitalization suggested that, even if he did pull through, he might no longer have been able to perform.

Chesnutt died later this afternoon, surrounded by family and friends.

The well-respected and prolific 45 year old singer-songwriter, left a paraplegic after a car accident in his late teens, was known for his gritty, poignant songwriting, his dark and self-depreciating humor, his quiet, deliberate approach to stagecraft, and his collaborative work with a broad spectrum of fellow artists and admirers, including Widespread Panic, Lambchop, Fugazi’s Guy Picciotto, Bill Frisell, R.E.M., Thee Silver Mt. Zion, and Elf Power.

The 1996 Chesnutt tribute album Sweet Relief II: Gravity of the Situation, while not folk, remains an essential component of any cover collector’s archive, with star turns from Kristen Hersh, the Indigo Girls, Cracker, Live, Madonna, R.E.M., and other well-known fans. But it’s Vic’s own cathartic and perfectly stunning interpretations of the songs of others which seem most fitting today, in honor of a life well lived, and a muse well served. Our prayers are with him.

• Vic Chesnutt: Buckets of Rain (orig. Bob Dylan)
• Bob Mould and Vic Chesnutt: Hickory Wind (orig. The Byrds)
• Vic Chesnutt and Liz Durrett: Somewhere (orig. from West Side Story)
• Vic Chesnutt: Home On The Range (trad.)

Kristin Hersh offers a beautiful tribute to her best friend Vic.

Today, then, as a last-minute holiday present to both artist and readers, I’d like to ask each of you to take a moment to consider the primary purpose of Cover Lay Down - to wit, the support of great and oft-undersung artists - and, in the spirit of the season, consider purchasing Polenzani’s most recent work, the utterly lovely 2008 release When The River Meets The Sea.

But first, here’s Rose, in a nutshell.

Rose Polenzani’s history speaks achingly of the difficulty modern artists have in building and retaining audiences beyond their initial foray into the folkworld, and in moving from local sensation to globally recognized talent. Despite an early career feature spot at the 1998 Lillith Fair, and a subsequent decade of mid-level awards and recognition in the New England area and beyond, the sweet-voiced, impish singer-songwriter with an unerring ear for sly-yet-heartwarming lyrics and delicate, deliberate composition - who first came to my attention for her strong 1999 sophomore album Anybody, and her work with Voices on the Verge along with Beth Amsel, Erin McKeown, and Jess Klein - remains sadly undersung outside of her adopted East Coast base of operations.

And though her label output in the last five years has been sparse at best, the circumstances of When The River Meets The Sea, a live-in-studio collaboration with lo-fi, high-energy acoustic roots band Session Americana originally recorded in the summer of ‘06 and not released until May of last year, strongly suggest that it is the business, not the talent, which may be keeping Rose from garnering her due in the marketplace.

Still, as her steady output of delightfully playful YouTube video covers and her leadership of the Boston-based collaborative Sub Rosa over the last few years have shown, Rose remains cheerfully upbeat, working and sharing with friends in the same situation, hosting them at every opportunity on small screen and stage. Her taste in partners, her eminently talented performance and craft of all things musical, and above all her positive, lighthearted approach to the work and play of musicmaking only reinforce my sense that this is an artist who is deserving of ongoing celebration, both for who she is and what she creates, and for the community she gathers around her.

Today, then, some holiday covers from Rose and friends, including a hilariously playful Peanuts tribute posted on Rose’s YouTube channel just yesterday, with the genuine hope of many good things to come in the year ahead for Rose Polenzani, her constant collaborators, and every fan of hers that I can muster.

• Rose Polenzani: Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (orig. Judy Garland)
  (via MySpace, 2007)

• Rose Polenzani and Catie Curtis: It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
  (via Rose Polenzani’s webpage, 2002)

• Rose Polenzani, Jennifer Kimball, Jordan Caress, and Ramona Silver: In The Bleak Midwinter
  (live from the Session Americana Christmas show, 2005)

• Rose Polenzani w/ Session Americana: When The River Meets The Sea (orig. Emmet Otter’s Jug Band Christmas)
  (from When The River Meets The Sea, 2008; live in-studio version also available here)

Rose Polenzani and Rose Cousins: Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree (orig. Brenda Lee)

Laura Cortese, Rose Polenzani, Jennifer Kimball, Rose Cousins and Matt Malikowski: O Christmas Tree


Interested in seeing Rose and friends live in concert? Rose Polenzani’s “secret society of friends and strangers” Sub Rosa - with currently-confirmed artists Chris O’Brien, Aoife O’Donovan, Anne Heaton, Dave Godowsky, Dave Champagne, Dinty Child, Elana Arian, Melissa Ferrick, Joel Ninesling and more - will appear at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge, MA on Dec. 29 @ 9:00. Knowing the Cambridge folkscene, I’ll be one of several bearded middle-aged guys in the crowd.

Of course, whether you’re in the area or not, in the spirit of looking back over the year, it’s worth noting that, counting the above bouquet, our ongoing celebration of Rose Polenzani now includes over a dozen gorgeous blossoms. Previously posted covers here on Cover Lay Down (with and without frequent collaborators Anne Heaton, Rose Cousins, Jennifer Kimball, Laura Cortese and others) include Neil Young’s For The Turnstiles, Bill Callahan’s Eid Ma Clack Shaw and Sharon Lewis’ She Is A Rainbow, Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson duet Say, Say, Say, Feist’s The Park, and old movie soundtrack oddity turned sweetheart sonnet Lonesome Polecat. Also worth noting on YouTube: a recent collaborative cover of 80s classic Broken Wings. And Polenzani’s take on Death Cab For Cutie’s Soul Meets Body is just to die for.

Speaking of both the Boston music scene and seasonal blooms: late news of an inevitably joyous new holiday collaborative comes this week via email, and though I couldn’t be more disappointed to have missed their performance at Club Passim this past weekend, locals looking ahead to New Years would be well-advised to plan ahead for a final First Night performance from the short-lived holiday project Winterbloom, which features Antje Duvekot, Anne Heaton, Meg Hutchinson and Natalia Zukerman with a now-completed holiday tour and an eight song EP Traditions Rearranged, recorded in a three-day session at WERS and featuring classic carols and holiday originals from these four stellar voices of the Boston folk set.

The whole album is achingly beautiful, a perfect mix of sweet familiarities, seasonal folk songs in their original language, and well-crafted original contributions from Anne, Meg, and Antje, but their arrangement of Greg Brown wintersong Rexroth’s Daughter is especially stunning. Check it out below before heading over to the Winterbloom MySpace page to stream more stunning originals and Christmas coversongs, visit Antje’s homepage for a free download and video of her aptly-titled original Thanks For The Roses (Merry Christmas), set your radio clock for 6:00 pm on Dec 25th to catch a Christmas Day replay of their Nov. 18 in-studio performance at WUMB, and - if you’re in the area - don’t miss their 9:30 set at the Hynes Convention Center, part of the First Night Boston celebration.

• Winterbloom: Rexroth’s Daughter (orig. Greg Brown)
  (from Winterbloom: Traditions Rearranged, 2009)

And finally: she’s not local, but who could resist one more pair of beautiful bonus roses, for the holidays?

• Rosie Thomas: Christmas Don’t Be Late (orig. Alvin and the Chipmunks)
• Rosie Thomas: River (orig. Joni Mitchell)
  (from A Very Rosie Christmas, 2008)

But it’s been a rich year here at Cover Lay Down, and a rich year in the world of folk music, too. Despite a shifting-sand industry, and a continued fluidity in the relationship between artists and audiences, the low cost of acoustic production, the constant emergence of new artists grounded in the various traditions of “folk”, and the continued search for new lenses with which to frame culture and confession through song has made it easy for us to find wonder and whimsy, comfort and joy each Wednesday and Sunday.

Which is to say: I regret nothing, and recommend every song we’ve posted, every artist we’ve featured, every Covered In Folk songbook we’ve celebrated in this last year of the waning decade. Though I’ve been a bit lax with post tags in the past few months, newcomers are strongly encouraged to browse through the month-by-month archives to the right and below to catch up on a year’s worth of carefully selected coverage.


Still, music and memory collude in oft-unpredictable ways. Some songs linger; others, such as our Single Song Sunday subjects, claim more universality than others. As new songs and new experiences come down the pike, it inevitably sparks the neurons to connect once-was to now-is, causing us to call up the past in ways both surprising and eminently satisfying.

So today, we use the conceit of the (Re)Covered feature - our regularly reoccurring vehicle for sifting backwards through past posts, as new and newly-found songs come to our ears which rightfully belonged in the context of such already-passed premises - to both linkback to a few favorite features and celebrate the constancy of the new release, the uncovered gem, the passed-along bonus track, the demo and the deja vu darling.

So click on every and all mid-paragraph link above and below to join me in the 2009 archives, where greatness lies. And enjoy the newest tracks and discoveries along the way, of course.

It is unsurprising to find so many Signature Sounds artists on our roster for the year; the local label is a favorite, in no small part because of the exquisite taste and production oversight of owner, proprietor, and long-time WRSI DJ Jim Olsen. Nods to the Western Massachusetts-based studio and house of singer-songwriter solicitation this year included note of new releases from Caroline Herring, Chris Smither, Peter Mulvey, Sometymes Why, Eilen Jewell, and Richard Shindell; as the archives show, each was a wonderful record, well produced and well-constructed, and if you’re still holiday shopping for audiophilic friends and family, Signature Sounds is a perfect first stop.

The horizon promises good things, too: Boston-based neotrad string band Joy Kills Sorrow, now with CLD fave singer/cellist Emma Beaton on lead vocals, will drop their new album Darkness Sure Becomes This City on the label in February; though there’s not many covers on the album, the previews on Fiddlefreak attest to its greatness. And just because I only picked up Rani Arbo and Daisy Mayhem’s swingin’ new Kidfolk album Ranky Tanky yesterday as part of the last-minute holiday shopping spree, and because I never made it to posting anything from the raucously fun debut by Brooklyn-based honky-tonk band The Sweetback Sisters, both of which meet Signature Sounds’ high standards for greatness, here’s a pair of tracks from each to finish the year.

• Sweetback Sisters: My Uncle Used To Love Me But She Died (orig. Roger Miller)
• Sweetback Sisters: Don’t Cry To Me (orig. Jimmy Martin)

• Rani Arbo & Daisy Mayhem: Wildflowers (orig. Tom Petty)
• Rani Arbo & Daisy Mayhem: If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out (orig. Cat Stevens)

Bonus Holiday Coverfolk track, from Signature Sounds holiday compilation Wonderland:

• Erica Wheeler: Song For A Winter’s Night (orig. Gordon Lightfoot)

This year was the year we finally took our first tentative steps towards supporting musicians through more than just blog review, folk festival attendance, and ticket purchases. Our little house concert series A Tree Falls Productions brought us into intimate contact with three favorite artists - tender Texas singer-songwriter Danny Schmidt, the now-defunct chamberqrass Folk Arts Quartet, and Greenwich Village-era dulcimerist and hilarious storyteller David Massengill; thanks in no small part to the hard work of my tireless event-planning spouse, each was a success in its own way, and I am proud to consider myself both fan and friend to the artists we have hosted.

As I had been warned, our initial forays into house concert hosting have been highly addictive, and I have high hopes that 2010 will bring even more opportunities to share the best traveling musicians with family and friends both new and old. If you live within driving distance of Springfield, Northampton, or Worcester, MA - our nearest urban hotspots - make sure to sign up for our facebook group to keep abreast of upcoming concerts as the warm weather returns. In the meantime, though the ladies of the FAQ have since moved on to other projects and pastures, here’s a bonus covertrack each from the two incredible solo folk artists who were kind enough to grace our home in 2009.

• David Massengill: Green Green Rocky Road (Public Domain; Chandler/Kaufman)
• Danny Schmidt & Carrie Elkin: Little Drummer Boy (pop. Harry Simeone)

I’m a habitual statwatcher, but even if I weren’t, it would have been hard to ignore that our November Punk Covers post was our most popular yet, thanks to notice at top-ten “directory of wonderful things” Boing Boing and, subsequently, on a holy host of punk forums from around the world. Our stats for the month show a 300% boost in readership, and though many punkwatchers did not choose to stick around for more folk afterwards, I’d like to thank those open-minded souls who have since decided to become regular visitors.

Popular “all folked up” thematic posts, especially those which cast such a broad and controversial net, inevitably beget also-ran submissions here at Cover Lay Down; in this case, the influx of new readership made for a fine platform for new discovery, as visitors new and old clamored to add their favorite punk cover to the atmosphere. Here’s some of the best previously-unheard or otherwise-forgotten first and second-wave punk covers that came my way in the aftermath of popularity, with a promise that 2010 will bring an equally great post chock full of third-wave and post-punk covers from the folkworld.

• David Pajo: Where Eagles Dare (orig. Misfits)
• Hot Tuna: Bank Robber (orig. The Clash)
• Phil Cody: Straight to Hell (orig. The Clash)
• Jeffrey Lewis: Do They Owe Us A Living (orig. Crass)

Finally, though we never truly got around to compressing our year-long discussion of 2009 tribute albums and cover compilations into a single omnibus, I think our two primary posts on the subject - one from March, the other from November - provide a relatively thorough overview.

But even the best folkwatchers with day jobs cannot catch everything the first time around. Though I continue to maintain that, like Nellie McKay’s recent Doris Day tribute, despite the appearance of multiple folkpop artists (including CLD faves Patty Griffin, Sam Phillips, Sara Watkins, Jill Sobule, and Missy Higgins), this year’s Cy Coleman tribute is not folk, but a true genre-centered pop vocal album through and through, a comprehensive list of the year’s best folk-and-roots tribute albums should, by all rights, include the indiefolk and other subgenre coverfolk gems hidden among larger collections.

As such, we should at least note release of the Wilco-esque folk rock tribute EP Heartaches By the Pound: The Rosewood Thieves Sing Solomon Burke, which Ray over at Cover Me included on his own best-of tribute list for the year. And we should also point out that Holiday Coverfolk albums are still cover albums, and give honorable mention to both Score! 20 Years Of Merge Records: The Covers!, which includes some great indiefolk tracks from the likes of Laura Cantrell, Bill Callahan, St. Vincent, Tracey Thorn and Jens Lenkman, and more, and the Lemonheads‘ all-cover extravaganza Varshons, which - while broad in its genre base - includes plenty of Evan Dando’s sparse grungefolk among the harder stuff.

• The Rosewood Thieves: You’re Good For Me (orig. Solomon Burke)
• Laura Cantrell: Cowboy on the Moon (orig. Lambchop)
• The Lemonheads ft. Liv Tyler: Hey That’s No Way To Say Goodbye (orig. Leonard Cohen)

Cover Lay Down shares new coverfolk sets and features each Wednesday and Sunday throughout the year. Y’all come back now, y’hear?

But I have always loved the trappings of the holidays: the garish colorful world of lights and decorations everywhere, the smell of green pine that emanates from entryways, and most especially the universality of Christmas music, and the way it transforms the culture - the way songs of peace and joy are on the lips and ears of everyone around, as if the world were about to burst into song at any moment, and the crowd right along with it.

Of course, one of the great joys of Christmas is the way it brings out the coverfolk like nobody’s business. And along with new and familiar carols played out by the beloved artists we celebrate here with regularity, there’s something especially wonderous about the way new artists emerge from the woodwork and the mailbox, the blogs and the fanbase, carols in hand, to introduce themselves at holiday time.

Which is to say: I had quite literally heard of none of these artists just a month ago. And now, look - here they are, bearing gifts.


Merry Ellen Kirk plays earnest music, predominantly pianofolk, some of which sounds like Regina Spektor or Imogen Heap, and some which is a bit diva-poppish for my ears - check out her cover of O Holy Night featuring David Ask to see what I mean - but her acoustic-guitar driven version of Do You Hear What I Hear offers a clear, perfectly produced venue for her whispered vocal style, and her version of The Christmas Song brings a warm, quiet, delicate sound and sensibility to an old chestnut. You can get a full copy of Merry Ellen’s Christmas EP on a “tell five friends or pay what you want” basis at Noise Trade, and all of this and more can be heard on her website; sign up for her mailing list, and you’ll also get a beautiful, haunting a capella rendition of O Come O Come Emmanuel.

• Merry Ellen Kirk: Do You Hear What I Hear

I picked up a Paste Digital VIP subscription a few months ago, mostly for the free monthly albums and samplers; at under three bucks a month, it’s a steal well worth sharing. This lovely atmospheric slowsong by indie up-and-comers The Rocketboys was a Paste freebie just this week, and I couldn’t resist: the combination of its full-fledged Sufjan-esque holiday production and the lead singer’s slightly nasal vocals really hits the spot.

• The Rocketboys: Up On A Housetop

Indie-folk band Desert Noises is known, if at all, for their gorgeous harmonies, which in my opinion gives them an edge on those Monsters of Folk guys any day; they also get serious cred for one of their members’ recent tour with Joshua James, but now that they’re back in the studio, they stand their own ground majestically, too. Proof of concept: the pace and build of this yuletide gospel hymn, which provides a stellar antidote to the perfect polish of the pop set this time of year. Thanks to 21st and Ivy, where there’s a new Yuletide Download to be had every day until Christmas, for passing this one along.

• Desert Noises: Go Tell It On The Mountain

• Bonus track: Joshua James: Oh Come Oh Come Emmanuel

Like so many sensitive-yet-rocking singer-songwriters these days, NYC’s Neil Nathan is making waves via the small screen; when he sent along news of this Christmas cover and the accompanying “loony video”, he also noted that he’s had “a great year in folky covers”, citing the appearance of his cover of ELO The Move’s Do Ya on the Californication soundtrack and the release of his covers EP Songsmiths as evidence. And sure enough, like the rest of Nathan’s work, this one grows on you, if you let it. So let it.

• Neil Nathan: Santa Claus is Coming to Town
• Video Version: Neil Nathan: Santa Claus is Coming To Town

• Video Bonus: Neil Nathan: Do Ya (orig. ELO The Move)

I found Caravan of Thieves on one of those everpresent label samplers that clog the mailbox this time of year. But discovering hidden gems is why I listen to such things: the gypsy guitar and fiddle tones of this cover lend a playful swing and an edgy warmth to a song too often played as cloying and over-vamped. Please Please Me tourmate and solo singer-songwriter Jessie Torrisi’s take on Alvin and the Chipmunk’s Christmas Don’t Be Late is a weird, warbly slice of Americana pie. And though - folkies beware - it’s got some sweet hard rock in it, the rest of this year’s XO For The Holidays sampler isn’t bad overall, either.

• Caravan of Thieves: The Grinch (from How The Grinch Stole Christmas)
• Jessie Torrisi: Christmas Don’t Be Late (orig. Alvin and the Chipmunks)

I’ve been looking for a chance to introduce y’all to British alternacoustic songstress Betty Steeles ever since she sent along a gorgeously hushed, magically layered rendition of Leonard Cohen’s Hey That’s No Way To Say Goodbye, a MySpace track which has fast become perhaps my favorite cover of the song ever, which is really saying something. But Betty’s a smart girl, and - noticing that I’m pretty much stuck in the Christmas groove right now - decided to jump the gun with this Cover Lay Down exclusive, a tinkly electrofolkpop “holiday take” on Louis Armstrong fave What a Wonderful World. And I’m in heaven.

• Betty Steeles: What A Wonderful World (orig. Louis Armstrong)

Jim Hanft isn’t so new as all that here at Cover Lay Down; we first featured his cover of The Beach Boys’ Don’t Worry Baby in our New Artists series back in midsummer, making him an alumni of the feature. But I still love his particular brand of well-crafted “soundtrack-ready singer-songwriter bedroom folk”, so I’ve decided that the addition of Hanft’s “fulltime harmonist” Samantha Yonack to this classic duet allows it in on a “New Artists” technicality - which makes me happy, as theirs is a marvelous transformation of the tune into a playful-yet-soft acoustic coffeehouse number, complete with bells on.

• Jim Hanft & Samantha Yonack: Baby It’s Cold Outside

LA “guitarist turned singer-songwriter” John Dissed, who offers a private collection of 25 coversongs free to anyone who joins his mailing list, has fast become a darling of the coverblogs, having in recent months appeared on both Cover Me’s Cover Commissions and Coverville’s gloriously vibrant and entirely free Spinal Tap Tribute Compilation [yes, I said Spinal Tap Tribute Compilation]. The former, a solid cover of T Rex’s Bang A Gong, is off topic, albeit worth the visit. The latter, however, is right on and relevant.

• John Dissed: Christmas with the Devil (orig. Spinal Tap)

Remember, folks: Cover Lay Down exists to promote artists first and foremost. If you like what you hear, please follow purchase and website links above to learn more about the artists we promote, and consider purchasing CDs and downloadables for yourself and your friends and family. Thanks, and Happy Hanukkah!

Now, in recognition of his years of service to a rising generation of children, a host of international artists and family bands, many of who grew up listening to these hilariously warped kidsongs, have come together to pay tribute to Polisar and his surprisingly vast catalog. And just as I really recommend Barry’s endearing originals, I’m putting the two-CD tribute We’re Not Kidding at the top of my stocking stuffer list, and recommending you do, too.

It’s hard to describe the sprawling tribute that is We’re Not Kidding. Where Barry’s original works tend primarily towards the kind of cheerfully ragged acoustic rock that typifies some of my favorite kid’s albums, the sixty songs here run the full genre gamut - there’s grungy hard rock, twangy country, klezmer, ska, Zappaesque electrofolk, girl-group harmonies, the odd samba, and a healthy dollop of acoustic indiepunk and singer-songwriter anti-folk.

But despite the vast sound spectrum, a closer listen reveals several unifying elements here beyond Polisar’s direct, imaginative silliness. To wit: these songs are all short and weird, almost universally experimental and wobbly-voiced, highly gleeful, and - regardless of genre - predominantly steeped in a ragged, one-take sensibility. Put it all together, and it’s like a complete box set of fun off-genre bonus tracks from the entire SXSW cadre. Or like someone decided to put together a heroin-punk and mid-nineties New Zealand Underground compilation for kids, and every artist took a different approach to the problem, with some choosing to take up a more kid-friendly genre mantle, others stripping their sound down to the acoustic roots, and the rest figuring that hell, kids would like punk, too.

Either way, this is a fabulously fun album, and a fine showcase for the oddly endearing talents and songs of the long-standing children’s entertainer. My kids absolutely LOVE it, and so will the kids and parents on your holiday list. Check out some of the folkier tracks below, head over to Barry’s site to sample the whole damn thing, and then order We’re Not Kidding and a couple of CDs worth of Barry Louis Polisar originals today.

• Vespers: All I Want Is You (orig. Barry Louis Polisar)
• Loverlee: I Love Your Eyes (ibid.)
• Elizabeth Street: That’s What Makes The World Go ‘Round (ibid.)
• Alyssa A. Robbins: With A Giggle And A Hug And A Tickle And A Kiss (ibid.)

We’ve featured popular kids entertainer Dan Zanes and his Family Band here in our kidfolk posts before, but his new album 76 Trombones, a set of beloved songs from Broadway musicals, is worth the just-released celebration, as much for how well it continues to demonstrate his prowess as a kids entertainer and bandleader as for how effectively it makes well-chosen familiarities accessible to the kidset.

Not so much an ex-rocker as a kids’ coolness revivalist, a parent who turned to kids entertainment after a long career with popular 80s rootsrocker band the Del Fuegos, Zanes continues to prove that kids music need not be sappy or cheesy with his marvelously playful stage shows and albums, and this hefty new release is no exception. 76 Trombones features 17 songs transformed into rootsy party tunes, each one a gem sure to please both parents and kids, with the likes of Carol Channing and Matthew Broderick as guest vocalists; it’s on my Christmas wishlist, and I expect after hearing the samples below, it will be on yours, too.

• Dan Zanes & Friends: Seventy Six Trombones (orig. The Music Man)
• Dan Zanes & Friends Ft. De’Adre Aziza: I Don’t Need Anything But You (orig. Annie)

Just as the Putumayo parent label has made a name for itself for its constantly growing collection of perfect thematic coffeehouse samplers from around the world, Putumayo Kids has become well-known among cool moms and dads for a series of well-collected compilations of family-friendly music, each with its own special regional or thematic focus. As such, unsurprisingly, there’s plenty of holiday cheer on A Family Christmas, the most recent of four holiday releases from Putumayo Kids.

But though we have come to expect great selection and great songs from Putumayo Kids, A Family Christmas is an especially potent mix of familiar carols and popular holiday fare, flowing seamlessly from roots to blues to folk to rockers with nary a dud or a skip-over.

As with most Putumayo samplers, the tunes included herein are relatively recent but not new releases - I’ve long treasured [and previously posted] Martin Sexton’s Holly Jolly Christmas, love Deanna Carter’s delicate fireside Winter Wonderland, and we featured Kate Rusby’s Christmas album, which includes the version of Here We Go A Wassailing found on A Family Christmas, in Tuesday’s feature on Rusby. But even if you’ve already got a few of these tunes, the particular success of the sequential arrangement of song here, and the universal comfort and joy of the songs and performances themselves, make this a perfect last-minute holiday gift for the kid or kid-at-heart in your life. Here’s a playful pair of tracks to get your whistle wet before purchase.

• Johnny Bregar: Santa Claus is Coming To Town
• Sam Bush: Sleigh Ride

As a bonus, in addition to releasing Brave Combo’s polka version of Jolly Old Saint Nick as a website freebie, Putumayo makes a great Seasons Greetings ecard for the holidays, featuring playful graphics and Leon Redbone’s warm, acoustic swing version of Let It Snow. Send one to the kids you love now.


Looking for more kid-friendly Holiday Coverfolk? Chromewaves has note of a deliciously delicate and diverse Canadian compilation tribute to the Vince Guaraldi Trio’s soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas; head over to download Jill Barber’s cover of The Christmas Song, and The Awkward Stage covering Christmas Time Is Here. Or try these archived features from last year:

Also, for those celebrating Chanukkah this year: Last year’s feature on Chanukkah Coverfolk is still live and relevant, as is this mini-feature containing two wonderful covers of Rock of Ages.

Oddly, I was introduced to the music of Kate Rusby through my own blog, via a guest post during my first summer hiatus way back in 2007. Since then, I’ve fallen completely in love with the gentle songstress; this time of year, especially, her clear sweet voice and that Yorkshire accent cut through the chill like a searchlight to the heart.

Exceptionally well-known in her native land, but much less so in the US — perhaps because, as the title track to her 2005 album The Girl Who Wouldn’t Fly explains, Kate is afraid to fly, and thus does not tour much, if at all, on this side of the pond — Rusby tends towards a traditional folk of the old-school type, grounded in the old ballads and songstyles of her native Britain. Each of her eight solo albums, a mere decade of output, features a rich combination of such ageless folk songs, and a scattering of contemporary folk covers and timeless originals which share the same trope and lyrical sentiment.

But this is no mere tradfolk, and Kate is no mere interpreter of song. Her arrangements may be sparse and simple, but they are also deliberate, and delicately nuanced; the 36 year old singer-songwriter may be grounded in life, but the deceptive potency of her pure voice and the ring of her high-strung guitar contain a power beyond description, setting songs of all origin to lift off and soar in all cases, whether slow and solo or tempered by a touch of the squeezebox drone, the pipe and brass, the brushed drum, the low bass, or the full folkrock package of, say, her take on The Kinks.

The result is incredible: deeply personal, highly emotional, proud against the full winds of change, and yet somehow both delicate and universal enough to startle even the most jaded tradfolk or folkpop listener into a second look, and then a lifetime of delight. It’s no wonder she is such a sought after collaborator and guest vocalist in her native land; no wonder that she is so celebrated, though surely not enough, at least on our end of the ocean.

Kate’s newest album is actually a re-release of her 2008 holiday CD Sweet Bells, which - in keeping with her eye on the past - offers stellar interpretations of traditional Yorkshire Christmas carols straight out of storybook England, filtered through regional tradfolk instrumentation and that utterly lovely voice. Today, in a nod to the season, we offer a choice cut from that seasonal delight, plus a mix of covers both contemporary and traditional from Rusby’s prolific songbook; if you like what you hear, head over to Kate Rusby’s own storefront to pick up the full catalog, and a second set for stocking stuffers.

• Kate Rusby: Radio Sweethearts (orig. J. Miller/John McCusker)
• Kate Rusby: I Am Stretched on Your Grave (orig. Scullion; pop. Sinead O’Connor)
  (from Hourglass, 1998)

• Kate Rusby: Our Town (orig. Iris Dement)
• Kate Rusby: I Wonder What Is Keeping My True Love This Night (trad)
  (from Sleepless, 1999)

• Kate Rusby: Withered & Died (orig. Richard Thompson)
  (from Little Lights, 2001)

• Kate Rusby: Sir Eglamore (trad.)
  (from Ten, 2002)

• Kate Rusby: Let Me Be (trad.)
• Kate Rusby: Cruel (trad)
  (from Underneath the Stars, 2003)

• Kate Rusby: You Belong To Me (orig. Sue Thompson, pop. Jo Stafford)
  (from The Girl Who Couldn’t Fly, 2005)

• Kate Rusby: The Village Green Preservation Society (orig. The Kinks)
  (from Awkward Annie, 2007; more Kinks covers)

• Kate Rusby: Who Knows Where The Time Goes (orig. Sandy Denny)
  (single, 2008; more covers of Who Knows Where The Time Goes)

• Kate Rusby: Here We Come A-Wassailing (trad.)
  (from Sweet Bells, 2008)

Before fame arrived at her doorstep, Rusby released several collaborative albums, including a short-lived stint as lead vocalist for The Poozies. Today’s bonus tracks come from her early collaboration with friend and fellow Barnsley folksinger Kathryn Roberts, a marvelous gem which features nary an original song; though the production is less precise than in her later solo work, the songs reveal a confidence that would serve Rusby well on her way to fame. Here’s two favorites from the disc:

• Kate Rusby & Kathryn Roberts: The Queen and the Soldier (orig. Suzanne Vega)
• Kate Rusby & Kathryn Roberts: Exile (orig. Show of Hands)
  (from Kate Rusby & Kathryn Roberts, 1995)
  
  

Cover Lay Down posts new features and coverfolk sets every Sunday, Wednesday, and the occasional otherday. Coming this weekend: kidfolk for the holidays, and for the fun of it.

Norah Jones: Jesus, Etc. (orig. Wilco)


Live versions of the same cover from the recent Bridge School benefit have also been floating around the interwebs; check out Copy Cats and Muzzle of Bees for performance vids, one incomplete and the other grainy, both complete with minimal crowd noise, each worth celebrating nonetheless.

In other news, I’ve started posting more cover-heavy contributions over at the Star Maker Machine collaborative; head on over for versions of sixties classic Stoned Soul Picnic from Jill Sobule and Laura Love, Chris Smither and Emmylou Harris versions of Jesse Winchester’s Thanks To You, and a swingfolk cover of Guy Clark’s Homegrown Tomatoes. Plus originals in all cases, for comparison’s sake.

And stay tuned later this week for two very exciting features just in time for holiday giftgiving: a look at UK singer-songwriter Kate Rusby, whose album of traditional Christmas carols has just been rereleased, and an exploration of some great late 2009 Kidfolk releases, including new work from Dan Zanes, a holiday album from Putumayo Kids, and a tribute to the guy who wrote that song from Juno.

It starts in earnest just after supper. By the time I clean up and make my way outside, there’s a two-foot-high snowman, squat and cheerful, looking up at me, the elderchild’s scarf wrapped tightly around its lumpen neck. The kittens are startled, stepping daintily into the white stuff. Somewhere out there in the almost-dark, my little girls shriek gleefully in the dark, their faces to the sky.

I find them, and the girls and I chase each other across the white lawn, leaving footprints and snow angels in their wake. The wee one wins the snowball fight. We destroy the snowman, and make another, as tall as the elderchild. After photographs from the porch, Mama makes us tea, and we drink it together around the kitchen counter, our fingers tingling against the warm mugs, our cheeks flushed and burning bright.

The magic of winter has truly arrived. Let’s celebrate with songs of snow.

• Rani Arbo & Daisy Mayhem: Snowbird (orig. Gene MacLellan/ pop. Anne Murray)
  (from Cocktail Swing, 2001)

• Lissa Schenckenburger: Like The Snow (orig. Kristen Andreassen)
  (from Different Game, 2001)

• Robert Earl Keen: Snowin’ On Raton (orig. Townes Van Zandt)
  (from Gravitational Forces, 2003)

• Muleskinner: Footprints in the Snow (trad./ pop. Bill Monroe)
  (from A Potpourri Of Bluegrass Jam, 1974)

• Fiona Apple: Frosty the Snowman (orig. Gene Autry)
  (from Christmas Calling, 2003)

• The Be Good Tanyas: Rain and Snow (trad.)
  (from Blue Horse, 2000)

• Said The Lion: White Christmas (orig. Bing Crosby)
  (from MySpace, 2008)

• Harry Nilsson: Snow (orig. Randy Newman)
  (from Nilsson Sings Newman, 1970)

• Thea Gilmore: Listen, The Snow Is Falling (orig. Yoko Ono)
  (from Strange Communion, 2009)

• Laura Cortese: Winter Wonderland (orig. Richard Himber Orchestra)
  (from Bored at Christmas, 2007)
• Rosie Thomas: Winter Wonderland
  (from A Very Rosie Christmas, 2008)
• A Weather: Winter Wonderland
  (from Willamette Week Christmas Compilation, 2008)

Cover Lay Down posts new coverfolk features and song sets each Sunday, Wednesday, and the occasional otherday. Now go outside and dance.
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It’s cold, to be sure. But it certainly doesn’t feel like Christmas, yet.

Which is fine, as I usually try to avoid the whole Christmas kicking in early thing. But as the sitetracker shows, visitors and google searchers have been coming in for weeks with increasing frequency, looking for songs for their holiday mixtapes. And I suppose there is something to be said for being prepared for the inevitable onslaught of commercial radio and in-store soundtracks. If nothing else, we owe it to you, our loyal readers, to provide the delicate and real as an antidote to the same-old same-old, the hoary, overplayed chestnuts of yesteryear.

In the coming weeks, as always, we’ll be offering up more of the gentler stuff, framed by artist, songwriter, source, and sentiment, as is our wont. Today, we kick off the season with a look at a few choice tracks released in recent weeks, for your consideration as new additions to the holiday canon.

Last year’s free holiday tunes from honest, versatile Philly-based singer-songwriter Joel Rakes were among my favorite new recordings of the season; as I noted at the time, Rakes’ earnest carols are performed with a loving ear towards the new indiefolk crowd’s preference for both bedroom production and subtly computer-assisted, guitar-and-banjo based sound, and as a collection, they make for a nice, mellow, diverse set.

This year, in addition to hosting ten of his previous holiday selections absolutely free, Rakes will once again release a new song each Monday in December as Christmas approaches. The annual project kicks off today with a richly layered, rhythmically nuanced take on O Come O Come Emmanuel that’s ringing and sweet, and complete with more than a hint of pop boyband harmonies, showing once again that the site - and the artist - are well worth tracking throughout the season, and beyond.

• Joel Rakes: O Come O Come Emmanuel [2009]
• Joel Rakes: God Rest You Merry Gentlemen [2008]
• Joel Rakes: Go Tell It On The Mountain [2007]
• Joel Rakes: I Saw Three Ships [2006]
  (from the festive.mood.inducing.music series)

I’ve been keeping a close eye on the monthly singles club over at lo-fi label Where It’s At Is Where You Are ever since we featured their Springsteen tribute back in March, and this month’s free EP is a nice mixed bag quartet of tunes for the holiday - two originals, and two covers. The label’s output goes far beyond the boundaries of folk, of course, but the grungy acoustic approach brit folkrock duo Oh, Atoms brings to Wham! classic Last Christmas is raw, rushed, and heartwarming, with just the right balance of banjo and fiddle in the mix, proving once again that even the most overcovered song can be rejuvenated in the right hands.

• Oh, Atoms: Last Christmas (orig. Wham!)
  (from Happy Christmas 2009)

Whimsical alt-slash-indie singer-songwriter Alison Sudol - “known professionally”, as Wikipedia puts it, as A Fine Frenzy - isn’t generally considered part of the folk set, but her two-week-old EP Oh Blue Christmas has a nice touch of twangy, upbeat alt-Americana to it, most notably for judicious use of pedal steel and mandolin. As a bonus, her recent acoustic video remake of Blue Christmas, despite echoey poolside audio and an electronic metronome beat, is a fun visualization of the holiday classic.

• A Fine Frenzy: Blue Christmas (orig. Ernest Tubb; pop. Elvis)
• A Fine Frenzy: Winter Wonderland (orig. Richard Himber Orchestra)
  (from Oh Blue Christmas)

• VIDEO: A Fine Frenzy: Blue Christmas

Cold Dark Night, the second release in Sam Phillips‘ year-long Long Play subscription project came out last week, and as we might have expected from one of our favorite earthy, alto-voiced popfolk songstresses, it’s a seasonal slam dunk, containing two holiday originals, and four traditional holiday songs otherwise unavailable at any price. I’m especially taken by Sam’s new, gorgeous take on It Came Upon A Midnight Clear, which she first recorded as the title track for the 1992 movie starring Gary Sinise; dark and delicately atmospheric, it’s the perfect soundtrack to any cold, silent night.

Participation in the Long Play project runs 52 bucks for a proposed total of five EPs and a single full-length, all available via lossless download in a variety of formats but nary a hard copy; the price seems dear at first, but as the project materials include a rich panoply of videos, essays, behind-the-scenes footage, demos, and more, it’s well worth the investment. Kudos to Sam for taking advantage of the digital world’s tendency towards true fandom in such a creative way, and to fellow fan and subscriber Jonathan Rundman, whose Styx cover we featured earlier this year, for reminding me about the project.

• Sam Phillips: It Came Upon A Midnight Clear (trad.)
  (from Cold Dark Night)

While this year’s crop of Christmas EPs is rich indeed, it’s practically an inevitability for popular artists to at least consider releasing a full-length holiday album at some point in their career; in the past two years, seasonal releases from delicate indie folkster Rosie Thomas, bluegrass banjo bandleader Allison Brown, popfolk keyboardist Aimee Mann, and indiefolk duo Over the Rhine have tickled our fancy, and all had staying power. This year is no exception, and while many of this year’s releases are predictably pop pap (see, for example, Sting, that guy from American Idol, and Neil Diamond), a select few have turned out to be quite nice, indeed.

I’m having trouble seeing the new Dylan Christmas album as anything but a cultural curiosity - and truly, if you want to hear it, you can just surf the web - but there are some gentle gems on Midwinter Graces, a Solstice-themed album from Tori Amos which, like Over The Rhine’s 2007 incredible Snow Angels, mixes recrafted traditional holiday fare with atmospheric, occasionally new-agey originals. And though it is predominantly a country album, there’s some eminently worthy countryfolk both soft and loud on Sugarland’s new holiday CD Gold and Green, most especially their version of the hilarious old holiday novelty tune Nuttin for Christmas, which might make the mixtape, after all.

• Tori Amos: Jeanette, Isabella (trad.; arr. Tori Amos)
  (from Midwinter Graces)

• Sugarland: Holly Jolly Christmas (orig. Burl Ives)
• Sugarland: Nuttin’ For Christmas (orig. Barry Gordon)
  (from Gold and Green)

Finally, while we’re on the subject of novelty: I found Lois Casino’s cover of 1994 Mariah Carey pop holiday cheese-ball, which transforms the bombastic, faux-sixties original into a fireside bedroom indiepop, over at Letters Have No Arms, and though it seems to be a year old, I couldn’t resist passing it along. If the accents sound a bit unusual to those acclimatized to phonetic indie swedish transliteration, it’s because Casino is Spanish; if the sweetly lo-fi delivery and handclaps don’t make you smile, you might want to check your pulse.

• Lois Casino: All I Want For Christmas (orig. Mariah Carey)
  (from Navidad con Lois Casino)

Cover Lay Down publishes new coverfolk features and songsets each Sunday, Wednesday, and the occasional otherday. Still to come before the new year dawns: reissued holiday fare and other great covers from one of our favorite UK singer-songwriters, a few new additions to our Covered in Kidfolk series, and more great holiday coverfolk from yesteryear.