One good litmus test to determine how well a musician
knows their own strengths and weaknesses is to look at the songs they cover.
For instance, indie legend
has it that Johnny Marr stormed out of The Smiths, on
hearing Morrissey’s decision to cover Moon River (of Andy William’s repute.)
More fool the unfortunate Mr. Marr of course because,
while the cover itself is about as appealing as a
William Shatner strip tease, the Great Moz went to
make squillions as a solo artist. Nonetheless,
the litmus test remains.
Onto Laura Veirs and her latest album Tumble Bee then.
On listening, it only takes
a song or two to realise that, unlike a certain
Northern misanthrope, Veirs has a firm grasp of her
own strengths and abilities. Though Tumble Bee is a collection of cover versions (in fact, a collection of all-American
children’s songs stretching back to the eighteenth century) she has chosen so well you’d barely know these were covers at all.
Take for instance the song Prairie Lullaby.
Lines such as: ‘Shadows
slowly creeping / Down the prairie trail' mine just the same seam of pastoral detail Veirs has dealt in for
years (mixed metaphor alert!) Ditto regarding these lines from The Fox: ‘He had many a mile to go that night / Before he reached the town.’ This isn't so different from the anthropomorphising of the sun that features in Sun Is
King, on July Flame.
Of course, you could argue
Tumble Bee is an example of the snake eating its own tail, and that precisely the reason these songs work so well is that
they influenced Veirs in her own songwriting. In that
sense, you could call Tumble Bee limited. On the other hand though I prefer
(as I mentioned) to think
of this as a musician playing to her strengths. Though
Tumble Bee might not break new ground for Veirs,
it is nonetheless a great pleasure to listen
to.
[Get it here: Laura Veirs - Tumble Bee (2011)]
