I have the shiny blog/online zine Magpie to thank for pointing me in the direction to this album of Joanna Newsom covers.
It’s a win-win deal because if you donate at least $10 you get to download the 22 track album and at the same time help Oxfam America raise funds for the Pakistan Flood Reliefs fund – a no brainer if ever there was one. Get it here.
It’s curious to hear these songs by other artists and, as you can imagine, the results are mixed. There are smattering of duds but the affection/awe towards the first lady of freak folk shines through.
Ben Sollee got the short straw by taking on a ten minute version of Sawdust & Diamonds, which like many of the tracks has to go down as a noble failure. Billy Bragg‘s name sticks out like the proverbial sore thumb and his version of On A Good Day is predictably clunky. On first listen, the two tracks that stood out for me were M.Ward‘s take on Sadie and Owen Pallett‘s version of Peach, Plum, Pear.
And if you’re one of those who are in the hate camp when it comes to Joanna Newsom’s voice (shame on you! 🙂 ) ,  you may actually prefer these covers which demonstrate what a remarkable song writer she is.
