After four days on holiday with my lovely wife visiting friends, shopping and generally having a great time, returning to work today was a bit of an adjustment. Fortunately there is always music, and something to say about it.
Disc 1918 is…Songs My Friends Wrote
Artist: Corb Lund
Year of Release: 2022
What’s up with the Cover? A cartoon depiction of Corb Lund and all the artists he covers on this album.
Usually at this time I make a joke or engage in a whimsical fantasy inspired by the cover art, but here I am just inspired by great friendship and love as depicted here. So no jokes, just that warm glow of looking at all these friends and being reminded of all the great ones I have as well.
How I Came To Know It: I just saw it sitting there in the record store and, recognizing a few of the songs, I became intrigued at how they would sound performed by Corb Lund. Intrigued enough to buy it, in fact.
How It Stacks Up: I have ten other studio albums by Corb Lund, but I have a bit of common law to rate – but not rank – albums where artists do just cover songs. I could break this rule at any time, of course. But not today.
Ratings: 3 stars but almost 4
Corb Lund is a likeable fellow to begin with, and the idea that he would take time out of the pandemic to record a bunch of songs by people he admires makes this record particularly easy to love. So, as much as the album cover had given me the warm feelies, the album’s premise had me even more predisposed to the amicable.
For those who aren’t familiar with Corb Lund, he’s a Canadian folk/country singer well known for spinning fine tales and free and easy melodies. He isn’t a vocal powerhouse, but he knows how to use his voice (and lyrics) to tell great stories. I was keen to see what he’d be like with someone else’s words and music coming out of him.
Turns out he does a mighty fine job of it indeed, and if you like the light hurt and natural mosey of Lund’s delivery then you’re going to like this experience just fine.
The record starts with a Hayes Carll song (“Highway 87”) one of two Lund does with his occasional collaborator (the other being “Little Rock”). These are both solid renditions, but don’t add a lot to the songs that is different from the originals. Also, I enjoy Hayes Carll’s voice as much as Corb Lund’s, so I didn’t feel like I was getting a new way of seeing a song I already knew.
Similarly, the two Ian Tyson covers were OK, but not a major shift from the Tyson originals. That was four of ten songs that were all solid, but that had me wishing for more.
Thankfully, more was very much to be found in the deeper cuts, starting with the inspired Geoff Berner song, “That’s What Keeps The Rent Down, Baby”. Berner’s song is a wry and socially aware tale of the impacts of a neighbourhood’s less savoury features on property values. Lund’s version has a great swing to it, and his vocals are a level above Berner’s, elevating the song and story alike.
It is a testament to Lund’s vocal talents that every one of these covers will have you swearing he wrote it if you didn’t know better. He’s got an imitable style that draws you in, and while he doesn’t range through multiple octaves, he sings with an effortless and engaging tone that just makes you believe him.
For example, you may prefer the more nasal warble of Fred Eaglesmith’s original for “Spookin’ the Horses” and that’s an honourable choice. I like it too, and extra points to Eaglesmith for writing the song, which is a masterclass in storytelling. For all that, I just found myself loving the earthier, fireside troubadour quality that Corb Lund brings to the song even more. He makes it his own, which is the sign of every great cover ever.
Lund is also naturally funny when he wants to be, which is helpful on the jumpy and very Canadian “Big American Headliner.” The song, written by Mike Plume, captures the dream held by most small Canadian artist at one time or another: to have a hit across the border. It is tongue-in-self-deprecating-cheek with a hint of painful truth, turning the anxiety of “are we ever gonna make it?” into a story of success (limited though it may be) on its own terms.
Just before sitting down to write this review I took a crash course in all of the original songs, which I am sure Corb would’ve wanted. He didn’t make this record to take away from his fellow songwriters – he made it to celebrate them.
I already knew half the songs, but I discovered the other half, and that was a big part of the fun. I didn’t love every song Lund curates here, nor did I find every original artist inspire me to dig deeper, but the journey was great, and there was plenty to recommend, delivered in a way that more often than not showcased the material in its best light.
Best tracks: That’s What Keeps the Rent Down Baby, Blue Wing, Spookin’ The Horses, Big American Headliner
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