Bob Wray writes:
>
>I am somewhere in between of these two on my evalution of the entire
>album but I wanted to bop out of lurker land and say that Willis'
>cover of "Time Has Told Me" is just incredible to my ears. As a minor
>Drake fan(atic), I almost always prefer his originals to others but
>Willis' cover blew me away and made the purchase of an otherwise so-so
>album worthwhile. I can imagine this cover might contend for my song
>of the year, but the album will not. FWIW.
>
I love the whole record, even the not-as-good-as-the-first-version "Fading
Fast," and I'm especially impressed with the Nick Drake and Replacements
covers, which are reinterpretations rather than rehashes, just like all
good covers should be. When I first heard that Kelly was going to cover a
Nick Drake song, before I actually heard the record, I had trepidations;
Lucinda's fine rendition of "Which Will" Sebadoh's great version of "Pink
Moon" notwithstanding, I've always seen Nick as one of those artists who
just shouldn't be covered, because the originals are nearly impossible to
improve upon. But by slightly reworking the tempo and phrasing of "Time Has
Told Me," Kelly Willis makes the song fit the record's overall style and
gives it an entirely new feel. It's nothing like Nick Drake's version,
really, and that's why it works. And the choice of "They're Blind," much of
which can serve as a metaphor for Kelly's whole career, is inspired too;
with her heartfelt delivery, the song sounds convincingly wounded rather
than just pissy (as the 'Mats version did). Definitely in my top 10 of the
year and certain to stay there.
--Amy
