Colvin & Earle: “Ruby Tuesday”

Colvin Earle Ruby Tuesday A lot of folks are excited about the forthcoming album from Shawn Colvin and Steve Earle that is produced by Buddy Miller. The teaming of three of my favorite artists should make for some great music, hopefully. From a project with three outstanding songwriters, it is interesting that the album includes four cover songs, including a cover of The Rolling Stones’s classic “Ruby Tuesday.”

In a recent interview, Earle noted that he brought “Ruby Tuesday” to Colvin, and the two had sung it previously on tour. He explained that although the song is so well known, their version is new: “it has a reason to exist is because we sing in harmony all the way through it.”

On the song on the album, Colvin plays the guitar while Earle plays an octave mandolin. As he explains, “I get to be Mick and Keith. I sing the melody on the verses and Keith’s part on the choruses and I get to be Brian Jones because I’m playing the weird instrument.”

Below is a live performance of Colvin & Earle singing “Ruby Tuesday” live from earlier this year. Check it out.

The album Colvin & Earle will hit stores and the Internet on June 10, 2016.

What do you think of the “Ruby Tuesday” cover by Colvin & Earle? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Chimesfreedom Has a New Look!

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    If you are wondering why Chimesfreedom does not look like it used to appear, we have updated the website with a new design. Since the blog was launched more than five years ago, more and more people have turned to reading Chimesfreedom on devices besides computer screens. So, it became time to update the website to make it more friendly for reading on mobile devices.

    Our overall goal remains to keep the layout simple so that our readers may easily focus on the content of the articles. In that spirit, we tried to keep much of the original layout for ease of reading (and the Statue of Liberty is still around in various forms), but we hope the redesign benefits all of our readers as we continue to strive to deliver interesting articles.

    So, wherever you read Chimesfreedom, we hope you like the new look, but let us know if you encounter any problems with the new design.

    Happy Birthday Sara Watkins!

    Young In All the Wrong Ways

    Sara Watkins, who celebrates a birthday on June 8, has established herself as a great fiddle player, singer, and cornerstone of the roots music scene. She was one of the founders of bluegrass group Nickel Creek in 1989, and she has gone on to a solo career as well as her recent projects as part of Watkins Family Hour.

    Below is Watkins’s video for “You and Me,” a highlight from her 2012 solo album Sun Midnight Sun. In the song, the singer recalls a past relationship, looking back on her memories: “I remember you/ I remember me / Wish I knew you now / Like I knew you then.” Check it out.

    Below is some of her more recent work with Watkins Family Hour. Out of some regular jam sessions, Sara Watkins formed the group along with friends that included her brother Sean Watkins, who is also a Nickel Creek alum.

    In the video below, Watkins Family Hour performs at an NPR Tiny Desk Concert. The songs in the video are: “Steal Your Heart Away,” “In The Pines,” and “Hop High.”

    Watkins Family Hour released its first CD, called Watkins Family Hour, in July 2015.

    Finally, look for Watkins’s upcoming solo album Young In All The Wrong Ways, which will be released July 1, 2016. Below is the video for “Move Me” from the album.

    What is your favorite song featuring Sara Watkins? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • The Life and Songs of Emmylou Harris

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    Bryan Cranston As LBJ in “All the Way” (Short Review)

    LBJ Bryan Cranston HBO’s movie adaptation of Robert Schenkkan’s play about the early presidency of Lyndon Baines Johnson is worthwhile viewing for largely one reason, Bryan Cranston in the lead role. With some help from make-up designer Bill Corso, Cranston gives the viewer what it might have felt like to have been around Johnson while he struggled with the major issues of those years.

    The movie begins with Johnson’s rise to the presidency when John F. Kennedy is killed, focusing on Johnson’s advocacy for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the escalating war in Vietnam amidst his worries about the next election. As Johnson, Cranston captures the brilliance, vulnerability, insecurities, compassion, and vulgarity of Johnson, one of the most complex people to have ever lived in the White House.

    All the Way features a number of outstanding performances, such as Frank Langella as Senator Richard Russell, Antony Mackie as Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Stephen Root as J. Edgar Hoover, Melissa Leo as Lady Bird Johnson, and Bradley Whitford as Hubert Humphrey. One criticism, which others have noted too, is that there is too much material and too many interesting characters for one 132-minute movie. Other important people come and go in the story, but director Jay Roach remains focused on LBJ while viewers may also want more.

    Ultimately, it is not Roach’s fault that this era was rich in important events and people. As in the case of Daniel Day-Lewis’s portrayal in Lincoln (2012), Cranston’s portrayal of Johnson is so compelling that it made me wish for a much-longer mini-series that revealed more details of events and more layers to the former president.

    Yet, for a one-shot movie that tries to convey the essence of the time and LBJ’s years between Kennedy’s assassination and Johnson’s election as president in his own right, All the Way is worth your time, even if sometimes it deviates from the historical record for dramatic effect. Cranston’s portrayal of Johnson will be remembered as one of the great presidential roles, and the movie does an excellent job at making Johnson a three-dimensional character with the mix of both majestic strengths and deep flaws.

    What did you think of “All the Way”? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Springsteen and Bono Sing “Because the Night” in Dublin

    Bono Springsteen

    On Sunday, May 29, 2016, U2’s Bono joined Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band for a rousing rendition of “Because the Night.” The duet occurred while Springsteen and the E Street Band were in Dublin for part of The River Tour at the city’s Croke Park.

    “Because the Night,” which was written by Springsteen and Patti Smith, first appeared on the Patti Smith Group album Easter and was released as a single in 1978. Springsteen earlier began working on the song for his album Darkness on the Edge of Town, although his recordings of the song would not appear on official albums until the 1986 box set Live/1975–85 and the compilation CD The Promise (2010).

    The recent Dublin performance by Springsteen and Bono is not the first time the two men have performed the song in public together. In 2003, they sang “Because the Night” at a Springsteen show in Miami, and then they teamed up again on the song during U2’s portion at the 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concert at New York’s Madison Square Garden in 2009.

    What song would you like to hear Bono and Springsteen sing together? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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  • Local News Coverage of Bruce Springsteen in 1978
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