Rating:
Verdict: Classics with a country twist
Elvis Costello once said a great song should be robust enough to be sung in different styles, whether that s on an acoustic guitar or with all the bells and whistles of an orchestra.
It s a theory that clearly strikes a chord with Barry Gibb. We grew up in a different world, he says. In those days, there was no such thing as genre.
Gibb puts his views into practice on new album Greenfields, taking some of the greatest songs he sang with the Bee Gees and re-recording them as big-ticket duets in a country setting. He made the album in Nashville with garlanded producer Dave Cobb, roping in some impressive guests.
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Photo: Shervin Lainez
Steve Earle has a lot of experience making tribute records to musicians heâs known, cared for deeply and learned much from. In 2009, he released
Townes, in honor of Townes Van Zandt, and in 2019, there was
Guy, for Guy Clark. Monday, Earle released a tribute thatâs the most devastating of the three:
J.T., in memory of his son Justin Townes Earle, who died in August.Â
J.T. consists of 10 covers plus one new original. The covers are songs Steve Earle chose to represent the best of his sonâs catalog, which spans eight albums and one EP. The release came on Jan. 4, what would have been the younger Earleâs 39th birthday, and proceeds are to fund a trust for his young daughter Etta. Thereâs also a GoFundMe to help his family. You can find the record on Bandcamp and streaming services; a vinyl LP is set to ship in March.
The Album Steve Earle Never Wanted to Make: A Tribute to His Son
Less than two months after Justin Townes Earle’s death from an accidental overdose, his father entered Electric Lady Studios to record an LP’s worth of his songs.
Recording the album “wasn’t cathartic as much as it was therapeutic,” Steve Earle said. “I made the record because I needed to.”Credit.Meghan Marin for The New York Times
Dec. 29, 2020
On the evening of Aug. 20, Steve Earle spoke to his son Justin Townes Earle for the last time.
In a phone call initiated by Justin, they caught up on family business and Steve, the country-rock singer-songwriter, who struggled with addiction for years, told his son a lauded musician in his own right that he would support him if he was ready to begin his own recovery.