Sometimes a band can do a cover version that is similar in style and tone to the original, and yet it will still sound like an original composition by that band.
So it is with today’s offering.
Tindersticks are one of my all-time favourite bands, and I’ve been lucky enough to see them live around 8 or 9 times, including a special birthday treat from Mrs Villain a few years ago when they played an open-air gig in the stunning surroundings of Somerset House in London.
Tindersticks are impossible to characterise. They can’t be defined as rock, jazz or soul – yet they have a little bit of all those in many of their songs. They employ all sorts of instruments on their records, including brass, strings and percussion – and in Stuart Staples, they have a singer with a distinctive and unmistakable baritone voice. Some say they are just another doom-laden miserablist lot. Far from it.
There’s so much that I could write about this band, about why I believe they have always been original and innovative and never worried about trends in music, but why not look and listen to what others have to say. In particular, I would point you in the direction of a magnificent website, run and maintained by a fan in Germany – http://www.tindersticks.de – it’s packed with all sorts of info, including audio clips featuring the band in interview with the broadcaster Mark Radcliffe.
The first time I heard this particular track, it was on a tape given to me by a friend. I assumed it was an original composition as it had all the hallmarks of a classic Tindersticks recording. I got round to buying it a couple of weeks later and was very surprised to learn it was a cover version.
I’ve since tracked down the original by Townes Van Zandt, and it too is a stunning piece of music, and it is easy to see why Tindersticks were attracted to the song. The story of Van Zandt’s life is well worth reading about.
mp3 : Tindersticks – Kathleen
mp3 : Townes Van Zandt – Kathleen
If you don’t own any stuff by Tindersticks, I would suggest that you do something about it as a matter of priority. You could start with the compilation CD – Working For The Man (especially if you can get a copy of the bonus disc), and then buy each of the albums. You won’t be disappointed.