MIXTAPE by MARK ERELLI and IT’S ALWAYS BLUE by NOAH HAWLEY and JEFF RUSSO

It’s like a mixtape of some of Erelli’s favorite songs, only he plays all of them.  I love a good cover, and this is a whole album of good covers!

I will say this: It’s strange to start an album with Brokedown Palace, which is a song that is clearly a closer.  But it’s a great version. In fact, there’s not a clunker on the album.

Best tracks: I Feel So Good (Richard Thompson), Breakdown Palace (Grateful Dead), Don’t Give Up On Me (Solomon Burke).


Similar to Erelli’s album, Noah Hawley and Jeff Russo have released their favorite covers–all of which appeared in the groundbreaking TV show Legion.

This collection isn’t as interesting as Erelli’s, simply because every single song is a slow crawl. They worked extraordinarily well on the show, but listening to this album straight through might make you want to drink bleach. But in a good way. It’s still good. I just recommend music that can be as depressing as this in smaller doses. And to be fair, I said the same thing about the first Cowboy Junkies albums when they came out–and I loved every melancholy minute of them.

Best tracks: White Room (Cream), Behind Blue Eyes (The Who), I’d Love to Change the World (10 Years After).

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