www.mydarlingclementinemusic.co.uk
You frequently come across debates about the merits of recording covers versus original music, and the various credentials. Of course not every artist can be an equally adept songwriter and the traditional trajectory of music would be very different if versions lay dormant in the realm of the originator. With reference to the latest My Darling Clementine record, it is not a case of being devoid of original material or intuitively raising the profile of hidden music. In contrast, this latest venture to record twelve Elvis Costello songs is very much a calling.
After recording three successful albums almost entirely comprising of self-written songs, Lou Dalgleish and Michael Weston King have parked the original material on one side and used their My Darling Clementine moniker to re-interpret a dozen Costello songs in the guise of their trademark country duet style. Apart from indulging a brace of life long passions, the duo attracted the services of legendary musician Steve Nieve, who counts being a long serving Costello sidekick amongst many other musical associations of the last forty-plus years.
The term 'project' is deliberately used for COUNTRY DARKNESS as the twelve songs have been issued to the wider world in the format of three periodic EP releases, and their associated vinyl offering, followed by a climactic event of combining the cumulative amount in a conventional album. This has kept the profile of My Darling Clementine floating above the parapet during a period when the crucial arm of promoting your music up close and personal has been cruelly stripped away. With this project long in the can, the state of the world may be incidental to how these songs were going to roll out.
While the songs chosen hold great relevance to Lou and Michael, they are labelled as tracks stored away on Costello albums and my status of being far from an aficionado of the man, introduces them as new songs. Therefore of the two ways to evaluate the content, I can clearly steer clear of comparison and leave to others to go down this route.
The admission of being a fan of My Darling Clementine probably casts a shadow over the next statement, but having listened intently to the twelve tracks they could quite easily have been a compendium of unheard songs written by Lou and Michael over the last ten years. Maybe this lavish praise would be rejected by the pair (both Costello nuts), but it has been said and not to be retracted. Maybe this assertion is born from the classic country duet sheen that has been applied, although the likely effect of Nieve's presence has raised the recording stakes accordingly.
As the project reaches its conclusion with the full album release, twelve becomes thirteen with the inclusion of a My Darling Clementine original, and one not heard before. The hope is that this is a subtle teaser that the indulgence is in the bag, and there is plenty more mileage in My Darling Clementine as fine purveyors of the classic original song.
There is no begrudging Lou and Michael in pursing this project and COUNTRY DARKNESS is a gorgeous listen from start to finish. Quality covers can sit comfortably against well oiled originals if crafted as wisely as this collection. Whether you choose to compare the originals or just soak up the interpretations, the route is as free as the desire of My Darling Clementine to engage in these songs and deliver them in a trademark and endearing style.
For more info on the tracks selected, check out the listing:
‘COUNTRY DARKNESS’: TRACKLISTING:
1. Either Side of The Same Town (from The Delivery Man) VOL 2
2. I Lost You (from National Ransom) VOL 2
3. I’ll Wear It Proudly (from King Of America) VOL 3
4. Why Can’t A Man Stand Alone (from All This Useless Beauty) VOL 3
5. The Crooked Line (from Secret, Profane & Sugarcane) VOL 3
6. Heart Shaped Bruise (from The Delivery Man) VOL 1
7. That Day Is Done (from Paul McCartney’s Flowers In The Dirt and I Couldn’t Hear Nobody Pray by The Fairfield Four) VOL 1
8. Different Finger (from Trust) VOL 2
9. I Felt The Chill Before The Winter Came (from Secret, Profane & Sugarcane) VOL 1
10. Stranger In The House (from Taking Liberties) VOL 1
11. Indoor Firework (from King Of America) VOL 3
12. Too Soon To Know (from Brutal Youth) VOL 2
13. Powerless (MDC Original)