So here's a little twist on Time Warp Wednesday courtesy of The Horse Flies. In my review of their recent album I talked about them covering Ralph Stanley's version of "Oh Death" from The Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack. Well it turns out I was little off on my knowlege of "Oh Death." But thanks to The Horse Flies, now I know. Here's what they emailed me.
"Tx so much. Looks great. Much appreciated. A little background ... we first recorded O Death in 1983 ... made 300 copies of a 45 ... so for us this was a return to that (a cover of ourselves! :--) ) rather than a cover of the version on O Brother. A band called the Thirteenth Floor Elevators recorded it before us. Camper Van Beethoven recorded it after us. Both of those pre-date O Brother. But I believe we all (including Ralph Stanley) got it from the same source: Doc Boggs, who I believe wrote it and recorded it around the late '20s. It's true title is 'Conversation with Death.'"
Ralph Stanley's Version:
Camper Van Beethoven's Version:
A version by The Horseflies found on the 1994 record, The Young Fogies, can be streamed here.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Time Warp Wednesday: A History of Oh Death
Friday, July 18, 2008
Album Review: The Horse Flies' Until the Ocean
The first time I ever heard of The Horse Flies was on a t-shirt that my now-wife owned when we started dating. That was ’round about 1996 in Chicago. Of course by then, the band had
already been around for 15 years. After a recording hiatus that followed the death of original bass player, John Hayward, in 1997 they have just released a new album, Until the Ocean. The new record is a mix of covers and originals.
Until the Ocean is a welcome return to recorded music. It’s always great to get to see the band live—it is truly their element—but the new CD is a pleasure. With strong originals such as “14 Reasons” and the anti-war “Baghdad Children,” it’s clear what great songwriters they are. As strong as they are as songwriters, they’re also masterful interpreters of tunes by other musicians. It takes guts to cover the song “Oh Death,” which was made famous on the Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack.
The new album is also a reminder of how lucky we are to have The Horse Flies call our fair region home. The band was alt-folk, roots rock, and Americana music, before these categories were even being used. They’ve been playing together for a long time and are fortunately not showing any signs of slowing down. And of this and the great Until the Ocean, we can be thankful.
