Tweet

Album Details

• Artist: Daniel Johnston
• Album: The Late Great Daniel Johnston: Discovered Covered
• Label: Gammon
• Year of Release: 2004
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: dscanland on 2005-04-06

Daniel Johnston was one of the great, although troubled, indie songwriters of our time. This is a very interesting project that Gammon records with the help of Mark Linkous from Sparklehorse took on; a double album, one full of reputable artists covering Johnston's work and the second full of the original songs as originals. It's a great way to get introduced to the depth and breadth of Daniel's work. You get a tour of Daniel's songs with guides like The Flaming Lips, Teenage Fanclub, Eels, and Mercury Rev and then shown what the songs initially sounded like. This album serves two audiences, the Daniel Johnston fanbase who will love hearing his songs carefully done by these artists, and secondly, the people who are just discovering him.

The first two tracks on the Covered disc don't really grab me at all (Teenage Fanclub with Jad Fair and Clem Snide). It isn't until we get to Gordan Gano's rendition of "Impossible Love" that things start to pick up. Eels provide a version of "Living Life" that could easily fit onto any of their albums. Media darlings TV on the Radio make an appearance with "Walking The Cow", one of the finest moments here. Some of my other favorite renditions are Calvin Johnston, M. Ward, Tom Waits, and Death Cab For Cutie.

As for the Daniel Johnston retrospective, it gives me the opportunity to increase my awareness of the artist. I was only vaguely familiar with the prolific and wacky songwriter, bumping into some of his songs on occasion. This 19 song compilation (identical sequence as the tribute disc except for one extra track, "Rock This Town") really shows how diverse Daniel really was. I really can't believe the different voices that Johnston has. He has very plaintiff vocals as well as childlike vocals ("Go") but they key is the brilliant songs. Most of Johnston's songs are in a very lo-fi state and welcome the bigger production that you get with the artists on the first disc. This project really reminds me of the Sweet Relief effort for Vic Chesnutt, a group of established musicians coming together to expose an under-established musician's work. Oh, and don't make the mistake that I made, Daniel is not dead.

User Reviews and Comments

Log In or Register to Rate Albums