The great Neil Young turned 75 last Thursday (November 12, 2020), and there’s a nice new Young cover out just in time for celebrating the occasion.
Bassist Luke Sellick and guitarist Andrew Renfroe have pooled together their talents to record a set of vintage pop, folk, country and blues songs titled that had a profound impact on these jazz musicians, entitled Small Vacation. These fellow Julliard grads select tunes from sources as golden as Skip James, Tom Petty and Brian Wilson for their collection of covers. Such a collection wouldn’t be complete without a song from Neil Young, and for this one there’s “Tell Me Why.”
To me, Young’s songwriting genius lies in his ability to make simple chord progressions and simple lines carry so much poignancy; sometimes a single, well-placed phrase or chord can turn a song from an also-ran to a timeless classic.
The After The Gold Rush deep cut “Tell Me Why” is one of those timeless classics. In the video premiering above you can clearly see and hear the fondness Sellick and Renfroe have for this tune, because they don’t mess with the beauty of it.
Andrew Renfroe’s crystalline guitar effectively handles the singing and rhythm parts of the song, leaving Luke Sellick free to get active — but not overly so — on the bass, forming a nice harmonic counterpoint. Each take their turns making pastoral solos before a return to the chorus. It’s gentle, a little melancholy and soul-soothing … just like the original.
Small Vacation will become available from all digital outlets on November 20, 2020.
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