Americana is really big in Scandinavia. Maybe it has something to do with guys like Lee Hazelwood spending time there, or longing for a more mystical place, definitely warmer ones. Or both.
One thing is definite, though - it suits Scandinavian musicians quite well. Christian Kjellvander, Logh, Midnight Choir… Paal Flaata, Midnight Choir’s main vocal man is definitely among them. Along with the band's output, he has half a dozen solo albums by himself, all searching for the muse somewhere between the Chesapeake Bay and Palo Alto, for example.
The thing is, Flaata is not just a simple style copycat. He feels the music he is inspired by and like his (former?) band, adds to it a certain darker timbre. Maybe the weather did it.
That is quite evident in the third album in something of Flat’s tribute series called Songs. The first two were devoted bro Chip Taylor and Mickey Newbury, while this third one to Townes Van Zandt.
It would be an understatement to say Flaata is a fan, but he does feel the music, and it is obvious that Van Zandt is very close to his heart. He does not veer in some unknown directions with his interpretations but has paid immaculate attention to the arrangements, giving these Townes Van Zandt songs a darker overtone the author would be proud of. You have a sense that this is the manner Nick Cave in a current mode would apply to these songs.
It would be hard to say any interpretation is better than the other, with Faalata's versions it is all about general mood and atmosphere. If you are unfamiliar with the originals you can enjoy these songs just by the quality of Flaata’s voice and arrangements. And even if you are a Van Zandt fan, like me, you can truly appreciate what Flaata has done here. One of those things is to blow that bit of dust that has accumulated on those Townes Van Zandt albums and play them again. That is one of the best things that any tribute record can do. Is Lee Hazelwood maybe next?
