Throughout the course of 2015 I recorded live-in-studio videos of 12 tunes written by great American songwriters. I chose American songwriters because otherwise I would have had to do 8 Lennon/ McCartney tunes and it would have seemed unfair. I may just do a Beatles project at a later date. We did songs from different eras and genres and tried to keep it as diverse as possible.
I’ve talked a lot about this project but I’ve never had the avenue to tell the following story: Ray LaMontagne’s Jolene and Cary Ann Hearst’s The Hardest Thing were right in my wheelhouse but Duke Ellington’s I Didn’t Know About You and Stevie Wonder’s Evil really stretched my abilities, and confidence. The most challenging song though, was Tracy Chapman’s Fast Car. First of all, it was probably the biggest “hit” of any of the tunes I covered so anyone over the age of 30 has heard it a thousand times. Secondly, she has a singular and wonderful voice so any attempt at her biggest song would have to try to get out from under that comparison. Thirdly, and most importantly, it is written so perfectly and from a female perspective that a male covering it could seem awkward or insensitive. I made a conscious decision to not change any of the gender specific lyrics. This may have struck some as awkward but it seemed to me like the most respectful way to treat the song. I felt the lyrics were so virtuosic that the way to approach them was to honor them, to state them as they are. I feel the story that Tracy Chapman told with that song was so well done that changing the gender of the storyteller was inherently misguided. Additionally, I think it’s reasonable for a man to feel comfortable enough in himself to tell a story from a woman’s perspective.
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Still Crazy After All These Years - Ben O'Neill Songwriter Sessions - Paul Simon Cover
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Jolene - Ben O'Neill Songwriter Sessions - Ray LaMontagne Cover
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I Didn't Know About You - Ben O'Neill Songwriter Sessions - Duke Ellington Cover
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The Hardest Thing - Ben O'Neill Songwriter Sessions - Cary Ann Hearst Cover
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Evil - Ben O'Neill Songwriter Sessions - Stevie Wonder cover
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Lucky Now - Ben O'Neill Songwriter Sessions - Ryan Adams Cover
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Somebody Else You've Known - Ben O'Neill Songwriter Sessions - Merle Haggard Cover
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Take It With Me - Ben O'Neill Songwriter Sessions - Tom Waits cover
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Fast Car - Ben O'Neill Songwriter Sessions - Tracy Chapman cover
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Voices - Ben O'Neill Songwriter Sessions - Sturgill Simpson Cover
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Relatively Easy - Ben O'Neill Songwriter Sessions - Jason Isbell cover
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Shelter From The Storm Ben O'Neill Songwriter Sessions Bob Dylan Cover
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