Endless Highway

I still enjoy going to music stores. Things happen in music stores. I picked up Pearl Jam's Ten months before it became a big deal because I heard it in a local shop. Same thing with Sarah McLachlan. Even now, I find things in music stores that I would never find if I always just ordered on-line. Mostly because the music stores play albums to try to entice people to buy them. So I hear things I never would think to listen to on my own. Unfortunately, we don't seem to have a really good independent shop in my new hometown. So I'm largely stuck with what Barnes and Noble bothers to play. Usually, I have to go digging on my own. (I will admit to finding a lot of good jazz because of B&N's set-up that lets you listen to anything they have for sale.) But last week, I heard something that really took me by surprise.There's this Siouxsie and the Banshees song that I've always liked... "This Wheel's on Fire" Now those of you that know better, have just had a massive insight into my musical ignorance. (I know what I like, but I don't know much about what I like.) Well, the night at Barnes and Noble served to educate me some.I was hanging out in the music area, and I realized I recognized the lyrics in the song they were playing. It was "This Wheel's on Fire," but it didn't sound anything like the Siouxsie and the Banshees song. Or, at least, it didn't sound much like it. So I found the disc they were playing to check it out. And that's when I learned that the song was a Dylan song performed by The Band. (Yes, I am an idiot. And I need to be taken out back behind the woodshed and beaten with old vinyl until I learn something.)What was playing, though, wasn't the version by The Band, or Dylan's recording, or any of the others from over the years. It was a version by a group called Guster. And the album, Endless Highway: the music of The Band, was full of covers from numerous artists. Because I'm so ignorant, I didn't realize the number of songs I actually knew that were from The Band. Now I know a little better.And the covers on Endless Highway? Well, not being as familiar as I should be (obviously) with the originals, I cannot evaluate them from that standpoint. But the versions are a lot of fun, and it's a great album. In addition to Guster's (odd-for-me) wonderful take on "This Wheel's on Fire," Lee Ann Womack turns in a terrific rendition of "The Weight," and Gomez really rocks on "Up on Cripple Creek." There are some fun tracks from Widespread Panic ("Chest Fever") and Blues Traveler ("Rag Mama Rag"). Other highlights include The Allman Brothers Band ("The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down"), Jakob Dylan/Lizz Wright ("Whispering Pines"), The Roches ("Acadian Driftwood"), Roseanne Cash ("The Unfaithful Servant"), Jackie Greene ("Look Out Cleveland"), and Death Cab for Cutie ("Rockin' Chair"). I've now mentioned eleven of the seventeen tracks. And only fear of turning this post into just a listing of tracks keeps me from mentioning the other six by name. The album is strong throughout, and based on reviews I've seen, I have to believe that fans of The Band would enjoy these covers. I know that I do. And now I feel like I know a bit more of my music history than I did a month ago. So give it a listen if you have a chance. I doubt you'll be disappointed.