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Jun 15, 2010 Various Artists By Frank Valish

It’s hard to believe it’s been almost 40 years since Graham Nash released his first solo album, Songs for Beginners. Debuting in 1971 while on hiatus from Crosby, Stills & Nash, the album was the first to showcase Nash’s superb songwriting skills front and center, driven by a voice that so easily conveyed a complexity of emotion while retaining a certain innocence. Putting Songs for Beginners on today, one will find it stands up without a hint of hippy-dippy or datedness. In tribute to this masterpiece, Nash’s daughter, Nile Nash, and Britt Govea of (((folkYEAH!))), organized a track-by-track album of covers by artists the likes of Brendan Benson, Robin Pecknold (Fleet Foxes), Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Vetiver, and Nash herself. The problem with this, as with most covers albums, is that, with a few exceptions, these interpretations cannot hold a candle to the originals. Aside from Bonnie “Prince” Billy’s bizarre Spanish take on “Simple Man” and Sleepy Sun’s dark, electrifying take on “Chicago,” the versions here stick close to the originals. Nile Nash is the standout though, and her singing on “Wounded Bird” and a “We Can Change the World” reprise lends a certain latter-day poignancy to tracks. But if you do anything, go get an old vinyl copy of the original and listen to it again, like it was the first time. (www.grassrootsrecordco.com)

Author rating: 4/10