Something about a queen

“Well, I dreamed I saw the knights in armor coming, saying something about a queen.”

Neil Young – ‘After the Goldrush’

I had a hankering – just the other day – to listen again to Neil Young’s splendidly mysterious classic – ‘After the Goldrush‘. I don’t recall now what brought the song to mind… maybe I heard a snatch of it – or read something somewhere… It matters not.

What I did not want was to listen to Neil Young singing it! Nothing against the Canadian ‘national treasure’ of course – it is just that for this particular piece I have always had a different sound in mind – one which involves the female voice. This whimsy is probably the result of having loved the 1970s ‘a cappella’ rendition by Prelude – which is the version of the track that I heard first.

The recording of the Prelude version is – however – sadly showing its age somewhat these days, and I found myself scouring the InterWebNet for a more recent cover that might achieve a similar effect. As ever such a thing was eventually uncovered – in the (slightly) more up to date version (1999) by Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt (and who would have ever thought that I would be be listening to that combination?!).

The exercise started me thinking. There are instances when only a specific genre of music will do. This particular mood – for example – clearly demanded the dulcet tones of the old-fashioned female torch singer in delivery of eloquent and poignant versions of classic tunes – perhaps with a slightly twist of mystery for good effect.

Time to put together a suitable compilation CD – I decided – commencing a further search. Herewith the list of tracks and versions with which I have come up thus far to satisfy this requirement (in no particular order):

• Alfie (Burt Bacharach, Hal David) – Vanessa Williams
• Wichita Lineman (Jimmy Webb) – Cassandra Wilson
• Both Sides Now (Joni Mitchell) – Joni Mitchell (from the ‘jazz’ album ‘Both Sides Now’)
• One (Harry Nilsson) – Aimee Mann (album version)
• Cry Me a River (Arthur Hamilton) – Diana Krall
• After the Gold Rush (Neil Young) – Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt
• The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (Robbie Robertson) – Joan Baez
• Somewhere (Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim) – Barbra Streisand
• The Moon’s a Harsh Mistress (Jimmy Webb)  – Judy Collins
• This Woman’s Work (Kate Bush) – Kate Bush
• Unchained Melody (Alex North, Hy Zaret) – Sarah McLachlan
• That’s What Friends Are For (Burt Bacharach, Carol Bayer Sager) – Trijntje Oosterhuis (live with guitarist Leonardo Amuedo)
• Nothing Has Been Proved (Chris Lowe, Neil Tennant) – Dusty Springfield

Should the gentle reader care to add any suggestions of his or her own before I commit this list to plastic such would be reviewed with great interest…