#25 on the 2011 Musical Bacon Calendar
Fan Chosen Covers (Best of) by Eef Barzelay
There are some voices out there that really just do it for me. Robin Pecknold. John Roderick. Thom Yorke. They could sing the Maxwell House song and I’d quickly open my wallet and buy the special collector’s edition deluxe 45 (“With unreleased b-side ‘Dr. Pepper song!’”).
Until late last year, I hadn’t realized that Eef Barzelay was also in that camp. Eef is the brains and voice behind indie alt.country/rock band Clem Snide. He performed Journey’s “Faithfully” as part of the Onion A.V. Club’s “Undercover” series. Solo. On a ukelele. And I practically melted.
That single song inspired Eef to launch a Kickstarter campaign, funding (4 times over) the recording and pressing of a 6-song Journey cover album. For a pledge of $150+ to the campaign, Eef vowed to learn, record, and send to you a cover of any song of your choosing. 38 people shelled out the dough, resulting in 38 covers of songs, all performed by Eef in his fantastic, down-tempo twang.
And that is how we’ve arrived here. Today’s album is a collection of 15 of those 38 songs, made available for a “Name your price” download (ie: FREE) by Eef on his Bandcamp page. On it you’ll find the Eurythmics, Dylan, the Bee Gees, even Nine Inch Nails. Some of it is definitely tongue-in-cheek, some of it just puts a smile on your face as you sing along, but all of it is worth a free download. How can you say no?
Best of all, he covers one of the best songs ever ever written: Neutral Milk Hotel’s “In The Aeroplane Over the Sea.” If you thought the song hit all the right emotions in the original recording, give Eef’s version a listen. But make sure you’ve got a tissue nearby.
(I’d like to extend a hat tip to one of my favorite music blogs for pointing me to this album back in September. I’ve always liked Clem Snide, and finding this album made my year. Thanks Heather!)
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26. TKOL RMX 1234567 by Radiohead
27. Organ Music Not Virbraphone Like I’d Hoped by Moonface
28. Heavy Boots & Underwoods by Ben Fisher
29. The Rip Tide by Beirut
30. Collapse Into Now by R.E.M.
31. I Am Very Far by Okkervil River