Amazon.co.uk Review
Like 1999's tribute to
Gram Parsons,
Timeless: The Songs of Hank Williams revives the tired "tribute" concept and applies it in homage to a key figure in country music. Interpreting songs from across Hank Williams's short and troubled career, a range of high-profile artists use different approaches with equally gratifying results.
Tom Petty,
Sheryl Crow and
Hank Williams III play familiar songs with traditional arrangements (Ms Crow's yodel is an eye opener);
Beck,
Mark Knopfler and
Keb' Mo' stay closer to their own idioms.
Keith Richards' reedy vocal makes "You Win Again" all his own and
Bob Dylan, who has only rarely lent his services to these sorts of projects, leads his touring band through a blues shuffle on "I Can't Get You Off of My Mind". The estimable Lost Highway label has assembled an illustrious cast to sing the praises of the artist who inspired its name, and in doing so it has created a far better testament to its musical mindset than can ever be captured in the term "Americana".
--Rob Stewart
CD Description
The first question that comes to mind upon the release of aHank Williams tribute album featuring such alt-country superstars as Ryan Adams and Lucinda Williams, not to mention American icons like Bob Dylan and Emmylou Harris, is "what took so long?" Clearly, the artists featured on the TIMELESS tribute have all been strongly influenced by the great bard ofcountry music, so their participation in such a project seems like a given. Some artists stick closer to Hank's original arrangements than others; Sheryl Crow's take on "Long GoneLonesome Blues" and Hank's grandson Hank III's "I'm A Long Gone Daddy" hew pretty closely to the traditional path. Predictably, Beck takes things the furthest by adding some sonicmurk to "Your Cheatin' Heart". Keith Richards reaches deep into "You Win Again" and pulls out some Memphis soul. But regardless of their faithfulness to the original versions, these artists clearly have something to add to the Hank Williams legacy, underling the fact that the man's songs are truly TIMELESS.