Mark Kozelek and Petra Haden perform a solid cover of Huey Lewis & The News’ “The Power of Love” which is from their upcoming collaborative album Joey Always Smiled, which will also feature six original tracks.
The song begins with Kozelek strumming the guitar and singing in a soft yet penetrating tone. After a minute through the song, Haden appears with a harmonic tone overlapping Kozelek against the guitar. The lyrics are powerful and moving. The lyrics include, “Changes the heart to a little white dove. Makes the bad one good makes a wrong one right. It’s the power of love that will keep you home at night. I don’t need money and don’t take fame. I don’t need no credit card to ride this train.”
Haden appears in a solo moment with lyrics, “First time you feel it… it might make you sad. Next time you feel it it might make you mad. But you’ll be glad when you found that it’s the power of love that can make the world go round.”
In addition to putting out This Is My Dinner in 2018, Kozelek released a solo album titled simply Mark Kozelek. Just a few months ago, he shared I Also Want to Die in New Orleans. The 6-song full length album features artists Petra Haden, Jason Lindner, Kevin Corrigan, Steve Shelley, Donny McCaslin, Ben Boye, and other great talents. The new album is out Oct 11 via Caldo Verde Records. The album was recorded throughout 2018 at Portland’s Ice Cream Party, Amsterdam’s IJland Studios, and San Francisco’s Hyde Street Studios.
The fall of 2019 will also see the release of two books Kozelek has worked on via Rough Trade Publishing. One is a lyric book, Nights of Passed Over 2 – which includes all lyrics he’s written and released from Admiral fell Promises to the present. This includes not only 14 full length albums during that period, but also singles and songs from various EPs.
On Kozelek’s website he shares quotes from Henry Miller including, “We don’t have to turn out a masterpiece every day. To paint, is the thing, not to make masterpieces. The language of society is conformity. The language of the creative individual is freedom. I have faith in the man who is writing, who is myself, the writer. The great writer is the symbol of life. Of the non-perfect.”
He also shared some personal details about his tour, “During my most recent tour in Europe, Ben and I played “I Cried During Wall Street” during a show in Berlin on my dad’s 85th birthday. I can’t seem to write enough songs about how much I love my dad, but when I sing that one, I feel an especially deep connection with him. I called him that night from Berlin to tell him Happy Birthday and how much I love him. He’s 85 years old and he’s not only my best friend, but he’s my biggest inspiration.”
Joey Always Smiled:
01. “Parakeet Prison”
02. “Joey Always Smiled”
03. “Rest In Peace R Lee Ermey”
04. “Nice People All Around”
05. “1983 Era MTV Music Is The Soundtrack To Outcasts Being Bullied By Jocks”
06. “Spanish Hotels Are Echoey”
07. “The Power Of Love”
Photo Credit: Mauricio Alvarado
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