Waxahatchee has shared new cover of “Talking Dust Bowl Blues,” which will be featured on the upcoming Woody Guthrie covers album Home In This World: Woody Guthrie’s Dust Bowl Ballads, out September 10. The album will contain covers of the 14 songs present on Guthrie’s 1940 studio album Dust Bowl Ballads.
This cover of “Talking Dust Bowl Blues,” sees Waxahatchee perform a slower version of the song in a stripped back manner, with the artist accompanied by a sole acoustic guitar. Waxahatchee recites the lyrics in a foksy spoken-word manner, emulating the folk icon’s humble roots.
Dust Bowl Ballads will also include covers by the Watkins Family Hour, John Paul White and Mark Lanegan and was produced by Randall Poster, who has worked on the soundtracks for Skyfall, The Wolf of Wall Street, The Grand Budapest Hotel and Boardwalk Empire. According to Poster, these songs were also chosen to reflect Guthrie’s political impact, as a champion of human rights and progressive causes such as fairer labor and agricultural practices.
“Woody Guthrie’s Dust Bowl Ballads is as relevant as ever,” Poster explained. “While profiteers exploit our natural resources, there is a growing sensitivity to the harsh farming practices that put our well-being at risk and a concerted movement toward regenerative agriculture that can reinvigorate the soil and push back on climate change. I asked some of my favorite artists to help render these songs, hoping that this collection will reinforce the enduring power and prescience of Guthrie’s music and reveal the power of song.”
Photo Credit: Kalyn Oyer
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