As part of the Third Man Records's Blue Series, produced by Jack White, the talented Laura Marling released a 7" record in November of 2010. The Mercury Music Prize-nominated Marling, a mere twenty years-old, covered Jackson C. Frank's "Blues Run The Game" on Side A and Neil Young's "The Needle and The Damage Done" on Side B.
Frank, still widely under-appreciated, was an amazing folk songwriter. Similar in sound (and sadly in theory) to Townes Van Zandt, he lived a short life of surreal tragedy and mental anguish. Despite eluding fame in his time, however, Frank's profound work -- like TVZ -- has found a home in established and indie folk scenes alike. His songs have been covered by Simon & Garfunkel, Nick Drake, Burt Jansch, Counting Crows, and Sandy Denny, among others.
Marling does a particularly sweet rendition of "Blues." Her phrasing of the word "mama" is one of my favorite things today...
Purportedly recorded in one take, Marlings's 7" may be purchased via mail or in TMR's Nashville store. MP3s are available on iTunes.
