"Love Takes This Course: A Tribute To the Songs of Kath Bloom"- album review

The name Kath Bloom will not be instantly recognizable to the average music fan.  However, the American folks singer and her songs have had a significant impact on the musical landscape.  The new album Loving Takes This Course (out April 7th) is a testament to that.

A 2-CD set, the first is comprised of covers of Bloom's songs as performed by notably indie artists of today, such as Devandra Banhart and Mark Kozolek.  The second are the original Bloom versions of those covered tracks.

I think the concept of providing the originals alongside the covers is a real winner.  I have to admit that I'm not terribly familiar with the original Kath Bloom versions.  This serves as a tremendous introduction.

Those originals are engrossing.  The songs consist of simple folk arrangements, and while Bloom's voice is not what would typically be considered beautiful, it serves the strong, emotional lyrics very well.

That's continued with several of the better covers on the album, like Bill Callahan's "The Breeze/My Baby Cries".  Scout Niblett's take on "I Wanna Love" strikes this chord as well.

Mark Kozolek provides a pretty standard Sun Kil Moon/Red House Painters treatment to "Finally", which adds haunting sound to the haunting lyrics.

One of the more out-of-the-box, yet successful renditions is from Marble Sounds.  The band transforms "Come Here"  into a trippy ride, without losing any of the original folksy charm.  

The same can be said for Devandra Banhart's "Forget About Him".  The track gets punched up with a heavier rhythm section and a whirling organ.  It's better than most Banhart originals.

Love Takes This Course can be a lot to absorb, especially for those unfamiliar with Kath Bloom.  However, it's a journey that you'll be happy you took.

Best tracks: "Come Here", "Forget About Him"

Track listing for Loving Takes This Course: A Tribute to Kath Bloom:

Disc One:  The Covers

• "Come Here" - Marble Sounds
  
• "The Breeze/My Baby Cries" - Bill Callahan
  
• "When I See You" - Laura Jean
  
• "Finally" - Mark Kozelek
  
• "Window" - Mick Turner (Dirty Three) & Peggy Frew
  
• "Forget About Him" - Devendra Banhart
  
• "I Wanna Love" - Scout Niblett
  
• "Biggest Light Of All" - The Dodos
  
• "Look At Me" - Josephine Foster
  
• "Ready Or Not" - Mia Doi Todd
  
• "Fall Again" - Corrina Repp
  
• "It's So Hard To Come Home" - Marianne Dissard & Joey Burns (Calexico)
  
• "In Your School" - Amy Rude
  
• "If This Journey" - Tom Hanford
  
• "There Was A Boy" - Meg Baird (Espers)
  
• "Come Here" - The Concretes
  

Disc Two:  The Kath Bloom originals

• Come Here 
  
• The Breeze/My Baby Cries 
  
• When I See You 
  
• Finally 
  
• Window 
  
• Forget About Him 
  
• I Wanna Love 
  
• Biggest Light Of All 
  
• Look At Me 
  
• Ready Or Not 
  
• Fall Again 
  
• It's So Hard To Come Home 
  
• In Your School 
  
• If This Journey 
  
• There Was A Boy 
  
• Come Here 
  

7.5

Myspace