Crate Digging: DeVoe Yates, Music Supervisor

DeVoe Yates, music supervisor, discusses his top two finds.

Sierra Ferrell – Long Time Coming

I’ve been a Sierra Ferrell disciple for a period of time, mesmerized by her vocals on tracks like the Early James collaboration ‘Real Low Down Lonesome’ and her cover of ‘Coat of Many Colors’. Her voice brings me such happiness, and feeds the great hunger I have for the country vibes of the '70s and early '80s. I’ve never attended one of her live shows, but they look amazing – sometimes a complete country circus type performance with costumes, lassos, and acrobatics, which is a perfect complement to the whimsy often found in her music.

Long Time Coming is packed with many a jewel, and none brighter than the album opener, ‘The Sea’, which has a cool Tom Waits specter to it as it haunts and dances in its plea for true love amidst the raging waters of romantic ups and downs. A good number of the songs on the album deal with the perils of love, as with ‘Jeremiah’, ‘At The End of the Rainbow’, the brassy scorcher ‘Far Away Across the Sea’, and the Billy Strings collaboration ‘Bells of Every Chapel’, and for the most part Sierra chooses to explore and recant said adventures with energetic curiosity, and the aforementioned whimsy. ‘Silver Dollar’ is a fun upbeat jam with hot bluegrass spice, and ‘Why’d You Do It’ is reminiscent of the more memorable magic of Squirrel Nut Zippers. ‘Give It Time’ has all the greatness of a classic country song, with its moving and catchy lyrics about time healing the pain and longing of a recent break-up. ‘In Dreams’ is another song I had on repeat for a few, again delving into the heart pangs of longing. I would say, if you have your own sense of longing for the country magic of days long past, definitely treat yourself to this gem, where old has been made new again, and in a fresh, sincere, and playful way.

David Axelrod – Heavy Axe 

I was familiar with a few of David Axelrod’s tracks like ‘Holy Thursday’ and ‘Song of Innocence’, which I enjoyed immensely, but for whatever strange reason, I’ve never done the Axelrod deep dive. So I was very excited to spend some time with his Heavy Axe album. It’s a groovy, mostly instrumental, spectacular. It feels like a great soundtrack to a mid-70’s New York detective/sleuth film, maybe featuring a big haired Warren Beatty and lots of walking to this place and that, and definitely showcasing some romantic tenderness, long introspective subway rides, and Central Park montages. Perhaps the east coast answer to Robert Altman’s The Long Goodbye.

‘Get Up Off Your Knees’ kicks off the album with upbeat grooves and bangin’ brass, and then we get a little tender on the next track, ‘Cast Your Fate to the Wind’, which has some great soul massaging non-lyric vocals to guide you on its bittersweet adventure. What comes next is a hot cover of ‘You’re So Vain’, sultry and soulful. At this point, in this theoretical soundtrack in my mind, our scraggly sleuth protagonist is in the midst of a break-up and has been fed some hard truths about his ego and relationship priorities. ‘My Family’ gets a bit dark and downtrodden in a good way, and then makes some cool twists and turns, as if in moments of realization. ‘Mucho Chupar’ gets things moving, perhaps scoring a foot-chase that winds through a naughty section of Times Square, accented by some ‘Oohs’ and ‘Aahs’ that may or may not have been sung by the vocalists who appeared on the original Star Trek Main Title Theme. ‘It Ain’t For You’ also has that upbeat, driving juice and ‘Everything Counts’ closes out the album with some satisfying orchestral reflection and a promise that things are going to be a little bit groovier than they were before this album began. All in all, a great album for a nostalgic cinematic brain vacation, and the perfect length for a modern-day New York commute.

If you’d like to know more, or you’re keen to discover more of our repertoire, please contact: labelsyncuk@concord.com.