Tough Guy Angels: The Larry & Charlie Harmonies II

All thirty different cover songs!

A few days ago, I shared the first volume of my Tough Guy Angels compilations celebrating Larry Campbell and Charlie Sexton’s backing vocals during their 1999-2002 run together. Now, as promised, here’s volume two, just for you paid subscribers. Thanks for supporting the newsletter.

This volume is twice as long as the first, and arguably even better. That’s because while Larry and Charlie sounded terrific on Dylan originals, the place their voices were used most dramatically was often the cover songs. Covers of Dylan’s contemporaries, at times — Neil Young, Grateful Dead, Drifters, Doug Sahm, Rolling Stones — but even more so covers of old bluegrass-gospel tunes by The Stanley Brothers and others. 

Many of those opened the shows every night, like “Somebody Touched Me,” “A Voice From On High,” and “I Am the Man Thomas.” Others typically rotated around the sixth or seventh slot in the set, like “White Dove,” “This World Can't Stand Long,” and “Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior.” Other old-time songs, non-religious but from the same folk/bluegrass tradition, also made appearances: “Cocaine,” “Man of Constant Sorrow,” “Oh Babe, It Ain't No Lie.” Some wildcards too: one-offs like “She’s About a Mover,” “A Satisfied Mind,” and “Blue Bonnet Girl.”

The list goes on and on. Did I mention that this volume is thirty tracks long?