If It's Too Loud...

While the latest single from Eli Paperboy Reed's upcoming album of Merle Haggard covers is a Merle Haggard original, it's actually a cover of an unreleased cover. I'll let Reed explain: “In 1969, Capitol Records commissioned a duet version of this song from Buck Owens, who was their biggest country star, and Bettye Swann, who was their most successful soul singer. The label ultimately shelved it out of fears that an interracial collaboration would damage Buck’s career, but a few of the acetates eventually leaked out, and I happen to own one of them. "When I decided to record an album of Merle Haggard songs I knew that wanted to pay homage to this version. I called Sabine and explained the story and my vision for resurrecting the long lost duet and she was thrilled to step into Swann’s shoes and helped deliver an unforgettable—and long overdue—rendition. "It’s probably the most straight ahead interpretation on the album, and that’s the way I wanted it. The arrangem...

Last month we were blown away by the fact that Eli Paperboy Reed was releasing an album of Merle Haggard covers, and even more blown away by the fact that the first song was so great! With the second single Reed proves that wasn't just a fluke. Reed takes on "I'm Bringing Home Good News." The original is just a pure classic country song. It's the exact type of song you associate with Haggard, and would not be anything you'd expect to hear from a traditional neo-soul artist like Reed. Reed re-imagines the song as a classic soul standard. This sounds much more like a James Brown cover than a Merle Haggard one, and harkens back to the day when artists would regularly cover each other over genres. This is such a masterfully done cover that we really can't wait to hear more from Reed's Merle Haggard tribute album! You can listen to Eli Paperboy Reed's version of "I'm Bringing Home Good News" below. Down Every Road is due out April 29 on Ye...

Photo via Facebook At this point in his career, Eli Paperboy Reed has been around for almost twenty years and is a veteran of neo-soul. There are a lot of artists you would expect him to release a covers album of. James Brown, Sam Cooke, The Staples Singers... but Merle Haggard? "Mama Tried" is the first single off Reed's Merle Haggard covers album Down Every Road. Haggard is one of those artists I know I should be more familiar with, but Reed turns "Mama Tried" into a soul standard as opposed to classic country. This sounds like pure 70's soul with the beginnings of disco just starting to poke in. Reed makes this song sound like it's straight out of a variety show from fifty years ago. Maybe this won't be perfect for Merle Haggard purists, but for fans of Eli Paperboy Reed and/or classic soul are going to love it. In a press release, Reed says of first hearing Merle Haggard: “It was so aggressively honest and edgy. He could get to the heart of these...