Like a Glove: An Ellen Greene Playlist
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| Karen Elson (stay tuned to the end of this post for a great Karen Elson murder ballad) |
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| Ellen Greene |
At the end of my interview last week with Chicago-based visual artist, Ellen Greene, I asked her for some of her favorite murder ballads. She provided a short playlist, if you will, of the songs she listens to while working. This Monday, we’ll take a rest from our labors, and feature Greene’s playlist, with a few comments from her here and there. The opening of Greene’s Murder Ballad show takes place Friday, September 5, at the Packer Schopf Gallery in Chicago.
“Banks of the Ohio” – Joan Baez.
[Listen to an alternate Joan Baez recording, with harmony vocals, on Spotify here.] Lyrics
“Poor Ellen Smith,” by Jimmy Martin
There’s a particular version of “Poor Ellen Smith” by Jimmy Martin with a preamble. In the preamble, he explains that this is his audition song, and that “it made my career.” He makes no acknowledgment of the content of the song. He just sings “Poor Ellen Smith” front to back. I love that aspect of that one. Hilarious.
[The clip below doesn’t have the introduction. You can find it on iTunes here, from the album Don’t Cry to Me. Read our posts on “Poor Ellen Smith”: 1, 2, 3.]
“Delia’s Gone,” by Pete Seeger
I have Pete Seeger’s version of “Delia’s Gone.” [On The Pete Seeger Sampler] Lyrics
I like it better than Johnny Cash’s version. I don’t like that machine gun aspect–
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| The Everly Brothers |
“Down in the Willow Garden,” by the Everly Brothers
I love the Everly Brothers’ “Down in the Willow Garden,” from Songs Our Daddy Taught Us. It’s so sweet, it’s got beautiful harmonies. But it is also so innocent- like two little choir boys are singing.
[Read our 2012 posts on “Down in the Willow Garden” starting here.] Lyrics
“Knoxville Girl,” by the Louvin Brothers
I love the harmonies here, too.
“Pretty Polly” by John Hammond
This is a hard one to listen to….
[No luck on a free, streaming version here, but you can listen to Hammond’s 1920s-era recording on iTunes here. Read more about “Pretty Polly” at Planet Slade.]
“Pearl Bryan” by Bradley Kincaid
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“Molten Light” and “The Ghost Who Walks”
I’ll throw in two modern songs. First, “Molten Light” by Chad Van Gaalen. One of the best modern ones, especially of female revenge.
“The Ghost Who Walks” Karen Elson (ex-wife of Jack White). She did this album The Ghost Who Walks. It has all the classic things in there. Her version is definitely impassioned. You can tell that she was going through heartache when she was writing and recording this song.
Thanks again to Ellen Greene for sharing her art, thoughts, and recommendations with us. Thanks to you, as always, for reading and listening. We’ll be back within the next few weeks with our next regular installment.