Revelatory covers (#22 in series – Jerry Jeff sings Guy)

The opening couplet from Guy Clark’s “Old Time Feeling”:

And that old time feelin’ goes sneakin’ down the hall

Like an old grey cat in winter, keepin’ close to the wall

As it happens, just a few days after the recent winter solstice, I happened upon an old grey cat who was keeping close to a wall…but, more crucially, taking advantage of the steps in front of it.

As Pelican Yoga regulars would already know, I think any credible list of “greatest songsmiths” would include Guy Clark.

If you are unfamiliar with the late great Texan (1941-2016), I suggest you first read this obituary, then click this, which will enable you to hear Rolling Stone’s selection of “12 essential Guy Clark songs”, including his own version of “That Old Time Feeling”.

I’ve loved “That Old Time Feeling”  ever since I first heard it, via the eponymous 1972 LP Jerry Jeff Walker.

That album also introduced me to another great Guy Clark song, “LA Freeway”.

At the time, Guy Clark’s own debut album was still nearly 3 years away; Guy’s Old No 1 did not “shift many units”, but it remains one of the finest debut albums ever made by a singer-songwriter.

As it happens, I definitely prefer the Old No 1 version of “LA Freeway”, but Jerry Jeff’s remains my favourite rendition of “That Old Time Feeling”.

It is a “live” performance.

Mickey Raphael is the harmonica player.

 

 

As a recording artist, Jerry Jeff Walker (1942-2020) was definitely not Guy Clark’s peer in the “quality control” department, but at his best Jerry Jeff was uncanny – equally as a songwriter, and as a shrewd interpreter of others’ songs.

Click here for an astute, fond appreciation of him.

Footnote:

Mischka is a well-loved West Leederville identity who spends much of most days inside a sympathetic local cafe.

When the cafe is closed, if the sun has warmed up its front steps, they are Mischka’s favourite late afternoon snoozing-place.