Reviews
Artist:Larkin Poe Album: Kindred Spirits
Label: Tricki-Woo
Tracks: 11
Website: http://www.larkinpoe.com
"Kindred Spirits" is a stripped-back covers album from Rebecca and Megan Lovell aka Larkin Poe. Descended from the master of mystery and the macabre , Edgar Allan Poe, the Lovell Sisters serve up a gritty blend of country ,soul and blues featuring Rebecca's expressive voice and Megan's searing, fiery lap steel.
The idea for this album of covers came about in 2015, when the sisters started a YouTube series featuring songs by their musical heroes. Fans soon asked for recorded versions of these songs, so they decided to record an album of "the soundtrack of our lives" and so "Kindred Spirits" was born.
To say that the choice of material is eclectic would be an understatement , as it ranges from Robert Johnson to Elvis Presley to The Moody Blues to rapper Post Malone, taking in Phil Collins, Bo Diddley and Elton John [ and others] along the way.
The album opens with a short burst of Robert Johnson's "Hellhound On My Trail" which sets tone for the rest of the album - stripped-back, raw bluesy versions of the classic songs which Rebecca and Megan have loved since their childhood.
"Fly Away" by Lenny Kravitz is transformed into a shimmering country-blues featuring blistering lap steel and dobro from Megan and Rebecca's soulful , soaring vocals. A glorious re-interpretation which inhabits a totally different time and place from Lenny's original version.
I love the sisters' re-invention of Neil Young's bleak description of life in the USA at the end of the 1980's , "Keep On Rocking In The Free World" , where Rebecca and Megan convey the song's sense of desolation to devastating effect. Similarly, the sisters' version of Phil Collins' "In The Air Tonight" has a chilling air of menace about it.
Bo Diddley would , I am sure , have approved of Larkin Poe's powerful , fiery rendition of his voodoo classic "Who Do You Love". I remember seeing British blues-rock band Juicy Lucy perform this song in 1969 with a red-hot steel guitar solo from Glenn Ross Campbell . Here, we have an equally thrilling solo from Megan.
Larkin Poe are often referred to as " the little sisters of The Allman Brothers" and here they justify that title with their stunning version of "Ramblin' Man" from the Allmans' "Brothers And Sisters" album. The delicate guitar interplay between Rebecca and Megan mirrors the harmony playing of Dickey Betts and Les Dudek on the original version.
The gentler side of Larkin Poe emerges on a lovely version of Eric Clapton and Bobby Whitlock's classic "Bell Bottom Blues" [from the "Layla" album by Derek And The Dominoes"] , which features some great harmony vocals from the sisters ,which capture the anguish of the lyrics beautifully.
The album concludes on a light note with a playful version of Elton's "Crocodile Rock".
What began as an affectionate nod to their musical heroes by Rebecca and Megan has become a very fine album . The songs may be familiar but Larkin Poe have re-invented them and taken them to another place altogether. A worthy tribute to the "Kindred Spirits" indeed.
Peter Cowley
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