Blaze Foley’s songs are revisited by a new generation of roots and Americana artists on Sittin’ With Blaze: A Tribute To Blaze Foley, released today via Lost Art Records.
The 13-track collection focuses on songs from Foley’s early “tree house” period in Georgia, drawing from recordings later issued by Lost Art Records on the 2010 collection Sittin’ By The Road. Foley’s songs have continued to find an audience since his death in 1989, and this collection brings together artists with markedly different approaches to his often spare, direct songwriting.
Among the contributors are Lucy Dacus, Lucinda Williams, Phosphorescent, Willie Watson, Joshua Ray Walker, John Moreland, John R. Miller, Dylan Earl, Twain and Uncle Lucius.
The album was introduced with two singles: Phosphorescent’s version of “If I Could Only Fly” and Uncle Lucius’ take on “Election Day”.
Phosphorescent’s Matthew Houck has described Foley as one of the songwriters he eventually encountered through an interest in artists including Lucinda Williams, Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark. His version of “If I Could Only Fly” opens the album, while Williams returns to the same song for the closing track, giving the collection an unusual bookend.
Elsewhere, Willie Watson tackles “Big Cheeseburgers & Good French Fries”, Lucy Dacus takes on “Clay Pigeons”, Cactus Lee records the title track “Sittin’ By The Road”, and Dylan Earl covers “Slow Boat To China”. Joshua Ray Walker contributes “Cold, Cold World”, John R. Miller takes on “Fat Boy”, while John Moreland closes out the penultimate track with “Faded Love and Memories”.
The collection also includes Riley Downing’s “Let Me Ride In Your Big Cadillac”, Twain’s “The Way You Smile” and Angela Autumn’s “Rainbows & Ridges”.
For Uncle Lucius’ Kevin Galloway, Foley’s legacy is tied as much to the stories surrounding the songwriter as to the songs themselves, recalling him as an eccentric but generous figure within Austin’s music community.
Sittin’ With Blaze: A Tribute To Blaze Foley is out today, August 7, via Lost Art Records.