Cover me

I've been thinking about covers lately - not the kind you hide under when you're scared, but singers covering other musicians' songs.

NancySTETSON nstetson@floridaweekly.com I've been hearing an excessive amount of them recently, it seems, starting with a British documentary about a Massachusetts chorus. (The film is called Young @ Heart, which is the name of the chorus.) The group consists of senior citizens, but they don't sing songs they grew up with - "In the Good Old Summertime," "Let Me Call You Sweetheart," or "I'll Be Seeing You."

Instead, under the direction of 53-year old chorus leader Bob Cilman, they belt out rock and punk songs with tremendous zeal: "I Wanna Be Sedated" by the Ramones, "Schizophrenia" by Sonic Youth, Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark," Outkast's infectious "Hey Ya."

They admit they wouldn't listen to the songs if they'd heard them on the radio; they'd be more likely to shut off "that noise." Many profess a love of classical music and prefer opera.

But here they are, singing songs by the Bee Gees, Talking Heads, James Brown, Coldplay.

It's hard to resist when 92-year-old Eileen Hall, a former stripper, puts her own twist on a classic tune by The Clash. She lets loose with an unearthly wail, then, with her British accent, says: "Darling. [Pregnant pause] You've got to let me know. [Another pause] Should I stay, or should I go?"

And she's so irresistible, such a character, you think: how could anyone tell her to go?

Or there's the always-quipping, rotund Fred Knittle, who, for health reasons, has to lug an oxygen tank and breathing tube around with him, who performs a stunning rendition of Coldplay's "Fix You." (His rendition, which can be viewed on YouTube, never fails to make me cry.)

The performance is made even more poignant by the fact that it was supposed a duet with another chorus member who'd fought recurring cancer for years. Unfortunately, he dies. And so the lyrics about "lights will guide you home" and "tears come streaming down your face/when you lose something you can't replace" are laden with even more layers of meaning.

But that's how it is with Young @ Heart. Many of the lyrics take on added interpretations when performed by people in their 70s, 80s, 90s. Take, for example, the opening lines of "I Will Survive." A woman delivers them solo: "First I was afraid, I was petrified/ Kept thinking I could never live without you by my side."

When sung by someone so senior, these lyrics about a love who walks out also sounds as if it could be about being widowed, losing one's partner to death.

These covers just take on amazingly different shades of meaning when sung by such mature adults.

(I'm not sure if the converse is true. I once saw an 8- or 9-year-old girl belt out "At Last." Yes, she had the pipes, but hadn't even hit puberty yet, and I doubt if she'd even experienced puppy love. So exactly how long had she waited and suffered so she could finally sing with joyful relief, "At last!/My love has arrived!"? She was singing the words and hitting the right notes, but she couldn't deliver the lyrics. - How could she? They were outside the realm of her experience.)

Young @ Heart could easily be dismissed as a novelty act, but yet, something happens when they sing. (For example, in the movie, they sing at a local prison, and their version of "Forever Young" turns the inmates misty-eyed.) Their enthusiasm, their naked honesty, touch your heart. When you hear these songs sung by what's been called the world's oldest cover group, you hear the lyrics in a different way.

Jazz singer Cassandra Wilson (who's performed at the Philharmonic Center for the Arts) is known for her fresh interpretations of classics, standards, and contemporary pop songs. She just released a new album, "Loverly," on June 10.

The album includes "'Til There Was You" from "The Music Man" and "Wouldn't It Be Loverly" from "My Fair Lady," as well as blues songs such as "Dust My Broom" and "St. James Infirmary." The selections also include "Caravan," "Black Orpheus" and "Lover Come Back To Me," which had been recorded by Billie Holiday and Nat King Cole.

Wilson's rich voice is like a human cello, and she's said that she views it as another instrument in the band. She's quite generous with her fellow musicians, giving them solos and allowing them to stretch out, musically.

The album is new, but promises fresh discoveries on repeated hearings.

And Saturday night I went to the Philharmonic Center for the Arts to hear the Tony-nominated singer/songwriter/actor Bob Stillman perform James Taylor songs. While his voice has that James Taylor timbre, Stillman wasn't at all attempting to be an impersonator. He was simply paying tribute to one our folk/rock classic singer/ songwriters.

For the first half of the concert, he performed the entire "Sweet Baby James" album, from start to finish, then a selection of Taylor's greatest hits. He was accompanied by a four-piece band, which included cello, and singer Connie James, who had a turn in the spotlight on a couple songs, singing duets with Stillman. She did a spectacular cover of "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight," slowing down the pace and adding a blues/jazz flavor to it.

While they stuck fairly closely to the original arrangements, a few times they stepped outside and presented their own take, which makes you hear an old familiar song with new ears.

And isn't that what covers are all about?