Vagabon has teamed up with Courtney Barnett for a cover inspired by Karen Dalton’s version of ‘Reason to Believe’, which was originally written and recorded by Tim Hardin in 1965 and covered by a wide range of artists since. Dalton’s version appeared on “1966” which featured a number of unearthed home recordings captured on a portable reel-to-reel. Ironically, Dalton was described as the venerable muse of 60s Greenwich Village yet she hated the city and only recorded two studio albums in 1969 and 1971. Some of her most intense recordings were those recorded in the late 1960s at her Boulder, Colorado home which only came to light following her death in ’93 – Cotton Eyed Joe (recorded in 1962 and released in 2007), Green Rocky Road (recorded in 1962/63 and released in 2008) and 1966 (2012). Reason to Believe is the first track you hear on ‘1966’ and maybe it’s because there is no high-end production at play that the power of the singer is so transparent and intensely raw. It certainly left its mark on Vagabon and Barnett.
Here, Vagabon stays true to that lo-fi feel of Dalton’s home recordings and also manages to project her own power and feelings into the Hardin song. The vintage look and feel of the accompanying video just rounds it all off perfectly. Coupled with Barnett, this is a fitting tribute to the late Karen Dalton who once wrote “Recording is the trip”…it certainly is here.
“I recently discovered the Karen Dalton version of ‘Reason To Believe’ for the first time. I became obsessed and so a few days after discovering it, I was encouraged to record a cover of it in my garage,” said Vagabon’s Lætitia Tamko. “The decision to have Courtney sing it with me came after we performed it together live at the Palace Theatre in Los Angeles on Valentine’s Day 2020, a month before lockdown. It was fresh in our brains then so not long after the show, CB came over and we recorded her parts. Oliver Hill plays slide guitar on it.“
Courtney Barnett added “I’m a huge fan of Vagabon and Karen Dalton so this was a dream. They both have a voice that absolutely knocks the wind out of me. I really admire Lætitia and am constantly inspired by her songwriting, production, and our sporadic FaceTime chats.”
http://smarturl.it/reasontobelieve
Vagabon has announced a livestream on January 29 at 9pm EST / 6pm PST / 2am GMT (Jan 30). Tickets are available now at noonchorus.com/vagabon
Photo credit: Pooneh Ghana