East Coast legend Joel Plaskett's 50th birthday is next week, and a boatload of Canadian musicians are celebrating by coming together to cover his songs for a compilation titled Songs from the Gang, out tomorrow (April 11) via turtlemusik.
Contributing artists include the Sheepdogs, Sloan, Alan Syliboy, Arkells, City and Colour, Frank Turner, Jenn Grant, Rose Cousins, Mo Kenney, Alan Doyle, David Myles, Bahamas and more, all covering tunes by the Duke of Dartmouth himself in secret. That secret has now been revealed, and the artists have chimed in on what makes Plaskett's music (and the man himself) so memorable, meaningful and worthy of celebration.
City and Colour's Dallas Green shared of his contribution, "'All The Way Down the Line' is a quintessential Joel Plaskett song. A simple, gorgeous melody tied together with a beautiful sentiment that makes your heart beat a little easier. The word grace comes to mind, as it so often does with Joel's music."
Fellow East-Coaster Matt Andersen added of his cover, "Natural Disaster," "[The song] for me, is a perfect example of Joel's writing. He has always had a knack for making specific and real situations accessible to everybody. 'And nobody got paid, just like the good old days.' That's classic Joel."
Chris Murphy of Sloan added, "'I Love This Town' is a song that can be enjoyed by anyone but has special meaning for Sloan because we too had 'shot the shit with Miniature Tim.' We know the guy whose house burned down. We WERE the band that he saw in the early days that went away. It's a classic. We attempted to do our version like we might have in the early days."
Plaskett, who had the surprise revealed to him this week, shared of the compilation, "I was really moved by it — listening to all the great versions of the tunes. Thanks so much to everyone who contributed to it."
The double-LP vinyl and CD editions are available for pre-order through Plaskett's website. Listen to the album and see Plaskett's reaction below.
Songs from the Gang:
1. Frank Turner - "You're Mine"
2. Arkells - "Come On, Teacher"
3. Sloan - "I Love This Town"
4. The Sheepdogs - "Down at the Khyber"
5. 45 Portland Street Band (feat. Eric Stephen Martin, Alexander Gallant, Aquakultre, Sarah Swire) - "Drunk Teenagers"
6. Jenn Grant - "Lying on a Beach"
7. Alan Doyle - "Hey Moon (A Campfire Song)"
8. David Myles - "Happen Now"
9. Jah'Mila - "Harbour Boys"
10. Reeny Smith, Haliey Smith, Micah Smith - "Wishful Thinking"
11. Matt Andersen - "Natural Disaster"
12. Julian Taylor - "Compete with Loneliness"
13. Two Hours Traffic - "Deny, Deny, Deny"
14. Peter Elkas - "Beyond, Beyond, Beyond"
15. Bahamas - "Please Don't Return"
16. Mo Kenney - "Lonely Love"
17. Alan Syliboy & the Thundermakers - "Nowhere with You"
18. City and Color - "All the Way Down the Line"
19. Rose Cousins - "Nothing More to Say"
20. Shotgun Jimmie - "Face of the Earth"
21. Jill Barber & Matthew Barber - "Light of the Moon"
22. Steve Poltz - "Absentminded Melody"
23. Erin Costelo - "Old Friends"