Skeeter Davis & NRBQ “She Sings, They Play”

I’m pretty sure that when I heard this 1985 record in the mid-to-late-Eighties it was the first time I’d heard either Skeeter Davis or NRBQ. I may not be remembering this correctly, but I think it was when I lived in Kent, Ohio with several roommates, and it belonged to one of them, but I’m not saying for sure because I might be wrong. I recorded it on a cassette and then listened to it for years—one of my favorite records. A band I was in, much, much later, even performed one of the songs (“Temporarily Out of Order”—a great song). For some reason, I didn’t seek out all the NRBQ records (though I have a few on cassette tapes) even though I’ve always liked them, been intrigued by them, and in awe of them. Slowly, over time, I became more and more a fan of Skeeter Davis—at some point finding some of her old records for decent prices, and I continue to keep an eye out for them—there’s a lot! And over time my love for Skeeter Davis has continued, and increased with each record of hers I hear, and for some time, and still, I’ve called her my favorite singer. I don’t exactly know what it is—her voice, her style, her song selection—but more than any other singer, for me anyway, I feel like I can get a sense of what she’s thinking, and feeling, through her voice, and can feel a closeness to the person she is, like there’s a direct connection to her heart. I still haven’t read her autobiography.

I could have found a copy of this album online, much earlier, but I don’t generally like to buy records online—I’d much rather wait until I find them. And then, I never pay much for records. But when I became aware, somehow, that it was being reissued (by Omnivore), I impulsively ordered a copy, and I’m happy to have it now. Besides the 12 songs on the original, they’ve included a couple more from the session, I guess, one on the end of each side, a couple of up-tempo rock’n’roll numbers. There’s also an inner sleeve with some very cool photos from the studio, and some very good, extensive liner notes by John DeAngelis, which kind of outlines how this project came about. It’s quite a story—starting with Terry Adams (at the age of four!) being a fan of the Davis Sisters (Skeeter’s very young career, as part of a duo). Then later, he was a fan of solo Skeeter Davis—not even connecting them, at first. Eventually, he met her, and they started a correspondence—and eventually a scheme to record Skeeter with NRBQ, and this record. If they had taken a conservative approach and merely recorded a few well-known covers, it would have been great, due to the unique styles of each party involved—but it went much further—it sounds like to me—a full-on creative collaboration—you know, greater than the sum of the parts. The richness of the results, as comes alive in my listening room, makes me think of something like The Basement Tapes—and the inherent lightness confirms that—the feeling and effortless sense of people having the most fun they’ve ever had in a studio (or maybe anywhere). I’m not going to go song by song—they’re all great—some covers, some by Skeeter Davis, some by Terry Adams, and Joey Spampinato—there are so many styles and approaches, duets, guest musicians. It could be another band’s (or genre’s) greatest hits. It’s one of my favorite records—always was and always will be.

2.7.25