Chrissie Hynde Announces Jazz Covers Album
Chrissie Hynde has announced a new album called Valve Bone Woe. The LP, featuring a variety of jazz-influenced cover songs, is due on Sept. 6.
Hynde admitted she was “not hugely interested in branching out into other musical genres, being a devout rock singer as such, but jazz is something I grew up around (thanks to my bro) and I’ve always had a soft spot for it.”
The Pretenders frontwoman also admitted her “penchant for cover songs” made the project even more appealing.
The songs featured on Valve Bone Woe come from a wide assortment of songwriters. Tracks include “I’m a Fool to Want You,” originally co-written and recorded by Frank Sinatra, the Nick Drake-penned “River Man” and the Kinks song “No Return.” Material by John Coltrane, Charles Mingus and Rodgers and Hammerstein also appear on the release.
You can see the full track listing below.
In anticipation of Valve Bone Woe, Hynde shared two of the album’s tracks. The first is a re-imagining of the Beach Boys’ classic “Caroline, No”; the second is a sweeping turn on the jazz standard “You Don’t Know What Love Is.” You can listen to both below.
“Jazz got sidelined by rock 'n' roll in the '60s, but now the demise of rock seems to be heralding in a newfound interest in it," Hynde opined, adding that she's "happy to jump on the [jazz] bandwagon.”
The singer, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005, went on to explain her new album’s title. “A few years back when I saw an obit in the paper for the valve-trombonist Bob Brookmeyer, I mailed my jazz sax-playing brother, saying ‘R. I. P. Bob Brookmeyer.’ Terry, a man of few words, responded with ‘Valve Bone Woe,’ a kind of Haiku beatnik prose.”
In conjunction with the new album, Hydne announced a special concert on July 6 at the Hollywood Bowl where the singer will perform with a full orchestra. The evening’s set list will include material from Valve Bone Woe, along with a selection of Pretenders favorites. Tickets for the performance go on sale May 5.
It's proving to be a busy year for Hynde. The news of Valve Bone Woe comes on the heels of the singer's revelation that the Pretenders will be recording a new album this year.
Chrissie Hynde, 'Valve Bone Woe' Track Listing (original songwriter in parentheses)
01. How Glad I Am (Jimmy Williams, Larry Harrison)
02. Caroline, No (Brian Wilson, Tony Asher)
03. I’m a Fool to Want You (Frank Sinatra, Joel Herron, Jack Wolf)
04. I Get Along Without You Very Well (Except Sometimes) (Hoagy Carmichael)
05. Meditation on a Pair of Wire Cutters (Charles Mingus)
06. Once I Loved (Norman Gimbel, Vinicius De Moraes, Antonio Jobim)
07. Wild Is the Wind (Ned Washington, Dimitri Tiomkin)
08. You Don’t Know What Love Is (Don Raye, Gene De Paul)
09. River Man (Nick Drake)
10. Absent Minded Me (Jule Styne, Bob Merrill)
11. Naima (John Coltrane)
12. Hello, Young Lovers (Richard Rogers, Oscar Hammerstein II)
13. No Return (Ray Davies)
14. Que Reste-T-il De Nos Amours (Charles Trenet)