MARK LANEGAN
I'll Take Care Of You (Sub Pop)

first appeared at MTV.com
by Jason Ferguson


When an artist chooses to make an entire album of cover songs, it usually indicates a serious hardening of the inspirational arteries. And though that may in fact be the case here, who really cares? After all, nobody's really paid any attention to this ex-Screaming Trees singer's solo career anyway, so why would anyone start now? Why would anyone care that after three increasingly gloomy solo albums that presented Lanegan's remarkable ability to write true Americana balladry he suddenly decided to cover a bunch of other peoples' songs? Why would anyone care that his gruff, emotive voice is now imparting its intensely morbid delivery to the works of other great American writers? Well, there's only one reason: because Mark Lanegan (despite being a party to the creative destruction of one of Seattle's best bands) is one of the most evocative singers around.

Whether he's covering the Leaving Trains and Jeffrey Lee Pierce or O.V. Wright and Tim Hardin, Lanegan invests his smoky, emotional rasp deep into the hearts of each of the songs he covers here. And, whether it was a country song, an R&B song, a folk song or a vampy post-punk song, Mark Lanegan wraps them all up in his storytelling blanket and makes 'em sound as if he wrote 'em. After all, if anyone can make a song first sung by Falling James sound important, it's Mark Lanegan. With sparse instrumentation (usually just a guitar and understated drums, although some songs feature some graceful organ), the focus here is on Lanegan's voice and the songs he's singing.

And, whether or not it was originally a morbid tale (the Gun Club's "Carry Home") or a relatively hopeful number ("Consider Me"), Lanegan pulls from each of them a consistent thread of longing and sadness. So, yes, I'll Take Care of You is an album of covers. But most importantly, it's a Mark Lanegan album and, as such, it's a dark, engaging, and intensely personal journey. So, no, the inspiration ain't gone yet and yes, you should care.


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