Shooter Jennings and Erik Deutsch got together to record a trippy version of "Whistlers and Jugglers," a tune that Shooter's dad, Waylon Jennings, put down in the 1970s. The new rendition will be included on Deutsch's February release, Outlaw Jazz, which includes other country tracks reworked into psychedelic jazz covers, Rolling Stone Country reports.
The opening half of the song is just Shooter being Shooter with Deutsch's masterful piano work. After the three-minute mark, the song transforms into a jam session that would make Roger Waters proud with a guitar solo that could work on "Comfortably Numb." If Deutsch was trying to accomplish a psychedelic cover, I'd say he succeeded. Check it out below.
Waylon recorded the Shel Silverstein-penned song for 1978's I've Always Been Crazy.
"When I was first introduced to Shel Silverstein's song 'Whistlers and Jugglers,' I was instantly mesmerized by the imagery of the lyric: a love lost, a lesson learned, and a girl's enchantment with 'whistlers and jugglers, and singers of songs,'" Deutsch told RSC.
Shooter's vocal work is another highlight of the recording.
"Shooter brings so much passion, intensity, and honesty to everything he sings, and this performance is certainly no exception. Waylon's recording of 'Whistlers' is bouncier, quicker and more swinging than our version," the pianist added. "Somehow we naturally, without discussing it, dug into the dark, slow, more mysterious side of the composition, ending up in a place reminiscent of Pink Floyd."
Outlaw Jazz, due out Feb. 24, was funded through a Kickstarter campaign.
"After more than two years of playing music around the globe, I'm back in NYC and ready to record my next band album. While I was touring the country with Shooter Jennings and the gang, I started hearing music in my head that blended my style of jazz with country music. I coined it 'Outlaw Jazz'... now it's time to bring that sound to life!" the website reads.
