Black Blues (Soft Version) cover

Black Blues (Soft Version)

Released

In 2004, Haino released a pair of albums, both called Black Blues and both containing the same six songs — all blues covers (translated into Japanese), climaxing with two versions of Blind Lemon Jefferson’s “See That My Grave Is Kept Clean.” This acoustic version is, surprisingly, about six minutes longer than the electric version, but a lot of that is long moments of meditative silence, particularly on the songs that pass the 10-minute mark. His acoustic guitar sounds slightly detuned, almost like an autoharp, and is treated with just a little bit of reverb, while his vocals are sometimes whispered into the microphone with incredible intimacy. This is one of the few Haino albums that really must be experienced on headphones.

Phil Freeman

Recommended by

Suggestions
Spiral Mercury cover

Spiral Mercury

Chicago/São Paulo Underground, Pharoah Sanders
Satin Doll cover

Satin Doll

Sam Gendel
Sextant cover

Sextant

Herbie Hancock
New York, Fall 1974 cover

New York, Fall 1974

Anthony Braxton
Rabies cover

Rabies

Skinny Puppy
I Am a Bird Now cover

I Am a Bird Now

Antony and the Johnsons
Urban Bushmen cover

Urban Bushmen

Art Ensemble of Chicago
Healing Power: The Music of Carla Bley cover

Healing Power: The Music of Carla Bley

Ben Allison, Steve Cardenas, Ted Nash
Nonplaces cover

Nonplaces

Philip Zoubek Trio