Punch Brothers

★★★★

Hell On Church Street NONESUCH. CD/DL/LP

Chris Thile’s bluegrass outfit cover a covers album. Eh?

In 1983, bluegrass guitarist and singer Tony Rice released Church Street

Blues, an album of covers including Norman Blake’s title track, Dylan’s One More Night and Gordon Lightfoot’s Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald. Both Rice and his LP were huge influences on bluegrass mavericks Punch Brothers, so while cooling their locked-down heels they re-recorded the album song for song in tribute. Rice unfortunately died on Christmas Day last year, but Punch Brothers have done him proud. Where Rice played it pretty straight with the material, Punch Brothers, as is their wont, decided to be more adventurous. Ralph McTell’s Streets Of London is deconstructed to such an extent the melody is barely recognisable, while Tom Paxton’s lover’s lament Last Thing On My Mind becomes a skeletal stalker’s manifesto. Rice would have loved it.