down from dover

longtime bandmates thru several projects, Sally Timms
and Jonn Langford first released Songs of False Hope
and High Values in 2000 as a limited edition, fairly
exclusive mini album available online on their
acoustic tour that year. three years later an extended
version was released in austrailia. both versions are
long since out of print (but available on iTunes!).
for me it served as the epitome of a strange journey,
watching a pair of art-punk Mekons from Leeds behind
one of my all-time favorite songs ("All I Want")
moving to the states and embracing country music. not
surprising because the Mekons had been experimenting
with folk music and towards the later years were
hinting at the now familiar alt country sound, but
intriguing because two brits relocated to exceed at a
non-native genre of music. both artists had relocated
to Chicago and began recording for Bloodshot Records,
Langford with the Pinevalley Astronauts and Waco
Brothers and Timms as "Cowboy Sally." i had a chance
to interview the pair on the corresponding tour where
i picked up the album that has been a favorite of mine
since. it was one of the few interviews where i was
really intimidated in the precense of influementional
musicians who had been around as long as i had been
alive and who were still making marvelous stride.
crammed in a van i nervously asked away and they
unraveled some amazing stories in spite of my likely
silly questions. it would only be natural that the
recorder didn't work properly and all was lost. the
following track from the album seems to be many folks
favorite. it is a Dolly Parton cover entitled Down From Dover.


Jon Langford & Sally Timms "Down From Dover"

www.bloodshotrecords.com