Built To Spill Plays The Songs Of Daniel Johnston On New LP

The first time that I clearly remember hearing a Daniel Johnston song, it was being covered by Built To Spill.  “Some Things Last A Long Time” appeared on the Boise outfit’s 1996 compilation, The Normal Years, which was comprised of singles, live recordings, unreleased material, and alternate takes.  BTS frontman, Doug Martsch, has such a remarkable ability to take someone else’s music and make it his own, that it isn’t unheard of for him to produce a version that is equally as great as the source material.  His rendition of “Some Things Last A Long Time” was such a standout on that LP and propelled by such pure emotion, that I was genuinely surprised when I heard Daniel‘s original.  I couldn’t have imagined that the original song would be even more fragile and beautiful, but it definitely was.  Martsch did about as admirable of a job as possible, creating a recording that I still hold dear and love to this day, but more importantly, he helped introduce me to one of the most genuine, heartfelt, and brilliant songwriters of our time.

I would eventually go on to interview Daniel in 2008.  Later, I would track down a sample of Converse shoes that he designed that never went into production, and sent them to him.  From time to time, I would randomly reach out to his brother/manager, Dick, to get particular insights and information, if a particular article on Daniel might benefit from or require it.  He was always helpful and we, occasionally, even had pieces featured on Johnston‘s official website.  We were fortunate enough to catch a small handful of Daniel Johnston performances, over the years, but his health issues were never a secret.  The Sundance Award-winning documentary, The Devil And Daniel Johnston, chronicled the artist’s struggles with mental illness and, by the time that I met him, he had been heavily medicated for some time.  When he spoke with me, it was heartbreaking to know that he was still so full of self doubt and regret, and I got the feeling that he might never be entirely sure what percentage of his appeal was driven by spectacle, or authentic appreciation.  Sometimes, I wondered if those in his audiences even knew, themselves.  But the fact of the matter is that there are an endless number of fans and fellow artists out there that have a tremendous amount of admiration for his work and talent, as well as love for the man behind it.  That’s undeniable.  Kurt Cobain famously helped boost his visibility when he wore one of Daniel’s iconic Hi, How Are You? T-Shirts, while artists from Yo La Tengo and Sparklehorse to Tom Waits and Pearl Jam all went on to cover his music.  When Johnston passed away last September at the age of 58, the most that we could hope for was that he, somehow, understood even a fraction of the impact he had made and how much he was loved by so many.

In 2017, Daniel Johnston announced his retirement from live shows with one last string of tour dates.  Supporting him in the each respective cities would be particular artists whom he had inspired with his work.  For example, in New Orleans, he would be backed by the Preservation All Stars, while his Chicago stop would feature Jeff Tweedy & Friends.  For the final 3 dates, Built To Spill would take on that honor in the Northwest.  We caught the very last show on that very last tour, which took place at the Moore Theatre here in Seattle.  I believe that we even did a ticket giveaway for that one.  And while it felt incredibly special to be there and witness that, it was bittersweet to know that would likely be the last time that we would ever see him again on stage.  He may or may not have performed a one-off show in following years, but that was basically it.  His Chicago performance with Tweedy was recently made available as a limited edition vinyl release.  Today, Built To Spill announce their own recorded effort connected to their time performing with the late great Daniel Johnston.

Built To Spill Plays The Songs Of Daniel Johnston is an album described as “11 tracks of Daniel Johnston’s fractured pop, presented through the eyes of Built To Spill.”  Daniel doesn’t appear on this recording himself, but rather these are his songs sung by Doug and performed by the 3-piece incarnation of Built To Spill, at the time, featuring Jason Albertini on bass, and drummer, Steve Gere.  The trio’s shows with Johnston took place in early November of 2017, but these recordings were made in August, during their rehearsals preparing to operate as his backing band.  In speaking with Rolling Stone, Martsch puts the project into context by stating, “It was pretty special for us.”  Adding, “Basically we wanted to get good documentation of what our rehearsals were like. It was a lot heavier than what I thought it would be.”

The new LP is slated for a May 1st release date via Ernest Jenning Record Co and features cover art by longtime Built To Spill designer, Tae Won Yu.  Pre-orders for digital, CD, and vinyl formats are available now by visiting the group’s Bandcamp page.  The first pressing is on yellow vinyl, but there is also a mail-order exclusive variant on clear vinyl with yellow and blue splatter that is limited to 500 units and is likely to sell out fast.  If you’re looking to grab one of those, you’re probably going to want to jump on that sooner than later.  All versions of the vinyl come with a download code, as well as a 32 page songbook.

You can check out the first single, “Bloody Rainbow” below, followed by a full tracklist and upcoming tour dates