Hey, Everybody—It is hard to believe it was only about a week ago that, with tears in my eyes, I wrote you about how life takes such unexpected twists and turns, as I mourned the sudden passing of my faithful companion of ten years, dear Gleason, whose picture is still posted, “hunkering down” for Hurricane Ike with Lilly, Elmer, Little Joe, and me, at www.glennabell.com
Now, here I sit again on this late Sunday evening in Houston, writing to you with a spark in my eye and a smile playing on my lips as I tell you of something quite extraordinary that has happened to me—another twist, another turn—this time with a fairy tale ending.
I am just beaming to announce that I've been done the honor of having had my version of a famous song by the English alternative rock band, Keane, posted on their home page at
It is called “Everybody’s Changing,” and I do hope that you will give it a listen and notice the beautiful cover by my friend, the artist Natali Leduc. I caught this gorgeous song on a magical second take about a month ago, straight through with no Pro Tools or Auto-Tune. It’s just me and my guitar, Odetta—my signature Guild Songbird that I’ve played for years now, the one in all of the pictures—and because the song is so well written, that’s really all it needs to shine.
There is also a complimentary write up by Tim Rice-Oxley, the band’s primary songwriter, about why he decided to post my version of this Keane song at such a busy time while they are in heavy rehearsal for the release of their Greatest Hits album on November 11. Here’s a recent interview from Rolling Stone:
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/keane-greatest-hits-collection-due-in-november-20130816
I am flattered to say the least. I discovered Keane and Tim’s writing after meeting him in January when he happened to be laying low in the audience at the Tuesday night songwriter showcase at La Carafe in downtown Houston where I was performing that night. He was reading a book by a British author I admire, and we struck up a conversation, without my realizing that he was a musician in town for a big show where I ended up getting to see him perform in front of thousands of people the next night! How surreal. It was a magical and somehow meaningful moment in my life. I hope that you will check out Keane’s music. I have fallen in love with Tim’s writing this year! Here’s a YouTube link to the song that I covered, "Everybody's Changing," which is such a pleasure to view and hear:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zx4Hjq6KwO0
It's hard to say, but perhaps my favorite Keane song right now is “Somewhere Only We Know.” Somehow it seems more than mere chance to realize that the video (below) looks exactly like “the place we used to love” in East Texas where my dear Gleason slipped quietly from this world last weekend as he frolicked along the tangled paths of my youth where we shared so many adventures and happy memories together. Life DOES take these unexpected twists and turns, doesn’t it?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oextk-If8HQ
Y’all come!