When I spoke with Bill Callahan earlier this year, he slipped me a bit of insider information: the veteran indie singer-songwriter had laid down a collaboration with Meshell Ndegeocello. Here is the backstory he shared:
I crossed paths with her at a festival many years ago, and it was kind of charming. She was bunked in a tent, and I doubt she’d heard my music before. After finishing her set, she drifted off to sleep in her tent. Then I began my own set, and she asked, “What is this voice?” You know, “Who is this?” And she appeared, still half-asleep, at the end and introduced herself to me. A decade passed, and she later invited me to sing on one of her songs. It’s slated to come out, I think, later this year.
The moment is here. The track is released. When Ndegeocello announced her duets/covers album Synonym in July, it became clear that she and Callahan had laid down a version of Bob Dylan’s protest anthem “With God On Our Side” that also features Chris Thile, renowned for his work with the Punch Brothers and Nickel Creek. Listed as the final track on Synonym, it’s a stunning interpretation made all the more potent by director Damani Baker’s music video.
“Bill Callahan’s voice, to me, is enchanting and simply pulls you in,” Ndegeocello says. “And then my other angel is Chris Thile. He’s a very grounded human being; I just love the earthiness of his voice.” It’s true, these three voices fit together extraordinarily well. Regarding the choice of material, she adds, “The lyrics have more bite than the arrangement. So I was challenged to take this folk song and render it in a way that reflects how I hear it. It’s like assembling a puzzle with all these little pieces. Rearranging gives me greater respect for the song.”
Watch the video below.
Synonym arrives on 10/2 via Blue Note. Pre-order it here.
