Still fresh off the release of her new album Big Time, Angel Olsen is honoring one of her newfound idols. Today, the indie-folk singer-songwriter has released her cover of Lucinda Williams’ “Greenville” as part of the Amazon Originals Program.
“Greenville” originally appeared on Williams’ 1998 album Car Wheels on a Gravel Road. Given the twangy, country flair of Big Time, it makes sense that Olsen would look up to the blues icon, and her version — available only on Apple Music — stays authentic to Williams’ original. Olsen recorded the cover in Los Angeles with Kyle Thomas, aka garage rocker King Tuff.
“Before I wrote Big Time I found a new obsession and love for Lucinda’s body of work,” Olsen said in a press release. “There is no one like her out there. It’s clear to me that her songs come from a very real place, and that’s the only kind of writing I like.”
Olsen continued: “Meg Duffy [of Hand Habits] also sang with me on this track. Meg showed me this song for the first time years ago and was the first one to introduce me to Lucinda’s music. It was very meaningful to have them on the track with me.” Listen to Olsen’s cover of “Greenville” below.
“Greenville” isn’t the only cover Olsen’s shared this year. Last month, she recorded a rendition of Bob Dylan’s “One Too Many Mornings” for the Apple TV+ series Shining Girls, and in January, she contributed to Light In the Attic’s Cover Series with her version of Karen Dalton’s “Something on Your Mind.” On the flip side, Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy recently put out his own take on Big Time‘s title track. Head over to Ticketmaster to see Olsen on her headlining tour later this year.
