Mark Lanegan joins Sarabeth Tucek, Okkervil River, Smoke Fairies, and others next month for a new tribute collection, Reason To Believe – The Songs Of Tim Hardin. Okkervil River’s Will Sheff has of course paid homage to the late, great songwriter before by covering Hardin on the title track to 2005’s Black Sheep Boy, but a number of names on this set mark a new generation of artists to appreciate his work, following the likes of Bob Dylan (who once called Hardin “the greatest songwriter alive”), Joe Strummer, and Leonard Cohen. This record opens with Cohen’s favorite Hardin tune, “Don’t Make Promises You Can’t Keep.”
For his part, Lanegan told Rolling Stone: “I’ve always been haunted by the devastating voice and beautiful songs of Tim Hardin. I can’t imagine anyone hearing him and not feeling the same.” In a move of great reverence, Lanegan’s heartbreaking solo take on “Red Balloon” could be described that very same way. Hear it above. The tracklist is below:
Reason To Believe – The Songs Of Time Hardin Tracklist
01. The Phoenix Foundation – “Don’t Make Promises You Can’t Keep”
02. The Sand Band – “Reason To Believe”
03. Mark Lanegan – “Red Balloon”
04. Diagrams – “Part Of The Wind”
05. The Magnetic North – “It’s Hard To Believe In Love For Long”
06. Alela Diane – “How Can We Hang On To A Dream”
07. Snorri Helgason – “Misty Roses”
08. Sarabeth Tucek – “If I Knew”
09. Okkervil River – “It’ll Never Happen Again”
10. Smoke Fairies – “If I Were A Carpenter”
11. Gavin Clark – “Shiloh Town”
12. Hannah Peel – “Lenny’s Tune”
13. Pinkunoizu – “I Can’t Slow Down”