Judee Sill’s life was brief, but her music lives on and has influenced countless artists. I was turned on to Judee’s work after hearing Fleet Foxes Robin Pecknold cover “Crayon Angel” at several Fleet Foxes shows last year.
A sampling of artists will be paying tribute to Sill in a new collection titled Crayon Angel: A Tribute to the music of Judee Sill. The album will be released Sept. 22 on American Dust Records. I’m really bummed that Robin’s version of Crayon Angel won’t be included, but there’s plenty of other great artists appearing on the compilation including Daniel Rossen of Grizzly Bear and Department of Eagles, Frida Hyvönen, Beth Orton, and Final Fantasy. Complete track listing after the jump.
Crayon Angles Tracklist:
01 Ron Sexsmith: “Crayon Angel”
02 Beth Orton: “Reach for the Sky”
03 Daniel Rossen: “Waterfall”
04 Frida Hyvönen: “Jesus Was a Cross Maker”
05 Shalants: “Lopin Along Thru the Cosmos”
06 Final Fantasy: “The Donor”
07 Nicolai Dunger: “Soldier of the Heart”
08 Trembling Blue Stars: “Lady-O”
09 Colossal Yes: “The Phoenix”
10 Marissa Nadler & Black Hole Infinity: “The Kiss”
11 Princeton: “Down Where the Valleys Are Low”
12 The Bye Bye Blackbirds: “There’s a Rugged Road”
13 Meg Baird: “When the Bridegroom Comes”
14 Bill Callahan: “For a Rainbow”
15 P.G. Six: “Til Dreams Come True”
I was obsessed with Judee Sill, about a year ago. I played nothing but her songs for about a month, whilst I was going through a bad time. I’m amazed there has never yet been a biopic made about her. ‘The Kiss’ is one of the ten greatest “pop” songs ever recorded – I’m convinced of it. Her voice has that same confessional-yet-clear clarity as Karen Carpenter had – both voices give me chills at times.