Pickin' on Wendell Berry

This Telegraph article tells of Boston Bluegrass band Crooked Still's new EP, which, among other covers, offers a version of Wendell Berry's "The Peace of Wild Things".

The band - Gregory Liszt (banjo), Aoife O'Donovan (vocals, guitar), Brittany Haas (fiddle), Tristan Clarridge (cello) and Corey DiMario (double bass) - are one of the most technically accomplished bluegrass bands of the past decade and O'Donovan's vocals are as sweet and captivating as ever.

Three of the seven songs are cover versions of classics and they absolutely nail them with fine bluegrass versions: John Hartford's beguiling song Morning Bugle, Lennon and McCartney's We Can Work It Out and, surprisingly, a version that knocks the socks off Paul Simon's American Tune. They also cover, and a fine tribute it is too, Pretty Bird by Hazel Dickens, the West Virginia musical great who died in April.

Perhaps the most ambitious song is The Peace Of Wild Things/Dayblind, where they take Wendell Berry's moving poem ('When despair for the world grows in me') and present a mournful talking version, which then develops into a life-affirming bluegrass instrumental.

Here's the track. Take that, Nickel Creek!