Song of the Day: Cassandra Wilson “Last Train To Clarksville”

Jazz singer Cassandra Wilson has been open to taking a number of risks throughout her career. Gifted with an exceptional voice, she has an innate ability to transform the material that she is singing to shape her musical interests. On paper, her cover of The Monkees‘ 1966 hit, “Last Train to Clarksville” seems like it shouldn’t work. The original version of the song, while a brilliant and catchy bit of pop is basically a showcase for the band’s harmony vocals and a whole lot of country twang. The Monkees after all were basically the first manufactured boy band: intended as an American rival to The Beatles. They scored hits with songs written for them and basically went about their business while maintaining a squeaky clean image. Hardly the material for late night jazz balladry. Certainly, the band would eventually grow into itself as it aged, with much of its adult phase culminating with the completely bonkers and acid-drenched 1968 Bob Rafelson film about them, entitled Head, but by then The Monkees cultural relevance had largely dwindled..

Wilson‘s version of “Last Train to Clarksville” slows things down a whole lot, re-harmonizes everything to a minor key and ads a real sense of stakes to proceedings. Her vocal delivery is so emotive, that what in the original appear to be lightweight throwaway lines, become imbued with a sense of urgency and depth. The supporting musicians do a great job of drowning things in some killer tremolo soaked guitar, subtle drums and build a foundation for Wilson to both deliver the song’s melody and to scat sing. The final result is a truly transcendent modern jazz read on the pop song. Appearing on Wilson‘s 1995 record, New Moon Daughter (which featured a number of other re-imaginings of country western and country-themed pop material), the track proves to both an album and career highlight.