New York, NY (Top40 Charts) First hitting the scene in the late '80s,
Wesley Stace, then professionally known as the singer-songwriter John
Wesley Harding, scored some early musical success, especially on the college radio airwaves with songs like "The Devil in Me," "The Person You Are," and an unlikely cover of Madonna's "Like a Prayer." More than 20 albums and collections later, he tends a multi-faceted career as a novelist, singer-songwriter, professor, book reviewer and variety show host.
Now, with the May 18, 2018 release of Greatest Other People's Hits on CD and
Digital from Omnivore Recordings, Stace adds singer of greatest other people's hits to this long list of accomplishments! John
Wesley Harding has put together a fantastic release of songs by artists as varied as Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, Serge Gainsbourg,
George Harrison, Roky Erickson, and Pete Seeger, among others.
For Record Store Day (April 21), a special 10-track version, featuring collaborations with the Minus Five, Fastball, Eric Bazilian, the Universal Thump, and Bruce Springsteen, was released on vinyl. Expanded to 17 tracks, the CD and
Digital collections add material originally recorded by the
Velvet Underground and Conway Twitty as well as performances with
Lou Reed and Rob Wasserman,
Kelly Hogan, Rick Moody, and
Elizabeth Barraclough.
According to Stace, "You can write quite as good and accurate a narrative of a musical career through the covers sung as the songs written. Often, I've found people like the covers more, which may speak for itself, but I've always found it a compliment: covers are my strong suit."
Track Listing:
1. If You Have Ghosts
2. Words Words Words - with The Minus Five
3. Star - With Fastball
4. Je Suis Venu Te Dire Que Je M'en Vais
5. Jackson Cage
6. Story Teller
7. Need I Know
8. It's Only Make Believe - with
Kelly Hogan
9. Old Bourbon - with Rick Moody
10. Benedictus - with Eric Bazilian
11. Another Age
12. Wah Wah - with The Universal Thump
13. Wreck On The Highway - with Bruce Springsteen
14. Covered Up In Aces - with
Elizabeth Barraclough
15. Think It Over
16. Satellite Of Love - with
Lou Reed & Rob Wasserman
17. Like A Prayer
