Mark Lanegan has a voice that stops you dead in your tracks, no matter when or how you hear him. The former singer of Screaming Trees has released a series of deep, dark solo albums that have grown progressively more expansive. So has the roster of artists with whom he’s collaborated over the years, from fellow rockers like Layne Staley, Queens of the Stone Age and Greg Dulli to folk-minded singers like Isobel Campbell and Duke Garwood, not to mention electronic composers Moby, The Soulsavers, U.N.K.L.E., Massive Attack and too many others to list. The list of covers Lanegan has recorded is no less varied; Imitations, his most recent album, includes songs by Chelsea Wolfe, Nancy Sinatra, Bobby Darin and his current tourmates Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.
No matter the style or genre, no matter whose songs he’s singing, there’s no mistaking that deep, dusky voice. So it was no surprise that Lanegan’s set list for his recent visit to the KEXP studios included both a reworked 15th-century ballad and a tune by Irving Berlin. But we weren’t prepared to hear him bust out two incredible new songs from Phantom Radio, due later this year. Prepare to be blown away as Lanegan, joined by local guitarists Jeff Fielder and Johnny Sangster, performs “I Am the Wolf.”
Watch the full session with Mark Lanegan here.
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