Netherlands-based Erik Neimeijer lends a personal connection to his cover of Willie Nelson’s “Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground,” a song he first heard at 17 and has long considered a songwriting masterclass. Staying close to Nelson’s original while introducing fiddle and pedal steel, Neimeijer gives the timeless ballad a subtly more country-oriented character.
It is certainly a difficult task to capture the original’s soaring yet introspective charm, delighting in its steady guitar twangs and touches of harmonica. Neimeijer, however, achieves a fantastic interpretation. He begins with a lush acoustic guitar presence amidst a solemn delivery, quickly joined by the twangy guitar tones that also made the original so memorable. “Trying to keep your spirits up, and your fever down,” Neimeijer sings, complemented by heartfelt fiddle as the acknowledgment that “some day you’d fly away” enters.
The slight pause in instrumentation upon the “I still remember” emotional resonance is particularly impactful, followed by the classic title-touting line. Neimeijer excels in maintaining the original’s heart, adding his own flair by replacing Nelson’s guitar solo with fiddle and pedal steel, yielding an authentic country feel. Neimeijer’s take on “Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground” is a riveting success. “You don’t need to improve on great songs; you just sing your own version,” he says. “That’s what Willie Nelson does himself when he covers songs.”
—
This and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.
We discovered this release via MusoSoup.
