Covers Revue: Mélissa Laveaux covers “Needle in the Hay,” originally by Elliott Smith

Now, I know we’ve already done a Covers Revue on Elliott Smith. In fact, we did a Covers Revue on this particular song already. But NO MATTER! I write the blog, here. I can do whatever I want!

We went over Elliott Smith’s version of “Needle in the Hay.” The slow, melancholy acoustic. Smith’s mournful voice that is almost at a whisper. The immediate feeling of depression the listener gets when hearing the soulful, chilling, simple string-plucking of Smith’s acoustic.

Though also beginning with a slow acoustic, Mélissa Laveaux’s version of “Needle in the Hay” has a bit more bounce, but still maintains the song’s darkness. Her incredibly raspy voice and deep bass-line give the song a bluesy sound right of the bat. That’s pretty much all there is to the song, folks. We’ve got the bass-line, hand-played acoustic guitar, and her most powerful weapon: her voice. The song has an attitude of it’s own while still going for the same overall feeling that Elliott Smith conveyed.

One of those covers that reinvents itself, Laveaux’s “Needle in the Hay” is a definite listen, whether you’re a fan of Elliott Smith or not.