The Gaslight Anthem frontman and prolific solo artist Brian Fallon has announced a new album of renditions of classic hymns, Night Divine, due November 5 via Lesser Known Records/Thirty Tigers (pre-order). Brian produced and recorded the album himself, and the first single is a gentle, folky rendition of "The Virgin Mary Had One Son." Here's what Brian says about it:
This was the first music I’d ever heard and learned. It’s one of the earliest musical memories I have. So, the idea has been churning in my head for a long time. Even when I was making rock ‘n’ roll, this was always in the background.
I heard Odetta sing an incredible live version of ‘Virgin Mary Had One Son,’ and it was actually one of the performances that inspired me to learn the piano. Joan Baez sang it back in the sixties too. From those two versions, I put down my own structure with the acoustic guitar and the vocal. The other sonic elements appear and disappear like characters in a play. In the end, everything comes out for one last note.