This week, Tuesday Tunes is showcasing music videos for another five songs which have been released in the past six months, since lockdown/quarantine began. There will, however, be seven videos – you’ll see what I mean shortly. Again, as last week, these are ‘regular’ videos, as distinct from the home sessions or live streaming which have become our new norm in recent months. And as last week, these are all songs which are on new (or forthcoming) albums or which have been released as singles.

Question: what do you do if you haven’t released anything in fourteen years, apart from a live concert recording, a couple of compilations and a few collaborations, and you need to announce your return? Answer: hit people with an absolute belter of a track:

That is the title track from the Chicks’ latest album, which was released in July. To date the album has peaked at #3 in the US and #5 in the UK, and will hopefully continue to sell. Their previous three albums have all been US #1, and all five of their studio albums, including Gaslighter, have been #1 on the US Country Albums chart. You may have spotted their name change: this was an acknowledgement that their original name had connotations with which they felt uncomfortable. No doubt it was greeted with the same disapproval from the redneck morons who burned their CDs after Natalie Maines criticised President Bush, but as far as I know they haven’t been sent any death threats this time. In Trump’s America that is, I’d have thought, quite likely, but I hope it doesn’t happen. With over 6.6m video views in five months I think their fans are still with them!

I’ve said before that Walk Off The Earth (WOTE, for short) are my favourite videos band, so I just had to include their new single in this piece. My only problem was in choosing which video: typically, for them, their creativity has been at work and they have so far released three for this song! At the risk of overloading this post, I’m going to be self-indulgent and share all of them. Bear with me, there are some other tunes coming too! This lyric video, which features Sarah and Gianni’s son (the one with the very long, slightly darker hair) was the first:

There followed the ‘official’ video:

And just a few days ago, they gave us an A Capella version with some friends:

That one really highlights their harmonies, and is probably my favourite. They are all lovely though: I think it’s a really nice song with a message for us all to ponder: when did the simple things get so complicated?

Last week I shared one of the songs from Molly Tuttle’s new album of cover songs, But I’d Rather Be With You, which is a fabulous album. Back in May she also released a single of another cover, which was aimed at raising funds for the WhyHunger charity. Her voice is lovely, and she really does justice to one of my favourite Neil Young songs:

I think that is beautiful: it’s as if the song was written for her, and the video is powerful in conveying its message in support of a charity doing such good and, sadly, necessary work.

You may well have noticed that Old Crow Medicine Show (OCMS) are credited as featuring on that last track. They provided the musical backing and the harmony vocals, and it is their leader, Ketch Secor, who you can see on the video. OCMS and Molly share close links – I’m guessing they are friends, as they have collaborated before. Most recently this was on another charity single, this time OCMS’ one in support of disaster relief after the tornados that struck Nashville. Although the band aren’t Nashville natives they have mostly lived there for twenty years or so, and Ketch was moved to want to do something for the community of which he had become  part. This song is also rather good:

As he says on the song, that is now his home town, and the strength of feeling is clear. Did you also spot a rather serious looking Molly playing guitar with the band?

I hope both charity songs have raised some much needed funds – they deserve to.

The last song in this week’s mini-marathon is brand new, having only been released last Thursday, and having already achieved nearly 1.4m views. Not many could do that, except perhaps The Boss:

That is the lead and title track for Bruce’s new album, which is scheduled for release on 23rd October. I, for one, can’t wait – a new album from him is such an event and, judging from this first song, he and the E Street Band are on form!

That’s a wrap for this week’s bumper crop of tunes. Have fun listening to them – as usual, they are the fruits of my impeccable musical taste, and all songs come highly recommended. By me, anyway.

Have a good week, everyone. I’m off to try and decipher what the latest changes to the rules on socialising here in the UK mean for me, and for the plans I have been making to see daughters and granddaughter. Wish me luck! See you next time.