Video of the Day: Tallest Man on Earth Covers Jackson Browne

The Tallest Man on Earth is the recording name of Kristian Matsson, a Swedish singer-songwriter who works in the solo acoustic folk mode. His voice has an American-folk quality that is not imitative: he has absorbed the tradition and produces something that is his rather than a re-enactment.

The Jackson Browne coverage is apt. Browne's songs carry a specific quality of emotional exposure that is difficult to cover without either overselling it or losing it entirely. The best covers of his material find the structure of the emotion rather than the performance of it.

The clip

The specific clip noted here is a performance recording, a small room, solo guitar, no arrangement around it. The format is correct for the song and for Matsson's approach.

What Matsson does with Browne's material is find the folk roots underneath it. Browne's Los Angeles Americana is already close to folk. In a solo acoustic reading, with the country-rock arrangement removed, the song's structure becomes visible. The chord movements, the melody, the lyric: all of it was there before the production.

The Tallest Man on Earth in context

Matsson released his debut record Shallow Grave in 2008. It was recorded simply, produced sparsely, and released to considerable critical interest. The record sounded unlike most things released that year.

The influences are audible: early Bob Dylan, specific strains of Appalachian folk, the songwriting tradition that values economy over elaboration. The Swedish context is mostly invisible in the music. What is visible is careful listening to a tradition and a genuine voice within it.

For more Video of the Day entries and short field notes: Field Notes index. For more on the folk tradition these artists draw from: American Roots Music Primer.