Singled Out: Eli Cook's Deathrattle

"Deathrattle", the first song on my new album, Ace, Jack and King, is one of the most interesting tracks. The lyrics and music are all original, but, if I were to sing the song with just hand claps backing me and add a chorus of male singers with a single mic, it would become indistinguishable from all the great old field hollers and work songs recorded in the early 20th century. The earthy, vital feel of that music is what I try to capture in my own.

At the end of the album, my electric rock version of the same tune is exemplary of a style I have been developing over the years--taking very old sounding blues-based lyrics and melodies and arranging them in contemporary and usually heavy ways...without compromising the authentic feel and soul of the original music that is the inspiration for my own song.