Mike Doughty Releasing Covers Album

The title, taken from a 1956 Variety review of a Jerry Lee Lewis single, means "the b-side is also fantastic."

Doughty has long included choice covers in his repertoire, putting his mark on songs by Mary J. Blige, Kenny Rogers, Neutral Milk Hotel and Daniel Johnston in the studio, and Guns 'N' Roses, The Magnetic Fields and more in concert. But "The Flip Is Another Honey" is the first full album on which Doughty lends his unmistakable voice to other writers' songs. "Take Me Home, Country Roads," is a cover of the John Denver song, performed here with guest vocalist Rosanne Cash. The opening track "Sunshine" finds Doughty rapping around samples of Denver's voice. "Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat" is a straightforward version of the song from the musical "Guys and Dolls" by Frank Loesser. "Reach Out" is an obscure Cheap Trick tune from the soundtrack of the early 80s animated film "Heavy Metal," which segues into a version of Josh Wink's 90s EDM classic "Higher State of Consciousness." Other artists Doughty covers on the album include Randy Newman, Thin Lizzy, Doveman, Red House Painters, Low, Camille, and Cat Iron (via 15 60 75 The Numbers Band).

"Take Me Home, Country Roads" will be the first single from the album, impacting AAA radio on October 8, four days before the 15th anniversary of Denver's death. Says Doughty, "'Country Roads' was my first favorite song. When I was three, I listened to John Denver's greatest hits, on one of those big shoebox cassette players you used to see in school libraries. I lay in the back of a massive, green, 1970s Oldsmobile, pressing the shoddy, mono speaker up to my ear."

"The Flip Is Another Honey" was produced and mixed by Kevin Salem (Emmylou Harris, Mercury Rev). Doughty played, or programmed, every sound on the album, with the exception of three tracks -- "Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat," Sondheim's "Send In the Clowns," and Newman's "God's Song (That's Why I Love Mankind)" -- which were performed live in the studio with Doughty's longtime collaborators, keyboardist "Cashmere" Dan Chen and cellist Andrew "Scrap" Livingston.

Doughty has select solo performances scheduled for the fall, including three more dates in his City Winery residency in New York and a performance at the DeLuna Festival in Pensacola, Florida.