May 20 — Saxophonist Dave McMurray and country musician Jamey Johnson have debuted the video for their cover of the Grateful Dead song, ‘Lay Me Down‘.
The pair premiered the video Thursday, less than a month after the duo presented the song by itself. The song is the second single from McMurray’s new Grateful Dead covers collection, Grateful Dedication 2. He premiered the set’s lead single, ‘Scarlet Begonias (ft. Oteil Burbridge)‘ in April.
The video for McMurray and Johnson’s take of ‘Lay Me Down’ is a unique presentation. It tells the story of love and loss, but not in the sense of broken relationships. As a matter of fact, it is a much deeper, moving story involving a man going through his life. meeting a woman, getting married to that woman, apparently losing her late in life, and then himself dying in the end. It is a powerful presentation in its simplicity.
The manner in which the video is presented adds to its engagement as what looks like shadow puppets and sand are used to tell the story.
The musical arrangement featured in the recently released single is an interesting presentation in its own right in comparison to its source material. The original song presents a gentle, flowing composition. The use of the organ alongside the piano, drums, and Jerry Garcia’s vocals gives the song such a wonderful, soulful sound and style.
By comparison, McMurray and Johnson’s take on the song gives the work a whole new identity what with its blend of jazz and country music. The slow, melancholy approach here takes the song in a whole new direction from the original yet still hits so hard, emotionally.
The full track listing for Grateful Dedication 2 is noted below:
1. Playing in the Band
2. China Cat Sunflower
3. Bird Song
4. To Lay Me Down feat. Jamey Johnson
5. Truckin’
6. The Other One feat. Bob James
7. If I Had the World to Give feat. Bob James
8. Scarlet Begonias feat. Oteil Burbridge
9. Crazy Fingers
More information on Dave McMurray’s new collection of Grateful Dead covers is available along with all of his latest news at:
Website: https://davemcmurray.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/davemcmurraymusic
Twitter: https://twitter.com/davemcmurraysax
