Charlie Robison’s new record High Life is loaded with covers of the music that has inspired him from the beginning. “Look Out Cleveland,” a rock-and-roll tune originally written by Robbie Robertson of The Band, is one cover on the album, among others from artists like Ry Cooder, Doug Sahm, his brother, Bruce Robison and his sister Robyn Ludwick.
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While Robison creates his own take on “Look Out Cleveland” by injecting it with a country twist, he doesn’t stray too far from the song’s original southern blues-rock vibe. He preserves the track’s bouncy, rock-and-roll piano riffs, but isn’t afraid to showcase his own honky-tonk style. “Look Out Cleveland” is a creative cover that pays a respectable tribute to The Band.
“‘Look Out Cleveland’ is probably my favorite song that covers all bases,” Robison says of the song. “Story, musically as outside the box as you can be, and what’s more exciting than weather?”
High Life is due October 1.
