Musical Monday with the Henry Girls

The Henry Girls is an Irish band made up of three sisters--Karen, Lorna, and Joleen McLaughlin. Their sound has been described as a mix between Irish folk music and American root music. The few songs I've heard of theirs have all been very pretty, with great vocal harmonies, fiddle playing, and jaunty ukulele and harp strummings. I fell in love with them, however, when I heard their very  original covers of Elvis Costello's "Watching the Dectives". Most people covering it tend to retain the reggae touches or even ratchet them up higher. The Henry Girls went in a completely different direction, giving their cover more a ragtime, jazzy feel. And it works beautifully. Check out the song and great video below.


Watching the Detectives (2011)
Starring: The Henry Girls, Steve Batts, and Dancers from the Echo Echo Dance Company
Director:
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars



Other excellent covers of "Watching the Detectives" are the ones done by Toto, Steve Phillips, and Duran Duran.

And, of course, there's Costello's original 1977 version... it remains one of my favorite songs. (Although... I am still trying to decide if the Henry Girls and Duran Duran haven't managed to do better versions than Costello's recording.)