David Bowie Cover of the Week: Chauncey Canfield’s Accordion Adaptation of “Young Americans”
“Young Americans” on accordion? Yes, that’s what Chauncey Canfield offers us this week! And it isn’t just a band, one member of which is playing the accordion—this is one guy with an accordion playing an acoustic instrumental version of the song. If you’re looking for a new take on a 50-year-old Bowie song, this is it. I’ve heard ukulele adaptations, classical adaptations, jazz adaptations, and everything else, but I’m pretty sure this is the first time I have heard a Bowie song played on an accordion and nothing else.
The accordion is on my mind, having just seen Weird Al in concert several days ago. Weird Al, of course, uses the instrument to comedic effect. One of his gags is to play polka versions of relatively recent pop songs without changing the words. They sound funny as polkas and sound funny on the accordion. But why? Much like the ukulele, the accordion is an instrument that can sound funny, but there’s nothing intrinsically humorous about its sound. Canfield’s performance here is not for laughs. To be clear, I like the way it sounds. There is a novelty aspect to this rendition, but there’s nothing silly about it.
Still, I’d get it if this sound is just too atypical for your liking. For me, however, the exercise of choosing a cover of the week brings me to a vast number of conventional arrangements, often of a limited range of Bowie songs. Some of these sound great but add little to what Bowie already left us. This week, for instance, I heard a very beautiful version of “Life on Mars?” I’m not going to mention the artist because, despite doing a great job, the arrangement was very similar to Bowie’s and thus the band was inviting a comparison. As good as they were, Bowie’s version is, of course, better. This relates to a criticism I sometimes get of any Bowie cover—Bowie had to have done it better. And maybe that’s true, but Bowie never played “Young Americans” on accordion. So for me, this is value added.
Chauncey Canfield is no “guy in a room with an instrument.” Well, maybe he is in a literal sense, but what I mean is that he’s a serious musician. According to his website, which you can link to HERE, he is “a Portland, Oregon-based multi-instrument musician. He is a prolific composer providing music composition & licensing for film & TV. He regularly performs in collaborations and solo in the Pacific NW.” He has a lot going on and clearly knows what he’s doing. So, you might not be inclined to take an accordion cover seriously at first, but maybe take this one seriously. You might just like it.