Emily Hines – These Days

Emily Hines tackles Jackson Browne’s “These Days” with the same gentle touch that made her debut album so compelling. The Ohio farm girl turned Nashville songwriter takes on the 1967 classic (first recorded by Nico, later covered by everyone from Gregg Allman to countless indie artists) and makes it entirely her own.

Hines recorded the track using the same 1986 Tascam four-track cassette recorder that gave her album its warm, slightly imperfect sound. Producer Henry Park joins her on guitar and keys, with Robert Hudson adding bass and mandolin, and John-Ruben Medina on drums.

Her version captures the melancholy of Browne’s original while adding her own conversational ease. It sounds like the end of a long day spent working in the garden, which isn’t far from reality. Hines splits her time between harvesting vegetables at daybreak and tending to songs, a combination that seems to fuel her writing process.

The cover follows her debut album release through Keeled Scales, which happened after label founder Tony Presley discovered “Cedar on the River” through a UK music blog. No viral moments or celebrity endorsements: just the power of good songwriting, finding the right ears.