He’s one of the greatest performers for a reason.
It’s safe to say that Eric Church is no stranger to live albums. If you recall, back in 2017 during his iconic Holdin’ My Own Tour, he embarked on a massive set of 62 shows from January to May, playing with no openers and two full sets with an intermission. To many, this was at the peak of the Chief’s touring career simply due to the sprawling amount of shows and the fact that he was consistently giving fans over three hours of live music each and every night.
This spawned his gigantic 61 Days in Church series of live albums that span five volumes and a staggering 160 songs in total. Of course, you got multiple live versions of nearly every song in his discography upon its recording (which ended at Mr. Misunderstood at the time). However, fans were treated with one of the most eclectic collections of covers throughout the albums as well. Pulling out everything from Jim Croce’s “You Don’t Mess Around With Jim” and Willie Nelson’s “Me and Paul” to The Band’s “The Weight” and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “The Ballad of Curtis Loew” (just to name a few), the Chief pulled out all the stops for 61 Days in Church.
However, he’s looking to top it this year as he’s gearing up to not only hit the silver screen with his first IMAX concert, Evangeline vs. The Machine Comes Alive, in February but also releasing a live album to go with it.
Though there will unfortunately be no covers present on Evangeline vs. The Machine Comes Alive given its focus on Church’s latest album and his biggest hits throughout his career, I thought there was no better time to take a like back at some of his greatest performances from the aforementioned 61 Days in Church series as we anxiously await the film’s release on February 11th (and February 14th),
“You Don’t Mess Around With Jim” – Jim Croce
If you’re not familiar with the work of Jim Croce, there’s no better time to dive into his work than today. Though his career tragically got cut short at the age of only 30 due to a fatal plane crash, for my money, he’s one of the greatest songwriters and storytellers of all time.
Overall, Croce fell more into the folk and singer/songwriter category throughout much of his career. With that being said, however, you can hear some country and blues influences throughout much of his discography, and it’s put on full display here on his signature song, “You Don’t Mess Around With Jim.” A certified country/folk staple depicting a barroom fight turned deadly, Church does this classic justice.
“The Ballad of Curtis Loew” – Lynyrd Skynyrd
It’s safe to say that Church is no stranger to a Skynyrd cover, with “What’s Your Name” also being covered on 61 Days in Church as well, and while that’s another stellar performance from the Chief, I had to highlight “The Ballad of Curtis Loew” here. This is mainly due to Church not only giving a stellar performance here on the track but also following it up years later with a sequel to the track on his 2021 album, Soul.
The expertly penned track by long-time Church collaborator, Casey Beathard, depicts the story of a child named Lynyrd Skynyrd Jones who was (obviously) named after the iconic Florida band. In the final verse of the track, it’s revealed that Jones is actually the son of none other than Curtis Loew. While sure, some will call it a bit cheesy to decide to call back to Loew, I’ve always found it to be a great plot twist in a song crafted around the band, and his cover here pairs excellently with his original back-to-back.
“I Want You to Want Me” – Cheap Trick
Showing off some of his range, here, Church takes on the severely underrated ’70s rock band, Cheap Trick. Though they’re best known for “Surrender,” the Illinois-based band has quite a good discography that should not be overlooked. As for “I Want You to Want Me,” Church’s version is one of those rare occasions where I actually prefer the cover over the original. Particularly, Church putting a heavier emphasis on the electric guitars throughout does this track wonders.
“I’m a Ramblin’ Man” – Waylon Jennings
Can you ever go wrong with a Waylon cover? I don’t think so.
As one of Waylon’s signature songs, there’s not much that hasn’t already been said about the track. It’s a stone-cold outlaw country classic, and Church does it justice here.
“Sweet Home Chicago” – Various Artists
As a Chicago native, “Sweet Home Chicago” has always remained a hometown classic for me. Though there have been some killer covers of the old 1930s blues standard, ranging from The Blues Brothers to Eric Clapton, Church’s has remained one of my personal favorites to date.
“Lodi” – Creedence Clearwater Revival
Though CCR is mainly known for smash hits such as the Vietnam War-era classic, “Fortunate Son,” “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?” and “Bad Moon Rising,” “Lodi” has always remained not only one of the most underrated but also one of the best songs in their legendary discography.
If you’re a fan of Church and some of CCR’s bigger hits, let him introduce you to “Lodi” here.
“Turn the Page” – Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band
You truly can never go wrong with a little Seger. Though “Night Moves” will always remain his signature song, “Turn the Page” should never be slept on, especially live. Similar to Seger’s iconic live renditions of the track, Church perfectly sinks into the sultry nature of the original.
“Memphis Medley (How I Got to Memphis/Walking in Memphis)”
Out of all the covers on this list, I oftentimes find myself coming back to this one the most. In case you’re somehow unfamiliar with both tracks, “How I Got to Memphis” was originally written by the legendary Bobby Bare and first performed by the equally legendary Tom T. Hall. Since then, it’s remained a standard in the genre, being covered by the likes of Deryl Dodd, Rosanne Cash and more recently, Charley Crockett. As for “Walking in Memphis,” it was written by Marc Cohn in 1991 before being recorded by the likes of Cher and Lonestar.
Ultimately, Church blends these two tracks together to absolute perfection, and it remains as one of my favorite performances from him to date.
“Midnight Rider” – The Allman Brothers Band
Another band with close ties to the country and southern rock scene, you really can’t go wrong with covering anything from the Allman Brothers. Given that “Midnight Rider” is easily their most iconic track, Church played it a bit safe, but he delivered a knockout rendition of this classic.
“Ophelia” – The Band
Much in the vein of bands such as Little Feat and CCR, The Band, a folk-rock group hailing from Canada, is one of those groups that don’t receive nearly as much credit for their influence in the country scene as they deserve. From tracks like “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” to “The Weight,” The Band’s discography is simply stacked.
As for Church’s cover of “Ophelia,” as sacrilegious as it might sound, I find myself preferring it to the already incredible original from The Band. His energy here simply cannot be matched.
Honorable Mention: “Springsteen/Born to Run”
This one feels like cheating a bit since it contains his mega-hit, “Springsteen,” to open and close the performance, so that’s why it’s going in the honorable mention category.
From the extended intro, which sees Church slow down the chorus with a simple piano backing before kicking off the rocking intro present in most recordings of the track to his unique rendition of “Born to Run,” it’s nothing short of perfection. As a huge fan of both Church and Springsteen, it truly doesn’t get better than this. For more information about the track, read here.
