Tucson chanteuse Marianne Dissard on Friday, June 5, will release her cover of Janis Ianβs tale of teen angst anthem βAt Seventeen.β
Dissard, the French-born singer who has called Tucson home off and on since the 1990s, is actually releasing two versions of the song: One from βhisβ point of view, the other from βhers.β
Dissard and English producer Raphael Mann teamed up for the project, which presents a world-weary male view and an irreverent female view of being 17.
The remake reimagines Ianβs Bossa-Nova rhythm as a post-World War II French chanson-styled vocal interpretation that puts the focus more on the lyrics than the melody.
The song will be available for download at Bandcamp for the platformβs monthly no-fee Friday, and you also can get a free bonus track of Dissardβs first-ever cover, a 2006 recording with Calexicoβs Joey Burns of folk singer Kath Bloomβs 1982 song βItβs So Hard to Come Home.β
βAt Seventeenβ is the second cover Dissard has released since she recorded a cover of Phil Ochβs 1968 protest song βThe Scorpion Departs but Never Returnsβ in April in reaction to the firing of USS Theodore Roosevelt Captain Brett. E. Crozier. Crozier had spoken out against the militaryβs response to several of his sailors becoming infected with the coronavirus.
Dissard, who left Tucson in 2013, has been back since late last year, when she returned to do some work on her home here. She intended to stay a couple months, but has remained put because of the coronavirus pandemic.