Covers albums can be a hit or miss affair.

But the forthcoming, self-deprecatingly titled Imitations from Mark Lanegan really is a hit, and deserves to be.

In his own words ‘When I was a kid in the late sixties and early seventies, my parents and their friends would play the records of Andy Williams, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Perry Como, music with string arrangements and men singing songs that sounded sad whether they were or not.

“At home my folks were also listening to country music — Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, George Jones and Vern Gosdin were some of our favourites.

“For a long time I’ve wanted to make a record that gave me the same feeling those old records did, using some of the same tunes I loved as a kid and some that I’ve loved as I have gotten older. This record is it. Imitations.’

Amongst the songs covered are ‘You Only Live Twice’ -originally by Nancy SInatra and Nick Cave’s Brompton Oratory (originally on Cave’s The Boatman’s Call album).

The album’s released on Heavenly on September 16, in the meantime, check out these two gorgeous tracks from it…