After a snippet of the song was featured in a Super Bowl ad for the upcoming CBS series Clarice, Brandi Carlile has released the full version of her “Take Me Home, Country Roads” cover.
John Denver‘s original recording of the song from 1971 climbed to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 following its release, and eventually became a comforting classic that’s been well-loved by country fans in the decades since. But Carlile’s “Country Roads” puts a very different spin on the familiar song: Sparse and evocative, the new version conjures up dark emotions, and is set to a delicate orchestral backdrop.
Before releasing the song, Carlile described her version as a “dark twist” on the original “Country Roads,” adding, “It’s so 2020.” Her eerie new spin on the tune also makes it the perfect fit for the trailer of Clarice, which is set one year after the events of iconic horror movie Silence of the Lambs.
Based on a 1988 novel by Thomas Harris, Clarice tells the story of FBI trainee Clarice Starling (Rebecca Breeds), who hunted the serial killer Buffalo Bill with the twisted aid of Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a psychiatrist-turned-cannibalistic serial killer. The show, created by Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet, also stars Kal Penn as Emin Grigoryan and Nick Sandow as Murray Clarke, among others.
Clarice premieres on Thursday (Feb. 11), just days after its trailer aired during Sunday night’s (Feb. 7) big game. In addition to being featured in the commercial, Carlile was also among the performing acts during Verizon’s Big Concert for Small Businesses. The singer joined an all-genre lineup for the Super Bowl after-party, which also included Luke Bryan and Eric Church.
Church’s National Anthem duet partner, Jazmine Sullivan, was also on that bill, and was so enthralled by Carlile’s performance that she reached out via Instagram the following day asking to collaborate.
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