Dolly Parton and Tift Merritt Full Album Streams

The folks at Spinner have

Full Album Streams of the new Dolly Parton and Tift Merritt Albums. Check them out.

Reluctant City Stages Preview

For readers in Birmingham I am reluctantly doing a City Stages preview. The lineup admittedly is a disappointment this year for City Stages but there are enough notables to mention:

Friday:
Bruce Cockburn- He hasn't been to Birmingham in years. The last time he was at City Stages was absolutely a spiritual experience. Don't miss this if it is the only thing you see at the festival this year.
Willy Mason - See my previous post on him. It is one of my favorite CDs so far this year and one of the few acts that is not a Stages retread or recently performed in Birmingham.
Saturday:
Adam Hood- An Alabama native that is not new to Birmingham but "Different Groove" is a great album. (See my recent review)
Will Kimbrough/Tommy Womack- These two have been around a while. Having them play together was one of the few original ideas the festival organizers had this year.
Matthew Perryman Jones- Heard he stole the show at the Reg's Coffeehouse celebration at the Alabama Theater. I missed the event so I am lookin forward to his set.
Sunday:
Stoll Vaughn- I also missed him at Reg's show but I absolutely love this CD.
Robinella- Probably her third appearance in the city in the last year but she is still fantastic.
Sam Bush- I am glad they signed him this year. His live shows are legendary and he is a virtuoso unrivalled. This is one not to miss. I've seen him many times and never been disappointed.
Ricky Skaggs- Credit to the organizers for the Sunday bluegrass lineup. Sam Bush followed by Ricky Skaggs is hard to beat.

A Sign of the Apocolypse for City Stages:
What no mention of Poison or Ratt headlining the Miller Stage you ask? Of course I am excited about it like an 80's schoolgirl in heat! But I can't bring myself to go. You see my parachute pants are too tight these days and they quit making my favorite hair gel years ago. Goodbye City Stages it has been a nice ride!

Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter

The amazing atmospherics of “Like Love Lust and the Open Halls of the Soul” are apparent from the outset of the album. The ambience of the album is due as much to the subdued jazzy vocals of Jesse Sykes as it is to the instrumentation. At times, Sykes sounds like a more throaty Billie Holiday. At other times, her voice has a Grace Slick tone. The album's first three songs set the tone. It starts with the slow acoustic melody and eerie harmonica of “Eisenhower Moon.” “LLL” is a more upbeat tune that has Sykes smoky Blues vocals layered with psychedelic overdubs. “You Might Walk Away” has catchy hooks and is great pop tune with Jazzy keyboards in the backgrounds.

Sykes aforementioned Grace Slick on a mellow trip sound is most apparent on a couple of songs that take on the feel of Jefferson Airplane. The Sixties era Haight-Ashbury scene is explored most notably on “How Will We Know” and “I Like the Sound.” These are not banal tributes. The band never loses its originality as it crosses genres. To be sure, the atmospherics are overdone at times. For example, on “Spectral Beings” a droning melody is trying too hard to create the ambiance. However, the best songs on this album are truly memorable. The production team of Tucker Martine (The Decemberists and Long Winters) and Martin Feveyear (Mark Lanegan and Kings of Leon) also deserve kudos for the way they created the album’s rich textures without masking the music at its core.

Link to this free MP3

*Posted with Permission from Barsuk Records

http://barsukmusic.blaireau.net/JesseSykes_LLL.mp3

This review also appears on: http://twangville.com

Read This! I Am Still Laughing

The9513 a great blog that covers country music both mainstream and Americana. You will find on my blogroll. They did a priceless review of the new Big & Rich album. It is a must read. Maybe the funniest album review ever.

http://www.the9513.com/album-review-big-rich-between-raising-hell-and-amazing-grace/

Through The Sparks

There is a lot of buzz around the local Birmingham indie band Through The Sparks. Paste magazine put them on their most recent sampler and has featured the band online. Pitchfork gave them a good review also. I am certainly going to buy it. My initial streaming on the band’s website found it to be extremely well crafted. I'vs also seen their name crop up on several blogs.

Stream the album on the band's website.
http://throughthesparks.com/

Download it on emusic
http://www.emusic.com/album/Through-The-Sparks-Lazarus-Beach-MP3-Download/11032812.html

Or think Indie and get it at your local record store: http://www.cimsmusic.com/

Rocky Votolato - "The Brag & Cuss"

Rocky Votolato has come full circle. Prior to going solo he was in a post-punk/emo band called Waxwing. On his new album Brag & Cuss, set to be released on June 19th by Barsuk, the influences of his Texas childhood are more apparent. Votolato was born in and spent his early childhood in rural Texas. His father was a member of a motorcycle gang called the Scorpions, who at the time were rivals of Hell’s Angels. The songs on Brag and Cuss involve characters that could just as easily appear in the songs of fellow Texans like Guy Clark, Joe Ely or Robert Earl Keen. Lyrically the songs could also easily fit in a Texas roadhouse. Musically though instead of roadhouse rockers the songs on Brag and Cuss are well crafted low to mid-tempo songs that mix his Texas influences with a mature singer-songwriter style.

The connection Votolato feels to his own personal history show lyrically as in “Red Dragon Wishes” where the protagonist laments “There’s some demon way down South some kind of confederate ghost. It holds me close and shows me where to go until I’m sure I’m lost…but some mistakes can’t be undone it’ll never be like it was and wishing for it only makes it worse.” Votolato hooked up with a group of talented friends on this album. Brag and Cuss features James McAlister (Sufjan Stevens) on drums, Bill Herzog (Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter) on bass, Case Foubert (Pedro the Lion) on Electric Guitar and Rick Steff (Hank Williams Jr.) on Hammond B3 and keyboards. The result is a collection of songs that together make a unified body of work.

http://barsukmusic.blaireau.net/RockyVotolato_PostcardFromKentucky.mp3

I originally published this review on: http://twangville.com/

Best of 2007

This is My updated Best of 2007. I expanded the list to 25 this time and will keep on expanding it to the end of the year. There is a lot of good music being created these days and my tastes are just too eclectic, so there is no way to predict how long the list will be by year end. Note that Patty Griffin was knocked out of the number one spot by Wilco. That was a tough call. Forgive me St. Patty. The artists with the highest debuts other than Wilco were Willy Mason at #5, Dale Watson at #8 and Feist at #9. Enjoy the list and fill free to tell me how you agree or disagree. Also, make no hesitation to trash me or my intelligence in any way you see fit. I'm used to it.

1) Wilco - "Sky Blue Sky"

2) Patty Griffin - "Children Running Through"

3) Assembly of Dust - "Recollection"

4) Willy Mason - "If the Ocean Gets Rough"

5) The Broken West - "I Can't Go on I'll Go on"

6) The Shins - "Wincing the Night Away"

7) Son Volt - "The Search"

8) Dale Watson - "From the Cradle to the Grave"

9) Feist - "The Reminder"

10) Charlie Louvin - "Charlie Louvin"

11) Modest Mouse - "We Were Dead Before the Ship Ever Sank"

12) Infamous Stringdusters - "Fork in the Road"

13) Nathan - "Key Principles"

14) Adam Hood - "Different Groove"

15) Elizabeth Cook - "Balls"

16) The Greencards - "Viridian"

17) Pela - "Anytown Graffiti"

18) Joe Ely - "Happy Song from Rattlesnake Gulch"

19) Cadillac Sky - "Blind Man Walking"

20) Martin Sexton - "Seeds"

21) Two Cow Garage - "Three"

22) Bill Kirchen - "Hammer of the Honky Tonk Gods"

23) Norah Jones - "Not Too Late"

24) The Dexateens - "Hardwire Healing"

25) Tommy Womack - "There I said it"

Willy Mason's Rough Seas

For those of you reading this post in Birmingham make a note to "self" not to miss Willy Mason at City Stages on June 15th. He is playing atr City Stages unplugged Friday afternoon and opening for Bruce Cockburn at 8pm. I personally find it ironic he is opening for Cockburn since my first impression of If the Ocean Gets Rough was reminiscent of a young Cockburn. He has a deep compelling voice and writes lyrics that connect to your soul. Check out the video link to "We can be Strong" in which a man checking himself out of a mental institution declares "in the end they couldn't sell me grace." This is certainly a realization many people in our culture have discovered as they have tried many ways to acquire grace and failed. Indeed many of the characters on this album seem to be navigating rough waters.

Mason is a Martha's Vineyard resident. While he is a great young songwriter, he is more than just a folky troubador with a six string. He is influenced by a variety of traditional Americana music styles and crafts catchy melodies that make his songs grab hold. At 22 years old I have a feeling we will be hearing his melodies for a long time to come.

Nathan - "Key Principles"

“I feel a podium under my feet” says Keri Latimer on “Scarecrow” from the new album Key Principles by the Winnipeg based Americana quartet Nathan. With a voice as enthralling and Charming as hers, she can stand on the podium and say whatever she has to say. The album starts with “John Paul’s Deliveries” about teenagers sneaking out at night. Another song, “Let Them Look” focuses on a woman ready to let go of the pain she has been hiding in spite of the neighbors’ stares. Indeed, the hidden lives of people is a recurring theme on Key Principles. Although many songs on the album have a dark side, the serene vocals of Latimer and backup vocalist and musician Shelley Marshall provide a sense of comfort. They also have a lighthearted side. For instance, “You Win” in which the mind games that too often cause lovers to battle are referred to as “a festival of lousy aim.”

The album was produced by Howard Redekopp (New Pornographers), who did a great job of mixing country instrumentation and tunes with pop style vocals. He got the mix just right making both a memorable country album and an infectious pop album. Amazingly enough, Keri Latimer was seven months pregnant during the recording of this album, according their Label’s (Nettwerk) website. That in itself is worthy of recognition. It is fitting that Latimer and Marshall both enjoy quilt making and hang their work as backdrops in their live shows. Just like a grandmother’s quilt can pass through generations of family, Nathan has given us something that is also timeless and appealing to anyone who listens to the tapestry of music woven into Key Principles. This post also was contributed to Twangville http://twangville.com/548/nathan/

Blogging on the Radio

Although I am an XM subscriber, I reccommend you Sirius f0lks check out this blogger (My Old Kentucky Blog) on "Left of Center." on Thursday nights. For those of you who don't have Sirius, you can listen to the songs played on his website. My Old Kentucky Blog is one of my "Favorite Llinks"

You can also listen to past shows such as the Broken West featured previously here on AWT.

http://myoldkyhome.blogspot.com/2007/05/cary-brothers-live-on-mokb-sirius-blog.html

Adam Hood Tour Guide of the South

Opelila, AL native Adam Hood's new album "Different Groove" has been released on Little Dog Records. The album was produced by Pete Anderson (Dwight Yoakam, K.D. Lang, Roy Orbison, Buck Owens, Michelle Shocked). Since he reportedly tours almost 300 days a year, you would think that Hood would be little road weary by now. Just listen to his complaints about the monotony of the interstate highway system on "Cars and Trucks and Me," and you know he has logged his share of miles.

Road weariness is not evident on "Different Groove." To the contrary, the album takes the listener on a Southern road trip of its own. Beginning with a roadhouse rocker that sounds straight out of the heart of Texas, "22 Days Too Long." The album also stops in Louisiana with the song "Varnado." "Fool of an Honest Man" sounds as if it could have been recorded in Muscle Shoals. It goes without saying that this musical tour also stops in Nashville, with several of the songs having a country flair. It is important to note that this is no limousine tour with champagne. It is a bus tour with a case of beer. What makes the "Different Groove" tour so memorable is the fact that the tour guide is a Helluva Songwriter. (P.S. A note to Birmingham fans, Hood will be playing City Stages in June.)

Here is video made by a musical kindred spirit of Adam's Justin Johnson. It is set to a previously released song:

Pela Releases First Full Length Album

Encroaching on the territory already occupied this year by The Shins and Modest Mouse is the debut full length release by Brooklyn based band Pela, Anytown Graffiti. However, they are not making the territory crowded. In fact, they are definitely expanding the neighborhood, and it seems they have moved in to stay.

It is certainly nice to see an Indie Rock band that doesn’t feel the need for constant shoe gazing melancholy when shining a light on the human condition. The anthems on Anytown Graffiti rock with a dramatic flare comparable to the Decemberists (although Pela is less literary). Fronted by the earnest vocals of Billy McCarthy, the sound of Pela catches on and won’t let go. Paste Magazine compares their dramatics and style to U2, which is an unfair burden to put on them and not unlike comparing a young quarterback to John Elway. I don’t want to over-hype this band, especially since the future of any band is always hard to predict. However, these young guys are doing it the right way.

Listen to songs like “Lost to the Lonesome,” “Drop Me Off” and “Your Desert's Not a Desert at All” to make up your own mind.

WHITE STRIPES - Icky Thump

INCREDIBLE!!!! No introduction needed!!!

More Honky less Tonky

Dale Watson has just released his new album “From the Cradle to the Grave.” In a related story, the world is coming to an end. That is no misprint. I know this because CMT is playing the video “Justice for All.” What next? Will country radio stations start playing country music? Probably not before the world ends but I can still hope. In fairness, CMT has often mixed in some good with the standard soccer mom fluff played on country radio. “Justice for All” is a great song that reflects on the dichotomy between justice and victims who long for revenge. The justice theme comes up again on the slow lament of a death row inmate, “Big Yellow Mama.” The title to this song refers to the nickname of the electric chair in my home state of Alabama.

The rest of the album explores the variety of country music influences that Watson has acquired over his illustrious career. In fact, there is more diversity on this album than any Album in his career and that is saying a mouthful. There may not be a better voice in country music right now. His voice really shines on songs like “You always get what you always got.” This album is certainly one to own. There is not a throw away song on the entire album. Dale Watson has expanded his repertoire a lot since his early trucker themed honky tonk songs and become one of the best country crooners around.

The Hold Steady on the Cover of Paste Magazine

It is about time this band got the recognition it deserves. My first listen to "Boys and Girls in America" I was blown away. This Brooklyn quintet has created pure rock and roll at its finest. "Paste" focused on them in their summer festival preview because they are playing at Bonnaroo and several other festivals this Summer. If you get a chance to see them, don't miss it they are gaining a reputation as a great live band. Check out this YouTube link to their Letterman appearance.

"Feisty" New Release

Canadian songstress Leslie Feist, who simply goes by Feist, has released an excellent new album, “The Reminder”. Her background is varied and she is probably best known for recordings with Broken Social Scene. She started out as a punk singer and has worked with hip-hop musicians as well. However, “The Reminder” focuses on her songwriting skills. It has an airy Jazz/Pop feel. It is very mellow without being Melancholy. One of the highlights of the album is a cover of Nina Simone’s “See Line Woman.” It has ballads like “So Sorry” and more Jazzy tunes like "1234." The real strength of the album is its balance, mixing the use of electronics with acoustic instrumentation, including the banjo.

If you haven't heard The Dexateens you should. They are the best thing to come out of Tuscaloosa, AL since Will and the Bushmen. OK they aren't better than Shaun Alexander but Football is king on the Capstone so that isn't a fair comparison. The album "Hardwire Healing" was produced by Drive-By-Truckers frontman Patterson Hood. The vibe is similar to the Truckers but they are not imitators by any means.

Assembly of Dust

My surprise CD of the year so far is Assembly of Dust “Recollection.” This is their first studio release but they are not newbies. Lead singer Reid Genauer is the former front man for Strangefolk. Additionally, keyboardist Nate Wilson is about to graduate from the New England Conservatory of Music. They have apparently been popular on the live circuit for a couple of years and will be hitting the festival circuit hard this summer with appearances at the Newport Folk Festival, All Good and Mountain Jam among others.

AOD are accomplished musicians and great song writing craftsmen. They are getting a lot of reaction beyond their core jam band fan base. Emusic did a special advance promotion of “reconciliation” and Paste Magazine (see my links) put them on their March sampler. Check out the review on Jam Base

http://www.jambase.com/headsup.asp?storyID=10079