Kris Kristofferson - New Album

Kris Kristofferson will be releasing his first album in 4 years. "Feeling Mortal" is garnering a lot of advance buzz. Combine the aforementioned praise with the simple fact that it is Kris Kristofferson receiving it, it will likely be worth buying without sampling.

Wrinkle Neck Mules - Apprentice to Ghosts

The Wrinkle Neck Mules are back again, but this time with a little bit of help from a celebrity Gecko. (Down South we think that is just a fancy name for a Lizard, but I digress.) The song “Central Daylight Time” is straightforward Honky Tonk and apparently the folks at Geico liked it so much they made it the background music for a commercial filmed in a Country bar. The folks at Geico are even sponsoring the video which will of course, feature the little green celebrity. 2012 may be the end of the world after all, The Wrinkle Neck Mules have gone commercial.


Wait just a minute, this isn’t 60’s, some commercials actually feature good music these days. (Rhett Miller/Old 97s “Question” was in a commercial too). Simply put, it isn’t “selling out” to sell anymore. Apprentice to Ghosts encompasses the gamut of the Mules styles; Country, Bluegrass, Jam and more. Andy Stepanian’s gritty drawl is as distinctive as ever. What this album adds is solos worthy of a rock anthem. For example, the opening track “When the Wheels Touch Down” slowly builds to a mesmerizing finish. The Mules seem to get better with each outing, and hopefully the notoriety the little lizard offers will bring new fans into the corral.

The Video


The Commercial

Mindy Smith New Album July 26th

It will be a self-titled release on Giant Leap/TVX records. She joins Giant leap after a string of releases on Vanguard records. She has assembled a band including Brian Sutton on guitar. I hope she will move back toward the raw emotion of her earlier releases. The first single, "Closer", seems very promising. It seems she feeling some freedom on this independent release.
 

Sam Bush - Circles Around Me

Circles Around Me, Bush's seventh solo album is a mix of classic bluegrass covers and new originals. Quite possibly this is Bush’s most cohesive release. Bush has always been a dichotomy. He is influenced by the old but is the original innovator of the new. Hell, he literally coined the term new grass with his original band New Grass Revival, which he founded. The young innovators of today like Chris Thile, Infamous Stringdusters, Old Crow Medicine Show, Chatham County Line, Hackensaw Boys, Crooked Still and more recently the likes of Sarah Jarosz, owe their success to Bush, Bela Fleck, John Cowan and their peers.

On this new release, Bush blends the old and new seamlessly with both covers and original compositions. Produced by Bush, Circles Around Me includes appearances by Del McCoury, Edgar Meyer and Jerry Douglas to name a few. Let’s not forget Bush's own band; Scott Vestal, Stephen Mougin, Byron House and Chris Brown, which is one of the best in all of Bluegrass.

The album includes some great songwriting collaborations. The title cut was co-written with Jeff Black. My favorite is "The Ballad of Stringbean and Estelle," which Bush co-wrote with Guy Clark and Verlon Thompson. This song is a true story of the 1973 murder of Grand Ole Opry star David "Stringbean" Akeman and his wife. "Souvenir Bottles" and "Whisper My Name" are re-workings of New Grass Revival songs. These songs build a nice bridge to the traditional tunes on the record. Del McCoury lends his unmistakable tenor on two Bill Monroe covers, "Roll On Buddy, Roll On" and "Midnight on the Stormy Deep." However, the most poignant and powerful of the traditional songs is the excellent rendition of "Diamond Joe."

Whatever you perspective, Circles Around Me gives us an artist that obviously is content where he is now, where he came from and where he is headed. Maybe that is why he just received the AMA lifetime achievment award.

Check out his AMA performance:

Mindy Smith - Stupid Love

The best way to understand the present state of Mindy Smith's career is to put that career in the context of how it really began. Mindy Smith was included in an all-star tribute album to Dolly Parton, Just Because I'm a Woman (Sugar Hill, 2003). However, in 2003 Smith was no All-Star, but there she was on an album with Allison Krauss, Emmylou Harris, Kasey Chambers, Shelby Lynne and Norah Jones among others. Dolly Parton was so impressed with her cover of "Jolene" that she sang on the version recorded for Mindy Smith's 2004 debut album. In fact,the two of them remain close Friends. Fast forward to 2009, and you see a Mindy Smith taking a step away from those rootsy and acoustic beginnings and embracing a more diverse sound, and potentially a wider audience.

Widening your appeal can be a tricky proposition, often to create breadth an artist will sacrifice depth. Fortunately, there is nothing shallow about Stupid Love. There is a theme to the album. Love is tough and involves heartache and disappointment. However, there is enough good to make it worthwhile. Maybe that is why love is stupid. There is more heartache than happiness for humans when it comes to love. Is it really worthwhile? Is it worth all the heartache we go through in the search for true love? When you look at human behavior the answer seems to be yes. Mindy Smith seems to have noticed this also, and to her it seems to be stupid. How ironic! The fact that we are stupid enough to look for true love makes it all the more satisfying when we find it. It is the depth of her music that ha always made me connect with it. On Stupid Love I see a Mindy Smith that has widened her appeal in a way that will not weaken her connection with her existing fan base.



This review also appears on Twangville

Brendan Benson Power Pop Genius

Brendan Benson has taken a break from his side project ith Jack White, The Racoteurs. He is back to doing what he does best, making great Power Pop. Hooks and tunes you can listen to0 over and over. My Old, Familiar Freind is certainly familiar territory for this under appreciated Indie star.

Check out his letterman performance from earlier this week:

Radney Foster New Album

REVIVAL will be releasing on September 1st. I am a huge Radney Foster fan and this promises to be a huge release for him. Following on the death of his father, I have no doubt this will be an emotionally charged release:

Webb Wilder - More Like Me

Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard, grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em." This is the Webb Wilder credo. It is a credo that I have lived by since my college days in the late 80s when I first heard Webb Wilder. Back then Webb was doing the college bar circuit that included bands like Jason and the Scorchers all of which are to blame for my mis-spent youth. Nothing has changed since then for Webb though. Webb is the self-proclaimed last of the full grown men. His humor can take things like circus freaks and make a song about them (As he did in his early classic “Human Cannonball”). His music is Rock and Roll with a mix of Blues and Rockabilly. He is also the epitome of cool. In addition to being a prolific musician, Wilder is a filmmaker. He made a collection indie shorts collectively known as the Corn Flicks in the spirit of 70s B-movies. These movies are as hilarious as they are demented. Wilder was also a DJ for XM Cross Country before it became a fatality of the Sirius merger.

Mostly though Webb likes to Rock Hard, and his new album More Like Me has plenty of examples to prove it. The album begins with the Rockabilly throw down “Ju Ju Man.” It is no secret Webb is a fan of Link Wray and that influence is apparent on “Don’t Slander Me,” a song in which space aliens make an appearance. “Honky Tonkin’ (in Mississippi.)” is an electric blues number that will no doubt get the crowd moving. The ballads on the album are a mixed back. “Sudden Stop” is a very good number and a very unique song for Webb, but “She’s Nor Romantic” frankly could have been left off the album. Another notable cut is the Southern Boogie of “Still Water Runs Deep.” More Like Me is Wilder’s first album in five years. It is safe to say he hasn’t forgotten his credo and still knows how to have a good time. Look for him on tour and I promise you will have time worthy of a full grown man.

Sample at his Website

Steve Earle - "Townes"

Steve Earle is set to release Townes, his follow up to Washington Square Serenade, on May 12th. The 15-song set is comprised of songs written by Earle’s friend Townes Van Zandt. It will also be available as a deluxe two-CD set. The fact that the two were so close means this will be more than your typical tribute album. It will be his interpretation of his freind.

Check out this sneak preview:

To Live is to Fly

Romi Mayes - Achin' In Your Bones

With honest emotion and raw guitars Romi Mayes is emerges from Canada and delivers a gut punch on her new release Achin’ in Yer Bones. The album was produced by none other than Gurf Morlix, who also plays and contributes vocals to the project. Mayes is at times as unfiltered and plain spoken as Mary Gauthier. At other times her sound is more refined. Then there are songs like “Tire Marks” where she is just a bad ass. She is a Country singer with a Blues attitude, but Dusty Springfield also haunts the dark recesses of the album. Even when Mayes displays her softer side it has a hard edge. On “I Won’t Cry” she watches her lover go and although it hurts, she puts it in perspective and vows to move on. “I’ve been around the block I know the pain of loss. It ain’t nothing new. I’ve lost my father, my sister, my heroes and lovers like you … I won’t cry, not for you.” Almost as if proving her point, she follows that song with “If the Lord Don’t Love You,” a straight on in your face Blues rocker.

Mayes has previously won the WCMA Songwriter of the year award and I feel certain more notoriety is in her future. She is about to head to Europe where she has already developed a following. I hope she can increase her following in the US. There are certain artists that are just honest and sing from the heart. Listening to Romi Mayes you can feel the earnest emotion. This is real. Most people avoid reality. They chose instead to watch reality television , which is anything but real. On Achin’ in Yer Bones you can’t avoid reality. It is right in front of you.

The Flatlanders - Hills and Valleys

Nobody in this band has anything left to prove. Individually Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock have established their reputations so deeply in their home state that you can not talk about the Texas Music scene without mentioning them in the same breath. The collaboration of the three as The Flatlanders goes back about thirty years to their days living in Lubbock. By this point in time, what they have together is beyond collaboration. It is kinship. Indeed Hills and Valleys which will be released on March 31st by New West Records sounds as relaxed as a family reunion. In fact, I feel like it is as good as anything they have done in the past. I understand that is saying a lot, given their long history of recording together; but Hills and Valleys floored me.

The album opens with “Homeland Refugee” sung by Ely. It is an extremely powerful reflection on the current state of our country told, in typical Ely fashion, from the perspective of someone living in the thick of it. The album is not all serious though, in typical Flatlanders fashion, they can bring a smile to your face on songs like the Tex-Mex infused “No Way I’ll Never Need You.” Also, they have not forgotten how to rock the roadhouse. On “Just About Time” Ely sings as the band lays down house rockin’ crunchy guitar licks. As if great songwriting was not enough, the trio brought in ace producer Lloyd Maines to bring it all together. The album is not perfect. There are a couple of weaker tracks on the album, but the best songs on Hills and Valleys are truly great.

MySpace

This review also appears on Twangville

Pierce Pettis is Born Again

Pierce Pettis has never gotten credit he deserves. He is a thoughtful lyricist. He delivers his stories and messages with a twist of irony and poignancy that is hard to ignore. Pettis has been laying low for the last 4 years. With the release of That Kind of Love it is apparent that Pettis has not spent that time slack-assin’ around. He has been creating the poetic piquant songs which have garnered him such a loyal following. Pettis’ fans are a loyal bunch who have no doubt been waiting for this release and will not be disappointed. His followers may not number as large of a group as Bruce Cockburn, John Hiatt or Steve Earle, but they are loyal just the same. Pettis also does a couple of good covers on this album. The best of the covers is the opening track, “Nothing but the Wind,” originally penned by Mark Heard. He follows the theme of the opener with the self-written tune, “I Am Nothing.”

That Kind of Love features many guest artists who have appeared on Pettis’ past recordings. Stuart Duncan (fiddle, banjo), Andrea Zonn (background vocals, strings), Reese Wynans (Hammond B3), Phil Madeira (Hammond B3, accordion), Byron House ( bass), and Garry West (electric bass). West also produced the album and co-owns the label Compass Records. Needless to say, with this supporting cast the musicianship equals the song craft. When Pettis is at his best, which he is on That kind of Love, his music is transcendent. In fact, he is most reassuring when he points us outside of ourselves. “I am nothing but the angels sometimes whisper in my ear. They tell me things and then they disappear. Though I am nothing, I sometimes like to make believe I hear.” I for one am listening.

Sample at Compass

JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE - Wasting No Time

JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE will releases his Sophomore album on March 3rd. Midnight at the Movies follows close on the heels of The Good Life. Sometimes success breeds more success and based on some MP3s like the one below it should be a welcome follow up Check it out. The album is on Bloodshot Records.

What I Mean to You MP3

Jason Isbell and the 400 New Album

Life is good. A new Jason Isbell album can cheer up my day and I haven't even had a chance to listen to it. Some things are just destined for greatness.

Check out the EPK:



I understand he kicked things off with an in store at Grimey's in Nashville.

Otis Gibbs - Rocketing Up the Charts

Otis Gibbs' new album Grandpa Walked a Picket Line Has risen up to number 5 on the Americana charts in only a few weeks. If you haven't checked it out you need to do so. I caught a short set he played last weekend at the Evening Muse in Charlotte. I wish he had played longer. He composes stories based on personal experience of his life as a wanderer. He has slept in hobo jungles and lived with mauntain shepherds all in search of honesty. He is a bit of a radical that has a raw unfiltered message.

Springsteen's New Classic

Having been able to listen to the new CD Working on a Dream a few times now, I can only conclude the album is a new classic. Springsteen has lost nothing over the years. His superbowl halftime performance showed he still has the ability to take over a crowd. Check out Jeff's review on Twangville

Mark Olson & Gary Louris - Ready for the Flood

Some songwriting teams are made to be together. No doubt Mark Olson and Gary Louris established themselves as such a team with the early Jayhawks albums Hollywood Town Hall and Tomorrow the Green Grass. They established themselves along with Farrar and Tweedy of Uncle Tupelo as leaders in the Alt- Country phenomenon of the 90s. The problem with songwriting partnerships is that egos and creative differences more often than not create tensions that can not be overcome (see Lennon and McCartney for example). The Jayhawks lost Olson and Uncle Tupelo could not overcome the clash of egos. It is highly doubtful we will ever see a reunion of Farrar and Tweedy. Thankfully time seems to have healed wounds for Olson and Louris. As a result they have provided us with a memorable reunion.

Ready for the Flood shows us what we have missed, and what a sweet reminder it is. The album is a decidedly mellow and subdued reunion that showcases the duo’s harmonizing formula. The natural fusion of their voices has not been diminished by time or absence. In fact, songs like “Bicycle” will stop you dead in your tracks They have written and toured together recently and that certainly helped, but there is something organic that happens musically with these two on songs like “Doves and Stones,” and the most upbeat tune on the album “Chamberlain, SD.” Though the album is a bit melancholy it is a pure joy for listening. The album was produced by Chris Robinson of Black Crowes and will be released on January 27th. Welcome Back!

MySpace

This review also appears on Twangville

Donna Ulisse - Walk the Mountain Down

Donne Ulisse Will be releasing a star studded Bluegrass album, Walk the Mountain Down on January 20th. The album is her second traditional Bluegrass album. She wrote or co-wrote all of the songs on the album. Produced by Keith Sewell it also includes an all-star cast of players including, Andy Leftwitch, Byron House and Rob Ickes. Ulisse has been singing all of her life but in Nashville she is better known as a songwriter (Although she did have a brief record deal with Atlantic in the early nineties). Walk the Mountain Down establishes Ulisse as an accomplished voice in the Bluegrass world. It is a world she is very familiar with being married to Rick Stanley, a close relative of Ralph Stanley. In fact, The Clinch Mountain Boys played at her wedding.

The new album is full of well written and arranged Bluegrass and Gospel gems that also reflect her Country influences. "Trouble With You" and "In My Wildest Dreams" are infectious tunes. "Levi Stone" is a moving although dark story song. The title cut and "Everything Has Changed" are very good Gospel influenced tunes. There is a lot of good Bluegrass being produced these days, but Donna Ulisse will not get lost in the shuffle. She will be noticed.

Sample on CDBaby

This review also appears on Twangville

The Alternate Routes - A Sucker's Dream

It is easier to describe the Alternate Routes by what they are not. They are not Rock, Pop or Folk. They are just good. Their eclectic sound will actually work against them but they are too talented to ignore. For some reason in the current music industry we need to pigeon-hole everything. Every where else in society multi-culturalism and diversity are valued. But in music we have to be able to fit things into neat radio formats pre-approved by Clear Channel executives. Fortunately Vanguard Records cares about artists and knows that the artists worthy of being found can find their place. Even if they don't fit in some radio executive's little box. In the current music landscape there are more distribution channels than ever. So good artists can be promoted and discovered. Indeed if there is a theme on A Sucker's Dream overcoming long odds seems to be it.

This album like their previous Vanguard debut was produced in Nashville by Jay Joyce (John Hiatt, Patty Griffin). From sweeping ballads, catchy pop hooks and earthy Rock this album goes in more directions than their previous record Good and Reckless and True. The Alternate Routes home base is the blue collar town of Bridgeport, Connecticut but their true home is the road. They tour relentlessly and are gaining a reputation as a real crowd pleasers. I have not had the privilege of seeing them live. However, listening to the album I am not surprised their music translates so well to an audience. There is an emotional presence in their music that seems very sincere. This earnestness adds a certain aura to the music that draws you in as you listen. Such honesty deserves a place in the music landscape for sure.



This review also appears on Twangville

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit to Release New Album

Press Release from lightning Rod Records:

Muscle Shoals, AL - Lightning Rod Records will release Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit's eponymous album on February 17, 2009. Isbell is a former member of the Drive-By Truckers and this is his second solo release (his first release with his band The 400 Unit). The 400 Unit is Derry deBorja (keyboards), Jimbo Hart (bass) and Browan Lollar (guitar). Matt Pence (Centro-matic/South San Gabriel) lends his talents as co-producer, drummer and engineer.

The album was co-produced by Isbell and The 400 Unit with Matt Pence. "I want it to be known that it's a band record," says Isbell. "I want it to be known that it's something we all did together. Even though I wrote the songs, it was a very inclusive project." Isbell has posted the new track, "Seven-Mile Island," on the band's MySpace site.

The album was recorded at the renowned FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, AL

MySpace