Sarah Jarosz knows no bounds. Building on her promising debut “Song Up In Her Head,” the new “Follow Me Down” is both a genre-bridging and compelling recording.
Jarosz is a talented mandolinist and banjo player with an inviting voice and an education at the New England Conservatory. She taps all of those resources on “Follow Me Down,” while also drawing on an all-star cast of folk and Americana music artists.
Shawn Colvin contributes harmony vocals on the album opener “Run Away” (co-written by Alyssa Bonagura) and Darrell Scott and Bela Fleck join her on “Come Around.”
Jerry Douglas plays on a striking cover of Bob Dylan’s “Ring Them Bells,”
while the Punch Brothers collaborate on a stark version of Radiohead’s “The Tourist.”
Despite the many talented guests, this is very much Jarosz’ album, at times highly accessible, at others distant and ethereal. All of it is impeccably performed.
We all miss record stores, but this album would have made store managers crazy. Do we file it under “Folk?” “Alternative?” “Americana?” “World Music?”
Of course, in a digital world, that’s all replaced by “If you enjoy the Punch Brothers, you’ll enjoy “Follow Me Down.”
And you will.
Author: Ken Paulson
Presley, Armstrong and Foster among most influential Americans
In the spirit of the holiday, a friend posted a link to a 2006 Atlantic Magazine article listing the top 100 influential Americans.
I went through the list and was glad to see that three musicians made the cut. The list, compiled by a panel of historians, identified Elvis Presley (#66), Louis Armstrong, (#79), and Stephen Foster (#97) as the most pivotal musicians.
It wasn’t an easy list to crack. Abraham Lincoln was named the single most influential American, followed by George Washington. James Madison could use a better press agent. The founding father and author of the Bill of Rights doesn’t show up in the list until #13, ahead of Mark Twain and Ronald Reagan.
Of the three, Foster was the least obvious choice, but a worthy one. He worked in the 19th century, but his music lives on, including “Old Susanna,” “My Old Kentucky Home,” “Old Folks at Home” and “Beautiful Dreamer.” The best tribute to his work in recent years was Beatufiul Dreamer: The Songs of Stephen Foster. The album featured John Prine, Roger McGuinn, Mavis Staples, Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer and Mark O’Connor, among others. It is a vibrant reminder of how influential Foster was and how his legacy lives on.
Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame announces nominees
The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame has announced its 2011 nominees, and the roster is extraordinary. (Full disclosure: I’m a member of the Hall’s board.)
Here’s the announcement that was released today:
Five highly successful artists and ten songwriters whose work has been recorded by some of the biggest names in popular and country music have been nominated for one of the nation’s highest songwriting honors – induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Amy Grant, Townes Van Zandt and Larry Gatlin are the 2011 nominees in the Songwriter/Artist category. John Bettis, Robert Byrne, J.J. Cale, Jan Crutchfield., Mark James, Dan Penn, Gretchen Peters, Tom Schuyler, Allan Shamblin and John Scott Sherill are the Songwriter category nominees.
“This is an amazing group of songwriters and songwriter/artists,” said John Van Mol, chair of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation (NaSHOF), which owns and administers the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. “Every one of them is extremely worthy of induction, and it is our honor to place each of their names in nomination.”
Van Mol said the ballot seeks to recognize songwriters whose first significant works achieved commercial success and/or artistic recognition at least 20 years ago and who have “positively impacted and been closely associated with the Nashville Music Community and deemed to be outstanding and significant.” This year’s inductees will be announced in the coming weeks before the dinner, he added.
The 10 Songwriter Category nominees reflect multiple genres and eras:
John Bettis (“Slow Hand” by Conway Twitty/The Pointer Sisters * “Top Of The World”
by The Carpenters/Lynn Anderson)
Robert Byrne [1954-2005] (“Two Dozen Roses” by Shenandoah * “Rose Bouquet” by Phil Vassar)
J.J. Cale (“Cocaine” by Eric Clapton * “Call Me The Breeze” by Lynyrd Skynyrd)
Jan Crutchfield (“Statue Of A Fool” by Jack Greene/Brian Collins/Ricky Van Shelton * “Dream On Little Dreamer” by Perry Como)
Mark James (“Suspicious Minds” by Elvis Presley * “Always On My Mind” by Willie Nelson)
Dan Penn (“I’m Your Puppet” by James & Bobby Purify * “The Dark End Of The Street” by James Carr/Archie Campbell & Lorene Mann)
Gretchen Peters (“Independence Day” by Martina McBride * “The Chill Of An Early Fall” by George Strait)
Thom Schuyler (“16th Avenue” by Lacy J. Dalton * “Love Will Turn You Around” by Kenny Rogers)
Allen Shamblin (“I Can’t Make You Love Me” by Bonnie Raitt * “The House That Built Me” (Miranda Lambert)
John Scott Sherrill (“Nothin’ But The Wheel” by Patty Loveless * “Would You Go With Me” by Josh Turner)
The five nominees in the Songwriter/Artist category enjoyed some of their greatest successes with their own compositions:
Garth Brooks (“If Tomorrow Never Comes” * “Unanswered Prayers” * “The Thunder Rolls”)
Larry Gatlin (“Broken Lady” * “Statues Without Hearts” * “All The Gold In California”)
Amy Grant (“Baby Baby” * “Every Heartbeat” * “Tennessee Christmas”)
Alan Jackson (“Don’t Rock The Jukebox” * “Chattahoochee” * “Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning)”)
Townes Van Zandt [1944-1997] (“If I Needed You” * “Pancho And Lefty” * “White Freight Liner Blues”)
Two Songwriters and one Songwriter/Artist will be inducted at the NaSHOF’s annual Hall of Fame Dinner and Induction Ceremony to be held Sunday, Oct. 16, at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel. Tickets for the event will go on sale in late August.
For more information on each nominee, please visit: http://www.nashvillesongwritersfoundation.com/2011/15-nominated-for-nashville-songwriters-hall-of-fame.aspx
About the 2011 Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Ballot
The ballot was recommended to the board by the NaSHOF’s Hall of Fame Nominating Committee, which is comprised of Hall of Fame members and Music Row historians. Votes are cast by Hall of Fame members and Professional Songwriter members of the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI), as well as the boards of the NaSHOF and NSAI.
About the 2011 Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Dinner & Induction Ceremony
One of the music industry’s foremost events of the year, the Hall of Fame Dinner features tributes and performances of inductees’ songs by special guest artists. In recent years artists such as Garth Brooks, Jimmy Buffett, the Del McCoury Band, Emmylou Harris, Toby Keith, Kris Kristofferson, Barbara Mandrell, Michael McDonald, Ronnie Milsap, Bonnie Raitt, Blake Shelton, George Strait, Marty Stuart, Taylor Swift, Keith Urban, Steve Wariner, Gretchen Wilson and Trisha Yearwood have performed at or participated in the event. Also that same evening, NaSHOF’s sister organization, the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI), presents its annual awards for the year’s best Song, Songwriter and Songwriter/Artist, as well as the Top 10 “Songs I Wish I Had Written,” as determined by its professional songwriters.
About the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation
Established in 1970, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit foundation dedicated to honoring and preserving the songwriting legacy uniquely associated with the Nashville Music Community. The Hall boasts 179 members, including songwriting luminaries such as Bill Anderson, Bobby Braddock, Felice & Boudleaux Bryant, Johnny Cash, Vince Gill, Tom T. Hall, Harlan Howard, Kris Kristofferson, Loretta Lynn, Bob McDill, Roger Miller, Bill Monroe, Roy Orbison, Dolly Parton, Dottie Rambo, Don Schlitz, Cindy Walker, Marijohn Wilkin, Hank Williams Sr. and Hank Williams Jr.
Buffalo Springfield returns
Nostalgia suits Neil Young.
During his last show at the Ryman, Young barely acknowledged the audience, performing an impressive set of songs with a stage presence somewhere between oblivious and sullen.
Contrast that with Young, the exuberant frontman for Buffalo Springfield, the legendary (and for once, the adjective is apt) sixties band that has just reunited after four decades on ice.
“We’re Buffalo Springfield and we’re from the past,” Young said gleefully. Buffalo Springfield wasn’t a supergroup in 1967; it was a prequel to a supergroup, as future stars Stephen Stills, Richie Furay and Young developed their craft. Its ambitious blending of folk and country would set the stage for Crosby, Stills and Nash, Young’s solo career, Poco and the Souther-Hillman-Furay Band.
Little wonder that Young was enthusiastic. Stills, Furay and Young mesh together beautifully and those who only know the band from old vinyl have to think “Oh, now I get it.” This is a vibrant, vital and occasionally possessed rock and roll band making up for lost time.
Each member has his moments, but the show serves as a reminder that Furay was at the heart of Buffalo Springfield. His vocals were dominant on the records and anticipated the Eagles generation of country-rock.
Young’s “Mr. Soul” and ” Broken Arrow” and were highlights of the show, and his guitar playing (and duels with Stills) ignited the set.
Stills was not in the spotlight as much, but he did step up to sing lead on the band’s only Top 40 hit, ‘For What It’s Worth,”a song about a disturbance on the Sunset Strip. The arrangement was raucous and hard-edged, closer to what Stills has been doing with Crosby and Nash and, possibly a concession to Still’s age and voice. Still, it wears very well.
The show closed with Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World,” a song Young introduced by saying that this is what it would have sounded like if they had ever recorded it. Clearly he was running out of stage patter, but the song brought the evening to an electrifying end.
This was perhaps the most unlikely rock reunion of all, a longer shot even than putting the three surviving Byrds together would be. To have Buffalo Springfield reunite and be a musical force rather than just an exercise in nostalgia is an even bigger blessing.
“There’s something happening here…” and it’s remarkably good.
Loretta Lynn at Bonnaroo
Loretta Lynn at Bonnaroo
At 79, Lynn is still a first-rate performer. Songs like “You Ain’t Woman Enough” and “Fist City” may be from another era, but their attitude is timeless.
Lynn also did a touching medley of Patsy Cline songs and revisited her work with Conway Twitty.
The audience had passed up Mumford and Sons to hear her sing, and most were riveted. This was a singular evening for artist and audience alike.
The Longing-Jason White
Jason White’s new album “The Longing” offers impeccable songwriting with a personal perspective. That much it shares with White’s first two albums, “Shades of Gray” and “Tonight’s Top Story.” But the departure on the new CD is a shift from guitar to keyboards, and an even more intimate sound.
The title telegraphs the theme of the album, and yearning, hopes and regrets are the common threads.
Much of it is sweet, including the opener “For the Freeway Home” and “Waitress,” a sympathetic ode to a woman coping with “broken nails and separate checks” who figures prominently in the singer’s dreams.
Less sympathetic is the funny and bitter “California.” You say your girlfriend has left you and the Midwest behind? “California, I hope you fall into the sea and drown,” White sings, calling on the San Andreas Fault to even the score.
With the exception of the R&B-flavored “Tomorrow Can Wait” and loping title song, the album is largely low-key and quiet, a series of conversations overheard at the next table. “Perfect Stranger” has a timeless, classic feel to it.
Publicity surrounding the album has mentioned echoes of Elton John, Bread and the Eagles, but “The Longing” is truly distinctive. Yes, the album may be rooted in the early ’70s and Paul Simon’s work does come to mind, but so do the love songs of Emitt Rhodes and the quiet compositions of Jim Dawson.
I do miss the soaring guitars of White’s “Young American Dreamer” and the edge of ‘At the Alibi,” but White was clearly shooting for a fresh approach here, and he’s succeeded.
“The Longing” is a handcrafted set of touching, smart and sincere songs from one of Nashville’s most thoughtful writers.
“I Love:” Tom T. Hall at the Hall
Tom T. Hall and Peter Cooper began the evening with a conversation about the new CD and the many friends Hall had in attendance.
He was joined by a stellar group of musicians at the Country Music Hall of Fame tonight to celebrate the release of “I Love: Tom T. Hall’s Songs of Fox Hollow.” The new album features a remarkable array of artists revisiting Hall’s “Songs of Fox Hollow,” a 1974 children’s record that included the hits “I Love” and “I Care.”
Though a kids’ record, the original “Fox Hollow” worked on many levels and this tribute album does as well. Take a dozen or so talented musicians,turn them loose on an underappreciated gem, and the results will be inspired. Eric Brace and Peter Cooper produced the project and sang and played as well.
Many of the artists on the album showed up for the concert. Patty Griffin’s “I Love,” Buddy Miller’s “Sneaky Snake” and “Bobby Bare’s “I Care” were among the highlights.
A kids’ record has to be fun, and Gary Bennett and Mark and Mike (Mark Horn and Supe Granda) and Jon Byrd, respectively, informed us about barn dancing, a one-legged chicken and conversations with a goat.
Elizabeth Cook and Tim Carroll couldn’t be there to revisit their performance of “I Wish I Had A Million Friends,” but the Wrights stepped in with an outstanding version.
Tommy Cash was on hand, but opted not to play “Old Lonesome George the Basset,” the song he recorded for the project. Brace and Cooper jumped right in with their own entertaining take. Jim Lauderdale contributed an engaging “I Like to Feel Pretty Inside” before heading out the door for another show across town.
The finale, “I Made a Friend of a Flower Today,” featured Fayssoux Starling McLean and Tom T. Hall, bringing the evening to a touching end.
Lloyd Green, Jen Gunderman, Mike Bub, Mark Horn, Duane Eddy, Baker Maultsby and Richard McLaurin rounded out an exceptional band.
Cooper is a music journalist and Brace is a former music writer for the Washington Post. They brought both reverence and the highest of standards to this extraordinary project. “I Love” was a labor of love and it shows.
Robert Plant, Elizabeth Cook lead Americana music awards nominations
Robert Plant and Elizabeth Cook led the 2011 Americana Music Association Award nominations with three each. Other nominees, including Mumford and Sons and the Decemberists, illustrate the range of music that comes under the Americana umbrella.
The nominations were announced in New York today by Rosanne Cash, following a webcast concert featuring The Civil Wars, Levon Helm, Jim Lauderdale, Cash and other guests.
The event was hosted by AMA Executive Director Jed Hilly and included remarks by Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, who has emphasized promotion of Nashville’s music community.
The 2011 Americana Music Assocation Awards will be presented on Oct. 13 as part of the organization’s annual conference in Nashville.
The nominees:
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Band of Joy, Robert Plant
Welder, Elizabeth Cook
Harlem River Blues, Justin Townes Earle
Blessed, Lucinda Williams
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Buddy Miller
Elizabeth Cook
Hayes Carll
Robert Plant
NEW/EMERGING ARTIST OF THE YEAR
The Civil Wars
Mumford And Sons
The Secret Sisters
Jessica Lea Mayfield
DUO/GROUP OF THE YEAR
The Avett Brothers
The Civil Wars
Mumford And Sons
Robert Plant and the Band Of Joy
SONG OF THE YEAR
Decemberists with Gillian Welch- “Down By The Water”
Elizabeth Cook – “El Camino”
Hayes Carll – “Kmag Yoyo”
Justin Townes Earle – “Harlem River Blues”
INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR
Buddy Miller
Gurf Morlix
Kenny Vaughan
Sarah Jarosz
Will Kimbrough
Gospel of Tom Jones
The setlists on Tom Jones’ current tour are short on hits and long on gospel and blues, but that mix felt right at the storied Ryman Auditorium in Nashville last night.
At a time when Robert Plant is viewed as an Americana artist, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Jones could so successfully embrace songs of faith and passion. Jones was in extraordinary voice, particularly for a 70-year-old with a half-century of shows behind him.
Yes, women still throw lingerie, and with remarkably poor aim last night. But Jones was anything but a Vegas icon, with almost half his set dedicated to rough-hewn songs from Praise & Blame, his new rock gospel album.
That had to be a disappointment to any fans who came to hear his greatest hits. “Green Green Grass of Home,” “Detroit City,” “Delilah,” the cover of Prince’s “Kiss” and a show-closing “It’s Not Unusual” were the only big hits,
On its own terms, though, (and at 70, I guess Jones gets to set his own terms), the show was absolutely compelling, with an excellent five-piece band, horn section and two vocalists. This was gospel with a hard edge and the energy level was high throughout.
On the secular side, Jones’ covers of two Randy Newman songs were highlights: “Mama Told Me Not to Come” and “You Can Leave Your Hat on.” Newman’s recording of “Hat” was perverse and quirky; Jones’ take is fun and salacious.
This is not an oldies act and the tight pants and writhing are long gone. Tom Jones acts and dresses his age, and sings much younger. He may be aging gracefully, but he’s still a potent performer.
Triumphant “Tomorrow:” Foster and Lloyd Reunite
I first saw Bill Lloyd on stage at a club in downtown Nashville in 1997. I was impressed with his power pop-flavored set and cover of the Kinks’ “This is Where I Belong.” I figured he was an up-and-comer with impeccable taste in covers.
It wasn’t until later that I learned that he was the Lloyd of Foster and Lloyd, a country duo, once up-and-comers with impeccable taste in everything. Over a four-year run, Foster and Lloyd released three well-received albums with reviews that brought comparisons to the Everly Brothers, Byrds and Rockpile. They were that good.
By 1991, Foster and Lloyd were no more, and Radney Foster and Bill Lloyd embarked on solo careers as performers and songwriters. Since then, there have been occasional one-off reunions. There were two successive New Year’s Eve dates at the Bluebird Café in Nashville, a track on a Nick Lowe tribute CD and a performance of “In the Ghetto” at our annual Freedom Sings salute to free expression.
Then came a benefit for the Americana Music Association, with new material and a delighted audience. That set the stage for “It’s Already Tomorrow,” the first new Foster and Lloyd album in 20 years. It was worth the wait.
Reflecting their individual music growth over the years, the new album is both the most musically adventurous and cohesive of their career. Most likely it’s the liberation of no longer worrying about the country radio market and just letting the music flow. It rocks and charms in equal measure.
The additional years also bring a different perspective to the songwriting. The buoyant title song marvels at the passage of years and celebrates a long relationship: “Two young lovers across the aisle, they make me think of us and I smile.”
Closing out the album is “When I Finally Let You Go,” an acoustic number destined to be the bride’s father’s dance at hip wedding receptions. These and songs like “If It hadn’t Been For You” and “Watch Your Movie” couldn’t have been written or performed by a young Foster and Lloyd.
Not that the sly wordplay of earlier records is gone. “Let Me Help You Out of that Freudian slip” they sing in “Can’t Make Love Make Sense”, while the joking boyfriend in That’s What She said” protests that “I can’t stop my innuendo, that’s one thing she can’t comprendo.”
Tom Petersson of Cheap Trick plays bass and electric guitar on “Hold That Thought,” and is a co-writer of “Lucky Number,” a melodic and rocking song about a confident young woman, with back-up vocals by Beth Nielsen Chapman.
Foster and Lloyd revisit their own “Picasso’s Mandolin,” a co-write with Guy Clark, freshening it with a new verse and a guest turn on mandolin by Sam Bush.
In a bit of whimsy, the CD cover is designed to look like a worn and discolored album jacket. The packaging may be weathered, but the music certainly isn’t. Foster and Lloyd are as fresh and vibrant as ever.
Ken Paulson
Songs of Fox Hollow: A salute to Tom T. Hall
I had the chance to see Peter Cooper and Eric Brace join Tom T. Hall in a songwriters in the round session not long ago, and both were clearly excited to be performing with an artist they admire so much. They spoke excitedly about “I Love,” a forthcoming CD saluting Hall’s wonderful children’s record “Songs of Fox Hollow.”
They’ve done their hero proud. The album features a diverse and talented line-up offering largely faithful renditions ; it works very well.
Patti Griffin opens the set with a gorgeous version of “I Love,” Hall’s big crossover hit of 1973. Buddy MiIler contributes a fun “Sneaky Snake, aided on guitar by Duane Eddy, who also backs Cooper on “Everybody Loves to Hear a Bird Sing.”
Jim Lauderdale, Baker Maultsby, Brace’s Last Train Home, Elizabeth Cook, Tim Carroll, Gary Bennett, Jon Byrd, Mark and Mike and Tommy Cash all contribute fine performances, and the album closes on particularly high notes with Bobby Bare’s take on “I Care” and Fayssoux Starling McLean’s sweet performance of “I Made a Friend of A Flower Today,” with a guest vocal by Hall himself.
No surprise from Red Beet Records, the packaging is a work of art with custom graphics and lyrics. “I Love” is full of charming music that deserves to be heard by a new generation.
Ken Paulson
Blue Sky Riders fulfill their “Dream”
Kenny Loggins, Georgia Middleman and Gary Burr
The Tin Pan South Festival capped off a great week with the debut of the Blue Sky Riders, a new band teaming Kenny Loggins with Nashville songwriters Gary Burr and Georgia Middleman. It’s an unlikely combination, but it really works.
Loggins said he had such a great time writing songs with Burr for his last album that he impulsively decided they should form a band. Unfortunately, feedback from a trusted industry friend was discouraging. Loggins was too old to start a band, his friend said.
So much for advice. That admonishment led to both Blue Sky Riders and “Dream,” an anthem for folks of a certain age who refuse to settle. “You take the glory days, I’ll take what’s on its way,” they sing, defying others’ expectations.
Speaking of expectations, they were certainly exceeded. Loggins, Burr and Middleman are all accomplished songwriters and good with an audience, but there was remarkable chemistry here. The band – with help from first-rate players – rocked, and the harmonies were outstanding.
The Blue Sky Riders don’t have enough material for a CD yet, so their set was rounded out with acoustic solo performances and then energetic takes of Burr’s “Love’s Been A Little Bit Hard on Me,” Middleman’s “I’m In” and Loggins’ “Footloose.”
Art Garfunkel’s project with Maia Sharp and Buddy Mondlock a few years back yielded a fine album, but you never had the sense they were a band, or even wanted to be.
The Blue Sky Riders are very much a band. Burr has spent time in bands with both Ringo Starr and Carole King, and this partnership with Loggins makes perfect sense – and pretty impressive music.
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Tin Pan South opens
David Olney at Tin Pan South
That proved to be a good choice, with one great song after another. I’ve seen Olney and Scruggs many times, and they’re always impressive, but Littlefield’s performance of songs he wrote with Kim Richey (“Every River” and “Gravity”) were unexpected treats.
Wilder, Jones and Rotenberry celebrate Americana
Hans Rotenberry and Brad Jones
Webb Wilder followed with a typically spirited set (“Human Cannonball” and “She’s Not Romantic” were among the highlights) and then invited the openers back up to share in covers of the Move, Everly Brothers and John Fogerty.
Tin Pan South announces impressive line-up
Marshall Chapman at the Tin Pan South press preview.
The festival will run from March 29 through April 2 and will include performances at 9 different venues.
Among the most promising shows:
–Tom T. Hall, Eric Brace and Peter Cooper at the Bluebird Cafe at 6 p.m. on March 30.
— Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame show featuring Bobby Braddock, Sonny Curtis, Jim Weatherly and Mac Davis at the Bluebird Cafe at 6:30 p.m. on April 1.
— ASCAP show featuring Phil Vassar, Carolyn Dawn Johnson, Bret James, Josh Kear and Crystal Bowersox at the Hard Rock Cafe at 9 p.m. on March 29.
— The Texas Heritage Hall of Fame show with Delbert McClinton, Bruce Channel, Gary Nicholson and Lee Roy Parnell at 9 p.m. at the Hard Rock Cafe on March 30.
–The “World Famous Headliners” Al Anderson, Shawn Camp and Pat McLaughlin at the Rutledge at 9 p.m. on March 31.
— “The Blue Sky Riders” Gary Burr, Kenny Loggins and Georgia Middleman at 9:30 p.m. at the Rutledge on April 2.
And that just scratches the surface.
Festival passes go on sale tomorrow, March 9, at the Tin Pan South site.
Todd Snider Live
Todd Snider is a subversive Steve Goodman, a guy who writes fine songs and tells entertaining stories on stage. That’s nicely captured on Todd Snider Live: The Storyteller, a two-CD collection that’s deep in engaging songs and stories. Sometimes they’re one and the same.
Snider talks of his high school years and the mushroom-related incident that set him on his life’s path before breaking into “Conservative Christian, Right-Wing Republican, Straight White American Males.”
Snider tells of having to lie low in a country cover band for a few months while his solo career was being launched. Somehow it all leads to one raucous evening, an unconscious lead singer, and Snider’s performance of Rusty Wier’s “Don’t You Wanna Dance,” which he reprises on this CD. It’s very funny, and he does the song in appropriately ragged fashion.
Dave Marsh wrote an authoritative book on “Louie Louie” and the FBI investigation of the song; Snider condenses the saga to a matter of minutes in his “Ballad of the Kingsmen” and makes a broader point about the folly of music censorship.
Live: The Storyteller documents what Todd Snider does so well on stage, and offers a terrific overview of his recent work as well.
Cayamo’s 11 best moments
Brandi Carlile on Cayamo.
1. Loud and Rich -Loud and Rich are better known as Loudon Wainwright and Richard Thompson, and this was a rare show as a duo. Who would have guessed that these wildly disparate players and personalities would meld so well? Their harmonies were terrific and their covers were inspired.
2. Brandi Carlile in all her incarnations – Glen Phillips calls her “the queen of the boat” with good reason. Her own dynamic sets and collaborations with the Indigo Girls, John Prine and Shawn Mullins energized the entire ship.
3. John Prine – Prine was the biggest draw on the ship and he delivered varied and entertaining sets through the first four days of the cruise.
4. Steve Earle – Last year, he played an acoustic set. This time around, he brought his band, including his wife Alison Moorer. These were great sets: passion and politics at high volume
5. Will Hoge – Too few people saw Hoge perform; he was consistently scheduled against fan favorites. He and his band were the closest thing to a rock band on the boat and provided a vibrant change of pace.
6. Richard Thompson solo – Thompson said this was his first solo show in many months, but the rust didn’t show. He played his best-known songs – “Wall of Death” and “1952 Vincent Black Lightning” among them – but sang “The Money Shuffle,” a jaunty new song attacking the world’s giant financial institutions with particular relish.
7. Songwriters in the round, featuring Dar Williams, Patti Griffin, Allison Moorer, Buddy Miller and Scott Miller – What better way to spend your early afternoon than listening to this talented line-up in an informal, acoustic setting?
8. Shawn Mullins and Chuck Cannon – Both performers were boat favorites, but there was a special dynamic when they played together.
9. Buddy Miller – This was billed as a solo show, but Patti Griffin sat in for much of the set. Buddy’s self-effacing approach and extraordinary guitar-playing made his shows special.
10. Larkin Poe – Rebecca and Megan Lovell are not old enough to drink in most states, but they have an extraordinary musical maturity. Larkin Poe (named after a great-great-great grandfather) is the successor to their earlier Lovell Sisters and features a fascinating melding of folk, bluegrass and rock. They were tireless performers on the cruise.
11. Colin Hay – Hay was the lead singer of Men at Work, and he sprinkled acoustic versions of his old band’s hits throughout his sets. He may have been the most talkative of performers, playing just three songs in the first 30 minutes of one of his shows. But that was fine. Hay is a great storyteller with an engaging stage presence, and his solo material was compelling.
And of course, all of this just scratches the surface. I heard estimates of more than 150 concerts over the span of the cruise, and regret not having seen more of Tyrone Wells, WPA, Sam and Ruby and a half-dozen more.
The Cayamo cruise is a singular experience for music fans, a floating festival of great performances. There’s nothing quite like it.
Buddy Miller and friends
Buddy Miller stepped into the elevator on the Cayamo cruise, seemingly unaware of the growing crowd lining up to see him. I had met Buddy at a party in Nashville recently and told him I was looking forward to seeing him play – if I could get in.
He looked puzzled.
“There are already 200 people lined up outside the theater for your show tonight,” I explained. He had no idea.
The show was worth the wait. With a guest appearance by Steve Earle and several songs featuring Patty Griffin, Miller offered up a set ranging from a Lefty Frizell classic to “You Can’t Judge a Book (By Looking at the Cover.)”
The highlight was a searing take on his own “Gasoline and Matches.”
Miller joked that this show – his second on the cruise – was the end of his 2011 world tour, which began the night before. His solo dates are rare and this show was a real treat.
Loud and Rich perform as a duo
Richard Thompson and Loudon Wainwright have toured in tandem on their “Loud and Rich” tour, but they said their pairing on Saturday night on the Cayamo cruise was their first-ever full set together.
They opened with Bob Dylan’s “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere,” prompting Thompson to joke “Does he do our songs?”
Maybe he should. This was a terrific show by an odd couple. Yes, they share years on the same folk circuits, but their styles are distinctly different. Both have a great sense of humor, though, and they were clearly having a great time.
Most surprising was the strength of their harmonies, particularly on set-closers “Sloop John B” and “Love Hurts.”
Cayamo update: Steve Earle
Steve Earle and band
Steve Earle looks like a happy man. His wife Allison Moorer has joined the band and he was spotted carrying a child booster seat in the Cayamo cruise cafeteria.
For a man who has had his share of demons, he’s making a joyful noise these days and his set at Cayamo was energetic and powerful.
Recognizing that this audience might not know his catalog, he played some of his best-known material, opening with “Copperhead Road” and later, “Guitar Town.”
Earle defies labels, but we were reminded once again – particularly on “The Revolution Starts Now” – what a fine rock ‘n’ roll band he fronts