On their 19th studio album, Poco’s job is to deliver the sound their lifelong fans love and have as much fun as possible doing it. With All Fired Up, the band succeeds admirably on both fronts.
By Paul T. Mueller
“We are who we are, not who we’re gonna be/ Every passing moment is ancient history,” Eric Brace and Peter Cooper sing in “Ancient History,” the first track on their...
The Americana Music Association has just announced the 2013 Americana Honors and Award Nominations, with a particularly impressive set of nominations for Shovels & Rope.
Carrie Rodriguez’s Give Me All You Got posts an impressive chart debut at # 7. Other new entries include Colin Linden’s Still Live,Black Prairie’s A Tear in the Eye is a Wound in the Heart, Ben Harper and Charles Musselwhite’s I Don’t Believe A Word You Say and Shovels and Rope’s O’ Be Joyful.
Thanks to NPR’s Here and Now for citing Sun209′sreview of Ian Hunter’s When I’m President during a recent show. The program re-visited an earlier interview of Hunter. You’ll find that segment on the Here and Now site and our review of his latest album here.
Americana Music News – We’ve seen many special shows at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, but one of the most memorable was from a woman in her late ’70s whose biggest hits were recorded a half-century earlier.
Patti Page passed away this week, and obituaries inevitably mentioned ’50s hits “How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?” and “Tennessee Waltz.”
She did those favorites and songs from her then-new album Brand New Tennessee Waltz at the Ryman in the spring of 2000. She was in good voice and the show was remarkably contemporary. The concert and her album – a collaboration with Victoria Shaw and others in the Nashville music community – were reminders of Page’s enduring talent and charm.
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At the close of 2012, we find ourselves staring at a stack of albums we intended to write about. Here’s a quick take on some of the best:
I first saw the duo of Bright Littlefield in 2010 at Nashville’s Family Wash and was amazed by their ukulele covers of Replacements songs. The Treatment Bound album which collected those covers was remarkable and much more than a novelty. I’ve always respected Paul Westerberg’s songwriting, but heard it in a new and very positive light on this album.
Now the album is getting overdue national distribution and recognition. The irony is that the sticker on the album says “bound to make fans fall in love all over again.” That may be true, but I’ve found that friends who were never into the Replacements love this album on its own terms: stripped-down, tight and often buoyant. Buy it.
Covers loom large in two other impressive new albums. The first is a no-brainer, the collaboration of Americana music godfathers Jim Lauderdale and Buddy Miller. Buddy and Jim supplements first-rate originals with covers of Joe Tex’s “I Want To Do Everything For You, ” Johnnie and Jack’s “Down South in New Orleans,” Jimmy McCracklin’s “The Wobble” and Flatt and Scruggs’ “The Train That Carried My Girl Away.” Terrific from start to finish.
On Bring It on Home, Shannon Whitworth and Barrett Smith deliver gorgeous covers of a wide range of songs, from the soulful title track to a fresh take on the oft-recorded closer, “You Are My Sunshine.” Favorites: “Duncan” and “I’ll Be Your Lover, Too.”
I’ve admired Chris Stamey’s solo work, his tenure with the dBs and his partnership with Peter Holsapple, but his new Lovesick Blues (to be released in February) is distinctly different. This is the most intimate and acoustic album he’s ever recorded, and it took repeated plays to truly embrace it. Now it’s my favorite Stamey album, poetic pop that brings Paul Simon and Al Stewart to mind.
There’s no better introduction to the music of Carrie Newcomer than Kindred Spirits, a collection of 17 outstanding songs from her 12 albums on Rounder Records, plus two new songs. She’s an accomplished folk performer who records consistently compelling and thoughtful compositions. These lyrics from her new “Speed of Soul” are representative of her art:
Mr. Gatling made a Gatling gun
He said it would end war
For who could send some mother’s son
Through such a door
But the bullets move at the speed of cold
Drones do as they’re told
And the men go home at night
And kiss the wife
And watch TV
And never see
All those souls untethered
Whew. It’s powerful songwriting, but like Mary Chapin Carpenter’s work in recent years, unrelentingly earnest. Couldn’t Carrie and Chapin just go grab a beer at the Twist and Shout on occasion?
We met Howlin’ Alan at the American Music Festival and he was kind enough to follow up with a copy of his Back to Plan A album, which we like a lot. It’s straight-ahead folk and rock, with one song fittingly titled “Tom Petty.” We also enjoyed Davey Craddock and the Spectacles’ Coming Home. One listen to “Anti-Folk,” and you’ll hear the distressingly cheerful “Bob Dylan’s dead” refrain for the rest of the day.
Also new and noteworthy: Grassmarket’s You Are the Ocean, The Delta Saints’ Death Letter Jubilee, Mike Cullison’s The Barstool Monologues, the Red Dirt Skinners’ Home Sweet Home, Ronnie Fauss’ I Am the Man You Know I’m Not, Drew Gibson’s The Southern Draw, Bex Marshall’s The House of Mercy, Patrick Fitzsimmons’ Hope Is, Birds of Chicago and Vicky Emerson’s Dust & Echoes.
And on to 2013… Happy new year!
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Joseph and Victor Wooten at 3rd and Lindsley in Nashville.
Joseph Wooten, keyboard player for the Steve Miller band and a solo artist, invited his brothers for a reunion and Christmas party in Nashville on Dec. 21. Soul classics prevailed, plus the funkiest version of Mel Torme’s “The Christmas Song” ever performed.
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–The Steeldrivers are back with a new line-up, but remarkably consistent sound on Hammer Down, to be released on Feb. 5.
Chris Stapleton and Mike Henderson are no longer with the band, though some of their songs show up on the new album. Mandolinist Brent Truitt and guitarist Gary Nichols join core members Tammy Rogers, Mike Fleming and Richard Bailey on Hammer Down, the band’s third album.
This is adventurous bluegrass, marrying traditional themes to ambitious and soulful music.
Highlights include the spooky “Shallow Grave” (“I buried my love with a silver spade, laid her down in a shallow grave) and the similarly dark “I’ll Be There,” written by Nichols and the Civil Wars’ John Paul White, available as a free download at http://www.steeldrivers.net.
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Will Kimbrough: Spending most of 2011 touring with Emmylou Harris as one of her Red Dirt Boys, Will Kimbrough often performs with Rodney Crowell, Jimmy Buffett and others when not performing his own shows, writing hit songs, working as a session performer or producing others notable artists across various genres.
Will’s songs have been recorded by Jimmy Buffett, Little Feat, Jack Ingram, Todd Snider and others, while he has released 10 artist albums and a 3-CD box set to-date, including five albums as a founding member of DADDY, the bis-quits, and Will and the Bushmen. A new studio album is due out in late 2012. Dubbed an “Alien” performer as a way to explain his un-earthly, masterful performance on the guitar, Will was recognized in 2004 as the “Instrumentalist of the Year” by the Americana Music Association.
His websites: http://www.reverbnation.com/willkimbrough and http://www.willkimbrough.com
Bill Lloyd: Bill Lloyd is a Nashville-based songwriter, musician, recording artist and producer who is most often remembered as half of the late ’80s RCA country-rock duo, Foster and Lloyd. Lloyd’s diverse musical activities include working as a producer (ranging from Carl Perkins to MTV reality show indie-rockers, The Secret), a session player (from Brit-pop icons like Ray Davies of The Kinks and Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze to country legends like Buck Owens and Steve Earle), a sideman (Poco, Marshall Crenshaw and with Cheap Trick when they perform The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper with orchestra) and as a songwriter (with songs cut by Trisha Yearwood, Martina McBride, Sara Evans, Keith Anderson, Hootie and the Blowfish and many more). He has recorded a string of critically acclaimed solo records that blend his melodic power pop sensibility with finely tuned song craft. During his stint as the Stringed Instrument Curator at The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, he created the quarterly series Nashville Cats, that he continues to host. He’s the music director for the First Amendment Center in Nashville. He also organized and plays in Nashville’s high concept cover band, The Long Players
Ken Paulson: Ken Paulson is the editor of Sun209:The Americana Music Journal. The former editor-in-chief of USA Today and a journalist for almost thirty years, Paulson began his career as a music reporter for Chicago-area publications in the ‘70s, and later worked as music critic for the national Gannett News Service and as a music writer for a wide range of magazines, including Goldmine, Environs, Triad and Family Weekly.
Terry Roland: Terry Roland is an Americana-roots music journalist who has published interviews, reviews and feature articles for FolkWorks, Sing-Out, No Depression and The San Diego Troubadour.
Bruce Rosenstein: Bruce Rosenstein is currently Managing Editor for the journal Leader to Leader. His book Living in More Than One World: How Peter Drucker’s Wisdom Can Inspire and Transform Your Life was published by Berrett-Koehler in 2009.For 21 years, Bruce was a librarian for USA TODAY, where he also wrote about business and management books for the Money section of the newspaper. He has written for such publications as Leader to Leader, Leadership Excellence, American Executive, ONLINE and Information Outlook. He also wrote scripts for a weekly rock music radio show heard around the world on the Voice of America in the 1970s and ’80s, and contributed to such music publications as Trouser Press and ARSC Journal. He and Steve Leeds released one of the first compilations of independent rock music, Declaration of Independents, on their Ambition Records label in 1980. His website is www.brucerosenstein.com.
Joe Ross: Joe Ross of Roseburg, Oregon has been a music journalist and reviewer for over three decades. Now retired from the day job as a civilian with the U.S. Marine Corps, Joe is working full-time on music-related endeavors, including teaching and songwriting. He “edu-tains” with his interactive, fast-paced “Roots of Bluegrass” solo show that traces that music’s evolution while demonstrating banjo, mandolin, guitar, concertina, autoharp and dulcimers. But you might also see him performing a solo show of Latin, Hawaiian or even Beatles music. Performing since age 12, Joe also currently plays with various bands including Irish Crème (Celtic), Umpqua Valley Bluegrass Band (Bluegrass), The Keynotes (Polka Band), Zephyr Duo (Old-Time), and Alamojo (Western Swing). His eight albums, available at Amazon and CDBaby, span multiple genres and also include many original songs. Contact him at rossjoe@hotmail.com
Tommy Womack: A successful singer-songwriter with songs recorded by Jimmy Buffett, Todd Snider, Jason Ringenberg, Dan Baird, Scott Kempner and others, Tommy Womack is the author of the rock memoir cult classic “Cheese Chronicles: The True Story of a Rock n Roll Band You’ve Never Heard Of” and the recording artist behind 2007′s career-defining There, I Said It! album, as well as founding
member of the band DADDY with the Americana Music Association’s
instrumentalist of the year Will Kimbrough. A two-time winner of “Best Song” in the Nashville Scene’s annual “Best of Nashville” poll, Tommy is releasing a new solo studio album – NOW WHAT! – in late February 2012. He is always writing towards his next book. His websites:
The Cowbopsters are back with their fourth album called Cowlifornia Swing, and there are plenty of both western and jazz influences apparent. Much like their last album (“Too Hick for the Room”) we hear guitarist Bruce Forman, vocalist Pinto Pammy (Forman’s wife), bassist Alex King and drummer Jake Reed. The quintet has also added David Wise on saxophone and cornet. On several cuts, guests fill out the new album with tints of piano, fiddle, trombone, cello, mandolin and accordion. All are hot tunesters with solid credentials. Bruce Forman teaches jazz guitar at USC’s Thornton School of Music, and others in the band are (or were) students there. Like their last successful album, Thornton alumnus Doug Gerry produced, and faculty member Andrew Garver mastered.
“Spade” Cooley coined the term “Western Swing” in the early 1940s, and it’s interesting that “Spade” was a Los Angeles resident like the members of Cow Bop. He had fortune and fame, but was imprisoned in 1961 for murder. Despite the thousands of bands playing all over the West during the heyday of Western Swing, the genre is most closely associated with Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys. Cow Bop pays tribute to them with a boss arrangement of “Roly Poly” that wisely includes Phil Salazar’s fiddle, the only cut with that classic western swing instrument, albeit played electric on this song.
Cow Bop’s approach to bovine boogie also taps jazz standards (“I’ve Found a New Baby”), pop fare (“These Boots are Made for Walking,” “Mambo Italiano”), country (“Cattle Call”), western (“Wahoo”), and some less oft-heard big band tunes (“A Gal in Calico”). The jazz chops predominate in these uplifting tunes and make for an enjoyable listen. We also hear Pinto Pammy’s countrified sounds, like yodeling in “Cattle Call” and call-and-response (with David Jackson) in the novelty number “Wahoo.” She’s also comfortably smooth with a swinging version of “Indian Love Call,” quite unlike the rendition done by Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald. Six-minute offerings like “What is this Thing called Love?” and “These Boots are Made for Walking” allow multiple instrumentalists to showcase with improvisation between verses. The arrangements are solid, but I wonder if they write any originals.
While some of Cow Bop’s influences are clearly organic and corn-fed, Cow Bop’s jazzy twang also provides a copious amount of toe-tapping fun. There may not be many big roadhouses and dancehalls left today, but you can catch this band at fairs, festivals, cafes, rodeos, burger joints and places like the Viva Cantina in Burbank. I haven’t ever been there, but I imagine it as a place where young folks, old-timers, friends and neighbors all know each other and gather for listening or dancing the night away. Hailing from busy and heavily populated Southern California, Cow Bop’s music conveys a rural ethos, but also demonstrates an urban, contemporary understanding. Cowlifornia Swing is music for dancing so roll up the rug, throw some cornmeal on the floor, invite the neighbors over and throw a party to their music.
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Americana Music News – The Americana Music Association has just released its list of most-played Americana music albums of 2012, based on airplay reports from Nov. 15, 2011 through Nov. 17, 2012.
– When Junior Brown’s twangy “Hang Up and Drive” opens his new EP album, Volume Ten, you hear an element of Dave Dudley’s “Six Days on the Road.” However, if you think this six-song project is all retro truck-driving country music, think again. While the opener is a variation of honky tonkin’ country that lyrically captures a trucker’s lifestyle, the next cut “Apathy Waltz” (with just guitar, bass and voice) is a humorous and jazzy song about desensitization and detachment.
Junior Brown’s bass voice tells us about your “play button being stuck on pause.” With today’s information overload, I can particularly relate to his verse about computers, keypads, cell phones, WiFi, cameras and “sci-fi style picture-phone Skype-sa-call….” The song ends with Junior’s big yawn, but it’s anything but boring.
“I’m Headed Back To Austin Tonight” is pure unadulterated western swang with Junior’s steel guitar and piano in the forefront. I was overjoyed to hear fiddle finally make its appearance about two minutes into the song, but I was a tad disappointed to not hear any vocal harmony on the chorus or hook.
A new story song, “The Phantom of the Opry,” relates the secret life of a country musician living in the basement of an old opry house since 1975. Like that phantom, Junior believes in keeping his music “sweet and clear, the way they played it here on Saturday nights.” But Junior is no ghost or relic from another life, and his music is both classic and contemporary.
A popular concert draw, the larger-than-life artist has built a legion of fans who enjoy his low voice, twangy double-necked “Git-Steel,” witty humor, smart songs and classic-styled presentation. “Trust Me” is slow country blues with a pointed reference to Tricky Dick. Closing the album instrumentally, Buddy Charleton’s “Almost To Tulsa” sounds like a jam, but gives all the musicians a chance to showcase their talents. It’s the only cover on the album, and the late Charleton would be happy that Brown’s finally recorded the piece.
I remember first seeing Junior Brown and band when they appeared at our “Music on the Halfshell” series in Roseburg, Oregon. I immediately understood the phenomenon of this unique individual who celebrated his 60th birthday in 2012. Based in Austin, Texas, the award-winning Brown has been at it for more than five decades, and he clearly knows what it takes to entertain and get people up dancing. He’s a legend, and I only wish he’d give us more than six songs on future volumes. But this is his first release in seven years, so we should be happy at that.
- Houston – When a show opens with “Please, Daddy (Don’t Get Drunk This Christmas),” it’s a pretty good sign that everyone in the room is in for a good time. Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis made good on that promise December 7 at McGonigel’s Mucky Duck in Houston. The lively 17-song show, part of the annual Bruce and Kelly Christmas Tour, included holiday numbers – some original, some covers – and other material drawn from the couple’s extensive catalog.
Robison and Willis have been performing their Christmas show for some years now, and it’s become a tough ticket. The tour’s Houston stop included four shows over two nights, and all were standing room only.
They’re both fine entertainers on their own, but it’s a special treat when Robison and Willis blend their vocal styles and perform together. They get excellent support from their band – Geoff Queen on electric guitar and pedal steel, John Ludwick on acoustic bass, Sweney Tidball on keyboards and Joey Shuffield on drums. An added attraction on this night was a guest appearance by ace fiddler Warren Hood, who also played mandolin and contributed fine harmony vocals. His fiddle added a flavor of Texas swing that worked nicely with Robison’s Telecaster twang and the high, lonesome sound of Queen’s steel guitar.
Seasonal selections included “A Winter’s Tale” (written by Knoxville’s RB Morris), the riotous “Oklahoma Christmas” (the true story, Robison said, of his first holiday visit to his wife’s family’s home), and Willis’ sweetly sexy take on “Santa Baby.” The band played “The Christmas Waltz” as family videos were shown on a temporary screen next to the garland-draped stage. And, of course, it wouldn’t be a Bruce and Kelly Christmas show without their always-terrific duet on the classic “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.”
The set list also included several songs from the pair’s upcoming CD, Cheater’s Game, due for release in February: a lively cover of Dave Alvin’s “Border Radio,” a sweet-and-sad rendition of Hayes Carll’s “Long Way Home,” and several songs written or co-written by Robison, including “Leavin’ ” and “But I Do.” There were some older favorites as well, notably Robison’s “Traveling Soldier” and “My Brother and Me,” each heart-wrenching in its own way, and “Wrapped,” which Robison turned into a happy sing-along.
After closing with “Lifeline,” the band returned for an encore, albeit without Willis, whose voice by that time was sounding a bit strained. A plaintive request from the audience – “Could she just come stand there?” – went unrewarded, and the rest of the band tore through the trucker’s anthem “Born to Roll” before calling it a night.
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The only new entry in the chart is Michael Kiwanuka’s Home Again.
Most added this week: The Sweetback Sisters’ Country Christmas Sing-Along Spectacular, Jay Ungar and Molly Mason’s A Fiddler’s Holiday and Rachel Brooke’s A Killer’s Dream.
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By Ken Paulson – Pete and Maura Kennedy have successfully delivered the rarest of artist tribute albums – one that works as a celebration of Nanci Griffith’s songwriting while delivering subtle and skillful reinterpretations of some of her best work.
Tribute albums have fallen out of favor over the years, in part because of their sheer volume, and in part because the covers were so markedly inferior to the originals. That’s not the case on An Artists’ Tribute to Nanci Griffith(Paradiddle Records.)
The songs, from Griffith’s commercial breakthrough “Love at the Five and Dime” to the heart-rending title track, run to the familiar. But veteran artists like Tom Russell (“If I Were A Child”) and Jerry Jeff Walker (“Talk to Me While I’m Listening” ) offer fairly spare and intimate takes, while Red Molly’s “Lookin’ For the Time” and Sara Hickman’s “Listen to the Radio” are absolutely sprightly.
The album’s line-up:
1-Listen to the Radio -Sara Hickman
2-Trouble in the Fields- Caroline Doctorow
3- I’m Not Driving These Wheels-The Kennedys
4- If I Were A Child -Tom Russell
5- I Wish it Would Rain -Eric Brace & Last Train Home With Alice Despard
6- The Flyer- Amy Rigby
7-Talk To Me While I’m Listening- Jerry Jeff Walker
8- Gulf Coast Highway- Tracy Grammer & Jim Henry
9- It’s A Hard Life Wherever You Go- Edwina Hayes
10-Last of The True Believers- John Stewart
11- Anyone Can Be Somebody’s Fool- Julie Gold
12-Lookin’ For The Time- Red Molly
13- I Don’t Wanna Talk About Love – Carolyn Hester
14-Love At The Five And Dime- Stacey Earle & Mark Stuart
Highly recommended.
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Americana Music News– The Grammy nominees for Best Americana album included some surprises and a couple of locks. The Avett Brothers’ The Carpenter and Mumford & Sons’ Babel were heavy favorites, with both critical and commercial success over the past year. The Lumineers came on very strong in the past six months and were even nominated in the overall Best New Artist category. John Fullbright’s nomination for From the Ground Up was unexpected, but well-deserved. Bonnie Raitt’s Slipstream, though excellent, was a bit of a surprise in the Americana category. Maybe her appearance at the Americana Music Festival secured her place in the genre.
Some other interesting nominations:
The Alabama Shakes were nominated along with the Lumineers for best new artist.
Mumford & Sons’ Babel was nominated as album of the year.
The Best Country Album nominees included Jamey Johnson’s Living for a Song: A Tribute to Hank Cochran and the Time Jumpers’ debut album.
Best Folk Album nominees included the Carolina Chocolate Drops’ Leaving Eden, Ry Cooder’s Election Special and This One’s For Him: A Tribute to Guy Clark.
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Nashville – For a genre that sometimes struggles to establish itself, Americana Music was very visible at tonight’s Grammy Nominations Concert at Bridgestone Arena.
Guest presenters the Lumineers were nominated along with the Alabama Shakes for the Grammy award as best new artist. Mumford & Sons’ Babel was nominated as best album of the year. Throw in a Johnny Cash salute from Dierks Bentley and The Band Perry and you could almost overlook the fact that Maroon 5 was about 30 percent of the show.
The musical highlight of the evening was fun. and Janelle Monae doing “We Are Young” with a string section. The audience sing-along was joyous.
You’ll find a full list of Grammy nominations here.
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By Paul T. Mueller– Here’s an interesting collection of intelligent adult pop from Chicago-based Dolly Varden, which is not a person but a five-piece band, anchored by husband and wife singer-songwriters Steve Dawson and Diane Christiansen. The two started Dolly Varden (a variety of trout, and also the name of a Dickens character) in 1994, so it’s not surprising that its seventh album is more or less focused on the passage of time.
Some of the songs are fairly accessible – “Del Mar, 1976” is a reminiscence of youth and “the girl whose name I cannot remember”; “Saskatchewan to Chicago” traces the singer’s roots from three generations back to the present.
Others are more oblique – in the title track, Christiansen sings “There are rubies in the dirt/There are lines across your shirt/We have found a way to laugh, but it’s happening too fast/But with any luck it’ll last for a while.” So while the lyrics (mostly Dawson’s) can be a challenge, the singing – Dawson and Christiansen share lead vocals, accompanied by harmonies from guitarist Mark Balletto, bassist Mike Bradburn and drummer Matt Thobe – is imaginative and nicely done.
Instrumentally, the band covers the spectrum from quiet, folky strumming to full-out rocking. Throw in flourishes such as mellotron, melodica, lap steel and violin, and the result is a rich and rewarding soundscape. Ponder the lyrics or just let it all wash over you– either way, For a While is a pleasure.
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Americana Music News -- Out today: Jeff Blaney’s Labor of Love on Very Entertaining Records.
The CD release party for the engaging Americana/country EP is set for Dec. 5 at the Family Wash in East Nashville.
You’ll find more details at www.jeffblaneymusic.com.
Americana Music News – We like what we’ve heard on Ted Russell Kamp’s new Night Owl album and wanted to pass along details on Kamp’s appearance in the Blackwing Sessions Singer/Songwriter Series at 9 p.m. EST on Thursday, Nov. 29. You’ll be able to stream Kamp’s performance at this site: http://www.pencils.com/studio602/
By Paul T. Mueller – The story of Jesus’ birth is not new, and neither, of course, is the idea of putting together an album of Christmas songs. But on All the Way to Bethlehem, bluegrass singer-songwriter Donna Ulisse takes a fairly novel and very successful approach – using original songs, she describes the events surrounding the first Christmas from the points of view of pretty much everyone and everything involved. It’s a refreshing alternative to the collections of Christmas standards that tend to show up this time of year.
Ulisse, who wrote or co-wrote the album’s 11 tracks, introduces the story and some of the characters with “I See the Light of the World.” Next is “You Will Be Delivered,” whose narrator is the angel who tells Mary she will be Jesus’ mother. “Elisabeth” is the story of Mary’s visit with her older cousin, who is also, and just as unexpectedly, to be a mother. “He’s Not Mine” describes Joseph’s confusion over his role. “All the Way to Bethlehem” is a duet in which Ulisse and Rick Stanley voice the conversations of Mary and Joseph on the road, and “Let the World Wait for a Little While” captures Mary’s first few hours with her new baby.
Other familiar characters appear as well: Bethlehem’s innkeeper in “You Cannot Stay Here,” the angel Gabriel in “He Is Here,” the Star of Bethlehem in “I’m Gonna Shine,” the three wise men in “We’ve Come to Worship Him,” and the awestruck shepherds in “Morning in Bethlehem.”
Ulisse’s faith is clearly at the heart of this project, but the album is also driven by her talents as a singer and songwriter. She’s ably assisted on vocals by Keith Sewell (who produced the album and plays guitars and banjo, among other instruments), Wendy Buckner Sewell and Ana Sewell, in addition to Stanley. Other players, illustrious Nashville names all, include Andy Leftwich on fiddle and mandolin, Byron House and Viktor Krauss on bass, Rob Ickes on dobro, and John Mock on concertina. Their contributions, mostly in a bluegrass style, are first-rate. Credit is due also to Ulisse’s co-writers, including Kerry Chater, Lynn Gillespie Chater, Rick Lang, Marc Rossi, Jerry Salley and Rick Stanley.
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Aside from a leap from number 21 to 6 for Buddy and Jim, the new Buddy Miller and Jim Lauderdale collaboration, the chart was largely unchanged week to week. Junior Brown’s Volume Ten is the only new entry.
Among the most added albums this week was Holidays Rule, a new Christmas compilation that features Paul McCartney, Fun and other pop and rock acts. Presumably the Americana airplay is being driven by tracks from The Civil Wars and Punch Brothers.
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By Paul T. Mueller–Brand New is billed as the debut album of Nashville singer Brittany Spriggs. At five tracks some would call it an EP, but maybe that’s just semantics. Either way it’s fair to call it a radio-friendly first outing for an up-and-coming country artist.
Country by the current Nashville definition, that is – glossy pop with a bit of twang. Spriggs’ father, Nashville guitarist and songwriter Michael Spriggs, produced the project and plays acoustic guitar, accompanied by a competent cast of fellow Music City veterans, including past or current members of Little Texas and Jason Aldean’s road band.
All of it is in service to Brittany’s voice, which sounds great – from soft and warm on the quiet ballads (“Deeper,” “I Don’t Know”) to powerful on the rockers (“Full Moon Friday,” “That Song Was Better Than You,” “Undone”). Whether the material is distinctive enough to make Brittany Spriggs a star remains to be seen, but Brand New seems like a promising start.
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Americana Music News – The hottest album in Americana music this week is Buddy and Jim, the New West release from Buddy Miller and Jim Lauderdale, due Dec. 11.
These guys are among the most fervent supporters and popular performers in Americana Music, and both have been highly visible and oft-honored at the annual Americana Music Festival.
Little wonder, then, that the new album broke into the Americana music airplay chart at #21. It was also the most added album this week, with 32 stations picking it up.
Meanwhile, Lauderdale’s own Carolina Moonrise remains at #28.
Also new to the chart this week: Greg Brown’s Hymns to What’s Left.
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By Paul T. Mueller – It’s always a joy to get to see a great artist perform. It’s even better to witness such a performance in a quiet, intimate setting, surrounded by an audience of real fans who are there to listen. The 75 or so who came to see Darrell Scott in the Houston suburb of Conroe, Texas, on November 11 were rewarded with a dazzling display of musical virtuosity – lyrical, instrumental and vocal. Presented by a group called Conroe House Concerts, the show was held in the Gentry Building, a restored 101-year-old structure just off the courthouse square – a fitting venue for Scott’s wide-ranging brand of Americana.
Some of Scott’s songs have been big hits for other people – Garth Brooks, Tim McGraw and the Dixie Chicks, among others. For that reason he’s sometimes pegged as a country artist, but his 15-song set on this day reflected his mastery of a broader range of styles, including pop, bluegrass, even a little jazz and soul. Scott’s lyrics are those of a man who’s lived the pain and the joy he writes about and has acquired a deep understanding of the human condition. His performing style combines vulnerability and confidence, backed by serious instrumental chops (guitar only for this show, although he plays several other instruments) and a fine, soulful voice.
There may be some topic, some life event, some emotion that Darrell Scott can’t write and sing about, but you couldn’t have proved it by this show. He opened with “Heartbreak Town,” a hard-road ballad about chasing dreams that could be about the music business or any business. “No Use Living for Today” featured jazzy guitar and wordplay (“Today was once tomorrow/And today’s tomorrow’s yesterday”); “World of Wonder,” written with John Anderson, took a more serious turn toward spirituality. “Candles in the Rain” described the pain of a mother without children, from her point of view; Scott followed that with “Someday,” whose narrator is a father awaiting his chance to realize his buried ambitions.
There wasn’t a dud in the show, but some other high points included “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive,” a dark but hauntingly beautiful exploration of Scott’s family roots in the coal country of Kentucky; “You’re Everything I Wanted Love To Be,” which Scott wrote at age 16, with his father, Wayne; “Helen of Troy, Pennsylvania,” a coming-of-age tale, which Scott described as “not quite X-rated,” about two young guys and a divorcee; and “Passing,” about the ways people try to pass for what they’re not. Scott closed with “The Country Boy,” also written with his father. “You’ll never know the loneliness and sorrow he goes through,” he sang. “The country boy has been there, that’s what makes him sing the blues.”
Darrell Scott has been there, and he sings the blues – and a whole lot else – as few others can.
Follow Sun209: Americana Music News on Twitter at @sun209com.
By Ken Paulson –Dion: The Complete Laurie Singles is another revelatory re-issue from Real Gone Music, revisiting Dion’s early career, but also chronicling the transitions of rock ‘n’ roll. This collection covers his late ’50s Doo-Wop origins with the Belmonts, his initial solo success with more ambitious material like “Runaround Sue” and “The Wanderer” and his 1968 comeback as a Tim Hardin-influenced folksinger on “Abraham, Martin and John.”
Listening to this collection makes clear why Dion is still around as a vibrant recording artist. Even within the confines of early ‘60s pop, he was striving to record something distinctive.
The sound quality throughout is outstanding, bringing new dimensions to even the extremely familiar hits. And the less successful songs sound particularly fresh. Was there ever a more conflicted song than “Sandy?” The singer learns he’s been betrayed, “left her, didn’t even want her,” but admits he’d “crawl back if I could.” And yet somehow the song sounds upbeat.
Similar treasures can be found throughout the Complete Laurie Singles.
More good news for ‘60s pop fans: Real Gone has also put Gary Lewis and the Playboys’ Complete Liberty Singles back in print.
Lewis, the son of Jerry Lewis, had a substantial career, with seven top 10 hits and five more in the top 40. The hits are all here: “This Diamond Ring,” “Count Me In,” “Save Your Heart For Me,” “Everybody Loves A Clown” and “She’s Just My Style” among them.
The odds were against that kind of success. Lewis had little more than name recognition, a limited voice and affability, but he also had some very talented players around him. Leon Russell co-wrote, arranged and played on many of the early hits; Al Kooper was a co-writer on “This Diamond Ring.” Snuff Garrett was a first-class pop producer and the Wrecking Crew was in the studio. Little wonder that these staples of AM radio are still so appealing today.
By Ken Paulson — David Olney , one of the most ambitious and literate artists in Americana music, has just released Robbery and Murder, the third in a series of theme-driven EPs.
It’s an 8-song collection that explores two “love stories” that aren’t always so loving. The title of the album is one hint.
Olney draws upon Chuck Willis’ “Betty and Dupree” to tell an expanded story of the couple and the diamond ring at the heart of their relationship. The ring even gets its own song.
A second tale describes the faith of unfaithful Delia, whose husband admits, “I did not really care, but the family shame was more than I could bear.”
Leonard Cohen and Randy Newman are often cited in articles about Olney, and that’s not off-base, but he remains a distinctive performer on his own terms, and a songwriter who relishes tackling a subject from multiple perspectives.
The new album is out now, but also available in Body of Evidence, an anthology collecting the earlier EPs Film Noir and The Stone, a different take on the Easter story. David Olney’s ambition abounds.
Americana Music News — In the category of no suprises, Dwight Yoakam still has the number one album on the Americana Music Airplay chart with 3 Pairs, followed once again by John Hiatt’s Mystic Pinball.
New to the chart this week: Gary Clark Jr.’s Black and Blu, Departed’s Adventus, Neil Young and Crazy Horse’s Psychedelic Pill and Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit’s Live in Alabama.
Isbell’s album, along with Still Live from Colin Linden, are the most added albums on Americana radio this week.
Follow Sun209: Americana Music News on Twitter at @sun209com.
RT @JeffWoodsRadio: Damn. Gone today at the age of 62, legendary bassist from Bowie’s Spiders From Mars – Trevor Bolder. Cancer. http://t.… 11 hours ago
RT @AmericanaFest: To all those in the UK & Europe, don’t miss Lucinda Williams (@HappyWoman9) when she plays your city! http://t.co/dcBARO… 11 hours ago
RT @ronnyboy1: So pretty. Nashville’s Music City Center opening! Songwriters Hall of Fame #picstitch @ Music City Center http://t.co/IUHH4S… 2 days ago
RT @JasonIsbell: Couple misquotes in the Garden and Gun piece. 1st, it was Elizabeth Cook, not Patty Griffin, who told Letterman about us. 4 days ago
RT @KellyWRobison: Recovered from the 2 beers I drank at Lloyd Maines tribute just in time for tonight’s gig-Pflugerville Fest!! Tonight’s … 4 days ago
RT @SteveEarle: Boston, thanks to everyone who supported the Give US Your Poor table this past Sunday . This was a part of Give… http://… 4 days ago
RT @RonSexsmith: Produced by Steve Earle, It sounds more like a demo to me than a proper record but it has a few good songs on it RS http:/… 4 days ago
RT @AmericanaFest: THANK YOU @BuddyandJim for making yesterday’s Americana Nomination Ceremony extra special & fun. We love u guys!! http:/… 6 days ago
RT @HonkyTonkShell: Kip Moore, Will Hoge, more entertain crowd at Grammy block party | Tune In Music City | The Tennessean http://t.co/3uGQ… 7 days ago
Sun209 chronicles rock, roots and Americana music, drawing its name from the catalog number of Elvis Presley's first single, the Big Bang of contemporary music.
Review copies and press releases: PO Box 432, 3908 Lebanon Pike, Hermitage, TN 37076.
E-mail: sun209editor@gmail.com.
Americana Music News — The Americana music radio airplay chart is back after a holiday hiatus, so there’s plenty of new talent on this week’s list.
Americana Music News – There’s an impressive line-up booked for this year’s 
Americana Music News – The 
–So much music. So little time.
I’ve admired 
By Joe Ross
Americana Music News – The 
By Joe Ross 
Americana Music News — 
By Ken Paulson – Pete and Maura Kennedy have successfully delivered the rarest of artist tribute albums – one that works as a celebration of 
Americana Music News– The Grammy nominees for Best Americana album included some surprises and a couple of locks. The 
By Ken Paulson
By Paul T. Mueller– Here’s an interesting collection of intelligent adult pop from Chicago-based Dolly Varden, which is not a person but a five-piece band, anchored by husband and wife singer-songwriters Steve Dawson and Diane Christiansen. The two started Dolly Varden (a variety of trout, and also the name of a Dickens character) in 1994, so it’s not surprising that its seventh album is more or less focused on the passage of time.
Americana Music News -- Out today: Jeff Blaney’s Labor of Love on Very Entertaining Records.
By Paul T. Mueller – The story of Jesus’ birth is not new, and neither, of course, is the idea of putting together an album of Christmas songs. But on All the Way to Bethlehem, bluegrass singer-songwriter Donna Ulisse takes a fairly novel and very successful approach – using original songs, she describes the events surrounding the first Christmas from the points of view of pretty much everyone and everything involved. It’s a refreshing alternative to the collections of Christmas standards that tend to show up this time of year.
By Paul T. Mueller–Brand New is billed as the debut album of Nashville singer Brittany Spriggs. At five tracks some would call it an EP, but maybe that’s just semantics. Either way it’s fair to call it a radio-friendly first outing for an up-and-coming country artist.
By Ken Paulson – Dion: The Complete Laurie Singles is another revelatory re-issue from Real Gone Music, revisiting Dion’s early career, but also chronicling the transitions of rock ‘n’ roll. This collection covers his late ’50s Doo-Wop origins with the Belmonts, his initial solo success with more ambitious material like “Runaround Sue” and “The Wanderer” and his 1968 comeback as a Tim Hardin-influenced folksinger on “Abraham, Martin and John.”
By Ken Paulson — 
Americana Music News — In the category of no suprises, 
Sun209 chronicles rock, roots and Americana music, drawing its name from the catalog number of Elvis Presley's first single, the Big Bang of contemporary music.
Review copies and press releases: PO Box 432, 3908 Lebanon Pike, Hermitage, TN 37076.
E-mail: sun209editor@gmail.com.
