By Ken Paulson
– Danny Barnes’ album is best listened to and not described. After all, how many would flock to hear an album by a banjo player, with Dave Mathews on background vocals and a T.Rex cover in the mix? What do you file that under?
A driving force behind the Bad Livers, Barnes is never predictable. His Rocket, currently #27 on the Americana Music Charts, is fun, irreverent and rocks, particularly on the full-throttle “S.O.T.” (Same Old Thing.)
His lyrics tell tales of well-worn people and relationships, and inevitably have attitude: “It’s hard to lose the blues when your daddy pays your dues” he sings on “Rich Boy Blues.”
The cover of Marc Bolan’s “Bang A Gong (Get It On)” is a lot of fun, though it owes more to the Power Station than T. Rex. Robert Palmer would be proud.
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The Americana Music Association Radio Chart is back after a month-long hiatus, and Ryan Adams’ Ashes & Fire (PAX-AM/Capitol) remains at the top. Taking the holidays off is an odd call for an association promoting a genre that still needs to build its brand and visibility. And it’s not as though all those Americana stations just played Christmas music over the past month.
Kathleen Edwards’ Voyageur is the hottest album on