Tag: “John Prine”

Cayamo day 4: John Prine, Edwin McCain, Tim Easton

After two days and three nights at sea, the Norwegian Pearl arrived early Tuesday, January 20, at the island of St. Barts in the French West Indies. Many Cayamoans boarded the Pearl’s lifeboats to go ashore and spend a few hours mingling with the well-to-do; others chose to stay aboard and relax. As always on port days, organized music got started later to accommodate the daytrippers, with the first shows beginning at 6:00 p.m.

Guitarist Tim Easton and fiddler Megan Palmer, despite being talented singer-songwriters as well as fine backing musicians for Amy Speace, weren’t given official performing slots of their own. No matter. Tuesday evening found the duo, neighbors in East Nashville, playing the first of three “guerrilla shows” in the Bar City area of the Pearl. Their nine-song set, played acoustically, was heavy on Easton’s songs. These included “Don’t Lie” from his current album, Not Cool, and older material (some by request) such as “Don’t Walk Alone” and “Dear Old Song and Dance.”

John Prine and Dave Jacques

John Prine and Dave Jacques

Palmer sang her dark tale “Knife Twister,” while Speace joined the two on her own “Strange Boat.” The relatively small audience at the beginning mostly comprised those who were already fans, but as often happens on Cayamo, a fair number of passers-by ended up in the crowd as well, contributing sing-along vocals and improvised percussion on covers of Lucinda Williams’ “People Talking” and the Rolling Stones’ “Factory Girl.”

John Prine’s 8:00 show in the Stardust Theater was an exercise in musical excellence. Highlights included the rousing antiwar anthem “Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore”; “Souvenirs,” which Prine dedicated to his brother Doug; the gentle “Hello in There,” performed with heartbreaking beauty, and Prine’s duets with the seemingly omnipresent Brandi Carlile on “In Spite of Ourselves” and “Angel from Montgomery.” Prine took a solo turn on “Lydia” and “Sam Stone” before his band – guitarist Jason Wilber and bassist Dave Jacques – returned for a rousing but slightly muddy rendition of the Carter Family’s “Bear Creek Blues.” The band followed with a nice take on the enigmatic “Lake Marie” before closing, with assistance from singer-songwriter Joe Purdy, with “Paradise.”

 

South Carolina singer-songwriter Edwin McCain’s Tuesday night set in the Spinnaker Lounge turned into a 45th birthday party, complete with a clown, balloons and a cake. That didn’t keep McCain from showcasing his powerful voice and fine guitar playing with a set of intelligent adult pop – dealing, as befits a man in the early stages of middle age, with subjects such as a daughter’s wedding and lasting love. He also threw in some good stories, including one about discovering that Elgie Stover, the purveyor of his favorite barbecue, was in fact a songwriter and producer who co-wrote songs for Marvin Gaye, among others. McCain closed with Gaye’s “What’s Going On,” featuring a nice solo by saxophonist Craig Shields.

The second half of McCain’s show overlapped the first half of The Lone Bellow’s Atrium set, but judging from the last few songs it was a raucous affair. Late selections included a couple of songs from the band’s very successful 2013 album, The Lone Bellow – “You Never Need Nobody” and “The One You Should’ve Let Go.” No sophomore slump here – the band was every bit as good all week as it was last year in its Cayamo debut, and by some accounts even better.

A late-night jam in Bar City featured an all-star cast of artists, along with some talented amateurs. The event was anchored, as it were, by John Fullbright at the piano, along with Tim Easton on mandolin and Birds of Chicago’s Allison Russell on clarinet. Song selections included the Stones’ “Honky Tonk Women,” among others.

 

Cayamo Day 3: Richard Thompson, John Prine, Rodney Crowell

By Paul T. Mueller

Richard Thompson

Richard Thompson

Legendary British folkie and guitar monster Richard Thompson played the first of his three sets at 1:00 p.m. Monday, Jan. 19, in the Norwegian Pearl’s Stardust Theater. Backing him in his Electric Trio were bassist Taras Prodaniuk and drummer Michael Jerome, and the result was for the most part a thunderous affair – too loud for at least a few attendees, in fact. But the musicianship was excellent as expected and the sound was clean, as the trio ripped through such Thompson favorites as “Sally B” (with a little Pete Townshend jump at the end), “You Can’t Win” (featuring an extended solo), the jazzy “Al Bowlly’s in Heaven,” and “Wall of Death,” another long jam. There were also some new songs – “Josephine” and “Amsterdam,” both acoustic tunes, and “Guitar Heroes,” a tribute to Thompson’s role models. Called back for an encore, Thompson showed his country side on “Tear Stained Letter.”

Rodney Crowell, a second-timer on the cruise, followed with an excellent set featuring guitarist Steuart Smith. Crowell opened with a new song, “East Houston Blues,” before moving on to more familiar territory, including “Sex and Gasoline,” “Moving Work of Art” and “Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight.” He described the inspiration for a couple of songs dealing with HIV, both from his fine 2001 album The Houston Kid, and then played both – “I Wish It Would Rain,” mostly as a solo effort, and “Wandering Boy,” accompanied brilliantly by Smith. The anthemic “Still Learning How to Fly” and the sing-along favorite “Pancho and Lefty” followed, and Crowell finished with the moving “Til I Can Gain Control Again.”

Lyle Lovett’s Q & A show Monday at 5:00 was a mix of music and dry comedy. The questions, from audience members, covered such diverse topics as Lovett’s recovery from injuries suffered during a run-in with a bull some years ago (he had high praise for his doctors); his experiences as a young artist playing in New York; what it’s like to have legendary drummer Russ Kunkel in his band, and even a question about how he stays so fit, from guest vocalist Shawn Colvin. The music included a fine rendition of “Friend of the Devil,” which Lovett recorded with Kunkel for a 1991 Grateful Dead tribute album; “Sleepwalking,” in response to a question about its enigmatic writer, Willis Alan Ramsey, and the inevitable “If I Had a Boat.”

Kacey Musgraves and John Prine

Kacey Musgraves and John Prine

Monday evening’s “Blind Faith” show was one of the week’s highlights. Admission was restricted to Cayamo 2014 passengers who put down deposits on this year’s cruise before the lineup was announced. Monday’s performers, whose identity was kept secret right up until showtime, turned out to be veteran singer-songwriter John Prine and rising country star Kacey Musgraves. It was an inspired pairing – each brought an impressive list of songs and the chemistry between them was (to borrow a word from the loquacious Jim Lauderdale) palpable. Prine’s selections included “Spanish Pipedream,” “Fish and Whistle,” “One Red Rose” and “That’s the Way the World Goes Round” (complete with a funny story about a fan who misheard a lyric as “happy enchilada”). Musgraves’ offerings included “The Trailer Song,” “Merry Go ‘Round” and “Follow Your Arrow” and a couple of new songs, “Biscuits” and “Pageant Material.” Most were funny and all carried a serious message along with the wordplay. Prine and Musgraves teamed up on the Prine classics “In Spite of Ourselves” and “Angel from Montgomery,” but the best moment might have come when Musgraves sang her own “John Prine,” in which she confesses a desire to “burn one with John Prine,” and Prine followed with his pot paean “Illegal Smile,” with help from the audience on the choruses. It was a classic Cayamo moment. Prine closed the show with a nice rendition of his environmental anthem “Paradise.”

A quick visit to the pool deck found Lucinda Williams and her band finishing up their show with a soulful reading of Gregg Allman’s “It’s Not My Cross to Bear,” followed by the rocking “Joy” and “Get Right with God.”

Soundcheck winner Amy Speace played the first of her three sets in the Spinnaker Lounge. She wisely brought along two of her East Nashville neighbors and friends, guitarist Tim Easton and fiddler Megan Palmer, and they did a fine job on such excellent tunes as “The Fortunate Ones,” “The Killer in Me” and “Hunter Moon.” Many of Speace’s lyrics deal with relationships, often troubled ones, and her sharp writing and world-class voice make for an emotionally moving performance. The seemingly omnipresent John Fullbright put in a guest appearance for the lovely “The Sea and the Shore.” Speace ended her set with “Hymn for the Crossing,” a funeral song, but one with a joyous message. “Don’t need a golden box for my bones/Don’t need your weeping and wailing,” Speace sang. “Don’t need my name carved into stone/Just sing me a hymn for the crossing.”

Atlanta-based singer-songwriter Michelle Malone has a reputation for being a fiery rocker, but she’s equally at home with quieter material. Toward the end of her Monday night Atrium show she performed a cool, jazzy take on the Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby,” taken from the introspective Acoustic Winter album from last year. Things got livelier with the new song “When I Grow Up,” a fun and hopeful anthem; the Stratocaster-fueled “Teen Lament,” on which she got help from Black Lillies frontman Cruz Contreras and Alabama singer-songwriter Kristy Lee, and “Feather in a Hurricane.”

Review: “Steve Poltz’s “Noineen Noiny Noin”

Americana Music News: We first saw Steve Poltz in 1998 after the release of One Left Shoe. It was pretty clear from the performance that this was a talented singer and songwriter who would be sticking around.
What was less clear was whether he would build on the success of writing the pop hit “You Were Meant for Me” and become an MOR artist or do something more interesting.
It turned out to be the latter. He’s had a series of distinctive albums over the years.
Noineen Noiny Noin and a Haff (the title stems from an Australian promoter’s pronunciation of the year Poltz first came to that country) is a collection of 18 largely quirky songs that depending on your perspective, you’re likely to find ingenious or irritating.
There’s “Some Things About Me Should Know, which boasts these couplets: “I like the word belligerent/It rhymes with refrigerant” and “I like eating food/I love being nude.”
Then there’s “Salt Suit,” a song about a man who is unable to cry, but then is so moved that he cries constantly until he’s caked in salt and has to go to crying rehab.
There are moments in the album where distinctive songwriters like John Prine and Todd Snider come to mind, but Poltz certainly ups the oddness.
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Review: Bonnie Raitt in concert at Nashville’s Ryman

By Ken Paulson

–Bonnie Raitt’s show at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville last night was as loose as they come and every bit as entertaining.

Whether explaining that she hadn’t found time to do a set list, calling former band member Rick Vito to the stage or saluting Nashville’s songwriters, Raitt was casual, comfortable and in command.

She drew heavily from Slipstream, her excellent new album. Songs like “Marriage Made in Hollywood, “Split Decision” and “Down to You” stood up alongside her classics.

A surprise cover on the album and in concert is “Right Down the Line,” the 1978 Gerry Rafferty hit. Stripped of its ‘70s production sheen and infused with reggae, it was a bluesy highlight.

Raitt saluted John Prine and his manager Al Bunetta, and recalled her mom and grandmother in a touching introduction to Prine’s heart-rending “Angel from Montgomery.”

This was a generous set running more than two hours with an extraordinary encore.

Praising songwriters Allen Shamblin and Mike Reid, Raitt delivered their “I Can’t Make You Love Me” in stark and powerful fashion, followed by “Have a Heart.” She closed out the evening sharing vocals with Vito on a raucous version of the 1959 Elvis Presley hit “A Big Hunk O’ Love.”

Raitt – and her music – have aged beautifully.

Review: Dar Williams’ “In the Time of Gods”

By Ken Paulson
— Dar Williams on her new album In the Time of Gods: “I thought why don’t I really freak out my record company and make a whole album about Greek mythology?”
Note to Dar: This has a similar effect on music writers.
In the Time of Gods works on a couple of levels, the first being the Parthenon-inspired adventure that Dar Williams apparently intended. For those who prefer to listen without Cliff Notes, though, the songs largely stand on their own, making this one more smart, thought-provoking and melodic album from a woman who has made a practice of delivering exactly that.
“Write This Number Down” is a highlight, a spirited song that reminds us that seeking justice is not a solitary endeavor, and there are many who will provide support. In its way, it’s an update of “If I Had a Hammer,” or more precisely “We All Have Hammers.”
“I Have Been Around the World” is a touching affirmation of family and our relationship with loved ones, while “Summer Child” is the album’s slice of pop, a buoyant celebration of the season, destined to be a staple in Williams’ set list.
Not so buoyant is “Crystal Creek,” a gorgeous arrangement married to a chilling narration. It turns out that protecting the forest is dirty work. The grisly end here could segue into John Prine’s “Lake Marie.”
In the Time of Gods is not Williams’ most accessible work, but it may be her most ambitious.

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Cayamo Week in Tweets

  • Celebrating Leo Kottkes’ debut album http://t.co/fvzY2lia #
  • Opening night on @Cayamo: Brady and Manning vs. Lovett and Hiatt. #
  • There are big names on @Cayamo – John Prine, Lucinda – but we’re also looking forward to some newcomers, particularly @thebellebrigade #
  • Monday on @Cayamo: @thecivilwars, @sarawatkins,@thebellebrigade, Loudon Wainwright and Richard Thompson Trio. #
  • We’ve spent a lot of time at Jammin’ Java; Luke Brindley is now with Native Run and on @Cayamo. #
  • On @Cayamo last night, Lyle Lovett said he has the room next to John Prine and has been jamming with him all week. “He doesn’t know it.” #
  • Belle Brigade dance party on @cayamo http://t.co/Z5XWKVq9 #
  • Jim Lauderdale was everywhere on @Cayamo today. He led Tai Chi, then played in Buddy Miller’s and Lucinda Williams’ bands. #
  • John Hiatt and Lyle Lovett did 3 different shows @Cayamo, all outstanding. Great music and very funny conversations. http://t.co/Q1ICrTZT #
  • The @civilwars rebound from illness on @cayamo. http://t.co/rvnRZNqD #
  • Buddy Miller dedicated his opening and closing songs last night to Ed, a passenger and Buddy fan who died just as @cayamo was leaving port. #
  • Loudon Wainwright in a rare performance of Dead Skunk tonight, says @Cayamo agreed to pay him more. #

John Prine on Cayamo

John Prine on Cayamo 2012

By Ken Paulson Four of the best minutes in a week full of great music on Cayamo came as Iris DeMent joined John Prine on “in Spite of Ourselves,” their very funny duet from the album of the same name. Prine is always a professional, and his shows with Dave Jacques and Jason Wilber are well-paced, spanning his best work of the past four decades. The three shows this week were no exception. But Prine absolutely beams when there’s a shift in the routine, and he was clearly having a good time with Iris. She stayed for “Unwed Fathers” and the finale “Paradise.” Prine has been on the Cayamo cruise before, but he hasn’t quite gotten over the sensation of singing while trying to hold onto your balance. He told the audience that if they see any performers who aren’t having a problem with their footing, “they’re drunk.” One early show finished at 7 p.m. “I haven’t been done with a show this early since I played the matinee at the Earl of Old Town,” Prine recalled.

Cayamo 2012: A floating music festival

By Ken Paulson

Cayamo, a  Sixthman music festival on a cruise ship, is about to launch from the Port of Miami, with a boat full of musicians and Americana music zealots.

This is a distinctly different cruise, one on which the passengers give far less thought to destinations than their seat locations at dozens of different performances.

The line-up boasts big Americana names like John Prine, Lucinda Williams, Buddy Miller, John Hiatt, Lyle Lovett and Jim Lauderdale, plus emerging talents like the Belle Brigade, Levi Lowrey and the Civil Wars.

We’ll be reporting from Cayamo this week, with reviews and photos.  Those on dry land should take note; the ship sells out in a matter of weeks each year and the cruise is full of people who have taken the trip several times before. You’ll find details at www.cayamo.com.

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Guy Clark tribute, Charlie Faye, Imelda May enter Americana charts

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.

On to 2012: The outstanding Guy Clark tribute This One’s For Him debuts at number six on the chart, with 16 new stations adding it in the last week. The double-CD set features classic material by some of Americana music’s most prominent artists (Emmylou Harris, Kris Kristofferson, John Prine and Jerry Jeff Walker among them). Expect a long chart run.

Other chart debuts: Charlie Faye’s Travels with Charlie (Wine & Nut) enters the chart at #22, Danny Barnes’ Rocket (ATO) comes in at  #33 and Imelda May’s Mayhem (Decca) is at #35.

After the Guy Clark project, these albums were the most added: The Little Willies’ For the Good Times (Milking Bull/EMI), Reckless Kelly’s Good Luck and True Love (No Big Deal Records) and Orbo and the Longshots’ Prairie Sun (Blue Mood.)

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Reviews: Dirt Drifters, Chris Isaak,Verlon Thompson, more

 By Ken Paulson

– As we close out 2011, there’s still a stack of CDs we’ve been meaning to write about. Here’s a quick round-up of noteworthy 2011 Americana music releases:

The Dirt DriftersThis Is My Blood:  We first came across the Dirt Drifters at a free-speech benefit in Nashville in 2009; they had tremendous energy on stage and we looked forward to their recording. This album has been in the pipeline for a while, but it was worth the wait. This is vibrant music at the intersection of rock and country. “Married Men and Motel Rooms” and “Something Better” smack of “Guitar Town”-era Steve Earle – and that’s a very good thing.

Chris IsaakBeyond the Sun:  Chris Isaak’s new album is a salute to the great music recorded in the legendary Sun Records studio.  Isaak says he was honored when Sun founder Sam Phillips once named him as a favorite singer; he’s returned the compliment with impeccable renditions of songs like “I Forgot to Remember to Forget,” “Trying to Get To You” and the truly vintage “My Happiness.” Beyond the Sun makes the classics contemporary.

Dean FieldsUnder A Searchlight Moon – This has no filler; just five smart songs that ring true. “You get pretty; you just keep going, that’s why we’re late for everything we ever do,” Fields sings in “Forever Never Knowing,” one of a number of songs that suggest real relationships set to music.

Edwina HayesGood Things Happen Over Coffee – Good things also happen at Nashville parties when a talented British visitor joins an impromptu jam session. That’s where we first heard Edwina Hayes’ impressive vocals. Clearly, Nanci Griffith is an inspiration to this young singer. Griffith offers a supportive quote in Hayes’ press materials and the album features “Speed of the Sound of Loneliness,” a John Prine song covered earlier by Griffith. Hayes’ own evocative songs run to the sad, particularly “Nobody’s Coming Around.”

Verlon ThompsonWorks: Verlon Thompson is perhaps best known for his work in tandem with Guy Clark, and it’s good to see him take a solo turn on the engaging Works. Highlights include “The Show We Call the Business,” an apt song about Thompson’s line of work, and the Clark co-writes “The Guitar” and “The Ballad of Stringbrean and Estelle,” a compelling account of the night on which the Opry performer and his wife were robbed and murdered.

The Vespers Tell Your Mama – OK, so this album actually came out in 2010, but we didn’t hear the Vespers until this year at the Americana Music Festival. This is tasteful, inspired folk, fueled by the sterling harmonies of the Cryar sisters. The Vespers are very young and very talented.

Review: John Prine’s ‘The Singing Mailman Delivers’

Musical prequels rarely work.

Older material – released after an artist has become a big name –almost always disappoints. After all, there’s usually a reason why the hits came later.

Some albums – like the Beatles’ Hamburg tapes and Decca Sessions – have historical value. Most just stink.

That’s why John Prine’s The Singing Mailman Delivers is such a pleasant surprise. The tapes, rescued from his garage, document the birth of his extraordinary career. The audio is a ittle thin, but acceptable, and the contents are impressive.

These are recordings from 1970, one a live studio set without an audience at WFMT radio, and the other a club show at the Fifth Peg
in Chicago.

The studio recordings, made to secure copyright protection,
are essentially the roots of his first two albums. They show Prine working through his now-classic songs, including “Great Society Veteran’s Blues,” later re-titled “Sam Stone.”

The revelatory material is on the performance disc. Although
Prine has only the sparest of stage patter, he already knew how to establish rapport with the audience, joking that future listeners to the recording will talk about how much time this young man spent tuning. They would also marvel at how good he was right from the beginning.

If you see Prine in concert today, you’re likely to hear “Paradise,”
“Angel From Montgomery,” “Sam Stone” and “Illegal Smile.” They’re all here, already set highlights 41 years ago. There’s also the compassionate “Hello In There,” which Prine decribes as being written about people older than 80. That should come as a relief to Prine fans who have been listening to that song for four decades and figured they might be becoming the subject matter.

Although playing to an audience that shouldn’t be encouraged to clap or sing along, Prine is clearly having a good time at the Fifth Peg.
He jokes about a co-write with Francis Scott Key (“The Great Compromise”) and “an old spiritual” (“Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore”), and even offers up a ragged Hank Williams medley.

The Singing Mailman Delivers is taken from a headline on a Roger Ebert column about Prine, just as he was making the transition from the U.S. Postal Service to a career in music. Neither profession looks very secure these days, but Prine clearly made the right choice. Singing Mailman is a must for any true Prine fan.

Review: This One’s For Him, A Tribute to Guy Clark

by Terry Roland

– Released on November 8, two days after veteran Texas songwriter Guy Clark’s 70th birthday, This One’s For Him: A Tribute To Guy Clark, succeeds beyond expectations as a tribute to a much- loved songwriter and a well-produced album of finely crafted country-folk music.

It may be the mark of a great songwriter that a diverse group of musicians can make an album of songs that not only capture the artist’s vision, but emerge with each song realized to near perfection.

Produced by Tamara Saviano whose 2004 release, Beautiful Dreamer: The Songs of Stephen Foster, won a GRAMMY and Clark’s friend and collaborator Shawn Camp, this is a masterfully produced album of 30 handpicked songs by 33 of today’s finest Americana artists.

Some of the greatest of the singer-songwriters of the last five decades have aged into their craft, but none have done so with as much grace, dignity and imagination as Guy Clark. His legacy of song gives his friends plenty of material to work with on this album.

Leading off with a chuckle from Rodney Crowell who says, “let’s give her a good go and make old Guy proud of us,” then proceeds to do so with the opening “Old Time Feeling.” The song sets us up for what is to come; a loving, reflective, funny, heartfelt tribute to one of the great storytellers and craftsmen of American song.

What follows plays at times like short stories, fragments of chapters in a novel, sweet poetry, western stories, tall-tales, cowboy haikus, personal testaments, musings and meditations on regret and joy, life-lessons laced with humor and wisdom, characters of the past aged with grace, remembered loved ones, death songs
and love ballads, all painted with various shades and strokes of lyrical colors.

If this were an exhibit of the lifetime work of a visual artist, it would take several galleries to fill. As it is, it takes this many fine performers and singer-songwriters to do justice to Clark.

The trick with any tribute album is to match material and artist, for the sake of the song and the overall production of the project. Many past tribute albums have turned into well-intentioned, unfocused failures.

But This One’s For Him avoids those traps by tapping into Guy Clark’s original recordings. The album embodies its title by keeping to the simple, intimate style Clark has mastered so well in his own studio work over the years.

It’s a style that allows the beauty of each song to surface. That makes this an anthology graced with continuity and a sense of history. This One’s For Him is the best album of its kind since the classic tribute to Merle Haggard, Tulare Dust.

A decade before Johnny Cash and Rick Rubin came together to make their historic American Recordings, Guy Clark had already released a series of live-in-studio, intimate, stripped-down acoustic recordings on the Sugar Hill label.

Albums like Old Friends, Boats To Build and Dublin Blues offered minimal production gloss in favor of a straightforward and organic sonic experience. While many obscure artists had championed this approach through the years, Guy Clark was among the first major songwriters to elevate purity over production.Today, this remains the gold standard in Americana music.

Some of the strongest moments on the album come from female artists. This makes sense for Clark who has often written songs reflecting a woman’s point of view (“She Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere,” “Magdeline”). Shawn Colvin’s smoky sexy reading of “All He Wants Is You,” Rosanne Cash’s expressive interpretation of “Better Days,” and Rosie Flores’ funky and spirited version of “Baby Took A Limo To Memphis,” all feel as though this was how these songs were intended to be performed – by women.

It’s impossible to mention Guy Clark without a reference to Townes Van Zandt. One touching moment among many is the bittersweet sound of Towne’s oldest son, John Townes Van Zandt narrating “Let Him Roll,” a love story about a Dallas prostitute and her alcoholic lover. It is eerie and touching to hear this tale with guitar- picking, phrasing and a vocal presence that sounds so much Townes. It feels like a tribute from Townes to Guy, channeled by his son.

Hayes Carll brings the country blues out in “Worry B Gone,” while Steve Earle revels in the western imagery of “The Last Gunfighter Ballad.” Both give the songs added grit, which distinguishes them from the original versions.

The old friends of Guy’s also do him proud. Willie Nelson’s “Desperados Waiting For A Train,” haunts in its simplicity. It’s a song that only grows more poignant with time as the singer and the song age.

Ramblin’ Jack Elliot turns in a gentle interpretation of the engaging “The Guitar.” Terry Allen’s “Old Friends,” also plays out with a beautiful country-blues simplicity.

Kris Kristofferson’s reading of “Hemingway’s Whiskey” delivers gut-level authenticity. The track opens with a short tale from Kris of a personal encounter with Hemingway then folds into a quintessential Guy Clark (literally whiskey-soaked) metaphor of life lived to its fullest. The slightly drunk emotion in Kris’ voice comes through as he carries the album’s title lyric with it:

There’s more to life than whiskey
more to words than rhyme
Sail away three sheets to the wind
Live hard, die hard
This one’s for him.

Other moments that will lure the listener to repeated listening include EmmyLou Harris and John Prine’s duet on “Magnolia Wind, Radney Foster’s smooth and easy version of “L.A. Freeway,” and Jerry Jeff Walker’s closing track “My Favorite Picture of You.”

The house band, which recorded live in the studio, included multi-instrumentalist and co-producer Shawn Camp, guitarist Verlon Thompson and keyboard player Jen Gunderman. Listen for Lloyd Maines on an array of dobros and steel guitars, bassists Glenn Fukunaga and Mike Bub and Kenny Malone and Larry Atamanuik on drums. The musical backing is skillfully interwoven with mandolins, lap steel guitars and fiddles.

This One’s For Him: A Tribute To Guy Clark is a living legacy from some very talented friends, a well-deserved tribute to a great craftsman and an early holiday present that invites us to discover or re-discover the best in Americana music through the songs of one of our national treasures.

(Terry Roland is an Americana-roots music journalist who has written interviews, reviews and feature articles for FolkWorks, Sing-Out, No Depression and The San Diego Troubadour.)

New acts added to 2012 Cayamo line-up

The bookers for Cayamo have been busy. Newly-added acts for the floating Americana music festival set for February 2012 include Joe Purdy, Bobby Long and Deep River.

They join an impressive line-up that includes Lucinda Williams, Lyle Lovett, John Prine, Keb’ Mo’, John Hiatt, Buddy Miller, Richard Thompson, Loudon Wainwright III, Greg Brown, the Civil Wars, Sara Watkins, James McMurtry, Iris Dement, Shawn Mullins, Edwin McCain, Maia Sharp, The Belle Brigade,  Works Progress Administration, Angie Aparo, Chuck Cannon, Enter the Haggis, Winterbloom, Holly Williams, Shannon McNally,Ryan Montbleau Band, Sarah Lee & Johnny Irion, Beth Wood, Aslyn, Sarah Jaffe and Levi Lowrey.

Cayamo’s 11 best moments

Brandi Carlile on Cayamo.

Paste writer Josh Jackson has posted his “10 unforgettable moments from Cayamo 2011.” It’s a good list, but it inspires the ever-competitive Sun209 to offer up 11 of our own favorite performances from the Cayamo cruise:
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.

John Prine on Cayamo

John Prine on Cayamo


The Cayamo cruise is an Americana and folk music festival on the water. It’s a great environment for music fans and musicians alike. The first of regular reports from Cayamo:

John Prine laughed and said the 60-minute limit on his Cayamo show posed some pacing problems.
“We usually play for two and a half hours, and we’re trying to cram it all into an hour,” he said.
That meant a little less conversation with the audience, but a full slate of Prine classics, including “Six O’Clock News,” Grandpa Was A Carpenter” and “Hello in There.”
Brandi Carlile seemed overjoyed to sing “In Spite of Ourselves” and blushed when Prine sang “convict movies make her horny.” She then joined in on a powerful rendition of “Angel From Montgomery.”
Prine joked about the gore of early songs like “Six O’Clock News” and later revisited the theme with his closer “Lake Marie” and its intertwining of senseless violence and trying to rekindle a marriage over sausages. The audience “sizzled” on cue.

A tribute to John Prine

After years of tribute albums that tend to be purely celebratory, it’s nice to come across one that’s revelatory.

Cover John Prine? That’s a tall order. He’s a distinctive performer with an unconventional style and phrasing, and a voice that seems built for his songs. Yet there’s a freshness to Broken Hearts and Dirty Windows, thanks to respectful, but not too respectful performances by younger Americana/folk artists.

The goofy upbeat material works best, with Those Darlins’ charming “Let’s Talk Dirty in Hawaiian” and  Drive-By Truckers’ rockabilly take on “Daddy’s Little Pumpkin” among the highlights. Particualrly intriguing is “Six O’Clock News” by Lambchop, the rendition most likely to alienate long-time Prine fans. It’s a dark and essentially spoken-word, but compelling.

Tied for clearly having the best time on the album: Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band doing “Wedding Day in Funeralville” and the Avett Brothers on “Spanish Pipedream.”

Fans of My Morning Jacket, Justin Vernon of  Bon Iver and Josh Ritter may well discover Prine through these artists’ cover versions. He’s truly a timeless artist and this CD reminds us of just how wry, engaging and consistent a songwriter he has been for almost four decades.

Cayamo 2011 features John Prine

One of my favorite musical events each year takes place on the water. Cayamo is a floating music festival, a cruise that features a remarkable array of performers and about 12 hours of music a day.

Cayamo 2011 will feature John Prine, Steve Earle, Patty Griffin, the Indigo Girls, Buddy Miller, Brandi Carlisle and many more. The cruise includes stops in the British Virgin Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands and Bahamas.

You’ll find more details at http://www.cayamo.com.