Tag: “Johnny Cash”

Reviews: Jason Heath, Jerry Reed, Mike + Ruthy, Stilson Greene

 in Americana Music

Quick hits in Americana, folk and country music:

Packed for Exile – Jason Heath and the Greedy Souls: When you hear that a band named itself after a passage in the Old Testament, you don’t expect the energetic, often raucous mix of folk and American found on Packed for Exile. There’s a lot of Bruce Springsteen’s Seeger Sessions here, songs with a social conscience and a dancer’s heart. The Springsteen connection isn’t exactly happenstance; Danny Federici’s son Jason plays accordion and organ with the Greedy Souls. Highlights include “Sacred Geometry,” “#1 with a Bullet” and “California Wine.”

The Unbelievable Guitar and Voice of Jerry Reed / Nashvillle Underground – Jerry Reed: This new Real Gone Music collection of Jerry Reed’s first two albums is one revelation after another. Before he became Burt Reynolds’ sidekick in the Smokey and the Bandit movies, Reed was already a fine guitarist, session player and songwriter.
Reed wrote “U.S. Male, a bit of bragadoccio that became a hit for Elvis Presley in 1968 and “Guitar Man,” a recurring musical element in Elvis’ 1969 comeback special. Both songs are on this collection.
Beyond those biographical hits are Reed’s efforts at country-flavored pop. The lyrics to “You’re Young” may make you gag – it seems that this young lady is just too good for this guy – but the production is terrific and sounds as fresh as the lyrics sound dated.
The package also includes Reed’s ” A Thing Called Love,” which became one of Johnny Cash’s big hits in 1971.

 

The NYC EP – Mike + Ruthy: At the heart of this husband-and-wife duo’s new EP is “My New York City,” a song written around unrecorded lyrics from the Woody Guthrie archives. I’m always left wondering how much Guthrie DNA is still in a song once it’s finished and married to a melody, but the harmony-laden results here are so pleasing that you won’t care. Other highlights: “Romance in the Dark” amd “Raise Your Glasses High.”

 

Young Lions – Stilson Greene: Young Lions began with a single song. Stilson Green wanted to record Shenandoah for his ailing father, who loved the song. That track grew into this new album, a highly personal effort that addresses family, friends and relationships.
There’s an appealing sincerity and simplicity throughout. Green talked with Leesburg Today about the origins of Young Lions. You’ll find the interview here. Favorite tracks: “When the Night Falls,” “You (A Song for Tammy)” and “Shenandoah.”

 

Nick Lowe at Country Music Hall of Fame

 in Reviews

Nick Lowe at the Country Music Hall of Fame Copyright 2011

Nick Lowe is no longer the “Jesus of Cool” his first album touted, but he still strives to be all things to all people.
In an interview with Michael McCall at the Country Music Hall of Fame this morning, Lowe said his goal as a performer is to be cool enough to attract both young and old.
“You get different generations coming to see you, none of whom are under duress,” Lowe said, noting that the older attendees at Justin Bieber shows aren’t there voluntarily.
Lowe said he’s pleased when people cover his songs (“Nice work if you can get it”), but is disappointed when artists play his songs too faithfully.
He said he was told that George Gershwin hated it when others recast his songs. “He wasn’t really a rock ‘n’ roll guy,” Lowe said.
“I like it when people take liberties,” he told the audience.
Lowe also reminisced about his relationship with Johnny Cash, his father-in-law while married to Carlene Carter. He said he spent an entire drunken eveing writing a song to pitch to Cash.
“At about 4 that morning, I thought I was the great man,” he said.
Carlene was inspired enough by the song to call Johnny to come and hear the song the next morning. Cash did show up, with full entourage in tow.
Lowe recalls that he performed “The Beast in Me” with an awful hangover and a performance to match.
At the end of the song, there was silence. Johnny Cash then said “Play it again.”
“It was even worse the second time,” Lowe recalls.
But something in the song resonated with Cash, who later recorded it to critical acclaim.
Now Lowe performs the song with Cash in mind.
I do it like him,” Lowe said. “I don’t do it like me anymore.”
At the close of his interview, Lowe performed a seven-song set:
1. Stoplight Roses (from the forthcoming “The Old Magic”)
2.Ragin’ Eyes
3.Sensitive Man (also from “The Old Magic”
4.Raining, Raining
5.When I Write the Book
6.What’s So Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding?
7. The Beast in Me

U2 salutes Johnny Cash at Nashville show

 in Americana Music

U2 surprised its Nashville audience last night with a performance of “The Wanderer,” a Zooropa song featuring Johnny Cash that had never before appeared in the band’s setlists. Bono spoke of his admiration for Johnny and June, promised to visit their hometown of Hendersonville on his next visit and did a pretty fair job of channeling Cash’s voice on the song.