Tag: Ray Wylie Hubbard

Ray Wylie Hubbard’s “The Ruffian’s Misfortune”

 in Americana Music, New releases

by Paul T. Mueller

rwh_ruffians_cover_150Ray Wylie Hubbard doesn’t break a lot of fresh ground on The Ruffian’s Misfortune, his latest collection of dispatches from the dark side. But that’s OK, because Hubbard’s bluesy tales of misplaced priorities, bad decisions and tragic characters are always entertaining, even when they’re not exactly new.

“All Loose Things,” the opening track, starts off as you might expect, with loud guitar chords and the martial beat of a drum. “All loose things end up being washed away” is the song’s apocalyptic message, and that tone carries over to the next track, “Hey Mama, My Time Ain’t Long.” “I’ll tell you a tale about the songs the bluesman sings,” Hubbard begins in his weathered, raspy voice, later elaborating: “Some say it’s the devil jingling the coins in his pocket/I’d say it sounds more like a pistol when you cock it.”

Ray Wylie and Lucas Hubbard

Ray Wylie and Lucas Hubbard

The blues often deals with the opposite sex, and so it is on Misfortune. “Too Young Ripe, Too Young Rotten” is a kind of gentle elegy for a woman who’s lived her life by her own lights and is dealing with the consequences.

“Chick Singer, Badass Rockin’ “ could be the story of the same character in her earlier years – “short dress, torn stockings/That chick singer is badass rockin’.” Mississippi country blues singer Jessie Mae Hemphill gets an affectionate tribute in “Jessie Mae,” which features some nice fiddle by The Mastersons’ Eleanor Whitmore.

Hubbard is known to take on loftier themes at times, and here he does so on “Barefoot in Heaven.” “Well, it ain’t no secret, oh if you know me/that I’ve been no-’count most of my life,” he sings, backed by the McCrary Sisters, among others. “But I’ve been converted, oh, I got the spirit/Just a chance I’m gonna see this paradise.”

Hubbard closes with “Stone Blind Horses,” whose rueful tone seems to sum up the late-life regrets of “wild young cowboys, old drunks, paramours and thieves.” Hubbard’s weary voice is well matched with his words: “My only hope is somewhere in that heaven/Someone says a prayer for me.”

All this fun comes courtesy of some familiar names – Hubbard’s son Lucas on guitar, George Reiff on bass and Rick Richards on percussion. Other players include Conrad Chocrun on drums, Gabe Rhodes on guitars, mandolin and piano, and Brad Rice on guitar. The playing is good and the production – by Hubbard and Reiff – is sharp throughout.

 

 

New releases: Brandi Carlile, Ray Wylie Hubbard

 in Americana Music, New releases

Americana Music News – New releases in our mailbox this week:

Basic CMYKThe Firewatcher’s Daughter – Brandi Carlile – ATO Records –  Fresh off the Cayamo cruise, Brandi Carlile is touring the country in support of this new album, including a March 4 date at the Troubadour, March 7 in Atlantic City and March 11 in Brooklyn. Carlile continues her impressive work with Tim and Phil Hanseroth on this album (out March 3) that reportedly consists primarily of first takes. The first single is “Wherever is Your Heart.”

Twice Told Tales – 10,000 Maniacs – Cleopatra Records The current generation of 10,000 Maniacs has a new album set for release on April 28. It’s a return to the band’s core musical influences with renditions of traditional folk songs from the British Isles, including “She Moved Through the Fair” and “Wild Mountain Thyme.”

Ray Wylie Hubbard RuffianThe Ruffian’s Misfortune – Ray Wylie Hubbard – Bordello Records – Ray Wylie Hubbard is following up The Grifter’s Hymnal (reviewed here) with The Ruffian’s Misfortune, described in press materials as “the tightest and most focused” of his career. The album is set for release on April 7, and is to be followed by an autobiography.

Another Rising Sun – Jon Chi  The former member of Rainmaker recorded his second solo album in Milwaukee with Ken Krei. The album ,described as “a blend of folk, gospel and jam” is set for release on May 5.

Old Ways vs. New Days – J. Tex and the Volunteers –– Heptown Records This Copenhagen-based Americana band is fronted by Detroit native J. Tex.

 

Live in Houston: Ray Wylie Hubbard

 in Reviews
Ray Wylie Hubbard

Ray Wylie Hubbard

by Paul T. Mueller

Ray Wylie Hubbard’s fans tend to be an enthusiastic lot, and the most enthusiastic one at a recent gig in Houston may not have been old enough for kindergarten. Three songs into Hubbard’s April 9 gig at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, at the end of “Drunken Poet’s Dream,” the first sound that rang out was a high-pitched “Yaaay!” Laughter and applause followed, and the pattern was repeated for the rest of the show, the closing installment of the church’s second annual “Songs of Lovin’ and Redemption” Lenten music series.

Hubbard’s performance was worthy of the praise. Appearing in the series for the second year, he put on a spirited show, accompanied by his son, Lucas, on electric guitar and Kyle Schneider on drums. The show was a mix of rowdier material, such as the aforementioned “Dream,” “Snake Farm” and “Down Home Country Blues,” and songs that were more cerebral and/or spiritual, if not quieter. The latter included “There Are Some Ways,” “The Ballad of the Crimson Kings,” “Count My Blessings” and “Whoop and Holler.”

Lucas Hubbard

Lucas Hubbard

“Mother Blues,” Hubbard’s funny and bawdy account of his life as a young musician in Dallas in the ’60s, got a little extra shot of coolness from Lucas Hubbard’s fine playing on the very same “gold top Les Paul” guitar that figures prominently in the song’s lyrics. Extra points to Lucas for grinning at the punchlines of his father’s stories, which he has no doubt heard many times over the years.

Hubbard closed the set with a powerful rendition of “The Messenger,” his tribute to faith and overcoming fears. Called back for an encore, he and the band turned Mississippi Fred McDowell’s classic “You Gotta Move” into a sing-along before calling it a night.

Sara Watkins, O’Brien Party of 7 enter Americana music chart

 in Americana Music, Reviews

Justin Townes Earle continues to dominate Americana radio with yet another week at #1 with Nothing’s Gonna Change the Way You Feel About Me Now, followed by Ray Wylie Hubbard’s Grifter’s Hymnal.
New to the Americana music chart: Sara Watkins’ Sun Midnight Sun at #30 and the O’Brien Party of 7’s Reincarnation: The Songs of Roger Miller at #35.
Most added albums this week: Willie Nelson’s Heroes, Sonny Landreth’s Elemental Journey, the Bodeans’ American Made, the Tedeschi Trucks Band’s Everybody’s Talkin’ and Sara Watkins’ album.

(Follow us on Twitter at @sun209com.)

Review: Ray Wylie Hubbard’s “Grifter’s Hymnal”

 in Reviews

By Paul T. Mueller
–If music reviews included credit for style points, Ray Wylie Hubbard’s latest effort would earn plenty of them for its title alone. The Grifter’s Hymnal? Who but “the Wylie Lama” could have even imagined such a thing, much less fill it up with a batch of cool songs?

Great title aside, this Hymnal has a lot going for it. Hubbard started out as part of what Steve Fromholz once called “the great progressive country scare of the seventies” and spent some years wandering down unproductive paths, but after dealing with some bad habits a while back, he’s been making the most of his second shot at the music business.

The Grifter’s Hymnal is another in a string of fine albums he’s turned out in recent years. Mostly bluesy rock with a little Texas twang thrown in, it’s a collection of musings on life, death, salvation and rock ‘n’ roll, all filtered through Hubbard’s unique consciousness.

The playing here is excellent, featuring Ray Wylie on various guitars, his son Lucas on electric guitar on several tracks, Rick Richards on drums and percussion, and George Reiff (who co-produced with Hubbard) on bass for most of the tracks. Other artists include guitarists Brad Rice, Audley Freed and Billy Cassis, keyboardist Ian McLagan (formerly of the Faces and the Small Faces, now living in Austin) and Ringo Starr (yes, that one) singing and playing backup on Hubbard’s version of Starr’s “Coochy Coochy.”

The standout track here is “Mother Blues,” named for an old-time Dallas nightclub. It’s a wildly entertaining account of how a young Hubbard came to acquire a classic goldtop Les Paul guitar and eventually passed it on to his son (who’s credited with playing the very same instrument on the track). More than that, it’s the story of Hubbard’s career as a musician and his journey through life – and whether all the lurid details in this nearly six-minute opus are strictly factual is pretty much beside the point. Hubbard ends the song with a litany of people and things he’s grateful for (including the chance to share a stage with his son) and concludes, “The days that I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations – well, I have really good days.” That’s wisdom worthy of a lama.

Other highlights include “South of the River,” another tribute to the musician’s life that moves from Chris Whitley-style acoustic blues to Exile-era Stones-y boogie, fueled by McLagan’s honky-tonk piano, and “Red Badge of Courage,” a quietly furious antiwar rant that concludes, “We was just kids doing the dirty work/For the failures of old men.”

Hubbard cranks up his slide guitar on the lively “New Year’s Eve at the Gates of Hell,” in which he imagines defending his life at the Last Judgment (“By the way, kid, why am I here, when I wasn’t that bad? I just never liked churches, but I never wore plaid”). Many amusing music-biz references later, he ends up admitting, “The truth of the matter is, I really can’t sing/But I can quote Martin Luther King.”

Not all of the songs are quite that accessible. As befits a spiritual leader, Hubbard can be a little cryptic with his lyrics. There’s surely some deeper meaning in there somewhere, or maybe not; just go with the flow and enjoy The Grifter’s Hymnal for its fine songcraft and topnotch playing.

Photo of Ray Wylie Hubbard by Paul T. Mueller

Lyle Lovett at #1, chart debuts by Andrew Bird, Cuff the Duke, Joe Pug

 in Americana Music

Lyle Lovett’s Release Me remains in the top spot on the Americana Music Airplay Chart, with Justin Townes Earles’ Nothing’s Gonna Change the Way You Feel About Me surging into the second position.

New to the top 10: Bruce Springsteen’s The Wrecking Ball at #8 and  Ray Wylie Hubbard’s The Grifter’s Hymnal at #9.

New to the charts this week: Andrew Bird’s Break It Yourself (#38), Cuff the Duke’s Morning Comes (#39) and Joe Pug’s The Great Despiser (#40.)

Charting: Justin Townes Earle, Bruce Springsteen, Todd Snider

 in Americana Music

Lyle Lovett’s Release Me shot to the top of the Americana Music Association radio airplay chart, edging out Darrell Scott’s Long Ride Home by just seven spins.

New to the chart: Justin Townes Earles’ Nothing’s Going to Change the Way You Feel About Me Now at #11, Ray Wylie Hubbard’s Grifter’s Hymnal at #22, Todd Snider’s Agnostic Hymns and Stoner Fables at #25, Bruce Springsteen’s  Wrecking Ball at #31, Steel Wheels’ Lay Down Lay Low at #34 and Lucero’s Woman & Work at #38.

Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival sets 2012 line-up

 in Reviews

Tin Pan South, the pre-emiment songwriters festival, has just released its line-up for the 2012 event scheduled for March 27-31. It’s a wide-ranging collection of talent, spead over ten venues. Attendees can pay cover at the door or buy a weeklong pass that offers preferred access.
Many of this year’s performers are songwriters who have also had successful recording careers, including Ray Wylie Hubbard, Walter Egan, T. Graham Brown, Lari White, Michael Johnson, Peter Yarrow, Sam Bush, Mark Hudson, Felix Cavaliere, Radney Foster, Darrell Scott, Buddy Miller, Lee Roy Parnell, John Oates, Jim Lauderdale, Dickey Lee, Buzz Cason, Shawn Mullins, Jim Peterik, Al Anderson, Shawn Camp and the Wrights.
You’ll find details on the schedule and tickets at the Tin Pan South site. For coverage of past Tin Pan South events, go here.

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Guy Clark’s 70th birthday: A concert and album

 in Americana Music

Some of the biggest names in roots, folk and Americana music will be on hand to celebrate Guy Clark’s musical legacy on Nov. 2 in Austin.
“Wish I Was In Austin: A 70th Birthday Tribute to Guy Clark,” which benefits the Center for Texas Music History, will feature performances by Shawn Colvin, Rodney Crowell, Joe Ely, Rosie Flores, Radney Foster, Terri Hendrix, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Jack Ingram, James McMurtry, The Trishas, Jerry Jeff Walker, Kevin Welch, Terry Allen and yes, Guy Clark.
The concert, scheduled for Nov. 2 at the Long Center, will also help promote an ambitious two-CD tribute album saluting Clark. “This One’s For Him: A Tribute to Guy Clark” will be released on November 8.