Michael Kelsh first came to our attention in 2001 with the release of his excellent “Well of Mercy.” A mere 16 years later, we have “Harmony Sovereign,” a compelling new collection. Little wonder that the album contains 16 beautifully crafted songs.
Category: New releases
Podcast 19 Beth Nielsen Chapman’s “Hearts of Glass”
Beth Nielsen Chapman is a special songwriter and artist, evidenced in part by her recent election to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. But that honor would have come as no surprise to those who have heard her remarkable run of recordings. She’s the rare writer who can share deeply personal experiences through music, yet also write universally embraced songs like “This Kiss” and “Happy Girl.”
New: Love Canon’s “Cover Story”
Coming July 14 is the new album from Love Canon, a roots and bluegrass band that plays rock and pop hits from the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s in their own style.
Songs on “Cover Story” range from Billy Joel’s “Angry Young Man” to Squeeze’s “Tempted” to Peter Gabriel’s “Solsbury Hill.” It’s an entertaining collection of familiar songs presented in a fresh way. Here’s Love Canon performing “Solsbury Hill.”
New: Gin, Chocolate and Bottle Rockets’ “Lean”
Harmonies abound on “Lean,” the second album from Gin, Chocolate and Bottle Rockets. The talented Madison, Wisconsin-based trio rocks a car dealership in this new video:
Parker Millsap makes “Other Arrangements”
Parker Millsap’s new album, “Other Arrangements”, runs only 34 minutes. But the Oklahoma native packs a lot of goodness into the 12-song collection, his fourth release.
Out today: John Wesley Harding’s “Greatest Other People’s Hits”
It’s the rare album cover that makes me laugh out loud, but the new release from John Wesley Harding perfectly mimics ABBA’s “Gold” record. Given that “Greatest Other People’s Hits” is a covers record, it raises hope for a version of “Waterloo.”
Podcast 14 Marcia Ball continues to “Shine Bright”
Marcia Ball, the official 2018 Texas State Musician of the Year, has a just-released album called “Shine Bright,” her 12th. We caught up with her on board Delbert McClinton’s “Sandy Beaches Cruise” earlier this year. She talks about the new album and her colorful career on Episode 11 of the Americana Music News Podcast.
Chris Hillman’s formative solo years
Chris Hillman’s career has come full circle. A founding member of the Byrds, he helped bring an Americana sensibility to that legendary band. And now his recent ” Bidin’ My Time” is seeing widespread acceptance by Americana radio.
Omnivore Records offers a glimpse into Hillman’s formative ’70s work with “The Asylum Years,” collecting 20 tracks from that era. There’s plenty of good work, though we’ll have to admit there’s the same search for a comfortable and cohesive sound we heard on the Byrds’ “reunion” album and the later McGuinn, Clark and Hillman records.
The title track from “Slippin’ Away:”
Podcast 12: Joshua Hedley and “Mr. Jukebox”
Joshua Hedley mines a traditional sound, but all but one song on his new “Mr. Jukebox” album on Third Man Records is an original.
Kim Richey’s “Pin A Rose”
Kim Richey, featured in an upcoming Americana Music News Podcast, has a new video from her fine album “Edgeland.”
Podcast #11 Tim Easton and “Paco & the Melodic Polaroids”
Tim Easton has an intriguing new album called “Paco and the Melodic Polaroids,” a celebration of his black Gibson J-45 acoustic guitar, christened “Paco” by a Deadhead in Paris.
Video Premiere: Chris Smither’s “By The Numbers”
There’s a tireless – arguably timeless – quality to Chris Smither’s work. The consistently impressive artist has released 18 albums over a half-century, but wasn’t satisfied with just a single album with his latest “Call Me Lucky.” No, he recorded it and then did it again from start to finish with different versions of all the songs in the same album. That’s either very inefficient or very cool. We’ll go with the latter.
Show #8: Jorma Kaukonen of Hot Tuna and Jefferson Airplane; Kyle Frederick
Jorma Kaukonen has had a rich career as a founding member of Jefferson Airplane add Hot Tuna, and as an accomplished solo artist. He’s ready to tell his life story in a new memoir called “Been So Long.”
Show #7: Mary Gauthier on “Rifles and Rosary Beads”
Mary Gauthier has just released a truly special album of her performing songs she wrote with veterans and their families. “Rifles and Rosary Beads” is a moving collection, drawn from “Songwriting:withSoldiers” sessions. We had the pleasure of hearing more about this important project in a conversation with Mary at the Folk Alliance International conference in Kansas City.
New release: Jenny Van West’s “Happiness to Burn”
This week’s mail contained a pleasant surprise – the new Jenny Van West album “Happiness to Burn” due for release in April . We love this Maine-based artist’s voice and admire the sentiment of “Live in a New Way,” inspired by the protests surrounding the death of Freddie Gray.
Reissues: The Choir’s “Artifact – The Unreleased Album”
I’ve always loved the near-perfect power pop of the Raspberries, and I knew their roots were in the Choir, where band members Wally Bryson, Jim Bonfanti and Dave Smalley honed their skills.
There have been re-issues of this Cleveland band’s early stuff, most notably “Choir Practice” and their single “Baby It’s Cold Outside.”
Show #5 Ashley Cleveland’s “One More Song”
Ashley Cleveland, a 3-time Grammy winner for rock gospel, has just released ‘One More Song,” a powerful and personal album that mirrors the honesty of her memoir “Little Black Sheep.” She talks about her once-tumultuous life and music in this episode of the Americana Music Podcast.
Show #3 Chip Taylor and his new release “Fix Your Words”
There’s a good case to make that Chip Taylor is a godfather of Americana music. His ’70 albums – particularly “Chip Taylor’s Last Chance” – foreshadowed the genre to come. Chip has had an astonishing career as a Hall of Fame songwriter (“Wild Thing,” “Angel of the Morning”), as a partner with Carrie Rodriguez and as a solo artist of great integrity. In this conversation on Grammys weekend in New York, Chip tells us about his latest album “Fix Your Words.”
Review: Brian Pounds’ “Southern Writer”
Brian Pounds, the Austin-based singer-songwriter,whose credits include a finalist slot in the Kerrville Folk Festival’s New Folk songwriting contest and an appearance on “The Voice” a few years ago, leans more toward country than folk on his new nine-song set.
Gregg Allman’s “Song for Adam”
Remembering Gregg Allman with this touching cover of Jackson Browne’s “Song for Adam.”