Alvin makes these 16 traditional songs
his own with imaginative arrangements (a rockabilly version
of "East Virginia" sure ain't the Carter Family, for
example) and great performances. The four found "lost" songs cowritten
with Townes Van Zandt would have been enough, but Andersen
delivers all around, including some great blues tracks
recorded with crack Delta band; the title track is a joint
effort with Lou Reed, of all people. "His first record in three years is
rich with deftly conveyed emotion, craft, and an elegant
funkiness as raw and mature as Brown's own deep pipes.
Produced by guitarist Bo Ramsey, Brown's new work
. . ." (read rest at Amazon). Attention Townes, Dylan Prine and
Ramblin' Jack fans - young Texan Carroll's second effort is
a revelation. Story songs of friends and experiences are
delivered as if Adam is pickin' around a warm campfire, and
are delivered with empathy, verve and humor. His style is
simple, spare, rootsy and down home. I love the record.
"The Captain has plenty of tender,
moving moments. But judging by the feisty album closer,
"We're All Gonna Die Someday," Chambers also has sass to
boot. An extraordinary debut, The Captain is the work of a
commanding talent in the making." (read rest of review
by Michael Gray at ). "His voice often affects a yearning
quality reminiscent of traditional Irish music, and his
songs are populated by the sort of tragic characters
familiar to old folk ballads. . ." (read rest of review
at Amazon). There are few, if any, performers who
match Joe Ely's intensity live, and the backing band kicks
ass. "These muscular performances, recorded
at Austin's famous roots-music club, show Ely's dauntless
energy undiminished by time." (read rest of review at
Amazon) Emmylou, once almost entirely an
interpreter of the songs of others, has written a truly
remarkable group of songs. Jay Orr : "(Her) lyrics set
Red Dirt Girl apart. 'I'll speak of things holy / Above and
below me, world without end,' she sings on "Bang the Drum
Slowly." Excavating her heart, she has found new
inspiration." (read rest
of review at Amazon). Until now, Patty Larkin's albums have
generally come up dry with me. She's an excellent guitarist
with a fine voice who puts on fine live shows, but her songs
too often have grated me somehow, both cloying and a bit too
clever. Not this time. Intelligent songs performed with
feeling. "On his 7th release, Omar’s
Blues, Olney divvies the material into three sections: Love,
Religion and Hollywood. The CD’s lyric booklet begins
with a poem attributed to Omar Khayyam. This quatrain is
actually from an Edward FitzGerald translation, which, it
has been argued, goes beyond Khayyam’s own poetry."
(read rest of review at ).
Public Domain
Amazon
You Can't Relive the Past
Amazon
Full
Review by MW
Covenant
Lookin' Out the Screen Door
The Captain
Broke Down
Live at Antone's
Red Dirt Girl
Regrooving the Dream
Omar's Blues
Next Ten
On Dog's Life, Wrecks Bell -
one-time bassist for Townes Van Zandt and Lightnin' Hopkins
- unveils a golden voice that brings Willie Nelson to mind,
as well as strong songwriting chops. Covers of Townes, Blaze
Foley and Leonard Cohen blend in perfectly. Skillfully
produced by Ray Wylie Hubbard. The more I listen to this, the more it
grows on me, with an eclecticism that runs from Beatlesque
to Celtic, from rebel rock to folk. To say that Earle is
prolific is an understatement; he is not only the key
performer in Americana but its hardest working one - its
James Brown. Jimmie has a way of sending off a great
vibe no matter what he does, it seems; this is his finest
album, in every respect. He's never sounded better, songs
and production are excellent. A classic from 1981 finally released for
first time on CD. Besides bonus track, all is live Emmylou
with backing by the Hot Band, and yes, they were HOT. CDs
have been around for many years now, and why we had to wait
this long is nothing short of criminal. A back-to-basics record for Hiatt, just
good songs that all sound quite different musically, with
simple, spare acoustic backing for his always bluesy
vocals. You don't have to see the film to love
this record - it's simply the best soundtrack I've ever
heard, with contributions from Norman Blake, John Hartford,
the Fairfield Four, Allison Krauss, Emmylou Harris, Gillian
Welch, Ralph Stanley, and many more. An album strictly to re-record his oldest
songs? Throw any suspicion away. Prine gives them new
meaning from his older, wiser perspective. He sings the
title track, for example, with a sadness you just don't hear
in the original duet with Steve Goodman. Some are even
improvements on the originals, like "Hello In
There." Produced by Bradley Kopp. Jeff's a
classic singer/songwriter to whom songcraft matters.
Thoughtful, engaging, enjoyable stuff, well presented,
played and sung. Dwight ain't exactly Norman Blake on
guitar, but then again he ain't Norman as a singer, either.
I've never heard a better showcase for his fabulous, Buck
Owens- meets-Roy Orbison pipes. Strong, inspiring, intense
set of songs. Cowboy folkie Neil returns again for
first time since Harvest Moon. There are some great new
songs here, although others are a bit soppy for my taste.
The singing is Young sincere, however, and the playing and
production are typically excellent.
Dog's Life
Lonestarwebstation
Transcendental Blues
Last Date
Crossing Muddy Waters
(Original Soundtrack)
Amazon
Souvenirs
Amazon
The Spinning of the World
Silver & Gold
Another Ten
A beautiful record by this Peruvian diva
- gorgeous singing, poetic lyrics, and otherworldly acoustic
playing. Released on David Byrne's Luaka Bop label.
Mike's well-crafted lyrics are framed by
folky instrumental backdrops with traditional and modern
influences that range from Country to Celtic. From Blaze Foley to Bob Wills and the
Texas Playboys, Merle touches the right bases with this
release. What he's lost in outlaw intensity with age has
been replaced by a wizened, almost mellow elder-statesman
presence that's quite attractive at this stage of his great
career. Eclectic stuff ranging from Swing to Folk
that Dirty Linen proclaims "A nearly flawless album
in every aspect." Honky Tonk has many faces, and "Lorenzo"
shows them off in a host of musical flavors done more often
than not with a tongue-in-cheek, John Prine-like quality
that'll leave you smiling. The solid songs, rootsy feel, and clean,
signature guitar lines mark Mark's return to solo recording.
Welcome back. Just heard some of this in the past few
days, and had to add it. Very impressive album from this
Boston singer and songwriter. ". . . another series of Stories of
America, stories of the back roads and the trains, the
bedrooms and the roads....; filled with unforgettable
characters that sometimes don't even care where they go, as
long as it's somewhere..." - Hank Beukema "Snider pulls no punches in his
lyrics--whether being ironic and cynical or sweet and
sincere--and he uses an array of musical settings: there are
gentle, romantic ballads boasting only acoustic guitar and
harmonica; scorching, scathing country-rockers; rambling
folk stories; and horn-fueled blues workouts." (Read
complete review at Amazon) The four 70s albums from which this
well-constructed compilation is culled are now out of print.
The British folk and folk-rock sounds fresh as ever, from
Richard's still-early songwriting and guitar playing to
Linda's beautiful, haunting voice.
Eco de Sombras
Past Lives
If I Could Only Fly
Wilory Farm
Artist
Website
Sailing to
Philadelphia
The Trouble with Poets
Stories From the Silver Moon Cafe
Happy to Be Here
Best of - The Island Records
Years
