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Stacy's Ratings
*****Outstanding
**** Good
*** Promising
** Fair
*Makes A Good Coaster
Alex Miller
COUNTRY
Rating
****
To say that Alex Miller’s Country is a collaborative effort with
Jerry Salley would not be far from the mark.
Salley produced the five-track EP and co-wrote with Alex (and, in
the instance of Puttin’ Up Hay, with Miller and Larry Cordle) three of the five
songs found here.
Neither seamless nor jarring, the pairing of two established
talents (arguably) fulfills the mission of providing radio-friendly music
Alex’s fans are sure to enjoy. The
in-house production anathema that ensues when commerce supersedes art is
offset by a reasoned choice of Miller’s first single from the EP, Girl I Know A
Guy (from the pens of Walt Aldridge, Tim Rushlow and Danny Orton).
Gettin’ Lucky in Kentucky, a provocative title for a song with a theme
differing from one listeners might expect, strikes these ears as the best of
the songs found here.
Clearly, Alex Miller has a handle on what Music Row believes
listeners want to hear. If the suits are
correct, Alex will continue to build on the momentum he is generating as a
network TV contest-winner-gone-mainstream with a full-length follow-up to come.
Rating
****
Charlotte Morris is a veteran musician- violin lessons at age four set that stage- but the California-born, Pennsylvania-raised singer/songwriter and, yes, musician (Charlotte plays over a handful of instruments), built her first fan base performing in theatrical productions.
Ashes
DEBRA LYN
Rating
The native upstate New Yorker, multi-award-winning Americana/Folk vocalist and lyricist leaves the musical accompaniment of this and six other of the nine songs found here to her collaborator- producer, arranger, engineer, musician, occasionally-shared lead vocalist (and husband) Jeff Silverman.
The
socially conscious singer/songwriter's Wing and a Prayer tackles
homelessness while Debra Lyn brings the same passion to Brown Dog,
an explicit commentary on animal cruelty in general and dogfighting in
particular.
Stranded is another Tina Turner-inspired tale of a
struggling, abused woman's tug-of-war to retain her self-esteem amid
seemingly insurmountable obstacles to assistance.
The themes of survival and self-awareness are also at the heart of Close By while the bluesy-tinged I Don't Know How to Love You evokes the protagonist's frustration dealing with a variously emotionally and physically absent significant other.
Big Enough for Two continues the theme of dysfunction with a sassy tone, taking emotional abuse to the point of intervention, then calling it quits before threats of bodily harm materialize.
Hell Must'a Sent You
suggests that it doesn't always take two to tango, as the album's
closer, Winter Heart
provides
a thematic change of pace; a wistful remembrance of unrequited love
that remains impactful and undiminished despite the progression of
time.
Debra notes that "this project has been released in Dolby Atmos/Spacial Audio which make s listening a more immersive experience."
One more reason to check out this latest evidence of Debra Lyn's maturing artistic evolution.
A Life Well Lived
DARYL MOSLEY
Rating
Daryl Mosley's third solo album is a nostalgic collection of 11 songs Daryl
Daryl's warm and inviting collection of bluegrass-flavored memorable melodies and country-music lyrics dovetail with the tenor's smooth and expressive vocals.
The album's opener and title track is a values-driven summary of Mosley's thoughts on how to live purposefully. Daryl turns nostalgic with his memories of Back When We Were Boys and the self-preservation amid world-weariness of clinging to a Mayberry State of Mind.
Hillbilly Graham (a favorite, no doubt of those who work at 1 Billy Graham Parkway in Charlotte, North Carolina) will be familiar to The Farm Hands' fans,
though Daryl Mosley clearly owns not only the song's copyright but a
presentation unique to the composition's creator.
Big God extols the virtue and benevolence of the Supreme Being Daryl envisions, with those same ideals resonating in The Bible in the Drawer (a natural theme song for the hotel industry) and Walking Man, Mosley's tribute to those who stand up for their beliefs.
Working Man's Prayer is a sincere tribute to those who do more than just collect a paycheck, while Nobody but Her blends admiration with humility.
The album's closer, Thankful, is an arresting and timely reminder that gratitude comes easily with focus.
A In sum: A Life Well Lived is a carefully-crafted, memorable contribution to music loved by bluegrass and country fans alike. Those in search of thought-provoking and meaningful lyrics, top-notch musicianship, as well as a few catchy tunes they will enjoy singing along to, are sure to echo the sentiments of another Mosley title (cut #7): We Need More of That.
Jake Ybarra
Rating
Jake Ybarra's first full-length album showcases the Harlingen, Texas native's eclectic approach to songwriting, delivered with a high-energy baritone and sometimes intense vocal style.
Ybarra
(pronounced "e-BAR-a") is a remarkably "old soul" whose storytelling
songs belies the obvious: that Jake was clearly not around as far back
as 1903, with equally vivid memories of 1953 in the year 2023; the need
for suspension of disbelief underscored by the remarkable fact that
Ybarra is a mere 25 years-old!
Jake, who considers South Carolina home, recorded these 10 songs at The Castle Studios.
Though obviously a student of history, changing times and values, Ybarra brings a decidedly contemporary 21st century flair to a debut collection highlighted by a couple of songs fans are already streaming: notably the opener (Late November) and A Whole Lot to Remember, as well as the title song and Jake's upcoming radio single, Bloodfire.
Miller Time
Alex Miller
Rating
Don't let his baby face fool you: American Idol alum Alex Miller is
not only (though just barely) old enough to legally imbibe, he sings
the fire out of both modern-day original traditional-sounding songs and
a couple of standards to boot.
Standing
6’6”and hailing from Lexington, Kentucky, Miller blends elements of
bluegrass with his traditional country sensibility, nodding to
country-gospel.
A writer or co-writer (with Alex's producer, veteran singer/songwriter Jerry Salley)
on half of the 10 songs found here, some of Miller’s
relationship-driven material, like much of traditional country music,
evince a #MeToo-era misogynistic tinge (e.g., I'm Over You, So Get Over Me). Knowingly or unknowingly in defiance of that perception, Alex’s first single, the somewhat mournful Through With You,
alters the stereotypical stone-country gender-specific definition of
victimization and vulnerability- to a point.
Breaking the Bank and Don’t Let the Door Hit Ya spotlight the Miller persona’s sardonic sense of humor while Girls Must Be Clumsy is a slightly gentler, clever poke and ego stroke.
Kentucky’s Never Been This Far From Tennessee sums up a wistful side of a romantic connection. I'm Done is the blunt, reverse side of that coin (as Alex rhymes "bull" and "fool" as only he can!).
Milller seems to be channeling Jimmy Martin (rather than Keith Allison and Mark Lindsay) as Alex brings a fresh exuberance to his rendition of Freeborn Man.
The album's closer, I'm Gonna Sing gives the Hank Williams' gospel favorite new life as Miller enlists The Oak Ridge Boys to provide the perfect vocal accompaniment.
Nature Child- A Dreamer's Journey
Sylvia
To those of us on the older end of the Baby Boomer spectrum, the mention of Avalon provokes memories of Venus and the Beach Party franchise.
But centuries before Francis Thomas Avallone’s 1940 birth Avalon became known as a legendary island that continues to be steeped in mythology.
Enter Sylvia. The Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter’s own Avalon word-association has inspired Nature Child: A Dreamer’s Journey best described as a concept album for “children and dreamers of all ages.”
Beginning with the first of 12 songs, aptly-titled Avalon,
Sylvia takes listeners to a land of enchantment, where closed eyes open
us to a world of possibilities in a “magical place that resides beyond
the realms of time and space.”
The
curious and imaginative are treated to expansive ideas and themes of
self-actualization, with the abandonment of fears and the embracing of
opportunities here for the taking.
Sylvia, who had a hand in writing each of these vignettes, enlists Verlon Thompson, Craig Bickhardt, John Mock, and Thom Schuyler, in the actualization of her vision.
Favorites include: Every Time A Train Goes By, Don't Be Afraid to Dream, My Best Friend, (Hey, Hey, Hey) It's a New Day and I Love You for Who You Are.
Small Town Dreamer
Daryl Mosley
Rating
Daryl Mosley’s sophomore solo album, like his previous release reviewed here last year, is
once again a nod to Daryl’s “target audience of fundamentalist
Christians who enjoy a little preaching along with their
bluegrass.”
The idyllic appeal of life as Daryl has known it and lived it is also evident in lyrics that herald simplicity (Bringing Simple Back), pay tribute to values-based beliefs (The Way I Was Raised) and his sources of inspiration (Mama’s Bible, Hillbilly Dust, He’s With Me, Here’s to the Dreamers) and even that singularly special person in his life (You Are the Reason).
Mad Twenties
Taylor Rae
Rating
At 27, Taylor Rae believes she has experienced enough of her “mad twenties” to musically reflect on life or- perhaps more accurately- relationships as they have revealed themselves to her.
While
those of who have a few decades on the singer/songwriter/acoustic
guitarist (think boomers) chronicle that journey through the proverbial
rear-view mirror, Taylor Rae takes us on a real-time millennial trip to
places we have been. Such is the universality of human emotion.
Taylor
Rae does so with a clarity of mind and voice, with lyrics that
alternately evince strength, vulnerability, dependence, independence
and, at points, indecision.
Taylor’s been compared to other singers whose names listeners know (though not, as far as I know, to country music's other Taylor) and style to several musical genres, but to these ears she is unique, promising and genre-defying.
There is that voice of a “broken lover” who yearns to be a Fixer Upper. Taking Space will
be familiar to those who are thwarted by letting another live “rent
free”- in their heads- and thus know the frustration that ensues when
“You always win.”
Anyone who has ever mistaken, metaphorically, another voice for their own, will find the message of Forgiveness nothing less than arresting.
Not
to say that Taylor Rae has not found a release from all of the inner
turmoil: Listeners will find it in the simplicity of what some call
Zen, others, like Taylor Rae, "the key” to happiness: Just Be.
Stand For Myself
Yola
Rating
Depreciated
John R. Miller
Rating
John R. Miller,
who wrote all 11 songs on this compilation, brings a blend of literate
simplicity to his lyrics that veer from the ethereal imagery and
steam-of-consciousness to storytelling variety.
Lookin’ Over My Shoulder speaks to accountability. Borrowed Time,
another mini-morality play, warns of the urgency of a similar
accounting and its depreciating value that seems to have inspired Depreciated, the title of this collection sans, strictly speaking, a title song.
Miller brings a novelist’s sensibility and descriptiveness to his narratives. Depreciated’s sole instrumental, What’s Left of the Valley, puts a spotlight on John’s musicianship, as he joins fellow West Virginian Adam Meisterhans on acoustic guitar, accompanied by fiddler Cloe Edmonstone, mandolinist John Looney and Justin Francis on congas.
Motor’s Fried, another highlight, is a creative reminder of the opportunity to turn the sourest of lemons into lemonade.
Glimpses of Miller’s sense of humor are apparent on many of these songs but John's wit is in full force on the quixotic Half Ton Van.
This,
Miller's debut solo album, and its originality leave the listener
gladly anticipating John’s plans for a sophomore solo release.
The Triumph of Assimilation
Mark Rubin
Rating
Killbilly and Bad Livers' co-founder Mark Rubin (a/k/a Jew of Oklahoma, in homage to Rubin's ethnicity and Sooner State birthplace) is "tired of being treated as an outsider in his own country, where his skin protects him from indignities non-whites suffer, but his DNA still marks him for hate."
Having paid his dues "melding acoustic music and hardcore punk" and "playing polkas in dance halls and honky-tonks across Texas (not to mention "merging Klezmer and Romani music in The Other Europeans project") singing/songwriting "bluegrass-and-old-time-country-loving tuba and stand up-bass virtuoso" Rubin has long since earned- and enjoyed- his status as a solo act.
Fusing an anger borne of childhood memories (police officers' constant harassment and humiliation of his father, whose Oklahoma home was scene of incidents ranging from a cross-burning in the yard to bricks shattering windows on Adolph Hitler's birthday, to Mark's being denied access to his community's swimming pool) with a joyful, though sometimes sarcastic, sense of humor, Rubin's has produced a collection of songs of triumphing over what Bari Weiss now calls Jew Hatred.
Contrary to expectations however, the dark, discomforting (as they should be) album openers A Day of Revenge and It's Burning do not set the tone for several of the eight songs to follow. Case in point: Down South Kosher, a creative and funny bone-tickling take on the everyday challenges of adhering to kashruth experienced by Jews who call the heart of Dixie home.
Murder of Leo Frank revisits the famous 1915 lynching of a Jewish American falsely accused of a crime he did not commit. And, if you can appreciate the brilliance of putting the Frank lynching to song, you’ll appreciate Mark’s segue to an instrumental cornucopia aptly-titled Yiddish Banjo Tunes.
Ironically, Danny Barnes' banjo lends itself to Rubin's descriptive My Resting Place (based on Morris Rosenfeld's poetry), while Rubin's rendition of Avinu Malkeinu (a
traditional Jewish prayer, translated as "Our Father, Our King," set to
music and recited during the High Holidays) is not to be missed.
Good Shabbes is
a joyful, musical extension of Jews' traditional Sabbath greeting and
the holiday spirit remains in full force with Mark's adaptation of the
Yiddish Hanukkah favorite, Spin the Dreidel.
My favorite song on an album of gems? Si Kahn's Unnatural Disasters, a disarming, yet pointed jab ridiculing Jew Hatred you don't have to be Bari Weiss, Mark Rubin, or even Jewish to love.
Never Mind
Margie Singleton
Rating
Fans who bemoaned Margie Singleton’s retirement will be glad to know that, at the urging of her son (and co-writer), Stephen Singleton (son of the late producer/record label owner Shelby Singleton), Margie has retired from retirement!
Having interrupted her career to care for her ailing second husband, late country hitmaker Leon Ashley, one gets the sense this widow, lulled into an extended retirement, might have had a 21st century
widowmaker had Steve not convinced Margie that, rather than rest on her
considerable laurels, Margie's best performances were yet to come.
Making music her inspirational way at age 85, the original Harper Valley P.T.A. artist (who got her start as a cast member of The Louisiana Hayride), began her recording career in 1957. Margie has since written, recorded, or both written and recorded, many hits (some of the latter, before becoming a duet artist and popular soloist, as one of The Merry Melody Singers session vocalists).
In
the “second act” stage of her long and illustrious life, Margie
underscores her commitment to music with the formation of her newest
record label and its publishing arm, aintquittinmusic.
Aintquittinmusic’s
publishing division is credited with four of the five songs (each of
which Margie cowrote with her eldest son) including the title song, an autobiographical excursion down memory lane.
Sometimes
sassy, sometimes earnest in tone, Margie’s latest compilation of songs
has a classic sound that will be appreciated by new generations of
fans, for whom she is a “new artist,” as well as those who can
appreciate the history of the songs’ cover art. (That’s Margie, back in the early ‘60s, photographed at one of Nashville’s long-running Centennial Park bandshell concert series performances, backed by legendary musicians Ben Keith and Billy Byrd.)
The newer material is rounded out by Margie’s recording of Lie to Me, the 1962 Brook Benton hit Margie co-wrote (with Benton) and sang on as one of the aforementioned Merry Melody Singers.
Symbolically
appropriate to close this extended play album, where once Margie
Singleton provided the oohs and aahs to compliment Brook Benton's
smooth, baritone-to-tenor lead vocal, Margie is appropriately once
again front-and-center herself, with Margie’s own style affirming how Lie to Me resonates timelessly.
Swing for the Fences
Phil Leadbetter and The All Stars of Bluegrass
Rating
*** 1/2
Lead singer/resophoic guitarist Phil Leadbetter, joined by an all-star band (Alan Bibey on mandolin, Jason Burleson on banjo, guitarist Robert Hale and Steve Gulley on bass), truly does, as the title song indicates, Swing for the Fences with this 10-song collection that includes the album's first single, One Way Rider (Ricky Skaggs' #1 hit in 1982 and written by Rodney Crowell).
Phil
and the band of bluegrass favorites sing of enduring love, hurt and
loss, and, yes, faith and optimism and manage to include an
instrumental ( Avery Stokes ) along the way.
Relying somewhat on proven favorites, these six-time IBMA award nominees revive Johnny Rodriquez' 1977 recording of Bob McDill's I'm Gonna Make It After All , J.D. Crowe and the New South's 1978 recording of The Hurtin' When You Go and Vern Gosdin's 1977 Top Ten hit, Yesterday's Gone. (The latter, features the vocal performance of Steve Gulley's widow, Debbie. Steve Gulley succumbed to pancreatic cancer on August 18, 2020 at age 57.)
The only clinker is Ready and Waiting.
The performance is flawless, but the song's manipulative message of
fear-based religion as being somehow preferable to the alternative is a
value that is less than socially redeeming.
Halfway From Nashville
Sean Harrison
Rating
After veteran singer/songwriter Sean Harrison, the late novelist/screenwriter William Harrison’s
oldest son, had risen through the ranks to share the stage with some of
music’s most popular pickers, songwriters and singers and was about to
reap the benefits, Sean sabotaged his grip on the brass ring.
Addicted
to familiar culprits (drugs and alcohol), the worldwide traveler, band
musician and sometimes busker who was poised to embark on a promising
solo career descended to the depths of despair. By Sean’s own admission, he wasted too many years before getting clean, sober and ready to pick up where he left off.
At that point, Harrison began to make a series of better decisions. He recommitted to songwriting, hired an experienced publicity (Martha Moore) and promotion (Bill Wence) team, and has now released what may be his finest recordings to date.
As many would-be stars are adhering to a plan in place that has taken them halfway to Nashville, Harrison’s title song explores the reverse side of that coin.
Harrison obliquely references Harlan Howard, namechecks “Merle,” “Dylan” and “Mr. Cash” (the latter lauded, among other reasons, for having “been everywhere,” which begs the question, why no mention of Hank Snow?) as inspirational touchstones offering a compass as well as relief from a community of “schmucks,” “losers” and “abusers.”
Big Decisions, Harrison's take- with a twist- on the shared division of labor, is reminiscent of Mary Chapin Carpenter’s He Thinks He’ll Keep Her and is equally as radio-friendly. By contrast, Paydays approaches the male-female dynamic from another angle and is otherwise evocative of a familiar stereotype.
Listeners become willing accomplices on Sean’s journey of self-discovery. Intimacy, rough edges, humor- it’s all here with an originality and candor that make Halfway From Nashville “must” listening.
Crazy House
Rating
If Johnny Cash were alive today and singing bluegrass, he’d be tempted to join Turning Ground, especially after hearing Crazy House.
The quintet shares an affinity with the Bad News singer for songs about infidelity, murder and other high crimes like a Bad Deal that could land an Outlaw with a cunning rivaling that of Jesse James behind the bars of a Crazy House.
My favorite is a mini-soap opera of evangelical villains and hypocrites including the sinister minister known as Reverend Jackson (no, not that other Jesse) and his nemesis, the cuckolded Bobby who got even in way pro-lifers will not appreciate.
There are songs of despair such as the one where we find our protagonist Tore Up From the Floor Up, balanced nicely by the believer who finds himself Strongest on My Knees.
From flights of fancy there is a directional shift to the reality of Still My Mama, a weeper caretakers and other loved ones of those battling dementia will appreciate for take on coping.
In short, Crazy House is an impressive potpourri of selections that will alternately delight and intrigue.
Blue Haze
Robert Hale with the 8th Wonder Band
Rating
You’ve heard all of these classic hits before- but not covered by bluegrass artists.
Robert Hale’s EP features seven familiar songs from other genres performed to a bluegrass beat.
Can you imagine The Beatles, Eric Burden, or The Rolling Stones performing Uncle Pen or Fox on the Run?
In the reverse, the message may be that not every non-bluegrass standard lends itself to bluegrass. Of
course, given the number of bluegrass artists who are now providing at
least one such reinterpreted track on their album, listeners can only
surmise- and maybe even be among those who will vouch for the fact-
that the demand is there.
Certainly, if Blue Haze listeners
are open to the gimmick, experiment or however they wish to
characterize it, and especially if, in a few cases, they’ve never heard
the originals, it’s easy to defend the move.
For Hale and his band (which includes- my fellow Leadership Music inaugural classmate- the superb Missy Raines on bass) prove they are able to make songs like Help, Mr. Bojangles and House of the Rising Sun and the four other past hits featured here their own. Utilizing
such techniques as fiddle, banjo and/or mandolin featured prominently
in the turnarounds, when necessary to distance themselves from the
originals Hale and his band have produced a project well worthy of
listener’s (and skeptics’) consideration.
Old Road, New Again
The Dillards
Rating
Rodney Dillard enlists the remainder of the current “Dillard incarnation” (as John McEuen accurately refers to Becky Dillard, Tom Wray, George Giddens and Gary Smith), in collaboration with “featured artists” Don Henley, Ricky Skaggs, Herb Pedersen, Sharon and Cheryl White, Bernie Leadon and Sam Bush and a number of “special guests” in the presentation of this, The Dillards’ first album since 1991.
I don’t know what took them nearly 30 years, but I do know that ever since America fell in love with The Darlings on The Andy Griffith Show (1963) the (extended Dillard) family has been a part of its musical (and sometimes comedic) consciousness.
I hope my friend, Lanny Smith hears The Earthman (the
lead single from this album) and that fans of The Dillards will enjoy
the other songs found here, including the title song and the group’s
unlikely bluegrass rendition of the ‘50s favorite, Save the Last Dance for Me.
On my “pans” list: Tearing Our Liberty Down. Sorry, guys but I’m not a fan of populist preaching set to music when the lyrics cite vague problems, blaming only the mysterious (i.e., unidentified “they,” a tactic universally employed by bigots) and offer no solutions.
The Old Side of Town
Alecia Nugent
After “going off the grid for a decade” IBMA and multi SPBGMA award-winning bluegrass favorite Alecia Nugent emerges with a collection of songs that showcase her country side and strength as a songwriter.
Alecia also breathes new life into her cover of April Verch’s lyrically-quirky I Might Have One Too.
They Don’t Make ‘Em Like My Daddy Anymore is not a repurposing of a similarly-titled Loretta Lynn’s 1974 Top Ten hit, but rather a moving tribute to Nugent’s father that Alecia wrote with Carl Jackson. The
centerpiece of Nugent’s new music video, two different renditions of
the song are featured here, the latter bluegrass version as a “bonus
track.”
No
longer off the grid, Alecia returns, rescuing listeners from the
gridlock of her absence and, appetites whetted, awaiting what she’ll
come up with next!
The Mavericks en Español
The Mavericks
Most soloists (and perhaps some groups) of stature have that album project that they’ve always wanted to do. Their
fans usually hear about it when media day interview embargoes are
lifted so that publication coincides with the release of said dream
project.
Having received an advance copy of The Mavericks en Español I’m not sure that this, The Mavericks’ first-ever Spanish language album, fits that description, but it’s obvious Raul Malo, Eddie Perez, Jerry Dale McFadden and Paul Deakin have not phoned it in.
I’m preaching to choir of those who have heard the first two singles: Poder Vivir (literally translated as “the power to live” or, as credited translator Rick Rodriguez prefers, simply “To Live”) and Recuerdos (translation: “Memories”).
Assisted by The Fantastic Five (a
group of musicians that add instrumentation and vocals to those
provided by The Mavericks themselves), along with several other special
guests (notably Flaco Jiménez)
and individually credited musicians, lead vocalist Malo and cohorts
have listeners singing along, thanks to an accompanying booklet of the
lyrics to each song along with Rodriguez’ Spanish- to- English
translations.
The
poetry of Spanish is evident in the songs of this, The Mavericks' 30th
anniversary album, as is the realization that if, if recorded in
English, much would be lost in the translation.
No Vale La Pena, one of my favorites, is Exhibit A. Apart
from the title’s English translation ("It’s Not Really Worth It"), an
English language rendering of the song would sound stilted, as Gringos
don’t typically express ourselves, for example, by telling the objects
of our affection that their “requests for dates are lacking” and that
their claims of love don’t “feel sufficient.”
While nearly half of the 12 songs on The Mavericks en Español were
written (or co-written) by Raul Malo, the album includes a few Spanish
language standards. As soon as I heard its chorus, I immediately
recognized one in particular- but not, as Rick Rodriguez asserts, as Cuando Me Enamoro- an "original standard by Andrea Bocelli” (as apparently suggested by Bocelli’s 2015 recording, let alone Enrique Iglesias’ recording of the same song, translated “When I Fall in Love" five years earlier).
No, the English translation is not even recognizable to fans of the standard first popularized by Doris Day, but one I recognized from the earworm chorus of Engelbert Humperdinck’s 1968 smash that was a big hit when I was a teenager: A Man Without Love.
Creole Skies
Johnny & the Mongrels
Johnny & the Mongrels'
co-founders, singer/songwriters Johnny Ryan and Jeff Bostic, join with
guitarist Scott Sharrard, keyboardist Bill McKay and
drummer/percussionist Eddie Christmas, and another equally-talented
group of musicians and backup singers, to produce a debut album worthy
of your attention.
The opening bars of Louisiana Girl (a Ryan/Bostic/Sharrard composition) suggest a Tony Joe White group sound. And while that song, as well as eight of the other ten selections found on Creole Skies, was written by one or more of the above-mentioned quintet's members, one of the best feel-good songs on the album, Saturday Night In Oak Grove Louisiana was written, and first recorded (in 1973) by White himself.
The Colorado-based zydeco quintet's "News Orleans infused swamp funk and bayou soul" may confound rack-jobbers (suggested genre: Americana/Blues/Jamband/Rock),
but, for the rest of us, music is music. More specifically, good
music is good music, whether it's the title song or any of the others.
Mama Said is not a cover of The Shirelles'
1961 hit, but rather a tribute to a woman who encouraged her sons to be
all they could be, using that "one shot" to "give all you've got to
give."
On an album full of a number of infectious songs guaranteed to make you smile, dance and/or sing along, Music Man, another jewel, namechecks that celebrated master of funk: James Brown.
At a time when others want to drain the swamp, Johnny & the Mongrels make the case for exempting swamp blues.
The Secret of Life
Daryl Mosley
Daryl Mosley made a name for himself by writing songs that have been recorded by both major country and bluegrass artists. Fans who have followed Daryl from his days with various award-winning bands will be especially interested in Pinecastle's release of Mosley's first solo album; a collection of 11 songs Mosley has variously written or co-written.
Leading off with A Few Years Ago, the first single from The Secret of Life,
Mosley sings of life lessons learned, suggesting that wisdom may well
be a privilege of age. It is easily the strongest lyric and best
performance on this collection of radio-friendly songs. It Never Gets Old is an ode to enduring love I can see lending itself to any number of advertising promotions and/or movie soundtracks.
Similarly, the title song recounts the wisdom of a Humphrey's County (or Waverly, Tennessee, the county seat, to be more precise) barber who shares what he's learned about priorities, coping and otherwise finding balance in life.
Story-songs,
morality plays, songs with a message- they're all a part of Daryl's
oeuvre, rhythmically set to a bluegrass beat.
Mosley
shines, playing to his strengths. He's an excellent vocalist and an
artful songwriter. Daryl clearly knows his target audience of
fundamentalist Christians who enjoy a little preaching along with their
bluegrass. This style is most effective when it equates living a
righteous life with common sense. Mosley's slightly modernized
message, set against an original melody, of Do What The Good Book Says is not as secular as Jimmie Dodd's inspirational homily first released on a 78 (vinyl) in 1956.
As with most preaching, within, as well as exclusive of, a musical context, there's no openness to other viewpoints (other than, perhaps, to lump them together and mischaracterize some of them).
But with songs like In A Country Town (which conflates conservative values with patriotism), Hands in Wood, All the Way Home and harrowing "my way or the highway" message of The Deal,
it is evident that Daryl has a laser focus on his fan base and that its
growth will never be at the expense of Mosley's compromising a
strongly-held world view that brings him and those of like mind comfort
and inspiration, in the absence of multicultural appeal.
Roll Up the Rug
The Roe Family Singers
My fellow Minnesotans, Kim and Quillan Roe, accompanied by their chosen family of fellow traditional musicians comprise The Roe Family Singers.
This
motley crew know how to roll up the rug to the vocal accompaniment of a
potpourri of country, folk and bluegrass sounds, courtesy of a banjo,
autoharp, washboard, spoons, guitar (archtop, resonator, bass and
flat-top), dobro, mandolin and even musical saw, with their own style
of Appalachian clogging thrown in for good measure.
There are 15 songs in all for your musical pleasure, including When the Red, Red Robin Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbing and a couple of 19th century standards (The Red River Valley, My Grandfather's Clock);
songs I haven't heard in decades. The Roes' renditions of those
songs alone are worth price of the album that also includes songs that
are even older (The Fox) and other country classics (Hey Good Lookin', Tennessee Stud).
The Roe Family Singers put their unique stamp on Bill Monroe's The Rocky Road Blues and listeners will enjoy the work of several songwriters, including the Roe Family Singers themselves (What Did He Say?).
Thankful for Country Music
Shane Owens
Peace in Pieces
Betty Fox Band
Betty Fox is billed as a “powerhouse blues and roots soul stirrer ” (with no apologies to Sam Cooke) and the lead vocalist/acoustic guitarist of Betty Fox Band certainly lives up to that description.
When Betty and her bandmates (electric guitarist Josh Nelms, bass guitarist Barry Williams and drummer Chris Peet) brought their blend of blues, gospel, funk and soul to record at Muscle Shoals legendary Fame Studios, they wouldn’t take no for answer when told that a road band has a whole different skill set than studio musicians.
The powers that be needn’t have worried. Betty’s backup band was equal to the task, augmented by the music of industry veteran Spooner Oldham and his equally- talented session cohorts.
With 14 songs (all but one penned by Betty and/or her-cowriters) on the Best of the Bay and 2015 International Blues Challenge finalists’ third album, there is a little something for everyone who loves Betty Fox Band’s genre-defying sound. The title song, with its theme of Zen-rooted accommodation, is a sharp contrast to the co-dependency of Runnin’ Back to You; the latter sounding a different tone than the independent spirit of Rising Strong who is “ready to fly.”
Parenthetically, it should be noted that, just as the aforementioned Barry Williams is not the guy we remember Growing Up Brady, so too, Sweet Memories is not a cover of the Mickey Newbury classic.
Sweet Goodnight briefly channels Doris Day which will be a surprise to fans of Janis Joplin and Beth Hart (two
of several singers whose vocals, Betty, with her husky,
grit-impassioned performances, is often favorably compared) as it
conjures an image of what it might sound like to have Fox “sing your
favorite lullaby.”
Feels So Good is just that: a feel good song while Magnificent Hallucination might be best characterized as the esoteric extension of Tommy James & the Shondells’ Crimson and Clover.
The album’s closer, ‘Til the Storm Passes By, is a song of prayerful hope that leaves the listener wanting more.
Earth
Sister Hazel
Earth is the natural title for the fourth in a series of Sister Hazel’s “elements” compilation series, given that the six-track EP is the follow-up to Water, Wind, and Fire.
This final volume of the series (that would be titled, as I erroneously predicted in my Fire review, “Air”) is the extension of the group’s most recent efforts.
Anyone who has ever parented a child (or who was once a child, for that matter) can identify with Raising a Rookie, an empathetic observation written by Darius Rucker, Barry Dean and Sister Hazel’s own Drew Copeland.
I Don’t Do Well Alone is bit of well-written (by Jerry Flowers and Sister Hazel’s Ken Bock) self-flagellating candor wrapped in self-absorbed dysfunction.
Sister Hazel’s Jett Beres joined Copeland and Dean in the writing of the metaphorical Slow Lightning while Drew and Jett teamed with Billy Montana to write Memphis Rain about a breakup in the Bluff City.
Copeland and Montana continue the breakup theme from a slightly different perspective while Follow The River (with Billy Montana, Randy Montana, Copeland and Beres sharing writers’ credits) speaks to the self-confidence of knowing what to expect from a relationship.
Elements IV (Remember Me) is Bock’s benediction to the elements series. As for (further) interpretation, I recommend the Hermann Rorschach approach.
Lemonade
Bobby Messano Featuring Bob Malone
Heal Me, Bobby's second single (which, like The Bad Guys, Messano wrote with Meredith Reed Salimbeni, to whom he Messano dedicates the project) is the first of eight songs variously featuring Bob Malone's vocals, clarinet, strings and string arrangements.
Messano and Malone collaborate on the title song, (Bobby's current single; a reasoned response to adversity), Junk Jam, an intricate instrumental interlude, followed by It's Just the Money That's Missing, a funky, sarcastic truism and bit of ear candy with which many, if not most, creatives can identify.
Be prepared for the darkness of A Thursday in June and the realism that permeates the songs that follow, including the finale, a CCNY cover, Find the Cost of Freedom.
Blue Sun Rises
Debra Lyn
This, the Americana/folk singer/songwriter’s third (Nashville-based) Palette Records album, is a departure from the first two.
Debra Lyn’s inspiration this time around is found in the culture and music of her Irish/Scotch/English heritage.
The opener, Pull Me Down (The Maids of Mitchelstown) fuses original, navigational love lyrics by Debra and producer/arranger Jeff Silverman with a traditional Irish tune.
The title song finds our protagonist, no longer navigating the waters, lamenting lost love by clinging to the memories that remain.
Traditional British folk (Billy Taylor) and Scottish (The Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond)
songs follow, then, lest the listener stay ensconced in a European
musical travelogue, Debra sings the praises of personal time (though,
admittedly to the beat of Jeff’s Irish step dancing) with a universal
theme titled Workin’ for the Money.
Love Will Never Die (featuring the traditional Irish reel The Star of Munster) is a tale of a heart denied choice, followed by Debra’s putting her personal stamp on the classic, Wayfaring Stranger.
Devil With the Blue Eyes is yet another diversion, conjuring familiar Christian imagery while Preacher Man challenges the judgmental who preach funerals with an agenda that overrides that of memorializing the deceased.
And you don’t have to be Scottish, nor even a drinker, to enjoy Debra’s rendering of The Parting Glass.The finale, Ode to Billy Taylor (The Sun Rises Blue) builds on Billy Taylor, the aforementioned story-song, taking the sailor’s saga to a new level.
Debra Lyn’s stated mission is to honor her heritage with musical influences “intricately woven into original and traditional songs throughout.”Mission accomplished!
American Highway
Marty Brown
There’s enough precedent for musical second acts that it's a good bet that, with the release of American Highway, Marty Brown, who took "a two decade self-imposed 'break' from major recording," will retain his loyal following (a steadfastness that began for many of us when we first became acquainted with Marty on a pre-true crime edition of CBS' 48 Hours) while winning, literally, a generation of new country-music fans.
Hedging that bet is the "expect the unexpected" quality, arrangements and musical direction of most of the songs found here.
Brown and Jon Tiven wrote the picturesque title song. They also wrote the remainder of these songs, writing I'm On A Roll (Better Than It's Ever Been) with Marty Brown, Jr.
The momentum, which hints of a concept album worthy of a movie soundtrack, is broken by Umbrella Lovers. Yes, it's a creative, imaginative tune, but one that not only breaks the continuity, it sounds like the answer to a musical challenge to incorporate two words that usually don't go together in a song.
This
gimmickry, which often works as a commercially viable radio hit, is
redeemed by the remainder of the songs. These include Casino Winnebago, a song that might exhibit the gimmicky cited above, but one that is saved by
Let's Be Frank
Trisha Yearwood
“That’s a great album!”
So said the young repairman attending to the small cracks in my windshield, as he peered into an open window of my parked Honda, noticing the album jacket for Trisha Yearwood’s Let’s Be Frank on the passenger seat opposite the seat-belted driver.
I
hadn’t finished listening to the CD, but that seal of approval from the
audience Yearwood hopes to reach may make what follows superfluous. (I didn’t try to do the repairman's job- I still want to do mine- so here goes:)
As anyone would expect, Trisha’s tribute album contains many of the Frank Sinatra standards fans of Ol' Blue Eyes would insist upon (Witchcraft, All the Way, Come Fly With Me, The Lady is a Tramp et al). But it also features songs more associated with other artists, such as Judy Garland (Over the Rainbow) John Raitt, Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones (If I Loved You), five other standards and a song Sinatra didn't live to hear; the "Ms. Yearwood" and Garth Brooks-penned For the Last Time.
Trisha's done them "her way."
Indeed, the beauty of Trisha Yearwood’s interpretations of these songs is that, while singing (mostly) hits from the Big Band era and The Great American Songbook, she doesn’t try to be anyone other than herself- let alone Frank Sinatra.
The result is that, while it ain't country, Let's Be Frank pleases both Yearwood's fans and those of the Chairman of the Board.
Diesel Palomino
Fate McAfee
Walk Through Fire
Yola
Fire
Sister Hazel
Hard Way to Go
Jimmy Charles
The release of Jimmy Charles’ seven-song EP is the latest fans are hearing from the American Idol (Season 9) alumnus (as opposed to Jimmy Charles, the recording artist of A Million To One fame).
The similarities between the two Jimmys begin and end with the identical stage name.
Most recently Idol’s Jimmy Charles led Nashville’s November, 2018 Cancer Survivors March, crossing the Cumberland River with fellow marchers by way of the JOHN SEIGENTHALER Pedestrian Bridge, in support of Jimmy's #IAMNOTALONE charity, an event preceding the singer/songwriter's prerelease party for Hard Way To Go.
The EP's title song, which closes out an array of material showcasing the range of Jimmy's talent (beginning with the energetic rocker, Blue Spaces, shifting to the pensive torcher, She's Where I Belong, the seemingly autobiographical Rollin' On and the self-explanatory tribute to God and a Woman), is a prayerful "tale of addiction," choices and consequences. Other highlights include I Am Not Alone, a paean to faith in troubled times, and Superman (not to be confused with Donna Fargo's 1973 hit of the same name), which offers tear-jerking support to those tasked with the impossible objective of doing and having it all while battling cancer to boot!
Glen Campbell Sings for the King
Glen Campbell
Livin' the Dream
Tim Atwood
Lee Shapiro Plays the Hits of Frankie Valli: A Piano Tribute
Lee Shapiro
It’s been years since instrumentals have been regarded as (terrestrial) radio-friendly. (One of the earliest indications came when the Country Music Association eliminated its “Instrumentalist of the Year” category.)
Some
of my favorite recordings are instrumentals and, in my capacity as a
music reviewer, I try to do my part to see that they are not overlooked. Enter Lee Shapiro, whom Four Seasons’
fans remember as the group’s musical director and arranger and as the
talent, in his own right, who went on to assist his mentor, Frankie Valli when Valli embarked on a solo career.
Though Lee has gone on to work with many other popular music artists since, with the resurgence in interest in the music of Valli and fellow Jersey Boys, courtesy of Broadway and the silver screen, Shapiro rightly believes many of the hits featuring Four Seasons’ lead singer Frankie’s falsetto adapt themselves to piano solos.
The result is Shapiro's instrumental interpretations of 10 familiar songs, four of which Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You, My Eyes Adored You, Swearin’ to God, and Fallen Angel, are really the only true Valli solo releases. I’ve Got You Under My Skin, like like Save it For Me, was released by “The Four Seasons Featuring the ‘Sound’ of Frankie Valli.” (The former, of course, was a cover of Frank Sinatra’s original hit version of the Cole Porter classic first performed by Virginia Bruce.)
Dawn and Marlena were Four Seasons’ hits, while Our Day Will Come, Frankie’s 1975 release was one of several covers of Ruby & the Romantics’ #1 hit (released in 1962).
Silence is Golden, written by Seasons’ group member Bob Gaudio and the quartet’s producer, Bob Crewe,was a Seasons’ 1964 B-side, the song is best remembered as a 1967 hit for The Tremeloes.
Music
history/marketing lessons aside, Lee Shapiro breathes new life and some
new twists into his arrangements of the above-mentioned songs, sticking
close to the familiar versions where it makes sense to do so.
Lee and his fellow Hit Men band (including album producer, Jeff Ganz) are, at this writing, performing these favorites as a touring band on their aptly-named Don’t Stop tour.
Don’t Stop pretty much summarizes the reviewer’s sentiments upon hearing Lee’s piano tribute. Fans won't be able to resist singing along, though, so karaoke, to say nothing of Nashville demo material for aspiring singers who don't write music, may well take up the sales slack if (terrestrial) radio doesn't do its part to make these songs instrumental recurrents.
Can't Be Denied
Mark Wayne Glasmire
Love & Wealth: The Lost Recordings
The Louvin Brothers
Come See About Me (A Benefit for the IBMA Trust Fund)
Various Artists
Sideline, Donna Ulisse, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Lonesome River Band, Balsam Range, Love Canon, Darin & Brooke Aldridge, Chris Jones & the Night Drivers, The Grascals and the Mountain Home Family have come together in a musical show of solidarity, to offer these performances of 11 songs, with proceeds benefiting the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Trust Fund.
The
spirit of unity is apparent from the beginning, setting the tone (no
pun intended) of what is to follow with Sideline’s performance of Their Hands Made the Music, Mark Brinkman’s original composition saluting bluegrass’ icons and all of the “pickers” who seek to carry on the tradition.
Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver's All of the Good Things We Could Do, with its uplifting call to action, is one of the best songs found here.
Not so The Grascals’ bluegrass version of The Beatles’ Help! Though what has, only in recent years, become a tradition that may have begun much earlier with Ray Stevens’ recording of Misty,
grassers have been seemingly all but stepping over each other in order
to record a song that has become a classic in another genre.
There are three reasons to do so:
1). To improve upon the original by making it your own to the point where the original is all but forgotten.
2. To redress a grievance when a classic was denied the shelf life and/or recurrent status it deserves.
Or
3. To give a classic a comedic turn as Stevens did with a Johnny Mathis hit or to otherwise parody it (think Homer & Jethro, Pinkard & Bowden, Weird Al Yankovic, etc.).
The Grascals fail all of these objectives, though their desire to assist the IBMA trust fund is, obviously, to be commended.
BTW, songwriters’ credit for Help! reads “John W. Lennon and Paul J. McCartney.” John Winston Lennon’s co-writer’s full given name is James Paul McCartney.
All of which brings us to the title song. While it might be a disappointment to The Supremes’ fans, who remember the Motown trio’s 1964 hit of the same name, to country and bluegrass fans Come See About Me is a completely different song, written and first recorded by Conway Twitty in 1977.
In any event, the Doyle Lawson-produced Come See About Me serves as a historically fitting finale, given new meaning with its We Are The World thrust, courtesy of some 20 performing contributors.
Wind
Sister Hazel
Sister Hazel’s six-song EP Wind is
a welcome addition to the crowded field of largely upbeat,
radio-friendly new releases vying for the attention of music fans
everywhere.
With Whirlwind Girl grabbing the most attention (and deservedly so) from those of us receiving prerelease copies I’m also partial to Small Town Living, a paean to what are often seen as nostalgic, though they are arguably timeless, values; ideals certainly worth preserving.
Taken as a whole, Wind evinces
Sunshine state sensibilities fashioning an optimism and sense of
security that is sometimes tempered by lyrical sentiments of
frustration and exasperation.
However, as themes and emotions seemingly run the gamut, this collection, the latest in the six-man-band’s Elements series,
proves that, after 25 years together, the Gainesville gang of “sisters”
(or, more accurately, “brothers [from another mother]"?) still has
it.
From The Crow's Nest
(John Jorgenson Bluegrass Band featuring Herb Pederson, Jon Randall & Mark Fain)
Listen To That Beautiful Sound is the title of not only the opening song from this collection, it sets the stage for a series of sonic delights, offset by themes of sadness and tragedy.
If the 15 songs featured on this project, recorded at SHERYL CROW's home studio, atop a horse barn, seem familiar it's because they were one-third of John's limited edition, 2015 three-CD Divertuoso box set now repositioned to reap the rewards of a wider release.
Jorgenson and his all-star collaborators present timeless music, blending story-songs such as Wandering Boy (a snapshot in time of young Rodney Crowell and his Houston roots) and Whiskey Lullaby (the disturbing, twisted tale of self-destruction) with a few instrumentals ( Ladies Bluff, Feather, Gina) spotlighting the musicianship that brought these respected pickers in their own right together.
Second Bloom: The Hits Re-Imaged
A Life Well Lived
DARYL MOSLEY
Rating
Daryl Mosley's third solo album is a nostalgic collection of 11 songs Daryl
Daryl's warm and inviting collection of bluegrass-flavored memorable melodies and country-music lyrics dovetail with the tenor's smooth and expressive vocals.
The album's opener and title track is a values-driven summary of Mosley's thoughts on how to live purposefully. Daryl turns nostalgic with his memories of Back When We Were Boys and the self-preservation amid world-weariness of clinging to a Mayberry State of Mind.
Hillbilly Graham (a favorite, no doubt of those who work at 1 Billy Graham Parkway in Charlotte, North Carolina) will be familiar to The Farm Hands' fans,
though Daryl Mosley clearly owns not only the song's copyright but a
presentation unique to the composition's creator.
Big God extols the virtue and benevolence of the Supreme Being Daryl envisions, with those same ideals resonating in The Bible in the Drawer (a natural theme song for the hotel industry) and Walking Man, Mosley's tribute to those who stand up for their beliefs.
Working Man's Prayer is a sincere tribute to those who do more than just collect a paycheck, while Nobody but Her blends admiration with humility.
The album's closer, Thankful, is an arresting and timely reminder that gratitude comes easily with focus.
A In sum: A Life Well Lived is a carefully-crafted, memorable contribution to music loved by bluegrass and country fans alike. Those in search of thought-provoking and meaningful lyrics, top-notch musicianship, as well as a few catchy tunes they will enjoy singing along to, are sure to echo the sentiments of another Mosley title (cut #7): We Need More of That.
Jake Ybarra
Rating
Jake Ybarra's first full-length album showcases the Harlingen, Texas native's eclectic approach to songwriting, delivered with a high-energy baritone and sometimes intense vocal style.
Ybarra
(pronounced "e-BAR-a") is a remarkably "old soul" whose storytelling
songs belies the obvious: that Jake was clearly not around as far back
as 1903, with equally vivid memories of 1953 in the year 2023; the need
for suspension of disbelief underscored by the remarkable fact that
Ybarra is a mere 25 years-old!
Jake, who considers South Carolina home, recorded these 10 songs at The Castle Studios.
Though obviously a student of history, changing times and values, Ybarra brings a decidedly contemporary 21st century flair to a debut collection highlighted by a couple of songs fans are already streaming: notably the opener (Late November) and A Whole Lot to Remember, as well as the title song and Jake's upcoming radio single, Bloodfire.
Miller Time
Alex Miller
Rating
Don't let his baby face fool you: American Idol alum Alex Miller is
not only (though just barely) old enough to legally imbibe, he sings
the fire out of both modern-day original traditional-sounding songs and
a couple of standards to boot.
Standing
6’6”and hailing from Lexington, Kentucky, Miller blends elements of
bluegrass with his traditional country sensibility, nodding to
country-gospel.
A writer or co-writer (with Alex's producer, veteran singer/songwriter Jerry Salley)
on half of the 10 songs found here, some of Miller’s
relationship-driven material, like much of traditional country music,
evince a #MeToo-era misogynistic tinge (e.g., I'm Over You, So Get Over Me). Knowingly or unknowingly in defiance of that perception, Alex’s first single, the somewhat mournful Through With You,
alters the stereotypical stone-country gender-specific definition of
victimization and vulnerability- to a point.
Breaking the Bank and Don’t Let the Door Hit Ya spotlight the Miller persona’s sardonic sense of humor while Girls Must Be Clumsy is a slightly gentler, clever poke and ego stroke.
Kentucky’s Never Been This Far From Tennessee sums up a wistful side of a romantic connection. I'm Done is the blunt, reverse side of that coin (as Alex rhymes "bull" and "fool" as only he can!).
Milller seems to be channeling Jimmy Martin (rather than Keith Allison and Mark Lindsay) as Alex brings a fresh exuberance to his rendition of Freeborn Man.
The album's closer, I'm Gonna Sing gives the Hank Williams' gospel favorite new life as Miller enlists The Oak Ridge Boys to provide the perfect vocal accompaniment.
Nature Child- A Dreamer's Journey
Sylvia
To those of us on the older end of the Baby Boomer spectrum, the mention of Avalon provokes memories of Venus and the Beach Party franchise.
But centuries before Francis Thomas Avallone’s 1940 birth Avalon became known as a legendary island that continues to be steeped in mythology.
Enter Sylvia. The Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter’s own Avalon word-association has inspired Nature Child: A Dreamer’s Journey best described as a concept album for “children and dreamers of all ages.”
Beginning with the first of 12 songs, aptly-titled Avalon,
Sylvia takes listeners to a land of enchantment, where closed eyes open
us to a world of possibilities in a “magical place that resides beyond
the realms of time and space.”
The
curious and imaginative are treated to expansive ideas and themes of
self-actualization, with the abandonment of fears and the embracing of
opportunities here for the taking.
Sylvia, who had a hand in writing each of these vignettes, enlists Verlon Thompson, Craig Bickhardt, John Mock, and Thom Schuyler, in the actualization of her vision.
Favorites include: Every Time A Train Goes By, Don't Be Afraid to Dream, My Best Friend, (Hey, Hey, Hey) It's a New Day and I Love You for Who You Are.
Small Town Dreamer
Daryl Mosley
Rating
Daryl Mosley’s sophomore solo album, like his previous release reviewed here last year, is
once again a nod to Daryl’s “target audience of fundamentalist
Christians who enjoy a little preaching along with their
bluegrass.”
The idyllic appeal of life as Daryl has known it and lived it is also evident in lyrics that herald simplicity (Bringing Simple Back), pay tribute to values-based beliefs (The Way I Was Raised) and his sources of inspiration (Mama’s Bible, Hillbilly Dust, He’s With Me, Here’s to the Dreamers) and even that singularly special person in his life (You Are the Reason).
Mad Twenties
Taylor Rae
Rating
At 27, Taylor Rae believes she has experienced enough of her “mad twenties” to musically reflect on life or- perhaps more accurately- relationships as they have revealed themselves to her.
While
those of who have a few decades on the singer/songwriter/acoustic
guitarist (think boomers) chronicle that journey through the proverbial
rear-view mirror, Taylor Rae takes us on a real-time millennial trip to
places we have been. Such is the universality of human emotion.
Taylor
Rae does so with a clarity of mind and voice, with lyrics that
alternately evince strength, vulnerability, dependence, independence
and, at points, indecision.
Taylor’s been compared to other singers whose names listeners know (though not, as far as I know, to country music's other Taylor) and style to several musical genres, but to these ears she is unique, promising and genre-defying.
There is that voice of a “broken lover” who yearns to be a Fixer Upper. Taking Space will
be familiar to those who are thwarted by letting another live “rent
free”- in their heads- and thus know the frustration that ensues when
“You always win.”
Anyone who has ever mistaken, metaphorically, another voice for their own, will find the message of Forgiveness nothing less than arresting.
Not
to say that Taylor Rae has not found a release from all of the inner
turmoil: Listeners will find it in the simplicity of what some call
Zen, others, like Taylor Rae, "the key” to happiness: Just Be.
Stand For Myself
Yola
Rating
Depreciated
John R. Miller
Rating
John R. Miller,
who wrote all 11 songs on this compilation, brings a blend of literate
simplicity to his lyrics that veer from the ethereal imagery and
steam-of-consciousness to storytelling variety.
Lookin’ Over My Shoulder speaks to accountability. Borrowed Time,
another mini-morality play, warns of the urgency of a similar
accounting and its depreciating value that seems to have inspired Depreciated, the title of this collection sans, strictly speaking, a title song.
Miller brings a novelist’s sensibility and descriptiveness to his narratives. Depreciated’s sole instrumental, What’s Left of the Valley, puts a spotlight on John’s musicianship, as he joins fellow West Virginian Adam Meisterhans on acoustic guitar, accompanied by fiddler Cloe Edmonstone, mandolinist John Looney and Justin Francis on congas.
Motor’s Fried, another highlight, is a creative reminder of the opportunity to turn the sourest of lemons into lemonade.
Glimpses of Miller’s sense of humor are apparent on many of these songs but John's wit is in full force on the quixotic Half Ton Van.
This,
Miller's debut solo album, and its originality leave the listener
gladly anticipating John’s plans for a sophomore solo release.
The Triumph of Assimilation
Mark Rubin
Rating
Killbilly and Bad Livers' co-founder Mark Rubin (a/k/a Jew of Oklahoma, in homage to Rubin's ethnicity and Sooner State birthplace) is "tired of being treated as an outsider in his own country, where his skin protects him from indignities non-whites suffer, but his DNA still marks him for hate."
Having paid his dues "melding acoustic music and hardcore punk" and "playing polkas in dance halls and honky-tonks across Texas (not to mention "merging Klezmer and Romani music in The Other Europeans project") singing/songwriting "bluegrass-and-old-time-country-loving tuba and stand up-bass virtuoso" Rubin has long since earned- and enjoyed- his status as a solo act.
Fusing an anger borne of childhood memories (police officers' constant harassment and humiliation of his father, whose Oklahoma home was scene of incidents ranging from a cross-burning in the yard to bricks shattering windows on Adolph Hitler's birthday, to Mark's being denied access to his community's swimming pool) with a joyful, though sometimes sarcastic, sense of humor, Rubin's has produced a collection of songs of triumphing over what Bari Weiss now calls Jew Hatred.
Contrary to expectations however, the dark, discomforting (as they should be) album openers A Day of Revenge and It's Burning do not set the tone for several of the eight songs to follow. Case in point: Down South Kosher, a creative and funny bone-tickling take on the everyday challenges of adhering to kashruth experienced by Jews who call the heart of Dixie home.
Murder of Leo Frank revisits the famous 1915 lynching of a Jewish American falsely accused of a crime he did not commit. And, if you can appreciate the brilliance of putting the Frank lynching to song, you’ll appreciate Mark’s segue to an instrumental cornucopia aptly-titled Yiddish Banjo Tunes.
Ironically, Danny Barnes' banjo lends itself to Rubin's descriptive My Resting Place (based on Morris Rosenfeld's poetry), while Rubin's rendition of Avinu Malkeinu (a
traditional Jewish prayer, translated as "Our Father, Our King," set to
music and recited during the High Holidays) is not to be missed.
Good Shabbes is
a joyful, musical extension of Jews' traditional Sabbath greeting and
the holiday spirit remains in full force with Mark's adaptation of the
Yiddish Hanukkah favorite, Spin the Dreidel.
My favorite song on an album of gems? Si Kahn's Unnatural Disasters, a disarming, yet pointed jab ridiculing Jew Hatred you don't have to be Bari Weiss, Mark Rubin, or even Jewish to love.
Never Mind
Margie Singleton
Rating
Fans who bemoaned Margie Singleton’s retirement will be glad to know that, at the urging of her son (and co-writer), Stephen Singleton (son of the late producer/record label owner Shelby Singleton), Margie has retired from retirement!
Having interrupted her career to care for her ailing second husband, late country hitmaker Leon Ashley, one gets the sense this widow, lulled into an extended retirement, might have had a 21st century
widowmaker had Steve not convinced Margie that, rather than rest on her
considerable laurels, Margie's best performances were yet to come.
Making music her inspirational way at age 85, the original Harper Valley P.T.A. artist (who got her start as a cast member of The Louisiana Hayride), began her recording career in 1957. Margie has since written, recorded, or both written and recorded, many hits (some of the latter, before becoming a duet artist and popular soloist, as one of The Merry Melody Singers session vocalists).
In
the “second act” stage of her long and illustrious life, Margie
underscores her commitment to music with the formation of her newest
record label and its publishing arm, aintquittinmusic.
Aintquittinmusic’s
publishing division is credited with four of the five songs (each of
which Margie cowrote with her eldest son) including the title song, an autobiographical excursion down memory lane.
Sometimes
sassy, sometimes earnest in tone, Margie’s latest compilation of songs
has a classic sound that will be appreciated by new generations of
fans, for whom she is a “new artist,” as well as those who can
appreciate the history of the songs’ cover art. (That’s Margie, back in the early ‘60s, photographed at one of Nashville’s long-running Centennial Park bandshell concert series performances, backed by legendary musicians Ben Keith and Billy Byrd.)
The newer material is rounded out by Margie’s recording of Lie to Me, the 1962 Brook Benton hit Margie co-wrote (with Benton) and sang on as one of the aforementioned Merry Melody Singers.
Symbolically
appropriate to close this extended play album, where once Margie
Singleton provided the oohs and aahs to compliment Brook Benton's
smooth, baritone-to-tenor lead vocal, Margie is appropriately once
again front-and-center herself, with Margie’s own style affirming how Lie to Me resonates timelessly.
Swing for the Fences
Phil Leadbetter and The All Stars of Bluegrass
Rating
*** 1/2
Lead singer/resophoic guitarist Phil Leadbetter, joined by an all-star band (Alan Bibey on mandolin, Jason Burleson on banjo, guitarist Robert Hale and Steve Gulley on bass), truly does, as the title song indicates, Swing for the Fences with this 10-song collection that includes the album's first single, One Way Rider (Ricky Skaggs' #1 hit in 1982 and written by Rodney Crowell).
Phil
and the band of bluegrass favorites sing of enduring love, hurt and
loss, and, yes, faith and optimism and manage to include an
instrumental ( Avery Stokes ) along the way.
Relying somewhat on proven favorites, these six-time IBMA award nominees revive Johnny Rodriquez' 1977 recording of Bob McDill's I'm Gonna Make It After All , J.D. Crowe and the New South's 1978 recording of The Hurtin' When You Go and Vern Gosdin's 1977 Top Ten hit, Yesterday's Gone. (The latter, features the vocal performance of Steve Gulley's widow, Debbie. Steve Gulley succumbed to pancreatic cancer on August 18, 2020 at age 57.)
The only clinker is Ready and Waiting.
The performance is flawless, but the song's manipulative message of
fear-based religion as being somehow preferable to the alternative is a
value that is less than socially redeeming.
Halfway From Nashville
Sean Harrison
Rating
After veteran singer/songwriter Sean Harrison, the late novelist/screenwriter William Harrison’s
oldest son, had risen through the ranks to share the stage with some of
music’s most popular pickers, songwriters and singers and was about to
reap the benefits, Sean sabotaged his grip on the brass ring.
Addicted
to familiar culprits (drugs and alcohol), the worldwide traveler, band
musician and sometimes busker who was poised to embark on a promising
solo career descended to the depths of despair. By Sean’s own admission, he wasted too many years before getting clean, sober and ready to pick up where he left off.
At that point, Harrison began to make a series of better decisions. He recommitted to songwriting, hired an experienced publicity (Martha Moore) and promotion (Bill Wence) team, and has now released what may be his finest recordings to date.
As many would-be stars are adhering to a plan in place that has taken them halfway to Nashville, Harrison’s title song explores the reverse side of that coin.
Harrison obliquely references Harlan Howard, namechecks “Merle,” “Dylan” and “Mr. Cash” (the latter lauded, among other reasons, for having “been everywhere,” which begs the question, why no mention of Hank Snow?) as inspirational touchstones offering a compass as well as relief from a community of “schmucks,” “losers” and “abusers.”
Big Decisions, Harrison's take- with a twist- on the shared division of labor, is reminiscent of Mary Chapin Carpenter’s He Thinks He’ll Keep Her and is equally as radio-friendly. By contrast, Paydays approaches the male-female dynamic from another angle and is otherwise evocative of a familiar stereotype.
Listeners become willing accomplices on Sean’s journey of self-discovery. Intimacy, rough edges, humor- it’s all here with an originality and candor that make Halfway From Nashville “must” listening.
Crazy House
Rating
If Johnny Cash were alive today and singing bluegrass, he’d be tempted to join Turning Ground, especially after hearing Crazy House.
The quintet shares an affinity with the Bad News singer for songs about infidelity, murder and other high crimes like a Bad Deal that could land an Outlaw with a cunning rivaling that of Jesse James behind the bars of a Crazy House.
My favorite is a mini-soap opera of evangelical villains and hypocrites including the sinister minister known as Reverend Jackson (no, not that other Jesse) and his nemesis, the cuckolded Bobby who got even in way pro-lifers will not appreciate.
There are songs of despair such as the one where we find our protagonist Tore Up From the Floor Up, balanced nicely by the believer who finds himself Strongest on My Knees.
From flights of fancy there is a directional shift to the reality of Still My Mama, a weeper caretakers and other loved ones of those battling dementia will appreciate for take on coping.
In short, Crazy House is an impressive potpourri of selections that will alternately delight and intrigue.
Blue Haze
Robert Hale with the 8th Wonder Band
Rating
You’ve heard all of these classic hits before- but not covered by bluegrass artists.
Robert Hale’s EP features seven familiar songs from other genres performed to a bluegrass beat.
Can you imagine The Beatles, Eric Burden, or The Rolling Stones performing Uncle Pen or Fox on the Run?
In the reverse, the message may be that not every non-bluegrass standard lends itself to bluegrass. Of
course, given the number of bluegrass artists who are now providing at
least one such reinterpreted track on their album, listeners can only
surmise- and maybe even be among those who will vouch for the fact-
that the demand is there.
Certainly, if Blue Haze listeners
are open to the gimmick, experiment or however they wish to
characterize it, and especially if, in a few cases, they’ve never heard
the originals, it’s easy to defend the move.
For Hale and his band (which includes- my fellow Leadership Music inaugural classmate- the superb Missy Raines on bass) prove they are able to make songs like Help, Mr. Bojangles and House of the Rising Sun and the four other past hits featured here their own. Utilizing
such techniques as fiddle, banjo and/or mandolin featured prominently
in the turnarounds, when necessary to distance themselves from the
originals Hale and his band have produced a project well worthy of
listener’s (and skeptics’) consideration.
Old Road, New Again
The Dillards
Rating
Rodney Dillard enlists the remainder of the current “Dillard incarnation” (as John McEuen accurately refers to Becky Dillard, Tom Wray, George Giddens and Gary Smith), in collaboration with “featured artists” Don Henley, Ricky Skaggs, Herb Pedersen, Sharon and Cheryl White, Bernie Leadon and Sam Bush and a number of “special guests” in the presentation of this, The Dillards’ first album since 1991.
I don’t know what took them nearly 30 years, but I do know that ever since America fell in love with The Darlings on The Andy Griffith Show (1963) the (extended Dillard) family has been a part of its musical (and sometimes comedic) consciousness.
I hope my friend, Lanny Smith hears The Earthman (the
lead single from this album) and that fans of The Dillards will enjoy
the other songs found here, including the title song and the group’s
unlikely bluegrass rendition of the ‘50s favorite, Save the Last Dance for Me.
On my “pans” list: Tearing Our Liberty Down. Sorry, guys but I’m not a fan of populist preaching set to music when the lyrics cite vague problems, blaming only the mysterious (i.e., unidentified “they,” a tactic universally employed by bigots) and offer no solutions.
The Old Side of Town
Alecia Nugent
After “going off the grid for a decade” IBMA and multi SPBGMA award-winning bluegrass favorite Alecia Nugent emerges with a collection of songs that showcase her country side and strength as a songwriter.
Alecia also breathes new life into her cover of April Verch’s lyrically-quirky I Might Have One Too.
They Don’t Make ‘Em Like My Daddy Anymore is not a repurposing of a similarly-titled Loretta Lynn’s 1974 Top Ten hit, but rather a moving tribute to Nugent’s father that Alecia wrote with Carl Jackson. The
centerpiece of Nugent’s new music video, two different renditions of
the song are featured here, the latter bluegrass version as a “bonus
track.”
No
longer off the grid, Alecia returns, rescuing listeners from the
gridlock of her absence and, appetites whetted, awaiting what she’ll
come up with next!
The Mavericks en Español
The Mavericks
Most soloists (and perhaps some groups) of stature have that album project that they’ve always wanted to do. Their
fans usually hear about it when media day interview embargoes are
lifted so that publication coincides with the release of said dream
project.
Having received an advance copy of The Mavericks en Español I’m not sure that this, The Mavericks’ first-ever Spanish language album, fits that description, but it’s obvious Raul Malo, Eddie Perez, Jerry Dale McFadden and Paul Deakin have not phoned it in.
I’m preaching to choir of those who have heard the first two singles: Poder Vivir (literally translated as “the power to live” or, as credited translator Rick Rodriguez prefers, simply “To Live”) and Recuerdos (translation: “Memories”).
Assisted by The Fantastic Five (a
group of musicians that add instrumentation and vocals to those
provided by The Mavericks themselves), along with several other special
guests (notably Flaco Jiménez)
and individually credited musicians, lead vocalist Malo and cohorts
have listeners singing along, thanks to an accompanying booklet of the
lyrics to each song along with Rodriguez’ Spanish- to- English
translations.
The
poetry of Spanish is evident in the songs of this, The Mavericks' 30th
anniversary album, as is the realization that if, if recorded in
English, much would be lost in the translation.
No Vale La Pena, one of my favorites, is Exhibit A. Apart
from the title’s English translation ("It’s Not Really Worth It"), an
English language rendering of the song would sound stilted, as Gringos
don’t typically express ourselves, for example, by telling the objects
of our affection that their “requests for dates are lacking” and that
their claims of love don’t “feel sufficient.”
While nearly half of the 12 songs on The Mavericks en Español were
written (or co-written) by Raul Malo, the album includes a few Spanish
language standards. As soon as I heard its chorus, I immediately
recognized one in particular- but not, as Rick Rodriguez asserts, as Cuando Me Enamoro- an "original standard by Andrea Bocelli” (as apparently suggested by Bocelli’s 2015 recording, let alone Enrique Iglesias’ recording of the same song, translated “When I Fall in Love" five years earlier).
No, the English translation is not even recognizable to fans of the standard first popularized by Doris Day, but one I recognized from the earworm chorus of Engelbert Humperdinck’s 1968 smash that was a big hit when I was a teenager: A Man Without Love.
Creole Skies
Johnny & the Mongrels
Johnny & the Mongrels'
co-founders, singer/songwriters Johnny Ryan and Jeff Bostic, join with
guitarist Scott Sharrard, keyboardist Bill McKay and
drummer/percussionist Eddie Christmas, and another equally-talented
group of musicians and backup singers, to produce a debut album worthy
of your attention.
The opening bars of Louisiana Girl (a Ryan/Bostic/Sharrard composition) suggest a Tony Joe White group sound. And while that song, as well as eight of the other ten selections found on Creole Skies, was written by one or more of the above-mentioned quintet's members, one of the best feel-good songs on the album, Saturday Night In Oak Grove Louisiana was written, and first recorded (in 1973) by White himself.
The Colorado-based zydeco quintet's "News Orleans infused swamp funk and bayou soul" may confound rack-jobbers (suggested genre: Americana/Blues/Jamband/Rock),
but, for the rest of us, music is music. More specifically, good
music is good music, whether it's the title song or any of the others.
Mama Said is not a cover of The Shirelles'
1961 hit, but rather a tribute to a woman who encouraged her sons to be
all they could be, using that "one shot" to "give all you've got to
give."
On an album full of a number of infectious songs guaranteed to make you smile, dance and/or sing along, Music Man, another jewel, namechecks that celebrated master of funk: James Brown.
At a time when others want to drain the swamp, Johnny & the Mongrels make the case for exempting swamp blues.
The Secret of Life
Daryl Mosley
Daryl Mosley made a name for himself by writing songs that have been recorded by both major country and bluegrass artists. Fans who have followed Daryl from his days with various award-winning bands will be especially interested in Pinecastle's release of Mosley's first solo album; a collection of 11 songs Mosley has variously written or co-written.
Leading off with A Few Years Ago, the first single from The Secret of Life,
Mosley sings of life lessons learned, suggesting that wisdom may well
be a privilege of age. It is easily the strongest lyric and best
performance on this collection of radio-friendly songs. It Never Gets Old is an ode to enduring love I can see lending itself to any number of advertising promotions and/or movie soundtracks.
Similarly, the title song recounts the wisdom of a Humphrey's County (or Waverly, Tennessee, the county seat, to be more precise) barber who shares what he's learned about priorities, coping and otherwise finding balance in life.
Story-songs,
morality plays, songs with a message- they're all a part of Daryl's
oeuvre, rhythmically set to a bluegrass beat.
Mosley
shines, playing to his strengths. He's an excellent vocalist and an
artful songwriter. Daryl clearly knows his target audience of
fundamentalist Christians who enjoy a little preaching along with their
bluegrass. This style is most effective when it equates living a
righteous life with common sense. Mosley's slightly modernized
message, set against an original melody, of Do What The Good Book Says is not as secular as Jimmie Dodd's inspirational homily first released on a 78 (vinyl) in 1956.
As with most preaching, within, as well as exclusive of, a musical context, there's no openness to other viewpoints (other than, perhaps, to lump them together and mischaracterize some of them).
But with songs like In A Country Town (which conflates conservative values with patriotism), Hands in Wood, All the Way Home and harrowing "my way or the highway" message of The Deal,
it is evident that Daryl has a laser focus on his fan base and that its
growth will never be at the expense of Mosley's compromising a
strongly-held world view that brings him and those of like mind comfort
and inspiration, in the absence of multicultural appeal.
Roll Up the Rug
The Roe Family Singers
My fellow Minnesotans, Kim and Quillan Roe, accompanied by their chosen family of fellow traditional musicians comprise The Roe Family Singers.
This
motley crew know how to roll up the rug to the vocal accompaniment of a
potpourri of country, folk and bluegrass sounds, courtesy of a banjo,
autoharp, washboard, spoons, guitar (archtop, resonator, bass and
flat-top), dobro, mandolin and even musical saw, with their own style
of Appalachian clogging thrown in for good measure.
There are 15 songs in all for your musical pleasure, including When the Red, Red Robin Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbing and a couple of 19th century standards (The Red River Valley, My Grandfather's Clock);
songs I haven't heard in decades. The Roes' renditions of those
songs alone are worth price of the album that also includes songs that
are even older (The Fox) and other country classics (Hey Good Lookin', Tennessee Stud).
The Roe Family Singers put their unique stamp on Bill Monroe's The Rocky Road Blues and listeners will enjoy the work of several songwriters, including the Roe Family Singers themselves (What Did He Say?).
Thankful for Country Music
Shane Owens
Peace in Pieces
Betty Fox Band
Betty Fox is billed as a “powerhouse blues and roots soul stirrer ” (with no apologies to Sam Cooke) and the lead vocalist/acoustic guitarist of Betty Fox Band certainly lives up to that description.
When Betty and her bandmates (electric guitarist Josh Nelms, bass guitarist Barry Williams and drummer Chris Peet) brought their blend of blues, gospel, funk and soul to record at Muscle Shoals legendary Fame Studios, they wouldn’t take no for answer when told that a road band has a whole different skill set than studio musicians.
The powers that be needn’t have worried. Betty’s backup band was equal to the task, augmented by the music of industry veteran Spooner Oldham and his equally- talented session cohorts.
With 14 songs (all but one penned by Betty and/or her-cowriters) on the Best of the Bay and 2015 International Blues Challenge finalists’ third album, there is a little something for everyone who loves Betty Fox Band’s genre-defying sound. The title song, with its theme of Zen-rooted accommodation, is a sharp contrast to the co-dependency of Runnin’ Back to You; the latter sounding a different tone than the independent spirit of Rising Strong who is “ready to fly.”
Parenthetically, it should be noted that, just as the aforementioned Barry Williams is not the guy we remember Growing Up Brady, so too, Sweet Memories is not a cover of the Mickey Newbury classic.
Sweet Goodnight briefly channels Doris Day which will be a surprise to fans of Janis Joplin and Beth Hart (two
of several singers whose vocals, Betty, with her husky,
grit-impassioned performances, is often favorably compared) as it
conjures an image of what it might sound like to have Fox “sing your
favorite lullaby.”
Feels So Good is just that: a feel good song while Magnificent Hallucination might be best characterized as the esoteric extension of Tommy James & the Shondells’ Crimson and Clover.
The album’s closer, ‘Til the Storm Passes By, is a song of prayerful hope that leaves the listener wanting more.
Earth
Sister Hazel
Earth is the natural title for the fourth in a series of Sister Hazel’s “elements” compilation series, given that the six-track EP is the follow-up to Water, Wind, and Fire.
This final volume of the series (that would be titled, as I erroneously predicted in my Fire review, “Air”) is the extension of the group’s most recent efforts.
Anyone who has ever parented a child (or who was once a child, for that matter) can identify with Raising a Rookie, an empathetic observation written by Darius Rucker, Barry Dean and Sister Hazel’s own Drew Copeland.
I Don’t Do Well Alone is bit of well-written (by Jerry Flowers and Sister Hazel’s Ken Bock) self-flagellating candor wrapped in self-absorbed dysfunction.
Sister Hazel’s Jett Beres joined Copeland and Dean in the writing of the metaphorical Slow Lightning while Drew and Jett teamed with Billy Montana to write Memphis Rain about a breakup in the Bluff City.
Copeland and Montana continue the breakup theme from a slightly different perspective while Follow The River (with Billy Montana, Randy Montana, Copeland and Beres sharing writers’ credits) speaks to the self-confidence of knowing what to expect from a relationship.
Elements IV (Remember Me) is Bock’s benediction to the elements series. As for (further) interpretation, I recommend the Hermann Rorschach approach.
Lemonade
Bobby Messano Featuring Bob Malone
Heal Me, Bobby's second single (which, like The Bad Guys, Messano wrote with Meredith Reed Salimbeni, to whom he Messano dedicates the project) is the first of eight songs variously featuring Bob Malone's vocals, clarinet, strings and string arrangements.
Messano and Malone collaborate on the title song, (Bobby's current single; a reasoned response to adversity), Junk Jam, an intricate instrumental interlude, followed by It's Just the Money That's Missing, a funky, sarcastic truism and bit of ear candy with which many, if not most, creatives can identify.
Be prepared for the darkness of A Thursday in June and the realism that permeates the songs that follow, including the finale, a CCNY cover, Find the Cost of Freedom.
Blue Sun Rises
Debra Lyn
This, the Americana/folk singer/songwriter’s third (Nashville-based) Palette Records album, is a departure from the first two.
Debra Lyn’s inspiration this time around is found in the culture and music of her Irish/Scotch/English heritage.
The opener, Pull Me Down (The Maids of Mitchelstown) fuses original, navigational love lyrics by Debra and producer/arranger Jeff Silverman with a traditional Irish tune.
The title song finds our protagonist, no longer navigating the waters, lamenting lost love by clinging to the memories that remain.
Traditional British folk (Billy Taylor) and Scottish (The Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond)
songs follow, then, lest the listener stay ensconced in a European
musical travelogue, Debra sings the praises of personal time (though,
admittedly to the beat of Jeff’s Irish step dancing) with a universal
theme titled Workin’ for the Money.
Love Will Never Die (featuring the traditional Irish reel The Star of Munster) is a tale of a heart denied choice, followed by Debra’s putting her personal stamp on the classic, Wayfaring Stranger.
Devil With the Blue Eyes is yet another diversion, conjuring familiar Christian imagery while Preacher Man challenges the judgmental who preach funerals with an agenda that overrides that of memorializing the deceased.
And you don’t have to be Scottish, nor even a drinker, to enjoy Debra’s rendering of The Parting Glass.The finale, Ode to Billy Taylor (The Sun Rises Blue) builds on Billy Taylor, the aforementioned story-song, taking the sailor’s saga to a new level.
Debra Lyn’s stated mission is to honor her heritage with musical influences “intricately woven into original and traditional songs throughout.”Mission accomplished!
American Highway
Marty Brown
There’s enough precedent for musical second acts that it's a good bet that, with the release of American Highway, Marty Brown, who took "a two decade self-imposed 'break' from major recording," will retain his loyal following (a steadfastness that began for many of us when we first became acquainted with Marty on a pre-true crime edition of CBS' 48 Hours) while winning, literally, a generation of new country-music fans.
Hedging that bet is the "expect the unexpected" quality, arrangements and musical direction of most of the songs found here.
Brown and Jon Tiven wrote the picturesque title song. They also wrote the remainder of these songs, writing I'm On A Roll (Better Than It's Ever Been) with Marty Brown, Jr.
The momentum, which hints of a concept album worthy of a movie soundtrack, is broken by Umbrella Lovers. Yes, it's a creative, imaginative tune, but one that not only breaks the continuity, it sounds like the answer to a musical challenge to incorporate two words that usually don't go together in a song.
This
gimmickry, which often works as a commercially viable radio hit, is
redeemed by the remainder of the songs. These include Casino Winnebago, a song that might exhibit the gimmicky cited above, but one that is saved by
Let's Be Frank
Trisha Yearwood
“That’s a great album!”
So said the young repairman attending to the small cracks in my windshield, as he peered into an open window of my parked Honda, noticing the album jacket for Trisha Yearwood’s Let’s Be Frank on the passenger seat opposite the seat-belted driver.
I
hadn’t finished listening to the CD, but that seal of approval from the
audience Yearwood hopes to reach may make what follows superfluous. (I didn’t try to do the repairman's job- I still want to do mine- so here goes:)
As anyone would expect, Trisha’s tribute album contains many of the Frank Sinatra standards fans of Ol' Blue Eyes would insist upon (Witchcraft, All the Way, Come Fly With Me, The Lady is a Tramp et al). But it also features songs more associated with other artists, such as Judy Garland (Over the Rainbow) John Raitt, Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones (If I Loved You), five other standards and a song Sinatra didn't live to hear; the "Ms. Yearwood" and Garth Brooks-penned For the Last Time.
Trisha's done them "her way."
Indeed, the beauty of Trisha Yearwood’s interpretations of these songs is that, while singing (mostly) hits from the Big Band era and The Great American Songbook, she doesn’t try to be anyone other than herself- let alone Frank Sinatra.
The result is that, while it ain't country, Let's Be Frank pleases both Yearwood's fans and those of the Chairman of the Board.
Diesel Palomino
Fate McAfee
Walk Through Fire
Yola
Fire
Sister Hazel
Hard Way to Go
Jimmy Charles
The release of Jimmy Charles’ seven-song EP is the latest fans are hearing from the American Idol (Season 9) alumnus (as opposed to Jimmy Charles, the recording artist of A Million To One fame).
The similarities between the two Jimmys begin and end with the identical stage name.
Most recently Idol’s Jimmy Charles led Nashville’s November, 2018 Cancer Survivors March, crossing the Cumberland River with fellow marchers by way of the JOHN SEIGENTHALER Pedestrian Bridge, in support of Jimmy's #IAMNOTALONE charity, an event preceding the singer/songwriter's prerelease party for Hard Way To Go.
The EP's title song, which closes out an array of material showcasing the range of Jimmy's talent (beginning with the energetic rocker, Blue Spaces, shifting to the pensive torcher, She's Where I Belong, the seemingly autobiographical Rollin' On and the self-explanatory tribute to God and a Woman), is a prayerful "tale of addiction," choices and consequences. Other highlights include I Am Not Alone, a paean to faith in troubled times, and Superman (not to be confused with Donna Fargo's 1973 hit of the same name), which offers tear-jerking support to those tasked with the impossible objective of doing and having it all while battling cancer to boot!
Glen Campbell Sings for the King
Glen Campbell
Livin' the Dream
Tim Atwood
Lee Shapiro Plays the Hits of Frankie Valli: A Piano Tribute
Lee Shapiro
It’s been years since instrumentals have been regarded as (terrestrial) radio-friendly. (One of the earliest indications came when the Country Music Association eliminated its “Instrumentalist of the Year” category.)
Some
of my favorite recordings are instrumentals and, in my capacity as a
music reviewer, I try to do my part to see that they are not overlooked. Enter Lee Shapiro, whom Four Seasons’
fans remember as the group’s musical director and arranger and as the
talent, in his own right, who went on to assist his mentor, Frankie Valli when Valli embarked on a solo career.
Though Lee has gone on to work with many other popular music artists since, with the resurgence in interest in the music of Valli and fellow Jersey Boys, courtesy of Broadway and the silver screen, Shapiro rightly believes many of the hits featuring Four Seasons’ lead singer Frankie’s falsetto adapt themselves to piano solos.
The result is Shapiro's instrumental interpretations of 10 familiar songs, four of which Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You, My Eyes Adored You, Swearin’ to God, and Fallen Angel, are really the only true Valli solo releases. I’ve Got You Under My Skin, like like Save it For Me, was released by “The Four Seasons Featuring the ‘Sound’ of Frankie Valli.” (The former, of course, was a cover of Frank Sinatra’s original hit version of the Cole Porter classic first performed by Virginia Bruce.)
Dawn and Marlena were Four Seasons’ hits, while Our Day Will Come, Frankie’s 1975 release was one of several covers of Ruby & the Romantics’ #1 hit (released in 1962).
Silence is Golden, written by Seasons’ group member Bob Gaudio and the quartet’s producer, Bob Crewe,was a Seasons’ 1964 B-side, the song is best remembered as a 1967 hit for The Tremeloes.
Music
history/marketing lessons aside, Lee Shapiro breathes new life and some
new twists into his arrangements of the above-mentioned songs, sticking
close to the familiar versions where it makes sense to do so.
Lee and his fellow Hit Men band (including album producer, Jeff Ganz) are, at this writing, performing these favorites as a touring band on their aptly-named Don’t Stop tour.
Don’t Stop pretty much summarizes the reviewer’s sentiments upon hearing Lee’s piano tribute. Fans won't be able to resist singing along, though, so karaoke, to say nothing of Nashville demo material for aspiring singers who don't write music, may well take up the sales slack if (terrestrial) radio doesn't do its part to make these songs instrumental recurrents.
Can't Be Denied
Mark Wayne Glasmire
Love & Wealth: The Lost Recordings
The Louvin Brothers
Come See About Me (A Benefit for the IBMA Trust Fund)
Various Artists
Sideline, Donna Ulisse, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Lonesome River Band, Balsam Range, Love Canon, Darin & Brooke Aldridge, Chris Jones & the Night Drivers, The Grascals and the Mountain Home Family have come together in a musical show of solidarity, to offer these performances of 11 songs, with proceeds benefiting the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Trust Fund.
The
spirit of unity is apparent from the beginning, setting the tone (no
pun intended) of what is to follow with Sideline’s performance of Their Hands Made the Music, Mark Brinkman’s original composition saluting bluegrass’ icons and all of the “pickers” who seek to carry on the tradition.
Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver's All of the Good Things We Could Do, with its uplifting call to action, is one of the best songs found here.
Not so The Grascals’ bluegrass version of The Beatles’ Help! Though what has, only in recent years, become a tradition that may have begun much earlier with Ray Stevens’ recording of Misty,
grassers have been seemingly all but stepping over each other in order
to record a song that has become a classic in another genre.
There are three reasons to do so:
1). To improve upon the original by making it your own to the point where the original is all but forgotten.
2. To redress a grievance when a classic was denied the shelf life and/or recurrent status it deserves.
Or
3. To give a classic a comedic turn as Stevens did with a Johnny Mathis hit or to otherwise parody it (think Homer & Jethro, Pinkard & Bowden, Weird Al Yankovic, etc.).
The Grascals fail all of these objectives, though their desire to assist the IBMA trust fund is, obviously, to be commended.
BTW, songwriters’ credit for Help! reads “John W. Lennon and Paul J. McCartney.” John Winston Lennon’s co-writer’s full given name is James Paul McCartney.
All of which brings us to the title song. While it might be a disappointment to The Supremes’ fans, who remember the Motown trio’s 1964 hit of the same name, to country and bluegrass fans Come See About Me is a completely different song, written and first recorded by Conway Twitty in 1977.
In any event, the Doyle Lawson-produced Come See About Me serves as a historically fitting finale, given new meaning with its We Are The World thrust, courtesy of some 20 performing contributors.
Wind
Sister Hazel
Sister Hazel’s six-song EP Wind is
a welcome addition to the crowded field of largely upbeat,
radio-friendly new releases vying for the attention of music fans
everywhere.
With Whirlwind Girl grabbing the most attention (and deservedly so) from those of us receiving prerelease copies I’m also partial to Small Town Living, a paean to what are often seen as nostalgic, though they are arguably timeless, values; ideals certainly worth preserving.
Taken as a whole, Wind evinces
Sunshine state sensibilities fashioning an optimism and sense of
security that is sometimes tempered by lyrical sentiments of
frustration and exasperation.
However, as themes and emotions seemingly run the gamut, this collection, the latest in the six-man-band’s Elements series,
proves that, after 25 years together, the Gainesville gang of “sisters”
(or, more accurately, “brothers [from another mother]"?) still has
it.
From The Crow's Nest
(John Jorgenson Bluegrass Band featuring Herb Pederson, Jon Randall & Mark Fain)
Listen To That Beautiful Sound is the title of not only the opening song from this collection, i
A Life Well Lived
DARYL MOSLEY
Rating
Daryl Mosley's third solo album is a nostalgic collection of 11 songs Daryl
Daryl's warm and inviting collection of bluegrass-flavored memorable melodies and country-music lyrics dovetail with the tenor's smooth and expressive vocals.
The album's opener and title track is a values-driven summary of Mosley's thoughts on how to live purposefully. Daryl turns nostalgic with his memories of Back When We Were Boys and the self-preservation amid world-weariness of clinging to a Mayberry State of Mind.
Hillbilly Graham (a favorite, no doubt of those who work at 1 Billy Graham Parkway in Charlotte, North Carolina) will be familiar to The Farm Hands' fans,
though Daryl Mosley clearly owns not only the song's copyright but a
presentation unique to the composition's creator.
Big God extols the virtue and benevolence of the Supreme Being Daryl envisions, with those same ideals resonating in The Bible in the Drawer (a natural theme song for the hotel industry) and Walking Man, Mosley's tribute to those who stand up for their beliefs.
Working Man's Prayer is a sincere tribute to those who do more than just collect a paycheck, while Nobody but Her blends admiration with humility.
The album's closer, Thankful, is an arresting and timely reminder that gratitude comes easily with focus.
A In sum: A Life Well Lived is a carefully-crafted, memorable contribution to music loved by bluegrass and country fans alike. Those in search of thought-provoking and meaningful lyrics, top-notch musicianship, as well as a few catchy tunes they will enjoy singing along to, are sure to echo the sentiments of another Mosley title (cut #7): We Need More of That.
Jake Ybarra
Rating
Jake Ybarra's first full-length album showcases the Harlingen, Texas native's eclectic approach to songwriting, delivered with a high-energy baritone and sometimes intense vocal style.
Ybarra
(pronounced "e-BAR-a") is a remarkably "old soul" whose storytelling
songs belies the obvious: that Jake was clearly not around as far back
as 1903, with equally vivid memories of 1953 in the year 2023; the need
for suspension of disbelief underscored by the remarkable fact that
Ybarra is a mere 25 years-old!
Jake, who considers South Carolina home, recorded these 10 songs at The Castle Studios.
Though obviously a student of history, changing times and values, Ybarra brings a decidedly contemporary 21st century flair to a debut collection highlighted by a couple of songs fans are already streaming: notably the opener (Late November) and A Whole Lot to Remember, as well as the title song and Jake's upcoming radio single, Bloodfire.
Miller Time
Alex Miller
Rating
Don't let his baby face fool you: American Idol alum Alex Miller is
not only (though just barely) old enough to legally imbibe, he sings
the fire out of both modern-day original traditional-sounding songs and
a couple of standards to boot.
Standing
6’6”and hailing from Lexington, Kentucky, Miller blends elements of
bluegrass with his traditional country sensibility, nodding to
country-gospel.
A writer or co-writer (with Alex's producer, veteran singer/songwriter Jerry Salley)
on half of the 10 songs found here, some of Miller’s
relationship-driven material, like much of traditional country music,
evince a #MeToo-era misogynistic tinge (e.g., I'm Over You, So Get Over Me). Knowingly or unknowingly in defiance of that perception, Alex’s first single, the somewhat mournful Through With You,
alters the stereotypical stone-country gender-specific definition of
victimization and vulnerability- to a point.
Breaking the Bank and Don’t Let the Door Hit Ya spotlight the Miller persona’s sardonic sense of humor while Girls Must Be Clumsy is a slightly gentler, clever poke and ego stroke.
Kentucky’s Never Been This Far From Tennessee sums up a wistful side of a romantic connection. I'm Done is the blunt, reverse side of that coin (as Alex rhymes "bull" and "fool" as only he can!).
Milller seems to be channeling Jimmy Martin (rather than Keith Allison and Mark Lindsay) as Alex brings a fresh exuberance to his rendition of Freeborn Man.
The album's closer, I'm Gonna Sing gives the Hank Williams' gospel favorite new life as Miller enlists The Oak Ridge Boys to provide the perfect vocal accompaniment.
Nature Child- A Dreamer's Journey
Sylvia
To those of us on the older end of the Baby Boomer spectrum, the mention of Avalon provokes memories of Venus and the Beach Party franchise.
But centuries before Francis Thomas Avallone’s 1940 birth Avalon became known as a legendary island that continues to be steeped in mythology.
Enter Sylvia. The Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter’s own Avalon word-association has inspired Nature Child: A Dreamer’s Journey best described as a concept album for “children and dreamers of all ages.”
Beginning with the first of 12 songs, aptly-titled Avalon,
Sylvia takes listeners to a land of enchantment, where closed eyes open
us to a world of possibilities in a “magical place that resides beyond
the realms of time and space.”
The
curious and imaginative are treated to expansive ideas and themes of
self-actualization, with the abandonment of fears and the embracing of
opportunities here for the taking.
Sylvia, who had a hand in writing each of these vignettes, enlists Verlon Thompson, Craig Bickhardt, John Mock, and Thom Schuyler, in the actualization of her vision.
Favorites include: Every Time A Train Goes By, Don't Be Afraid to Dream, My Best Friend, (Hey, Hey, Hey) It's a New Day and I Love You for Who You Are.
Small Town Dreamer
Daryl Mosley
Rating
Daryl Mosley’s sophomore solo album, like his previous release reviewed here last year, is
once again a nod to Daryl’s “target audience of fundamentalist
Christians who enjoy a little preaching along with their
bluegrass.”
The idyllic appeal of life as Daryl has known it and lived it is also evident in lyrics that herald simplicity (Bringing Simple Back), pay tribute to values-based beliefs (The Way I Was Raised) and his sources of inspiration (Mama’s Bible, Hillbilly Dust, He’s With Me, Here’s to the Dreamers) and even that singularly special person in his life (You Are the Reason).
Mad Twenties
Taylor Rae
Rating
At 27, Taylor Rae believes she has experienced enough of her “mad twenties” to musically reflect on life or- perhaps more accurately- relationships as they have revealed themselves to her.
While
those of who have a few decades on the singer/songwriter/acoustic
guitarist (think boomers) chronicle that journey through the proverbial
rear-view mirror, Taylor Rae takes us on a real-time millennial trip to
places we have been. Such is the universality of human emotion.
Taylor
Rae does so with a clarity of mind and voice, with lyrics that
alternately evince strength, vulnerability, dependence, independence
and, at points, indecision.
Taylor’s been compared to other singers whose names listeners know (though not, as far as I know, to country music's other Taylor) and style to several musical genres, but to these ears she is unique, promising and genre-defying.
There is that voice of a “broken lover” who yearns to be a Fixer Upper. Taking Space will
be familiar to those who are thwarted by letting another live “rent
free”- in their heads- and thus know the frustration that ensues when
“You always win.”
Anyone who has ever mistaken, metaphorically, another voice for their own, will find the message of Forgiveness nothing less than arresting.
Not
to say that Taylor Rae has not found a release from all of the inner
turmoil: Listeners will find it in the simplicity of what some call
Zen, others, like Taylor Rae, "the key” to happiness: Just Be.
Stand For Myself
Yola
Rating
Depreciated
John R. Miller
Rating
John R. Miller,
who wrote all 11 songs on this compilation, brings a blend of literate
simplicity to his lyrics that veer from the ethereal imagery and
steam-of-consciousness to storytelling variety.
Lookin’ Over My Shoulder speaks to accountability. Borrowed Time,
another mini-morality play, warns of the urgency of a similar
accounting and its depreciating value that seems to have inspired Depreciated, the title of this collection sans, strictly speaking, a title song.
Miller brings a novelist’s sensibility and descriptiveness to his narratives. Depreciated’s sole instrumental, What’s Left of the Valley, puts a spotlight on John’s musicianship, as he joins fellow West Virginian Adam Meisterhans on acoustic guitar, accompanied by fiddler Cloe Edmonstone, mandolinist John Looney and Justin Francis on congas.
Motor’s Fried, another highlight, is a creative reminder of the opportunity to turn the sourest of lemons into lemonade.
Glimpses of Miller’s sense of humor are apparent on many of these songs but John's wit is in full force on the quixotic Half Ton Van.
This,
Miller's debut solo album, and its originality leave the listener
gladly anticipating John’s plans for a sophomore solo release.
The Triumph of Assimilation
Mark Rubin
Rating
Killbilly and Bad Livers' co-founder Mark Rubin (a/k/a Jew of Oklahoma, in homage to Rubin's ethnicity and Sooner State birthplace) is "tired of being treated as an outsider in his own country, where his skin protects him from indignities non-whites suffer, but his DNA still marks him for hate."
Having paid his dues "melding acoustic music and hardcore punk" and "playing polkas in dance halls and honky-tonks across Texas (not to mention "merging Klezmer and Romani music in The Other Europeans project") singing/songwriting "bluegrass-and-old-time-country-loving tuba and stand up-bass virtuoso" Rubin has long since earned- and enjoyed- his status as a solo act.
Fusing an anger borne of childhood memories (police officers' constant harassment and humiliation of his father, whose Oklahoma home was scene of incidents ranging from a cross-burning in the yard to bricks shattering windows on Adolph Hitler's birthday, to Mark's being denied access to his community's swimming pool) with a joyful, though sometimes sarcastic, sense of humor, Rubin's has produced a collection of songs of triumphing over what Bari Weiss now calls Jew Hatred.
Contrary to expectations however, the dark, discomforting (as they should be) album openers A Day of Revenge and It's Burning do not set the tone for several of the eight songs to follow. Case in point: Down South Kosher, a creative and funny bone-tickling take on the everyday challenges of adhering to kashruth experienced by Jews who call the heart of Dixie home.
Murder of Leo Frank revisits the famous 1915 lynching of a Jewish American falsely accused of a crime he did not commit. And, if you can appreciate the brilliance of putting the Frank lynching to song, you’ll appreciate Mark’s segue to an instrumental cornucopia aptly-titled Yiddish Banjo Tunes.
Ironically, Danny Barnes' banjo lends itself to Rubin's descriptive My Resting Place (based on Morris Rosenfeld's poetry), while Rubin's rendition of Avinu Malkeinu (a
traditional Jewish prayer, translated as "Our Father, Our King," set to
music and recited during the High Holidays) is not to be missed.
Good Shabbes is
a joyful, musical extension of Jews' traditional Sabbath greeting and
the holiday spirit remains in full force with Mark's adaptation of the
Yiddish Hanukkah favorite, Spin the Dreidel.
My favorite song on an album of gems? Si Kahn's Unnatural Disasters, a disarming, yet pointed jab ridiculing Jew Hatred you don't have to be Bari Weiss, Mark Rubin, or even Jewish to love.
Never Mind
Margie Singleton
Rating
Fans who bemoaned Margie Singleton’s retirement will be glad to know that, at the urging of her son (and co-writer), Stephen Singleton (son of the late producer/record label owner Shelby Singleton), Margie has retired from retirement!
Having interrupted her career to care for her ailing second husband, late country hitmaker Leon Ashley, one gets the sense this widow, lulled into an extended retirement, might have had a 21st century
widowmaker had Steve not convinced Margie that, rather than rest on her
considerable laurels, Margie's best performances were yet to come.
Making music her inspirational way at age 85, the original Harper Valley P.T.A. artist (who got her start as a cast member of The Louisiana Hayride), began her recording career in 1957. Margie has since written, recorded, or both written and recorded, many hits (some of the latter, before becoming a duet artist and popular soloist, as one of The Merry Melody Singers session vocalists).
In
the “second act” stage of her long and illustrious life, Margie
underscores her commitment to music with the formation of her newest
record label and its publishing arm, aintquittinmusic.
Aintquittinmusic’s
publishing division is credited with four of the five songs (each of
which Margie cowrote with her eldest son) including the title song, an autobiographical excursion down memory lane.
Sometimes
sassy, sometimes earnest in tone, Margie’s latest compilation of songs
has a classic sound that will be appreciated by new generations of
fans, for whom she is a “new artist,” as well as those who can
appreciate the history of the songs’ cover art. (That’s Margie, back in the early ‘60s, photographed at one of Nashville’s long-running Centennial Park bandshell concert series performances, backed by legendary musicians Ben Keith and Billy Byrd.)
The newer material is rounded out by Margie’s recording of Lie to Me, the 1962 Brook Benton hit Margie co-wrote (with Benton) and sang on as one of the aforementioned Merry Melody Singers.
Symbolically
appropriate to close this extended play album, where once Margie
Singleton provided the oohs and aahs to compliment Brook Benton's
smooth, baritone-to-tenor lead vocal, Margie is appropriately once
again front-and-center herself, with Margie’s own style affirming how Lie to Me resonates timelessly.
Swing for the Fences
Phil Leadbetter and The All Stars of Bluegrass
Rating
*** 1/2
Lead singer/resophoic guitarist Phil Leadbetter, joined by an all-star band (Alan Bibey on mandolin, Jason Burleson on banjo, guitarist Robert Hale and Steve Gulley on bass), truly does, as the title song indicates, Swing for the Fences with this 10-song collection that includes the album's first single, One Way Rider (Ricky Skaggs' #1 hit in 1982 and written by Rodney Crowell).
Phil
and the band of bluegrass favorites sing of enduring love, hurt and
loss, and, yes, faith and optimism and manage to include an
instrumental ( Avery Stokes ) along the way.
Relying somewhat on proven favorites, these six-time IBMA award nominees revive Johnny Rodriquez' 1977 recording of Bob McDill's I'm Gonna Make It After All , J.D. Crowe and the New South's 1978 recording of The Hurtin' When You Go and Vern Gosdin's 1977 Top Ten hit, Yesterday's Gone. (The latter, features the vocal performance of Steve Gulley's widow, Debbie. Steve Gulley succumbed to pancreatic cancer on August 18, 2020 at age 57.)
The only clinker is Ready and Waiting.
The performance is flawless, but the song's manipulative message of
fear-based religion as being somehow preferable to the alternative is a
value that is less than socially redeeming.
Halfway From Nashville
Sean Harrison
Rating
After veteran singer/songwriter Sean Harrison, the late novelist/screenwriter William Harrison’s
oldest son, had risen through the ranks to share the stage with some of
music’s most popular pickers, songwriters and singers and was about to
reap the benefits, Sean sabotaged his grip on the brass ring.
Addicted
to familiar culprits (drugs and alcohol), the worldwide traveler, band
musician and sometimes busker who was poised to embark on a promising
solo career descended to the depths of despair. By Sean’s own admission, he wasted too many years before getting clean, sober and ready to pick up where he left off.
At that point, Harrison began to make a series of better decisions. He recommitted to songwriting, hired an experienced publicity (Martha Moore) and promotion (Bill Wence) team, and has now released what may be his finest recordings to date.
As many would-be stars are adhering to a plan in place that has taken them halfway to Nashville, Harrison’s title song explores the reverse side of that coin.
Harrison obliquely references Harlan Howard, namechecks “Merle,” “Dylan” and “Mr. Cash” (the latter lauded, among other reasons, for having “been everywhere,” which begs the question, why no mention of Hank Snow?) as inspirational touchstones offering a compass as well as relief from a community of “schmucks,” “losers” and “abusers.”
Big Decisions, Harrison's take- with a twist- on the shared division of labor, is reminiscent of Mary Chapin Carpenter’s He Thinks He’ll Keep Her and is equally as radio-friendly. By contrast, Paydays approaches the male-female dynamic from another angle and is otherwise evocative of a familiar stereotype.
Listeners become willing accomplices on Sean’s journey of self-discovery. Intimacy, rough edges, humor- it’s all here with an originality and candor that make Halfway From Nashville “must” listening.
Crazy House
Rating
If Johnny Cash were alive today and singing bluegrass, he’d be tempted to join Turning Ground, especially after hearing Crazy House.
The quintet shares an affinity with the Bad News singer for songs about infidelity, murder and other high crimes like a Bad Deal that could land an Outlaw with a cunning rivaling that of Jesse James behind the bars of a Crazy House.
My favorite is a mini-soap opera of evangelical villains and hypocrites including the sinister minister known as Reverend Jackson (no, not that other Jesse) and his nemesis, the cuckolded Bobby who got even in way pro-lifers will not appreciate.
There are songs of despair such as the one where we find our protagonist Tore Up From the Floor Up, balanced nicely by the believer who finds himself Strongest on My Knees.
From flights of fancy there is a directional shift to the reality of Still My Mama, a weeper caretakers and other loved ones of those battling dementia will appreciate for take on coping.
In short, Crazy House is an impressive potpourri of selections that will alternately delight and intrigue.
A Life Well Lived
DARYL MOSLEY
Rating
Daryl Mosley's third solo album is a nostalgic collection of 11 songs Daryl
Daryl's warm and inviting collection of bluegrass-flavored memorable melodies and country-music lyrics dovetail with the tenor's smooth and expressive vocals.
The album's opener and title track is a values-driven summary of Mosley's thoughts on how to live purposefully. Daryl turns nostalgic with his memories of Back When We Were Boys and the self-preservation amid world-weariness of clinging to a Mayberry State of Mind.
Hillbilly Graham (a favorite, no doubt of those who work at 1 Billy Graham Parkway in Charlotte, North Carolina) will be familiar to The Farm Hands' fans,
though Daryl Mosley clearly owns not only the song's copyright but a
presentation unique to the composition's creator.
Big God extols the virtue and benevolence of the Supreme Being Daryl envisions, with those same ideals resonating in The Bible in the Drawer (a natural theme song for the hotel industry) and Walking Man, Mosley's tribute to those who stand up for their beliefs.
Working Man's Prayer is a sincere tribute to those who do more than just collect a paycheck, while Nobody but Her blends admiration with humility.
The album's closer, Thankful, is an arresting and timely reminder that gratitude comes easily with focus.
A In sum: A Life Well Lived is a carefully-crafted, memorable contribution to music loved by bluegrass and country fans alike. Those in search of thought-provoking and meaningful lyrics, top-notch musicianship, as well as a few catchy tunes they will enjoy singing along to, are sure to echo the sentiments of another Mosley title (cut #7): We Need More of That.
Jake Ybarra
Rating
Jake Ybarra's first full-length album showcases the Harlingen, Texas native's eclectic approach to songwriting, delivered with a high-energy baritone and sometimes intense vocal style.
Ybarra
(pronounced "e-BAR-a") is a remarkably "old soul" whose storytelling
songs belies the obvious: that Jake was clearly not around as far back
as 1903, with equally vivid memories of 1953 in the year 2023; the need
for suspension of disbelief underscored by the remarkable fact that
Ybarra is a mere 25 years-old!
Jake, who considers South Carolina home, recorded these 10 songs at The Castle Studios.
Though obviously a student of history, changing times and values, Ybarra brings a decidedly contemporary 21st century flair to a debut collection highlighted by a couple of songs fans are already streaming: notably the opener (Late November) and A Whole Lot to Remember, as well as the title song and Jake's upcoming radio single, Bloodfire.
Miller Time
Alex Miller
Rating
Don't let his baby face fool you: American Idol alum Alex Miller is
not only (though just barely) old enough to legally imbibe, he sings
the fire out of both modern-day original traditional-sounding songs and
a couple of standards to boot.
Standing
6’6”and hailing from Lexington, Kentucky, Miller blends elements of
bluegrass with his traditional country sensibility, nodding to
country-gospel.
A writer or co-writer (with Alex's producer, veteran singer/songwriter Jerry Salley)
on half of the 10 songs found here, some of Miller’s
relationship-driven material, like much of traditional country music,
evince a #MeToo-era misogynistic tinge (e.g., I'm Over You, So Get Over Me). Knowingly or unknowingly in defiance of that perception, Alex’s first single, the somewhat mournful Through With You,
alters the stereotypical stone-country gender-specific definition of
victimization and vulnerability- to a point.
Breaking the Bank and Don’t Let the Door Hit Ya spotlight the Miller persona’s sardonic sense of humor while Girls Must Be Clumsy is a slightly gentler, clever poke and ego stroke.
Kentucky’s Never Been This Far From Tennessee sums up a wistful side of a romantic connection. I'm Done is the blunt, reverse side of that coin (as Alex rhymes "bull" and "fool" as only he can!).
Milller seems to be channeling Jimmy Martin (rather than Keith Allison and Mark Lindsay) as Alex brings a fresh exuberance to his rendition of Freeborn Man.
The album's closer, I'm Gonna Sing gives the Hank Williams' gospel favorite new life as Miller enlists The Oak Ridge Boys to provide the perfect vocal accompaniment.
Nature Child- A Dreamer's Journey
Sylvia
To those of us on the older end of the Baby Boomer spectrum, the mention of Avalon provokes memories of Venus and the Beach Party franchise.
But centuries before Francis Thomas Avallone’s 1940 birth Avalon became known as a legendary island that continues to be steeped in mythology.
Enter Sylvia. The Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter’s own Avalon word-association has inspired Nature Child: A Dreamer’s Journey best described as a concept album for “children and dreamers of all ages.”
Beginning with the first of 12 songs, aptly-titled Avalon,
Sylvia takes listeners to a land of enchantment, where closed eyes open
us to a world of possibilities in a “magical place that resides beyond
the realms of time and space.”
The
curious and imaginative are treated to expansive ideas and themes of
self-actualization, with the abandonment of fears and the embracing of
opportunities here for the taking.
Sylvia, who had a hand in writing each of these vignettes, enlists Verlon Thompson, Craig Bickhardt, John Mock, and Thom Schuyler, in the actualization of her vision.
Favorites include: Every Time A Train Goes By, Don't Be Afraid to Dream, My Best Friend, (Hey, Hey, Hey) It's a New Day and I Love You for Who You Are.
Small Town Dreamer
Daryl Mosley
Rating
Daryl Mosley’s sophomore solo album, like his previous release reviewed here last year, is
once again a nod to Daryl’s “target audience of fundamentalist
Christians who enjoy a little preaching along with their
bluegrass.”
The idyllic appeal of life as Daryl has known it and lived it is also evident in lyrics that herald simplicity (Bringing Simple Back), pay tribute to values-based beliefs (The Way I Was Raised) and his sources of inspiration (Mama’s Bible, Hillbilly Dust, He’s With Me, Here’s to the Dreamers) and even that singularly special person in his life (You Are the Reason).
Mad Twenties
Taylor Rae
Rating
At 27, Taylor Rae believes she has experienced enough of her “mad twenties” to musically reflect on life or- perhaps more accurately- relationships as they have revealed themselves to her.
While
those of who have a few decades on the singer/songwriter/acoustic
guitarist (think boomers) chronicle that journey through the proverbial
rear-view mirror, Taylor Rae takes us on a real-time millennial trip to
places we have been. Such is the universality of human emotion.
Taylor
Rae does so with a clarity of mind and voice, with lyrics that
alternately evince strength, vulnerability, dependence, independence
and, at points, indecision.
Taylor’s been compared to other singers whose names listeners know (though not, as far as I know, to country music's other Taylor) and style to several musical genres, but to these ears she is unique, promising and genre-defying.
There is that voice of a “broken lover” who yearns to be a Fixer Upper. Taking Space will
be familiar to those who are thwarted by letting another live “rent
free”- in their heads- and thus know the frustration that ensues when
“You always win.”
Anyone who has ever mistaken, metaphorically, another voice for their own, will find the message of Forgiveness nothing less than arresting.
Not
to say that Taylor Rae has not found a release from all of the inner
turmoil: Listeners will find it in the simplicity of what some call
Zen, others, like Taylor Rae, "the key” to happiness: Just Be.
Stand For Myself
Yola
Rating
Depreciated
John R. Miller
Rating
John R. Miller,
who wrote all 11 songs on this compilation, brings a blend of literate
simplicity to his lyrics that veer from the ethereal imagery and
steam-of-consciousness to storytelling variety.
Lookin’ Over My Shoulder speaks to accountability. Borrowed Time,
another mini-morality play, warns of the urgency of a similar
accounting and its depreciating value that seems to have inspired Depreciated, the title of this collection sans, strictly speaking, a title song.
Miller brings a novelist’s sensibility and descriptiveness to his narratives. Depreciated’s sole instrumental, What’s Left of the Valley, puts a spotlight on John’s musicianship, as he joins fellow West Virginian Adam Meisterhans on acoustic guitar, accompanied by fiddler Cloe Edmonstone, mandolinist John Looney and Justin Francis on congas.
Motor’s Fried, another highlight, is a creative reminder of the opportunity to turn the sourest of lemons into lemonade.
Glimpses of Miller’s sense of humor are apparent on many of these songs but John's wit is in full force on the quixotic Half Ton Van.
This,
Miller's debut solo album, and its originality leave the listener
gladly anticipating John’s plans for a sophomore solo release.
The Triumph of Assimilation
Mark Rubin
Rating
Killbilly and Bad Livers' co-founder Mark Rubin (a/k/a Jew of Oklahoma, in homage to Rubin's ethnicity and Sooner State birthplace) is "tired of being treated as an outsider in his own country, where his skin protects him from indignities non-whites suffer, but his DNA still marks him for hate."
Having paid his dues "melding acoustic music and hardcore punk" and "playing polkas in dance halls and honky-tonks across Texas (not to mention "merging Klezmer and Romani music in The Other Europeans project") singing/songwriting "bluegrass-and-old-time-country-loving tuba and stand up-bass virtuoso" Rubin has long since earned- and enjoyed- his status as a solo act.
Fusing an anger borne of childhood memories (police officers' constant harassment and humiliation of his father, whose Oklahoma home was scene of incidents ranging from a cross-burning in the yard to bricks shattering windows on Adolph Hitler's birthday, to Mark's being denied access to his community's swimming pool) with a joyful, though sometimes sarcastic, sense of humor, Rubin's has produced a collection of songs of triumphing over what Bari Weiss now calls Jew Hatred.
Contrary to expectations however, the dark, discomforting (as they should be) album openers A Day of Revenge and It's Burning do not set the tone for several of the eight songs to follow. Case in point: Down South Kosher, a creative and funny bone-tickling take on the everyday challenges of adhering to kashruth experienced by Jews who call the heart of Dixie home.
Murder of Leo Frank revisits the famous 1915 lynching of a Jewish American falsely accused of a crime he did not commit. And, if you can appreciate the brilliance of putting the Frank lynching to song, you’ll appreciate Mark’s segue to an instrumental cornucopia aptly-titled Yiddish Banjo Tunes.
Ironically, Danny Barnes' banjo lends itself to Rubin's descriptive My Resting Place (based on Morris Rosenfeld's poetry), while Rubin's rendition of Avinu Malkeinu (a
traditional Jewish prayer, translated as "Our Father, Our King," set to
music and recited during the High Holidays) is not to be missed.
Good Shabbes is
a joyful, musical extension of Jews' traditional Sabbath greeting and
the holiday spirit remains in full force with Mark's adaptation of the
Yiddish Hanukkah favorite, Spin the Dreidel.
My favorite song on an album of gems? Si Kahn's Unnatural Disasters, a disarming, yet pointed jab ridiculing Jew Hatred you don't have to be Bari Weiss, Mark Rubin, or even Jewish to love.
Never Mind
Margie Singleton
Rating
Fans who bemoaned Margie Singleton’s retirement will be glad to know that, at the urging of her son (and co-writer), Stephen Singleton (son of the late producer/record label owner Shelby Singleton), Margie has retired from retirement!
Having interrupted her career to care for her ailing second husband, late country hitmaker Leon Ashley, one gets the sense this widow, lulled into an extended retirement, might have had a 21st century
widowmaker had Steve not convinced Margie that, rather than rest on her
considerable laurels, Margie's best performances were yet to come.
Making music her inspirational way at age 85, the original Harper Valley P.T.A. artist (who got her start as a cast member of The Louisiana Hayride), began her recording career in 1957. Margie has since written, recorded, or both written and recorded, many hits (some of the latter, before becoming a duet artist and popular soloist, as one of The Merry Melody Singers session vocalists).
In
the “second act” stage of her long and illustrious life, Margie
underscores her commitment to music with the formation of her newest
record label and its publishing arm, aintquittinmusic.
Aintquittinmusic’s
publishing division is credited with four of the five songs (each of
which Margie cowrote with her eldest son) including the title song, an autobiographical excursion down memory lane.
Sometimes
sassy, sometimes earnest in tone, Margie’s latest compilation of songs
has a classic sound that will be appreciated by new generations of
fans, for whom she is a “new artist,” as well as those who can
appreciate the history of the songs’ cover art. (That’s Margie, back in the early ‘60s, photographed at one of Nashville’s long-running Centennial Park bandshell concert series performances, backed by legendary musicians Ben Keith and Billy Byrd.)
The newer material is rounded out by Margie’s recording of Lie to Me, the 1962 Brook Benton hit Margie co-wrote (with Benton) and sang on as one of the aforementioned Merry Melody Singers.
Symbolically
appropriate to close this extended play album, where once Margie
Singleton provided the oohs and aahs to compliment Brook Benton's
smooth, baritone-to-tenor lead vocal, Margie is appropriately once
again front-and-center herself, with Margie’s own style affirming how Lie to Me resonates timelessly.
Swing for the Fences
Phil Leadbetter and The All Stars of Bluegrass
Rating
*** 1/2
Lead singer/resophoic guitarist Phil Leadbetter, joined by an all-star band (Alan Bibey on mandolin, Jason Burleson on banjo, guitarist Robert Hale and Steve Gulley on bass), truly does, as the title song indicates, Swing for the Fences with this 10-song collection that includes the album's first single, One Way Rider (Ricky Skaggs' #1 hit in 1982 and written by Rodney Crowell).
Phil
and the band of bluegrass favorites sing of enduring love, hurt and
loss, and, yes, faith and optimism and manage to include an
instrumental ( Avery Stokes ) along the way.
Relying somewhat on proven favorites, these six-time IBMA award nominees revive Johnny Rodriquez' 1977 recording of Bob McDill's I'm Gonna Make It After All , J.D. Crowe and the New South's 1978 recording of The Hurtin' When You Go and Vern Gosdin's 1977 Top Ten hit, Yesterday's Gone. (The latter, features the vocal performance of Steve Gulley's widow, Debbie. Steve Gulley succumbed to pancreatic cancer on August 18, 2020 at age 57.)
The only clinker is Ready and Waiting.
The performance is flawless, but the song's manipulative message of
fear-based religion as being somehow preferable to the alternative is a
value that is less than socially redeeming.
Halfway From Nashville
Sean Harrison
Rating
After veteran singer/songwriter Sean Harrison, the late novelist/screenwriter William Harrison’s
oldest son, had risen through the ranks to share the stage with some of
music’s most popular pickers, songwriters and singers and was about to
reap the benefits, Sean sabotaged his grip on the brass ring.
Addicted
to familiar culprits (drugs and alcohol), the worldwide traveler, band
musician and sometimes busker who was poised to embark on a promising
solo career descended to the depths of despair. By Sean’s own admission, he wasted too many years before getting clean, sober and ready to pick up where he left off.
At that point, Harrison began to make a series of better decisions. He recommitted to songwriting, hired an experienced publicity (Martha Moore) and promotion (Bill Wence) team, and has now released what may be his finest recordings to date.
As many would-be stars are adhering to a plan in place that has taken them halfway to Nashville, Harrison’s title song explores the reverse side of that coin.
Harrison obliquely references Harlan Howard, namechecks “Merle,” “Dylan” and “Mr. Cash” (the latter lauded, among other reasons, for having “been everywhere,” which begs the question, why no mention of Hank Snow?) as inspirational touchstones offering a compass as well as relief from a community of “schmucks,” “losers” and “abusers.”
Big Decisions, Harrison's take- with a twist- on the shared division of labor, is reminiscent of Mary Chapin Carpenter’s He Thinks He’ll Keep Her and is equally as radio-friendly. By contrast, Paydays approaches the male-female dynamic from another angle and is otherwise evocative of a familiar stereotype.
Listeners become willing accomplices on Sean’s journey of self-discovery. Intimacy, rough edges, humor- it’s all here with an originality and candor that make Halfway From Nashville “must” listening.
Crazy House
Rating
If Johnny Cash were alive today and singing bluegrass, he’d be tempted to join Turning Ground, especially after hearing Crazy House.
The quintet shares an affinity with the Bad News singer for songs about infidelity, murder and other high crimes like a Bad Deal that could land an Outlaw with a cunning rivaling that of Jesse James behind the bars of a Crazy House.
My favorite is a mini-soap opera of evangelical villains and hypocrites including the sinister minister known as Reverend Jackson (no, not that other Jesse) and his nemesis, the cuckolded Bobby who got even in way pro-lifers will not appreciate.
There are songs of despair such as the one where we find our protagonist Tore Up From the Floor Up, balanced nicely by the believer who finds himself Strongest on My Knees.
From flights of fancy there is a directional shift to the reality of Still My Mama, a weeper caretakers and other loved ones of those battling dementia will appreciate for take on coping.
In short, Crazy House is an impressive potpourri of selections that will alternately delight and intrigue.
Blue Haze
Robert Hale with the 8th Wonder Band
Rating
You’ve heard all of these classic hits before- but not covered by bluegrass artists.
Robert Hale’s EP features seven familiar songs from other genres performed to a bluegrass beat.
Can you imagine The Beatles, Eric Burden, or The Rolling Stones performing Uncle Pen or Fox on the Run?
In the reverse, the message may be that not every non-bluegrass standard lends itself to bluegrass. Of
course, given the number of bluegrass artists who are now providing at
least one such reinterpreted track on their album, listeners can only
surmise- and maybe even be among those who will vouch for the fact-
that the demand is there.
Certainly, if Blue Haze listeners
are open to the gimmick, experiment or however they wish to
characterize it, and especially if, in a few cases, they’ve never heard
the originals, it’s easy to defend the move.
For Hale and his band (which includes- my fellow Leadership Music inaugural classmate- the superb Missy Raines on bass) prove they are able to make songs like Help, Mr. Bojangles and House of the Rising Sun and the four other past hits featured here their own. Utilizing
such techniques as fiddle, banjo and/or mandolin featured prominently
in the turnarounds, when necessary to distance themselves from the
originals Hale and his band have produced a project well worthy of
listener’s (and skeptics’) consideration.
Old Road, New Again
The Dillards
Rating
Rodney Dillard enlists the remainder of the current “Dillard incarnation” (as John McEuen accurately refers to Becky Dillard, Tom Wray, George Giddens and Gary Smith), in collaboration with “featured artists” Don Henley, Ricky Skaggs, Herb Pedersen, Sharon and Cheryl White, Bernie Leadon and Sam Bush and a number of “special guests” in the presentation of this, The Dillards’ first album since 1991.
I don’t know what took them nearly 30 years, but I do know that ever since America fell in love with The Darlings on The Andy Griffith Show (1963) the (extended Dillard) family has been a part of its musical (and sometimes comedic) consciousness.
I hope my friend, Lanny Smith hears The Earthman (the
lead single from this album) and that fans of The Dillards will enjoy
the other songs found here, including the title song and the group’s
unlikely bluegrass rendition of the ‘50s favorite, Save the Last Dance for Me.
On my “pans” list: Tearing Our Liberty Down. Sorry, guys but I’m not a fan of populist preaching set to music when the lyrics cite vague problems, blaming only the mysterious (i.e., unidentified “they,” a tactic universally employed by bigots) and offer no solutions.
The Old Side of Town
Alecia Nugent
After “going off the grid for a decade” IBMA and multi SPBGMA award-winning bluegrass favorite Alecia Nugent emerges with a collection of songs that showcase her country side and strength as a songwriter.
Alecia also breathes new life into her cover of April Verch’s lyrically-quirky I Might Have One Too.
They Don’t Make ‘Em Like My Daddy Anymore is not a repurposing of a similarly-titled Loretta Lynn’s 1974 Top Ten hit, but rather a moving tribute to Nugent’s father that Alecia wrote with Carl Jackson. The
centerpiece of Nugent’s new music video, two different renditions of
the song are featured here, the latter bluegrass version as a “bonus
track.”
No
longer off the grid, Alecia returns, rescuing listeners from the
gridlock of her absence and, appetites whetted, awaiting what she’ll
come up with next!
The Mavericks en Español
The Mavericks
Most soloists (and perhaps some groups) of stature have that album project that they’ve always wanted to do. Their
fans usually hear about it when media day interview embargoes are
lifted so that publication coincides with the release of said dream
project.
Having received an advance copy of The Mavericks en Español I’m not sure that this, The Mavericks’ first-ever Spanish language album, fits that description, but it’s obvious Raul Malo, Eddie Perez, Jerry Dale McFadden and Paul Deakin have not phoned it in.
I’m preaching to choir of those who have heard the first two singles: Poder Vivir (literally translated as “the power to live” or, as credited translator Rick Rodriguez prefers, simply “To Live”) and Recuerdos (translation: “Memories”).
Assisted by The Fantastic Five (a
group of musicians that add instrumentation and vocals to those
provided by The Mavericks themselves), along with several other special
guests (notably Flaco Jiménez)
and individually credited musicians, lead vocalist Malo and cohorts
have listeners singing along, thanks to an accompanying booklet of the
lyrics to each song along with Rodriguez’ Spanish- to- English
translations.
The
poetry of Spanish is evident in the songs of this, The Mavericks' 30th
anniversary album, as is the realization that if, if recorded in
English, much would be lost in the translation.
No Vale La Pena, one of my favorites, is Exhibit A. Apart
from the title’s English translation ("It’s Not Really Worth It"), an
English language rendering of the song would sound stilted, as Gringos
don’t typically express ourselves, for example, by telling the objects
of our affection that their “requests for dates are lacking” and that
their claims of love don’t “feel sufficient.”
While nearly half of the 12 songs on The Mavericks en Español were
written (or co-written) by Raul Malo, the album includes a few Spanish
language standards. As soon as I heard its chorus, I immediately
recognized one in particular- but not, as Rick Rodriguez asserts, as Cuando Me Enamoro- an "original standard by Andrea Bocelli” (as apparently suggested by Bocelli’s 2015 recording, let alone Enrique Iglesias’ recording of the same song, translated “When I Fall in Love" five years earlier).
No, the English translation is not even recognizable to fans of the standard first popularized by Doris Day, but one I recognized from the earworm chorus of Engelbert Humperdinck’s 1968 smash that was a big hit when I was a teenager: A Man Without Love.
Creole Skies
Johnny & the Mongrels
Johnny & the Mongrels'
co-founders, singer/songwriters Johnny Ryan and Jeff Bostic, join with
guitarist Scott Sharrard, keyboardist Bill McKay and
drummer/percussionist Eddie Christmas, and another equally-talented
group of musicians and backup singers, to produce a debut album worthy
of your attention.
The opening bars of Louisiana Girl (a Ryan/Bostic/Sharrard composition) suggest a Tony Joe White group sound. And while that song, as well as eight of the other ten selections found on Creole Skies, was written by one or more of the above-mentioned quintet's members, one of the best feel-good songs on the album, Saturday Night In Oak Grove Louisiana was written, and first recorded (in 1973) by White himself.
The Colorado-based zydeco quintet's "News Orleans infused swamp funk and bayou soul" may confound rack-jobbers (suggested genre: Americana/Blues/Jamband/Rock),
but, for the rest of us, music is music. More specifically, good
music is good music, whether it's the title song or any of the others.
Mama Said is not a cover of The Shirelles'
1961 hit, but rather a tribute to a woman who encouraged her sons to be
all they could be, using that "one shot" to "give all you've got to
give."
On an album full of a number of infectious songs guaranteed to make you smile, dance and/or sing along, Music Man, another jewel, namechecks that celebrated master of funk: James Brown.
At a time when others want to drain the swamp, Johnny & the Mongrels make the case for exempting swamp blues.
The Secret of Life
Daryl Mosley
Daryl Mosley made a name for himself by writing songs that have been recorded by both major country and bluegrass artists. Fans who have followed Daryl from his days with various award-winning bands will be especially interested in Pinecastle's release of Mosley's first solo album; a collection of 11 songs Mosley has variously written or co-written.
Leading off with A Few Years Ago, the first single from The Secret of Life,
Mosley sings of life lessons learned, suggesting that wisdom may well
be a privilege of age. It is easily the strongest lyric and best
performance on this collection of radio-friendly songs. It Never Gets Old is an ode to enduring love I can see lending itself to any number of advertising promotions and/or movie soundtracks.
Similarly, the title song recounts the wisdom of a Humphrey's County (or Waverly, Tennessee, the county seat, to be more precise) barber who shares what he's learned about priorities, coping and otherwise finding balance in life.
Story-songs,
morality plays, songs with a message- they're all a part of Daryl's
oeuvre, rhythmically set to a bluegrass beat.
Mosley
shines, playing to his strengths. He's an excellent vocalist and an
artful songwriter. Daryl clearly knows his target audience of
fundamentalist Christians who enjoy a little preaching along with their
bluegrass. This style is most effective when it equates living a
righteous life with common sense. Mosley's slightly modernized
message, set against an original melody, of Do What The Good Book Says is not as secular as Jimmie Dodd's inspirational homily first released on a 78 (vinyl) in 1956.
As with most preaching, within, as well as exclusive of, a musical context, there's no openness to other viewpoints (other than, perhaps, to lump them together and mischaracterize some of them).
But with songs like In A Country Town (which conflates conservative values with patriotism), Hands in Wood, All the Way Home and harrowing "my way or the highway" message of The Deal,
it is evident that Daryl has a laser focus on his fan base and that its
growth will never be at the expense of Mosley's compromising a
strongly-held world view that brings him and those of like mind comfort
and inspiration, in the absence of multicultural appeal.
Roll Up the Rug
The Roe Family Singers
My fellow Minnesotans, Kim and Quillan Roe, accompanied by their chosen family of fellow traditional musicians comprise The Roe Family Singers.
This
motley crew know how to roll up the rug to the vocal accompaniment of a
potpourri of country, folk and bluegrass sounds, courtesy of a banjo,
autoharp, washboard, spoons, guitar (archtop, resonator, bass and
flat-top), dobro, mandolin and even musical saw, with their own style
of Appalachian clogging thrown in for good measure.
There are 15 songs in all for your musical pleasure, including When the Red, Red Robin Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbing and a couple of 19th century standards (The Red River Valley, My Grandfather's Clock);
songs I haven't heard in decades. The Roes' renditions of those
songs alone are worth price of the album that also includes songs that
are even older (The Fox) and other country classics (Hey Good Lookin', Tennessee Stud).
The Roe Family Singers put their unique stamp on Bill Monroe's The Rocky Road Blues and listeners will enjoy the work of several songwriters, including the Roe Family Singers themselves (What Did He Say?).
Thankful for Country Music
Shane Owens
Peace in Pieces
Betty Fox Band
Betty Fox is billed as a “powerhouse blues and roots soul stirrer ” (with no apologies to Sam Cooke) and the lead vocalist/acoustic guitarist of Betty Fox Band certainly lives up to that description.
When Betty and her bandmates (electric guitarist Josh Nelms, bass guitarist Barry Williams and drummer Chris Peet) brought their blend of blues, gospel, funk and soul to record at Muscle Shoals legendary Fame Studios, they wouldn’t take no for answer when told that a road band has a whole different skill set than studio musicians.
The powers that be needn’t have worried. Betty’s backup band was equal to the task, augmented by the music of industry veteran Spooner Oldham and his equally- talented session cohorts.
With 14 songs (all but one penned by Betty and/or her-cowriters) on the Best of the Bay and 2015 International Blues Challenge finalists’ third album, there is a little something for everyone who loves Betty Fox Band’s genre-defying sound. The title song, with its theme of Zen-rooted accommodation, is a sharp contrast to the co-dependency of Runnin’ Back to You; the latter sounding a different tone than the independent spirit of Rising Strong who is “ready to fly.”
Parenthetically, it should be noted that, just as the aforementioned Barry Williams is not the guy we remember Growing Up Brady, so too, Sweet Memories is not a cover of the Mickey Newbury classic.
Sweet Goodnight briefly channels Doris Day which will be a surprise to fans of Janis Joplin and Beth Hart (two
of several singers whose vocals, Betty, with her husky,
grit-impassioned performances, is often favorably compared) as it
conjures an image of what it might sound like to have Fox “sing your
favorite lullaby.”
Feels So Good is just that: a feel good song while Magnificent Hallucination might be best characterized as the esoteric extension of Tommy James & the Shondells’ Crimson and Clover.
The album’s closer, ‘Til the Storm Passes By, is a song of prayerful hope that leaves the listener wanting more.
Earth
Sister Hazel
Earth is the natural title for the fourth in a series of Sister Hazel’s “elements” compilation series, given that the six-track EP is the follow-up to Water, Wind, and Fire.
This final volume of the series (that would be titled, as I erroneously predicted in my Fire review, “Air”) is the extension of the group’s most recent efforts.
Anyone who has ever parented a child (or who was once a child, for that matter) can identify with Raising a Rookie, an empathetic observation written by Darius Rucker, Barry Dean and Sister Hazel’s own Drew Copeland.
I Don’t Do Well Alone is bit of well-written (by Jerry Flowers and Sister Hazel’s Ken Bock) self-flagellating candor wrapped in self-absorbed dysfunction.
Sister Hazel’s Jett Beres joined Copeland and Dean in the writing of the metaphorical Slow Lightning while Drew and Jett teamed with Billy Montana to write Memphis Rain about a breakup in the Bluff City.
Copeland and Montana continue the breakup theme from a slightly different perspective while Follow The River (with Billy Montana, Randy Montana, Copeland and Beres sharing writers’ credits) speaks to the self-confidence of knowing what to expect from a relationship.
Elements IV (Remember Me) is Bock’s benediction to the elements series. As for (further) interpretation, I recommend the Hermann Rorschach approach.
Lemonade
Bobby Messano Featuring Bob Malone
Heal Me, Bobby's second single (which, like The Bad Guys, Messano wrote with Meredith Reed Salimbeni, to whom he Messano dedicates the project) is the first of eight songs variously featuring Bob Malone's vocals, clarinet, strings and string arrangements.
Messano and Malone collaborate on the title song, (Bobby's current single; a reasoned response to adversity), Junk Jam, an intricate instrumental interlude, followed by It's Just the Money That's Missing, a funky, sarcastic truism and bit of ear candy with which many, if not most, creatives can identify.
Be prepared for the darkness of A Thursday in June and the realism that permeates the songs that follow, including the finale, a CCNY cover, Find the Cost of Freedom.
Blue Sun Rises
Debra Lyn
This, the Americana/folk singer/songwriter’s third (Nashville-based) Palette Records album, is a departure from the first two.
Debra Lyn’s inspiration this time around is found in the culture and music of her Irish/Scotch/English heritage.
The opener, Pull Me Down (The Maids of Mitchelstown) fuses original, navigational love lyrics by Debra and producer/arranger Jeff Silverman with a traditional Irish tune.
The title song finds our protagonist, no longer navigating the waters, lamenting lost love by clinging to the memories that remain.
Traditional British folk (Billy Taylor) and Scottish (The Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond)
songs follow, then, lest the listener stay ensconced in a European
musical travelogue, Debra sings the praises of personal time (though,
admittedly to the beat of Jeff’s Irish step dancing) with a universal
theme titled Workin’ for the Money.
Love Will Never Die (featuring the traditional Irish reel The Star of Munster) is a tale of a heart denied choice, followed by Debra’s putting her personal stamp on the classic, Wayfaring Stranger.
Devil With the Blue Eyes is yet another diversion, conjuring familiar Christian imagery while Preacher Man challenges the judgmental who preach funerals with an agenda that overrides that of memorializing the deceased.
And you don’t have to be Scottish, nor even a drinker, to enjoy Debra’s rendering of The Parting Glass.The finale, Ode to Billy Taylor (The Sun Rises Blue) builds on Billy Taylor, the aforementioned story-song, taking the sailor’s saga to a new level.
Debra Lyn’s stated mission is to honor her heritage with musical influences “intricately woven into original and traditional songs throughout.”Mission accomplished!
American Highway
Marty Brown
There’s enough precedent for musical second acts that it's a good bet that, with the release of American Highway, Marty Brown, who took "a two decade self-imposed 'break' from major recording," will retain his loyal following (a steadfastness that began for many of us when we first became acquainted with Marty on a pre-true crime edition of CBS' 48 Hours) while winning, literally, a generation of new country-music fans.
Hedging that bet is the "expect the unexpected" quality, arrangements and musical direction of most of the songs found here.
Brown and Jon Tiven wrote the picturesque title song. They also wrote the remainder of these songs, writing I'm On A Roll (Better Than It's Ever Been) with Marty Brown, Jr.
The momentum, which hints of a concept album worthy of a movie soundtrack, is broken by Umbrella Lovers. Yes, it's a creative, imaginative tune, but one that not only breaks the continuity, it sounds like the answer to a musical challenge to incorporate two words that usually don't go together in a song.
This
gimmickry, which often works as a commercially viable radio hit, is
redeemed by the remainder of the songs. These include Casino Winnebago, a song that might exhibit the gimmicky cited above, but one that is saved by
Let's Be Frank
Trisha Yearwood
“That’s a great album!”
So said the young repairman attending to the small cracks in my windshield, as he peered into an open window of my parked Honda, noticing the album jacket for Trisha Yearwood’s Let’s Be Frank on the passenger seat opposite the seat-belted driver.
I
hadn’t finished listening to the CD, but that seal of approval from the
audience Yearwood hopes to reach may make what follows superfluous. (I didn’t try to do the repairman's job- I still want to do mine- so here goes:)
As anyone would expect, Trisha’s tribute album contains many of the Frank Sinatra standards fans of Ol' Blue Eyes would insist upon (Witchcraft, All the Way, Come Fly With Me, The Lady is a Tramp et al). But it also features songs more associated with other artists, such as Judy Garland (Over the Rainbow) John Raitt, Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones (If I Loved You), five other standards and a song Sinatra didn't live to hear; the "Ms. Yearwood" and Garth Brooks-penned For the Last Time.
Trisha's done them "her way."
Indeed, the beauty of Trisha Yearwood’s interpretations of these songs is that, while singing (mostly) hits from the Big Band era and The Great American Songbook, she doesn’t try to be anyone other than herself- let alone Frank Sinatra.
The result is that, while it ain't country, Let's Be Frank pleases both Yearwood's fans and those of the Chairman of the Board.
Diesel Palomino
Fate McAfee
Walk Through Fire
Yola
Fire
Sister Hazel
Hard Way to Go
Jimmy Charles
The release of Jimmy Charles’ seven-song EP is the latest fans are hearing from the American Idol (Season 9) alumnus (as opposed to Jimmy Charles, the recording artist of A Million To One fame).
The similarities between the two Jimmys begin and end with the identical stage name.
Most recently Idol’s Jimmy Charles led Nashville’s November, 2018 Cancer Survivors March, crossing the Cumberland River with fellow marchers by way of the JOHN SEIGENTHALER Pedestrian Bridge, in support of Jimmy's #IAMNOTALONE charity, an event preceding the singer/songwriter's prerelease party for Hard Way To Go.
The EP's title song, which closes out an array of material showcasing the range of Jimmy's talent (beginning with the energetic rocker, Blue Spaces, shifting to the pensive torcher, She's Where I Belong, the seemingly autobiographical Rollin' On and the self-explanatory tribute to God and a Woman), is a prayerful "tale of addiction," choices and consequences. Other highlights include I Am Not Alone, a paean to faith in troubled times, and Superman (not to be confused with Donna Fargo's 1973 hit of the same name), which offers tear-jerking support to those tasked with the impossible objective of doing and having it all while battling cancer to boot!
Glen Campbell Sings for the King
Glen Campbell
Livin' the Dream
Tim Atwood
Lee Shapiro Plays the Hits of Frankie Valli: A Piano Tribute
Lee Shapiro
It’s been years since instrumentals have been regarded as (terrestrial) radio-friendly. (One of the earliest indications came when the Country Music Association eliminated its “Instrumentalist of the Year” category.)
Some
of my favorite recordings are instrumentals and, in my capacity as a
music reviewer, I try to do my part to see that they are not overlooked. Enter Lee Shapiro, whom Four Seasons’
fans remember as the group’s musical director and arranger and as the
talent, in his own right, who went on to assist his mentor, Frankie Valli when Valli embarked on a solo career.
Though Lee has gone on to work with many other popular music artists since, with the resurgence in interest in the music of Valli and fellow Jersey Boys, courtesy of Broadway and the silver screen, Shapiro rightly believes many of the hits featuring Four Seasons’ lead singer Frankie’s falsetto adapt themselves to piano solos.
The result is Shapiro's instrumental interpretations of 10 familiar songs, four of which Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You, My Eyes Adored You, Swearin’ to God, and Fallen Angel, are really the only true Valli solo releases. I’ve Got You Under My Skin, like like Save it For Me, was released by “The Four Seasons Featuring the ‘Sound’ of Frankie Valli.” (The former, of course, was a cover of Frank Sinatra’s original hit version of the Cole Porter classic first performed by Virginia Bruce.)
Dawn and Marlena were Four Seasons’ hits, while Our Day Will Come, Frankie’s 1975 release was one of several covers of Ruby & the Romantics’ #1 hit (released in 1962).
Silence is Golden, written by Seasons’ group member Bob Gaudio and the quartet’s producer, Bob Crewe,was a Seasons’ 1964 B-side, the song is best remembered as a 1967 hit for The Tremeloes.
Music
history/marketing lessons aside, Lee Shapiro breathes new life and some
new twists into his arrangements of the above-mentioned songs, sticking
close to the familiar versions where it makes sense to do so.
Lee and his fellow Hit Men band (including album producer, Jeff Ganz) are, at this writing, performing these favorites as a touring band on their aptly-named Don’t Stop tour.
Don’t Stop pretty much summarizes the reviewer’s sentiments upon hearing Lee’s piano tribute. Fans won't be able to resist singing along, though, so karaoke, to say nothing of Nashville demo material for aspiring singers who don't write music, may well take up the sales slack if (terrestrial) radio doesn't do its part to make these songs instrumental recurrents.
Can't Be Denied
Mark Wayne Glasmire
Love & Wealth: The Lost Recordings
The Louvin Brothers
Come See About Me (A Benefit for the IBMA Trust Fund)
Various Artists
Sideline, Donna Ulisse, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Lonesome River Band, Balsam Range, Love Canon, Darin & Brooke Aldridge, Chris Jones & the Night Drivers, The Grascals and the Mountain Home Family have come together in a musical show of solidarity, to offer these performances of 11 songs, with proceeds benefiting the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Trust Fund.
The
spirit of unity is apparent from the beginning, setting the tone (no
pun intended) of what is to follow with Sideline’s performance of Their Hands Made the Music, Mark Brinkman’s original composition saluting bluegrass’ icons and all of the “pickers” who seek to carry on the tradition.
Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver's All of the Good Things We Could Do, with its uplifting call to action, is one of the best songs found here.
Not so The Grascals’ bluegrass version of The Beatles’ Help! Though what has, only in recent years, become a tradition that may have begun much earlier with Ray Stevens’ recording of Misty,
grassers have been seemingly all but stepping over each other in order
to record a song that has become a classic in another genre.
There are three reasons to do so:
1). To improve upon the original by making it your own to the point where the original is all but forgotten.
2. To redress a grievance when a classic was denied the shelf life and/or recurrent status it deserves.
Or
3. To give a classic a comedic turn as Stevens did with a Johnny Mathis hit or to otherwise parody it (think Homer & Jethro, Pinkard & Bowden, Weird Al Yankovic, etc.).
The Grascals fail all of these objectives, though their desire to assist the IBMA trust fund is, obviously, to be commended.
BTW, songwriters’ credit for Help! reads “John W. Lennon and Paul J. McCartney.” John Winston Lennon’s co-writer’s full given name is James Paul McCartney.
All of which brings us to the title song. While it might be a disappointment to The Supremes’ fans, who remember the Motown trio’s 1964 hit of the same name, to country and bluegrass fans Come See About Me is a completely different song, written and first recorded by Conway Twitty in 1977.
In any event, the Doyle Lawson-produced Come See About Me serves as a historically fitting finale, given new meaning with its We Are The World thrust, courtesy of some 20 performing contributors.
Wind
Sister Hazel
Sister Hazel’s six-song EP Wind is
a welcome addition to the crowded field of largely upbeat,
radio-friendly new releases vying for the attention of music fans
everywhere.
With Whirlwind Girl grabbing the most attention (and deservedly so) from those of us receiving prerelease copies I’m also partial to Small Town Living, a paean to what are often seen as nostalgic, though they are arguably timeless, values; ideals certainly worth preserving.
Taken as a whole, Wind evinces
Sunshine state sensibilities fashioning an optimism and sense of
security that is sometimes tempered by lyrical sentiments of
frustration and exasperation.
However, as themes and emotions seemingly run the gamut, this collection, the latest in the six-man-band’s Elements series,
proves that, after 25 years together, the Gainesville gang of “sisters”
(or, more accurately, “brothers [from another mother]"?) still has
it.
From The Crow's Nest
(John Jorgenson Bluegrass Band featuring Herb Pederson, Jon Randall & Mark Fain)
Listen To That Beautiful Sound is the title of not only the opening song from this collection, it sets the stage for a series of sonic delights, offset by themes of sadness and tragedy.
If the 15 songs featured on this project, recorded at SHERYL CROW's home studio, atop a horse barn, seem familiar it's because they were one-third of John's limited edition, 2015 three-CD Divertuoso box set now repositioned to reap the rewards of a wider release.
Jorgenson and his all-star collaborators present timeless music, blending story-songs such as Wandering Boy (a snapshot in time of young Rodney Crowell and his Houston roots) and Whiskey Lullaby (the disturbing, twisted tale of self-destruction) with a few instrumentals ( Ladies Bluff, Feather, Gina) spotlighting the musicianship that brought these respected pickers in their own right together.
Second Bloom: The Hits Re-Imaged
Years ago RCA Records hired me to update Sylvia’s press kit biography. Part
of my assignment was to use the bio as a means of public
disclosure of Sylvia’s divorce- though I was not to use the then
presumably-stigmatizing “D” word.
The
result was, as best I remember, a description that referenced Sylvia as
a “newly single, independent woman of the ‘80s”- or something like that.
The
reinvention was consistent with the odd inconsistency of Sylvia being
known to her fans, from the time of her first major label release, by
her first name (a distinction afforded singers like Barbra Streisand, Reba McEntire, and so forth, only after their first and last names were fully pressed in public consciousness).
Immediately known popularly by her first name, Sylvia was constantly asked her surname. And,
periodically, Sylvia has added that maiden name or married name, as
seemed to make sense at the time, for performance billing or other
promotional purposes.
Sylvia
brings that same deliberation to the task of choosing just 10 career
favorites, then, respecting listeners’ reverence for the originals,
re-imaging them with a 21st century sound that showcases Sylvia’a
creativity and artistic growth along with the work of today’s most
in-demand musicians and background vocalists (not to mention the iconic Jim Glaser).
Sylvia
fulfills her challenge to bridge that gap between the performances that
created her fan base and the artistic growth that has sustained it. All
the while Sylvia manages to keep the integrity of the partnerships she
formed with the songwriting team of Kye Fleming and Dennis Morgan (Nobody, Tumbleweed, Sweet Yesterday, Like Nothing Ever Happened, Snapshot and- the only song in this collection that wasn’t released as a single- You Can’t Go Back Home) and the other songwriters whose work is also featured here.
And, just to underscore that, with the passage of time, you really can’t go home again, Sylvia’s 1985 Top 10 hit, I Love You By Heart (written by Jerry Gillespie and Stan Webb) featured Michael Johnson. That pairing of solo artists is sobering in light of the notation, on Second Bloom...'s track listing of I Love You By Heart.
This time out, Sylvia relies on background singers to take up the
slack as she dedicates her performance "in memory of Michael Johnson."
Crazy Like Me
Heard in tandem with Billy Burnette’s book of the same name (reviewed here) or purchased as a standalone musical treat, these 14 songs feature Billy Burnette at his best.
Now
rockin’ with a Medicare card (issued May 8, 2018), Billy has lost none
of his arresting musical inheritance; the chops, musicianship and
swagger that brought him to the attention of his erstwhile bandmates, Fleetwood Mac.
Billy accurately describes his latest album as a “mish-mosh of hits and things people have never heard.”
Burnette opens with his appropriately-energized version of Tear It Up, the classic written and recorded by The Rock ‘N Roll Trio rockabilly pioneers Dorsey Burnette, Johnny Burnette and Paul Burlison. Billy
first released the raucous, infectious audience favorite on his
self-titled CBS in 1980 and later Fleetwood Mac seized the opportunity
to adopt it as its standard response to its stage audiences’ demands
for an encore.
Burnette’s performance of (All I Can Do) Is Dream You, a song Billy and David Malloy wrote for Roy Orbison, makes it easy to understand why Orbison embraced the lyric.
The title song (which Billy wrote with Dennis Morgan and Shawn Camp) evokes appreciation for a mirror-imaged mate.
Billy’s rendering of River of Love, another Burnette, Morgan and Camp copyright, will please Burnette’s fans as much as George Strait’s cut (which became Strait’s 57th number one single in 2008).
Billy’s ability to make Do I Ever Cross Your Mind (co-written with Michael Smotherman) Burnette’s own is quite a testament to those who might wonder if it’s possible to breathe new life into a song sung by Ray Charles and Bonnie Raitt.
It's Late is yet another example of Billy’s timeless musical tributes to his father, Dorsey Burnette (who wrote it) and to the Burnettes' friend, Ricky Nelson, who had the 1959 hit version.
So
grab your blue suede dancin’ shoes (saddle shoes will do) and let Billy
Burnette supply the rockabilly. You still have it- and so does
Billy!
Just Like in the Movies
Jana Kramer may have written (with Brian Kierulf and Catt Gravitt) and recorded it first, but the title song, one of 14 found on Southern Halo’s
newest release, and project finale, is a perfect fit for what the
sister trio’s Natalia “Nata” Morris quite rightly describes as a
concept album.
Indeed,
with only a year in age separating the eldest Morris sister (Nata) from
middle sister Hannah, with Christina (“Tinka”) Morris arriving a year
after Hannah’s birth, the Morris
sisters are close enough in age, not to mention DNA, to have
experienced the gamut of emotions that tie the themes of these songs
together.
The lyrics to Southern Halo (which Nata cowrote with Roxie Dean)
answer the questions of why and how the Morris sisters bill themselves
as something more attention-getting than- well, say, The Morris Sisters.
As a matter of fact, the (semi)-autobiographical themes throughout these songs resonate with songs like My Girls and Me (suggesting, like Sisters Sledge, the Morris siblings, too “are family” with an unbreakable bond), Missing Mississippi (and
what homesick native, born into a generation for whom the Dixiecrats
are largely ancient history, doesn’t pine for the Magnolia state?) and Famous (Nata and cowriter Alex Dooley’s somewhat tongue-in-cheek take on celebrity).
Listening to Notice Me it seem like the song should be titled “Hey Boy.” Until, a few songs later, a song with an entirely different theme actually titled Hey Boy appears.
Not a celebrity? No sisters? Not from Mississippi?
No problem.
If
you over-analyze, are resilient, have been in love, have been dumped
when you didn’t see it coming and/or have found your soul mate, you’ll
want to add Just Like in the Movies to your collection.
Front and Center
Rating ****
Sideline‘s
fourth album includes 12 songs- like most LPs used to- that are an
eclectic blend of old-time bluegrass instrumentation with traditional
Christian dogma and familiar lyrical themes.
There are story songs of complex characters like Thunder Dan and (to a lesser degree) Lysander Hayes along with salutes to other influences such as a Bluefield WV Mtn. Girl. Along the way, things get a little bit preachy for those not among the flock (I Long to See His Face, Satan’s Chains), while another values song, Old Time Way will either strike a chord or seem less than innovative, depending upon the listener’s mindset.
Along the way listeners are treated to a mix of memories and melancholy with Sideline’s interpretation of Gordon Lightfoot’s Song for a Winter’s Night being a real standout.
Sideline closes with a little dance music; an instrumental version of Cotton Eyed Joe that heightens fans’ awareness of the sextet’s musicianship that positions them Front and Center.
Here's To You
Rating ****
Here’s To You would be memorable, and otherwise have an historical significance, simply because the album was recorded only days before Troy Gentry's death from injuries sustained in a helicopter crash.
Posthumously
issued releases traditionally sell more copies than those that drop (no
pun intended) independent of such sorrow, but Eddie Montgomery remains very much alive and has vowed to memorialize Gentry by continuing the duo’s music.
Thankfully, Montgomery is able to do so on the strength of an album that stands on its own, beginning with Shotgun Wedding a lyrically-clever story-song, written by Eddie, Phillip Eugene O’Donnell and Gary Hannon, that works despite (or perhaps because of) what Troy opined was the song’s similarity to Hillbilly Shoes.
Better Me, written by Jamie Moore, Randy Montana and Josh Hoge, the first single out of the chute, is thought to be a song Gentry wished he’d written himself. Played during Troy’s funeral, the song seems autobiographical, in that, by all accounts, during what turned out to be the last years of his life, Gentry was beginning to take stock of his choices and was working to change what needed improvement.
I
found eight of the remaining 10 songs variously entertaining, this,
despite the fact that a couple of them aren't all that strong. Needing a Beer is
a reworked update of a song or, more accurately, a series of songs,
variously pandering, or paying homage, to the working man/people,
patriots/those thought to be conservative/fringe
Republicans, white collar professionals or whatever demographics are
deemed currently topical and, in this case, Montgomery Gentry fans.
“God Bless America, Baby,” indeed!
Similarly, That’s The Thing about America is
a reworked update of any number of songs; in this case those purporting
to be patriotic statements about polarizing points-of-view and the
freedom to express them.
The
message is tolerance, but given two drastically opposing views on
several issues and the sometimes stereotypically-inflammatory manner in
which the lyrics address them, the listener knows exactly where the
Troy stood and where the writers (Craig Wiseman, Jeffrey Steele and Shane Minor) and Eddie Montgomery stand.
Water
Rating *****
A Life Well Lived
DARYL MOSLEY
Rating
Daryl Mosley's third solo album is a nostalgic collection of 11 songs Daryl
Daryl's warm and inviting collection of bluegrass-flavored memorable melodies and country-music lyrics dovetail with the tenor's smooth and expressive vocals.
The album's opener and title track is a values-driven summary of Mosley's thoughts on how to live purposefully. Daryl turns nostalgic with his memories of Back When We Were Boys and the self-preservation amid world-weariness of clinging to a Mayberry State of Mind.
Hillbilly Graham (a favorite, no doubt of those who work at 1 Billy Graham Parkway in Charlotte, North Carolina) will be familiar to The Farm Hands' fans,
though Daryl Mosley clearly owns not only the song's copyright but a
presentation unique to the composition's creator.
Big God extols the virtue and benevolence of the Supreme Being Daryl envisions, with those same ideals resonating in The Bible in the Drawer (a natural theme song for the hotel industry) and Walking Man, Mosley's tribute to those who stand up for their beliefs.
Working Man's Prayer is a sincere tribute to those who do more than just collect a paycheck, while Nobody but Her blends admiration with humility.
The album's closer, Thankful, is an arresting and timely reminder that gratitude comes easily with focus.
A In sum: A Life Well Lived is a carefully-crafted, memorable contribution to music loved by bluegrass and country fans alike. Those in search of thought-provoking and meaningful lyrics, top-notch musicianship, as well as a few catchy tunes they will enjoy singing along to, are sure to echo the sentiments of another Mosley title (cut #7): We Need More of That.
Jake Ybarra
Rating
Jake Ybarra's first full-length album showcases the Harlingen, Texas native's eclectic approach to songwriting, delivered with a high-energy baritone and sometimes intense vocal style.
Ybarra
(pronounced "e-BAR-a") is a remarkably "old soul" whose storytelling
songs belies the obvious: that Jake was clearly not around as far back
as 1903, with equally vivid memories of 1953 in the year 2023; the need
for suspension of disbelief underscored by the remarkable fact that
Ybarra is a mere 25 years-old!
Jake, who considers South Carolina home, recorded these 10 songs at The Castle Studios.
Though obviously a student of history, changing times and values, Ybarra brings a decidedly contemporary 21st century flair to a debut collection highlighted by a couple of songs fans are already streaming: notably the opener (Late November) and A Whole Lot to Remember, as well as the title song and Jake's upcoming radio single, Bloodfire.
Miller Time
Alex Miller
Rating
Don't let his baby face fool you: American Idol alum Alex Miller is
not only (though just barely) old enough to legally imbibe, he sings
the fire out of both modern-day original traditional-sounding songs and
a couple of standards to boot.
Standing
6’6”and hailing from Lexington, Kentucky, Miller blends elements of
bluegrass with his traditional country sensibility, nodding to
country-gospel.
A writer or co-writer (with Alex's producer, veteran singer/songwriter Jerry Salley)
on half of the 10 songs found here, some of Miller’s
relationship-driven material, like much of traditional country music,
evince a #MeToo-era misogynistic tinge (e.g., I'm Over You, So Get Over Me). Knowingly or unknowingly in defiance of that perception, Alex’s first single, the somewhat mournful Through With You,
alters the stereotypical stone-country gender-specific definition of
victimization and vulnerability- to a point.
Breaking the Bank and Don’t Let the Door Hit Ya spotlight the Miller persona’s sardonic sense of humor while Girls Must Be Clumsy is a slightly gentler, clever poke and ego stroke.
Kentucky’s Never Been This Far From Tennessee sums up a wistful side of a romantic connection. I'm Done is the blunt, reverse side of that coin (as Alex rhymes "bull" and "fool" as only he can!).
Milller seems to be channeling Jimmy Martin (rather than Keith Allison and Mark Lindsay) as Alex brings a fresh exuberance to his rendition of Freeborn Man.
The album's closer, I'm Gonna Sing gives the Hank Williams' gospel favorite new life as Miller enlists The Oak Ridge Boys to provide the perfect vocal accompaniment.
Nature Child- A Dreamer's Journey
Sylvia
To those of us on the older end of the Baby Boomer spectrum, the mention of Avalon provokes memories of Venus and the Beach Party franchise.
But centuries before Francis Thomas Avallone’s 1940 birth Avalon became known as a legendary island that continues to be steeped in mythology.
Enter Sylvia. The Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter’s own Avalon word-association has inspired Nature Child: A Dreamer’s Journey best described as a concept album for “children and dreamers of all ages.”
Beginning with the first of 12 songs, aptly-titled Avalon,
Sylvia takes listeners to a land of enchantment, where closed eyes open
us to a world of possibilities in a “magical place that resides beyond
the realms of time and space.”
The
curious and imaginative are treated to expansive ideas and themes of
self-actualization, with the abandonment of fears and the embracing of
opportunities here for the taking.
Sylvia, who had a hand in writing each of these vignettes, enlists Verlon Thompson, Craig Bickhardt, John Mock, and Thom Schuyler, in the actualization of her vision.
Favorites include: Every Time A Train Goes By, Don't Be Afraid to Dream, My Best Friend, (Hey, Hey, Hey) It's a New Day and I Love You for Who You Are.
Small Town Dreamer
Daryl Mosley
Rating
Daryl Mosley’s sophomore solo album, like his previous release reviewed here last year, is
once again a nod to Daryl’s “target audience of fundamentalist
Christians who enjoy a little preaching along with their
bluegrass.”
The idyllic appeal of life as Daryl has known it and lived it is also evident in lyrics that herald simplicity (Bringing Simple Back), pay tribute to values-based beliefs (The Way I Was Raised) and his sources of inspiration (Mama’s Bible, Hillbilly Dust, He’s With Me, Here’s to the Dreamers) and even that singularly special person in his life (You Are the Reason).
Mad Twenties
Taylor Rae
Rating
At 27, Taylor Rae believes she has experienced enough of her “mad twenties” to musically reflect on life or- perhaps more accurately- relationships as they have revealed themselves to her.
While
those of who have a few decades on the singer/songwriter/acoustic
guitarist (think boomers) chronicle that journey through the proverbial
rear-view mirror, Taylor Rae takes us on a real-time millennial trip to
places we have been. Such is the universality of human emotion.
Taylor
Rae does so with a clarity of mind and voice, with lyrics that
alternately evince strength, vulnerability, dependence, independence
and, at points, indecision.
Taylor’s been compared to other singers whose names listeners know (though not, as far as I know, to country music's other Taylor) and style to several musical genres, but to these ears she is unique, promising and genre-defying.
There is that voice of a “broken lover” who yearns to be a Fixer Upper. Taking Space will
be familiar to those who are thwarted by letting another live “rent
free”- in their heads- and thus know the frustration that ensues when
“You always win.”
Anyone who has ever mistaken, metaphorically, another voice for their own, will find the message of Forgiveness nothing less than arresting.
Not
to say that Taylor Rae has not found a release from all of the inner
turmoil: Listeners will find it in the simplicity of what some call
Zen, others, like Taylor Rae, "the key” to happiness: Just Be.
Stand For Myself
Yola
Rating
Depreciated
John R. Miller
Rating
John R. Miller,
who wrote all 11 songs on this compilation, brings a blend of literate
simplicity to his lyrics that veer from the ethereal imagery and
steam-of-consciousness to storytelling variety.
Lookin’ Over My Shoulder speaks to accountability. Borrowed Time,
another mini-morality play, warns of the urgency of a similar
accounting and its depreciating value that seems to have inspired Depreciated, the title of this collection sans, strictly speaking, a title song.
Miller brings a novelist’s sensibility and descriptiveness to his narratives. Depreciated’s sole instrumental, What’s Left of the Valley, puts a spotlight on John’s musicianship, as he joins fellow West Virginian Adam Meisterhans on acoustic guitar, accompanied by fiddler Cloe Edmonstone, mandolinist John Looney and Justin Francis on congas.
Motor’s Fried, another highlight, is a creative reminder of the opportunity to turn the sourest of lemons into lemonade.
Glimpses of Miller’s sense of humor are apparent on many of these songs but John's wit is in full force on the quixotic Half Ton Van.
This,
Miller's debut solo album, and its originality leave the listener
gladly anticipating John’s plans for a sophomore solo release.
The Triumph of Assimilation
Mark Rubin
Rating
Killbilly and Bad Livers' co-founder Mark Rubin (a/k/a Jew of Oklahoma, in homage to Rubin's ethnicity and Sooner State birthplace) is "tired of being treated as an outsider in his own country, where his skin protects him from indignities non-whites suffer, but his DNA still marks him for hate."
Having paid his dues "melding acoustic music and hardcore punk" and "playing polkas in dance halls and honky-tonks across Texas (not to mention "merging Klezmer and Romani music in The Other Europeans project") singing/songwriting "bluegrass-and-old-time-country-loving tuba and stand up-bass virtuoso" Rubin has long since earned- and enjoyed- his status as a solo act.
Fusing an anger borne of childhood memories (police officers' constant harassment and humiliation of his father, whose Oklahoma home was scene of incidents ranging from a cross-burning in the yard to bricks shattering windows on Adolph Hitler's birthday, to Mark's being denied access to his community's swimming pool) with a joyful, though sometimes sarcastic, sense of humor, Rubin's has produced a collection of songs of triumphing over what Bari Weiss now calls Jew Hatred.
Contrary to expectations however, the dark, discomforting (as they should be) album openers A Day of Revenge and It's Burning do not set the tone for several of the eight songs to follow. Case in point: Down South Kosher, a creative and funny bone-tickling take on the everyday challenges of adhering to kashruth experienced by Jews who call the heart of Dixie home.
Murder of Leo Frank revisits the famous 1915 lynching of a Jewish American falsely accused of a crime he did not commit. And, if you can appreciate the brilliance of putting the Frank lynching to song, you’ll appreciate Mark’s segue to an instrumental cornucopia aptly-titled Yiddish Banjo Tunes.
Ironically, Danny Barnes' banjo lends itself to Rubin's descriptive My Resting Place (based on Morris Rosenfeld's poetry), while Rubin's rendition of Avinu Malkeinu (a
traditional Jewish prayer, translated as "Our Father, Our King," set to
music and recited during the High Holidays) is not to be missed.
Good Shabbes is
a joyful, musical extension of Jews' traditional Sabbath greeting and
the holiday spirit remains in full force with Mark's adaptation of the
Yiddish Hanukkah favorite, Spin the Dreidel.
My favorite song on an album of gems? Si Kahn's Unnatural Disasters, a disarming, yet pointed jab ridiculing Jew Hatred you don't have to be Bari Weiss, Mark Rubin, or even Jewish to love.
Never Mind
Margie Singleton
Rating
Fans who bemoaned Margie Singleton’s retirement will be glad to know that, at the urging of her son (and co-writer), Stephen Singleton (son of the late producer/record label owner Shelby Singleton), Margie has retired from retirement!
Having interrupted her career to care for her ailing second husband, late country hitmaker Leon Ashley, one gets the sense this widow, lulled into an extended retirement, might have had a 21st century
widowmaker had Steve not convinced Margie that, rather than rest on her
considerable laurels, Margie's best performances were yet to come.
Making music her inspirational way at age 85, the original Harper Valley P.T.A. artist (who got her start as a cast member of The Louisiana Hayride), began her recording career in 1957. Margie has since written, recorded, or both written and recorded, many hits (some of the latter, before becoming a duet artist and popular soloist, as one of The Merry Melody Singers session vocalists).
In
the “second act” stage of her long and illustrious life, Margie
underscores her commitment to music with the formation of her newest
record label and its publishing arm, aintquittinmusic.
Aintquittinmusic’s
publishing division is credited with four of the five songs (each of
which Margie cowrote with her eldest son) including the title song, an autobiographical excursion down memory lane.
Sometimes
sassy, sometimes earnest in tone, Margie’s latest compilation of songs
has a classic sound that will be appreciated by new generations of
fans, for whom she is a “new artist,” as well as those who can
appreciate the history of the songs’ cover art. (That’s Margie, back in the early ‘60s, photographed at one of Nashville’s long-running Centennial Park bandshell concert series performances, backed by legendary musicians Ben Keith and Billy Byrd.)
The newer material is rounded out by Margie’s recording of Lie to Me, the 1962 Brook Benton hit Margie co-wrote (with Benton) and sang on as one of the aforementioned Merry Melody Singers.
Symbolically
appropriate to close this extended play album, where once Margie
Singleton provided the oohs and aahs to compliment Brook Benton's
smooth, baritone-to-tenor lead vocal, Margie is appropriately once
again front-and-center herself, with Margie’s own style affirming how Lie to Me resonates timelessly.
Swing for the Fences
Phil Leadbetter and The All Stars of Bluegrass
Rating
*** 1/2
Lead singer/resophoic guitarist Phil Leadbetter, joined by an all-star band (Alan Bibey on mandolin, Jason Burleson on banjo, guitarist Robert Hale and Steve Gulley on bass), truly does, as the title song indicates, Swing for the Fences with this 10-song collection that includes the album's first single, One Way Rider (Ricky Skaggs' #1 hit in 1982 and written by Rodney Crowell).
Phil
and the band of bluegrass favorites sing of enduring love, hurt and
loss, and, yes, faith and optimism and manage to include an
instrumental ( Avery Stokes ) along the way.
Relying somewhat on proven favorites, these six-time IBMA award nominees revive Johnny Rodriquez' 1977 recording of Bob McDill's I'm Gonna Make It After All , J.D. Crowe and the New South's 1978 recording of The Hurtin' When You Go and Vern Gosdin's 1977 Top Ten hit, Yesterday's Gone. (The latter, features the vocal performance of Steve Gulley's widow, Debbie. Steve Gulley succumbed to pancreatic cancer on August 18, 2020 at age 57.)
The only clinker is Ready and Waiting.
The performance is flawless, but the song's manipulative message of
fear-based religion as being somehow preferable to the alternative is a
value that is less than socially redeeming.
Halfway From Nashville
Sean Harrison
Rating
After veteran singer/songwriter Sean Harrison, the late novelist/screenwriter William Harrison’s
oldest son, had risen through the ranks to share the stage with some of
music’s most popular pickers, songwriters and singers and was about to
reap the benefits, Sean sabotaged his grip on the brass ring.
Addicted
to familiar culprits (drugs and alcohol), the worldwide traveler, band
musician and sometimes busker who was poised to embark on a promising
solo career descended to the depths of despair. By Sean’s own admission, he wasted too many years before getting clean, sober and ready to pick up where he left off.
At that point, Harrison began to make a series of better decisions. He recommitted to songwriting, hired an experienced publicity (Martha Moore) and promotion (Bill Wence) team, and has now released what may be his finest recordings to date.
As many would-be stars are adhering to a plan in place that has taken them halfway to Nashville, Harrison’s title song explores the reverse side of that coin.
Harrison obliquely references Harlan Howard, namechecks “Merle,” “Dylan” and “Mr. Cash” (the latter lauded, among other reasons, for having “been everywhere,” which begs the question, why no mention of Hank Snow?) as inspirational touchstones offering a compass as well as relief from a community of “schmucks,” “losers” and “abusers.”
Big Decisions, Harrison's take- with a twist- on the shared division of labor, is reminiscent of Mary Chapin Carpenter’s He Thinks He’ll Keep Her and is equally as radio-friendly. By contrast, Paydays approaches the male-female dynamic from another angle and is otherwise evocative of a familiar stereotype.
Listeners become willing accomplices on Sean’s journey of self-discovery. Intimacy, rough edges, humor- it’s all here with an originality and candor that make Halfway From Nashville “must” listening.
Crazy House
Rating
If Johnny Cash were alive today and singing bluegrass, he’d be tempted to join Turning Ground, especially after hearing Crazy House.
The quintet shares an affinity with the Bad News singer for songs about infidelity, murder and other high crimes like a Bad Deal that could land an Outlaw with a cunning rivaling that of Jesse James behind the bars of a Crazy House.
My favorite is a mini-soap opera of evangelical villains and hypocrites including the sinister minister known as Reverend Jackson (no, not that other Jesse) and his nemesis, the cuckolded Bobby who got even in way pro-lifers will not appreciate.
There are songs of despair such as the one where we find our protagonist Tore Up From the Floor Up, balanced nicely by the believer who finds himself Strongest on My Knees.
From flights of fancy there is a directional shift to the reality of Still My Mama, a weeper caretakers and other loved ones of those battling dementia will appreciate for take on coping.
In short, Crazy House is an impressive potpourri of selections that will alternately delight and intrigue.
Blue Haze
Robert Hale with the 8th Wonder Band
Rating
You’ve heard all of these classic hits before- but not covered by bluegrass artists.
Robert Hale’s EP features seven familiar songs from other genres performed to a bluegrass beat.
Can you imagine The Beatles, Eric Burden, or The Rolling Stones performing Uncle Pen or Fox on the Run?
In the reverse, the message may be that not every non-bluegrass standard lends itself to bluegrass. Of
course, given the number of bluegrass artists who are now providing at
least one such reinterpreted track on their album, listeners can only
surmise- and maybe even be among those who will vouch for the fact-
that the demand is there.
Certainly, if Blue Haze listeners
are open to the gimmick, experiment or however they wish to
characterize it, and especially if, in a few cases, they’ve never heard
the originals, it’s easy to defend the move.
For Hale and his band (which includes- my fellow Leadership Music inaugural classmate- the superb Missy Raines on bass) prove they are able to make songs like Help, Mr. Bojangles and House of the Rising Sun and the four other past hits featured here their own. Utilizing
such techniques as fiddle, banjo and/or mandolin featured prominently
in the turnarounds, when necessary to distance themselves from the
originals Hale and his band have produced a project well worthy of
listener’s (and skeptics’) consideration.
Old Road, New Again
The Dillards
Rating
Rodney Dillard enlists the remainder of the current “Dillard incarnation” (as John McEuen accurately refers to Becky Dillard, Tom Wray, George Giddens and Gary Smith), in collaboration with “featured artists” Don Henley, Ricky Skaggs, Herb Pedersen, Sharon and Cheryl White, Bernie Leadon and Sam Bush and a number of “special guests” in the presentation of this, The Dillards’ first album since 1991.
I don’t know what took them nearly 30 years, but I do know that ever since America fell in love with The Darlings on The Andy Griffith Show (1963) the (extended Dillard) family has been a part of its musical (and sometimes comedic) consciousness.
I hope my friend, Lanny Smith hears The Earthman (the
lead single from this album) and that fans of The Dillards will enjoy
the other songs found here, including the title song and the group’s
unlikely bluegrass rendition of the ‘50s favorite, Save the Last Dance for Me.
On my “pans” list: Tearing Our Liberty Down. Sorry, guys but I’m not a fan of populist preaching set to music when the lyrics cite vague problems, blaming only the mysterious (i.e., unidentified “they,” a tactic universally employed by bigots) and offer no solutions.
The Old Side of Town
Alecia Nugent
After “going off the grid for a decade” IBMA and multi SPBGMA award-winning bluegrass favorite Alecia Nugent emerges with a collection of songs that showcase her country side and strength as a songwriter.
Alecia also breathes new life into her cover of April Verch’s lyrically-quirky I Might Have One Too.
They Don’t Make ‘Em Like My Daddy Anymore is not a repurposing of a similarly-titled Loretta Lynn’s 1974 Top Ten hit, but rather a moving tribute to Nugent’s father that Alecia wrote with Carl Jackson. The
centerpiece of Nugent’s new music video, two different renditions of
the song are featured here, the latter bluegrass version as a “bonus
track.”
No
longer off the grid, Alecia returns, rescuing listeners from the
gridlock of her absence and, appetites whetted, awaiting what she’ll
come up with next!
The Mavericks en Español
The Mavericks
Most soloists (and perhaps some groups) of stature have that album project that they’ve always wanted to do. Their
fans usually hear about it when media day interview embargoes are
lifted so that publication coincides with the release of said dream
project.
Having received an advance copy of The Mavericks en Español I’m not sure that this, The Mavericks’ first-ever Spanish language album, fits that description, but it’s obvious Raul Malo, Eddie Perez, Jerry Dale McFadden and Paul Deakin have not phoned it in.
I’m preaching to choir of those who have heard the first two singles: Poder Vivir (literally translated as “the power to live” or, as credited translator Rick Rodriguez prefers, simply “To Live”) and Recuerdos (translation: “Memories”).
Assisted by The Fantastic Five (a
group of musicians that add instrumentation and vocals to those
provided by The Mavericks themselves), along with several other special
guests (notably Flaco Jiménez)
and individually credited musicians, lead vocalist Malo and cohorts
have listeners singing along, thanks to an accompanying booklet of the
lyrics to each song along with Rodriguez’ Spanish- to- English
translations.
The
poetry of Spanish is evident in the songs of this, The Mavericks' 30th
anniversary album, as is the realization that if, if recorded in
English, much would be lost in the translation.
No Vale La Pena, one of my favorites, is Exhibit A. Apart
from the title’s English translation ("It’s Not Really Worth It"), an
English language rendering of the song would sound stilted, as Gringos
don’t typically express ourselves, for example, by telling the objects
of our affection that their “requests for dates are lacking” and that
their claims of love don’t “feel sufficient.”
While nearly half of the 12 songs on The Mavericks en Español were
written (or co-written) by Raul Malo, the album includes a few Spanish
language standards. As soon as I heard its chorus, I immediately
recognized one in particular- but not, as Rick Rodriguez asserts, as Cuando Me Enamoro- an "original standard by Andrea Bocelli” (as apparently suggested by Bocelli’s 2015 recording, let alone Enrique Iglesias’ recording of the same song, translated “When I Fall in Love" five years earlier).
No, the English translation is not even recognizable to fans of the standard first popularized by Doris Day, but one I recognized from the earworm chorus of Engelbert Humperdinck’s 1968 smash that was a big hit when I was a teenager: A Man Without Love.
Creole Skies
Johnny & the Mongrels
Johnny & the Mongrels'
co-founders, singer/songwriters Johnny Ryan and Jeff Bostic, join with
guitarist Scott Sharrard, keyboardist Bill McKay and
drummer/percussionist Eddie Christmas, and another equally-talented
group of musicians and backup singers, to produce a debut album worthy
of your attention.
The opening bars of Louisiana Girl (a Ryan/Bostic/Sharrard composition) suggest a Tony Joe White group sound. And while that song, as well as eight of the other ten selections found on Creole Skies, was written by one or more of the above-mentioned quintet's members, one of the best feel-good songs on the album, Saturday Night In Oak Grove Louisiana was written, and first recorded (in 1973) by White himself.
The Colorado-based zydeco quintet's "News Orleans infused swamp funk and bayou soul" may confound rack-jobbers (suggested genre: Americana/Blues/Jamband/Rock),
but, for the rest of us, music is music. More specifically, good
music is good music, whether it's the title song or any of the others.
Mama Said is not a cover of The Shirelles'
1961 hit, but rather a tribute to a woman who encouraged her sons to be
all they could be, using that "one shot" to "give all you've got to
give."
On an album full of a number of infectious songs guaranteed to make you smile, dance and/or sing along, Music Man, another jewel, namechecks that celebrated master of funk: James Brown.
At a time when others want to drain the swamp, Johnny & the Mongrels make the case for exempting swamp blues.
The Secret of Life
Daryl Mosley
Daryl Mosley made a name for himself by writing songs that have been recorded by both major country and bluegrass artists. Fans who have followed Daryl from his days with various award-winning bands will be especially interested in Pinecastle's release of Mosley's first solo album; a collection of 11 songs Mosley has variously written or co-written.
Leading off with A Few Years Ago, the first single from The Secret of Life,
Mosley sings of life lessons learned, suggesting that wisdom may well
be a privilege of age. It is easily the strongest lyric and best
performance on this collection of radio-friendly songs. It Never Gets Old is an ode to enduring love I can see lending itself to any number of advertising promotions and/or movie soundtracks.
Similarly, the title song recounts the wisdom of a Humphrey's County (or Waverly, Tennessee, the county seat, to be more precise) barber who shares what he's learned about priorities, coping and otherwise finding balance in life.
Story-songs,
morality plays, songs with a message- they're all a part of Daryl's
oeuvre, rhythmically set to a bluegrass beat.
Mosley
shines, playing to his strengths. He's an excellent vocalist and an
artful songwriter. Daryl clearly knows his target audience of
fundamentalist Christians who enjoy a little preaching along with their
bluegrass. This style is most effective when it equates living a
righteous life with common sense. Mosley's slightly modernized
message, set against an original melody, of Do What The Good Book Says is not as secular as Jimmie Dodd's inspirational homily first released on a 78 (vinyl) in 1956.
As with most preaching, within, as well as exclusive of, a musical context, there's no openness to other viewpoints (other than, perhaps, to lump them together and mischaracterize some of them).
But with songs like In A Country Town (which conflates conservative values with patriotism), Hands in Wood, All the Way Home and harrowing "my way or the highway" message of The Deal,
it is evident that Daryl has a laser focus on his fan base and that its
growth will never be at the expense of Mosley's compromising a
strongly-held world view that brings him and those of like mind comfort
and inspiration, in the absence of multicultural appeal.
Roll Up the Rug
The Roe Family Singers
My fellow Minnesotans, Kim and Quillan Roe, accompanied by their chosen family of fellow traditional musicians comprise The Roe Family Singers.
This
motley crew know how to roll up the rug to the vocal accompaniment of a
potpourri of country, folk and bluegrass sounds, courtesy of a banjo,
autoharp, washboard, spoons, guitar (archtop, resonator, bass and
flat-top), dobro, mandolin and even musical saw, with their own style
of Appalachian clogging thrown in for good measure.
There are 15 songs in all for your musical pleasure, including When the Red, Red Robin Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbing and a couple of 19th century standards (The Red River Valley, My Grandfather's Clock);
songs I haven't heard in decades. The Roes' renditions of those
songs alone are worth price of the album that also includes songs that
are even older (The Fox) and other country classics (Hey Good Lookin', Tennessee Stud).
The Roe Family Singers put their unique stamp on Bill Monroe's The Rocky Road Blues and listeners will enjoy the work of several songwriters, including the Roe Family Singers themselves (What Did He Say?).
Thankful for Country Music
Shane Owens
Peace in Pieces
Betty Fox Band
Betty Fox is billed as a “powerhouse blues and roots soul stirrer ” (with no apologies to Sam Cooke) and the lead vocalist/acoustic guitarist of Betty Fox Band certainly lives up to that description.
When Betty and her bandmates (electric guitarist Josh Nelms, bass guitarist Barry Williams and drummer Chris Peet) brought their blend of blues, gospel, funk and soul to record at Muscle Shoals legendary Fame Studios, they wouldn’t take no for answer when told that a road band has a whole different skill set than studio musicians.
The powers that be needn’t have worried. Betty’s backup band was equal to the task, augmented by the music of industry veteran Spooner Oldham and his equally- talented session cohorts.
With 14 songs (all but one penned by Betty and/or her-cowriters) on the Best of the Bay and 2015 International Blues Challenge finalists’ third album, there is a little something for everyone who loves Betty Fox Band’s genre-defying sound. The title song, with its theme of Zen-rooted accommodation, is a sharp contrast to the co-dependency of Runnin’ Back to You; the latter sounding a different tone than the independent spirit of Rising Strong who is “ready to fly.”
Parenthetically, it should be noted that, just as the aforementioned Barry Williams is not the guy we remember Growing Up Brady, so too, Sweet Memories is not a cover of the Mickey Newbury classic.
Sweet Goodnight briefly channels Doris Day which will be a surprise to fans of Janis Joplin and Beth Hart (two
of several singers whose vocals, Betty, with her husky,
grit-impassioned performances, is often favorably compared) as it
conjures an image of what it might sound like to have Fox “sing your
favorite lullaby.”
Feels So Good is just that: a feel good song while Magnificent Hallucination might be best characterized as the esoteric extension of Tommy James & the Shondells’ Crimson and Clover.
The album’s closer, ‘Til the Storm Passes By, is a song of prayerful hope that leaves the listener wanting more.
Earth
Sister Hazel
Earth is the natural title for the fourth in a series of Sister Hazel’s “elements” compilation series, given that the six-track EP is the follow-up to Water, Wind, and Fire.
This final volume of the series (that would be titled, as I erroneously predicted in my Fire review, “Air”) is the extension of the group’s most recent efforts.
Anyone who has ever parented a child (or who was once a child, for that matter) can identify with Raising a Rookie, an empathetic observation written by Darius Rucker, Barry Dean and Sister Hazel’s own Drew Copeland.
I Don’t Do Well Alone is bit of well-written (by Jerry Flowers and Sister Hazel’s Ken Bock) self-flagellating candor wrapped in self-absorbed dysfunction.
Sister Hazel’s Jett Beres joined Copeland and Dean in the writing of the metaphorical Slow Lightning while Drew and Jett teamed with Billy Montana to write Memphis Rain about a breakup in the Bluff City.
Copeland and Montana continue the breakup theme from a slightly different perspective while Follow The River (with Billy Montana, Randy Montana, Copeland and Beres sharing writers’ credits) speaks to the self-confidence of knowing what to expect from a relationship.
Elements IV (Remember Me) is Bock’s benediction to the elements series. As for (further) interpretation, I recommend the Hermann Rorschach approach.
Lemonade
Bobby Messano Featuring Bob Malone
Heal Me, Bobby's second single (which, like The Bad Guys, Messano wrote with Meredith Reed Salimbeni, to whom he Messano dedicates the project) is the first of eight songs variously featuring Bob Malone's vocals, clarinet, strings and string arrangements.
Messano and Malone collaborate on the title song, (Bobby's current single; a reasoned response to adversity), Junk Jam, an intricate instrumental interlude, followed by It's Just the Money That's Missing, a funky, sarcastic truism and bit of ear candy with which many, if not most, creatives can identify.
Be prepared for the darkness of A Thursday in June and the realism that permeates the songs that follow, including the finale, a CCNY cover, Find the Cost of Freedom.
Blue Sun Rises
Debra Lyn
This, the Americana/folk singer/songwriter’s third (Nashville-based) Palette Records album, is a departure from the first two.
Debra Lyn’s inspiration this time around is found in the culture and music of her Irish/Scotch/English heritage.
The opener, Pull Me Down (The Maids of Mitchelstown) fuses original, navigational love lyrics by Debra and producer/arranger Jeff Silverman with a traditional Irish tune.
The title song finds our protagonist, no longer navigating the waters, lamenting lost love by clinging to the memories that remain.
Traditional British folk (Billy Taylor) and Scottish (The Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond)
songs follow, then, lest the listener stay ensconced in a European
musical travelogue, Debra sings the praises of personal time (though,
admittedly to the beat of Jeff’s Irish step dancing) with a universal
theme titled Workin’ for the Money.
Love Will Never Die (featuring the traditional Irish reel The Star of Munster) is a tale of a heart denied choice, followed by Debra’s putting her personal stamp on the classic, Wayfaring Stranger.
Devil With the Blue Eyes is yet another diversion, conjuring familiar Christian imagery while Preacher Man challenges the judgmental who preach funerals with an agenda that overrides that of memorializing the deceased.
And you don’t have to be Scottish, nor even a drinker, to enjoy Debra’s rendering of The Parting Glass.The finale, Ode to Billy Taylor (The Sun Rises Blue) builds on Billy Taylor, the aforementioned story-song, taking the sailor’s saga to a new level.
Debra Lyn’s stated mission is to honor her heritage with musical influences “intricately woven into original and traditional songs throughout.”Mission accomplished!
American Highway
Marty Brown
There’s enough precedent for musical second acts that it's a good bet that, with the release of American Highway, Marty Brown, who took "a two decade self-imposed 'break' from major recording," will retain his loyal following (a steadfastness that began for many of us when we first became acquainted with Marty on a pre-true crime edition of CBS' 48 Hours) while winning, literally, a generation of new country-music fans.
Hedging that bet is the "expect the unexpected" quality, arrangements and musical direction of most of the songs found here.
Brown and Jon Tiven wrote the picturesque title song. They also wrote the remainder of these songs, writing I'm On A Roll (Better Than It's Ever Been) with Marty Brown, Jr.
The momentum, which hints of a concept album worthy of a movie soundtrack, is broken by Umbrella Lovers. Yes, it's a creative, imaginative tune, but one that not only breaks the continuity, it sounds like the answer to a musical challenge to incorporate two words that usually don't go together in a song.
This
gimmickry, which often works as a commercially viable radio hit, is
redeemed by the remainder of the songs. These include Casino Winnebago, a song that might exhibit the gimmicky cited above, but one that is saved by
Let's Be Frank
Trisha Yearwood
“That’s a great album!”
So said the young repairman attending to the small cracks in my windshield, as he peered into an open window of my parked Honda, noticing the album jacket for Trisha Yearwood’s Let’s Be Frank on the passenger seat opposite the seat-belted driver.
I
hadn’t finished listening to the CD, but that seal of approval from the
audience Yearwood hopes to reach may make what follows superfluous. (I didn’t try to do the repairman's job- I still want to do mine- so here goes:)
As anyone would expect, Trisha’s tribute album contains many of the Frank Sinatra standards fans of Ol' Blue Eyes would insist upon (Witchcraft, All the Way, Come Fly With Me, The Lady is a Tramp et al). But it also features songs more associated with other artists, such as Judy Garland (Over the Rainbow) John Raitt, Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones (If I Loved You), five other standards and a song Sinatra didn't live to hear; the "Ms. Yearwood" and Garth Brooks-penned For the Last Time.
Trisha's done them "her way."
Indeed, the beauty of Trisha Yearwood’s interpretations of these songs is that, while singing (mostly) hits from the Big Band era and The Great American Songbook, she doesn’t try to be anyone other than herself- let alone Frank Sinatra.
The result is that, while it ain't country, Let's Be Frank pleases both Yearwood's fans and those of the Chairman of the Board.
Diesel Palomino
Fate McAfee
Walk Through Fire
Yola
Fire
Sister Hazel
Hard Way to Go
Jimmy Charles
The release of Jimmy Charles’ seven-song EP is the latest fans are hearing from the American Idol (Season 9) alumnus (as opposed to Jimmy Charles, the recording artist of A Million To One fame).
The similarities between the two Jimmys begin and end with the identical stage name.
Most recently Idol’s Jimmy Charles led Nashville’s November, 2018 Cancer Survivors March, crossing the Cumberland River with fellow marchers by way of the JOHN SEIGENTHALER Pedestrian Bridge, in support of Jimmy's #IAMNOTALONE charity, an event preceding the singer/songwriter's prerelease party for Hard Way To Go.
The EP's title song, which closes out an array of material showcasing the range of Jimmy's talent (beginning with the energetic rocker, Blue Spaces, shifting to the pensive torcher, She's Where I Belong, the seemingly autobiographical Rollin' On and the self-explanatory tribute to God and a Woman), is a prayerful "tale of addiction," choices and consequences. Other highlights include I Am Not Alone, a paean to faith in troubled times, and Superman (not to be confused with Donna Fargo's 1973 hit of the same name), which offers tear-jerking support to those tasked with the impossible objective of doing and having it all while battling cancer to boot!
Glen Campbell Sings for the King
Glen Campbell
Livin' the Dream
Tim Atwood
Lee Shapiro Plays the Hits of Frankie Valli: A Piano Tribute
Lee Shapiro
It’s been years since instrumentals have been regarded as (terrestrial) radio-friendly. (One of the earliest indications came when the Country Music Association eliminated its “Instrumentalist of the Year” category.)
Some
of my favorite recordings are instrumentals and, in my capacity as a
music reviewer, I try to do my part to see that they are not overlooked. Enter Lee Shapiro, whom Four Seasons’
fans remember as the group’s musical director and arranger and as the
talent, in his own right, who went on to assist his mentor, Frankie Valli when Valli embarked on a solo career.
Though Lee has gone on to work with many other popular music artists since, with the resurgence in interest in the music of Valli and fellow Jersey Boys, courtesy of Broadway and the silver screen, Shapiro rightly believes many of the hits featuring Four Seasons’ lead singer Frankie’s falsetto adapt themselves to piano solos.
The result is Shapiro's instrumental interpretations of 10 familiar songs, four of which Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You, My Eyes Adored You, Swearin’ to God, and Fallen Angel, are really the only true Valli solo releases. I’ve Got You Under My Skin, like like Save it For Me, was released by “The Four Seasons Featuring the ‘Sound’ of Frankie Valli.” (The former, of course, was a cover of Frank Sinatra’s original hit version of the Cole Porter classic first performed by Virginia Bruce.)
Dawn and Marlena were Four Seasons’ hits, while Our Day Will Come, Frankie’s 1975 release was one of several covers of Ruby & the Romantics’ #1 hit (released in 1962).
Silence is Golden, written by Seasons’ group member Bob Gaudio and the quartet’s producer, Bob Crewe,was a Seasons’ 1964 B-side, the song is best remembered as a 1967 hit for The Tremeloes.
Music
history/marketing lessons aside, Lee Shapiro breathes new life and some
new twists into his arrangements of the above-mentioned songs, sticking
close to the familiar versions where it makes sense to do so.
Lee and his fellow Hit Men band (including album producer, Jeff Ganz) are, at this writing, performing these favorites as a touring band on their aptly-named Don’t Stop tour.
Don’t Stop pretty much summarizes the reviewer’s sentiments upon hearing Lee’s piano tribute. Fans won't be able to resist singing along, though, so karaoke, to say nothing of Nashville demo material for aspiring singers who don't write music, may well take up the sales slack if (terrestrial) radio doesn't do its part to make these songs instrumental recurrents.
Can't Be Denied
Mark Wayne Glasmire
Love & Wealth: The Lost Recordings
The Louvin Brothers
Come See About Me (A Benefit for the IBMA Trust Fund)
Various Artists
Sideline, Donna Ulisse, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Lonesome River Band, Balsam Range, Love Canon, Darin & Brooke Aldridge, Chris Jones & the Night Drivers, The Grascals and the Mountain Home Family have come together in a musical show of solidarity, to offer these performances of 11 songs, with proceeds benefiting the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Trust Fund.
The
spirit of unity is apparent from the beginning, setting the tone (no
pun intended) of what is to follow with Sideline’s performance of Their Hands Made the Music, Mark Brinkman’s original composition saluting bluegrass’ icons and all of the “pickers” who seek to carry on the tradition.
Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver's All of the Good Things We Could Do, with its uplifting call to action, is one of the best songs found here.
Not so The Grascals’ bluegrass version of The Beatles’ Help! Though what has, only in recent years, become a tradition that may have begun much earlier with Ray Stevens’ recording of Misty,
grassers have been seemingly all but stepping over each other in order
to record a song that has become a classic in another genre.
There are three reasons to do so:
1). To improve upon the original by making it your own to the point where the original is all but forgotten.
2. To redress a grievance when a classic was denied the shelf life and/or recurrent status it deserves.
Or
3. To give a classic a comedic turn as Stevens did with a Johnny Mathis hit or to otherwise parody it (think Homer & Jethro, Pinkard & Bowden, Weird Al Yankovic, etc.).
The Grascals fail all of these objectives, though their desire to assist the IBMA trust fund is, obviously, to be commended.
BTW, songwriters’ credit for Help! reads “John W. Lennon and Paul J. McCartney.” John Winston Lennon’s co-writer’s full given name is James Paul McCartney.
All of which brings us to the title song. While it might be a disappointment to The Supremes’ fans, who remember the Motown trio’s 1964 hit of the same name, to country and bluegrass fans Come See About Me is a completely different song, written and first recorded by Conway Twitty in 1977.
In any event, the Doyle Lawson-produced Come See About Me serves as a historically fitting finale, given new meaning with its We Are The World thrust, courtesy of some 20 performing contributors.
Wind
Sister Hazel
Sister Hazel’s six-song EP Wind is
a welcome addition to the crowded field of largely upbeat,
radio-friendly new releases vying for the attention of music fans
everywhere.
With Whirlwind Girl grabbing the most attention (and deservedly so) from those of us receiving prerelease copies I’m also partial to Small Town Living, a paean to what are often seen as nostalgic, though they are arguably timeless, values; ideals certainly worth preserving.
Taken as a whole, Wind evinces
Sunshine state sensibilities fashioning an optimism and sense of
security that is sometimes tempered by lyrical sentiments of
frustration and exasperation.
However, as themes and emotions seemingly run the gamut, this collection, the latest in the six-man-band’s Elements series,
proves that, after 25 years together, the Gainesville gang of “sisters”
(or, more accurately, “brothers [from another mother]"?) still has
it.
From The Crow's Nest
(John Jorgenson Bluegrass Band featuring Herb Pedersaon, Jon Randall & Mark Fain)
Listen To That Beautiful Sound is the title of not only the opening song from this collection, it sets the stage for a series of sonic delights, offset by themes of sadness and tragedy.
If the 15 songs featured on this project, recorded at SHERYL CROW's home studio, atop a horse barn, seem familiar it's because they were one-third of John's limited edition, 2015 three-CD Divertuoso box set now repositioned to reap the rewards of a wider release.
Jorgenson and his all-star collaborators present timeless music, blending story-songs such as Wandering Boy (a snapshot in time of young Rodney Crowell and his Houston roots) and Whiskey Lullaby (the disturbing, twisted tale of self-destruction) with a few instrumentals ( Ladies Bluff, Feather, Gina) spotlighting the musicianship that brought these respected pickers in their own right together.
Second Bloom: The Hits Re-Imaged
Years ago RCA Records hired me to update Sylvia’s press kit biography. Part
of my assignment was to use the bio as a means of public
disclosure of Sylvia’s divorce- though I was not to use the then
presumably-stigmatizing “D” word.
The
result was, as best I remember, a description that referenced Sylvia as
a “newly single, independent woman of the ‘80s”- or something like that.
The
reinvention was consistent with the odd inconsistency of Sylvia being
known to her fans, from the time of her first major label release, by
her first name (a distinction afforded singers like Barbra Streisand, Reba McEntire, and so forth, only after their first and last names were fully pressed in public consciousness).
Immediately known popularly by her first name, Sylvia was constantly asked her surname. And,
periodically, Sylvia has added that maiden name or married name, as
seemed to make sense at the time, for performance billing or other
promotional purposes.
Sylvia
brings that same deliberation to the task of choosing just 10 career
favorites, then, respecting listeners’ reverence for the originals,
re-imaging them with a 21st century sound that showcases Sylvia’a
creativity and artistic growth along with the work of today’s most
in-demand musicians and background vocalists (not to mention the iconic Jim Glaser).
Sylvia
fulfills her challenge to bridge that gap between the performances that
created her fan base and the artistic growth that has sustained it. All
the while Sylvia manages to keep the integrity of the partnerships she
formed with the songwriting team of Kye Fleming and Dennis Morgan (Nobody, Tumbleweed, Sweet Yesterday, Like Nothing Ever Happened, Snapshot and- the only song in this collection that wasn’t released as a single- You Can’t Go Back Home) and the other songwriters whose work is also featured here.
And, just to underscore that, with the passage of time, you really can’t go home again, Sylvia’s 1985 Top 10 hit, I Love You By Heart (written by Jerry Gillespie and Stan Webb) featured Michael Johnson. That pairing of solo artists is sobering in light of the notation, on Second Bloom...'s track listing of I Love You By Heart.
This time out, Sylvia relies on background singers to take up the
slack as she dedicates her performance "in memory of Michael Johnson."
Crazy Like Me
Heard in tandem with Billy Burnette’s book of the same name (reviewed here) or purchased as a standalone musical treat, these 14 songs feature Billy Burnette at his best.
Now
rockin’ with a Medicare card (issued May 8, 2018), Billy has lost none
of his arresting musical inheritance; the chops, musicianship and
swagger that brought him to the attention of his erstwhile bandmates, Fleetwood Mac.
Billy accurately describes his latest album as a “mish-mosh of hits and things people have never heard.”
Burnette opens with his appropriately-energized version of Tear It Up, the classic written and recorded by The Rock ‘N Roll Trio rockabilly pioneers Dorsey Burnette, Johnny Burnette and Paul Burlison. Billy
first released the raucous, infectious audience favorite on his
self-titled CBS in 1980 and later Fleetwood Mac seized the opportunity
to adopt it as its standard response to its stage audiences’ demands
for an encore.
Burnette’s performance of (All I Can Do) Is Dream You, a song Billy and David Malloy wrote for Roy Orbison, makes it easy to understand why Orbison embraced the lyric.
The title song (which Billy wrote with Dennis Morgan and Shawn Camp) evokes appreciation for a mirror-imaged mate.
Billy’s rendering of River of Love, another Burnette, Morgan and Camp copyright, will please Burnette’s fans as much as George Strait’s cut (which became Strait’s 57th number one single in 2008).
Billy’s ability to make Do I Ever Cross Your Mind (co-written with Michael Smotherman) Burnette’s own is quite a testament to those who might wonder if it’s possible to breathe new life into a song sung by Ray Charles and Bonnie Raitt.
It's Late is yet another example of Billy’s timeless musical tributes to his father, Dorsey Burnette (who wrote it) and to the Burnettes' friend, Ricky Nelson, who had the 1959 hit version.
So
grab your blue suede dancin’ shoes (saddle shoes will do) and let Billy
Burnette supply the rockabilly. You still have it- and so does
Billy!
Just Like in the Movies
Jana Kramer may have written (with Brian Kierulf and Catt Gravitt) and recorded it first, but the title song, one of 14 found on Southern Halo’s
newest release, and project finale, is a perfect fit for what the
sister trio’s Natalia “Nata” Morris quite rightly describes as a
concept album.
Indeed,
with only a year in age separating the eldest Morris sister (Nata) from
middle sister Hannah, with Christina (“Tinka”) Morris arriving a year
after Hannah’s birth, the Morris
sisters are close enough in age, not to mention DNA, to have
experienced the gamut of emotions that tie the themes of these songs
together.
The lyrics to Southern Halo (which Nata cowrote with Roxie Dean)
answer the questions of why and how the Morris sisters bill themselves
as something more attention-getting than- well, say, The Morris Sisters.
As a matter of fact, the (semi)-autobiographical themes throughout these songs resonate with songs like My Girls and Me (suggesting, like Sisters Sledge, the Morris siblings, too “are family” with an unbreakable bond), Missing Mississippi (and
what homesick native, born into a generation for whom the Dixiecrats
are largely ancient history, doesn’t pine for the Magnolia state?) and Famous (Nata and cowriter Alex Dooley’s somewhat tongue-in-cheek take on celebrity).
Listening to Notice Me it seem like the song should be titled “Hey Boy.” Until, a few songs later, a song with an entirely different theme actually titled Hey Boy appears.
Not a celebrity? No sisters? Not from Mississippi?
No problem.
If
you over-analyze, are resilient, have been in love, have been dumped
when you didn’t see it coming and/or have found your soul mate, you’ll
want to add Just Like in the Movies to your collection.
Front and Center
Rating ****
Sideline‘s
fourth album includes 12 songs- like most LPs used to- that are an
eclectic blend of old-time bluegrass instrumentation with traditional
Christian dogma and familiar lyrical themes.
There are story songs of complex characters like Thunder Dan and (to a lesser degree) Lysander Hayes along with salutes to other influences such as a Bluefield WV Mtn. Girl. Along the way, things get a little bit preachy for those not among the flock (I Long to See His Face, Satan’s Chains), while another values song, Old Time Way will either strike a chord or seem less than innovative, depending upon the listener’s mindset.
Along the way listeners are treated to a mix of memories and melancholy with Sideline’s interpretation of Gordon Lightfoot’s Song for a Winter’s Night being a real standout.
Sideline closes with a little dance music; an instrumental version of Cotton Eyed Joe that heightens fans’ awareness of the sextet’s musicianship that positions them Front and Center.
Here's To You
Rating ****
Here’s To You would be memorable, and otherwise have an historical significance, simply because the album was recorded only days before Troy Gentry's death from injuries sustained in a helicopter crash.
Posthumously
issued releases traditionally sell more copies than those that drop (no
pun intended) independent of such sorrow, but Eddie Montgomery remains very much alive and has vowed to memorialize Gentry by continuing the duo’s music.
Thankfully, Montgomery is able to do so on the strength of an album that stands on its own, beginning with Shotgun Wedding a lyrically-clever story-song, written by Eddie, Phillip Eugene O’Donnell and Gary Hannon, that works despite (or perhaps because of) what Troy opined was the song’s similarity to Hillbilly Shoes.
Better Me, written by Jamie Moore, Randy Montana and Josh Hoge, the first single out of the chute, is thought to be a song Gentry wished he’d written himself. Played during Troy’s funeral, the song seems autobiographical, in that, by all accounts, during what turned out to be the last years of his life, Gentry was beginning to take stock of his choices and was working to change what needed improvement.
I
found eight of the remaining 10 songs variously entertaining, this,
despite the fact that a couple of them aren't all that strong. Needing a Beer is
a reworked update of a song or, more accurately, a series of songs,
variously pandering, or paying homage, to the working man/people,
patriots/those thought to be conservative/fringe
Republicans, white collar professionals or whatever demographics are
deemed currently topical and, in this case, Montgomery Gentry fans.
“God Bless America, Baby,” indeed!
Similarly, That’s The Thing about America is
a reworked update of any number of songs; in this case those purporting
to be patriotic statements about polarizing points-of-view and the
freedom to express them.
The
message is tolerance, but given two drastically opposing views on
several issues and the sometimes stereotypically-inflammatory manner in
which the lyrics address them, the listener knows exactly where the
Troy stood and where the writers (Craig Wiseman, Jeffrey Steele and Shane Minor) and Eddie Montgomery stand.
Water
Rating *****
If you enjoyed Unplugged from Daryl’s House Club you’ll love Sister Hazel’s newest release, Water.
An EP with seven great tracks, Water features
a song for every mood just as H2O, whether it represents drowning, a
raindrop or a tear, arguably figures figuratively, if not literally, in
the themes of all of these message songs.
Roll On Bye has
a breezy, carefree vibe bolstered with lyrics that exude confidence
consistent with knowing the water's always fine when your significant
other has your back.
The First Time second-guesses as it ponders the what ifs of a broken relationship.
You Won’t See Me Again is the title of a story song embodying dark despondency followed by (spoiler alert?) prayerful recovery.
Shelter is
a song about just that- the importance of protection from the elements,
others and sometimes even that which is less than your best self.
More Than I Want To is
a tale of falling short of your own expectations, or the person you’d
like to be, and somehow being present enough in a relationship to where
it might work.
The collection rounds out with Elements Part 1 (Abilene) a
rather strange karmic refrain; but one that works even though listeners
can’t imagine- or maybe we can- what is missing in the absence of a
“Part Two.”
Bold Like A Lion
Rating ****
According to a news release issued by Meghan Linsey's publicist, Joey Amato, Linsey calls this the best album she's ever released.
Reviewers had some fun with Jeanne Pruett when, over the course of her recording career, Jeanne would appear with Ralph Emery and proclaim, like clockwork, the same superlative sentiment about whatever her newest release happened to be with
each of Pruett’s singles over Meghan may well be right. This CD’s
baker’s dozen of largely well-written songs, variously infused with
energy, attitude, independence (or the lack thereof), and social
conscience, begin with a roar (no pun intended), right out of the box,
as the title song opens with lyrics and a sentiment that sets the tone for what follows.
Mr. Homewrecker, Bold…’s first single, lays the responsibility for breaking vows where it belongs. Say It To My Face (featuring Aloe Blaco) is a self-explanatory message to Internet trolls. Freak 4 the Beat (featuring Fred Schneider of the B52s), if properly promoted, will certainly broaden Meghan’s audience, more accustomed to the nuance defining the fine line between Exes and Friends.
I could do without Lover (I find it repetitive and not especially creative filler) but record-buyers, assuming they agree, will readily overlook this lapse, realizing that one-third of the proceeds from Bold Like A Lion are earmarked for Phlando Feeds the Children, “an organization created in memory of Philando Castile, which raises money to provide lunches for elementary school children.”
The Life & Songs of Kris Kristofferson: All-Star Concert Celebration
Rating ****
A twist on the usual tribute album, this CD version is, in effect, an edited version of live performances, featuring not only other artists singing the honoree’s song, but performances by the subject of the tribute himself (i.e., Kris Kristofferson).
Yet only the concert itself captured the total experience. The various edits result in the need for some clarification from Rob Rauffer: “Lady Antebellum (Help Me Make It Through the Night) and Darius Rucker (Under the Gun) are on the broadcast, CD and DVD. Martina McBride (Here Comes That Rainbow Again) is on the CD and DVD but not the broadcast."
As someone who would rather hear Kris sing his own songs,or, failing that, hear them from Johnny Cash, Sammi Smith, Ray Price, Roy Drusky and Billy Walker,
(who, had they lived, would have been the most logical choices for any
multimedia Kristofferson tribute project), I’m probably not the
best one to review these performances. Though the artists mostly stick to the original melodies and lyrics, the slightest deviation drives me crazy.
But, to paraphrase Hank Williams, Jr.,
if you want Bocephus’ participation in the project, as Kris (or someone
Kristofferson deferred to) evidently did, as the artist best-suited to
sing If You Don’t Like Hank Williams…,”
then Hank, Jr.’s taking the most number of liberties with a
Kristofferson song of any of the participants paying tribute was part
of what it took to secure Bocephus’ participation.
Some of the artists, who have no discernible connection to Kris, appeared to have spotted a gravy train and jumped on board. In
industry terms, being able to market marquee names, as being associated
with an industry “legend” who, paradoxically, has been long put out to
pasture, give the project street cred that, in turn, translate to sales.
But if the listener can take, at face value, Eric Church’s explanation of why pairing him with To Beat the Devil has
not only context but relevance for Eric’s fans, then it’s easier to
believe that Kris’ music has some relevance to those cast as his
acolytes- even if, “in real life,” they’re not cutting any of his
chestnuts (i.e., the ones like A Moment of Forever that have not already been covered to death) for their own projects.
If you enjoyed Unplugged from Daryl’s House Club you’ll love Sister Hazel’s newest release, Water.
An EP with seven great tracks, Water features
a song for every mood just as H2O, whether it represents drowning, a
raindrop or a tear, arguably figures figuratively, if not literally, in
the themes of all of these message songs.
Roll On Bye has
a breezy, carefree vibe bolstered with lyrics that exude confidence
consistent with knowing the water's always fine when your significant
other has your back.
The First Time second-guesses as it ponders the what ifs of a broken relationship.
You Won’t See Me Again is the title of a story song embodying dark despondency followed by (spoiler alert?) prayerful recovery.
Shelter is
a song about just that- the importance of protection from the elements,
others and sometimes even that which is less than your best self.
More Than I Want To is
a tale of falling short of your own expectations, or the person you’d
like to be, and somehow being present enough in a relationship to where
it might work.
The collection rounds out with Elements Part 1 (Abilene) a
rather strange karmic refrain; but one that works even though listeners
can’t imagine- or maybe we can- what is missing in the absence of a
“Part Two.”
Bold Like A Lion
Rating ****
According to a news release issued by Meghan Linsey's publicist, Joey Amato, Linsey calls this the best album she's ever released.
Reviewers had some fun with Jeanne Pruett when, over the course of her recording career, Jeanne would appear with Ralph Emery and proclaim, like clockwork, the same superlative sentiment about whatever her newest release happened to be with
each of Pruett’s singles over Meghan may well be right. This CD’s
baker’s dozen of largely well-written songs, variously infused with
energy, attitude, independence (or the lack thereof), and social
conscience, begin with a roar (no pun intended), right out of the box,
as the title song opens with lyrics and a sentiment that sets the tone for what follows.
Mr. Homewrecker, Bold…’s first single, lays the responsibility for breaking vows where it belongs. Say It To My Face (featuring Aloe Blaco) is a self-explanatory message to Internet trolls. Freak 4 the Beat (featuring Fred Schneider of the B52s), if properly promoted, will certainly broaden Meghan’s audience, more accustomed to the nuance defining the fine line between Exes and Friends.
I could do without Lover (I find it repetitive and not especially creative filler) but record-buyers, assuming they agree, will readily overlook this lapse, realizing that one-third of the proceeds from Bold Like A Lion are earmarked for Phlando Feeds the Children, “an organization created in memory of Philando Castile, which raises money to provide lunches for elementary school children.”
The Life & Songs of Kris Kristofferson: All-Star Concert Celebration
Rating ****
A twist on the usual tribute album, this CD version is, in effect, an edited version of live performances, featuring not only other artists singing the honoree’s song, but performances by the subject of the tribute himself (i.e., Kris Kristofferson).
Yet only the concert itself captured the total experience. The various edits result in the need for some clarification from Rob Rauffer: “Lady Antebellum (Help Me Make It Through the Night) and Darius Rucker (Under the Gun) are on the broadcast, CD and DVD. Martina McBride (Here Comes That Rainbow Again) is on the CD and DVD but not the broadcast."
As someone who would rather hear Kris sing his own songs,or, failing that, hear them from Johnny Cash, Sammi Smith, Ray Price, Roy Drusky and Billy Walker,
(who, had they lived, would have been the most logical choices for any
multimedia Kristofferson tribute project), I’m probably not the
best one to review these performances. Though the artists mostly stick to the original melodies and lyrics, the slightest deviation drives me crazy.
But, to paraphrase Hank Williams, Jr.,
if you want Bocephus’ participation in the project, as Kris (or someone
Kristofferson deferred to) evidently did, as the artist best-suited to
sing If You Don’t Like Hank Williams…,”
then Hank, Jr.’s taking the most number of liberties with a
Kristofferson song of any of the participants paying tribute was part
of what it took to secure Bocephus’ participation.
Some of the artists, who have no discernible connection to Kris, appeared to have spotted a gravy train and jumped on board. In
industry terms, being able to market marquee names, as being associated
with an industry “legend” who, paradoxically, has been long put out to
pasture, give the project street cred that, in turn, translate to sales.
But if the listener can take, at face value, Eric Church’s explanation of why pairing him with To Beat the Devil has
not only context but relevance for Eric’s fans, then it’s easier to
believe that Kris’ music has some relevance to those cast as his
acolytes- even if, “in real life,” they’re not cutting any of his
chestnuts (i.e., the ones like A Moment of Forever that have not already been covered to death) for their own projects.
Blue Haze
Robert Hale with the 8th Wonder Band
Rating
You’ve heard all of these classic hits before- but not covered by bluegrass artists.
Robert Hale’s EP features seven familiar songs from other genres performed to a bluegrass beat.
Can you imagine The Beatles, Eric Burden, or The Rolling Stones performing Uncle Pen or Fox on the Run?
In the reverse, the message may be that not every non-bluegrass standard lends itself to bluegrass. Of
course, given the number of bluegrass artists who are now providing at
least one such reinterpreted track on their album, listeners can only
surmise- and maybe even be among those who will vouch for the fact-
that the demand is there.
Certainly, if Blue Haze listeners
are open to the gimmick, experiment or however they wish to
characterize it, and especially if, in a few cases, they’ve never heard
the originals, it’s easy to defend the move.
For Hale and his band (which includes- my fellow Leadership Music inaugural classmate- the superb Missy Raines on bass) prove they are able to make songs like Help, Mr. Bojangles and House of the Rising Sun and the four other past hits featured here their own. Utilizing
such techniques as fiddle, banjo and/or mandolin featured prominently
in the turnarounds, when necessary to distance themselves from the
originals Hale and his band have produced a project well worthy of
listener’s (and skeptics’) consideration.
Old Road, New Again
The Dillards
Rating
Rodney Dillard enlists the remainder of the current “Dillard incarnation” (as John McEuen accurately refers to Becky Dillard, Tom Wray, George Giddens and Gary Smith), in collaboration with “featured artists” Don Henley, Ricky Skaggs, Herb Pedersen, Sharon and Cheryl White, Bernie Leadon and Sam Bush and a number of “special guests” in the presentation of this, The Dillards’ first album since 1991.
I don’t know what took them nearly 30 years, but I do know that ever since America fell in love with The Darlings on The Andy Griffith Show (1963) the (extended Dillard) family has been a part of its musical (and sometimes comedic) consciousness.
I hope my friend, Lanny Smith hears The Earthman (the
lead single from this album) and that fans of The Dillards will enjoy
the other songs found here, including the title song and the group’s
unlikely bluegrass rendition of the ‘50s favorite, Save the Last Dance for Me.
On my “pans” list: Tearing Our Liberty Down. Sorry, guys but I’m not a fan of populist preaching set to music when the lyrics cite vague problems, blaming only the mysterious (i.e., unidentified “they,” a tactic universally employed by bigots) and offer no solutions.
The Old Side of Town
Alecia Nugent
After “going off the grid for a decade” IBMA and multi SPBGMA award-winning bluegrass favorite Alecia Nugent emerges with a collection of songs that showcase her country side and strength as a songwriter.
Alecia also breathes new life into her cover of April Verch’s lyrically-quirky I Might Have One Too.
They Don’t Make ‘Em Like My Daddy Anymore is not a repurposing of a similarly-titled Loretta Lynn’s 1974 Top Ten hit, but rather a moving tribute to Nugent’s father that Alecia wrote with Carl Jackson. The
centerpiece of Nugent’s new music video, two different renditions of
the song are featured here, the latter bluegrass version as a “bonus
track.”
No
longer off the grid, Alecia returns, rescuing listeners from the
gridlock of her absence and, appetites whetted, awaiting what she’ll
come up with next!
The Mavericks en Español
The Mavericks
Most soloists (and perhaps some groups) of stature have that album project that they’ve always wanted to do. Their
fans usually hear about it when media day interview embargoes are
lifted so that publication coincides with the release of said dream
project.
Having received an advance copy of The Mavericks en Español I’m not sure that this, The Mavericks’ first-ever Spanish language album, fits that description, but it’s obvious Raul Malo, Eddie Perez, Jerry Dale McFadden and Paul Deakin have not phoned it in.
I’m preaching to choir of those who have heard the first two singles: Poder Vivir (literally translated as “the power to live” or, as credited translator Rick Rodriguez prefers, simply “To Live”) and Recuerdos (translation: “Memories”).
Assisted by The Fantastic Five (a
group of musicians that add instrumentation and vocals to those
provided by The Mavericks themselves), along with several other special
guests (notably Flaco Jiménez)
and individually credited musicians, lead vocalist Malo and cohorts
have listeners singing along, thanks to an accompanying booklet of the
lyrics to each song along with Rodriguez’ Spanish- to- English
translations.
The
poetry of Spanish is evident in the songs of this, The Mavericks' 30th
anniversary album, as is the realization that if, if recorded in
English, much would be lost in the translation.
No Vale La Pena, one of my favorites, is Exhibit A. Apart
from the title’s English translation ("It’s Not Really Worth It"), an
English language rendering of the song would sound stilted, as Gringos
don’t typically express ourselves, for example, by telling the objects
of our affection that their “requests for dates are lacking” and that
their claims of love don’t “feel sufficient.”
While nearly half of the 12 songs on The Mavericks en Español were
written (or co-written) by Raul Malo, the album includes a few Spanish
language standards. As soon as I heard its chorus, I immediately
recognized one in particular- but not, as Rick Rodriguez asserts, as Cuando Me Enamoro- an "original standard by Andrea Bocelli” (as apparently suggested by Bocelli’s 2015 recording, let alone Enrique Iglesias’ recording of the same song, translated “When I Fall in Love" five years earlier).
No, the English translation is not even recognizable to fans of the standard first popularized by Doris Day, but one I recognized from the earworm chorus of Engelbert Humperdinck’s 1968 smash that was a big hit when I was a teenager: A Man Without Love.
Creole Skies
Johnny & the Mongrels
Johnny & the Mongrels'
co-founders, singer/songwriters Johnny Ryan and Jeff Bostic, join with
guitarist Scott Sharrard, keyboardist Bill McKay and
drummer/percussionist Eddie Christmas, and another equally-talented
group of musicians and backup singers, to produce a debut album worthy
of your attention.
The opening bars of Louisiana Girl (a Ryan/Bostic/Sharrard composition) suggest a Tony Joe White group sound. And while that song, as well as eight of the other ten selections found on Creole Skies, was written by one or more of the above-mentioned quintet's members, one of the best feel-good songs on the album, Saturday Night In Oak Grove Louisiana was written, and first recorded (in 1973) by White himself.
The Colorado-based zydeco quintet's "News Orleans infused swamp funk and bayou soul" may confound rack-jobbers (suggested genre: Americana/Blues/Jamband/Rock),
but, for the rest of us, music is music. More specifically, good
music is good music, whether it's the title song or any of the others.
Mama Said is not a cover of The Shirelles'
1961 hit, but rather a tribute to a woman who encouraged her sons to be
all they could be, using that "one shot" to "give all you've got to
give."
On an album full of a number of infectious songs guaranteed to make you smile, dance and/or sing along, Music Man, another jewel, namechecks that celebrated master of funk: James Brown.
At a time when others want to drain the swamp, Johnny & the Mongrels make the case for exempting swamp blues.
The Secret of Life
Daryl Mosley
Daryl Mosley made a name for himself by writing songs that have been recorded by both major country and bluegrass artists. Fans who have followed Daryl from his days with various award-winning bands will be especially interested in Pinecastle's release of Mosley's first solo album; a collection of 11 songs Mosley has variously written or co-written.
Leading off with A Few Years Ago, the first single from The Secret of Life,
Mosley sings of life lessons learned, suggesting that wisdom may well
be a privilege of age. It is easily the strongest lyric and best
performance on this collection of radio-friendly songs. It Never Gets Old is an ode to enduring love I can see lending itself to any number of advertising promotions and/or movie soundtracks.
Similarly, the title song recounts the wisdom of a Humphrey's County (or Waverly, Tennessee, the county seat, to be more precise) barber who shares what he's learned about priorities, coping and otherwise finding balance in life.
Story-songs,
morality plays, songs with a message- they're all a part of Daryl's
oeuvre, rhythmically set to a bluegrass beat.
Mosley
shines, playing to his strengths. He's an excellent vocalist and an
artful songwriter. Daryl clearly knows his target audience of
fundamentalist Christians who enjoy a little preaching along with their
bluegrass. This style is most effective when it equates living a
righteous life with common sense. Mosley's slightly modernized
message, set against an original melody, of Do What The Good Book Says is not as secular as Jimmie Dodd's inspirational homily first released on a 78 (vinyl) in 1956.
As with most preaching, within, as well as exclusive of, a musical context, there's no openness to other viewpoints (other than, perhaps, to lump them together and mischaracterize some of them).
But with songs like In A Country Town (which conflates conservative values with patriotism), Hands in Wood, All the Way Home and harrowing "my way or the highway" message of The Deal,
it is evident that Daryl has a laser focus on his fan base and that its
growth will never be at the expense of Mosley's compromising a
strongly-held world view that brings him and those of like mind comfort
and inspiration, in the absence of multicultural appeal.
Roll Up the Rug
The Roe Family Singers
My fellow Minnesotans, Kim and Quillan Roe, accompanied by their chosen family of fellow traditional musicians comprise The Roe Family Singers.
This
motley crew know how to roll up the rug to the vocal accompaniment of a
potpourri of country, folk and bluegrass sounds, courtesy of a banjo,
autoharp, washboard, spoons, guitar (archtop, resonator, bass and
flat-top), dobro, mandolin and even musical saw, with their own style
of Appalachian clogging thrown in for good measure.
There are 15 songs in all for your musical pleasure, including When the Red, Red Robin Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbing and a couple of 19th century standards (The Red River Valley, My Grandfather's Clock);
songs I haven't heard in decades. The Roes' renditions of those
songs alone are worth price of the album that also includes songs that
are even older (The Fox) and other country classics (Hey Good Lookin', Tennessee Stud).
The Roe Family Singers put their unique stamp on Bill Monroe's The Rocky Road Blues and listeners will enjoy the work of several songwriters, including the Roe Family Singers themselves (What Did He Say?).
Thankful for Country Music
Shane Owens
Peace in Pieces
Betty Fox Band
Listen To That Beautiful Sound is the title of not only the opening song from this collection, i
Betty Fox is billed as a “powerhouse blues and roots soul stirrer ” (with no apologies to Sam Cooke) and the lead vocalist/acoustic guitarist of Betty Fox Band certainly lives up to that description.
When Betty and her bandmates (electric guitarist Josh Nelms, bass guitarist Barry Williams and drummer Chris Peet) brought their blend of blues, gospel, funk and soul to record at Muscle Shoals legendary Fame Studios, they wouldn’t take no for answer when told that a road band has a whole different skill set than studio musicians.
The powers that be needn’t have worried. Betty’s backup band was equal to the task, augmented by the music of industry veteran Spooner Oldham and his equally- talented session cohorts.
With 14 songs (all but one penned by Betty and/or her-cowriters) on the Best of the Bay and 2015 International Blues Challenge finalists’ third album, there is a little something for everyone who loves Betty Fox Band’s genre-defying sound. The title song, with its theme of Zen-rooted accommodation, is a sharp contrast to the co-dependency of Runnin’ Back to You; the latter sounding a different tone than the independent spirit of Rising Strong who is “ready to fly.”
Parenthetically, it should be noted that, just as the aforementioned Barry Williams is not the guy we remember Growing Up Brady, so too, Sweet Memories is not a cover of the Mickey Newbury classic.
Sweet Goodnight briefly channels Doris Day which will be a surprise to fans of Janis Joplin and Beth Hart (two
of several singers whose vocals, Betty, with her husky,
grit-impassioned performances, is often favorably compared) as it
conjures an image of what it might sound like to have Fox “sing your
favorite lullaby.”
Feels So Good is just that: a feel good song while Magnificent Hallucination might be best characterized as the esoteric extension of Tommy James & the Shondells’ Crimson and Clover.
The album’s closer, ‘Til the Storm Passes By, is a song of prayerful hope that leaves the listener wanting more.
Earth
Sister Hazel
Earth is the natural title for the fourth in a series of Sister Hazel’s “elements” compilation series, given that the six-track EP is the follow-up to Water, Wind, and Fire.
This final volume of the series (that would be titled, as I erroneously predicted in my Fire review, “Air”) is the extension of the group’s most recent efforts.
Anyone who has ever parented a child (or who was once a child, for that matter) can identify with Raising a Rookie, an empathetic observation written by Darius Rucker, Barry Dean and Sister Hazel’s own Drew Copeland.
I Don’t Do Well Alone is bit of well-written (by Jerry Flowers and Sister Hazel’s Ken Bock) self-flagellating candor wrapped in self-absorbed dysfunction.
Sister Hazel’s Jett Beres joined Copeland and Dean in the writing of the metaphorical Slow Lightning while Drew and Jett teamed with Billy Montana to write Memphis Rain about a breakup in the Bluff City.
Copeland and Montana continue the breakup theme from a slightly different perspective while Follow The River (with Billy Montana, Randy Montana, Copeland and Beres sharing writers’ credits) speaks to the self-confidence of knowing what to expect from a relationship.
Elements IV (Remember Me) is Bock’s benediction to the elements series. As for (further) interpretation, I recommend the Hermann Rorschach approach.
Lemonade
Bobby Messano Featuring Bob Malone
Heal Me, Bobby's second single (which, like The Bad Guys, Messano wrote with Meredith Reed Salimbeni, to whom he Messano dedicates the project) is the first of eight songs variously featuring Bob Malone's vocals, clarinet, strings and string arrangements.
Messano and Malone collaborate on the title song, (Bobby's current single; a reasoned response to adversity), Junk Jam, an intricate instrumental interlude, followed by It's Just the Money That's Missing, a funky, sarcastic truism and bit of ear candy with which many, if not most, creatives can identify.
Be prepared for the darkness of A Thursday in June and the realism that permeates the songs that follow, including the finale, a CCNY cover, Find the Cost of Freedom.
Blue Sun Rises
Debra Lyn
This, the Americana/folk singer/songwriter’s third (Nashville-based) Palette Records album, is a departure from the first two.
Debra Lyn’s inspiration this time around is found in the culture and music of her Irish/Scotch/English heritage.
The opener, Pull Me Down (The Maids of Mitchelstown) fuses original, navigational love lyrics by Debra and producer/arranger Jeff Silverman with a traditional Irish tune.
The title song finds our protagonist, no longer navigating the waters, lamenting lost love by clinging to the memories that remain.
Traditional British folk (Billy Taylor) and Scottish (The Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond)
songs follow, then, lest the listener stay ensconced in a European
musical travelogue, Debra sings the praises of personal time (though,
admittedly to the beat of Jeff’s Irish step dancing) with a universal
theme titled Workin’ for the Money.
Love Will Never Die (featuring the traditional Irish reel The Star of Munster) is a tale of a heart denied choice, followed by Debra’s putting her personal stamp on the classic, Wayfaring Stranger.
Devil With the Blue Eyes is yet another diversion, conjuring familiar Christian imagery while Preacher Man challenges the judgmental who preach funerals with an agenda that overrides that of memorializing the deceased.
The finale, Ode to Billy Taylor (The Sun Rises Blue) builds on Billy Taylor, the aforementioned story-song, taking the sailor’s saga to a new level.
Mission accomplished!
American Highway
Marty Brown
There’s enough precedent for musical second acts that it's a good bet that, with the release of American Highway, Marty Brown, who took "a two decade self-imposed 'break' from major recording," will retain his loyal following (a steadfastness that began for many of us when we first became acquainted with Marty on a pre-true crime edition of CBS' 48 Hours) while winning, literally, a generation of new country-music fans.
Hedging that bet is the "expect the unexpected" quality, arrangements and musical direction of most of the songs found here.
Brown and Jon Tiven wrote the picturesque title song. They also wrote the remainder of these songs, writing I'm On A Roll (Better Than It's Ever Been) with Marty Brown, Jr.
The momentum, which hints of a concept album worthy of a movie soundtrack, is broken by Umbrella Lovers. Yes, it's a creative, imaginative tune, but one that not only breaks the continuity, it sounds like the answer to a musical challenge to incorporate two words that usually don't go together in a song.
This
gimmickry, which often works as a commercially viable radio hit, is
redeemed by the remainder of the songs. These include Casino Winnebago, a song that might exhibit the gimmicky cited above, but one that is saved by
Let's Be Frank
Trisha Yearwood
“That’s a great album!”
So said the young repairman attending to the small cracks in my windshield, as he peered into an open window of my parked Honda, noticing the album jacket for Trisha Yearwood’s Let’s Be Frank on the passenger seat opposite the seat-belted driver.
I
hadn’t finished listening to the CD, but that seal of approval from the
audience Yearwood hopes to reach may make what follows superfluous. (I didn’t try to do the repairman's job- I still want to do mine- so here goes:)
As anyone would expect, Trisha’s tribute album contains many of the Frank Sinatra standards fans of Ol' Blue Eyes would insist upon (Witchcraft, All the Way, Come Fly With Me, The Lady is a Tramp et al). But it also features songs more associated with other artists, such as Judy Garland (Over the Rainbow) John Raitt, Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones (If I Loved You), five other standards and a song Sinatra didn't live to hear; the "Ms. Yearwood" and Garth Brooks-penned For the Last Time.
Trisha's done them "her way."
Indeed, the beauty of Trisha Yearwood’s interpretations of these songs is that, while singing (mostly) hits from the Big Band era and The Great American Songbook, she doesn’t try to be anyone other than herself- let alone Frank Sinatra.
The result is that, while it ain't country, Let's Be Frank pleases both Yearwood's fans and those of the Chairman of the Board.
Diesel Palomino
Fate McAfee
Walk Through Fire
Yola
Fire
Sister Hazel
Hard Way to Go
Jimmy Charles
The release of Jimmy Charles’ seven-song EP is the latest fans are hearing from the American Idol (Season 9) alumnus (as opposed to Jimmy Charles, the recording artist of A Million To One fame).
The similarities between the two Jimmys begin and end with the identical stage name.
Most recently Idol’s Jimmy Charles led Nashville’s November, 2018 Cancer Survivors March, crossing the Cumberland River with fellow marchers by way of the JOHN SEIGENTHALER Pedestrian Bridge, in support of Jimmy's #IAMNOTALONE charity, an event preceding the singer/songwriter's prerelease party for Hard Way To Go.
The EP's title song, which closes out an array of material showcasing the range of Jimmy's talent (beginning with the energetic rocker, Blue Spaces, shifting to the pensive torcher, She's Where I Belong, the seemingly autobiographical Rollin' On and the self-explanatory tribute to God and a Woman), is a prayerful "tale of addiction," choices and consequences. Other highlights include I Am Not Alone, a paean to faith in troubled times, and Superman (not to be confused with Donna Fargo's 1973 hit of the same name), which offers tear-jerking support to those tasked with the impossible objective of doing and having it all while battling cancer to boot!
Glen Campbell Sings for the King
Glen Campbell
Livin' the Dream
Tim Atwood
Lee Shapiro Plays the Hits of Frankie Valli: A Piano Tribute
Lee Shapiro
It’s been years since instrumentals have been regarded as (terrestrial) radio-friendly. (One of the earliest indications came when the Country Music Association eliminated its “Instrumentalist of the Year” category.)
Some
of my favorite recordings are instrumentals and, in my capacity as a
music reviewer, I try to do my part to see that they are not overlooked. Enter Lee Shapiro, whom Four Seasons’
fans remember as the group’s musical director and arranger and as the
talent, in his own right, who went on to assist his mentor, Frankie Valli when Valli embarked on a solo career.
Though Lee has gone on to work with many other popular music artists since, with the resurgence in interest in the music of Valli and fellow Jersey Boys, courtesy of Broadway and the silver screen, Shapiro rightly believes many of the hits featuring Four Seasons’ lead singer Frankie’s falsetto adapt themselves to piano solos.
The result is Shapiro's instrumental interpretations of 10 familiar songs, four of which Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You, My Eyes Adored You, Swearin’ to God, and Fallen Angel, are really the only true Valli solo releases. I’ve Got You Under My Skin, like like Save it For Me, was released by “The Four Seasons Featuring the ‘Sound’ of Frankie Valli.” (The former, of course, was a cover of Frank Sinatra’s original hit version of the Cole Porter classic first performed by Virginia Bruce.)
Dawn and Marlena were Four Seasons’ hits, while Our Day Will Come, Frankie’s 1975 release was one of several covers of Ruby & the Romantics’ #1 hit (released in 1962).
Silence is Golden, written by Seasons’ group member Bob Gaudio and the quartet’s producer, Bob Crewe,was a Seasons’ 1964 B-side, the song is best remembered as a 1967 hit for The Tremeloes.
Music
history/marketing lessons aside, Lee Shapiro breathes new life and some
new twists into his arrangements of the above-mentioned songs, sticking
close to the familiar versions where it makes sense to do so.
Lee and his fellow Hit Men band (including album producer, Jeff Ganz) are, at this writing, performing these favorites as a touring band on their aptly-named Don’t Stop tour.
Don’t Stop pretty much summarizes the reviewer’s sentiments upon hearing Lee’s piano tribute. Fans won't be able to resist singing along, though, so karaoke, to say nothing of Nashville demo material for aspiring singers who don't write music, may well take up the sales slack if (terrestrial) radio doesn't do its part to make these songs instrumental recurrents.
Can't Be Denied
Mark Wayne Glasmire
Love & Wealth: The Lost Recordings
The Louvin Brothers
Come See About Me (A Benefit for the IBMA Trust Fund)
Various Artists
Sideline, Donna Ulisse, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Lonesome River Band, Balsam Range, Love Canon, Darin & Brooke Aldridge, Chris Jones & the Night Drivers, The Grascals and the Mountain Home Family have come together in a musical show of solidarity, to offer these performances of 11 songs, with proceeds benefiting the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Trust Fund.
The
spirit of unity is apparent from the beginning, setting the tone (no
pun intended) of what is to follow with Sideline’s performance of Their Hands Made the Music, Mark Brinkman’s original composition saluting bluegrass’ icons and all of the “pickers” who seek to carry on the tradition.
Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver's All of the Good Things We Could Do, with its uplifting call to action, is one of the best songs found here.
Not so The Grascals’ bluegrass version of The Beatles’ Help! Though what has, only in recent years, become a tradition that may have begun much earlier with Ray Stevens’ recording of Misty,
grassers have been seemingly all but stepping over each other in order
to record a song that has become a classic in another genre.
There are three reasons to do so:
1). To improve upon the original by making it your own to the point where the original is all but forgotten.
2. To redress a grievance when a classic was denied the shelf life and/or recurrent status it deserves.
Or
3. To give a classic a comedic turn as Stevens did with a Johnny Mathis hit or to otherwise parody it (think Homer & Jethro, Pinkard & Bowden, Weird Al Yankovic, etc.).
The Grascals fail all of these objectives, though their desire to assist the IBMA trust fund is, obviously, to be commended.
BTW, songwriters’ credit for Help! reads “John W. Lennon and Paul J. McCartney.” John Winston Lennon’s co-writer’s full given name is James Paul McCartney.
All of which brings us to the title song. While it might be a disappointment to The Supremes’ fans, who remember the Motown trio’s 1964 hit of the same name, to country and bluegrass fans Come See About Me is a completely different song, written and first recorded by Conway Twitty in 1977.
In any event, the Doyle Lawson-produced Come See About Me serves as a historically fitting finale, given new meaning with its We Are The World thrust, courtesy of some 20 performing contributors.
Wind
Sister Hazel
Sister Hazel’s six-song EP Wind is
a welcome addition to the crowded field of largely upbeat,
radio-friendly new releases vying for the attention of music fans
everywhere.
With Whirlwind Girl grabbing the most attention (and deservedly so) from those of us receiving prerelease copies I’m also partial to Small Town Living, a paean to what are often seen as nostalgic, though they are arguably timeless, values; ideals certainly worth preserving.
Taken as a whole, Wind evinces
Sunshine state sensibilities fashioning an optimism and sense of
security that is sometimes tempered by lyrical sentiments of
frustration and exasperation.
However, as themes and emotions seemingly run the gamut, this collection, the latest in the six-man-band’s Elements series,
proves that, after 25 years together, the Gainesville gang of “sisters”
(or, more accurately, “brothers [from another mother]"?) still has
it.
From The Crow's Nest
(John Jorgenson Bluegrass Band featuring Herb Pederson, Jon Randall & Mark Fain)
Listen To That Beautiful Sound is the title of not only the opening song from this collection, it sets the stage for a series of sonic delights, offset by themes of sadness and tragedy.
If the 15 songs featured on this project, recorded at SHERYL CROW's home studio, atop a horse barn, seem familiar it's because they were one-third of John's limited edition, 2015 three-CD Divertuoso box set now repositioned to reap the rewards of a wider release.
Jorgenson and his all-star collaborators present timeless music, blending story-songs such as Wandering Boy (a snapshot in time of young Rodney Crowell and his Houston roots) and Whiskey Lullaby (the disturbing, twisted tale of self-destruction) with a few instrumentals ( Ladies Bluff, Feather, Gina) spotlighting the musicianship that brought these respected pickers in their own right together.
Second Bloom: The Hits Re-Imaged
Years ago RCA Records hired me to update Sylvia’s press kit biography. Part
of my assignment was to use the bio as a means of public
disclosure of Sylvia’s divorce- though I was not to use the then
presumably-stigmatizing “D” word.
The
result was, as best I remember, a description that referenced Sylvia as
a “newly single, independent woman of the ‘80s”- or something like that.
The
reinvention was consistent with the odd inconsistency of Sylvia being
known to her fans, from the time of her first major label release, by
her first name (a distinction afforded singers like Barbra Streisand, Reba McEntire, and so forth, only after their first and last names were fully pressed in public consciousness).
Immediately known popularly by her first name, Sylvia was constantly asked her surname. And,
periodically, Sylvia has added that maiden name or married name, as
seemed to make sense at the time, for performance billing or other
promotional purposes.
Sylvia
brings that same deliberation to the task of choosing just 10 career
favorites, then, respecting listeners’ reverence for the originals,
re-imaging them with a 21st century sound that showcases Sylvia’a
creativity and artistic growth along with the work of today’s most
in-demand musicians and background vocalists (not to mention the iconic Jim Glaser).
Sylvia
fulfills her challenge to bridge that gap between the performances that
created her fan base and the artistic growth that has sustained it. All
the while Sylvia manages to keep the integrity of the partnerships she
formed with the songwriting team of Kye Fleming and Dennis Morgan (Nobody, Tumbleweed, Sweet Yesterday, Like Nothing Ever Happened, Snapshot and- the only song in this collection that wasn’t released as a single- You Can’t Go Back Home) and the other songwriters whose work is also featured here.
And, just to underscore that, with the passage of time, you really can’t go home again, Sylvia’s 1985 Top 10 hit, I Love You By Heart (written by Jerry Gillespie and Stan Webb) featured Michael Johnson. That pairing of solo artists is sobering in light of the notation, on Second Bloom...'s track listing of I Love You By Heart.
This time out, Sylvia relies on background singers to take up the
slack as she dedicates her performance "in memory of Michael Johnson."
Crazy Like Me
Heard in tandem with Billy Burnette’s book of the same name (reviewed here) or purchased as a standalone musical treat, these 14 songs feature Billy Burnette at his best.
Now
rockin’ with a Medicare card (issued May 8, 2018), Billy has lost none
of his arresting musical inheritance; the chops, musicianship and
swagger that brought him to the attention of his erstwhile bandmates, Fleetwood Mac.
Billy accurately describes his latest album as a “mish-mosh of hits and things people have never heard.”
Burnette opens with his appropriately-energized version of Tear It Up, the classic written and recorded by The Rock ‘N Roll Trio rockabilly pioneers Dorsey Burnette, Johnny Burnette and Paul Burlison. Billy
first released the raucous, infectious audience favorite on his
self-titled CBS in 1980 and later Fleetwood Mac seized the opportunity
to adopt it as its standard response to its stage audiences’ demands
for an encore.
Burnette’s performance of (All I Can Do) Is Dream You, a song Billy and David Malloy wrote for Roy Orbison, makes it easy to understand why Orbison embraced the lyric.
The title song (which Billy wrote with Dennis Morgan and Shawn Camp) evokes appreciation for a mirror-imaged mate.
Billy’s rendering of River of Love, another Burnette, Morgan and Camp copyright, will please Burnette’s fans as much as George Strait’s cut (which became Strait’s 57th number one single in 2008).
Billy’s ability to make Do I Ever Cross Your Mind (co-written with Michael Smotherman) Burnette’s own is quite a testament to those who might wonder if it’s possible to breathe new life into a song sung by Ray Charles and Bonnie Raitt.
It's Late is yet another example of Billy’s timeless musical tributes to his father, Dorsey Burnette (who wrote it) and to the Burnettes' friend, Ricky Nelson, who had the 1959 hit version.
So
grab your blue suede dancin’ shoes (saddle shoes will do) and let Billy
Burnette supply the rockabilly. You still have it- and so does
Billy!
Just Like in the Movies
Jana Kramer may have written (with Brian Kierulf and Catt Gravitt) and recorded it first, but the title song, one of 14 found on Southern Halo’s
newest release, and project finale, is a perfect fit for what the
sister trio’s Natalia “Nata” Morris quite rightly describes as a
concept album.
Indeed,
with only a year in age separating the eldest Morris sister (Nata) from
middle sister Hannah, with Christina (“Tinka”) Morris arriving a year
after Hannah’s birth, the Morris
sisters are close enough in age, not to mention DNA, to have
experienced the gamut of emotions that tie the themes of these songs
together.
The lyrics to Southern Halo (which Nata cowrote with Roxie Dean)
answer the questions of why and how the Morris sisters bill themselves
as something more attention-getting than- well, say, The Morris Sisters.
As a matter of fact, the (semi)-autobiographical themes throughout these songs resonate with songs like My Girls and Me (suggesting, like Sisters Sledge, the Morris siblings, too “are family” with an unbreakable bond), Missing Mississippi (and
what homesick native, born into a generation for whom the Dixiecrats
are largely ancient history, doesn’t pine for the Magnolia state?) and Famous (Nata and cowriter Alex Dooley’s somewhat tongue-in-cheek take on celebrity).
Listening to Notice Me it seem like the song should be titled “Hey Boy.” Until, a few songs later, a song with an entirely different theme actually titled Hey Boy appears.
Not a celebrity? No sisters? Not from Mississippi?
No problem.
If
you over-analyze, are resilient, have been in love, have been dumped
when you didn’t see it coming and/or have found your soul mate, you’ll
want to add Just Like in the Movies to your collection.
Front and Center
Rating ****
Sideline‘s
fourth album includes 12 songs- like most LPs used to- that are an
eclectic blend of old-time bluegrass instrumentation with traditional
Christian dogma and familiar lyrical themes.
There are story songs of complex characters like Thunder Dan and (to a lesser degree) Lysander Hayes along with salutes to other influences such as a Bluefield WV Mtn. Girl. Along the way, things get a little bit preachy for those not among the flock (I Long to See His Face, Satan’s Chains), while another values song, Old Time Way will either strike a chord or seem less than innovative, depending upon the listener’s mindset.
Along the way listeners are treated to a mix of memories and melancholy with Sideline’s interpretation of Gordon Lightfoot’s Song for a Winter’s Night being a real standout.
Sideline closes with a little dance music; an instrumental version of Cotton Eyed Joe that heightens fans’ awareness of the sextet’s musicianship that positions them Front and Center.
Here's To You
Rating ****
Here’s To You would be memorable, and otherwise have an historical significance, simply because the album was recorded only days before Troy Gentry's death from injuries sustained in a helicopter crash.
Posthumously
issued releases traditionally sell more copies than those that drop (no
pun intended) independent of such sorrow, but Eddie Montgomery remains very much alive and has vowed to memorialize Gentry by continuing the duo’s music.
Thankfully, Montgomery is able to do so on the strength of an album that stands on its own, beginning with Shotgun Wedding a lyrically-clever story-song, written by Eddie, Phillip Eugene O’Donnell and Gary Hannon, that works despite (or perhaps because of) what Troy opined was the song’s similarity to Hillbilly Shoes.
Better Me, written by Jamie Moore, Randy Montana and Josh Hoge, the first single out of the chute, is thought to be a song Gentry wished he’d written himself. Played during Troy’s funeral, the song seems autobiographical, in that, by all accounts, during what turned out to be the last years of his life, Gentry was beginning to take stock of his choices and was working to change what needed improvement.
I
found eight of the remaining 10 songs variously entertaining, this,
despite the fact that a couple of them aren't all that strong. Needing a Beer is
a reworked update of a song or, more accurately, a series of songs,
variously pandering, or paying homage, to the working man/people,
patriots/those thought to be conservative/fringe
Republicans, white collar professionals or whatever demographics are
deemed currently topical and, in this case, Montgomery Gentry fans.
“God Bless America, Baby,” indeed!
Similarly, That’s The Thing about America is
a reworked update of any number of songs; in this case those purporting
to be patriotic statements about polarizing points-of-view and the
freedom to express them.
The
message is tolerance, but given two drastically opposing views on
several issues and the sometimes stereotypically-inflammatory manner in
which the lyrics address them, the listener knows exactly where the
Troy stood and where the writers (Craig Wiseman, Jeffrey Steele and Shane Minor) and Eddie Montgomery stand.
Water
Rating *****
If you enjoyed Unplugged from Daryl’s House Club you’ll love Sister Hazel’s newest release, Water.
An EP with seven great tracks, Water features
a song for every mood just as H2O, whether it represents drowning, a
raindrop or a tear, arguably figures figuratively, if not literally, in
the themes of all of these message songs.
Roll On Bye has
a breezy, carefree vibe bolstered with lyrics that exude confidence
consistent with knowing the water's always fine when your significant
other has your back.
The First Time second-guesses as it ponders the what ifs of a broken relationship.
You Won’t See Me Again is the title of a story song embodying dark despondency followed by (spoiler alert?) prayerful recovery.
Shelter is
a song about just that- the importance of protection from the elements,
others and sometimes even that which is less than your best self.
More Than I Want To is
a tale of falling short of your own expectations, or the person you’d
like to be, and somehow being present enough in a relationship to where
it might work.
The collection rounds out with Elements Part 1 (Abilene) a
rather strange karmic refrain; but one that works even though listeners
can’t imagine- or maybe we can- what is missing in the absence of a
“Part Two.”
Bold Like A Lion
Rating ****
According to a news release issued by Meghan Linsey's publicist, Joey Amato, Linsey calls this the best album she's ever released.
Reviewers had some fun with Jeanne Pruett when, over the course of her recording career, Jeanne would appear with Ralph Emery and proclaim, like clockwork, the same superlative sentiment about whatever her newest release happened to be with
each of Pruett’s singles over Meghan may well be right. This CD’s
baker’s dozen of largely well-written songs, variously infused with
energy, attitude, independence (or the lack thereof), and social
conscience, begin with a roar (no pun intended), right out of the box,
as the title song opens with lyrics and a sentiment that sets the tone for what follows.
Mr. Homewrecker, Bold…’s first single, lays the responsibility for breaking vows where it belongs. Say It To My Face (featuring Aloe Blaco) is a self-explanatory message to Internet trolls. Freak 4 the Beat (featuring Fred Schneider of the B52s), if properly promoted, will certainly broaden Meghan’s audience, more accustomed to the nuance defining the fine line between Exes and Friends.
I could do without Lover (I find it repetitive and not especially creative filler) but record-buyers, assuming they agree, will readily overlook this lapse, realizing that one-third of the proceeds from Bold Like A Lion are earmarked for Phlando Feeds the Children, “an organization created in memory of Philando Castile, which raises money to provide lunches for elementary school children.”
The Life & Songs of Kris Kristofferson: All-Star Concert Celebration
Rating ****
A twist on the usual tribute album, this CD version is, in effect, an edited version of live performances, featuring not only other artists singing the honoree’s song, but performances by the subject of the tribute himself (i.e., Kris Kristofferson).
Yet only the concert itself captured the total experience. The various edits result in the need for some clarification from Rob Rauffer: “Lady Antebellum (Help Me Make It Through the Night) and Darius Rucker (Under the Gun) are on the broadcast, CD and DVD. Martina McBride (Here Comes That Rainbow Again) is on the CD and DVD but not the broadcast."
As someone who would rather hear Kris sing his own songs,or, failing that, hear them from Johnny Cash, Sammi Smith, Ray Price, Roy Drusky and Billy Walker,
(who, had they lived, would have been the most logical choices for any
multimedia Kristofferson tribute project), I’m probably not the
best one to review these performances. Though the artists mostly stick to the original melodies and lyrics, the slightest deviation drives me crazy.
But, to paraphrase Hank Williams, Jr.,
if you want Bocephus’ participation in the project, as Kris (or someone
Kristofferson deferred to) evidently did, as the artist best-suited to
sing If You Don’t Like Hank Williams…,”
then Hank, Jr.’s taking the most number of liberties with a
Kristofferson song of any of the participants paying tribute was part
of what it took to secure Bocephus’ participation.
Some of the artists, who have no discernible connection to Kris, appeared to have spotted a gravy train and jumped on board. In
industry terms, being able to market marquee names, as being associated
with an industry “legend” who, paradoxically, has been long put out to
pasture, give the project street cred that, in turn, translate to sales.
But if the listener can take, at face value, Eric Church’s explanation of why pairing him with To Beat the Devil has
not only context but relevance for Eric’s fans, then it’s easier to
believe that Kris’ music has some relevance to those cast as his
acolytes- even if, “in real life,” they’re not cutting any of his
chestnuts (i.e., the ones like A Moment of Forever that have not already been covered to death) for their own projects.
t sets the stage for a series of sonic delights, offset by themes of sadness and tragedy.
If the 15 songs featured on this project, recorded at SHERYL CROW's home studio, atop a horse barn, seem familiar it's because they were one-third of John's limited edition, 2015 three-CD Divertuoso box set now repositioned to reap the rewards of a wider release.
Jorgenson and his all-star collaborators present timeless music, blending story-songs such as Wandering Boy (a snapshot in time of young Rodney Crowell and his Houston roots) and Whiskey Lullaby (the disturbing, twisted tale of self-destruction) with a few instrumentals ( Ladies Bluff, Feather, Gina) spotlighting the musicianship that brought these respected pickers in their own right together.
Second Bloom: The Hits Re-Imaged
Years ago RCA Records hired me to update Sylvia’s press kit biography. Part
of my assignment was to use the bio as a means of public
disclosure of Sylvia’s divorce- though I was not to use the then
presumably-stigmatizing “D” word.
The
result was, as best I remember, a description that referenced Sylvia as
a “newly single, independent woman of the ‘80s”- or something like that.
The
reinvention was consistent with the odd inconsistency of Sylvia being
known to her fans, from the time of her first major label release, by
her first name (a distinction afforded singers like Barbra Streisand, Reba McEntire, and so forth, only after their first and last names were fully pressed in public consciousness).
Immediately known popularly by her first name, Sylvia was constantly asked her surname. And,
periodically, Sylvia has added that maiden name or married name, as
seemed to make sense at the time, for performance billing or other
promotional purposes.
Sylvia
brings that same deliberation to the task of choosing just 10 career
favorites, then, respecting listeners’ reverence for the originals,
re-imaging them with a 21st century sound that showcases Sylvia’a
creativity and artistic growth along with the work of today’s most
in-demand musicians and background vocalists (not to mention the iconic Jim Glaser).
Sylvia
fulfills her challenge to bridge that gap between the performances that
created her fan base and the artistic growth that has sustained it. All
the while Sylvia manages to keep the integrity of the partnerships she
formed with the songwriting team of Kye Fleming and Dennis Morgan (Nobody, Tumbleweed, Sweet Yesterday, Like Nothing Ever Happened, Snapshot and- the only song in this collection that wasn’t released as a single- You Can’t Go Back Home) and the other songwriters whose work is also featured here.
And, just to underscore that, with the passage of time, you really can’t go home again, Sylvia’s 1985 Top 10 hit, I Love You By Heart (written by Jerry Gillespie and Stan Webb) featured Michael Johnson. That pairing of solo artists is sobering in light of the notation, on Second Bloom...'s track listing of I Love You By Heart.
This time out, Sylvia relies on background singers to take up the
slack as she dedicates her performance "in memory of Michael Johnson."
Crazy Like Me
Heard in tandem with Billy Burnette’s book of the same name (reviewed here) or purchased as a standalone musical treat, these 14 songs feature Billy Burnette at his best.
Now
rockin’ with a Medicare card (issued May 8, 2018), Billy has lost none
of his arresting musical inheritance; the chops, musicianship and
swagger that brought him to the attention of his erstwhile bandmates, Fleetwood Mac.
Billy accurately describes his latest album as a “mish-mosh of hits and things people have never heard.”
Burnette opens with his appropriately-energized version of Tear It Up, the classic written and recorded by The Rock ‘N Roll Trio rockabilly pioneers Dorsey Burnette, Johnny Burnette and Paul Burlison. Billy
first released the raucous, infectious audience favorite on his
self-titled CBS in 1980 and later Fleetwood Mac seized the opportunity
to adopt it as its standard response to its stage audiences’ demands
for an encore.
Burnette’s performance of (All I Can Do) Is Dream You, a song Billy and David Malloy wrote for Roy Orbison, makes it easy to understand why Orbison embraced the lyric.
The title song (which Billy wrote with Dennis Morgan and Shawn Camp) evokes appreciation for a mirror-imaged mate.
Billy’s rendering of River of Love, another Burnette, Morgan and Camp copyright, will please Burnette’s fans as much as George Strait’s cut (which became Strait’s 57th number one single in 2008).
Billy’s ability to make Do I Ever Cross Your Mind (co-written with Michael Smotherman) Burnette’s own is quite a testament to those who might wonder if it’s possible to breathe new life into a song sung by Ray Charles and Bonnie Raitt.
It's Late is yet another example of Billy’s timeless musical tributes to his father, Dorsey Burnette (who wrote it) and to the Burnettes' friend, Ricky Nelson, who had the 1959 hit version.
So
grab your blue suede dancin’ shoes (saddle shoes will do) and let Billy
Burnette supply the rockabilly. You still have it- and so does
Billy!
Just Like in the Movies
Jana Kramer may have written (with Brian Kierulf and Catt Gravitt) and recorded it first, but the title song, one of 14 found on Southern Halo’s
newest release, and project finale, is a perfect fit for what the
sister trio’s Natalia “Nata” Morris quite rightly describes as a
concept album.
Indeed,
with only a year in age separating the eldest Morris sister (Nata) from
middle sister Hannah, with Christina (“Tinka”) Morris arriving a year
after Hannah’s birth, the Morris
sisters are close enough in age, not to mention DNA, to have
experienced the gamut of emotions that tie the themes of these songs
together.
The lyrics to Southern Halo (which Nata cowrote with Roxie Dean)
answer the questions of why and how the Morris sisters bill themselves
as something more attention-getting than- well, say, The Morris Sisters.
As a matter of fact, the (semi)-autobiographical themes throughout these songs resonate with songs like My Girls and Me (suggesting, like Sisters Sledge, the Morris siblings, too “are family” with an unbreakable bond), Missing Mississippi (and
what homesick native, born into a generation for whom the Dixiecrats
are largely ancient history, doesn’t pine for the Magnolia state?) and Famous (Nata and cowriter Alex Dooley’s somewhat tongue-in-cheek take on celebrity).
Listening to Notice Me it seem like the song should be titled “Hey Boy.” Until, a few songs later, a song with an entirely different theme actually titled Hey Boy appears.
Not a celebrity? No sisters? Not from Mississippi?
No problem.
If
you over-analyze, are resilient, have been in love, have been dumped
when you didn’t see it coming and/or have found your soul mate, you’ll
want to add Just Like in the Movies to your collection.
Front and Center
Rating ****
Sideline‘s
fourth album includes 12 songs- like most LPs used to- that are an
eclectic blend of old-time bluegrass instrumentation with traditional
Christian dogma and familiar lyrical themes.
There are story songs of complex characters like Thunder Dan and (to a lesser degree) Lysander Hayes along with salutes to other influences such as a Bluefield WV Mtn. Girl. Along the way, things get a little bit preachy for those not among the flock (I Long to See His Face, Satan’s Chains), while another values song, Old Time Way will either strike a chord or seem less than innovative, depending upon the listener’s mindset.
Along the way listeners are treated to a mix of memories and melancholy with Sideline’s interpretation of Gordon Lightfoot’s Song for a Winter’s Night being a real standout.
Sideline closes with a little dance music; an instrumental version of Cotton Eyed Joe that heightens fans’ awareness of the sextet’s musicianship that positions them Front and Center.
Here's To You
Rating ****
Here’s To You would be memorable, and otherwise have an historical significance, simply because the album was recorded only days before Troy Gentry's death from injuries sustained in a helicopter crash.
Posthumously
issued releases traditionally sell more copies than those that drop (no
pun intended) independent of such sorrow, but Eddie Montgomery remains very much alive and has vowed to memorialize Gentry by continuing the duo’s music.
Thankfully, Montgomery is able to do so on the strength of an album that stands on its own, beginning with Shotgun Wedding a lyrically-clever story-song, written by Eddie, Phillip Eugene O’Donnell and Gary Hannon, that works despite (or perhaps because of) what Troy opined was the song’s similarity to Hillbilly Shoes.
Better Me, written by Jamie Moore, Randy Montana and Josh Hoge, the first single out of the chute, is thought to be a song Gentry wished he’d written himself. Played during Troy’s funeral, the song seems autobiographical, in that, by all accounts, during what turned out to be the last years of his life, Gentry was beginning to take stock of his choices and was working to change what needed improvement.
I
found eight of the remaining 10 songs variously entertaining, this,
despite the fact that a couple of them aren't all that strong. Needing a Beer is
a reworked update of a song or, more accurately, a series of songs,
variously pandering, or paying homage, to the working man/people,
patriots/those thought to be conservative/fringe
Republicans, white collar professionals or whatever demographics are
deemed currently topical and, in this case, Montgomery Gentry fans.
“God Bless America, Baby,” indeed!
Similarly, That’s The Thing about America is
a reworked update of any number of songs; in this case those purporting
to be patriotic statements about polarizing points-of-view and the
freedom to express them.
The
message is tolerance, but given two drastically opposing views on
several issues and the sometimes stereotypically-inflammatory manner in
which the lyrics address them, the listener knows exactly where the
Troy stood and where the writers (Craig Wiseman, Jeffrey Steele and Shane Minor) and Eddie Montgomery stand.
Water
Rating *****
If you enjoyed Unplugged from Daryl’s House Club you’ll love Sister Hazel’s newest release, Water.
An EP with seven great tracks, Water features
a song for every mood just as H2O, whether it represents drowning, a
raindrop or a tear, arguably figures figuratively, if not literally, in
the themes of all of these message songs.
Roll On Bye has
a breezy, carefree vibe bolstered with lyrics that exude confidence
consistent with knowing the water's always fine when your significant
other has your back.
The First Time second-guesses as it ponders the what ifs of a broken relationship.
You Won’t See Me Again is the title of a story song embodying dark despondency followed by (spoiler alert?) prayerful recovery.
Shelter is
a song about just that- the importance of protection from the elements,
others and sometimes even that which is less than your best self.
More Than I Want To is
a tale of falling short of your own expectations, or the person you’d
like to be, and somehow being present enough in a relationship to where
it might work.
The collection rounds out with Elements Part 1 (Abilene) a
rather strange karmic refrain; but one that works even though listeners
can’t imagine- or maybe we can- what is missing in the absence of a
“Part Two.”
Bold Like A Lion
Rating ****
According to a news release issued by Meghan Linsey's publicist, Joey Amato, Linsey calls this the best album she's ever released.
Reviewers had some fun with Jeanne Pruett when, over the course of her recording career, Jeanne would appear with Ralph Emery and proclaim, like clockwork, the same superlative sentiment about whatever her newest release happened to be with
each of Pruett’s singles over Meghan may well be right. This CD’s
baker’s dozen of largely well-written songs, variously infused with
energy, attitude, independence (or the lack thereof), and social
conscience, begin with a roar (no pun intended), right out of the box,
as the title song opens with lyrics and a sentiment that sets the tone for what follows.
Mr. Homewrecker, Bold…’s first single, lays the responsibility for breaking vows where it belongs. Say It To My Face (featuring Aloe Blaco) is a self-explanatory message to Internet trolls. Freak 4 the Beat (featuring Fred Schneider of the B52s), if properly promoted, will certainly broaden Meghan’s audience, more accustomed to the nuance defining the fine line between Exes and Friends.
I could do without Lover (I find it repetitive and not especially creative filler) but record-buyers, assuming they agree, will readily overlook this lapse, realizing that one-third of the proceeds from Bold Like A Lion are earmarked for Phlando Feeds the Children, “an organization created in memory of Philando Castile, which raises money to provide lunches for elementary school children.”
The Life & Songs of Kris Kristofferson: All-Star Concert Celebration
Rating ****
A twist on the usual tribute album, this CD version is, in effect, an edited version of live performances, featuring not only other artists singing the honoree’s song, but performances by the subject of the tribute himself (i.e., Kris Kristofferson).
Yet only the concert itself captured the total experience. The various edits result in the need for some clarification from Rob Rauffer: “Lady Antebellum (Help Me Make It Through the Night) and Darius Rucker (Under the Gun) are on the broadcast, CD and DVD. Martina McBride (Here Comes That Rainbow Again) is on the CD and DVD but not the broadcast."
As someone who would rather hear Kris sing his own songs,or, failing that, hear them from Johnny Cash, Sammi Smith, Ray Price, Roy Drusky and Billy Walker,
(who, had they lived, would have been the most logical choices for any
multimedia Kristofferson tribute project), I’m probably not the
best one to review these performances. Though the artists mostly stick to the original melodies and lyrics, the slightest deviation drives me crazy.
But, to paraphrase Hank Williams, Jr.,
if you want Bocephus’ participation in the project, as Kris (or someone
Kristofferson deferred to) evidently did, as the artist best-suited to
sing If You Don’t Like Hank Williams…,”
then Hank, Jr.’s taking the most number of liberties with a
Kristofferson song of any of the participants paying tribute was part
of what it took to secure Bocephus’ participation.
Some of the artists, who have no discernible connection to Kris, appeared to have spotted a gravy train and jumped on board. In
industry terms, being able to market marquee names, as being associated
with an industry “legend” who, paradoxically, has been long put out to
pasture, give the project street cred that, in turn, translate to sales.
But if the listener can take, at face value, Eric Church’s explanation of why pairing him with To Beat the Devil has
not only context but relevance for Eric’s fans, then it’s easier to
believe that Kris’ music has some relevance to those cast as his
acolytes- even if, “in real life,” they’re not cutting any of his
chestnuts (i.e., the ones like A Moment of Forever that have not already been covered to death) for their own projects.
Years ago RCA Records hired me to update Sylvia’s press kit biography. Part
of my assignment was to use the bio as a means of public
disclosure of Sylvia’s divorce- though I was not to use the then
presumably-stigmatizing “D” word.
The
result was, as best I remember, a description that referenced Sylvia as
a “newly single, independent woman of the ‘80s”- or something like that.
The
reinvention was consistent with the odd inconsistency of Sylvia being
known to her fans, from the time of her first major label release, by
her first name (a distinction afforded singers like Barbra Streisand, Reba McEntire, and so forth, only after their first and last names were fully pressed in public consciousness).
Immediately known popularly by her first name, Sylvia was constantly asked her surname. And,
periodically, Sylvia has added that maiden name or married name, as
seemed to make sense at the time, for performance billing or other
promotional purposes.
Sylvia
brings that same deliberation to the task of choosing just 10 career
favorites, then, respecting listeners’ reverence for the originals,
re-imaging them with a 21st century sound that showcases Sylvia’a
creativity and artistic growth along with the work of today’s most
in-demand musicians and background vocalists (not to mention the iconic Jim Glaser).
Sylvia
fulfills her challenge to bridge that gap between the performances that
created her fan base and the artistic growth that has sustained it. All
the while Sylvia manages to keep the integrity of the partnerships she
formed with the songwriting team of Kye Fleming and Dennis Morgan (Nobody, Tumbleweed, Sweet Yesterday, Like Nothing Ever Happened, Snapshot and- the only song in this collection that wasn’t released as a single- You Can’t Go Back Home) and the other songwriters whose work is also featured here.
And, just to underscore that, with the passage of time, you really can’t go home again, Sylvia’s 1985 Top 10 hit, I Love You By Heart (written by Jerry Gillespie and Stan Webb) featured Michael Johnson. That pairing of solo artists is sobering in light of the notation, on Second Bloom...'s track listing of I Love You By Heart.
This time out, Sylvia relies on background singers to take up the
slack as she dedicates her performance "in memory of Michael Johnson."
Crazy Like Me
Heard in tandem with Billy Burnette’s book of the same name (reviewed here) or purchased as a standalone musical treat, these 14 songs feature Billy Burnette at his best.
Now
rockin’ with a Medicare card (issued May 8, 2018), Billy has lost none
of his arresting musical inheritance; the chops, musicianship and
swagger that brought him to the attention of his erstwhile bandmates, Fleetwood Mac.
Billy accurately describes his latest album as a “mish-mosh of hits and things people have never heard.”
Burnette opens with his appropriately-energized version of Tear It Up, the classic written and recorded by The Rock ‘N Roll Trio rockabilly pioneers Dorsey Burnette, Johnny Burnette and Paul Burlison. Billy
first released the raucous, infectious audience favorite on his
self-titled CBS in 1980 and later Fleetwood Mac seized the opportunity
to adopt it as its standard response to its stage audiences’ demands
for an encore.
Burnette’s performance of (All I Can Do) Is Dream You, a song Billy and David Malloy wrote for Roy Orbison, makes it easy to understand why Orbison embraced the lyric.
The title song (which Billy wrote with Dennis Morgan and Shawn Camp) evokes appreciation for a mirror-imaged mate.
Billy’s rendering of River of Love, another Burnette, Morgan and Camp copyright, will please Burnette’s fans as much as George Strait’s cut (which became Strait’s 57th number one single in 2008).
Billy’s ability to make Do I Ever Cross Your Mind (co-written with Michael Smotherman) Burnette’s own is quite a testament to those who might wonder if it’s possible to breathe new life into a song sung by Ray Charles and Bonnie Raitt.
It's Late is yet another example of Billy’s timeless musical tributes to his father, Dorsey Burnette (who wrote it) and to the Burnettes' friend, Ricky Nelson, who had the 1959 hit version.
So
grab your blue suede dancin’ shoes (saddle shoes will do) and let Billy
Burnette supply the rockabilly. You still have it- and so does
Billy!
Just Like in the Movies
Jana Kramer may have written (with Brian Kierulf and Catt Gravitt) and recorded it first, but the title song, one of 14 found on Southern Halo’s
newest release, and project finale, is a perfect fit for what the
sister trio’s Natalia “Nata” Morris quite rightly describes as a
concept album.
Indeed,
with only a year in age separating the eldest Morris sister (Nata) from
middle sister Hannah, with Christina (“Tinka”) Morris arriving a year
after Hannah’s birth, the Morris
sisters are close enough in age, not to mention DNA, to have
experienced the gamut of emotions that tie the themes of these songs
together.
The lyrics to Southern Halo (which Nata cowrote with Roxie Dean)
answer the questions of why and how the Morris sisters bill themselves
as something more attention-getting than- well, say, The Morris Sisters.
As a matter of fact, the (semi)-autobiographical themes throughout these songs resonate with songs like My Girls and Me (suggesting, like Sisters Sledge, the Morris siblings, too “are family” with an unbreakable bond), Missing Mississippi (and
what homesick native, born into a generation for whom the Dixiecrats
are largely ancient history, doesn’t pine for the Magnolia state?) and Famous (Nata and cowriter Alex Dooley’s somewhat tongue-in-cheek take on celebrity).
Listening to Notice Me it seem like the song should be titled “Hey Boy.” Until, a few songs later, a song with an entirely different theme actually titled Hey Boy appears.
Not a celebrity? No sisters? Not from Mississippi?
No problem.
If
you over-analyze, are resilient, have been in love, have been dumped
when you didn’t see it coming and/or have found your soul mate, you’ll
want to add Just Like in the Movies to your collection.
Front and Center
Rating ****
Sideline‘s
fourth album includes 12 songs- like most LPs used to- that are an
eclectic blend of old-time bluegrass instrumentation with traditional
Christian dogma and familiar lyrical themes.
There are story songs of complex characters like Thunder Dan and (to a lesser degree) Lysander Hayes along with salutes to other influences such as a Bluefield WV Mtn. Girl. Along the way, things get a little bit preachy for those not among the flock (I Long to See His Face, Satan’s Chains), while another values song, Old Time Way will either strike a chord or seem less than innovative, depending upon the listener’s mindset.
Along the way listeners are treated to a mix of memories and melancholy with Sideline’s interpretation of Gordon Lightfoot’s Song for a Winter’s Night being a real standout.
Sideline closes with a little dance music; an instrumental version of Cotton Eyed Joe that heightens fans’ awareness of the sextet’s musicianship that positions them Front and Center.
Here's To You
Rating ****
Here’s To You would be memorable, and otherwise have an historical significance, simply because the album was recorded only days before Troy Gentry's death from injuries sustained in a helicopter crash.
Posthumously
issued releases traditionally sell more copies than those that drop (no
pun intended) independent of such sorrow, but Eddie Montgomery remains very much alive and has vowed to memorialize Gentry by continuing the duo’s music.
Thankfully, Montgomery is able to do so on the strength of an album that stands on its own, beginning with Shotgun Wedding a lyrically-clever story-song, written by Eddie, Phillip Eugene O’Donnell and Gary Hannon, that works despite (or perhaps because of) what Troy opined was the song’s similarity to Hillbilly Shoes.
Better Me, written by Jamie Moore, Randy Montana and Josh Hoge, the first single out of the chute, is thought to be a song Gentry wished he’d written himself. Played during Troy’s funeral, the song seems autobiographical, in that, by all accounts, during what turned out to be the last years of his life, Gentry was beginning to take stock of his choices and was working to change what needed improvement.
I
found eight of the remaining 10 songs variously entertaining, this,
despite the fact that a couple of them aren't all that strong. Needing a Beer is
a reworked update of a song or, more accurately, a series of songs,
variously pandering, or paying homage, to the working man/people,
patriots/those thought to be conservative/fringe
Republicans, white collar professionals or whatever demographics are
deemed currently topical and, in this case, Montgomery Gentry fans.
“God Bless America, Baby,” indeed!
Similarly, That’s The Thing about America is
a reworked update of any number of songs; in this case those purporting
to be patriotic statements about polarizing points-of-view and the
freedom to express them.
The
message is tolerance, but given two drastically opposing views on
several issues and the sometimes stereotypically-inflammatory manner in
which the lyrics address them, the listener knows exactly where the
Troy stood and where the writers (Craig Wiseman, Jeffrey Steele and Shane Minor) and Eddie Montgomery stand.
Water
Rating *****
If you enjoyed Unplugged from Daryl’s House Club you’ll love Sister Hazel’s newest release, Water.
An EP with seven great tracks, Water features
a song for every mood just as H2O, whether it represents drowning, a
raindrop or a tear, arguably figures figuratively, if not literally, in
the themes of all of these message songs.
Roll On Bye has
a breezy, carefree vibe bolstered with lyrics that exude confidence
consistent with knowing the water's always fine when your significant
other has your back.
The First Time second-guesses as it ponders the what ifs of a broken relationship.
You Won’t See Me Again is the title of a story song embodying dark despondency followed by (spoiler alert?) prayerful recovery.
Shelter is
a song about just that- the importance of protection from the elements,
others and sometimes even that which is less than your best self.
More Than I Want To is
a tale of falling short of your own expectations, or the person you’d
like to be, and somehow being present enough in a relationship to where
it might work.
The collection rounds out with Elements Part 1 (Abilene) a
rather strange karmic refrain; but one that works even though listeners
can’t imagine- or maybe we can- what is missing in the absence of a
“Part Two.”
Bold Like A Lion
Rating ****
According to a news release issued by Meghan Linsey's publicist, Joey Amato, Linsey calls this the best album she's ever released.
Reviewers had some fun with Jeanne Pruett when, over the course of her recording career, Jeanne would appear with Ralph Emery and proclaim, like clockwork, the same superlative sentiment about whatever her newest release happened to be with
each of Pruett’s singles over Meghan may well be right. This CD’s
baker’s dozen of largely well-written songs, variously infused with
energy, attitude, independence (or the lack thereof), and social
conscience, begin with a roar (no pun intended), right out of the box,
as the title song opens with lyrics and a sentiment that sets the tone for what follows.
Mr. Homewrecker, Bold…’s first single, lays the responsibility for breaking vows where it belongs. Say It To My Face (featuring Aloe Blaco) is a self-explanatory message to Internet trolls. Freak 4 the Beat (featuring Fred Schneider of the B52s), if properly promoted, will certainly broaden Meghan’s audience, more accustomed to the nuance defining the fine line between Exes and Friends.
I could do without Lover (I find it repetitive and not especially creative filler) but record-buyers, assuming they agree, will readily overlook this lapse, realizing that one-third of the proceeds from Bold Like A Lion are earmarked for Phlando Feeds the Children, “an organization created in memory of Philando Castile, which raises money to provide lunches for elementary school children.”
The Life & Songs of Kris Kristofferson: All-Star Concert Celebration
Rating ****
A twist on the usual tribute album, this CD version is, in effect, an edited version of live performances, featuring not only other artists singing the honoree’s song, but performances by the subject of the tribute himself (i.e., Kris Kristofferson).
Yet only the concert itself captured the total experience. The various edits result in the need for some clarification from Rob Rauffer: “Lady Antebellum (Help Me Make It Through the Night) and Darius Rucker (Under the Gun) are on the broadcast, CD and DVD. Martina McBride (Here Comes That Rainbow Again) is on the CD and DVD but not the broadcast."
As someone who would rather hear Kris sing his own songs,or, failing that, hear them from Johnny Cash, Sammi Smith, Ray Price, Roy Drusky and Billy Walker,
(who, had they lived, would have been the most logical choices for any
multimedia Kristofferson tribute project), I’m probably not the
best one to review these performances. Though the artists mostly stick to the original melodies and lyrics, the slightest deviation drives me crazy.
But, to paraphrase Hank Williams, Jr.,
if you want Bocephus’ participation in the project, as Kris (or someone
Kristofferson deferred to) evidently did, as the artist best-suited to
sing If You Don’t Like Hank Williams…,”
then Hank, Jr.’s taking the most number of liberties with a
Kristofferson song of any of the participants paying tribute was part
of what it took to secure Bocephus’ participation.
Some of the artists, who have no discernible connection to Kris, appeared to have spotted a gravy train and jumped on board. In
industry terms, being able to market marquee names, as being associated
with an industry “legend” who, paradoxically, has been long put out to
pasture, give the project street cred that, in turn, translate to sales.
But if the listener can take, at face value, Eric Church’s explanation of why pairing him with To Beat the Devil has
not only context but relevance for Eric’s fans, then it’s easier to
believe that Kris’ music has some relevance to those cast as his
acolytes- even if, “in real life,” they’re not cutting any of his
chestnuts (i.e., the ones like A Moment of Forever that have not already been covered to death) for their own projects.
