Jesse Daniel Beyond These Walls Die True
It is a very heart-warming thing to find an artist who is committed to his music, while still exploring the parameters of a particular genre. For Jesse Daniel that happens to be traditional country music. Working again with producer Tommy Detamore, they have delivered an album rich in tone and refreshing in sound. This time out though there is a shift of emphasis and there is a move towards the border and a Tex-Mex sound, with accordion featuring prominently on some songs, which are lyrically rooted in that area. On El Trabajador (The Worker) Daniel is joined by the Mavericks head honcho Raul Malo for a Spanish language duet on which Daniel more than holds up his end against the might Malo. All of which is a way of saying that he has grown as a vocalist and his delivery here is paramount.
His back story is one of overcoming some troubled and testing times which have resulted in a depth to his writing and experiences, that translates to something that is real and believable. The opening song Clayton Is A Cowboy is a tale of a rodeo bull rider who lives life to the full, until he reaches a life changing situation. It is rich in detail and features Detamore’s dobro and some fine guitar picking which gives an indication of the shift in the musical platform to something which has a strong rhythm section, that drive many of the songs, but there is a little less of the twanging guitar and pedal steel. Although the next song Looking Back does feature all these things as well as some telling electric 12 string guitar, which conjures a different set of influences. It also highlights the vocals of Jodi Lyford, an essential part of the overall sound and a perfect vocal foil for Daniel. Lyford is also involved with the writing on a numbers of songs on the album, giving a rounded perspective on the topics of the material.
There are twelve tracks here in total and to these ears there’s not a misstep among them. It plays out as a complete package and a damn good one. He celebrates the simple things in life and lists many of them in Simple Things which include “country music on my radio.” There is a sense of ease in the ways these songs are delivered that says something about the confidence that Daniel has gained since his self-titled debut album released in 2018. He also writes about the joys of fishing in Drop A Line (Out Here On The Water). Angel On The Ground takes us back to the honky-tonk and the captivation of the singer’s attention by a woman he meets there. There is a wider perspective in Living In The Great Divide which considers the way that people from the same, or similar backgrounds, are often at odds with each other. It delivers the message with an uplifting beat, twang and a sense of hope that things can resolve themselves. Grey is a stripped back song that opens with impassioned voice and guitar that regrets a life that is slowly fading into that indeterminate colour. It features an effective violin break underlining the sense of loss. He returns to a full-on Tex-Mex sound with accordion and verses in Spanish on Sonando Contigo, a tale of a relationship that has been broken and lost. It is another highlight on an album full of them. The closing track I’ll Be Around Again has been described as bluegrass a song built around the flat picking guitar of John Carroll, Detamore’s dobro and the fiddle of Hank Singer. It offers another aspect of Daniel’s music and closes the album advising us to stay true to our plan and once more highlights the power of Daniel and Lyford’s vocal partnership.
This album will doubtless be seen as one of the albums of the year in its genre. It is already up there for this reviewer. It joins a number of new releases that honour and explore a true understanding for the heritage of country music. That is something to praise and duly applaud.
Review by Stephen Rapid
I See Hawks In L.A. On Our Way Self Release
Looks like we’re on our way to another addition to the band’s already lauded musical cannon with this, their 10th album release. This well established Californian band has been building on their country rock background for quite some time now and exploring elements of that state’s varied musical heritage. As with pretty much everyone who was placed in a lockdown situation, the band had to write and record under all the limitations and opportunities that situation presented. But, happily, this set of new songs sounds no less impressive for all that and is very much in line with their previous albums.
The core members of Rob Waller, Paul Lacques, Paul Marshall and Victoria Jacobs worked on the eleven songs individually, or in various combinations. The next step, after getting the initial recordings down, was to bring in some appropriate guests to enhance the songs. Two notable collaborations are Radio Keeps Me On The Ground that features James and Ed from fellow Californian combo Great Willow (the latter also adding organ to another track) and then Double Nought Spy Car join them for the extended closing eight minute plus How You Gonna Know? The former is a harmony-laden sing along that offers a thumbs up to the way that radio was something of a lifeline for many. The other song takes an extended groove that collages voices and sounds to ask that in these strange times what and who can be trusted and how you gonna know the truth? The use of synth and wah-wahed guitar over the bass and drum bedrock all add to a slightly unsettling psychedelic sense of displacement and distorted vision. The end result is a band moving forward and delivering something different than might be expected, but something that offers an open door for the band and its next steps without abandoning those alt-country elements for which they are noted.
The humour and insight that I See Hawks In L.A. are know for is readily apparent throughout the album, as are their vocal and musical skills. Might Have Been Me features Dave Zirbel’s uplifting pedal steel which sets the tone for the song and he does on the other two tracks that he features on. There is a distinct 60’s feel to the title track with its Rickenbacker guitar motif and it also highlights the band’s melodic and poppier side. Know Just What To Do opens with Brantley Kearns abrasive fiddle over some ambient noise before letting the softer side of the song surface. Mississippi Gas Station Blues is one of those gritty blues workouts with a semi-talking vocal from Waller than has similarities in approach to Dave Alvin.
Waller handles most of the lead vocals here with a weathered voice, while Jacobs takes the lead on two tracks. Her song Kensington Market I think is about the famed much-missed London multi-shop emporium. Appropriately it has, again, a 60’s rock feel with 12-string guitar and folky harmonies as well as what sounds like some squiggly keyboards interludes. The second track she features on is the aforementioned recent single Radio Keeps Me On The Ground (Slight Return), joining Waller and Great Willow to give the songs its strong vocal presence. Kentucky Jesus tells of a disillusioned vet. In Geronimo, which is about the famed Native American leader, there is again a more apparent alt-country feel. Stealing and If I Move round out this album with thoughtful lyrics and sold affirmations of the fact that I See Hawks In L.A. are a highly visible presence who ably continue the rich history of California’s rock, country and psychedelic influences. It should also keep them on the way to more fulfilling trip.
Review by Stephen Rapid
Gary Gibson Ain ’t Through Honky Tonkin’ Yet True Country
It’s a labour of love for us at Lonesome Highway tracking down genuine classic country music from artists previously unknown to us and unearthing great albums by folks that often get very little media exposure. The latest artist and album ticking that box is North Carolina born Gary Gibson with his recent release AIN’T THROUGH HONKY TONKIN’ YET.
Currently residing in Nashville, like many other artists from North Carolina, his early days were filled with a combination of fishing for bass and writing songs, before eventually moving to Music City to pursue a career as a singer songwriter. The move was fuelled by a career that included opening for Mel McDaniel, Charlie Daniels and Billy Joe Royal. It did not take long for Gibson to establish himself as one of the standout honky tonk acts on Broadway, playing in a number of bars such as Legends Corner, The Wheel and The Stage.
AIN’T THROUGH HONKY TONKIN’ YET closes out with an acoustic and hopefully not autobiographical song titled Wasn’t’ Meant To Be. It’s a familiar tale of the artist whose dreams of stardom in Music City never materialise, leaving him playing to empty bars twenty years into his career. You’d hate that to be the case with Gibson, given the quality of music on offer on the preceding twelve tracks. Other than that final track, the sound is very much in keeping with what you’d expect to hear in the type of hardcore honky tonk hideouts that populate the majority of the album’s songs.
As you would expect, drinkin’, leavin’ and lovin’ are all affairs that regularly raise their heads. Classic dance floor gems include the ripping I Ain’t Through Honky Tonking Yet, Granny’s At That Honky Tonk Again and Roll On Big Mama. Although laced with humour, all three contain supercharged playing from a stellar collection of players, behind Gibson’s potent country drawl. Alongside those originals he includes a number of traditional classics that, no doubt, feature in his live set. He’s joined by Martha Martin for a fine version of the Melba Montgomery written We Must Have Been Out Of Our Minds and equally does justice to Glenn Sutton’s What Made Milwaukee Famous.
Although peppered with up-tempo tunes, the album contains more than two stepping and tongue in cheek dance songs. The Bottle is a powerful three and a half minutes, both in its content and Gibson’s delivery and will surely be covered by one of the current commercial country mainstream artists. A graphic and potent song, it’s made for country radio and with any justice should contribute to the writer’s pension pot. It may also bring this most talented artist to the attention of the major record labels.
Review by Declan Culliton
The Divorcees Drop Of Blood Self-Release
Canadian award-winning Americana/roots band The Divorcees have been touring and recording for almost sixteen years and DROP OF BLOOD is their fifth studio recording. It finds them reunited with founder member Jason Haywood, who, together with Alex Madsen, Denis ‘Turtle’ Arsenault, Shawn Thomas and Kevin Macintyre, make up the five-piece combo. It’s business as usual on the album, where they stick to their winning format that has served them well to date. Unlike the succession of breakthrough artists from Canada that have hit the ground running in recent years in the Americana genre, The Divorcees’ sound is closer to Austin, Texas than their native homeland.
They kick off the album with a short instrumental track that’s drenched in pedal steel, titled Caledonia Mountain. For lovers of pedal steel, the track captures your attention from the get go and the same instrument features strongly on many of the eleven songs that follow. Losing Hand is a guitar driven rocker, the type of sound that Dave Edmunds’ Rockpile thrived on and the title track, which is surely one of the album highlights, recalls the songwriting talents and driving melody of their fellow Canadian Kathleen Edwards. Their signature sound is very much in evidence on the country roots twangers Drinkin’ In The Afternoon, Making the Scene and The Other Side Of The Blue.
If groups like Reckless Kelly and Mike & The Moonpies float your boat, then DROP OF BLOOD is for you. Given their touring history, I can only imagine that their live shows would be equally as lively as those two bands. An act entirely conducive to sweaty honky tonks and entertaining beer swilling punters, DROP OF BLOOD is a no nonsense and uncomplicated album, well worth your attention.
Review by Declan Culliton
GLEN CAMPBELL Live From The Troubadour Big Machine
Artists such as Lou Reed, U2, Paul Westerberg, The Foo Fighters and Green Day are not names that immediately spring to mind when considering the music of Glen Campbell. However, the Arkansas born legend, who passed away in August of 2017, included songs written by them all in his legendary show at The Troubadour on West Hollywood’s Sunset Strip in August 20008.
Of course, Campbell also found room for his three Grammy Award winning songs Gentle On My Mind, Wichita Lineman and By The Time I Get To Phoenix on a setlist that was a reminder of the hugely diverse musical journey of the artist, which included session playing, acting and TV host alongside his successful singer songwriter career.
By Campbell’s side on stage were four family members: daughters Ashley and Debby added backing vocals, his third daughter Shannon played acoustic guitar and his son Cal was on drums. He was also joined by a host of session players including members of Jane’s Addiction, Danzig, Beck and Jellyfish. There’s so much to savour in the mixed bag of cover songs on the album, some of which remain true to the original versions (U2’s All I Want Is You and Sing from Travis) and others that get a slight country makeover (Tom Petty’s Walls and Green Day’s Good Riddance (I Hope You Had The Time Of Your Life). He also premieres a previously unrecorded John Lennon song, Grow Old With Me, presented to him by Yoko Ono. Sticking close to the tempo of The Velvet Underground’s Jesus, the song sounds as if it was written for him. ‘This is a heck of a song, I call it my Foo Fighters song’ he announces, before launching into the set closer, a rousing version of Times Like These. Of course, the three previously mentioned Grammy winners are all included in what must have been a memorable experience for those lucky enough to have been at The Troubadour to witness this exceptional concert.
It’s the last full show of Campbell’s career that was filmed and this album catches the warmth of the performance, together with the excellence of the material both in his vocal deliveries and the musicianship that accompanies it. More than just simply a live album, the recording is testimony to the charismatic powers of Campbell. It finds him doing what he loves best, singing, playing guitar and entertaining the audience, with family members on stage with him. The album captures all that and much more on a quite stunning and beautiful fifty-eight minutes of entertainment. An essential purchase.
Review by Declan Culliton
Mike Ross The Clovis Limit - Tennessee Transition Taller
Is the Clovis Limit a reference from a science fiction novel by William Gibson (The Peripheral), or does it refer to a tribe of hunter-gatherers who first settled the Americas in the years BC? It doesn’t really matter which interpretation you favour, as much like Mike Ross himself, the creativity that has been unleashed through this project, now in its third iteration, is well worth the journey either way.
The initial Clovis Limit recording was released back in 2019 when Mike Ross decided to bring his many talents to the table in a real tour de force of Blues/Roots music that left a deep impression on all who we fortunate enough to find it. Not content with the acclaim that the album received, Ross decided to revisit the project last year and reworked all the arrangements into a harder, Rock oriented direction, complete with driving guitar, synth treatments and plenty of high energy sonics.
Scoring a hat trick is something that any footballer will strive to achieve and a real highlight in a career; equally in a musical setting, Mike Ross has decided to aim for that same goal and pushes his art towards that special feeling of hitting the sweet spot. The Clovis Limit, part three, is given the Delta Blues treatment as Ross uses his Covid experience to lay down some wicked solo performances in search of that creative centre, sought out by all musicians who truly want to live inside the moment of finding true essence.
Despite all the attendant influences which may arise when listening to the music of Mike Ross, his deep respect for the blues is ever present and the obvious emotion and feel with which he performs pays fitting tribute to all those mentors who have gone before. With just solo guitar and impassioned vocals, Ross delivers an irresistible, engaging album of thirteen tracks, never dropping the pace for an instant and fully absorbing the listener.
There are four tracks taken from each of the Part One and Part Two original Clovis Limit recordings. Driftwood, Grow In Your Garden, Young Man and Blow Away, all from Part One, sounding suitably earthy and None Of Your Business, Don’t Say A Word, Leviathan and The Only Place You Ever Take Me Is Down, from Part Two, all compliment what goes before and sit equally at home in these deeply resonant surroundings.
Another track, Fixing To Die, is from a debut album released in 2014, Spindrift. An alternative version of Young Man is included in the bonus tracks, this one given the sub-header of ‘Paris transition.’ Ross has also included three Delta blues standards, which are favourite tunes, with Shake ‘Em On Down (Bukka White), Screamin’and Hollerin’ the Blues (Charlie Patton) and Statesboro Blues (Blind Willie McTell), bringing home the message, loud and clear, that everything started with acoustic blues.
The guitar prowess of Ross is really quite something to experience in this stripped-back setting, with all the songs, over forty-plus minutes, flowing by in an entertaining romp through this excellent material. Played with conviction and adding a new coat of paint to the original song structures, Ross displays clear evidence of his creative muse on these elemental versions.
Review by Paul McGee
Afton Wolfe Kings For Sale Grandiflora
This album burns with personality on every track as Afton Wolfe, the genre-bending ringmaster of rhythm n’ blues and country soul, delivers a really strong statement of intent. For forty-three minutes these nine tracks bring you to a place where the music dances with a deep resonance and invites you to come along for the ride.
Mississippi is home to Wolfe and his back story is peppered with wrong turns, cul de sacs, bad decisions taken, addiction and redemption. With a creative spirit that is spread across the southern states, the influences lean toward a sound that touches on many genres, including his exploration into both New Orleans jazz-tinged grooves and roots based soulful shuffles, in a joyful experience across a variety of sounds that deliver a rich tapestry.
There is a horn section on three tracks; pedal steel and piano on others, harmonica and clarinet, French horn and violin; all played with precision and beauty. Wolfe can sound like Tom Waits on a few of these arrangements and his vocal inflection adds richly to the mix. The County Blues of Carpenter is a terrific example of the worldly weary tone at play, ‘you said you thought you kinda loved me. something I don’t think I could help. Now you’re drunk at my bar with another homeless Nashville rock star, And I wish you’d just go somewhere else.’ As an examination of a fractured relationship, it is right up there.
Dirty Girl has a New Orleans jazzy arrangement with trombone, trumpet and saxophone interspersing with harmonica, piano and rhythm section, as the guitar sound weaves about. Channelling a Tom Waits persona as the friends recount a session around the bars and clubs of Mississippi. About My Falling looks at the waste of hedonistic pursuits and councils about calling a halt; ‘and I’d like to think that my falling, is just a natural decline in my mobility, but that would excuse me from my own scrutiny, so that this might go on into perpetuity.’
Cemetery Blues is a terrific electric slow burn with strutting guitars, courtesy of Wolfe and Wess Floyd, plus Seymour and Strangroom holding down the rhythm with a nasty beat that allows the vocal growl full vent. The upright bass that fuels the song arrangement on Mrs. Ernst’s Piano is right out of the Tom Waits songbook and the clarinet of Seth Fox sets the mood just right. It’s got a ragtime feel and tells of racial segregation in a changing America, with a piano teacher trying to simply educate the children in the middle of the whole experience.
Fault Lines is a standout track with pedal steel from Adam Kurtz, Rebecca Weiner Tompkins on violin, Wolfe playing piano and Kristen Englenz on French horn, all creating the reflective mood of facing yourself and moving forward; ‘You break a promise that you never made at all, San Andreas, hell, I guess it’s not your fault.’
Steel Wires has a great vocal performance from Wolfe, all frustrated anger at the way a relationship turned, with hints of cheating in the words; ‘Light your cigars and stare at my wife. Drink your poison. Enjoy my life.’ The mix of the clarinet, saxophone and flute, violin and piano, all combining into a ramshackle, loose and easy rhythm, slipping into laid back grooves. Final song, O’ Magnolia, is a tribute to the state of Mississippi as it changes the official flag into that of the state flower. Accept the past and move on; “O’ Magnolia, you are not just the crimes of you fathers, And until you forgive yourself, you will never know all your wealth.” Piano and organ from Ben Babylon, guitar from Cary Hudson and the congregation choir lifting the arrangement with a plea “Unlock the chains you’ve kept, Your mighty hills and trees and rivers behind, And be free. O’ Magnolia.” A fitting end to an album that resonates with a quiet passion in embracing the real feeling and emotion of a musician who delivers an excellent full-length debut.
Review by Paul McGee
Maria Muldaur with Tuba Skinny Let’s Get Happy Together Stony Plain
There is something so refreshing behind the sound of vintage jazz echoing over the airwaves. It reminds you of days gone by, perhaps the slower pace of life, more innocent dreams and a glorious era of glamour and largesse.
You are back in the 1920’s with all the trimmings; silent movies, Flapper dresses with string pearls, feather boas, Gatsby era, cloche hats and the sweet sounds of Jazzy Blues... Street band Tuba Skinny join Maria Muldaur on this project and over twelve tracks they bring a broad smile with infectious playing and a great sense of fun that is hard to escape. Tuba, trombone and washboard lay down the rhythm and twin guitars mix seamlessly with 6-string banjo to lift the melody in these addictive tunes – coronet, clarinet and the sweetly placed phrasing of Muldaur bring the icing on the cake.
Songs like the title track, Let’s Get Happy Together, Swing You Sinners, I Like You Best Of All, Got the South In My Soul and Big City Blues; all capture the mood of the time and deliver superbly arranged and played ensemble pieces that strut and soar.
Over forty minutes you can lose yourself in a soundtrack of the times, music of the cities and the emerging societies before World War Two changed so much and took away the passion for life that this era created. The freedom of the times is captured so well on these tunes and for anyone who likes their Roots music with a little bit of swing and sparkle them this is for you. I challenge you not to cut a rug and dance!
Review by Paul McGee
Mary Hott with the Carpenter Ants Devil In the Hills Self Release
This is a very worthy recording and one that brings a stark sense of history in the stories of abuse and crimes against the poor and migrant workers in the coal mining industry which developed in the West Virginia mountains. Over the years, from 1890 to 1954, the mining companies and their army of guards ruled with a reign of terror. Stories of severe beatings, hangings, shootings and rape have been handed down by elderly people who had lived and worked in these mines. These memories are captured quite movingly in the story songs that revolve around the Whipple Company Store that was active in Fayette County, West Virginia. Mine owners fought with workers to keep out unionism and to divide and conquer, culminating in the Battle of Blair Mountain, the largest insurrection in the history of the USA. It was fought over a five-day period in 1921 by 10,000 coal miners.
Mary Hott brings these tales to life with a passionate vocal performance across eleven tracks and her upbringing in the small West Virginia town of Paw Paw, gives full authenticity and gravitas to the songs. She enlisted the talents of The Carpenter Ants to assist her in telling these harrowing tales and their reputation as a band of high quality is very evident on these Gospel based, Roots songs; all of which make their mark in both an entertaining and insightful way.
The members of the Carpenter Ants are Michael Lipton (guitar), Ted Harrison (bass), Jupie Little (drums) and Charlie Tee (vocals). Hott also asked Ammed Solomon (percussion) and Julie Adams (vocals), to contribute, along with Gospel piano master Randy Gilkey. The project was produced by Don Dixon and Michael Lipton, who also contributes on vocals, guitar, saxophone, omnichord and guit-banjo. All of these talented musicians add to the dynamic and the songs are mainly written by Mary Hott. The exceptions are a traditional rendition of the Blair Mountain Ballad, a fine version of Life’s Railway To Heaven (a Gospel Hymn) and a deeply soulful, Take Me Home, Country Roads, bringing out the true essence of a song that was such a runaway hit for John Denver.
Annabelle Lee documents the lives of “comfort girls” aged between twelve and eighteen, who were trafficked into the mining towns to satisfy the needs of single mine workers who craved release from their frustrations and hard lives. The corruption of innocence continues with Room Of Lost Souls and a tale of boys, as young as eight years old, having to take the place of their dead fathers in the mines or the family home would be taken from the widow and surviving children. The Gospel Blues groove of this track is deeply resonant and is followed by the wonderful guitar driven dynamic of Take the Esau, all taut with tension and an anger behind a song that looks at the proud families that would not sell out their principles to the company men. The price paid just being too much.
The Spot recounts the tales from a roadside tavern where workers used to blow off steam, with heavy drinking, fighting and games of Russian roulette. They Built A Railroad is the track that captures the spirit of the recording best, with the lines ‘They carried coal from our mountains, They carried our wealth, our legacy. And when the miners stood for their union, they met with crimes against humanity.’ The title track is a slow Blues, burning with passion of all the untold stories that welled up inside of the workers and their families over the years, the anguish and the prison into which they locked themselves.
This is a soulful shout to the heavens on their behalf, with the biting electric guitar parts reminding that a Devil was always walking through these lives at the same time. Rise Up WV is a call to break the code of silence that has prevailed over the atrocities of these times and asks that full disclosure be received in order to free the victims from their past. Now, thanks to Mary Hott, the people whose stories are told can finally have some sense of release against the incarceration they suffered, both above and below ground. A fine album, filled with great music and more importantly, a message that we all need to heed.
Review by Paul McGee