Kenny Kosek with Tony Trishka Twisted Sage Shefa
Veteran Bronx native and bluegrass fiddle legend, Kenny Kosek, has finally got around to producing his second solo album, twenty eight years after his first. Both old time and bluegrass enthusiasts will welcome this lengthy album as an important record of fiddle-and-banjo duets, recorded with his long term friend and musical companion, Tony Trishka, the banjo maestro.
In the planning since 2010, when Peter Rowan invited them to perform a duet as part of their presence in his road band at that time, that tune, Texas, by Henry Reed, is included here along with fourteen other tunes, many obscure.
Kosek has been collecting tunes since his youth in New York, when he visited Loy Beaver, a collector of fiddle-band 78’s. Kosek regularly hauled his reel-to-reel tape recorder up the four flights to Beaver’s apartment, where he recorded by holding the mic up to the record player. Over the intervening years, Kosek further expanded his old time repertoire greatly, while also performing with the likes of David Bromberg, Jerry Garcia, newgrass bands like Country Cooking, and artists like Willie Nelson, James Taylor and Leonard Cohen. His fear that these songs would be lost forever, if not recorded, prompted him to finally put them down for posterity.
Trishka and Kosek’s friendship started around 1970 at a bluegrass festival in Virginia. Both players since have a history of honouring the legacy of traditional American folk music, as well as pushing out the boundaries and this is evident in this unique offering. They kick off with a lively version of the standard Streak O’ Lean Streak O’ Fat, and close with a very different take on another standard Bill Cheatham, here reimagined as William Cheatham. In between, there is a wealth of original tunes, interspersed with more old favourites from the old time canon. There’s a track called Turkeys in the Straw, three different takes on that ubiquitous old time standard. Extensive liner notes accompany each tune, and the woodcuts and b/w photos contribute to a lovely overall package.
As well as the two main players, they are joined by guest Andy Statman on mandolin for several cuts, and by guitarist Mark Cosgrove and banjoist Marty Cutler for a few more. The title track is an original tune, and Twisted Sage can have one of several meanings: it’s a seated yoga position; a deranged wise man, the dried herb burned in Native American purifying ceremonies; or a simple wreath of sage. It’s also a metaphor for the twists and turns of Kosek’s career, the tunes he plays and also the rootedness that he revels in.
Co-produced by Kosek and Ed Haber, and released on Haber’s Shefa Records label, this album is highly recommended for anyone who either appreciates or plays American folk music.
Eilís Boland
Cowboy Junkies Whites Off Earth Now!! Cooking Vinyl
Recorded in 1986, this debut album by Cowboy Junkies would no doubt have disappeared without a trace had it not been for the remarkable success, two years later, of THE TRINITY SESSIONS. The brainchild production-wise of Peter Moore, that album was recorded around a single microphone two years later at Toronto's Church of the Holy Trinity. The venue for this debut album was also quite unorthodox when, also under the watchful eye of Moore, they rented a house on Crawford Avenue in Toronto and converted the garage into a makeshift recording room, which was to become known as Studio 547
WHITES OFF EARTH NOW!! was a precursor of what was to follow for Cowboy Junkies, establishing the band on both sides of the Atlantic as one of the most innovative bands of that time and one of the forerunners of what was to become Alt-country. With the exception of the self-written Take Me, the album consisted of cover versions and was an introduction to the band's stripped-back, hypnotic and atmospheric sound, fronted by Margo Timmins' haunting vocals and featuring her brother Michael's ghostly guitar. Their approach had more in common with The Velvet Underground (they would cover Lou Reed's Sweet Jane on THE TRINITY SESSIONS) than the overblown sound of the popular bands of that time, Van Halen and Metallica. The covers were mainly blues numbers with three John Lee Hooker inclusions (Decoration Day, I'll Never Get Out Of These Blues Alive, Forgive Me) and two Robert Johnson compositions (Me And The Devil Blues, Crossroads). State Trooper, borrowed from Bruce Springsteen's 1982 album NEBRASKA, was given a spooky and meditative makeover.
Unlike THE TRINITY SESSIONS, which offered a sound that drifted more towards folk and country, this album made little or no commercial impact at the time of its release. However, it was the blueprint for Margo, Michael and Peter Timmins, alongside bass player Alan Anton, to further develop their modus operandi and to record a follow-up album that would kickstart a career path that, four decades later, remains formidable. WHITES OFF EARTH NOW!! will never match the lofty heights of what was to follow, but it is an insight into a band whose vision was unparalleled at that time.
Declan Culliton
Miss Tess Cher Rêve Self Release
My first encounter with singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Miss Tess was in 2018 when she was a member of her fellow Nashville resident JP Harris' touring band, The Tough Choices. Tess played bass when the heavily bearded and tattooed Harris and his accomplishes played a sterling set of full-bodied honky tonk at the appropriately named Nice' n' Sleazy in Glasgow.
Subsequent attendances at her shows in Nashville and reviews of her music revealed an artist with many other strings to her bow alongside her presence as a hired hand. Those encounters also introduced me to an artist with wide-ranging influences from Cajun, jazz, swing, R'n'B, doo-wop, 60s classic pop and country. Indeed, her 2020 album THE MOON IS AN ASHTRAY (great title!), where she shared production duties with her partner Thomas Bryan Eaton and Andrija Tokic, struck a chord with me as to how seamlessly she could blend so many of those influences in twelve tracks. That tenor is repeated with her latest offering, a nine-track record produced by Eaton, that suggests that her record collection stalled somewhere in the late-1960s, and all the better for that.
This album was spawned from the author's adoration of the South Louisiana region, Acadiana, where she visits regularly both as a performing artist and as a tourist, embracing the local culture and cuisine. Saluting what was once known as 'Old French' rural music in the area, the accordion-driven tracks Ride The Train and Take It Easy celebrate that swinging Cajun vibe. Even more impressive are two of the tracks beautifully dispatched in French. La Lune, C'est Un Cendrier, transports the listener to Parisienne food halls of yesteryear, where ladies in elegant evening wear and men in tuxedos dined or moved gracefully across a highly polished oak dance floor. The second inclusion in French, La Valse D'asteur, creates an image of a less salubrious but equally striking setting, possibly an outdoor Cajun wedding where adults drank brandy and waltzed alongside barefooted and animated children.
Kris Kristofferson's Nobody Wins gets a slightly more up-tempo treatment, and the tear-jerker Lord, I Need Someone Bad Tonight has its origins in classic early 1960s pop. Country ballads also feature, the Bobby Charles-written Tennessee Blues and the gorgeous album opener Louisiana ticking that particular box.
Cher Rêve translates as 'Dear Dream', and this splendid collection alludes to an artist whose motivation appears to be to simply follow her dreams, creating art that reflects her influences rather than following any mainstream signpost.
Declan Culliton
Chatham Rabbits Be Real With Me 24 Carrot
North Carolina duo Chatham Rabbits are husband and wife Austin and Sarah McCombie and BE REAL WITH ME is their fourth album, following on from ALL I WANT FROM YOU (2019), THE YOKE IS EASY, THE BURDEN IS FULL (2020) and IF YOU SEE ME RIDING BY (2022).
Commenting on their latest and most mature album and its title, Sarah explains, ‘We got married so young. We are simply not the same people we once were because playing music for a living has consumed and transformed us. This lifestyle has presented us with exhausting tour schedules, vulnerable songs that force us to talk about our marriage, difficult business decisions, and the ever-complicated dilemma of mixing art and money and friends and employees. Ultimately, though, it has been a net positive experience.’
That positive experience is articulated on the opening track, Facing 29. Supported by banjo and pedal steel, the lead vocal is taken by Austin as he contemplates the strength of their relationship, ‘You are the reason I go on living this way, driving town to town acting like I got something left to say.’ That track is the opening statement on a nine-song collection that openly addresses a relationship that could have been emotional wreckage but has been held together by devotion and gained maturity. It’s followed by Sarah’s remembering challenging times on the aptly titled Matador (‘I had more red flags than a matador, I look back now, I see what for I lit myself on fire to keep us warm’).
Chatham Rabbits are easy to listen to, but not to be confused with easy listening. Their shared vocals and harmonies are crystal clear, and the instrumentation that accompanies them is pin-sharp. Their sound is best described as folk-rooted, and standout tracks, Childhood Friends and the old-timey Collateral Damage are masterclasses in songwriting and musicianship. The quality of their playing also comes to light on the acoustic instrumental Big Fish, Small Pond, where Sarah’s banjo and Austin’s acoustic guitar are joined by Casey Toll on bass and Ryan Stigman on mandolin.
Declan Culliton
The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band Honeysuckle Family Owned
A leading light in front-porch country blues, The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band live shows have entertained audiences in thirty-eight countries as well as forty-eight states in their homeland. Recreating on vinyl the intensity of Reverend Peyton's finger-picking guitar style, his wife Breezy's washboard, and Jacob "The Snakob" Powell's percussion may be challenging, but it has been successfully executed over nearly a dozen previous studio recordings. They do so once more on a number of tracks with HONEYSUCKLE. However, the cover artwork, depicting Rev. Peyton seated alone with a guitar in his lap surrounded by wildwood, signals a slight change in direction, which is advanced by the writer in the PR notes accompanying the album, 'This record is a bit of a return to my roots, a very personal mix of old and new songs that shaped me or that I'm currently shaping. There is a smattering of Big Damn Band thrown into the mix to spice things up, and a short list of legends that I've always dreamed of collaborating with.'
As a result, the twelve-track album features seven self-written and five cover tracks. The title track and album opener feature only Peyton's rasping vocals and smoking guitar. A similar treatment applies to reworking Robert Johnson's If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day. Elsewhere, acclaimed Gospel quartet The McCrary Sisters add backing vocals on Looking For A Manger, and Billy Branch plays harmonica on the Blind Lemon Jefferson written Nell (Prison Cell Blues). Other contributors include Michael Cleveland, who plays fiddle on Freeborn Man, and Colton Crawford from The Dead South, who adds banjo on The Good Die Young.
Produced and recorded at home by Rev. Peyton and mixed by Grammy winner Vance Powell (Chris Stapleton, Jack White), HONEYSUCKLE is not a radical shift in style for the band and without straying from the intensity and fervour of their previous recordings is simply a sideways step from a combo immersed in traditional Delta blues.
Declan Culliton
Thea Gilmore These Quiet Friends Self-Release
'THESE QUIET FRIENDS is an album of songs that have seen me through dark times. The 2 am confidantes that you can reach for when no one else is around ‘explains Thea Gilmore, addressing her twenty-second studio album.
If LOFT MUSIC, the covers album released by Gilmore in 2004, was a signpost to the artists that set her on her musical career, over two decades later her second full covers album, THESE QUIET FRIENDS, is equally significant for the Oxford-born singer-songwriter.
In conjunction with her razor-sharp songwriting, Gilmore is one of the most outstanding female U.K. vocalists of her time, often being name-checked with the legendary Sandy Denny. That analogy led to her recording DON'T STOP SINGING in 2011, which, in collaboration with Denny's estate, was an album based on Denny's writing. Other accolades included Gilmore's single, London, being included in the BBC's coverage of the 2012 Olympic Games. Other career high points were being asked to open for Joan Baez in the run-up to the 2004 U.S. presidential election and her music being used in numerous films. She recently recorded AFTERLIGHT (2021) and her self-titled record in 2023.
Aptly titled THESE QUIET FRIENDS, the selections are reconstructed a number of notches below their original formats and, by doing so, draw the listener into the lyrics rather than the melody. A prime example is Child of Mine, whose agile lyrics transform a full-on rocker into a sublime folk song, and the same could be said of a gorgeous delivery of Damon Albarn’sEnd Of The Century. Gilmore even matches Mike Stipes' emotional outpouring on a stripped-back take on Everybody Hurts. Wrecking Ball, somewhat surprisingly the Miley Cyrus recording rather than the Neil Young one, also benefits from Gilmore's 'less is more' version. Sunday Morning remains true to Nico and The Velvet Underground's representation, and two possibly unexpected inclusions, although worthy choices, are the John Kander-composed Cabaret and the Billy Rose and Lee Davis song Tonight You Belong To Me.
Much more than simply a self-indulgent nostalgic exercise, Gilmore breathes new life into this compilation of pared-back adaptations, allowing the listener a chance to enjoy the inclusions from an altogether different place than the originals. In doing so, she has, over twenty years later, matched the excellence of LOFT MUSIC.
I'll leave the final words to Gilmore, 'These songs have been like mates to me," Gilmore says. "They've marked important moments and provided warmth, strength, or even just fun. I hope I've done them justice.'
Declan Culliton
JD Clayton Blue Sky Sundays Rounder
The 2023 debut full-length album by JD Clayton, LONG WAY FROM HOME, was actually recorded before the Arkansas native toured solo or with a band. In fact, the majority of the time that Clayton spent on the road before that album was released was his temporary work with a landscape contractor, travelling for projects from his home in Nashville, where he relocated to further his artistic career.
Quite a lot has changed for Clayton since then. He moved back to his home state and has spent the last few years on the road with his touring band, revelling in the experience. That experience has also led Clayton to take the reins as producer on BLUE SKY SUNDAYS and record with his bandmates at Sound Emporium Studios in Nashville. Seven-time Grammy winner Vance Powell then completed the mixing duties.
If LONG WAY FROM HOME was an introduction to an artist with obvious potential, Clayton has raised the bar quite a number of notches this time, and it is little surprise that Rounder Records has supported his latest record. Delving further into the music that influenced his debut album, Lynyrd Skynyrd's Mississippi Kid is unashamedly readdressed as Arkansas Kid, and Slow & Steady gives a thumbs up to Bob Seger. That Southern Rock vibe also raises its head in the sardonic Dirt Roads of Red. Shifting the tempo down, High Hopes & Low Expectations, co-written with Kendall Marvel (Chris Stapleton, George Strait), is an autobiographical tale of arriving in Nashville with expectations of a whirlwind of success, only to discover a crowded and obstacle-filled marketplace. The melodic Dance Another Dance, which was performed as the first dance by Clayton at his cousin's wedding, brings to mind The Beatles' I Saw Her Standing There. Other tracks that impress are the tear-jerker Madeline and, on the other side of the coin, the sentimental, Goodnight.
The former pines for a lost love, the latter is an expression of love for his daughter.
As was the blueprint with Clayton's debut album, BLUE SKY SUNDAYS has its foot firmly in the early to mid-70s. Why leave that comfort zone when you're left with the impression that it is precisely the sound he was born to make? A body of work most likely to attract many more devotees from an artist just beginning to get into his stride.
Declan Culliton
White Rose Motor Oil Pre-Owned Songs (The collection 1955-1995) Self Release
A collection comprised of a number of songs released individually over the last year from the duo White Rose Motor Oil. They are Eryn DeSomer on guitar and vocals and partner Keith Hoerog-DeSomer on drums. You could perhaps lazily describe them as a cowboy White Stripes. But equally there’s something of the Flat Duo Jets in there too. The tracks were produced, recorded and mixed by Brian Hunter and the whole thing is a big bag of fun.
The tracks chosen come from a number of different sources that all work in context of the simple delivery that connects with the essence of the songs. The collection opens with their version of the George Jones/Elvis Costello covered Good Year For The Roses. It starts with a voice and guitar intro similar to the latter’s version, and builds with the bass and drums, but remains a sombre take on a failed relationship. In a different mode, with a distorted vocal, is their version of a theme from a 1964 very B movie ‘Santa Claus Conquers the Martians’. Hooray For Santa Claus captures something of the aesthetic at play. Next up is I Want You To Want Me, their account of the extremely catchy Cheap Trick song. Then back further in time for a rendition of, Making Believe, a song recorded back in 1955 by Kitty Wells and also recorded by Social Distortion. This version is closer in spirit to the latter than the former - a full on hot to trot take.
Another track picked from a film soundtrack is Nowhere Fast from the 1984 movie Streets Of Fire, a nice punk pop feel prevails, with a touch of Joan Jett in the air. Post punk is also the source for Vaseline, originally released by Elastica, again this is done in a stop-start singalong way that works for them. An old favourite up next that has been recorded many times and, while it may not surpass the original, their interpretation of Werewolves Of London prowls along at a pace. It has to be said that Eryn exhibits a vocal prowess that manages to capture a little of the original and, as such, this is her most soulful outing. You Got To Sin To Be Saved dates from 1993 when Maria McKee recorded it and it allows Eryn another opportunity to show she can sing as well as she can play. Letting the object of her displeasure know what she thinks of him is the subject of their rendering of the Dee Dee Warwick/Betty Everett classic, You’re No Good. That’s definitely not something that can be levelled at this powerful duo, who take their garage country out for a spin and show off how the engine of their enterprise still has some good mileage to go as this collection of songs, chosen to suit their dynamic, shows. These pre-owned songs have been be given a new home and a new lease of life in the hands of WMRO.
Stephen Rapid
Miss Georgia Peach Class Out The Ass Rum Bar
This is the latest release from the lady known as Miss Georgia Peach, who is the beating heart of this fine sounding album of (mostly) covers. Very early on she recreates the foot tapping favourite Baby Ride Easy, a perennial favourite written by Richard Dobson and known by the version recorded by Carlene Carter and Dave Edmunds, their new version takes a similar path and still sounds vibrant. The album opens with the admonishment to a bar fly in Shut Up And Drink Your Beer. There are some originals that stand up with the covers too, such as Dusty and Honey wagon, written by Peach, that offer a certain allure to a prospective partner. What is apparent straight away is that the production by Travis Ramin delivers a twang-laden country infused confection that is as tasty as you might require.
The vocal performance of Peach has got the power and passion to pull of a bunch of songs that have a pedigree. Her versions of The Buck Owens written I Don’t Care (Just As Long As You Love Me) and Ira Louvin penned Who Threw Dat Rock? take you back to the good old days of cow punk. There are a number of duets that hold their own, such as Sweet Thang with Scott Luallen that tells two sides of the tale with equal acclaim.
Another is their take on the Conway Twitty/Loretta Lynn confrontational and acquisition fuelled You’re The Reason Our Kids Are Ugly (that and many other things), though it’s one of those relationships wherein despite it all they still love one another! The duet partner here is Blaine Cartwright and both have a lot of fun with the exchanges. That theme is continued in the title of the track Take Your Guitar And Git - “I’m tired of hearing you try to play those hillbilly songs.” Of course there are pluses and minuses in life and the protagonist in Let Me Be There wants to be there for everything that might happen, no matter how mundane that might seem. Somewhere Down The Line sits in the middle and realises how things can change. It is another example of the collective band’s love of playing these songs, with the passion that was apparent in the late 80s take on injecting new life into the ghost of traditional country.
Another well-known song that the team takes and bring their talents to is the Mike Nesmith classic, Some Of Shelly’s Blues, which is given a solid restrained reading that shows just how good a singer Peach is. They take all these songs on their own terms and sing them with a passion and motivation. The album closes fittingly with Gram Parson’s Luxury Liner, a song that motors along the tracks to a destination that offers some sense of arrival. So let’s hear it for Blain Cartwright (rhythm guitar), Ruyter Suys (on lead guitar, mandolin and keyboards), Earl Crimm (on acoustic and lead guitar), Mark Hendricks (on bass) and A.J. Srubas (on fiddle and pedal steel). All also add vocals, as do Scott Luallen and Heather Parrish. Finally, producer Travis Ramin also provides drums and percussion.
This is a studio team that are the equal of many found in the Nashville studios and they do a great job of giving Peach the musical platform to perform from. They have class and is an entertaining album that should gain Peach the exposure she should have outside of her own locality, and I’m sure they provide a pretty damn good live show too, with their mix of classic and contemporary country music.
Stephen Rapid