The second album from the feisty Miss Quincy builds on Your Mama Don't Like Me and expands on the sound of that album. This Tim Williams produced album features a new set of gritty songs that seem to spring from some dusty, dirty mining town saloon stage. There some sophistication at work here though with subtle effective arrangements that underline the assured singing. Miss Quincy reckons that the devil may have the best tunes and goes about channeling them. She is a good girl about to change her ways. Her version of Nina Simone's risque I Want A Little Sugar In My Bowl shows that she can be as soulful and bluesy as the best of them, the song has a smokey late night feel that is enhanced by the love-lorn trumpet solo. By way of contrast Dangerous is powered by a propulsive guitar riff and the sassy vocal that is bolstered by the harmony singing of Alyssa Jean Gardner, who appears on many of the album's tracks. 'Til The Money Comes In is a plea for her partner to stick with the protagonist through the hard times, it's a guitar and organ based slow ballad. Dawson City Line builds from an acoustic and electric guitar motif to again highlight the expressive vocals of Quincy and Gardner. The rootsy well from which these songs spring serves them well, giving them a sound that has been immersed in the deep waters of human emotions, frailties and longings. Those who found Miss Quincy through her debut album will be happy to be re acquainted with her again on this rewarding follow-up. Newcomers can start right here and get down and do it like the devil does.
Scotty Alan 'Wreck and The Mess' Spinout
There is an edgy rasp to Scotty Alan's voice and some grit too in his songs which play out the deterioration of a relationship. The Michigan native has recorded the album in Los Angeles with producer and multi-instrumentalist Bernie Larsen and a bunch of fine West Coast players like David Lindley, Ian McLagan and Phil Palapiano. The songs can be up and bright like Ain't Much - "ain't much but I'm all you got" to Dam where things take a definite turn to the darkside- "I'm buildin' this dam for the hole in my heart".These are followed by such titles as Do It Alone to the final track Someone To Fight, which is both resigned and rehabilitative "...I'm Looking for someone to fight the world with", a universal hope and wish. The music though through has not chosen to follow any deep downward spiral but rather is heart-felt and energizing. It is that blend of rock, country and folk that in the 90s was labeled alt.country but still has currency simply because it is, while doing nothing new, more timeless and self-contained with, thanks to Larsen and Nick Bolas's mix a clarity and definition that sometimes is missing from many roots albums. This ex-punk rocker has redefined himself as a singer/songwriter who has found a niche that will find favour with many and made a debut album that is full of strong songs which hold together as an extended story, one that is a common enough path that many relationships follow and, as such, makes it something that many can emphasize with while tapping their feet and enjoying the ride.
Dan Raza 'Self-titled' Auralee
There is an element of celtic soul infused into Raza's blend of wistful folk-roots, an gentle approach that is subtle and effective. It can have an immediate effect on such songs as Dark Side Of The Road, where he sounds like he would appeal to Van Morrison fans. His delivery is softer and his messages effective in their non-agressive stance. Produced by Charlie Hart, who also plays a number of instruments throughout gives a totally sympathetic setting for these songs. There are a host of renowned players involved in this London recorded album, guests include BJ Cole, Steve Simpson, Geraint Watkins and Ed Deane. All underscore the songs sentiments in a way that is wholly pleasant and easy on the ear. This is again an album that should be viewed as a body of songs. But, obviously, some songs immediately hit home such as the six minuets plus Home, Again which has a nostalgia for people and place returned to even if the person doing so feels an outsider on returning. In some ways Can't Go Back returns to this theme from a different perspective as does Rivertown which unfolds a tale of seeing old friends and old flames over a flowing track of low whistle, slide guitar and organ that is as thoughtful as the song's sense of the warmth - the warmth that is associated with meeting old friends. Can't Go Back is effective in its voice, guitar and kora setting that closes an album that has a warm, sunlit quality that will hit home with many who will take the time to sit back in listen in a world that is often at odds with Raza's quiet sense of place.
Reviews by Stephen Rapid
Jason Arnold and The Stepsiders 'Crazy Things' Self-Release
If you didn't know from the cover the first notes of this album leaves you in no doubt where Jason Arnold's heart lies. It's in the dance hall's and honky-tonks of Texas, in the music that emanated from those venues in the 50s and 60s, music playing to working men and women looking for a good time. Times change, country music has changed beyond recognition in a lot of cases but it's roots are kept alive by a select few who love and live a lifestyle that not only looks back but also has a future. That future is in writing new songs, playing live and putting out fine CDs. All of which Arnold does. His songs deal with cheating (Just One More Time and the title track), break-up (Cold Neon Stare) and life vicissitudes (Down To My Last Dollar and Hello, Whiskey!) while the covers are from the pens of Willie Nelson (Half A Man), Charlie Daniels (Texas) or Bob Wills (Maiden's Prayer). Arnold has a voice that has the right amount of nasal twang to suggest that he could only be a country singer and his tight band The Stepsiders, with whom he also plays bass are well up to the task and understanding of these enjoyable songs. With fiddle, steel and piano to the fore the ingredients are perfect for that stone country sound. Chances are that, outside of a visit to Texas or the occasional festival gig in Europe, you won't get a chance to appreciate Arnold live. If that's the case then Crazy Things constitutes a necessary substitute, a quick shot of honky-tonk that, while it's not going to change anyone's opinion of hardcore country, reaffirms that for the many who love this music and the era from which it emerged this is a living breathing form that still can be potent.
Dierks Bentley 'Home' Capitol/Humphead
After the bluegrass base of Bentley's last album Up On The Ridge he has returned to more familiar territory here. Produced by Brett Bevers and Luke Wooten the sound kicks it up a notch or do with Bentley's high-energy take on his brand of contemporary country that while it has it's roots in traditionalism will never be mistaken for a album recorded in the 50s. Which is something that mainstream radio will applaud. As will his many fans. The themes are about having a good time, about relationships and what it means to be at home. As Dierks notes in the booklet home, for him, is many things - his family, his friends, his country or his old D-28. A mix of things that make you feel safe and give you pleasure. The title track itself has been the subject of some controversy but aside from that is song fused with those sentiments on a song that is more reflective that the more good-time songs like Am I The Only One or Tip It On Back. The song selection finds Bentley as co-writer on half the songs, the others are new songs from outside sources picked to fit an overall mood. Most of the songs are about lost or found love and desire. These are themes that relate to Bentley's audience if not to Bentley himself. Home will be a success, it represents the more acceptable sound of major label country-based music. It fuses elements of the music that Dierks Bentley loves which includes country, bluegrass, roots and stadium rock. It suits the place he is right now. The a-team players do exactly what they are supposed to do and many of these songs will become staples in his live set. Home is where the heart is they say and Dierks Bentley is following his heart. You can decide if you also want to follow or not.
Jeremy Steding 'I Keep On Livin', But I Don't Learn' Self-Release
Another Austin, Texas based writer who is playing roots/country. There are some players involved here whose names may be know to those who check on such things. pedal steel and dobro player Kim Deschamps has previously played with Blue Rodeo while producer and guitarist Walt Wilkins is know as an artist in his own right. There are a bunch of other fine players involved to deliver these songs. from the ballad Arkansas Rain to the twangy title track. Like a lot of artists Steding has had the album funded by a number of patrons who contributed at different levels to the making of the album. Steding has a strong, if not totally unique, voice but one that suits his songs well. He is a solid working musician having played many venues throughout the U.S. This is how he gets his music out there, backed up with CD sales. Of the eleven songs here two are Steding co-writes and one is a cover of Don't Take Your Guns To Town, a Cash classic. He delivers this in tribute mode in the stripped-down style of later Cash recordings, just guitar, simple steel and the backing vocal of Sharon Lee Nelson. Five Apples is a song that takes a historical aspect with its civil war theme. Elsewhere the songs deal with familiar themes of life lived under hardship and hope. Many of the songs hit home and are a combination of the convincing playing, voice and songs. Those that immediately stood out included The Old Man On The Bridge, the solace of Paint The Town Red, When They're Blue. Steding plays country roots music that should find favour with many and he fits well into the varied and vibrant Austin scene and those who seek out music made in that music city.
Dave McGraw & Mandy Fer 'Seed Of A Pine' Self-Release
Two singers and songwriters who have joined forces for the first time on this folk-infused set. Each takes the lead vocal on their own songs with Fer delivering a sultry voice and the lead electric and acoustic guitar lead work in a subtle and impressive style. McGraw, by way of contrast, has a deeper baritone voice that provides effective harmony when the two voices blend together. McGraw has written six songs and Fer five. The songs are interesting in that the two writers both have slightly opaque, poetic styles that are given depth by the arrangements that use the additional textures of bass, drums, cello, violin, keyboards and dobro to enhance the quiet melodies of these tales, given a light touch production by Zach Goheen. The wistfulness of the title song that tells of an older person who "needs to ride to Portland but she dreams of Rome". The lyric booklet allows you to read the lyrics but this is an album that connects on an overall level of voice, music and lyric. It is an album rather than just a collection of songs and the collective experience will draw you in if you are prepared to give these two partners the time and space to allow their collective efforts to settle in. These are not instant pop songs or hard-bitten country tales, rather they are impressions of of someone's life and hopes "you glance over your sore shoulder, it's too dark to turn back but the fire by your campsite keeps you warm enough to dream" (Comin' Down) or "Like a distant violin playing, "Wash away my sins" he searches the sky for something, for someone... (Grow). This is music that is washed with the watercolour tones of the cover artwork - soft brushes strokes that bleed their colours together into a pleasing whole.
Reviews by Stephen Rapid
Bap Kennedy 'The Sailor's Revenge' LSD
Following his days as singer in Energy Orchard Bap Kennedy has not made a bad album, from his Steve Earle produced debut Domestic Blues onwards. Now this album, produced by Mark Knopfler, is continuing to establish him as a mature, thoughtful and rewarding songwriter as well as a distinctive and understated singer. There is a subtle celtic feel to many of these songs and Knopfler has brought some of his cinematic scope to bear on the production. The opening Shimnavale was inspired by a sense of place and of that particular place. Jimmy Sanchez takes its theme from a statemnet of the miner of the title who was one of those rescued from the recent averted Chilean mining disaster. There is an overall gentleness to these songs that feels natural and neccessary. He returns to a song from his album Howl On for a re-take on his song The Right Stuff that reflects on his boyhood interest in American in general and in the astronauts who travelled into space in particular. His album Lonely Street was dedicated in part to Hank Williams Sr. Maybe I Will, here, is another heartfelt tribute for a song that he says "I'd love to hear him sing". For now Bap's does a pretty good job himself. It features some atmospheric playing from Jerry Douglas on dobro. He's just one a many fine transatlantic players involved here that includes guitarist James Walbourne, Keyboardist Guy Fletcher, bassist Glenn Worf and Michael McGoldrick on flute, pipes and whistle. Please Return To Jesus is a plea for faith to be restored in the wake of human failings. The title song is another song influenced - in this case the port city of Belfast he grew up in. Celtic Sea follows on in a song that washes on the shores of Europe in an ageless ballad. There is a sense of peace and love that pervades this album but much more in a personal rather something more outgoing. It is though universal and unvarnished and should bring Kennedy the acclaim he has long deserved - about time too.
Johanna Divine 'Mile-High Rodeo' Taureau
This album is a mix of some upfront country like the opening song Done 'Em In to more rockin' songs like Hijacked Again. Divine co-produced the album with Dirk Powell and they together combine some straight ahead country with cajun, folk and swing influences that make the album a varied and entertaining listen. She hails from Tennessee but now lives in Louisianna and flavours here music with some southern flavours that have their roots and influences in the past (Birdcage) but adding a contemporary edge (Used To Losin') but balancing both aspects of her music. Bright Side highlights her fine expressive voice in a torch song style while The Big Grab has a smokey nightclub feel. Lulu Saint Marie continues that mood with a sultry piano ballad. Why Do Today a duet with Nadine Landry also swings with fiddle and guitar. The final song Beelinin' ends the album with a little twang and sass making the Mile-High Rodeo a bucking good listen and Divine a name to watch for when her new album is released shortly.
Jackstraw 'Sunday Never Comes' Self-Release
A lot of band are now playing bluegrass or variations on it drawing from a deep well of tradition and adding their own touches and songs to widen the vocabulary of the music. This Portland, Oregon quintet are right in there and this is their sixth album. It consists of largely original songs written by band members Darrin Craig and David Pugh. The band is completed by Jon Neufeld, Jesse Withers and newest member Cory Goldman from The Water Tower Bucket Boys. They mix story songs and sharp instrumentals (Sunny Brae, Pearly May) that highlight both their picking and their vocal skills. Dark and Empty is a harsh ballad that is partly summed up by its title. But they can also kick it up a notch, in tone at least, as with Just Another Way To Go. There is enough here to please the traditionalists as well as those who have been listening to acoustic music being played by ex-punks. The have the lonesome harmonies and the restraint that delivers on songs like the title track and It Hurts When I See You with some conviction. While something with a title like If I Die is more of a heartbreak hoedown. It is also heartening to see the list of those who contributed to the funding for the making of this album. It shows that even a smallish number of people can help keep a band, in these economic hard times, going and recording.
Reba 'All The Women I Am' Humphead
Following in the footsteps of Dolly before her Reba has also dispensed with her surname and ventured into areas beyond singing - becoming, indeed, the woman of the title. But here we are looking at her skills as a singer and that's something that hasn't diminished. She is now competing with a younger set of singers vying for a place at radio. This is mainstream pop country that employs the production of pop with hints of country instrumentation in the mix. The producer is Dan Huff, who is versed in delivering a sound that fits the dictates of country radio. Some of the players include Paul Franklin on steel guitar and dobro, Stuart Duncan on fiddle alongside Charlie Judge on loop programming. Unlike Dolly however Reba is not a writer per se and these songs are from the pens of some of the most successful current crop of writers on Music Row with a couple of older hands in there too like Gary Nicholson, Jon Randall, Neil Thrasher and Kent Blazey. The themes are what relates to her audience in these days - the multi-tasking all faceted woman of the title track. Being dependable and loved (Somebody's Chelsea), the reality of a broken marriage (The Day She Got Divorced) and being a parent (When You Have A Child). Songs that are as relative to her audience as Taylor Swift's are to hers. Reba fans, of all ages, will find much here to love. Those who loved her much earlier traditional country albums may not be as affected but all will admire her vocal prowess and how she has stayed on top of a career that has seen many of her contemporaries fade from view. She has done it by taking control and following her muse.
Bob Wootton & Six Mile Grove 'Guaranteed Cash' Rena's Kitchen
A longtime fan of Johnny Cash's Bob Wootton had perfected Luther Perkins signature guitar sound and after standing in for Perkins on occasion he finally joined Cash on a full time basis after Perkins' death in a fire. So Bob Wootton has the credentials and the right to play these songs. Vocally he does a pretty passable imitation of the man in black's iconic vocal. The only thing is, as is the case in some tribute albums, you wonder why you might want to purchase this collection over one of the many cost-effective Cash compilation albums currently available. It might have been more effective to do like Scottish band Union Avenue to select songs that Cash had not covered and do versions of them in the this Tennessee Three style. As it is all the songs here are competently delivered by the four piece Six Mile Groove and Wootton fulfills his part well enough but outside of a gig purchase, and I'm sure they are great fun to catch live, I'm not entirely sure what the point of this, admittedly well presented album, is. However good luck to Wootton and his band in their endeavours.
Mark Wayne Glasmire 'MWG' Traceway
This seven tracks ep highlights Glasmire's songwriting and singing skills. Touches of Jimmy Buffett are found in the light-hearted uptempo I Like You. The songs reflect Glasmire reflections on life and love from the perspective of someone who knows a little about it. Going Home looks over the career of a retiring serving soldier. The Last Goodbye is about a break up while She's Got It All looks at the other end of an attraction. Now I Believe is set somewhere in the middle of those two emotions. The ep was co-produced by Glasmire in Nashville with a set of studio musicians well up to the task. This is mainstream music existing outside of the mainstream - which may be due to Glasmire not exactly fitting the profile of what's expected to sell for the majors these days. But that shouldn't reflect on what Glasmire does or belives in. He is one of many out there who is trying to get his music across to a wider audience. The one that he has will, doubtless, enjoy these songs.
Reviews by Stephen Rapid
The Wiyos 'Twist' - Self-release
This album sees the band expand their line up and deliverer their most accomplished album to date. Here they have loosely based the album on L. Frank Baums' Wizard of Oz tale alongside Joseph Campbell's The Hero's Journey and deliver an original song cycle that allows their eclectic musical mix full-scope and invention. The songs are written by Michael Franks and Teddy Webber and played with aplomb by the band and associate and vocal percussionist Adam Metta. Beneath the strong vocal presence and genre mix are the layered sounds of steel guitar, alto horn, accordion, organ and harmonica cutting up rough with the guitars, bass and drums that give these songs their kicks and twists. As with the Wizard tale itself you are brought on a musical journey that has its soul in the music of earlier times and its heart beating to the rhythms of today. Mary opens with a harmonica riff that sound not unlike the theme for the Old Grey Whistle Test while this is followed by Mama, an equally skewed tale that, as it says itself, is "very strange". Strange, true, but equally compelling. It is something of a surreal set-piece that has melody and mayhem side by side but never looses sight of entertaining the alert listener to its concept and convictions. The Wyios have been making many fans with their live show and now they have released an album that tries to match that multi-layered experience that moves them from any hint of pastiche or period drama to something much more tangibly Wiyos. They may not be everyones cup of tea or whatever brew you may choose but many will enjoy this energetic and enlightening conception.
Amanda Shires 'Carrying Lightning' - Self-release
Each of us may carry some lightening within us. Something that may spark when we are in love. Amanda Shires desires to get wrecked in love and releases her own lightening over these 12 songs. 11 of which are self-written and one Detroit Or Buffalo comes from the pen of Barbara Keith. Shires also is an accomplished musician having played fiddle with the band Thrift Store Cowboys before launching her solo career. She is also a strong lead vocalist who sings these songs with a energy and a little touch of vibrato and twang. She also co-produced the album with her oft-times touring partner Rod Picott and with True Tone Studio's David Henry. It's a generous sound with strong contributions form Picott and Henry as well as Chris Scruggs, Neal Casal, Will Kimbrough all part of a talented crew who serve these songs well. The range from the intense She Let Go Of Her Kite, the intriguing Ghostbird to carrying on the flight theme with a more reflective Live Be A Bird with Scrugg's steel guitar adding atmosphere to the wistful mood. Many of the songs have an emotional core that occasionally erupts with a intensity that hits home. The stings on Kudzu add another layer to the weave of the musical cloth that can be warm, on occasion, or colourful at others. They songs speak of love and its twist, turns and tempestuousness. The subject of Lovesick I Remain doesn't have the courage to contact the object of her desire but Amanda Shires allows you to touch some of hers and her sometimes opaque songs that together make an adventurous and alluring album that showcases her many talents on this collection of folkish, alt.country fine blend of Americana that has both darkness and light running through it.
Twilight Hotel 'When The Wolves Go Blind' - Cavalier
A transplanted duo from Winnipeg now making Austin their home. This is their third album under the Twilight Hotel brand and it has already received two Canadian Folk Music Awards. That one of those was in the Pushing The Boundaries category is unsurprising after first listen. Further listening reveals and album that draws sounds from many sources and styles. The key element is the vocal interplay between Brandy Zdan and Dave Quanbury which is at the heart of these songs either together or with one or the other taking the lead. Many of the songs have a powerful rhythm pushing them along and some take a more contemplative approach all infused with a sense of place and of getting there. There is, at times, a cinematic sensibility to songs like Dream Of Letting Go or Mahogany Veneer. The latter songs describes their meeting and a subsequent journey together. The lyrics, written together or solo, have a a story to tell even if, at times, the full meaning behind then remains elusive. The music has a hard-edged rock element over a more contemporary folk basis, but you would never mistake it for a folk album as such. There is an obvious chemistry between Zdan and Quanbury that allows each to explore the limits and progress of their music. There are times when the music takes a more twisted route as with The Darkness, a song that has a descriptive sax and fuzzed guitar that is Lynch-ian in attitude. The Zdan written Golden Eagle comes as the full five minute plus version and a shorter radio edit. It has an intensity and internal logic that draws from personal experience more that an external sense of observation. In the end though this is an album that defies easy categorization of rock, folk or roots but contains elements of each that will appeal to more adventurous listeners but is no less appealing for that.
Reviews by Stephen Rapid
