Ash Gray & the Girls 'Born in the Summer' - Luv Rock

This CD opens with a jangling guitar sound and a summer of love vibe. The bright opening is maintained into the next few tracks with plenty of up tempo backbeat and chiming guitars, plus excellent backing vocals from the girls, reminiscent of the B52’s in the song arrangements.

 Ashton Gray gets songwriter credits on ten songs and the final track is a cover version of the famous Hollies hit from the 60’s Bus Stop, which they would have been better advised to leave alone. We get songs about good girls, hot chicks and the only woman on earth. Some of the later songs drag a little and could be stronger with the vocals from Ash Gray somewhat lacking. The backing vocals are most appealing however and never more so on the charming, Buddy Holly inspired, shuffle of Goodbye.

Time, I think, to let the girls out Ashton and give them a greater presence in the songs. Marks for effort, with some fine moments, but runs out of road overall.

The Statler Brothers 'The Definitive Collection - MCA Years' / Tracy Byrd 'The Definitive Collection ' / Gary Allan 'Set You Free ' Humphead

Humphead is a UK based label that releases country albums originally released in the U.S. The albums are either a range of two for ones, compilations or recently released albums. Below are three such releases that span a time period from 1970 to 2013. 

The Statler Brothers are a vocal harmony quartet perhaps best know to some for their first hit Flowers on the Wall and it's use in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction. TheStatlers were hugely popular in the U.S. and this collection draws together some 50 songs from 1970 to 1989 when they were with MCA Records. The songs are presented in a chronological order. Though long associated with country the Statlers always were closer to  mainstream crossover than honky-tonk. Yet a number of these songs take a down-home country theme that was integral to what was then considered country music. Their vocal prowess was always a distinctive well honed sound. 

Lead singer Don Reid was also a prolific songwriter who, along with other band members and co-writers, wrote the bulk of the material that The Statler Brothers recorded. There is a fair amount of humour involved as well as autobiographical songs including the story of working with Johnny Cash in the song We Got Paid by Cash. Other titles included How to be A Country Star and Let's Get Started If We're Gonna Break My Heart. This generous 50 track round-up includes four number ones and practically all of the featured songs made the top thirty with the bulk hitting the top ten. The sound is of another era but is not without a nostalgic charm that will appeal to those who know the band. They retired after a 2001 album and farewell tour so this collection serves as a handy reminder of their talents even if it doesn’t include Flowers on the Wall.  

Picking from where the previous collection ends is the music of Tracy Byrd. Byrd comes from Texas and is a deep voiced singer who obviously loved traditional country music and played it at a time when the music was making ruled by the likes of Garth Brooks and Clint Black. Tracy’s first single was released in 1992. That's The Thing About a Memory was a co-write by Byrd with Keith Stegal, producer of Alan Jackson. At the time, Byrd was considered fairly mainstream,  but by today's standards he is deep country. The twenty tracks here run from that first single to When Mama ain't Happy released in 1998. Funnily enough, after that first co-write his name is not attached to any of the other tracks, so he is largely known as a singer. He’s a good one too, his deep voice a lesson in old-school attitude and approach, a smooth, warm voice that could handle a ballad with ease. Witness Why Don't The Telephone Ring or I Wanna Feel That Way Again. Against that there is the dance floor movers of Lifestyles Of The Not So Rich And Famous, The First Step or 4 to 1 in Atlanta. 

Throughout there is an abundance of piano, pedal steel and twangy guitars that probably wouldn’t  stand a chance at country radio these days,  but serves as reminder of what mainstream country radio once was and what a good country song and singer is. Byrd could also be more soulful,  as on the Gary U.S. Bonds co-write Don't Take Her She's All I Got. In fact he could be summed up by the song I'm From The Country, which was co-written by singer Marty Brown, a song which sounds like a forerunner for the list songs that proliferate these daysThis collection is a fitting tribute to a solid singer who knows how to handle a song and knows how he wanted it tosound. Tracy Byrd's website shows no dates and his last album was released in 2006 on an independent label. One can only hope that he will return at some point with the music he so obviously loves, even if Music Row no longer does.

We come right up to date with the new release from Gary Allan. Set You Free is his 9th studio album following his debut Used Heart For Sale. It shows his path from the traditional styled country singer of 1996 to the hard edge rocker of 2013. This may be the direction he wants to take with his music or it may be accounting for the direction that country music has moved in the last few years towards a mix of either pop or more rock focused music. I have always liked Gary Allan and this is an album that may well find favour with his newer fans.

The last few albums Allan has released have been increasingly contemporary and have moved away from a traditional setting. The guitars are upfront and central to this album with Allen himself taking on the lead guitar role for several tracks. Set You Free would seem to be his ongoing perusal of his creative freedom. But then his music over recent times has tended to be a reflection of where his life is. His 2004 album Tough All Over was written following the suicide of his third wife, an event that he tried to work out in his music through recording and touring. 

Allan co-produces here with both Greg Droman and Mark Wright on different tracks and Jay Joyce also produces four songs. The sound is full with a strident rhythm section, swirling keyboards and no less than eight electric guitar players credited throughout. So while this won't excite the Dale Watson fans out there, it will fit right in with those who picked up on Allan’s more recent albums and those who like Brad Paisley or Dierks Bentley live. The songs are heartfelt and recognise that life is hard for many. There is though, a sense of hope in songs like One More Time, Every Storm (Runs Out Of Rain) or You Without Me. On the other side Hungover Heart, Tough Goodbye and It Ain't the Whiskey (the most obviously 'country' sounding song here) talks of pain, loss and drowning ones sorrows. 

No Worries adds a reggae-ish lilt and a sensuous backing vocal to the song’s positive title. Drop takes a different mid-paced direction with swirling keyboards. By using different players and producers, Gary Allan seems to want to ring the changes. This album, in context, is one of the best he has done in recent times and he has made the choice to bring his music to a place he seems more than happy to occupy. 

 

Rich Mahan 'Blame Bobby Bare' - Snortin' Horse

The title of Rich Mahan's debut solo album is explained in a short sleeve note that tells of his Dad's stress-breaking routine of playing country songs at home like Tequila Shelia, songs that had a beat, some bounce and not a little humour. Mahan has recorded Blame Bobby Bare in Nashville and co-produced it with Brian Harrison. It is recorded with a warm analog sound which is perfectly suited to the music's 70's outlaw country ambience.

Though all but one of the songs (Bob McDill's Put A Little Lovin' On Me) are written by Mahan throughout, they feel so familiar you feel you have known them a long time. They feel easy and are enjoyable slices of a soulful country that seems to have largely been eradicated from the airwaves.

There are some top-notch players involved here too. PT Gazell’s harmonica playing adds the same kind of colour as it did when was he was playing with Johnny Paycheck. Steel player Robby Turner is a legend and there are a bunch of other fine players involved which include the solid rhythm section of Bryan Owings and David Phenecie. Add to that some sterling guitar, keyboard and brass playing and you have an album that's sounds damn good. But without a vocalist that has the strength to hold it all together you may not have the whole enchilada.

But no worries here, as Mahan has the voice to carry the frontman role with ease, giving each of the songs the right feel. From the mariachi trumpet /accordion enhanced humour of Tequila Y Mota - a great track detailing a weekend bender. Favourite Shirt is about a call to locate the missing titular item that leads to something more rewarding. Mama Found My Bong is a pretty self explanatory story of teenage misadventure. Drink holds a prominent role in many of Mahan songs especially Rehab's For Quitters and I'll Get Of The Booze. 

There is a soulful Southern element here too when Bekka Bramlett joins Mahan on several songs and making a sterling contribution to the vocals. You might blame Bobby Bare for thi, s but you can also thank him for being the inspiration for Rich Mahan. This is a easy-fitting favourite shirt of an album that even if you are new to it will soon feel like that warm and worn garment. Try it on – see how well it fits.

 

Larkin Poe & Thom Hell 'The Sound Of The Ocean Sound' - Lost Boy

The subtitle of  a ‘collaboration album’ between the two artists is a pretty good description of what's on offer here as it combines the talents of both parties. The vocal harmonies and interaction are central to the album sound with the balance of the male/female axis giving the songs their heart and soul. The instrumentation is a careful blend of acoustic instruments including mandolin, lap-steel, resophonic guitar and piano over a subtle but effective rhythm section, percussion and keyboards. The overall effect is enticing and one that rewards repeated listening.

It is a genuine collaboration with sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell and Hell all contributing songs. The album has an overall soundwhich is explored across the ten songs and it is perhaps wrong to pick an individual track from the overall experience of the album which flows and ebbs as the ocean of the album title. Though the slower I Can Almost where voices blend together over a restrained musical backing with prominent resophonic guitar and Tired which opens with Hell's voice leading the vocals or the layered vocals of Missing Home all have an immediate attraction.

Larkin Poe have featured in these pages in the past,  while Thom Hell is a new name. He is a Norwegian singer-songwriter with several albums to his credit. This albumwas  recorded in both Norway and Atlanta and is a testament to the talent of both parties and a very viable and worthwhile collaboration that will enhance the recorded work of both. The production by Audun Borrmann is perfect for the aims of the album which will hopefully lead to further recordings and to some investigating the work of both participants.

Lisa Matassa 'Somebody's Baby' - It Is What It is

Another EP release;  this time 7 enhanced tracks which is what might be called a contemporary country outing from the big voiced singer. This is decidedly non-traditional with a production that pushes the hard rock guitar and upfront rhythm to the fore. The title song introduces the album and the sound is then reinforced by the NY remix version of Wouldn't You Like to Know which you can see finding favour with the ladies out for a night. Matassa is a co-writer on the third track which I think in many ways sums up her attitude: Girl With a Rock 'n' Roll Heart, another NY remix.

The ballad Learning As You Grow is another big sounding song that leads to her version of Bryan Adams' Heaven. The final two songs are further covers with Lisa’s take on Dolly Parton's I Will Always Love You as a live recording and then The Christmas Song. All show Matassa's range as vocalist but nothing here will be of interest to anyone who has a hankering for honky-tonk or alt-country. This will make a good introduction to those who will be taken by Lisa Matassa's upfront sound and vision.

Petunia & The Vipers 'Self-Titled' - Petuniamusic

When the album opens on a yodel you know you can expect something outside of the mainstream. This Canadian band are fronted by the man know as Petunia who is vocalist and songwriter with this band who explore a roots music that has it origins in a time that was less defined that is the usual today. It is a mix of vaudeville, old time, country, rocakabilly, ragtime jazz, swing and blues. A formula that a number of current bands use to produce their own particular elixir. Petunia has gather around him the like-minded Vipers whose sting includes Jimmy Roy and Stephen Nikleva bit of whom served time in the like-minded Ricochets of the late Roy Condo, the line-up is completed by Mark L'Esperance and Sam Shoichet. Frontman Petunia biog tells that has played with numerous musicians over the years and has been a busking entertainer for many of those. He knows how to front a band with verve and vigour. Songs like Gitterbug are immediately appealing with it's rockabilly rigour. But his take on the song Stardust is a more reflective affair taken at a slow tempo that befits the mood. (Never, Never Again) The Ballad Of Handsome Ned is a story song that is delivered in a cinematic style that has some likening The band's wide ranging approach to that of director David Lynch. There is a slightly unnerving mood that is indeed similar but it is one that enhances the music overall. There is an empathy at work within this combo that fully realises the breadth of vision that is on show. Broken Down Love has an eerie quality and a sound like a musical saw that underlines Petunia's crooned tale of heartbreak. His song Che (Guevara's Diary) is a musical evocation of the famed revolutionary's tale at a certain point in his life. By contrast the cover of Forbidden Lovers is taken as a and old style country ballad with sweeping steel guitar and a straight down the line vocal. The closing cut It Ain't has a robust double bass riff and kazoo upfront on a swinging rhythm under the high-style vocal that caps an intriguing and inventive album that marks the entry of an compelling singer and band who doubtless deliver live as they do here. Catch them either way or preferably both.

The Highballers 'Soft Music and Hard Liquor'- Woodshed

The title here might easily be reversed here to "hard music and soft liquor". The Highballers have a sound that throws back to the times when the term cow punk was more widely used to describe a hybrid of rock and country played with energy and drive. The band have evolved from their beginning in 2007. Chief song writer and vocalist Kendall Jackson has led the band since then and has a voice honed in honky-tonks and bars to a level of believability and bash. A key factor here is the harmony and unison singing of Victoria Patchen who does a fine job of adding depth to the vocals. Add to that the Telecaster twang attack of guitarist Sean Lally and the robust rhythm bed of Michael Barrientos and Drake Sorey. All show a love for country music as well as for elements of punk, garage rock, rockabilly and other influences which they have blended into something that feels right for them and with enough twang to make it appeal to country music fans the world over. It's not the 50/60s retro fitted sound that some bands use. Rather it's a template that's been tried and tested right back to the early eighties and with numerous bands who took their lead from Rank 'n' File and Jason and The Scorchers, but one that is still valid. The songs equally fit the bill with titles like Doing Time In Pennsylvania, The Price You Pay, I Didn't Mean To Get Drunk or Close To The Line. These are songs that are not without some humour and honesty. All in all The Highballers are an all round package. Though a lot of the album is taken at an uptempo pace they can do slower songs like Virginia and Better Man with ease and without going too soft. The album closes in the spirit (pun intended) of the album title with I Take Pride In My Drinkin'. An unashamed ode to a vocation that seems central to the Highballers sound and vision. 

Thea Hopkins 'Lilac Sky' - Self-Release

The music on this e.p. belongs to a woman with a voice that has some life and love for her art in it. It has a richness beyond some of the more lightweight voices that are associated with country music on the radio these days.Thea Hopkins latest release is that increasingly frequent format the e.p. Not quite an album, but more than a single, it allows an artist to release some product without having to make a full album and is a handy touring item. Two of the six tracks here are covers. She does a good job of Linda and Teddy Thompson Do Your Best For Rock And Roll, a song full of yearning and hope and likewise puts some meaning into her cover of the Marianne Faithful/Barry Reynolds song When I Find My Life. She has gathered some good players around her for the recording. There are three guitarists featured all play with conviction but Andy Hillinger's twang on Hopkins' Down By The Water giving the song a cutting edge and a stamp of Americana. The rhythm section are solid and Tim Ray's piano is used effectively. As a writer Hopkins reveals a depth and an understanding in her songs like Might've Stayed In Memphis and with the title song. Thea Hopkins joins the ranks of singer/songwriters whose role is to perfect their craft rather that redefine it. But she does so with enough of her own identity that these six tracks leave you curious to hear more. That in itself is an achievement that makes Lilac Sky a pretty good reason to have made it and an equally good reason to listen to it.

Russell Kamp 'Night Owl' - POMO

Ted Russell Kamp is a fine talent and largely unknown on this side of the pond. He has delivered a consistently strong back catalogue of solo records, together with playing Bass in Shooter Jennings, one of the more interesting acts to emerge from the alternative country scene over the last decade.

This is a terrific release, spanning 14 songs and some 50 minutes of great music, fine individual playing and not a little stardust. This self -produced collection was recorded at various locations across the USA, including the occasional hotel room, and the sound quality is both intimate and bright.

Right Down to the Wire; A Whole Lot of You and Me; I Been Watching You, all come and go in a swirl of fine arrangements and atmospheric  playing. The uncertain future painted by When the Radio Goes Dead should be a wake- up call for all free thinking music lovers.

The experience and maturity of all the musicians employed is clear to hear and enjoy across these tracks and the future should hold greater recognition for Ted Russell Kamp on this evidence. A visit to these shores in 2013 is something to consider. In the meantime there is always You Tube to see this fine artist perform. Go out and buy this CD…

Jesse & Noah 'Driven Back' - Self-Release

This is the third CD from Jesse & Noah Bellamy, sons of a famous father and steeped in the musical tradition of country. Based in Nashville, the brothers are moving in a direction that allows them greater creative control over their song output.

There are diverse styles displayed on the ten tracks, with a rock feel to the title track; a murder ballad swing to True Love Doesn’t Beg and  the reflective guitar part that frames Bend in the Road; one of the key songs on display here.

The opening number Weather Man sets the pace with an up tempo musical stomp that reminds me of JohnMellencamp in its’ drive and flow. The violin playing of Elin Palmer is a standout feature on this song.

Florida Water has a driving fuzz guitar break while the reflective Guilty of Myself ends proceedings in a mellow tone.

Overall, the song arrangements are very strong throughout. This bodes well for the future, as Driven Back is the first self -produced release from the brothers and their song writing is certainly maturing plenty of variety across this solid set.

 

Brad Mackeson '1945' - Self-Release

This new artist hails from Portland, USA and appears on the music horizon with a real statement of intent. This debut CD is self -produced by Brad Mackeson, who together with colleague Rian Lewis, plays an impressive range of instruments across the eleven songs featured here. His writing is very self-assured with a leaning towards thoughtful lyrics that chart a range of emotions, relationship reflections and musings on the human condition. 

The title, 1945, refers to the year that marked the end of the Second World War and the sleeve dedication to his grandparents probably holds a key to the inspiration here. The song itself is a love paean, framed against the end of the war and has a beautiful feel to it - “to touch you once more and feel the heat rising off your skin”...Indeed!!

Opening with Thousand Drums, a song that could fit nicely into an episode of True Blood, with it’s after dark energy, this CD reveals a series of song structures that are impressive with a great, loose feel to the playing and plenty of space within the  arrangements..

Gonna Be Fine is a slow groove that sits nicely into the pocket before Lonesome Feeling displays a real nod to the memory of John Lennon in the vocal and a strong hint of Sgt. Pepper in the song arrangement. This is an impressive debut and one that should lead to greater exposure for this talented musician, if the stars align.

Christopher Rees 'Stand Fast' - Red Eye Music

The opening song of this, his sixth album, immediately finds the Welsh wizard back on more familiar ground after the horn-laden Hearts On Fire, his previous album (which was recorded with the South Austin Horns). The song opens with a robust riff of twanging Gretsch before Rees' distinctive vocal tells the tale of litigious Welsh vocalist Dorothy Squires, who was once married to Roger Moore. This is the first song that underscores the steadfast characters who people the songs and sentiments of Stand Fast.

The other key instrument in his armoury is the banjo which is often paired with electric guitar. This gives his music it's roots and grounding. There are comparisons, to a degree, with such powerful fellow travelers as Slim Cessna's Auto Club and 16 Horsepower, yet Rees is standing fast to a path that runs back to his previous albums and the creation of his recognizable sound. Christopher is a man in control of his destiny and direction, as he is a multi-instrumentalist only joined, for the most part, by drummer Dan Tilbury to create the layered sound that is the core of this record. Playing live he utilizes a full band, as occasion demands, but recording he builds the sound from the ground up. He is also the producer, engineer and mixer on the album which makes for as very personal sound and substance. The songs sound in structure as if they had their origins in the ages, that they are updated traditional songs. In truth only one song I  Will Follow follows that path. The rest are original songs and many are memorable and are among the best he has committed to public scrutiny.

They are dark, thoughtful songs of understanding and undeniable humanity. There is much in the landscape of Ree's imagining that is true to his Welsh heritage, but that will also resonate with Appalachian undertones. It is an album that opens in fine style, but one that then plays out in a context that allows his vision to be strengthened over the full ten tracks.

It is an album, a unit, but that  is not to say that individual songs do not stand out. For instance the  trumpet on Knock On My Door gives an extra edge to the song's heartfelt plea for love and longing from a reluctant recipient. It is the sound that echos the borders of Mexico as much as it might with a lone trumpet in a band hall in Wales

Rees is a striking solo performer but adds much to the resonance of his recorded work by remaining true to an original vision. Released next year, Stand Fast is staking it's place to be heard and understood for the powerful piece of music it is.

Tom Mason and the Blue Buccaneers 'Yo Ho Ho It's a Pirates Christmas' - Self-Release

Continuing the theme of his recent recordings talented all-rounder Tom Mason is still very much in pirate mode for this Christmas album. A genre that has produced some turkeys in the past and one much used as a marketing tool in country music circles. This one however reads less on the sentiment scale and more on fun and festivity side of things. It is a mix of original songs and arrangements of old tunes that include Come O Come Emmanuel, I Saw Three Ships, We Wish You A Merry Christmas and Auld Lang Syne. All are delivered with a buccaneering spirit that uplifts and brings a smile to the face and a tap to the toe. There are three instrumentals delivered in a more understated acoustic mode that is both satisfying and subtle. 

The band is captained by Tom Mason on guitar, dobro and vocals and they are in fine form and they have made a album that not only fits the season but is one that bears repeated playing and will return to my player over the next few years. It should find favour with folk, roots and also perhaps with Pogues fans. It has a energy that is infectious. Something that is often much needed this time of the year.

Long may these pirates last and its a pity they can't also rule the airwaves as much as their antecedents ruled the waves.

Rachel Brooke 'A Killer's Dream' - Mal

The sobriquet "Queen of the country underground" may on first hearing be at odds with the blues based sound of this album but then country and blues were all initially tributaries of the same deep river of music rising in the south and only really separated for promotional reasons further down the line.  Brooke's songs and voice are perfectly honed to deliver her tales of woe and wistfulness. She is welcoming to her companion in Late Night Lover, a song that creates a mood of after hours entanglements with trumpet and saw adding to the sonic textures. Throughout the album producers Andy Van Guilder and Brookes use instruments in a telling way to underscore the message of the songs. 

One of the two covers included here, the  Fats Domino co-wrote Every Night About This Time, is a strident twelve bar. Life Sentence Blues is just voice and guitar both deliver the telling tale (and title) with conviction. Her duet partner (they've previously released a duet album A Bitter Harvest) Lonesome Wyatt joins here again on a delightful verse swapping song that is again stripped right back to the power of the voices and a sparse backing. Other songs take the blues feeling to fuller levels with a full band that often brings Dave Tatrow's trumpet echoing through the ages from a much earlier time when this music played in turn of the century joints across the country. The metaphor of the Big Black Bird inhabits the song of that title with a sense of foreboding. A subtle tale of obsession and unwanted observation. The title track has a rockabilly backbeat and some backing vocals over a robust backing that throws in some Xylophone for Miss Brookes herself to add an off-kilter touch that works well in the tale that tells us "he's a hit man, she's a killer's dream".

A Killer's Dream is a ideal way to see why Rachel Brooke has been picked as a rising star. She has a compelling voice both as a singer and as a writer and on this album stretches some the expectations she may have had. Recording live with the band Viva Le Vox gives a spontaneity and vibrance to her take on an age old form that in the right hands never looses it's attraction or relevance. There is much to recommend Rachel Brooke and much to admire on her latest album. Time will tell if she can rise up to become an overground Country Queen. Along with such individual artists as Lindi Ortega and Zoe Muth - one can only hope so.

The Lost Brothers 'The Passing Of The Night' - Bird Dog

The vocals and songs of Oisin Leech and Mark McCausland have found favour with many since they partnered as the Lost Brothers. This latest album finds them growing in strength as artists. The new album was produced in Nashville by Brendan Benson, who has done a fine job of bringing their sound to the next level.

That sound finds a spiritual home in the place where such acts as the Everlys and the Louvin Brothers recorded. It is easy to make comparisons with such acts,  or with the likes of non-brother harmony duos like Simon and Garfunkel. That however distracts from what they have achieved in their own right and how pleasing the music they have delivered is in itself.
  
The musicians involved, aside from Leech and McCausland are Benson, Gill Landry and Paul Brainard among others who all play a variety of instruments between them that bolsters the musical. The sound is pleasingly uncluttered and acoustic in setting which gives the songs a sense of space that allows such instrumental interludes as the musical saw in Widow Maker it's place within the song's structure. The sole cover is that of an early 1955 Roy Orbison recording that was written by Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun. The eleven songs follow similar patterns that emphasize the understated unison singing of both singers and makes what is the most fundamental (and familiar) aspect of the Lost Brothers' sound.
  
That makes it difficult to pick out a particular song from the overall  album but the accordion in Blue Moon In September is imbued with a  European feel and the musical saw again makes an appearance. A sound not heard much outside of the recordings of the Flatlanders it is no without a certain charm. The aforementioned Hey Miss Fannie picks the tempo up and shows that there is much to be explored beyond the more normal mid-pace setting. It also has some nice pedal steel running through it. The album closes with the Brothers singing over an abstracted reverbed guitar and pedal steel sound that pushes the boundaries of what may be expected of them. All in all a big step forward for the talented duo who have found their voice in their matched voices.