The Show Ponies 'Run for your Life' - Self Release

A five song EP from indie-folk, bluegrass band that formed in 2011. With two previous releases this five piece, based in California, bring energy to the songs that are steeped in traditional roots music.

Fiddle duels with mandolin and guitar underpins all the arrangements, which also include harmonica and some fine drum/bass accompaniment. The singing is excellent also with the harmony vocals very buoyant and bright.

Get Me While I’m Young  is a fine song that has hit written all over it and trades opinions between a couple that are sparring over marriage pressures. Some Lonesome Tune finishes off the recording with an insight into farming, hard toil and enduring debt - a belief in the Good Lord and a plea to be made new. 

Jane Kramer 'Break & Bloom' - Self Release

The debut release from Portland Oregon resident and American Folk artist. The eleven songs featured here are very impressive and point to the emergence of a serious talent. Previously a member of bands like The Barrel House Mamas and Firefly Revival, this voyage towards a solo career is well made and perfectly timed to benefit from her experience and maturity. She has a wonderfully expressive vocal and the insights of a life lived and reflections of lessons learned are perfectly captured in songs like Nobody’s Woman Tonight, Hold My Whiskey, One Precious Life, That Muddy Water and the album closer, the traditional song, How Far Am I From Canaan.

The Claire Lynch Band ‘Holiday’ - Thrill Hill Records

My first encounter with Claire Lynch was an interview I did with her for Lonesome Highway following my mind-blowing listen to If Wishes Were Horses, the opening track on her 1997 album Silver and Gold. We have kept in touch over the years and there is seldom a programme on my radio show that doesn’t include a track from one her albums to date. But for all the albums that I have this “Holiday” one really is the icing on the Christmas cake.

Ten tracks with a voice as pure as the driven snow all leading straight to “Goose Bump City”. All the Claire Lynch Band are the featured musicians with some additional help from old pal Jim Hurst, Engineer Todd Phillips and daughter Christy Lynch. 8 old familiars and 2 originals make this a tight collection of holiday music that just might not get put away when all the glitter comes down after Jan 6. 

The Claire Lynch Band are a total package and all members deserve equal billing when the praise is being dished out. I think that's what makes this CD so special to me. The titles are all familiar but the CLB treatment lifts then all to a level that keeps the repeat button permanently pressed down. While it’s hard to pick out any particular track maybe White Christmas  and the instrumental  We Three Kings  manage to just nose a bit ahead of the bunch.

To my mind Claire Lynch has the finest voice in music today, not just in bluegrass but right across the whole musical spectrum. This album is only available from the band at live performances or from her website and make sure you get yours because as the slogan goes "The Claire Lynch Band Holiday album is not just for Christmas, it’s for life”

Rick Lang  ‘That’s What I love About Christmas’ - RLM Records

Rick Lang was a class mate of mine when I did the Leadership Bluegrass programme a few years back and I knew then he was a fine songwriter. But this little collection of self-penned seasonal gems took me just a little by surprise. Each track is a stand alone trip through Rick’s thoughts and very personal feelings on the Christmas season and just about every musical genre is featured at some time over the ten tracks. After the first few opening chords I half expected Harry Connick Jr or Michael Buble to jump in but what I got was a stellar set of performances from singers and musicians some of whose names I had never heard before.

But my bluegrass ear was quick to recognise Ron Block, Darin and Brook Aldridge and the amazing Sierra Hull. This is not your usual Christmas album with the artists giving us their renditions of all our old favourites but a total newbie with well written words and melodies that could well feature on some of our Christmas listening over the years to come. It’s a credit to Rick and all the gang involved that this one got uploaded to my trusty iPod and has been on constant rotation with the other albums on this set of reviews.

Darius Rucker ‘Home For The Holidays’ - Hump Head Records.

Darius Rucker first entered my musical world when he played Ireland as support to Brad Paisley a few years back and some where in my photo archives is a shot of them with Darius using a bottle of Guinness to help Brad play some pretty mean slide blues. So when I put this album in the player I wasn’t quite expecting what I got to listen to. 

This is a holiday album that will be around for years. His voice keeps reminding me of both Dean Martin and Nat King Cole and that is some compliment coming from me. But he still has his own unique approach to these songs that lifts them above a simple homage the the “old masters”.

Twelve tracks include many of the old regulars but different enough to deserve lots of listens. Then there are two that Darius was involved in writing that to me have the makings of new standards. What God Wants For Christmas and Candy Cane Christmas are two great new tracks that I’ll be surprised if they don’t get covered in years to come. You’re A Mean One Mr Grinch and Baby It’s Cold Outside with Sheryl Crow are two other tracks that deserve an honourable mention.

This album probably leans a little more to Memphis then Nashville and that suits me fine. It’s a late night, lie on the floor with your head between your speakers and drift away sort of album. Just the sort that I really enjoy.

Pinecastle Artists ‘Christmas In The Smokies’ - Pinecastle Records

Where would we “grassers” be if it wasn’t for Pinecastle Records. They have been my go-to guys for my bluegrass education since I first got bitten by the bug many years ago. This Christmas collection gathers a lorry load for all their finest artists for a bluegrass bonanza of Christmas cheer. 15 great tracks to keep every bluegrass DJ and die hard fan fully enthralled over the holiday season. 

Unfortunately I’m reviewing from a downloaded mp3 album so I don’t have a clue who sings or plays on each of these fine tracks. I do recognise most of the performers but I’m not going to risk my radio reputation by trying to name names. But all the great Pinecastle superheroes are there somewhere in the mix.

You’ve heard all these songs before but to hear them “grassed up” is a special treat for me and a great addition to my seasonal playlist on my radio shows. Plenty of banjo, mandolin, high lonesome tenors, and watertight harmonies to keep the old fans happy and a great way of introducing some new pals to fastest growing musical genre on the planet.

I can’t finish without mentioning the amazing Phil Leadbetter who features here with his friends and who looks like he has kicked his second bout of “The Big C” out of the field and should be out there touting his own album The Next Move when he tours with new Pinecastle recruit Dale Ann Bradley in the new year, so “slainte” and good luck to you Phil in 2015.

Ryan Bingham 'Fear And Saturday Night' - Humphead

          After his Oscar award winning song The Weary Kind from the film Crazy Heart many listeners have wondered if Ryan Bingham would return to that understated and reflective mode that contrasted with the full-on band sound of his live shows and of his last album. For them the good news is that, in part, there are songs here that stand alongside that acclaimed song. The opening Nobody Knows My Trouble has a great mix of acoustic and electric guitar over a subtle brushed rhythm under Bingham’s older than his years seasoned and gritty voice. It's a telling song about a man who carries troubles with him through life. It has an believable autobiographical feel that makes it a great opener and an album highlight. Broken Heart Tattoos continues the theme with another top notch song that speaks of what can lie before you in life and end up marking you.
         Things get heavier on Top Shelf Drug a “love is the drug” song that highlights its addictive nature. Islands In The Sky offers hope with a mid tempo song laced with harmonica and features another strong vocal performance. There is a border feel to the accordion-led rocker Adventures Of You And Men, it gives a call out to Flaco Jiminez and the Texas Tornados. it’s a further album highlight and a instant toe-tapper. Next up we’re back in that contemplative mode with the title song. It is a reflection of a life lived as best one can under what would be a set of adverse circumstances. My Diamond Is Too Rough is a fairly self explanatory title for how the world treats and outsider and underdog. It incorporates some subtle organ and maraca playing before the electric guitar cuts an emotive shard into the song.
          A in-car radio is causing some static for a man driving to or from his girl in Radio. Next up, Snow Falls In June, seeks solace in love and offers true love if reciprocated. Darlin’ is a pure declaration of love and need. this is again give a soulful underplayed backing, perfectly reflective of the song's mood. Hands Of Time kicks up the dirt again with a Bo Diddley styled beat and a guitar driven lively bedrock. The album’s final track is Gun Fightin’ Man a tale that underlines a “live by the sword die by the sword” ethos of the title. A brooding mid-tempo song it closes what is a powerful and primal album.
         Produced by Bingham and Jim Scott it is arguably the best album from Bingham yet. It’s cast of players include guitarists Daniel Sproul and Jedd Hughes and a rhythm section of Nate Barnes and Shawn Davis. By making changes and bring in this new set of players Bingham has found a sound that is both rewarding and relevant. His voice is his own and his songs tell tales of hard worn lives and tainted love.

 

Whitey Morgan and the 78s ‘Born, Raised and Live from Flint’ - Bloodshot

         Whitey Morgan’s third album captures him on home territory turning the venue into a partisan hometown honky-tonk and evoking the outlaw spirit of the likes of Waylon et alv. The thirteen songs are a mix of originals and covers. The themes are what you would expect from a man steeped in the pleasures and power of this gritty, genre specific music. Songs with titles like Buick City, Cheatin’ Again, Turn Up The Bottle, Honky Tonk Queen and I Ain’t Drunk sum up an attitude and a lifestyle.
         Behind the exuberant and effusive frontman are a tight, focused and musical adept band that included at the time of recording guitarist Benny James Vermeylen, steel player Brett Robinson, bassist JD MacKinder and the keyboards of Mike Lynch. This set of seasoned players are right behind Morgan’s big voice giving the songs they kind of depth they need. Throughout Morgan gives these players the time to shine with plenty of space for the guitar, keyboards and steel to stretch these sound beyond the more restrictive needs of the studio recorded versions.
        The choice of cover songs is equally instructive you get Johnny Paycheck’s Cocaine Trail, Bad News from Johnny Cash, the Dale Watson song about Billy Joe Shaver Where Do You Want It and Bruce Springsteen’s I’m On Fire, the closing song is Hank Snr’s Mind Your Own Business. Though it has to be said that the set runs smooth and these songs are just part of the overall set with no difference in content and quality between Morgan’s own songs and the outside songs. A testament to his and the band's delivery on what was obviously a good night for all on both sides of sides of the stage judging by the audible response.
         This live album marks a perfect introduction to this hard workin’ honky tonker. He will be back next year with a new studio album and also has a solo album, just him and guitar, available. Whitey Morgan is representative of a whole slew of bands  and singers who have remained true to their notion of country music as espoused in Nashville and those who are enticed by the notion of the outlawisms of the mainstream would do well to check this out as it never falls into the trap of diluted metal rock. Rather it stays true to Morgan’s vision of the music he so obviously loves.

 

Bennett Jackson ‘Texana’ - Self-Release

          Based in the Lone Star State Jackson recorded this roots rocking set of songs in New York. The songs though largely have their sights set further down South. The eight songs feature a host of guest musicians but Jackson takes guitar duties throughout, playing the lead on two and delivering solid vocals throughout. The songs often take a physical location as their starting point as can be gauged from many of the titles. The most country song here is Denver which has some flowing pedal steel to emphasise that. It’s a song of travel, about following the trail of a lady. Which may also lead on to the next uptempo and more rocking number Leavin’ Town. In fact the fairer sex (along with a variety of locations) seem to be at the core of many of these songs and the places they might be found if the previous titles and Girl From Galveston are anything to go by. Then again it the lack of such contact may be the inspiration behind Oklahoma Loner. 
         For the most part these are full sounding songs that have as much roots rock as anything with loud drums, big choruses and a wall of guitars. However overall that doesn’t make for a overall sound that hasn't got it’s merits. But in the end it tends to be the quieter less upfront songs like the previously mentioned Denver and Girl From Galveston. These have the most overall resonance for this listener. The title track is a nicely atmospheric guitar instrumental that sounds like it needs a place in a Western movie. The album closes the Oklahoma Loner a song that mixes the rock and country elements and highlights Jackson’s storytelling with a story of further travels and life a man destined to live up to the situation outlined in the title.

 

Faren Young ‘Wine Me Up - The Best Of The Mercury Years’ - Humphead

         This is a two CD compilation of Young’s material recorded for the Mercury label after having success with Capitol Records. These songs are a mix of honky tonk and a more cosmopolitan sound that includes such songs as the title track and Walk Tall (Walk Straight), a song perhaps better knowover here for the 1964 version by Val Doonican. These songs were recorded between 1962 and !979. From the latter year comes I Guess I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night a song co-written by Young that may be a country cousin of the Electric Prunes similar titled song - but without the psychedelics. It is one of his smoother songs with strings well to the fore. The collection also includes three of the songs he recorded as duets with Margie Singleton. These have a period charm but it is in fact the harder material he made in his fifteen year stay with Mercury that shows he could still bring the fiddle and steel to thye mix with the material he recorded in that period.
         City Lights, Unmitigated Gall, Occasional Wife, Goin’ Steady or If I Ever Fall In Love (With A Honky Tonk) all offer a sound that is right up there alongside some of his more determined country contemporaries of that era. They prove he hadn’t lost faith with the music that originally inspired him. With 50 songs on two CDs there is much to admire here. It updates a Westside compilation covering the same timescale from 2002 that had half the songs here, but a more attractive cover.
         Throughout Young displays his vocal talent and why he is a respected performer and occasional songwriter. Much of the writing on the double album comes from such notable writing talents as Merle Kilgore, Mel Tillis, Tom T. Hall. Dallas Frazier, Shel Silverstein with Kris Kristofferson and Bill Anderson, to name a few. The playing was also done by the hottest session players of the day and still stands up. Given that it was all recorded back in the day it has a sound encapsulated by the predominant sounds emanating from the studios of Music City back then. But, as mentioned, often more die-hard that a lot of what his associates were recording then.
         This is a collection of songs that won’t fail to be appreciated by anyone who listens to and likes country music that, for the most part, lived up to its genre classification. Good value and good music that will remain forever Faron Young.

 

Laurie Lewis and Kathy Kallick 'Sing The Songs Of Vern And Ray' - Self Release

I’m a long time fan of both of these bluegrass super-heroines and I’d been waiting for this album since I first heard it was in the melting pot. California based, both Laurie and Kathy have been friends, collaborators and band members for more than a few years. Originally members of the iconic Californian band The Good Old Persons, they both went on tohave separate and hugely respected solo careers. But they never forgot the main influence of their early years was the bluegrass and old timey sound of Vern Williams and Ray Park. This amazing collection is their way of somehow paying back and recognising the kick-start Vern and Ray’s music gave them.

Vern and Ray, although only together through the sixties and early seventies, were an everlasting influence on the west coast bluegrass scene and it’s early musicians, including Tony Rice, Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen (who played banjo with them before taking Doug Dillard’s vacant slot in my all time favourite band). Like a few others, their effect on the growing bluegrass scene was way in excess of their short time together.

Laurie Lewis and Kathy Kallick and their Bluegrass Pals take us through an 18 song primer of Californian-associated bluegrass standards that is a joy to listen to and a full on foot tapper to boot. I won’t single out any particular track, as that would be sure to lessen the importance of all the others. This is a complete pack of some of our all time favourite bluegrass tunes that owe their popularity to the short careers of Vern and Ray and are lovingly reprised here by two of bluegrass’s most respected daughters.

The only problem with this little collection is that you’ll have to hit the record store again for more of Kathy and Laurie’s essential bluegrass listening. Laurie Lewis singing Who Will Watch the Home Place? is still my favourite and most played radio tune. ‘Nuff said.

One of the best tribute albums I have heard in many a day.

The Red Pine Timber 'Company Different Lonesome' - Self Release

In my line of listening, I’m used to being gently lulled into a relationship with my review albums, but the opening Lonely Days Are Gone from the Red Pine Timber Company just blew me back into my seat with its full on Beach Boys/Searchers feel. I couldn’t begin to try to pigeonhole this band; let’s just say that after the initial shock I started to look for influences and found all my musical favourites contributing in this pretty impressive project.

With eight members they have enough talent to form several smaller bands, but they manage to combine their skills to give a West Coast Americana sound the freedom to breathe without any obvious interference from the laid back horn section. Gavin Munro and Katie Burgoyne swap and combine vocals on this collection of Gavin’s own tunes, the shortest of which is 3 minutes long. Big guitar sounds and shrill harmonica harken back to an era when rootsy Americana was in its infancy and borrowing from the prevailing LA and Mersey sounds. 

This Scottish-based band have been on the road for about four years and look destined to be around a while yet. They are certainly not an intimate club listen, but as each track is like a mini movie soundtrack, they would need the right hall to give full room to take in the lush combination of all the various instruments. This was a refreshing diversion from my usual acoustic diet and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The final track Oh Sinner Man,  the only cover version on the album, flipped me back to my folk club roots and eased me back to my more familiar surroundings. There is plenty of info on their website at www.redtpinetimberco.com if, like me, they snuck up unannounced.

Billy Strings and Don Julin 'Fiddle Tune X' - Self Release

I hadn’t heard of this guitar and mandolin duo, but this is 17 virtuoso tracks jammed into an above average and well designed album. The title track is their own, but they tip the hat to the Carters and Stanleys with Tillis, Travis, Monroe and Rogers  added to a list of traditional favourites.

Billy Strings plays guitar, banjo and sings, with Don Julin on mandolin, banjo and vocals. They put this little beauty together in 2013 and 2014 in pubs, clubs, churches and farmhouses. It was all recorded on one mic, straight to tape, in front of live audiences, which gives it that vibe that, should you feel it’s too cold to go to the local gig, then slip this in the player, sit back and enjoy the real deal.

The young shaver Strings on guitar and older statesman Julin on mandolin are a strange visual combination, but do they ever know how to push a tune to the edges. Michigan based, but sounding as though they grew up dangling their toes in an Appalachian mountain stream, this duo play with a verve and passion that has their audiences hooting with pleasure throughout the recording.

There are way too many tracks to start appraising them all,  but suffice to say the first few bars of the opener Beaumont Rag left me in no doubt that they will feature regularly on my Lonesome Highway radio shows. I’ll be looking forward to more from these boys.

Kathy Barwick 'Braeburn' - FGM Records

This is12 tracks of pure guitar magic. Kathy Barwick is one of the flatpicking world’s best kept secrets, but her regular visits to this side of the pond are sorting that one out. I first met her at a guitar masterclass in Perfect Pitch in Dublin when she did the impossible and taught my addled brain the secrets of cross-picking. Equally at home on guitar, dobro or banjo, Barwick gives all of them fair exposure on this must-listen-to album.

Each track features at least one of her multi-talented friends, so they are all little stand alone classics in their own right. Two of her own compositions The Cantara Loop and the title track Braeburn sit very comfortably with traditional, folk and bluegrass favourites. There is plenty here to suit pickers and non-pickers alike, with a couple of fine vocal tracks thrown in for good measure.

Kathy is a fine guitar player and the first few notes of the opening track Caribou leave you in no doubt that this album is a keeper, understated and easy on the ear andoozing with sweet melody. The waltzes and the twin Sally Gardens / Willow Gardens are two wonderful resonator tracks while the Sweet Sunny South, The Cantara Loop (with excellent mandolin assistance from John Reischman) and Braeburn showcase Kathy’s versatile banjo styles.

Fans of Kathy’s band Nine 8ths Irish won’t be disappointed either, with plenty of Celtic covers here to delight. Finally Angelina Baker adds yet another version of this Bluegrass classic. I’ll add this album to my Kathy Barwick archive, knowing that it will enhance my appreciation of her first solo CD, the Nine 8ths Irish CDs and my particular treasure, the long out of print All Girl Boys bluegrass album.

I highly recommend this album and also suggest you see her live in concert as she is an ever so humble, yet ever so talented musician’s musician.

JP Harris and the Tough Choices 'Home Is Where the Hurt Is' - Cow Island

The bearded Mr Harris stares out from the cover illustration like some doomed 19th century outlaw. Indeed his country music - and this is country music straight up - may well fall into that category too, if for no other reason than he plays it as it should be played; with no concession to current demands and fads. The feisty label Cow Island is known for sticking to its guns and delivering the hard stuff. Together they have delivered one of the year’s best albums.

Harris is a native of Montgomery, Alabama who has travelled around a lot before playing country music with his band the Tough Choices. They released their debut, I’ll Keep Calling, through Cow Island in 2012 and it won the Independent Music Awards best country album of the year. This album should equal that at very least. Its 10 tracks are all written by Harris and you can hear his influences blend into something fresh and vibrant. The music is part of a living tradition that, while the lifestyle and locations of its audience may have changed, the sentiments and motivation have changed little.

The album is written, produced, arranged and sung by Harris who has employed his band, including co-producer Adam Meisterhans - a man who understand the dynamic of country guitar - with the latest incarnation of the Tough Choices which includes steel player Brett Resnoick, bass and drummer Timmy Findlen and Jerry Pentacost, with Mark Sloane on keyboards with Chance McCoy (from Old Crow Medicine Show). Steve Berlin (Los Lobos) joins then on sax for the final track Young Women and Old Guitars. Other guests include backing singers Nikki Lane, Shelly Colvin and Ashley Wilcoxson. The whole kit and caboodle were recorded by co-producer Justin Francis in Nashville.

The themes are heartbreak, longing and hankering for love. The album opens at a dance floor pace with Give  a Little Lovin’ and is followed in similar style by A Breaking Heart, The next song up is one about open roads and romances and sounds just like an old friend giving advice. The title track is full of sadness and sorrow perfectly delivered by Harris’ finely wrought singing, full of emotion and pain, and the music matches every beat of the broken heart. Maria tells of the woman of that name and how if she were still close, she would be his woman of choice.

The road warrior’s life is the theme of the self explanatory Truckstop Amphetamines and it again reeks of a ‘been there, done that’ attitude and is more effective in its slower pace and thoughtfulness . The final track is short but effective and closes the album with the aforementioned Young Woman and Old Guitars, a kind of a ‘these are my favourite things’ song. This is a balanced and enjoyable album that easily defines county with a hardcore honky tonk attitude as opposed to what currently passes for ‘country’ in the charts, although one can take heart that Metamodern Sounds in Country Music by Sturgill Simpson made it into the top twenty of the Billboard Country album chart. Home is where the Hurt Is should definitely be there too.

Daniel Meade 'Keep Right Away' - From the Top

The latest album from the Glasgow country singer finds him stepping things up a notch, recording this new album in Nashville with Old Crow Medicine Show’s Morgan Jahnig in the producer’s/engineer’s chair. Jahnig had been impressed with the singer’s debut, As Good as Bad Can Be, and invited him to record in Music City. 

That decision has allowed them to call on the talents of players like Chris Scruggs, Joshua Hedley, Aaron Oliva and OCMS’ Cory Younts, Critter Fuqua, Chance McCoy and Jahnig himself. Guest vocalists included Diana Jones and Shelly Colvin. Meade’s longtime guitarist Lloyd Reid also joined the trip and anyone who has seen Reid play live will know why. That the album sounds not unlike some of OCMS’ more recent outings is not surprising, though Meade has his own path to tread and incorporates some old school country and blues into the sound too. In fact he takes his cue from the era when  blues and country were just two sides of the same coin.

The first song and current single is Long Gone Wrong which sets the tone for what follows. It is a fairly uptempo and uplifting set of songs that draw on the perennial heartbreaks and edge-of-disaster relationships that were once the staple of both country and blues. The titles, all written by Meade bar two that were co-writes, tell the story as much as anything. With songs like Sometimes a Fool’s the Last to Know, Always Close to Tears, Not My Heart Again and the title songs, things are not coming from a happy camper. However the spirit of the music belies that as there is an energy and engagement that means the music is never maudlin, rather it’s positive.

Daniel Meade is front and centre as a singer and no slouch in the writing stakes. He has enough vocal depth that he can adapt his voice to suit the songs’ different needs and does so with a sense of real life and truth. True, nothing steps outside a specific framework, but within its chosen parameters it gives as good as it gets and is yet another example of originality shining through from home-grown acts willing to explore their own muse rather than simply playing an audience a pleasing set of covers. In the end this is a far more satisfactory outlook that doubtless makes it a harder task for the artist, but it is a far more creatively rewarding, if not always financial rewarding, one.

So go against his advice and rather than keeping right away, my advice is to get closely acquainted with Daniel Meade.