Terry Penney ‘Once Upon A Blue Moon’ - Citadel House

After a number of critically albums that highlighted Penney’s strong writing and vocal delivery he has, like many an artist before him, decided to take a break and make an album that is a tribute to the artists he grew up with. Inspired by those whose music came from the speakers of car radios, jukeboxes and the record player at home during the 1950s.

Produced by Penney himself it delivers the songs with affection, appreciation and with a clear articulation. However the danger always here is that it is very hard to make these songs totally your own. Often, even at their best, they are too readily compared to the classic songs which have survived in the public consciousness simply because they are so iconic. With names like Buddy Holly, Ricky Nelson, Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry associated with the song choices you can see the possible conflicts.

However taken within it’s parameters and as a whole it is an enjoyable, well executed album that celebrates the simplicity and satisfaction of the songwriting and production of that era and if it serves to introduce any new ears to some timeless music then job well done. It is not however the music that Terry Penney will be remembered for. He, no doubt, enjoyed making this album and it may perhaps serve to reconnect him with the skills required to write great songs and to understand the power of a story well told and sung. Something he already knows but may serve as a refresher course. In that light it will be interesting to see what his next step is. In the meantime this will be something that fans of these songs and of Penney himself will raise a smile and tap a foot along with.

Christine Albert 'Everything’s Beautiful Now' - Moon House

Living in Austin, Texas this singer songwriter has released six albums as a solo artist. In addition, with her husband Chris Gage, there are an additional six albums available from the creative inspiration that has seen both musicians develop a true craft and longevity.

Co-produced by Christine and Chris, the eleven songs speak of enduring love and the cycle of life, remembering those who have passed to the other side. Many of the song titles give clues to the content with titles like On That Beautiful Day, At Times Like These, Keep Me In Your Heart and the opening song Everything’s Beautiful Now.

There are guest appearances from Eliza Gilkyson (a friend and neighbour) and Jerry Jeff Walker. The songs fall mainly in the folk arena and are played beautifully by the studio musicians, with inspired contributions from Chris Gage on various guitars and keyboards. There is a fine cover of the Jackson Browne song For A Dancer, with harmony vocals supplied by Troupe Gammage and his band, Speak. An appropriate inclusion, given the concepts that run through this worthwhile release.

Lee Gallagher & the Halleujah - Self Release

A debut album from this rock band who are based in San Francisco and labelled as five musicians with a leaning towards a psychedelic-soul feeling. There are elements of Adam Duritz and Counting Crows on a number of these songs, especially the craving delivery of Empty Stars. The playing is both loose and studiously tight, as with a number of bands who try and channel a Stones vibe. There is some impressive guitar breaks from Jacob Landry which raise the song arrangements onto another level. The keys of Kirby Hammel also impress and fill out the song arrangements.

The vocals of Lee Gallagher can be a challenge and his delivery is on the verge of being strained on a few tracks, like Gloryland and Shallow Grave, where he comes off as trying to sound like Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes. An energetic effort with some nice playing, but this has been done by too many before and repeated by too many after the coming of Pearl Jam.

Amanda Rheaume 'Keep a Fire'- Self Release

A third release from this Ottawa based singer songwriter with a country folk influence. These ten songs are written by Amanda and her musical partner John McDonald, with the project being produced by Ross Murray.

The vocals are very distinctive and her roots are based in the Metis people, one of the aboriginal settlers of Canada. The songs pay tribute to her ancestors who endured sea voyages, navigated around North America, lived in mixed-race relationships and who framed early legislation in the province of Manitoba. Titles like Strongest Heart, Write You a Letter, Passed Down the Line and You Walk Beside Me give a sense of the look back through family history and the need to keep the heritage alive.

These story songs are well arranged and delivered with a sound that is based around an ensemble of musicians that serve the songs with an impressive economy in the playing.

David Shelby 'Oh Yeah' - Highway South

This six song EP is the second release from Detroit born artist who defines his sound as Rust Belt Country. The songs bear this out with the opening Southern Drawl nailing down the stereotype of beer-drinkin’, truck drivin’ redneck brotherhood. The title song is a nod to the ritualistic chase and desire in rural bar-room USA. Podunk is a rocking rendition of chest-beating pride at the rural chains of living in a small town enclave. The songs are all arranged with a radio friendly emphasis and the playing is perfectly in line with this direction. Trouble is that this road is already overcrowded with too many other wannabees.

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.