David Knowles 'Footsteps' - Self Release

This is a debut release from an artist based in Edinburgh, Scotland. David Knowles sings with a husky delivery that is not too far removed from David Gray and his acoustic based relationship songs have a lingering appeal.

The Air You Breathe and Satisfy My Soul are two numbers that follow this theme before we are given a cover version of the Bill Withers classic, Ain’t No Sunshine. Another cover version is Hey Joe and I do not see the need to have either song on this 9 track release when Knowles is trying to establish his own identity. 

The production is very sparse and in keeping with Knowle’s road weary delivery and the arrangements are in a predominantly bluesy tempo. Interesting debut but could have been more compelling, with the cover versions kept for live performance and the addition of a few more original songs.

Patti Page 'Sings Country Memories' - Hump Head Records

Patti Page was one of America’s true musical icons over the course of a recording career that spanned seven decades and she had record sales in excess of 100 million. She died in 2013 and was the first female artist that blended country music styles into many of her most popular songs. As a result of this crossover appeal, many of Page's singles appeared on the Billboard Country Chart.

This two disc collection is a real treasure chest of old style recordings with more than a sweet voice to carry the songs. The songwriters range from the Wills Brothers, Johnny Cash, Tom T Hall, Ernest Tubb, Kris Kristofferson and Lefty Frizzell to Marty Robbins.

Old standards like I Fall to Pieces, Release Me, I Walk the Line, Walking the Floor over You, Help me Make it Through the Night and You Don’t Know Me and the original hit version of Tennessee Waltz are included in a generous fifty songs. Collectors of traditional songs and recordings that echo post-war country music development will be interested in this slice of real nostalgia.

Brian Ashley Jones 'Out of the City' - Self Release

This album is blues-tinged rock with some tasty guitar licks and warm Hammond organ riffing. This is the third release by an artist who has a sound rooted in country with rock and bluesy influences. Jonell Mosser duets on Fetch a Pail and the backing vocals of Suzi Ragsdale are a strong feature on the 10 songs included here. Out of the City is a country groove while the restrained harmonica on Free to Miss You dovetails perfectly with the sweet guitar breaks of Brian Jones. Meet me in the River is a blues workout with plenty of guitar to the fore and Carolina’s Dream has some fine fiddle playing on the standout track here.

Yvette Landry 'Me & T-Coe’s Country' - Soko

For her latest album Yvette Landry has distilled her music down to the purest elements of traditional country; voice, guitar and pedal steel. Added to that is the fact that the acclaimed songwriter has chosen to mostly cover some of her favourite songs. It is a testament to her seeking for truth of the music that she manages to make these often iconic songs feel very much her own. You can’t dismiss the version that have already become ingrained in your memory banks, rather the simplicity of the setting give them a new perspective.

Landry’s unique voice is full of passion, pain and perception. It soars above the simplicity of the arrangements. Kudos too to Richard Comeaux’s steel playing which is a major part of the musical impact, along with Landry’s voice. Comeaux has been a part of Landry’s musical band for some time and clearly understand her vision. The duo setting allows him full reign to display his many skills over the entire album rather than coming to the fore with a brief solo or atmospheric playing that a full band setting often dictates.

The songs include Tennessee Waltz, I Fall to Pieces, Together Again and Misery Loves Company. The latter a dissertation of the memory of love lost that comes from the pen of Jerry Reed and clocks in at over six minuets. Voice and steel guitar jointly explore the anguish in way that underlines the real nature of raw regret. There are three songs associated with Hank Williams Senior (Cold, Cold Heart, Hey Good Looking and Bucket’s Got A Hole in It), another artist who understood how to turn human nature into a heart-wrenching vocal. There are songs from Foghorn Stringband’s Caleb Klauder (Can I Go Home with you?) as well as two from Landry (Together, Forever and Memories Of Clelia) along with the classic covers. These both sound and feel at home with the other songs.    

The way they perform the songs soon makes you forget that there are only two players featured on the album. On the bonus closing track (I’m leaving it Up to You) Landry is joined by a full band on a more bluesy take and the male vocal is front and centre providing alternate verses with Landry. The nature of the album gets inside these songs and deconstructs them back to the foundations of the emotions that the songs were built upon. No mean feat when you’re up against the originals recording - and countless other versions in some cases. There have been quite a number of albums in recent times where singers have gone back to the songs that first drew them to real country music. The success of these has been varied, but this album deserves to be heard. It is not a stopgap, but rather an affirmation of why this person is as good as she is. And she is. 

Elliott Murphy 'Aquashow Deconstructed'- Last Call

Some forty years after Aquashow’s original release on Polydor, Elliott Murphy has reconsidered the songs he originally wrote in his early twenties. Now in his mid 60s he revisits these song from a different time and emotional viewpoint. The album was produced by his son Gaspard, who is now the same age as Murphy was when the album was released. Elliot’s voice is tinged with the wisdom (or lack of it) that age brings and the music is still compelling. The songs are in the same order and delivered in similar keys and tempos. Anyone acquainted with the album will be more than happy to revisit its charms - like a old friend come to visit. 

Aquashow has long been out of print and my vinyl version has been lost in the mists of time, so this release is welcome. It opens with Last of the Rockstars with that familiar opening line and plaintive harmonica. Though titled as Deconstructed the father and son duo have given each song a new setting. Guitar and piano are central, as is the harmonica with added contributions from long time collaborator Olivier Durand as well as percussion, keyboards and strings and you have a full sounding album. At times there is a surfeit of emotion to be heard as in How’s the Family which considers that uniquely strange unit. 

Then there are songs from which the album drew upon literary sources such as Like a Great Gatsby. Marilyn is a paean to the ill-fated screen goddess Monroe. White Middle Class Blues could be a song that might be the lyrical template for the origins of aspects of late 70s hard rock and punk. The album closes with Don’t Go Away which seems like a renewed plea for love delivered with more hope than realism. These ten songs have stood the test of time and Murphy continues to make albums that matter. He deserves to be more than a footnote in the long forgotten “new Bob Dylan” sweepstakes; rather Murphy was always his own man and one who found, if not fame, then at least an attentive audience in France where henow lives and works. He may not be the last of the rockstars, but he is one who has lasted.

The Foghorn Stringband 'Devil in the Seat' - Self Release

From the get-go this is an album full of both devilment and musical dexterity. The quartet play string band music as distinct from bluegrass and they do so with purpose. They draw from a myriad of sources and come together from different backgrounds to play these largely traditional sourced songs, though they name the version that inspired them in the credits. There are 16 songs featured which have titles that suggest their lyrical inspiration like Stillhouse, Mining Camp Blues, Jailbreak and such standards as Columbus Stockade Blues, Henry Lee, John Hardy and Pretty Polly.

This seasoned quartet (Caleb Klauder, Stephen Lind, Reeb Willms and Nadine Landry) all put their collective hearts into the delivery of these songs. All take their turn at the microphone and blend their voices in something of an uplifting salutation. There is sadness, murder, misery and mayhem at the heart of many of these songs but all are honest, rough and ready and uplifting. They speak of the human spirit and come from the crossroads of American music. These songs came from many countries, many climates and many a campfire. These are songs to be played at the end of a hard day to raise the spirit, to show that there are those who may have had it worse and you can find sympathy with a fellow sufferer, even if that person was born many moons ago.

The Foghorns are acknowledged masters of their instruments, mighty vocalists and true explores of the past, as well as futurists by bringing these songs to a contemporary audience. The devil may be in the seat but that’s because he wants you to get up and dance.

Danny Schmidt 'Owls' - Live Once

Although he has released some seven previous solo albums, this is my first encounter with Danny Schmidt and if Owls is anything to go by that is my loss. It is a song that the writer says explores the myriad of relationships but more in a more non-direct  existential way. His site has commentary for each song for those who wish to explore further. For now let’s consider the music on offer here.  The album was produced by David Goodrich, who, with Schmidt has given these songs both depth and worth. Recorded in Texas, it employs some skillfull players who included Goodrich himself on guitars and piano as well Lloyd Maines on pedal steel and trio of harmony vocalists, among them Carrie Elkin, with whom Schmidt has previously recorded an album. 

As is often the case with an artist with a proven track record, the album was funded via Kickstarter and all can feel that their money was well spent. The immediate standout is Faith Will Always Rise, a song that tries to have an understanding of something powerful but intangible. It is the sort of song that could find a wide audience if it was placed before them. Girl with Lantern Eyes opens the album in a understated way with a beautiful interplay between the male and female vocal on a song that considers the one who opens to reach out but inevitably reaches inwards instead. There is a subtly to the music with it losing any of its inherent grit and gleam. Recorded, for the most part, live in the studio it has the energy that that process allows. That is then tempered with a sensitivity and lightness of touch that highlights the lyrical and studied nature of Schmidt’s writing. These are songs that more between indie folk and a more robust Americana. 

In the end it comes down to the sound that emerges from the speakers and this is one that encompasses the whole room and draws you into its centre. It reveals a more with each play and familiarity makes it an album to which you can return often. Danny Schmidt is a singer/songwriter who should be making inroads into the consciousness that embraced the likes of Josh Ritter. This is music that has been made for the man himself and those who his music has touched, and if it remains well under the radar it is nonetheless a success on its own terms regardless of sales. It is the full package and hopefully the album that could take Schmidt up to another level. There is not a weak track here. Check it out - that would be a wise decision.

Richie Lawrence 'Rue Sanxay' - Big Book

An artist who has been composing and playing music since the 1980s, Richie Lawrence draws on his experiences from playing with bands such as the Loose Acoustic Trio, Horse Sense and the Ray Bonneville Blues Band. As a solo artist he released Melancholy Waltz in 2010 and followed with Water in 2012 with his band, The Yolos.

 Rue Sanxay takes a step into different musical genres with four instrumentals in cajun/zydeco, French waltz, jazz trio, and classic ragtime styles. His wife, Katie Thomas sings beautifully on three tracks; When I Find My Love Someday, Play On and Oxford Town.

Tribute Rag is a solo piano piece and the title track is a fine, restrained waltz though a vineyard at the height of summer. Fellow Yolos, Scott Prawalsky on upright bass and Bart van der Zeeuw on drums add their talents and with fiddle, pedal steel, mandolin and accordion spread across the ten tracks, we are treated to quite an eclectic mix of music. This is a very fine release.

Martin Kaplan 'The Slow Down' - Self Release

Martin Kaplan is an American singer-songwriter based in San Diego, California. The Slow Down is his first solo release and features 12 tracks which channel an alt-country vibe. The opening track; I Wouldn’t Fight It, sets the tone with some excellent guitar playing in the arrangement and a fine melody. The musicians on The Slow Down include veterans of the Los Angeles Americana music scene including Todd Herfindal (The Meadows), Rich McCulley (Bob Woodruff, Will Kimbrough), Carl Byron (Anne McCue, Michelle Shocked), Greg Boaz (Dave Alvin) and Tommy Rickard (Linda Perry, Scott Weiland).

The production by Todd Herfindal is very bright and clean with chiming guitars prominent throughout. I’ll Forget You is a strong track and Other People’s Shoes reflects on the fear of living life and the habit of judging ourselves through the expectations of others. Mom and Dad deals with weight of expectation and mental illness; while the gentle strum of Basement is a gentle love song with a twist.

These are relationship songs of love and loss played with style and substance. The title track reflects on the need to take life at a different pace and the closing song When We’re Gone brings the set to an impressive conclusion with a slow groove and some fine tabla playing.

John McDonough 'Dreams & Imagination' - McDonough Records

John McDonough is a singer/songwriter from Austin, Texas who has spent the last 20 years playing in and around Austin, while co-producing and self-releasing five CDs of original music. He plays acoustic guitar and piano as well as being executive producer on this new release.

His work falls into a modern folk/pop sound and his clear vocal delivery makes these eleven tracks a pleasant listen. Having retired from practicing psychotherapy to focus solely on his music, John has delivered two recent recordings, It’s All Been Said Before in 2012 and this one. Playing the local Austin circuit has honed his skills and the studio band on this release is understated in its playing and interpretation of the songs.

Ginger Leigh on backing vocals adds to the arrangements with her fine voice and the keyboards of Cole Gramung, together with bass and cello from Steve Bernal and drums and guitar from Kevin Butler complete the ensemble. Songs like It’s You and Me, Planes Fly Too Low, Lay Your Burden Down and You Don’t Know This are representative of the tight arrangements and easy melodies on offer here. 

Fuzzbee 'Dreams & Other Living Things' - Self Release

Fuzzbee Morse is a composer for films, as well as a performer, singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and music producer. He is known for his command of a variety of instruments, including guitar, keyboards, bass, flute, soprano saxophone, mandolin, alto flute amongst others.

As a player, primarily on guitar, Fuzzbee also performs with The Flying Fannoli Brothers, a death-defying improvisational comedy band who make up outrageous songs about any subject, in any style, at the audience's request. He is a very accomplished guitarist and is joined on this release by such notable musicians as Jerry Marotta on drums, Tony Levin on bass and David Sancious on keyboards.

The ten tracks are self - produced and jump out of the speakers with lots of quality and rich arrangements. This is one for the real connoisseurs and all songs are written by Fuzzbee with the exception of Voodoo Child (Slight Return) which only Fuzzbee could have the nerve to tackle and turn into his own impressive show stopper. Smooth and full of soul, serious chops and superb musicianship.

D. Edward 'Love Is' - 10th & Clay

Californian singer-songwriter D. Edward releases his second recording which includes eleven songs in a sweet soul groove. The opening Waiting is followed by Show Me, featuring Jenna Lavoie and the influences of old school r&b, soul and pop is clearly evident.  Love Is was two years in the making and features bright production by Dale Chung. The use of brass is very effective on tracks like Hold On, I Love the Way, Mighty Love and the title track.

There are plenty of catchy hooks and grooves with a familiar yet unique modern pop and retro soul sound. D. Edward has the ability to sound different on different songs yet keep his own style. His first solo CD Little Red Box was a favourite on radio around the USA and this release certainly builds upon that success.

Ryan Boldt 'Broadside Ballads' - Dahl Street

This is an album of rustic, melancholic (mostly) traditional ballads from The Deep, Dark Woods singer/songwriter Ryan Boldt. It has an immediate understated attractivness than centers around Boldt’s voice which is totally suited to delivering nine songs that deal with love, life and death. The album title might refer to Broadside magazine which began in 1962 to discuss and comment on all things folk and often included the lyrics to contemporary and traditional songs. Or, it may just be a suitable title. Either way, this collection of songs has a lasting appeal that belies the historic context. Many of the songs will be familiar to those with a passing interest in the repertoire of folk singers since the sixties and even earlier. The opening song Love is Pleasin’ and the following Just as the Tide was Flowing are just two examples of songs with melody and lyrics that will be well know to many in one form or another. The closing song Lazy John has a new melody from Boldt.

Some may find it odd that The Auld Triangle is not credited to Brendan Behan, but is listed as a traditional song. However that curious detail doesn’t detract from the quiet beauty of Boldt’s version which is stripped back to guitar, voice and slow beat and is highly effective. Boldt is accompanied here by Kacy Anderson on vocals and Clayton Linthicum on a number of instruments, both from the Boldt produced duo of Kacy & Clayton, as well as Jody Weger, Sara Froese and Kelly Wallraff on mandolin, violin and cello respectively. They take an unobtrusive role in the background, with the ambient weather and bird sounds often seeming more prominent in the mix.

There is a mood created throughout that is both pleasing and rewarding and makes the whole album seem like a peaceful place to visit even if the songs themselves come from a darker, deeper wood. As a sidestep from his work with the band and from his own writing, this makes for a interesting diversion and one that will either be a one-off or possibly a different road to pursue a wealth of often rarely heard songs. 

Samantha Martin & Delta Sugar 'Send the Nightingale' - Self Release

This is an interesting concept in that it is essentially a combination of Martin’s soulful voice and backing singers Sherie Marshall and Stacie Tabb accompanied only by Martin’s own acoustic and resonator guitar playing, the organ playing of Jimmy Hill and the electric guitar of Mickey McCallum. This makes for a greater focus on the vocals and it’s fair to say that they stand up to the test. This album blends soul, blues and gospel elements that may not be unique, but make for a compelling listen. Martin’s voice touches a similar path to that of, say, a Bonnie Tyler in that it is front and centre and full on. Mavis Staple may be another more soulful comparison. Either way it is Martin’s  voice that is the clear focus of attention, though the backing vocalists are right behind her and an important part of the overall sound.

There are songs where her voice is less strident and works closer with the backing vocals and When You Walk Away is one such song. The percussion of hand claps and foot stomps create the rhythm bed over which the vocals range free on songs like Addicted and on the guitar fronted Don’t Shoot. On occasion the deliver has a more jaunty approach, as with One More Day which has the feel of a revival meeting. My Crown with the organ and vocal backing makes Martin sound like an older soul from an earlier time than she, in reality, is. There is a similarity of sound overall that some may feel that a drummer, bassist and horn section might have added much to the sound. That may be true but it also might  have made it less distinctive. In the end it’s all a matter of taste.

Samantha Martin has previously released material with another band The Haggard that takes a different approach, as shown by the bass heavy dub reggae style version of Tom Paxton’s The Last Thing On My Mind and other songs on a 2012 album which has a more roots feel than the current album. Martin writes some songs on that previous album and has written the majority of the songs on Send the Nightingale. The album is dedicated to her late mother and that may be something that has inspired some of the writing here. As writer, guitarist and vocalist Martin has an undoubted talent that can only develop as she follows her career path and this album suggests that the Canadian may well come to wider attention as time goes on but right now this nightingale is singing, if not sweetly, then soulfully and in a way that commands attention

Hat Check Girl 'At 2 In The Morning' - Gallway Bay

Hat Check Girl is in reality a duo of singers and players who write the majority of their own songs. Peter Gallway and Annie Gallup deliver a set of sparse, quietly intimate duets. This is their fifth album and it shows the interplay between the two is drawn from respect and the refinement of their talents. Gallup adds lap steel, dobro and 6 string banjo to the duo’s staple of acoustic and electric guitars. Both have an individual vocal presence that both work together and in their own right.

They are seasoned performers who both have a long history individually as well as together, and are making the kind of music that is free from outside direction. They are the producers of the album too, which means they have complete freedom with their music. However this means that there will be those for whom this stripped down folk music will not appeal. It is a niche without doubt and something that is a difficult sell unless you have encountered their music either live or on record. That shouldn’t take away from this, or their other albums; rather it means that they need to find their own audience, something that is both easier and harder these days.

Their albums can be heard on CD Baby and this new album is in a simpler setting than previous albums. It is perfectly suited to playing at the aforementioned hour of the title. Hat Check Girl will doubtless welcome your head space for their music whatever time your care to offer it.

Various Artists 'Country 2 Country' - Hump Head

This 20 track compilation has been released to coincide with the latest installment of this celebration of the current crop of mainstream Nashville hit makers  - with a couple of ringers thrown in. In truth I know the names and some of the songs but don’t particularly respond to the music itself. There are some names here that have made albums that I have listened to and enjoyed. These would include Dierks Bentley, Vince Gill, the Zac Brown Band, Lee Ann Womack (though the track chosen, a big hit, I Hope You Dance, was never a firm favourite) and newcomer Doug Seegers, who is playing in London around that time but not as part of the main festival.

The vast majority of the songs here fit the over-riding themes of girls, beer, pick-up trucks and similar relatively light weight themes. There’s not a lot of drinking and cheating songs overall with titles like Girl Crush, Hey Pretty Girl, Homegrown Honey and Just One Kiss. These are songs designed to appeal to the younger demographic that is courted these days. Nothing particularly wrong with that as that is what the intention was. The party feeling is fairly constant and only the aforementioned Seegers sounds out of place in this company. I would hope, however foolishly that it might cause someone hearing it to investigate him further. Another songs that sound out-of-place is Vince Gill’s Don’t Let Our Love Start Slipping’ Away a song recorded back in 1992 when Gill was a regular visitor to the top end of the charts. Back then the sounds required to do that were different than today.

UK act The Shires have included their song Nashville Grey Skies, a song recorded in Music City that fits right in with the overall feel of the music though celebrating a place outside of Nashville.  Like the Shires both Raintown and Ward Thomas are duos from the UK who have tapped into the current county consciousness and sound right at home in this company. The final contribution is UK singer Alan West who delivers the most openly traditional country song here with Comeon Home and he too deserves further investigation.

Of the current Nashville crop Chris Young has the most obviously country voice and there are the definite sounds of pedal steel in the mix. Though that song was released a while back so that may have been lessened these days. The most prominent “country” instrument on many tracks is the sound of a banjo cutting through the heavy drums and rock-lite guitars. Carrie Underwood’s Jesus,Take The Wheel is one of those life story songs that fits with a song writing tradition even if this version is less country sounding overall.  

The Zac Brown Band entry is Chicken Fried, a jaunty song co-written by Brown that sounds contemporary and appealing. The album closes out with Martina McBride’s One Night. McBride is a veteran singer who has straddled the traditional and pop side of country at different times and has managed to stay in the frame against the newer acts. Overall C2C is a fairly representative sampling of country music as it exists today covering both those acts regularly hitting the charts and those on the fringes who are deserving to share some of the spotlight but likely won’t be let. No one is going to be completely satisfied with this album but it is what it is and as a souvenir of the festival it serves its purpose.