Elaine Palmer Some Seek Silver, Some Seek Gold Butterfly Effect
Like the precious metals invoked in the album’s title, Elaine Palmer’s latest album shimmers, and then some. The ninth album from the rural North Yorkshire native, who regularly criss crosses the Atlantic to Phoenix, Arizona to be with family there, finds her in a reflective but also defiant mood. The seven self-penned and self-produced tracks were initially laid down in the rural Amberville Studios in Cullybackey, Co Antrim, with Malojian's Stevie Scullion engineering. Then Elaine took them to San Diego, to Mike Butler (The Pretenders, Ray LaMontagne, Phoebe Bridgers) in Half Moon Studios, where he laid down lead guitars and mixed the tracks. (He had also recorded her last album, HALF MOON RISING, which was very well received).
There may be only seven songs on this mini-album but each is a gem, with a sound somewhere between edgy country music and English folk. Palmer’s sultry vocals exhibit restrained passion, and her lyrics use words sparingly but effectively. There’s as much power in what isn’t said, as in what is. Some Seek Silver recounts a love affair with someone who appeared 'out of the dusty desert .. at just the right time’ but, regrettably, now they 'walk on different paths'. In this song she declares herself to be driven to be a writer (‘I was made for the stories to be told’) and tell them she does, with the backdrop of her own rhythm guitar playing under the searing lead Telecaster guitar of Butler. Perhaps referring to the same love affair, I Still Feel The Same drives along with energy, the pain of longing further evoked in Butler’s raucous guitar work, and the telling lines ‘what happens in the desert, you know, it stays there…’ In the slow burner Roses, Palmer ponders on the transience of life, which still goes on despite heartbreak.
On the lonely windswept ridge between Rosedale and Farndale, in Palmer’s native Yorkshire Moors, there stands Ralph’s Cross, tied to the local legend of the tragic love affair between a monk and a nun. This is the inspiration for Once Were Lovers, the highlight of this excellent record for this reviewer. The intense illicit love of the hapless couple, and their subsequent murder, is suggested by the haunting, echoey, multi-layered vocals, shimmering cymbals, organ and piano. ‘I would have followed you down into the depths of the darkest ocean/And I would have sat there like a stone’. Christopher Coll, who contributes bass throughout the album, adds to the eeriness with his singing saw. All percussion and drum duties are by Decky McManus (Dead Goat). Palmer herself plays rhythm guitar, piano and organ.
In The Losing Hand, Palmer shows that she is not to be crossed in love, with the strident lyrics and delivery assuring us that she ‘could love you better than she loves you’ and that she ‘can't stand being on the losing hand’. In Telling of the Bees, she ponders on a long distant relationship, rueing the fact that she perhaps never really knew him properly and that 'the years have turned to ice’ between them. There’s a hopeful note of potential redemption in the closing song, the melodic The Wildest Storms.
This album is a slow burner. Give it the time it deserves and you might discover why it is one of my favourites of the year so far.
Eilís Boland
Andy Hedges The Westerner Cowboy Songster
This is an album that exudes a sense of humanity through a series of songs that deal directly with the lifestyle and ethos that is suggested by the album title. Andy Hedges sings cowboy-related songs that feel timeless, some are originals, co-writes or traditional arrangements, all delivered with a sense of authenticity. The title track is a co-write between Hedges, musically, and a poem written by Charles Badger Clark (taken from his book Sun and Saddle Leather published in 1915). Indeed many of the lyrics here have their origin in poetry sources from the past. That cross fertilisation runs from that opening song right through to the final song, Driftin’ Cowboy, written by Woody Guthrie and sung here by Hedges and the iconic Ramblin’ Jack Elliott.
The production by Rich Brotherton and Chris Ryden is understated and ageless. It is acoustic based, with a variety of instruments that add colour to the recordings. Guitar, bass, mandolin, fiddle, banjo, cello, cittern, dobro and accordion abound from the talents of the likes of Warren Hood, Diana Burgess and Don Flemons, but it is Brotherton who is central to the recording on a number of levels and this delivers a masterclass in what is, in truth, a particular niche of Americana (in this case the term is used fittingly).
Cow Trails Blues was written by an artist of a very similar disposition - the late Don Edwards - any fan of his recordings will find themselves at home on the range here, as would those who enjoy aspects of the music of Peter Rowan. Don Flemons adds backing vocals and harmonica and brings a recognition, in some respects, to those cowboys from the African-American culture who were very much a part of that lifestyle. Flemons also appears on the last track too. The life of those who worked as drifting cowboys was far from easy, then as it is now, but is one that these songs illuminate that the proponents would not have changed - even if they could. Titles such as A Cowboy’s Hard Times, Death Of The Last Cowhand and Tom Blasingame give a clear and sympathetic reading of life, love and death in Hedges' warm and welcome voice and love for the musical environment he inhabits. Not one, it has to be said, that is anything other than a specialist subject but thankfully has its exponents and, in the likes of Colter Wall, contemporary performers who continue to explore its rich and timeless heritage.
This thirteen track album would provide many with a perfect introduction to a musical trail that has been brought to life, to some degree, with the televisual exploration of the ranch lifestyle in Yellowstone and its more relevant prequels. If you listen to one track that perhaps sums this up then I’d Like to Be In Texas is a tale of an older man relating something of his life and where he would like to be. Simple and effective storytelling.
Stephen Rapid
Benjamin Tod Vengeance & Grace Thirty Tigers
Tod’s last album, the first under his own name, was one of my albums of the year. Previously he had released under his Lost Dog String Band moniker, but that album explored a much more traditional country direction. He is back now with this collection that is twenty tracks long, divided between those recorded with a band and those delivered solo with just voice and guitar, in the form they would have been created and occasionally performed live.
Like the previous album, production is in the very capable and understanding hands of Andrija Tokic and recorded in his studio,The Bomb Shelter in Nashville. But unlike the album running order I’m going to start with the “alone” versions. These open with The Hard Way, the first of a set of songs that are reflective of a lifestyle that tries to learn from mistakes, to consider previous errors and consequences of that, to find some redemption in the future, faith and fervour. This is explored also in many of the songs such as End Of My Rope, Closing The Door or Goner. These are delivered in a darkly compelling voice, with a simple guitar accompaniment, and because of that have the directness and starkness that you could expect from such an exploration of one’s inner-self and such introspection. In many ways it makes you focus on the heart of the material, whereas with the band tracks the music is so accomplished as to be a focus in itself. However these different perspectives on the songs, on the same album, allow the listener the choice of deciding which format works best for each song.
This time out Tod brings only fiddler Billy Contreras and drummer Dave Racine from the previous album’s players, but meanwhile bringing current band members Cotton Clifton on guitar, bassist Paul DeFiglia, Mat Menold on organ and pedal steel player Tebbs Karney into the fold. These players give a wider substance to the songs naturally than Tod’s solo versions, and the move from that simplicity to this broader perspective gives a sharp perspective as to how Tod’s songs find life in the different iterations. Both illustrate Tod’s vocal confidence in the way he tells the songs in each context, as he is able to illuminate the emotions that are at the centre of each song.
There are strong contributions of the central elements of real country with pedal steel and fiddle over the danceable rhythms and the flavourings of organ and electric guitar. While the album takes a more consistent overall route than the slightly more diverse musical gatherings from the previous album, it is none-the-less an album that resonates with many of the fundamental strands that combine in more hard core country.
The progress of Tod and his band is palatable and the combination of his voice, songwriting and commitment to an ethos of the past being refurbished for the future puts Benjamin Tod at the forefront of group of artists who might still be too raw for mainstream consumption, but whose role is pivotal in widening its appreciation, its grace and does so with a vengeance.
Stephen Rapid
Drivin N Cryin Crushing Flowers Self Release
‘’Looks like we’re back again. Looks like you need some truth, looks like you need some fun,’’ announces Kevn Kinney on the track Looks Like We’re Back Again. It’s a declaration that wholly sums up where Drivin N Cryin are coming from with their latest record. The track may be powered by a guitar riff borrowed from The Who’s Won’t Get Fooled Again, but the emphasis is on the word ‘fun’, and that’s precisely what the band deliver, simple old-school rock and roll, with CRUSHING FLOWERS, their eleventh studio album.
It’s been four decades since Kevn Kinney formed Drivin N Cryin in Atlanta, Georgia, and despite several line-up changes, the band’s trademark ‘punky southern rock meets power pop’ sounds as compelling as ever. The current band members, alongside Kinney, are Tim Neilson on guitars, bass, and mandolin, and drummer Dave V Johnson. CRUSHING FLOWERS follows LIVE THE LOVE BEAUTIFUL from 2019.
A major player in early 1990s college rock, which birthed fellow Georgia bands R.E.M., the Black Crowes, and the Indigo Girls, Drivin N Cryin was recognised for their contribution to their home state with induction into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 2015.
Recorded at Fat Back Studios in Nashville, the production duties on this album were carried out by Sadler Vaden (Jason Isbell), who also played keyboards and guitars. Peter Buck added guitar to two tracks, Mirror Mirror and the title track, and Todd Snider's vocals, possibly his last studio appearance, can be heard as backing vocals on the track Iggy Monkey.
It’s business as usual, with thunderous guitar-driven tracks and honeyed harmonies across the ten tracks. The album’s title track strikes an optimistic note in uncertain times (‘’Break away from the story, it’s all been done before. Stay awake for tomorrow, closing in on your today’’) and Kinney addresses his mother’s struggle with Alzheimer’s in Mirror Mirror (‘’Maybe you remember me, it’s possible you don’t. I know you’re in there somewhere, singing me this song’’), reflecting on whether he faces a similar scenario in later life. The instantly fetching Come On And Dance is classic and no-nonsense rock ‘n’ roll that sounds like it was borrowed from The Ramones.
Death Of Me Yet lands somewhere between glam and what used to be called ‘rock’ decades ago, as does Jesse Electric, complete with Kinney’s snarling vocals and a driving rhythm. They sign off with Iggy Monkey (‘’Shimmy shimmy, shake appeal. Funhouse, won’t you come down’’) hailing another industry survivor, trailblazer and ageless entertainer.
Riddled with killer tracks, unfussy lyrics and razor-sharp guitar licks, CRUSHING FLOWERS captures everything that’s so good about Drivin N Cryin and stands shoulder to shoulder with anything they’ve previously recorded.
Declan Culliton
Various Artists Old No.1 Revisited Truly Handmade
My initial reaction when this album arrived for review was surprise that this classic recording, given the many artists who took inspiration from it, had not been honoured previously. The debut album by Texan Guy Clark was recorded in 1975, and though it reached No. 41 on the U.S. country charts and earned favourable press reviews, it did not achieve the commercial success it richly deserved. Over fifty years later, the cream of American songwriters, both male and female, revisit the ten songs from the celebrated album.
Fittingly, none of the inclusions strays too far from the originals. Why try to improve on perfection? Dan Knobler recorded, produced, and mixed the album at his Good Wishes Studio in Nashville. Each of the ten featured lead vocalists is joined by some of Nashville's top instrumentalists and backing vocalists. The players are Knobler (guitars), Russ Pahl and Joe Pisapia (pedal steel), Will Honaker and Jesse Wilson (bass), Jamie Dick and Dom Billett (drums, percussion), Eamon McLoughlin (mandolin, fiddle), Sam Bush (mandolin), Nat Smith (cello), Jen Gunderman (piano, organ, Wurlitzer), Chris Scruggs (guitars), and Christian Sedelmyer (fiddle).
The passion each vocalist pours into the songs is a joy to behold, as if they are proudly acknowledging the opportunity to take part in the recordings. Given the contributions of the musicians, the playing is exceptional, as is Knobler’s production.
Brennen Leigh’s take on Texas 1947 is a delight; her crystal-clear Texan drawl is tailor-made for the song. Sounding remarkably like a young Guy Clark, Andrew Combs takes the lead on Desperados Waiting For A Train, supported with backing vocals by Rodney Crowell. Erin Rae would do justice to any song she covered, and Old Time Feeling is no exception. Her East Nashville neighbour, Kelsey Waldon, adds her gorgeous Kentucky twang to Nickel For The Fiddler alongside super-lively duelling mandolin and fiddle breaks. Instant Coffee Blues, possibly Clark’s finest song for this writer, is beautifully presented by Aaron Lee Tasjan, and author and poet Caroline Randall Williams recites Let Him Roll.
It’s no surprise that Margo Price is given the opener Rita Ballou; she pours her heart into a song that could have been written for, or indeed, about her. Logan Ledger's quivering vocal is well suited to Like A Coat From The Cold, and Sarah Jarosz takes the lead vocal on She Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere, while one of Clark’s best-loved songs, L.A. Highway, is performed finely by Jade Bird.
Tribute albums can be hit or miss, and covering one of country music’s finest works was a bold choice. Fortunately, the project succeeds, more than honouring the original album.
In parallel to the album’s release, a new hundred-page book, Old No.1: History of Guy Clark’s First Album, written by Peter Blackstock, is available at guyclark.com, the proceeds of which, together with the album, will benefit the Guy Clark Family Foundation.
Declan Culliton
Charley Crockett Age Of The Ram Island
The third album in twelve months from Grammy winner Charley Crockett completes his Sagebrush Trilogy. AGE OF THE RAM follows on where he left off with LONESOME DRIFTER and DOLLAR A DAY from 2025. All three records were released on the Island Records label.
Crockett’s self-titled ‘Gulf & Western’ sound more than lives up to the ‘Western’ billing on his latest record. A concept album that follows the trials and tribulations of a fictional character named Billy McLane, the twenty-track record tells of his passage from drifter and hired hand to small-time cattle rustler, and eventually to legendary outlaw and gunslinger.
Divided into three acts, titled THE LIFE AND TIMES OF BILLY MCLANE (THEMES 1,2 and 3), Crockett has created a timeless and cinematic gem with this trilogy curtain closer. Once more, Shooter Jennings co-produced and, as was the case on the previous two albums, he never attempts to smooth over the edgy sound that Crockett and his regular band members excel at.
In keeping with Crockett’s passion for Western outlaw history, the album is loaded with references to outlaw country individuals (I Shot Jesse James and Remembering Pat), literature (Lonesome Dove) and cinema (Rancho Deluxe). Crockett’s leading character, Billy McLane, was borrowed from Marty Robbins’ single Old Red and also featured in the title track of Crockett’s 2024 record, $10 DOLLAR COWBOY.
Shootouts, barroom scenes, and loose women shape McLane’s tales. Low Down Freedom (“Long haired young girl here beside me… and tomorrow she'll be one more thing I'm gonna leave behind”) accepts the fleeting cowboy life and inherent downsides. The narrative shifts briefly in I Shot Jesse James, which recounts Robert Ford’s infamous slaying of the bank robber and gang leader in 1882.
Like the record’s central character, Crockett has matured from a one-time drifter to a highly respected and regarded operator. He may not have had to survive gunfights and bounty hunters, but, in his own way, he has taken on the music industry and advanced on his own terms. Sixteen studio albums in and apparently with number seventeen already written, Crockett continues to be the leading light in the authentic modern country music genre. Long may he ride.
Declan Culliton
Lynn Miles A Bouquet Of Flowers CRS
This compilation of songs taken from the BLACK FLOWERS series of albums is a very welcome reminder of the incredible talents that Lynn Miles brings to the table on everything that she writes. These fifteen tracks are selected from an original list of forty songs that appeared across four separate releases that spanned the years 2008 through to 2014.
Lynn splits the selections with six songs lifted from the 2008/2009 first and second album releases. There are six songs from 2012 and album number three; with the remaining three songs chosen from album number four in 2014. All the songs more than stand the test of time, given that the yearning vocals of Lynn are in themselves timeless, with matters of the heart examined from every possible angle. Insight gained, lessons learned, growth achieved through hard choices, reflections of both happy and sad memories, optimism and pain, it’s all here in these words of wisdom and beautifully structured melodies.
Indeed, it’s just like being at an intimate listening party with Lynn revealing her innermost emotions with both honesty and resilience. Embracing love and feeling sorry for other moments where love left the room, Lynn always speaks from the perspective of one who knows the path that has been walked in arriving at such signposts to empathy and forgiveness. These remastered songs are superb in the delivery and the recording.
The yearning, warm quality of Lynn’s vocal hits front and centre on the opening I’m Still Here, a testament to the enduring power and love and the instinct to keep trying to make relationships work. She switches from piano to acoustic guitar on the next song, the reflective Sweet and Tender Heart which looks at the vulnerability in another to open to possibility.
The other side of love is tackled on Sorry That I Broke Your Heart and a reflection on a reluctance to commit to a relationship, harmonica adding a sad tone to the arrangement. One of Lynn’s most popular songs is the beautiful Hockey Night In Canada and her look back to youthful memory, wrapped now in the reality of adulthood, where “The boys always get their way.” Lonely piano reflects on what may still haunt the deserted streets as she walks alone. On A Thousand Lovers the pain of rejection hurts as the lady feels the sting of failed romance, and on Look Up we get encouragement in the advice that no matter how you feel there is always the comfort to be found in optimism and wishing on a star in the night sky.
On I Give Up the guitar rhythm is in sympathy to the frustration felt in the disappointment that life can bring; doubt and self-criticism flow into the troubled seas of the mind. And yet, in the surrender, is that a light up ahead that signals a new dawn? Perhaps what is needed is a Fearless Heart to cast all self-doubt aside and to stride with confidence into the challenges presented “ wish that I could leave the past behind / I wish I had a straighter line.”
The quiet elegance of Map Of My Heart is a reality check, the desire for connection, the reaching out for forgiveness, asking for mercy in making amends. It’s one of the high points on such a strong album. Sorry’s Just Not Good Enough is a put-down for a lover who keeps slipping up ‘You’ve been on this road for years, Letting other people shed your tears, Pay the bail for all your petty crimes.’ One of the stand-out songs is Surrender Dorothy and the clever metaphor of using the Wizard Of Oz as a way to illustrate the failings in love “The man behind the curtain has let me down / My little friends have stopped calling me, coming around, / These shoes are too tight, the damn dog’s got fleas / Everybody’s all given up on me.” Such a cleverly constructed song.
I Always Told You the Truth has an up-tempo guitar rhythm and speaks to the choice of always being honest in relationships – face the compromises and don’t accept the blame “I always told you / Look after your heart / Keep it protected and out of the dark.” As we draw towards home, the song that offers optimism for the future presents itself on The One You’re Waiting For and a promise that out there waits the future – hope, and a belief that the power of love outlasts everything else.
The final song is Rust and it reflects upon a life lived, the joys and pain that experience brings. Checking all those times you either held on too tight, or when you let go in order to move on. Choices made, friends come and gone, footprints left on the places you touched “The lines and the scars and the rust / That’s what I love about you.” An appropriate way to end a collection that is brimming over with classic songwriting and heartfelt emotion for the things that really matter. An essential purchase.
Paul McGee
David Coller When Summer Comes Upstart Yankee
There are fifteen songs included on this new album from Folk singer-songwriter David Coller, who has been around the music business since back in the 1990s. He took time away to develop a career in emergency medicine, bought a schooner to indulge his hobbies, raised a family, but always continued to pursue his passion for both songwriting and performing live.
Since 2019 Coller has been focused on gigging as a duo with his partner Diane Chodkowski, and she provides harmony vocals across these self-penned songs. There is one cover song, a rendition of the traditional tune Liberty, and it mixes into another song, Trouble - about chasing that sense of freedom, whether with your girl, or wherever in life you find yourself. It shows off the superb guitar skills of David Coller as he plays with great dexterity, and also joins with Sara Milonovich on superb fiddle, sounding very much like an Irish jig in the melody created.
Starting with the Folk air of Let Nothing Come Between Us and the simple arrangement of two voices in sweet harmony, it delivers a message of inclusion, as all are welcomed ‘The good of all, our one concern.’ The songs reveal themselves on sweet melodies for the most part, a highlight provided on When Summer Comes with the interplay between Sara Milonovich on fiddle and Rusty Park on pedal steel standing out.
Coller is based mainly in the New England and New York regions and his songs highlight the celebration to be found in nature, in rural life, the changing seasons and small country towns. Songs like Balance Of the Season look at the ageing process “And lookin’ in the mirror things are changin’ / But I’ll be out here splittin’ wood until the evening sun goes down / Though it gets a little harder every season / Ah, but I don’t mind this growing old”
There is a loving sentiment expressed in I’ll Take the Moon complete with a light waltz, accordion and violin “Your laughing eyes, the dancer’s sway / This tender love, this small café.” The short, almost vaudeville-like whimsy, of We’re Sinkin’ is a real slice of fun ‘Are you daft, are you dim, Do you really want to swim, Get your ass up off that bunk, because we’re sinkin.’
Coller sings in a clear, resonant voice and the acoustic arrangements are nicely interpreted by the rhythm section of Eric Parker on drums and Mark Dann on bass. Brian Mitchell provides accordion atmospherics and Class of ’63 is a look back to school days and the characters that populated those old class photos ‘And I said goodbye to Jeannie, kissed her underneath the trees, With her hair tied back in rubber bands and Band-aids on her knees.’
Small Blue Island is a song that reflects upon our fragile planet and the need to preserve it “This small blue island in the void, It is our one hope, our life, our joy / You live in Eden after all / This is The Garden, there was no Fall, So tend it well with love and care / A gift like this is all too rare.” If only we could all heed this message and realise the importance. An album with lots of variety across the songs, and with something for everyone to enjoy in the playing and the production.
Paul McGee
Paula Boggs Band Sumatra Self Release
A Seattle artist who has been releasing albums for a number of years, dating back to 2010 and the release of A Buddha State Of Mind. Her music spans quite a few styles including Folk, Soul, Gospel and Blues traditions. She is a former U.S. Army officer and a qualified attorney, in addition to her interests as an activist for human rights.
Paula describes her music as ‘Seattle-brewed Soulgrass.’ Her regular band members include Tor Dietrichson (percussion), David Salonen (bass, fiddle, guitar, mandolin, vocals), Paul Matthew Moore (keyboards, accordion, vocals), Darren Loucas (banjo, guitar, harmonica, lap steel, vocals), Jacob Evans (drums), with Paula contributing on vocals, guitar, ukulele. Quite a line-up of experienced and talented musicians, all of whom feature on this new recording, in addition to Daniel Walker who features on a range of keyboards, piano and accordion.
There are guest appearances from The Blind Boys Of Alabama who, together with Valerie June, provide co-lead vocals on the last song included here, the traditional Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around. There are also cameos from Josh Neumann on cello, and Arietta Ward on vocals, while James Falzone plays penny whistle and clarinet across two tracks.
The first song begins with an atmospheric Gregorian chant, courtesy of the Evansong Choir of St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral, Seattle. Their voices blend into the opening bars of Sumatra, album title and a song that celebrates the eternal pulse at the heart of nature, despite the troubled times we all witness “Babies are caged, Are we enraged? /How’d the hell we get here?” Sumatra is one of the largest islands on the planet, located in the Western Indonesia region, and home to some of our most exotic and endangered animals and plants. The pull of the natural world informs the song and the plea “This doesn’t feel anointed. Wake Up, I need Sumatra.” Almost a metaphor for our human condition.
Bard Of Vietnam looks at the fragility of life and the spectre of death that looms above it all “When you’re young, death is the last thing on your mind / But the older you get, the more friends leave you behind.” If growing older is indeed a privilege, then Route 66 is a song that celebrates the ageing process “Hoping for a new year where heart and mind grow / From seeds planted long ago.”
The studio musicians have the skills to support these songs, always playing with a depth that convinces; fully engaged in the message that Paula is trying to communicate. Still Grateful is a song of thanks and loving awareness towards her partner and the journey that they share “For the first time neighbours knew who we were / No more hiding or pretending – just a girl loving a girl.” The devastation caused by the Aids virus is the subject of Note To Quinn, a song about a friend who was taken far too young ‘Now I’m twice your age when you left us. For good.’
The instrumental Traces Of You highlights the ensemble playing and has melodic violin dancing with banjo, accordion, mandolin, and atmospheric harmonica lines. Wasting Young Man is a song about unrequited love and the toll it takes, while Airline Boogie focuses on Paula’s ability to endure travelling with a drunken passenger as the challenge of air travel looms large “Anxiety climbs the higher we go / Can’t even see the ground no more.”
The traditional song The Snow It Melts the Soonest is interpreted by Paula in a tribute to her great-great-grandmother who was a slave that suffered at the hands of her owner in the 1830s. Acoustic guitars and penny whistle providing a simple, and poignant, arrangement. The Gospel rhythm to Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around bleeds into a hazy, New Orleans boogie as the harmony vocals attest to the need for freedom to reign and for faith in the future to endure. Pauls Beggs has delivered an album that is very stimulating and impressive; highlighted by great musicianship and plenty of spirit.
Paul McGee