John Lilly 'Cold Comfort' Self-Release

This is John Lilly's finest album to date, for a variety of reasons. They are, from the top, the production by Lilly and the renowned Tommy Detamore, the use of a full band - Lilly's last two albums were more stripped down in terms of instrumentation - a band that includes some very fine players and at this point I want to single out the playing of Tom Lewis (former and current Wagoneer) who's name can be found on many an Austin recorded album as well as on stage with a wide range of players. He's never less that committed to the song and his varied but unobtrusive style is part of what drives any song he plays. It doesn't stop there on this album the talents of Kayton Roberts, Bill Kirchen, Sonny Landreth, Skip Edwards, Floyd Domino, Tim O'Brien and Mike Bub and others bring much to make the album special. But that, in itself, would not make a great album, without having the selection of great songs and Lilly's top-notch vocals it could have fallen flat on it's face. The songs are often heartbreak country and are delivered with conviction and honesty. That's a key word here, honesty as this is music not made for radio, for affectation, for mass sales but rather music made with heart, it is therefore music that will find its own level among discerning listeners. Tracks like I Don't Know Where To Start - a duet with Brennen Leigh (one of two), I Thought You'd Never Call, Anyone But You and the title track all speak of loss, sorry and regret - key elements of real country music. In some ways this is an album of two parts as from track 9 to track 11 the music takes on a different but equally effective tone as Lilly delivers a set of acoustic songs with Tim O'Brien, Mike Bub and Tommy Detamore musically accompanying him. Short and Sweet and As Is are both repeat listen songs. Then O'Brien joins the full band for Done Done It. The album closed with the song Somewhere In Texas which is equally compelling with John Lilly accompanied just by his guitar and shows that whatever the setting these songs and this singer stands tall. Undoubtably one of the albums of the year.

Paul Burch 'Words Of Love Songs Of Buddy Holly' Self-Release

In the year that would have seen Holly reach the age of 75 there has already been two high profile Buddy Holly tribute compilations. But here is something, smaller, more personal and for many it may be closer to the spirit of such a innovative artist. Drawing form the age that Holly's music was forged in Paul Burch blends the influences of rock 'n' roll, rockabilly, r 'n' b and country that were in the air then to create an album that has energy and effervescence that Holly's music had for so many people of a certain age. Recording live to tape has helped to capture that spontaneity and sense of simplicity inherent in much of the best music. Burch as again employed his WPA Ballclub band that this time out includes such fine players as Dennis Crouch, Fats Kaplin, Will Kimbrough and Kenny Vaughan. That they had fun doing this is evident in the end result and that Burch managed to both evoke the essence of Buddy Holly and also still maintain his own identity is important. Too close to the originals and you may as well play them but here there is something fresh in these 13 songs that both makes you want to go back to the source but to also revisit this collection. The songs are classics and include the title Words Of Love along with A great Peggy Sue, a punchy Midnight Shift alongside the rhythmically expressive Love's Made A Fool Of You. Throughout the drums and percussion are crucial to give these songs the swing and drive. They're concise and concentrate with most clocking in just over the two minute mark. Words Of Love is a fitting tribute to a master from a man who shares many of Holly's aims to experiment and to capture the heart of what this music represents to so many who love and represents a lesson on how to capture something that is all too often lost these days. This is simple and effective. Spread the love.

Available from Paul's website as a download or on vinyl

Terry Penney 'The Last Guitar' Self-Release

The fifth album from Canadian singer-songwriter will be released early next year and it is one to look out for. Like most singing storytellers Terry Penney hasn't changed that much about his music rather he has honed his craft of marrying melody to word to create something memorable that has all the hallmarks of a career highpoint. Co-produced by Penny and Craig Young it has a warmth and intimacy that suits these tales that often draw from historic events and memories. There's the Ballad Of The Bayman Riders a song that tells of a brotherhood of bikers, full time rebels who lost their leader and unable to deal with the loss disbanded. The demise of religion in the shape of a disused church is the subject of the cleverly worded Jesus Crisis - "an old and broken building, useless as a dry and dusty well" while the guilt of not being able to serve with his friends is at the heart of I Have Offered. Though from Newfoundland Penny would be at home as a part of the Texas troubadour tradition, exemplified by the likes of Guy Clark. The instrumentation here is largely acoustic with fiddle, accordion, dobro, mandolin, banjo and acoustic guitar well to the fore giving the songs subtlety that well serves the songs and the singer. Though there are times I would have like some of the bite of the electric guitar that featured on Penney's previous albums. Penney's voice has naturally matured since his last album and he is able to bring an expressiveness to his words that draws the listener in. John Flood a song about a highwayman "a desperate thief with a family to feed" that shows Penney's penchant for weaving historical fact and fiction into his songs to give them a sense of depth. Flood was the last man to be hanged in public in Newfounland. This understanding of time and people is matched by a sense of place in songs like Girl From Coal Creek Canyon and Shoal Harbour. The title songs is a paean to the instrument that is central to his making music and details his first hand-me-down at seventeen to his current J-45 and the endless search for that perfect last guitar. On this showing he's doing pretty good with the ones he has, but as with life itself the search goes on.

Nearly Beloved 'Where's Bob?' Attaboy

A country-rock quartet who at times have a sound rooted in the late 60's and at other reference Bakersfield and Nashville but never the naff side of those elements. The band whose songs come from the pen of Matt Lax the band's singer and the album's producer. They are joined by a host of guests that bring vocal assistance and musical textures to the overall mix. The only cover here is Bob Dylan's Subterranean Homesick Blues which they give an uptempo, upbeat reading of and make it fit easily alongside their own songs. The 60's sounding Cool Fucking Sunset reminds of the Burritos as does Tomorrow Won't Be The Future, a song that sounds a lot like a follow up to Sin City in many ways. And a lot of bands have tried to capture that feel but, here, Nearly Beloved have done just that. But there guys can wring the sound changes with the harmonica and guitar-led harmony-filled Money Isn't Everything. The title track heads in a more gospel sounding direction, but with it's tongue firmly in it's cheek, this isn't a song for the above but has it's site on the more earthly Bob. These guys use the vocal harmonies well with and behind Lax's lead vocals and change the sound around enough to keep things interesting and then there's an underlying sense of fun that adds a another element to the song's overall ambiences. Witness my My P-Role Officer, a song that will bring a smile to your face. There's much to like here and it's the sort of album where your favourite songs will change with each listen. Nearly Beloved amy never be totally beloved as there's is nothing here that hasn't been heard before but that doesn't make them different from a whole lot of other bands in the roots genre, but it equally makes them well worth listening to and Where's Bob is an album worth looking out for and listening to.

Lincoln Durham 'The Shovel Vs The Howling Bones' Self-Release

That this album has the names of Ray Wylie Hubbard and George Reiff as producers should give some indication of where it's heading musically. Surprisingly as Reiff is himself a bass player there is no bass guitar on the album. There's the redoubtable Rick Richards on drums, a sound that is central to the songs here, and a whole lot of guitar, dirty, slip-sliding, barbed wire guitars. Many of them are vintage and their heritage shows. These are guitar that have been played and loved. Durham is joined by fellow string seductors Jeff Plankenhorn, Derek O'Brien, Ray Wylie Hubbard and George Reiff. All add tone, texture and tenor to the songs on offer. Songs delivered in Durham's suitably sand-papered and distressed denim voice. These songs resonate with these times. They speak of "living this hard" and of "people of the land". They are swamp-drenched, wrecking-yard blues and rock 'n' roll viginettes drawn from the darker corners but strangely addictive and energising. It's hard to pull individual songs from the album as it seems to fit as a whole but the opening track Drifting Wood sets the tone, Clementine has a more melodic nature as does Trucker's Love Song a band song with shared vocals, insistent percussion and Bucca Allen's accordion adding another musical texture. How Does A Crow Fly would perhaps not be out of place on a Ryan Bingham album. Those who like their music hard-edged and dirty and have a liking for any of guitar/drum combos out there should equally like this. I do.

Eric Hisaw 'Ghost Stories' Self-Release

This is roots rock as we know it, and love it. A mix of country, blues, rock and more. Hisaw is another of the breed of singer, songwriter, guitarist who deliver something that has the edge, the sense of life lived, roads travelled and lessons unlearnt. Openly produced by Hisaw it uses his tight band of bass/keyboard player Ron Flynt and Vicente Rodriguez on drums. Guests include Lloyd Maines on steel and dobro on for tracks, giving them that extra country ingredient. Chrissy Flatt adds her vocals to five of the ten tracks and Bracken Hale sings on one more. The sound is robust and driving, with a live in the studio feel that is perfect for Hisaw's self-written tales of small towns, big dreams, long hours and hard roads. He can be tender too, as on the closing song Sleep but he can ramp it up too as he does here on the Stones-ish Johnston County, California and the rhythmic pulse of Don't Live There Anymore. He can be reflective about life and place as with the opening title track. Payphone and The Love She Wants have some effective pedal steel to underpin their sense of loss and need. Throughout Hisaw is a strong and confident vocalist who handles the deliver of these emotions with ease and conviction. And while there is nothing here that hasn't been heard here before he can hold his head up in the company of renowned and esteemed peers like Joe Ely and Dave Alvin, Simply put this is an album that plays well, keeps your attention, makes you feel good throughout it's ten tracks and that, these days, is something to be happy with. These ghost (and life) stories are worth retelling.

Christmas Albums -Mandy Barnett, Joey & Rory, Skaggs Family - Reviewed by Sandy Harsch

I have a taste for Christmas albums which can go year-round, so I was delighted to have these three to plonk into the CD player. They are all pretty good in their various ways, with Joey + Rory coming out on top by a narrow margin.

The Skaggs family CD (A Skaggs Family Christmas, Volume Two) is actually stronger than their first volume and includes a full length (26 tunes) DVD of their travelling Christmas show. On the CD itself Ricky sings lead on 4 of the 10 songs; the Whites (Ricky’s wife Sharon, her sister Cheryl and father Buck) sing lead on one , Sharon, solo sings lead on Silent Night while daughter Molly takes lead on two while daughter Molly sings lead on two. The album is rounded out by two instrumentals. As one would expect from Ricky Skaggs it is immaculately played, but it somehow lacks the energy and personality that most Skaggs music exhibits.

Mandy Barnett’s career started when she was 9 and the only question that comes to mind is: why isn’t she a superstar? She has a phenomenal voice and unerring musical taste. That her music is sweet and smooth in the Nashville Sound style to have barred her from chart heights which is a shame. This album (Winter Wonderland) is classics done with classic Nashville Sound musicians and is absolutely faultless. The title track is fabulous as is the string-drenched All I want for Christmas and the bouncy Jingle Bell Rock. Actually, there isn’t a sub-par song on it and it will feature in my Christmas for sure.

My favourite of the three though, is Joey + Rory’s Farmhouse Christmas. The variety of styles and materials from a twangy two-steppin’ version of the Kent Blazey/Garth Brooks I Know What Santa’s getting’ for Christmas to the Jimmy Buffet flavoured Let it Snow (Somewhere Else); Merle Haggard duets on his If We make it through December and the wonderful Bradley Walker (will his second album ever be released?!)

sings with Joey on a beautiful acoustic Away in a Manger. The standout track for me is Stephanie Davis’ gorgeous celebration of a cowboy Christmas which unfurls Joey’s excellent yodel. Yodel, good Christmas song with Dobro backing – what more does anyone need in a Christmas album?

MaryAnn & The Revival Band 'Proper' Self-release

This five song ep is from the Austin based band who are fairly eclectic blend of old school country, folk and indie-rock overtones. They are young and enthusiastic and bring an energy to the songs that feature brass on three tracks as well as pedal steel. The vocals are shared with Marina Hendrix being the female vocal focus and the guys sharing lead and backing vocals. There is no Mary Ann. As a starting point these 5 songs point to a number of sonic possibilities, which is what an ep should be about as an opening gambit. See what works with listeners. The songs are all band co-writes and with some nine players listed on the sleeve they may be in the process of settling into a solid line-up going forward.The song here that has the most resonance here in it's recorded form is Doc Holliday, a song tinged with sadness, musically and lyrically "...roses don't grow around my grave". The other songs here are on occasion more upbeat in tempo though the closing Happily Alone again takes a downbeat viewpoint but from a male vocal perspective. MaryAnn & The Revival Band will make an interesting full length album as there is enough going on here to warrant further inspection and you can view their current activities on their Facebook page.

Toby Keith 'Clancy's Tavern' Show Dog/Humphead

In a world of ever changing attitudes, of personal beliefs and of doubtful country music, taking Toby Keith's music at face value it's country in a way that is immediately recognisable as that. His themes are about perennial - about love (Tryin' To Fall In Love, I Won't Let You Down), beer (Beer's Ago) and the life a regular Joe's (Red Solo Cup, Made in America, Clancy's Tavern) and they come from a man who has nailed his patriotism to the mast. Keith has written many of these songs with strong writers like Bobby Pinson (who made one of the better Music Row album's some time back which, naturally, got nowhere at radio), veteran Eddie Raven, Scotty Emerick and Bob DiPiero. Production is handled by Keith and is robust and rigorous and allows the studio band it's head. The guitar by Kenny Greenberg is well to the fore over a solid and propulsive rhythm section of Chad Cromwell and Kevin 'Swine' Garrett. Aubrey Haynie is on fiddle and mandolin. Steel guitar duties are shared by Paul Franklin and Russ Pahl. They are part of  solid studio team that are able to deliver the lighter songs as comfortably as the more full-on songs. That four people were need to write the novelty sing-along Red Solo Cup, but its one of those songs that will be loved and hated in equal measure. Toby Keith comes with his own reputation and attitude, something he also brings to his music and while in some minds in may be hard to divorce the two this album will please his fans and is one of his strongest to date. The are 4 additional tracks on the UK edition. Four good-time live tracks, a band out for a good time, the songs where recorded as Incognito Bandito who include several of the album's players having fun in a live setting. They close the album in roadhouse style and one of those songs, a cover of Truck Drivin' Man, show clearly where Toby Keith's musical roots lie along with his rockin' cover of Chuck Berry's Memphis that show Keith enjoys making music. 

Paul Kamm & Eleanore MacDonald 'From The Fire' Freewheel

A folk music duo who have spent a lot of time playing together and have during that time perfected their vocal harmonies and interaction. Their latest album, their ninth, highlights their voices and songs. All written by the duo other than Ship Gonna Sail where Kamm has taken words for the renowned Utah Phillips and set them to music. Indeed the title track is dedicated to Phillips. The duo have produced this album with Tom Menig and have brought in a selection of like minded players to fill out their largely acoustic sound. To Let The Light In features Mark McCartney's strong drum pattern and Larry Tracey's pedal steel to add some texture to this songs which is for those who give their time to care for the less fortunate. Throughout the songs have a sense of perception and understanding that shows a maturity that comes both from playing together and from an affinity with those they have encountered on their travels. That they deliver these songs with equal skill is somethimg that is apparent. This is folk music with heart and no little dexterity on Kamm part as a guitarist. This album will appeal to many who like modern folk music in general and songs with some openess and heart. From The Fire burns quietly but will warm those who get close to it. www.kammmac.com

Martina McBride 'Eleven' Humphead

This album is in many ways the antithesis to Timeless, my favourite McBride album, that was an album of covers of classic country songs. Before that she made such spirited and, at the time, ground-breaking songs as Independence Day on the album The Way That I Am that included songs from writers like Kostas, Billy Lloyd, Paul Kennerly as well as Gretchen Peters. The way she is now is a little different. A lot of the songs here have a McBride co-writing credit and she is also co-producer and while the features names like Dan Dugmore on pedal steel, Ilya Toshinskiy on mandolin and bouzouki and Stuart Duncan on fiddle the overall sound is a long way from those previous albums. She is still a powerful and emotive singer never less so that on I'm Going To Love You Through It, a song about helping a person dealing with cancer. These songs have their roots in her previous albums as she has never been an out and out traditional singer but rather one with an eye for where the future of country music was going. Eleven consolidates that future and opens the door for Martina McBride to move in any direction she may wish to travel and this album will find favour with many her fans and bring her a few new ones who know nothing of her previous album but have a fondness for well-sung, heavily arranged songs hat touch on a number of areas that may hit home with a wider audience. But I have a feeling that if I want to listen to McBride sing it will be something more timeless.

My Darling Clementine 'How Do You Plead?' Drumfire

That this album has taken so long to get released, it was recorded over two years ago, is surprising. On the other hand I can see the reaction to an album of newly written classic-style country songs written by two English singer-songwriters might be a hard sell. However it shouldn't be as this is superb. From the singing, through the songs and the exemplary playing through to the solid, warm production. This must rank as one of the best country music albums to come out of the UK and that's not to damn it with feint praise as it also stands tall against similar albums released in the US and elsewhere. The assembled players are Martin Belmont on guitar, Alan cook on pedal steel, Bob Loveday on violin, Geraint Watkins on keyboards and Bobby Irwin and Jim Russell on drums and Kevin Foster on bass. All deserve praise for the way they deliver a classic country setting for the songs of Michael Weston King and his real life partner Lou Dalgleish. While Weston King has written the majority of the songs Dalgleish is equally adept at getting the mood right. Witness her song The Other Half wherein she delivers what might be her best vocal performance here and both vocalists deliver emotional and expressive singing throughout. That both writers have absorbed their obvious love and understanding of the genre shouldn't be a surprise given their track record. This is an album that is immersed in the golden age of country music as well as having an ear to contemporary takes on the form like Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan. At the heart of these duets is an understanding of the human condition and the interaction between couples when love can go wrong and be twisted into something more malevolent and spiteful. There's also regret and recognition of weakness. But in the end it's the sound that counts and even if you don't listen too closely to the lyrics the sound here is uplifting and entertaining. It is an album that repays repeated listen and one I will return to often. I plead guilty to loving this album. All involved should be justly proud and let's hope the undoubted praise it will receive will turn into more substantial sales for this fine, well-packaged album and its accompanying lyric booklet.

Merle Haggard 'Working in Tennessee' Vanguard

That he is still making albums of this quality is reason enough to enjoy this album but Merle Haggard is a legend who has remained truer to himself than many of his contemporaries. That he hasn't crossed over to a wider audience by recording songs written by names that they may be familiar with also says a lot about his attitude and aims. What I Hate is an uncompromising reflection on his views about what goes on around him showing that Haggard is still in touch with the world around him. He is also writing songs that reflect on his life and those close to him. Sometimes I Dream looks inward while Under The Bridge is about eternal hope. Too Much Boogie Woogie sees the writer hearing too much boogie woogie on the radio and not enough Hank Williams Sr, Ernest Tubb, Connie Smith, Marty Stuart, Willie Nelson and Emmylou Harris. People like himself who rarely gain radio play in these times, a sentiment I think we can all agree with. The playing throughout is spot on with players like Reggie Young, David Hood, Rob Ickes and Scott Joss involved that's not unexpected. He also picks some well know songs to cover and while they might not  replace the originals are all given an satisfying Merle method-acting. There's Cocaine Blues and Jackson, the latter a duet with wife Theresa. She also co-writes several other songs and that's not the only family involvement with son Ben joining in on vocals and guitar and Jenessa Haggard also co-writing. Family means a lot to this man. He also appears, especially on Laugh It Off to be enjoying himself here. That's important here is man at ease with himself, his life and music and that comes across and counts for a lot.

John Henry Olthoff 'Selfish Portraits' Self-Release

Another singer-songwriter in a world full of them. Maybe but there's something about Olthoff's songs and voice that help it to stand it out. There is an underlying humour alongside a certain bitterness, regret and isolation in these tales from the fringes. One song that sums that up is the stripped down Weekend In Jail - "Drove his rusted Chevy through the window of the gas station store. Filled up the backseat with beer and cigarettes 'til he couldn't fit no more, surveillance cameras saw the whole thing and when the cops came came to his door he said "when you need beer and cigarettes you'll do anything for sure". Then we he spent the weekend in jail". These songs are sung in Olthoff's downbeat nasal voice that once you get into it seems right for these tales from the other side of the tracks. Their may be a kinship to the territory covered by Willy Vlautin with Richmond Fontaine. Though Olthoff uses a full band here the two acts only have a passing similarity as both acts can be loosely be placed in the roots rock corral. The album was recorded by Frank Schiazza, who also plays lead guitar, bass and keyboards. David Ciolino-Volano is the drummer and Glenn Spivack plays some nice pedal steel touches. There are some full on songs here like the driving No Other Kind that sit easily beside the acoustic sadness of Anymore and Broken Meter or the buoyant 99 Cent Store where the protagonist wishes he "only had 20 dollars more I'd buy 20 things at the 99 cents store". The 15 songs on his latest release all have merit and while the overall mood of the writing looks toward the darker end of the street Olthoff's music is, once explored, something to savour. This New York based musician has something to say and here's where he's saying it, selfish or otherwise.

Joshua Radin - The Rock & The Tide (Warner/14th Floor)

I was worried about this one. I've given it two spins. My worries were justified. Do you like white bred?

Frankly, this album doesn't belong on a bluegrass / folk reviews site. It doesn't even belong on a singer/songwriter reviews site. I'm sorry to sound harsh but why sign a folky singer/songwriter and then try to turn him into a top 40 charting artist? The album from start to finish sounds like overly polished, auto tuned, pro-tooled, producer led soft pop. And just because there is a synth banjo on track two 'Streetlight' doesn't make it a 'folky' song. Way down the back end of the album there are a few softer, more folky numbers that actually sound half-decent. If you read between the lines here it seems to me that Radin wrote a soft, folky album and the label has brought in producers and writers to try and 'Radio' it up. Thus they've bumped the better songs further down the tracklisting and moved the 'radio' songs up front. 

I have to stress actually that the auto tuning is so bad on the lead into track three 'I missed you' that you can hear the vocal actually being cut up in the transition from pitch to pitch. Not good. Also there seem to be three writers credited on this track. It always amazes me how songs with more writers can be WORSE than those written alone. 

The ONLY song worth half a listen on this ten track indulgence is a track Radin wrote himself 'You Got What I Need'. He's written a beautiful mid tempo guitar ballad. Played out on what sounds like a strat or a tele his voice echoes Ray Lamontagne a little and we can actually start to feel with him. Minimal production of guitar, bass, drums, a beautifully warm rhodes/Wurlitzer type keyboard sound and vocals on this leads me to believe that this album should have been a one track single - with this song plugged to death. This is THE one for sync as far as I can tell. 

Each to his own, but I'd like to hear Radin if he ever makes a real down to earth, heart on his sleeve record produced with no budget. I think that's the place we'll all connect deep down with Radin. The writing and production of this album reminds me far too much of that annoying hat-wearing popper Jason Mraz. Unfortunately, a thumbs down from me on this album barring the song 'You Got What I Need'. If you want to listen to a Josh, try Josh Ritter or Josh Rouse.

by James Cooper

Water Tower Bucket Boys - Where The Crow Don't Fly EP

I'm not sure why it has taken me so long to review this EP. Perhaps it's the fact that I liked it so much straight away. There's a possibility that I was waiting for it to wear out on me. Well, it hasn't done anything of the sort.

Garrett Durant's cover art grabbed me straight away and as soon as I started spinning the CD in my car I was hooked. 'Meet me where the crow don't fly' opens the EP. It has a lazy blue grassy feel that sort of sucks you in. What with its banjo pickin' and upright bass boom you can't help but be won over. Vocally the song gives us a great introduction to where the WTBBs are going to take us.

Moving on then to 'Walkin' down the road' we're sort of running down the road! With the fast tempo, high strung mandolins, banjos, blues harp and again, thump of the upright bass, this stuff just gets under your skin. I'm surprised I have not seen these guys on a double bill with Old Crow Medicine show in Dublin. 

If vocal harmony is your thing like me, then 'Pilgrim song' is your song. The two and three part harmonies and resonator backing are dead on. 

Track four 'Easy Way Out', is not as well written as the first three songs and the appearance of drums disappointed me (as they're not needed on a blue grass release). However I suspect it's a good, up tempo, show opener. And closing with the intimate and delicate 'R Song' is a good move.

These guys are tight. It's a good thing when an EP makes you want to find out everything you possibly can about a band. 

I was longing for a new Gillian Welch record this year and even though it has now arrived, I feel like this EP is a more exciting prospect. 

So from the Water Tower Bucket Boys - Josh Rabie, Kenny Feinstein, Cory Goldman & Kyle McGonegle we ask 'More Soon Please!' Buy the EP at: http://www.watertowerbucketboys.com/music.html

By James Cooper.