It seems kinda ironic that the most commercially successful faze of Jason Ringenberg's career is as his alter-ego (identical twin-brother) Farmer Jason. This is because though the Farmer Jason albums are aimed at kids the music on them differs little from the Jason Ringenberg solo albums. Here it also confirms the respect and friendship he has with other musicians, some old friend some new ones. Each track on the album has a bunch of guests and opens with some dialogue that introduces the song and the guests. This may get a little tiresome after repeated listens as it is aimed at a younger audience that some listeners may be. But with such guests as Suzy Bogguss, Iris DeMent, Mike Mills, Todd Snider, Webb Wilder, The Saw Doctors, Hank 3, Tommy Ramone and author Jo Nesbo along with The Scorchers there are a lot of different flavours to keep the whole album songs diverse. Jason is still central to the whole project his voice, songs and enthusiasm are the lynch-pin of the creativity. He is a unique vocalist who is immediately identifiable. He also brings with him his usual crew of players as well as long-time producer (for many of these songs) George Bradfute. who plays many instruments alongside players like Jim Hoke and Fats Kaplin amongst others. There is a DVD of four of the songs included, which show Jason with a group of children, which adds a visual element to the package that also has a coloured cartoon style booklet with full credits. There are going to be many different favourites for listeners of all ages but right now I like the Iris DeMent, Hank 3, Webb Wilder and Mike Mills tracks but that changes with each listen. This is the most ambitious and accomplished collection yet from the Farmer Jason collective and underlines the unique nature of both sides of his talent and longevity. Farmer Jason succeeds because he doesn't play down to his younger audience or by compromising his music, many of these songs (with different lyrics) could easily fit on his other albums.
Nels Andrews 'Scrimshaw' - Self Release
The third album from Andrews is inspired by the sea, the whaling boats of the 1800s that set out on voyages of 3 years and more. A scrimshaw is a piece of carved whale bone or whale ivory. The space, loneliness, fear and expectation of such a journey is reflected in the songs here that have a engaging light touch that draws you into their heart and immerses you in the music of the album. Producer Todd Sickafoose has given each song a depth that allows Andrews vocals to float free and and the same time to anchor each song. Around the vocal the players carve out the characters who inhabit the songs. There is an air of melancholy in Andrews folk/rock/Americana that finds the evocative pedal steel sound blending with flute, banjo, mandolin and violin to create a wholly enjoyable sound that makes the album work as a unit rather than a set of individual intricate songs. The vocals are also integrated together to create another layer that is equally effective. One track Three Hermits uses the words of WB Yeats to good effect alongside Andrews' sometimes poetic use of words and inventive musical beds. The overall mood is of a becalmed sea, a gentleness that is its own reward that has occasional spikes and troughs. Lost Year opens with ambient sound and cymbals while a banjo picks and the drums come in to drive the song slowly forward. That is typical of the slow intensity that this music has and the way that Andrews words and voice suggest something foreboding and impending. Scrimshaw is a collection of songs of flickering characters and places, like an early Vitascope projection on a peeling wall. Nels Andrews is worth looking out for on any musical horizon.
Woody Pines 'You Gotta Roll' - Self Release
This six track ep is the latest release from the band released to coincide with their current tour which was recorded with new line-up. Guitarist, clarinetist Lyon Graulty is a welcome addition to the band which is led by founder, singer, guitarist and harmonica player Woody Pines. A vibrant and forceful singer who combines the various musical strands into something whole that would find favour with fans of the modern interpretation of old time sounds as played by such acts as Pokey LaFarge and The Wiyos. The songs here are the traditional tunes Long Gone Lost John, Treat You Right, alongside covers of Doc Boggs, Leadbelly and Hank Williams. The band play with life and with an easy musicianship that suggest a band who are enjoy what they do and transmitting that fact through their music. Their next album with a few new Woody Pines originals should be well worth checking out. Meantime You Gotta Roll is a bite-sized intro to the band if you haven't heard their earlier releases.
The Two Man Gentleman Band 'Two At A Time' - Bean Tone
If you ever wondered what your favourite 50s styled band would sound like stripped down to guitar, voice and double bass this album will let you know. What you see and more importantly hear is exactly what you get two instruments, two voices, twelve songs recorded straight to analog tape, no edits, over-dubbing, no effects by Wally Hersom (Big Sandy alumni). Andy Bean plays a 1961 Gibson tenor guitar and Fuller Condon plays a upright bass on a bunch of clever songs written by Bean along with a couple of covers. If you like the sound you love the whole album if however you aren't as taken then the very nature of the delivery will not appeal as the sound of the duo is, by it's very nature, similar throughout. They mix early jazz, jump blues and its assimilation into early country swing into a sound that is unashamedly coming from a musical time tunnel. But that will make it sound quite modern for many a listener not so familiar with the source sounds. Those who know that era's music are equally likely to be captivated by the vocal and instrumental skills on display. That attention to detail also extends to the hand made, linotype machine printed sleeve. There is a limited edition vinyl version too for those of you who would like to go the whole hog. A number of the songs on the album menu make reference to food. There's Cheese & Crackers, Pork Chops, Tikka Masala which shows that though these gentlemen take their music seriously they have a sense of humour that means they don't take themselves too seriously. All in all a fine package that gets all the elements right and as they themselves say "let's get happy together". Can't argue with that.
Reviews by Stephen Rapid
Chuck Mead & His Grassy Knoll Boys Back To The Quonset Hut' - Ramseur Records
Albums of cover songs are made for a lot of reasons, not all of them good, but on occasion and artist makes a album that pays tribute to music that inspired them and in doing so they bring something of themselves to the project. A spark that ignites the songs to burn fresh. Chuck Mead's last album, his solo debut Journeyman's Wager, expanded his musical palate to bring in some wider influences that all musicians can bring to bear on their music. But as Chuck explains in his song by song liner notes the first music he ever remembers hearing was Hank Williams. That's going to effect a man's musical outlook one way or another. Real country music is at the heart of Mead's soul no matter what music he plays. Back in the early days of BR5-49, playing in Roberts, there set was largely made up of then largely ignored classic country with the occasional "true story" song played alongside. These true stories were the bands increasingly competent original songs which sat easily with the older repertoire. Both Mead and fellow singer Gary Bennett's songs have stood the test of time. With country music of the old school values becoming a thing of the past at radio and on major labels a number of artists, like Marty Stuart, continue to mine the music's rich vein in a rewarding way. There is an accompanying DVD with this album that further explains how this project evolved and how they came to record it in the refurbished Quonset Hut studio using a blend of Mead's band and some of the legendary members of the A-Team crack session unit who played there back in the 50s on some classic recordings.
The seasoned sessioners included Hargus "Pig" Robbins, Bob Moore, Buddy Spicher and Harold Bradley alongside BR5-49 alumni Chris Scruggs, Mark Miller and steel guitarist Carco Clave and drummer Martin Lynds. Producers Michael Janas and Chuck Mead also brought in a slew of guest singers in Elizabeth Cook, Bobby Bare and Jamey Johnson as well as Old Crow Medicine Show for the opening vibrant take on Wabash Cannonball. This sets the tone and you know that over the next 12 tracks you into something special. I'm aware that not everyone will view it that way and they still have an aversion to covers album in general but to hell with that. I like what I'm hearing here and no mistake. At this point it's worth noting the stature of Mead's vocals which are increasingly assured and distinctive. He's having fun and sings the hell out of these songs. having listened now to the album several times there isn't a track I don't like but let's pick a couple of highlights. Sittin' and Thinkin' is full of truthful regret. Apartment No.9 is full of similar heartbreak and sensitivity, While the uptempo takes on Honky Tonk Hardwood Floor and Hey Joe and the closing Pickin' Wild Mountain Berries lift the spirit and set the toes tapping. Chuck Mead and the entire crew can be justifiably proud of this album, that brings a new energy to the genre while tipping it's hat to the stars, musicians and studio of the past.
Davy Jay Sparrow and his Well-Known Famous Drovers 'Olde Fashioned' - Bean Tone
Those who were drawn to the music of Wayne Hancock or Johnny Dilks should tune in to Sparrow's mix of early country sounds that included the yodeling of the title track the Slow Slow Boogie with its not so double entendres, double bass and upright steel evoke and earlier era with clarity and vision. This modus runs through the album. Hot Tamale! is an uptempo hot sauce song spiced with Sassy Larry's trumpet. Sparrow and his Drovers can easily slip through a variety of mood with Think Again using Michael Kapinus' piano to give the song its traditionalist feel. This blend of western swing, early rockabilly, blues and old time country is not new but it is as powerful as ever when it's delivered with skill, understanding and love. The instrumental The Well-known Famous Boogie has a voice over from Davy and his son 'Railroad' Jack introducing the band members. Sparrow brings an authentic edge to his music, he's not trying to modernize rather he wants to celebrate it. As he does on the fiddle and concertina led Swing Me Around My Walkin' Cane, a traditional song arranged by Sparrow, something he does on a couple of the songs featured - Devil In The Cornfield and Bring It Down To Jack's House. The rest are Davy Jay Sparrow originals. All sound like there coming through the airwaves from a border station in the early 50's. Music made to get you dancing in your living room, a honky-tonk or in your head. The era of the singing cowboy is evoked on A Cowgal's Cowboy. The album closes with The Death Of Me and features, as do most of the tracks the steel guitar of Chance Wagner, the guitar of Artie Thomas and the upright bass of Justin Meier. These guys are as immersed in the music as much as Sparrow and Olde Fashioned is what it says on the cover and it's exactly what it is and it's just right for these times and for those who may love this music the first time round as much as those reared on Bear Family reissues or loved it the first time round.
Stephen David Austin 'A Bakersfield Dozen' - Self-Release
Country music is about the songs and Stephen David Austin has written a bunch of them that fit the bill. Titles like Best X I Ever Had or The Day Buck Owens Died could only be hardcore country. While Austin doesn't posses the greatest voice you might have heard he delivers these songs with understanding and passion. Add to that some fine playing from the likes of Marty Rifkin (who mixed the album), Skip Edwards, Brantley Kearns and Shawn Nourse, all West Coast country music veterans and you have one solid, smart album. His song Heroes and Heroin tells of the demise of Gram Parsons and other musicians drawn to the allure of hard drugs. While Back To Bakersfield is a tale of family migration and a poor but honest existence. The Fat Kid is about prejudice and bullying that leads to devastating outcome that while it runs over seven minutes holds the attention of the listener who can guess the inevitable outcome of the story. My Space takes a somehat sarcastic view of selling your songs, and more, on the internet. The closing track is a stripped back guitar and voice delivery where Austin is joined by his grandson Kayleb and is not as cloying as one might expect and manages to make you smile. The one cover is a countryfied version of Lennon/McCartney's Baby's In Black that is well handled and fits right in beside Austin's own songs though I'm not sure why it was included over another original song. As a wrier he tackles the serious and the sanguine and in that light reminds me of Dallas Wayne who wrote a similar mix of grounded material that can only come with some understanding and maturity. The title of the album and the Buck Owens songs all attest to Austin's love of the music that emanates from there it's heyday and is very removed from what is (mostly) coming from mainstream Nashville today. Anyone looking for their country music neat should order up a Bakersfield dozen right away.
Reviews by Stephen Rapid
Karen Collins & The Backroads Band 'No Yodeling On The Radio' - Azalea City
Right from the off you know your in hardcore country territory. The title track is a truism and makes the song, which features a fine sample of the art, null and void for radio play except for stations that still play genuine country music. Elsewhere Collins give her twangy voice plenty of scope here. She has her credit on eight of the songs, others come from Ira Gitlin and Geff King, members of the Backroads Band, and two outside credits complete the writing line-up. There are other guests here too, like Mike Auldridge on Resophonic and pedal steel who join the accomplished band to give these songs their motion and emotion. Collins herself contributes rhythm guitar, fiddle and mandolin as well as her distinctive vocals. Gitlin leads the players through the instrumental That There Boogie with drive. A song that hits home is the honky-tonk of Too Much Me, Not Enough You written by Brian McGuire. King sings Mama's In A Honky Tonk Downtown with his deeper voice and baritone guitar giving the song distinction by nature of this. King was a former member of another Washington DC area band Honky Tonk Confidential who also featured a version of the song on their album Your Trailer Or Mine? King and Collins duet on their co-write Parallel Lines a song about a relationship that a couple heading in different directions. Salvation Saloon, a song about a real location is a co-write between Collins and another honky-tonk stalwart Arty Hill about the "last call for salvation" offered inside. The album closes with Barbershop and you know you've had a close encounter with some unkempt country music that would fit alongside other area acts like Zoe Muth and Eilen Jewell, though she may not have their distinction but Collins and her band are making music that is thoroughly enjoyable.
Hillfolk Noir 'Radio Hour' - Self-Release
With the popularity of acts like Pokey La Farge and The Wyios there is a growing taste for music with an entertaining energy that is rooted in a past but is given a future by a range of acts who take the influences of a different era and add something that is, if not unique, is certainly individual. Here the six piece band run through their latest set of Travis Ward's songs with spirit and genuine feeling. These songs which, when Travis and Alison Ward share the vocals on, have a great feel to them with simple but effective percussion, solid upright bass and an overlay of banjo, kazoo, harmonica, singing saw and washboard to give the songs some added bite. On, what is, their take on sideshow string-bands, punky-indie folk and back-porch mountain music. Radio Hour has a introduction and some between song adverts to help the illusion of the title along. These guys have played on stages with some notable names as well on street corners when the occasion demands. Wherever they play you will be drawn to the infectious spirit of the songs and the swingin' rawness of the music on offer. Songs like The Great Grizzly Bear Scare and Rattler In The Outhouse speak of more primitive times where fun could be had without electricity or social media for that matter.
The Wagon Tales 'EP' - Self-Release
This London based band play bluegrass and the five piece band's five songs featured here show a band that is both skillful and joyful. Being distinctive within bluegrass is often a problem with a lot of acts relying on oft-covered songs but all the material here are original songs written by three members of the band who share the vocals to give them the sense of a close knit unit that understand the music's history and where it can go and given their location that's a mite harder than if you're born in the shadow of the Appalachians. They can bring some humour to bear with titles like Dad, You Better Start Drinking and some deeper emotion to songs like the slow-paced Lie And Wait. Five songs give you a taste of what the band could bring to a full length album but this serves as a introduction to The Wagon Tales and the trails they could follow in the future as well as a calling card for live gigs.
Girlyman 'Supernova' - Fine Feathered Music
The band name may not be one to use in rough house honky-tonks but then they're not a band playing that sort of music. No what Girlyman play is a more gentle folk-pop with subtle playing and upfront vocal harmonies. The album is written, played and produced by Girlyman with each song's writer taking the lead vocal. The are multi-instrumentalists who play a wide variety of instruments that include bouzouki, pedal steel, accordion, banjo, djembe and mandolin on top of the bass, drums, guitar, keyboards and those instruments they don't play they bring in some guests to help them out. Because of the different writer/vocalists there are different flavours to savour yet there is a consistency to the overall sound of Girlyman a mixture and balance of the male/female, folk/pop/indie rock, the good and the bad of making it through life's uncertainties. As this is the bands fifth studio album they have perfected their three-part vocal harmonies that are crucial to their sound and the bed rock of their melodic, uplifting songs. Like many bands Girlyman have a sound that could find a wider audience if they can find a way to get in front of the audience via live performance and through their recorded output which on the evidence of Supernova will soothe the heart of many who like their music a little more arranged and thoughtful.
Reviews by Stephen Rapid
Stacy Earle and Mark Stuart 'Dedication' - Gearle
This latest album is a comfortable statement of the duo's current musical landscape. Comfortable in that they have developed that kind of ease within their music, each fitting into the others song space, and comfortable to those who are acquainted with their previous solo and duo records. The have co-produced the album with Michael Webb and the 12 songs, including a shorter radio version of the 6 minuets plus Little Rock, are varied and look at life from the different perspectives of a partnership. Earle's first two songs Here Comes The Pain and Here Comes The Rain run together and make the point that bad things happen but life goes on and acceptance of these vicissitudes is a part dealing with what it throws at us. The Flag, another of Earle's inward looking songs, has a simple acoustic guitar backing enhanced by Webb's accordion and ambient wind sounds and an almost spoken vocal that tells us about her life and worries as a mother herself that tell her offspring that "you haven't been anywhere that I haven't been". It is a touching and warm song with a bitter sweet ending. If You Change Your Mind another Earle songs (she has the larger number of the songs here) has more of their close harmonies that often define the sound of this folkish-rootsy album which again reaffirms the strength of relationships. Little Rock has an uptempo beat and Stuart's travelogue highlights his guitar skills, playing acoustic, slide and twanging electric on the track. Earle adds her harmonies to Stuart's seasoned voice. His Broken Heart For You is a self-explanatory tale of regret that is led by Earle's piano motif. Their jointly written song I've Been Wrong, I've Been Right sums up the underlying tension and understanding of any long-time relationship and musically it flows soulfully. A Great Day To Fly is a ukulele, acoustic guitar instrumental track that closes an album that has much to recommend it to dedicated fans and curious onlookers.
The JD Hobson Band 'Where The Sun Don't Shine' - Self-Release
The addition of word band designates JD Hobson's move from a solo artist to playing with a full band and the result takes him to a new level as his band are integrated fully into the delivery of these songs. The majority of which are Hobson's with a number of covers drawn from the blues catalogue, although this is not strictly a blues album per se, though it is versed in that part of the Americana mix, it is far more a roots rock affair that draws from 90's Americana bands as well as taking a direct line from the rockier aspects of Bob Dylan's career. The covers include the traditional Blues In The Bottle, Willie Dixon's Spoonful and Mississippi John Hurt's Nobody's Dirty Business as well as Paul Burch's evocative story song Carter Cain. These are songs that deal with the downside of life in an upbeat way. Hobson's own songs tread a similar path with titles like Sick In My Soul, Where The Sun Don't Shine and The Darkest Hour Has Passed ... "at the bottom of this well, I watch grey light ghost parade" that example line shows that Hobson has a way with words as well as a strong enough voice to give meaning to them. The band is a bass, drums, electric guitar and keyboards unit that is well capable of delivering the slow paced bluesyness Belly Of The Beast and Walkin' Out The Door Crying Blues to more uptempo workouts like Desert Road and the aforementioned Carter Cain. This is an assured and solid album that should have a wide appeal and shows the development of this artist that suggests that the Seattle based JD Hobson Band will have fans when they play there and with audiences further afield.
Sean Taylor "Love Against Death' - SGO
Another Austin alliance with Sean Taylor working with producer and player Mark Hallman on this latest album from an obviously accomplished player, singer and song-writer. The album is a close collaboration between Hallman and Taylor who between them lay down the essentials of each song with bass, drums, guitar, piano and harmonica. Taylor has a intimate breathy vocal style that draws the listener into his musical world. Taylor has spiced his own songs with interesting arrangements of Merle Travis' Sixteen Tons and Patrick Kavanagh's words for Raglan Road, and his version should attraction some attention from listeners in these parts who know this song well but not this particular performance. But his own songs are equally attractive with the ode to Neil Cassady having some likable pedal steel atmospherics from Kim Deschamps. Ballad Of A Happy Man underlines it's title and the French language opening line on the chorus with some subtle but life-affirming accordion and violin. Taylor is a enticing guitar player who make this songs all the more intimate through his playing. He also sings of the darker ends of the street with Coal Not Dole an effective denouncement of the Thatcher eras suppression of the miners, it has some inventive voice and guitar interaction at its heart. He has previously recorded here in Dublin but has obviously found the creative air in Austin beneficial to the making of music. That Sean Taylor is a talented artist is without question and he appears to be one more concerned with his art that with fleeting fame and it's trappings, but equally the more people that get to hear his music the more both parties will get from it, I think we will always take love against death.
Reviews by Stephen Rapid
Rachael Harrington & The Knock Outs 'Self-Titled' CRS
After her three rightly lauded albums The Bootlegger's Daughter, City Of Refuge and Celilo Falls Rachael Harrington is back with a band The Knock Outs in two and has made a sidestep with this honky-tonk album. It has it's beginnings in a Patsy Cline tribute gig and developed into this striking collection of songs written by Harrington alone or as a couple of co-writes. Like the songs My Darling Clementine's recent album these original songs would easily fit into the repertoire of feisty female artists like Loretta Lynn. The songs have roots in the Bakersfield sound, west coast country, rock 'n' roll and early Music City honky-tonk. The Knock Outs are Rebecca Young on bass, Alisa Milner on fifddle, guitarist Moe Provencher and drummer Aime Tubbs. They are joined by, amongst others, Tim Carroll on guitar and the necessary touches of Tommy Hannum's pedal steel. Mark Erelli adds his voice to the duet I'll Show You Mine while the Knock Outs add backing vocals throughout. Harrington delivers some powerhouse lead vocals that show character and emotion, never over sung her delivery is spot on making this a must have for lovers of that classic country sound, a sound that is fresh, alive and beating. One that could scare Country Radio right out of it's trainers. There's humour in songs like Hippie In My House, pain in Wedding Ring Vacation and relationship resuscitation in Makin' Our House A Honkytonk. All human life is there ... go on knock yourself out.
The Cactus Blossoms 'Self-Titled' Self-Released
Just when you think that country music has slipped into the crossover pop vortex some music comes along to restore your faith in some real hardcore traditionally influenced examples of the form. Those who miss the early days of BR5-49 when Chuck Mead and Gary Bennett shared the lead vocals on a set of "true stories" will be well pleased with the Cactus Blossoms. The two main men are Jack Torrey and Page Burkam who have their sibling harmonies down to a T and individually sound like they were running around the honky-tonks with their heroes. This short 10 track CD is lean and effective with the original songs, largely by Jack Torrey, sitting easily beside classic songs from the early 50s era. Two feature here, the traditional Lost John Dean and Alton Delmore's Blue Railroad Train which show the versatility of the vocalists and the supporting players - who are Mike Razz Russell on fiddle, Randy Broughten on upright steel and bassist Liz Draper. This trio add much to the overall sound of this tight Minnesota-based combo and balances youthful exuberance and experience This is as fine as a debut album as you could wish for and highlights the enduring nature of country and, yes, western music.