Son Volt - Hearts and Minds
From www.sonvolt.net: “I was always averse to using certain words in songs,” recalls Farrar, “including ‘love’ and ‘heart.’ But I started using them on [American Central Dust] and now I guess the floodgates have opened.”
Jazz Mills - Little Baby
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/little-baby-single/id600678254
Deep Dark Woods “Banks of The Leapold Canal” : Americana Sessions (by sugarhillrecords)
(Source: pastemagazine.com)
Dennis’ Other Bonus Review: Chatham County Line: Sight & Sound (Yep Roc)
Raleigh, North Carolina-based Chatham County Line has been writing some of the best pure singer-songwriter material in the past decade. Billed by most as a bluegrass outfit, as is often the case with acoustic, drum-less outfits operating outside normal genre constrictions, it’s a description that badly misses the mark. This live set functions as a primo introduction to a band that’s far more in tune with Yonder Mountain String Band and Old Crow Medicine Show than any traditional grass band. Lead singer-prime songwriter-guitarist Dave Wilson has real presence, a voice clear and true belting out confident, unsentimental observations. The blend of singers and instruments in Chatham County Line is so damn nice, and they pull off what they do so well in the studio just as well in concert on Sight & Sound (released July 10), huddled around a single mic to deliver a cohesive, utterly solid case for their inclusion in any list of Americana’s top tier acts today. (DC)
You’ve never heard “She’ll Be Coming Round the Mountain” quite like this. For their first album together in nine years, Neil Young and Crazy Horse have taken classic American folk music and reinvigorated these songs with muscle, radiance and a whole lot of electric guitar.
As for the song itself, Neil Young writes in the liner notes to Americana:
Written in the 1800s based on an old Negro spiritual, this song refers to the second coming of Jesus, and “she” is the chariot Jesus is coming on. Some interpret this as the end of the world. Others have said that “she” refers to union organizer Mary Harris “Mother” Jones going to promote formation of labor unions in the Appalachian coal-mining camps. The Americana arrangement continues the folk process with a new melody, a new title and a combination of lyric sources.
Jackie Greene and Tim Bluhm (Skinny Singers) - Ballad of Spider John, a Willis Alan Ramsey cover - 05/08/2012 at Cafe Du Nord in San Francisco.
California singer/songwriters doing a gorgeous rendition of a Texas cult legend’s classic.
www.timbluhm.com
www.jackiegreene.com
www.skinnysingers.com
(Source: youtube.com)
Willis Alan Ramsey - Coyote (by swinneas)
From the Texas Connection circa 1990.
With:
Champ Hood - fiddle, mandolin, guitar
John Hagen - cello
Willis Alan Ramsey - Ballad of Spider John (by swinneas)
From the Texas Connection circa 1990.
With:
Champ Hood - fiddle, mandolin, guitar
John Hagen - cello
“A one of a kind record from a talent so deep it kills you to learn… this is all there is. Straight out of Austin, TX this may be the best of the whole Armadillo/outlaw scene, though Willis never wanted a part of it in the first place. Country fans and foes alike should grab this record and hold on tight.
Willis Alan Ramsey’s record merges country and soul as much as it combines chicken shack production with a touch of studio glitter…”
From: http://www.aquariumdrunkard.com/2010/03/04/willis-alan-ramsey/
Neil Young & Crazy Horse: Oh Susannah (by neilyoungchannel)
“Oh Susannah” - the first video from Neil Young & Crazy Horse’s new album “Americana” - coming June 5th. Pre-order the album at http://neilyoung.com and get “Oh Susannah” at http://smarturl.it/m5zexo
Listen to the gorgeous guitar on this one…
Around this time last year, I was handing out Uncle Walt’s Band music wherever I could simply to share it with whomever or wherever it might be appreciated.
Not sure whether it’s the harmony, the lyrics, or the pretty guitar; but this stuff is absolutely timeless to me.
Support the Music Fog kickstarter campaign.
45 Bands in 4 Days: Live Americana Music Webcast from Austin by Music Fog - http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/musicfog/45-bands-in-4-days-live-americana-music-webcast-fr
“Keep in mind that this music is truly an American genre. It goes ignored by most radio and traditional media, and has very few labels behind it. We want to help. We hope you do too.”
Don’t let the cats win.
The Border Blasters on Uncle Walt’s Band
http://www.borderblasters.com/
So I somehow stumbled upon these guys today. I was prompted to check out their stuff because I read the transcripts of this Taproot Radio podcast and what they were saying about Uncle Walt’s Band…
You can read the entire transcript and listen to the podcast here: http://www.taprootradio.com/2011/11/28/tpr64-border-blasters-interview-and-music/
For now, here’s the excerpt that struck me:
“Todd Jagger: One of our personal big influences was a band around Austin in the ‘70s and ‘80s called Uncle Walt’s Band. Do you know those guys?
Calvin Powers: No, I don’t. Tell us about them.
Todd Jagger: Go find them. Two of them aren’t with us anymore. They both passed tragically. David Ball who’s kind of making the circuit in the country store now is the third member. Uncle Walt’s was an acoustic trio; two guitars and David Ball on the upright bass. Champ Hood playing guitar and Walter Hyatt playing the other guitar.
JR Harrell: I believe they were all up from your area. They were up from North Carolina, South Carolina area.
Todd Jagger: Yep, they were. They were from –
JR Harrell: – Greensboro.
Todd Jagger: Something like that.
JR Harrell: Greensboro, wasn’t it?
Todd Jagger: yeah, Greensboro, I believe it was.
Calvin Powers: Now I’m gonna be on a mission to look them up. Thanks for the pointer.
JR Harrell: They were incredible and such performers.
Todd Jagger: You are gonna love them. Getting back to the whole point of that was that they had a thing, of course this was all before pick ups on your acoustic guitar, anything like that so they worked with all mics. When the crowds got a little loud in the places, they would just turn their PA down a little bit. They really forced people to listen to them, which I thought was always very interesting and a neat way of doing it. You can do that in a bar if you’ve got the huevos to turn your PA down when the crowd gets hot, gets loud.
JR Harrell: Now everybody plugs in, of course. To play an acoustic music but they have to plug in, what’s wrong with that picture?”
The Border Blasters have a new album out, The Sun Session that I’ll get to listening to later tonight, but I think I’ve already listened to their 2008 album, Blast From the Past about 3 times today.
At once, you can hear that Uncle Walt’s influence and it’s absolutely gorgeous.
It’s available to stream and free to download so treat your ears right and give it a listen…
