Search Our Site:
 

TOC
o It's A Cracker!!
o New Releases
o Leon Russell Alert
o Back In Stock
o New Digital Releases
o New LPs
o What's Happening Around The MoM Office

    New Releases -01.22.08
Site Updated on 01.18.08
Send A Site Link
Pages to Browse:
[ Home 2 |Crackers|DVD||Coming Soon| This Week's releases]
Visit: The MoM Blog
 
 

It's A Cracker!


IT'S A CRACKER !
THE BEST OF THE BANDS YOU'VE NEVER HEARD! The "It's A Cracker" concept is designed to encourage you to take musical chances. We think all music should be returnable if you don't like it but most of our suppliers don't agree with our opinion. So, we make available what we can hoping you will consider trying music you are unsure of. The digital purchases, are not guaranteed.

 

IT'S A CRACKER!
DELANEY BRAMLETT

A New Kind OF Blues
Delaney Bramlett suffers a little from the "Chris Hillman" syndrome. Throughout his 40 year career he has worked with many of the top legends. They went on to make history. He has gone on to quietly become one of music's important footnotes. This 2008 release showcases Bramlett's blues chops. It is greasy, groovy, funky and steeped in the traditions of the form. His voice is soulful and rich as fills every track with raw emotion without overpowering the backing musicians. Bramett was there when the white boys discovered the blues and it changed the history of rock n roll. The album title suggests this is "A New Kind of Blues. It isn't. It is a reaffirmation that Bramlett is one of the masters of the style. -- Jeff Weiss, Miles of Music (Magnolia Gold Records)
REVIEW + SOUND CLIPS
CD $14.99

 

IT'S A CRACKER!
CARTRIDGE FAMILY

Shine Like A Bottle
The Cartridge Family's Shine Like a Bottle takes you back to a time when hyphens had not yet been invented, an era when a description as straightforward as "rock and roll" would suffice. Here's what you don't get with Shine Like a Bottle: A whole lot of frills. Here's what you do get: Guitars that could never be accused of being shy. Sneaky hooks. Keyboards with the same personality as the guitars. Echoes of the Faces and Blonde on Blonde and rock bands that like country music but don't feel like they have to prove it and a dozen other things that represent what's always been good in the music world. (Doublenaught)
MORE INFO + SOUND CLIPS
CD $13.49

 

IT'S A CRACKER!
JASON QUICKSALL

My Wiser Side
The roots of Jason Quicksall's demons are not evident. Based on his songs and the CD title he is trying to evolve. His smoky vocals and clear phrasing evoke the calm confessional of early Jackson Browne or Steve Forbert. His willingness to step out of the confines of folk-rock gives the album flavor and texture while maintaining solid song structure. The Columbus native's second release shares melancholy and optimism. The production choice of putting his vocals way up front gives the intimate feeling that Quicksall is sitting right in front of you, telling tales of how he is trying to do better. He's wiser but prone to the same temptations, something everyone can relate to. -- Jeff Weiss, Miles of Music (Bright Orange Records)

MORE INFO + SOUND CLIPS
CD $8.99

 

New Releases

 

DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS
Brighter Than Creation's Dark
Brighter Than Creation's Dark from Drive-By Truckers is a 19-song 75+ minute southern gothic rock n' roll masterpiece. Featuring songs from Patterson, Cooley and Shonna. The album also features contributions from Legendary Muscle Shoals keyboardist Spooner Oldham. (New West Records)
MORE INFO
CD $16.99

 

 

JASON RINGENBERG
Best Tracks and Side Tracks 1979-2007
Since his emergence in Nashville in 1981 with the Scorchers, Jason Ringenberg has blazed a trail through country music with punk attitude and the heart of a dusty road poet. With The Scorchers, Ringenberg set the high water mark for country rock performers, laying waste to gritty bar rooms and fancy stages from Nashville to L.A. A key patriarch of both the alt-country and Americana explosions of the 1990s, Jason is roots music royalty and his creative lineage is detailed here on the two-disc collection Best Tracks and Side Tracks 1979-2007. The set includes tracks from all phases of Ringenberg's storied solo career - new versions of Scorchers classics, re-mastered original solo material, rarities and new unreleased tracks. Re-worked Scorchers classic, "Shop It Around" starts out the Best Tracks disc and "Help There's a Fire" from Side Tracks represents Jason's pre-Scorchers band Shakespeare's Riot, making this the definitive Jason Ringenberg compendium. The set even includes material from Ringenberg's children's music persona, Farmer Jason. Built for hardcore fans and country music historians alike, Best Tracks and Side Tracks 1979-2007 sums up the career of one of roots music's most influential artists. Track Listing: Disc One Best Tracks: Shop It Around (new lyrics and recording)/The Life Of The Party (new recording)/Bible And A Gun (with Steve Earle)/Camille (with Swan Dive)/Punk Rock Skunk (rawk remix)/One Less Heartache (with The Wildhearts)/She Hung The Moon Until It Died/Rainbow Stew/For Addie Rose/Born To Run/The Price Of Progress/Prosperity Train/A Pocketful Of Soul/Eddie Rode The Orphan Train/Link Wray/Tuskegee Pride/Half The Man/Chief Joseph's Last Dream/Broken Whiskey Glass (new recording with The Woodbox Gang)/The Last Train To Memphis. Disc Two Side Tracks: Lovely Christmas! (with Kristi Rose)/Moose On The Loose (with exended Webb Wilder outro)/The Sailor's Eyes/Cappuccino Rosie (live country version with Arty Hill)/Moms 70th Birthday Song/Help There's A Fire (Shakespeare's Riot version)/Buckminster Fuller We Need You Now/Who's Gonna Feed Them Hogs/Paradise (with R.B. Morris, Tom Roznowski and Janas Hoyt)/Jimmie Rogers Last Blue Yodel (with The Wildhearts).(Yep Roc)
MORE INFO + SOUND CLIPS
2 CD $16.98

 

NORTH MISSISSIPPI ALLSTARS
Hernando
Hernando also marks the first release since 2005's critically lauded and Grammy-nominated Electric Blue Watermelon. Where EBW was a tribute to the tradition of the Hill Country Blues legacy that has always influenced the band, the brothers Dickinson -- Luther (guitars, vocals) and Cody (drums) -- and bassist Chris Chew, decided to cut the lines from the past with the new record and create their most personal sonic statement to date. To celebrate this newfound unity in independence, they called the record Hernando, which is the name of the town the trio grew up in together. "This is definitely our most focused record of original music that we've done," says Luther. "This records stands alone... we don't draw as much on our Hill Country roots. We're a blues rock band and set out to make a blues rock record." (Songs OF The South)
MORE INFO
CD $15.98

 

CAT POWER
Jukebox (Dlx)
Her second album of covers; this one a tribute to the great vocalists who've influenced her over the years. Guest appearances: Spooner Oldham (Neil Young, Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan), Larry McDonald (Toots & The Maytals, Taj Mahal), Teenie Hodges (Al Green, Memphis Rhythm Band), and Matt Sweeney (Chavez, Will Oldham). "She inhabits other people's songs with a fierce conviction that's sometimes startling" - Mojo. (Matador Records)
MORE INFO
CD $18.98


CAT POWER
- Jukebox
MORE INFO
CD $14.98

 

DRAG THE RIVER
You Can't Live This Way
The 15-cut album was put to tape before the band slowly disintegrated over the course of a few months last year. Although the band officially broke up last summer, Drag the River is saying its final goodbyes to fans with one last album. (Suburban Home)
MORE INFO
CD $10.98

 

 

BARTON CARROLL
The Lost One
The Lost One is a collection of twelve cinematic country songs by Barton Carroll. Since 2002, Barton Carroll has toured and recorded extensively with Crooked Fingers and Eric Bachmann, playing guitar, steel guitar, and upright bass. Carroll has also toured, playing various instruments with Azure Ray, Dolorean, and Micah P. Hinson.
The album title, The Lost One, was stolen from one of the classic films of the Noir canon, a genre that Carroll is hooked on. Like the film, the songs tell stories of souls who, burdened by their past, fear they will not be redeemed. Carroll's sardonic and self effacing wit is evident. Musically, the record is a mixture of the mountain music that Carroll grew up hearing in Western North Carolina, and the sweet, sad, melodic sensibility of Alex Chilton. Carroll has a sincere, durable voice well suited for storytelling and folk songs.The Lost One was produced by Martin Feveyear, who engineered and produced the 2005 Crooked Fingers release, Dignity and Shame. Feveyear is a veteran producer and engineer, having worked with such artists as Mark Lanegan, Damien Jurado, and John Wesley Harding. (Skybucket)
MORE INFO + SOUND CLIPS
CD$ 14.49

 


LIAM FINN
I'll Be Lightning
Welling up from the dark bars and clubs of London's thriving indie music scene, rock n' roll prodigy Liam Finn has bounded onto the international music scene with the force and presence of an artist twice his age. The twenty-three-year-old New Zealand native writes, produces and engineers his own music, adhering to a strict DIY creative process. Finn penned the songs on Lightning during the past two years which have seen him leave his native New Zealand and move to London with his band betchadupa. Now on indefinite hiatus.Liam's new songs are inspired by some ensuing bad fortune including evictions, muggings, thefts and the ending of a long-term relationship. Recorded in his father's (Crowded Houses' Neil Finn) Roundhead studios in Auckland, NZ, I'll Be Lightning was recorded live to analog tape and in keeping with his DIY credo was written, produced and engineered by Finn himself. Finn's melodies feel as if they were snatched from the ether, faintly familiar like the musical stowaways of a dream. His lyrics sit latent, only making their meaning known when you stop trying to interpret them. His innovative future-vintage approach to his craft and his strict hands-on creative philosophy are two reasons he remains an authentic and talented independent artists on today's musical landscape. (Yep Roc)
MORE INFO + SOUND CLIPS
CD $13.49

 

TOWNES VAN ZANDT
Rear View Mirror
“In 1990, Townes Van Zandt was working on a three-CD retrospective for which he was re-recording much of his repertoire. That album never appeared, but in 1993, the tiny Austin-based Sundown label released Rear View Mirror, a 17-track album running nearly 58 minutes and containing newly recorded versions of Van Zandt songs dating back to 1968. Though a cover note claims "unique instrumentation," that seems to consist of only of an occasional second guitar and a fiddle. (Sparse applause indicates the recording had been made in a club.)" - William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide. Includes liner notes by John Conquest. Track Listings: Pancho & Lefty/If I Needed You/For the Sake of the Song/Our Mother the Mountain/To Live Is to Fly/Lungs/Flying Shoes/No Place to Fall/Dollar Bill Blues/White Freight Liner Blues/Tecumseh Valley/Don't You Take It Too Bad/Tower Song/Rex's Blues/Brother Flower/Waiting Around to Die/Colorado Girl. (Fat Possum)
MORE INFO
CD $14.98

 

GUY CLARK
Old No 1
Guy Clark's debut from 1975 is one of the all time classic country singer-songwriter records. By the time of its release the Texas native had been shopping his tunes in Nashville for a few years and the songs from Old No. 1 were already well aged and often covered. Regardless, though Clark considers himself more a songwriter than recording artist, nobody holds a candle to these performances. From the rollicking Texas swing of opener "Rita Ballou" to the finger picked heartbreak of closer "Let Him Roll" there is not a stinker to be found. Features help from Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell and a young Steve Earle. (DBK)
MORE INFO
CD $18.98

 

GUY CLARK
Texas Cookin
Originally released in 1976, Guy Clark's sopohmore effort for RCA is another fine set of country tunes that run the gamut of emotions from goofy and playful to brutally heartbreaking, sometimes within the same song. Featuring a ridiculously talented set of players that includes Emmylou Harris, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Gimble, Chip Young, Jerry Jeff Walker and Rodney Crowell, Texas Cookin' is an Outlaw Country classic. While Willie and Waylon were turning the Outlaw into a marketing campaign, Guy Clark really was doing things differently than the Nashville/Vegas crowd, preferring whiskey and a picking session at his Nashville home to the endless drugs and groupies of the road. (DBK)
MORE INFO
CD $18.98

 

BUCK OWENS & HIS BUCKAROOS
Live In Scandinavia (Live)
Buck Owens' legendary live albums from Carnegie Hall, Japan and London were landmark efforts that captured Buck and the Buckaroos at their peak, but he also recorded other live albums overseas. The most obscure of Buck's live releases was his April 1970 show in Oslo, Norway that featured Don Rich with the Buckaroos, Buck's son Buddy Alan and the Hagers. Fiery and intense, it reflects that unique early '70s period when Buck was experimenting and broadening his sound beyond his old style. With only a couple thousand copies pressed for the Norwegian market, this was Buck's rarest album. Track Listing: Opening Announcement By Gunner Bide/Up On Cripple Creek/Okie From Muskogee/The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down/Buckaroo/Murray Kash Introduces Buddy Alan Owens/Freeborn Man/Big Mama's Medicine Show/Murray Kash Introduces the Hagers/I'm Jesse James/Six Days On the Road/Murray Kash Introduces Buck Owens/Medley: Act Naturally-Together Again/Gunner Bide Wishes Buck Owens Welcome/Medley: Love's Gonna Live Here-Cryin' Time-Sam's Place/Medley: I've Got a Tiger By the Tail/Open Up Your Heart/Orange Blossom Special/Let the World Keep On A-Turnin'/Tall Dark Stranger/Johnny B. Goode. (Sundazed)
MORE INFO
CD $17.98

 

SNEAKY PETE
The Shiloh Records Anthology
Sneaky Pete Kleinow was best known as a mind-altering pedal steel guitarist, and an integral part of the sound of Gram Parsons' original Flying Burrito Bros. Every rock fan worth his salt knows Sneaky as the brilliant steel player zigzagging his way across The Gilded Palace of Sin, the Burritos' stunning 1969 debut, and as the band member on the album cover decked out in an all-black Nudie suit with a golden pterodactyl on the chest, where Superman's red "S" would have been. And that was Sneaky, to a T: super-hero steel guitarist to no less than the Rolling Stones, Booker T. & the MG's, Joni Mitchell, Graham Nash, Doug Sahm, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, Randy Newman, Little Richard, Frank Zappa, Leonard Cohen and John Lennon - among countless others. Here's a brilliant taste of the pedal steel guitar genius of Sneaky Pete Kleinow. Long may he wave. Track Listing:Beat the Heat/Hickory Wind/Sister/Oklahoma Stomp/From Me to You/Sleepy Lagoon/Silverbird/It Makes No Difference/Ain't No Easy Way/Louisiana/Love of the Common People/Cannonball Rag/Fly the Bright Sea/Woman/Sneak Attack/Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)/Sleepwalk/Faded Love: The Flying Burrito Bros. (Sundazed)
MORE INFO
CD $17.98

 

FAIRPORT CONVENTION
Unhalfbricking
Unhalfbricking, originally released in 1969, was a transitional album for Fairport Convention, as vocalist (and American folk-rock enthusiast) Ian Matthews left midway through the recording. As a result the band looked further into their own country's folk traditions for influence, as their decidedly British style was cemented by the addition of Dave Swarbrick's fiddle. This is not to say that Unhalfbricking is a weak album, on the contrary, it is a stone cold classic and includes some of the band's finest material including their take on Dylan's "Percy's Song," the traditional "A Sailor's Life," and one of Sandy Denny's finest compositions in "Who Knows Where The Time Goes?" (Water)
MORE INFO
CD $17.98

 

FAIRPORT CONVENTION
What We Did On Our Holidays
The second Fairport Convention album, originally released in 1969, is the first to feature the beautifully haunting vocals of the legendary Sandy Denny. What We Did On Our Holidays contains some of the Fairport Convention's finest moments, including Denny's own "Fotheringay," Richard Thompson's "Meet Me On The Ledge" and their stunning take on Bob Dylan's "I'll Keep It With Mine." This LP finds the Fairport Convention moving away from the California folk-rock of their debut album towards a more British approach to similar material. It is also the last full LP to feature Ian Matthews on vocals. (Water)
MORE INFO
CD $17.98

 

OWEN TEMPLE
Two Thousand Miles
"His songs, even the rowdy ones, barrel straight through the roadhouse on the way to better, safer places, like the center of a woman's heart. He has a curl of Townes Van Zandt's spoken-word style of singing, which lifts the sincerity and power of his lyrics." -- Andy Moore, No Depression (Thirty Tigers)
MORE INFO
CD $12.98

 

 

FLESHTONES
Take A Good Look
Take a Good Look is a romping revival of happy-go-lucky mayhem. CBGB heyday stalwarts The Fleshtones are the originators of the garage revival still raging in the 21st century. With Take a Good Look, the band has reduced its Super Rock sound down to pure muscle and bone. Fuzzy guitars, vintage organ and cocksure swagger abound as the band re-stakes its claim on early 60s garage. Co-produced by session vet Ivan Julian (The Clash, Richard Hell, Elton John), the album seethes with party anthems and head-bopping mod rhythms. (Yep Roc)
MORE INFO
CD $15.49

 

KENNEDYS
Better Dreams
Better Dream is The Kennedys first CD of all originals in seven years. At the heart of the album is dreams. Inspired by a pair of seminars they conducted on "using dreams to unlock your creativity." "All of these songs have something to do with the dreamtime," where "we have a different kind of freedom there," The Kennedys explain. The Kennedys use their full palette of vocal and instrumental colors to bring their songs to glowing life. Maura's lead vocals range from comforting to yearning, from girlish to womanly, from exuberant to delicate, sometimes bolstered by her own sweet harmonies and those of Pete and several guests. As usual, multi-instrumentalist Pete provides a vibrant tapestry of chiming, jangling and twanging guitars, as well as mandolin, keyboards, bass and drums, interwoven with Maura's sturdy acoustic rhythm guitar, harmonica and glockenspiel. (Appleseed Records)
MORE INFO
CD $16.99

 

SUPER FURRY ANIMALS
Hey Venus (Bonus Cd)
"A collection of twelve autonomous songs ranging in style from country and contemporary rock to orchestral psychedelic pop. A gloriously intricate album jam-packed with the sort of sunny melodies and melancholy arrangements that make every SFA release a symphonic and smart slice of songcraft. The expanded US edition contains an enhanced bonus disc with four b-sides and three videos. "Pure pop excellence" - Harp Magazine. (Rough Trade)
MORE INFO
CD $14.98

 

MATT COSTA
Unfamiliar Faces
"Costa's voice sometimes seems to betray a bit of a Liverpool or Manchester twang, especially audible in the choruses of the title track. In fact there's a distinctly British tinge to the whole album, from the Belle and Sebastian infused ''Vienna'' to the Beatles-esque title track ''Familiar Faces'' and first single ''Mr Pitiful''. To his eternal credit though Costa dodges the wilfully meaningless lyrics of swaggering mop-top mini-me's, Oasis, in favour of beautiful 4-4 descending piano, quirky choruses and a dash of well-applied clapping. ''Heart of Stone'' shows Celtic influences crossed with a good dash of mid-phase REM and the album is rounded out by the good-time harmonica and gee-tar of ''Miss Magnolia'', a great song which, if you met it late at night, you might just think was Mungo Jerry's ''In the Summertime''." --Harry Holgate, bbc.co.uk (Brushfire)
MORE INFO
CD $15.49

 

FEELIES
Crazy Rhythms
Formed in New Jersey in 1977 by high school buddies Bill Million and Glenn Mercer, The Feelies were one of the most highly regarded bands of the New York City post-punk scene. Crazy Rhythms, their debut album, was originally released in 1980, and features a noisy angular sound that's somewhere between Krautrock, the Velvet Underground, and New Wave. Massively influential to bands as wide ranging as R.E.M. and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. A post-punk classic back in print for the first time in years! (Water)
MORE INFO
CD $17.98

 

JACK PENATE
Matinee (Bonus Cd)
This 22-year old South Londoner delivers on many levels with his debut, from upbeat to downbeat and heartfelt to joyous. He writes both infectious and intelligent pop songs. "Those Brits have the busking thing down...and in the fine tradition that has strung from Billy Bragg to KT Tunstall, Jack is a singing, stomping, clapping bloke with a guitar, a batch of tight tunes, and a self-effacing sense of humor" - MTV's John Norris. (XL Recordings)
MORE INFO
CD $14.98

 

RAY BONNEVILLE
Going By Feel
Ray Bonneville's unique musical artistry is a blend of funky visceral grooves framing rich story-songs, anchored by his smoldering blues-drenched guitar and harmonica talents. Acclaimed in Canada (he's won a Juno Award, the Canadian Grammy) his dual-citizenship has enabled him to count too many places as home over the years, having lived in Montreal, Boston, Alaska, New Orleans, Colorado, Seattle, Austin and, most recently rural Arkansas. It's undoubtedly informed Bonneville's unique musical cocktail -- a smooth melding of swamp, blues, country and folk. (Red House)
MORE INFO
CD $16.99

 

DAVE VAN RONK
On Air
An American music legend in a historical 1993 solo performance recorded at Bremen's Packhaus-Theater. The great Dave Van Ronk was more than just a folk singer in his lifetime. An integral part of the Greenwich Village bohemia scene since the early fifties, he was a one-of-a-kind raconteur and an artist who sang and played in the true spirit of vintage jazz. This recording presents the pure essence of Dave Van Ronk, Musician, NYC, USA. A special glimpse into the mind of a man who was very much in touch with music's past. (Traditional & Moderne)
MORE INFO
CD $19.98


ERIC ANDERSEN
Avalanche
Originally released in 1969. Track Listings: It`s Comin` & It Wont Be Long/Old Song/Louise/Think About It/So Hard to Fall/Good to With You/We Were Foolish Like Flowers/ Avalanche/For What Was Gained. (DBK Works)
MORE INFO
CD $17.99


 

ERIC ANDERSEN
Eric Andersen
Originally released in 1969. Track Listings: Don`t Leave Me Here for Dead/It Wasn`t a Lie/Sign of a Desperate Man/I Will Wait/What Is It Like to Be Free/She Touched Me/Lie With Me/I Was the Rebel (She Was the Cause)/Secrets/Go Now, Deborah. (DBK Works)
MORE INFO
CD $17.99


 

STEVE POLTZ
Traveling
Steve Poltz is the only songwriter in the world with the range to have written tunes with Jewel ("You Were Meant for Me" ...the longest charting song in Billboard history), Glen Tillbrook ("Hot Shaved Asian Teens"), and Mojo Nixon ("UPS My Heart"). Poltz, who pioneered punk-folk music as the front man for The Rugburns, is a unique and gifted singer/songwriter with a colorful past whose live performances are mesmerizing and whose recorded material has been consistently critically acclaimed. (Thirty Tigers)
MORE INFO
CD $12.98


PATTY LARKIN
Watch The Sky
Patty Larkin has been redefining the boundaries of folk-urban pop music for more than 20 years with her inventive guitar wizardry, vocals and uncompromising lyrics. With Watch The Sky, Parry Larkin has created a one-of-a-kind release that she wrote, produced, engineered, edited and performed, including all instruments and vocals on each song. (Vanguard)
MORE INFO
CD $15.98

 

 

BUZZCOCKS
30
The album was recorded live at the Forum, London during their 30th anniversary tour in 2006. Track Listing: You Tear Me Up/Friends/Operator's Manual/Isolation/Running Free/Reconciliation/What Ever Happened To?/I Don't Mind/You Say You Don't Love Me/Moving Away From The Pulse Beat/Strange Thing/Love You More/Soul On A Rock. (Cooking Vinyl)
MORE INFO
CD $15.98

 

 

GUY DAVIS
On Air
Bluesman Guy Davis & The High Flying' Rockets (Nerak Roth Patterson, electric guitar; Mark Murphy, bass) in a spirited and inspired performance from July 2003. Recorded on a hot summer-night at Radio Bremen concert hall, this is New Acoustic Blues at its very best. As one of the most prolific and popular practitioners of the genre, Guy Davis infuses classic repertoire with contemporary spirit and a lot of soul - from Robert Johnson to Bob Dylan. (Traditional & Moderne)
MORE INFO
CD $19.98



Leon Russell Alert

LEON RUSSELL
Almost Piano
Ten beautiful piano instrumentals from Leon Russell. Track Listing:Ixtland/Piano Polka/Friendly Fire/Whitewater Blues/Harpo's Dream/Kiss My Eyes/A Girl I Once Knew/Blind Lemon Cream/Big Easy/Reba Lights (Leon Russell Records)
MORE INFO
CD $13.98

 

 

LEON RUSSELL
Bad Country
Eleven original songs from Leon Russell. Track Listing:A Little Bit Of Your Love/Honkytonk Dream/Oklahoma Girl/California Dreams/Hungry Eyes/Real Love/Rio Grande/Sweet Magic Love/Tennessee Hayride/Come Lay With Me, Bad Country. (Leon Russell Records)
MORE INFO
CD $13.98

 

 

LEON RUSSELL
In Your Dreams
Twelve original songs from Leon Russell. Track Listing: I Love The Way You Love Me/Oklahoma Boogie/Lover's Hideaway/Big Lips/End Of A Love Affair/Love Can Hurt You So/I Wanna Make Love To You/Down In Louisiana/Perfect Love/A Little Thing Called Love/Last Dance/Down In Dixieland. (Leon Russell Records)
MORE INFO
CD $14.98

 


Back In Stock

IT'S A CRACKER!
HAYMAKER

Beyond The Break
Haymaker's previous release was Music From Ed`s House, recorded at the band`s drummer's home. Illness forced drummer Ed Heavener to leave the band while they were in preparation for this album, the band`s second. Heavener`s illness and subsequent death provides the thematic backbone for Beyond The Break. The band explores life`s unplanned avenues, the travails of getting older, loss, and, importantly, finding a resolve to go forward despite all of the obstacles. Buoyed by a California-esque roots-pop sound, Haymaker layered catchy melodies and chiming, jangly guitars on top of the heartbreak. It is unfortunate that anyone has to go through the pain of losing a friend. Haymaker found a way to channel that loss into a compelling musical cycle. -- Jeff Weiss, Miles of Music (Honey Bucket Records)
REVIEW + SOUND CLIPS
CD $12.99

 

IT'S A CRACKER!
MIC HARRISON

Push Me On Home
Mic Harrison & The Highscore bring the fun back into truck driving country. This album kicks off with the energetic `Mighty Good Wine` and continues down the party highway. Push Me On Home is a departure from his pop-influenced past. The High Score bring a muscular country rock sound that compliment Harrison`s whiskey-soaked voice. Together they`ve created a hard hitting collection of sing-along drinking songs. Turn it up, head out on the highway, roll down the windows and sing it out. That way you can join the fun the band is clearly having. -- Jeff Weiss, Miles of Music (Self-Released)
REVIEW + SOUND CLIPS
CD $12.99

 

IT'S A CRACKER!
THE RIZDALES

Radio Country
Roots music gadfly John Conquest opined in 3rd Coast Music, "This isn`t just hardcore country music, but exceptionally well done hardcore country music." Husband and wife Tom and Tara Dunphy`s harmony style recalls legendary singing duos like George and Tammy. They have distinct harmonies and a special chemistry that makes the sad songs feel a little more painful because you believe they lived it. While heavily influenced by `50s country, they deftly keep the sound contemporary. The Rizdales have paid their dues. Now, lets hope they reap the benefits from this wonderful collection of real country. -- Jeff Weiss, Miles of Music (self-released)
REVIEW + SOUND CLIPS
CD $12.99

 

IT'S A CRACKER!
STEVE ROBINSON

Undercurrent
Is Steve Robinson an Englishman overtly influenced by `60s folk-pop or is he, at his heart a disciple of The Byrds, The Everly Brothers and other harmony-drenched luminaries who happens to be from the UK? Robinson, working out of St. Petersburg, Florida -- a decidedly un-English city -- creates pop gems teeming with mandolin, harmony. touches of English folk, Irish lilt and baroque pop. Robinson straddles his English background and his American musical seasoning creating a collection of gorgeous roots-pop that is apologetically Beatle-esque. -- Jeff Weiss. Miles of Music (Sunshine Drenchy Music)
REVIEW + SOUND CLIPS
CD $12.99


New Digital Releases



PURCHASE AND DOWNLOAD IMMEDIATELY

(Or, load iTunes on your computer, click through on these links and listen to the many song samples and then buy the CDs)

 

EELS - Useless Trinkets-B Sides, Soundtracks, Rarieties and Unreleased 1996-2006

ITunes: Eels - Useless Trinkets-B Sides, Soundtracks, Rarieties and Unreleased 1996-2006

 

 

MALCOLM HOLCOMB - Gamblin' House

iTunes: Malcolm Holcombe - Gamblin' House
Amazon: Malcolm Holcombe - Gamblin' House

 

 

ERIC LINDELL - Low On Cash, Rich In Love

iTunes: Eric Lindell - Low On Cash, Rich In Love
Amazon (MP3): Eric Lindell - Low On Cash, Rich In Love

 

 

TYLER RAMSEY - A Long Dream About Swimming Across The Ocean

iTunes: Tyler Ramsey - A Long Dream About Swimming Across the Sea
Amazon: Tyler Raqmsey - A Long Dream About Swimming Across The Sea

 

 

TIFT MERRITT - Broken (Single)

ITunes: Tift Merritt - Broken - Single
Amazon (MP3): Tift Merritt - Broken

 

 

CHUCK E. WEISS - The Other Side of Town

iTunes: Chuck E. Weiss - The Other Side of Town

Amazon: Chuck E. Weiss - The Other Side Of Town


New LPs


CAT POWER

Jukebox LP
Her second album of covers; this one a tribute to the great vocalists who've influenced her over the years. The Delux LP comes with a silver-foil gatefold cover with a bonus disc of extra tracks. Backed by Dirty Delta Blues (Judah Bauer, Gregg Foreman, Jim White, Erik Papparazzi). Guest appearances: Spooner Oldham (Neil Young, Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan), Larry McDonald (Toots & The Maytals, Taj Mahal), Teenie Hodges (Al Green, Memphis Rhythm Band), and Matt Sweeney (Chavez, Will Oldham). "She inhabits other people's songs with a fierce conviction that's sometimes startling" - Mojo. (Matador Records)
MORE INFO
LP $29.98

 

MATT COSTA
Unfamiliar Faces LP
"Costa's voice sometimes seems to betray a bit of a Liverpool or Manchester twang, especially audible in the choruses of the title track. In fact there's a distinctly British tinge to the whole album, from the Belle and Sebastian infused ''Vienna'' to the Beatles-esque title track ''Familiar Faces'' and first single ''Mr Pitiful''. To his eternal credit though Costa dodges the wilfully meaningless lyrics of swaggering mop-top mini-me's, Oasis, in favour of beautiful 4-4 descending piano, quirky choruses and a dash of well-applied clapping. ''Heart of Stone'' shows Celtic influences crossed with a good dash of mid-phase REM and the album is rounded out by the good-time harmonica and gee-tar of ''Miss Magnolia'', a great song which, if you met it late at night, you might just think was Mungo Jerry's ''In the Summertime''." --Harry Holgate, bbc.co.uk (Brushfire)
MORE INFO
LP $15.98

 

FLESHTONES
Take A Good Look LP
Take a Good Look is a romping revival of happy-go-lucky mayhem. CBGB heyday stalwarts The Fleshtones are the originators of the garage revival still raging in the 21st century. With Take a Good Look, the band has reduced its Super Rock sound down to pure muscle and bone. Fuzzy guitars, vintage organ and cocksure swagger abound as the band re-stakes its claim on early 60s garage. Co-produced by session vet Ivan Julian (The Clash, Richard Hell, Elton John), the album seethes with party anthems and head-bopping mod rhythms. (Yep Roc)
MORE INFO
LP $16.98

 


LIAM FINN
I'll Be Lightning
Welling up from the dark bars and clubs of London's thriving indie music scene, rock n' roll prodigy Liam Finn has bounded onto the international music scene with the force and presence of an artist twice his age. The twenty-three-year-old New Zealand native writes, produces and engineers his own music, adhering to a strict DIY creative process. Finn penned the songs on Lightning during the past two years which have seen him leave his native New Zealand and move to London with his band betchadupa. Now on indefinite hiatus. Liam's new songs are inspired by some ensuing bad fortune including evictions, muggings, thefts and the ending of a long-term relationship. Recorded in his father's (Crowded Houses' Neil Finn) Roundhead studios in Auckland, NZ, I'll Be Lightning was recorded live to analog tape and in keeping with his DIY credo was written, produced and engineered by Finn himself. Finn's melodies feel as if they were snatched from the ether, faintly familiar like the musical stowaways of a dream. His lyrics sit latent, only making their meaning known when you stop trying to interpret them. His innovative future-vintage approach to his craft and his strict hands-on creative philosophy are two reasons he remains an authentic and talented independent artists on today's musical landscape. (Yep Roc)
MORE INFO + SOUND CLIPS
CD $22.98

 

WANDA JACKSON
Live At Town Hall Party 1958 (10 Ep)
Just turned 21 and beautiful beyond words, Wanda Jackson ripped through a red-hot, live Town Hall Party rockabilly session in 1958 that helped define the parameters of this raw, young music. Discovered singing on an Oklahoma radio station only two years earlier by honky-tonk recording star Hank Thompson and encouraged to cut loose musically by genre superstar/touring partner (and onetime boyfriend) Elvis Presley, Jackson was a perfect fit for Town Hall Party, the Los Angeles-based TV show that had already welcomed sets by rockin' luminaries Gene Vincent, Carl Perkins and Eddie Cochran. Backed by old friend and "King of the Strings" guitarist Joe Maphis, Jackson was in her element for the Town Hall Party session, tearing into "Mean, Mean Man," a career-defining tune she'd recorded only a few months earlier. Highlights of Jackson's set also include "Rock Your Baby," her current Capitol Records single, and "Alone (With You)," a Faron Young chart-topper, as well as her show-stopping finale, Jackson roaring through "Hard Headed Woman," a scorcher from Elvis' current movie, King Creole. Jackson would soon become a substantial force on the country music charts, specializing in aching, honky tonk ballads for the rest of her career. Still touring today to rabid fan reaction, Jackson has never forgotten her red-hot rockabilly roots. And no live session ever caught Wanda Jackson as wild and rocking as she was on Town Hall Party in 1958, now available on Sundazed's high-definition, ten-inch vinyl.(Sundazed)
MORE INFO
LP $9.98

 

DAMIEN JURADO
Four Songs LP
Damien Jurado's Four Songs was the first installment in the Burnt Toast Vinyl one-sided LP series, initially released in early winter 2001. The four songs on this one-sided LP were recorded at home while Damien was working with his band Gathered in Song on I Break Chairs. The four songs were darker and simpler than material on that rock oriented full-length, but included the same band members: Josh Golden (ex-Pedro the Lion), Eric Fisher (now a mainstay in Jurado's band), and Andy Myers. These songs remain fan favorites and the live show will often feature one or two of the somber murder ballads, with those not in the know wondering what album they come from.Track LIstings: The Killer/Flowers In The Yard/How I Broke My Legs/Spitting Teeth. (Burnt Toast)
MORE INFO
LP $10.98

 

What's Happening Around the MOM Offices


This week you will read about amazing race update, feeling musically old and a government appointment


THE FULKS KID and his grandpa are still in the Amazing Race. The race is down to the final three teams. Your Jester suspects Fulks must be one of the nicest people ever because his attempts to talk trash about his competition came off as if Opie Cunningham was calling out Barney Fife. The annoying couple from Southern California -- she is a cheerleader, he is a volleyball coach, they spent to entire race fighting with each other -- were eliminated without much tears. Unlike previous years, all three of the final teams are really likable. No matter who wins it has been a good race.


EARLIER THIS WEEK WE RECEIVED A PACKAGE OF promos. Included in the bag were recent releases from John Fogerty, Joni Mitchell and James Taylor. Uh, when did Your Jester become his parents?


Talk about feeling out of touch with the kids. As much as I remember being a teenager, and not so fondly at that, the world's issues seemed conquerable, or, at a minimum, inconsequential. The was an unrecognized comfort in that naivete. Fogerty, Mitchell, and Taylor still have something to say. Somehow for me, though, their messages carry less weight than if, say Coner Oberst of Bright Eyes wrote the songs. I admit I'm an ageist when it comes to rock music.


It has always been the music of youth. My favorites are now having grandchildren. I want to dismiss Fogerty, Taylor, and Mitchell as the cultural property of another generation yet they continue to resonate with me.


There exists a constant struggle, especially with music, to retain some connection with the interesting, the cutting edge, the acclaimed. Film and television do not maintain that grip. As a young man I went out of my way to experience foreign and independent film. Now, I just want stuff to blow up. Television was about the critically acclaimed (and quickly cancelled) shows or PBS. Now, it is cooking shows and stuff that blows up.


Music, though, retains that grip. Should Bright Eyes, The Shins, or Arcade Fire are still around in 20 years... and if I am still around... I suppose I'll still feel warmly about them but I'll know I'm listening to my nephew's music.

 

NEVER TRUST ANYONE OVER 30. Especially if they work for the government. Especially if they are a volunteer Tree Commissioner. DJ Jeff has been appointed to one of the Tree Commissioner positions in Sierra Madre, California. Save the Eucalyptus. Save the Oak. Unless, of course, it is breaching sidewalk. Then tear down that Oak.


The appointment comes with responsibility. Probably graft, as well. Will the locals try to pry him with home baked pies or freshly picked fruit to get a favorable ruling? Will he have the power to give and take arboreal life? Will the locals bend to his will as he accumulates power? Will the local superhero be called upon to reign him in after the inevitable insanity sets in? Will the city council give him a gavel?


We will keep an eye on these issues as time develops.


Until next week,

The Queen, Your Jester, and The Mangler


 

Alt Country | Americana Music | Bluegrass Music | Country Bluegrass | Folk Music
Folk Rock | Roots Rock | Singer Songwriter | Sitemap