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Southern California native Jaimi Shuey might have grown up in the big city. But,
she's a country girl at heart. Her debut release, largely a country effort with
some blues and jazz mixed in, spins stories of independence, wonder, worry, and
loss. Shuey's voice has a weariness and the occasional "little girl"
sound giving `Wrong Girl` both an innocence and a weathered feeling. Shuey is
joined by Don Heffington, John McDuffie, Mike Baker, Kip Boardman and Danny McGough.
Charlie McGovern provided a clear production that highlights Shuey's best asset:
her voice and stories. -- Jeff Weiss, Miles of Music (Boronda Records)
Ten grisly tales based on historical deaths. Bob Frank and John Murry, who co-penned
the tracks, have weaved together a haunting folk-country collection of murder
ballads. The tales are not for the faint. The details are grim. The stories are
compelling like a Matthew Brady photograph. Glimpses into the lives of the dead.
If a collection of music could be consider a page-turner, this might be it. --
Jeff Weiss, Miles of Music (Bow String) 
Recorded
in singer/guitarist James Mercer's basement studio, Phil Ek's Seattle digs, and
in Oregon City with veteran engineer Joe Chiccarelli (Beck, U2), Wincing the Night
Away is The Shins' third full-length album. It's also the sound of a band growing
up and out. Mercer's infectious, indelible melodic style is still at the core,
and unfaltering. But anything can happen around it-and in this case, it does.
While the vocals channel the spirit of Morrissey, "Sea Legs" pairs a
loping hip-hop beat with lush melody and searing guitars. Elsewhere the band toys
with tweaked-out, liquid piano steeped in kaleidoscopic strings ("Red Rabbit");
fractured synth samples ("Spilt Needles"); gauzy, arpeggiated keyboards
cloaking thunderous anthems ("Sleeping Lessons"); and, taking cues from
early Jesus and Mary Chain albums, sweeping, fuzz-toned epics ("Phantom Limb").
Finally, "Turn on Me," "Girl Sailor" and "Australia"
are the lilting, thrilling, rollicking, rock-solid pop songs we've all come to
covet from The Shins. Consider yourself surprised. (Sub Pop) 
Inara
George and Greg Kurstin, alias the bird and the bee, are an army of two. They
listen to everything, and answer to no one. Over the course of 3 years, they whiled
away scattered afternoons in Greg's home studio in Echo Park, sequestered in a
little world of their own making, creating sunshine-drenched, semi-psychedelic
ditties. (Blue Note Records) 
"The
latest release from this Grand Forks, ND native is a deeply moving concept album
about the 1997 flood that devastated the town, combining intimate production with
Brosseaus high, tremulous vocals and poignant songwriting influenced by both traditional
folk and Tin Pan Alley pop." -- Don Yates, KEXP Music Director (Loveless
Records)
The
album features an all-star cast: keyboardists Sean Slade (producer for The Dresden
Dolls, Uncle Tupelo, Radiohead) and Jim Dickinson (Stones, Dylan, John Hiatt,
Ry Cooder), bassist Dusty Wakeman (Dwight Yoakum, Lucinda Williams), drummer Winston
Watson (Dylan, Giant Sand), and Wavelab's Craig Schumacher (Calexico, Neko Case,
Iron & Wine), who produced and engineered the album. Furtado makes an exponential
leap into the wide open spaces of mythopoetic America, a terrain inhabited by
such personal heroes as Cooder, The Band, Creedence, Petty, and Waits. (Funzalo
Records) 
Intimacy
and honesty are what draw people to Cynthia G. Mason. The Philadelphia-based singer/songwriter
has the rare ability to bring listeners inside her emotions. For nearly 10 years,
Mason has earned acclaim and fans through a series of self-released recordings.
On Quitter's Claim, Mason makes her songs widely available for the first time.
Mason's voice is best compared to Suzanne Vega and Chan Marshall of Cat Power,
but her voice is more than just her vocal intonations. She also has a distinct
voice as a writer, crafting elegant, engaging ballads of regret, guilt, and longing.
Depending on your frame of reference, Quitter's Claim marks either a departure
or return to form for Mason. After experimenting with a backing band and elaborate
production for her self-titled, self-released 2001 recording, Quitter's Claim
brings her back to her roots with a stripped-down, raw production style that presents
her songs with utmost immediacy.(High Two)
Their
debut full length is a power-pop gem, shimmering and cool, with sharp edges and
soaring melodies. The record deals with eternal themes of isolation, distance,
and the longing for a center - a sense of place - in this topsy-turvy world. The
Kinks, Big Star, and The Byrds, as well as more contemporary favorites like Spoon,
Wilco, and Teenage Fanclub are certainly touchstones, but The Broken West's winning
songs stand on their own. (Merge Records) 
Like
many modern day songwriters, Pettersen draws on a variety of influences. The New
Punk Blues favors his folk side, but the title offers the first clue that this
is not your traditional acoustic folk record. Tracks with sparse acoustic arrangements
highlighting Pettersen's lyrics mingle with electric numbers featuring his all-star
band including: Reggie Young (Memphis and Muscle Shoals guitarist who played on
hits like "Cry Like a Baby" and "Suspicious Minds"), Bob Babbitt
(bassist on "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" and "Midnight Train to
Georgia"); Ed Greene (drummer for Marvin Gaye at 19, later heard on Glen
Campbell and Barry White hits); Catherine Marx (keyboardist for Merle Haggard,
BR549, Charley Pride, among others); Thad Cockrell (Yep Roc artist and member
of duo with Caitlin Cary); Al Perkins (pedal steel man with the Flying Burrito
Brothers, Byrds and Rolling Stones); David Hungate (Toto); Pete Abbott (Average
White Band) and Leif Johansen (a-ha!). (Split Rock)
Made
in Mexico Records originally released Damien Jurado`s Gathered in Song EP on March
23, 1999. Minimal copies were pressed, and as a result this EP has become the
most sought-after recording of Jurado’s career. Recorded live to a two-track
tape machine in a room full of friends, the performance is raw, revealing, stark,
and intimate. The reviews for this release were outstanding, and most critics
favored it over his debut and even releases that came after. It is with great
pleasure that we, the new Made in Mexico Records, re-release this EP along with
demos that were recorded for 1999`s Rehearsals for Departure (Sub Pop) and 2003`s
Where Shall You Take Me? (Secretly Canadian). These previously unreleased demos
capture what Jurado considers to be his `most challenging and frustrating time
as a musician.` Track Listing: Chevrolet/Simple Hello/Happy Birthday John/East
Virginia/To Those Who Will Burn/Tragedy (Demo Version)/Happy Birthday John (Demo
Version)/Matinee (Demo Version)/Saturday (Demo Version)/As You Wish (Previously
Unreleased). (Made In Mexico)
Acoustic
music legends Peter Rowan and Tony Rice continue their fruitful collaboration
with Quartet, which finds the pair joined by bassist/vocalist Bryn Davies and
mandolinist/vocalist Sharon Gilchrist. Recorded after extensive touring, Quartet
introduces a dynamic and cohesive band grounded in traditional bluegrass, yet
capable of spinning out extended improvisational journeys. The band's repertoire
is equally intriguing, ranging from songs by Townes Van Zandt and Patti Smith
to bluegrass standards, traditional ballads ("Cold Rain and Snow"),
and classic Rowan originals ("Dust Bowl Children" and a stunningly reinvented
"Moonlight Midnight").(Rounder) 
This
is the third Freedom Records studio CD from this Austin, Texas bar band supergroup
The Resentments. Group members are Stephen Bruton, Jon Dee Graham, Scrappy Jud
Newcomb, Bruce Hughes and John Chipman.(Freedom) 
You
Am I are bonafide stars in their native Australia where, since 1992, the band
has set a record for three consecutive straight-in-at-No. 1 albums, bagged seven
ARIAS, picked up some heavyweight admirers/touring partners (Oasis, Soundgarden,
Sonic Youth), and been asked to gig with the likes of The Who and The Rolling
Stones. Their newest album, Convicts -- the first on US label Yep Roc Records
-- is proof why they're stars Down Under. From the feedback-strewn opening punch
of "Thank God I've Hit the Bottom" to the immediacy of insta-hits like
"Friends Like You" and "It Ain't Funny How We Don't Talk Any More,"
Convicts is a lean rock'n'roll machine that has You Am I poised to make an even
larger impression than ever overseas. (Yep Roc)
It's
a precious few artists who reinvent themselves at the age of 64, but blues luminary
John Hammond proves himself the ultimate untraditional traditionalist as the dozen
stellar songs on Push Comes to Shove illustrate. Push Comes to Shove marks an
increased output in Hammond's original compositions- he penned five of the CD's
12 songs- and there's a bold collaboration with the album's producer, G.Love (the
innovative and soulful Philly singer/guitarist and longtime Hammond fanatic),
in the hip-hop-tinged blues of "Tore Down", as well as a handful of
personalized renderings of traditional blues numbers, a musical modus operandi
that has earned Hammond multiple Grammy nominations since his 1962 self-titled
debut.(Back Porch)
Cake
Or Death - a reference to Hazelwood's comic hero Eddie Izzard - is the title of
what Hazelwood has declared will be his swan song, one last album that he wishes
to bequeath to the world before he returns to the shadows out of which he was
dragged in the '90s, following his rediscovery by an extraordinary range of contemporary
artists such as Beck, Pulp, Sonic Youth and Nick Cave. Full of Hazelwood's trademark
drama, sentiment, lyrical trickery, subtle politics, ribald roguery, dry wit and
unforgettable melodies it's a fabulous curtain call that, with its final song
T.O.M. (The Old Man), will not leave a dry eye in the house. (Ever Records)
One
of the most important and greatest loves in Julie`s life is that towards her family.
The first half of Woke Myself Up details the joy and awe that her family has given
her. Immediately, one knows that her unabashed and unaffected lyrics are coming
from a woman truly moved. The second half sees Julie making mistakes, blowing
second chances, and coming to terms with the sad truth that one cannot live up
to expectations set by herself or those she loves. The harrowing untitled final
track (recorded and added to the album at the eleventh hour by Doiron) may very
well be the most affecting of Doiron`s performances ever committed to tape. Also
important to the recording of this album was a reunion of sorts with her musical
family. Founding Eric`s Trip bandmate Rick White produced and played on the entire
album, and a handful of the songs contain the entire original Eric’s Trip
band nucleus that took the Canadian indie underground by storm 15 years ago.Working
with an old friend and collaborator like White was key to this album’s intensely
vulnerable and emotionally raw tone. (Jagjaguwar)
"Remember
when Of Montreal was a bedroom psych project? Despite recent reissues of that
early material, it's hard to believe it's the same band, especially since this
one just released a remix album. While old fans are rubbing their eyes in disbelief,
the countless new ones are too busy dancing to the airy disco-pop Kevin Barnes
has perfected over the past few records. Hissing Fauna is the lightest yet, sounding
like bargain-bin Prince or New Order, but Barnes' lyrics are darker and more volatile
than ever before...It's all grossly catchy, though, and as fun on the surface
as it is evil underneath." --Doug Wallen, Harp Magazine. (Polyvinyl Records)
"The
Chicago-based singer summons The Kinks' trick of combining lilting vocals with
punishing guitars" - Performing Songwriter Magazine. "A driving, Oasis
appeal with a penchant for Beatles melodic ethic" - American Songwriter Magazine.
"A voice that conjures up an instant intimacy with incredible pop sensibilities"
- eMusic.com. (Dualtone)
Kilgour's
first band, The Clean, changed the face of rock music when they kick-started New
Zealand's pop underground in the early 80's. More than 25 years later, Kilgour
still loves music but loves life more, which is why he's still making records
that are monuments to good old-fashioned song craft. The Far Now is his third
album for Merge. It takes some cues from its predecessors, the shimmering, trippy
A Feather In The Engine, which was mostly recorded in a wooden shed behind David's
house, and the lush, soul-tinged Frozen Orange, which was mostly recorded in Nashville
with members of Lambchop, without sounding quite like either of them. It's certainly
not the record that Kilgour set out to make. (Merge)
Kristin
Hersh's prolific career spans twenty years, from founding pioneering post-punk
art-rockers Throwing Muses (at age fourteen!) through more than ten Throwing Muses
records, eight solo releases, and three releases with her harder-than-ever punk
rock outfit 50FootWave. Learn to Sing Like a Star, her most recent solo outing
(and first on Yep Roc Records), might finally be the rock record Hersh has hinted
at for years - an intense, openly emotional and beautiful statement. Produced
by Kristin and mixed in Nashville by two time Grammy winner Trina Shoemaker. (Yep
Roc)
Rob
Crow is the frontman for the relatively well-known group Pinback. When he's not
touring with, or making albums for one of his many collaborations (including the
aforementioned Pinback, The Ladies, Optiganally Yours, Other Men, Alpha Males,
etc.), he makes solo records. His latest album, Living Well, is his most focused
and heartfelt album yet. Not only is Living Well Crow`s finest solo album by a
country mile, it also transcends many of Pinback`s most canonic moments. It has
the hooks and heart that he is famous for, with a refined focus that flies in
the face of Crow's many stylistically erratic projects. (Temporary Residence Ltd.)
Featuring
Damon Albarn (Blur/Gorillaz), Paul Simonon (The Clash), Tony Allen (Africa 70/Fela
Kuti) and Simon Tong (The Verve). The Good, The Bad and The Queen began life in
the Aphrodisia Studios in Nigeria in 2004 and traces a journey from the English
music hall tradition, over to West Africa for Afrobeat, zigzagging through the
West Indies and its reggae and dub, back to England and London's punk scene, all
the while taking in a strand of British beat music from the '50s right through
to Britpop. Produced by Danger Mouse. (Virgin)
Though
short lived (from 1969-1975 they were arguably one of the greatest band on the
planet), the Rod Stewart, Ian McLagan, Ron Wood, Ronnie Lane, and Kenney Jones
Faces unfurled such immortal rockers as "Stay With Me," "(I know)
I'm Losing You," "Wicked Messenger," and "Had Me A Real Good
Time," all included on this essential two-disc collection.Track Listings:
Wicked Messenger/Shake, Shudder/Around The Plynth/Flying Pineapple And The Monkey/Three
Button Hand Me Down/Bad 'N' Ruin Sweet Lady Mary/Had Me A Real Good Time/(I Know)
I'm Losing You - Rod Stewart & Faces/Maybe I'm Amazed/Miss Judy's Farm/You're
So Rude/Love Lives Here/Last Orders Please/Stay With Me/Debris/Memphis, Tennessee/Too
Bad/Silicone Grown/Cindy Incidentally/My Fault/Glad And Sorry/Borstal Boys/Just
Another Honky/Ooh La La/Jodie - Rod Stewart & Faces/Pool Hall Richard/You
Can Make Me Dance, Sing Or Anything/Open To Ideas.(Rhino)
Paul
Weller's Hit Parade (Yep Roc), his first ever career spanning collection, chronicles
30 years of milestone work from one of the world's best songwriters. In 23 tracks,
Hit Parade is a comprehensive Weller anthology. Between 1977 and 1982, Weller
released six wildly successful albums with The Jam, who still hold the UK record
for most simultaneous Top 75 singles (including US smash “Town
Called Malice"). After The Jam, Weller formed The Style Council, with whom
he scored 19 consecutive hits on the UK charts and performed at Live Aid. Since
1992, Weller has released eight critically acclaimed studio albums, including
Stanley Road, considered one of the best British rock albums of all time. Finally,
Hit Parade combines work from all three spectacular Paul Weller career stages
into one astonishing package.(Yep Roc)
Paul
Weller's Hit Parade (Yep Roc), his first ever career spanning box set, chronicles
30 years of milestone work from one of the world's best songwriters. Four disks
long and including a 60 page booklet, Hit Parade is a comprehensive Weller collection.
Between 1977 and 1982, Weller released six wildly successful albums with The Jam,
who still hold the UK record for most simultaneous Top 75 singles (including US
smash “Town Called Malice"). After The Jam, Weller formed
The Style Council, with whom he scored 19 consecutive hits on the UK charts and
performed at Live Aid. Since 1992, Weller has released eight critically acclaimed
studio albums, including Stanley Road, considered one of the best British rock
albums of all time. Finally, Hit Parade combines work from all three spectacular
Paul Weller career stages into one astonishing package. Custom hard-bound book.
(Yep Roc)
Track
Listing: Pure And Easy/Sheraton Gibson/Time Is Passing/Street In The City/My Baby
Gives It Away/Misunderstood/A Little Is Enough/Let My Love Open The Door/Rough
Boys/The Sea Refuses No River/Slit Skirts/Mary/Give Blood/Face The Face/A Friend
Is A Friend/I Am Afraid/
Track
Listing: My Baby Gives It Away/Nowhere to Run/Rough Mix/Annie/Keep Me Turning/Catmelody/Misunderstood/April
Fool/Street in the City/Heart to Hang Onto/Till the Rivers All Run Dry/Only You
/Good Question /Silly Little Man (Hip-O Records)
During
John Lennon's separation from Yoko Ono in 1974, he romped around LA with his buddy
Harry Nilsson, getting drunk and getting thrown out of nightclubs. In the midst
of the party, Lennon, Nilsson, Ringo Starr, Keith Moon, and a rag-tag gang of
others headed into the studio with Lennon as producer. The result was "Pussy
Cats", a fascinating and often misunderstood album featuring a mix of classics
and originals rearranged by Nilsson and Lennon to suit the wild mood of those
infamous days. In January 2006, after finishing the final mix for their new record,
"A Hundred Miles Off", The Walkmen decided to recreate "Pussy Cats".
After all, it's the great buddy record of the 70's; a celebration of rock 'n'
roll, good friends, alcohol, and excessive instrumentation that's right up the
Walkmen's alley. So they recruited a team of friends to record and visually document
the sessions. For a limited time, a 20-minute psychedelic documentary on the making
of "Pussy Cats" is included on the CD.(Record Collection)
A
Spectacular Anthology of the Best from the Elektra Records Label as it Evolved
from Folk to Folk-rock Music and Eventually Embracing Electric Rock Based Artists
at the Core of It's Roster. "Forever Changing" was Meticulously Assembled
and Great Care Given to It's Contents. Opening with Pivotal Early Folk Artists
Like Judy Collins, Fred Neil and Phil Ochs, in the Wake of Dylan's Appearance
at Newport in 1965, the Label Became the Home of Electric Music with the Paul
Butterfield Blues Band and Then Key Signings with Love, the Doors and the Extraordinarily
Unique Tim Buckley. Elektra Never Lost Its Folk Roots and as the Decades Changed,
the Label Embraced Singer/Songwriters Like Carly Simon, Harry Chapin and the Sweet
Sounds of Bread. Yet in 1969, Elektra Released Debut Albums by the Stooges, Mc5
and Queen, Groups that have Significantly Impacted Young Musicians to this Day.
The Label Had Evolved with the Times, Showcasing Only the Best and the Brightest
in Modern Musicians.(Rhino) 
Tut
Taylor and Norman Blake are Grammy award winners in the folk/traditional folk
genre and are legends in their own right. This new recording with Blake, Taylor,
and Nancy Black reaches back in time to days when folks gathered at a store around
the only radio in town to tune in to the "Grand Ol' Opry" on Saturday
nights. It was a simpler time, when people didn't have so many distractions and
enjoyed the company of friends and the crackly sound of good music coming from
far away places. "Shacktown Road" is music that stirs the embers of
memories of those who remember it and sets those old tones aflame again for those
too young to have been there. (Dualtone Music Group) 
Recorded
in just one day in Lake Geneva, WI, only a few miles from Martha Berner's hometown.
The emotionally charged title track, a ballad inspired by the loss of loved ones,
was one of the four tracks that brought together an inspired group of talented
musicians for what Berner describes as a magical recording experience. This truly
enjoyable EP closes with an up-tempo tip of the hat to the 60s and the 70s power
pop, and will leave you wanting more.(Machine Records)
Bearing
an immediate resemblance to Marc Bolan and David Bowie, deeper listening rewards
the listener with a much broader musical universe. 
It`s over before you know it and clocks in at just under a half hour. Yet the
7-tracks on The Dutchman`s Gold - the debut mini-LP from LA based popsters The
Brokedown - run through a varied array of evocative pop friendly flavors as to
be a journey in itself. Sharing some of the power-pop smarts of other LA relatives
such as The 88, Matthew Sweet and Jason Falkner, the quartet maintains a seductive
element of a rootsy nature just below the surface. Noticeably, it comes to the
surface when they slow down for the easy country-rock of the pedal-steel kissed
closing tracks "Dignity" and "New Years Day". Both beautiful
and melancholic to its stirring and wistful end. Lifted from the pages of Amplifier
Magazine, "The band manages to funnel early Wilco, Gram Parsons and a little
Replacements swagger for an odd, yet inviting, take on the typical indie pop formula."
(self-released) - Robinson, Miles Of Music 
After
years of admiring each other`s musical masterworks, guitar great J.J. Cale and
Rock and Roll Hall of Famer/Grammy-winner Eric Clapton have teamed up to create
an original album together called The Road to Escondido. The resulting hybrid
sound defies labels, and instead finds influence across the spectrum of blues,
rock, country, and fold. The songs are warm and rich with deep-flowing rhythms
while using an economy of words to express much. 2 LP set, 180 gram-high preformance
vinyl and packaged in a gatefold sleave.(Reprise) 
Highway
Companion, Tom Petty`s third solo album and first in a dozen years, is a timeless
album about the passing of time. A constant companion on the road of rock n` roll,
Petty, says Rolling Stone, is "rock aristocracy". Personnel include:
Tom Petty (vocals, guitar, harmonica, electric piano, keyboards, bass guitar,
drums, background vocals), Jeff Lynne (guitar, autoharp, keyboards, bass guitar,
background vocals), and Mike Campbell (guitar, vibraphone). (Warner Bros.) 2 LP
set, 180 gram-high preformance vinyl and packaged in a gatefold sleave.
In April 1963, a weekly music
program called Hootenanny premiered on ABC television. Broadcasting from various
college campuses, the show featured popular folk-pop artists like Judy Collins,
Trini Lopez, Jimmie Rodgers, and the Chad Mitchell Trio. Hootenanny didn't restrict
itself to folk, though. Country (Johnny Cash, The Carter Family, Eddie Arnold),
bluegrass (Flatt & Scruggs, Doc Watson), jazz (Herbie Mann), gospel (Clara
Ward, Marion Williams) and even comedy (Bill Cosby, Woody Allen) were all represented.
The show was also notable for several appearances of future rock performers early
in their careers: John Phillips, later of The Mamas and the Papas, appeared as
a member of the Journeymen; Carly Simon was one-half of the Simon Sisters; and
Barry McGuire, soon to have a #1 hit with "Eve Of Destruction," appeared
with the New Christy Minstrels. More than 80 performances comprise this 3-DVD
set, creating a musical time capsule that has been unseen for 40 years! (Shout!
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