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The
Daily Tar Heel described this Raleigh band as, "Borrowing heavily from country's
string band tradition, Puritan Rodeo walks with a honky tonk swagger, a bluegrass
rollick and a songwriter's sincerity." The band bridges country and rock
like the early Old 97's. Lyrically the band is full of regret, and a little world
weary with a hint of hope. The seven tracks of alt.country provide an impressive
first impression of this band. -- Jeff Weiss, Miles of Music (self-released)
Just A Little Lovin', was inspired by one of Shelby Lynne's favorite singers,
Dusty Springfield. The album features nine clasic songs associated with Dusty
and one stunning original written by Shelby, inspired by Dusty. Produced by Phil
Ramone. "We all gathered at the Capitol Records building Studio A. The thought
of having Capitol Studio A, Phil Ramone, Al Schmitt, these killer musicians and
Dusty Springfield was nerve racking, but I knew I was up to the task. Phil had
assembled a group of four guys; Greg Field on drums, Dean Parks on guitar, Rob
Mathes on keyboards and Kevin Axt on Bass. We had what we called a "menu"
of songs to cut, so we started at the top. I had wanted to record at the Capitol
building my whole career and this was the album to do it. All of the drama I had
endured with Capitol Records up to this point finally came to an end. The very
week we started recording this album, Capitol Records was no more. My deal with
them ended, and for a while this record and I were without a label. That's where
Lost Highway enters the picture. When they heard it, they loved it just the way
it was. Plain and simple. Cut to tape and zero frills. So, we had a deal."
- Shelby Lynne (Lost Highway)
This disc captures the full flavor of roots rocker Webb Wilder's live performances:
booming baritone vocal delivery, blazing guitar licks, a punchy rhythm section,
and a healthy dose of his quirky humor. Wilder has been called "a kind of
Tom Petty for the trailer set," though he describes his style thus: "We
play both kinds of music: Rock AND Roll." (Blind Pig)
"Few singer/songwriters hurl themselves into their music with the physical
abandon that Malcolm Holcombe displays on his latest album. Beyond the gravel
voice and high-intensity arrangements featuring his guitar, he moans, grunts,
groans and smacks his lips, embellishing the brilliant songs of a mercurial spirit.
Half the songs here sound like a train, whistling past your ears as Holcombe sings
of slow love songs, flooded gambling emporiums, drunken madmen and, in "Cynthia
Margaret," the solace of a long-sought soul mate. "My Old Radio"
is a core tune for Americana formats; "You Don't Come to See Me Anymore"
could be sung by vocalists from the Nashville he once fled. Rich in idiosyncratic
epigrams with echoes ranging from Guy Clark to Bob Dylan, Holcombe (with "Jelly
Roll" Johnson's ever-ready harmonica adding emphasis) delivers elusive tales
of a life that may not have always been wisely lived, but was always worth writing
about. - Wayne Robins, Billboard Magazine (Artist Garage)
Moment of Forever, the latest of these matches made in….well, most likely
in an out-of-the-way Texas watering hole, matches Willie with Kenny Chesney. The
very idea of these seemingly disparate characters coming together is intriguing
enough on paper. What really counts, however, is how it works on disc -- and work
it does, with Chesney's production bringing out Nelson's natural warmth and grace.
While he's written some of the most enduring tunes of the past few decades, Nelson
has long been considered one of the premiere song interpreters of his time, infusing
a surprising array of tunes with his singular personality. That comes through
in a slew of Moment of Forever's highlights, including a hushed, poignant version
of the Kris Kristofferson-penned title track and a super-heated, album-closing
version of Bob Dylan's "Gotta Serve Somebody."The songs that Nelson
wrote for Moment of Forever take on many of the same topics addressed in that
pair of tracks -- taking stock of a life well lived and considering the possibilities
of what might lay down the road. (Lost Highway)
Australian-only live release from Bonnie Prince Billy (Will Oldham) and his band.
Recorded in California, Wilding In The West features passionate versions of classic
BPB tunes plus three new tracks. 14 tracks. The band includes Bonnie regulars,
Dawn Mccarthy, Emmett Kelly, Aram Stith, Azita & Will & Paul Oldham. (Spunk)
Their fifth full-length is filled with beautifully layered melodies of wistful
ease and delicate longing. They've expanded the range and texture of the trademarked
Radar Bros. sun-baked and dreamy California psychedelic soul. This is the perfect
record for a long drive on a tree-lined two-lane country road. (Merge Records)
After touring in support of 2005's Heart Like a River, Ida found an acoustically
sublime haven in Levon Helm's (of The Band) home studio located in the Catskill
Mountains. Over the next two years Ida abandoned their traditional studio perfectionism
in favor of a spontaneous approach that included live tracking with few overdubs.
The band ironically wound up with the clearest, most dynamic album they have ever
made. In tune with this process, Ida have managed to make their most powerful
statement: A collection of songs that invoke the proximity of the invisible and
the reality of love with an earned grace that comes from experiene, persistence,
and an undiminished enthusiasm for making sounds together. Lovers Prayers is Ida's
seventh full-length album. (Polyvinyl Records)
Odelay has been expanded into a two-CD DELUXE EDITION with the addition of two
never-before-released tracks, a soundtrack contribution, an earlier indie-issued
track, and 15 recordings heard on U.K., Japanese and Australian albums, singles,
and EPs never released in the U.S. Track Listings Disc 1: Devil's Haircut/Hotwax/Lord
Only Knows/The New Pollution/Derelict/Novacane/Jack-Ass/Where It's At/Minus/Sissyneck/Readymade/High
5 (Rock The Catskills)/Ramshackle/Deadweight [Soundtrack]/Inferno*/Gold Chains*
*Previously Unreleased. Track Listings Disc 2: Where It's At [U.N.K.L.E. Remix]/Richard's
Hairpiece [Aphex Twin Remix Of "Devil's Haircut"]/American Wasteland
[Mickey P.Remix Of "Devil's Haircut"]/Clock/Thunder Peel/Electric Music
And The Summer People/Lemonade/Sa-5/Feather In Your Cap/Erase The Sun/.000.000/Brother/Devil
Got My Woman/Trouble All My Days/Strange Invitation/Burro.(Geffen) 
Vaughn is a rock 'n 'roll renaissance man -- a artist and songwriter, producer
(Arthur Alexander's acclaimed Lonely Just Like Me, Charlie Feathers), and prolific
TV score-smith (Third Rock from the Sun, That '70s Show and Grounded for Life.)
The Jersey/Philly boy put himself on the map with the 1986 album The Many Moods
of Ben Vaughn and followed up with this 1987 album, Beautiful Thing, cut in a
New Jersey garage and originally issued on Restless Records. The album contains
such tracks as "She's a Real Scream" (with the infamous line "Her
end justifies the means"), the Gary Usher-like surf sound of "Desert
Boots," "Jerry Lewis in France, " Clothes Don't Make The Man,"
"Beautiful Thing, "The North Wind Blew," "Shingaling with
Me" and "Gimme Gimme Gimme.". A nearly forgotten classic, reissued
with liner notes by pop scholar Gene Sculatti and quotes from Vaughn himself.
Originally released in 1987.(Nobel Rot)
Wednesday Week is a long-running Los Angeles- based band anchored by sisters Kristi
and Kelly Callan, with members who have included Heidi Rodewald (later in the
Negro Problem), David Nolte (The Last, Wondermints, Maria McKee, Davie Allen &
the Arrows and David Gray), Dave Provost (The Droogs, Dream Syndicate), and Ilene
Markell (7 Deadly 5). The Noble Rot reissue contains not only the band's 1987
complete Don Dixon-produced album What We Had (originally on Enigma), but TEN
bonus tracks including the complete 1983 EP Betsy's House on WarFrat Records,
plus five more songs from the band's archives. ".. produced by Don Dixon.
What We Had sounds like a cross between early Bangles (with more rock energy and
simpler vocal arrangements), Chrissie Hynde and the Smithereens, with a few outstanding
songs ("Why," "All That Again") and consistently spirited
playing." - Ira Robbins trouserpress.com. Originally released in 1987.(Noble
Rot)
Robert Pollard's Superman Was A Rocker is a return to old ways. This mini-album
(13 songs, 30 minutes) finds Pollard using recording methods he hasn't engaged
in since his time in Guided By Voices. Pollard recently poured through a bunch
of old cassette tapes and found some great, never-used instrumentals that he either
wrote or co-wrote, and and he decided to go into the studio and put vocals (and
melodies!) over them, just like he used to back in the old Guided By Voices days.
The music spans a 20+ year period, so in essence, this is an album 20 years in
the making. Due to the span of time and body of work from which the clips were
accessed, many of the classic Guided By Voices alumni appear on this album: Tobin
Sprout, Mitch Mitchell, Kevin Fennell, Doug Gillard, Nate Farley. This is the
most fun Pollard album in years. (Happy Jack Rock Records)
British Singer-Songwriter Kate Walsh will charm you with her angelic voice and
sincere lyrics on her debut album, Tim's House. The disc was recorded in the home
studio of producer Tim Bidwell, capturing her soft and pure sound perfectly on
this organically produced album. (Verve Forcast)
This NY four-piece draw on their diverse backgrounds and interests, experimenting
with African guitar music, the Western classical canon, hazy memories of Cape
Cod summers, winters in upper Manhattan, and reggaeton. "Equal parts shruggy
New York indie strumming and groovy Afro-pop, Vampire Weekend's organ-and-drum
runs highlight narratives about relationships, punctuation, and sometimes both"
- Spin. (XL Recordings)
NYC's Lewis is a maker of comic books, tragic-comic folk narratives, and lysergic
garage rock. His fourth album is a collection of songs by the legendary anarchist
punk band Crass, reworked into glorious folk, rock, psychedelic, orchestral, and
electronica productions which dazzle the ear while losing none of the political
power of the originals. "...(on '12 Crass Songs' he) magically makes the
anarcho-rockers' anti-establishment savagery his own, by wrapping their barbed
sentiments in his trademark mottled tea-towel warmth, autumnal aura, and breathless,
barren drawl" - NME. (Rough Trade)
Donna Jean and the Tricksters, a band legendary for it's Grateful Dead covers,
unites a host of Dead alumni. The music, however, stands utterly on it's own with
superior roots-rock songwriting, seven part harmonies and top shelf musicianship.
(Dig Music)
The late Elmore James' stylistic innovations remain massively influential several
decades after his death. The 16-track The Very Best Of Elmore James spans 1951-1961
and includes, among other classics, "Dust My Broom," "The Sky Is
Crying," and "Shake Your Money Maker," songs that permanently established
the language of electric blues-based slide guitar. Track Listing: Dust My Broom/Hawaiian
Boogie/Please Find My Baby/Sho' Nuff I Do/Wild About You Baby/The 12 Year Old
Boy/It Hurts Me Too/Cry For Me Baby/Coming Home/The Sky Is Crying/The Sun Is Shining/Madison
Blues/I Can't Hold Out/Standing At The Crossroads/Done Somebody Wrong/Shake Your
Moneymaker.(Rhino)
Journeyman musician Tim Hensley has served extended stints with Ricky Skaggs,
Patty Loveless and Kenny Chesney - soaking up each individual artist's essence
on his way to making Long Monday, a debut album that merges vintage bluegrass
with classic American songwriters and acoustic songs of life. (Rural Rhythm) 
Dailey & Vincent introduces a powerful new ensemble steeped in bluegrass and
country music traditions, but blessed with the drive, talent, and charisma to
assert those timeless values proudly onto today's stage. Co-leaders Jamie Dailey
and Darrin Vincent have already had a profound impact on much of the best modern
bluegrass via their contributions to such estimable performers as Doyle Lawson
& Quicksilver, Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, and Rhonda Vincent &
The Rage. Stepping out on their own for the first time, Dailey & Vincent make
breathtaking music that seamlessly connects country music's roots in brother duet
singing to its future in exhilarating, full-throttle bluegrass - without ever
sacrificing heart, sincerity, and soul. (Rounder) 
Mix a little Watergate topicality with slams of Henry Kissinger and a strange
tale of a yodeling robot that falls in love with Dolly Parton, and you've got
yourself a pretty fair portrait of one of the American far-left's most intrepid
and iconoclastic pioneers. Includes 'Rock & Roll People; Nonviolent Direct
Action; Henry Kissinger; Shredding Machine; Pity the Bird; Kaw River Valley Progressive
Hempune; Beer Cans on the Moon; Albion Crags; Yodeling Robot; Priestess; Universal
Rent-Strike Rag',and 'Six-Pack of Sunshine'. The complete 1973 release! (Collectors
Choice)
Imagine you're at your local country bar, when some longhaired fella takes the
stage. He doesn't look quite right, but you figure he's ok, especially when he
and his band start playing some twangin' honky-tonk tunes. But then you start
listening to the lyrics, and holy mother-of-kinky-friedman, danged if he isn't
making fun of...you! This 1970 album of satirical barroom stomps and cry-in-your-beer
ballads didn't make Ed Sanders any friends in Nashville, but they just might make
you salt your suds with tears of laughter. Includes 'Jimmy Joe, the Hippybilly
Boy; Maple Court Tragedy; Heartbreak Crash Pad; Banshee; Plaster Song; Iliad;
Breadtray Mountain; Abm Machine; They're Cutting My Coffin at the Sawmill; Homesick
Blues', and 'Pindar's Revenge'. (Collectors Choice)
Deliveries After Dark delivers. Balls-out blues/rock, visceral and heavy, with
a few surprises thrown in like the "The Godfather" theme and the spacy
"Woman In My Bed Dub." "I have gotten back to why I started playing
music to begin with," says the New York guitarist. The excitement and the
feeling of raw power. Are you ready to rock?" (Blind Pig)
Originally released in 1989. Bonus Tracks: Whenever God Shines His Light (alternative
take) and When The Saints Go Marching In (with additional lyrics by Van Morrison)
(Polydor)
Originally released in 1999. Bonus Tracks: Philosopher's Stone (alternative take)
and Valley Of Tears (A completely new arrangement of the Fats Domino Song). Also
includes original artwork and full lyrics to Van Morrison compositions. (Polydor)
Originally released in 1974. Bonus track: Brown Eyed Girl Live. Also includes
original artwork and full lyrics to Van Morrison compositions. (Polydor)
Originally released in 1984. Bonus Tracks: Crazy Jane On God and A Sense Of Wonder
(alternative takes). Also includes original artwork and full lyrics to Van Morrison
compositions. (Polydor)
Originally released in 1971. Bonus tracks include; Wild Night (alternative take)
and a reworking of the traditional Down By The Riverside. Also includes original
artwork and full lyrics to Van Morrison compositions. (Polydor)
Originally released in 1978. Bonus Tracks: Kingdom Hall and Wavelength (Live at
the Roxy Theatre, LA, Nov 26, 1978). Also includes original artwork and full lyrics
to Van Morrison compositions. (Polydor)
Scott
Link` voice is familiar to the fans of his former band, Portland, Maine`s Diesel
Doug and The Long Haul Truckers. Link served as the aforementioned Diesel Doug.
Shedding that image, Link has created a fantastic album that explores a roots-pop
sound without abandoning his country twang. Midwesterners might remember the late,
great Gear Daddies. Link channels Martin Zellar`s sound. Link`s stories of hard
work and simple rewards resonate with your inner blue-collar. Backed by many of
Portland`s finest musicians, Link has created a solo pop rock gem that has plenty
of twang and as much heart and soul. -- Jeff Weiss, Miles of Music (self-released)
Through his two-decade stint as singer, guitarist and principal songwriter of
The Jayhawks and as a member of alt-supergroup Golden Smog, Gary Louris has built
a deeply compelling body of music whose artistry and integrity has earned him
a loyal audience and the respect of critics and his peers. With his solo debut,
Vagabonds, Louris steps out to deliver some of his most evocative and personal
music yet with the aid of Black Crowes frontman and longtime fan, Chris Robinson,
who produced the album's organically soulful performances. (Ryko)
Originally releases in 1998. Half instrumental, half vocal, and very cinematic."
This album is considered a neo-country concept album about the classic road/redemption
tale littered with cheap motels, fights and Sam Peckinpah action sequences. (Quarterstick)
Originally released in 2003.On album number four, Burns and Convertino continue
to prove that they can masterfully go in all directions and still keep the same
destination. Swinging from desert-rock to mariachi, soundscape to escape, Feast
Of Wire is a masterpiece of beauty. From bare alt-country tunes to jazz even!
"Crumble" sounds like Lalo Shifrin meets Quincy Jones (circa 1966) and
very well done at that. Other folks helping out here are Paul Neihaus on lap-steel,
bassist Volker Zander, Jacob Valenzuela on trumpet and the multi-talented Martin
Wenk on a variety of things. PopMatters Music critic Adrien Begrand says of this
mostly instrumental wonder that it "proves to be nothing short of intoxicating."
(Quarterstick Records) 
Originally released in 2000."The latest Calexico album from Giant Sands John
Convertino and Joey Burns is another colorful musical excursion into the Sonoran
desert bordering Mexico, with an evocative blend of desert rock spiced with Mariachi
music and other exotic flavors." Don Yates - KCMU (Quarter Stick)| Alt Country | Americana Music | Bluegrass Music | Country Bluegrass | Folk Music Folk Rock | Roots Rock | Singer Songwriter | Sitemap |