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The Ocean To The Desert Jewels and Johnny Nation capture a spirit that is like
June Carter Cash singing with a late '60s Los Angeles country/folk/psych band.Elements
of Bakersfield are mixed with the Sunset Strip, creating a warm, harmony-driven,
infectious sound. This 10 track release, clocking it at 40 minutes, moves by briskly
leaving a wake of hook-filled gems. -- Jeff Weiss, Miles of Music (self-released)
TJ
McFarland writes small stories of murderers, thieves, and corruption. Influenced
by Woody Guthrie and pre-electric Dylan, McFarland continues the tradition of
the troubadour or storyteller with his tales of the common man's woes. His rich
voice, combining an acoustic guitar and fiddle, allow the words to float forward,
focusing on the story. A great step forward from his excellent 2005 release Rosenbaum's
Gin. -- Jeff Weiss, Miles of Music (self-released)
Rural
Maine's Rural Electric deftly combine folk, piano, fuzz guitar, and vocals that
reminds of a more-tuneful Vic Chesnutt creating a layered, melodic, gauzy, twang-pop
sound Boston's The Noise said, "[Rural Electric] is a Maine-based sonic treat.
This could easily find its way into the pile with other songwriting works of genius
like Willard Grant Conspiracy and Richard Thompson. The Road To Hell is Paved
oozes with great music." -- Jeff Weiss, Miles of Music (Losers/Weepers Records)
Mix
the bouncy, clever power pop of Fountains of Wayne and anthemic choruses -- complete
with entire band sing-alongs -- of 80s punk/college rock and you will quickly
get a sense of the Star Spangles. Guitars are influenced by the Johnnys Ramone
and Thunders. This release might not change the world's problems, but for 13 gloriously
fun tracks, you might forget for a few minutes that the outside world exists.
(Tic Records)
This is the Richmond, Virginia based Mules's third full-length record following
in the footsteps of 2003's Minor Enough and 2006's Pull The Brake. Shaun Harvey
from AmericanaRoots.com said Mules "easily take my favorite band award for
2006". The Wicks Have Met should once again secure that honor for 2007. Like
Minor Enough, the 13 tracks were self-produced and engineered in various locations
throughout 2007 - houses in Austin, Texas, Richmond, Virginia and, strangely,
a cabin in the faux-alpine enclave, Helen, Georgia. Singer/guitarist, Andy Stepanian
once described The Mule species as having "a rock skeleton, bluegrass blood
and country skin." 
A folk-inflected, roots rock journey of redemption by one of Nashville's premier
guitarists and songwriters. Partly gospel, blues, folk, and country; it's essentially
an "American music" record, which means a melting pot of styles but
with an unabashedly spiritual message. While it might avoid a neat description,
its appeal is unavoidable. "I first listened to this remarkable album on
a Sunday morning, and it took me to church and beyond. Danny's songs bear witness
to his life with humor and humility and a wisdom born of experience. They are
a testament of hope, full of joy, from a faith earned the hard way, every day"
- Emmylou Harris.( Brash Records) 
Nearly 30 years after her passing Judee Sill remains one of the most important
and singular talents of the Laurel Canyon scene. Her two releases for David Geffen's
Asylum (1971's Judee Sill and 1973's Heart Food) are critically celebrated masterpieces
of orchestral folk. Her songs have been covered by artists as diverse as The Turtles
and Will Oldham and her fans include Jim O'Rourke, Devendra Banhart, Graham Nash,
Sleater-Kinney and more. This amazing collection of previously unreleased live
recordings from the BBC archives features beautiful versions of some of her most
well known songs including ''Jesus Was A Cross Maker,'' ''Lady-O,'' ''The Kiss''
and more. Recorded in 1972 and 1973 at the peak of her talent, the tracks on this
collection are from solo performances featuring Sill on vocals, piano and guitar.
Absolutely stunning. Track Listing: Jesus Was A Cross Maker/Lady-O/The Lamb Ran
Away With The Crown/Enchanted Sky Machines/The Kiss/Down Where The Valleys Are
Low/There's A Rugged Road/The Phoenix/The Donor/Soldier Of The Heart/Interview/Enchanted
Sky Machines/The Kiss/Down Where The Valleys Are Low/The Phoenix/Jesus Was A Cross
Maker/The Kiss/Down Where The Valleys Are Low. (Water) 
If the Boondogs last album Fever Dreams reinstated the band's belief in itself
through catharsis, it did so at no obvious peril. Songwriters Indy Grotto &
Jason Weinheimer have caroused another ten songs, for this their 2007 release
A Thousand Ships, that swing from clamorous pop - "Holding Out" - to
the brilliant dirge of side closers "What Was On My / Your Mind". And
while all of the usual glean and shimmer of the Boondogs previous albums remains
intact, I'd say that there's something else at work here as well. This outing
finds the band at a particular sweet spot of sound tweaking and just laying it
all bare. (Max Recordings) 
Strange Weirdos "...is the soundtrack to writer/director Judd Apatow's follow-up
to the box-office smash The 40-Year-Old Virgin. It is also a showpiece for Loudon
Wainwright III and his collaborator, singer/songwriter, and producer ...The album
features new Wainwright songs, including the title track, `Strange Weirdos,` the
melancholy `Valley Morning,` the tongue-in-cheek look at a midlife crisis, `Doin'
the Math,` and the Hollywood homage `Grey in L.A.` (my personal favorite), which
gives a shout out to green queen Laurie David. Additional music includes covers
of Mose Allison's `I Feel So Good` and Peter Blegvad's `Daughter,` the song Loudon
originally recorded with Joe Henry two years ago for a charity album." --
Juliet Farmer, blogcritics.org (Concord Records)
Swan's piano-centric pop songs sometimes recall the confessional tones of Laura
Nyro, Regina Spektor, and Rufus Wainwright, but comparisons still can't come close
to describing her unique vision. With an appearance by Jimi Tenor (techno's first
cabaret star), "Poverina" proves there's no limit to where Astrid or
her music will go. "She gets the delicate, fluttery most out of the ebonies
and ivories while spilling her non-metallic Finnish guts" - Harp. (Minty
Fresh) 
With Everyday I Said a Prayer For Kathy And Made a One Inch Square, Wheat are
back amongst us in our world, right where they belong. What began 10 years ago
as a brilliant art project in sound has now been restored to its beginnings, original
luster restored. From the celestial shimmer of Closeness, which opens the new
album, to the pastoral instrumental poem, Courting Ed Templeton, which closes
it, Everyday I Said a Prayer For Kathy And Made a One Inch Square marks a splendid
return to the incandescent form that yielded 1997's delicious Medeiros and 1999's
indie-pop gem Hope And Adsams. (Empyrean Records) 
Having developed a unique psychedelic-meets-progressive sound that yields feelings
that transcend the conventions of both, the Birds Of Avalon skillfully channel
elements of a time in rock since passed, while representing their current place
in the lineage of North Carolinian indie rock heritage. Easily traversing the
gray area between raw blues-rock and atmospheric psych-pop, this group "can
tear it up in a three-minute barn-burner or lure you into an extended psychedelic
journey, wandering schizophrenically like a Brian May guitar solo" - Cincinnati
City Beat. (Volcom Entertainment)
In the mid-1970s we encountered a warmer and wiser Jack Blanchard and Misty Morgan.
Still producing fabulous oddball flourishes like "The Cockroach Stomp"
and "Cows", but now a little something new was brewing - majesty and
grandeur! Witness the astounding, lush string arrangements on "Carolina Sundown
Red," "Something On Your Mind" and "Just One More Song"
and the fantastic one-two punch of "Down To The End Of The Wine" and
"Here Today And Gone Tomorrow." Lovingly remastered, with five previously
unreleased demo recordings (circa 1975) and an extensive booklet featuring unpublished
photos and metaphysical commentaries from Jack Blanchard himself. All tracks make
their first appearance here on CD. (Omni) 
Alligator records presents a new series of compilations celebrating the cream
of the best-selling blues catalog in the world! Each of these budget samplers
contains 12 tracks of classic blues from some of the best-known names in the genre,
perfect for serious fans and newcomers alike. Track Listings:High Heel Sneakers
- Junior Wells/Oreo Cookie Blues - Lonnie Mack/Stop Running 'Round - Carey Bell/Down
In The Alley - Bob Margolin/Sloppy Drunk - Saffire-The Uppity Blues Women/The
Man Next Door - Koko Taylor/Railroad Bill - John Jackson/Evil On My Mind - Johnny
Winter/Trouble On My Mind - Cephas & Wiggins/So Tough With Me - Sonny Terry/Baby
Bee - Kenny Neal/God Don't Ever Change - Corey Harris/The Dirty Dozens - Johnny
Jones. (Alligator) 
Alligator records presents a new series of compilations celebrating the cream
of the best-selling blues catalog in the world! Each of these budget samplers
contains 12 tracks of classic blues from some of the best-known names in the genre,
perfect for serious fans and newcomers alike. Track Listings:Will It Ever Change?
- Luther Allison/One More Chance - Michael Burks/The Love You Lost On The Way
- Roomful Of Blues/Get To Gettin' - Albert Collins/No, No Baby - Son Seals/You
Got Your Hooks In Me - Little Charlie & The Nightcats/Don't Cloud Up On Me
- Lucky Peterson/You Know What My Body Needs (Live) - Lonnie Brooks/Stop What
You're Doing - Long John Hunter/Lightning's Gonna Strike - Kenny Neal/Shady Lane
- Elvin Bishop/Okie Dokie Stomp - W.C. Clark. (Alligator)
Alligator records presents a new series of compilations celebrating the cream
of the best-selling blues catalog in the world! Each of these budget samplers
contains 12 tracks of classic blues from some of the best-known names in the genre,
perfect for serious fans and newcomers alike. Last Dirty Deal - Coco Montoya/Route
90 - Johnny Winter/Golden Rule - Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials/Hound Dog Man
- Lonnie Mack/Phone Line - Dave Hole/I'm Gonna Leave You - Guitar Shorty/The Next
Miss Wrong (Live) - Tinsley Ellis/Run Myself Out Of Town - The Holmes Brothers/It's
2 A.M. - Shemekia Copeland/Rockin' Harder - Lee Rocker/25 Miles - Roy Buchanan/Follow
Your Heart - The Paladins. (Alligator) 
For the first-ever live album in his career, which encompasses more than forty
years and over two dozen albums, singer-songwriter Eric Andersen chose to enlist
a Norwegian blues band to help shake off the "acoustic troubadour" tag
he outgrew long ago and to give his songs "a new, different kind of edge."
"Blue Rain," recorded at an Oslo club in June 2006, focuses mostly on
Andersen compositions dating back to the title song of his 1972 masterwork, "Blue
River," presented in elegantly brooding electric arrangements. Track Listings:
The Other Side of This Life/The Blues Keep Fallin' Like the Rain/Trouble in Paris/Runaway/Don't
It Make You Wanna Sing the Blues/Sheila/Goin' Gone/Losing Hand/Shame, Shame, Shame/Blue
River/You Can't Relive the Past. (Appleseed Records) 
Track Listing: In The Past - We the People / Swami - William Penn Fyve / Feel
the Music - The Vejtables / Advise and Consent - The Music Machine / Speak of
the Devil - Things to Come / Good Men (Are Hard to Find) - Neal Ford & the
Fanatics / Victim of Circumstances - Roy Junior / Lights - Kings Verses / Psychedelic
Siren - The Daybreakers / All I See Is You - Jokers Wild / Shadows - The Vejtables
/ Our Fate - Mourning Reign / Who Do You Love - The Druids of Stonehenge / Show
Me the Way - The Free-For-All / Goodbye - Road Runners / The Courtship of Rapunzel
- The Bruthers / Bald Headed Woman - The Druids of Stonehenge / Piccadilly Circus
- The Galaxies IV (Sundazed) 
Track Listing: I'll Come Running - The Mad Hatters / Love at Psychedelic Velocity
- The Human Expression / That's How it Will Be - The Liberty Bell / I'm a King
Bee - The Bad Seeds / Where You Gonna Go? - The Unrelated Segments / Judgment
Day - The Esquires / I'm In Pittsburgh (and It's Raining) - The Outcasts / You
Lie - The Lynx / Tell Me - The Wild Things / You're Gonna Make Me - The Penthouse
5 / East Side Story - District Six / Tell Me Why Your Light Shines - The Lykes
of Us / Come with Me - Exotics / Come Back Bird - The Chevelle V / Darkest Hour
- S.J. & Crossroads / Keep On Walking - The WordD / Makin' Time - The Livin'
End / Cry, Cry, Cry - The Unrelated Segments (Sundazed) 
"The legendary Tom Morrell recently passed away. Before we lost Wolf he completed
the last collection in his uniquely incredible How The West Was Swung series.
This time, the CD of 12 cuts is all instrumental and very much with a jazz feel....The
album opens with the pop standard All the Things You Are. Other pop standards
are The Very Thought of You, Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah from Johnny Mercer and the Pied
Pipers and from Sinatra Maybe You'll be There, Change Partners and I'll be Seeing
You. The album also includes the jazz classic Relaxin' and both Things Ain't What
They Used to be and The Stumble from the world of the blues. Also included are
Crazy Rhythm, the Duke Ellington composition and hit Don't Get Around Much Anymore
and Buddy Emmons' gem Wills Point." -- Mike Gross, swinginwest.com (WR Records)
The album, which was recorded 'live' in three days, and mixed on Christmas Eve,
features the bands own material, alongside their unique interpretations of songs
by the likes of the Sex Pistols, Scissor Sisters, Judas Priest and Cliff Richard,
amongst others. And, for the first time in Hayseed Dixie history, drums make an
appearance on two songs. Track Listings: Holidays In the Sun/I Don't Feel Like
Dancing/Devil Woman/She Was Skinny When I Met Her/Strawberry Fields Forever/Before
Your Old Man Gets Home/Breaking the Law/More Pretty Girls Than One/Down Down/Walking
Cane/Paint It Black/Hungover Brokedown/Poison/The Rider Song.(Cooking Vinyl) 
Modern bluegrass was born on July 4, 1957 when the original Country Gentlemen
took the stage at the Admiral Grill in Baileys Crossroads, Virginia. The foursome
heard on this disc is the "classic" Country Gentlemen-Charlie Waller,
John Duffey, Eddie Adcock, and Tom Gray, one of the greatest ensembles in bluegrass
history. This reissue of the Gents' 1973 album catches the band in its prime.
28-page booklet, 16 tracks, 46 mins. (Smithsonian Folkways)
John Renbourn is one of the fathers of contemporary British Folk Music and one
of the finest acoustic finger style players. During a career spanning more than
40 years, Renbourn has pursued a remarkable musical path, on his own or with many
others including Pentangle, Stefan Grossman and others. This is the first compilation
to fully anthologize that career with 38 tracks over 2 CDs. (Castle) 
February 2007 marked the 30th anniversary of the legendary first album released
from the 1977 British punk rock revolution. In celebration Castle expands the
original classic album to a 3 disc deluxe packaged set with a second CD of 26
various rarities. Also includes an unreleased July 4, 1976 show from the 100 Club.
This new expanded edition is packaged in a plush digi-pack. (Castle) 
The belief is good art comes from hard times. It appears Hopkins has had some
stumbles over the last couple of years in the relationship area. The Horse I Rode
In On is filled heartbreak: expressions of love that end in heartbreak, apologies
that end in heartbreak, anger that dissolves into heartbreak. The album -- Hopkins`
first since 2003 -- features his stock-in- trade roots-rock sound, and hearty
and sometimes off-key warbling, and guitar mastery. Some artists try to hide the
pain behind metaphor. Hopkins has chosen to rip his chest open and show you his
broken heart. Too bad something bad happened to Rich, but the results are the
gloriously painful The Horse I Rode In On. -- Jeff Weiss, Miles of Music (San
Jacinto) 
You think the young man with that middle name and surname might chooseto not take
up music just because, you know, of the inevitable comparisons. After doing time
as a member of a couple of local Nashville bands, Earle, son of the legendary
singer/songwriter, fearlessly tackles storytelling... in a style reminiscent of
his namesakes. The good news is Earle is his own man, and his own songwriter.
Earle`s rich voice and delicate guitar provide a comfortable bed for his songs
of love and loss. Maybe, the day comes when writers say, "Wasn`t Justin`s
daddy a famous songwriter?" Until then, Justin will have to keep proving
his worth. This six song EP is a good start. -- Jeff Weiss, Miles of Music (self-released)
The sound of Americana`s new SoCal "soul" is heard in the warm, lethargic
tones of Stay Here, the debut disc from Emile Millar, onetime singer of L.A.-based
bands Postfontaine and The Lapdancers. Pedal steel breezes flow through some of
these atmospheric roots-pop numbers, which sweep from Nick Drake style acoustic
folk to slow epic passion-rock and on to brisk alt. country. With an overall downbeat,
but hopeful tone, Millar sounds like a rough-hewn version of Colin Blunstone of
The Zombies. And with the help of many of L.A.`s finest players, including Michael
Lockwood (Aimee Mann, Fiona Apple), Jebin Bruni (Aimee Mann, Michael Penn), Milo
Decruz (Ryan Adams, Duncan Sheik), and Joshua Grange (Lucinda Williams, Jay Farrar),
Stay Here maintains a cosmic aura that seems to hover across the landscape like
an eternal state of dusk. (self-released) 
Spanking Charlene is roots-rock Grrll power for those who don`t easily blush.
What started as a "drunken slutty song fest" by pub patrons Charlene
McPherson and Mo Goldner turned in Spanking Charlene. McPherson and Goldner vocal
trade-offs are John Doe and Exene. Songs about love gone wrong, misogyny and body
issues mingle with a sound, produced by Eric Ambel, that draws from the New York
punk scene, circa 1978. The language and content is forthright, but appropriate
for the song subjects. -- Jeff Weiss, Miles of Music (self-released)
Gina Villalobos follows up her outstanding Rock N` Roll Pony (2004) with the fantastic
Miles Away. This 2007 album is a country-rock, world weary rumination on the struggles
of maintaining a relationship. The song cycle works its way through longing, self-doubt,
surety that there is another way to connect, anger (and more self-doubt), and
a plea to be saved from herself. Villalobos combines her raspy voice with a muscular
rock sound that uses country touches to add to the overall angst. Miles Away collects
and displays Villalobos` emotions, failures and all, for the listener to pick
through. The album concludes with no obvious resolution, leaving one to wonder
how much strength she has left to do this all again. -- Jeff Weiss, Miles Of Music.
Filmed live from Philadelphia's World Cafe, this is part of a 13-program series
filmed in high-definition by HDNet. Each program in the series features aritsts
performing their classic songs and new recordings, along with in-depth interviews
with WXPN's Michaela Majoun. The series is being featured in PBS in May of 2007.
Track Listings: Breakin' Out, Not Tonight/Poor, Poor Excuse/Givin' Up You/Livin'
on Love/Should Have Come Home/Don't Whisper/Who Stole May Radio/Beat Up Guitar/It's
2 A.M./Wild, Wild Woman. (Decca) ) 
Elvis Costello, one of rock music's most celebrated alternative tunesmiths, joins
forces with the classical Brodsky Quartet in this suite of songs inspired by a
literature professor who answered letters written to Shakespeare's Juliet. Track
Listings: Deliver Us, For other Eyes/Who Do You Think You Are?/I Almost Had a
Weakness/Why? Dear Sweet Filthy World/Jackson/Monk and Rowe/I Thought I'd Write
to Juliet/Last Post/First to Leave/Taking My Life in Your Hands/The Birds Will
Still Be Singing/Swine. (Rhino) 
Filmed live from Philadelphia's World Cafe, this is part of a 13-program series
filmed in high-definition by HDNet. Each program in the series features aritsts
performing their classic songs and new recordings, along with in-depth interviews
with WXPN's Michaela Majoun. The series is being featured in PBS in May of 2007.
Track Listings:It's Been a Long Time/Autumn This Year/Goin' Down to Laurel/Real
Live Love/Starstruck/It Sure Was Better Back Then/ I Just Work Here/Song for atrina/Complications/The
World is Full of People/What Kinda Guy?/ The Sweet Love That You Give/Steve Forbert's
Midsummer Night's Roast/Romeo's Tune/You Cannot Win if You Do Not Play. (Decca)
Time Life is proud to offer the first-ever career-spanning collection of 19 unforgettable
live performances from the '50s through the '70s by Jerry Lee Lewis. This includes
his greatest hits such as, "Breathless," "Great Balls of Fire,"
and "Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On." The bonus material includes one
of the most comprehensive and revealing interviews with Jerry Lee Lewis. Track
Listings: Whole Lot Of Shakin' Going On/ You Win Again /Great Balls of Fire /Breathless
/High School Confidential /I'm on Fire /Your Cheatin' Heart /Who's Gonna Play
This Old Piano? /Me and Bobby McGee /Lewis Boogie /Ferriday Medley: Has Anybody
Seen My Gal? In a Shany in Old Shanty /Town Don't Be Ashamed of Your Age/ Drinking
Wine/ Spo-Dee-O-Dee /Jerry Lee Lewis interviewed in the orginal Sun Studio [Bonus]
High School Confidential trailer [Bonus] (Time Life Records) 
Filmed live from Philadelphia's World Cafe, this is part of a 13-program series
filmed in high-definition by HDNet. Each program in the series features aritsts
performing their classic songs and new recordings, along with in-depth interviews
with WXPN's Michaela Majoun. The series is being featured in PBS in May of 2007.
Track Listing: Nothing Fades/Good Morning/For You, The Dawn's Request/Fantastic
Toys and Corduroys/White Limousine/Genius/Wishful Thinking/I Don't Believe in
Ghosts/Mememto/The Lover from Hell/ Fake Plastic Trees. (Decca) | Alt Country | Americana Music | Bluegrass Music | Country Bluegrass | Folk Music Folk Rock | Roots Rock | Singer Songwriter | Sitemap |