Bill Fox
Music is a funny thing, and the journey from A to B sometimes takes you through some pathless wastes. Witness one Bill Fox, he of the nondescript name and the unfailing melodic gift. Bill was the leader of a relatively obscure Cleveland band called The Mice in the mid-‘80s, who should not be confused with the contemporary pop-punk band of the same name from San Diego, or Modest Mouse, or any other musical rodent. Ever hear of these Mice? Me either, but I’m told their shows were legendary, which typically means that the 20 people who saw them might be... read more
Anders Osborne -- American Patchwork
If I was running the universe, Anders Osborne would be in heavy rotation on WHIT, the radio station that would forcefeed you only the best, and that would be piped into your lives 23 hours per day (leaving one hour for family and dental hygiene and other important stuff; screw the 9 to 5 routine). He can play the gutbucket bluesman and hot guitar slinger, and he can play the sensitive, soulful singer/songwriter, and he’s excellent at both. His latest album American Patchwork, his first for venerable blues label Alligator Records, has predictably been released to nearly deafening silence.... read more
The Half-Way Point (More or Less)
The only slam dunks for me thus far this year are Titus Andronicus’ The Monitor and Anais Mitchell’s Hadestown, with probably a slight edge to Titus Andronicus because 1) they’re named after a Shakespeare play in which a dude’s hand gets chopped off, and 2) they have a “rock ’n roll saved my life” desperation that I still find, even in my becalmed dotage, utterly irresistible. Brad Mehldau’s Highway Rider gets my vote for Jazz Album of the Half Year, and the country category is a good ol’ boy split between Jamey Johnson’s The Guitar Song and Watermelon Slim’s The... read more
Chip Robinson -- Mylow
Chip Robinson's debut solo album Mylow just might be my pick for Roots album of the year. Chip was the head cowpoke in Raleigh, NC's The Backsliders. Their two late '90s alt-country albums arrived at the same time as local cohorts Whiskeytown's Faithless Street and Stranger's Almanac, and Ryan Adams, notoriety whore that he is, got all the pub. It's too bad because I always thought The Backsliders were the better band, and Chip Robinson the better songwriter.... read more
Jamey Johnson - Black, White, or Otherwise
Jamey Johnson has a new, as yet untitled, album, or maybe albums, coming out soon. And it's all quite confusing.Here's what I know: I've heard these 25 songs, spread across two CDs, and they're superb. I've written about Jamey before, and not much has changed. He still looks like a Hells Angels biker and he still sings like a Redneck Angel, equal parts Waylon Jennings and George Jones. He has a voice for the Heavenly Honky Tonk. Set 'em up, Jesus, and give me a double shot of redemption and grace. Better yet, his songwriting invests the most cliched country... read more
Teenage Fanclub -- Shadows
To their everlasting credit, the Fannies are incapable of releasing anything less than a thoroughly competent, tuneful album. And they've done nothing more, and nothing less, here. I have a great love for this band, and while there is a part of me that longs for the return of the glorious power pop of Grand Prix and Bandwagonesque, those albums are now fifteen years old or more, and in the meantime the three principle songwriters have settled into the comfortable (and softer) middle age that was presaged by earlier pastoral albums such as Songs From Northern Britain. They haven't... read more
Those Yarragh Moments
Rock critic Greil Marcus has a new book called When That Rough God Goes Riding: Listening to Van Morrison. True to its title, it's a book that is not so much about Van Morrison as it is about a fanboy geek and articulate journalist who spends a lot of time listening to Van Morrison. I find a kindred spirit there. I spend a lot of time listening to Van Morrison, too. More than any other singer, Van can jolt me to life, reinvigorate an ordinary, plodding day when nothing exceptional is happening, and remind me that all of it, every crawling... read more
Mono - Holy Ground: NYC Live
Nothing against Jonsi and Sigur Ros, but I'll take the portentous bombast of his band's early music any rainbow-filled day over the twee flutterings and cooings of his current solo album. Sigur Ros' influence over the post-rock landscape is incalculable, and during the past decade a host of celestial warriors has stormed the heavenly gates, with mixed results. The basic post-rock formula -- the pensive, glacially slow buildup to a pounding, roaring catharsis -- is now something of a cliche, and it's hard to imagine any band achieving an artistic breakthrough given the tired trappings of the framework. And that... read more
Luciano Pavarotti and Emmylou Harris -- The Lost Duets
Some exciting and intriguing news from Nonesuch Records …----------------------------------------Groundbreaking 1980 Recordings Reveal Charming ChemistryShe’s recorded with over 750,000 musicians, but even Emmylou Harris admits that her previously unknown collaboration The Lost Duets with operatic superstar Luciano Pavarotti was something special. “Ít was big,” she says from her home in Franklin, Tennessee. “I mean, he was big. Massive. He filled the room, and not just his voice, either. At first we thought we might have to record in separate studios, but I managed to squeeze in beside him.” Originally recorded in 1980, when the renowned tenor visited Nashville, The Lost... read more
Ten for a Quarter
Quick takes on my ten favorite albums from the first three months of 2010.Anais Mitchell - HadestownA musical for way, way off Broadway, Anais Mitchell’s stunning folk opera succeeds on many levels. It’s a brilliant recasting of the Orpheus and Euridice myth. It’s a pointed political commentary on what may be the downtrodden, cash-strapped America of 1933, or the downtrodden, cash-strapped America of 2010. And it features some wondrous ensemble singing, from Mitchell as Euridice, from Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon as a seductive Orpheus, from Ani DiFranco as Persephone, and, most notably, from gruff-voiced folkie Greg Brown, who imbues the... read more
Alex Chilton (1950-2010)
Like 99.999999% of the world, I paid no attention to Big Star when they were actually a recording and touring band. I recall seeing #1 Record in a music store when it was released. It was Big Star's debut album, and my first exposure to the band, and I remember being vaguely amused by the audacity of a bunch of unknown musicians who would dare to call themselves Big Star and name an album #1 Record. But that was the extent of my interest. I certainly wasn't going to buy it. Who the hell had ever heard of Big Star? ... read more
Titus Andronicus -- The Monitor
I have a friend who is convinced that rebellious youth, as a cultural demographic group, didn’t really exist until the rise of relatively contemporary media such as film and television. And rock ‘n roll, of course. We can’t forget rock ‘n roll. According to this theory, kids were by and large docile, compliant creatures until they reached adulthood, at which point they assumed their rightful place as productive members of society. It all went to hell in the fifties and sixties. Then, under the influence of the powerful and pernicious media, kids were conditioned to believe that their elders were... read more
Just This Side of Pretentious
There is Close to the Edge (see ‘70s prog rockers Yes on the album of the same name). And then there is Over the Edge (see ‘70s prog rockers Yes on Tales from the Topographic Oceans). And it behooves musicians to know where the line is, and to stop on the right side of it. You go over the cliff if you mess it up. As a general rule, if the words “Suite” or “Opus” appear in a song title, or if songs employ Roman numerals, there’s a good chance that the line has been crossed. And it’s a... read more
Frightened Rabbit -- The Winter of Mixed Drinks
It's been a year and a half since the band with the silly name of Frightened Rabbit made a serious dent in my musical sensibilities. Now it's time for the dreaded followup to the breakthrough album.My initial reaction was and is disappointment. Not because The Winter of Mixed Drinks is a bad record. It's not. But The Midnight Organ Fight was such a rare album, simultaneously raw and soaring, that I suspect any followup would be mildly disappointing for me.There are many praiseworthy elements. I think Scott Hutchison is the most captivating, passionate rock vocalist since the early Bono.... read more
Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me
I keep hoping for the best. Friends - otherwise kind, intelligent human beings - love Joanna Newsom. “She’s a poet,” they tell me. “She writes beautifully.” They swoon over every plucked harp string, every alliterative allusion to laudable literature. And so I listen. Joanna has a new album out today called Have One On Me. In reality, one can have three on her, for lo, this is a triple album, more than two hours of poetry.... read more
Roots Roundup - Kasey Anderson, The Holmes Brothers, Guitar Shorty, Theodore, The Unwanted
Five reasons to feel good about the new year. Kasey Anderson - Nowhere NightsFirst the bad news: Kasey Anderson doesn’t do anything Steve Earle hasn’t been doing for thirty years. Now, the good news: for most of the past decade, Kasey Anderson has been doing it better than Steve Earle, and his fifth album Nowhere Nights does nothing to diminish his growing reputation. Kasey‘s sound has evolved a bit, and understated strings pop up now and again to sweeten the usual alt-country instrumentation. But Kasey is the star here, and his straightforward narrative songwriting slots nicely into the hallowed... read more
Scout Niblett -- The Calcination of Scout Niblett
When you employ Tibetan singing bowl as a lead instrument, and when your drumming makes Meg White sound like Art Blakey, there is a chance that you will never duet with Beyonce on the Grammy Awards. So don’t look for Scout Niblett to show up on your TV screen anytime soon. ... read more
Barry Dransfield
There is a lot of music out there, far more than even the most dedicated fan can take in. That inevitably means that good and sometimes great music goes unheard and unrecognized.Take the case of one Barry Dransfield. I knew Barry’s name. I had read of his music here and there, probably in Dirty Linen, the kind of niche music rag that focused on English hippies who played the traditional music of their forefathers. I even owned a bit of his music. Barry’s grinning visage stares out from under a top hat on the cover of Richard Thompson’s 1972... read more
Kate McGarrigle
In very sad news, Kate McGarrigle has died.... read more
Nick Curran and the Lowlifes -- Reform School Girl
Nick Curran has been around for a long time, making soulful garage rock and rockabilly that almost nobody hears. His latest album Reform School Girl, out February 16th on Electro Groove Records, doesn't vary the tried-and-true formula much, so there's nothing to suggest that this will be a breakout album. But it surely captures everything that made the kids go crazy fifty years ago. The great critic Greil Marcus once described Bruce Springsteen's song "Born to Run" as a "'57 Chevy running on melted down Crystals records," and there's a similar sound at work on Curran's album. Any one... read more
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