Tuesday, September 11, 2012

The Carpenter





No stunners here though it does grow on you. Which is ok if you are good with things growing on you. Diggin on "Pretty Girl from Michigan". Resonance.
"Through My Prayers" - pretty melody - sweet lyric. I like.



The Carpenter Tracklist
01 – “The Once and Future Carpenter”

02 – “Live and Die”

03 – “Winter In My Heart”

04 – “Pretty Girl From Michigan”

05 – “I Never Knew You”

06 – “February Seven”

07 – “Through My Prayers”

08 – “Down with the Shine”

09 – “A Fathers First Spring”

10 – “Geraldine”

11 – “Paul Newman Vs. The Demons”

12 – “Life”

http://www.theavettbrothers.com/music-featured/

Concord, North Carolina-based indie folk-pop darlings the Avett Brothers received rave reviews for their 2009 breakthrough major-label debut, I and Love and You, which peaked at number 16 on the Billboard 200 album chart and resulted in an invitation to perform alongside Bob Dylan and Mumford & Sons at the 2011 Grammy Awards.

While much of that record's success stemmed from brothers Scott and Seth Avett's poignant songwriting, producer Rick Rubin played a large part in letting those tracks shine. Rubin returns for the group's seventh studio album.

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Juliana Can Cover








1. Cells by Teenage Fanclub
2. Learn To Fly by Foo Fighters
3. Bad Moon Rising by CCR
4. Ready For Love by Bad Company
5. Self Machine by I Blame Coco
6. Fruit Fly by Nada Surf
7. Closet by Pete Yorn
8. Sweet Is The Night by ELO
9. Do I Wait by Ryan Adams
10.Friend Of Mine by Liz Phair
11.My Wife by The Who
12.Rock And Roll by Led Zeppelin

http://www.julianahatfield.com/newalbum.htm

Wiki knows all:
Juliana Hatfield (born July 27, 1967 in Wiscasset, Maine, United States), is an American guitarist/singer-songwriter and author from the Boston area, formerly of the indie rock bands Blake Babies and Some Girls. She currently lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts and attends School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
The daughter of Philip M. Hatfield (a radiologist) and The Boston Globe fashion critic Julie Hatfield, Juliana was born in Maine and grew up in the Boston suburb of Duxbury. Her father claims descent from the West Virginia Hatfields of the Hatfield-McCoy feud following the Civil War. She acquired a love of rock music during the 1970s, having been introduced by a babysitter to the music of the Los Angeles punk rock band X, which proved a life-changing experience. She was also attracted to the music of more mainstream artists like Olivia Newton-John and The Police, perhaps explaining the contrast in her later music between sweet, melodic "pop" songs and more hard rock oriented material. Visualizing herself as a singer since her high school years, Hatfield sang in school choirs and briefly played in a cover band called The Squids, which played (though not exclusively) Rush songs.

Blake Babies
Following her graduation from Duxbury High School, Hatfield attended Boston University for a semester. She then transferred as a piano student to the Berklee College of Music in Boston, in the hope of finding a band with which to sing. There she soon met Freda Boner (now Freda Love) and John Strohm, forming the Blake Babies with them in 1986, at the age of 19. The band, with which she sang and played bass guitar (as well as some guitar and piano), was signed to North Carolina's Mammoth Records and received a fair amount of airplay on college radio through the early 1990s. The group toured the United States several times, performed in Europe, and made several music videos. Hatfield eventually earned a degree in songwriting from Berklee.
Although Hatfield shared vocal duties with Strohm in the group, she quickly stood out due to her unique vocal quality; her somewhat thin, girlish voice gave the group a youthful, innocent sound that was nevertheless belied by often-caustic lyrics and a vocal delivery punctuated frequently by harsh, distorted screams (in live performances more so than on recordings). Although the group's early work was essentially punk-oriented, they quickly settled into a sunny, melodic, and slightly jangly pop style reminiscent in style of early R.E.M. and Neil Young. Hatfield and Strohm shared songwriting credits and often sang together in harmony or octaves, creating a memorable "boy-girl" sound rarely encountered in rock (except in the work of X and a few later indie bands such as Velocity Girl, Hazel, Quasi, Low, Mates of State, and Rainer Maria).
The group formally disbanded in 1991 but, largely due to the persistent efforts of Freda, reunited briefly in late 1999, performing a few shows in 1999 and 2000 and embarking on one last U.S. tour in 2001. Coinciding with the tour, the Blake Babies recorded and released a new album titled God Bless The Blake Babies which received strong reviews. The album featured new original songs as well as renditions of songs by Ben Lee and Madder Rose. Frequent collaborator Evan Dando also made a guest appearance on the album. After the tour, Hatfield released a Blake Babies EP titled Epilogue at her live shows featuring the band covering Fleetwood Mac, The Ramones and MC5.

Solo career

Hatfield began her solo career following the Blake Babies' breakup in 1991, releasing her first solo album (Hey Babe) in 1992. The album was one of the highest selling independent albums of 1992. Hatfield recruited a rhythm section consisting of former Moving Targets and Bullet LaVolta drummer Todd Phillips, and Thudpucker bassist Dean Fisher, and thus becoming The Juliana Hatfield Three.
Hatfield achieved alterna-rock stardom with the release of 1993's Become What You Are (recorded under the group name The Juliana Hatfield Three). Several songs from the album received regular airplay on major North American rock stations, with Hatfield's song "My Sister" becoming the biggest hit of her career, with a #1 placing on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, and the video becoming an MTV staple. Portions of her video for "Universal Heartbeat" were featured in an episode of MTV's "Beavis and Butt-Head". Another one of her songs ("Spin the Bottle") was used in the soundtrack of the Hollywood film Reality Bites (1994). Hatfield also made the cover of Spin magazine. Hatfield's popularity coincided with the success, in the mid-1990s, of many other female alternative rock musicians. Although she has always maintained that her gender is of only incidental importance to her music, Hatfield was pleased to have been invited, in 1997, to tour with the first Lilith Fair, a prominent all-female rock festival founded by singer Sarah McLachlan. Hatfield was profiled in a number of girls' magazines at this time and was embraced by many pre-teen and teenage girls as a role model due to the positive way she addressed serious issues faced by young women in her songs and interviews. About this period she says: "I was never comfortable with the attention. I thought it had come too soon. I hadn’t earned it yet." She gained notoriety in 1992 for saying that she was still a virgin in her mid-twenties in Interview magazine. In a 1994 interview for the magazine Vox, she said she was surprised by the effect 'outing' herself had: "I think there are a lot of people out there who don't care about sex, but who you never hear from, so I thought I should say it. The magazine I did the interview for is full of beef-cake hunky guys and scantily-clad models, so I thought it would be really funny to say that I didn't care about sex in a magazine that's full of sex and beauty – but no one really got the joke."
In 1995, following the success of Become What You Are she released her followup album, Only Everything, in which she "turned up the volume and the distortion and had a lot of fun". One reviewer describes it as "a fun, engaging pop album". The album spawned another alternative radio hit for Hatfield in "Universal Heartbeat". The video featured Hatfield as an overly demanding aerobics instructor. Prior to the tour for Only Everything, Hatfield released Phillips and brought on Jason Sutter (American Hi-Fi, Chris Cornell, Jack Drag), as well as Ed Slanker (Thudpucker, Tinsel) on 2nd guitar, and Lisa Mednick on keyboards. Two weeks into the tour, Hatfield canceled the tour, which her publicist explained as due to "nervous exhaustion," and took a month long break. In her memoir, Hatfield writes that in truth she was suffering from depression severe enough to the point of being suicidal. Hatfield disagreed with the decision not to be upfront about her depression. The drummer was, once again, replaced, this time by Phillips, and touring resumed with Jeff Buckley as the opening act.
In 1996, she traveled to Woodstock, New York where she recorded tracks for God's Foot, which was to be her fourth solo album (third if not counting Become What You Are, which was recorded with the Juliana Hatfield Three), intended for 1997 release. After three failed attempts to satisfy requests from Atlantic Records to come up with a "single" that the label could release, Juliana requested she be released from her contract. The label obliged, but kept the rights to the songs produced during these sessions (Atlantic had reportedly paid $180,000 to that point on the recordings). Two tracks – "Mountains of Love" and "Fade Away" – were eventually released on a greatest hits collection entitled Gold Stars, while still another, "Can't Kill Myself," was available for download from Hatfield's official website. The remaining tracks have surfaced only as substandard bootleg versions (which do not meet Hatfield's approval) and she has rarely featured them in her subsequent live performances.
Following the traumatic experiences surrounding God's Foot, and now freed from her major label obligations, Hatfield recorded a six-song EP for indie label Bar/None in 1997 titled Please Do Not Disturb. Produced by Hatfield herself, the album featured several different musicians, including drummer Todd Phillips, guitarists Ed Slanker and Mike Leahy, and new bass player Mikey Welsh (Weezer) among others. The EP features a particularly tender song, "Trying Not To Think About It," which is a tribute to the deceased musician Jeff Buckley, who was a friend of Hatfield's.
Almost as a reaction to the seemingly endless studio sessions surrounding God's Foot, Hatfield recorded the album Bed in 1998 in six days, about which she says on her website: "It sounds as raw as I felt. It has no pretty sheen. The mistakes and unattractive parts were left in, not erased. Just like my career. Just like life."
In 2000, she released Beautiful Creature, an album which was among the most critically well-received of her career. This album left the rockier side of Hatfield's musical personality unexpressed, however, so at the same time she also recorded Juliana's Pony: Total System Failure with Zephan Courtney and Mikey Welsh, which she describes as "a loud release of tension", with "lots of long sloppy guitar solos. And no love songs...a not-at-all attractive reaction to the ugly side of humanity, specifically American culture." The two albums were initially released in a set as a pair; however, Juliana's Pony: Total System Failure was received badly by the critics, who preferred the acoustic songwriting on Beautiful Creature. On Beautiful Creature, Hatfield worked with Austin-based musician DavĂ­d Garza who co-produced much of the album. Wally Gagel, a producer for Sebadoh and Tanya Donelly, helped Hatfield record her most electronica-influenced songs, "Cool Rock Boy" and "Don't Rush Me", which added texture to the otherwise acoustic album.
2002 saw the release of Hatfield's first "best-of" album. The album, titled Gold Stars 1992-2002: The Juliana Hatfield Collection, featured the singles from her solo albums. It also contained two of the songs from the previously unreleased God's Foot, a cover of Neil Young's "Only Love Can Break Your Heart", as well as four new recordings.
In 2004, Hatfield released In Exile Deo, which was arguably an attempt at a more commercial sound, with input from producers and engineers who'd worked with Pink and Avril Lavigne. Hatfield did, however, produce the album herself with David Leonard, receiving co-production credits on "Jamie's In Town" and the bright rocker "Sunshine." The critics loved it, with a couple calling it her best work since the start of her solo career.
By contrast, the 2005 album Made in China was released on her own new record label, Ye Olde Records, and has a much rawer feel. John Doe of the band X described the disc as "A frighteningly dark & beautiful record filled w/ stark, angular, truly brutal songs & guitars. This is surely a 'Woman Under the Influence', though I'm not sure of what." Reviews were mixed, with some liking the lo-fi sound, but others seeing it as slackness.

In December 2005, Hatfield toured the United States with the band X, whom she idolized during her teenage years.
In 2006, Hatfield released her first live album. Titled The White Broken Line: Live Recordings, the album featured performances from her tour with X. This was Hatfield's third release for her record label.
Hatfield's 9th studio album, How To Walk Away, was released on August 19, 2008 on Ye Olde Records. The album's heartfelt subject on the break-up of a relationship resonated with critics, who gave the album largely positive reviews, with some hailing it as her best album since In Exile Deo.
Hatfield returned 2 years later as her 10th studio album Peace & Love was released on Ye Olde Records, February 16, 2010. The album's composition, arrangement, performance, production, engineering and mixing was solely credited to Hatfield. The album received mixed reviews, with several complaining the album's low-key moody nature working against the potential of the songs.
Hatfield offered, via her website, to write custom songs in order to fund a couple of projects; one of which was to release archive material. About halfway through the project Hatfield stated that it had "completely re-energized and inspired" her again.
During October 2010 Hatfield and Evan Dando played two sell-out acoustic live shows together at The Mercury Lounge in New York. The following month the duo played sell out shows in Allston, a neighborhood of Boston. This tour was followed, in January 2011, by five dates on the American east coast; Hoboken, Brooklyn, Arlington, Milford and Philadelphia.
On April 2011, Hatfield announced her intention to work on a new album via fan-funding platform website Pledgemusic, from which she asked for her fans to help fund the project in exchange for personal artwork and memorabilia ranging from posters, CDs, demos, one of Juliana's First Act guitars (used during the recording sessions) and even locks of her hair. The project also included donations for the Save a Sato foundation to which Hatfield is a major contributor. Fan response was enthusiastic, going over 400% from the original project cost. The album was originally going to be titled Speeches Delivered to Animals and Plants, in reference to a passage in the John Irving novel The World According to Garp, but later Hatfield herself changed it for the title There's Always Another Girl, in reference to a song in the album of the same name she'd written as a defense for Lindsay Lohan after watching her flop I Know Who Killed Me.
There's Always Another Girl was released on August 30, 2011 again independently on her Ye Olde Records label, though a downloadable version was made available to contributors a month before on July 27, which was Juliana's birthday. The album has received mostly positive reviews from critics.
On August 28th of 2012, Juliana Hatfield will release a covers record titled Juliana Hatfield on her Ye Olde Records label. The album will feature covers of songs originally performed by The Who, Liz Phair, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Ryan Adams, I Blame Coco, Led Zeppelin, and more.

Friday, September 7, 2012

and you are me





Austin has long been a breeding ground of fine artistic endeavors, most notably in the music arena.
This is a fine example of said endeavors.
I swear, there is something in the water! :-)


UNCLE LUCIUS  "AND YOU ARE ME"




1. Set Ourselves Free/4:17
2. Pocket Full of Misery/3:28
3. Rosalia/3:28
4. Willing Wasted Time/4:17
5. Keep The Wolves Away/4:35
6. Somewhere Else/4:24
7. All We've Got Is Now/5:15
8. New Drug/3:51
9. Just Keep Walking/4:44
10. There Is No End/6:41
11. I Am You/6:25

Tiger Anaya /Trumpet
Mike Carpenter
Kevin Galloway
Joshua Dane Greco
Jon Grossman
Matt Price /Trombone
Uncle Lucius
Hal Jon Vorpahl
Mark Williams /Cello
Mark Wilson /Flute, Sax (Baritone), Sax (Tenor)

http://uncleluciusmusic.com/bio/
Austin-based indie rock band Uncle Lucius is set to release its new studio album, “And You Are Me,” on August 28, 2012.  Recorded in Austin and Nashville, “And You Are Me” finds Uncle Lucius stretching their musicianship and reeling in eleven songs that punch with a fullness reminiscent of The Doors to early Black Crowes. Uncle Lucius takes rock and roll from its deep roots, pushes it onward by putting their own honest interpretation of new rock sounds with elements of r&b and blues added. The band includes Kevin Galloway on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Hal Vorpahl on bass, Mike Carpenter on lead guitar and vocals, Josh Greco on drums and percussion and Jon Grossman on lead vocals, and keys.  The first single and video for “Pocket Full of Misery” will be serviced to radio and video outlets shortly.

The new album comes on the heels of a three-year run of tour dates that took Uncle Lucius across the continent strapped with 2009′s “Pick Your Head Up,” a self released album hailed for bringing rock and roll back to its heyday sound. Packed into their van the band toured everywhere from the corners of both coasts and throughout the Midwest from their Austin TX home pushing their rock and soul shows into late nights throughout the country. Songs from this 2009 album were featured on TV shows such as Castle and Friday Night Lights.

The band continues to tour leading up to the release of And You Are Me, and they pride their live show as a sacred and energetic experience, with a belief that this is still the truest form of communication with their fans.

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Privateering







I always eagerly await a Mark Knopfler release. This one, more so. as it is a two disc set.  As noted below. "The album is a soulful and heartfelt collection masterfully performed by a group of world class players."
I am so diggin this.


http://www.markknopfler.com/about/

"A privateer is what I am, really," says Mark Knopfler.

The title track of the legendary singer-songwriter and guitarist's eight solo album evokes a swashbuckling era of seafaring plunder, merchant raiders and licensed pirates. But Mark finds an analogy with the modern rock and roll life. "I really get a buzz out of having this little group of people that sallies forth across the world. I enjoy being in command of it, the band, the crew, travelling through this ever changing landscape and playing in all these different places. You get where you get without any kind of assistance, really, making your own way in the world. There are no government grants to play this music. You're a privateer. And that's the way I like it."

Privateering is Mark Knopfler's first double album in a 35-year recording career. "The older I get, the more I want to write," he says. "Whether that is just panic at time running out, I'm not sure. I'm enjoying the process more than ever, writing, recording and playing live, I enjoy all of it. I'm almost tripping over songs."

These 20 tracks of consummately crafted folk, blues, country and rock originals reflect the creative exuberance of an artist whose exceptional abilities were recognised with a Lifetime Achievement Award at this year's Ivor Novellos. He has performed live in front of countless millions. He has collaborated with artists of the stature of Bob Dylan, Randy Newman, Emmylou Harris and Van Morrison. He has composed distinctive soundtracks for such classic films as Local Hero, The Princess Bride, Last Exit To Brooklyn and Wag The Dog. He has been regularly acclaimed as one of the greatest guitarists in the world. But what he sees himself as, first and foremost, is a songwriter. And this may be his finest-ever collection.

"I have always thought in terms of the transatlantic nature of music. My idea of heaven is somewhere where the Mississippi Delta meets the Tyne. What I wanted from the very first album with Dire Straits and songs like 'Sultans of Swing' was to write my own geography into the American music that shaped me, to identify the English, Irish and Scottish landmarks on Chuck Berry's road. I think what I'm doing now is both synthesising those influences and separating them. The band I have is so talented, and so flexible, they give me the kind of palette to go anywhere I want, so I can jump from a hill farm in the north of England and go straight to the streets of New York City or go down into the delta for a straight-ahead blues."

Privateering travels from the dreamy Americana of 'Redbud Tree', filled with trademark silvery Stratocaster licks, to the sea shanty pipes of 'Haul Away', the swaggering slide electric blues of -'Gator Blood' and the Celtic folk yearning of 'Kingdom Of Gold'. It is full of drawn characters like the tough northern sheep farmer of 'Yon Two Crows' and the boastful gambler of 'Hot Or What', and evocative situations like the embattled lovers in the rain swept 'Seattle' and the mysterious contemplations of mortality of 'Dream Of The Drowned Submariner'. The lyrical and musical detail in these songs is of the very first order, with Mark Knopfler's singing and playing always bringing the story home on the back of one of the finest bands in the world. Privateering is not a concept album. It is not a song cycle. It is simply one of our finest and most distinctive musical talents doing what he does best.

"I chose to make a double album this time just because of the sheer volume of material. I didn't want to separate songs into blues and folk and country and I didn't want to leave songs on the shelf. I just wanted it to be a reflection of the fantastic sessions we had. With a great bunch of players, it's the same as a great group of actors reading a script from the page, the thing can come alive in ways it just never has before. This is the band I have been working towards my whole life."

The line-up of musicians Mark has been gathering around him since the mid-90s includes Guy Fletcher (keyboards), Richard Bennett (guitar), Jim Cox (piano), Glenn Worf (bass), Mike McGoldrick (whistle and flute) and John McCusker (fiddle) with the recent addition of the fantastic Ian Thomas (drums). Special guests included Paul Franklin (pedal steel), Phil Cunningham (accordion) and Tim O'Brien (mandolin). Ruth Moody of rising roots band The Wailin' Jennys contributed her distinctive vocals. "To have Ruth singing on the record was very special for me," says Mark. "She is on the very top level of singers and songwriters out there and I can't take her off my jukebox." The blues material was infused with the harmonica playing of Kim Wilson of legendary blues rockers The Fabulous Thunderbirds. "One of the most important things about the blues to me has always been the harp. Seeing Muddy Waters as a kid made a big impression on me, the harp was burbling away all the time, the band was swinging. And to me the greatest modern exponent is Kim Wilson, he's been my top man for many years, so it was really great to have him on board. We hit it off straight away and got a great session going."

Recorded in Mark's own studio, British Grove, Privateering is a smart, subtle, soulful and utterly superb collection of songs from a class act with an unbeatable band. These are tough tales of real people, living hard lives in difficult times. And it is all carried off with the self-confident bravado of a latter-day privateer. The cover, featuring a battered van and a shaggy dog, says it all. "I remember in the early days, if you had a van you could get into a group, so band wagons have always had a special place in my heart. It was important to use something like that, to take it away from the nautical swashbuckler. To me a man in a van has got as much to do with privateering as a frigate or a gunboat or anything like that. He's on the road, he's making his own way, he's doing his thing, the best way he knows how. That's what I'm talking about. That's what we're all trying to do."



Amazon:
2012 two CD release from the British guitarist, songwriter, producer and former Dire Straits leader. Privateering is Knopfler's first double album, each song an original. They cover a wide range of locations and characters from both sides of the Atlantic and move through a number of genres which include several new Blues originals. The album is a soulful and heartfelt collection masterfully performed by a group of world class players. In addition to what has become Knopfler's long-time band, hand-picked guest aces include Kim Wilson (harp) of the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Tim O'Brien (mandolin), singer Ruth Moody of The Wailin' Jennys, Paul Franklin (pedal steel) and Scotland's Phil Cunningham (accordion). Twenty new titles were recorded at the artist's British Grove Studios in London with the following players: Richard Bennett (guitar), Jim Cox (piano) Guy Fletcher (keyboards), John McCusker (fiddle), Mike McGoldrick (whistle and flute), Glenn Worf (bass) and Ian Thomas (drums). Knopfler was assisted by co-producers Guy Fletcher and Chuck Ainlay.

ALBUM CREDITS:

Mark Knopfler: vocals, electric, slide and acoustic guitars
Richard Bennett: guitars, bouzouki and tiple
Jim Cox: piano and organ
Guy Fletcher: keyboards and vocals
John McCusker: fiddle and cittern
Mike McGoldrick: whistles and uilleann pipes
Phil Cunningham: accordion
Glenn Worf: upright and electric bass
Ian Thomas: drums
Kim Wilson: harp
Tim O’Brien: mandolin and vocals
Paul Franklin: pedal steel
Ruth Moody: vocals
Rupert Gregson-Williams: vocals
Chris Botti: trumpet
Nigel Hitchcock: saxophone
John Charnec: clarinet

Strings arranged by Mark Knopfler and Guy Fletcher
Strings conducted by Rupert Gregson-Williams

All songs written by Mark Knopfler
Except “Miss You Blues”, lyrics Mark Knopfler, melody “Deep Blue Sea”: trad arr Knopfler
Published by Hornall Bros Music Ltd/Will D Side Ltd

DISC 1:
01. Redbud Tree
02. Haul Away
03. Dont Forget Your Hat
04. Privateering
05. Miss You Blues
06. Corned Beef City
07. Go, Love
08. Hot Or What
09. Yon Two Crows
10. Seattle




DISC 2:
01. Kingdom Of Gold
02. Got To Have Something
03. Radio City Serenade
04. I Used To Could
05. Gator Blood
06. Bluebird
07. Dream Of The Drowned Submariner
08. Blood And Water
09. Today Is Okay
10. After The Beanstalk

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Young Canadians








Rockin the Monastery last night...

http://eamonmcgrath.exclaim.ca/
http://whitewhale.ca/label/artist/eamonmcgrath/
At 23, Eamon McGrath has a list of accomplishments under his belt that would echo that of a writer twice his age: 250+ songs written and recorded, album of the year credits, multiple tours through the UK, Canada and Europe, and stints playing in the backing bands for both the legendary Daniel Johnston and Julie Doiron.
McGrath’s style is constantly changing and his shows range from sweaty, bombastic, punk and noisy garage-rock inspired barnburners, to quiet, intimate country best fit for a Western saloon. In the span of a single concert, and sometimes in the span of a song, heart-wrenching confessional lyrics pave the highway towards string-shredding guitar solos and an adolescent howl like no other.
“Young Canadians” takes his classic country/punk live show dichotomy even further.   It’s dark, yet, beautiful with badass, 90s-era pacific northwest workouts like “Rabid Dog” and “Saskatoon, SK” lying next to the dirty soul in “Pain of Love” and quiet, haunting odes to time lost (”Auditorium”), all filtered through a youthful, fist-in-the-air nod to Canadiana.
“Young Canadians” is McGrath’s 3rd official release following “13 Songs of Whiskey and Light” (2009), and “Peace Maker” (2010).  For Young Canadians, McGrath headed back into Vancouver’s JC/DC Studios with John Collins (New Pornographers) and Dave Carswell (Destroyer) and recorded it all within the span of one wild week.
It’s a grand novel bridging gaps between McGrath’s Albertan, prairie roots, and the ever-present spirit of punk rock that has come to define his life.   McGrath sums up “Young Canadians” on the first track:  ”My life could be a broken record by Canada’s Ramones.  Eternal adolescents: I’m calling out your names. Rock and roll won’t ever be the same”.
“There’s an openness and honesty to the lyrics that belies his tender age and he can carry a song with the slenderest of help…he sounds around double his age and he sounds like someone who will still be worth listening to when he is forty two.”
- Americana UK
“The teenage kick in his raw Saturday night energy is even more authentically prodigious…his rasping Waitsian voice suggests an unlived lifetime spent in low company in smoke-filled bars. (4 stars)”
- Uncut Magazine

Monday, September 3, 2012

Monday in Exile








http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=12362#.UET8SkbCSs0

With Exile on Blues Street, Randy Labbe and Telarc Blues did not merely hit a home run, but a grand slam to win the World Series by one in the bottom of the ninth. Where The Blues White Album was a troublesome fit and The Blues on Blonde on Blonde was a near fit, Exile fits like a glove.

It begs the question: were the Rolling Stones the purveyors of New Blues, or is the music so enduring that it never lost its core regardless of how it was treated? Or was the vision of the Rolling Stones so perfect on Exile on Main Street – as a reinterpretation of the rural and urban vernacular – that the current generation of bluesmen could step right in and pick up where the Stones left off? The answer: who cares? This is a fun romp through the hallowed basement of a French Castle circa 1972, where the greatest rock and roll band in the world would while away their time in exile.

Labbe ensures consistency and continuity by employing the same rhythm section throughout the session, namely Stevie Ray Vaughan's Double Trouble: bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton. Add to the band guitarist Brian Stoltz, veteran of previous of Telarc's blues adventures, and the foundation is complete. So, how do the songs come off? Highlights below...

"Ventilator Blues" - Lucky Peterson delivers a molten version, supplying sticky slide guitar and soupy, full-bodied organ. This is one of the strongest covers on the recording.

"All Down The Line" - Christine Ohlman belts out the '70s Stones concert staple with the tasty tenor compliments of Ryan Zoidis. Stoltz's guitar is virile and potent.

"Sweet Virginia" - This is the piece de resistance of the recording. Jeff Lang's acoustic slide guitar expresses so many ideas in such a short amount of time that the song requires several listens to appreciate fully his sheer artisanship. His voice is desperate and dense. He doubles electric and acoustic slide work, just like the Stones on Mississippi Fred McDowall's "You Got To Move."

"Tumblin' Dice" - Andrea Re sings with conviction and Colin James provides the requisite slide guitar to this, the greatest Stones song. Great cover, but do not throw away Linda Rhonstadt's version of the same.

"Shake Your Hips" - Tab Benoit teases out all that is John Lee Hooker from this one- chord workout. He has just the voice also.

"Shine A Light" - Joe Louis Walker picks the songs perfect for him in these series. He sings with more soul and his guitar is a blues beacon. He transforms this gospel-tinged piece into a electric exorcism.
What? No "Turd on the Run"? We are blessed sometimes... and this is one of those times. Even the low points are high points.

For more information, see Telarc Blues.

Personnel: Brian Stoltz-Guitars; Tommy Shannon-Bass; Chris Layton-Drums; Andrea Re, Rob Roy-Background Vocals; Ryan Zoidis-Saxophones; David Noyes-Trombone.

01. Ventilator Blues - Lucky Peterson
02. All Down The Line - Christine Ohlman
03. Rip This Joint - Tommy Castro
04. Sweet Black Angel - Otis Taylor
05. Sweet Virginia - Jeff Lang
06. Tumbling Dice - Colin James
07. Shake Your Hips - Tab Benoit
08. Shine A Light - Joe Louis Walker
09. Happy - Deborah Coleman
10. Rocks Off - Jimmy Thackery



Sunday, September 2, 2012

Portraits of Bob Dylan






STEVE HOWE ''PORTRAITS OF BOB DYLAN''

1 - Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands (Featuring Jon Anderson of Yes)/11:56
2 - Mama You've Been On My Mind/2:32
3 - It's All Over Now Baby Blue (Featuring Annie Haslam of Renaissance)/4:31
4 - Going, Going, Gone (Featuring Max Bacon of GTR)/3:51
5 - Just Like A Woman (Featuring Geoff Downes of Asia)/4:33
6 - Well, Well, Well (Featuring P.P. Arnold)/4:02
7 - The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll/6:05
8 - Lay, Lady, Lay (Featuring Keith West of Tomorrow)/3:40
9 - One Too Many Mornings (Featuring Phoebe Snow)/3:28
10 - I Don't Believe You/4:14
11 - Don't Think TwiceIt's All Right (Featuring Allan Clarke of The Hollies)/3:59
12 - Buckets Of Rain/3:48

Jon Anderson /Guest Artist, Vocals
P.P. Arnold /Guest Artist, Vocals
Max Bacon /Guest Artist, Vocals
Allan Clarke /Guest Artist, Vocals
Geoffrey Downes /Guest Artist
Dean Dyson /Vocals
Annie Haslam /Guest Artist, Vocals
Steve Howe /Arranger, Bass (Electric), Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Keyboards, Pedal Steel, Producer, Vocals
Anna Palm /Violin
David Richards /Drum Programming, Engineer
Phoebe Snow /Guest Artist, Vocals
Keith West /Guest Artist, Vocals

Wiki:
Portraits of Bob Dylan is the title of Yes guitarist Steve Howe's ninth solo album, released in 1999. The album features his son Dylan Howe on drums and several other guest artists, including (former) Yes band members Jon Anderson and Geoff Downes, performing cover versions of Bob Dylan songs. Keith West, lead singer of the 1960s band Tomorrow (in which Howe was the guitarist), sings lead on "Lay Lady Lay."