Album Review: Willie Nelson : Country Music

Apr 28, 2010 Album Reviews

This review is too easy. Could this album have failed? Let’s see…. grizzled, old, country legend: Willie Nelson… Check. Master producer who knows when to just let the music come: T  Bone Burnett…  check. Kick ass studio musicians… check. A collection of songs that Willie could do in his sleep…check. Add it up and you get exactly what you’d expect here a classic country album, professionally done that is a good listen.

At this point I believe Willie is just trying to set some kind of record for material left for future generations to enjoy. It seems like every two months he is releasing something else and it is never bad, sometimes not great, but never bad.

On Country Music, Willie wrote just one tune, “Man With the Blues”, and dove into the trove of songs, that was just begging for him to record, for the rest of the album. The entire album is enjoyable from start to finish, with an old time country feel to some and a bluesy feel to the rest. The backing band put together by Burnett, the same one that appeared on the Robert Plant/ Alison Krauss release from a couple of years ago, does not miss a single beat and is probably the highlight of the record for me.

There are a couple of songs that stood out for me. Doc Watson’s “Freight Train Boogie” is handled with a country bar band feel and Willie really nailing the vocals. The traditional, gospel blues tune “Nobody’s Fault but Mine” closes the album in grand fashion. Laid over a tasty upright bass this song really captures the tired feeling of Willie’s voice and in a way is appropriate for his advancing age. I can not believe that Nelson had never tackled this song previously (who knows he may have, he only has like seven thousand records) and if he hasn’t I’m sure glad he decided to here.

Overall not the greatest record ever made but one worthy of all the acclaim that I’m sure it will garner coming from Nelson and Burnett.

Tags: album review, willie nelson

Youtube Clip : Black Joe Lewis Interview

Apr 23, 2010 Youtube Clip

I am obsessed with Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears’ debut album Tell ‘em What Your Name is, which came out last year. The band is great and Joe is insane. This is an interview I found on Youtube which is not really informative but highly entertaining, and below is a live performance of  “I’m Broke”.

Tags: Black Joe Lewis, Interview, Youtube Clip

List : 5 Things That Would Make Me Happy

Apr 22, 2010 Lists

Everyone likes lists, they make things easy to see and understand. Furthermore, everyone likes making lists, whether it be top-tens, things to do, best/worst, etc. Well what the hell, I thought I’d go ahead and make my own list. This list has no glue to hold it together except that these are all things that would me happy in the realm of music. The items on the list appear in no particular order. Some of these inevitably will happen, some could possibly happen, and some are completely ludicrous. So keeping in mind those caveats, let’s get to the list.

1. A new Jackie Greene album soon.

Not only do I love Jackie Greene but, it has now been two years since Giving up the Ghost came out.  Let me also (since this is my list) ask that this hypothetical new Jackie Greene record be as good as its predecessor. Some would probably argue that 2006′s American Myth is Greene’s best record, but I’m here to tell you that they would be wrong. Ghost had a little of everything that Greene can give you, some folky, some bluesy, a little pop feel, and a couple of down right ball busting rock n roll songs. So here’s to hoping that Mr. Greene sees this and expedites that new record.

2. The forever rumored to be coming soon follow up to Voodoo from R&B singer D’angelo finally comes and is somewhat worth the wait.

D’angelo ? You might ask, not necessarily in line with the other artists that have been written about in the short life of this site. Yes, D’angelo this guy is great. It’s like Snoop Dogg and Otis Redding had a love child and God granted this imaginary child with a kick ass band and said go forth and sing. Then in this story the hero child seems to squander his talent by making only two albums in fifteen years, touring sporadically, and smoking entirely too much pot. I still listen Voodoo on a regular basis, and this new record has been the subject of rumors off and on for years. The latest of these rumors has the record hitting the shelves late this summer and perhaps having Prince involved. Needless to say it has me interested.

3. Fred Eaglesmith’s new release, Cha Cha Cha, reminds me why I love Fred Eaglesmith again.

Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate what Eaglesmith did on Tinderbox, I’m all for an artist stretching their wings from time to time and it’s not like I hated the record, it was just not one of my favorites. For that matter neither was Milly’s Cafe (which by the way was not out of his wheelhouse) nor was Dusty. So that makes three straight studio records since I was really thrilled about an Eaglesmith release. I have liked all three of those releases, but man I would kill for another Lies, Lipstick and Gasoline or Drive-In Movie.

4. Tommy Womack finds some commercial success.

I could think of nobody else that survives in the indy singer/ songwriter world that deserves it more than Tommy. The man is a great songsmith, a talented guitar player, an amazing performer, and most importantly a genuinely good guy. I have had the pleasure of promoting a number of shows with Tommy in the last couple of years and he is always very humble and grateful for not only the gig itself but, for everyone who comes out to see him. Tommy has seen some good fortunes recently with a new Daddy record and with Jimmy Buffett choosing to cover a song that Tommy co-wrote with his pal Will Kimbrough. So here’s to hoping the Parrotheads embrace “Nobody from Nowhere” and it brings some recognition and financial windfall to Tommy’s doorstep.

5. Tom Waits turns back the clock.

The first Tom Waits record I got into was the Grammy winning Mule Variations, so needless to say I am a huge fan of his newer records. However I feel that I got cheated by my not being able to witness the great live shows he was putting on during the mid to late 70′s. I’d love for Waits to do a tour of small, smoke filled bars with a stripped down band, sit down behind the piano or stand at the mic and start delivering versions of the songs off of Small Change, Blue Valentine, and Heart of Saturday Night. Not only would it just be an amazing atmosphere to be able to experience it would be great to see where songs like “Christmas Card from a Hooker” and “Small Change” would go with Tom now. This one would fall under that ludicrous heading, but one can hope.

So there you have the first official list on The Broken Jukebox. I would imagine I am not alone in wanting these things to happen. Feel free to drop a comment with a few things you would like to see happen this year in music.

Tags: D'angelo, Fred Eaglesmith, Jackie Greene, Lists, Tom Waits, Tommy Womack

Youtube Clip : Todd Snider

Apr 21, 2010 Youtube Clip

Here is video I found on youtube of Todd Snider doing my favorite tune off of his latest record, The Excitement Plan. He does “Money, Compliments, and Publicity” here on a guitar with Robert Earl Keen and Bruce Robison looking on.

This is classic Todd live, he tells an amusing little story before hand and if you watch the other guys on stage they seem to be entertained as much as the crowd is.

Tags: todd snider, Youtube Clip

Album Review: Eric Nassau : What’s Left of Empty Spaces

Apr 19, 2010 Album Reviews

Eric Nassau is based out of Columbus, Ohio which is not far from my home town. Which means I’ve had the pleasure of seeing this guy live many times since I met him 5 or 6 years ago. In that time, I have been awaiting this album eagerly. Eric has released multiple albums before this one all of which are definitely worth tracking down, but I have been hearing him play the songs on this one for a long time and have been needing to hear them realized in a studio setting.

While most people would rightly classify Eric as a folky, this guy knows how to rock, which I recently witnessed for the first time with a full band and the songs on this album lend themselves to that kind of show much more than his previous recordings. The folk influence is still present here, but on certain songs you can feel the energy wanting to burst out through your speakers. Eric enlisted many of Columbus’s best musicians on this record, including Jim Volk and Megan Palmer and his songwriting is better than ever. Also ever present on anything you hear Eric on is his incredibly melodic voice. This guy’s voice just makes you feel calm and makes every word he sings seem soothing.

As for the highlights of the album, I must start out with a song that every time I’ve seen hm since I heard it first I have annoyingly called out from the crowd, “Hey, Peoria!”. This song just hit me for some reason. The basics of the song is that the narrator is trying to make St. Louis for a friend’s upcoming nuptials and is sidetracked in Peoria, IL because of a detour. He eventually makes the wedding on time but not before seeing all Peoria has to offer, but not by his choice. I just love the fact that Nassau is singing to the city itself and for some reason it makes me smile. Another great track on the record is “Ukulele Lady and The Mandolin Man”, a story of two wayward musicians that hook up because of the similarity in size of their chosen instruments. Further on in the record comes an ode to some rot gut whiskey, “Jeremiah Weed”. This stuff is foul if you ask me, but if you were to ask the characters in the song or the singer himself, it may contain the secret of life. A couple of songs that show that Nassau can rock are, “Turn” , the album’s opening track which laments a missing dog, as well as ” Big Water” .

An album that was worth the wait, Nassau delivers another quality disc. If you are ever in the central Ohio area then look up Eric’s schedule and catch a show, or wait until he makes his way towards you. You can find him on line at his myspace page.

Tags: album review, eric nassau

Youtube Clip: Martin Sexton Backstage

Apr 13, 2010 Youtube Clip

Another Youtube clip today. The clip features Martin Sexton playing “Hey Joe” backstage at a show. This guy is a madman both vocally on a guitar.





I love the intensity of this clip even though it obvious Sexton is only goofing off for the camera backstage. If for some reason you are not familiar with Martin Sexton go out and get any of his live albums and you will be very happy. More posts later today.

Tags: martin sexton, Youtube

Youtube Clip : William Elliott Whitmore

Apr 10, 2010 Youtube Clip

Here is a great clip I have been watching a lot lately. William Elliott Whitmore playing “Hell or High Water” off of his latest record, Animals in the Dark on KEXP radio.

Tags: william elliott whitmore, Youtube

Review: Jon Dee Graham : It’s Not As Bad As It Looks

Apr 10, 2010 Album Reviews

This record was released officially in late October of last year, but if you didn’t live in Texas you couldn’t get it for a long while after that. I think I finally purchased it right around Christmas with a lot of anticipation. I first got turned on to Jon Dee Graham right before his last album, Full, and I absolutely fell in love with that album. So naturally, I was eagerly anticipating Graham’s follow up record. The album seemed to take forever to come to fruition, and then Jon Dee was in a horrible car accident that took a long to recover from.

Eventually some live clips began filtering on to Youtube of the new songs that would become It’s Not as Bad as It looks and I was once again bursting with anticipation. Then the record was released. I rushed at my chance to download it the first day it was available over on Emusic.com.

After my first listen my initial response was a little disappointed. The songs on this album are great, but something was missing for me. I took it over to my friend who is also a big Jon Dee fan and we listened again. As the record played I was amazed at how many  times he or I said something along the lines of “This song right here is fuckin’ great”. The more those kind of observations were thrown around we both started thinking about my initial response. He asked why I thought the record was a disappointment. I thought about it for a minute and my response was, “well, it’s not Full “. After that he made a very good point, asking if every Dylan record was Blood on the Tracks and the ones that weren’t, were they bad albums because of it.

When the fact that this record wasn’t my personal favorite was out in the open I began to hear this record for what it was, possibly Graham’s best record. When someone goes through something as traumatizing as a car accident that could end in death often times they will come out with an album that is filled dread and dreariness, not Jon Dee. This album continuously hits us with the feeling that well, it’s not as bad as it looks. As expected, Jon Dee delivers a great sounding record. The man is a monster guitar player and the great thing is that he seems to never overplay, the guitar work on this record is perfect, timing and tone are exactly what they should be. Graham has a way of bringing a pop sensibility to songs that could never be pop songs, perhaps he knows this (one track on the record is entitled, “Popsong”). His vocals while sounding like perhaps he has gargled glass somewhere down the line has a warmness to it that you wouldn’t expect.

The album starts off with a great track, “Beautifully Broken” is a song about the people you meet in rehab. I’m not sure and I won’t speculate on what Graham has personally experienced in his life but, this song gives an interesting perspective on the topic. He even calls out one of his heroes in the second verse,

Neil Young and the damage done

he got it wrong

There’s never been a junkie like the setting sun

so reliable and strong

The next track that really stands out to me is “I Said” where Jon Dee ends up screaming to declare his love to someone whom he does not care if they reciprocate. Later in the album the feeling that things are going to turn around is conveyed in the song “Lucky Day”. Graham lists things that have happened, real or imagined, that have led the narrator to believe that this “might possibly, actually be ” his lucky day. These themes go on through the rest of the album with uplifting songs “(Let’s Get It) While It’s There” and “I Will Be Happy Again”. Finally another great song on the record is “God is Gonna Give You What You Need”, where the story teller tells us that God is not concerned with what you want or think you need but, rather he is interested only in providing what is needed.

After an initial response to the album that proved to misguided, this album has grown on me and is definitely a great record. I have realized that while this may not hold the personal spot for me that his previous record does it really might be his best record to date, as Jon Dee has continued to grow as a solo artist. So my suggestion is that you run over to his website and buy this record but, while you are there do yourself a favor and pick up Full as well.

Tags: jon dee graham, Reviews

Review: David Olney : Dutchman’s Curve

Apr 9, 2010 Album Reviews

It amazes me how many people are not familiar with David Olney. This guy has been releasing killer Americana records for almost forty years and yet when you bring up his name, even in the company of learned music people, they have no clue who he is. Well let me tell you this guy is a treasure and this album is very, very good. I have probably listened to this record thirty times in a week.

Olney has a silky smooth voice, with a touch of grit. This album goes in out of different forms of music going from folky to country to some songs that would feel right at home on a 50′s pop rock record.

The opening track “Train Wreck” is a great tune. The woman whom the song is about is one we’ve all had the pleasure or pain of dating at some point in our lives. She is a train wreck but, we cannot seem to get away. Olney and his background vocalists combine to make the horn sound of a train which goes well with the feel of the locomotive that permeates the sound of the song. Another great song on this record is “I’ve Got a Lot on My Mind”, a song that has the protagonist, a self described “lazy so and so” being seduced by a woman who does not think he has much going on. I love the way this song drags you in with its feel and eventually Olney breaks into a broken tired scat that is amazing. Olney also finds it is heart to make this listener happy with a good old outlaw song. “Covington Girl” follows two brothers that ride off on the instruction of their mother to rob a train. I love certain kinds of songs which you will see definitely include the outlaw song and this is a good one. “Little Sparrow” is one of the songs that would be right at home in the 50′s, the background vocals recalls doo wop songs that were popularized at the time and Olney and crew pull it off flawlessly.

This is a great record and one that if you haven’t heard Olney before will be a great way to get turned on to him. It is officially released on April 13th so I suggest you go over to the about to be newly renovated David Only website and get your hands on it.

Tags: david olney, Reviews

Review: Will Kimbrough : Wings

Apr 9, 2010 Album Reviews

Let me start this review out by saying this… Will Kimbrough does not need to make solo records. He has enough to do, whether it be playing guitar in someone’s live band, sitting in on studio recordings, writing songs for people to put on their records, or producing phenomenal records for others. He does not need to make these records. I’d like to to take a second to thank him for doing so…..now all of you go and find his email address and flood his inbox with thank yous……Are you done with that? Good, now we can go on to discuss Will Kimbrough’s newly released and in my opinion best record to date.

This record is fairly short with only ten tracks but, man are they good. I love Will’s way to add a great pop appeal to his songs and that comes from someone who doesn’t really get into much poppy music. Will’s vocals on this record are superb and he has put them down on these songs that are very personal. My only complaint if I had to have one is that this record doesn’t have the balls out rockin’ song that we know Will can produces but, that is nit picking.

The album starts off with a song that hit home for me. I should take this moment to say that I, like Will, am a married father of two little girls. So “Three Angels” began when I first put this record on and I was immediately hooked. “Everyone has three angels, I got three”, I ran to the living room and plugged my ipod in for my wife to hear this song that I “should” have written. This is another chance to get to know your faithful writer here, my wife does not normally get excited about my music rants and this song hooked her as well and she then proceeded to listen to the rest of the record with me and loved it. So Will has not only impressed me but, has passed the wife test…way to go Will. The album goes on to display what we’ve grown to expect from Will great arrangements, great musicianship on great tunes. “Wings” serves as a great title track with an uplifting message, co-written with Jimmy Buffett and appearing on Buffett’s “Buffet Hotel” record. Another great co-write with Todd Snider comes with the song “It Ain’t Cool”, gives us the message to not go around gossiping in a nice groove with low key lyrics. The album closes with “A Couple Hundred Miracles” another personal song that hits home with any of us that have ended up in places that we did not think we would be in, but are grateful just the same.

Once again Will has made a record that justifies his solo career. The man just writes good songs that make us all smile. I’m glad that this album took a personal turn after the intensity of the political and social themes of Americanitis, which was a great album as well, but sometimes that touch of personal experience makes us all remember why we listen to music. This album definitely succeeds in relating to its audience in that, “man I feel just like that” kind of way.

Head over to Will’s website or itunes and buy this record.

Tags: Reviews, will kimbrough