Nothings Gonna Change the Way You Feel About Me Now is the complete opposite. In the couple months that I’ve had it, I have listened to it over and over and it gets better every time. I find myself putting it on as much as The Good Life which is a major compliment. The record boasts an outstanding band, and the sound is a departure from what we have grown to expect from Justin. The best way to describe it is I think country mixed with a healthy dose of Memphis Soul. The band is tight, and includes a horns section. They recorded the whole album live in like four days and the laid back vibe is definitely there. I’d love to see Earle take this band on the road.

Earle’s trademark drawl is still present but he seems to have gotten a little grittier on some songs. The songwriting is on par with all of his other work and maybe better in some ways. Earle is not afraid to shine a glaring light on his personal life including his problems in the past whether it be with substance abuse or relationships, which add an honesty to his songs that is sometimes lacking in other writers.

By far my favorite track on this record is the way up tempo “Baby’s Got a Bad Idea” about a slowly collapsing relationship. The narrator knows she’s leaving soon, but can’t help but wonder what is going on in her mind and remembering the good times when “She used to call me by my name”. That last line is repeated with an amazing growl to close the song, Earle’s vocals teamed with the horns on this one had me hooked immediately.

Another standout on the record is “Look the Other Way”. Sometimes it’s great that a person you love looks the other way when you are making mistakes. At the same time that attitude can be detrimental to a relationship when you are attempting make a amends and improve your ways, and they may not notice.

Two other must listens on this one are “Memphis in the Rain” a song with a great tempo and “Movin’ On” a slow personal track that has Earle calling his mother to find comfort but they both purposely avoid speaking of harmful topics out loud.

If you are one of those people that was turned off by his last record, I implore you to go out and give this one a chance. Earle has purposely switched up his style just enough for this record to sound completely fresh and still not veer to far away from his strengths. There were a bunch of records that I was waiting for to come out this year and this one absolutely did not disappoint. Check out more on Earle on his website.

Old Timey, I hate that description, because James is fully aware of the century in which he lives, but the sounds to seem to lurk somewhere in the late fifties or early sixties. James’ drawn out baritone sometimes conjures up the ghosts of Johnny Cash and Buddy Holly while still having a unique tone that really drives the entire feel of the album and sets him apart from so many of the other singer songwriters out there.

The album is well put together, and the sound is phenomenal which is something that is sometimes lacking with local records. Make no mistake this was not just recorded in a living room, it is a bonafide debut despite it’s lack of big label backing. James’ songwriting skills are impeccable and his aforementioned haunting vocals combine flawlessly with his guitar skills, Harris’ unconventional yet remarkable upright skills, and Woods’ drumming (which in my opinion is the best in Ohio) to create one of the early favorites for my year end top ten. Also of note are the great bar room feel of the loose harmonies that are dropped in at exactly the right moments in the songs. I’m not sure who handles the arrangements of the songs, but whoever they are they did a great job.

“Haunt Your House” tells the story of a man claiming that a woman will never be able to rid herself of him, even in death. This one makes me really yearn to see them live as the energy on the recorded version leaps out of the speakers damn near with a trail of sparks.

Another favorite of mine on the record, is “Prettiest Girl”, a slower number that tells of James’ world travels while looking for the perfect mate. After all the searching he comes to the conclusion that the grass was in fact not greener on the other side and the girl standing right next to him is the actually “the one”. Normally I am not for whistling in a song, but the whistle in this song really makes it stand out to me.

The best song on the record is a toss up between, “Shape I’m In”, James’ lament of the lifestyle he has chosen and “Sour Apple”, a tale of love gone wrong. Also of note is the sweet finger picked, “High Lonesome”, a song that showcases James’ superb lyrics and his vocal with minimal backing by the Planes.

I have to admit when I  heard that Harris and Wood had abandoned The Driftwood Motion to play behind some guy I had never heard of, I was disappointed. That is until I heard this record. Joshua P. James is a damn fine songwriter and he and the planes have delivered one hell of an album.  One that I suggest everyone go order immediately. I have yet to see them live, but I have heard that they are a riot on stage, and I  would not be surprised to see them rapidly becoming a sought after act on the Americana scene. The album was officially released this past weekend and should be available soon on their website.

Now What? not only met my lofty expectations, but took them and smashed them to little tiny bits. It is the perfect continuation of its aforementioned predecessor. I would highly suggest listening to them back to back whenever possible.

Womack does not regularly get mentioned in lists of the best songwriters, but he damn well should be. He may not be my all time favorite, but I am hard pressed to come up with anyone else who writes songs that I can relate to any more than those on his records. Anyone who listens to a Tommy record immediately feels like they’ve known the man for years.

There, I Said It! told the story of a middle age rocker coming to grips with his real life, and if you were wondering what has transpired since then in Womack’s life all you need to do is listen to Now What?. The nervousness that was conveyed in the previous record is still present on this one, but it has been pushed to the background. Womack has learned to balance his rock n roll dreams with the reality of a man who makes mistakes and has a yard to mow.

The album starts off with “Play That Cheap Trick, Play” which sets the tone for the whole record. It’s an up tempo ode to getting older and realizing that “this is as good as it’s gonna get” and damnitt that is just fine.

The next track on the record is “It Doesn’t Have to be That Good”, a song that led to a thirty minute conversation with my best friend. Most telling was that he told me that song changed his life. Sometimes all we need is a little perspective when things don’t seem to be turning out the way we dreamed or planned and Tommy has delivered it perfectly right here.

Following that is “Bye and Bye”, the story of meeting an old flame in a grocery store. If you live in the same time for any significant amount of time, this very thing has probably happened to you. Womack sings of the memories and feelings that flood in when seeing her and at the same time acknowledges that somethings happen for the better. While the times they shared may have been intense and extremely pleasurable, he says “I’d have made you a miserable husband, and you’d been a high maintenance wife” before imploring her to check out and leave.

Driven only by a drum beat, “90 Miles an Hour Down a Dead End Street” features Tommy’s beatlike rapping. The entire time I was waiting for the guitar to come in and turn this one into a rocker, but it never does. When the song was over I had to immediately replay it just to make sure I took in all of the lyrics and thought my god, that was brilliant. To think a shitty show in Indy inspired that song.

“Guilty Snake Blues” is a classic Womack song, adhering to standard blues format with some killer horns and Tommy’s fantastic lyrics, my favorite being “They don’t let you into heaven just because you paid your dues”.

The final song I will discuss is the closing track, “Let’s Have Another Cigarette”. This ends the record  in the best way I could think of. He lists a few things  that some may look at as negatives and hardships but, Womack brings it all in and looks past them by remembering that “Tonight, I’m gonna play some Rock n Roll” .

I asked on Facebook not long ago how someone could follow up one of the greatest records ever and not be a disappointment. After one listen the answer is go make Now What?. It’s hard to believe that just 6 years ago Tommy was considering never making another record and since then he has dropped these two classic albums. If you are not familiar with Tommy go to his website, buy all of his records, go see him live or just read some of his ramblings on his site, I promise you will not be disappointed.

First is “Happy Father’s Day”, a song that nearly brings me to tears every time I hear it.

Next is the aforementioned “Cocaine Kid”

Finally, “A Tape Full of Love Songs”, enjoy:

 

Okay perhaps there wasn’t that much celebration, but you get the idea that I am always happy when this self proclaimed gypsy puts out an album. The very appropriately title Agnostic Hymns and Stoner Fables is Todd’s 16th release if you count live records, eps, and compilations and each and every one of them are special.

I probably listen to Snider as much or more than any other artist on a regular basis so sometimes I can be a little critical towards new stuff and sometimes it takes me a little while to warm up to a new disc as was the case with his last studio release, The Excitement Plan (which I now love).

I have talked to a lot of Todd fans and read some early reactions to this record and it seems that a lot of people are experiencing the warming up to this record due to the very loose and muddy production and general dirtiness of the album. I, on the other hand was sold from the first few minutes of the opening track and my opinion was just solidified the farther I got into the album.

The production is somewhat similar to the Peace Queer ep from a couple of years ago. I’m not sure if this is because of Eric McConnell’s presence as a producer on both or because the loose feel is what Todd was aiming for, although I have read quotes stating Todd wanted the musicians to just “make a mess”. Personally I feel that the loose, dirty sound lends itself to the songs quite well. The characters in these songs would not make totally pretty music and therefore the tones surrounding their stories should not be completely polished.

For a lot of the album there is bluesy guitar, and Amanda Shires on fiddle to go with the rhythm section of Paul Griffith (drums) and Eric McConnell (bass) and Jason Isbell makes an appearance on a couple tracks. The vocals are pretty laid back on most of the tracks, Todd falls back on the almost spoken word singing on quite a few tracks and then breaks out an almost falsetto on one tune. Shires does a great job added depth to the vocal tracks on a lot of the songs as well.

As for the songs, it’s not a surprise that the down and out, underbelly of society make themselves quite known on Todd’s songs. Always writing about the lower classes, Todd seems to have a way to make the people mainstream America forgets about or hides their eyes from, seem poetic and majestic even if what they happen to be doing is completely immoral. This record has no shortage of these well shaped characters, some based on specific people, some generalized versions of a sector of society, some perhaps addressing Todd’s own personal struggles.

Immediately the album starts off with a great song, “In the Beginning”. The agnostic hymns part of the title comes in on this one as this song attempts to explain the need for religion as a reason to appease the poor with the promised holy land and keep them from killing the rich people of the world.  While it seems perhaps anti-religious, the faith in something is still what keeps the people in the song from the heinous act of murder.

The rich being possibly killed for their possessions is once again part of the theme of “In The Beginning” which, is my favorite song on the record. Here a working class man is discussing how he’d really like to have part or all of what a more well off person he is talking to has. With great lines like, “You think I’m not very bright, and you might be right, I might have been born yesterday… but, I was up all night” it really captures the way the working class thinks they are perceived by the dreaded “one percent”. Todd also gets the desperation of being unemployed and how it sometimes leads to extreme circumstances, “I’m thinking what’s keeping me from killing this guy and takin’ his shit?”.

Other standouts include, “Brenda”, a song that takes Mick Jagger and Keith Richards’ relationship and makes it a love song and a cover of Jimmy Buffett’s “West Nashville Grand Ballroom Gown” which is infinitely better than the original. Finally, anyone familiar with Todd’s stories will probably recognize his friend from Alaska, Digger Dave, who appears as the main character of “Digger Dave’s Crazy Woman Blues”. Todd sings about the time Dave was incarcerated for “letting that crazy bitch in the house”.

Although it is only 10 tracks long, Agnostic Hymns and Stoner Fables is a great album, and furthermore is a great Todd Snider album. There really isn’t a song that I skip on the whole thing so I highly suggest getting a copy soon. www.ToddSnider.net

 1.) Gretchen Peters : Album – Hello Cruel World (2012)

I had never heard of Gretchen Peters until recently. After this record was released I kept reading about how great it was, so I decided to give it a listen. I am really glad I did. The entire album album is great, each track is flawlessly produced and arranged and Peters’ lyrics and vocal delivery are fantastic. I am really fond of the title track that opens the album, the quiet vocals and subject matter mesh perfectly with the spacey sound of the instruments.

My favorite song on this one is “Five Minutes”, a story told by a waitress who is sneaking away to smoke a cigarette behind the diner and spends that five minutes taking an inventory of the last 20 years of her life. This song alone is worth the price of the record. Her storytelling ability on this track convinced I needed to delve into her some more.

Apparently, Peters has a fairly large discography, and has been nominated for a Grammy for songwriting. Over the next few weeks I will be getting to know the rest of her catalog. Check our her website here.

2.) Betty Soo : Album – Heat Sin Water Skin (2009)

I had been hearing Betty’s name around for the last couple of years, but had never even taken the time to look her up on Youtube or anything. Late last year, Graham Weber released Women and Betty Soo sang the duet, “Sleep It Off” with him. I was completely blown away by her vocals.

Recently I got a copy of her last solo record (she has since released an album with Doug Cook). Soo’s songwriting abilities are on par with her impeccable vocal delivery. Most of the record is pretty straightforward country folk, but there a few times when she lets loose and rocks out a little.

“Just Another Lover” is the first song that really jumped out at me from this one. On the second turn of the chorus she asks :

“Am I just another lover to you?
Another piece of skin you could get close to
Someplace warm where you once fit in
Essential but forgettable as oxygen
Am I just another lover to you?”

My favorite track on this album, is “Get Clean” which is one of the instances where she really lets loose. I love this sound of this song it just feels weird, but in the best possible way.

She closes the record with a very subdued version of “Lonesome Whistle” and you can never go wrong with a solid Hank Sr. cover.

I’m hoping that she will make the trip to the North sometime soon so that I can see her live, which I am convinced will be one hell of an experience. Check her out on her website.

3.) Amanda Shires : Album – Carrying Lightning (2011)

My experiences with Amanda Shires in the past have been as a fiddle player and harmony vocalist, frequently with Rod Picott and recently she guested on the upcoming Todd Snider record,  as well as the aforementioned Graham Weber release. She has always been a great addition to any song that I have heard her on, but that is all that I have ever thought of her.

I decided to give her latest effort a more careful listen when I began this project and was quite pleased with what I heard. Shires can absolutely carry a song all by herself. The writing on this record ranges from country standard to rather quirky, and the sound and her vocals mold themselves to the words.

“Shake the Walls” has a very airy feeling as she calls out for her lover to come over to shake the walls as well as “keep the shirts and your hands and the jeans moving in a downward trend”.

My favorite song on this one is “Detroit or Buffalo”, the story of a love turning bad, with everyone looking on and passing their own judgement without offering a helping hand.

Fresh off an appearance in the movie Country Song, and currently touring with the likes of Jason Isbell, Shires is well on our way to more notoriety and deservedly so. Visit her site here.

4.) Lydia Loveless : Album - Indestructible Machine (2011)

Of the four of these ladies, the one I was most familiar with prior to this week was Lydia Loveless. Lydia comes from just up the road from me in Columbus, Ohio. Evan Harris formerly of the Driftwood Motion had sang her praises to me for years. Finally a couple of years ago, she came down and opened a show for him that I attended. I was quite impressed even then.

At the time I believe she had just turned 18, and handled herself on stage like a road weary veteran. She had a presence that demanded attention, here was this small in stature girl singing songs of heart break and sorrow with the command of a woman twice her age.

After seeing that show, I sort of stopped following her progress. A month or so ago, I was perusing Bloodshot Records’ website and noticed that Lydia had released an album with them and was touring with Scott H. Biram.

I got a copy of the record and gave it a listen. Then quickly gave it a second and third listen. Many of the songs were the sad country songs from a foul mouthed young lady that I had seen a few years ago. Then some of the songs had an almost punk rock edge to them. Loveless has grown leaps and bounds as a songwriter in the past couple years and it really shows on this album, I definitely see a bright future for her.

“Do Right” is one of those cowpunk sounding songs. Without the female vocals this song would have fit right in with a Scorchers record in the mid eighties. It is one of the many songs that follow her nightly bar hanging escapades and I love it. “I always find myself looking for so many ways to make basically good men cry” sings Loveless in this one.

On the album closer “Crazy” she slows the pace down and showcases those great country vocals as she laments, “I’ve got a dirty mind and I have to get it off my chest”.

Loveless makes me happy to be from Ohio, which is not something that happens all that often in the world of music. This midwestern girl seems to have the whole country in her future. Check her out on line here.

]]> http://www.brokenjukebox.com/lists/fridays-list-of-five-3312-editioncat/feed 0 http://www.brokenjukebox.com/youtube-clip/youtube-mondays-country-bluescat http://www.brokenjukebox.com/youtube-clip/youtube-mondays-country-bluescat#comments Mon, 27 Feb 2012 19:06:00 +0000 Adam http://www.brokenjukebox.com/?p=785 Ever have days when you just have to hear some blues ? Today is one of them for me, I am not particularly in a bad mood, but some good down home country blues is just needed sometimes. I have come up with some great footage of some acoustic blues legends from all eras for you to enjoy:

First off is the great Son House, with “Death Letter Blues” from 1967. I love the percussive way Son played the guitar.

Next is Reverend Gary Davis with “If I Had My Way”.

Mississippi John Hurt : “Spike Driver”

David Honeyboy Edwards, “Sweet Home Chicago” :

Paul Geremia playing Jesse Fuller’s “Crazy About a Woman That Lives in My Neighborhood” :

John Hammond Jr. , “Jitterbug Swing” :

Keb’ Mo’ , “Better Man” :

Roy Book Binder, “Police Dog Blues” :

Having said all of that, Eastbound Jesus is a phenomenal new band. Holy Smokes! displays some fantastic talent both in the instrumentation and the lyrics. They have drawn from all corners of the musical landscape, at times that aforementioned bluegrass influence shines through right alongside some garage rock, jamband and straightforward country sounds.

Present on the album are a guitar, bass, banjo, drums and a lap steel guitar. These guys have a great handle on the traditional forms of writing songs and do not forget to let you know that they are young and what generation they come from. The arrangements are tight and the songs all have their share of harmonies.

These vocal harmonies are far from perfect, which in my opinion makes them infinitely better. Instead of the choral feel you get from some harmonies, you get the feeling of a bunch of guys in a kick ass bar band singing their hearts out together.

Holy Smokes! is their second go at releasing an album in the short time they have been together. Armed with the 13 tracks heard here, they entered a true studio for the first time and they have nailed it.

The first song that really got me was “Corn Whiskey”. With a chorus that says he’s “tired of writing songs about heartache” and a down home feel, this song about heartache is great. Following that is the singer / songwriter sounding “Without You”, a man’s testimony of being lost without the one that makes everything seem evenly balanced.

Perhaps the most bluegrassy song on the record is the title track, “Holy Smokes!”. It puts me in the mind of the energy on the Leftover Salmon  albums from the 90′s. A hyper banjo and drum track drive this song along as the narrator meets the girl of his dreams and then is subsequently dumped by a dear john letter.

Backed by a rock n roll bass line and guitar part, “Hold on Me Now” sounds like something you would hear on the classic rock stations. The vocal part is way different from the rest of the record and the banjo seems way out of place on this one, but for some reason it sounds so damn cool. I’m normally a lyric first guy, but occasionally the sonic quality of a song supersedes the lyrics for me and this is one of those cases. This song definitely passes the “turn it way up and drive” test.

The song that will (for the liberal use of the word, fuck) get the most attention on the record is “Gonna Go Down”. It has everything that a song with youthful angst needs. They rail against the local cops for taking their weed, suburban sprawl for ruining a childhood fishing spot, Nashville’s music establishment, and of course Uncle Sam. This song is what rock n roll is supposed to be about.

I am really glad that this record showed up in my mailbox. I have listened to it at least a dozen times already and hopefully, Eastbound Jesus is not a band that will go away when the members have to start paying for a mortgage. They are supposed to launch a tour this summer to support the album, go out and see them and buy a copy of the album so they are forced to continue making records.

Check them out on their website www.eastboundjesus.com

1.) Todd Snider : “The Mushroom Story” from the album, Todd Snider Live, The Storyteller:

The undisputed heavy weight champion of in between song rambling, as he says, “sometimes I may ramble on for as many as eighteen minutes in between the songs”. He has honed the ability to engage the crowd to the point where that is one of the big reasons to go see Todd live. On this particular release, he has a couple of tracks dedicated to such speeches. “The Mushroom Story” is an account of him quitting his high school football team because of an experience with magic mushrooms.

2.) B.B. King : “Worry, Worry, Worry” from the album, Live in Cook County Jail :

B.B. was just born to be an entertainer, and when he talks to the crowd they listen and participate. Towards the middle of this track, B.B. launches into a rant on how women and men should interact in the inevitable events where they are not getting along. My favorite quote from this one, “When goofed last week, I was high … when you’re high it don’t count”.

3.) Greg Brown : “Canned Goods” from the album, The Live One :

Folk singers are contractually required to interact with the crowd and Brown was really good at it when he still gave a shit about his contracts. This recording from I believe 1987 showcases this talent. In the middle of “Canned Goods” Brown recounts his childhood trips to his grandma’s house in rural Iowa, and explains why chickens aren’t really animals.

4.) Roy Book Binder : “Candyman” from the album, Live Book…Don’t Start Me Talkin :

Acoustic blues legend Book Binder tells the story of learning the Candyman Blues from Reverend Gary Davis as a young college student. The Candyman Blues went on to “ruin” Roy’s life. After recounting learning the song from Rev. Davis, Roy goes on to tell the story of asking Pink Anderson about the same song and funny enough, Anderson told him the same story that Davis had.

5.) Greg Klyma : “A Song For Me” from the album, Klymalive in Buffalo :

Buffalo native Klyma breaks out the mandolin for this particular tune and while building into it, he explains the story of unrequited love that inspired the song. Klyma is another performer that truly understands enhancing the live experience by connecting personally with his audience.

These are just five quick examples of the banter that sometimes shows up on live records. Feel free to leave some comments on your favorites.

I always look forward to Hoge’s albums with a great deal of anticipation. I jumped on the bandwagon when The Man Who Killed Love came out. #7 continues to showcase Will’s amazing vocal talent and stays firmly in the rock/country/soul format that he is known for. His voice has elements of Otis Redding, Chris Robinson and Tom Petty all rolled into one. He is my favorite vocalist in the Americana scene, there seems to be no song style or subject matter that he cannot handle with grace and feeling.

This record is put together well, it has a little bit of everything that Hoge can offer and his backing band is top notch. My only complaint is that it doesn’t have the balls out rocker that some of his other records have had. I think that Hoge’s ability as a songwriter has grown leaps and bounds starting with 2007′s Draw the Curtains and this album continues on in that matter. Hoge doesn’t hold back and hide behind metaphors, he just allows the story of the songs stand out front and center in an elegant but not pretentious way.

“American Dream”, a folk ballad of sorts, tells the story of a homeless man that is looking back at his life and noting the points that his American Dream went off the rails. The man does not think that the world owes him anything, as he is resigned to his current state.

Another fine song on this one is “No Man’s Land”. This song showcases Will’s talent for writing a poppy rock song that sticks in your head without annoying the shit of you. The tale of mismatched couple where the man is always finding the perfect way to shove is foot firmly in his mouth, bounces around my head constantly for days after hearing it.

“Illegal Line” follows a Mexican construction worker as he sneaks across the border in search of a better life for himself and his family back home. It chronicles his struggles making a go at it until eventually he ends up arrested and incarcerated for simply trying to provide for his family. It’s a story we’ve all seen in the news, or if you live close to the border in your hometown.

The standout on the record for me is “When I Get My Wings”. Hoge said during his debut at the Grand Ole Opry, that he got the inspiration for the song  after reading a story of husband burying his wife after 57 years of marriage. The soul side of Hoge shines in this one as he sings from the man’s point of view about his longing to join his beloved on the other side. The emotion the he conveys in this song makes you believe he is that man, and the feelings of loss are his.

Overall, I am very satisfied with #7 and think it stands up quite well to the rest of records in his catalog. As long as Will Hoge continues to put out albums that are this good, I will continue to anxiously await the next one down the line. I have yet to experience him live (a show I had tickets for with Jason Isbell was cancelled due to weather) but I’m sure these songs will fall in line with the great show that he is known for putting on.

Head over to WillHoge.com to check out this and more from Mr. Hoge.