Album Review : Rod Picott : Welding Burns

Feb 4, 2012 Album Reviews

This review is late as this album was released in the fall of last year, however I feel I need to write something about it. I did not keep a running list of my favorite records of last year but, if I had Welding Burns would have been easily in the top three and maybe the top spot.

For the longest time I only knew Rod Picott as the guy who co-writes a bunch of songs with Slaid Cleaves. This thought kept going even after I had purchased a few of his earlier records, whether it was just not having enough time to listen to them intently or my own laziness. When Welding Burns came out last year I made it my mission to give this guy the proper time and effort to see what I actually thought of him. Man am I glad I did.

I’ve seen a lot of people talk about the blue collar subject matter and feel of this album, and no doubt it’s very much here. More importantly this record is American and not in the cheezy over the top patriotic way, but in that all of the characters of the songs live in our neighborhoods. The tired, down and out, blue collar workers that build what is left being built stateside and occupy the bar stools at the corner pub and fill the auditoriums for high school basketball games are all here in this album. Picott doesn’t write and sing about them like an anthropologist observing from the sidelines, instead he immerses himself in their lives. When you listen to this album you come away with the feeling that Picott has hung sheet rock, toiled away in a dying factory and in fact does have the welding burns that lend their name to the title of the record.

As far as the sound and feel of the songs, they are perfectly matched with the subject matter. The slow tired sound of “Rust Belt Fields” is perfect as is the up tempo beat and guitar work on the more frantic “410″ . Picott’s vocals are something I have definitely overlooked in the past and here they are often front and center on the songs.

The highlights of the disc start right at the beginning with “Rust Belt Fields” ,a co-write with Cleaves, where a factory has closed and the narrator offers one of the greatest group of lyrics I have ever heard,

“They’ve figured it out, shipped the elbow grease

down to Mexico off to the Chinese

I’ve learned a little something about the way things are,

no one gets a bonus for bloody knuckles and scars,

no one remembers your name, just for working hard”

From one closed factory to another, in “410″ the laid off worker chooses a 410 shotgun as his new tool for his newly created job robbing liquor stores. The desperation of a broken man really shines through in this one. After tackling some people that have lost their jobs, Picott moves on to the story of a guy who can’t seem to get rid of his job. In “SheetRock Hanger” the protagonist feels that he never is going to get away from his employment even after death as he’s “pretty sure the devil runs a sheetrock hanging crew” . The comments in this one make you believe there is no way that Picott has not spent some time on a construction site.

In the end, I am so glad I gave this record my complete attention, as it has found it’s way into the permanent rotation at my house. Picott has managed to capture the feelings and lives of an entire nation on this album. People say that Springsteen writes for the common man and that is his appeal, those people need to hear Welding Burns and see what it’s like when someone really does so. Check out Picott on his website: www.rodpicott.com .

Tags: Rod Picott, slaid cleaves

Album Review : Graham Weber : Women

Jan 31, 2012 Album Reviews, Reviews

I once heard John Prine say on a live recording that if you got your heart broken you got a really good song, but if you got a divorce you get a whole damn album. Apparently, if you spend a year separated from your wife, thinking you are going to get a divorce before reconciling with her you can still channel those emotions into a great record. That is the story of Graham Weber’s latest release, Women.

This album was a long time in the making, but the wait was well worth it. Weber continues to hone his songwriting abilities while really creating an “album” feel. In the day and age of Itunes singles it is still refreshing when someone sets out to make a complete record. When you listen to Women all the way through, you get to travel the emotional roller coaster that Graham experienced during the  aforementioned year.

The reason for the album’s title is quickly apparent as Weber has enlisted a talented crew of female vocalists and musicians to help convey his feelings. The list includes Betty Soo, Carrie Rodriguez, Amanda Shires, and his wife, Michelle Keffer (another perk of making up with his talented wife) on vocals.

The songs range from the full band feel of the opening track, “Sweet Virginia Brown” that comes complete with Hammond B-3 and a saxophone to the sparsity of the heartbreaking  “Baltimore”, where Graham stands alone with an acoustic guitar and his vocals. The production on this record is in my opinion the best on any of his records to date, as his songs are backed and highlighted by the backing music perfectly.

I always try to throw out my favorite tracks on a record and that was a difficult process with this one. “Baltimore” appeared on his last live release, so I was definitely looking forward to hearing it on record.  “All About You” has Graham handling the vocals alone and is him telling his lost love that the songs have always been about her, and that the happy songs are the hardest to play without her in the crowd.

Michelle shows up in “Black and White” which is Weber looking at an old black and white photo of the two of them (provided in the inside cover) and longing for the time and mood of when the picture was taken. Co-wrote with Graham’s mentor Slaid Cleaves, “Still Be Mine” brings Carrie Rodriguez in on harmony vocals as Weber seeks to get his girl back by his side.

Finally, “Sleep it Off” features Betty Soo on vocals and ends the album on an upswing as the two separated lovers are once again back together and looking towards the future as they sing, “We’ll sleep it off and start it all again”.

Overall, this is the best complete album in Weber’s relatively short recording career. He continues to show that he is an amazing wordsmith and displays the ability to blend seamlessly with all of the vocal styles of his female guests.

To purchase Women, visit Graham Weber’s Website.

Tags: Betty Soo, Carrie Rodriguez, Graham Weber, john prine, slaid cleaves

Album Review : Michael O’Connor : The Devil Stole The Moon

Sep 10, 2011 Album Reviews

Former Artist of the Month, Michael O’Connor returns with another amazing release. How often are you discussing an artist and something is mentioned about how their early records or debut is really the greatest work they’ve done ? With O’Connor, this is most certainly not the case.

On The Devil Stole the Moon, O’ Connor shows that he’s has continued to grow as a songwriter and performer. The record has a very dark feel, with the seedy characters that you have to love that populated his release with Adam Carroll last year.

With a rhythm section consisting of Rick Richards on drums and Jack Saunders (Bass), O’ Connor fills in the rest of the record by playing everything short of the kitchen sink. The ability to make a record that sounds complete without over production, shows that musically O’ Connor is a force to be reckoned with. Another thing that I noticed while listening to the album is the similarities to Warren Haynes’s vocal style, another singer that I believe to be thought of as a guitar player before a vocalist. In both cases, I believe this to be a great injustice as their vocal qualities are what drew me to both artists.

Michael’s songwriting has always been phenomenal and this release is no exception, as he wrote or co-wrote every song on the album. While I love his work as a sideman especially with Slaid Cleaves (and I’m sure those gigs pay his bills) , The Devil Stole The Moon really hammers home the fact that O’Connor should be doing his own thing full time at this point.

Highlights on this record include a couple co-writes with the aforementioned Carroll, “Raining on the Dark Side” and “Rough Side” which would have felt right at home on Hard Times. The title track rivals “Devil’s Lullaby” as my favorite O’ Connor track to date, with lines such as “…with the courage for the blade, but not for the blood…” this sinister sounding song really showcases his ability with word play.

“Burn”, the story of a tired rock n roller, features some really classic O’ Connor guitar work, where he seems to know exactly what to play and when. The song really captures what I imagine it feels like to continue touring and playing shitty bars long after it has lost its appeal. Following that is the “Homesick Boy” the album’s closing track that is somewhat the singer songwriter companion to “Burn”,  with lyric so good I could quote them all here.

After only one listen of this album, I was convinced it was his best effort to date, and I love his other records.  It is available now on his website and other places that you can purchase music.

Tags: adam carroll, michael o'connor, slaid cleaves

Album Review : Slaid Cleaves : Sorrow and Smoke

Sep 3, 2011 Album Reviews, Uncategorized

It’s been quite a long time since I posted anything on this site, let alone a review that I wrote.  I can think of no greater album to give me a reason to return and the motivation to press forward.

I have to start this review by stating a couple things. First, I love live albums and second I have been eagerly awaiting a live album from Slaid Cleaves.

Sorrow and Smoke : Live at the Horseshoe Lounge, will be officially released this coming Tuesday and no doubt will have a lot of people excited to hear what Slaid has to offer.  The record was recorded at the famous club that Slaid immortalized in song on his album, Brokedown, over two shows in the first half of 2010.

Alongside Slaid on this one is longtime lead guitarist/ backing vocalist, Michael O’Connor and multi-instrumentalist,Oliver Steck.  As always Slaid’s voice is in top form, Michael’s guitar work is spot on and Steck’s contributions really fill out the songs in a live setting. I have never had the pleasure of seeing Cleaves live, but if I do I would be quite happy if this were the lineup as the three of them play well off each other and give the songs a great over all sound.

Now for the songs that appear on this double disc set. The selection of tracks on this record is perfect. They span Slaid’s entire career and include every one of my favorite Cleaves’ originals as well as a couple yodeling Don Walser tracks. If I were to create a setlist for a Slaid show this album would not be far off of what I would write down.

Highlights for me pretty much consist of my favorite Slaid songs, there are great live versions of “Brokedown”, “Drinking Days” and obvious crowd favorite, “Horseshoe Lounge”. The aforementioned Walser Yodeling set is preceded by what Slaid calls a warmup yodeling song, “Horses”.

It was also nice to see that a few of the best tracks from 2009′s studio effort, Everything You Love Will Be Taken Away, are also included on this set. So often when someone releases a live album they avoid songs from their latest release and if that were the case here it would have been highly disappointing. Included here are the Rod Picott co-write “Black T-Shirt”, “Tumbleweed Stew” and another co-write this time with Adam Carroll, ” Hard to Believe” .

A few more standouts include the crowd participation heavy, ” Breakfast in Hell”, in which the audience is turned into a logging crew as they assist the hero Sandy Gray break a log jam, before, he, like so many other folk heroes, gives his life for the cause. Also my all-time favorite Cleaves track, “One Good Year” shows up towards the end of the second disc. This song includes the line “I’ve been chasing grace, but grace ain’t so easily found” which has been a favorite line of mine from the first time I heard it and live the song has an even deeper feeling of desperation. Closing out the set is the previously unreleased “Go For The Gold”, a spiritually based song about the one rule we all should follow regardless of religious beliefs.

After just the first listen of this live record, it landed on the short list of my favorite live offerings and definitely one of the best things to be released this year. It only makes me want to check out a Slaid show even more than I already did. My only complaint about the record is that he avoided the cover songs from his album, Unsung. While I understand the reasoning behind not putting a ton of covers on the album, and really wanting to highlight the Cleaves’ songs and co-writes, I do really like some of the songs on that album of covers and would love to have heard some live versions.

With only that small complaint this album is wildly successful in my book and is absolutely a must own. I do believe the release day is this Tuesday so go over to Slaid’s website and order your copy today !

Tags: adam carroll, michael o'connor, Rod Picott, slaid cleaves

Artist of the Month November, 2010 : Adam Carroll

Nov 3, 2010 Artist of the Month

This month’s artist once again comes from Texas. Carroll for me really stands out among the crowd of extremely talented songwriters from that region.

I’ve always felt that there is two types of songwriters that really make an impression on me. The first writes songs that are just brilliantly literary and poetic, almost untouchable in a way. The second is the songwriters that have a way of coming off as one of us, a common guy who writes songs that we all can easily relate to. Occasionally a songwriter finds a way to enter both of these realms at the same time. Sometimes it’s for a song, or an album and on very rare occasions they permanently reside there. Carroll belongs to the latter group.

His songs have a way of immediately connecting with the listener and at the same time, being completely beyond anything we could have written ourselves. The characters in his songs live in our neighborhoods but they are so elegantly presented within the song that it makes them seem larger than life.

Once you add in Carroll’s fine guitar and harmonica playing and his off kilter vocal delivery, you have an artist that in my opinion can hold his own in any songwriting circle, no matter how high up the ladder you go. Comparisons to John Prine and Townes Van Zandt seem to come at him from all directions and they are absolutely well deserved for once. I would throw others in the mix as well, Guy Clark, John Hiatt, and the list could go on. Basically think of all the writers that get every word right and go ahead and place Carroll in their midst.

I first heard of Carroll through a couple of Hayes Carll bootlegs, where Carll stated that if he could get away with it he would sing Carroll songs for half of his set and claim that he wrote them. This was a high praise from a songwriter that I respected so I thought I would check out some Carroll’s work. I ended up with a gem of a show, that was a song swap with Graham Weber (August’s Artist of the Month). That show sent me on a journey of discovering everything Carroll had to offer and I have yet to be disappointed thus far.

A few years later I got to see him live two nights in a row with Weber here in Ohio. I was not only impressed by the ah shucks stage presence that immediately held the audiences attention but that he was that humble and quiet off the stage. It almost felt as he did not have a grasp on just how great his songwriting is.

I have talked with many musicians and fans who have crossed paths with Carroll throughout the years and everyone agrees that he is one of the most immensely talented guys working today and that just being around him is an intriguing, humbling experience. From all accounts there is not a person out there that cares more about his craft than Carroll.

On stage he is engaging and funny, even though he has a tendency to fumble lyrics occasionally. Mark Jungers, another great Texas musician and producer of Carroll’s 2008 album Old Town Rock n Roll, once told me a story about Carroll opening up for him. He said the venue was packed and Adam came out at messed up the first three songs he tried on the audience. After apologizing and making light of the situation Carroll nailed the next tune and was received with a standing ovation. At the end of the night the merch table that held Adam’s records was almost completely empty. I thought that was a perfect example of how powerful this guy’s music is.

Carroll has a pretty full catalog for someone who has only been releasing material for just over a decade. To date he has four studio albums, two live records and a phenomenal release with another former Artist of the Month, Michael O’ Connor. Every one of these albums is phenomenal and it is very difficult for me to pick out just three to tell you to start with.

His debut record, 1998′s South of Town, made my list of five great debut records , where you can read my thoughts on it in some detail. This is definitely a situation where you can start from the beginning and work forward as Carroll came out of the gates in stride on this release.

His second release came two years later and contains some my favorite Carroll songs ever. Lookin’ Out the Screen Door was produced by Lloyd Maines who worked on Carroll’s first three studio efforts and his first live album. Among the highlights on this record are “Race Car Joe”, which Slaid Cleaves later covered on his album, Unsung, “Errol’s Song”, the story of a hunting partner of Carroll’s father who Adam looked up to all of his life, and “Karaoke Cowboy”, which tells of a failed Nashville singer living a different life of fame as a the karaoke DJ in a small town. My personal favorite on the album is Carroll’s ode to unchanging love, “Blondie and Dagwood”. One other song that is a favorite of other artists to cover and fans to hear is “Girl With the Dirty Hair” which was the first tune of Carroll’s I personally heard.

The next studio album that I want to touch on is Old Town Rock n Roll. Recorded in Mark Jungers garage with the help of Jungers and Canadian musician, Scott Nolan this album found Carroll captured in his relaxed finest. The looseness of this record allows the quirks of Carroll’s vocals shine through the perfectly written lyrics. While Maines always seemed to find a way to present Carroll’s work in a great light this record doesn’t try to mask the scars and marks on the songs and it really is a breath of fresh air.

The standouts are “Oklahoma Gypsy Shuffler”, “Hi-Fi Love, and “Highway Prayer” all songs that make you feel good sometimes smiling and sometimes just nodding your head in agreement. To close the album is a song that makes all older guitar players grin, “Porter Wagoner (AKA the Silvertone Song)”, tells of the gap between generations and the nostalgia that comes from a cheap guitar signed by a legend.

This article would be a failure if I did not mention how much I love both of Carroll’s live albums. Live at Cheatham Street Warehouse was released in 2002 and hits almost all the best songs from the first two records along with some great stories and a few previously unreleased songs. The story and version of “Errol’s Song” on this alone is worth the price of the album.

Earlier this year Carroll released the second live album, Live at Flipnotics. This time Carroll was joined by Scrappy Jud Newcomb on lead guitar and the songs span his entire career, including live versions of “Oklhoma Gypsy Shuffler”, “Home Again”, “The Girl With the Dirty Hair” and “Billy Gibbons’ Beard”, which appeared on he and Michael O’ Connor’s ablum, Hard Times.

Speaking of Hard Times, it may well be my favorite record released this year and if not it is damn close. An album with a theme of Gulf Coast losers it really is a great collaborations. Carroll and O’Connor take turns singing the lead parts on the songs, and co-wrote most of the material on the record. “Billy Gibbons’ Beard” is my favorite song that Carroll sings on it. It is sad and funny all at the same time, which is a common thread on the album. The other Carroll standout is the title track which is kind of self explanatory.

Overall Carroll’s career is already amazing and shows no signs of slowing down. I would really suggest buying everything in his catalog because there is not a bad one among them. Also do yourself a favor and go see this guy live if he ever comes near you. You can learn more about Carroll on his site here.

Tags: adam carroll, Graham Weber, Guy Clark, Hayes Carll, john prine, Mark Jungers, michael o'connor, slaid cleaves

Artist of the Month, August 2010 : Graham Weber

Aug 1, 2010 Artist of the Month

I have read or heard Weber compared to the likes of John Prine, a young Bob Dylan, Todd Snider, and an early Wilco era Jeff Tweedy. All of those comparisons are fair enough but they really fall short of accurately describing Weber. All that needs to be said about Graham is that he is a great songwriter who has digested the catalogs of all the greats and came through with a voice and a sound all of his own.

Weber began his musical journey in his native Ohio early in this decade. Starting out a little later in life than some, he cut his teeth in various bands in the area before embarking on his solo career. After recording and releasing the mostly acoustic, Naive Melodies in 2003, Graham decided to make a bold move and departed Ohio for the overcrowded songwriting scene of Austin, Texas.

When I asked him a few years later why he decided to make this move at a time when he had begun to develop quite the following in Ohio, Weber replied, “I could have stayed and made enough money in Ohio as a medium sized fish in a small pond (I would argue that most of Ohio’s music scene is just a mud puddle, unfortunately), but I wanted to see if I could make an impact in the ocean that is Austin.” Quite the undertaking indeed, it did not take long for Austin to begin noticing that this guy was not just another wanna be Prine.

The Texas community seems to have embraced Weber and rightfully so. Long time Austin resident, Slaid Cleaves almost immediately took Graham under his wing and has served as a mentor since his arrival . Graham quickly made his move up to playing all of the best venues in the Austin area both as an opener for greats like, Snider, Guy Clark, Ellis Paul etc. and as a headliner.

I personally got turned on to Weber’s music on accident. I received a song swap that Graham had played shortly after the move to Texas with Adam Carroll and was completely floored by the depth of the songwriting that was coming from this unknown artist. After a little research, I was disappointed that he had come from Ohio and that I had never had the chance to see him here. At the time Naive Melodies was his only release so I bought it to see if this one live recording was a fluke or if this was the real deal.

I got the disc in the mail and put it in my car stereo that day, there it stayed for a solid two weeks. Although Weber himself is now disappointed in his debut, I to this day feel that it is one of my favorite records perhaps of all time. The emotional honesty that flows out of all the songs on this record serves as a great introduction to the seemingly complex simplicity that Weber has a way of portraying in almost all of his works.

Naive Melodies displays the heartache that Weber was feeling after a failed relationship, the insecurities of starting a new relationship and his biting sense of humor.This ability to channel such contrasting emotions is the thing that makes Weber stand out among his peers and makes a live show a must see appointment.

“Tight Rope Walking” is still one of my favorite songs in his catalog. “I know your nose caught the smell of whiskey, and I know I came in seven hours late, I can’t believe that you even missed me, tight rope walking that thin line between love and hate”, he sings in this song chronicling the difficulty of finding balance in a relationship.

Inspired by the late Johnny Cash and rapper Snoop Dogg (trust me it works just listen), “Late Show Someday” captures that animosity towards someone who has scorned you and infuses the anger with a sensational amount of humor. This song is completely over the top and that is exactly where it should reside.

I don’t think you can talk about this album and not mention “Oh Roberta” the song that so impressed Slaid Cleaves that he included it on his Unsung release, an album of covers written by his favorite unknown writers. Weber’s song holds its own against a collection of songs from really great songwriters. “Do you still see my silhouette when your lashes start to close, I’d like to know oh Roberta where have you gone?” is my favorite line in this song, sang to the one who got away.

Shortly after settling in Austin, Graham set out to record his first Texas album. With a lot more instrumentation, a great studio band and some impressive guest musicians the result was Beggar’s Blues. Hitting the streets in 2006, this release shows the growth Weber’s song crafting had undergone in just a short time and further established his ability to conduct the emotional roller coaster that is his albums.

Starting off the album is the fast paced, lyric filled “After All”. This song really represents Weber’s mastery of word play. “Self proclaimed soothsayers say they know what no one else knows” , it’s lines like that make this song memorable.

“Love and Money” once again shows Weber’s sense of humor in this song about the impossibility of mixing the two things we need most in life. Along with Weber’s strumming on the acoustic this song features a killer horn section almost giving it a Vaudeville feel. It’s a departure from what he normally does and man does it work.

Inspired by his first Texas Independence Day, Weber wrote the amusing tale of trying to make it in the music business, “Stars and Circles”. While the narrator may not have what it takes to “make it” he is happy enough eking by in the Texas sun.

Perhaps my favorite track on the album is “Avenue A”. The story of a road weary musician trying to find a drink on a Sunday morning in Lower Manhattan. Weber’s vocals in this one really give the lyrics their depth and meaning. He almost sounds like this was recorded after a day like which is described in the song. “They won’t serve Bloody Mary’s til twelve hours til Monday, so I’m shaking and waiting on Avenue A” , the chorus pretty much sums up the song.

2008 saw the release of Weber’s most recent album release, with his most ambitious recording project yet, Door to the Morning. The production value on this one really ratcheted up the quality of the record. Employing more of a pop sensibility and a little bit of Rock n Roll feel, this album is Weber’s best yet. It’s always nice when a great songwriter begins to really find his way in the studio without losing what made him great in the first place and that is what Door to the Morning accomplished for Graham.

The opening track, “Snow in July” is the prime example of the improvement in the recording. Backed by a full band with great piano and organ parts, Weber is able to maintain the lyrical mastery while really delivering an upbeat rockin’ number. “Sometimes your friends turn to foes and it snows in the dead of  July” is just one of the great lines that Weber drapes over the musical backdrop the studio band lays down.

Following the upbeat feel of the opener, comes the piano and slide guitar ballad, “Candle So Close”. Included in this song are very good backing vocals by Graham’s wife, Michelle Keffer. You can tell those two have spent many a night singing together, because her voice beautifully compliments his tired drawl in this one.

My favorite song on this one is the acoustic and pedal steel based, “Bite Your Tongue”. This one finds Weber at his lyrical best in a song of a lover leaving.

In addition to the three studio albums I have discussed, Weber has released two live samplers that feature unreleased material and the in between song banter that makes his live performances so much more than just a guy with an acoustic guitar.

What amazes me about seeing Graham live is that he is constantly writing songs. Some writer’s see the process of writing a song as work and with Weber they just seem to fall out on the paper. He is consistently writing better stuff that he has already released. He is one of those guys you wish lived in the studio, because he forgets so many of the great songs he has written. One of my favorite things to do is request a song I have heard him play prior and see if he remembers it. If you go see him anytime in the future ask him to play “The Hooker and the Hitman” , an eight minute song of an unlikely love, and tell him Adam told you to do it.

Perhaps the most telling thing I can say about how great I think Weber is, is that I have had to purchase all of his records at least twice each because I have given them away to share them with others.  I found out that he is currently working on the follow up to Door to the Morning. Tentatively titled, Women, it is going to feature a mostly female backing band and harmony vocals in addition to a co-write with Slaid Cleaves. I know I am looking forward to this release which will hopefully come later this year.

Weber will making his first trip back to Ohio in two years in a couple months and I hope to catch a show or two and have him on the podcast. In the meantime you can visit his website www.grahamweber.com and find links to buy his records and such. Later this week I will post a live Weber show to download.

Here is a video of Weber playing “I’ll Take Texas” an ode to his adopted home:

Tags: adam carroll, Artist of the Month, bob dylan, Graham Weber, john prine, slaid cleaves, todd snider

Artist of the Month, June 2010: Michael O’Connor

Jun 3, 2010 Artist of the Month

Like many people before me, I first discovered Michael O’Connor as a guitarist.

I was listening to some live Slaid Cleaves shows and found myself drawn to the extremely tasty lead guitar licks I was hearing.

Inevitably, on all of the recordings Slaid would introduce O’Connor as the guitar player.

From there I went on to find out that over the last couple of decades O’Connor has lent his talents to many Americana legends including, Cleaves, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Susan Gibson, Adam Carroll and others. It became clear that if you were anywhere near Texas and needed a guitar player to add class and dignity to your record or live show you sought out O’Connor.

Interestingly enough my first looks into who O’Connor was did not unearth his solo work. Thank the heavens for Slaid Cleaves’ 2006 release Unsung, an album of cover songs that featured two tracks by Mr. O’Connor. On an album filled with finely crafted songs, O’Connor’s “Devil’s Lullaby” stands out in my opinion as the best song.

So now I had to know what else was out there from this guy. I found his website (yeah I know how difficult right?) and saw that he was about to release a new album, his second. I went ahead and bought his first release, Green and Blue (2000) that was produced by Ray Wylie Hubbard.This record was very bluesy and rough. The highlight for me is “West Memphis Blues”, a pretty straight forward blues tune.

After that, I kind of forgot about O’Connor for awhile. Green and Blue got lost amongst the records that I hadn’t listened to enough and then I downloaded a live show featuring O’Connor in a song swap with Adam Carroll. Finally I got to hear O’Connor sing the songs from Unsung along with a ton of other tunes that I had never heard before. O’Connor’s songs once again stood up against a great songwriter’s. On this show there are acoustic versions of songs from Green and Blue as well as most of the songs from his second release Giants From a  Sleepy Town (2007).

Well, I began obsessively listening to this show, especially the O’Connor songs on it. I contacted his wife who does his booking and attempted to have him come up here to do a show, which unfortunately did not work out. A couple of years passed and Carroll and O’Connor released the best album of the 2010, Hard Times.

With the new record being released, I had to get my copy of Sleepy Town finally as well as Hard Times. There was 7 years between the release dates of Green and Blue and Giants From a Sleepy Town and in that time, it seems that O’Connor found his voice in the studio. The songs on this album are phenomenal and the sound is great. I do not mean to disrespect the efforts of his first record, but this second release is amazing.

Among the highlights on this release are the aforementioned “Devil’s Lullaby” which features some of the greatest imagery I’ve ever heard in a song. “The sirens wail and the church bells chime, Sounds like the Devil’s Lullaby”, sings O’Connor in this one. Another absolutely stunning song on this record is the Tom Waitsish, “Trampoline”, which details the struggles of a working musician in a graphic nature.

I can’t sing the praises of this album enough, the songwriting is superior and it’s always refreshing when an artist is recorded in a manner that lends itself to the songs. It definitely seems that O’Connor grew into his own in the time between albums.

After I  listened to O’Connor’s second solo effort a few times, I moved on in an excited manner to Hard Times (2010). Here was an album that could not disappoint, two excellent songwriters collaborating on a collection of new songs with a common theme, gulf coast losers.

I was right this album is great, by far the best thing released so far this year. Once again, O’Connor’s skills stand out. He and Carroll co-wrote 9 of 11 songs on the record with the remaining two songs featuring one of them singing a cut from the others previous record.

The two of them take turns singing lead on the record, and in my opinion O’Connor drew the high card when he sang, “Bernandine” the story of a gambler praying to the patron saint of gamblers and addicts. O’Connor once again channel’s late 70′s Waits on the track “Throw a Nickel” which is also one of the better tracks on a great album. O’Connor also does a great job on the Adam Carroll penned “Highway Prayer” from Carroll’s release Old Town Rock and Roll.

Over the years O’Connor has solidified his spot amid the Texas music scene first with his superior guitar playing and more recently with his excellent solo work. While I am happy that it seems he will continue to appear as a sideman, I  hope that he focuses more of his time on his songwriting career. Whatever he does be sure that I will always pick up any album with his name anywhere on it.

You can learn more about Michael O’Connor and buy all three of his releases on his website, www.michaeloconnormusic.com.

As a bonus here is a download of the song swap I mentioned earlier in the post: Michael O’Connor and Adam Carroll 03-20-2007 . Just right click save link as.

Tags: adam carroll, Artist of the Month, michael o'connor, ray wylie hubbard, slaid cleaves, susan gibson