www.rounder.com
Though a huge fan of Willie Nelson I don’t necessarily like all that he does. He can way too eclectic even for my taste but this time he has come up trumps —big time. So hot is this album I rate it as Willie’s best straight country album since the 1970s and counting.
He delves back in time and pulling out such old chestnuts as ‘Man With The Blues’, Ernest Tubb ‘Seaman’s Blues’ and…
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Added by Maurice Hope on April 23, 2010 at 16:00 —
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www.jeffreyfoucault.com www.markerelli.com
What a worthwhile and inspired concept album this is, and has them get off to a flyer as Foucault fresh from last year’s John Prine tribute records slots into the wonderful ‘Philadelphia Lawyer’ like he has been singing it all his life. He could well have been for all I know; as the standard for both acts to aim (and…
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Added by Maurice Hope on April 23, 2010 at 11:30 —
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www.bgo-records.com
Another two-offer from BGO featuring the music of Texan
Joe Ely from his days with MCA and that feature a number of songs from fellow Flatlander Butch Hancock to go with a healthy portion of his own.
Down On The Drag and Live Shots were recorded in 1979 and 1980, respectively, and demonstrate a more rocky side of Ely’s music. Feature his road band in both cases (Lloyd…
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Added by Maurice Hope on April 16, 2010 at 15:30 —
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www.sarahsiskind.com
Sarah Siskind’s music is new to me, although I am aware of her as a songwriter from having seen her accredited to writing songs for Alison Krauss, Randy Travis and Bon Iver among others. Her composition ‘Simple Love’ by Krauss was in fact a Grammy Nomination last year and, though it did not win it underlined how far she has come as a songwriter.
After hearing her guest on…
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Added by Maurice Hope on April 16, 2010 at 15:00 —
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www.sallyspring.com
Californian-born, but raised in North Carolina, Sally Spring has a distinctive and quite unique vocal style as she wonders between folk, blues and alt-country rock on this 11-track album. Made up of homespun songs, mainly. For apart from a sensitive cover of Johnny Cash’s classic cut ‘I Still Miss Someone’, blues man, Willie Dixon’s ‘It Don’t Make No Sense’ and Los Lobos’…
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Added by Maurice Hope on April 10, 2010 at 17:00 —
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www.kristinconnell.com
www.exactrecords.com
Washington State singer-songwriter Kristin Connell both has a pleasant singing voice and writes good songs and, despite her missing the mark on a couple of tracks where she diversifies into a less appealing brand of music Connell shows much promise. Enough so to suggest there is plenty of good music to come from…
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Added by Maurice Hope on April 10, 2010 at 17:00 —
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www.bgo-records.com
Digitally re-mastered, two of Merle Haggard’s albums from 1986 from when he was on CBS (Sony) gain inclusion on this the latest of an on-going series of two-offers out on BGO featuring the proud member of Country Music’s Hall Of Fame.
The title-track of the first of the two albums, ‘Out Among The Stars’ —written by the little known Adam Mitchell is worth the admission fee alone and there are also others of a similar…
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Added by Maurice Hope on April 6, 2010 at 7:35 —
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www.chrisobrienmusic.com
Western Massachusetts-raised singer-songwriter, Chris O’Brien has through befriending the likes of fellow musicians Ellis Paul, Antje Duvekot and Meg Hutchinson absorbed some of their styles and good habits hence, his second album, Little Red —following the 2007 recording, Lighthouse this Zachariah Hickman (Josh Ritter, Mark Erelli) production has sees his music elevated to…
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Added by Maurice Hope on April 3, 2010 at 18:30 —
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www.properuk.com
www.paulbrady.com
When it comes to a workman like style to fuse folk and rock in an engaging fashion – Strabane, Northern Ireland-born Brady is someone who never fails to step up to the table and deliver music rich in melody, character and dignity. Don’t forget he has been doing this for over forty years and as a solo act since 1978 —his…
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Added by Maurice Hope on April 2, 2010 at 18:00 —
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www.merlehaggard.com www.vanguardrecords.com
Merle Haggard may be 72 years-old, but when it comes to singing real country music there are few who come near filling his boots plying the trade today, and through making albums like this he shows he is still has much to offer
real country music.
An old warhorse, some will say like Johnny Cash…
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Added by Maurice Hope on April 2, 2010 at 7:30 —
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