Ever since Ray Charles earned the wrath of the righteous back in the 50′s with his corruption of “church music”, musicians have been stealing that mix of old fashioned gospel, rhythm and blues, and soul. Rarely, though, has it come together as well as on the latest Ruthie Foster project, Let It Burn. Listening to [...] more »
Everybody’s Someone In A Honky Tonk. Anyone who’s reading this blog probably knows the David Allen Coe song, You Never Even Called Me By My Name (written by Steve Goodman), about the perfect country western song. This tune, from the latest Carolann Ames release, may not be the perfect country song, but it has the [...] more »
By now you’ve seen what most of us were listening to on our MP3 or CD players last year. So I thought I’d add my favorite live sets from last year. 1) Roger Waters: I got a chance to see The Wall at the HP Pavilion in San Jose. Holy cow. As far as I’m [...] more »
1) R.E.M. – Collapse Into Now: OK, I’m willing to admit maybe this was a little bit of a sentimental choice for me since it may be their last album. But darn it, I still think this is their best effort since the 80′s and 91′s Out Of Time. The jangly guitars, the inexplicable Stipe [...] more »
The book and movie publishing moguls tend to view releases in terms of two seasons. There’s the “beach read” that’s an easy vehicle for light entertainment. The winter is when serious contenders for an Academy Award are released. The depth of cold & dark apparently being when people are contemplative instead of just wanting instant [...] more »
The Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Shawn Nelson. What do they have in common? Anthems about being a free spirit. You undoubtedly know about Ramblin’ Man and Free Bird. In the case of Shawn Nelson, it’s Nobody Got A Hold On Me, the first track on his 4th release, San Juan Street. Stylistically the song is [...] more »
You have to be pre-disposed to like any album that starts out with a paean to Lawnchair Larry. Maybe it’s just a song about a couple of fella’s similarly tempted, but Weather Ballon, the opening cut on the debut album from Austin-based Sons Of Fathers, is an apt metaphor for how quickly this record soars [...] more »
Timeless. That’s the single word that best describes the latest release from Berkeley, CA-based songstress and multi-instrumentalist Laurie Lewis. Skippin’ and Flyin’ is a sort of tribute album to Bill Monroe. The tribute is an abstract though, that includes Monroe songs, songs from others that were inspired by Monroe, and even songs that just evoke [...] more »
Finally, Halloween is getting its musical due. OK, OK, technically the latest album from Southern Culture On the Skids, Zombified, is a tribute to all the awesome grade B horror movies that used to come to the drive-ins and dollar theaters when I was mis-spending my youth. But a tribute album is generally music that [...] more »
WWDCFCD. What Would Death Cab For Cutie Do (or some other indie favorite) if they recorded an album with just bluegrass instruments? The answer to that question is maybe the latest release from The Dang-It Bobbys, Big Trouble. It doesn’t have a radio-friendly thumping bass, but the idea of a pop song with intelligent lyrics [...] more »
Several days ago I wrote a partial review of the new Slaid Cleaves live double album, Sorrow & Smoke: Live At the Horseshoe Lounge. Since then the album has come out, I’ve overcome the technical issue with getting both discs, and I got a chance to see Slaid live at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center in [...] more »
“Got a twenty on the bar, and the world on a string. Hanging out ’til the brass bell rings.” I’m not sure I’ve ever heard a better description of what it’s like to be young and full of expectations for what life will bring. That’s a verse from Brass Bell, the first cut on the [...] more »
I’m going to do something that I don’t think anyone at Twangville has done before. I’m going to review half a record. I was excited to get a pre-release file of Slaid Cleaves’ new live album, Sorrow & Smoke: Live At the Horseshoe Lounge. I gave it several listens, wrote up most of a review, [...] more »
As much as it pains me to say it, MTV had a good idea. It was back in the 90′s and someone there decided it would be unique to hear a rock band playing acoustic and unplugged. And very quickly, the better bands discovered they could turn that opportunity into a new sound; something that [...] more »
Like the aunt that you only see at Christmas, some people put out a vibe that’s fun to be around. Same thing with some records. My case in point is the second release from Nashville-based singer-songwriter Kelsey Waldon, Anybody’s Darlin’. I’ve listened to this record half a dozen times now and I can’t really put [...] more »
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Because spoon-fed music sucks and twang is cheaper than therapy. Alt-Country, Americana, Indie, Rock, Folk & Blues. Est. 2005.
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