THE ALBUM OF THE MONTH:
The Stax 50th Anniversary Celebration
The Stax sound is one of American music’s greatest legacies. one of the greatest legacy’s in American music. With Booker T & the MGs — a house-band so good that they could score a #1 song on their own (with the instrumental “Green Onions”) as they could with one of Stax’s legendary artists — and the unparalleled Memphis Horns, the Stax studio delivered a seemingly endless stream of rhythm and blues classics. From Otis Redding’s seminal “(Sittin’ on ) The Dock of the Bay” and “Respect” (later covered by Aretha Franklin) to Sam & Dave’s barn-burning duets on “Soul Man” and “You Don’t Know Like I Know” to the Staples Singers’ gospel-influenced “Respect Yourself” and “I’ll Take You There,” the Stax output defined a musical era. Pure magic.
THE PLAYLIST:
If I Can’t Have You, Gina Villalobos (from the Face West Records release Miles Away)
It took me a few minutes to identify this track as a cover song — a testament to Villalobos’s ability to make a song her own. Re-casting the song as a rootsy ballad, Villalobos seizes on the heart-ache and yearning of this Bee Gees-penned 1977 disco classic.
This album was the runner-up for album of the month. I’m sure Gina doesn’t mind taking the silver to Stax’s gold.
You’re So Plain, The Ike Reilly Assassination (from the Rock Ridge Music release We Belong to the Staggering Evening)
Opening with a Roy Bittan-esque staccato piano flourish followed by a blast of horns, this is a grand rock and roll song in the Springsteen tradition. Reilly delivers melodies that will stick in your head while challenging you with his Dylanesque lyrical content.
Life is Mostly Waiting, Patty Hurst Shifter (from the Pants on Fire ep release Fugitive Glue)
This track captures the best of the PHS sound, building slowly from a single strummed electric guitar to a steady rocker. Singer J. Chris Smith has a voice that embodies the angst of the band’s lyrics, “I think it is safe to say that life is mostly waiting for the flame of love to flare and not fade away.” Also check out the band’s cover of Neil Young’s “Mr. Soul” — they nail it.
Not What You Wanted, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (from the RCA release Baby 81)
BRMC re-introduce their electric guitars after 2005’s mostly acoustic Howl. This track finds the right balance between a strummed acoustic guitar providing a steady beat and feedback-tinged guitars swirling into the mix. Check out the full Twangville review of Baby 81.
Fourth of July, Dave Alvin (from the New West release Live from Austin Texas)
One of my favorite rock songs performed live in one of my favorite cities — what’s not to like? Alvin is a consumate songsmith and this track perfectly captures the melancholy of a man at odds with his lover, “she gives me her cheek but I want her lips.”
Where I Live, Leeroy Stagger (from the Boompa release Depression River)
Canada’s Stagger excels at writing songs about blue collar characters who sway between resentment and resignation about the cards that they’ve been dealt. Although he hails from Canada, you’d swear that he was raised in the backwoods of Tennessee.
Long Time, Mic Harrison and the High Score (from the self-released album Push Me on Home)
Let the party begin — Knoxville’s Harrison finally arrives with his follow-up to 2004’s Pallbearer’s Shoes. I’ve never had the pleasure of seeing Harrison perform live, but this track screams to be heard live in a neighborhood rock joint while drinking a PBR. Mic, please come to Boston.
Late Morning Lullaby, Brandi Carlile (from the Sony Records release The Story)
Brandi Carlile finds a perfect collaborator in T-Bone Burnett on her latest release. This track, in particular, marries Carlile’s vibrant vocals and songwriting with Burnett’s vivid musical landscapes. Easy-going acoustic-based verses build into a soaring chorus perfectly anchored by a subtle cello accompaniment.
Room to Grow, Adrienne Young (from the Addie Belle release Room to Grow)
Calling Young’s sound organic is a touch ironic given her commitment to sustainable agriculture yet the description fits. This free-wheeling track is a great example, as a fiddle weaves around Young’s sweet and soothing vocals as she proclaims, “We all outgrow the skin we’re in but we can weave, we can mend
Stitch by stitch, row by row, making sure there’s room enough to grow.”
Poor Bird, Shawn Byrne (from the self-released album But I Digress)
The former member of Boston’s Kickbacks finally releases a solo disc from his new home in Nashville. A mandolin gives this easy-going track its charm while Byrne’s voice has just the right touch of southern twang.
FROM THE ARCHIVES:
We Walk the Levee, The Rainmakers (from the 1989 Mercury release The Good News and the Bad News)
“I’m just a man protecting his home, why do I feel like a dog out killing his own…” sings Bob Walkenhorst in this classic 1989 track. Walkenhorst has always been a masterful storyteller, capturing the internal turmoil of a man guarding his town’s levee from sabotage by downstream neighbor’s whose town is flooding due to their own broken levee. Set this story against a captivating guitar riff and solid rock beat and you’ve got a song for the ages. “I saw him in church on Sunday heard the minister speak about Noah and the Ark and the other cheek, and Jesus’s love and Judas’ kiss, I’ll think of that tonight on the graveyard shift.”
For more on Walkenhorst, visit the Twangville Recommends profile.
About the author: Mild-mannered corporate executive by day, excitable Twangville denizen by night.