Over the last 6 months or so I’ve come across a few albums or EP’s that I enjoyed, but for one reason or another didn’t do a full review. Â As the year winds down I figured it’s a good time to collect a few of those into a single post. Wasabi – Wide Open An […]
Mayer’s Picks: Best Albums of 2012
Most years there is one record that stands head and shoulders above the rest. Things were different this year as three albums vied for the top of my favorites list. I gave up trying to pick one – I’m declaring it a tie. #1 (tie). BRANDI CARLILE, Bear Creek Carlile recorded her latest release in […]
Monday Morning Video: An All-Star Performance of Dylan’s “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere”
Now here’s an impressive line-up: Steve Earle, Loudon Wainwright III, Mike Scott of the Waterboys and host John Wesley Harding leading a cover of Bob Dylan’s “You Ain’t Going Nowhere.” The performance was captured at Harding’s eclectic “Cabinet of Wonders” series in New York City last month.
John Hartford – Aereo Pain/Morning Bugle
Normally a reissue of an old record isn’t such a big deal, but the December 2012 reissue of John Hartford’s Aereo Plain/Morning Bugle CD was a big deal for bluegrass fans because Aereo Plain, one of the most important records of the bluegrass – or “New Grass” – revival in the 1970s, had been almost impossible […]
Monday Morning Video: Guy Clark
This One’s For Him , the all-star tribute to Guy Clark, continues to garner recognition. Fresh from its Album of the Year award at the Americana Music Awards, the collection has just been nominated for a Grammy in the Best Folk Album category. Here’s Clark performing the strikingly beautiful “My Favorite Picture of You.” The […]
Elephant Revival – It’s Alive
At some point in just about everyone’s life you meet someone, usually of the opposite sex, who you realize is just so sophisticated and charismatic that you have to readjust your scale for those qualities. Â At that point the cold hard truth hits you that no matter how much you practice and work at your […]
Eric Bibb & Habib Koite – Brothers in Bamako
Bluesman Eric Bibb is the latest in a succession of American musicians to get his passport stamped in Mali since Ry Cooder and the late Ali Farka Toure won the Grammy for Best World Music Recording in 1994. Bibb’s fine collaboration with Malian Habib Koite, Brothers in Bamako, stands up well next to Cooder and Toure’s Talking Timbuktu; […]
Music With a Purpose: Joey’s Song, Volume 2
Musicians have a long tradition of giving. Sure, they give to all of us with the music that they share. Yet they also have a penchant for supporting meaningful causes. Over the next few weeks we will highlight several releases that demonstrate this giving spirit. You’ve got to admire perseverance, especially in pursuit of a […]
Music With a Purpose: Grooving Forward, Vol. 1
Musicians have a long tradition of giving. Sure, they give to all of us with the music that they share. Yet they also have a penchant for supporting meaningful causes. Over the next few weeks we will highlight several releases that demonstrate this giving spirit. Grooving Forward, Volume One is the brainchild of Jake Bush […]
Monday Morning Video: Jimmy Ryan’s “John Brown”
This song has quietly become a staple of the Boston music scene. It is no surprise, really, with the song’s achingly beautiful melody and emotionally charged lyrics. Judge for yourself by watching a performance by Ryan and friends from a few years back.