So my quest for a Bottle Rockets video from the new release turned up empty. That won’t, however, stop us from watching the boys rock out with David Bowie’s “Suffragette City.” From there we run through a string of great live performances from Daddy (Will Kimbrough & Tommy Womack), Jones Street Station, Those Darlins, Ketch […]
Mayer’s Playlist from July 2009
ALBUM OF THE MONTH: Lean Forward, by The Bottle Rockets Now that summer has finally arrived, it’s a good time to pick out the summer albums. It starts with the latest from the pride of Festus, Missouri, The Bottle Rockets. Lead songwriter Brian Henneman is a pop songwriter masquerading as an alt-country musician. And summer […]
The Bottle Rockets – Lean Forward
Hailing from the St. Louis area, The Bottle Rockets show some of the same influences that inspired Uncle Tupelo and their progeny. In Lean Forward , their tenth release, the Rockets have a record that’s a rich bouquet of rock and roll, but nonetheless retaining some twangy alt country aromas. What distinguishes many of the […]
Revisiting the Classics: The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
The Band classic “The Weight” is a standard closing number for musicians across the world (see Chris & Rich Robinson of the Black Crowes joining Levon Helm on it this past week here), but I’ve always been partial to “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.” Drummer Levon Helm’s impassioned vocals are downright spine-tingling as […]
Damon Fowler – Sugar Shack
A few months back, along with a couple of other CD’s I was reviewing, I received a copy of Damon Fowler’s Sugar Shack . I put it on at the time, it was OK, I didn’t think too much about it. I realized this weekend that I keep coming back to this disc. I know […]
Twangville Best So Far ’09: The Songs
Sometimes it is the song that really matters, as illustrated by these Twangville pick songs so far in 2009. Mayer’s Pick: “Good” by Jason Isbell (from the Lightning Rod Records release Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit) It’s hard to escape the onslaught of guitars in this furious rocker. They are the musical equivalent of […]
Twangville Best So Far ’09: The Albums
It’s been a solid year of music so far in 2009. We’ve had the requisite releases from the marquee names like Springsteen and U2, but we’ve also seen stellar releases from the cherished and emerging artists that are the life-blood of Twangville. Below, then, are the 2009 favorites from the Twangville posse. What were yours? […]
Mayer’s Playlist for June 2009
ALBUM OF THE MONTH: Murdering Oscar (and Other Love Songs), by Patterson Hood Patterson Hood’s last solo release was a somber acoustic affair. This one ain’t. In fact, this collection of songs from Hood’s archives is not dissimilar from a Drive-By Truckers release. Sure, I miss Cooley’s guitar and the Truckers triple guitar interplay. But […]
Mayer’s Playlist from May 2009, Part 2
THE PLAYLIST: Broke My Heart, Tim Easton (from the New West Records release Porcupine) “Love and destruction seem to go together, when you find one the other’s close behind. A broken heart isn’t the worst thing in the world, when you give it justa little piece of time.” Six Fast Bullets, These United States (from […]
Mayer’s Playlist from May 2009, Part 1
ALBUM OF THE MONTH: Spills and Thrills, by John Paul Keith & the One Four Fives Last month we highlighted ex-V-Roy Scott Miller’s latest release, this month it is his former band-mate John Paul Keith’s turn. Keith’s latest is a rockabilly romp, heavy on Southern boogie and down-home fun. The party gets started with the […]