Some records announce themselves with a bang. Vincent Neil Emerson’s Blue Stars does something tougher. It settles in, tells the truth, and lets the weight of the songs do the heavy lifting. That makes it a natural fit beside Guy Clark’s Old No. 1, a record that helped define how Texas songwriting could be plain, precise, and quietly devastating. Beyond sound or geography, the connection is a shared belief that the smallest details often carry the biggest truths.
Monday Morning Video – Guy Clark’s “Hell Bent on a Heartache”
I was looking for a video of Clark performing his brilliant ode to heartbreak but, alas, I couldn’t find one. Of the covers that I did find, this one by Korby Lenker and Betsy Phillips best captured the longing and loneliness of Clark’s song.
The Twangville Early 2019 Release Preview
If the albums scheduled for release over the next few months are any indication, there’s a great year of music ahead of us. Here are just a few forthcoming long-players that we are eagerly anticipating in 2019. WHAT WILL YOU DO by LULA WILES(25 January on Smithsonian Folkways)The Boston trio have taken their time […]
Guy Clark – The Real Stuff
As soon as I heard about the passing of the iconic troubadour, Guy Clark, one song popped in my mind, “Stuff that Works”. On that song he sings “Stuff that works. Stuff that holds up … Stuff that’s real and stuff you feel. The kind of stuff you reach for when you fall”. Nothing else […]
Guy Clark, 1941 – 2016
An already rough year for music just got a bit tougher. Legendary country and folk singer Guy Clark passed away earlier today. He was an inspiration to both music fans and artists alike. Whether singing songs happy or sad, there was a tremendous warmth to his music and a wonderful vibrancy to his lyrical storytelling. […]
Mayer’s Picks: Best Songs of 2013
I posted a best songs list for the first half of 2013 back in July (here). Rather than replicate that list for my full year review, consider this the continuation — the best songs from the second half of the year. Closed Hand, Full of Friends, Foy Vance (from the Glassnote Records release Joy of […]
Mayer’s Picks: Best Albums of 2013
This has been a great year in music, a feast for the ears but a challenge when it comes to picking my favorite albums for the year. A good problem to have, I suppose. Without further ado…. #1. JASON ISBELL, Southeastern The demons in these songs are no match for a songwriter of Isbell’s talent. […]
Mayer’s Playlist for July and August 2013, Part 2
ALBUMS OF THE MONTH Close to the Floor, by Patrick Sweany They say that great art is often the result of pain and adversity. It is a blessing and a curse. A blessing that we get to share in the work that results, a curse that the artist’s suffering lies at the root of the […]
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 […]
Monday Morning Video: 2012 Americana Music Awards
As part of our re-cap of the 2012 Americana Music Conference and Festival, here are some highlights from the Americana Awards show. We bookend our collection with the all-star version of “The Weight,” a tribute to Levon Helm. We open with Emmylou Harris, Buddy Miller, Richard Thompson, Brittany Howard and others rehearsing “The Weight” for […]