Monthly Archives: August 2013

Various Artists: The Big E – A Salute to the Steel Guitarist Buddy Emmons

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Various_TheBigEAll-star tribute to a steel guitar giant

Steel guitarists are often remembered for their spotlight instrumentals and flashy solos, but the lines they weave around verses and choruses more often define a song’s emotional texture. Players like David Keli’i, Leon McAuliffe, Don Helms, Ralph Mooney and others were (quite literally) instrumental in defining the sound of the bands they played in, the singers they backed and the sessions in which they recorded. Among the long list of hall-of-fame steel players, Buddy Emmons stands especially tall. His credentials include the founding of both the Sho-Bud and Emmons lines of steel guitars, innovative designs (including the invention of the revolutionary split-pedal setup), new tunings, instrumentals that quickly became standards, and a lengthy catalog of breathtaking performances that chartered new territory as they stretched from country to jazz to pop and beyond.

Emmons was a pillar of bands fronted by Little Jimmy Dickens, Ernest Tubb, Ray Price and Roger Miller, and the first-call studio player in both Nashville and Los Angeles. His creativity and technical virtuosity sparked innumerable recording sessions and influenced both his peers and subsequent generations of steel players. Thirteen of those players (including legends Norm Hamlet, JayDee Maness and others) have gathered with a stellar list of vocalists to pay tribute through songs from the guitarist’s career. The material is drawn from Emmons performances with Ernest Tubb (“Half a Mind”), Little Jimmy Dickens (“When Your House is  Not a Home”), Floyd Tillman (“This Cold War With You”), Ray Price (“Night Life”), Gram Parsons (“That’s All it Took”), John Sebastian (“Rainbow All Over Your Blues”), Ray Charles (“Feel So Bad”), Judy Collins (“Someday Soon”), Roger Miller (“Invitation to the Blues”), as well as his solo albums (“Wild Mountain Thyme”) and live repertoire.

Also featured are two of Emmons’ compositions: “Buddy’s Boogie,” originally cut with Little Jimmy Dickens in 1955, and recreated with the hot-picked steel and six-string of Doug Jernigan and Guthrie Trapp, respectively. “Blue Jade,” a western-tinged instrumental originally recorded in 1967, is given an extra helping of twang from Duane Eddy’s guitar and Dan Dugmore’s steel, with Spooner Oldham’s piano providing graceful backing. Each player on the album adds their own twists, but Emmons’ original ideas anchor each extrapolation. Greg Leisz states Emmons’ contemplative solo reading of “Wild Mountain Thyme” before expanding on the theme with guitar, mandocello and lap slide, and JayDee Maness adds new turns to the famous solo on John Sebastian’s “Rainbow All Over Your Blues.” As intentional as this celebration may be, it’s the germination of Emmons inventions in each player’s style that’s the biggest tribute of all. [©2013 Hyperbolium]

A sampling of Buddy Emmons’ albums:

A sampling of Buddy Emmons’ performances:

Vince Gill & Paul Franklin: Bakersfield

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VinceGill_BakersfieldSterling tribute to Buck Owens and Merle Haggard

Tribute albums are a tricky proposition. Play it too close and you add nothing of your own; take too many liberties and you lose touch with the object of your affection. Finding a middle ground that honors the original performances, adds something new and echoes both the celebrated and celebrant is one of the most delicate balancing acts in music. To best accomplish this, you need to have absorbed an artist’s music into your roots, so that your own path of discovery carries the DNA of these influences even as you develop your unique variations. Recorded country music has a long history of meaningful tips of a ten gallon hat, and such is the case for this heartfelt tribute to Buck Owens and Merle Haggard from singer-guitarist Vince Gill and steel guitarist Paul Franklin.

Both Gill and Franklin took to the Bakersfield sound and the songs of Owens and Haggard at very young ages, spurred to dig deeper into music by the revolutionary sounds coming out of Bakersfield in the 1960s. Between Gill and Franklin, they’re able to cover three of the key elements of Owens’ and Haggard’s records: vocals, guitar and steel. Gill’s always had one of the sweetest voices in contemporary country music, but it’s still surprising how easily and equally it lends itself to both singers’ music. He sings his own harmony on the Owens’ tunes, just as Owens had done on his own studio recordings, and adds telecaster sting, including the chicken pickin’ and stuttering leads that bring to mind James Burton and Roy Nichols.

Franklin’s steel provides Gill the perfect partner, adding the twangy instrumental voice that gave Owens’ and Haggard’s music its unapologetic country sound. He pays tribute to Tom Brumley and Ralph Mooney, as does pretty much every player who touches a steel guitar, but with his own twists to signature solos such as Brumley’s masterpiece on “Together Again.” The song list combines several of Owens’ and Haggard’s most familiar hits – “Foolin’ ‘Round,” “Branded Man,” “Together Again,” “The Bottle Let Me Down” and “The Fightin’ Side of Me” – with well selected catalog gems. The latter are highlighted by Owens’ 1966 two-stepping album side “He Don’t Deserve You Anymore” and Haggard’s pained 1974 “Holding Things Together.”

Gill has recorded many great records, both as a chart-topping hit maker in the ’90s and as an album auteur in the last decade. Franklin’s been one of Nashville’s most prolific session players, spreading his commercial and artistic successes across hundreds of records. But playing the material that fueled their imaginations as youngsters clearly lights a spark in each of them. Their balance between fidelity and liberty is just right, with the heart of each song filigreed with changes that are often small, but meaningful. Gill and Franklin each bring their own style to the record, but they are styles which grew partly in Bakersfield soil. The album’s only disappointment is the short ten track song list; a number that’s particularly small when drawing from the lengthy catalogs of two country music giants. [©2013 Hyperbolium]

Vince Gill’s Home Page
Paul Franklin’s Home Page

Don Rich: That Fiddlin’ Man

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DonRich_ThatFiddlinManThe Buckaroos’ main man steps to the front with his fiddle

Though it was Buck Owens’ name that appeared on the marquee, he’d have been the first to say that the marquees would have been a lot smaller without his right-hand man Don Rich leading the Buckaroos. Rich was an ace guitarist, harmony singer, songwriter and fiddler, and just as responsible for creating the Bakersfield Sound as Owens, Haggard or Wynn Stewart. Though he’s best known for his stinging Telecaster, he joined Buck Owens as a fiddler, and can be heard threading his strings around Owens’ vocals as early as 1961’s “Excuse Me (I Think I’ve Got a Heartache).” He’d pick up the lion’s share of the Buckaroos’ guitar work a couple of years later, but he never gave up the fiddle.

Rich cut albums backing Owens, with the Buckaroos and as a soloist, but this 1971 title is the only one to be released under his own name during his lifetime (a second album was posthumously released earlier this year as Don Rich Sings George Jones). The ten tracks were culled from previously released Owens and Buckaroos albums ranging from 1963’s On the Bandstand to 1970’s Boot Hill. The picks were surprisingly old-fashioned, with little of the kick that the Buckaroos brought to country music. Omnivore’s first-ever CD reissue adds ten more tracks drawn from similiar sources, but the selections highlight more of the Buckaroos’ instrumental sting. Rich’s fiddle is featured on each track, and his melodic lines are often drawn upon by the steel, dobro and guitar for their own spotlights.

Rich shows his fiddling prowess across a wide range of material and settings, with an especially evocative lead on the ballad “Faded Love” and a mid-tempo take on “Greensleeves” that may be the only version that invites you to two-step. Of the album’s original ten titles, Rich is especially fetching on the Louisiana-rooted numbers “Louisiana Waltz,” “Down on the Bayou” and “Cajun Fiddle.” Drawn from the Buckaroos’ most fertile period, these tracks find Rich backed by lineups that include Tom Brumley, Doyle Holly, Willie Cantu, Earle Poole Ball, Buddy Emmons, Doyle Curtsinger and Jerry Wiggins. Rich may be best remembered for his guitar and voice, but his fiddle was an important part of the Buckaroos’ sound, and here it’s given its just due. [©2013 Hyperbolium]  

The Buckaroos: Play Buck & Merle

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Buckaroos_PlayBuckAndMerleInstrumental versions of Buck Owens’ and Merle Haggard’s hits

Ominvore’s two-fer combines two instrumental albums that bookmarked the Buckaroos’ solo recording career. The Buck Owens Songbook was originally issued in 1965, and features a dozen twangy Bakersfield-sound instrumental covers of songs written by (or in the case of “Act Naturally,” closely associated with) Buck Owens. This classic lineup of the Buckaroos included Don Rich, Tom Brumley, Willie Cantu, Doyle Holly (playing guitar instead of bass) and Bob Morris (playing bass), and their guitar-led arrangements are tight and clean. But without Owens out front pulling them along, the playing remains a bit sedate, perhaps – as the original liner notes and included lyrics sheet suggest – for singing along. It’s a nice curio, but no substitute for either the original hits or some of the Buckaroos more adventurous instrumentals.

The Songs of Merle Haggard is a different beast altogether. Originally released in 1971, only Don Rich remained from the previous Buckaroos lineup, joined by Jim Shaw, Doyle Curtsinger, Ronnie Jackson and Jerry Wiggins. By this point, both Owens and his band had expanded their sound beyond the original Bakersfield sting, and while the underpinnings retain some of the shuffle and twang, they’re fleshed out with organ and breathy male chorus vocals. It’s as if someone decided to do a soft-country knockoff of the Bakersfield sound, but it works surprisingly well, particularly if you’re partial to the sunshine production sounds of the early ’70s. It’s a step removed from the Buckaroos primary invention, but it’s a still a hoot and a half. [©2013 Hyperbolium]

Paul Allen and the Underthinkers: Everywhere at Once

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PaulAllen_EverywhereAtOnceThe musical soul of Microsoft’s co-founder

Paul Allen is (and will forever be) known as the co-founder of Microsoft and a generous philanthropist. But it’s a fair bet that if he could trade in that notoriety (though perhaps not the riches) for fame as a guitarist, he’d have to think it over. Allen’s been an ardent music fan and regular player since he was a teenager, and his philanthropy has included several music-related projects, including Seattle’s EMP Museum. So though he’s never made a career in music, his connections are deeper and more long-standing than that of a dilettante. Allen’s connections have provided opportunities to play with many of his heroes and develop the relationships upon which this album of blues-, country-, soul- and funk-flavored rock was built. In addition to Allen’s own guitar, he’s joined by Los Lobos’ David Hidalgo and Derek Trucks, and fronted by Ann Wilson, Ivan Neville, Chrissie Hynde, Joe Walsh and others. The songs are originals, written by Allen with a variety of partners, and though not blazing any new trails, they provide enough meat for his assembled friends to create something tuneful and heartfelt. This album is the product of a true music nerd – one who’s listened intently, played on the sidelines for decades, and given the chance to lead the band, shows real talent for making music. [©2013 Hyperbolium]

The Barn Birds: The Barn Birds

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BarnBirds_BarnBirdsCountry-folk duets from Jonathan Byrd and Chris Kokesh

The Barn Birds are singer-songwriter-guitarist Jonathan Byrd, and singer-songwriter-fiddler Chris Kokesh. Each was well established individually on the folk festival circuit when they met and began working together several years ago. Their debut as a duo was written primarily by Byrd with collaborators (Anais Mitchell, Chris Kokesh, Anthony da Costa, Amy Speace, Luke Dick and Carey West), but they’re paired equally as duet singers, and Kokesh’s fiddle often adds a third melodic voice. Recorded live in a single day with sparse backing, the music is surprisingly rich. The instruments spend most of their time supporting the duo’s vocals; the voices meld together into the magical new voice of a well-realized duet. Kokesh adds a few well-placed solos, such as the drowsy sixteen bars of “It’s Too late to Call it a Night,” but the focus remains primarily on the singing, whether in harmony, unison, or in the cappella breakdown of “Desert Rose.” The music is folk and country, with an old-timey sound for the sweet “Sundays Loving You” and gypsy-jazz fiddle and rhythm guitar on “One Night at a Time.” This is a wonderfully unassuming album, laid down by two closely connected musical souls who’ve let us eavesdrop on their conversation. [©2013 Hyperbolium]

The Barn Birds’ Home Page

Raw Spitt: Raw Spitt

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RawSpitt_RawSpittSocially-charged soul from the Swamp Dogg stable

“Raw Spitt” was the alter ego laid on Charlie Whitehead by his friend and mentor Jerry Williams, Jr. The latter had recently renamed himself “Swamp Dogg,” and was beginning to build a stable of artists. Williams and Whitehead had met in New York, and they developed a rich musical relationship that included both songwriting and original performances, with Williams producing Whitehead for this 1970 release on the Canyon label. Whitehead would release later material under his own name, but it’s the socially-charged songs of this rare full-length debut that minted the singer’s reputation with soul fans.

Written primarily by Williams and Troy Davis, the album is apiece with Swamp Dogg’s own debut, Total Destruction to Your Mind, and this reissue includes a version of Total Destruction‘s “Synthetic World” among the five bonus tracks. Aside from a few pop and soul covers (“Put a Little Love in Your Heart,” “This Old Town” and “Hey Jude”), the album is populated with outspoken songs of social malfunction – rough childhoods and racially proscribed adulthoods – and anthems of unyielding will and self-empowerment. As on Total Destruction, the surface-level absurdity found in some of the song titles and lyric hooks quickly gives way to deeper messages; Williams was a man with much to say, and having found a forum, he was going to say it with little indirection.

Whitehead proved a superb front man for these songs, with a voice that was deeper than Williams’ own, with a ragged, soulful edge that suggested Otis Redding. Williams’ funky, soulful productions were well-served by Capricorn’s studio in Macon and a backing band that included James Carr, Johnny Sandlin, Robert “Pop” Popwell and Paul Hornsby. Long out of print, the album’s ten tracks previously appeared on the import Charlie Whitehead Anthology. Alive’s reissue restores the original album artwork, and includes two bonus tracks (“Synthetic World” and “Hey Jude”) that didn’t appear on the earlier compilation. This is a great find for those few who knew of Raw Spitt, those tracking down Williams’ work as a producer, and anyone seeking new veins of fine ’70s soul. [©2013 Hyperbolium]

Swamp Dogg’s Home Page

The Good Intentions: Travelling Companion

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GoodIntentions_TravellingCompanionLiverpool folk trio with country backings in Los Angeles

This Liverpool, UK folk trio’s third album is given an extra helping of twang by Los Angeles producer Rick Shea and a lineup of backing musicians that includes Greg Leisz and a pair of fiddlers. The trio’s vocals suggest both the ’60s folk of Peter, Paul & Mary and the West Coast country-rock of Gram Parsons, and singer-guitarist Peter Davies‘ original songs (and a cover of A.P. Carter’s “Gold Watch and Chain”) show the band’s view of folk-to-country as a continuum that stretches naturally from Bristol to Nashville to California. Though he invokes nostalgic icons like railroads and Hank Williams, his songs are rooted in timeless themes of faded love, injustice and mortality. He writes in the simple poetics that is often heard in folk music; his images and situations strike an immediate resonance, but his details linger and grow. The group’s harmonies add color, and the production’s country elements link these songs to a time before folk and country were so commercially separate.  It’s no longer a surprise when Americana sounds arrive from other continents, but having them return from the birthplace of Merseybeat is a trip. [©2013 Hyperbolium]

The Good Intentions’ Home Page

Various Artist: The South Side of Soul Street: The Minaret Soul Singles 1967-1976

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Various_SouthSideOfSoulStreetKiller soul from should-be-legendary Florida studio and label

Stax, American Sound, FAME, Hi and Muscle Shoals Sound are all rightly famous studios, as are the artists who recorded there and the records they produced. But Valparaiso, Florida’s Playground Recording Studio and its associated Minaret label should be just as famous. From 1967 through the mid-70s, producer Finley Duncan waxed a series of soul singles that are as good as they are rare and highly prized by collectors. Incredibly, much like Leiber & Stoller’s Daisy/Tiger labels, Minaret’s soul sides failed to make even a faint mark on the charts. But the lack of commercial impact wasn’t due to a lack of goods: Minaret had records that were the equal of Stax, Atlantic or Hi, including B-sides that were as good (or in some cases even better) than their plug sides. How these records have remained unknown to all but the most dedicated crate-diggers is a mystery.

Minaret’s artists won’t roll off the average listener’s tongue, but even a cursory spin of these archival treasures will alert your ears to something big that was missed the first time around. Otis Redding, meet Big John Hamilton; Wilson Pickett, say hello to Genie Brooks; and if you’re one of the arranger-songwriters who brought life to Stax, you should probably get to know club member R.J. Benninghoff. Minaret’s house band was even more obscure than the studio’s performers (if that’s really possible), but – amazingly – the musical equal of the bands found at FAME and Stax. Bill Dahl’s detailed liner notes provides some detail on the players and their backgrounds, but it’s so completely revelatory as to almost feel like a hoax; as if someone wrote fictional histories for a make believe Pebbles volume of soul.

A rundown of the set’s best sides would list just about every track in the 2-CD collection. Though not every song, vocal or instrumental performance is equally strong, there’s something in each and every recording that’s worth hearing. Special mention must go to the B-sides, which include both vocal tracks and instrumentals; there were much more than throwaways meant to goose airplay of the A-sides. Omnivore’s forty-track set collects both sides of twenty singles, all but three mastered from the original analog tapes. “Juanita,” “I’ll Love Only You” and “Don’t Worry About Me” were mastered from original 45s, and sound fine. The twenty-page booklet includes liners, photos, label reproductions and discographical information. This is easily the year’s greatest surprise so far, and leading the race for the best reissue. [©2013 Hyperbolium]