Stirring duets from two Baton Rouge singer-songwriters
Parker and James are Baton Rouge singer-songwriters whose separate careers have twined for this EP. Written together, and sung in tight harmony, the pair sounds as if they’ve been duetting since childhood. Though built mostly on folk-styled acoustic guitars, the melodies, mood and Paul Buller’s pedal steel give the album a country edge. The EP combines five originals with an arrangement of the traditional “Moonshiner.†The latter has been a staple of the folk scene since the early ‘60s, and Parker and James’ arrangement brings to mind Simon and Garfunkel’s debut album with both their harmonies and the fragility of James’ solo flights.
Mysteriously unreleased 1969 album has several treasures
With an artist of Roy Orbison’s stature, it’s hard to imagine how a fully finished album could simply slip through the cracks of a major label’s release machinery. But such is the case for this 1969 set, which sat in the vaults unheard by the public for nearly fifty years. Released in conjunction with an exhaustive 13-disc box set of Orbison’s MGM albums and singles, one might get the impression that his output was simply too much for the market to handle, but a closer look at this period suggests MGM was losing faith in Orbison’s commercial potential. At the time this album was shelved, 1967’s Cry Softly for the Lonely One had failed to chart, its title single had failed to crack the Top 40, and 1968 found Orbison retreating from the road while he recovered from the death of his two oldest sons.
By early 1969 Orbison was back in the studio, recording the material that would become this unissued album. He paused the sessions for a Spring tour, and reconvened in Summer to finish an album that should have been released in November. And then… nothing. MGM sat on the album, and waited until the next year to release the covers set, Hank Williams the Roy Orbison Way. MGM whiffed again the same year by failing to release The Big O in the US, adding to the picture of a label that no longer believed in its artist. But as both the box set and this newly released album confirm, Orbison’s MGM catalog is filled with excellent, if not always hit single material. In light of the quality, Orbison’s contention that his releases weren’t promoted properly (or, in several cases, actually released) weighs heavily.
Lost 1974 solo album from the Animals’ Alan Price
Though Eric Burdon’s voice crowned the Animals’ sound, founding keyboardist Alan Price’s contributions were equally seminal. He brought the group a deep feel for R&B, blues and jazz, organ sounds that provided some of the band’s most memorable hooks, and songwriting chops that paired with Burdon’s. Though his run with the Animals ended in 1965, his solo career took off quickly, with singles and solo albums charting in the UK into the 1970s. This 1974 album came between his critically acclaimed soundtrack for O Lucky Man! and the socially astute Between Today and Yesterday. Incredibly, though the album was fully finished, artistically successful and had obvious commercially potential, it was released only briefly on 8-track tape and then recalled.
No one associated with the album recalls exactly why it was shelved, nor can anyone explain why it’s taken more than forty years to escape the vault. Price is in perfect form throughout, weaving together R&B, blues, soul, jazz, boogie, pop, rock and music hall sounds. It’s not unlike the post-British Invasion reach of Ray Davies and the Kinks, but eschews Davies’ concept album excess. The opening “Smells Like Lemon, Tastes Like Wine†borrows easily from Eric Burdon’s “Spill the Wine†and tinges the song with the rye attitude of Jerry Reed. Price’s extended piano solo on “You Won’t Get Me†is superb, and his organ keys the trad-jazz cross-dressing tale “Willie the Queen,†a song whose momentary Leon Redbone impression is apt.
Great new track from Trevor Green’s upcoming album Voice of the Wind. Terrifically recorded acoustic guitar, gently rolling percussion and a vocal that’s both introspective and inspirational at the same time.
Rare Ralph Stanley albums, plus a third from Whitley and Skaggs
By the time Ralph Stanley released Michigan Bluegrass on the independent Jessup label in 1971, he was well into establishing the second phase of his career. A twenty year run as half the Stanley Brothers had ended with the passing of his older brother Carter in 1966, but barely missing a beat, he reincarnated the Clinch Mountain Boys, continued to release records for King, and added releases on Rebel, Jalyn and Jessup. His connection with the latter was brief, comprising just two albums recorded in five weeks in 1971, and released in ‘71 and ‘73. The albums were previously reissued as Echoes of the Stanley Brothers, but are augmented here by ten additional tracks drawn from Keith Whitley and Ricky Skaggs’ contemporaneous Tribute to the Stanley Brothers.
Whitley and Skaggs were backed by the Clinch Mountain Boys for their album, and after being invited to join the group, the album was reissued under Ralph Stanley’s name. This 2-CD set opens with ten of the tribute album’s twelve tracks (omitting “White Dove†and “The Angels Are Singing Tonightâ€), with, according to the Colin Escott’s well-researched liner notes, Stanley leaving the banjo parts to Roy Lee Centers. Whitley and Skaggs delved deep into the Stanley Brothers catalog, showing off the encyclopedic knowledge that had originally caught Ralph Stanley’s ear. The songs of loss, longing and loneliness are highlighted by an unusual murder-suicide in “Little Glass of Wine.†The stereo production is clean and spacious, with the fiddle, mandolin, guitar and bass crisply arrayed around the tight, sorrowful lead harmonies.
In the summer of 1971, after a live outing and a pair of albums for Rebel, Stanley took his band into Jessup’s Jackson, Michigan studio. The first of his two Jessup albums features a trove of then-new material, including a pair of socially conscious songs by Gene Duty. “Let’s Keep Old Glory Waving†is straightforwardly prideful, but the opening “Are You Proud of America†digs deeper with its questioning of those who question America. Wendy Smith contributed “River Underground,†a murder ballad in which the protagonist ends up haunted by guilt rather than jailed or dead. Joyce Morris’ “Another Song, Another Drink†gains an extra shade of sadness in the retrospective light of lead vocalist Keith Whitley’s untimely death, and the album’s instrumentals, “Hulla Gull†and “Buckwheat,†highlight the band’s musical talent.
J.D. Souther’s 1976 sophomore solo album reissued with bonuses
After releasing his 1972 self-titled debut (which has been concurrently reissued with seven bonus tracks), J.D. Souther joined with Chris Hillman and Richie Furay to release two albums as the Souther-Hillman-Furay Band. So it wasn’t until 1976 that he returned with this second solo album, produced by the red hot Peter Asher, and featuring performances from Lowell George, Joe Walsh, Waddy Wachtel, Jim Keltner and Andrew Gold, Linda Ronstadt, David Crosby, Art Garfunkel, Don Henley, Glenn Frey and other luminaries. The album is more refined and musically expansive than the debut, and Souther sounds more assured as he lets his songs unfold and reach beyond a singer-songwriter style.
Souther draws upon an expanded set of musical roots and allows himself to linger, as on the gospel-tinged vocal coda of “If You Have Crying Eyes.†Souther and Asher let the performance build to a crescendo and then wind down with emotional vocalizing atop the backing of Asher, Gold and Ronstadt. The musicianship is more sophisticated as well, with the opening “Banging My Head Against the Moon†taking on an island tone as the rhythm guitar, drums and Paul Stallworth’s bass provide intricate accompaniment. By 1976 Asher was hitting full stride as a producer, with seminal albums by James Taylor, Tony Joe White and Linda Ronstadt under his belt, and he helps Souther draw something deeper from his music.
Comparing the demo of “Silver Blue†to the album track, the song’s despairing, open-ended questions become more nuanced, and Stanley Clark’s beautiful double bass adds a duet voice. The recording is a textbook example of how instrumentation can reinforce and amplify a song’s tone, as does Donald Byrd’s flugelhorn on the late night “Midnight Prowl.†David Campbell’s arrangement of cello and flute on “Faithless Love†isn’t as surprising, but provides interesting contrast to Souther’s blue, crooned notes, and strings also add drama to “Doors Swing Open.†The latter’s wariness of hollow relationships weaves into Souther’s pessimistic tapestry of romantic turmoil, unrequited love and lost partners, culminating in the title song’s funereal symbol.
A generous document of an extraordinary collaboration
Recorded on the last stop of Finn and Kelly’s 2013 tour of Australia, this double-disc live set was initially released that same year, but only down under; Omnivore now favors stateside fans with this reissue. Finn and Kelly were joined on tour by a full band as they picked their way through both solo material and songs from their previous bands. The latter includes titles drawn from the catalogs of Split Enz, Crowded House and the Messengers. There’s an impressive connection between Finn and Kelly as both songwriters and singers, their songs flowing together seamlessly and their voices enthusiastically shading one another’s.
Let the good times roll – funky country, blues, soul and ragtime
Tennessee-to-Texas transplant Lew Card is determined for you to have a good time. The spirited tone of his third album contrasts with the acoustic style of last year’s Low Country Hi-Fi, substituting keyboards and brass (the latter from the superb Tijuana TrainWreck Horns) for fiddle and dobro. The opening “Walkin’ Shoes Blues†brings to mind the daydream of Mungo Jerry’s “In the Summertime,†with a tempo that beckons the listener to strut down the street. Josh Vernier’s backbeat will have you bopping your head to “Baby Won’t Ya,†as Card beseeches a prospective mate, accompanied by fingerpicked acoustic guitar, electric piano and Doug Strahan’s tastefully rugged guitar solo.
Stirring duets from two Baton Rouge singer-songwriters
