Country hit maker Connie Smith first broke through in the mid-60s, scoring a chart-topper with her debut “Once a Day,†winning numerous awards and scoring on the charts through the end of the ‘70s. She mostly retired from recording in 1979, continuing to perform live, dropping a few non-LP singles in the mid-80s and a self-titled album in 1998. It’s been thirteen years since that last full-length solo release, and as before, with no mainstream commercial aspirations to sway her artistry, she digs into a rich set of songs, many co-written with her husband and producer, Marty Stuart. The remaining titles are drawn from the country pens of Harlan Howard, Kostas, Patty Loveless, Emory Gordy Jr. and others.
At 70, Smith hasn’t the tight vocal control of her younger years, but she still delivers the heart and soul of a country song. Stuart, who produced her last album, knows a thing or two (or three) about framing his wife’s singing in twang and blues. Backed by a small combo of guitar (by the stellar Nashville player, Rick Wright), steel, bass and drums, Smith and Stuart checked into RCA’s legendary studio B for four days – enough time to lay down a dozen tracks the old-fashioned way – seamlessly weaving together new and old songs into a collage of busted hearts, half-hearted protestations, dried tears, resignation and forgiveness.
Rocking alt.country from the heart of Long Island, NY
This Long Island trio dropped a few demo tracks in 2009 (reviewed here), promoting the catchy “One More Time†into a single and attracting some local attention. They’ve returned with a full album that leans on both their alt.country and rock roots. The Wilco influence is strong (unsurprising, given the band is named after one of Wilco’s lyrical creations), and Pete Mancini’s voice favors the reediness of Jeff Tweedy; but there’s also a melancholy in his delivery that suggests Chris Bell, and a soulful bottom end in the rhythm section that gives the band plenty of rock flavor. Mancini’s latest songs were inspired by travel journals kept by his father, as well as his own cross-country travels. From the opening “Brass Bell†you can feel the wanderlust, the urge to blow town, the expectation of the journey ahead and the confidence of someone young enough to enjoy (or at least react to) the moment.
Word from Oakland, California is that the Shants (whose earlier Russian River Songs was reviewed here) will release their first full-length album, Beautiful Was the Night, in September. There’s a release party scheduled for Viracocha (998 Valencia St., San Francisco) on October 8, for those of you in the Bay Area. The band writes:
The album is called Beautiful Was The Night (which is a phrase taken from Longfellow’s epic poem Evangeline). It was recorded in Oakland at Rec Center Studios and Tones On Tail Studio by Eliot Curtis (who has worked on records for Bare Wires, Nectarine Pie), with some vocal harmonies from Brianna Lea Pruett & Quinn DeVeaux, violin by Howie Cockrill, and horns by Ralph Carney (Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, Black Keys) as well as the Blue Bone Express. Half the album was funded by our fans, via Kickstarter.
As an appetizer for the album, they’re offering the track “Baton Rouge,” of which they write “It’s basically a letter to the city of Baton Rouge, as though it were an ex-lover.” Enjoy!
After a seven-year hiatus that included health issues for Terry Adams, side projects for Joey Spampinato and the virtual retirement of Tom Ardolino, NRBQ has reformed and renewed. Spampinato joined up full time with his brother in the Spampinato Brothers, and Ardolino released himself from the rigors of touring, leaving Adams to rebuild the band with new partners. Initially billed under their leader’s name, the new quartet cut its teeth in gigs and the studio before Adams felt they captured grooves worthy of the name “NRBQ.†Adams’ new bandmates are guitarist Scott Ligon, bassist Pete Donnely and drummer Conrad Choucroun. Ligon and Donnely also add vocals and songwriting, making this a group, rather than a showcase for Adams.
Happily, the new quartet has captured the eclectic mix that made the original band so intoxicating. Leading off the album is Adams’ tribute to New Orleans legend Boozoo Chavis and his wife Leona, with Choucroun propelling the song with a terrific second line rhythm. Just as this parade passes by the band turns to the pure pop of “Keep This Love Goin’†and “Here I Am,†offering up shades of the Raspberries, Beach Boys and Gary Lewis. There’s rockabilly rhythm guitar and a touch of Carl Perkins’ lead style on “I’m Satisfied,†and the slap-rhythm of “Sweet and Petite†sounds like country came down the mountain to wax some rock ‘n’ roll.
Newcomer Justin Haigh open his new album with a terrific single, “All My Best Friends.†His original tune pulls together classic country word play (“all my best friends are behind barsâ€), a clever roll of call brands and throwback twang that’s heavy on the fiddle and steel. His spirit friends visit a second time for the mid-tempo two-step blues, “Jack Daniels on Ice,†a song that finds Haigh sitting out a chilly situation at home in the welcoming confines of his local bar. Raised on a South Dakota ranch, Haigh was steeped in Merle, Waylon, Lefty and Hank from a young age, and after a restless adolescence he resettled in Texas. Haigh’s working class roots are proudly declared and staunchly defended in the album’s title track, and nods to Waylon Jennings with some terrific guitar figures.
Nearly complete collection of Dan Seals’ biggest solo hits
After partnering with John Ford Coley as the “England Dan†half of the soft-rock duo England Dan and John Ford Coley, Dan Seals found tremendous commercial success as a solo act. Starting with 1983’s Rebel Heart, he climbed the country chart with “Everybody’s Dream Girl†and “After You,†scored a Top Ten hit with his original “God Must Be a Cowboy,†and topped the chart eleven times. His initial hits added light twang to a soft-rock base, but by the time he climbed into the top ten, the steel and honky-tonk piano moved forward, the beat leaned on two and four, and his vocals took a mournful turn on “(You Bring Out) The Wild Side of Me.â€
Though he cut rootsier sides that included “My Old Yellow Car,†“Everything That Glitters (is not Gold)†and the Eagles-ish “Big Wheels in the Moonlight,†they were all touched by the clean studio sound of the ‘80s. Several of Seals’ hit singles abandoned country for adult contemporary sounds, such as heard in the string-lined “One Friend†and the power ballad “I Will Be There.†But even as he vacillated between contemporary country and contemporary pop, he struck gold on the country chart. He notched his first #1 with 1985’s “Meet Me in Montana,†kicking off a string of nine chart-toppers in a row, and sparking a parallel chart renaissance for his duet partner, Marie Osmond.
Country songwriter Jim Lauderdale reteams with Dead lyricist Robert Hunter
There’s a select set of modern musicians who’ve found fortune in Nashville, yet maintained (or in the case of Patty Loveless and Dolly Parton, developed) bluegrass credentials. Jim Lauderdale hasn’t had the level of commercial success as Vince Gill or Ricky Skaggs, but his songs have been turned into hits by George Strait, Mark Chesnutt, and Patty Loveless, and he’s won critical accolades for this own work. He’s a favorite of roots listeners, a valued collaborator to a wide variety of other musician’s projects, and like Gill and Skaggs, he’s maintained a deep connection to bluegrass, including collaborations with Ralph Stanley and Donna the Buffalo, and his own Grammy-winning Bluegrass Diaries.
For the past few years, Lauderdale’s work has intertwined with the history of the Grateful Dead, including his participation in The American Beauty Project, and extensive songwriting with former Dead lyricist Robert Hunter. Lauderdale’s previous collaboration with Hunter, Patchwork River, was an electric affair that blended country, rock, blues and Southern soul. Their latest set reaches back to the string band and harmony sounds of 2004’s Headed for the Hills, but with purer (but certainly not pure) bluegrass arrangements. The result reflects the specific talents of each participant: Hunter’s lyrics reaching places you don’t often visit in bluegrass, and Lauderdale’s Buck Owens-ish drawl adding country twang to everything he sings.
Hunter’s writing fits the curves of Lauderdale’s melodies with ease, drawing the listener to words and rhymes as well as the stories. You may never figure out what “Tiger and the Monkey†is about or how Hunter put himself into the person of a boxer who beat Jack Dempsey, but you’ll have a lot of fun singing along. More traditionally, the self-loathing “Don’t Give a Hang†hides its sorrow in a curmudgeon’s complaints, and the deep longing of “Love’s Voice†is emphasized by the way Launderdale drags the verses and charges into the chorus, contrasting happy memories with present day pain.
Miranda Lambert shacks up with two girlfriends
