Top 20 of 2009: #20-11
Posted on | December 30, 2009 | 2 Comments
Here is some of the music that struck me in 2009. In case you missed it, read the manifesto for this site. It might help you understand where I am coming from. If you didn’t see the Bird List, now might be a good time to check it out.
#20: Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women
Dave continues a great late-career run. Come to think of it, his “run” has never stopped, or really even slowed. Read a single review.
Reverent enough to know when to leave the song alone, but restless enough to know when to shake things up.
There is country music that is funny outside of “She Left Me For Jesus”. Most of it is here.
Mining that Canadiana sound, BoH comes up with something fresh. Good songs and great voices. Read a single review.
This should probably be filed under “educational” rather than “country”. Read a single review.
Wry humor and stripped down execution from the Great White North. Read a single review.
A beautiful sounding record, with great songs to back it up. Possibly his most consistent. Read the original review.
This sounds old, worn in, and gorgeous. I don’t think people are used to quality of this level anymore.
#12: Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
His departure didn’t kill the Drive-By Truckers, but gave us double the output. DBT also put out a rarities record, and Isbell had the best song (”TVA”) on it. Read the original review.
One thing you can say about Robert Keen is that he always sounds like he is having fun. Read the original review.
Throwback Thursday – Rodney Crowell – “Bluebird Wine”
Posted on | October 29, 2009 | No Comments
1. I started thinking about Rodney Crowell when writing about his recent collaboration with Bruce Robison. Crowell has had a storied career, running with Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt in Nashville before heading to L.A. to play in Emmylou Harris’ Hot Band, then finding mainstream country success in the 80’s and reinventing himself in this past decade. Though his style has varied over the years, he has a deep catalog of songs that run the gamut from political rants to unabashed love songs. “Bluebird Wine” came early in his career, and was brought more success when Emmylou covered it on her landmark Pieces of the Sky record, though Rodney’s live take from Heartworn Highways better shows the guts of the song.
2. Riding some surprisingly ace finger picking, he tells a story of a new friend who straightened his life out…so that he could better enjoy his precious Bluebird Wine. The irony is not lost here, as Crowell comes in off the highway, puts his money in the bank, and gets rid of worry so that he can cut loose. When he hits the chorus, the song “hits its stride” just like he sings, with an exuberant swagger that mirrors the effects of the precious drink. Crowell returns to the irony by relating that his new friend has taught him the joys of staying in at night and listening to the radio, while “drinking all the Bluebird we can hold”. This slight twist on the idea of turning over a new leaf gives the song an indelible splash of character.
3. Crowell has turned out some great work in recent years, records which his guitarist Will Kimbrough calls “his best“. Though much of his more recent work deals with his disgust with politics, poverty, and other heavy subjects, he has always maintained the ability to write uptempo songs about letting go and having a great time. Great songs are expected from someone with his songwriting pedigree. With “Bluebird Wine”, Crowell shows that he was cranking classic songs out from the beginning, and that these later years are just the icing on the cake.
Rodney Crowell – Bluebird Wine
Throwback Thursday – Jerry Jeff Walker – Ridin’ High
Posted on | October 1, 2009 | 5 Comments
1. If there is one thing of emphasized throughout Jerry Jeff Walker’s music, it is the importance having a good time. Though he is probably best known for his Viva Terlingua live record (and its recording of Ray Wylie Hubbard’s “Up Against the Wall, Redneck Mother”), 1975’s Ridin’ High might be the best representation of his freewheeling style. Recorded live in the studio, Walker’s underrated Lost Gonzo Band provides an unmistakably boozy sound, epitomizing the carefree lifestyle that ran through Austin in the 70’s. Part cowboy, part hippie, and full time philosopher, Walker and his band created a record that still evokes the same feeling today.
2. “Public Domain” (written by Gonzo members Bob Livingston and Gary P. Nunn) sets the tone for the record in both sound and lyrics. A wheezing mix of saxophone, dobro and group vocals surrounds Walker’s assertion that all music is public domain – and that “your policies will kill you.” Strong words from a songwriter, but knowing Walker’s attitude, his stance is not too surprising. Seguing into a hard-charging version of Willie Nelson’s “Pick Up The Tempo”, the song reads almost as a self-critique of Ridin’ High, though not quite as curiously as “Pissing in the Wind”, which finds Walker and his ne’er-do-well bunch of friends wondering if he “should have ever put the record out at all”.
3. I have no doubt that Jerry Jeff would love to write a real serious song, if he could manage to keep it together that long. His rambling lifestyle bleeds into every part of this record, even affecting the track sequence. A regal reading of Guy Clark’s “Like A Coat From the Cold” reads as mostly sincere, though it sits next to Walker’s own “I Love You”, where he promises his new wife Susan both “diamond earrings for your fingers” and “big sparkling rocks for your nose.” Knowing where to point the finger for his lack of ambition,”Pot Can’t Call the Kettle Black” finds Walker acknowledging that he is just like his old man, from his wandering eye to his gambling ways. Jerry Jeff is wise enough to know that nothing gold can stay, as the groovy “Goodbye Easy Street” mourns the inevitable passing of good times.
4. One thing that Jerry Jeff will commit to is the fact that he won’t conform to any rules or limitations. His ability to pick and write great songs and his understanding of the exuberant feeling that music should create all come together on Ridin’ High, summoning a brilliant, drunken snapshot of an long-gone era.
Jerry Jeff Walker – Public Domain
read more posts »