1. Elizabeth Cook reaches deep down into her roots in Wildwood, Florida to produce “El Camino”, from her latest Don Was-produced gem Welder. Have you ever been to Wildwood, Florida? Just south of Ocala, the small town might be the plastic lawn chair capital of the world. Cook embraces that, describing a man who might well be the hero of this small town, and her unashamed love for him.
2. The man that picks her up “everyday at the curb/ In his 1972 refurb” lives in a country that you don’t hear about on the radio. Cook’s country isn’t full of chest beating ex-military family farms, but rather folks who go parking after the “Saturday matinee roller derby”, after the dude “slipped a quaalude in my beer”. Confident enough to say that he is “creepy in a perv kinda way” and “right now my hands are in his mullet”, Cook’s character shows the two sides of the Southern woman: one who calls it like she sees it, and can’t help but like what she sees.
3. The same attitude gave her critical acclaim on the title track from 2007’s Balls, which was produced by Rodney Crowell. Buddy Miller and Dwight Yoakam also make appearances on this record, furthering the testament to Cook’s music. She stated in interviews that Don Was discovered her through her friendship with Todd Snider, and that might be an apt comparison: honest, smart, and completely irreverent. The combination of those traits is exactly what makes this song work.
Elizabeth Cook – “El Camino”
Posted: July 23rd, 2010 | 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.
#10: Sam Baker
Cotton
This music should be kept in museums. The finale of his trilogy on grace and forgiveness, and not a bit cheesy. Read the original review.
#9: Levon Helm
Electric Dirt
The only American member of the band continues to show people around his homeplace, 40 years and counting. Read the original review.
#8: Justin Townes Earle
Midnight at the Movies
Building on what he started with his first record, JTE’s pen gets deeper and wiser. Read a single review.
#7: Ryan Bingham
Roadhouse Sun
One of the best young voices in country harnesses his rocking sound with a little 60’s touch. Read a single review.
#6: Ben Kweller
Changing Horses
Rollicking good time from an indie rocker exploring the music he grew up on.
#5: Owen Temple
Dollars and Dimes
Most of the time we hear stories from the big cities of America. These are stories from the areas in between. Read a single review.
#4: Todd Snider
The Excitement Plan
Don Was strips Todd down, pulls him together, and puts out his most consistent record yet. Read the original review.
#3: Lyle Lovett
Natural Forces
Lovett uses his keen eye for songs and delicate touch, as always to great effect. Read the original review.
#2: Tom Russell
Blood and Candle Smoke
Cowboy beat poet ruminates on the American west and the history that lies beneath. Read the original review.
#1: Dave Rawlings Machine
A Friend of a Friend
Rawlings proves that quality always trumps quantity, with a 9-song record that stuns from beginning to end. Read the original review.
Posted: December 31st, 2009 | 1 Comment »
I had the chance to talk to Will Kimbrough the other day. Singer, guitar slinger, songwriter, co-leader of Daddy, and occasional sideman and producer to Rodney Crowell and Todd Snider, Kimbrough hails from Alabama and consistently finds himself mixed up with terribly exciting music. Five Records is an occasional feature of artists talking about the music that inspires them. Read more of these posts here.
Bruce Springsteen
Born To Run
“I saw Bruce play on May 1, 1976 for my 12th birthday in Mobile, Alabama. The ticket was $4.50, my first guitar was $20 and I never looked back. I played my first show at a skating rink. Anyone who bought the 30th anniversary edition and saw the DVD saw the show the way I saw it – no special effects, nothing that blows up – just a charismatic lesson in what to do, how to be down to earth, how to reach people.”
Rodney Crowell
The Houston Kid
“I admire the way Rodney reinvented himself at age 50 — his songwriting is as good as ever, but his music took a step up. Just being around him, he is uncompromising without being a jerk. You can go to Rodney’s show and he might not play any of the hits from the 80’s that people know him for, but he still blows his audiences away, and that’s hard to do.”
J. J. Cale
Any Way the Wind Blows
“I listened to a lot of J.J. Cale while making this last Daddy record — I love how he is able to take the simplest thing and make it interesting. Tommy and I always start Daddy records by getting together and writing something and building off of that. “Love In a Bottle” was heavily inspired by JJ.”
Hank Williams
Gold
“I wish I had written “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry”. It’s just beautiful – the nature imagery in “The silence of a falling star/ Lights up a purple sky” and the raw way Hank delivers it as only he can make it such a classic. He really wrote poetry for common people by being able to take common things and put them to simple melodies.”
Justin Townes Earle
Midnight at the Movies
“Justin just keeps improving. He was given a great opportunity due to his bloodlines, but he absolutely lives up to it. You can see it in his work ethic, the way he gets after it, and the way he appreciates the music that came before him. Midnight at the Movies was a great step forward from his first record, which was fantastic as well.”
Posted: October 2nd, 2009 | 1 Comment »
