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Thursday, June 16, 2005
Finally, New Adds
I haven't blogged new adds since April and that's too darned long. So here's at it.
Al Stewart: A Beach Full of Shells
When Al Stewart was big in 1977 I was 13. His sophisticated folk/pop didn't impress me then, and I sort of filed him away as the guy who did "Year of the Cat." Now i'm 40, and his music is a revelation. The new CD is superb, full of witty, historically-inspired songs. Highlights include "The Immelman Turn", a Fairport-esque tale of a barnstorming pilot, "Rain Barrel", a first-person narrative of an ambassador hiding during a coup, and "Royal Courtship", a tongue-in-cheek account of romance by proxy gone horribly wrong. In stores June 21 on Appleseed Records.
The Clumsy Lovers: Smart Kid
I've been on the Clumsy Lovers bandwagon for a couple years, and many people should join me after hearing this CD. It's full of the smart folk/pop/Bluegrass/traditional genre-hopping blend that they've honed over the last ten years of touring North America. It's good stuff. It's out now. And if you need to hear them, they're featured artist of the week this week.
The Bills: Let 'em Run
Probably the first album with an ode to free-range chickens. This is a great acoustic combo Cd, with tight vocal harmonies and clever, well-played arrangements. I particularly like their take on "Stardust." It's no wonder they were nominated for a Juno.
John Prine: Fair and Square
Classic John Prine. Stands up against anything he's ever done.
Bruce Springsteen: Devils and Dust
This doesn't hold up as well against his other "folk" efforts. Nebraska and The Ghost of Tom Joad are both much better albums. The title cut is particularly good.
Jeff Black: Tin Lilly
Jeff Black has a great voice and knows how to craft a great song. In many ways, he's like Greg Trooper, writing hits for other people while his own work struggles in reltive obscurity. I hope this CD finds the audience it deserves. If you like Trooper or Marc Cohn, you'll dig Jeff Black. This CD will be out later this summer (July or August) and then Black will be Featured Artist of the Week.
Carrie Newcomer: Regulars and Refugees
Newcomer has always been a student of character, and on this concept album she presents a series of characterizations drawn from the fictional "Betty's Diner" from her recent best of compilation of the same name. Mostly it works, though sometimes it seems stretched (in particular the song from the point of view of a dog). Overll, it's ambitious and full of heart. On Philo Records with and August release date.
Tracy Grammer: Flower of Avalon
A superb tribute to the legacy of Dave Carter by his partner, featuring top-flight folk/pop production by John Jennings (Mary-Chapin Carpenter) and lots of special guests. Tracy Grammer seems to sing better with each passing album, and she has great material to work with here, including 9 previously unreleased songs by Dave Carter and a reworking of "The Loughlin Boy"
Other New Adds
Blue Highway: Marbletown
David Ross MacDonald: selftitled
Alison Brown: Stolen Moments
Corey Harris: Daily Bread
Bevel Jenny: Above the Clouds
Patricia Vonne: Guitars and Castanets
Kate MacLeod and the Pancakes: Breakfast
Aly Bain and Phil Cunningham: Best of
Robert Earl Keen: What I Really Mean
ThaMuseMeant: Silver Seed
Vic Sadot: Broadsides and Retrospectives
Van Morrison: Magic Time
Emiliana Torrini: Fisherman's Daughter
Smithfield Fair: Swept Away
Neko Case: The Tigers Have Spoken
Francis Dunnery: The Gulley Flats Boys
Girlyman: Little Star
Randy Auxier: Spirit Guide
Malcolm Holcombe: I Never Heard You Knocking
The Weepies: Happiness
Davy Cowan: Fragile People
The Levellers: Truth and Lies
I've been blurbed: I got a copy of the new Jackie Frost CD, Calliope in the mail last week. Since I already had a copy, I was kind of surprised until I saw that my review from the FolkBlog was featured on the accompanying one-pager. So, I gave it to my girlfriend, who digs it and who played it for her dad, who also digs it. So, we have some viral marketing going on here. Just spreading the wealth.
Feverishly Ripping Like a Maniac: I have been thinking about the switch to higher bandwidth for a while, but I really did it on the spur of the moment as my pre-paid broadcasting package expired. I've been ripping to 128K mbps since some time last year, but before that I ripped everything straight to 32k. As a result, you are getting the best of what I've received and purchased recently, but I have a lot of re-ripping to do to provide you, my adoring public, with the depth and variety that you have come to expect. So, I'm feverishly ripping CDs like a maniac, a few each day, and I'll catch up soon.
Al Stewart: A Beach Full of Shells
When Al Stewart was big in 1977 I was 13. His sophisticated folk/pop didn't impress me then, and I sort of filed him away as the guy who did "Year of the Cat." Now i'm 40, and his music is a revelation. The new CD is superb, full of witty, historically-inspired songs. Highlights include "The Immelman Turn", a Fairport-esque tale of a barnstorming pilot, "Rain Barrel", a first-person narrative of an ambassador hiding during a coup, and "Royal Courtship", a tongue-in-cheek account of romance by proxy gone horribly wrong. In stores June 21 on Appleseed Records.
The Clumsy Lovers: Smart Kid
I've been on the Clumsy Lovers bandwagon for a couple years, and many people should join me after hearing this CD. It's full of the smart folk/pop/Bluegrass/traditional genre-hopping blend that they've honed over the last ten years of touring North America. It's good stuff. It's out now. And if you need to hear them, they're featured artist of the week this week.
The Bills: Let 'em Run
Probably the first album with an ode to free-range chickens. This is a great acoustic combo Cd, with tight vocal harmonies and clever, well-played arrangements. I particularly like their take on "Stardust." It's no wonder they were nominated for a Juno.
John Prine: Fair and Square
Classic John Prine. Stands up against anything he's ever done.
Bruce Springsteen: Devils and Dust
This doesn't hold up as well against his other "folk" efforts. Nebraska and The Ghost of Tom Joad are both much better albums. The title cut is particularly good.
Jeff Black: Tin Lilly
Jeff Black has a great voice and knows how to craft a great song. In many ways, he's like Greg Trooper, writing hits for other people while his own work struggles in reltive obscurity. I hope this CD finds the audience it deserves. If you like Trooper or Marc Cohn, you'll dig Jeff Black. This CD will be out later this summer (July or August) and then Black will be Featured Artist of the Week.
Carrie Newcomer: Regulars and Refugees
Newcomer has always been a student of character, and on this concept album she presents a series of characterizations drawn from the fictional "Betty's Diner" from her recent best of compilation of the same name. Mostly it works, though sometimes it seems stretched (in particular the song from the point of view of a dog). Overll, it's ambitious and full of heart. On Philo Records with and August release date.
Tracy Grammer: Flower of Avalon
A superb tribute to the legacy of Dave Carter by his partner, featuring top-flight folk/pop production by John Jennings (Mary-Chapin Carpenter) and lots of special guests. Tracy Grammer seems to sing better with each passing album, and she has great material to work with here, including 9 previously unreleased songs by Dave Carter and a reworking of "The Loughlin Boy"
Other New Adds
Blue Highway: Marbletown
David Ross MacDonald: selftitled
Alison Brown: Stolen Moments
Corey Harris: Daily Bread
Bevel Jenny: Above the Clouds
Patricia Vonne: Guitars and Castanets
Kate MacLeod and the Pancakes: Breakfast
Aly Bain and Phil Cunningham: Best of
Robert Earl Keen: What I Really Mean
ThaMuseMeant: Silver Seed
Vic Sadot: Broadsides and Retrospectives
Van Morrison: Magic Time
Emiliana Torrini: Fisherman's Daughter
Smithfield Fair: Swept Away
Neko Case: The Tigers Have Spoken
Francis Dunnery: The Gulley Flats Boys
Girlyman: Little Star
Randy Auxier: Spirit Guide
Malcolm Holcombe: I Never Heard You Knocking
The Weepies: Happiness
Davy Cowan: Fragile People
The Levellers: Truth and Lies
I've been blurbed: I got a copy of the new Jackie Frost CD, Calliope in the mail last week. Since I already had a copy, I was kind of surprised until I saw that my review from the FolkBlog was featured on the accompanying one-pager. So, I gave it to my girlfriend, who digs it and who played it for her dad, who also digs it. So, we have some viral marketing going on here. Just spreading the wealth.
Feverishly Ripping Like a Maniac: I have been thinking about the switch to higher bandwidth for a while, but I really did it on the spur of the moment as my pre-paid broadcasting package expired. I've been ripping to 128K mbps since some time last year, but before that I ripped everything straight to 32k. As a result, you are getting the best of what I've received and purchased recently, but I have a lot of re-ripping to do to provide you, my adoring public, with the depth and variety that you have come to expect. So, I'm feverishly ripping CDs like a maniac, a few each day, and I'll catch up soon.
Labels: New Adds
