Rolling Country 2014

couldn't get past the first few songs in the lucinda williams record but dow makes me want to believe

Could do without the first and last one and "Burning Bridges" in between, but momentum keeps building--kind of a Petty thing early on, but she keeps customizing it (thank god, since I'm not big on Petty)

omg the lee ann womack record

so tasteful and so haunted

Much appreciated, dow.

the last Womack record had such wonderful singles

That Lucinda Williams one starts off badly and I haven't gotten the energy yet to keep working all through the rest.

Need to get to that latest Lee Ann

Oh Shakey started his own thread for this guy:

the Sturgill Simpson c/d

listened to the lucinda deep enough to catch the marquee moon reference (2nd song -- "darkness doubled").

http://m.cmt.com/news/1731318/

So Lee Ann Womack did a CMT special singing with John Legend

Pretty good amount of country and compatibles in this Friday's Austin City Limits 40th Anniversary show:

Join us as we celebrate four decades as a music institution with Austin City Limits Celebrates 40 Years, a primetime special airing Friday, October 3rd, 9-11pm ET on PBS Arts Fall Festival. With guest hosts Jeff Bridges, Sheryl Crow and Matthew McConaughey, the two-hour broadcast features memorable moments from the trailblazing show’s remarkable run, while the brightest stars in the series’ history return to the ACL stage for dream duets and choice collaborations.

An all-star lineup of ACL royalty pays tribute to the show’s enduring legacy with unforgettable music performances. Highlights of the special include the show opener as Bonnie Raitt, Alabama Shakes‘ Brittany Howard, Jimmie Vaughan and Gary Clark Jr. team up for the Sam & Dave classic “Wrap It Up.” Incredible pairings include ACL Hall of Fame legend Willie Nelson and Emmylou Harris on the Nelson-penned classic “Crazy” and Kris Kristofferson and Sheryl Crow’s moving take on his signature “Me and Bobby McGee.” The Foo Fighters honor ACL with a wild rendition of Texas cult hero Roky Erickson‘s “Two Headed Dog,” recorded at the show’s original television studio especially for the occasion. Host Jeff Bridges performs the late singer-songwriter Stephen Bruton’s song “What A Little Bit of Love Can Do” as a tribute to the influential Austin musician who inspired Bridges’ Oscar-winning portrayal in Crazy Heart. Local legends Joe Ely and Robert Earl Keen showcase their troubadour roots and significance to the Austin music scene. Breakout artists and ACL alumni Alabama Shakes and Gary Clark Jr. give blistering performances that forecast the future of the series. Blues titan Buddy Guy brings it all home with an electrifying take on his “Mary Had A Little Lamb.” The special comes to a close with an all-star reading of two Lone Star classics—a stellar lineup of guitar slingers blaze through the Stevie Ray Vaughan standard “Texas Flood” and the biggest names in music trade verses on the Buddy Holly classic “Not Fade Away,” as ACL embraces its past and hints at what is to come. Haven't gotten the hint yet, but haven't seen the show yet.

Marty Stuart's Saturday Night & Sunday Morning: Sunday morning's actually more fun, and not just cos Saturday's so bad. Although, of these 22 tracks, the ones to ditch are all from the night out or in, often pretty humdrum, and begging comparison to actual or ersatz (catchier either way) jukebox chestnuts, with no drink-my-wife/life-away implosions or abandon, much less sheer YEEHAW--exceptions to the former: good cover of Charlie and Margaret Ann Rich's "Life Has Its Little Ups and Downs" (here as "Life's Ups and Downs"); veering toward look-out-now in "Look At That Girl", which jangles that mid-60s Bakersfield-to-British Invasion connection, Yoakam-style. "Streamline" is okay too--but "Uncloudy Day," with Mavis Staples, is where we step up into the tremolo shadow of Pop Staples, with shards of light from sharp notes, and richer, more fluid singing, often enough, even from Marty, who tends to be too mild in the secular settings (been strictly committed to the life sanitary for quite a while now)
"Boogie Woogie Down The Jerico Road" maybe winks at own selling the roots to Starbucks generations: good job both ways, here and elsewhere; we even encounter some organic Bo Diddly tendencies later on, and "Good News" is a Link Wray-worthy instrumental, at least re the elder and elderly (well-preserved) Brother Link. "Cathedral" is more of that affectionately serious fun. Still here, if you don't believe in Spotify: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/arts/music/pressplay.html?_r=0"> http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/arts/music/pressplay.html?_r=0

meant to say: Charlie and Margaret Ann Rich's great"Life Has Its Little Ups and Downs."

22 tracks, 15 keepers so far--not bad atall.

Commander Cody And His Last Planet Airmen spent the 60s in Ann Arbor, as and professional students and bar band mainstays, then moved to a house in Berkeley and were soon opening for the Dead, apparently because they didn't jam (refreshing, and maybe Garcia was seeing how they were received by his picky audiences, before trying out GD's own country etc sets, then Old And In The Way and New Riders) This show, one of the few good 'uns still unreleased, does have their definitive original trad country-style crossover, "Down To Seeds and Stems (Again)" and bippity revival of "Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! That Cigarette," plus 14 others, but not their first and prob biggest hit, "Hot Rod Lincoln," or "Don't Let Go" either---it's not the whole show, but will def give the idear of where they are comin' from (for inst, "Mama Tried" is followed by "Mama Hated Diesels," as well it might).
Also check Geoffery Stokes' Star-Making Machinery, a great book about a lost world, incl. attempt to make these guys into Superstars (seemed like a good idea at the time, to a few)
Oh yeah, the show: http://bbchron.blogspot.com/2014/10/commander-cody-and-his-lost-planet.html

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A. Presley's solo CD can b reductive, and lacks vocal interest for the long haul, but several Pistol Annies-worthy powder burns: "busy as a saddle in a one-hoss town," ouch.

so far it's sepia-brown like the Brandy Clark album

I've played the Lee Ann Womack record two-dozen times in the last three days; it ends, and I just want to hit play again. Such a confident, thoughtful, well made album. It may not be exciting in the same way as last year's standout efforts from newcomers Ashley Monroe, Brandy Clark, and Kacey Musgraves, but I'd echo Lex's "floored" comment.

Thank God for Frank Liddell.

Oh I prefer it to any of those, mainly because she's so much more of a singer---and if she ever covers any of their songs, *that* could truly be something. Here's hoping she teams up w Pistol Annies (check her on Buddy Miller's Majesty of the Silver Strings, despite all the geetar filigree)

By "singer," I mean not just the pipes, but the way she delivers--"confident," "thoughtful," and not too less-is-more.

I'm thinking the Lee Ann Womack and the Miranda Lambert are 2 of the top releases for this year.

But they don't have lyrics like these:

Jason Aldean’s latest steamy single, “Burnin’ It Down” (on his new album out Tuesday), talks about how much he loves being naked in bed with his lady friend. Florida Georgia Line, the popular duo that accompanied Aldean on a stadium tour this year, has a similarly frank new song on their upcoming album (which drops next week) called “Sun Daze.”

...“If I’m lucky, yeah, I might get laid,” lead vocalist Tyler Hubbard sings, describing the perfect Sunday that includes getting stoned. The song takes things a step further in talking about ideal afternoon activities with a girl, including quite the double entendre: “I’ll sit you up on a kitchen sink/And stick a pink umbrella in your drink.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/style-blog/wp/2014/10/06/jason-aldean-florida-georgia-line-and-the-evolution-of-sex-songs-in-country-music/?tid=pm_lifestyle_pop

XTC wouldn't let him cover "Pink Thing"?

I guess not. Could they have made it bro-ish

And stick a pink umbrella in your drink

good lord

mainly because she's so much more of a singer

she is hella a singer

i must admit i always thought that lee ann womack was lee ann rimes who got married

Came across this interview with Frank Liddell (Womack's husband and producer; also produced all of Miranda's albums):

http://www.rama-info.com/home/producers/13/bio1_text.html

Has some really great little nuggets, including:

"I love records. Going to a live event doesn’t speak to me the way a record does. I never got to see the Beatles live, but I’ve seen footage and it’s not Rubber Sole (sic) and it’s not Revolver."

"If somebody who is good enough to write Crazy can cut an outside song, then don’t walk into this town and say; “I’m too good for outside songs.” "

^ fuck yeah ppl this shit is so good, god bless ilm

http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/BN-CX113_womack_E_20140521230540.jpg

I like the Womack a great deal but the songs aren't as memorable as There's More Where That Came From's, in the middle stretch particularly.

and that album was one of the best of the '00s

welp i don't need them to be as memorable as that because i don't remember that, i only need to play the record

you haven't heard There's More...? Oh man -- you're lucky. Get to it!

well now it sounds like you're advising me to ruin the joy of a new record by listening to an older one!

Call it a complementary listening experience.

well i'm sold on this record. btw beyond miranda lambert and this, which are the best country albums of the year? because i haven't grasped what i should be seeking out yet.

The Angaleena Presley does hold up. Platinum looks like my album of the year. I wasn't crazy about Brantley Gilbert's album but when it shows up on my phone I'll play it. I've got more singles I love than albums.

The Willie Nelson ain't bad either

brantley gilbert was tolerable a few years ago but i can't stand listening to his steroidal frat bro shtick or fake accent anymore

well i'm sold on this record. btw beyond miranda lambert and this, which are the best country albums of the year? because i haven't grasped what i should be seeking out yet.

― LIKE If you are against racism (omar little), Wednesday, October 8, 2014 4:24 PM (25 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Cream of the crop:
Lee Ann Womack
Lydia Loveless
Jason Eady
Miranda Lambert

Others worth a listen:
Kelly Willis & Bruce Robison
Sturgill Simpson
Sunny Sweeney
Cody Johnson
Andrew Bird (Handsome Family covers record that hasn't gotten nearly enough attention)

oh yes on Lydia Loveless and Willis-Robison

Agree on Loveless, Lambert & Womack (now there's a trio), Simpson & Sturgill about half-good so far, though I'll listen more to both, ditto Angeleeana or however the fuck you spell it: she's kinda the George Harrison of Pistol Annies: religious, though non-charismatic, then again vocals are also n-c, and not as much a guitarist as George, though both have seen some shit and have senses of humor--but "Dry County Blues" and "Pain Pills" could sound so much better on Pistol Annies (or Womack, or Loveless, or) albums; here, with slightly generic vocals, kinda like Justified outtakes. Still, these, and "Life of the Party," and several others may well grown on me; can't dismiss her.
Nelson album's got a few good songs, but their charm is affected by the querulous ol' context (c'mon Willie, you're gonna give us geezers an even worse name).
Crowell, Carlene, Delines, Amy LaVere sets I mentioned up thread still good; need to check Eady, Cody Johnson, Lydia's recent tourmate Cody Branan (thumbs up from Hoos), Willis & Robison. And Tim McGraw. Others??

I should also listen again to Eric Church. And Lady Antebellum. Best new artist I've heard: Elise Davis, also mentioned upthread.

Ha, Simpson & Sturgill, meant Sweeney & Simpson.

eric paslay's album is nice

it's on spotify

"less than whole" is my fave. it is gloriously dramatic, as is "deep as it is wide"
and "friday night" is so much fun. those banjos and fiddles at the beginning <3

GO ON FORGIVE YOURSELF
GO ON FORGIVE YOURSELF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Agreed that "Less Than Whole" is really well done. I actually preferred the original version of "Friday Night" that Lady Antebellum did, but the song is undeniable. Paslay has the unfortunate tendency to remind of Josh Groban, but some of his stuff just works.

Have you guys heard Emily West's "Made for the Radio"? Pretty incredible take on the industry/labels. Here's the chorus:

"I don’t sing my songs/ in hundred story buildings/ for dying men in business suits/ with vacant black hole hearts/ fucking the next star/ cause I won’t go on stage/ lit up on amphetamines/ singing ripped off melodies/ while I fall apart/ I’m a one woman show/ and I wasn’t made for the radio."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FecMalBNq8

Must check her, thanks! "Go on, forgive yourself" hopefully heard/sung by Nashville series' closeted Hat star, someday, some way.
Oh yeah, Top Ten prospects also include:
Finally got to Mary Gauthier's Trouble and Love: breakup and recovery and then some--though she claims (in interviews) to be through with romantic love, realizing she just wasn't made for it, and maybe vice versa, and though (in song) she does demonstrate "How You Learn To Live Alone," that's a co-write with Gretchen Peters (perfectly placed on Nashville the TV series to boot):another example of how she's regrouping, realigning her musical and emotional resources, into sweet unpretentious forging on, with "Worthy" the tiny turning point on a dime: "ashes into flame"--sure, why not, rewind is no great leap of imagination---once *something* provides the key, but then, you've already got to be unlocked, for creativity to do its mysterious thing, whatever the process (obviously she's a vet, a pro, almost slipping into solemn folk-country soap opera at times, but usually not: "Oh Soul" does have a choked-up male vocal shadow, and yeah she's at the crossroads and ready for repentence, but does she have to "pray at the grave of Robert Johnson"? Maybe so, considering the better lines). One of the year's best.

― dow, Tuesday, June 24, 2014 11:02 PM (3 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

as put it on Twitter:

@0wlred
Nville contributor Mary Gauthier's new CD barely allows me to multitask--amazing (she sounds amazed too)

@‏0wlred

@brohamand @leeannwomack @notFrankLiddell And y not, say, Womack w Pistol Annies, showing Travellng Wilburys how 2 do it, sons....?

Speaking of Nashville series, been thinking that on some level the show itself, the runners maybe, seemed hype-resistant, like most of the characters are, so there can be a sense of strain, of overtaxed will power in the ooowee sensationalism. Just now saw this: T-Bone B. on leaving as music director (and his wife is the creator and runner, at least officially): http://vult.re/1sm5jZS

One more probly for Top Ten:

The aforementioned Nikki Lane's current album, All Or Nothin' is about a rowdy gal who sometimes quietly busts her partner in luv crime---gotta keep honor among thieves, after all. Pretty confident, though not invulnerable, either way, and suggests (what may have actually happened, for all I know) Wanda Jackson keeping her 50s edge and losing the hopefully imposed late tearjerkers in the mid-60s, demonstrating, as Buck Owens did, how country could adapt to the Beatles, (and vice versa, via covers, the influence of Everlys harmonies, and even L-McC's "I've Just Seen A Face"). Which of course is something Dwight Yoakam's returned to over the years, incl Three Pears, but it seems more of a female tradition, thinking of, say, Those Darlins, Holly Golightly, or that album of Elizabeth McQueen pub-rock covers(yeah, but sounded mid-60s too, as pub-rock could in the mid=70s), discussed several Rolling Countrys ago.
Though the closest comparison might be to the late great Amy Farris's Anyway, with a twangy slender voice unfazed by sometimes flamboyant production. Whether it'll keep seeming like more than a stylistic excercise remains to be seen, but it's good exercise at least. Go Babe!

― dow, Tuesday, August 12, 2014 8:54 PM (1 month ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
And before that:

I like this song from Nikki Lane's new album, answering the musical question: "Nikki, when is the right time to do the wrong thing?" https://soundcloud.com/newwestrecords/nikki-lane-all-or-nothin-right/s-l71iv
Also digging the title song from her 2011 EP, which I was totally ignorant of!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlwzdQRfM-4