This is a near textbook example of what a top-rate recording from a
top-rate band should be. Everyone involved, from the producers to the
label to the bandmembers themselves, should be pleased with the results,
and that should translate to even greater recognition for Flatt
Lonesome.
As most good CDs do and probably should, this one hits
the ground running with a driving original by Danny Roberts and Paul
Hargill. “You’ll Pay” is in that modern-traditional style, one that
blends classic bluegrass with an updated bluesy, modal feel. The chorus
is quite catchy, as is the short between-verse riff. That’s followed by a
cover of Gram Parsons “Still Feeling Blue.” Why more bands don’t cover
that tune is open to debate. Flatt Lonesome gives it a good read, making
slight adjustments that make it their own. Next up is a slow Dwight
Yoakam song, “You’re The One,” that sounds little like Yoakam. The band
has transformed it into a more relaxed, flowing form, yet manages to
retain the intensity of the original.
At that point, you should be
hooked. But Flatt Lonesome doesn’t let up. Six more originals follow,
among them three gospel originals. Two are from Kelsi Hargill: the
emphatic 3/4 time “In The Heat Of The Fire” and the more inspirational
“In The Morning.” “Casting All Your Care On Him,” written with her
husband Paul, sounds like an Osborne Brothers classic. Those three stand
well beside the three openers and wonderful covers of “Don’t Come
Running” from the Bluegrass Cardinals and “Mixed Up Mess Of A Heart”
from Merle Haggard (by way of Buck Owens). The album ends on another
highlight, “Runaway Train,” which finds the band mixing in drums and lap
steel to great effect.
Underlying these tunes is excellent lead
singing from the Robertson sisters, beautiful sibling harmonies with
their brother Buddy, and vibrant instrumental settings. A very fine
third release from a band that knows what works and achieves it.
Freya Josephine Hollick hails from Victoria and will be releasing her new LP The Unceremonious Junking Of Me, this October on Heart Of The Rat Records. It follows her 2014 album Beauty & Sorrow.
My Sleepin’ Body the first taste of the album, showcasing her rich and ornate folk voice, in a clip that recalls the age of silent and eccentric film.
Sausage Grinder, Los Angeles’ all-natural hillbilly and country blues band, combines the traditional sounds of fiddle and banjo breakdowns with the low-down sound of country blues, topped off with a touch of ragtime and hillbilly jazz. The versatile acoustic ensemble features fiddle, banjo, guitar, mandolin, jug, washboard, and a few odds and ends.
Sausage Grinder was formed in 2008 out of a desire to play this classic music “right” without being slavish imitators or academic lecturers. As old-time and blues fiddler Adam Tanner puts it, Sausage Grinder’s “reverence to the old 78s hasn’t restrained them from exploring even grimier nooks and crannies … unrestrained and impolite the Grinder’s performances are visceral and joyous — a blast from the past with a nod to the immediacy of the future!” Or as LA Weekly says succinctly, the band’s performance feels “reminiscent of an old Mickey Mouse cartoon.”
You can hear their music on our album Delicious Moments, which features features fiddle tunes, hot mandolin ragtime and songs from Memphis Minnie, the Lone Star Cowboys, Little Brother Montgomery, Sleepy John Estes, Banjo Ikey Robinson and more. Delicious Moments is available at CD Baby.
Sausage Grinder has headlined at the Topanga Banjo and Fiddle Contest, the Goleta Old-Time Fiddlers’ Convention, and the Los Angeles Old Time Social, and has performed throughout Southern California with artists including Frank Fairfield and Triple Chicken Foot. In 2006, David and Chris performed on Cold as the Clay, a solo album of traditional and original material from Bad Religion frontman Greg Graffin; Greg makes a special guest appearance on Delicious Moments, singing harmony on “Deep Ellum Blues.”
About the band
Chris Berry, a native of Long Beach, California, has been playing country blues and old-time country music on guitar and banjo for over 20 years. He learned many tunes from the late legendary Illinois/Southern California fiddler Mel Durham and plays banjo on his CD “Skillet Fork.” He has taught and played at many Los Angeles-area festivals including the California Traditional Music Society’s Summer Solstice and Equinox Festivals, the Topanga Banjo and Fiddle Contest, and the Goleta Old-Time Fiddlers Convention. When Chris isn’t busy playing old music or watching ’60s British television and ’70s American game shows, he works as an editor and web designer.
David Bragger was an itinerant street magician and collector of folktales in India following his degree in Religious Studies. Now, his wizardry can be seen and heard as the fiddler and mandoliner of Sausage Grinder, with occasional prestidigitation on the 5 and 6 string. After years of visiting with old-time musicians including Mel Durham, Tom Sauber, Charlie Acuff, Clyde Davenport, Benton Flippen, and Lester McCumbers, David is the go-to-guru in Los Angeles for learning old-time fiddle, banjo and mandolin. His students have won awards in fiddle/banjo contests from coast to coast, including the Old Fiddlers Convention in Galax, Virginia and the Goleta Old-Time Fiddlers Convention in California. He has recorded and toured with Greg Graffin of Bad Religion and occasionally directs short art films and music videos.
David Bragger’s debut CD–Big Fancy
“David Bragger’s soul snakes itself out of his core, like a cobra being charmed from a basket, and this soul does indeed find it’s way to that fiddle bow…” -Ernie Hill, No Depression!
“It seems like many folks have known for years what an amazing player David is (we both remember the first time we heard his fiddling, and our jaws dropped). But what we have here folks is a monster musician – diverse, knowledgeable, and with his own unique voice. For us, this – his debut album – is required listening for any old time music fans.” —Pharis and Jason Romero
“…Every cut has something captivating about it….The best Washington’s March I’ve ever heard!” –Dave Bing
“David Bragger’s new CD is yummy. I wanted to play on every cut.” –Joe Newberry
Susan Platz was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. She studied classical music for 20-odd years, earning a degree in music from Lawrence University in 2005. Soon after migrating to California in 2008, old-time music stole her heart and she hasn’t looked back! She studies with David Bragger and frequently collaborates with various local musicians in square and contra dance bands. When she is not sawing away on fiddle, Susan works as a massage therapist and enjoys exploring Los Angeles.
Timothy Riley was raised on an apple farm in Oak Glen, Ca and was surrounded by music from an early age playing guitar and harmonica in the family band for their square dances at the orchard. Along the way he picked up the jug, saw, bones, fife, and other sonic bric a brac. Taking up the bagpipes in a local competition band he eventually journeyed for a time between Scotland and Ireland to study the instrument further while busking on the streets to support the habit. He’s worked variously as a film extra, bartender, and museum living historian. Tim now works his own farm with his wife back on the home ground and also moonlights as a chimney sweep.
On her eighth studio album, Allison Moorer reunites with producer Kenny Greenberg. He helmed her first two MCA albums, 1998's Alabama Song and 2000's The Hardest Part. They spent two years recording Down to Believing
at various Nashville studios. Life-changing circumstances -- living in
New York, being the mother of a young son with autism, going through a
divorce, the availability of musicians -- dictated the pace. Despite all
this, Down to Believing is the most focused and candid recording in her catalog. Its 13 songs (12 originals and a gorgeous cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival's
"Have You Ever Seen the Rain") consciously reflect the crucible of
recent experience, without hiding behind characters. While these songs
are vulnerable, they never flinch. More often than not -- as evidenced
by "Like It Used to Be," the rocking first single and set opener -- Moorer
comes out swinging: "...I can't hang on only losers weep/Somebody ain’t
nobody anybody can keep…." "Thunderstorm Hurricane" begins with
acoustic guitar and brooding strings, but soon, gnarly, metallic,
electric guitars and kick drums frame the drama. This testament to the
frustration of miscommunication with a lover explodes. The singer's
refusal to comply or be complacent becomes a righteous anger: "...Drop
by drop I disappear/It’s like I wasn’t ever here…" The journey through a
relationship becomes even more poignant on the slow country waltz of
the title track, a song of reflection and doubt; the singer keeps her
simmering emotions contained, but subtle tensions mount. It foreshadows
the rage and indictment of emotional abuse in "Tear Me Apart." Moorer,
buoyed by blistering guitars, banjo, mandolins, snares, and cymbals is
confused, broken, and ultimately refuses to become a target of rage. Her
vocal, drenched in raw country soul and blues, reveals her truth:
...What am I/Supposed to say/When I want to scream every time you look
my way..." "If I Were Stronger," a dramatic ballad, reveals the expected
toll of that endurance and the stalemates it results in: romantic love
and relationships die. "Blood" is an offering of unconditional love.
Highlighted by weeping pedal steel and acoustic guitar, this country
song reveals the definition of "agape." (Moorer says it was written for her sister, Shelby Lynne.)
"Mama Let the Wolf In" is a bluesy, swampy, rockabilly burner about a
mother's inability to shield her child from all of life's tough cards.
While "I'm Doing Fine" is a rootsy testament to moving on, "Back of My
Mind," with its pop hook, balances determination and self-doubt. The
intimate slide- and mandolin-driven closer "Gonna Get It Wrong" is a
hymn to self-acceptance and self-reliance: "...Got a true blue heart
...and it falls apart...I know I’m gonna get it wrong but it’s alright."
Somehow, the listener knows it is. It's the only sendoff a songwriter
like Moorer could deliver on Down to Believing,
an emotionally raw yet aesthetically fine album. She may have reached
into the depths for these songs, but she's delivered us the gift of a
burning light.
On See Me With Your Heart (her 9th studio album), produced by GRAMMY-award winning producer Kenny Greenberg (Allison Moorer, The Mavericks, Joan Baez), Eve Selis delivers 11 songs forged in the fires of physical, emotional and spiritual healing. A rollerblading accident in the summer of 2014 left her with a torn hamstring and 6 long months of rehabilitation. What would have been “down” time for some became a time of cleaning up, growing up and stepping up for Selis. This period of quiet introspection led the seasoned performer on a journey of honest self-discovery and planted the seeds of a new artistic vision in her fertile heart. She set out to write from a place of vulnerability and even more openness than ever before. “One positive thing that my injury did for me,” says Selis, “was to force me to slow down and be more present in my life. Unconditional love is a concept that runs throughout the songs on this CD, with unconditional love of myself being the hardest to accept.”
“These songs look deep into the truth of my life as I am today. I had to face the wounds without flinching and learn to celebrate the scars. We all have them and they make up who we are. Instead of being ashamed of the scars we should rejoice. It means we’ve healed, and that ultimately, ‘Love Has The Final Say.’”
The title track “See Me With Your Heart” was the first song written, and set the tone conceptually for the entire project. It was written as a submission for the animated film The Little Prince and captures the simple wisdom of that classic book— seeing past the external to the essential. And beyond that, letting love rule the day. When the songs were written she knew she had something special and contacted Nashville producer/guitarist Kenny Greenberg to help her realize her vision. Greenberg and his team of Nashville’s finest added a new dimension to Selis’ music, creating at once a vast sonic soundscape for her powerhouse vocals and a lush intimate backdrop for the most personal songs of her career. See Me With Your Heart redefines who Eve Selis is as a singer, a songwriter and as an artist.
“Eve is a deeply creative, caring artist who gives everything to her craft. As a live performer she is awesomely powerful, as a recording artist she is both sensitive and strong. I love her spirit and I love her music. She deserves to shine.” —BBC Radio Legend Sir “Whispering Bob” Harris
The Eve Selis Band has been delighting audiences around the world since 1998. Comprised of some of San Diego’s top-flight, A-list players, they never fail to dazzle a crowd.
Austin Plaine wasn’t looking to become the next great singer-songwriter. Sure, the 20 odd-year old Minneapolis native loved music. Played guitar since he was 13. Revered Ryan Adams and Bob Dylan. Idled his teenage days writing songs in his bedroom.
But... “Being a musician full-time was the last thing I thought I would do,” Plaine remembers, on the eve of his album release, a folksy, immensely satisfying self-titled debut on Washington Square/Razor & Tie. “I mean, at one point, I was studying for my LSATs to be a lawyer. But as I was writing more songs, I realized I could see myself doing this.”
On his debut, you can hear why Plaine’s plaintive lyrics and calming rasp have earned early praise. His music, at times both unsettling and a comfort, has been hailed as “the soundtrack for nostalgia-drunk road trips.” And his voice: “Like worn flannel and faded jeans.”
His influences are varied: the storytelling of Dylan, of course (“Coming from Minnesota, it’s hard not to be influenced by him....“Boots of Spanish Leather” is one of the first songs I really felt a connection with.”). You’ll be reminded of the breadth and genius of Conor Oberst. Listen closely, and you’ll hear bits of his other childhood heroes: Kurt Cobain, Springsteen, Ryan Adams.
Plaine’s journey from unknown to rising talent started innocuously. He was invited down to Nashville to record a few tunes. No pressure, no expectations. Just him and producer Jordan Schmidt (Quietdrive, Motion City Soundtrack), out to try a few songs.
Somebody caught on early. MasterCard starting featuring his track “Your Love” in a national commercial. Song appearances on the CW shows Hart of Dixie and NBC’s The Biggest Loser followed. Remembers Plaine: “It’s about that time I was like, hey, maybe this is something I should pursue.”
New songs were written. Others took new shapes. Album closer “Beautiful,” for example, is almost orchestral in its reach. “Some songs started differently in my head,” says Plaine. “And that song ended up being a really unique, bigger production when we started working on it.”
Plaine’s debut is certainly diverse: the thumping “Hard Days” is an uptempo, handclapping anthem, while “The Hell If I Go Home” and “Never Come Back Again” embrace beautiful pop harmonies. “Houston” has the breadth of an Arcade Fire song, while “Your Love” is a folksy foot-stomper.
Lyrically, Plaine teeters on the autobiographical, with the singer’s personal life mixing seamlessly with his knack for colorful storytelling. Take “Houston,” for example. “We just started with a chord progression I was working on and two lines: ‘Losing don’t mean nothing when there’s nothing to lose/living isn’t living when I’m missing you,” he explains. He later adds, laughing, “No idea why I chose Houston for that song, except I love Texas”.
When Plaine tours later this year, expect a more stripped-down affair, just a man, his guitar and some stories. “It’s definitely more folky, more Dylan-esque,” he explains. “Sometimes there’s a band, but sometimes it’s just me, my guitar and my harmonica.”
In the end, Plaine is happy with his unexpected new path.
Bringing the sort of picked guitar strings and banjo harmonies that would threaten Mumford and Sons on a good day, Austin Plaine’s self-titled debut is instantly smashing. There has always been an unprecedented honesty and modesty to folk music, and this is no stranger to that rule. With production also from Jordan Schmidt, who has tinkered around for groups such as All Time Low, we should really be in safe hands.
The fact that Plaine has been crafting this album for six years, and is still only the tender age of 23, is rather baffling; his vocal quality boasts accomplishment and triumph, with each of his songs melodic and humble. First single, Never Come Back Again, is a really spectacular piece, packed with warmth and wistfulness, so much so, it largely mimics the class of any Band of Horses number. It’s fairly clear why Plaine picked this to be his initial single; if you can’t glean a few pockets of support from such a quaint piece, then something hasn’t clicked properly.
Hard Days is driven, once again, by a gentle acoustic guitar. This is more unsettling, lyrically, speaking of uncomfortable surroundings and situations. However, it’s Plaine’s gruff tones that separate this from being one of Mumford’s older hits. I think the issue with some tracks such as this is that they are often only enjoyable to hear when you’re in a troubled mood, but Austin Plaine need not strive to create some up-tempo notes; his musings are soft and sultry, but very good indeed. Another great example of Plaine’s subtlety is The Other Side of Town, a mellow offering made up of strings, keys and poetic visions of childhood. The seeming portrayal of being unaware of the growth through adulthood so effortlessly discussed in this track would have lent itself well to a mid-series episode of One Tree Hill; so much so, it’s rather annoying that the TV programme isn’t still in production.
Alas, I digress. One to tap your toes along to is Houston; I guess there must be at least one obligatory cheery track, but this is fun, sweet and possesses a similar cheekiness to many of Vance Joy’s emergent few. The atmosphere does alter slightly, though, when Only Human comes around. This is a really emotional offering, showcasing weakness through such mildly plucked strings. The Cost is sharper, yet adheres to a similar pattern, outlining that this album is going to be fairly slow, but with a delicate optimism, lyrically, with Wait possessing jerky drum beats as accompaniment. The latter is another strong point on the album, because this is just that bit more musically expansive; some of the slower items rely only upon Plaine’s lyrics to project what makes them so superb. The Hell if I Go Home also must be tipped a focal point, too; it fits the mould well, but the echoing female backing vocals add character and this really begins to round the collection off.
So, indeed, this might not be particularly outside the general strings box, but it’s one to hear and appreciate for its intensity and breadth of appeal.
Having cut his teeth releasing five albums with the Albuquerque, NM Americana band, The Porter Draw,a band he continues to write and play with regularly, Russell James Pyle now adds "solo artist" to his resume. His songs tell stories of American life and the struggle that people go through to survive in this epoch. , Russell
Inspired by struggle and triumph, the natural world, and spoken with a sincerity that touches deep, Russell James Pyle's songwritingand delivered with his trademark vibrato rasp "has it's fingers placed firmly on the pulse of American life," (New Mexico Americana Music Society). Influenced as much by Bruce Springsteen as red dirt country, Russell's music blends heart and hand as he spins tales of experience and honest introspection. His performances, whether solo or with his backup band, Dry Heat, are passionate, energetic, and delivered in his trademark vibrato rasp.
Russell James Pyle has shared the stage with Heartless Bastards, Reverend Horton Heat, Greensky Bluegrass, Cross-Canadian Ragweed and others.
"Russell has this really special quality. Kind of like a young Willie Nelson. Russell's music will give you that deep breath that leads to a calming sigh, and you settle comfortabley into the peace his songwriting creates."
-ABQ Underground Zine
Fantasy Records is proud to announce the release of COLVIN & EARLE, the self-titled, debut album from acclaimed GRAMMY® Award-winning artists Shawn Colvin and Steve Earle. COLVIN & EARLE arrives everywhere on June 10th, 2016.
Colvin & Earle will celebrate the album’s release with a worldwide tour that kicks off June 10th at New York’s famed City Winery and continues through the summer and fall. Highlights include a two-night stand at London’s historic Union Chapel, Islington (June 13th and 15th) and an eagerly awaited performance at Bruce Hornsby’s inaugural Funhouse Festival, taking place June 25th on the Lawn of the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg. For complete details and ticket information, please visit funhousefest.com.
Shawn Colvin and Steve Earle first met nearly three decades ago as Colvin opened a solo acoustic performance by Earle at Northampton, MA’s beloved Iron Horse. The two proved fast friends, collaborating occasionally over the years until finally teaming up for 2014’s "Songs and Stories, Together Onstage” tour, a sold-out run that saw the duo uniting for one-of-a-kind evenings of song-swapping, duets and storytelling. The Albany Times Union hailed the show as "a near perfect pairing,” while The Morning Call praised
Colvin & Earle for "(spurring) each other to greater heights.” The Cleveland Plain Dealer summed it up best, declaring it "a joy to be able to witness two of the greatest at their craft.”
The shows were so exceptional Earle immediately proposed he and Colvin record an entire album together in the spirit of the tour. Their all-star backing band included guitarist Richard Bennett (Neil Diamond, Mark Knopfler, and Earle’s seminal 1986 debut, GUITAR TOWN), drummer Fred Eltringham (Willie Nelson, Kacey Musgraves), and bassist Chris Wood (of Medeski Martin & Wood) along with GRAMMY® Award-winner Buddy Miller (Patty Griffin, Robert Plant, Lucinda Williams) at the helm as producer and baritone guitarist. Colvin, Earle and Miller led the combo through a week-and-a-half-long session that possesses all the spontaneity and magic of the duo’s live acoustic shows while also fleshing out the arrangements with alternating moments of subtle grace and raucous grit.
COLVIN & EARLE reveals a truly collaborative creative partnership, with each singer/songwriter contributing verses, melodies, choruses, and chord progressions. Songs like "Tell Moses” – a rollicking slice of folk-gospel that works its way from Egypt to Ferguson, MO – and the irresistibly vibrant "Happy & Free” see Colvin & Earle gelling into a gorgeous, cohesive duo, the perfect vehicle for their sterling harmonies and infinite songwriting gifts. COLVIN & EARLE’s more melancholy moments cut close to the bone from both artists’ personal experiences, from the winsome "The Way That We Do” and the self-reflective "You’re Right (I’m Wrong)” the closing "You’re Still Gone” (featuring lyrics by Julie Miller). Colvin & Earle also chose to include four distinctive covers, including "Ruby Tuesday” and "Raise The Dead” as well as a bluesy take on The Nashville Teens’ garage rock standard, "Tobacco Road,” and a new interpretation of "You Were On My Mind” blending elements of both Ian & Sylvia and The We Five’s classic versions.
Fueled by deep emotional connection and spiritual bond, COLVIN & EARLE captures the once-in-a-lifetime magic of two extraordinary artists so in tune that they seem to be able to read each other’s minds. It would have been impossible to predict at the Iron Horse all those years ago, but Colvin & Earle have gone from sharing a stage to sharing one of the finest records in either of their storied careers.
Derek Hoke has crafted a collection of equally endearing and infectious songs for his long awaited 3rd release – Southern Moon. Released last April on Hoke's own Little Hollywood Records, Southern Moon mixes Country, Blues, Tex-Mex, Bluegrass, and Swing that is both powerful and effortless in it's delivery. Culminating from late night drives with Hoke singing into a voice recorder and then trying out the songs at his weekly event, $2 TUESDAYS, at The 5 Spot in East Nashville. Under the stage lights, and in front of Nashville's discerning audience, Southern Moon was born.
A self taught guitarist, singer, and composer – Hoke’s love of music started when he was very young. Having a keen ear for melody, acts as diverse as The Beatles, Tom Petty, and George Strait were getting his attention. Learning how to play guitar by ear, Hoke would spend hours in his room jamming along with his musical heroes. By age 16, Hoke was writing his own songs and playing in the local watering holes in his hometown of Florence, SC. Having also spent time in Greensboro, NC, and Atlanta, GA, it was a trip to Nashville in the late-nineties that changed Hoke's musical path forever. It was truly where he wanted to be. Not long after his move to Nashville, Hoke took a job with another one of his musical heroes, Ricky Skaggs, as his merchandise salesperson on the road. Over the next 3 years, Hoke saw every state in the union while he absorbed the music and showmanship of Ricky and his band. Hoke say's "It was like going to music school."
Continuing on their work with Goodbye Rock N Roll and Waiting All Night, Hoke has once again paired up with long-time friend and producer Dexter Green (Elizabeth Cook, Caitlin Rose, The Greenhornes). On keeping the same crew of musicians, but trying to craft something altogether different, Hoke explains: “Songs like “Trouble In Mind” were definitely part of the afterglow of Waiting All Night. "Dexter and I were pretty keen on not repeating ourselves so I took a different approach to most of the material. Mainly writing it on a ’68 Telecaster as opposed to an acoustic guitar. The White Album was a big influence on the change of styles from track to track”. Amongst the usual cast of characters on the record, Southern Moon sees some wonderful appearances by Mickey Raphael (harmonica), John Jarvis (piano), as well as vocal contributions from Elizabeth Cook, Chuck Mead, and indie-folk troubadour
Robyn Hitchcock.
Described as everything from indie-roots to chamber-folk, West My Friend has an acoustic blend of instruments and four-part harmonies that challenges the conventions of popular music. The band features pure and thrillingly elastic vocals with catchy arrangements of bass, guitar, mandolin, and accordion that draw from jazz, classical, folk, and pop influences. Inspired by artists such as Owen Pallett, Joanna Newsom, Bright Eyes, The Decemberists, and the Punch Brothers, and forged from a sonically adventurous acoustic music scene on Canada’s west coast, West My Friend is proving to be a key part of a new generation of grassroots folk music.
The wealth of musical experience and classical training in the group creates an interesting backdrop for their songwriting, allowing for levels of detail, intricacy, and counterpoint balanced with moments of simplicity. Their diversity in taste and influences and a keen interest in both traditional sounds and innovation leads to constant exploration of new sounds that places them as a distinctive voice in the landscape between Canadian folk and indie-pop. West My Friend’s commitment to creating original indie-roots music, and their dedication to giving their audiences a meaningful and memorable experience, is sure to catch hold of listeners as they regularly tour through Canada, the United States, Europe, and beyond.
Quiet Hum, produced by Canadian mainstay David Travers-Smith (Wailin’ Jennys, Pharis & Jason Romero) is the third outing from West My Friend since the band formed at the turn of the decade. Its 2012 debut, Place, garnered several nominations, including “Roots Album of the Year” and “Song of the Year” at the Vancouver Island Music Awards. Its follow-up, 2014’s When The Ink Dries, was nominated for the Oliver Schroer “Pushing The Boundaries” Award at the Canadian Folk Music Awards and received the Readers’ Choice award for “Best New Sound of 2014” at Sleeping Bag Studios. With the release of Quiet Hum, the members of West My Friend build admirably on the body of work coming out of Victoria, Vancouver, and across British Columbia.
Plenty Good People was recorded in April 2015 at The Lodge, Georgetown, Texas. Most of the songs on the record come from co-writing sessions, when a chance suggestion looked like challenge and opportunity. It has now come to life.
Aside from Kenny Williams (upright bass), the players on this project are the same team we used on Gulf Coast Tales in 2014: Franci Jarrard (accordion, keyboards, vocals); Lynette Perkins (percussion, vocals); Andre Mathews (lead guitar); Javier Chaparro (violin). Produced with Rick Dinsmore (vocals) and Bradley Hartman; engineering by Bradley Hartman (arm-long list of engineering credits, including Willie Nelson and Emmylou Harris). Made in Texas by Texans. Cover art by Julie Sola.
Richard Dobson
When I was eight years old my family lived in The Hague, Netherlands for a year where my younger sister and I were sent to an English school. Though neither of my parents played a musical instrument, they decided at this time that it would be a good idea for me to take piano lessons. I agreed, reluctantly; a rebellious kid, I was often disinclined to go along with their suggestions. But it was apparent from the outset that the teacher and I were not going to get along. She and the other teachers at the school found my Texas accent barbaric, and said as much. After a couple of lessons I told my parents I wanted to quit and they said okay. I remember being surprised that they didn't make a stronger case for me to continue.
Twelve years later I bought a secondhand guitar in a shop in Cali, Colombia and began teaching myself to play. More years passed while I busied myself with finishing college, a stint in the Peace Corps, and the daunting task of trying to learn to write. Through it all I kept a guitar close by, and I used to pick it up and play awhile whenever I was stalled. After my first manuscript was turned down by several publishers, I moved to New Mexico to begin another. There a series of revelations occurred, and what had been my sideline became my mainline; I became seriously addicted to songwriting and put everything else on the back burner.
Inspired by the example of Kris Kristofferson and the records Bob Dylan had made there I moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 1971, beginning a series of peregrinations back and forth to Texas that continued for almost three decades. In the late seventies I began a series of newsletters published in an English fanzine calledOmaha Rainbow . I recorded my first LP, In Texas Last December, an album of original songs released on Buttermilk Records, a small Houston based label in 1977. I began selling records overseas by mail order. I began touring Europe in the eighties, which led to a recording deal with Brambus Records in Switzerland, an affiliation which has lasted to this day.
Occasionally people ask me if I've been able to make a living at this business, and I've always answered that while you couldn't call it a living, I wouldn't trade the life. Music has enriched my existence immeasurably and brought so much joy, I would be a fool to complain about the hard times. A privileged and ancient profession, music can open doors and take you to places where the rewards are not counted in money. It is a window on the world like no other. Looking back I can truthfully say I have few regrets. only sometimes I wish I had kept up with those piano lessons.
W.C. Jameson
W.C. Jameson is the award-winning author of more than ninety books, 1500 articles and essays, 380 songs, and dozens of published poems. He is the creator and author of the best-selling "Beyond the Grave" series including books on Billy the Kid, John Wilkes Booth, Butch Cassidy, and a forthcoming one on Amelia Earhart. His Buried Treasures of America series numbers thirty-six books and counting. Jameson is the best selling treasure author in the United States and his prominence as a professional fortune hunter has led to stints as a consultant for the Unsolved Mysteries television show, the Travel Channel, and a number of other television projects. He served as an advisor for the film National Treasure starring Nicolas Cage and appears in an interview on the DVD. His book, Treasure Hunter: Caches, Curses, and Deadly Confrontations, was named Best Book of the Year (2011) by Indie Reader. He recently appeared in the documentary The Desert’s Lost River of Gold, and has been interviewed on The History Channel, The Travel Channel, PBS, and Nightline. Recently, he has been featured on the program Gunslingers on the American Heroes Channel, and on the series Legends and Lies on Fox News.
Jameson has recorded seven CDs of original music. In 1999 he was named Songwriter of the Year by the Texas Folk Music Guild. He has written the sound tracks for four feature films and two PBS documentaries, his music has been heard on NPR, and he wrote and performed in the musical, “Whatever Happened to the Outlaw, Jesse James?” Jameson has also appeared as an actor in five films.
When not working on a book or involved in a treasure recovery operation, W. C. Jameson tours the country as a speaker, conducting writing and poetry workshops, and performing his music at folk festivals, concert halls, roadhouses, and on television.
Paul and Kris Masson have always known one another. In their early lives, when they felt unfamiliar to themselves, it was the idea of the other that led them forward. And on the night they finally encountered each other, it only took one look. There were no reasons needed, they just obliged what had already been in motion.
In the first years of their relationship they traveled the country in an old ‘82 Mercedes they affectionately named Dolly. Drifting aimlessly but steadfast, they were searching for a place that felt as unifying as the home they felt in one another. They traveled the full expanse of the American landscape. They spent a slow Southern summer in a motel on the rural outskirts of Athens, Georgia. They found refuge on the West Coast, in a small bungalow hidden deep in the hills of West Hollywood. When they would feel the restlessness of LA creeping in, they would drive out to the desert and lose themselves. Their wandering often leading them to the Salton Sea, its stillness a memory that had always existed within them. It was next to its boundlessness that Kris first whispered the melody for the song “Tumbleweed:” From this land you and I will flee, shed what ails us and rest by the sea. It was a quiet reflection, an unintentional act of expression that would eventually define Great American Canyon Band’s early works; two souls interweaved and coming to terms with the vastness of the world surrounding them. There was no intention to the process unfolding, but Great American Canyon Band was becoming the answer to their limitations and the expression of their deepest yearnings.
These early songs wouldn’t take shape until the winter of 2011 when Paul and Kris settled into a weather-beaten home on the outskirts of Chicago. It was only a shell, but they planned to live in it’s skeletal form and bring it back to life. To them, it was as much a journey as their previous years of transience. It was in this space, amidst the stillness and dust that they traced the contours of their recent journey and Great American Canyon Band was incarnated. In relative isolation, they were able to explore and realize without limitation the music that had been writing itself inside them. With not much more than a few old guitars and an aging laptop, they began creating with sonic clarity the fullness and richness of their experiences. The music was dynamic and affecting. It payed homage to the transformative production qualities of Phil Spector and Brian Eno, but remained unique in it’s voice. And by the start of spring 2012, they had completed their first EP. Self-produced but nothing short of stadium sized, it’s reverb rich pleading harmonies, emotive shoegaze guitars, and tapestries of ambience sounded entirely new, yet seemingly timeless. Critical response to the EP was immediate and overwhelming positive. NPR praised the band’s “harmony-rich sound,” attesting to it’s impact as “alternately mellow, sad, wistful, romantic and sweeping.” While WXPN’s The Key hailed the EP as “a gorgeous collection of hypnotic songs that draws on [a] heady mix of dream pop and psychedelia.” The language spoke to Great American Canyon Band’s intent – to create music that is undoubtedly reaching towards whatever lies ahead.
As momentum was building behind the release of the EP, Kris and Paul were called back to their hometown of Baltimore. The band was put on pause as they came to terms with the personal loss of loved ones succumbing to illness and the inevitable toll of saying goodbye. It was during this time that the songs for the band’s debut LP “Only You Remain” began to take shape. Kris says of the time “We were watching the most influential people in our lives, people who we thought to be invincible, become human in the most brutal ways. In the end though we had to embrace the circumstances. So we let go and followed the pain to profound places.” The result is the triumphant debut LP “Only You Remain” to be released on Six Degrees Records on April 8th 2016.
The title track “Only You Remain” brims with declaration, it’s instrumentation thunderous as Paul and Kris decree that time, in all it’s selfishness “will never break us apart!”. It is a concise first statement by a band now fully formed and devoted to their craft. The sonic landscapes are wider, their musical voice stronger and the LP’s breath clearer over the ten tracks. They’ve become one voice, able to incite as much strength and celebration with their whispers as their most impassioned throws. They needed one another to fully express what was inside of them. They are artists out of necessity. It’s their way of tracking time and tracing experiences. Paul explains, “We’ve always worked with what we had, and where we were, to create the sounds in our hearts: songs that could fill a nights sky but still hold you close.”
It is with that embrace that they continue to come to terms with what it means to love fully, and grapple with the dichotomy of how life can be both graceless and so beautiful. “Only You Remain” like their previous works, is theirs through and through; written, recorded and produced at home by Paul & Kris in a small space built off the back of their house. 2016 will be a year of intensive touring. Great American Canyon Band will greet the world as a four piece band anchored by Kris and Paul, two songwriters who find in each other a North Star.
Guy Charles Clark, the legendary Texas-born songwriter and musician, passed away today after a long illness, The Tennessean reports. The death was confirmed by a note left on Clark’s official Facebook page. He was 74.
Clark was born in Monahans, TX, in 1941 and moved around the state before joining the Peace Corps then settling in Houston to start both a guitar-making shop and his music career. After moving to Nashville in the early 1970s, Clark quickly gained fame as a storyteller and songwriter, providing songs for countless artists like Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris Ricky Skaggs and others over his career. His most well-known songs include “Desperados Waiting on a Train” and “L.A. Freeway.”
Clark himself released albums along with his songwriting for others, presenting his debut record, Old No. 1, in 1975. His last album was 2013’s My Favorite Picture of You. Clark’s wife, Susanna, was a close collaborator with her husband and was an artist and songwriter in her own right. She passed away in 2012 at the age of 73.
Lyle Lovett, whom Clark helped get started in Nashville, had this to say about his friend, according to the Houston Chronicle: “I stepped into his home once and it was full of art and guitars, it was this place full of artistic creation. And that reaches into his songs as well. We’re all trying to get to the same place through our discovery of things that make us feel like we’re OK. That’s basically what music and art does. You want to find a mutual point of view with somebody who understands how you feel. Guy’s a master at expressing feeling in songs.”
The note posted on Clark’s Facebook page leaves his fans with this image of Clark’s welcoming residence:
For more than forty years, the Clark home was a gathering place for songwriters, folk singers, artists and misfits; many who sat at the feet of the master songwriter in his element, willing Guy’s essence into their own pens. Throughout his long and extraordinary career, Guy Clark blazed a trail for original and groundbreaking artists and troubadours including his good friends Rodney Crowell, Jim McGuire, Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris, Joe Ely, Lyle Lovett, Verlon Thompson, Shawn Camp, and Vince Gill.
A Nickel Creek reunion was perhaps inevitable. Neither Sara Watkins nor Sean Watkins ceased performing together during their seven-year hiatus and while Chris Thile saw some success with the Punch Brothers, the pull of a 25th anniversary reunion was too strong to resist. To accompany a 2014 tour, the trio recorded the new album A Dotted Line, a record that adhered to the group's traditions so much they wound up whittling away most of their progressive leanings. Nickel Creek still has an ear for interesting covers -- here, they pick Mother Mother's "Hayloft" and Sam Phillips'
"Where Is Love Now" -- but the instrumentation on this brief ten-song
collection focuses on guitar, mandolin, and fiddle. It's a far cry from
the eclectic, electric adventures on Sara Watkins' solo records but the music feels alive and nimble and the originals -- which are primarily group collaborations, although Thile wrote the instrumental "Elsie" and Sean
wrote the plaintive "21st of May" -- are uniformly solid. If there
isn't much spark, there is a surplus of warmth; the trio is comfortable
and relaxed, and it's hard not to succumb to such friendly, familiar
vibes.
Jenny Gillespie’s new album Cure for Dreaming was recorded in fall 2015 in Los Angeles, CA. Featuring musicians such as Paul Bryan (Aimee Mann,) drummer Jay Bellerose (Robert Plant and Allison Krauss’ Raising Sand), guitarist Chris Bruce (Meshell Ndgeocello,), g uitarist Gerry Leonard (David Bowie) and pedal steel player Greg Leisz (Lucinda Williams, Bon I ver), the album blends an earnest folk sensibility with experimental flavorings of progressive jazz and sunny sixties and seventies R and B flavored pop along the likes of Minnie Riperton, Fairport Convention, and Shuggie Otis.The songs span a variety of landscapes, from the Venice boardwalk with its “chakra hucksters” to a woman’s solitary spiritual rebirth on the banks of an East Coast river in “Dhyana by the River.” Themes of motherhood, marriage, spirituality and dying enter into the music but through the medium of playful and conversational language. Characters weave in and out of the songs, such as the brooding loner drawn to the masculine expressions of his ancestry of “Part Potawatomi”, or the cheerful artist facing death in “Last Mystery Train.” The music is loose, warm, and memorable, yet pulls off an undercurrent of occasional instrumental and melodic wildness not often found in modern day pop.
Previous press about Jenny:
-Chamma, Jenny’s 2014 album named as one of the best 25 records of 2014 by Billboard.
“Jenny Gillespie has been previously labeled neo-folk but she only really nods back in the direction of a tradition. Holi is the closest example, with its beguiling mix of pedal steel and harp. She has also sung duets with Sam Amidon, and here plays with musicians from Bonnie Prince Billy’s band and Califone. Like the latter, she integrates programmed beats, electronics and found sounds with strings, as on Dirty Gold Parasol, with its evocations of rural childhood. Most of Chamma is refreshingly original and beautifully sung by a musician not afraid to take liberties with her own songs.” -MOJO (Review of Chamma, 3 stars)
The past:
For 2010’s Kindred and 2012’s Belita, Jenny worked in studios with producers (Belita was recorded in NYC with Shahzad Ismaily and featured guitarist Marc Ribot). For Chamma, released as Jenny Gillespie in spring 2014, she felt compelled to return to her own producing skills which she first exhibited on the delicately wrought chamber-folk 2008 album Light Year. Working mostly in her Lake Michigan home north of Chicago, Jenny wrote music in a whole new way—writing as she was recording. This technique allowed Jenny to feel out the essence of the songs, cutting and pasting parts, in a collage manner similar to Jenny’s mixed media paintings, some of which grace the design of Chamma. She invited guitarist Emmett Kelly (Bonnie Prince Billy, The Cairo Gang) and percussionist Joseph Adamik (Iron and Wine, Califone) to add their own unusual instrumental voices to the proceedings in surprising turns such as Vietnamese horn to “Lift the Collar” and marimba to “Child of the Universe.” Arnulf Lindner contributed stunning horn and string arrangements from his studio in London. Chamma comes from a place of lovingly crafting a sonic world and pushing it into existence bit by bit, from the mind of one artist initially but with the incoming geniuses of other musicians at play.
The Crane Wives are a home grown indie-folk outfit from Grand Rapids, Michigan. They utilize three-part vocal harmonies, eclectic instrumentation, and a passion for song-craft to create organic music that is both accessible and innovative. Each live show features contagious energy as well as original music that ranges from whisper quiet ballads to danceable grooves. The band formed in late August of 2010 and has released three full-length albums, "Safe Ship, Harbored" (2011), "The Fool In HerWedding Gown" (2012), and "Coyote Stories" (2015) with a fourth album "Foxlore"released April 2nd, 2016.
BJ Barham has spent a decade howling his songs in a boozy, broken rasp, as though he's just choked down a whiskey shot and the glass it came in. With Wolves,
though, he sings a surprisingly happier tune, spinning his recent
marriage and cleaned-up lifestyle into music that's both focused and
frenzied. American Aquarium's punky, pissed-off country-rock still packs
a dangerous punch — just listen to the title track, which compares the
frontman's vices to a pack of predators — but Wolves focuses on the promise of new beginnings rather than the drunken confusion of last call.
An interesting press release from Keiron Marshall, Hannah's Manager and representative from Sound Lounge Records, accompanied this album. It addressed the task of introduction from a more creative perspective than is normally the case and sets out the artist's aims for this release and beyond. Of course the normal bases are covered, the voice, the playing, the producer and plaudits collected so far. However, the narrative then shifts to the first person and Hannah takes up the story behind this particular collection of songs that make up 'Whose Side Are You On'. Hannah describes playing a song of hers, 'Whoops', at a live show after which a man said it had given him a glimpse of what it was like to be a single mum. This appears to have had a profound effect upon Hannah also and inspired her to gather and record all the songs she had written over time that loosely related to her experience of being a woman.
An active feminist, Hannah is at pains to point out her wish was never to make claims about 'right or wrong' but to simply share her story in the hope of starting a conversation.
The press release describes some of the songs on this album in depth, but does not give any real historical information about Hannah. None of the usual 'started playing the guitar at 16' or 'found her voice in her teens' type biography and it is almost as if Hannah has just 'arrived' at this point in her career, so clearly a lot of thought has been given to the image she wishes to project. I did a bit of online detective work and found her website had much the same information as in the press release. However, the online 'shop' section shows two previous full length CD's and a Christmas single that are still available. 'Poetry' a thirteen track album was released in 2009, the eleven track 'Noughts and Crosses' in 2013 and the single 'Almost Christmas Day' in late 2013.
A quick listen through on iTunes showed these to be well written and recorded songs, so clearly Hannah has been busy performing for sometime now.
Lastly, she has a good, active profile on Facebook and Twitter and an up to date website with some particularly well recorded videos. Therefore, the sense is not so much of Hannah being without a past, but more that of her experiences, as detailed in these songs, helping shape how she wishes to define herself now.
The album itself is beautifully recorded and produced by multi instrumentalist Nigel Stonier. He is well known and respected for his work with Fairport Convention, the Waterboys and Thea Gilmore amongst many others, as well as for being a fine performer in his own right. I also came across him very recently through his contribution to the folk singer Kelly Oliver's CD 'Bedlam'.
Most tracks consist of Hannah on vocals and guitar with Nigel then adding further acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass, mandolin, ukulele, various keyboards, piano and backing vocals across the various songs. The only additional musicians featured are Alan Lowles on Accordion for two tracks and the drums of Che Beresford on three.
Without doubt, Hannah has a stunning voice, flexible, sensitive and conveying of a vulnerable power, particularly on the slower songs. Production wise this album covers many musical bases and she traverses these demands without apparent difficulty.
The first track 'Stupid Little Fruit Tree' is a great album opener, driving along in lively fashion on a breezy rhythm track with some lovely little musical flourishes, topped off with Hannah's vocal sitting sweetly in the mix.
Second song 'I'll Make You Strong' is similarly breezy and ridiculously catchy.
The musical stylings and production are, in the best possible way, almost 'Eurovision' in nature, the quirky accordion fills, the almost squeaky break in Hannah's voice when she sings 'baby' and the universally sing-along chorus.
As engaging as the first two tracks are, the next two raise the bar several notches in my view. 'Whoops', Hannah's tale of being a suspected drug trafficker by customs officers purely because her children had different surnames to her, sleazes in on a lovely drum shuffle and heavy bass line and sounds for all the world like the mighty trip hop of Morcheeba at their finest. The vocal really sits on top of the mix and it is a particularly warm take, which helps push home the pithy lyrics. I could easily imagine this song picked up by some R&B heavyweight, given the big sound treatment and maybe even a guest rap popped in the middle to add a little urban grime!
'Whose Side Are You On' though surpasses even this. Hannah's song is unflinchingly personal and she has the ability to marry a searingly honest lyric to a beautiful melody performed in a simple, straightforward manner. Her voice sounds stunning here and just does not need any excess or affectations to carry the song. I think her strength as a songwriter is most evident in her first person songs and the ability to make a stark, almost harsh lyric, poetically moving. I defy anyone not to be moved by the heart breaking beauty of the "Do I tell them that my Father lay dying with no hospital bed" line, which is just slipped in without fanfare and moves the song to somewhere almost unbearably poignant.
On the subject of first person songs, for me the other two stand out tracks on the album are both in this vein. 'His Perfect Mind' is a pure piano and vocal song,An interesting press release from Keiron Marshall, Hannah's Manager and representative from Sound Lounge Records, accompanied this album. It addressed the task of introduction from a more creative perspective than is normally the case and sets out the artist's aims for this release and beyond. Of course the normal bases are covered, the voice, the playing, the producer and plaudits collected so far. However, the narrative then shifts to the first person and Hannah takes up the story behind this particular collection of songs that make up 'Whose Side Are You On'. Hannah describes playing a song of hers, 'Whoops', at a live show after which a man said it had given him a glimpse of what it was like to be a single mum. This appears to have had a profound effect upon Hannah also and inspired her to gather and record all the songs she had written over time that loosely related to her experience of being a woman.
An active feminist, Hannah is at pains to point out her wish was never to make claims about 'right or wrong' but to simply share her story in the hope of starting a conversation.
The press release describes some of the songs on this album in depth, but does not give any real historical information about Hannah. None of the usual 'started playing the guitar at 16' or 'found her voice in her teens' type biography and it is almost as if Hannah has just 'arrived' at this point in her career, so clearly a lot of thought has been given to the image she wishes to project. I did a bit of online detective work and found her website had much the same information as in the press release. However, the online 'shop' section shows two previous full length CD's and a Christmas single that are still available. 'Poetry' a thirteen track album was released in 2009, the eleven track 'Noughts and Crosses' in 2013 and the single 'Almost Christmas Day' in late 2013.
A quick listen through on iTunes showed these to be well written and recorded songs, so clearly Hannah has been busy performing for sometime now.
Lastly, she has a good, active profile on Facebook and Twitter and an up to date website with some particularly well recorded videos. Therefore, the sense is not so much of Hannah being without a past, but more that of her experiences, as detailed in these songs, helping shape how she wishes to define herself now.
The album itself is beautifully recorded and produced by multi instrumentalist Nigel Stonier. He is well known and respected for his work with Fairport Convention, the Waterboys and Thea Gilmore amongst many others, as well as for being a fine performer in his own right. I also came across him very recently through his contribution to the folk singer Kelly Oliver's CD 'Bedlam'.
Most tracks consist of Hannah on vocals and guitar with Nigel then adding further acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass, mandolin, ukulele, various keyboards, piano and backing vocals across the various songs. The only additional musicians featured are Alan Lowles on Accordion for two tracks and the drums of Che Beresford on three.
Without doubt, Hannah has a stunning voice, flexible, sensitive and conveying of a vulnerable power, particularly on the slower songs. Production wise this album covers many musical bases and she traverses these demands without apparent difficulty.
The first track 'Stupid Little Fruit Tree' is a great album opener, driving along in lively fashion on a breezy rhythm track with some lovely little musical flourishes, topped off with Hannah's vocal sitting sweetly in the mix.
Second song 'I'll Make You Strong' is similarly breezy and ridiculously catchy.
The musical stylings and production are, in the best possible way, almost 'Eurovision' in nature, the quirky accordion fills, the almost squeaky break in Hannah's voice when she sings 'baby' and the universally sing-along chorus.
As engaging as the first two tracks are, the next two raise the bar several notches in my view. 'Whoops', Hannah's tale of being a suspected drug trafficker by customs officers purely because her children had different surnames to her, sleazes in on a lovely drum shuffle and heavy bass line and sounds for all the world like the mighty trip hop of Morcheeba at their finest. The vocal really sits on top of the mix and it is a particularly warm take, which helps push home the pithy lyrics. I could easily imagine this song picked up by some R&B heavyweight, given the big sound treatment and maybe even a guest rap popped in the middle to add a little urban grime!
'Whose Side Are You On' though surpasses even this. Hannah's song is unflinchingly personal and she has the ability to marry a searingly honest lyric to a beautiful melody performed in a simple, straightforward manner. Her voice sounds stunning here and just does not need any excess or affectations to carry the song. I think her strength as a songwriter is most evident in her first person songs and the ability to make a stark, almost harsh lyric, poetically moving. I defy anyone not to be moved by the heart breaking beauty of the "Do I tell them that my Father lay dying with no hospital bed" line, which is just slipped in without fanfare and moves the song to somewhere almost unbearably poignant.
On the subject of first person songs, for me the other two stand out tracks on the album are both in this vein. 'His Perfect Mind' is a pure piano and vocal song, which pushes and pulls with a lovely rhythmic pulse that really displays Hannah's phrasing. It was wrote after the relationship breakdown with her Daughters Father but as another reference point, it is easy to imagine this one as the central number in a Andrew Lloyd Webber musical such is its majestic scope.
'Tracey Emin' is my favourite song on the album. Starting with what sounds almost like a Bontempi keyboard drum machine track along with a treated guitar arpeggio, it enters in very courtly, atmospheric fashion. Hannah provides another perfectly understated vocal that tempers the very personal nature of the lyrics but without diluting their impact in any way. It also highlights yet again her ability to slip in heartbreaking lines without fuss or showiness and there are several examples in this song alone. It is also a song without a real chorus as such; more of a lovely refrain and this lends a restless, unsettling feel that quietly adds to the drama.
The other three songs that I have not covered in depth are still fine, very commercial numbers. 'Beautiful Dresses' is an acoustic driven track with another hooky chorus and some particularly fine drumming. 'I See Sky' is very poppy and uplifting, that again demonstrates Hannah's winning way with a chorus and I can imagine this being a real live favourite. Lastly, 'It's All That I know' brings the album to a close. It starts with some crackly static before a guitar that sounds rather like a harpsichord arrives with a picked line which feels like the 'round and round' of a music box. Hannah's vocal is very 'back' from the track and recorded in a distant fashion, which again lends to the music box feel. However, no chance of saccharine here as the lyrics are quite dark against the musical lightness. "But I have a secret, I don't really like it, but it's all that I know"
The only slight reservation I have about this CD concerns the very eclectic sound and many musical bases covered. I can see that this potentially would appeal to a wider audience but an inherent problem could be that of a core market or location becoming harder to find. For me, one of the attractions of the four songs I have spoken at length about is that there is less going on musically and all are recorded 'straight'. I would like to have seen this spread across all the tracks so there was more of a cohesive sound and less genre hopping maybe. However, I am also aware that is just personal preference and the commercial nature of several of these tracks cry out for radio play!
Of course, most people that buy this CD will do so without the information that accompanied this review copy. As sympathetically presented as this was, I have done my best to hear these songs without reference to that and listen with open ears and mind. Safe to say it has been a wonderful listen and as with all great songs, the stand out tracks here perhaps reveal themselves and speak to the audience in ways the writer had not originally intended.
This CD has clearly been a labour of love for both Hannah White and Nigel Stonier. Nine songs that display a great voice, assured song writing, lyrics of heartbreaking honesty and emotional force, balanced with other tracks that are commercial and sassy, but maybe never far from revealing their darker underbelly if prodded a little.
If the purpose of this album for Hannah was to start a conversation, it's already started! which pushes and pulls with a lovely rhythmic pulse that really displays Hannah's phrasing. It was wrote after the relationship breakdown with her Daughters Father but as another reference point, it is easy to imagine this one as the central number in a Andrew Lloyd Webber musical such is its majestic scope.
'Tracey Emin' is my favourite song on the album. Starting with what sounds almost like a Bontempi keyboard drum machine track along with a treated guitar arpeggio, it enters in very courtly, atmospheric fashion. Hannah provides another perfectly understated vocal that tempers the very personal nature of the lyrics but without diluting their impact in any way. It also highlights yet again her ability to slip in heartbreaking lines without fuss or showiness and there are several examples in this song alone. It is also a song without a real chorus as such; more of a lovely refrain and this lends a restless, unsettling feel that quietly adds to the drama.
The other three songs that I have not covered in depth are still fine, very commercial numbers. 'Beautiful Dresses' is an acoustic driven track with another hooky chorus and some particularly fine drumming. 'I See Sky' is very poppy and uplifting, that again demonstrates Hannah's winning way with a chorus and I can imagine this being a real live favourite. Lastly, 'It's All That I know' brings the album to a close. It starts with some crackly static before a guitar that sounds rather like a harpsichord arrives with a picked line which feels like the 'round and round' of a music box. Hannah's vocal is very 'back' from the track and recorded in a distant fashion, which again lends to the music box feel. However, no chance of saccharine here as the lyrics are quite dark against the musical lightness. "But I have a secret, I don't really like it, but it's all that I know"
The only slight reservation I have about this CD concerns the very eclectic sound and many musical bases covered. I can see that this potentially would appeal to a wider audience but an inherent problem could be that of a core market or location becoming harder to find. For me, one of the attractions of the four songs I have spoken at length about is that there is less going on musically and all are recorded 'straight'. I would like to have seen this spread across all the tracks so there was more of a cohesive sound and less genre hopping maybe. However, I am also aware that is just personal preference and the commercial nature of several of these tracks cry out for radio play!
Of course, most people that buy this CD will do so without the information that accompanied this review copy. As sympathetically presented as this was, I have done my best to hear these songs without reference to that and listen with open ears and mind. Safe to say it has been a wonderful listen and as with all great songs, the stand out tracks here perhaps reveal themselves and speak to the audience in ways the writer had not originally intended.
This CD has clearly been a labour of love for both Hannah White and Nigel Stonier. Nine songs that display a great voice, assured song writing, lyrics of heartbreaking honesty and emotional force, balanced with other tracks that are commercial and sassy, but maybe never far from revealing their darker underbelly if prodded a little.
If the purpose of this album for Hannah was to start a conversation, it's already started!
