Category Archives: alt.country

Music Review: Nikki Lane – “All Or Nothin’ ” [New West Records]

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nikki lane - all or nothin

Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra had a fruitful professional relationship together, most famously working on the smash hit “These Boots Are Made for Walkin.’” Though there’s no documented romantic involvement between the two, I believe I have proof of a stylistic offspring of their union. Nikki Lane’a newest release “All Or Nothin’ “ (drop, the “G”, make it real) has the twang, groove and soul DNA that made famed collaboration so successful.

Theres a rose-tinted romantic hopefulness in songs like “Good Man” and “I Don’t Care (About Anything But You)” They have a Wynette-like devotion that wears it’s big heart on a simple gabardine sleeve. “You Can’t Talk To Me Like That” imbues a Laurel Canyon shimmer glinting off this psychedelic-folk ditty reminiscent of Beck’s latest efforts.

But pining has limits and on “Seein Double” Lane licks her heartbroken wounds and hits the road. Producer and Black Key Dan Auerbach lends he voice (as well as his guitar chops which are all over this album) on “Love’s On Fire.” the cut starts as a simmer and heats up to a passion-fueled Rocky-Top-like jamboree. “Sleep With A Stranger” swaggers with energy and is a country-funk delight of sexual self-determination and late night risky businesses.

“All or Nothing” and “Man Up” channels Bobbie Gentry’s Muscle Shoals sessions with all it’s swampy, sultry beauty that fits perfectly with her swervey and austere voice. The latter let’s the subject in her crosshairs know her time is short and if you don’t step up your ass will end up like the gently-worn cowboy boots on the shelf of her Nashville vintage store.

Lane is the spiritual big sister to current Nashville darling Kacey Musgraves. Whereas Musgraves sings about human condition in somewhat wide-eyes naivety, Lane is sophisticated and wry. You can imagine her with a leather jacket, astride a vintage Indian motorcycle, handing a Musgrames “Sticky Fingers” vinyl before tearing down the highway in a cloud of dust.

What starts as a broken-hearted lament of sonic nostalgia careens forward to modern swinging twang looking for a good time. All the while serenaded by Gram Parsons playing in a saloon in a Quentin Tarantino flick.

Official Site | Buy

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Shovels & Rope To Release Sophomore Album “Swimmin’ Time” August 26

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Shovels and Rope - Swimmin Time

Great news Twangers. The pride of Charleston, South Carolina, Shovels & Rope (Cary Ann Hearst and Michael Trent) release their sophomore album Swimmin’ Time (Dualtone Music) on August 26.

Swimmin’ Time is the highly-anticipated follow up to the band’s 2012 breakthrough debut O’ Be Joyful, which garnered unanimous praise from the press, followed on the heels by dozens of sold out shows, national television appearances, numerous year-end lists (including mine) booming album sales and major festival performances like Newport Folk, Lollapalooza and Sasquatch. Topping at all off the band also took home two of the top honors, Song of the Year (“Birmingham”) and Emerging Artist of the Year at the 2013 Americana Music Awards.

They should have been nominated for a GRAMMY as well, but I digress….

Whereas a good deal of O’ Be Joyful was recorded on the road when time allowed, Swimmin’ Time was done at their home studio in Charleston, SC. Trent again producing. Swimmin’ Time features 13 new songs that “that maintain the elemental Shovels & Rope songwriting and sound while incorporating new ingredients to the mix. From the heady harmonies of “The Devil Is All Around” and the quirky “Mary Ann & One-Eyed Dan” to the epic beauty of “After The Storm” and the Waits-ian “Ohio” fans are sure to be pleased and pleasantly surprised by some of the chosen new paths and dark turns.”

Sounds cool. No?

Here’s a song that the band is doing on the road that will be on Swimmin’ Time

Watch Out! The Secret Sisters “Rattle My Bones” [VIDEO]

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The Secret Sisters "Rattle My Bones"

The Secret Sisters – Laura and Lydia Rogers – new release “Put Your Needle Down” (review here)
prove they can do more than winsome covers with their sizzling new single shows they can rock.

The cut was penned by Brandi Carlile, Phil Hanseroth and Tim Hanseroth and swings a Bo Diddley-style swing.

The Tyler Jones-directed video sits somewhere between “At Folsom Prison’ and Elvis’ “Jailhouse Rock” behind-the-bars dance off.

Is it hot in here or is it just this video?

The Secret Sisters are on tour now:

5/03 9:30 Club Washington, DC
5/04 9:30 Club Washington, DC
5/06 Taft Theatre Cincinnati, OH
5/08 Egyptian Room Indianapolis, IN
5/09 Riviera Theater Chicago, IL
5/10 Pabst Theater Milwaukee, WI
5/11 State Theatre Minneapolis, MN
5/13 Ogden Theatre Denver, CO
5/14 Kingsbury Hall Salt Lake City, UT
5/16 Crystal Ballroom Portland, OR
5/17 Moore Theatre Seattle, WA
5/19 Fox Theater Oakland, CA
5/20 Balboa Theatre San Diego, CA
5/21 The Wiltern Los Angeles, CA

Watch Out! Sturgill Simpson – ‘Turtles All the Way Down’ [VIDEO]

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Sturgill Simpson - 'Turtles All the Way Down'

The new Sturgill Simpson song ‘Turtles All the Way Down’ is like an “I’ve Been Everywhere Man” but with destinations of the mind instead of the lower 48. It’s the kind of psychedelic honky-tonk. Gram Parsons would approve.

“Marijuana, LSD, psilocybin, DMT…They all change the way I see, but love’s the only thing that ever saved my life.”

That’s a long, strange trip that ends up with the greatest of mind alterations.

Simpson will release his second album, “Metamodern Sounds in Country Music,” on his own High Top Mountain Records. “Turtles All the Way Down” is the first release.

“I would urge anyone that gets hung up on the song being about drugs to give another listen, To me ‘Turtles’ is about giving your heart to love and treating everyone with compassion and respect no matter what you do or don’t believe.” The song — which Simpson tells NPR was inspired by “theology, cosmology and breakthroughs in modern physics and their relationship to a few personal experiences I’ve had”

A psychedelic country song deserves to be represented by a psychedelic-inspired video. That’s exactly what director by Graham Uhelski has created. The words and visuals works to to further establish the Outlaw reputation which Simpson eschews (much like Waylon did)

The video description: “Through Dr. Rick Strassman and Andrew Stone at www.cottonwoodresearch.org I was introduced to visionary software artist Scott Draves, creator and founder of Electric Sheep, a form of raw synthetic consciousness communicated between sleeping computers. After some correspondence, Scott was gracious and generous enough to contribute to the project. I am very grateful for their collective assistance in helping me fully realize this vision.”

Check out the video below and see some crazy imagery. More importantly hear how country music can be modernized and evolve without being packaged into radio-friendly drivel.

Watch Out! Kelly Willis – “Harper Valley PTA” [VIDEO]

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Kelly Willis - Harper Valley PTA
Kelly Willis – Harper Valley PTA

Way back in 2012 Kelly Willis asked her Twitter followers for cover ideas for an upcoming Austin gig coming up playing alongside her husband Bruce Robison. There were some great suggestions in response. I Tweeted “Harper Valley PTA” because I thought Willis’ style would fit it perfectly. it appears she agreed with me because that was the cover that she chose.

Fast-forward to today and Ms. Willis has released a wonderful video of “Harper Valley PTA.”
Her rendition of Tom T. Hall’s tale of a swinging 60’s single mom confronting small town hypocrisy was a sensation and made Jeannie C. Riley a star and a symbol of female empowerment on country radio.

Her version is excellent as are all things Willis lends her pipes to. I do like the extras little kick and swing added to the arrangement. And that organ!

Now did my tweet two years ago lead to the inclusion of this song Kelly Wills & Bruce Robison’s upcoming “Our Year?” I don’t know.

But I like to think it did.

Kelly Wills & Bruce Robison’s “Our Year,” the follow-up to the fantastic “Cheaters Game,” is due out May 27 on Thirty Tigers.

Record Store Day 2014 – Americana and Roots Music Picks

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Gram Parsons - Alternate Takes from GP and Grievous Angel

It’s that time again twangers. Yes, Record Store Day 2014 is upon us. The annual celebration of local record stores that leaves behind clowns and balloons and replaced them with long lines and limited edition slabs of vinyl.

This year’s RSD2013 releases offer some great selections from the roots and Americana side of the fence. Steve Earle townes album stripped back to it’s solo guitar base? Yes! Alternate Takes from Gram Parsons’ pivotal GP and Grievous Angel albums? Oh yes! Unreleased Hank Williams from the 1950 The Garden radio spot programs? Hells yes!

Head to your local indy record store on April 19th early and scoop up some of these limited edition goodies below.

Check the RSD14 full list and remember to tweet a pic of your bounty to my twitter account and I’ll share it with those that dared to stay home.

Print

Big Mama Thornton – Sassy Mama
Format: 12″ Vinyl
Label: Vanguard
– A scorching 1975 live set from Big Mama including “Rolling Stone,” “Lost City,” and “Mr. Cool.”

Joan Baez – “Blessed Are”
Format: 12″ Vinyl
Label: Vanguard
Baez’s seminal 1971 double album is presented here in an ‘exact replica’ gatefold package. Included are “Blessed Are,” “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” “Salt of the Earth,” and many more.

The Allman Brothers – “Selections from: Play All Night: Live at the Beacon Theatre 1992”
Format: 12″ Vinyl
Label: Legacy
Double vinyl release of live songs previously only available on DVD.

Dave Alvin & Phil Alvin – Songs from Common Ground
Format: 12″ Vinyl
Label: Yep Roc
Four song 12″ featuring the Alvin Brothers playing the songs of Bill Broonzy

Blue Rodeo – “Diamond Mine”
Label: Rhino
Release type: RSD Limited Run / Regional Focus Release
25th anniversary reissue, first time on blue and green colored vinyl

Neko Case & Jason Lytle – “Satellite of Love”
Format: 7″ Vinyl
Label: Brink
Take a trip into space with musicians Howe Gelb, Neko Case, Victoria Williams, John Covertino (Calexico), and many more in this limited edition 7 inch vinyl. Includes songs Satellite of Love, Mars Cassette Waltz, and Untethered Space Walk from the award winning animation comedy film Mars (Starring Mark Duplass of The League and Safety Not Guaranteed).

Johnny Cash – With His Hot and Blue Guitar
Format: 12″ Blue Vinyl
Label: ORG Music
Release type: ‘RSD First’ Release
More Info:
Johnny Cash with His Hot and Blue Guitar is the debut album of country singer Johnny Cash. Released in 1957, it was the first LP ever issued on Sam Phillips’ Sun Records label. Currently out of print, the album is being remastered and reissued on an exclusive blue color vinyl for Record Store Day. This limited edition pressing of 3,000 units will be numbered with a foil stamp on each jacket.

CENTRO-MATIC – Redo The Stacks
Format: 12″ Vinyl
Label: Navigational Transmissions
Reissue of the band’s first album, originally released in 1996. This version is remastered and artwork has been redone and hand painted to match the original version.

The Civil Wars – Live at Eddie’s Attic
Format: 12″ Vinyl
Label: Columbia
Nine songs recorded live in Decatur, Georgia in April 2009.

Court Yard Hounds – Amelita
Format: 12″ Vinyl
Label: New West Records
12″ vinyl of the new record with bonus 7″

Drive-By Truckers – Dragon Pants EP
Format: 10″ Vinyl
Label: ATO
B-Sides and outtakes from the new album English Oceans

Steve Earle – Townes: The Basics
Format: 12″ Vinyl
Label: New West Records
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release
In 2009 Steve Earle released an album of Townes Van Zandt songs. It began as solo guitar and vocal tracks recorded in October 2008 in New York City. Other instruments were added later in subsequent sessions for the album in New York, Nashville and Los Angeles. Those original recordings – The Basics – were released on a limited edition bonus CD with the Townes album and are available here for the first time on vinyl.; HAND NUMBERED

The Everly Brothers – Roots
Format: 12″ Vinyl
Label: Rhino
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release
“Roots” showcases the harmonies of the Everlys with covers of songs by performers who had been influential on the duo’s career. Songs by Jimmie Rodgers, George Jones, Randy Newman and Merle Haggard plus traditional standards offer laid-back, tasteful, acoustic-oriented arrangements with superb vocals that convey qualities of innocence tempered by experience. Originally released in 1968, “Roots” is one of the finest early country-rock albums.

Mary Gauthier/Sam Baker – When A Woman Goes Cold/Ditch
Format: 7″ Vinyl
Release type: RSD Limited Run / Regional Focus Release

Gram Parsons – 180 Gram: Alternate Takes from GP and Grievous Angel
Label: Rhino
2LP vinyl release of audio sourced from “The Complete Reprise Sessions” released in 2005. Contains a postcard insert at the request of Gram’s daughter, Polly Parsons, for the Hickory Wind Ranch Recovery Community. Foil numbering.

TRACK LISTING: SIDE ONE: “She (Alternative Version)”, “That’s All It Took (Alternative Version)”, “Still Feeling Blue (Alternative Version)”, “Kiss The Children (Alternative Version)”, “Streets of Baltimore (Alternative Version)” SIDE TWO: We’ll Sweep Out The Ashes In The Morning (Alternative Version)”, “The New Soft Shoe (Alternative Version)”, “Return of the Grievous Angel #1 (Alternative Version)”, “In My Hour of Darkness (Alternative Version)”, “In My Hour of Darkness (Alternative Version)”, “Ooh Las Vegas (Alternative Version) SIDE THREE: “I Can’t Dance (Alternative Version)”, “Sleepless Nights (Alternative Version)”, “Love Hurts (Alternative Version)”, “Brass Buttons (Alternative Version)”, “Hickory Wind (Alternative Version)” SIDE FOUR: “Brand New Heartache”, “Sleepless Nights”, “The Angels Rejoiced Last Night”

Waylon Jennings/Sanford Clark – Zia Records Presents: Audio Recorders Archive Vol. 1
Format: 7″ 45 – Limited to 500 copies on “GOLD” wax for Record Store Day
Label: Zia Records
Release type: RSD Limited Run / Regional Focus Release

Lake Street Dive – What I’m Doing Here/Wedding Band
Format: 7″ Vinyl
Label: Signature Sounds
Single 45 in a picutre sleeve, unreleased tracks

Ray Lamontagne – “Supernova”/”Pick Up A Gun”
Format: 7″ Vinyl
Label: RCA
First single from the album Supernova coming May 6th. Produced by Dan Auerbach.

Jon Langford & Skull Orchard – “Days & Nights”/”Here’s What We Have”
Format: 7″ Vinyl
Label: In De Goot Records
Release type: RSD Limited Run / Regional Focus Release

Langhorne Slim & The Law – “Animal”/”Space Girl”
Format: 7″ Vinyl
Label: Ramseur Records
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release

Lydia Loveless – “Mile High”/”Blind”
Format: 7″ Limited edition on colored vinyl. B-side is exclusive Ke$ha cover.
Label: Bloodshot
Release type: RSD Limited Run / Regional Focus Release

Jessica Lea Mayfield – “Make My Head Sing”
Format: Pink Cassette of the full album
Label: ATO Records
Release type: RSD Limited Run / Regional Focus Release

Doug Paisley – “Growin Souls/”Lies Lead To Lies”
Format: 7″ Vinyl
Label: No Quarter
Release type: RSD Limited Run / Regional Focus Release

Dolly Parton – “Blue Smoke”/”Home”
Format: Blue 7″ Vinyl
Label: Masterworks
Tracks from the forthcoming Dolly Parton record

Ramblin’ Jack Elliott – “Jack Elliott”
Format: 12″ Vinyl
Label: Vanguard
Ramblin’ Jack’s Vanguard debut, notable also for the appearance of Bob Dylan (credited as Tedham Porterhouse) on harmonica. It includes such staples as “Roving Gambler,” “Diamond Joe,” and “Black Snake Moan.”

Songs: Ohia – Journey On: Collected Singles
Format: 12″ Vinyl
Label: Secretly Canadian
Release type: ‘RSD First’ Release
More Info:
Almost 20 years after Jason Molina’s voice first rang out from Ohio, in this brave new world of streaming, the discussion surrounding the resurgence of vinyl rarely includes the 7”.

Southern Culture On The Skids – Party at my Trouse
Format: 7″ Vinyl – SCOTS collaboration with B-52s frontman Fred Schnieder
Label: Yep Roc
Release type: RSD Limited Run / Regional Focus Release

Various Artists – The Folk Box 50th Anniversary
Label: Rhino
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release
50th Anniversary Edition of the Elektra Records (in cooperation with Folkway Records) Vinyl Box Set 4-LP set containing 83 tracks featuring artists such as Pete Seeger, Dave Van Ronk, Phil Ochs, Tom Paxton and Judy Collins and many more. Vinyl cut from the original 1964 master tapes. Limited edition with foil stamp numbering. Bonus exclusive 7″ Vinyl included featuring Judy Collins’ rare version of Bob Dylan’s “I’ll Keep It with Mine” backed with Tom Paxton’s recording of “The Last Thing on My Mind” for Record Store Day only. Includes a 48 Page booklet including Forewords from legendary Producer Jac Holzman and Co-Producer Ted Olson. Out of print for over 40 years.

Various Artists – The Newport Folk Festival 1963–The Evening Concerts, Vol. 1
Format: 12″ Vinyl
Label: Vanguard
Fans at RecordStoreDay.com and VanguardRecords.com voted for this re-issue of Newport’s 1963 installment, remastered from the original tapes by David Glasser at Airshow Mastering and features performances from Mississppi John Hurt, Joan Baez, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott and, yes, Bob Dylan. Presented in ‘exact replica’ package.

“The Barnyard Song” (Sam Hinton), “Must I Go Bound” (Sam Hinton), “The Arkansas Traveller (Sam Hinton), “C.C.Rider” (Mississippi John Hurt/Pete Seeger), “Stagolee” (Mississippi John Hurt), “Spike Driver Blues (Mississippi John Hurt), “Coffee Blues (Mississippi John Hurt), “Diamond Joe” (Ramblin’ Jack Elliott), “Walk Right In” (Rooftop Singers), “Un Canadian Errant” (Ian and Sylvia), “Woke Up This Morning” (The Freedom Singers), “Oh, Freedom” (Joan Baez/Theodore Bikel), “Te Adore, Ate Amanha” (Joan Baez), “Wagoner’s Lad” (Joan Baez), “Blowin’ In The Wind” (Bob Dylan), “We Shall Overcome” (The Freedom Singers)

“Doc Watson – Southbound”
Format: 12″ Vinyl
Label: Vanguard
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release
Fans at RecordStoreDay.com and VanguardRecords.com voted for this re-issue of Doc’s classic 1966 album, remastered from the original tapes by David Glasser at Airshow Mastering. Presented in ‘exact replica’ package.

“Walk On Boy”, “Blue Railroad Train”, “Sweet Georgia Brown”, “Alberta”, “Southbound”, “Windy and Warm”, “Call of the Road”, “Tennessee Stud”, “That Was The Last Thing On My Mind”, “Little Darling Pal of Mine”, “Nothing To It”, “Riddle Song”, “Never No More Blues”, “Nashville Picking”

The Wild Feathers – “Got It Wrong/Marie”
Format: 7″ Vinyl
Label: Warner Bros.

Hank Williams – The Garden Spot Programs, 1950–Extended Play
Format: 10″ Vinyl
Label: Omnivore Recordings
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release
All recordings previously unreleased! From a 1950 radio show sponsored by Texas’ Naughton Farms Nursery, and brought to brown 10″ vinyl with the help of Williams’ daughter Jett.

SIDE ONE: “The Garden Spot Jingle” (Show 4), “I Don’t Care (If Tomorrow Never Comes) (Show 10), “Lovesick Blues” (Show 4), “Closing/Oh Susanna” (Show 10) SIDE TWO: “Farther Along” (Show 10), “Mind Your Own Business” (Show 9), “Fiddle Tune” (Show 4), “Closing/Oh Susanna” (Show 11)

Bob Wills And His Texas Playboys – Transcriptions
Format: 12″ Vinyl
Label: Real Gone Music
Release type: RSD Limited Run / Regional Focus Release
More Info:

Ten sides from Bob Wills’ legendary Tiffany Transcriptions, which were recordings made available only to radio stations in the late ’40s. The Tiffany Transcriptions are generally considered to be the best recordings that the King of Western Swing ever made, as the lack of commercial restrictions allowed his incredible band–and vocalist Tommy Duncan–to stretch out. Wills made over 300 transcription sides for Tiffany; only about half of them have been reissued on vinyl or compact disc. This 10-track album not only includes ten songs that have never been heard or seen anywhere since they appeared on the transcription discs some 65 years ago, but also features packaging designed to mimic the look of the original transcriptions, with a cutaway hole in front to show the vintage Tiffany logo on the vinyl, which is pressed in red as some Tiffany transcriptions did come in red vinyl. The back cover also includes vintage graphics from the period.

“I’m an Old Cowhand”, “Long Eared Mule”, “Put Another Chair at the Table”, “I’m Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes”, “Don’t Fence Me In”, “Don’t Be Ashamed of Your Age”, “Black and Blue Rag”, “Have I Stayed Away Too Long”, “Moonlight on the Ganges”, “What Is Life Without Love”

Cowboy Jack Clement’s Posthumous Release ‘For Once and For All” Out July 15, 2014

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Cowboy Jack Clement

Looks like the late legendary singer/songwriter/producer Cowboy Jack Clement isn’t quite done yet.

Clement’s last musical work, and only his 4th studio release, “For Once and For All” produced by Dave “Fergie” Ferguson and Matt Sweeney with T Bone Burnett as executive producer — will be the debut release on John Grady’s new I.R.S. Records Nashville label. Street date is July 15.

From the release:

“What an honor it is to be involved with Cowboy’s final record. This is the perfect way to start I.R.S. Nashville,” Grady says. “All the producers and musicians set the tone for this record. Sometimes we should all get together and do the right thing. I hope Jack is proud of us.”

He was 82-years-old when he died on August 8, 2013 and 82 when he finished this song-set with help from friends including John Prine, Emmylou Harris, Bobby Bare, Duane Eddy, T Bone Burnett, Vince Gill, Marty Stuart, Rodney Crowell, Buddy Miller, Dan Auerbach, Leon Russell, Gillian Welch, Dave Rawlings, Dickie Lee, Shawn Camp, Dierks Bentley, Jim Rooney, Jim Lauderdale, Will Oldham, daughter Allison Clement and a bunch of others who loved Cowboy and who Cowboy loved in return. His favorite accordionist, Joey Miskulin, played on “The Air Conditioner Song” and “Baby Is Gone.”

The whole thing is graceful and true, a primer for the unfamiliar, an anointed completion for the acolytes and a joy-filled lesson for those of us who study phrasing, musicality and soul.

Cowboy Jack was American music’s whimsical maverick. He was a singer and producer, a publisher, a best friend to Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson and Waylon Jennings. He was a writer of classic songs. He desegregated country music by bringing Charley Pride to popular attention and producing Pride’s first 13 albums for RCA. He was the first to record Jerry Lee Lewis and Roy Orbison, there at the popular birth of rock ‘n’ roll at Sun Records in Memphis.

He made the greatest album of country music’s “Outlaw Movement” when he produced Waylon Jennings’Dreaming My Dreams. He created the Cowboy Arms Hotel and Recording Spa, Nashville’s first great home studio and the nerve center for what would come to be known as Americana Music.

“If you unraveled all the threads Jack wove into the tapestry of what made country music great over the last 50 plus years, the whole thing would come apart,” Harris said.

No one unraveled those threads, though, and no one will. Can’t be done. The Cowboy’s tapestry weave is secure and indelible, and his import is ratified by a plaque in the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Cowboy Jack Clement sustained an unprecedented and unduplicated career outside of the public eye. He and fame saw each other across a crowded street, waved and went their separate ways.

Though he was in and around recording studios all of his adult life, he didn’t release a solo album, All I Want To Do In Life, until 1978, when he was in his late 40s. The follow-up came a quarter century later with 2004’sGuess Things Happen That Way. And he rarely toured. So while Clement impacted myriad major careers, he did little to promote his own.
“I don’t remember it being any huge letdown,” he said, recalling the less-than-platinum sales of All I Want To Do In Life. “It took a few months before you realized you ain’t gonna outdo Elvis or something, and by that time I was off into something else.”

Hear “Let the Chips Fall” the tearjerking first single from the album below.

Watch Out! Hurricane Roses – “Home To Haunt You” [VIDEO PREMIER]

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Hurricane Roses

Hurricane Roses is a six-piece female roots band from the San Francisco Bay Area. In their 5 years together the band has honed a loosely-taut sensibility that results in a deceptively effortless sound.

They count as influences Fleetwood Mac, Neko Case, Brandi Carlile, and Ryan Adams, and those sources are in there. But not aped slavishly but worked as nuanced influences that resulted in their own craft.

The band’s new video features the title cut from their upcoming second album (release May 6th) A superficial listening brings to mind a jaunty ditty made for a top down summer drive. The lovely video makes plain the darker thread contained within.

The video was directed by The Sundays and filmed by Jeremy Castillo. It was filmed in the foothills of San Jose, CA.

Our album release show will be on May 16th at Club Rodeo in San Jose, CA.

Official site

Jason Isbell Books 2014 Dates + 2 Ryman Shows

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JasonIsbellBWbyMichaelWilson

Jason Isbell is at the top of his career and he’s headed all over this great nation (except Dallas!) Isbell is headed to the second leg of his tour to support his acclaimed “Southeastern.”

Isbell will kick off in Auckland, New Zealand on April 12th followed by Sydney Australia and a few more dates down under before hitting the states on April 25th in New Orleans to perform at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

And if that’s not enough (and it is) Isbell has some great openers. Tift Merritt, Holly Williams, Langhorne Slim, Amanda Shires and St. Paul & The Broken Bones.

5/27 – 5/28, 5/30 – 6/4, 6/7 Isbell supports Ray Lamontagne.
6/13 he co-headlines with James McMurtry and on 7/6 – 7/18 he supports Willie Nelson, Alison Krauss & Union Station (what?! no Willies Picnic?)

The tour ends back at the stop he played to a sold-out crowd last August, the historic Ryman Auditorium. This time for two nights, Friday, October 24, and Saturday, October 25. Smart money says both nights sell out so get ’em while you can.

A special fan pre-sale will launch at 10 a.m. CDT on Wednesday, April 9, and run until 10 p.m. CDT, Thursday, April 10.

Isbell and the 400 Unit your dates. Keep an eye on his official site for more dates and news.

Sat-Apr-12 Auckland, NZ Tuning Fork
Sun-Apr-13 Sydney, NSW The Factory
Wed-Apr-16 Melbourne, VIC Northcote Social Club *SOLD OUT*
Thu-Apr-17 Melbourne, VIC Northcote Social Club *SOLD OUT*
Fri-Apr-18 Tallarook, VIC Boogie Festival
Sat-Apr-19 Meeniyan, VIC Meeniyan Town Hall
Mon-Apr-21 Tyagarah, NSW Byron Bay Bluesfest
Fri-Apr-25 New Orleans, LA New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival
Sat-Apr-26 Indio, CA Stagecoach Festival * SOLD OUT*
Mon-Apr-28 Los Angeles, CA The Roxy *SOLD OUT*
Tue-Apr-29 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore *SOLD OUT*
Wed-Apr-30 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore
Sun-May-04 Memphis, TN Beale Street Music Festival
Wed-May-07 Ponte Vedra Beach, FL Live at The Lot @ The Player’s Championship
Fri-May-09 Birmingham, AL Alabama Theatre
Sat-May-10 Huntsville, AL Mark C. Smith Concert Hall at the Von Braun Center
Sun-May-11 Atlanta, GA Shaky Knees Music Festival
Tue-May-27 Portland, ME Cumberland County Civic Center
Wed-May-28 Shelburne, VT The Green at Shelburne Museum
Thu-May-29 Nelsonville, OH Nelsonville Music Festival
Fri-May-30 Boston, MA Blue Hills Bank Pavillion
Sat-May-31 Boston, MA Blue Hills Bank Pavillion
Sun-Jun-01 Canandaigua, NY Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center
Tue-Jun-03 Wallingford, CT Toyota Presents Oakdale
Wed-Jun-04 Columbia, MD Merriweather Post Pavillion
Fri-Jun-06 New York, NY The Governor’s Ball Music Festival
Sat-Jun-07 Camden, NJ Susquehanna Bank Center
Fri-Jun-13 Madison, WI THE KURT Music Event at The Majestic
Fri-Jun-20 Telluride, CO Telluride Bluegrass
Sun-Jul-06 Kansas City, MO Starlight Theater
Mon-Jul-07 Rogers, AR Arkansas Music Pavilion
Wed-Jul-09 Oklahoma City, OK Zoo Amphitheatre
Fri-Jul-11 Council Bluffs, IA Harrah’s Stir Cove
Sat-Jul-12 Chicago, IL Ravinia Festival
Sun-Jul-13 Detroit, MI Freedom Hill
Thu-Jul-17 Interlochen, MI Kresge Auditorium
Fri-Jul-18 Toledo, OH Toledo Zoo Amphitheater
Sat-Jul-19 Louisville, KY Forecastle Festival
Fri-Jul-25 White Sulphur Springs, MT Red Ants Pants Music Festival
Sat-Jul-26 Calgary, AB Calgary Folk Festival
Sun-Jul-27 Edmonton, AB Interstellar Rodeo
Thu-Jul-31 Bayfield, WI Big Top Chautauqua
Fri-Oct-24 Nashville, TN The Ryman Auditorium
Sat-Oct-25 Nashville, TN The Ryman Auditorium

4/12-4/17, 4/19 Tift Merritt Supports
4/28 – 4/30 Holly Williams supports
5/9 Langhorne Slim & The Law supports
5/27 – 5/28, 5/30 – 6/4, 6/7 supporting Ray Lamontagne, Belle Brigade opens
6/13 co-headline with James McMurtry
7/6 – 7/18 supporting Willie Nelson, Alison Krauss & Union Station
10/24 Amanda Shires supports
10/25 St. Paul & The Broken Bones support

Watch Out! Jeff Tweedy on Portlandia

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Jeff Tweedy On Portlandia

There’s so much to love about this Portlandia skit featuring Uncle Tupelo/Wilco’s own Jeff Tweedy.

To me Portlandia suffers from much of the preciousness it aims to lambast. On occasion it hits dead on. This is one of those times. Some in the Americana/roots/folk music camp (me) can go on and on about the old elusive chestnut of “authenticity.” Usually over many beers. Mostly this level of music geekery is tedious and pointless. Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein, with the help of Mr. Tweedy, make it hilarious.

“Were you in a coal oil fire?” Ha!

Tweedy will is doing a TV tour of sorts and will also be in the season finale of Parks and Recreation alongside members of Yo La Tengo and the Decemberists.