Category Archives: News Round Up

Watch Out! Raelyn Nelson Band ‘Brother’ [VIDEO]

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Raelyn_guitar_downtown_600

On their new single. ‘Brother,’ Raelyn Nelson and her crackerjack band plays like a hot rod with a cut break line. They swerve and careen near the edge pulling back just in time to ensure safe passage.  The alt.country influenes are undeniable as they brew a hard cow-punk concoction so infectutous and fresh that it would cause the Bottle Rockets and Old 97s to join the mosh pit. 

Not bad for a uke slinger.

Raelyn’s father was Billy Nelson, the third child from Willie’s first marriage to Martha Matthews. She shows that the outlaw gene might just be hereditary as she blazes her own path with such confidence that she’s been placed on Grandad’s stellar 4th of July Picnic alongside other newbloods like uncle Lukas Nelson and Sturgill Simpson.

She’ll fit right in.

The iPhone shot video for ‘Brother’ displays just the right amount of social media twitch to match the song’s frenetic pace. The theme of fraternal revenge and firearms might be a bit rough for those with tender sensabilities, but it rings as true as the music.

Of the song, video and her unique take os releasing music Raelyn says: “The song came about when I was watching a tv show and got inspired by the story of a girl getting her three older brothers to track down her unfaithful boyfriend. JB (producer Jonathan Bright) and I got together and wrote it and we were trying to come up with a video concept that we could do on our own. It was DIY in every sense, and we shot it all with one gopro camera. The “band side” was done with a tripod, some cheap workshop lights and a clear shower curtain as a light “diffuser”. The other side was just JB running around with the gopro strapped to his head. Then with some tips from friends,YouTube tutorials, and editing software we managed to pull it off. And we came in right on budget! Which was zero….

“As far as part of a larger project, I think we’ve decided this year to skip the traditional “cd release” and just release a single every month or so, with a video and new t-shirt to go along with it. We have the songs, but it makes more sense to us to release them as singles and have something new to offer each month, instead of beating a record to death for a year.”

Can Streaming Service ‘Tidal’ Withstand The Music Industry Undertow?

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Screen Shot 2015-03-30 at 4.12.56 PM

Does the world need another music delivery channel?

Jay Z stood shoulder-to-shoulder with other famous, wealthy, established artists – Beyoncé, Nicki Minaj, Madonna, Kanye West, Chris Martin, Jack White, Jason Aldean, Madonna (my prayers for them to break into “We Are The World – 2015” sadly went unanswered) to launch the new streaming service Tidal.

What’s new about it? Besides the celebrity backers that filed one-by-one to sign their signatures on a Declaration of Artist Independence, the details at the L.A. streamed event were murky.

How does it stack up to standard-bearing music delivery systems like Spotify and Pandora? How will it compete against the upcoming service by Apple, a company that has already displayed a streak of ingenuity in the music industry.

First off, there are no free rides. Not that Spotify “free” is actually free, as anyone that has put up with those ear-splitting ads can attest.

But Tidal doesn’t even give this level of pretence on a sales tactic that’s worked for Sunday morning grocery stores and drug dealers the world over, the first taste is free. Users can choose between paying $10 a month for compressed digital audio quality (like what Spotify offers) or $20 a month for CD quality sound. Once you sign up it’s all you can eat os a currently limited music buffet.

There is the future promise of “special content or exclusive availability for new music” as well as access to concert tickets and merchandise. But right now that’s all they are, promises.

Can a small-time working artist join Tidal and expect decent audience exposure and fairer compensation the they would get from another service? Will users better morale instincts lead them to pony up to use a service that fairly compensates artists for their wares? Will those good patrons do so in numbers that allow it to stay in business?

Time will tell. But it doesn’t set well with me that there was no artist’s on stage that weren’t household (Or at least home room) names. If there was some visual cue that the wealthy celebrities were standing in solidarity with the van-driving road troubadour I’d at least breath easier about the spectacle.

Instead we get an awkward red carpet revolution of what appears to be a digital gated community and a feeble grasp of what once was, but now long gone. Artist control of the industry over technology pioneers.

Technology , at this point, is not the answer to the music industry woes. Compensation laws and accounting that takes into consideration this new tech-driven worlds needs to be vetted and enforced is a long term solution that sits apart from whatever new technology comes along.

Will Jay Z’ star power be enough to ensure Tidal’s long-term success. No way. No more than Garth will make Ghost Tunes into a major industry player. These are indulgences and vanity projects with no new direction. Just technical and media manifestations of old wishes.

Jay Z and his celebrity buddies should have lobbied in Washington and shone the light on the unfairness of the economic that hasn’t been updated in decades. Tidal doesn’t do that hard, long-lasting work.

But long economic and legal processes make for bad spectile. And right now that’s all Tidal is.

Listen Up! Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell – ‘The Traveling Kind’

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Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell - 'The Traveling Kind'

Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell know a good things when they have it. The country/roots music legends will follow up 2013’s Americana Album of the Year Grammy-winning ‘Old Yellow Moon’ a second duets collection, ‘The Traveling Kind,’ out May 12th on Nonesuch Records.

Produced by Joe Henry (Billy Bragg, Elvis Costello), the record will feature 11 duet tracks, including six new songs written by Harris and Crowell with co-writing by Mary Carr, Cory Chisel, Will Jennings, and Larry Klein as well as versions of Lucinda Williams’ “I Just Wanted to See You So Bad” and Amy Allison’s “Her Hair Was Red.”

Of the project, Harris comments, “In the words of Willie Nelson, ‘The life I love is making music with my friends,’ and there’s no better friend for me to make music with than Rodney. I can’t wait to get out there on the road with him and play the songs from this new record.”

Crowell adds, “Emmy and I co-wrote six of the eleven songs on The Traveling Kind, which was recorded in a six-day span with our Glory Band, Steuart Smith and Billy Payne. Joe Henry was at the helm as producer and Justin Neibank did the recording. The experience was pretty much akin to falling off a log.”

‘The Traveling Kind’ Tracklist:

1. The Traveling Kind (Rodney Crowell/Emmylou Harris/Cory Chisel)
2. No Memories Hanging Around (Rodney Crowell)
3. Bring It on Home to Memphis (Rodney Crowell/Larry Klein)
4. You Can’t Say We Didn’t Try (Rodney Crowell/Emmylou Harris/Cory Chisel)
5. The Weight of the World (Rodney Crowell/Emmylou Harris)
6. Higher Mountains (Rodney Crowell/Emmylou Harris/Will Jennings)
7. I Just Wanted to See You So Bad (Lucinda Williams)
8. Just Pleasing You (Rodney Crowell/Mary Carr)
9. If You Lived Here, You’d Be Home Now (Rodney Crowell/Emmylou Harris)
10. Her Hair Was Red (Amy Allison)
11. La Danse de la Joie (Rodney Crowell/Emmylou Harris/Will Jennings)

Harris and Crowell will play a series of intimate shows in support of the record this May:

May 7 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore
May 8 Napa, CA City Winery
May 10 Chicago, IL City Winery
May 21 New York, NY City Winery
May 26 Nashville, TN City Winery
May 27 Nashville, TN City Winery

Hear the title track from ‘The Traveling Kind’ below.

Listen Up! Matthew McNeal – “Alonely”

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Mattew McNeal

Hang on to your Stetsons kids. Fort Worth-based roots-rocker Matthew McNeal has delivered a sizzling track to deliver us into the hot Lone Star spring.

Pure guitar tone sets up McNeal’s soulful, jubilant croon as galloping drums and pedal steel belies this forlorn testament of the self-inflicted isolation of the road.

Of the song McNeal says: “One of the prevalent concepts on the album is the idea of feeling lonesome, even when there’s no reason to feel that way. I always wanted ‘Alonely’ to tell a story- packing up and hitting the road to chase this music-man dream, realizing that love doesn’t always come easy when you’re chasing that dream, then finally seeing that you can’t fulfill those dreams without other folks around. It’s probably one of my favorite studio stories- when we were tracking the tune, we changed the groove of the entire song about ten minutes before actually recording it. I remember looking at my drummer right afterwards and laughing, thinking ‘why didn’t we think of making it this rowdy sooner?!” It’s definitely a fun one to play live, plus I really enjoy telling the story of winning the war against those lonesome feelings.”

“Alonely” is the latest single from McNeal’s upcoming sophomore album, ‘Compadre,; slated for a June release. ‘Compadre’ was recorded at Redwood Studios in Denton, Texas, and produced by Midlake members Joey McClellan (Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth and Israel Nash) and Grammy award winner McKenzie Smith (Regina Spektor, St. Vincent and John Grant).

Listen Up! Lindi Ortega – ‘Tell It Like It Is” [VIDEO]

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Lindi Ortega - Tell It Like It Is

‘Tell It Like It Is” is a new cut by Nashville-by-way-of-Toronto chanteuse Lindi Ortega.

The song blends a slow, torchy waltz with a simmering rock-blues request for her lover to stop playing games and shoot straight. Ortega’s shimmering trill is on full display in this rousing cut. Her pleas dip and soar as the band builds to a full rock swagger.

‘Tell It Like It Is” is from an untitled new album. Details on the album will be revealed in April.

Ortega will play the Stagecoach in April and the Live Oak in Ft. Worth on May 6.

Buy ‘Tell It Like It Is” – iTunes.

Sara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz and Aoife O’Donovan Announce 7 inch Release

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Sara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz and Aoife O’Donovan

Sara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz and Aoife O’Donovan have individually built sterling reputations in the roots music world. This Americana super group – think of an Americana
version of Trio – are set to release a 7 inch May 8 via a collaboration by Sugar Hill Records and Yep Roc Records.

The record is produced Gary Paczosa (Alison Krauss, Dolly Parton) and will is a cover of John Hiatt’s “Crossing Muddy Waters,” featuring Watkins on fiddle, Jarosz on banjo and O’Donovan on guitar. The flip side offers an cappella version of Andy Stroud’s “Be My Husband.”

“One thing I’m really excited about in terms of this particular group of voices is that each individual has a lot more range than people might think,” O’Donovan said “it’s going to be fun experimenting with different dynamic and harmonic possibilities.”

Watkins, Jarosz and O’Donovan crossed paths many times throughout their careers, however, it was after an impromptu joint performance at the 2014 Telluride Bluegrass Festival that led the trio to the idea of a collaboration.

“I respect Sarah and Aoife’s instrumental and vocal musicianship so much,” Watkins said. “Writing, arranging, every time we play together we are learning how to be a supportive, explosive, good band. That’s very satisfying.”

The “I’m With Her Tour,” premiered during February’s Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow. Their performances are a culmination of the trio together as one band; sets include a mix of each other’s songs, cover songs and traditional songs. Watkins, Jarosz and O’Donovan visit Europe in April and May, with dates in Sweden, Spain and the UK. Later in May they kick off their North American dates with two nights at Wolf Trap as part of Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion and continue on to some of the US and Canada’s premiere music festivals.

“I’m really excited about this trio because we each do our own thing and we each do it differently, so I’m looking forward to discovering all of the unique possibilities that come with combining our individual voices,” Jarosz said.

Pre-order | Tour dates

Music Review: Andrew Combs – ‘All Theses Dreams”

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Andrew Combs - 'All Theses Dreams"

A young artist harkening to the past walks the tightrope between influence and imitation. On “all These Dreams” Andrew Combs has the balance of his extraordinary talent and songwriting chops to establish his troubadour bonafides and put to rest any calls of an acoustic derivative.

That song craft, production combined with Combs’ easy-going vocals on songs ‘Rainy Day Song’ and ‘Nothing to Lose’ feel lifted from the Jim Croce legacy of understated acoustic pop brilliance. This is not a knock. This is a daring, almost nuts, move where irony and beats glut the popular music landscape.

The self-conscious tension of ‘Foolin’ is countered by a spritely, soulful Doug Sahm-meets-Roy Orbison arrangement. The finger-picking intro to “Strange Birds’ gives way to a breezy shuffle in this song masking search for love akin to bird watching (complete with a whistle break.) ‘In The Name Of You’ is a velvet-gloved gut punch string-swelling confessional that would make Harry Nilsson crack a smile.

‘Slow Road To Jesus’ is a title-fitting waltz that follows the narrator down the hard path of trial, tribulation toward the path of deliverance. That path isn’t easy as ‘Bad Habits,” a yearning bluesy number, recount of worldly temptations that thwarts the best of intentions.

The path continues on ‘Suwanee,’ a song of distilled emotional and style directness in the style of Guy Clark, that sends an invitation of natural and spiritual beauty as waypoints pointing to paradise.

‘All Theses Dreams” has Andrew Combs panning for 70’s FM gold and teasing out three minute nuggets of pop-folk riches that reminds us that not all pop is soulless pyrite. Combs is working within a nostalgic framework and creating vibrant work. He knows what he’s doing, there’s a hunger for this kind of music.

Here’s hoping for a deep and bountiful creative vein.

Official Site | Buy

Record Store Day 2015 – Americana and Roots Music Picks

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Record Store Day, the annual celebration of local record stores for aficionados of the antiquated data storage device known as vinyl will be taking place as always on the Third Saturday in April. For 2015 that means Saturday, April 18.

The crew behind Record Store Day have been the driving force for 8 years on what we’re now seeing as the explosive, and surprising, resurgence of vinyl releases. The most public example of this is last year’s Record Store Day ambassador Jack White’s the recent sales of his latest ‘Lazaretto’ setting a record for first-week sales by moving 40,000 vinyl copies. This eclipsed the previous long-standing record of about 33,000 held by Pearl Jam’s ‘Vitalogy.’

As overall music sales continue to decline , vinyl sales increased to 6.1 million in 2013, up from 4.6 million the year before. By comparison, total vinyl sales failed to reach even one million units in 2007.

As vinyl grows in popularity there’s is pressure on vinyl manufacturers, who like us all were caught off-guard by the resurgence. But shops like United Record Pressing based in Nashville, TN, the shop responsible for manufacturing White’s best-seller are expanding to meet the growing demand.

The demand for vinyl is partially due to it’s described ‘warmer’ sound, BUt the real drive behind Record Store Day is uniqueness and scarcity. Maay of the releases come on colored vinyl or as picture discs and many of the releases are produced in very limited runs, some totaling no more than a few hundred.

This stands in direct contrast to digital music’s hemogeny of sound and structure. an MP3 might be convenient, but it’s never scarce or unique.

Check out the Americana and roots selections below and take a look at the full list. Get to your favorite indy record early on April 18 (I’ll be at Good Records in Dallas) and share those great finds with me on Instagram and Twitter.

Asleep At The Wheel (with Willie Nelson and The Blind Boys of Alabama) – Unreleased single from ‘Still The King: Celebrating The Music of Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys’
Format: 7″ Vinyl
Label: Bismeaux Records
Release type: RSD Limited Run / Regional Focus Release
More Info:
RSD Exclusive single featuring bonus Asleep at The Wheel performances with Willie Nelson and The Blind Boys of Alabama not included on the Still The King album. Signed by Ray Benson, and numbered.
TRACKLIST: “New Spanish Two Step”/”The Devil Ain’t Lazy”

Bob Dylan – ‘The Basement Tapes’
Format: 12″ Vinyl
Label: Other Peoples Music
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release
More Info: The Basement Tapes recorded in 1967 while Bob Dylan recuperated and features many Dylan songs that had appeared on bootleg records prior to the “official” release in 1975. The recording took place in Woodstock and features four members of the Hawks (Rick Danko, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel and Robbie Robertson – and one American, Levon Helm) better known today as The Band. Individually autographed and numbered by Garth Hudson.

Bob Dylan – ‘The Night We Called It A Day’
Format: 7″ Colored Vinyl
Label: Columbia
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release
More Info:
Limited Edition blue vinyl single featuring two songs from Bob Dylan’s newest release “Shadows In The Night”

Brandi Carlisle – special 7”
single of the new song “Wherever Is Your Heart” + B-side cover of Graham Nash’s “Simple Man”

Johnny Cash – Koncert v Praze (In Prague–Live)
Format: 12″ Colored Vinyl
Label: Legacy
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release
More Info:
Johnny Cash playing his greatest hits behind the Iron Curtain in 1983. Limited edition heavy weight vinyl release pressed on Soviet Red 180 gram vinyl.

Steve Earle & The Dukes – ‘Terraplane’
Format: 10″ Vinyl
Label: NEW WEST RECORDS
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release
More Info:
Steve Earle A-side version of Terraplane (a song not on the record) and a b-side of Robert Johnsons “Terraplane Blues”. Will be mastered at the level of Robert Johnson’s original recording. Most of the versions you hear today are remastered and the db’s are brought up. This one will be as close to the original 78 as possible. Includes download card.
TRACKLIST: A: Steve Earle “Terraplane” B: Robert Johnsons “Terraplane Blues”

Father John Misty – ‘I Love You, Honeybear’
Format: 7″ Colored Vinyl
Label: SUB POP
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release
More Info:
Father John Misty presents a lovely, acoustic version of the title track of his latest album, I Love You, Honeybear, along with a new, exclusive B-side, truthfully-entitled “Never Been a Woman,” on a colored-vinyl, heart-shaped 7”. This release is exclusive to Record Store Day, and it is limited to 5,700 copies worldwide. Includes download card.
TRACKLIST: “I Love You, Honeybear (Acoustic Version)”/”Never Been a Woman”
TRACKLIST: Side A: “The Night We Called It A Day” Side B: “Stay With Me”

Charlie Feathers – ‘Charlie Feathers’
Format: 10″ Vinyl
Label: Sundazed Music
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release
More Info:
Crazy, coveted rockabilly recordings from legendary wildman Charlie Feathers! Includes all eight of his King sides as originally issued in ‘56 & ‘57 – now rare and pricey 45s and 78s – with new notes from Colin Escott.
TRACKLIST: “One Hand Loose” / “Can’t Hardly Stand It” / “Bottle To The Baby” / “Everybody’s Lovin’ My Baby” / “Too Much Alike” / “When You Come Around”

Dom Flemons – ‘What Got Over’
Format: 10″ Vinyl
Label: Music Maker
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release
More Info:
10″ record with nine new tracks. “Included here on What Got Over, there are also a few alternatesto the main tracks I picked for Prospect Hill – versions in which I experimented with the sound and instrumentation but in the end they didn’t make the final cut. I sequenced this EP to be record two of two in conjunction with Prospect Hill. When you reach the end of this album you will have heard the whole Prospect Hill Omnibus! If you take both albums and make them into a playlist it will be a full hour of music.” – Dom Flemons
TRACKLIST: “Big Head Joe’s March”/”Milwaukee Blues”/”Clock On The Wall”/”Keep On Truckin'”/”Hot Chicken”/”Have I Stayed Away Too Long”/”Going Backward Up The Mountain”/”Til’ The Seas Run Dry”/”What Got Over”

Gram Parsons/Lemonheads – ‘Brass Buttons’
Format: 7″ Colored Vinyl
Label: Rhino
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release
More Info:
7″ 45 RPM Vinyl is Circle swatch splatter Bronze on Baby Pink. Part of Rhino’s now celebrated RSD exclusive Side By Side 7″ singles series. Two artists perform the same song. Surprising and unusual performances and repertoire.
TRACKLIST: “Brass Buttons”/”Brass Buttons”

Justin Townes Earle – ‘Live at Grimey’s’
Format: 10″ Vinyl
Label: Vagrant
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release
More Info:
TRACKLIST: Side A: Call Ya Momma, When the One You Love Loses Faith, Worried Bout the Weather, Single Mothers
Side B: Today and a Lonely Night, Burning Pictures, White Gar

Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band – ‘A Little Something From The Road, Vol. 1’
Format: 12″ Vinyl
Label: Concord
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release
More Info:
12″ vinyl featuring live smokin’ versions of classics from the recent Goin’ Home project as well as a couple extra blues nuggets.
TRACKLIST: 1. “Looking Back” 2. “House Is Rockin’” 3. “You Can’t Judge A Book By The Cover” 4. “Woke Up This Morning” 5. “You Done Lost Your Good Thing Now”

Robert Earl Keen – ‘Gringo Honeymoon’
Format: 12″ Vinyl
Label: Sugar Hill
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release
More Info:
Much anticipated vinyl issue of the Texas troubadour’s breakout 1994 release.

Lucero – ‘Jukebox Series #3’
Format: 7″ Vinyl
Label: Liberty & Lament
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release
More Info:
TRACKLIST: “Boom Boom”/”Midnight Special”

Mumford & Sons – ‘Believe’
Format: 7″ Vinyl
Label: Glassnote
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release
More Info:
Bootleg style 7″ hand numbered and hand stamped. First physical release of music from the upcoming album.
TRACKLIST: “Believe”/”The Wolf”

Willie Nelson – ‘Teatro’
Format: 2 x 12″ Colored Vinyl
Label: Modern Classics/Light in the Attic
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release
More Info:
* First time ever issued on vinyl for Record Store Day 2015
* Features duets with and backing vocals by Emmylou Harris
* Produced by Daniel Lanois (U2 Joshua Tree; Bob Dylan Time Out Of Mind; Emmylou Harris Wrecking Ball)
* Record Store Day exclusive featuring deluxe gatefold “tip-on” uncoated jacket and gold vinyl
* Limited to 5,000 copies

Location is everything. When Willie Nelson and album producer Daniel Lanois set out to create a cinematic-sounding album, Teatro, they took over a disused movie theatre in Oxnard, California, and pictured its dusty glory on the LP sleeve. Recorded as-live in situ amid the red velvet seats, Teatro sees Nelson working extensively with his frequent collaborator Emmylou Harris, who joins him for duets and on backing vocals on 11 of the 14 tracks. The other major player is U2 and Paul McCartney collaborator Daniel Lanois (producer of Bob Dylan’s Time Out of Mind, Emmylou Harris’ Wrecking Ball), who produces the album, plays guitar and bass, took the cover photo and wrote one of the album’s songs, “The Maker”, a stunning performance with glacier-thick vibe.

Originally released by Island Record in 1998, Teatro is issued here as a special Record Store Day release. LA and Seattle-based Light In The Attic present the album as it’s never been seen before – on vinyl. Pressed on gold vinyl with a deluxe, gatefold, ‘tip-on’ uncoated jacket, this is a chance to own this unique album in its most beautifully presented form.
TRACKLIST: Side A: “Ou Es-Tu, Mon Amour? (Where Are You, My Love?)”, “I Never Cared for You”, “Everywhere I Go”, “Darkness on the Face of the Earth”
Side B: “My Own Peculiar Way”, “These Lonely Nights”, “Home Motel”, “The Maker”
Side C: “I Just Can’t Let You Say Goodbye”, “I’ve Just Destroyed the World (I’m Living In)”, “Somebody Pick Up My Pieces”
Side D: “Three Days”, “I’ve Loved You All Over the World”, “Annie”

Okkervil River – ‘Sleep and Wake-Up Songs’
Format: 12″ Vinyl
Label: JAGJAGUWAR
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release
More Info:
Sleep and Wake-Up Songs is now being rereleased for Record Store Day, it’s first time pressed ever on vinyl. Including a demo of the EP track “You’re Untied Again” and the never before released song “Knocking Myself Out,” the EP reveals Okkervil River in-between the monumental albums Down The River of Golden Dreams and Black Sheep Boy. Band leader Will Sheff looked back to this EP, remarking, “I can hear in it somebody who is actually getting comfortable with singing, with playing the guitar, with letting music happen naturally.”
TRACKLIST: SIDE A: 1. A Favor 2. You’re Untied Again 3. And I Have Seen the World of Dreams 4. Just Give Me Time
SIDE B: 5. No Hidden Track 6. You’re Untied Again [Solo Sketch] 7. Knocking Myself Out [Home Recording]”

Reverend Horton Heat – ‘It’s A Rave-Up/Beer, Write This Song’
Format: 7″ Colored Vinyl
Label: Victory Records
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release
More Info:
Two brand new, previously unreleased tracks from Reverend Horton Heat on solid red 7″ vinyl with 150 randomly distributed clear pink copies.
TRACKLIST: “It’s A Rave-Up”/”Beer, Write This Song”

Simon & Garfunkel – ‘Homeward Bound/Leaves That Are Green’
Format: 7″ Vinyl
Label: Legacy
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release
More Info:
This collectible 7” 45rpm vinyl releases recreates the origina 1966 “Homeward Bound” single, pairing two essential Simon & Garfunkel cuts from that year: “Homeward Bound” (from Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme) and “Leaves That Are Green” (from Sounds of Silence). A Top 5 single in the US, “Homeward Bound” became a worldwide phenomenon reaching #4 in the Netherlands and #9 in the UK while going Top 20 in Australia and Sweden (where it hit #12). The cover for this RSD 2015 release is based on the German single artwork.

Dolly Parton – ‘The Grass is Blue’
Format: 12″ Vinyl
Label: Sugar Hill
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release
More Info:
Dolly’s seminal 1999 bluegrass debut, available for the first time on vinyl.
TRACKLIST: “Homeward Bound”/”Leaves That Are Green”

Todd Snider – ‘Impending Doom’
Format: 7″ Vinyl
Label: Aimless
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release
More Info:
The A-side of this RSD exclusive 7″ is a Rolling Stones cover, the B-side is an unreleased Todd Snider original.
TRACKLIST: “Shattered”/”Backlash”

st paul

St. Paul and the Broken Bones – Live From The Alabama Theatre
Format: 12″ Vinyl
Label: Single Lock
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release
More Info:
Covers of Sly and the Family Stone’s “Sing a Simple Song” and David Bowie’s “Moonage Daydream” recorded live at the Alabama Theatre on 11/14/14. Released on a 12″ transparent crimson record SHAPED LIKE THE STATE OF ALABAMA.
TRACKLIST: “Sing a Simple Song”/”Moonage Daydream”

Doc and Merle Watson – ‘Ballads from the Gap’
Format: 12″ Vinyl
Label: Vanguard
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release
More Info:
Fan-voted vinyl re-issue of the iconic release, re-mastered from the original tapes and presented in ‘exact replica’ packaging.

Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy & Broeder Dieleman – Split 7″
Format: 7″ Vinyl
Label: Snowstar Records
Release type: RSD Limited Run / Regional Focus Release
More Info:
Bonnie ‘prince’ Billy & Broeder Dieleman cover and translate each other, after having toured together in the Netherlands in 2014. Broeder Dieleman is from the south of the Netherlands, and sings in Dutch. He translated Bonnie prince Billy’s ‘Three Questions’, while Will Oldham does his (translated) take of ‘Gloria’
TRACKLIST: 1: Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – Gloria 2: Broeder Dieleman – Drie Vragen

Junior Brown – Better Call Saul: Theme 7″
Format: 7″ Vinyl
Label: SPACELAB9
Release type: RSD Limited Run / Regional Focus Release
More Info:
TRACKLIST: “Better Call Saul”/”Better Call Saul (Instrumental)”

Giant Sand – ‘Valley of Rain (30th Anniversary Edition)’
Format: 2 x 12″ Vinyl
Label: Fire America
Release type: RSD Limited Run / Regional Focus Release
More Info:
Marking the 30th anniversary since Giant Sand’s debut album “Valley of Rain,” Fire America brings you this limited edition 2xLP 30th Anniversary Edition. The first disc is the lovingly re-mastered “Valley of Rain” in its entirety, with the addition of the track “Torture of Love,” which was added by Howe Gelb himself. The second disc features extra material recorded as Giant Sand and the pre-Giant Sand line up “Giant Sandworms,” including a “Valley of Rain” remix, a “repaired” version of “Tumble and Tear” along with five fascinating bonus tracks compiled from live and radio recordings from the time period.
• Limited to 500 copies for North America
• Liner notes from Howe Gelb.
TRACKLIST: Disc One: 1. Valley Of Rain, 2. Tumble & Tear, 3. October Anywhere, 4. Barrio, 5. Death, Dying & Channel 5, 6. Torture Of Love, 7. Down On Town / Love’s No Answer, 8. Black Venetian Blind, 9. Curse Of A Thousand Flames, 10. Artists, 11. Man Of Want
Disc Two: 1. Valley Of Rain – Remixed Instrumental, 2. Tumble And Tear – Repaired, + Five bonus tracks

Lydia Loveless & Cory Brannan - 'Prince Covers Split Single'

Lydia Loveless & Cory Brannan – ‘Prince Covers Split Single’
Format: 7″ Colored Vinyl
Label: Bloodshot
Release type: RSD Limited Run / Regional Focus Release
More Info:
Two never before released tracks. Physical Only, Purple Vinyl
TRACKLIST: Lydia: “I Would Die For You” Cory: “Under The Cherry Moon”

Lee Ann Womack – ‘Trouble in Mind’
Format: 12″ Vinyl
Label: Sugar Hill Records
Release type: RSD Limited Run / Regional Focus Release
More Info:
a limited edition 3-Song 12” vinyl – blues classic “Trouble in Mind,” Roger Miller’s demi-obscure “Where Have All The Average People Gone?” and Ralph Stanley’s bluegrass gospel “I’ve Just Seen The Rock of Ages.”

Various Artists – ‘Music To Drink Beer To’
Format: 12″ Vinyl
Label: Legacy
Release type: RSD Limited Run / Regional Focus Release
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Music To Drink Beer To is a limited-edition compilation put together by longtime friends Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head and Adam Block of Sony Music’s Legacy Recordings. Sam, who’s in the beer business and a raging music geek, and Adam, who’s in the music business and a raging beer geek, sat down over a few beers and a stash of well worn vinyl and picked some of their favorite tracks.
TRACKLIST: 01. “Please, Mrs. Henry”/Bob Dylan & The Band, 02. “Fishin’ Blues”/Taj Mahal, 03. “I Put A Spell On You”/Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, 04. “Gimmie Danger”/Iggy And The Stooges, 05. “Whiskey Bottle”/Uncle Tupelo, 06. “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere”/The Byrds, 07. “What Good Can Drinking Do”/Janis Joplin, 08. “Mannish Boy”/Muddy Waters, 09. “Scuttle Buttin’”/Stevie Ray Vaughan And Double Trouble, 10. “Surrender”/Cheap Trick, 11. “Juicy Fruit”/Mtume, 12. “Electric Relaxation”/A Tribe Called Quest

The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band – ‘You Can’t Judge A Book…’
Format: 7″ Vinyl
Label: Daddy Kool Records
Release type: RSD Limited Run / Regional Focus Release
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The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band has been creating a whirlwind with their riveting and unconventional elixir of muscular and high voltage country blues capped by gritty growling vocals and striking finger picking. Inspired by the likes of Charley Patton, Furry Lewis and John Hurt, Reverend Peyton is steeped in the great blues tradition but is catapulting its roots into a new era.
TRACKLIST: “You Can’t Judge A Book By Looking At The Cover” B/W “Some These Days I’ll Be Gone”

Chris Stapleton – ‘IN STEREO’
Format: 10″ Vinyl
Label: Mercury Nashville
Release type: RSD Limited Run / Regional Focus Release
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TRACKLIST: “When the Stars Come Out” “Fire Away” “Tennessee Whiskey”

The Waterboys – ‘Puck’s Blues’
Format: 10″ Vinyl
Label: Harlequin & Clown
Release type: RSD Limited Run / Regional Focus Release
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Home demos and acoustic tracks recorded in advance of the new album.
TRACKLIST: A1-November Tale, A2-I Can See Elvis
B1-The Girl Who Slept ForScotland, B2- Destinies Entwined

The Mavericks – ‘Mono’
Format: 12″ Vinyl
Label: The Valory Music Company
Release type: ‘RSD First’ Release
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Early vinyl release for Record Store Day, includes digital download

John Prine – ‘September 78’
Format: 12″ Vinyl
Label: Oh Boy Records
Release type: ‘RSD First’ Release
More Info:
A live record of John playing with a full band. There are loud guitar solos, funky organ playing and a couple of unreleased covers that will really surprise some folks.

Various Artists – ‘Sawyer Sessions Vol 1’
Format: CD
Label: Yep Roc Records
Release type: ‘RSD First’ Release
More Info:
The Sawyer Sessions started simple enough: new town, new building, new vibe. When the Yep Roc Music Group moved to Hillsborough, North Carolina two years ago, they wanted to find a way to integrate themselves into the creative juices flowing just beneath the surface of this historic, southern town. Named after their nearly 100-year-old office building, The Sawyer Sessions are one part video series, one part mobile recording lab, one part way to introduce the music group to their neighbors. But instead of bringing by a pie, they bring a collection of artists with diverse backgrounds and styles – Grammy Award winners, noted international songwriters, all legendary performers. They drop them into to everyday life situations and record them at restaurants, galleries and private homes – the only rule is that it has to be within the roughly 4.3 square miles of their new hometown. This record documents the best of those first year of performances and serves as a “map” of Hillsborough, North Carolina. Limited Edition Record Store Day Exclusive with hand-drawn cover art.

Bruce Springsteen – ‘Nebraska’
Format: 12″ Vinyl
Label: Legacy
Release type: ‘RSD First’ Release
More Info:
• Newly remastered on LP!
• Packaged in faithful recreation of original LP sleeves.
• Remastered from the original source tapes
• 180-gram audiophile vinyl
TRACKLIST: “Nebraska”, “Atlantic City”, “Mansion On The Hill”, “Johnny 99”, “Highway Patrolman”, “State Trooper”, “Used Cars”, “Open All Night”, “My Father’s House”,”Reason To Believe”

Watch Out : Whitey Morgan’s – “Waitin’ ‘Round To Die” (Townes Van Zandt) [VIDEO]

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Whitey Morgan’s “Waitin’ ‘Round To Die”

It takes guts to cover Townes Van Zandt. A musician will fall short of the original can take comfort that though they get leads of cred for choosing the legendary songwriter.

“Waitin’ ‘Round To Die” is one of Van Zandt’s darkest songs in a discography brimming with melancholy. A nameless drifter recalls abusive from his father, abandonment of his mother, drug and alcohol abuse, fast women and then a stretch in prison. All leading to a husk of man waiting for his new companion, codeine, to take his wretched life.

This is not a tailgate party ditty.

Townes’ first wife, Fran Petters, stated in the Townes documentary, “Be Here to Love Me, that “Waiting ‘Round To Die” was the first song Van Zandt composed during their marriage in Houston, Texas. My favorite version of the song was done Van Zandt on the extraordinary documentary of 1970’s roots music, :Heartworn Highways.” Townes lays the song his Austin, Texas home picking his guitar picking in his signature style as his neighbor and friend Seymore Washington sits nearby. At one point during the performance 75 year old Washington begins to weep.

This is the power of music.

Where’s Townes original was spare and spacious, Whitey Morgan fills the space with a Ennio Morricone-style arrangement swirling around his his Southern-soul baritone.

Whitey Morgan’s “Waitin’ ‘Round To Die” from forthcoming ‘Sonic Ranch’ – May 19th

Jimmie Rodgers ‘The Father of Country Music’ Collection up for auction

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Jimmie Rodgers auction

Roots music history geeks, it’s time to break open those piggy banks.

Boston, MA based RR Auction will hold an auction offering a “diverse collection of material related to Rodgers’s life and musical career..”

The auction will total approximately 90 items, and will include letters, fabric (!), souvenir programs, newspaper clippings, and several signed and unsigned photos of the country music star and members of both the Rodgers and Bozeman families.

The jewel of the collection is a vintage matte-finish Victor Records publicity photo of Rodgers wearing a bowtie and boater hat, signed and inscribed in fountain pen, “To my dear little Aunt Dora, from your nephew with lots of love, Jimmie Rodgers.”

Additionally highlighted by a trio of handwritten letters:

The first, one page, dated October 12, 1913; letter to Uncle Tom, in full (spelling and grammar retained): “We are making a little money and having a good time to. I thing we will be in [Birmingham] Ala Saturday one time I hope all is well, tell all I said helo.”

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The second, one page, postmarked May 2, 1911; letter to Aunt Dora, in part: “You are well I hope. I will be down there during the fair, and I might stay up to the house sister and I are well how are you all and tell Talmage to write to me how is he. Well I will close I have got to eat supper at 6. Answer soon.”

The third, three pages, postmarked January 7, 1920; letter to Dora, in part: “I know I have been slow about writing to you but I have been going from place to place, and haven’t had time to write…and I am going to send your $10.00 dollars soon as I can possibly get it, but aunt Dora I have had to pawn my watch to get money to eat on. I have a very good job working between Delta Point La and Shreveport but having a hard time oh my…well aunt Dora I am going to stop, this train is running so blooming fast I cant hardly write as it is. Write me real soon and if you can spare $5.00 please send it to me.”

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Of additional note is a pair of scarce signed books from Rodger’s childhood. A copy of Goodrich’s New First School Reader (1864) and The Elementary Spelling-Book (1841), respectively signed on the inside of the front (Goodrich) and back (Elementary) covers in black ink, “Jimmie Rodgers.” Each book is individually presented in a picture box with nameplates affixed to the viewing glass and soft lining to the interior.

Also included in the treasures are a yellow crocheted bookmark, patch of red, white, and blue quilt, and red and white polka-dotted bandana; the latter of which was personally-owned and –worn by Jimmie Rodgers. Accompanied by a handwritten letter of provenance for the bandana from Anne Shine Landrum, Rodgers’s second cousin and is dated March 1, 2001.

The remainder of the lot includes a Jimmie Rodgers and Swain’s Hollywood Follies tour card, newspaper clippings, a pair of commemorative hats, a photo album which features approximately 45 personal images of family and friends, including legendary artists like Johnny Cash and Ernest Tubb; a VHS tape of The Singing Brakeman, Rodgers’s only film appearance; various Bozeman and Rodgers family correspondence and photos, including a wonderful cabinet photo of Jimmie and his two brothers, Walter and Talmage; and three portfolios that contain numerous letters, postcards, photographs, and a collection of six concert programs, including a Hank Williams Memorial show in Montgomery, Alabama, on September 20–21, 1954, and a Jimmie Rodgers Memorial Festival in Meridian, Mississippi, on May 19–26, 1990.

“This incredible collection of Rodgers memorabilia and intimate family keepsakes would make for a unique and instant focal point in any country music collection,” said Bobby Livingston, Executive at RR Auction.

Online bidding for the Hollywood Lifetime Collection Auction from RR Auction begins Thursday, March 12 – Wednesday, March 18, followed by a live auction on Thursday March 19, in Cambridge, MA, beginning at 1:00PM Eastern. More details can be found online at www.rrauction.com.