Category Archives: Texas

Kacey Musgraves Announces New Album ‘Pageant Material,’ Out June 23rd

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Kacey Musgraves 'Pageant Material,"

The wait is over Kacey Musgraves fans. A tweet from Musgraves official twitter feed has announced that her follow up to 2013’s major label, Grammy-winning debut ‘Same Trailer Different Park’ is entitled ”Pageant Material’ and it will be released from Mercury Nashville on June 23.

The cover suggests more wry observations from the heartland, with Kacy in profile with a tiara and a not-quite smile.

See the track list and hear the cut ‘Biscuits’ below.

Pre-Order ‘Pageant Material”

Track Listing:
1. High Time (KM, Luke Laird, Shane McAnally)
2. Dime Store Cowgirl (KM, Luke Laird, Shane McAnally)
3. Late To The Party (KM, Brandy Clark, Josh Osborne)
4. Pageant Material (KM, Luke Laird, Shane McAnally)
5. This Town (KM, Luke Laird, Brandy Clark)
6. Biscuits (KM, Shane McAnally, Brandy Clark)
7. Somebody To Love (KM, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne)
8. Miserable (KM, Josh Osborne, Brandy Clark)
9. Die Fun (KM, Luke Laird, Shane McAnally)
10. Family Is Family (KM, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne)
11. Good Ol’ Boys Club (KM, Luke Laird, Natalie Hemby)
12. Cup Of Tea (KM, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne)
13. Fine (KM, Ashley Arrison, Shane McAnally)

Listen Up! Jamie Lin Wilson – “Just Some Things” (featuring Wade Bowen)

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Jamie Lin Wilson Photographer: Ari Morales

The old adage goes that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Apart from their startlingly beautiful harmony the case of Texas’ country/folk quartet The Trishas might be the exception to the rule.

Last year Kelley Mickwee released her lovely ode to Memphis with her solo ‘You Used To Live Here.’ Now he have another release from Jamie Lin Wilson’s ‘Holidays & Wedding Rings.’ This follow up to her 2010 ‘Dirty Blonde Hair’ is firmly planted in Texas’ Hill Country in tone and in the impressive roster of some of Texas’ best songwriters – Jason Eady, Adam Hood, Mike Messick, Dani Flowers, Owen Temple and Wade Bowen. The latter who is co-writer with Wilson, and lends his vocals to, “Just Some Things.”

“Just Some Things” rides a waltz tempo perfectly timed to a flashing motel vacancy sign. Pedal steel softly wails as Wilson honeyed-timbre casts just the right shade of melancholy. Bowen counters with his weary baritone to fitfully complete this song of second-thoughts and near-misses.

The intimacy evoked is even more stunning considering that Wilson and Bowen had just started their songwriting collaboration and friendship.

“Wade and I were just barely friends when I asked him to write with me. I was happily surprised that he said yes. I had this line in my head “just some things you can’t take back”, and the idea of someone contemplating going down the wrong road. The idea to make it a duet was an afterthought, but I’m so glad we did. I think it takes the song to another place, where both characters have the same struggle. You know, maybe they’re married to each other and in different hotel rooms! The ALMOST cheatin’ song.”

Pre-oder ‘Holidays & Wedding Rings,’ out May 19.

Watch Out! Willie Nelson & Merle Haggard “It’s All Going To Pot” [VIDEO]

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Willie Nelson & Merle Haggard "It's All Going To Pot"

It’s no coincidence that Conan O’Brien’s official site held the premiered the new Willie Nelson & Merle Haggard video for “It’s All Going To Pot” on this day, 4/20. If you don’t get the title reference to this day I suggest you Google 4/20. i’ll wait…

Now that we’re up to speed, big horns kick off this uptempo ditty which plays the legendary pair’s reflection on the state of society and their choice of adult recreational activity. Recounting their days of drinking and popping pills and how it just doesn’t compare. And that whatever society and that ‘cacklehaed in the box” says, they’ll stay true to their Outlaw moniker to the end.

The cut can be found on the upcoming collaboration album ‘Django and Jimmie” to be released June 2nd. Pre-order it on Willie’s Official Online Store or Amazon.

Live Review: Chris Stapleton at City Tavern, Dallas TX – 4/16/2015

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Chris Stapleton at City Tavern

Chris Stapleton is someone who straddles,and thrives in, the stylistic and cultural divide between factions of contemporary country music.

He pens hit songs for the likes of Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, Dierks Bentley and Luke Bryan, whose version is up for for Song of the Year at this Sunday’s Academy of Country Music Awards. Though they are chart topping these songs are a cut above the bro-country radio fodder currently resulting from the Music Row songwriting sessions assembly line.

As a singer/songwriter his burly baritone gives testimony of a personal journeys that can hush a room or stir a crowd into a ruckus, as he does on this night.

Fresh from his television debut two nights’ before, making it onto the tightly restricted list of David Letterman’s musical guest before his retirement, Stapleton didn’t display airs as he
worked his craft on the road.

You’d be forgiven for overlooking Stapleton as just a member of the audience. Slightly unkempt hair and beard frame his unassuming features. His weathered straw cowboy hat sports a front feather splay emanating from a center turquoise stone. The kind of hat that could come from Johnny Paycheck’s closet.

Stapleton might have an ear for what makes a current country hit, but they’re built from an appreciation and deep understanding of style and stories manifested in classic 70’s country gold. A variety largely abandoned by Music Row in pursuit of money that enjoying a resurgence with artists with greater aspirations, like Sturgill Simpson, Whitey Morgan, Sarah Gayle Meech and Kelsey Waldon.

The Kentucky native resemble many of the crowd that break into hoots and hollers as he climbs on the small stage.

“Sounds like we’ve got some hillbillies here tonight.”

The band slowly build into the heart beat cadence of “Nobody to Blame,” from his anticipated “solo debut “Traveler.” It’s a swampy blue-collar mea-culpa of a man taking responsibility for a list of his wife’s retaliation in response to his unsaid transgressions.
This song is made even more poignant as his wife, the singer-songwriter Morgan Stapleton, sings harmony on the chorus his eyes locked with hers, where they remain most of the evening.

He payed tribute to Texas by performing songs from two of our state’s greatest performers; George Jones’ “Tennessee Whiskey” ( also on “Traveler.”) Stapleton’s version is a slower, more melancholy one showcasing his smooth croon and thrilling soaring vocals across the well-worn terrain of temptation, love and salvation.

A young woman requested from the front of the stage to hear the his version of Waylon Jenning’s “Amanda,” as it was her name as well. He graciously obliged , going off setlist to perform the song. The woman, now smiling and flushed, fanned her face as tears ran down her face.

Between shots of fan-bought whiskey (the sweetest kind) Stapleton also paid tribute to his Grammy-winning stint with the new-grass band The Steeldrivers by performing a revved up, honky-tonk version of “Drinkin’ Dark Whiskey” and the southern soul murder ballad ‘If It Hadn’t Been For Love.’ famously covered by Adel on the UK version of her album album ’21.’

Stapleton’s delivery of that , and all the songs tonight, make it easy to imagine what ran through Adel’s mind when she first heard that song. “That voice!” And she knows a thing or two about vocal range and texture.

The just repaired air conditioning makes it to the stage too late to bring comfort to Stapleton , who by the time he gets to the last song “Outlaw State of Mind,” his black, pearl snap shirt, was drenched through. ‘Outlaw…’ is a perfect sonic bookend to “Nobody to Blame.” It’s slow swampy build, and rebel-theme, build to a full-tilt bombast to send the grinning crowd into warm Texas night.

Set List:

Nobody to Blame
Traveller
Fire Away
Tennessee Whiskey (George Jones cover)
You Don’t Know How It Feels (Tom Petty cover)
Amanda (Waylon Jennings cover)
If It Hadn’t Been for Love
Drinkin’ Dark Whiskey
Whiskey and You
Outlaw State of Mind

Watch Out! Chris Stapleton: “Traveller” – David Letterman

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Chris Stapleton: "Traveller" - David Letterman

Chris Stapleton has worked behind the scenes of Music Row for quite some time. He’s written hits for mainstream artists like Luke Bryan, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley and Dierks Bentley. He’s also showed his melodic diversity by penning songs covered by Adele, Vince Gill and Sheryl Crow. He’s also up for Song of the Year at this Sunday’s Academy of Country Music Awards, for Luke Bryan’s “Drink a Beer.”

The man know his away around the craft to chart and to speak to the heart.

His first foray into the spotlight was as the lead singer and guitarist of the neo-bluegrass band The SteelDrivers from 2008–2010, where he was was nominated for three Grammy Awards as a member.

Chris Stapleton’s next act will be the release of his much anticipated debut “Traveler” (May 5th.) Not only will the album feature Stapleton’s tremendous talent but it will feature some of the best musicians going. If that weren’t enough for your hard earned dollar it’s notable that the album is produced by Dave Cobb, tha man at the boards for two recent stellar roots albums, Sturgill Simpson’s ‘Metamodern Sounds in Country Music’ and Jason Isbell’s ‘Southeastern.’

Last night, the singer-songwriter joined a long and prestigious list of country, Americana and roots musicins that have graced the stage of the Ed Sullivan Theater apperaing as a musical guest for the Late Show with David Letterman.

Stapleton performed the title song, wrapping his big Southern soul beautifully around his wife and collaborator Morgane’s accompaniment. Backed by a steady, smooth cadence by Derek Mixon on drums and JT Cure on bass, and, notably, the whining to and from of Robby Turner on pedal steel (To Letterman likening the the skill to flying a helicopter is probably not far off. )

It’s both sad and startling to hear this much soul and subtle beauty in country music.

Stapleton will open for Eric Church on April 30th in Boston. He will begin his solo tour tonight in Dallas and will perform at Good Records on April 18th for Record Store Day before continuing on tour.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YADQ6MhQuuU&feature=youtu.be

Sturgill Simpson – Billy Bob’s Texas – 4/3/2015

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Sturgill Simpson - Billy Bobs 4/3/2015

Billy Bob’s Texas was erected in 1981 in the heart of Ft. Worth’s historic Stockyards district to capitalize on the Urban Cowboy fad, booming at the time. This hyper commercialization of country music was due to the passable Texan impersonations by actors John Travolta and Debra Winger in the movie of the same name, and it’s best-selling soundtrack scooped up by people in love with the blue-collar atmosphere the movie mythologized.

This effort delivered millions of new country music fans (and boosted Stetson, Justin and Lone Star beer sales,) but not all was rosy. Many argued that the singular focus on chasing sales diminished the classicly “authentic” country sound.

This is not the first time the “losing authenticity ” argument had been leveled at Music Row. the same grievances are claimed against the current manifestation of commercial country radio known as bro-country.

Now, just as then, there is hope in this dark hour.

The Urban Cowboy craze laid the path to the reenergizing of the genre by artists like Steve Earle, Dwight Yoakam and led the way to alt,country a few years later. Bro-country has led to the same kind of galvanization and created a hunger for something more genuine and less contrived. There is an opportunity for those that can deliver.

Enter Sturgill Simpson. The singer/songwriter has been riding a storybook year of late night TV appearances, a Grammy nomination, an Americana Music Award for Emerging Artist if the Year (10 years into his career.) There have been critical accolades and brisk sales of an album with the unlikeliest of titles “Metamodern Sounds in Country Music.” On top of all this he inked a big label deal with Atlantic Records in January.

Not too shabby.

Not one to sit on his laurels Simpson booked a few Texas dates around his taping of the first episode of the Austin City Limits 41st season. Just a few months after his heralded sold-out at Club DaD he’s back in the metroplex. This stop is the “The Worlds Biggest Honky Tonk,”

The 6000 plus crowd (roughly 10 times that of DaDa for those keeping score) was a study in his growing and expansive demographic appeal. Bearded and tattooed hipsters, camoed rednecks , spangle-jeaned cowgirls, pro shop dandys and North Dallas socialites packed together to witness country music’s climbing star.

His name spread not due to carpet-bombing commercial radio play or a calculated, million dollar media roll out. His was a grassroots effort of pilled-up shirt-sleeves, dogged perseverance of the man, his band and his management team.

I’ve seen Simpson put on generally the same show for 6 people as he did for this crowd of 6 thousand and his appeal, and power, come from his creativity, but also his work ethic. He’s glade you showed up, but if you didn’t the show would go on at the highest level possible.

On this night that workman-like focus, and display of musical dexterity, was in full display. As Simpson delivered bratone blasts of his road weary lines from ‘Living The Dream’ as if describing his current state “Time and time again Lord I keep going through the motions – A means to an end but the ends don’t seem to meet – Walking around living the dream anytime I take the notion – Til the truth comes bubbling up so bittersweet.” This was the man’s life imitating the man’s art.

The setlist revolved around his two studio albums, Bluegrass standards from the Stanley Brothers as well as selections from Texas legend’s Lefty Frizell and his spiritual guide Waylon Jennings served up to woops of appreciation from us locals. It was striking how well Sturgill’s songs bent time and meshed with songs created decades earlier.

The most striking moment was when Sturgill performed his gut wrenching cover of ‘The Promise.’ It was the one time in the show that the chatty crowd focused and synched to sing and sway along to the torchy reimagined tune by 80’s pop band When In Rome.

The show was taut and free of filler and flash. His roughly 90-minute set stood in sharp contrast to the upcoming American Country Music Awards – the rhinestone hype-fest set to take place in a couple of weeks at Jerry Jone’s palace of excess, AT&T Cowboys Stadium.

How his growing popularity, and his inevitable shift into a structure accommodating the change in his professional stature, will affect his viewpoint, and ultimately his music, remains to be seen. But at this point his music, from the heart and the gut, resonants with a growing audience wary of shiny radio fads. There’s a hunger for authenticity and Simpson has shown, with his confessional lyrics, low-key stage presence, and his reluctance to be country music’s savior, is the man for the job.

Like the Outlaw movement he’s most often associated with his outsider status comes from a man living according to his own vision. It’s an imprecise and romantic notion, but that’s exactly why it’s so compelling.

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).

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

Record Store Day 2015 – Americana and Roots Music Picks

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130424-record-store-day

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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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• 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”

MUSIC REVIEW: James McMurtry – ‘Complicated Game’

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james-mcmurtry-COMPLICATED GAME

The thing with masters is that they appear to wield craft with such aplomb that they give the illusion of effortlessness.

Texas singer-songwriter James McMurtry’s newest album, ‘Complicated Game’ builds on 2005’s ‘Childish Things’ and 2008’s ‘Just Us Kids’ to give just such musical mirage. But songwriting practitioners will assure you, this is a skill not easily acquired. It’s God given, Devil dealt or sweat earned.

Take, for example the album’s opener “Copper Canteen.” Though the song uses themes that Music City gleefully throws into commercial radio wood-chipper in McMurtry’s deft hands this small town serenaide is a broken hope chest. Inside are hard times, splintering generations, love, faith and hope backdropping simple pleasures like fishing, hunting, churching – hell there’s even a truck. It’s a nuanced and vivid emotional diorama of steadfast independance and weary pride.

“You Got To Me” finds McMurtry winding between a fall wedding and a woman that got under his skin before deciding to vamoose leaving him with ‘…all this empty down on top of me.” But
instead of a shattering heart pining away he’s left wiser as he declares ‘But I know a thing or two now.”

The rambling banjo and drums of “Ain’t Got a Place” fits nicely in this updated, expansively Buddhist version of the old hymn “This World Is Not My Home.” The released single ‘How’m I Gonna Find You Now’ is a beat-driven truckstop stomper is laced with what I think is a psychedelic banjo arrangement. While listening to the frenetic style of the song I was reminded of the opening chapters of HUnter S. Thompson’s Gonzo masterpiece “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.” You can imagine the good Doctor screeching “Turn the goddam music up! My heart feels like an alligator!” while sucking on a pint of ether.

‘She Loves Me’ is where ‘Complicated Game’ get’s it’s title. A romantic triangle is rationalized by one of the right angels with trepidation and bravado against a wonderful doo-wop build up.

Given his lineage the literary comparison to McMurtry’s songs are lazy, but I’m a lazy bastard. ‘Complicated Game’ is a 12 song .38 magnum opus of narrative excursions of a fading heartland and road weary hearts.

Though his way with a rhyme is legendary McMurtry is no slouch on the guitar, but on ‘Complicated Game’ it’s noticeably subdued to strummed or picked acoustic or muted slide electric.
The inclusion of accordion, mandolin, banjo, piano and organ.

No list of great songwriters would be complete without McMurtry, but his skill of writing wry, empathetic songs of working-class life, while keeping his political cards close to his chest, is getting better where you thought there was no room for improvement. ‘Complicated Game’ is a great album that will last over years of listening. My money is it’ll improve where in those quiet, surprising places where there’s no room for improvement.

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