Lucinda Williams has released a politically-charged, digital only, four-song Live EP titled Lu in 08. The EP features three covers and one Williams original. The tracks will be Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth,” Bob Dylan’s “Masters Of War,” Thievery Corporation/Flaming Lips collaboration “Marching The Hate Machines” and the unreleased “Bone Of Contention.” The three covers were recorded live in Greensboro, NC in September 2007 and “Bone Of Contention” in Milwaukee, WI of July 2008.
LU IN ‘08 follows on the heels ofLucinda’s critically-acclaimed new album LITTLE HONEY.
LU IN ‘08
Digital-only
10/28/08
Musicians Vocals & Acoustic Guitar – Lucinda Williams
Electric Guitar – Doug Pettibone, Chet Lyster
Bass – David Sutton
Drums – Butch Norton
Posted in Artists, mp3, Video on October 30, 2008 by takecountryback
“We Can’t Make It Here” (LIVE)
Just before the 2004 Presidential Election, James McMurtry gave away a free download of his state of the union anthem, “We Can’t Make It Here.” The song struck a chord with the public and went on to win Song of the Year at the Americana Music Honors and Awards. Author Stephen King described it as the “best American protest song since ‘Masters of War'” in his Entertainment Weekly column. On the brink of the 2008 election, McMurtry is giving away a previously unreleased live version of “We Can’t Make It Here” from his 2008 concert at Southpaw in Brooklyn, NY.
Posted in Artists, News on October 24, 2008 by takecountryback
For the past several months, Hidden Beach has been working diligently with Obama for America to accomplish something never done in the history of a presidential election — to release an official campaign compilation.
We are proud to present “Yes We Can: Voices Of A Grassroots Movement”.
Yes We Can: Voices of a Grassroots Movement is a moving musical tribute featuring the inspirational speeches of Senator Obama interwoven into music created by today’s top artists including Sheryl Crow, John Mayer, Kanye West, Stevie Wonder, Jackson Browne, John Legend, Lionel Richie, Jill Scott, Los Lonely Boys, Bebe Winans, Yolanda Adams and many more.
In a collection as diverse as the campaign, these artists have captured the spirit, themes and ideals at the core of this historic movement for change.
Patty Loveless, a traditional country singer, operates outside the system. It allows her to talk openly.
“It’s becoming more pop,” Loveless, 51, said about country, a genre many think has left the dusty back roads for good.
“I don’t want to see country music lose its identity. And that is the music I came up with.
“I just don’t want to see the youth of today or tomorrow not to be able to experience the music of the past. It’s their heritage.”
At least Loveless, who in early September released “Souless Nights,” a record steeped in country soul, is doing her part. She will perform two shows Saturday at the Newberry Opera House.
Country music was a large part of Loveless’ family life growing up in Kentucky. Her brother’s collection of 45s included Webb Pierce and George Jones.
While her mother did housework, they would listen to the radio together.
“She used to love to mop the floors — well, she didn’t love to — but she loved to listen to the Opry,” Loveless said. “We’d listen to the Opry while I was watching her mop the floors.”
And her father was a fan of bluegrass performers such as Molly O’Day, Bill Monroe and The Stanley Brothers, singers Loveless would draw on for a career lane change.
“I understand why (my dad) loved them so much,” she said. “There’s so much soul within those records.”
It always goes back to soul with Loveless, so this question had to be asked: Has country music lost its soul?
“I think (Nashville labels and country performers) were trying to attract a lot of the younger audience, for the fact that a lot of our audience from the ’80s and ’90s were getting older,” Loveless said.
“The labels were trying to put out what works.”
What works is country with a side of pop, more glitz and glamour than vocal strength.
In the early ’90s, Loveless was a hit-making singer. Albums such as “Only What I Feel,” “When Fallen Angels Fly” and “The Trouble With Truth” contained numerous radio hits, and 1994’s “When Angels Fly” won the CMA album of the year award.
Then singers like Loveless, who describes her sound as traditional country with an edge, were pushed aside for more bubbly voices like Faith Hill.
So in 2001, Loveless released “Mountain Soul,” a gorgeous and pastoral bluegrass record.
“Maybe it was fate, because growing up with my dad and listening to that music, I absorbed it all,” she said.
“Once we played Ralph’s festival (that would be Ralph Stanley of The Stanley Brothers), we had to get it out of our system.”
Rubies are the traditional gift for couples celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary, the gemstone symbolizing the eternal flame that binds them together. When Taj Mahal celebrated the 40th anniversary of his self-titled 1967 debut, he wasn’t fixated on precious stones, but he wanted to speak to the fire that has burned inside him since his first gigs fronting frat band the Electras in 1961. “I never did anything for the 10th, 20th, or the 30th anniversary, and here we are at the 40th anniversary of my first record,” the 66-year-old blues and roots music legend says. “I thought it was time to look back on what we’ve done and bring some friends along for the ride.
The ride is Maestro, a diverse 12-track set of soul, blues, reggae, rock, and funk released last month that reflects the East Bay resident’s insatiable appetite for musical discovery. Born Henry Saint Clair Fredericks to a jazz pianist father of Caribbean heritage and a schoolteacher mother from the Deep South, Mahal was introduced early to the popular music of the ’50s as well as a healthy dose of artists from the Mississippi Delta, Latin America, Hawaii, Africa, and the Caribbean. “My father and his parents were proud of their roots and wanted me to be aware of my connection to Africa,” he remembers.
In the same way that the music on Maestro speaks to Mahal’s history, its guests were familiar names from his nearly half-century in music. The Phantom Blues Band, the group he fronted for his two Grammy-winning records (Señor Blues in 1997 and Shoutin’ in Key in 2000) return for four tracks, while long-time friends Los Lobos and daughter Deva Mahal back him on reggae duet “Never Let You Go” and Lou Willie Turner’s “TV Mama.” Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers guest on “Black Man, Brown Man,” marking the third generation of Marleys Mahal has worked with, dating back to Bob Marley’s appearance on 1974’s Mo’ Roots. “Everybody on this record — people who played, people handling production, everyone — at one time or another has talked to me about doing something together,” Mahal says.
Maestro kicks off with “Scratch My Back,” a tribute of sorts to Otis Redding, one of Mahal’s earliest influences. After graduating from college in 1964, Mahal headed west for California, forming the Rising Sons with guitarist Ry Cooder and opening for Redding at the Whiskey A-Go-Go in Los Angeles. “Otis had these great big ballads like ‘Pain in My Heart’ and ‘Chained and Bound,'” Mahal recalls. “Nobody did ballads like Otis did ’em. I just hope I can interpret [his music] in a way that adds a little bit of me to the song.”
Although Maestro features Mahal’s takes on tunes by Redding, Fats Domino, Willie Dixon, and Lou Willie Turner (wife of Big Joe), it doesn’t come off as some decrepit covers record. “Strong Man Holler” and “Slow Drag” are quintessential Taj Mahal classics, while “Dust Me Down” is a dirty, chugging rocker written by Ben Harper, whom Mahal first met in the ’80s through Harper’s grandparents, who own the Folk Music Center and Museum in Claremont. “When [Harper] first came on the scene, folks assumed because he was a black guy that played guitar that he had to be into the blues,” Mahal says. “But Ben branched out and done his own thing. It’s not that he doesn’t love the blues, but he’s curious about other music too. He reminds me a lot of myself when I was his age.”
Veterans Day: The Tom Russell Anthology will be out from Shout! Factory on October 28. The 2 disc set from the American Icon includes two previously unreleased songs and a 24 page booklet with photos and Russell’s art. Tom’s songs have been covered by the likes of Johnny Cash and Nancy Griffith.
is a 2-disc set produced by Tom Russell and Shout! Factory’s David McLees that includes a 24-page booklet featuring photos, Russell’s art, and an essay by Mike Regenstreif. Anthology contains 2 previously unreleased songs, “Dark Angel,” (acoustic version), and a new recording titled “Roll The Credits,” as well as songs from 19 of his albums including “Navajo Rug,” “Big Water,” with Iris Dement, “One And One” with Shawn Colvin, recorded about four years before her debut album, 4 songs co-written with Dave Alvin, and of course, “Veteran’s Day,” a song about an American POW once powerfully covered by Johnny Cash.Born in Los Angeles in 1953, the masterful songwriter now lives on the El Paso-Juarez border. Raised on the American West’s cowboy music, Russell’s musical style emerged as a mix of this as well as country, Tex-Mex and folk. Russell has recorded 25 albums and his songs have been covered by artists such as Johnny Cash, Nancy Griffith, Joe Ely, k.d. Lang, Suzy Bogguss, and Ramblin´ Jack Elliott. Tom Russell, who along with Dave Alvin was a pioneer of the Americana radio format, has received awards from ASCAP, CMA, and Folk Alliance, among others. Russell has appeared on “The Late Show With David Letterman” four times in the last few years. In addition to his songwriting career, Russell has lived a fascinating life. He has published three books, is an established painter, earned a Master´s Degree in Criminology from the University of California and taught school in Nigeria during the Biafran war.
Tour Dates
Tom Russell
Oct 27-31: Cowboy Train Dates throughout Canada w/ Ian Tyson, Eliza Gilkyson.
Nov 6-8: Heber City, UT (Cowboy Poetry Gathering) Nov 10-14: Song Train Dates throughout Canada w/ Joe Ely, Butch Hancock, Jimmie Dale Gilmore. Nov 28 – San Diego, CA – Acoustic Music Nov 29 – Santa Monica, CA – McCabes Nov 30 – Thousand Oaks, CA – Thousand Oaks Library Dec 1 – Visalia, CA – Maverick’s Dec 3 – Santa Ynez, CA – Tales From The Tavern Dec 4 – Monterey, CA – Monterey Live Dec 5 – Santa Cruz, CA – Don Quixote Dec 6 – Berkeley, CA – Freight And Salvage Dec 7 – Winters, CA – The Palms Dec 8 – Reno, NY – Great Basin Brewing Company Jan 28-29 – Elko, NV – Cowboy Poetry Gathering Feb 5 – Fort Worth, TX – McDavid Studio Feb 6 – Austin, TX – Cactus Café Feb 7 – Houston, TX – Mucky Duck
Track Listing
Disc One:
1. Joshua Tree (Tom Russell With Patricia Hardin) 2. Cropduster 3. One And One (Tom Russell With Shawn Colvin) 4. U.S. Steel (Tom Russell Band) 5. Home Before Dark (Tom Russell Band) 6. Navajo Rug 7. Veteran’s Day 8. Outbound Plane 9. Gallo Del Cielo (Tom Russell With Ian Tyson) 10. Haley’s Comet (Tom Russell Band) 11. Manzanar 12. Cleaning Windows (Barrence Whitfield With Tom Russell) 13. Tulare Dust/ Tearing The Labor Camps Down 14. The Rose Of San Joaquin 15. Out In California 16. St. Olav’s Gate (Tom Russell With Nancy Griffith) 17. Big Water (Tom Russell With Iris Dement) 18. Angel Of Lyon (Live) 19. Blue Wing (Live) (Tom Russell With Dave Alvin) 20. Beyond The Blues (Tom Russell With Jimmy Dale Gilmore)
Disc Two:
1. The Sky Above And The Mud Below 2. Throwin’ Horseshoes At The Moon (Tom Russell With Iris Dement) 3. Down The Rio Grande 4. California Snow 5. Touch Of Evil 6. Isaac Lewis 7. The Kid From Spavinaw 8. Tonight We Ride 9. Grapevine 10. Van Ronk 11. The Pugilist At 59 12. Ash Wednesday 13. Stealing Electricity 14. Who’s Gonna Build Your Wall? 15. The Death Of Jimmy Martin 16. Dark Angel (Acoustic Version Previously Unreleased) 17. Roll The Credits (New Recording)
Whatever one calls it — “folk punk,” “grunge-grass,” or “indie roots music” — the Avett Brothers’ sound is like none other. Since forming the band eight years ago, brothers Scott and Seth Avett, along with their friend Bob Crawford, have earned a reputation as one of alternative country music’s most versatile acts. The North Carolina-based trio’s latest full-length album is titled “Emotionalism.” You can catch them in performance at Greenville’s Peace Center Concert Hall on Saturday, Nov. 1.
Russell Hall: How did the evolution occur from playing standard rock and roll to playing the style of music you play today?
Seth Avett: It was more or less a natural progression. Scott and I grew up hearing our Dad play country songs. When we were younger we bucked against that a bit — and formed lots of rock bands — but eventually we started to realize how great a lot of American roots music is. There’s more rock and roll thrown into what we do now, but when we first formed the Avett Brothers we were just playing old-time country songs — Ramblin’ Jack Elliott and Jimmie Rodgers songs, things like that.
RH: Did the band go through a period of doing bluegrass standards as well?
SA: We did. We started out about eight years ago, and in the beginning we played some bluegrass songs, in addition to old-time country. It was a gradual process, where initially we played just one or two originals, whereas now we play all originals. We gradually replaced each cover with an original.
RH: You got the chance to spend some time with bluegrass legend Doc Watson when you were very young. Did that help set you on this path?
SA: That was a seminal experience. A good friend of my Dad had written a song about Doc’s son, Merle, who was killed in a tractor accident years ago. He sent the song to Doc, and Doc loved it, and they became fast friends. This friend, who’s since passed away, invited me to go with him when he went to visit Doc, when I was 14. I got to go to Doc’s house and hang out with him, and play his guitar and talk with him about music. That was a pivotal day for me, as far as my discovering American roots music.
RH: The Avett Brothers are known for their raucous live shows. Are there particular artists who’ve inspired the band’s approach to live performance?
SA: That would be Mike Patton, the singer for Faith No More. Everything Patton has been involved with has been done with artistic power and beauty, and with a serious air of professionalism. He has a way of getting lots of work done — he’s been part of a lot of projects — and any project you see him performing in is of a very high quality.
RH: Do you have any theories as to why roots music — and especially the type of music you play — creates such a communal vibe?
SA: This music is very “for the people.” It’s American roots music, and I think people readily connect to that. It’s very human. Folk music is called “folk” for a reason, in that it’s for the folks. The emotional content and the everyday content of the songs are easy to connect to, if you’ve experienced anything in life at all. There are songs about love, and about heartbreak, and about work — the things we all live with, and live through, and have to deal with.
Posted in Artists, YouTube on October 23, 2008 by takecountryback
Caroline Herring’s Lantana Reestablishes Singer as Preeminent Storyteller Austin Music Award Winner for “Best New Artist” Returns with Album that Re-images the Gothic South
Nashville, Tenn.—Caroline Herring confidently returns to the forefront of the American roots music scene with her new album Lantana, released March 4th, 2008 on Signature Sounds Records. The Mississippi-born, Atlanta-based singer/songwriter took the producing helm for the first time on the new record, co-producing with long-time collaborator Rich Brotherton (Robert Earl Keen).
Intimate, powerful and honest, Lantana is a masterpiece of understated intensity and in many ways an artistic re-birth for Herring. After making a name for herself in Mississippi as band member and co-founder of the now renowned Thacker Mountain Radio music series, Herring moved to Austin, TX. Herring quickly took the town by storm, releasing the critically acclaimed debut album, Twilight. She won “Best New Artist” at both the 2002 SXSW Austin Music Awards and also from the Austin American Statesman. Herring soon after released an equally impressive follow-up, Wellspring.
Though Herring had established herself as an authentic, original voice, Herring paused to focus on marriage and motherhood as she continued to tour and play festivals nationally and internationally. The insights she gained over these few years are profoundly apparent in the songs of Lantana. Herring’s songs represent the experiences of women who have not only faced the challenges inherent in a rural South childhood, but also the heartrending and often complex experiences of adult women who feel pressured to choose between tradition and career ambitions. The songs show that the results can be both awe-inspiring and sometimes even devastating.
“I just got to the point where I knew I had to write songs again,” Herring says of re-launching her career. “Music is my life-blood, even as the career of the singer/songwriter is most unusual, especially in the South where the jobs of women are often mother first, wife second. There’s a line in one of my songs about a woman who lives in a backroom and begins to disappear. I didn’t want that to be me.”
With a new batch of songs in hand, she returned to Austin to record Lantana with Rich Brotherton, who had produced Wellspring. The album is made up entirely of Herring originals, save her artful interpretation of two traditional songs. Because Herring had the chance to sit with the songs for a while, she developed clear ideas about the overall feel of the album. Lantana is clearly grounded in the acoustic traditional sounds of her early work. With Brotherton behind the soundboard, his and Herring’s collaboration made for a quiet masterpiece.
In many ways Lantana is Herring’s re-imaging of the Gothic South, with a rich alto voice that soothes the listener even as she addresses difficult subjects. Herring has a journalist’s eye for detail, a poet’s sense of scale and language, and a life-long Southerner’s understanding of the issues that shape the culture below the Mason Dixon line. Herring tackles poignant themes of womanhood in “Fair and Tender Ladies”, “Stone Cold World” and “Song For Fay.” Herring also expertly throws her hat in the ring of the long-standing murder ballad tradition, this time representing Susan Smith in the song “Paper Gown.” Herring’s commitment to uncovering the truth in her songs led fellow artist Dar Williams to call Herring “the elusive real thing.”
There is no artifice on Lantana. It’s an album full of delights, lyrically and musically. And just like Caroline Herring, her new album is the real thing.
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Praise for Caroline Herring:
“Caroline’s deep musical roots add resonance to the voice and songs of this gifted and good- hearted musician who already draws impressively from a coming of age in the deepest South. I just wanted to get her name out to all who are listening for the elusive “real thing”. – Dar Williams
“I think Caroline has a freshness in her voice. She has a fresh approach. She was coming up with a literary style in her songs and I encouraged her. It’s nice to hear a fresh new voice with new songs. There’s a lot of people out there with songs, I just think she has some of the good ones.” -Peter Rowan
“Mississippi’s dense history and the shackles of its past are vividly present in Herring’s songs. Characters come of age knowing something’s not in tune with their soul or conscience, but they can no more figure out where their own vices of race, class, gender, religion and politics came from than they can comprehend the roots of bigotry, social disdain or codes that keep women from realizing their potential.” -Craig Havighurst, Tennessean
“Caroline Herring sings folk songs with a country edge. Or maybe it’s the other way around. Either way, the gifted songwriter… knows her way around a tune. Her slightly honeyed twang, lilting and lovely, shapes the Southern slices of life that make up many of her story-songs.” – Joe Heim, Washington Post
“A Southern- music traditionalist with a soothing, twangy voice. Herring crafts songs with a decidingly red state slant. “Mistress” is quite spare, zeroing in on its authors vivid croon. like a lot of Herring’s work, it benefits from its intimacy.” – Jay Ruttenberg, Time Out New York, NYC
“Herring specializes in stark, quiet tales of rural strife and romantic insecurity, as well as the occasional character study, which isn’t surprising, given her master’s degree in Southern studies from Ole Miss. Her deft acoustic finger-picking underscores an easy charm, and her deep-voiced resonance brings a gravitas to her mostly straightforward lyrics, which might seem trite coming from a higher-pitched performer.” – Bob Ruggiero, Houston Press
“Combine Joan Baez’ stately vocal eloquence with Lucinda Williams’ distinctly Southern literary bent and Gillian Welch’s timeless Appalachian echoes and you’ve got singer-songwriter Caroline Herring’s captivating second album.” – Mike Thomas, Acoustic Guitar Magazine
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Veterans Day: The Tom Russell Anthology
Taking it Back to the Roots! 