Elvis Presley – Gentle On My Mind ( buy ) I just love this gurglin' cracklin' cauldron of Elvis Presley covering Glen Campbell covering John Hartford. It comes from Elvis Presley's late 1960's Memphis comeback. Good stuff!
Larry Jon Wilson - Ohoopee River Bottomland ( buy ) Just got the sad news that undeservedly obscure country singer Larry Jon Wilson has died, aged 69. You may remember his soulful baritone from that great documentary called Heartworn Highways . Albums as New Beginnings (´75) and Let Me Sing My Song For You (´76) are probably his best, but his eponymous ´08 comeback blew me away as well. Miss him.
S. Piliso & His Super Seven - Kuya Hanjwa ( buy ) Time for some South African sounds now, because the footy World Cup finally starts there today. And also because Kuya Hanjwa is such an infectuous instrumental of course. Jive and score!
Sadies - The Double Wide [ CD ] [ MP3 ] A hoppier, more full-bodied Sadies post is fermenting at the Adios Lounge, so for now let's take a brief spin in the hot rod. "The Double Wide" comes from Tales Of The Rat Fink , their all-instrumental soundtrack/score to the Ed "Big Daddy" Roth documentary of the same name. The song brilliantly showcases their twang 'n' roll versatility ... think Link Wray with a side order of Cramps ... particularly the underrated drumming of Mike Belitsky. The Sadies will be in Los [...]
The Byrds - Wasn't Born To Follow [ Amazon ] [ eMusic ] "There are moments that I've had some real brilliance, you know. But I think they are moments. And sometimes, in a career, moments are enough. I never felt I played the great part. I never felt that I directed the great movie. And I can't say that it's anybody's fault but my own ... I am just a middle-class farm boy from Dodge City and my grandparents were wheat farmers. I thought painting, acting, directing and photography was all part of being [...]
Kevin Coyne - Amsterdam ( buy ) Ready for a song situated in the fair town where I was born? Quirky Englishman Kevin Coyne, blessed with a voice like a razorblade, finds himself down and out in the city of canals and coffee shops. The fair damsels in the red light district won´t give him a friendly smile, it´s miserably hot in the Melkweg club, and here he is riding a bike on the cobblestones, without that prized ticket for a plane home. "Honey, honey, where are you? Just can't take [...]
Tom T. Hall – I Flew Over Our House Last Night ( buy ) Today is Tom T. Hall's 74th birthday. I think he's a genius songwriter. This is one of my favorites. So close and yet so far away So wrong and yet so right I flew over our house last night...
Swamp Dogg - Synthetic World ( buy ) Fresh from a stint on the bayou, the Dogg is back in so-called civilization and he can´t believe his eyes facing the plastic world we´re all living in. Out of place with just one face, his patience is understandably growing thin. This ain´t country, it´s Soul with a capital S. "Houses are paper but folks don´t hear a word you say, Friendship´s like acid, it burns as it slides away..."
Dave Van Ronk - That Will Never Happen No More (live at Newport festival, 1963) ( buy ) Here's a great song recorded at Newport'63 by Dave Van Ronk. The song was recorded in the twenties by the great Blind Blake. The classical story of a bender gone bad ("I woke up in an empty bed, my pockets was empty and a pain in my head"), it features good guitar playing in a Piedmont ragtime style. After the American Folk Blues Festival (see my previous post), I had to [...]
Johnnie & Jack: For Old Times Sake ( buy ) At their first recording session, way back in ´49, obscure brother-in-law country duo Johnny & Jack used one of the oldest clichés in the book of breaking up: "for old times sake we´ll still be friends". But they sure did it in fine style, with Dorris Paul Warren shining on fiddle. "Keep the bitterness out of your heart, cry the tears from your eyes, smile for me as you used to do, for old times sake as we say goodbye..."
Bill Monroe - It´s Mighty Dark To Travel ( buy ) Let´s hear it for Bill Monroe (1911-1996), master mandolin player and father of bluegrass music. A true original, he was one of a select group of performers to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Since you ask: Jimmie Rodgers, Bob Wills, Hank Williams, and Johnny Cash were the others. The fine It´s Mighty Dark To Travel , a Monroe composition [...]
John Hartford - Where The Old Red River Flows ( buy ) What do you do if you want to record a great old Jimmie Davis tune that's unfortunately marred by a racially insensitive lyric? Answer: hippies!
Brownie McGhee - Crying At The Station ( buy ) This album, the first in the American Folk Blues Festival series, is in my father's collection. He probably bought it in the sixties. It's an old favorite of mine. The festival was essential for bringing the blues to European audiences. In the first year, 1962, it featured John Lee Hooker, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, Willie Dixon (who had served as a talent scout for the German producers of the festival), T-Bone Walker or Memphis Slim. In the audience [...]
Karen Dalton: Something On Your Mind ( buy ) It´s always time for a very special voice, and sweet mother K.D. sure had one. Bobby Notkoff plays that exquisite violin. "Well, you know, you can't make it without ever even trying... and something's on your mind, isn't it... tell the truth now, isn't it..."
Pleasure Seekers - What A Way To Die ( buy ) "When I start my drinking, my baby throws a fit, so I just blitz him outta my mind with seventeen bottles of Schlitz..." Any garage lovers out there? Then you´re in luck, as the all-girl Pleasure Seekers take no prisoners in this furious sixties rave-up from the Motor City. And yes, that thirsty lady on bass and enthusiastic vocals really is future glam star Suzi Quatro...
Tony Joe White - Homemade Ice Cream ( buy ) If you want to hear the living definition of "laid back", just listen to this. Compared to him, JJ Cale would sound like an epileptic. I strongly recommend this album to any fan of Creedence, Elvis or Lightnin' Hopkins. A record that fits so well with the return of the warm sun here. All you want to do is lay in your front porch with a cold beer, a rocking chair and this music. To me, Tony Joe White (especially on [...]
Sandy Denny: For Shame Of Doing Wrong ( buy ) Today in 1978, Alexandra Elene Maclean Denny died, just a little over a month after she fell down a staircase in her parents´ home in Cornwall, England. Sandy was just 31 years old. Without her haunting golden voice, British folkrock would never be quite the same again. Her solo output, as well as her work with Fairport Convention and Fotheringay, has stood the test of time remarkably well. Just turn up your lamp and let her in.
Lonnie Johnson - Jet Black Blues ( buy ) That dumb cloud of Icelandic volcanic ash hanging over northern Europe is keeping a certain someone away from me at the moment. Gives me a bad case of the blues. So here´s the mighty Lonnie Johnson, who recorded this gem back in 1929 under the name of Blind Willie Dunn's Gin Bottle Four. Featuring King Oliver on cornet, and a melancholic Hoagy Carmichael singing scat near the end.
Henri Salvador aka Henry Cording - Rock'n'Roll-mops ( buy ) In may 1956 composer and bandleader Michel Legrand comes home from New York with a few rock 'n' roll records in his suitcase. He plays them to Boris Vian and Henri Salvador. In one afternoon they write 4 rock 'n' roll songs, that Salvador will record in june with Legrand and his musicians. Like most jazzmen and jazz lovers, Vian and Salvador didn't think too much of rock 'n' roll. So their songs are more a parody than a tribute, but they [...]
Jean Wells: Sit Down And Cry ( buy ) "No one could have warned me, that you would scar me, and hurt me so bad..." Aretha Franklin sang a fine version of this soul scorcher on her 1970 album This Girl´s In Love With You , but the original by Jean Wells remains the real deal alright. You can´t go wrong picking up the killer compilation pictured above.
Groover's Paradise
The Shins: “September” (b-side of “Simple Song” 7”)
St. Vincent - 'Cheerleader'
Jay-Z & Kanye West - Ni**as In Paris (Explicit)
OK Go - Needing/Getting - Official Video
M.I.A. - Bad Girls (Official Video)
Lana Del Rey - Without You (Kill Paris Remix) [Dubstep]
Miike Snow - “Paddling Out” Jacques Lu Cont Remix (MP3 Stream)
Iron & Wine and Patty Griffin
Download: James Blake Live Album (Unofficial)
Circo Voador anuncia shows de The Kooks, Foster The People, Friendly Fires, Gogol Bordello e mais
