This troubadour has released 10 songs that burst with tunes, sumptuous vocals and a variety of arrangements that defy them being easily placed in a genre. I’d say it’s a singer songwriter dalliance with lots of bright pop sensibilities. Bluhm says the recording “is a reflection of where I am at now in my life, which is contentment, a really fun place to be.” This assessment comes after many wearying years touring but now, she’s less peripatetic; this was recorded live in five days at her ranch just north of Nashville, hence the album title.
The timeless song selection might have graced a Linda Rondstadt album where a melody and a variety of styles were typical. Bay Laurel Leaves sits on shimmering strings with an earworm of a tune and talks of her current settled blissful state in Tennessee after earlier years in California. Long Time To Make Old Friends, a cover, is a modern upbeat blues redolent of Randy Newman, Cumberland Banks is an easy rolling country song with acoustic instruments inspired by her considerable touring with The Infamous Stringdusters. Falling Out Of Dreams is late period Fleetwood Mac in its bright rhythm and Stevie Nicks vocal with harmonies. Taking Chances is personal: an acoustic rhythm has her relating her time on the road and missing her own bed and friends at home. The melody grabs your attention and the chorus with lush harmonies make this a highlight.
Each song is a delight here and the delivery, arrangements are vibrant and energetic. Bluhm has a siren of a warm pleasing voice that draws you in with its personality, occasional sense of fun and range. Most of the song writes are a collaboration as is the playing throughout. She found the whole recording experience a joy and this vibe spills out into the music. A special mention must go to her partner, producer and bass player Noah Wilson who has done a terrific job.
Alison Brown and Steve Martin – Safe, Sensible and Sane
Banjo players, Brown and Martin, were enjoying playing and composing some songs and eventually had enough to make an album. They’d earlier worked together and had success with a couple of singles. The album’s an uplifting and tuneful affair expertly played and bursting with guest artists including Jackson Browne, Vince Gill, The Indigo Girls, Jason Mraz and Tim O’Brien. If the guest list is impressive then the backing musicians are top drawer; Stuart Duncan on fiddle lights up all the tracks as the rhythm thumps along underpinned by Todd Phillips’ bass.
Bluegrass is pure folk in its origins and there’s plenty of that here but Michael is pop with vocals from Aiofe O’Donovan and Sara Jarosz delivering a sweet and weaving duet. A video of the Brown and Martin playing at the famous Los Angeles Troubadour venue with Jackson Browne starts with an exchange that plays on their ages. Martin on entry turns to Browne and says “We have memories here, don’t we Jackson?”, Jackson, nonplussed replies “I don’t remember anything”. Turning to go Martin responds “Neither do I”. Martin, probably more widely known as a comedy actor, is 80 years old and Browne’s 77! Browne takes the vocal and sings of his life and his collection of a ‘box of memories’. A charming tale as Duncan’s wistful fiddle adds melancholy.
The single Bluegrass Radio sets off at a breathless lick and Martin humorously advises the incredulous listener about his improbable chart success in various States. Another single, 5 Days Out, 2 Days Back, with Tim O’Brien tells of life on the road as a musician where a young daughter waits patiently for his return. There’s also some near straight country on Wall Guitar (Since You said Goodbye), here Vince Gill wistfully sings of a departing lover and his solace with a guitar (off the wall.) The fiddle weaves some traditional country patterns if you had any doubts about the genre. Throughout the lyrics are contemporary with an absence the usual bluegrass ingredients; witches, murders and bodies dropped into deep wells. Nonetheless ancient celtic roots are never far away and the sweetest instrumental jam is between the ensemble and our own McGoldrick, McDrever and Doyle captivate with Evening Star.
I just felt an uncomplicated joy listening to this as it’s a consistent and beautiful excursion with bright fireworks of melodies all infused with a generally upbeat and affectionate vibe.
Legacy artists obviously still release records but, notably, Yearwood and her record label have invested an immense amount of effort into promotion, a tour, a torrent of social media and wider outlet coverage. This, I think, is due to her ambition and pride with this release. It’s a ‘record of letters to her former self’ and she’s co-written all the songs and joined in with the production. This is the first time she’s been actively involved as a songwriter. That change is due in part to her later life confidence and reassessment of her capability to write music.
After bestriding the 1990s as one of the major female country artists with a string of hit singles and chart topping albums then inevitably, despite continuing releases, her importance and profile waned as the sound moved on. Nevertheless, her importance has barely dimmed for many of her fanbase and her catalogue of timeless songs endures. To return with such an album of self penned creations was a risky affair compared to hiring the best songwriters in town and chucking in a duet with Shaboozey or Jelly Roll. There are some duets here but they complement rather than act as a crass promotional instrument.
Lyrically it’s familiar territory: the duet with Jim Lauderdale, The Shovel, is advice to a husband who misread his wife’s question for an opinion rather than just affirmation or dwelling too long on the tanned legs of a rival. The digging tool should be dropped rather than used for a deeper hole! With similar humour Hailey Whitters joins for Drunk Works to share the joy of imbibing despite the hangover. Both sounds are timeless and redolent of the 90s. This will delight the many who still reach for her CDs. A familiar theme of more mature female country artists is the promotion of a steely resolve that they’ve developed after years of marginalisation. Fearless These Days asserts her now loud and confident point of view where once it was hidden. Bringing The Angels is another declaration of assertion – “You’d better roll up your sleeves / ‘Cause you ‘bout to see the fighting side of me”. It comes with a full rock band and full throttle vocals. In fact the voice is still an instrument of power, beauty and expression.
After the adrenaline there’s a few songs where she turns down the volume and slows the pace. The Mirror shows the beauty of her voice with harmonies and a sing-along melody (it could be 1991…) and So Many Summers and Goodbye Cruel World go acoustic and she captivates and draws you in. Again the lyrics tell stories of a character’s life journey and their growing wisdom.
We hanker for a return to form for our favourite artists and want respect for the traditions of the genre. If you can allow the 90s to count as a golden age of country, as I can, then you’ll love this release.
James McMurtry – The Black Dog and the Wandering Boy
It’s four years since his last album and so when this dropped in the Inbox I was delighted. I’d include him in a list of top singer songwriter poets. His lyrics are often first person stories or pithy observations of the old, weak, downtrodden or deluded seemingly inhabiting the fly over States or fringes of the Union. The language is roughhewn with stinging yet honest depictions of his characters where even the good are often subsumed by their faults. These actors exist in plots where they seem to have little control or have probably ceased caring.
The title track needs explaining: it’s inspired by his late father’s dementia induced hallucinations and the album sleeve drawing is an old sketch he found. The dialogue, I take, is his father’s understanding of the here and now. Returning to a McMurtry theme there are songs where he paints a derisive view of bullies. Here the villains may be corporations, lawyers or his favourite bêtes noires, Republican politicians. Frankly, after Trump’s first term I became weary of 60 something artists seemingly entering therapy on vinyl and unloading their anger, but at least McMurtry, with craft and guile, places the listener in a plot and gently reveals his views rather than clumsily railing. Annie is an unusual lyric set in the aftermath of 9/11 where George W Bush gets portrayed as feckless and incapable of dealing with the situation. Sons of the Second Sons, as the titles suggests, is about the disinherited and disenfranchised who built America, fought its wars and provide the backbone that are, he asserts, the manifest strengths of the USA. Yet, they’re misled by flags and border walls.
If not finding villains he’s ruminating on the everyday such as the grind of touring. Sailing Away gives a snapshot of what he’s thinking as he stands on stage: “Tryin’ to remember, did I lock the front door? And have I any business bеin’ in this business anymore?” As he navigates his mid-sixties he dwells on ageing; South Texas Lawman tells about the demise of an old police officer who’s out of time with the modern world and current policing. His coping mechanism has been the bottle but we’re left with the lawman reaching the end of his tether and maybe his life.
If I’m painting a downbeat picture of McMurtry’s world then a contrast is the music. He’s brought back Don Dixon who helped produce his 1995 Where’d You Hide The Body? to freshen up his approach and it’s paid off. Tunes are aplenty with memorable choruses. Conventional rock sits tight and lively behind gruff and hard vocals that can carry a tune yet are most memorable for their conversational delivery where he inhabits the characters in the stories.
McMurtry seems a ‘take it or leave it’ kind of guy. He’s ploughed this furrow for decades and accumulated a wonderful catalogue of records that fans of, say, Dylan, Earle and Prine will own. Like these luminaries he can compile a lyric that stays with you as you continue to savour the couplets, character assassinations and their usually dysfunctional lives. I love the old curmudgeon and let’s hope it’s not another four years before he troubles my Inbox.
Carpenter’s name has been in circulation of late: touring and an album with Karine Polwart and Julie Fowlis, a US nationwide tour in the offing with Brandy Clark and now her 17th studio album released in June. For an artist into her seventh decade with a lifetime of accumulated awards there’s no slowing down or a desire to stop travelling. This album was recorded near Bath in Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios. She likes these shores.
Her gift for couplets and story telling remain intact and a hallmark that elevates her work. Over the 11 tracks there’s an acoustic vibe although the instrumentation is varied. The songs are reflective and personal about her life or imagined scenarios where she’s singing in the first person or observing at a distance. If you followed her during Covid you’ll have enjoyed her kitchen concerts on Instagram where she worked through her catalogue and fussed about her Golden Retriever, Angus. Girl and Her Dog revisits her current peacable and simple life at home and the constant presence of the mutt. This vocal, like the rest of the album is delivered with her warm and on occasion, slightly breathless intimacy. She seldom raises her voice but with the appearance of brass in The Saving Things she matches the loud backing and it’s a refreshing switch.
Bitter Ender starts with harmonica and immediately hits a groove. The song contains her best melody on the album. Lyrically it returns to a common theme throughout of loneliness, introspection, struggle and regret – ‘Once in a while the universe smiles / Lets you think that you’re in on the joke / The plans that you made /And the life that you craved /Now it’s all going up in smoke”. (The video is fabulous and worth a peek.) The Night We Never Met is a clever lyric that identifies scenes of love and companionship that never happened. The accompanying piano plays along to a rhythm created by brushes on the snare. Say It Anyway has a beautiful spaced piano accompaniment allows her lyric to appear as clear as an opening in a forest – “The storms of life will always toss us on their waves / Wherever there’s a lighthouse there’s a light that saves”.
Her legion of long time fans will be delighted and need to know that this is a continuation of her recent sounds, pace and melody. Fill your boots. However, I suppose I loved her 90s work more and some of the exuberance and feisty attitude that’s missing here ensured songs such as He Thinks He’ll Keep Her, I Feel Lucky andPassionate Kisses are still on my iPhone playlists. Her view nowadays seems to be via the rear view mirror rather than the windscreen. That aside class is permanent and this is a fine release.
(Anna and I have enjoyed taking in concerts when in the USA. The vibe is different and it’s often easier to see American acts that seldom appear in the UK. Ashley McBryde is a Grammy winner and major Country music artist, very much at the top of her game at the moment. We last saw her at Leeds University: this was a very different setting and certainly more of a party.)
McBryde continued her US nationwide tour after taking 30 days off to write and rehearse new songs. Despite this creative pause she said she’d missed being in front of a live audience. The rowdy folk of Helotes, a small suburb of San Antonio, and further afield made it clear they’d also missed her. It’s been an interesting month for her in other ways as her alma mater, Arkansas State University, awarded her an honorary doctorate in music which she collects in May. Dr. McBryde has an impressive ring to it.
Despite the time away to create new music McBryde worked her way through an existing catalogue bar one intriguing Don Henley cover, The Boys of Summer. This song felt so right on a sweltering evening where outdoors we sat in 27° and swigged our cold beer as everyone joined in the chorus. It’s plain to see she is loved: perfectly natural with the audience, comfortable with a band that you’d call her family and beaming throughout often interspersed with deprecating jokes and a genuine appreciation for us all turning out.
She covered songs from all her recent albums including the collaborative Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville. From this album we got the comical Brenda Put Your Bra On and on cue McBryde donned a special Texas flag variant that went down a storm.
The band is tight and over and above the guitars, drums and bass Wes Dorethy on fiddle and keys added some different colour and texture to the sound. Another stand out was the superb lead guitar of Matt Helmkamp. Inevitably, when individually introduced, the biggest cheer went up for the bassist, Caleb Hooper, a fellow Texan. As you might imagine Texans are proud of their State and its fellow countrymen. Dorethy, with his violin, stepped up to the front of the stage and McBryde introduced her latest hit, Ain’t Enough Cowboy Songs, by saying that she’d thought it was too country for radio (!) and nearly didn’t bother to release it as a single but lo and behold it had surprised and delighted her and her record label with massive streaming figures. Maybe this country music has a future?
There were the usual up tempo songs such as Rattlesnake Preacher, The Devil I Know, El Dorado, First Thing I Reach For and Whiskey and Country Music with some sonorous B3 organ. However, when the band took a brief break she played Girl Goin’ Nowhere: a true epiphany. When she got to the lyric “I hear the crowd / I look around / And I can’t find one empty chair” the crowd exploded. Pure magic. The slower songs seemed intimate and sentimental in this setting especially A Little Dive Bar in Dahlonega, Light On In The Kitchen and Sparrow. This gem is a long glance homewards with affection and gratitude to her parents and where her roots are firmly planted.
After 90 minutes the set was completed with Tired of Being Happy. You couldn’t disagree with her assessment of “where would country music be without a cheating song?” The open air venue was in a residential area and a 10.30pm finish may have been mandated and so no encore. It was a memorable and special experience and we trooped out past the $40 tour T shirts to Cliff Richard’s Devil Woman. From here we girded our loins to face the hectic San Antonio traffic back into the city.
Folk/roots musicians are getting more mainstream recognition of late. Billy Strings, Rhiannon Giddens and Molly Tuttle come to mind but Hull could easily join this pantheon. Her talent on the mandolin, with an attractive voice, has already garnered awards but she’s not prolific and this is her first album in five years. Here she’s written or co-written ten songs and co-produced this acoustic record as a self release. Often the decision to release an album independently is the artist’s only option but after decades on Rounder Records Hull wanted the freedom that route gave her.
On A Tip Toe High Wire she’s added tunes that aren’t solely from a pure roots tradition and it’s lifted the whole experience. The intricacy and deftness of bluegrass in the musicianship, however, has been maintained. The quality of the playing strikes you immediately and Hull has used her touring band in the studio. Their empathy and familiarity with each other are evident as the solos and arrangements seem organic to the structure. Let’s Go is as intricate as a piece of jazz with different paces and rhythms. Her vocals, back in the mix, enable you to focus on some sensational playing. Come Out Of My Blues is a positive lyric about seizing the day. It catches fire after her initial verse. Tim O’Brien (Hot Rize) helps out and the band cut a rug with some memorable fiddle from Avery Merritt.
From earlier in her recording career she attributes her growing confidence to lead a band to advice from Béla Fleck, who urged her to step forward. On E Tune, as one of her heroes and influences, he joins the band on banjo for this instrumental. Again a sophisticated rhythm grabs your attention and the drama builds as the song progresses. She’s a capable lyricist and takes inspiration from her family. Spitfire is a homage to her grandmother who’s triumphed through many adversities. Muddy Water is a beautiful ballad that reminds you, for its gossamer wing fragility, of Alison Krauss. It’s a sweet melody that her voice nails and its lyric of finding strength within ourselves, when the time comes, captures a sentiment of support and affection that runs through many of the compositions. Not least she brings her mandolin to the fore whilst Erik Caveney, on bass, anchors the whole piece. Similarly, Redbird is a cathartic melodic starburst that arrives toward the end of the album. I have to repeat myself and say that if you’re a fan of Alison Krauss this is another track you’ll love.
This release is very much a collaborative affair, which summarises Hull’s approach and I’ve found the whole album gives up more on repeated listens. It seems I have one for my end of year list already.
The nave was brightly lit in the 19th century East Yorkshire church where the duo delivered a beautiful set of 16 songs of American roots music dipping into country, folk and swing jazz. Ashley Campbell, the daughter of Glen Campbell, and Thor Jensen have been a duo since 2021. My awareness of Campbell came via a documentary (Glen Campbell:I’ll Be Me) about her father’s later life and his developing Alzheimer’s. It was an emotional roller coaster for those around him, not least of the joys, yet trials, of his touring with a failing memory. My other recollection of her came when she released 2020’s Something Lovely, a tuneful country folk release that was quite contemporary. Her sound, now, is very much of a talented acoustic guitar and banjo player singing less contemporary but more folk roots music. Jensen, in many ways her foil on the night, is a virtuoso guitarist with an attractive tenor who’s been immersed in the New York jazz scene yet plays several genres. Instrumentally they complement each other and their easy humour was a pleasure to hear as they talked about Yorkshire, the USA and Northern Ireland.
The latter place is where they recorded their debut album Turtle Cottage. It’s from here that most of the songs played on the night come from. Jensen’s slightly jaw dropping talent comes in his guitar playing. When not playing chords he picks with outstanding dexterity and subtlety; you can imagine him in full flight playing Django Reinhardt gypsy jazz. Turtle Cottage is just the pair of them playing and so the replication is complete here. Campbell’s voice is light, warm and intimate and the night starts with A Song By Vampires For Vampires that’s surprisingly a love song (!)
Two instrumentals are included that add to their credentials as great players (Edge Of The World and Exit Zero) but the whole set is usually the intertwining voices usually replete with harmonies. Perfectly Alright is a highlight of this. Goodbye Cowboy is the nearest we get to 60s country with some captivating Latin guitar picking that documents a sad parting. The audience of over 100, who’ve enjoyed the church having quite regular eclectic concerts including Bernard Butler, make an audible sigh of pleasure as Campbell starts to pick the opening notes of Gentle On My Mind. Whether said or not it seems a tribute to her father. Tank and Babe is an energetic romp about a relationship that failed despite the best of intentions. It has a Joni Mitchell Raised on Robbery vibe of breathless levity and neat couplets telling of the couples’ shortcomings.
Asking the audience, for the encore, whether they wanted a Tom Waits or Willie Nelson cover was only going to get one answer wasn’t it? Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain closes the evening and we shuffle out into the dark and dank evening warmed and having been entertained in the presence of this accomplished pair.
Isbell is a busy boy and seemingly peripatetic. Late 2024 saw him performing at the Democratic National Convention to nominate a US Presidential candidate. From here it was over to Europe for some gigs (including appearing in front of me in Stockton with his band, the 400 Unit, in late November.) Next year sees him embark on a long international solo tour including London and finishing in Australia. In October he spent five days in New York at the legendary Electric Lady Studio (Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Wonder, David Bowie, Adele and Taylor Swift) recording a solo album. You’d worry that the quality of his creative output would slip with his schedule but the needle is still well away from the red zone on the gauge judging by this release.
Isbell delivers eleven songs of heart torn melancholia and contemplation on a 1940 acoustic Mahogany D-17 Martin guitar. I’d grown used to him shredding his Telecasters or Gibsons with the 400 Unit and creating some epic, layered and dramatic rock: here it’s the voice and the tunes that attract your attention. Such is Isbell’s talent on an acoustic six string that when coupled to the arrangements he could have released these tracks as instrumentals and you’d still be engaged.
Lyrically there are first person conversations or reminisces that reflect a state of mind rather than tell you a complete story. After the ending of his marriage in 2023, to Amanda Shires, it’s not unnatural to think they influenced the work. Each song gives up more after several listens as you try and interpret the story. Some are plainer to understand such as Good While It Lasted, a love song drips regret or the chipper Don’t Be Tough that lists situations and how you should respond, usually with less judgement and more giving. Foxes In The Snow is another love song where both parties evaluate the other. Gravelweed offers probably the strongest tune with a sublime chorus but there isn’t a weak moment on the album musically.
I’ve long thought that Isbell is amongst the current family of Americana royalty. He’s received many awards and I feel, in his case, they’re well earned. As for many others I often feel other recipients are propelled to the podium by large record company budgets. This comfortably slips into his current canon and doesn’t push the envelope to new areas in terms of his established vocal delivery, lyrical naval gazing, types of tune and song structure. It’s a continuation but stripped back with less pyrotechnics. Outstanding.
Gosh, it’s time, slightly belatedly, to tell you about my best picks for 2024. As usual I received a steady flow of download MP3 files of country and americana music from Country Music People or from various US public relation companies who randomly sent their client’s music to me. Added to this was music I purchased, nearly all of it was from previous years and decades. In this category I mainly bought second hand or new vinyl plus a few CDs and the odd download. I don’t subscribe consistently to a streaming service: I just can’t get along with curating my music that way.
Frankly this all adds up to about 170 albums. That’s between 5 or 6 full days of sound. How do I listen to them all? No I haven’t yet! I will eventually get through them all and some won’t be worthy but I diligently try to listen to all I receive. I remember a phrase applied to an album was that it was a ‘grower’. Frankly I’m sure I’ve got many albums I’ve played only once and maybe with more listening i might have elevated their rating, but hey ho there are only so many hours in the day. So here is my flawed highlights of the year…
Silverada
Texan Mike Harmeier’s metamorphosis from Mike and the Moonpies’ straight country to the country rock/americana of Silverada was ‘light the blue touch paper’ moment for me. This combination of epic grooves, squally guitar solos and interesting stories with country tinges was completely my bag. Loved it all year.
2. Johnny Blue Skies – Passage du Desir
I was sceptical of the publicity that accompanied Sturgill Simpson’s release. However, this is a stellar release that made it worth the wait and his sojourn to Paris to find some wonderful tunes, rock vibes, muscular guitar playing and blue eyed soul was a great detour.
3. Heather Little – By Now
This singer songwriter release alighted in my inbox and I was captivated from the first play with the mellifluous vocals, fine arrangements and melodies. Apparently she’s a songwriter for others but she has all the talent to be the main act.
4. Maggie Rose – No One Gets Out Here Alive
After 100 appearances at The Grand Old Opry this Nashville stalwart has moved toward americana/soul; her voice is a siren and the album was so sumptuous and drenched in melodies that I couldn’t resist.
5. Beyoncé – Cowboy Carter
No, never a country album, however, all the fuss about it drove it into my orbit and I had a good listen. This icon really is steeped in many genres and this album illustrated many of them from a little line dancing to straight soul often with many beguiling stops in between. Truly a crafted opus.
6. 49 Winchester – Leavin’ This Holler
A tight country rock delight with excellent tunes and lyrics from mainman Isaac Gibson. He tells a variety of love songs and tales of life on the road. The band coalesce around his lead and make one of my most enjoyable listens this year.
7. William Alexander – The Singing Stockman
He makes a living moving cattle in New South Wales. Here, he picks up his guitar and beautifully sings Western. His simple arrangements place you in the middle of the Outback dealing with blistering temperatures, brutal hours and dreaming of weekends.
8. Glenn Campbell Duets – Ghost On The Canvas Sessions
One of Campbell’s last releases was reworked with inserted duets. The fine tunes, arrangements and production add to the pathos. He sings of his impending drift away and its impact on loved ones as Alzheimer’s takes him over. Brave and touching.
9. Billy Strings – Highway Prayers
Our Bill is now a major international draw with his complex and expert bluegrass. Who thought banjos, fiddles, mandolins and acoustic guitars could sell out stadiums? This high energy mix of finger frenzy and country tunes has considerable charm and stands clear of the pack.
10. English Teacher – This Could Be Texas
A Mercury Prize winner is usually a turn off as an uncommercial indulgence by those music critics who live on the fringe of anything interesting or remotely durable in appeal. However these winners made a complex and densely packed rock record that was worthy of slotting in beside Steely Dan, The Editors and Moloko. Something to explore and extract more pleasure from on each listen.
Nashville based singer songwriter, Liv Greene, possesses a siren of a voice that she puts to good use on introspective, sentimental and revealing songs; accompanying herself on acoustic guitar. Whilst still in her mid-twenties she’s created a career and been on a journey of discovery and developed growing confidence about herself, her sexuality and as a musician.
What we have here are ten tender melodies mainly about her feelings on romance and nascent relationships. In Deep Feeler she tells of her own emotional proclivities and the effect it can have on others. However, for all the interesting words it’s a stunning musical start. You’re introduced to her beautiful voice that can tug you in various directions depending on the story. She says she wanted to create an album that showed her as vulnerable in a sparse landscape. It’s certainly all that and whilst the acoustic instrumentation is light her voice is a seductive sound that you’ll want the opportunity to concentrate on.
The mood throughout is mainly reflective as she strums and the upright bass pulses behind her, however, on Katie the voice delivers the tune but some blue tinged picked notes show her musicality on six strings to give this real warmth and some sparse violin waits in the shadows to enhance the sweetness. Given she produced this then evident is a real talent, not least as an arranger. I’ve Got My Work To Do is straight country with a little electric guitar and it possesses a lot more verve. Here she’s joined by Sarah Jarosz on mandolin and harmony vocals. Jarosz is also found on You Were Never Mine,another song of angst with a chorus that delights.
This second album should provide a platform for her to get a bigger audience. There are many women singer songwriters over the last 50 years who’ve provided a template for Greene but Olive Klug, Jaimee Harris and Courtney Marie Andrews come to mind as talented contemporaries. I think we’ll be hearing a lot more of her and hopefully on our shores before too long.
A new record from Johnson is an exciting event, not least because it’s his first solo release in 14 years. He didn’t feel the need to record but the recent passing of Toby Keith brought home the fact that he wouldn’t hear any new music from his friend and maybe he should add to his own catalogue? He’s a staple of the country music scene despite his solo recording reticence and he’s regularly found on tribute albums (John Anderson and Johnny Cash) or duetting (Blackberry Smoke and Julie Roberts). He’s a ‘go to’ artist with a voice that places him alongside Chris Stapleton with his sauntering yet soulful baritone that exudes gravitas and presence.
The title track is the first indication that you’re in the presence of greatness. A rueful heartbreak song about a lover who’s moved on is on his mind as he drives into the night. A delicious chorus over an easy rhythm that places this somewhere a couple of decades back in sound. Johnson is never hurried and he considers and lives every word he sings.
A couple of the songs cover his current condition and state of mind. Sober is a slow and bluesy ballad with a lachrymose harmonica about his continuing battle for sobriety. I’m Tired of it All with Randy Houser is a classic touring showman’s weary assessment of his life and its waning attraction. With that emotion 21 Guns mines his own military experience: he was a US Marine for six years. The lyrics are beautiful and relate to a soldier’s funeral – “And there ain’t words to say / How proud we all are of you, son / Nothing says job well done / Like twenty-one guns”.
It’s not all downbeat and Saturday Night in New Orleans, a co-write with Chris Stapleton and Tony Joe White, is an atmospheric Southern swamp funk with words that paint a picture of debauchery as a trumpet wails. Doctor John would have been proud. Most of the songs are co-writes but Trudy is a Charlie Daniels cover and blissfully rolls like Little Feat. Some funky rhythm and brass accompany a complicated story about a card game and an importune accusation of the meanest man in Dallas of cheating. Needless to say he was not impressed and our hero now fears for his life.
Johnson exudes a certain insouciance with What You Answer To. It reflects on the names you get called. There’s a play on words with being called, whether on the phone or as a name. The answer to this variety of greetings is simply to respond to the name you accept.
For all his lack of records he tours regularly and can be found criss-crossing the USA but having new material is a boost. It’s good to have him back. Let’s not leave it so long next time?
With an album recorded at the beginning of the year Strings is back. In the interim he’s been touring and debuting the songs. A fan delight amongst comments on his social media is that they’re now recorded. His trajectory has been vertical. Widely feted by music or broadsheet media as a precocious talent; the narrative has been that he’d kicked his early years substance misuse and grew up with a taste for rock but whose heart lay in roots music after the influence of his stepfather. Always a major bluegrass act he’s now one that’s global.
We should treasure Strings for many reasons but not least because he’s made bluegrass an arena genre and brought it to many new ears. With so much pap filling the country charts and arenas it’s heartening, that with no compromises, he’s packing them in. He’s a musician who’s stretched the genre and popularised roots music with his rockstar vibe. This release, with its muscle car sleeve, is traditional roots music and throughout you are bathed in his acoustic mastery along with some other brilliant players in his band.
Strings wrote or co-wrote all 20 tracks and I’m pleased to see Thomm Jutz help out on three. The musicianship is peerless throughout with banjo (Billy Failing), bass (Royal Masat), mandolin (Jarrod Walker) and fiddle (Alex Hargreaves) keeping pace with his guitar pyrotechnics. Whilst faithful to bluegrass throughout there are a breadth of ideas and sounds within the genre. Three instrumentals sit with songs with his vocals that contain interesting lyrics whether a traditional dark and haunting bluegrass story about murder (My Alice), sad and happy love stories (Be Your Man, Don’t Be Calling Me (At 4AM) and Cabin Song), hell raising (Leadfoot) and smoking marijuana (MORBUD4ME and Catch and Release). On this latter song Strings tells of driving to a fishing spot whilst enjoying a smoke. Unfortunately, a State Trooper detains him by the side of the road and detects the dreaded weed. It’s all done with a Charlie Daniels’ comic tongue in cheek delivery à la Uneasy Rider.
Strings has a pleasing tenor voice and on occasion it’s a focus such as on Leaning on a Travellin’ Song that starts with just male harmony vocals over an acoustic guitar that delight or the sublime accapella Richard Petty (a dearly departed NASCAR racer) and Stratosphere Blues/I Believe In You where he slips from bluegrass to sophisticated folk. It’s maybe here that you detect the fingerprints of John Brion who co-produced the album with Strings. Seemingly Brion has no prior credentials in country or roots music yet has previously worked with singer songwriters such as Aimee Mann and Fiona Apple. An hour and a quarter of solid bluegrass might not be my chosen destination but this album is so sweet, jammed with melodies, phenomenal musicianship and enchanting vocals that I shall not complain as it sweeps up, royally, in the end of the year polls and awards.
For what is a fine album I must declare a disappointment. I’d long harboured the romantic notion that the band’s moniker came from the rifle of the same name. I’d envisaged an album sleeve like The Eagles’ Desperado classic with hirsute outlaws (creating havoc before presumably galloping into the sunset.) Hey-ho, it turns out to be Isaac Gibson’s early home address in Castlewood, Virginia. However, that’s the end of the disappointment as this is an important listen with Gibson’s voice and tunes being the draw.
The sound is the rockier end of country. However, it’s an organic sound with arrangements that include pedal steel and fiddle often with an acoustic foundation. There are no session musicians watching the clock here. The band are still young and originate from around Castlewood where Gibson started his musical career in school. The title track is about a break up and leaving the ‘Holler’. They’re the valleys of the Appalachians. Gibson unleashes his winsome and yearning baritone to tell us of his heartbreak and his need to flee. Maggie Antone duets and adds pleasing harmonies. Fast Asleep intriguingly employs the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, as you do! Someone knew a contact and they stepped up and contribute considerable beauty to what is actually a sad song about fractures in a relationship. Bus Shelton’s tasteful electric guitar solo is sublime.
Much to my pleasure some tinctures of Southern Rock creep in on the love song Rest of My Days where some brass also gets in on the act. Traveling Band, about the grind of following the white lines of the Interstate has the same feel, whereas Yearnin’ For You must be a future crowd pleaser as a delightful melody sits on top of a galloping two step rhythm. Anchor signs off the album. The orchestra returns as this slow burning track builds into something of a power ballad with Gibson seemingly being put through the wringer as he wrestles with internal strife. Truly epic.
It’s a very tight, together sound with quality arrangements from Stewart Myers. This is his second outing with the band and follows 2022’s Fortune Favors The Bold. The band have enjoyed a growing profile and fanbase with international touring. With Gibson’s song writing, his voice and this excellent band it seems that this release will only accelerate their fortunes. A 2024 highlight for me.
Juanita was an archetypal wannabee who arrived in Nashville with a guitar, dog and a head full of songs in her early twenties. She’s since been paying her dues by gigging around Music City as well as getting some higher profile support slots. The delight is that Juanita (a nom de plume) writes and sings traditional country music. Most of the compositions here are from her own pen. She’s talented but the album catches fire after teaming up with Mose Wilson, another traditional country music artist with his own career, to co-write a few of the songs and for him to play on and produce the album: it’s a superb partnership. I have to credit the other musicians on the album who elevate the whole affair, none more so than Jeff Taylor on piano. As records go this is all killer and no filler.
Fortune has a lilting pace where she mourns that fortune has left her and now she’s left with her mistakes in the tricky business of love. I especially love Jeff Taylor’s accordion and the vocal harmonies she creates with her own double tracking. If the lyrics are comfortingly predictable then Granny’s Cutlass Supreme shakes things up. Here grandma in a bikini (?) and martini keeps her Oldsmobile in a tip-top-tastic condition with polish and elbow grease. This nonsense enjoys a funky rhythm plus some gruff and deep vocals from Riley Downing (The Deslondes). There’s plenty of references to Honky Tonk in the lyrics and Honky Tonkin’ For Life – “When the music starts / I feel it in my heart / Singin’ is the life for me / I’m a honky tonk angel” reaffirms where her happy place is as the electric guitar picks, the pedal steel serenades as the snare keeps a steady beat with the bass. Certainly, this is one for a trip on to the hard wood floor.
We finish with the heartbreaker Blue Moon. Her voice, with a minimum of accompaniment, starts as a beautiful siren call as she laments that having thought she’d moved on from a lover she ends up melancholy with the appearance of the lunar vision. The song builds from an acoustic guitar and slow honky-tonk piano to strings. This is a heartening collection that encourages you to believe that along with other contemporary artists such as Sierra Ferrell, Brennan Leigh and Summer Dean there’s a female traditional country scene laying down a fine body of work to help us all keep the faith.
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