This Mornin' I Am Born AgainListen. Get Re-Born

i try to give every song i really enjoy a good listen and decide if it fits into one of my many playlist categories. The playlist i chose to pull from first is my ‘Bluesy’ collection. These aren’t all necessarily blues songs – they just have that guitar driven/minor chord/down & out feel:

1. mp3: The Black Crowes – Walk Believer Walk ~ buy Warpaint (2008)
2. mp3: The Black Keys – Lies ~ buy Attack & Release (2008)
3. mp3: Willie Nelson – Rainy Day Blues ~ buy Songbird (2006)
   If you consider yourself a fan of Willie Nelson and/or Ryan Adams, you should own this album. Almost entirely a ‘covers’ album produced by Ryan Adams, Songbird shows Willie’s versatility and ability to make any song his own. With The Cardinals as Willie’s backing band, the album takes on that grungy electric feel, but somehow still retains the charm of Mr. Nelson.
4. mp3: James Gang (Joe Walsh) – Funk No. 49 ~ buy Rides Again (1970)
5. mp3: Sam Cooke – Steal Away ~ buy Gosepl In My Soul (1977)

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On a related note – check out my sidebar ——————->
for diect links to other recurring post topics (New Digs, Cover/Uncovered, Artist Spotlight)

Friday. It feels good to be on time, and to have some tracks to post. If you read my album forecast, you know there were a few good ones that came out on Tuesday. Got most of ‘em (i had The Felice Brothers ship to where i’ll be next week). But today you get a little taste of everything – brand new tracks, old tracks that i just got, and even one new face:

mp3: The Black Crowes – Oh Josephine
~ buy Warpaint (2008)
i’ve always liked The Black Crowes, but never been a huge fan. I really like Warpaint after the first couple listens. There’s some classic Crowes bluesy sounds on it (Jospehine, Walk Believer Walk, Wounded Bird), but also, there’s a new, more acoustic/folk feel on some tracks (Locust Street, There’s Gold In Them Hills, Whoa Mule). Check it out.

mp3: Glen Hansard & Markéta Irglová – You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere (Bob Dylan)
~ buy I’m Not There (Soundtrack) (2007)
Haven’t seen their movie, Once, yet, but i’m impressed with this duo. Original, inventive sounds. Their cover of one of my favortite Dylan tunes is really well done. You can find their Oscar-winning original song Falling Slowly just about everywhere.

mp3: Jayber Crow – Eugene, Oregon (Manifest Destiny)
~ buy The Farmer and the Nomad [EP]
There was considerable interest in the first Jayber Crow song i posted, so i found some more. This song has a cool battle-march feel to it.

mp3: Patty Griffin – Chief
~ buy 1000 Kisses (2005)
i saw the video for this song a couple years ago, but i just bought 1000 Kisses the other day. i don’t think Patty Griffin puts out anything that isn’t stellar.

mp3: Nizlopi – Start Beginning
~ buy Make It Happen (2008)
Nizlopi is an acoustic duo (Luke Concannon and John Parker) from the UK. Haven’t heard a lot of their stuff, and some of it may be just a little too Hip-Hop for my taste (beat-boxing and electronics), but the big stand-up bass keeps it just folky enough for me.

enjoy responsibly….

Alright, so February is almost over, and i’m pumped. Beacause, starting in March, a flood of great albums are coming out. Seeing as i’m pretty new to this music journalism (hardly…) world, i don’t have any cool new friends on the inside to give me any exclusive news or tracks, but i’ve got a couple tricks up my sleeve. For some of these that are coming out a little further in the future, i’ll re-remind you, but here are the forthcoming album releases on my radar:

3.4.08 (Big Day)

The Black Crowes – Warpaint (Silver Arrow)

The first release from the soulful Black Crowes in 7 years is set for early March. 10 of the 11 tracks were written by Chris and Rich, and the album marks the debut for two new band members: guitarist Luther Dickinson and keyboardist Adam MacDougall.

tracklist:
1. Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution
2. Walk Believer Walk
3. Oh Josephine
4. Evergreen
5. Wee Who See The Deep
6. Locust Street
7. Movin’ On Down The Line
8. Wounded Bird
9. God’s Got It ~ this is the same song that OCMS did on Big Iron World, written by The Reverend Charlie Jackson
10. There’s Gold In Them Hills
11. Whoa Mule

pre-order Warpaint here

The Felice Brothers – The Felice Brothers (Team Love)

The band (3 out of 4 are actual brothers), from upstate New York, released Tonight at the Arizona in the UK early last year. Upon returning to the States, they hooked up with Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes for some concert dates, and consequently he signed them to his label. The’ve been called ‘backwoods americana’ and have a perfectly un-polished sound with hints of Dylan, Townes, and Neil Young. Their self-titled American debut is due out March 4th.

here’s one from it:

mp3: The Felice Brothers – Wonderful Life

pre-order The Felice Brothers here

Whiskeytown – Stranger’s Almanac (Deluxe Edition) (Mood Food/Geffen)

i don’t know who decided to put this re-issue together, or why, but who fuckin’ cares. This isn’t just a re-mastered edition with a couple bonus tracks; this thing is like discovering an attic full of old vinyls. Ok, maybe not that cool, but listen: It’s a 2-disc set, the first of which is the original album (13 tracks) plus 5 bonus tracks from unreleased radio performances:

Bonus Tracks:

14. Houses on the Hill (live)

15. Nurse With the Pills (live)

16. I Don’t Care What You Think About Me (live)

17. Somebody Remembers the Rose (live)

18. Turn Around (live)

and disc 2 (19 of the 21 tracks are previously unreleased):

1. Indian Gown

2. 16 Days (acoustic version)

3. Somebody Remembers the Rose (acoustic version)

4. Avenues (acoustic version)

5. Excuse Me While I Break My Own Heart Tonight (acoustic version)

6. Houses on the Hill (early version)

7. mp3: My Heart Is Broken*

8. I Still Miss Someone (Johnny Cash cover) (acoustic version)

9. Kiss & Make-Up

10. Barn’s on Fire

11. Dancing With the Women at the Bar (early version)

12. Dreams (Fleetwood Mac cover)

13. Breathe

14. Wither, I’m a Flower (previously released)

15. mp3: Luxury Liner**(Gram Parsons cover)

16. Theme for a Trucker

17. Streets of Sirens (previously released)

18. Turn Around (alternate version)

19. 10 Seconds

20. Ticket Time

21. The Rain Won’t Help You When It’s Over (True Believers cover)

* The song linked here is from a solo concert of Ryan’s (with help from Caitlin Cary) at The Brewery in Raleigh, NC in ‘99. The quality isn’t great, but here the song is stripped down to its core – Ryan is strumming just enough to keep in time. The vocals are amazing and, compared to the version that showed up on Jacksonville City Nights, much slower, which reveals just how, well…. heartbreaking the song really is.

** i don’t know if this is the same version that’s gonna end up on the re-issue, but it is a studio cut i picked up somewhere along the way.

pre-order the Deluxe Edition here

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3.25.08

Justin Townes Earle – The Good Life (Bloodshot)

The son of Steve Earle and namesake to Townes Van Zandt has a lot to live up to. And from what i’ve heard, he’s doin’ a pretty good job. He’s got just enough of his daddy’s gravelly growl, but with a little more energy. His background consists of performing in bluegrass/ragtime bands to full-out rock bands, and, of course, with his dad. He previously put out an EP, Yuma, from which i already posted a track.

tracklist:

1. mp3: Hard Livin’
2. The Good Life
3. mp3: Who Am I to Say
4. Lone Pine Hill
5. South Georgia Sugar Babe
6. What Do You Do When You’re Lonesome
7. Turn Out My Lights
8. Lonesome and You
9. Ain’t Glad I’m Leavin’
10. Faraway In Another Town

no pre-order found, but some info here

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4.1.08

The Black Keys – Attack and Release (Nonesuch)

i’ve already posted a couple tracks from The Black Keys, but i haven’t really said much about ‘em. They’re an indie rock/blues duo (Dan Auerbach – guitar/vocals – and Patrick Carney – drums) from Akron, Ohio. If you listened to the tracks, you already know that they produce raw, in-your-face, super groovy electric rock music. They’ve got five previous releases – some recorded in Carney’s basement, and some in an abandoned tire facotry. Attack and Release will be their most polished record as of yet. Not only did they record in a real studio, but they enlisted the help of producer Danger Mouse. He’s the guy that famously remixed The Beatles White Album with Jay-Z’s Black Album. If you’re ever in the mood for some really loud, powerful tunes, put on The Black Keys.

tracklist:

1. All You Ever Wanted

2. I Got Mine

3. Strange Times – you can buy this single from iTunes now

4. Psychotic Girl

5. Lies

6. Remember When (Side A)

7. Remember When (Side B)

8. Same Old Thing

9. So He Won’t Break

10. Oceans & Streams

11. Things Ain’t Like They Used to Be

pre-order Attack and Release here and get a free tote bag with it???

Mike McClure Band – Streamline (Boohatch)

Streamline is tentatively scheduled for release on April 1st. This is simply info straight from Mike himself via his MySpace blog. Unless you’re into the Texas Music/Red Dirst music scene, you probably haven’t heard of Mike. He previoulsy fronted the somewhat successful country band The Great Divide. He split with them to go solo in ‘02 and since has put out five albums – one of which was a collaboration with fellow Okies The Burtschi Brothers. i plan on doing an artist spotlight on Mike soon, so i’ll stop there. The only confirmed tracks for Streamline are The Eagle and the Crow, and Supposed To Be. The following track was up on his MySpace a while ago, and could show up on the album as well:

mp3: Mike McClure – Another Place To Run

here’s another MySpace track that was posted at some time. A cover of a ZZ Top song that kinda sounds like some late night goofin’ off in his home studio:

mp3: Mike McClure – Legs

ordering information will be posted when i find it

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4.8.08

Hayes Carll – Trouble in Mind (Lost Highway)

i’ve already posted some info, as well as one song, from this release here. You can also hear a few of the tracks on Hayes’ MySpace.

tracklist:

1. Drunken Poet’s Dream
2. It’s A Shame
3. Girl Downtown
4. Bad Liver And A Broken Heart
5. Beaumont
6. mp3: I Got A Gig
7. Faulkner Street
8. Wild As A Turkey
9. Don’t Let Me Fall
10. A Lover Like You
11. I Don’t Wanna Grow Up
12. Knockin’ Over Whiskeys
13. Willing To Love Again
14. She Left Me For Jesus

pre-order Trouble In Mind here

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4.22.08

Flight of the Conchords – Flight of the Conchords (Sub Pop)

Unless you were living under a rock last summer, you heard about Flight of the Conchords. Brett and Jermaine are “New Zealand’s fourth most popular digi-folk paradists” (self-proclaimed). They created an HBO comedy show that aired on Sunday nights after Entourage after becoming popular as comedians that performed hilarious, satirical songs on Comedy Central and various late-night talk shows. On their show, they play a very unsuccessful band with no social skills – and spontaneously break into stupid songs. Ok, so that doesn’t sound very funny, but i promise it is. Anyway, their debut album, that includes re-worked songs from the show, is due out at the end of April. Check ‘em out:

mp3: Flight of the Conchords – Business Time

mp3: Flight of the Conchords – If You’re Into It

both from The Distant Future [EP] - Grammy nomination for the Best Comedy Album

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The Dedringers – Sweetheart of the Neighborhood

- scheduled for Spring ‘08 release

The first time i saw the Dedringers, i hadn’t heard of them, but they were opening a show for Mike McClure. i was blown away. These guys – younger than i was – stole the show as much as an opener can. Really original songs, all with some sort of errie, haunting quality. Then, they were just a duo – Sean Faires and Jonny Burke. Since, they have added drums and bass and, more importantly, grown much more popular. By befriending fellow musician and producer McClure, as well as many others in the Texas Music realm, they starting getting bigger gigs and continued to impress people with their ‘wise-beyond-their-years’ songwriting talent. They self-released an EP titled Definately, Purposely Infinite (produced by McClure) as well as a Live At The Continental Club in Austin album that were both sold at their shows. Their debut album, Sweetheart, was produced by R.S. Field, who has done work for Billy Joe Shaver and Hayes Carll. Here’s the previoulsy released (i think i bought it from their MySpace page) title track from the album – most likely this is not the version that will be on Sweetheart, though:

mp3: The Dedringers – Sweetheart of the Neighborhood

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happy shopping….