December 2007 “Christmas time / Mistletoe and whine”. There are a few rules when it comes to compiling your Chrimbosoundtrack. The main ones all ban Cliff in some way or the other, and after that it’s just play what you like. Having said that, now you’ve given Cliff the ol’ heave-ho, it’s best to go one step further and avoid any and all references to the baby Jesus, God and the holy spirit. That sort of stuff just kills the party stone dead, and if you suspect that your guests do enjoy the religious bits, then you’re probably inviting the wrong people. Steer clear of anything contemporary, unless it comes with special dispensation from Wayne Newton, and / or a hefty chunk of cheddar. Shun the popular Christmas tunes wherever possible, unless it’s a totally bonkers version, or you can positively answer the following questions: “Is this how they’d do it in Vegas on Christmas Eve?” and secondly, “Does listening to this music make me feel thirsty?”. If it’s “yes” to both then on it goes. So, in the loved-up, Sant-a-delic spirit of the season, let’s remember some classic festive releases from the past, mull over some new discs, and speculate wildly about future Christmas sounds, as yet unheard. The best new compilation I’ve heard this year is Mark Lamarr’s Rhythm & Blues Christmas (Acrobat). He may be an unfunny fucker, but there’s no denying he knows his old music. Christmas classics from Louis Armstrong, Little Esther and a multitude of other blues, jazz and R&B legends, means you can put this on straight after the Phil Spector Christmas album, and still hold your head up high. The Bangs homestead is also getting its Christmas groove on listening to the Ping Pong Orchestra’s A Very Ping Pong Christmas (Ubiquity). I, for one, can’t understand why there aren’t more sitar sounds on Christmas records. Will anything accompany Boxing Day’s turkey curry better than ‘Little Drummer Boy’ played on sitar? No. No it wont. One to avoid: Michael Bolton’s Swingin Christmas (Universal). A short review: “The musical equivalent of dog shit on a stick with tinsel trim and a dead sprig of holly thrust violently into it”. Feel free to use that for the poster. Old favourites that should always be dusted down this time of year are the essential collections A John Waters Christmas (New Line) and Cool Yule: The Swinging Sound Of Christmas (Invisible College). Both provide much whacky fun and an excellent excuse for excessive consumption of Martini - or Gibsons, if you’re that way inclined (shakes head). If you’re more tolerant of novelty songs during the holiday period, then you could do worse than check out Dr. Demento presents The Greatest Christmas Novelty CD Of All Time (Rhino). Apart from a couple of howlers - Tom Lehrer is funny like an accountant, and Cheech & Chong’s 6 minute, 23 second stoner ramble is enough to put you off festive drug taking forever - there’s much to be savoured. Needless to say, he’s not a real doctor. And a few to avoid: Mariah Carey’s Merry Christmas (Sony). A short review: “More pissy yellow slush than pure driven snow, the musical equivalent of eggnog vomit splattered into the contorted shape of a mutilated reindeer”. A couple that promised much but delivered little are James Last’s The Christmas Album (Spectrum) and Chas ‘n’ Dave’s A Christmas Knees Up With... (Music Club). The former is horribly bland, and you’ll forget it’s on after a minute or so. The latter is just plain rotten. The pretend cockney duo (they support Spurs, ffs) stink up the place with 39 hymns (yep, 39 of the bastards), each performed with the touch, subtlety and charm of a rapist killer baboon. And as for the future, I’m guessing less Jesus, more robots, Noel Edmonds on a cross, Leslie Crowther dug up and carousing sick kids, Bing Crosby and 50 Cent dueting on ‘Stop The Cavalry’, brain implants all round, Dennis Waterman’s special teeth, big jumpers and the Cheeky Girls writing and recording this generations definitive, Christmas themed, anti war anthem. Lembit Opik will cream continuously for six days, and on the seventh will expire, weakened by extreme dehydration and slowly drowned in his own watery residue. But then again, what do I know? Do I look like Mystic fucking Meg? The Leicester Bangs Top 101 Christmas Tunes: Tiny Tim - Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer Mike Sammes Singers - Ring Christmas Bells Michael Oneil - Beer Can Christmas Tree Spike Jones - All I Want For Christmas Are My Two Front Teeth The Moonglows - Hey Santa Claus Wild Man Fischer - I’m A Christmas Tree Louis Armstong - Cool Yule Rudolph & His Gang - Here Comes Fatty Claus Ed ‘Kookie’ Burns - Yulesville The Singing Dogs - Jingle Bells Akim - Santa Claus Is A Black Man Alvin & The Chipmonks - Sleigh Ride Anita Kerr Singers - We Don’t Want Him The Ravens - White Christmas Little Cindy - Happy Birthday Jesus (A Child’s Prayer) & 86 others I couldn’t be bothered to track down, research or indeed, type out. Merry Christmas Devon Allman’s Honeytribe - Torch (Livewire) Any ‘second generation’ musician using his famous family name to preface the title of his band is really sticking his neck out. When that famous name is Allman, one of the most illustrious in rock history, it becomes almost an open invitation to compare odiously. Mercifully, while the offspring of 70’s rock nobility have generally fallen pretty well short of the mark, Devon Allman puts up in style. He’s a fine singer and a well-above average guitarist, albeit more in the Dicky Betts mould than that of his Uncle Duane. Most impressively has located his own talents within a collection of mature songs and among a team of collaborators who really gel together, producing a band sound that is tight and full and not a million miles from that of the AB’s themselves. Several of the numbers included on this debut outing could have argued their way into any Allmans album of the last decade (that’s a compliment - check them out), notably soulful blues ‘When I Call Home’, storming rocker ‘Why You Wanna Bring Me Down’ and instrumentals ‘Mahalo’ and ‘511 Texas Avenue’. Be assured however that ‘Torch’ is no mere homage, and that it comfortably stakes its own claim for inclusion in the pantheon of contemporary Southern Rock. www.honeytribe.com Neil B. Farrah - Cut Out And Keep (Lojinx) You’ve gotta love ‘em. Too few on home soil do unfortunately. Stubbornly unfashionable (a good trait incidentally), Farrah have been plying their exuberant, catchy as a cold, power pop for probably 10 years plus now. Most likely best known as the purveyors of a now no longer used Bob Harris jingle, the band are deserving of much better than they’ve been accorded - although it seems Spanish, Japanese and Australian audiences wisely seem more appreciative. When singles meant anything ‘Dumb Dumb Ditty’ would be all over the place… if only it wasn’t so (deservedly) close to the bone for the music industry to get behind it. So to sum up, for pop thrills aplenty delivered with joy in their hearts, let me introduce Farrah, whose third album is an absolute Cut Out and Keeper (Sorry!). www.farrah.co.uk Geraint J. Mathias Delplanque - Le Pavillon Témoin (Low Impedance Recordings) Meaning ‘the show house’, Le Pavillon Témoin lays bare the concept of this recording. It echoes exactly how this is a construction of new sound, a new build if you like, and finished with additional care and attention to detail. From the foundation upwards traditional techniques and stylings (pure acoustic instruments, jazz and folk) are juxtaposed, or embellished with utterly modern twists (the sample, the electronic, the computer). Moods and textures are created that are conventional and familiar, abstract and modern, sometimes all simultaneously. An intrinsically European residence built of materials, transparent, solid and concrete. www.lowimpedance.net Will F. Various Artists - I Wanna Punk Rock: The Step Forward Collection (Castle Music) Commemorating Step Forward’s first ten single releases, which kicked off with The Cortinas’ classic ‘Fascist Dictator’ in June of 1977, the label was the brainchild of punk zine pioneer Mark Perry, who’s Sniffin’ Glue captured in print better than anyone the revolutionary energy and DIY spirit of punk during its 76/77 heyday. In retrospect much of it hasn’t aged all that well, but that was probably never the intention. Six sides from Chelsea might be half a dozen too many for some, although ‘Right To Work’ despite its confused political stance is probably their best effort. Elsewhere you can enjoy debut single outings from both Sham 69 and The Fall, who’s ‘Bingo Master’ still sounds great to these ears. Best of the bunch though are The Models’ ‘Freeze’ and the Cortinas’ oft-forgotten ‘Defiant Pose’, both good examples that punk produced some great singles around the margins of the scene. As for the Lemon Kittens - despite an intriguing reinterpretation of ‘Shakin’ All Over’ - their willful incompetence won’t find them gaining repeat plays around these parts and clarifies why they never registered first time around. Though not exactly essential, it’s nonetheless a well-packaged set - the booklet replicates the look of an issue of Sniffin’ Glue. As an historical artifact, it just about exceeds the sum of its parts. And there’s even a 7” box set available for die-hard Luddites. Geraint J. The Wild Frontier - I Too Will Tell You What I Know EP (Independent) A comedy country outfit from Sydney, Australia, The Wild Frontier aren’t exactly laugh-out-loud funny - my sides went untroubled throughout - but their sharp, sometimes poignant songs, are sung well, and raise the odd knowing smile. Pleasant enough over six tracks, but with the potential to become tiresome over the inevitable four disc boxset. www.myspace.com/thewildfrontierband Rob F. Big George Brock - Live At Seventy Five (Cat Head) Big George Brock is a real-deal blues man, a master of the harmonica, playing the old time delta blues. A former sharecropper, boxer (he flattened Sonny Liston in the boxing ring) and a club owner. He also says he's a lover... and has 42 children to prove it! This is his 3rd solo album following ‘Club Caravan’ and ‘Round Two’ and was recorded live at the Ground Zero Blues Club, Clarksdale, Mississippi just one week before he turned 75. Five of the ten tracks are self-penned and there is a stand out version of the Howlin' Wolf classic ‘Forty-Four Blues’, but the whole album is great and if you like your blues music raw and live, you can't get better than this. www.cathead.biz Pete J. Last Train Home - Last Good Kiss (Red Beet Records) Old school alt. country rockers Last Train Home return for a fifth album without missing a beat. Now full-time and residing in Nashville, the band led by ex-music journalist Eric Brace sound like they mean business on ‘Last Good Kiss’. There sound is dense with a late night, urban feel to it - the songs retain their lonesome and troubled rough edges. This is Americana for those who enjoy the Walkabouts and Johnny Cash in equal measure, who’ll agree with every word of the title track, and have their own story to tell. www.lasttrainhome.com Rob F. BJ Thomas - Love To Burn (Raindrops) ‘Love To Burn’ is BJ Thomas's first album for seven years and he’s in fine voice. The album consists mainly of covers - the title track is a Dobie Gray song on which BJ gives a great performance, as he does on the Leon Russell’s ‘A Song For You’ which has a lovely backing of piano and strings. ‘Back Against The Wall’, the only track that BJ wrote is a wonderful uptempo number, but for me the stand-out track is Sarah McLachlan's ‘Angel’, which is an outstanding interpretation. This one could be a big hit for him. www.bjthomas.com Pete J. Aaron Dugan and Jeff Arnal - Dog Day (C3R Records) Independently Aaron Dugan and Jeff Arnal’s history (including work with the likes of John Zorn) and frantic output certainly shows that they have earned their chops. This, their debut CD as a duo sees them embark in a gritty free-jazz vein before steering into more experimental waters of guitar / drum improvisation, where their instruments - through treatments and alternative playing techniques - serve as springboards for sounds not readily associated with them. Although interspersed with minimalism, carefully placed notes and textures the overall tone is one of confrontation whereby they attack the blues with a certain voraciousness. Both performers illustrate true virtuosity of their instruments, in the sense that they are brave enough to venture outside of stylistic comforts zones to create tones and colours rarely acknowledged. It would not be out of place to suggest that their output continues along lines established by 60’s predecessors, AMM. www.c3r.ca Will F. Roy Loney & The Longshots - Like It Or Leave It (Career) Roy Loney (ex Flamin' Groovies) releases his third album with The Longshots, a band which includes members of the Young Fresh Fellows. This is the follow up to the outstanding ‘Drunkard in the Think Tank’ album. The record starts with a real rocker, ‘Baby Du Jour’, with great drumming by Graham Black. ‘The Great Divide’ is an outstanding track with great vocals from Roy. ‘Big Fat Nada’ is a humorous track as is ‘Raw Deal’ which moves at a break-neck pace. The tempo slows down for the acoustic ‘Subterranean Waterfalls’, but it’s hard to find a poor track on this album. www.careerrecords.com Pete J. Jeremy Keen - False Starts (Ground Vinyl) Formerly half of the well thought of folk rock duo Seventy Two Others, Jeremy Keen is no newcomer to recording. This is amply demonstrated on his solo debut album, a lo-fi, song based affair underscored by Keen’s wiry guitar and dark vocals. Think Elliot Smith with a gloomy Gothic country heart and you wont go far wrong. http://jeremykeen.com Rob F. Acadien Cajun Band - All Night Long (Swallow) The Acadien Cajun Band is fronted by Ryan Simon (vocals, accordion, fiddle and guitar) and Brandon Moreau (vocal and fiddle ). The other members of the band are Dwayne Michaud (acoustic guitar), Jay Miller (drums) and Joe Romero (bass guitar). ‘All Night Long’ is their second album, Following 2004’s ‘La Clarite’. The album consists almost entirely of traditional songs, Including five written by the Balfa Brothers. Ryan wrote two songs for the album, including the title track, on which he sings about a night with the woman he loves, and his brother Drew (Pine Leaf Boys), makes an appearance on another traditional song, ‘Lake Charles Two Step’. www.flattownmusic.com Pete J. Ben Stewart - Social Architecture (Love Trash) This one will appeal to fans of Tim and Jeff Buckley. Australian singer-songwriter Ben Stewart brings to bear a similarly impressive set of pipes as the late father and son, and seems just as keen enveloping them in some genuinely interesting arrangements - I thought just for a moment of Van’s Astral Weeks, though the execution is far simpler. Unfortunately, less well concieved songs can come off sounding a bit like an acoustic U2, which isn’t half as impressive. www.benstewart.tv Rob F. Ruth Minnikin - Folk Art (Independent) Former member of The Guthries and The Heavy Blinkers, this is Ruth's third solo album recorded and mixed in just three days, and comes in a highly original canvas sleeve. Ruth's distinctive voice carry songs that drift between the darker side of Americana (‘Southern Misfortune’) right through to the light-hearted ‘Chicken Cooped up in Country Music’. Ruth is joined by her brother Gabriel on ‘Nanny Jones’ and the album starts and ends with ‘Bad Dreams (Parts One and Two)’, an instrumental which sounds like a night at the carnival. The only down-side is a playing time of just twenty-eight minutes - it could afford to be much longer! www.ruthminnikin.ca Pete J. Brent Allen - There’s A Lot Of Folks Like Me (Independent) A stalwart of the Austin country music scene, he even served as Vice-President of the Austin Songwriters Group, it comes as no surprise that Brent Allen pretty much typifies the Texas roadhouse sound which enthralls fans from all over the world. On ‘There’s A Lot Of Folk Like Me’, his second release, Allen has invited some of his big name buddies such as Elizabeth McQueen, Red Volkaert and various Asleep At The Wheelers to help out. It sounds like everyone had a good time, especially on the booze fueled ‘Hair Of The Dog’, where Dale Watson turns up for a honky tonk blast. www.brentallen.net Rob F. Andrew Reeves - 1048 West Kensington Road (Reeves Records) A DIY concept album based on the California address of the title. I know what you’re thinking: the potential for dull songwriting, half-arsed tunes and general disaster is huge, but the fact is, not only has Andrew Reeves pulled it off, he’s done so with real style and originality. The sound he produces is reminiscent of classic late period Spacemen 3, but with a tattered West Coast Americana roots feel to it; big drone notes might fill the gaps but you’re always aware where this is coming from. His voice is mixed low and is sometimes a little out - it dosn’t matter. A contaminated, Americanised John Cale might come close. Recommended. http://reevesrecords.com Rob F. Pholde - Finding Internal Asylum (C3R Records) A recording performed entirely on home-made steel instruments may instantly invoke crashing scrap yard noises and not sound particularly appealing, yet Pholde, aka Alan Bloor (whose other extreme noisenik alter ego, Knurl has performed alongside Thurston Moore and Jim O’Rourke) creates voluminous, bleak, ambient soundscapes. Bloor’s ‘sound sculpture’ is created from the likes of circular saw blades, car springs, iron meshing and fan blades and is sounded by various methods such as bowing and scraping or by using with hand files, smooth and threaded metal rods, angle iron and blocks of steel. The sounds are then processed and effected to form the final deep rolling wall of amplified metal, that is Pholde. www.c3r.ca Will F. Naked Barbies - Stay Naked (NBD Records) This Oakland, California 4-piece have been around since 1990, playing a gentle style of Americana / country pop, for a variety of different labels, and under a variety of different names. Interesting fact: they’re currently on their sixth lead guitarist. Previous incumbents include Michael Zapruder and Dan Vickrey, who later went on to Counting Crows. ‘Stay Naked’ is their sixth album, and it’s a ballad heavy collection, which relies on light and airy arrangements and singer Patty Spiglallin talent for sultry vocals. There’s nothing too cutting edge here, but it’s extremely easy on the ear. www.nakedbarbies.com Rob F. BOOK. Steve Goodman: Facing The Music by Clay Eals (ECW Press) Steve Goodman was a musician, a singer and a songwriter who recorded ten albums between 1971 and 1984. He died aged 36 from leukaemia which had been diagnosed when he was just 20. Steve started performing in Chicago in 1969 before recording his first self titled album which featured ‘The City Of New Orleans’. This song then went on to become a big hit for both Arlo Guthrie and Willie Nelson. Clay Eals spent more than eight years interviewing over one thousand people in researching this book of almost eight hundred pages. The book also includes a CD containing 18 artists performing tributes to Steve plus an interview with the man himself. The book shows why Steve Goodman is still an influence on singers, songwriters and musicians today. Pete J. The Bongolian - Outer Bongolia (Blow Up) Nasser Bouzida is the Bongolian of some renown and this to all intents and purposes is his first solo musical journey heavily underpinned by an obvious interest and delight - this is serious feel-good music - in playing drums and percussion coupled with his own heavy Bongo rhythms. His debut single, the funky Bongohead was released to much critical acclaim in late 2001 and since then it seems he has been busy writing recording and touring in preparation for the next stage in the Bongo evolution / revolution. To listen to the Bongo-meister is to enter into the world of 60s chic-a-psychedelic musical trip par excellence. These spaced out heavy bongo rhythms underwritten by Latin Soul are a joy; groove-oriented delight after delight. Witness something of the space age in ‘Feel It’, a dance floor groove classic in the opener with ‘Talking Synth’ and the Mambo underscore in ‘Bongo Mambo’ is delicious in its understated authenticity. The ‘Gospel According To’ the Bongolian is a self-deprecating marvel- it’s Blues Brothers, Green Onions and a trippy jazz classic all rolled into one. Fourteen tracks in all, not a dull moment from start to finish; this is a Bongolian triumph. www.thebongolian.com Claire W. Savana - Redbird (Independent) This album is being played on Neil Young’s current tour to warm up the crowd. Nice. Savana is a singer-songwriter based in Nashville, with a cool line in roots pop songs with plenty of hooks. Guitarist Anthony Crawford is responsible for the tunes, and it isn’t inconceivable that on the right label and with enough push, the pair of them could achieve major success. Fans of Patty Griffin, Jewel and Fleetood Mac would do well to check them out. www.savanalee.com Rob F. Country Fried - Saint Of New Orlleans (Independent) New Orleans quartet Country Fried mix up a whole bunch of Americana styles on their second album. Bluegrass pickin’ and old country styles combine brilliantly with country rock guitars - think early Poco rather than the Eagles - and vocalists Brian ‘Big Country’ Ayres and Taylor ‘Red Stick’ Garrett bring to mind honest-to-goodness country singers like Merle Haggard and Johnny Cash. Genuine rockin’ country music played with balls. Good stuff. www.countryfried.net Rob F. Lula Cortes E Ze Ramalho - Paêbirú (Mr Bongo Recordings) A second re-issue of this double concept album recorded in Brazil in 1974, which was virtually unheard for three decades because a warehouse fire destroyed virtually every copy in existence. Taking it’s lead from the Tropicalia scene of late 60’s this an amazing concept album - divided into four sections representing each of the four elements - which ranges from the highly percussive to the experimental, and from the explicitly psychedelic to folk strangeness to full-blown freak-outs. The Earth section (Terra) ranges from the pounded tribalism of ‘Culto A Terra’ to the tranquil, flute led, ‘Bailado das Muscarias.’ Air is predominantly illustrated through acoustic guitar occasionally accompanied by the calls of birds of paradise and culminates with magnificent, ‘Omm’, which deviates from the pastoral to the bizarre. Fire is the part where the hallucinatory fruits of the rain forest are harvested and is more frenzied and electric in it’s approach from the outset, with the heavy fuzz guitar of ‘Raga Dos Raios’. The throbbing organ/ alto sax funk of ‘Nas Paredes Da Pedra Encantada’ is an absolute stomper. The Water section concludes with more intrinsically Latin, conga driven pieces. Vocals are spread fairly thin throughout yet are only as important as the other instruments (such as saxophone, organ, flute or sitar-like resonance) that weave themselves in at various moments. All in all an inspired, beautiful, esoteric and otherworldly curious mosaic of Brazilian psych - and will no doubt continue to be reissued over the next four decades. www.mrbongo.com Will F. Rick Bruner - Eight Hundred Miles (Independent) Like all the best singer-songwriters, Rick Bruner’s got stories to tell, and ‘Eight Hundred Miles’ is chock full of ‘em. There’s a hint of John Martyn in Bruner’s delivery which adds to the appeal, and on songs like ‘St. Jacob’s Well’, the sounds augmented by ace guitarist Greg V who expands the vibe, without taking anything away from the song. There are three great tracks featured on Myspace - I think you’ll agree that Rick Bruner may well be the complete singer-songwriter package. www.rickbruner.com Rob F. Various Artists - Down Home Saturday Night (Smithsonian Folkways) ‘Down Home Saturday Night’ consists of 15 tracks of traditional folk and roots music, collected by Moses Asch for his Folkways label and compiled for this album by archivist Jeff Place. The music covers all music that was and still is heard at parties or bars throughout the USA, be it bluegrass, country, Cajun, blues, Texas Swing, Zydeco, Conjunto, etc. Stand out tracks include John Sebastian and Geoff Muldaur's cover of Gus Cannon's ‘Minglewood Blues’, Memphis Slim's ‘Pinetops Boogie Wooge’, Werner Williams ‘Hey Bartender, There's a Big Bug in my Beer’, and Boozoo Chavis' ‘Uncle Bud, but all would liven up any party. www.folkways.si.edu Pete J. Andrew Iafrate - The Ravages (Factory R) Andrew Iafrate was raised in the mountains of West Virginia, and he’s managed to bring something of the wilderness to his second full length release. It’s a high and lonesome affair, but utterly contemporary in its execution, and wouldn’t sound out of place on the Secretly Canadian or Domino label. You get the feeling that this is his time and songs like ‘Poison From A Cup’ and ‘Carion Crow’ need to be heard now, before the moments lost. Fans of Will Oldham, Jason Molina and Sufjan Stevens shouldn’t hesitate. www.pariahprophecy.com Rob F. Avi Fox-Rosen - One (Frosenox Music) New Yorker Avi Fox-Rosen is one of the more interesting singer-songwriters to cross my path recently. The album’s acoustic-folk-rock style appears to borrow from a disparate bunch of folks including Jerry Garcia, John Martyn and Edie Brickell, and the jazzy flourishes which litter the arrangements just add to the aural frothiness. Standout track, ‘Man’ brings all those influences to bear, mixes in a little English-style folk-rock guitar, and the result is something that sounds quite original. I don’t get to say that too often. www.avifoxrosen.com Rob F. Ann Walton - Top Of The Hill (Independent) A star of the 2007 NXNW music festival, Ann Walton is a Canadian pianist-singer-songwriter with a real feel for the past. It’s not that ‘Top Of The Hill’ is particularly retro in sound - though her MySpace page lists as influences Sarah Vaughan, Bessie Smith and Ella Fitzgerald - it’s more subtle than that. Possibly it’s the sparseness of the sound which gives rise to the impression of yesteryear or perhaps the jazz inflections that provide the clues to Walton’s motivation. Either way, it’s an easy way to lose yourself for 40 minutes. www.myspace.com/annwalton Rob F. Noah Earle - Postcards From Home (Mayapple) Noah Earle is a singer-songwriter born in Topeka, Kansas but is now living on a farm in Hallsville, Missouri. ‘Postcards From Home’ is his second album following ‘Six Ways to Sunday’. Noah, on his previous album, explored blues, country, folk and even jazz. On ‘Postcards from Home’ he is more specific. It’s more in an Americana vein and more focused and more mature. I particularly like the title track, a beautifully stripped down song about the happiness he finds in being in his own home. Another outstanding track is ‘Head In The Sand’ with wonderful slide guitar backing by Cary Hudson. All in all this is a wonderful album. Make a note of his name! www.mayapplerecords.com Pete J. Flying Accusations - Now Arriving... (Independent) Lo-fi North Americana from Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Flying Accusations might not be the brightest new hope on the roots scene, but they do have a couple of things going for them. Main songwriter, Robert K. McCourty, has written some really good old style country songs, and has had the good sense to let bass player, Shelley Brown, sing lead on the best of them. She weighs in with her own ’17 Miles To Memphis’, which brings to mind Freakwater on a shoestring. www.flyingaccusations.com Rob F. Racines - S/T (Swallow) Racines is an original Cajun super-group, consisting of Steve Riley, leader of the Mamou Playboys (vocals, accordion, fiddle, guitar), Kevin Wimmer from Balfour Toujours and the Red Stick Ramblers (vocals and fiddle ), Chris Stafford from Feufollet (guitar), Mitch Reed from Chaivari (fiddle), and Glen Fields from the Red Stick Ramblers (drums). Racines means ‘roots’ in Cajun-French and the band certainly live up to their name, performing many Cajun classics such as Lazy Lester's ‘I Hear You Knocking’, Clifton Chenier's ‘My Baby She's Gone To Stay’ and Dewey Balfa's ‘Drunkard's Waltz’. This album shows there's nothing complicated about this music, it's dance music, for any day of the week, and it's a lot of fun. www.flattownmusic.com Pete J. Jane Germain - Chinese Whispers (MGM Distribution) Australian singer-songwriter, Jane Germain, dabbles with blues, rock and folk styles on her ‘Chinese Whispers’ CD, and there’s no doubting the quality of her and her band’s influences. On the title track, mandolin man, Dave Clarke, lays down a melody reminiscent of ‘Blood On The Tracks’ period Dylan. On ‘What Have I Got To Lose?’, the rolling tune and upbeat vocal brings to mind early Michelle Shocked. Various members of Paul Kelly's Stormwater Boys and The Waifs come along for the ride. www.janegermain.com Rob F. Lori Yates - The Book Of Minerva (Independent) Lori Yates is a veteren of the Toronto alt. country scene - she started her music career in cow-punk outfit Rang Tango - she’s now on her sixth solo album. Not too much punky attitute on this one, though, instead it’s a collection of solid, from-the-heart country numbers, heavy paced, stripped back and very effective. On her best songs, ‘Simcoe’ and ‘Walking Wounded’ spring to mind, it’s both the strength of the lyics and the hurt in her voice that carry the day. www.loriyates.com Rob F. Banshee In The Kitchen - Invite The Light: World Music For Winter (Independent) They’re from Bakersfield, California, the home of honky-tonkin’ country music, but the Banshee In The Kitchen spurn the local style to play festive Celtic acoustic tunes, guarenteed to warm the soul. This is their fourth album, and their first holiday collection, but they transcend the Christmas trappings and provide just about the perfect soundtrack for walking home through the snow on a frozen winter evening - and it’s just as good when you get back to your fireside. www.bansheeinthekitchen.com Rob F. Judy Collins - Sings Lennon & McCartney (Wildflower) Judy Collins has been interpreting other peoples songs for over 45 years. She's made albums of Bob Dylan songs, Leonard Cohen songs and now she turns hers attention to a full album of Beatles songs, although she’d already covered ‘In My Life’ in the mid 60's. The arrangements are very close to the originals, although come over as almost being unplugged versions. Judy's voice sounds as good as ever, she is still able to hit the high notes as in ‘Blackbird’. She rethinks ‘Golden Slumbers’ as a lullaby and although she is almost 70, sings ‘When I'm Sixty Four’, jokingly singing the last line as ‘When I'm Eighty Four’! A fine album. Pete J. Pants Yell! - Alison Statton (Soft Abuse) The exclamation mark in Pants Yell!’s name implicates a quintessentially pop sensibility and from the start of ‘Alison Statton’, their third full album, this is backed up to the hilt - but vacuous pop this certainly isn’t. Filled with observations of modern life and love stories of the ordinary man. For an outfit hailing from Cambridge, Massachusetts a nod and a wink are being tipped to British indie acts. Their use of glockenspiel, gorgeous keys, twee guitar melodies and saxophone beckons a comparison somewhere between (or allegiance to) Belle and Sebastian, Modern Lovers, Orange Juice with a peppering of Johnny Marr. On closer inspection Britain figures heavily: Album title, ‘Alison Statton’ paying tribute to singer of Cardiff’s Young Marble Giants, ‘The Royal We’ - a respect for Scottish contemporaries, ‘Shoreham Kent’ with it’s ‘Boys Don’t Cry’ riff speaks for itself and lyrics such as ‘I’m not ashamed to say I'd be happy not to complete an honest days work’ from ‘Two French Sisters’ evokes late 80’s teenage dole complacency. A perfectly formed, spirited pop album with homages in all the right places. www.softabuse.com Will F. Alexis Gideon - Flight Of The Liophant (Sickroom) Made up word alert! Made up word alert! In fact it’s a made up animal, and probably one you wouldn’t want to meet up a dark alley. I’d have no such concerns about it’s creator. Alexis Gideon’s indie pop leans heavily on aural innovators such as Beck and even Massive Attack. Boho raps and sweeping electronic arrangements provide plenty of highlights without single tracks necassarilly taking hold. In other words, treat it as an album rather that a collection of individual tracks, and you’ll find lots here to enjoy. www.alexistheband.com Rob F. Kat Maxwell - Loves Me... Loves Me Not (Good Girls Say No) This has got a great C86 / 80’s indie pop feel to it. I can’t help but think of those great bands like the Shop Assistants and the Primitives, right through to The Breeders and Kim Gordon’s yelp, when listening to ‘Loves Me...’. Happily, Kat Maxwell’s her own woman and she avoids most of the pitfalls of a retro sound. Good songs help, as does oodles of charm, and the best tracks here, ‘ I Feel’, ‘Last Night’ and ‘Stacey’ are terrificly addictive. www.katmaxwell.com Rob F. Tie These Hands - We Work Out (Workers Unite!) Maybe it’s down to the Bruce Springsteen album, but you’ve always got an impression what a band from Nebraska are going to sound like. Well... they don’t. Instead we get wiry indie pop, with big melodies and barbed choruses, the sort of thing which goes down a storm on contemporary rock radio. The band’s fronted by identical twin brothers, Aram and Naum Stauffer, with another brother, Seth, also in the band. Honestly, they’re a marketing man’s wet dream - get over to Myspace and check ‘em out. www.tiethesehands.com Rob F. Tia Carrera - Heaven/Hell EP (Arclight Records) The 3 track EP from Power Psych Trio, Tia Carrera (recorded on a single reel of 1” tape) comprises ‘Heaven’, which is a 14 minute psych-rock / heavy metal fret wank / wig out, ‘Hell’ a 15 minute psych-rock / heavy metal fret wan / wig out (that is akin to a slowed down Nirvana rife) and ‘End of Tape’ which is a psych-rock / heavy metal fret wank / wig out - concluding in a premature ejaculated tape!! Great, if psych-rock/heavy metal fret wanks / wig outs floats your boat. www.arclightrecords.com Will F. Eric Dodd Band - Heal (Independent) Sometimes all you really want is the simple stuff done well. Make your way past the uninspired artwork of Eric Dodd’s ‘Heal’ album, and that’s what you get. Big pop songs, big hooks, big tunes and big guitars - acoustic and electric. Nothing’s over-complicated or under-cooked - Dodd and band are here to entertain and get you nodding along as you’re driving down the big road of your choice. If Bryan Adams, Marshall Crenshaw or Tom Petty rock your boat, check ‘em out. www.myspace.com/ericdoddband Rob F. Friends - Spangleland (Summerhouse) London’s Friends “completely disown any television programmes of the same name”, though I bet they’re okay with the theme tune. They’ve been playing there own brand of jangly pop now for close to two decades, and ‘Spangleland’ (their ninth album) carries on their traditional search for the perfect three and a half minute pop song. They come very close on a couple of occasions: ‘Happy New Year’ in particular, is extremely pleasing, and ‘Twice Around’ is as good as any indie pop song you’ll hear. The couple of longer numbers, ‘Missing Person’ and ‘Turn The Sun On Me’ take a few spins to sink in, but there’s no dip in quality - you’ve just got to try a little harder. www.summerhouserecords.co.uk Rob F. Pete Pidgeon & Arcoda - Doubt Is For Losers (Fowl River Productions) ‘Doubt Is For Losers’ is an album of elevated pop songs from the acclaimed Boston band. Ambitious arrangements and intrumentation (over 80 instruments are listed), proper tunes and sweet vocal harmonies come together with a comfortable Americana vibe and it’s no surprise that Leven Helm played on the debut album. From interviews online, they seem to be going for broke with this release, and so they should. It oozes confidence and class - what can possibly go wrong? Inspired pop for the masses, done right, and great artwork, too. www.petepidgeon.com Rob F. Spanic Boys - Sunshine (Cinaps) The dual Fender Stratocaster sound of father and son duo Tom and Ian Spanic is, after playing together for twenty years over eight albums, still creating magic. Their rich vocal harmonies, together with their blend of rock 'n' roll, country roots and psychedelia pre-dates even ‘Americana’. The opening track ‘Honey’ is a real rocker, whereas the title track is almost Beatle-esque, with it's psychedelic sounding vocals, but they can also rock out as on ‘Didn't I Love You Anyway’ which has them sounding like a garage band from the mid-sixties. Overall, they just sound the Spanic Boys having fun. www.spanicboys.com Pete J. Anthony Milton - The End Of This Short Road (Deserted Village) A collection of lo-fi recordings from New Zealander, Anthony Milton, that were made mostly in 2000. ‘Day of the World’ and ‘The End of this Short Road’ contain lyrics of desperation and ‘what if’s’ accompanied by scratchy violin and drifting guitar, which combined with the sound of tape hiss present an instantly gratifying immediacy and urgency of production. Following the opening 2 tracks the violin remains but lyrics become absent. ‘The Armchair (Sprung)’ treads a new avenue paved with muted, muffled drum patterns and a milieu of creaks and twitches. The album then moves into a sequence of multi-layered indie guitar passages, which with the exception of ‘Skylight - Rusted - 7PM’s’ return of the violin are unaccompanied, and although there are some admirable riffs, they invariably run out of steam. ‘Track for the Larkings’ calms the pace again and shows Milton’s more ambient and peaceful side. ‘Could be Killers Talk’ is an eerie (in an Eraserhead soundtrack kind of way), dampened soundscape. Lyrics return for closer, ‘...(chairs)’ - recorded some 3 years after the first set - but the hiss here is such that the backwards guitar and violin scrape sound as if they were recorded at the side of a busy motorway in the pouring rain! You can’t help but wonder ‘why have these recordings taken between 7 years to surface?’ Could the answer be the recent popularity of weird folk, lo-fi Americana or just an audience for Milton’s back catalogue? Anyway a favourable, quite sectional, but eclectic bag of folk and improvisation but could possibly have been edited into a fine 6 track EP. www.myspace.com/anthonymilton Will F. Uncle Dirty - Alien In A Bottle (Independent) Uncle Dirty are a garage rock outfit from Hawaii, with songs mostly about sex, drugs and George Bush (they very keen on the first two, but definitely not the latter). Mainly, they’re about having a good time, and that’s reflected in their music, a wonky brew of spacey rock ‘n’ roll and back to basics groove. There’s not a decent singer amongst the four of them, but they win out thanks to naive charm and a decent hook or two. I don’t expext they’ll be making it big anytime soon, but what do they care. They’re stoned, they’re getting plenty of action and they live in Hawaii. http://uncledirty.net Rob F. Ben Prestage - Real Music (Independent) “Born the grandson of a Mississippi sharecropper, Ben Prestage has been soaked in Blues tradition and Mississippi culture since birth.” That’s what it says on Ben’s website and the quickest of spins though ‘Real Music’ reveals the statement to be either absolute truth, or he’s one hell of a faker. I expect the former to be correct. The fact that he’s equally comfortable playing bluesy alt. country, bluesy rockabilly, bluesy soul and plain ol’ raggedy bluesy blues makes this album - his third I believe - a pleasure to hear. Check out his Myspace page and then purchase either direct from his website, or via CD Baby. www.benprestage.net Rob F. The Son Seals Story: A Journey Through The Blues (Vizztone DVD) The Son Seal Story is a superb documentary on his life. Son was a great blues guitarist and singer, born the last of 13 children to an Arkansas juke joint owner in 1942. It covers all facets of his life, getting shot in the face by his wife, developing diabetes which caused him to have his leg amputated before his death in 2004. As well as the 30 minute documentary, the DVD features an hour of Son House in concert at 3 different venues, all of which demonstrate what a talented performer he was. www.vizztone.com Pete J. Marc Hannaford - The Garden Of Forking Paths (Extreme) Filed under jazz for now, though Australian pianist Hannaford plays a particularly experimental form of the genre, which may explain why he’s on a label called Extreme, rather than Blue Note or Verve. Importantly, first impressions rarely count with any form of ‘difficult’ music (I hate that term, but still found it necassary to use it - strange), and it’s only with repeated listens that Hannaford’s melodic inventiveness comes to the fore. My favourite track ‘What Was That?’ starts slow and broken before kicking in with some ravishingly disadvantaged trumpet, courtesy of Scott Tinkler. Beautifully ugly, indeed. www.xtr.com/artists/marc-hannaford Rob F. RF & Lili De La Mora - Eleven Continents (Rowing At Sea & Time Release Records) Wow. If you like your music to be of thoughtful, shimmering, dreamy introspection and effervescing beauty then ‘Eleven Continents’ is for you. In his first collaboration with Lili De La Mora RF’s (Ryan Francesconi) regular forays into electronic minutiae have here been substituted with pure, enchanting arrangements which are augmented with vocals, keys (of the ‘Familiar Trees’), strings, flute, trumpet, sympathetic percussion and the mesmerising harp of Joanna Newsom (on the title track). The album’s other worldliness is not achieved through any strange making devices but through the surrealistic contradiction of word and music. The whispered lyrics are of the land and sky, with little mention of man made structures - the exception being the road which is immediately departed for the mystery of the forest - yet the music conjures a deep watery underworld. ‘Eleven Continents’ offers maximum escapism without the need to leave your head. www.rowingatsea.com www.timereleaserecords.com Will F. Michael Shakley & Graham - Crackers (Independent) A real hotch potch of influences are evident on Michael Shakley & Graham’s Crackers album. I guess it’s a fusion album in the truest sense of the word, as jazz, funk, Latin, soul, blues, rock and whatever come together to make an occasionally challenging, but always enjoyable whole. If I had a complaint, it’s that when they find themselves in a real glorious groove, they tend to jump ship far too early. For example, and as compliments go, here’s a good one: ‘White House Blues’ wouldn’t have sounded out of place on Herbie Hancock’s Head Hunters album, had they had the nerve to stretch out some and really go for it. Three and a half short minutes and it’s over. Still, the Herbie Hancock comparison stands. http://michaelshakleyandgraham.com Rob F. Lurrie Bell - Let’s Talk About Love (Aria B. G.) Chicago, home of urban electric blues and home to Lurrie Bell, the son of blues harp legend, Carey Bell. Brought up steeped in the musical tradition of his hometown, Bell’s take on the blues is always respectful to the past, but his guitar playing is so explosively good on ‘Let’s Talk About Love’, it’s like hearing it for the first time. Don’t get me wrong, this is an album of good songs, sung well, but as soon as a guitar solo kicks in, that’s when the music really takes off. www.lurrie.com Rob F. Dyad - No Pedlars Or Preachers (Copperspine) Kori Miyanishi, Leah Abramson and Shio Mizumoto, who make up the Canadian trio Dyad, grab your attention from the very beginning with their mix of old-time and Appalachian mountain music. An instrumental line-up of guitars, banjos, fiddles and mouth harp plus superb harmonies all add up to an album that makes for great listening. Ten of the thirteen tracks are covers of songs from the early part of the last century, including two by the great Frank Proffitt, namely ‘I'm Going Back to North Carolina’ and ‘Goin' Cross the Mountain’ ,and Dyad’s versions of both are outstanding. www.myspace.com/dyad3 Pete J. Esthema - Apart From The Rest (Independent) Although they call Massachusetts home, Esthema mix up progressive Western rock styles with Eastern European folk and Middle Eastern influences on their debut album, ‘Apart From The Rest’. The call it ‘world fusion’, and that’s as good a name as any for a form of music which seems to encompass such a large part of the planet. The Middle Eastern influence is especially enticing and in parts it reminds me of Jaz Coleman and Anne Dudley’s ‘Songs From The Victorious City’ album, at other times the references are less obvious, though no less captivating. Overall, a truly exciting instrumental record, which should appeal to musical adventurers everywhere. Their Myspace page offers four of the seven tracks to audition and if they hook you, then CD Baby has it available for purchase. www.esthema.com Rob F. ‘Uncle’ John Turner - Texas Blues (Great Blues) ‘Uncle’ John Turner was the original drummer on the first three classic Johnny Winter albums and he also played with him at the original Woodstock festival. After leaving Winter's band, he formed the band Krackerjack with a young Stevie Ray Vaughan on guitar. ‘Texas Blues’ is, as it's title suggests, a typical Texas blues recording, with Johnny Winter On the following five tracks ‘Roll, Roll, Roll’ , Rosco Gordon's ‘Just A Little Bit’, ‘You're Humbuckin' Me’, ‘I Got It Made" and ‘Allons Dancez’. Turner provides vocals as well as drums on this collection, which was released after his death on July 26th 2007. www.myspace.com/unclejohnturner Pete J. - Past Reviews: March 07, April 07, May 07, June/July 07, Sept/Oct 07