Americana CD Releases for May 6th, 2008

CHRISTINE ALBERT - Paris, Texafrance (MoonHouse)
The Texas singer was surrounded by the French language and culture throughout her childhood. She has evolved into the consummate “Texas Chanteuse”, combining her musical influences from Texas to Paris, Haggard to Piaf.

ELVIS COSTELLO & THE IMPOSTERS- Momofuku (Lost Highway)
Originally to be a vinyl-only, with digital-download code included in the packaging, but it’s available on CD also. It’s a good mix of styles while still possessing his core sound.

ELEVEN HUNDRED SPRINGS - Country Jam (Palo Duro)
One of the better Texas country bands, these guys do it all here from Western Swing to Rockabilly. Produced by Lloyd Maines and recommended.

MEG HUTCHINSON - Come Up Full (Red House)

JEB LOY NICHOLS - Days Are Mighty (Compass)

ABIGAIL WASHBURN & THE SPARROW QUARTET -The Sparrow Quartet (Nettwerk)
Washburn is the vocalist and banjo player with Uncle Earl. This is her ambituous and talent-stocked side project with Bela Fleck, Casey Driessen, and Ben Sollee on banjo, violin and cello, respectively. Sometimes haunting, classical and even Chinese-sounding.

coming soon… OLD 97′S, AMOS GARRETT, PETER BRUNTNELL, MAMA SAID … more new releases. According to Miles Of Music, the new T BONE BURNETT CD release has been pushed back.

Rest in Peace… Country Music Hall of Fame member EDDY ARNOLD died at the age 89.

New Reviews on the Freight Train Boogie website… PATRICK BLOOM, THE WOOD BROTHERS, HOLLY LONG, CHATHAM COUNTY LINE, FRED EAGLESMITH, JAMES McMURTRY, JIM LAUDERDALE…
Bill Frater

New Americana CD Releases for April 29th, ‘08

KASEY CHAMBERS & SHANE NICHOLSON - Rattlin’ Bones (Australia Import)
One-time Americana darling Kasey and husband Shane collaborate on this Aussie-only (read expensive) import. It’s reportedly “roots country” so it may be great.
PETER COOPER - Mission Door (Red Beet)
Cooper is a columnist with the Nashville Tennessean who was encouraged to write songs by Todd Snider. This is an impressive debut CD, featuring steel guitar legend Lloyd Green. Recommended!
COW BOP - Route 66 (Blujazz)
San Francisco area western swing band featuring Bruce Forman on guitar and Dan Hicks guesting on a few songs.
STEVE EARLE - Copperhead Road (Universal)
Remastered reissue 2-disc set goes beyond the original 1998 album that was one of his best “pre-sobriety” albums. The second disc features and an eleven song live show ‘97.
STEVE EARLE - Live From Austin, TX (2004) (New West)
Taken from PBS Austin City Limits show with extra songs. Recorded after Transcendental Blues CD (post-sobriety) DVD also available.
FAYSSOUX - Early (Red Beet)
She sang harmonies on the first four Emmylou Harris albums when she was Fayssoux Starling. Produced by Peter Cooper, (see above), it features mostly spare traditional folk songs. Emmylou adds a few harmonies.
GRIFFIN HOUSE - Flying Upside Down (Nettwerk)
Very impressive singer-songwriter from Nashville.
MUDCRUTCH - Mudcrutch (Warners)
Tom Petty’s original pre-Heartbreakers band. They play Byrds/Burrito Bros. style Country Rock.

Upcoming Releases: (May 6th) ABIGAIL WASHBURN & THE SPARROW QUARTET (with BELA FLECK), T BONE BURNETT,  CHRISTINE ALBERT, ELEVEN HUNDRED SPRINGS, MEG HUTCHINSON, JEB LOY NICHOLS, ELVIS COSTELLO… (May 13th) THE OLD 97’s, AMOS GARRETT

New Reviews on the Freight Train Boogie website… PATRICK BLOOM, THE WOOD BROTHERS, HOLLY LONG, CHATHAM COUNTY LINE, FRED EAGLESMITH, JAMES McMURTRY…
Bill Frater

New Americana Releases for April 22nd, ‘08

COMMANDER CODY & HIS LOST PLANET AIRMEN - Live In the Ozone: 1973 US Tour (Cleopatra)
MICHAEL DOUCET - From Now On (Smithsonian Folkways)
The much admired leader of the  World-Cajun group BeauSoleil goes solo. Featuring pared-down instrumentation of solo fiddle, fiddle-plus-one, and solo accordion.
JEFF HEALEY - Mess Of Blues (Ruf)
The recently deceased blind blues guitarist releases his swan song. The disc is a collection of classic blues songs and a few good old bluesy rockers, most of which were live favorites of Jeff Healey fans.
CHRIS MILLS - Living in The Aftermath (Ernest Jenning)
STEVE RILEY & THE MAMOU PLAYBOYS - Best Of (Rounder)
Another Cajun veteran and his rockin’ band look back after 20 years in the biz. This 2 CD set collects the best of their recordings, along with three  new songs.

Coming soon… MUDCRUNCH, JUSTIN RUTLEDGE, STEVE EARLE (reissue), PETER COOPER, KASEY CHAMBERS & SHANE NICHOLSON, FAYSSOUX…

Newly reviewed CD’s on the Freight Train Boogie… CHATHAM COUNTY LINE, FRED EAGLESMITH, JAMES McMURTRY, KATHLEEN EDWARDS, ROBIN DEAN SALMON, JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE, CARLENE CARTER and more!

New Americana Releases for April 15th, ‘08

AMERICAN PRINCES - Other People (Yep Roc)

KRIS DELMHORST - Shotgun Singer (Signature Sounds)
Reportedly she holed up in a rural cabin with minimal recording gear and a houseful of instruments, and created the successor to her ‘06 masterpiece Strange Conversation.

DIXIE BEE-LINERS - Ripe (Pinecastle)
Spunky original bluegrass featuring the fine lead vocals of Brandi Hart.

JAMES McMURTRY - Just Us Kids (Lightning Rod)
McMurtry brings in some more politically minded tunes (“God Bless America,” “Cheney’s Toy”). The highlight is the acoustic tale of “Ruby and Carlos”. He’s at his best writing  trailer park character studies.

THE WILDERS - Someone’s Got to Pay (Free Dirt)
The Wilders, that old-timey, hillbilly, honky tonk band from KC, get serious, (sort of), with a “concept” album, centering around a real life murder and the wrecked lives affected by it.

JORDAN ZEVON - Insides Out (New West/Ammal)
Son of Warren…

Coming soon… MICHAEL DOUCET, ELVIS COSTELLO, JEFF HEALEY, MUDCRUNCH, KASEY CHAMBERS & SHANE NICHOLSON
Written by Bill Frater (FreightTrainBoogie.com)

New Americana Releases for April 8th, ‘08

MARCIA BALL- Peace Love & BBQ (Alligator)
New Orleans-style piano-pounder always puts out solid CD’s. She tours incessantly.

HAYES CARLL - Trouble In Mind (Lost Highway)
If you’ve never heard of Hayes, think the wise sarcasm of Ray Wylie Hubbard of Todd Snider, then add a little more twang… After only one listen, I’m thinkin’ this might be one of my Top Ten CD’s of the year. Recommended!

GIBSON BROTHERS - Iron & Diamonds (Sugar Hill)
Original bluegrass featuring brothers Eric and Leigh, who ably carry on the brothers harmony tradition that goes back through the Everlys, Louvins and Delmores, among others.

JAMES INTVELD - Have Faith (Molenaart)
Fine Rockabilly/Retro Country artist who has recently move to Nashville. Good Stuff!

LONGVIEW - Deep In The Mountains (Rounder)

Coming soon… KRIS DELMHORST, JAMES McMURTRY, THE WILDERS
Bill Frater, FreightTrainBoogie.com

New Americana Releases for April 1st, ‘08

BRIAN BLADE & THE FELLOWSHIP BAND	Season Of Changes (Verve) (drummer with Emmylou Harris)
JACKIE GREENE	Giving Up The Ghost (429)
KATHY MATTEA	Coal (Captain Potato)One-time Country star gets “down and dirty” with Coal, a collection of songs about  coal mining. Both of Mattea’s grandfathers were miners so I guess she should know.  The album is mostly acoustic and has a nice gentle feeling. Produced respectfully by Marty Stuart
VAN MORRISON	Keep It Simple (Lost Highway) Van keeps thing pretty mellow and bluesy on this one. I hear that he’s sober, which might make him nicer to his fans. This CD is better than average for him. There’s even a touch of twang courtesy of steel guitarist Cindy Cashdollar on 2 tracks.
WILLIE NELSON	One Hell Of A Ride (Columbia/Legacy) (4-CD career-spanning retrospective)
MATTHEW RYAN	Matthew Ryan Vs. The Silver State (00:02:59)
SOUTH AUSTIN JUG BAND	Strange Invitations (self released)
THE WOOD BROTHERS	Loaded (Blue Note)A great CD, their second, featuring the lackadaisical yet endearing vocals of Oliver Wood. The other brother is Chris, who plays bass with jazz/jam band Medeski, Martin & Wood. Although Loaded was produced by John Medeski, it is more edgy folk-blues music. Recommended!

coming soon… MARCIA BALL, HAYES CARLL, JAMES INTVELD, THE GIBSON BROTHERS, JAMES McMURTRY, KRIS DELMHORST, and THE WILDERS…(Bill Frater, Freight Train Boogie)

Americana Music Assoc. Conference, the panels and the rest

The business end of Americana is what’s usually talked about during the daily panels and one of the big discussions was how the current technological upheaval will affect our music. With digital music and satellite radio and podcasts and all the rest making headlines daily, how will Americana survive? More than one of the major record label execs said that the CD is history, although our music may be one of the last holdouts because of our demographic. One panelist stated that the largest segment of CD buyers are now over 5o years old. Records stores are dying too, except for a few unique and niche independent stores like Grimey’s, which is in Nashville, and averages 2 in-store performances a week to keep bringing customers into the store. They are a great store and worth visiting if you’re ever in town but you have to wonder how long even they can survive.

No Depression Editor Grant Alden said that the closing of Tower Records hurt his magazine because of Tower’s large music magazine section. The Webcasting panel was ineffective because the representative from Sound Exchange, (the bad guys), didn’t show up. My favorite panel was entitled “Are iPods (and the Internet) Killing The Career Fan?”. Scott LeGere (Eclectone Records) was the moderator and panalists included songwriter/producer Kevin Bowe, Signature Sounds president Jim Olsen, attorney Skip Rudsenske and Grant Alden. It was their open minded and optimistic conversation that enlightened me the most.

The best music sets I saw besides the AMA Awards show were by Mike Farris, Blue Rodeo, Elizabeth Cook, Gurf Morlix, Eilen Jewell, Paul Burch, The Gougers, Sarah Borges, James Intveld, Polecat Creek, The Hackensaw Boys and a few more who’s name escape me right now. The ones who I missed but heard were great… Jesse Dayton, Blue Mountain, Peter Case, The Wrights, Chuck Prophet… till next year!

More misc. pictures… (double click to enlarge)

Americana Music Assoc. Conference, day 2

Thursday was the first whole day of panel discussions At the AMA’s and the trade show opened (half the size of last year’s trade show) . That evening featured the annual Americana Honors awards show at the Ryman Auditorium. The awards show has a dubious tradition of poor sound and technical problems but this year’s show went fairly smoothly. Hosted as always by Jim Lauderdale, the awards show included performances by Lyle Lovett, Patty Griffin, Ricky Skaggs and Bruce Hornsby, Old Crow Medicine Show, Todd Snider, Joe Ely, Guy Clark and others.

Musically, there were many highlights. Hearing Emmylou and Rodney do “Leaving Louisiana In The Broad Daylight” with Fats Kaplin on cajun fiddle was magical. Lyle doin’ “If I Had A Boat” wasn’t too shabby either. He prefaced the song with a story about how he got his start.

In addition to the great music there were many amusing acceptance speeches. Jim Dickinson received a lifetime achievement award for his work as a musician and producer and told a great story about his first break in Nashville. Joe Ely, Rodney Crowell and Guy Clark all told stories about the notorious Townes Van Zandt. Townes received the AMA president’s award and Guy followed with his version of “To Live Is To Fly“. Patty Griffin won for Artist of the Year and Album of the Year for Children Running Through. Emmy joined her for “Trapeze“, once again, goosebumps time. The whole thing closed with Porter Wagoner’s “Satisfied Mind” and we were off to the clubs to finish out the night. Here’s a full list of the night’s award winners and pictures for the AMA.

After the Awards show, the clubs had special AMA showcases. The Basement, by far the smallest club had a Yep Roc Records showcase with John Doe, Jim Lauderdale and Peter Case. The 3rd & Lindsley club, my favorite because of it’s intimacy and inclusion of actual chairs and tables had the Hacienda Brothers and friends. The Cannery Ballroom had Blue Rodeo with other Canadian artist like Oh Susanna and Ron Sexsmith. I chose the Blue Rodeo because I love the band and they never get out to the west coast where I live. They were excellent despite the usual boomy sound in the Cannery.

Americana Music Assoc. Conference, day 1

So we bounced into Nashville about 5 PM, Halloween night. Kay Clements (KWMR DJ) and I immediately head off to the Tennessee State Museum for a celebration of the life of Porter Wagoner. It was already scheduled before Porter’s recent death so it became more of a wake and celebration of his life and music. It was also the perfect setting to open the 4-day AMA conference because of the excellent Marty Stuart exhibit that was in the same space. More on that later…

Newcomer Mike Farris sang a soulful “Green Green Grass of Home”. Check out Farris’s performance on You Tube. Rodney Crowell followed with a couple of songs, then Buddy Miller, Emmylou Harris and Jim Lauderdale. The room was packed and many were decked out in their finest cowboy shirts to honor Porter. Even Buddy shed his customary baseball hat for a black cowboy hat and blue western jacket. He closed the event with Emmy and Lauderdale for a resplendent version of Porter’s “Satisfied Mind”. More on the event from Twang Nation.

After the show, we had less then an hour to enjoy the amazing collection of country music memorabilia included in Sparkle & Twang. Marty, grew up wanting to be a country star and he achieved that goal and saved everything along the journey. Having spent his teenage years with Lester Flatt’s touring band he went on to work with Johnny Cash. Stuart has paid his dues and he knows everybody in the business. Most importantly, he was a fan of the music and he knew that the legacy was worth preserving. His collection of clothing, guitars, letters and posters are unsurpassed. Everyone from Jimmie Rodgers to Patsy Cline to Dylan, Gram Parsons and Hank Sr. The latter was featured in a series of letters about his wild drinking lifestyle and whether it was “good for his career”. Marty had the foresight, connections and money to preserve this stuff and he also is an amazing photographer. The only regret is the exhibit is temporary. I enjoyed it more than the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival ‘07 Sunday Highlights

Sunday came early and traffic from Santa Rosa kept me from seeing the 11 AM set by the Wrongers, which is HSB promoter’s Warren Hellman’s bluegrass/old-timey band. They had Heidi Claire and Ron Thomason (Dry Branch Fire Squad) sitting in with them. By the time I got there I caught some of Moonalice, a new rock group featuring G.E. Smith, Pete Sears Jack Cassidy . Despite they’re passing out hundreds of pretty posters to commemorate the show, they were pretty boring through the frist 2 songs, and not because of any of the above-named musicians. I wondered over the hill to the Star Stage and the Heartless Bastards weren’t much better.

I knew I could count on the great Charlie Louvin to win me over. The 80-year old country legend, who recorded so many fabulous songs with his brother Ira, as the Louvin Brothers was good, in a Grand Ol’ Opry show kinda way. His band was decent and they added other country hits to the Louvin classics, “My Baby’s Gone, “Great Atomic Power” and “Must You Throw Dirt In My Face” among others. He even mentioned Gram Parsons as someone who helped spread the word on the Louvin’s before doing “The Christian Life”.

Then it was off to the Banjo Stage to see another living legend, the father of bluegrass banjo, Earl Scruggs. He had a good band featuring his son Randy and they flew through a bunch of songs like the old Earl Scruggs Revue some 30 years ago. Earl didn’t not miss a lick. Their excellent Hacienda Brothers had the crowd taken by their country-soul, closing with their great version of “Cowboys To Girls”.

Doc Watson was just amazing, still as hot as a picker as ever and in fine voice. Joined by the equally great David Holt and Doc’s grandson Richard Watson. I was standing next to Dallas Good from Toronto’s The Sadies and he was mezmerized, as were The Mekons’ Sally Timms and Jon Langford.

Emmylou Harris closed out the Sunday show, which is the tradition of HSB, introduced by Warren Hellman. Looking as beautiful as ever and backed by John Starling’s bluegrass band Carolina Star (with Mike Auldridge).They ran through a bunch of Emmy’s greatest early songs, “Blue Kentucky Girl”, “One Of These Days”, If I Could Only Win Your Love” and even “Leavin’ Louisiana In The Broad Daylight”. I haven’t heard her do such great “classics” or sound so good in years.

Most of the stages were being filmed, some with as many as five cameras. What will be done with all of the footage remains to be seen but Austin City Limits will air an hour episode from the festival in late January. Hellman said he’ll do it again next year, what a guy! I know I’ll be there.

There were many acts who I missed including New Lost City Ramblers, Robert Earl Keen, John Prine, Los Lobos (with Dave Alvin and Joe Ely sitting in), David Grisman, Dan Reeder and many, many more. Festival Preview has some great coverage and photos.