The Americana Boogie website can now be found at http://www.americanaboogie.com/
Here’s what’s new in the way of Americana and roots-type music for the week of May 17th, 2011. The artist’s names link to their websites or MySpace pages and the CD title links go to either Amazon or CD Baby for easy ordering. The Freight Train Boogie podcast playlists with players and iTunes links are now posted at FTBpodcasts.com.
MATRACA BERG - The Dreaming Fields (Dualtone)
It’s been 14 years since her last album although she’s a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame and was first woman to write five #1 Country singles in a year. “It is a little strange to be back out here,” the somewhat reclusive artist concedes. “But these songs, and the women in them… They deserved to be heard and seen and to be realized. So many people are never put in the light, and The Dreaming Fields is about recognizing their courage, strength and dignity in a world that is often decaying around them.” Marked by a strong sense of humanism and social awareness, Berg never flinches as she excavates the caverns of women’s lives – often lived on the verge of disappearing. The title track is an elegy for her grandfather’s Wisconsin dairy farm, now being parceled off as a housing development, the surging “If I Had Wings” tackles the aftermath of domestic abuse turned fatal, “Silver & Glass” is the desperate truth about aging beauty and “South of Heaven” is a war mother’s lament for the child lost to battle. (From press release)
FOSTER & LLOYD - It’s Already Tomorrow (Effin Ell)
Foster & Lloyd also became one of the few acts to be played simultaneously on Country and College radio, sharing common musical ground and press accolades with Rank and File, Lone Justice and the Blasters. Though they remained friends and wrote together sporadically over the years, it took a request from the Americana Music Association to reunite for a fundraiser to get the duo together again onstage. It was so much fun getting back together onstage, and we realized that the new songs we had written together still had that magic,” says Foster. One might think that after a twenty-year break, the vocal harmonies might creak a little but the duo sounds surprisingly strong from the opening notes. Their vocal blend is cohesive and as tight as it used to be and the guitars still hold center spotlight when it comes to the instrumental aspect of the Foster & Lloyd sound. Recommended!
LEVON HELM - Ramble at the Ryman (Vanguard)
Ramble At The Ryman captures the joy, essence and reverence of Helm’s live shows. This collection features the Levon Helm Band performing many classics from his tenure with The Band, as well as song’s from Dirt Farmer and selections from artists such as Chuck Berry, the Carter Family and more. Recorded at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium, Helm is joined by Larry Campbell, Buddy Miller, John Hiatt, Sheryl Crow, Sam Bush and others. There is also a DVD of the show available. (From press release)
Also new this week…
SARAH JAROSZ – Follow Me Down (Sugar Hill)
GREEZY WHEELS – Gone Greezy (MaHatMa)
NRBQ – Keep This Love Goin’ (Clang!)
Various Artists – A Nod To Bob 2: Tribute to Bob Dylan (Red House)
HANK WILLIAMS III – Hillbilly Joker (Curb)
Coming soon… DAVID OLNEY, CHIP TAYLOR, ROD PICOTT … more new releases
Here’s a link to this week’s Americana Music Association Americana Airplay Chart
Bill Frater
Freight Train Boogie
