As with last month there’s been an unusually broad sampling of new music on my desk. This time around I am focusing on a few long time favorites who are still out there making records. And as long as they are, Rapid River Magazine readers are encouraged to buy records at your local music shops. Most towns our size would love to have such a great assortment of record stores!
Rory Block
Avalon: A tribute to Mississippi John Hurt
Stony Plain Records
On the fifth installment of her “Mentor Series,” which previously dedicated albums to Robert Johnson, Rev. Gary Davis, Mississippi Fred McDowell, and Son House, Rory Block pays tribute to Mississippi John Hurt. With the exception of one original tune, the appropriately titled “Everybody Loves John” the album is wholly comprised of songs written by or closely associated with him.
As a teenager the now 64-year-old Block met Hurt in her native Manhattan where the legendary blues icon was playing one of the many small clubs devoted to blues and folk. That meeting, along with her father’s friendship with blues historian and acoustic guitarist Stefan Grossman, was a pivotal moment in her life. She began to study his songs, his distinct finger picking technique, and his interest in diverse styles of music. Hurt may have called himself a bluesman, but he readily embraced folk, jazz, Appalachian country songs, flamenco, music from Africa, and popular tunes of the era.
For this session Block chose ten classic songs in Hurt’s repertoire including “Candy Man,” “Frankie & Albert,” “Got the Blues Can’t Be Satisfied,” “Richland Woman Blues,” “Spike Driver Blues,” “Stagolee,” and “Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor.”
As with her other tribute releases the interpretations are honest, respectful, and impeccably performed. As such it’s not only an enjoyable release on its own terms, but its greater purpose may be in leading a new generation of curious listeners to investigate the original recordings made by a classic American blues musician. ****
Various Artists
Ghost Brothers of Darkland County
Hear/Concord Music
Sometime the best of intentions, a project that seems so promising in theory, simply doesn’t pan out. Such is the case with Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, the accompanying soundtrack to a play written by suspense master Stephen King.
With John Mellencamp writing the songs and T Bone Burnett as the music director you’d think this would be a slam dunk. Add singers that include Americana icons Dave and Phil Alvin, Taj Mahal, Sheryl Crow, Kris Kristofferson, Elvis Costello, and Roseanne Cash; along with relative newcomers Neko Case and Ryan Bingham, and you’ve got a promoter’s dream come true.
Unfortunately this overly complex story-set in rural Mississippi and revolving around the lives of feuding brothers and the associated sibling ghosts–doesn’t translate well from the stage: it’s too dependent on visuals and character interaction to stand on its own, meaning that the songs, in and of themselves, fail to either convey the subtleties of the narrative or the propulsive thrust of the plot.
Long time Burnett cohorts Jay Bellerose and guitarist Marc Ribot provide an ethereal backdrop-Ribot’s guitar work is particularly keen and haunting- but that doesn’t keep Ghost Brothers from feeling strangely detached, regulated to a curious souvenir on par with a program book that might be gorgeous to look at but adds nothing to the experience. **1/2
The Definitive Doc Watson
Sugar Hill Records
Trying to compile a “definitive” summation of Doc Watson’s career is a bit like presenting The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged). The best you can hope for is a sampling deep and wide enough so that anyone who has somehow not yet been exposed to the prodigious and staggeringly influential work of Watson (or the Bard) hears enough that they want more. In this case much more, as it seems impossible to imagine anyone listening to this sampler and not thinking “now I know what the fuss is all about.”
With 34 tracks spanning two discs and 105 minutes, The Definitive Doc Watson barely skims the surface. Watson recorded more than forty albums and had been performing more than two decades before his 1961 debut. Given those challenges this collection does a remarkable job of capturing the essence of a man who, along with Merle Travis and Chet Atkins, was one of the most influential folk/country guitar players of the latter half of the twentieth century.
If you’ve never had the pleasure of hearing such flat picking romps as “Black Mountain Rag” or “Ragtime Annie” then you’re in for a genuine treat. Even if these songs are familiar touchstones of your life the chance to revisit them in such elegant surroundings is not to be missed. As Derek Halsey so eloquently states in his fascinating liner notes, “You may never hear your favorite Doc Watson song.” Whichever one has most recently penetrated your consciousness might likely be the most loved at that moment. *****
Lisa Loeb
No Fairy Tale
429 Records
Lisa Loeb’s career can roughly be divided into the subtle, introspective side of her music (as best typified by “Stay (I missed you)”) and her knack for writing insidiously catchy pop ditties like “I Do”. Nearly two decades after “Stay”, her first and biggest hit, Loeb lets go of her singer/songwriter inclinations and goes straight for the party hat.
Co-produced by Chad Gilbert, best known as the vocalist for the gospel entourage New Found Glory, No Fairy Tale presents a less conflicted, more confidant Loeb, relishing in the hook a minute ennui of relationships gone good, bad, and good again as well as the sheer joy of falling in love even when you know it’s headed for disaster.
Gilbert’s lead guitar is placed front and center while the clean and precise arrangements allow Loeb to showcase her vocal dexterity. Her lyrics are more sharply focused than ever-listen to how on “The 90’s” she adroitly skewers her own years as an MTV ingénue-which may be due to her wisely bringing in such collaborators as Maia Sharp, Morgan Taylor, Marvin Etzioni.
For her part Loeb seems fully engaged in the proceedings, romping through such joys as “Married” and the title track as if she hasn’t a care in the world. It’s lightweight in all the best ways and while No Fairy Tale isn’t the most sophisticated or deeply personal album she’s ever made, it is darn sure, from start to finish, the most enjoyable. ***1/2
Mavis Staples
One True Vine
Anti Records
Following on the success of their Grammy Award winning collaboration You Are Not Alone, Mavis Staples and Jeff Tweedy again pair up for an album designed to showcase Staples astounding vocal skills while allowing Tweedy to have a bit of “for once I’m not the center of attention” fun.
Not wanting to mess up a winning formula much of One True Vine sounds as if it were recorded alongside its predecessor even if the tone is somewhat different. Tweedy’s son Spencer (who is all of 17!) handles the drums while Tweedy himself takes over bass duties. The cover choices are somewhat more reserved, with Staples demonstrating the quieter side of her powerful voice, meaning that One True Vine is not as immediately arresting as was You Are Not Alone. Which only adds to its intrigue: it’s an album to smolders long after the fire has burnt most brightly.
The early Funkadelic hit “Can You Get to That” is among the most inspired moments-Tweedy and guest vocalist Donny Gerrard circle the chorus with an odd bit of doo wop goofiness-while their recasting of the Staples Singers’ classic “I Like the Things About Me” (now known as “I Like the Things About You”) trades in the familiar guitar buzz for a pumped up and deliberately out of tune bass line that crackles with excitement.
Tweedy contributes three tunes of his own-songs that would have been out of place on a Wilco album but sound perfectly natural here-and Nick Lowes’ lovely “Far Celestial Shore” adds to an already tasty stew. One True Vine may lack the surprise and punch of You Are Not Alone but one can only go to the well so many times. Jeff Tweedy and Mavis Staples-a generation apart but closely connected-continue to be a match made in musical heaven. ****
Dave Davies
I Will Be Me
Cleopatra/Purple Pyramid Music
Since suffering a major stroke in 2004, Dave Davies has engaged in a bit of melancholy combined with a heavy dose of indignation. As well he should, as history continues to under write his contributions to The Kinks (second only to The Beatles in my pantheon of bands) even while antics of brother Ray continue to grab the headlines.
As witnessed in the marvelous 2010 documentary Do It Again: One Man’s Quest to Reunite the Kinks Dave is no longer bitter. He’s long since come to terms with Ray’s insecurities and while one can sense the sadness he feels over their severed relationship he’s resigned to accepting the current state of affairs. Thus, I Will Be Me finds him in a more reflective mood, looking back through rose colored glasses at what was and what might have been.
He kicks off the album with “Little Green Amp,” a strident rocker that combines several Kinks songs-primarily “All Day and All Of the Night” and “Destroyer”-into a four and a half minute history of the band. It’s followed by the wistful “Living in the Past,” in which Dave sings of the pleasures and pitfalls of nostalgia, but moves to more tender and romantic territory with “The Actress” and “When I First Saw You.” The second of those is both a paean to his wife and a declaration of his longstanding (and widely public) belief in mysticism, inter-dimensional travel, and UFOs.
Your appreciation of which will be entirely dependent on your own acceptance-or at the least your ability to set skepticism aside- of such things. But there’s no denying the sincerity Dave brings to the table. He does have a tendency towards pedantic distraction and at times the healing nature of his intent and the intensity of his guitar playing-this is, after all, the guy who virtually invented heavy metal-doesn’t quite click.
But there’s a fierce determination to I Will Be Me helps balance its shortcomings. At age 66, grateful to still be among us, Dave Davies seems to have at last found some inner peace. ***1/2
Roger McGuinn
The Folk Den Recordings
This is less a review and more a public service announcement but devotees of The Byrds, quite possibly greatest band this country has ever produced, will thank me. From early on McGuinn was as much a student and historian as he was performer; his love of early folk recordings helped shape the band’s distinctive sound and served to chart the course for much of his own solo work.
Beginning in 1995 McGuinn has shared, at the rate of one per month, free downloads of his personal recordings of mountain music, sea shanties, chain gang songs, cowboy tunes and southern spirituals on his website, The Folk Den (www.ibiblio.org/jimmy/folkden-wp). Essentially, the project is a history of folk music’s evolution over the last few centuries. Each post features personal anecdotes about the composition’s history and/or his first introduction to it – often with lyrics and chord progressions.
It’s a mighty impressive project – both musically and personally – though, it should be noted that the fidelity is not always studio quality. But McGuinn’s trademark twelve-string Rickenbacker has never sounded better and his voice has only gained character with age.
To date McGuinn has offered up 213 songs, adding up to an astounding ten hours worth. The Folk Den Recordings are part musical narration, part entertainment, and all wonderful. ****
Levon Helm
Ain’t In It for My Health
DVD
The lucky few able to be present at the sold out screening (a second show had to be added) at The Fine Arts movie theater of Ain’t In It For My Health, director Jacob Hatley’s up close and personal look at the life and music of Levon Helm, were treated to something singular. In attendance was North Carolina singer/songwriter Laurelyn Dossett, whose song “Anna Lee” was featured on Helm’s Grammy Award winning comeback album Dirt Farmer.
Dossett performed the song, talked about how it came to be noticed by Helm, and nearly stole the show. But not quite, as this audience was plainly there to show their appreciation and adoration for the late Mr. Helm, whose singing and drumming were the heart and soul of The Band, and whose Ramble concerts-shows promoted to (in part) help cover his medical expenses as he courageously fought the throat cancer that eventually took his life-helped renew his faith in a music industry that had thrown him aside.
Shot during the course of two-plus years, the film is a mostly satisfying glimpse into Helm’s struggles-from Arkansas hillbilly to backing Bob Dylan to worldwide fame but not wealth. His bitterness towards Robbie Robertson, who in usurping the role as band leader and principal songwriter, made millions while leaving the Helm and others virtually destitute, is evident as is his affection for his late band mates Rick Danko and Richard Manual.
As such Ain’t In It for My Health is a bittersweet portrait, at times tough to watch but always fascinating. It’s as complicated as is Helm himself. Set to be released on DVD later this year I highly recommend it.