In order to whittle down the ever growing stack of discs, I’ll be keeping my reviews to around 200 words, which is much harder than it sounds. Everything here is worth getting, and worth buying at any of our wonderful independently owned record stores. They continue to be part of what makes Asheville great. So off we go!
Bobby Long
Ode To Thinking
Compass Records
Every once in a while an artist with whom I am unfamiliar comes along and knocks my socks off. Bobby Long is such a voice; brilliant song craft, understated but powerful arrangements, and a clear vision of what it should be, makes Ode To Thinking the disc I’ve most listened to this month.
Producer Mark Hallman provides the textural backdrop while Long immerses the listener in a series of vivid portraits of long gone hard, the down and out striving to escape, and the subtle victories that keep us going. “Cold Hearted Lover of Mine” is the standout track but there’s not a song here that isn’t deeply moving and powerfully strummed. And despite its themes of desperation, Ode To Thinking is a remarkably upbeat and hopeful journey.
This is what Nashville should be all about, making Bobby Long’s latest an essential purchase. *****
The Blackberry Bushes Stringband
Three Red Feathers
A charming collection of fiddle/bass/mandolin/banjo and guitar songs that breeze along as gently as a mountain stream, Three Red Feathers is a solid entry into the “old time music by millennial generation musician’s field.”
It might lack the punch of the Avett Brothers but Jes Raymond’s lovely voice caresses in all the proper ways while the arrangements are precise yet expansive, giving the songs ample room to breathe while staying on track. The harmonies are simply gorgeous and bassist Forrest Marowitz’s occasional leads provide a bit of welcome vocal muscularity. The title track immediately jumps out but don’t underestimate the delightful “Lady of The Mountains” or “Out on The Western Plains” (one of the album’s two covers.)
I’ll admit a bit of indifference to stringband music but Three Red Feathers held my attention throughout repeated listens. Definitely a band to watch. ***1/2
Mr Sun
the people need light
Compass Records
A string band super group of sorts, Mr Sun is a collaboration between Turtle Island String Quartet fiddler Darol Anger, vocalist and mandolin wizard Joseph Walsh, Grant Gordy (best known for his extended work with various Dave Grisman assemblages), and bassist Ethan Jodziewicz.
Given that the band represents three generations it’s no surprise that the collective musical influences are so broad; bluegrass, jazz, gypsy folk, and classical all mixed into one upbeat musical melting pot. The result is an album that is not only impeccably performed but surprisingly playful, as the four bounce around traditional delights such as “Dry & Dusty” and “After You’ve Gone” interspersed between a fine set of originals.
Some might consider this as background music, and to be sure it works fine as such. But aspiring musicians would do well to study this with intent, learning a bit about arrangements that entice without encroaching and the importance of placing chemistry before showmanship. ****
Shemekia Copeland
Outskirts of Love
Alligator Records
While the advantage of good DNA should never be underestimated Shemekia Copeland—the daughter of legendary blues guitarist Johnny—has worked her hardest to move beyond her father’s admirable shadow.
Seventeen years after her debut she’s established a career that has rightfully placed her as an artist in her own right, one that remains mindful of her achievements while refusing to be constricted by them. Outskirts of Love, her return to Alligator Records after a two album hiatus, is also a return to form, eschewing the jazz/folk experimentations of her recent work and focusing again on contemporary blues. Her sturdy voice and assertive guitar work are well matched to the material herein while producer Oliver Wood—certainly among the most sympathetic collaborators she’s worked with—knows how to best play to Copeland’s strengths.
Drawing from a wide range of composers, Copeland and Wood shade each song to the singer’s style without compromising the material’s integrity. She can handle Jesse Winchester’s “Isn’t That So” as deftly as John Fogerty’s “Long as I Can See the Light” and Albert King’s “Wrapped Up in Love Again.” Few singers would have the confidence to interpret such diverse voices and fewer still, the skill to pull it off.
With guest appearances by Robert Randolph, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Will Kimbrough, and ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons (on his own 1973 hit “Jesus Just Left Chicago”) Outskirts of Love is sort of a Great American Songbook for the times. It’s also a reminder-if any be needed-that Shemekia Copeland is one of the most fascinating voices of her day, an artist whose resilience and creative spunk has few rivals. ****
Kevin Gordon
Long Time Gone
Nashville based roots rocker offers up one of his strongest albums yet, a Kickstarter funded collection that should make every supporter (and I was one) know their money was well spent. Gordon certainly takes his time making records-this is only his sixth in a twenty year span-but his near obsessive attention to lyrical nuance and meticulous sonic texturing makes them worth waiting for; and given that his songs have been covered by such luminaries as Lucinda Williams, Buddy Miller, and Slaid Cleaves you have to figure there’s something going on.
Neatly divided into electric and acoustic movements—with the subdued unplugged songs taking up the middle portion—Long Time Gone tenders a fair representation of Gordon’s versatility. “GTO” is a nice chug along Chuck Berry homage that gets the engines revving while the swamp funk of “Church on Time” and “All in the Mystery” showcase the Louisiana born artist’s lineage. Much in the vein of J.J. Cale Gordon’s approach tends to be more compelling than commandeering—the electric tunes are not substantially different in tone than the acoustic ones—which makes Long Time Gone the sort of slow burn effort that requires and deserves repeated spins.
Replete with geographical and cultural references to his home state (“Johnny Horton on the radio/ you don’t hear that no more”) it’s as much travelogue as fiction, but Gordon is expert at melding the two into a seamless and timeless pair. 2006’s Cadillac Jack’s # 1 Son might be the Kevin Gordon album I wish to be buried with but if I get to pick two, here’s the other. ****1/2
Gary Clark Jr.
The Story of Sonny Boy Slim
Warner Brothers
Continuing a lineage that includes Stevie Ray Vaughn, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and a host of others, Texas born guitarist Gary Clark, Jr. (whose mentors include Eric Clapton and Jimmie Vaughn) is widely recognized as one of the best axemen of a new generation. But from the start he’s made it clear his ambitions go further than that; his 2012 debut Black and Blue marked him as a neo-traditionalist and while The Story of Sonny Boy Slim demonstrates his six string prowess (jeez can this guy shred!) it’s a concept album in a genre that rarely explores such.
Ingredients of hip hop, folk, rock, funk, and gospel all intermingle with blues, set to swirling rhythms of drums and guitars in staggeringly creative fashion. It also delves into issues of racial struggle (“Hold On”) love and betrayal (the acoustic street show “Church”) and infidelity (“Can’t Sleep”) with a depth of perception and swagger that is rarely found today.
Those hoping for the second coming of Johnny Winter might be disappointed but Gary Clark Jr. refuses to be bound by conventional Blues idiom in ways that true artists push the margins and continually look forward. This is pretty heavy stuff, a different direction for Clark but one that bodes well for his already bright future. ****
Joe Ely
Panhandle Rambler
Rack ‘Em Records
In a career that has spanned the better part of four decades Lubbock born and raised Joe Ely has remained the consummate Texas Troubadour, an itinerate artist who has played around the world yet remained steadfast to his roots. Panhandle Rambler, his 14th studio album, is a 12 song reflection of that life spent on the road, the “what ifs” of a restless spirit.
More sparingly arranged than his last few albums-the stripped down presentation beautifully reflects the austere Lone Star landscape-Texas Panhandle explores a world of broken promises, run down dreams, and the resilient nature of the common class. It’s at once eerie and beautiful, a sweeping sonic panorama of strummed guitars, accordion, and muted drum/bass.
Focusing on narrative over affectation, Ely paints portraits of poverty but he does so with grace and compassion. Both the forlorn “Wounded Creek” and “Coyotes Are Howlin’” tell stories as evocative as those of Raymond Chandler while the fiery “Southern Eyes” allows Ely and his band to stretch out a bit. “Here’s to the Weary” name drops some of Ely’s more famous friends, including Guy Clark who’s “Magdalene” Ely covers in fine fashion.
As a cohesive entity Panhandle Rambler works on a number of different levels. It ranks high among Joe Ely’s achievements which-for an artist who has always set the bar impossibly high-is as strong a praise as one can give. *****
Clark Patterson
The Final Tradition
Kansas farm boy relocated to Nashville musician Clark Patterson spent years backpacking the world and in the process, by his own words, was “robbed, beaten, and deported.” And while he doesn’t overly dwell on those hard scrabble times, they certainly influence the tone and touch of this first rate collection of what he calls “Grindhouse Country” vignettes. A perceptive witness to the world around him, Patterson is a terrific songwriter, forceful singer, and one heck of a bandleader.
Backed by a quintet of seasoned vets and produced by Eric McConnell-best known for guiding records by Will Kimbrough, Todd Snider, and the legendary Loretta Lynn-Patterson lays out the real deal, songs of unapologetic drinking, stupid choices, and willingness to take his lumps and do it all over again. “Hillbilly Sh*t” is a straight ahead rocker about a war vet who cannot get his act together (and doesn’t seem to care) while “Sweet Baby” has some of the most wry and laugh out loud funniest ruminations (primarily of his own foibles) as you’re likely to hear.
Ten solid tunes, not a weak link among them, and a poignant reminder that for every bit of puerility that emanates from Nashville-and lord knows there are plenty-there’s an album such as this just screaming to be deservedly played again and again. ****
The Salad Boys
Metalmania
Trouble In Mind Records
Hailing from Christchurch, New Zealand the Salad Boys revel in a combination of Kinks styled Brit beat and REM inflected jangle pop.
Steeped in off the cuff dynamic songwriting, gorgeous melodies, and an unerring knack for irresistible hooks, Metalmania easily adds up to far more than the sum of its obvious influences. The knockout “Dream Date” has a nice Flamin’ Groovies timbre while “Daytime Television” incorporates lovely electronic effects reminiscent of The Church.
The brisk electric guitar driven songs (“I’m A Mountain” and “Taste Bomber”) work best but for a band that is still finding itself, Metalmania has plenty to offer. ***1/2
If You Go: The Salad Boys are playing Tuesday, October 6 at Tiger Mountain – a great chance to see an up and coming band. Tiger Mountain, 112 N. Lexington Ave., Asheville. (828) 407-0666.