Here are some of the music releases for the week of January 26th, 2009. 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.
ERIC BIBB- Booker’s Guitar (Telarc)
So it was for folk-blues troubadour Eric Bibb after a gig just a few years ago, when he was approached by a fan carrying a guitar case. Inside the case was a relic from the past: a 1930s vintage Resophonic National steel-body guitar that had belonged to Delta blues legend Booker White. Booker’s Guitar inspired a song, and the song became an entire album – one that captures the spirit of the original Delta blues of the early 20th century and reinterprets it for a new era. The remaining tracks, although recorded in rural Ohio on Bibb’s own guitars, sprang from the same well of inspiration. “Once I had written that song, I really wanted to make a complete statement and document my connection to the Delta blues tradition,” says Bibb.
BLUE RODEO – The Things We Left Behind (Telesoul)
2009 two CD release from the Canadian Roots/Rock outfit. If you still remember why you fell in love with music in the first place, if you still recall discovering songs on an albums that you never knew existed because radio wasn’t playing them, if you wondered if popular bands still cared about making great records then take the trip through The Things We Left Behind, Blue Rodeo’s 2009 studio album. In their 25 year career, the band have sold over four million records, won an unprecedented five Juno awards as Group of the Year. Recommended!
GRADA – Natural Angle (Compass)
Now well established in Irish music circles, Gráda launches into the cross-genre world of new acoustic music, bridging traditional Celtic and Appalachian tunes and songs with contemporary pop and Americana songwriting. Produced by Tim O’Brien in Nashville.
PATTY GRIFFIN – Downtown Church (Credential)
Griffin has received multiple Grammy nominations and has toured the country relentlessly, creating avid followers wherever her music is heard. She is a natural songbird that can hush an audience with her performances, but Griffin’s power is in her passionate storytelling with a voice that is mournful yet uplifting. This is a collection of Gospel-infused songs produced by longtime friend, bandmate and acclaimed producer Buddy Miller at the Downtown Presbyterian Church in Nashville, TN. Downtown Church brings to life Gospel songs that have influenced contemporary music in a way that only Patty Griffin can do. I haven’t heard it yet but she is always excellent!
I SEE HAWKS IN L.A. – Shoulda Been Gold: 2001-2009 (American Beat)
The hawks are a great SoCal harmony-rich band in the tradition of the Springfield and the Burritos… but since they’re not exactly a household name, this is a compilation rather than a best-of collection. This 17-track collection includes two unreleased tunes and three new recordings, two of em with ex-Textones’ Carla Olson.
Coming soon… RECKLESS KELLY, ALLISON MOORER, MEG HUTCHINSON … more new releases.
Bill Frater
Freight Train Boogie
