By Peter Blackstock
As we approach the end of the year, there’s no particular rhyme or reason to these six selections — just a bunch of records I’ve been digging lately, and perhaps you might as well. Keep on rockin’ in the free world, while we still can.
Don Heffington tribute — Tonight I’ll Go Down Swingin’
When he died in 2021 at age 70, Don Heffington left behind an extensive legacy as one of the great drummers of his time. His mid-’80s tenure as a co-founder of L.A. roots-rockers Lone Justice is documented on the new Viva Lone Justice album assembled from archival recordings — but this 20-song set is in its own way an even greater treasure. That the contributors range from songwriting master Jackson Browne to pop star Fiona Apple to more under-the-radar acts such as Eleni Mandell and Ramsay Midwood testifies to the breadth of Heffington’s influence. Long celebrated for his instrumental prowess, Heffington was also a talented writer, as this album makes clear. My favorites include Buddy Miller on “Fired Again,” Victoria Williams on “Although The Lord,” and Tony Gilkyson’s “Seeds On Hard Ground.” But there’s so much to dig into here, from left-field oddities such as “Heffington Abstract” (featuring Sarah Kramer with Jorge Calderón and Van Dyke Parks) and actor John C. Reilly’s spoken-word-set-to-music rumination “Live Slow, Die Old,” to two covers that feature Heffington himself: the title track (a Porter Wagoner tune) and Van Morrison’s “Irish Heartbeat,” a duet with his daughter Laura. The whole thing’s a benefit for Sweet Relief, which helps musicians needing healthcare assistance. Nobody’s goin’ down swingin’ here; this one’s a home run.
Robyn Hitchcock — 1967: Vacations In The Past
If you ever wondered how Robyn Hitchcock got so, well, peculiar, here’s an audio primer. And a book as well: These dozen songs are a companion to 1967: How I Got There And Why I Never Left is an easy-read memoir because it’s limited to the year in Hitchcock’s life that he considers most pivotal. He was just hitting his teens at an English boarding school when the psychedelic sounds of the mid-late 1960s tunneled a portal into his heart and his head. The future frontman of the Soft Boys and the Egyptians lost (and found) himself in classics such as Procol Harum’s trippy “Whiter Shade Of Pale” and Scott McKenzie’s hippie anthem “San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair),” as well as more obscure touchstones like Tomorrow’s “My White Bicycle.” On 1967: Vacations In The Past, those songs and others get distinctly Hitchcockian treatment in a mostly stripped-down affair that’s less about studio sheen and more about simply documenting the way these songs have lived inside him for decades. The Kinks’ “Waterloo Sunset” was a beautiful choice, and there’s one original tune (the title track, a project theme-song of sorts). He saves the crowning moment for last, tackling the Beatles’ iconic “A Day In The Life.” Not many artists should try that, but Hitchcock has always been the exception to just about every rule.
Suzanna Choffel — Bird By Bird
Across a half-dozen albums since she began performing around town as a teenager, Austin native Suzanna Choffel has gradually become one of her city’s most important musical artists. A stint on NBC’s “The Voice” a dozen years ago raised her national profile, but for the most part she’s stayed local, picking up a radio DJ shift to supplement her live shows and recordings. Bird By Bird shows off the remarkable diversity of her music; at the core, Choffel is a singer-songwriter, but she weaves in elements of jazz, reggae, dance-pop, and more. That could be a recipe for a scattered mess, but somehow Choffel makes it all feel completely natural. A first-class studio cast helps: Longtime Fiona Apple collaborator David Garza produced the sessions at acclaimed West Texas studio Sonic Ranch, bringing along Fiona’s rhythm section of drummer Amy Wood and bassist Sebastian Steinberg. Back in Austin, ace fiddlers Carrie Rodriguez and Warren Hood, plus saxophonist Elias Haslanger, helped to flesh out the sound. Choffel’s voice soars especially on the cuts “Missing Out” and “What Do You Want From Me,” but it’s the stark “Fast Asleep (Breonna),” written in memory of police-shooting victim Breonna Taylor, that leaves the most indelible mark.
Steve Forbert — Daylight Savings Time
For a brief moment circa 1980, it seemed like Mississippi native Forbert might become a star. It didn’t quite happen, so now he’s one of those Legendary American Songwriters You Can Still Catch At A Nightclub. Not a bad thing, especially for his fans. Closing in on 70 — he’ll be there next month — Forbert probably won’t stop writing till his dying day, and Daylight Savings Time proves he should keep at it. The musical frame hasn’t changed much over the decades; this is still basic rootsy folk-blues-rock-&-roll stuff, simple enough that it’ll work onstage with just an acoustic guitar and harmonica. As usual, the notes serve the words, and Forbert still has a way with them. The album’s title comes from “Sound Existence,” which is the second track but feels like the album’s thematic centerpoint: “It’s been a long strange trip but it’s worn well upon your face,” he sings. Next comes the playfully quirky “Purple Toyota,” in which Forbert wonders why automakers seem to favor “cars that look like rainy weather.” Then there’s “Tomorrow,” an anthem of sorts for procrastinators, and by the time we get to track five, it’s a party with “Pour A Little Glitter.” Side two (if we’re talking vinyl) hasn’t hit me as squarely as side one, yet, but there’s still time, and the slinky funk of “Dixie Miles” is already coming up on the outside.
Lisa Morales — Sonora
Renowned for the music she made with her sister Roberta, who died of cancer in 2021, Lisa Morales has also made several solo records that extended her range beyond the Sisters Morales catalog. Morales lives in San Antonio but grew up in Tucson, where her extended family included cousin Linda Ronstadt. The album’s title references that southern Arizona heritage: The Mexican state of Sonora was right across the border, and its culture deeply influenced Morales. She alternates between English and Spanish on these ten eclectic tracks, which include two songs specifically about her sister: the mournful album closer “Hermana” and the more upbeat “Hermanitas In The Rain,” a reminiscence of their Arizona youth. Roberta also co-wrote “It’s A Common Thing”; elsewhere on Sonora, Morales co-writes with other Texas luminaries, including Tish Hinojosa on “Flores (En Un Jardin),” Sir Woman/Wild Child singer Kelsey Wilson on “Impostor,” and Los Lonely Boys’ JoJo Garza on “Have It All.”
Coronas — Thoughts & Observations
In their home country, Dublin indie band the Coronas are big enough stars that they’ve had four straight albums debut at #1 on the Irish charts. They’re still climbing uphill in the States; when I saw them at the Austin City Limits Music Festival in 2018, their time slot was before noon. But they were great, and I’ve been paying attention ever since. Thoughts & Observations, recorded with Grammy-winning producer George Murphy, is their eighth album since the Coronas formed about 20 years ago after members Danny O’Reilly, Graham Knox, and Conor Egan met in college. Their music has a cinematic flair, centered on O’Reilly’s emotional tenor with arrangements that strike a lushly melodic balance between chiming guitars and atmospheric keyboards. Special guests join them on two tracks — rising-star Irishman Jamie Duffy on “Confirmation” and English singer-songwriter Gabrielle Aplin on “That’s Exactly What Love Is.” Personal favorites include the lonesome “Ghosting” and the more hopeful “Unbelievable Scenes” (with its “thank god we’re both in tune” refrain) — but the album’s greatest strength is how well all of these songs hold together as a cohesive whole.
