When I saw a new Ryan Adams album was coming down the pike, I honestly didn’t know what to think. I’ve been so hot and cold on the guy over the years as he shape shifts from the whims of identity crises and style changes, it’s harder to form a solid opinion about him than it is to conjure up a firm stool after 6 weeks in interior Mexico.
Since the beginning of Saving Country Music over 3 1/2 years ago, nothing but respect has been shown to The Country Music Hall of Fame. It is the last major country music institution that considers the preservation and promotion of the traditions and history of country music above commercial concerns, as other institutions bend and sway with the current popular trends in country music.
Simply put, John Hartford’s Aereo-Plain is one of my top 10 albums of all time. The key to Aereo-Plain was preserving the visceral elements of bluegrass, the tie to the roots and the mastery of instrumentation, while combining it with the depth of folk-inspired songwriting, intelligent humor, and then adding an enlightened sense of tempo and chord progressions.
Own Side Now is the freshman offering from Nashville songstress Caitlin Rose. It is a breath of fresh air in the non-mainstream music scene that seems at times to be polarized between hipster and hardcore. Own Side Now strives for originality, not acceptance; yearning for it’s own niche while not being pretentious. The songs are masterfully-produced and patient. The main influence is country, but there’s some late 60’s hard pop to almost heroine sheik influence…
On February 22, 1956, Elvis Presley played a concert at the City Auditorium in Waycross, GA. Opening for Elvis that night were two brothers, Charlie and Ira, a gospel duo called The Louvin Brothers. In the crowd was a 9-year-old boy, a native of Georgia, born and raised in Waycross. How that boy felt about Elvis that night is uncertain, but The Louvin Brothers left an indelible mark on him that he would carry for the rest of his life.
Those that have been around here for a while know that I like to come out of left field with my vintage album suggestions. You already have a big stack of records, no need for me to rehash through them. Still I know some of you are rolling up to this thinking, “What kind of […]
Category: Music Region: United States of America Target: Capitol Records Nashville Background (Preamble): 09-21-2009 12:03 AM Local independent label Bleve Records reported last week that it has stopped promotion of its debut single, ”My First Ride,” following a cease-and-desist order from Capitol Records Nashville. The song by Bleve artist Ronnie Milsap features Capitol Records Nashville […]
Say what you want about the man, or even his music, but it is hard to make the case that anybody has been a bigger ambassador for country music than Gram Parsons. Gram Parsons showed millions of non-country fans that country music could be cool. He turned The Rolling Stones into country fans. He discovered […]
You might be surprised to learn that Jackass mastermind and actor Johnny Knoxville is a big fan of underground / outlaw country music. Not only that, at times he’s gone out of his way to lend his name to helping out specific artists and causes. When you start poking around a bit, it’s amazing where […]
Well, it’s been just over a week since I suffered through watching the whole CMA Pop Country Award Infomercial, and I am happy to report that I am finally able to keep solid foods down, and I finally achieved my first solid bowel movement since Kid Rock took the stage with “Lil Wayne,” making me […]
This is a dude I probably would not write about under normal circumstances. I think he did have a huge influence on the Outlaw Country movement, but it would be a stretch to call him an Outlaw. But I’ve had numerous requests for a Gram Parsons blog, so here we go. This isn’t gonna be […]