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Helen Reddy, 1975
HELEN REDDY IN CONCERT was recorded live on June 8, 1975 in the United Kingdom and sees her perform her #1 worldwide hit song, "I Am Woman". Released in 1972.
Lyrics:
I am woman, hear me roar
In numbers too big to ignore
And I know too much to go back and pretend
'Cuse I've heard it all before
And I've been down there on the floor
No one's ever gonna keep me down again
Chorus:
Oh yes I am wise
But it's wisdom born of pain
Yes, I've paid the price
But look how much I gained
If I have to, I can do anything
I am strong (strong)
I am invincible (invincible)
I am woman
You can bend but never break me
'Cause it only serves to make me
More determined to achieve my final goal
And I come back even stronger
Not a novice any longer
'Cause you've deepened the conviction in my soul
Chorus
I am woman watch me grow
See me standing toe to toe
As I spread my lovin' arms across the land
But I'm still an embryo
With a long long way to go
Until I make my brother understand
Oh yes I am wise
But it's wisdom born of pain
Yes, I've paid the price
But look how much I gained
If I have to I can face anything
I am strong (strong)
I am invincible (invincible)
I am woman
Oh, I am woman
I am invincible
I am strong
(fade)
I am woman
I am invincible
I am strong
I am woman
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07/13/08 Eboli (Salerno/Naples), Italy
Discography
07/18/08 Arezzo Wave - Livorno, Italy 08/09/08 Carpi/Modena, Italy 08/29/08 Burning Man - Black Rock City, Nevada
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Costanza Francavilla, or simply known as Costanza is an Italian singer, has a full length album out on July 8th called Sonic Diary. After putting the album in to listen, I instantly think of electronica and trip hop, but with a dreampop quality, as her singing style is often breathy, sexy, and deamlike.
Looking at the very impressive/see-through press material, it looks like her music's been licensed out to a variety of television shows (CSI, L Word) and movies (.45, starring everyone's favorite Milla Jovovich). It doesn't surprise me, as this type of electronica music (think Moby) works well as background music.
However, I think the one thing people might know her from is her collaboration with British electronic artist, Tricky (and, sure, you might know him from another Jovovich film, The Fifth Element).
Apparently, Costanza who was a fan at one of his show gave Tricky's drummer a three-track demo CD and that was passed onto Tricky, who absolutely loved it. So all the songs on his Vulnerable album in 2003 featured Costanza's vocals with two songs co-written by her ("Stay" and "What is Wrong").
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One of the most bizarre and interesting song from their collaboration is their cover of XTC's "Dear God". I wouldn't go so far as to pronounce their version equal or better than the original grand epic song in three and a half minutes, but I will have to admit that it's "different". I think if I didn't know about XTC, I would really love Tricky and Costanza's version. (Side note: their cover of The Cure's "Love Cats" is better).
Now, if you thought "Dear God" was weird, the very original electronica take on Fugazi's "Promises" and Johnny Cash's "God's Gonna Cut You Down" must be heard to be believed. The way she sings "promises are shit", with her Italian accent, it doesn't sound bad or naughty at all.
Other songs I thought were interesting is the opening song, "Just Another Alien". Not so much a song, but a series of questions that she was probably asked when she was applying to live and work in the USA. The Italian song, "I Tuoi Occhi Sono Pieni Di Sale" (featuring Riccardo Sinigallia) was also interesting, it made me want to learn Italian. I did use babelfish and it tells me that the title translate to something like "Your Eyes Are Full Of [knowledge?]", so I'm assuming it's a personal/love song?
The one song that I think everyone will really enjoy is "Silence". This is such a dreamtronica song, full of child-like and innocent singing on a very lush music background. I feel like the song belongs to a soundtrack to a movie.
Fans of electronica lounge music, made famous by such compilations such as OM: Chilled and Lounge Experience series, should really enjoy this. These songs are perfect for either laying around the house or at a small party, really good for any occasion.
It looks like she'll be playing a few dates in Italy with Marco Messina. If you aren't lucky enough to live in Italy, her album Sonic Diary is out this Tuesday. For convience, you can actually get high quality MP3 from Amazon right now.
PS, Usually we just have one or two releases on Tuesday that I need to do coverage on. So I normally check on Sunday and work on the review that very day or, at the latest, on that Tuesday. I thought I was sitting pretty as I've already taken care of two releases already that was meant for July 7th (Connected) and 8th (Matt Keating), but we still have these that's being release this week: Wire's Object 47, The Coke Dares' Feelin' Up, Son Ambulance's Someone Else's Deja Vu, Patti Smith/Kevin Shield's The Coral Sea, and Costanza's Sonic Diary. If I have missed anything, please accept my apologies and contact me right away.
Well the rain is pouring over the West Midlands again, so I decided to do a bit of blog cleaning by replacing two of my tracks with something new. "Over Easy" and "No Dice" are recent tracks from my latest project "A Brand New Deal" so any comments you may have would be useful.
By the way please feel free to visit my site http://www.relaxlisten.co.uk for more details about Relax Listen.
Regards: Andy H
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Get ready for another collection of Americana/Folk music. Where we last left off, I was talking about "The Boss".
With this entry, I thought I'd talk about one of my favorite American folk/protest singer: Harry Chapin. I discovered him in the 7th grade, while driving in the passenger seat with Mr Schemling to Yosemite National Park.
We were listening to Mister Mister and Harry Chapin. I loved the songs I heard so much that he made cassette tapes of some of his more famous songs like "Taxi" and "Cats in the Cradle".
There were other songs that I loved, of course. The epic "The Mayor of Candor Lied", original appeared on On the Road to Kingdom Come (1976). I have never seen that CD, but I eventually got the song from a 3-disc box set called Story of a Life.
It may have impacted me different when I was younger, but I have always imagined it to make a great movie: two love-torn lovers, a blackmail, and "a deal made in hell". There is a twist in the song, so you must listen to this all the way to the end when you find out why Coleen never returned from holiday.
Martyn Joseph later covered this song on his 1999 album, Far From Silent, which I didn't like it too much. He made a clumsy attempt at changing the lyrics at the end...
Incidentally, I was listening to some of his songs, you know, for old time's sake. In my modest collection of 70 Chapin songs, I have noticed that I often liked his live versions much better than the studio version. They are usually full of interaction and often the lyrics were changed. Check out the opening track "Dreams Goes By" from his Greatest Stories Live, it would've been amazing to see him live.
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MATT KEATING
mattkeating.com ♥ myspace.com
When I first saw that this was a two-disc release (23 tracks) for Quixotic, I must confess, I was a little overwelm. After I gave the first disc a listen, it went down really easy. Many of the songs are standard length (3 or 4 minutes), and they seem to be to be heartland rock. Although his biography would also lists him as "urban, indie rock". However, this quote from producer Gary Maurer really sums it up:
Reading on why Quixotic was split into two discs, Keating wanted to bring back the album concept. Think of "Disc 1" as "Side A" and you get the idea. Each side/CD is about fifty minutes of music (the album in its entirety is about an hour) and each side is design to play like a musical journey - with its mix of songs to keep you interested, to the slow and quiet song to end one side and ease you to the flipside. Many of the songs on his Quixotic seems to be about travelling and locations ("St. Cloud", "Louisiana", "Runaway Clown", "Now We're Home", "Road to Ruin", "Romeoville", "Valhalla Waltz", etc), you get the impression that Keating's been around. I believe he's refering to St Cloud, Minnesota, you can grab the free MP3 song from his website. I thought "Louisiana" was the best song on Side A, I especially love hearing this rocking music with its heartbreaking lyrics and its catchy chorus: "here in looooo-wee-zee-anna". Maybe it's just me, but it seems like Side B is about relationship ("Do You Want (To Not Be Lonely with Me)", "Before My Wife Gets Home", "Love Ain't"). Great songs, check out "As Much as You Can Bear" and "Love Ain't", these two songs really stood out for me. Before you know, the short violin/piano piece of "Valhalla Waltz" indicates the journey is about to end and the slow-paced, acoustic "Book of Changes" closes the album. Quixotic will be officially released July 7th, you can buy it directly from indiekazoo.com or the usual places (amazon, iTunes). It looks like he'll be doing a tour to support the album, so see him if you can:
07/10/08 The Living Room New York
07/12/08 Coffee East Easton, Maryland 07/13/08 The Tin Angel Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 07/14/08 The Galaxy Hut Arlington, Virginia 07/17/08 The Pour House Raleigh, North Carolina 07/19/08 The Bluebird Cafe Nashville, Tennessee 07/25/08 Horseshoe Chicago 07/26/08 Magdlaenas Tea House East Lansing, Michigan 08/12/08 The Cinema Bar Los Angeles, California 08/21/08 Comet Tavern Seattle, Washington 09/05/08 Village Tavern Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin 09/13/08 Common Grounds Lexington, Kentucky 09/14/08 The Milestone Charlotte, North Carolina 09/15/08 The Cave Chapel Hill, North Carolina 09/19/08 Housing Works New York 09/24/08 Frequency Madison, Wisconsin 09/28/08 Club Cafe Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
ABIGAIL WASHBURN
abigailwashburn.com ♥ myspace.com
Abigail Washburn wants you to know that she's a "banjo pickin' girl" on "Banjo Pickin' Girl", what sounds like a different take on a traditional song. There's plenty of banjo picking on this album, but this time she has an orchestra, The Sparrow Quartet (Bela Fleck, Ben Sollee, Casey Driessen), to back her up. To be honest, I first heard of her writing about her celloist, Ben Sollee, but looking at her discography, she was already well-established as a bluegrass/folk banjo musician. I've been bicycling to work and I put on her latest album, Abigail Washburn & The Sparrow Quartet (just released in May) to listen to, and this Chinese song came up that made me stop on the trail. I had to open up my iPod to look at the song title: "Sugar & Pie". At first I was confused, then I thought maybe it's gaelic or something, it possibly couldn't be Chinese? I later found out that she actually began her music career playing throughout China, doing a ten plus dates with a group of friends. She recalls:
In addition to "Sugar & Pie", I was pleasantly surprise that she has other Chinese songs on the album, "Taiyang Chulai" and "Journey Home". If you're wondering, she does sing in English, be sure to check out "It Ain't Easy", "Strange Things", and "Kangding Qingge/Old-Timey Dance Party" (it looks like the song is based on a traditional Chinese song, but the lyrics are old-fashion English). It looks like she is doing a ton of dates, be sure to check out her live to see the marriage of Traditional American music and Chinese folk songs. If she's also playing with The Sparrow Quartet, you should keep an eye out for Ben Sollee, his music have had very positive reponses from W♥M readers.
07/10/08 Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua Bayfield
07/11/08 Winnipeg Folk Festival Winnipeg, Manitoba 07/13/08 Vancouver Island Musicfest Vancouver, British Columbia 07/14/08 Benaroya Hall Seattle, Washington 07/15/08 Aladdin Theatre Portland, Oregon 07/17/08 Boarding House Park Lowell, Massachusetts 07/18/08 Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival with the Sparrow Quartet Ancramdale, New York 07/19/08 Vancouver Folk Festival Vancouver, British Columbia 07/20/08 Vancouver Folk Festival Vancouver, British Columbia 07/26/08 RockyGrass Festival with the Sparrow Quartet Lyons, Colorado 07/27/08 Calgary Folk Music Festival with the Sparrow Quartet Calgary, Alberta 07/28/08 The Myrna Loy Center Helena, Montana 07/29/08 Wilma Theatre Missoula, Montana 07/30/08 Sacajawea Center Salmon, Idaho 08/01/08 Kaslo Bay Park Music Festival Kaslo, British Columbia 08/03/08 Dunegrass and Blues Festival Empire, Michigan 08/08/08 Grand Targhee Bluegrass Fest w/Sparrow Quartet Alta, Wyoming 08/09/08 Edmonton Folk Music Festival with the Sparrow Quartet Edmonton, Alberta 08/10/08 Regina Folk Festival with the Sparrow Quartet Regina, Saskatchewan 08/23/08 San Francisco Music and Arts Festival San Francisco, California 08/29/08 Moe Down Turin, New York 08/31/08 Hookaville Thornville, Ohio 09/11/08 Memorial Hall Chapel Hill, North Carolina 09/13/08 Dominican University PAC River Forest, Illinois 09/14/08 Turner Hall Milwaukee, Wisconsin 09/15/08 Guthrie Theater Proscenium Minneapolis, Minnesota 09/16/08 Barrymore Theatre Madison, Wisconsin 09/17/08 The Music Mill Indianapolis, Indiana 09/19/08 The Ark Ann Arbor, Michigan 09/20/08 Parrish Auditorium Hamilton, Ohio 09/27/08 Dosey Doe The Woodlands, Texas 09/28/08 Austin City Limits Music Festival Austin, Texas 10/01/08 Fisher Center w/Sparrow Quartet Woodstock, New York 10/02/08 Town Crier Cafe Pawling, New York 10/03/08 First Parish Church Cambridge, Massachusetts 10/04/08 Flynn Theatre Burlington, Vermont 10/05/08 The Community Theater Morristown, New Jersey 10/10/08 Portland Art Museum Portland, Oregon 10/17/08 Ferst Center for the Arts Atlanta, Georgia 10/19/08 Lake Eden Arts Festival Black Mountain, North Carolina |
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STEVEN ALVARADO
stevenalvarado.com ♥ myspace.com
One look at Steven Alvarado's cover artwork for Let It Go, an album that was released in April 2008 from Mott Street Records, I thought it was a tribute to Bob Dylan's The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, but completely opposite: without a girl, presumably sadder, a little more modern, and his back to you. One listen to the album, it definitely feels like good-time American folk rock. I love the interaction of electric blues guitar fighting against the acoustic guitar on the brilliant opening track, "Get This Far". Even the lyrics seems to be duking it out and full of contradictions: "I'm outta gas, I got no car, I never thought I'd get this far" Many of these songs are short, but catchy, pop-rock-oriented songs, perfect for the radio. The few exception does stick out, for instance "Nobody Knows", a slow burning depressing song. What Alvarado does best here is give such a descriptive setting:
Somebody throw him a lifeline, it sounds to me as if he's committing suicide here! Fortunately, there's more happier songs makes up for that depressing one. Check out "New York", a song dedicated to Alvarado's friend and poet Aaron Smith. The song lyrics also lends itself to the title, "Let it Go". Let It Go is out now, you can pick it up directly from CD Baby. He's planning on doing a European tour in and around September 2008, I'll be sure to mention it if I hear anything. |
JJ APPLETON
jjappleton.com ♥ myspace.com
I'll tell you right off the bat: I love green packaging. JJ Appleton's Black & White Matinee
comes in a recycled cardboard, down to the soy ink that was used to
print the cover. This short six-track EP was recorded in Finsbury Park, London last year, 2007. Now, I'm under the impression that Finsbury Park is festival (live music), but listening to all the songs, the sound quality is too good to be live. Maybe he's just that good? I especially enjoyed the pianos on "Coming Back Alone". The lyrics on "You're Sweet On Him" does get a little repetitive... yeah we get it, "you're sweet on him." I think the song that you guys will really enjoy is "Today Today Today", it's very easy to get into and it reminds me of The Beatles. Kudos to the songwriters: JJ Appleton & Stephen Lironi You can catch those two, as well as Ged Lynch on a few selected dates for the month of July:
07/10/08 Puck Doylestown, Pennsylvania 07/30/08 McCarren Park Summerstarz Event - Greenpoint/Williamsburg New York I believe you can download all the songs on his website, but I recommend the Earth-friendly packaging for Black & White Matinee. So pick up a physical copy from your favorite CD Baby and, of course, if you wanted higher quality downloads, there's always iTunes. |
These articles takes me very long to produce because they are essentially five articles in one, so expect a final Americana article one this week.
Links:
www.weheartmusic.com
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Seriously, is everyone in New York City in a band? The sheer number of musical acts to come that one city is staggering. However, given the filthy, overcrowded, damnear horrific condition of the Rotten Apple, it only makes sense that so many would turn to music to liberate them from the putrid reality of their surroundings.
The Forms' music is a perfect example of that escape-from-reality sound. The Brooklyn-based quartet of Alex Tween, Matt Walsh, and Brendan and Jackson Kenny have garnered a great deal of positive press for their debut album Icarus and self-titled follow-up--both produced by the legendary Steve Albini himself. For a band that's been together since 2000, their output has been scarce, but always high-quality. In many ways, The Forms sound rather like a cross between Coldplay and prog-rock, producing melodic indie rock in all manner of odd, nonstandard time signatures--which may be somewhat offputting to some listeners, but stick with them: the sound will grow on you. Even if the time-signatures are rather alien to pop music, the melodies are strong and easy to follow.
Unlike many The Forms focus first and foremost on songwriting, not on musical virtuosity, and this is apparent througout their self-tilted second album. "Knowledge in Hand" opens the album with a defining statement of the band's somewhat psychedelic, largely distortion-free sound, with a groovy layering of piano and guitars to back up a powerful lead vocal. "Bones" and "Blue Whale" are both stirling examples of shimmery pop-rock that recalls the glory days of 4AD while featuring a distinctly modern sound (mainly created by Albini's clean and no-nonsense production, which hasn't changed much since the 1980s, though it now clearly partakes of modern studio technology). At 3:50 long, "Blue Whale" is the longest song on the record, with most of the other tracks measuring only three minutes in length. This musical economy actually serves the band's melody-driven quality well, as there is no sonic "filler"--like extended guitar solos or bridges--in any of their songs.
However, this brevity also works against the music, in some cases. Many songs do not end, but simply fade out after the three-minute-mark as if the band just doesn't know how to bring them to a conclusion, so they just keep playing while Albini pulls the master mix fader down to zero. I wonder just how well this stuff translates live: if you can't figure out how to end a song, what do you do after the final verse is sung--just quit playing? And though none of the developed tracks themselves have any musical filler, there are two tracks, "Borges" and "Blue Whale (outro)" that, at less than a minute long each (the latter is only seventeen seconds long), seem to serve no purpose whatsoever on the record. They're not even sketches of songs. Quite frankly, I think they're simply studio outtakes the band decided to throw on the album just for the hell of it.
Nonetheless, The Forms is a very good listening experience whose etherial chords and atmospheric vocals will certainly open up a gateway in your mind to a prettier place. If your reality is bleak and crummy as any Brooklyn street, The Forms will gladly take you along to a much better realm.
Sadly, they have no live dates listed.
Links:
theforms.org
myspace.com/forms
Pour vous aujourd'hui, une chanson de KoЯn : Thoughtless. Cette chanson parle de la jeunesse de Jonathan Davis, quand il était maltraité par ses camarades. Je vous fournis les paroles en VO :
Pushing all the mercy down, down, down
I wanna see you try to take a swing at me
Come on, gonna put you on the ground, ground, ground
Why are you trying to make fun of me?
You think it's funny?
What the fuck you think it's doing to me?
You take your turn lashing out at me
I want you crying with your dirty ass in front of me
All of my hate cannot be bound (hate cannot be bound)
I will not be drowned (i will not be drowned)
by your thoughtless scheming
So you can try to tear me down (try to tear me down)
Beat me to the ground (beat me to the ground)
I will see you screaming
Thumbing through the pages of my fantasies
I'm above you, smiling as you, drown, drown, drown
I wanna kill and rape you the way you raped me
And I'll pull the trigger
And you're down, down, down
Why are you trying to make fun of me?
You think it's funny?
What the fuck you think it's doing to me?
You take your turn lashing out at me
I want you crying with your dirty ass in front of me
All of my hate cannot be bound (hate cannot be bound)
I will not be drowned (i will not be drowned)
by your thoughtless scheming
So you can try to tear me down (try to tear me down)
Beat me to the ground (beat me to the gorund)
I will see you screaming
All my friends are gone, they died (gonna take you down)
They all screamed, and cried (gonna take you down)
I never forget
Never forget
I can't get no where,
I never forget
Never forget
I can't getttt... [x4]
(Gonna take you down!!!) (4x)
All of my hate cannot be bound (hate cannot be bound)
I will not be drowned by (i will not be drowned)
your thoughtless scheming
So you can try to tear me down (try to tear me down)
Beat me to the ground (beat me to the ground)
I will see you screaming
All of my hate cannot be bound (hate cannnot be bound)
I will not be drowned (I will not be drowned)
by your thoughtless scheming
So you can try to tear me down (try to tear me down)
Beat me to the ground (beat me to the ground)
I will see you screaming
Today is July 4th, America's Independence Day. I have put together a collection of Americana/Roots music as theme. Some artists are not strictly in this genre, and to group them together might be unfair, so I suggest if you like what you read and hear, find out more about them on their respective websites.
Of course, when you think of "America", the one name that really comes to mind is Bruce Springsteen. Since 1973, "The Boss" have been representing the everyman with his American heartland rock music. He's probably best known for his album (and song), "Born in the U.S.A." at the height of his popularity in 1984.
The album tied for "Most Top 10 Songs from One Album" award, alongside Michael Jackson's Thriller and Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814, with - count 'em - seven songs: "Dancing in the Dark" , "Cover Me" , "Born in the U.S.A." , "I'm on Fire" , "Glory Days", "I'm Goin' Down" and "My Hometown".
With an amazing string of hit songs, it's actually not surprising that find out that Springsteen's albums consistantly hit #1 on the Billboard charts, with eight #1 albums: The River (1980), Born in the U.S.A. (1984), Live/1975-85 (1986), Tunnel of Love (1987), Greatest Hits (1995), The Rising (2002), Devils & Dust (2005), and Magic (2007). With the exception of Jay-Z, all of the chart-toppers are no longer around (The Beatles, Elvis, and The Rolling Stones), so this is a pretty amazing feat for an all-American New Jersey boy.
By the way, I have never seen Springsteen live, but from watching SNL and reading about it, I get the impression that The Boss and the E Street Band plays an amazing, live show, full of blood, sweat, and tear.
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CORY CHISEL
thewanderingsons.com ♥ myspace.com
The EP I have here is called Cabin Ghosts, and it's listed simply as "Cory Chisel", but I believe the full, and correct, name should be listed as "Cory Chisel & The Wandering Sons". There is also no cover art with the EP, so please note that the art that I used to represent them here is not the final CD cover. I tried looking up when the CD will be release, but I couldn't find any details of the details. I am assuming it will be release sometime in 2008 and/or only sold on tour. Listening to the EP, it sounds to me to be very Springsteenesque, especially when Chisel sings out, "The thunder roll, its angry heart, across my shoulders in the dark, maybe I'm losing ground" on "See It My Way". I am also guessing that the EP was recorded live as there's clapping from the audience inbetween the songs, but on some songs, the audio sounds too perfect (you can clearly hear everything, from backup singers to the quiet acoustic guitar). The song I was asked to use is "Home In The Woods", which I can understand as its lyrics and theme is about wanting to escape from the city and live in an isolated cabin in the woods - perfect for an EP called Cabin Ghosts. They are currently on tour with Joshua James. See tour information below.
Jul 16 - The Intersection - Grand Rapids, Michigan
July 17 - Club Cafe - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania July 18 - Radio Radio - Indianapolis, Indiana July 19 - Beat Kitchen - Chicago, Illinois July 20 - The Ark - Ann Arbor, Michigan July 22 - Shank Hal - Milwaukee, Wisconsin July 23 - Varsity Theater - Minneapolis, Minnesota July 24 - Waiting Room - Omaha, Nebraska July 25 - The Record Bar - Kansas City, Missouri July 30 - Toad Tavern - Denver, Colorado July 31 - Belly Up - Aspen, Colorado Aug 1 - Club Sound - Salt Lake City, Utah Aug 3 - The Triple Door - Seattle, Washington Aug 4 - Doug Fir Lounge - Portland, Oregon Aug 5 - Boardwalk - Orangevale, California Aug 6 - Hotel Utah Saloon - San Francisco, California Aug 8 - Casbah - San Diego, California Aug 9 - Hotel Cafe - Los Angeles, California Aug 10 - Rhythm Room - Phoenix, Arizona Aug 15 - Lawrence Memorial Chape - Appleton, Wisconsin Sep 13 - Red Rocks Amphitheater - Morrison, Colorado Nov 26 - New American Theater - Rockford, Illinois
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SAMMY WALKER
ramseurrecords.net ♥ myspace.com Sammy Walker is a folk/country singer/songwriter from Georgia (but I think currently in North Carolina?), was briefly popular from 1975 to 1977, with two of the albums on major label, Warner Brothers. It would seem he went into early retirement until 1994 with Old Time Southern Dream. Now, after 14 years since that release, he is back now with Misfit Scarecrow to be released on July 22nd on Ramseur Records. Walker has a very distinctive, southern, and clear, but aging, voice. Some of the melodies and lyrics really made me think of Bob Dylan. Since I don't have Walker's earlier works, I can only imagine what his earlier works might sound just like early Dylan. Walker's songs all tells little timeless stories, all told through the eyes of the protagonist. Sometime that person might be a corpse ("Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone") or a scarecrow ("Misfit Scarecrow") or a farmer ("Proud and Poor"), but they all tell epic tales. I really enjoyed "Another Sad Song About You", a song about running into someone from the past. It goes into great detail describing someone leaning on a lamp post: "a blue scarf around your neck, and a silver charm across your heart". Despite a timeless feel to the song, I did enjoy the modern references, in such lines like: "I heard about your brother, when the Twin Towers came crashing down." The country/blues song, "Someday I'm Gonna Rock and Roll", ends the album with a humourous tone. I get the impression that the song is really about Walker, himself. He must get a lot of people telling him he should do rock and roll, but he scoffs at it.
In case you were wondering why that line is so funny, it's because Rodgers is often considered as the father of country music. |
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FISKUM
fiskum.com ♥ myspace.com
Fiskum is actually from Minneapolis, and his album, Darkness/Fire/Dancing was released late last year. The first time I heard "Tom Waits' Bar And Grill", I thought of Harry Chapin's "Taxi", especially when he sings "and she says 'hi, how'd you been? I saw your call, I stopped on in'". With the title, you can tell that he is giving a little nod to Tom Waits, and, like Waits, paints a story about a chance encounter with an old close friend at a bar & grill. I later read Fiskum got the idea for the song from a short conversation with someone trying to "explain to his new girlfriend why he was seen hanging with his old flame." He wrote notes for each of his song on his music page, and this is for "Tom Waits' Bar & Grill":
There is a
surprise at the end of the album, it's another version of "Winter
Moon". The song looks like a live recording, and it's sung entirely in
Welsh by an uncredited woman. You can find Darkness/Fire/Dancing at your usual location on Amazon and iTunes. |
JOSEPH ARTHUR
josepharthur.com ♥ myspace.com
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