Category Archives: Singer/Songwriter

Scud Mountain Boys: Pine Box

Posted on by wolffkurt

The mid-1990s was the height of what was then called “alternative country” (a.k.a. alt country, twangcore, yalternative and a host of other somewhat unfortunate names).

Thank god we’ve now settled on the more dignified Americana.

Two of the biggest bands in the alt-country world were Uncle Tupelo and Whiskeytown, but Massachusetts group the Scud Mountain Boys also gained a strong following.

Led by singer-songwriter Joe Pernice, they took a laid-back, lo-fi approach to their songs. Their 1995 album Pine Box was literally recorded around a kitchen table.

Pine Box holds up incredibly well today. It’s a low key mix of originals and some surprising covers, including Cher’s “Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves” and the Olivia Newton John hit “Please Mr. Please.”

Joe Pernice went on to form indie-pop group the Pernice Brothers, as well as a few other one-off bands. He also has now written a novel. Here’s hoping he releases some new music again soon.

This profile of Joe Diffie was adapted from the book Country Music: A Rough Guide, published in 2000 by Rough Guides.

Steve Young Remembered, from ‘Montgomery in the Rain’ to ‘Seven Bridges Road’

Posted on by wolffkurt

This week we lost of my all-time favorite country singer-songwriters, Steve Young. The writer of several classic songs made famous by some of the era’s biggest stars, Young was also a superb singer in his own right, and he has a string of excellent solo albums to prove it. On top of that, by many accounts (including my own experience) he was a wonderful man with a humble soul and a strong humanitarian streak. He also possessed lifelong ties to his Southern heritage that added richness and complexity to his songs.

Young died in Nashville, Tenn. on March 17, 2016 at the age of 73. He was in hospice at the time and under the close watch of his son, Jubal Lee Young.

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Robert Ellis follows ‘Photographs’ with ‘Lights from the Chemical Plant’

Posted on by wolffkurt

To call the music of Robert Ellis ‘country’ isn’t wrong, but it does miss the complexity of sounds and styles he regularly brings to his music.

The title track of his previous album Photographs stood out for its weepy melody and Ellis’s aching voice.

This year, though, Ellis has emerged with a new album — The Lights from the Chemical Plant — that’s every bit as strong, but shifts focus away from anything overtly honky tonk.

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John Grant to release followup to ‘Queen of Denmark’

Posted on by wolffkurt

Three years ago I had never heard the name John Grant. But that year, Mojo named his debut solo album Queen of Denmark their favorite of the year. And like a lot of people who read that review, I was at first puzzled. Then I listened, and based on the deeply personal songs, his haunting vocals, and the warm arrangements (he was backed on the album by the band Midlake), I understood. It’s been a favorite album in regular rotation for me ever since.

It’s great news, then, that Grant finally has a followup album. Called Pale Green Ghosts, it’s already out in the U.K. and is due in stores in the U.S. on May 14.

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