Music to feed your life
Last night (Nov. 19) I was lucky enough to attend a special concert in Chicago celebrating the 75th birthday of Mavis Staples. Man, that was an experience—one that was unique to Chicago and showcased a huge range of American music from the past 50 or 60 years. The show was being taped for a DVD release, so it had issues with flow and continuity—too many stops and starts to feel…
With his new album Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, Sturgill Simpson has put out what’s currently my favorite album of the year. This is country music that is meaty and fun but also thoughtful and rich. It’s ‘metamodern,’ as he describes it — a play on the classic Ray Charles collection Modern Sounds in Country Music — but it’s also got boots on the ground, a sturdy honky-tonk sound by…
Say what you will about the directions mainstream country is taking these days, but outside the Top 40 there’s plenty of honky tonk to go around. Top of the heap right now is Jason Eady, a Mississippi native (and Texas transplant) whose new album Daylight and Dark lays down some of the strongest country music I’ve heard all year. Daylight and Dark in many ways picks up where Eady’s acclaimed previous…
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…
One of my all-time favorite artists, Mickey Newbury had a knack for sad, slow, soulful songs that cut deep — but do so gently and thoughtfully. Newbury also had one of the finest voices in country music — a whole different style from someone like George Jones, but I would argue he was up there in that league. Below is “She Even Woke Me Up to Say Goodbye,” one of…
Even diehard mainstream country fans can’t deny that so many of today’s songs have similar themes, both melodically and lyrically. Much has been made lately of so-called “Bro Country,” with songs (sung by men, of course, who still dominate the charts) about tailgating, beer drinking, tight jeans and partying out in the country — often down a dirt road, by a river, or under the moonlight. Nothing against beer, trucks…
On Dec. 16, 2014, country legend Ray Price passed away after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 87 years old, and he left behind a huge catalog of recordings and a musical legacy that is among the most impressive in country music history. Price was a contemporary (and friend) of Hank Williams, and his early recordings reflect that sharp-edged honky-tonk sound. As the 1950s progressed, though, Price found himself…
Like a lot of Midlake fans, when news broke that lead singer and longtime bandmember Tim Smith had left the band, I was worried that the group’s sound and songs wouldn’t hold up. After listening to the new album Antiphon, though, any worries are laid to rest. It’s a fantastic album with strong songs and a sound that shifts the band back toward a psychedelic sound — yet still retains…
Like a lot of fans, I first saw Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii in high school. I loved Pink Floyd at the time, and had really looked forward to seeing them play among ancient Roman ruins. But it was a midnight movie, and I dozed off here and there. And while the music and the setting were cool, I can’t say I fully appreciated the moods, ideas and concepts that…
Two major players in country music passed away recently. Two key outlaw artists, and two of my favorite country artists, both of whom were involved in creating some of the finest music to come out of Nashville–or anywhere–in the last several decades. Last week, we lost “Cowboy” Jack Clement. Recently elected into the Country Music Hall of Fame, Cowboy was someone who wrote songs for Johnny Cash; worked at Sun…