Jay Farrar "Sebastopol" (Artemis, 2001)
This is the first "solo" album by this founding ex-member of the bands Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt... He gets his country licks in on here, but mostly by inference, rather than outright twang... For the most part this is an indie rock disc, of the treble-heavy, whiny/wandering, spaced out variety. It's mostly pretty nice -- lofty, elegaic, irritating in only a few places ("Damaged Son," for example...) Certainly worth checking out; just don't expect much hick action from Farrar on this one...

Jay Farrar "ThirdShiftGrottoSlack" (Artemis, 2002)

Jay Farrar/Various Artists "The Slaughter Rule (Soundtrack)" (Bloodshot, 2003)
The alt.country soundtrack to a football art film. This is actually as much a compilation album as anything... Farrar provides the incidental music interludes, while tracks taken from albums by several indiebilly cohorts fill in the rest of the disc. The pacing and tone is quite nice from tune to tune -- this is an album that's really nice to have on in the background, with the only real rough spot coming from the harsh harmonies Freakwater throw on for the old Louvin Brother's weeper, "When I Stop Dreaming." Otherwise, this is quite nice, stringing together tunes by Farrar, Ryan Adams, Vic Chesnutt, Neko Case, the Blood Oranges and others in a nice, long, dreamy, languid set. Recommended!

Jay Farrar "Terroir Blues" (Artemis, 2003)
This disc sounds an awful lot like Richard Buckner's latest album, with a couple of important distinctions: musically, Farrar is more complex, and his vocals more fluid and varied. Lyrically, though, he tends towards semi-leaden semi-profundity, with a mild clunker or two here and there. Not whole songs, mind you, just little lines or turns of phrase. This is a very enjoyable, very listenable album -- again, much like Buckner's Impasse, with a nearly identical mumbling baritone, and plenty of inscrutable lyrics. Recommended!

Jay Farrar "Stone, Steel & Bright Lights " (Artemis-Transmit Sound, 2004)
A passionate, animated, and somewhat loud live set that acts as concert album and career retrospective in one. Backed by the old-school country-rockish band called Canyon, Farrar bares his soul and earnestly presents his ouvre... I personally find it a little grating at times -- it's just not something an old fart like me would want to have on as at-home music -- still, I recognize the intensity and sincere intentions; you just can't miss 'em! An excellent presentation of Farrar's art that's sure to make fan's happy.

Jay Farrar "Live EP" (EP) (Transmit Sound, 2004)

Jay Farrar "Live In Seattle" (Transmit Sound)

Jay Farrar "One Fast Move Or I'm Gone: Music From Kerouac's Big Sur" (Atlantic/F-Stop, 2008)

Amy Farris "Anyway" (Yep Roc, 2004)
There are several swell, catchy songs that start this album off, with Austin scenester Amy Farris riding a fine line between indierock and Americana. The country-ish stuff is the best, and while some of the more rock-oriented songs reveal some of her vocal limitations, on the whole this is a nice little record, with a cute DIY feel built around her off-kilter, mousy vocals, which bring Victoria Williams to mind, albeit with a more focussed musical vision. I've enjoyed hearing Farris singing backup on many of Kelly Willis records; it's a treat to hear her taking center stage at last. Sometimes producer Dave Alvin's guitar-heavy approach threatens to leave her high and dry, but for the most part this is quite nice. Definitely worth checking out.

The Fellow Travellers "No Easy Way: Local Hits In A Brand New Country Style" (Okra, 1990)
An odd addition to the Okra Records canon... At hte start of his career, Jeb Loy Nichols gets mighty irie, with about half the tunes on here taking a dub reggae detour, although the acoustic/twangy roots remains close at hand. Hey, at least he tried something new! It's not an unpleasant record, although I'm not sure how often I'll return to it... It just doesn't really grab me, even though I appreciate the just-plain-folks DIY vibe. Nichols splits the vocals with Londoner Lorraine Morley (later to become a humanities scholar at a London college...) The best thing about this disc is Nichols' voice -- there's something about his old-man drawl that I really dig. Well, anyway...

The Fellow Travellers "Just A Visitor" (Okra, 1992)

The Fellow Travellers "Things In Time" (Okra, 1993)

Firecracker "So Long Someday" (Emerge, 2005)
Rock music, mostly, but since this California band sounds so much like Son Volt, et al., I suppose they merit inclusion here. Drony vocals and guitar, plenty of would-be profundity and obliqueness in the lyrics... Again, if you like Son Volt, you might really dig this....

The Flatlanders "More A Legend Than A Band" (Rounder, 1990)
To tell you the honest truth, I have never really cared all that much for this outfit, though there are those who praise them to the stars. Joe Ely, I agree, was a stellar talent, and I have a soft spot for Jimmie Dale Gilmore, too, although much, much less so with Butch Hancock. Nevertheless, here they all are, way back in their youth, as a pioneering Texas alt-country ensemble whose early-1970s recordings preceeded the entire Austin-outlaw scene by a good several years. Some of the songs on here turned up later on various solo albums. This album ain't bad, but it never made my boat float of my toes curl.

The Flatlanders "Now Again" (New West, 2002)
This is much better than their old stuff. I'm a big fan of the old Joe Ely albums, but the original Flatlanders album has always struck me as a bit dull and monotonous. Sure, it's legendary and all that, but the songs that Gilmore wrote really came to life later... when Ely recorded them on his classic MCA albums. As for this new record, it's much more playful and melodically rich, and is packed with plenty of catchy songs, with memorable choruses and well-crafted melodic hooks. Even I -- someone who has long been singularly unimpressed by this band -- can groove along to it, and be taken in by the relaxed, masterful confidence these guys bring out in each other. Besides, it's better than anything these three have done solo for the last few years. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to find out what the fuss was about this alt.country supergroup.

The Flatlanders "Wheels Of Fortune" (New West, 2004)
Some songs old, others new... The second album from the revitalized Flatlanders trio has less of a dynamic, organic feel to it, seeming more a series of songs than an exploration of a newly-renewed creative partnership. Ely, Gilmore and Hancock still bring a wealth of roots music road warrior experience to bear, but the songs seem disconnected from each other, and too tightly crafted in parts, more of a carefully crafted studio creation than a joyful old-timer jam. I really liked the last record, and while this one may grow on me, for the moment I'm a little nonplussed.

The Flatlanders "Live At The Knite: June 8th, 1972" (New West, 2004)
What an amazing document of this band, live in action during its faint, glimmering, short-lived first incarnation. These recordings were apparently made in front of an audience of less than a dozen people, the sum total of the patrons of a teensy Texas watering hole known as the Knite... You'd never know it was a near-empty room, though, from the intensity with which the threesome tackled each and every song. They were clearly a powerful, powerfully earnest band, covering oldies and adding new tunes to the hard country canon... These soundcheck recordings are remarkable for a variety of reasons... First off, songwriter Butch Hancock doesn't sing at all, while Jimmie Dale Gilmore was the main vocalist, surprising in itself, but made even more remarkable when you hear Joe Ely's vocals cut through on a couple of tunes -- Ely, the growling, grizzled road-warrior-to-be, singing with a high, youthful, almost nervous voice, singing beautifully, with a sincerity that matched the music. Although the studio album that came out of this group's first year was a bit on the reserved side, these live recordings are passionate and compelling: this is what a real 'billy band sounded like, back in the earliest days of the "outlaw" era. And it was mighty fine. Highly recommended!

The Flatlanders "Hills And Valleys" (New West, 2009)
(Produced by Lloyd Maines)
Nice stuff from these three old, grizzled pals. This album begins on a strongly political note, with several tunes designed to shake off the hangover of the George Dubya Bush years, about hard times, economic dislocation, Hurricane Katrina, and the much-reviled billion-dollar "wall" along the US-Mexico border. Of these songs, "Borderless Love" is perhaps the best, revealing an emotional openness that still allows for both sincere shock and gooey, love-your-neighbors altruism. This humanist streak runs throughout the album, which is a sly and strident proclamation in favor of people and emotion over pragmatism and hard-heartedness. The Flatlanders pick up the weatherbeaten, dust-blown flag of the semi-redneck hippie faction of what was once called "the counterculture," and make a pretty strong case for their beliefs. As the house of cards that was our economy falls down around our collective heads, these mellow folkie appeals to common sense and compassion sound a whole helluva lot better than anything you'll hear on the cable news channels. Admittedly, there is an air of forced profundity that has to be dealt with -- towards the end of the album, almost every couplet of the lyrics strains to deftly deliver some poetic insight or wry life lesson -- but even so, I'm a huge Jimmie Dale Gilmore fan and any chance I get to hear him sing, I'm happy. Indeed, this is probably one of the strongest, most cohesive Flatlanders albums, and it's definitely a record that came out at exactly the right time to be heard by exactly the right people. Check it out.

Bobby Flores "Just For The Record" (Yellow Rose, 2003)
A nice, understated swing'n'shuffle set by Texas sessionman Bobby Flores, who's been picking behind countless artists, including Ray Price, Willie Nelson and Doug Sahm, for the better part of three decades. Here, through the magic of the studio, he doubles up on fiddle and guitar, occasionally takes over on the pedal steel, and sings on all the vocal tracks. Justin Trevino and Jake Hooker add guest vocals on a track or two, and Ray Price nods his hat in Flores' direction, contributing liner notes that pay tribute to Flores' musicianship. The Ray Price connection is borne out on the album as well, with Flores crooning away in a very Pricelike fashion... Overall the disc is a bit sluggish, but it is drenched in true-country Texican authenticity -- the instrumental number, "Spicher Waltz," is particularly sweet, as is "Be A Good Girl," a fine duet with James Hooker. Worth checking out! (This disc can also be found through Flores' home page, at: http://www.bobbyflores.com.)

Bobby Flores & Dick Overbey "Christmas In Ol' San Antone" (Yellow Rose, 2004)

Bobby Flores "Too Many Rivers" (Yellow Rose, 2005)

Rosie Flores - see artist discography

---

Hick Music Index

---