Richard Buckner "The Hill" (Overcoat, 2000)
Gawd, what a bore. Once apon a time, San Francisco's master of countrified mopecore had the world by the balls -- when his 1996 Devotion+Doubt album came out, Buckner placed himself at the forefront of the alt.country scene... There were some rough patches, but the standout tracks were among the best country material to come out that year. Unfortunately, the acclaim went straight into the fatty tissues of Buckner's brain, as he took himself -- and his musical mission -- with somewhat undue (and lamentable) seriousness. Now, two records later, we are treated to his brooding equivalent of a Nick Cave-style rock opera. Backed by members of the Calexico/Giant Sand crew, Buckner recorded 18 musical adaptations of chapters from Edgar Lee Master's turn of the century book, Spoon River Anthology, itself a work of bleak, Gothic Americana, with the obituaries and character sketches of several dozen citizens of the fictional Midwestern backwater of Spoon River, Illinois... a town which seemed unusually prone to death by stick thwacking and skull bashing. The album is unbearably pretentious and overwrought -- I'm sure that there are plenty of folks out there eager for this sort of overinflated, high concept wankery... but I'm not one of them. Just give me a pedal steel and a chorus I can sing along to, and leave the depressing "real life" melodrama to the Times Best Seller list and Cops.
Rosie Flores "Speed Of Sound" (Eminent, 2001)
Alternating pretty evenly between upbeat, rockabilly-ish numbers and softer torch songs, this is one of Rosie Flores' most consistent, most confident albums. Flores has long been an Americana indie darling in part -- let's face it -- because her vocal talents have always been a bit modest. She doesn't have a great range, and her phrasing can be stiff, but she's never let that slow her down, and I think that accounts for much of her charm. It's kind of like hearing your neighbor or roommate at open mic night, except that Flores has made a successful career of it... Her albums have been uneven, though, and this disc marks a bit of a turning point in that, for once, she sounds more... relaxed, as if she's not worrying about the production or whether she's coming across strongly enough. She sounds more masterful... more professional, if you will. Instead of a rugged sprinkling of gems in an unevenly paced setting (like many of her other albums), this is an evenly satisfying set -- nice from beginning to end. Over the years, I've been a quiet skeptic as far as Flores has has been concerned, but I'm pretty taken with this record. Check it out!
Emmylou Harris "Red Dirt Girl" (Nonesuch, 2000)
Grieving and redemption echo throughout this album, a shimmeringly dense, unsettling meditation on the sadness that Emmylou Harris sees hovering above us all. Red Dirt Girl marks Emmylou's first full debut as a songwriter; all but one of these tracks were written by Harris herself, which is reason enough for fans to sit up and take notice. Until now Emmylou has been primarily known as a vocal stylist and interpreter of other people's work, especially '70s songwriter pals such as Rodney Crowell and Guy Clark. Clark puts in an appearance as co-author of "Bang The Drum Slowly", one of the many mournful reflections on death and loss that make up this album. Other guests include adult-pop icons such as Dave Matthews and Bruce Springsteen, neo-folkie Patty Griffin and Jill Cunniff, of Luscious Jackson fame. Guitarist Malcolm Burn produces and arranges the album, weaving a spectral feel into Emmylou's evocative lyrics, similar to the glossy tapestries of 1995's Wrecking Ball, which was produced by Daniel Lanois. It's interesting that Emmylou -- who built her career around picking simple, beautiful country love songs and infusing them with emotional power through her voice alone -- has come to a point in life where her own artistic vision is so profoundly spiritual and complex that it can only be accomodated with muted, quiet reserve. Her conversational vocal style and haunting lyrics underlie an artistic maturation and a journey into religious mystery which may be as surprising and challenging for her listeners as they were for Harris herself.
Rex Hobart "The Spectacular Sadness Of Rex Hobart And The Misery Boys" (Bloodshot, 2000)
Last year, two things drew me to Midwesterner Rex Hobart's debut album, Forever Always Ends... His wry, tounge-in-cheek overstatements of traditional country "hard luck" themes -- going to your ex-lover's wedding, etc. -- were handled about as skillfully as on Dwight Yoakam's A Long Way Home album, and with nearly as much musical panache. That's the other thing: Hobart's genre satire is helped tremendously by the fact that his band kicks ass, playing hard country music at a level far above your average rockers-gone-hick twangcore crew. So, the guy had my attention. Hobart doesn't disappoint on this follow-up, although he does come a bit closer to overplaying his hand lyrically; the balancing act is made more precarious by his embrace of Glen Campbell-derived folk-countrypolitan stylings, as opposed to the bottle-busting, galloping honkytonk of the last album. By slowing the music down, he gives the listener more time to weigh the relative merits of sincerity vs. wit in lyrics like "I'm Not Drunk Enough To Say I Love You" and "The One And Lonely You"... Still, these Misery Boys take their picking and plunking very seriously, and just the sound of that pedal steel alone is worth the price of admission.
Mark Olson & The Original Harmony Ridge Creekdippers "My Own Jo Ellen" (Hightone, 2000)
The gods must have smiled on the day that Jayhawks guitarist Mark Olson met his wife, the mousy voiced singer-songwriter, Victoria Williams. The two share a uniquely goofy world view, a whimsical, wide-eyed sense of wonder that encompasses the kind of hippie-ish love of gravel roads, thunderstorms and rainbows that fell out of fashion 'way back in the '70s. Their willful naivete comes across loud and clear on this beguiling, off-kilter ode to a nostalgic rural past. Looking through the eyes of a rambling pair of ten-year olds, the Creekdippers take us into the heart of a small desert community, where we meet weary farmers facing foreclosure, elderly agoraphobes learning to face the big world ouside, and dusty faced little kids who talk to god on rainy afternoons. Williams' oddball narrative style and Olson's knack for catchy country-rock refrains compliment each other perfectly, creating delicate songs that defy our most cynical leanings. Every time they begin to sound unbearably precious, something genuinely charming takes hold, tossing us back onto a cactus-strewn country road, where you whistle as you walk and the bees hum along. I love this record!
Dolly Parton "Little Sparrow" (Sugar Hill, 2001)
As a follow-up to Grass Is Blue, Dolly's impressive 1999 back-to-basics bluegrass album, this disc sounds disappointingly overwrought and florid. I guess when you've spent all those years in big old, cavernous Nashville studios, where any amount of musical layering is possible, then old habits become hard to break. But taken as just a plain-old Dolly Parton album, this is pretty spiffy, hearkening back to her great old folk-countrypolitan albums of the early '70s, back when she was writing sentimental tunes like "Coat Of Many Colors" and "To Daddy". Certainly the overwrought lyrical content on several songs falls well within the traditions of old-time and bluegrass music -- preoccupations with poverty and tragic circumstances, for example -- although coupled with the elaborately crafted music, it does get to be a bit much. Some songs, such as the normally-irresistable Louvin Brothers classic, "I Don't Believe You've Met My Baby" lose direction amid the ornate instrumental stylings and overly-trilled vocals. The big surprise guest appearance is Irish supergroup, Altan, which contributes backing on the Celtic-flavored "In The Sweet By And By", as well as throughout the album. Probably a perfect album to open the gates for listeners who are coming at bluegrass from a commercial-Nashville vantage point, but a little iffy for old-school country traditionalists.
Tom Paxton/Anne Hills "Under American Skies" (Appleseed, 2001)
A good old-fashioned hardcore leftie-liberal earnest folkie album, with many songs old and new, thematically linked around the idea of living in the good old US of A... Mostly the album is a bit of a downer, focusing on poverty, injustice and environmental damage, themes that are sure to become more timely as the Bush presidency soldiers on... Many of the songs are cover tunes, and I definitely found myself wishing there was a bit more of Paxton's mellow, romantic side on display here, as well as his playful wit. Without his charm, these proceedings are fairly grim (although Paxton's delivery is, as always, first-rate...)
Rice, Rice, Hillman & Pedersen "Running Wild" (Rounder, 2001)
Larry and Tony Rice team up with Byrds/Dillards vets, Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen for a pleasantly low-key set of country-bluegrass ballads. Overall, I'd reluctantly have to admit that this lacks ooompf, but it is a nice reminder of the pioneering crossover work that Hillman and his various crews did in the '70s to help widen the palatte of modern-day hick music fans. A pair of EZ dino-rock covers ("Things We Said Today" and CCNY's "4 +20") are alternately charming and a bit iffy. The real gem on here, in a sense, is "The Mystery That Won't Go Away," a CNN-era update of the old topical ballads that once filled traditional music... Only this time, instead of the sinking of the Lusitania, it's about the murder of Jon-Benet Ramsay. Worth checking out, though I'm not sure this is really a keeper...
Charles Sawtelle "Music From Rancho DeVille" (Acoustic Disc, 2001)
An absolutely gorgeous album with and all-star cast of newgrass/acoustic revivalists. The late Charles Sawtelle was a veteran of one of my favorite bluegrass bands from the '80s, Hot Rize, who infused their albums with a driving but subtle country and pop sensibility. This record, recorded over a long period of time while Sawtelle battled with leukemia, covers a lot of musical territory. It includes good old-fashioned hi-speed bluegrass breakdowns, sentimental ballads and sweet instrumentals, old-time classic like the Carter Family standard, "Storms Are On The Ocean", and even a cajun tune or two. with folks like Norman Blake, Michael Doucet, Peter Rowan and Vassar Clements on board (to name only a few...), how can this go wrong? Mostly, it's the mellow, relaxed atmosphere that label head David Grisman seems to promote which helps make this such a delightful album -- it's so great to hear these super-talented folks just taking it easy and enjoying themselves, rather than trying to sculpt a Grammy-winning album, or whatever. Sawtelle's Hot Rize pals, Pete Wernick and Tim O'Brien also pitch in, as well as album producer Laurie Lewis. Great stuff -- highly recommended!
Shaver "The Earth Rolls On" (New West, 2001)
Billy Joe Shaver has been around for a while; in the late '70s he caught the tail end of the Willie Nelson "outlaw" vibe, and a few years back he resurfaced in full grizzled-veteran mode, feted by the alterna-country crowd as a for-real old-timer type. This is his last album recorded with his guitarist son, Eddy Shaver, who died last New Year's Eve, and by and large it's a pretty good record. The best songs are tuneful backwoods honkytonk toss-offs, such as "Hard Headed Heart" and "New York City Girls," which remind me of his understated releases on Columbia, 'way back when. It's when he gets all rocket-science-y and craftsmanlike that my attention starts to wander - Billy Joe's got a touch of Townes Van Zandt-style grandiloquence that makes some songs sound a bit forced. And although I don't wish to speak ill of the dead, his son Eddy's muscle-bound, flashy guitar work was a bit too blaring and Stevie Ray Vaughn-ed out for my tastes. (Possibly they mixed the guitars up higher than normal, in tribute... regardless, it seems a bit intrusive...) On balance, though, this is a record worth checking out; it might not be as mind-numbingly fab as the folks at No Depression would have you believe, but it's still pretty tasty. As a songwriter, Billy Joe's got a great way with a melody, and as a performer, he's much more vigorous and engaging than, say, Merle Haggard, who he's frequently compared to. At least Shaver's heart is really in it. One wonders where things will go from here, but so far so good.
Karl Shiflett & The Big Country Show "In Full Color" (Rebel, 2001)
Wow! What a stunner...!! These Texas fellas have the old-style bluegrass sound down so well that when this disc starts belting out your speakers, you might do a double-take wondering if you bought an old Flatt & Scruggs album or some old Bill Monroe by accident. No fooling -- they're really that good, and they have that old-time sound. Recording through vintage equipment explains part if it, but how anyone in this day and age can sound so durn authentic is still pretty impressive! If you like the traditional, driving classic sound of late-'40s bluegrass, then you owe it to yourself to check these guys out!
Larry Sparks "Special Delivery" (Rebel, 2000)
Any new album by bluegrasser Larry Sparks is cause for celebration. Since the 1960s, when he played with Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys, Sparks has been a bluegrass traditionalist's fondest dream -- old-guard enough to carry the torch, but not dogmatically wed to an idealized "classic" style. Although he never went newgrass, Sparks has always sounded modern. Perhaps it's the ease of his delivery, the naturallness with which he sings and plays guitar thathas marked Sparks as a special artist, a cut above the rest. Here, on tunes like "The Undelivered Message" and "Ghost Stories," he tackles the sort of remember-the-South Civil War/rural life nostalgia that frequently sounds schmaltzy or leaden in other people's hand, and... no surprise... makes it sound convincing and sincere. On older material such as "San Antonio Rose" or Jimmie Davis's "Be Nobody's Darlin' But Mine," Sparks absolutely shines. The simplicity of his approach and the honesty of his vocals are an unbeatable combination. Special Delivery," indeed! Another great album - highly recommended!
Split Lip Rayfield "Never Make It Home" (Bloodshot, 2001)
Even as a dutiful former son of Lawrence, KS, I didn't have high hopes for this hometown outfit... I guess the dopey bandname kind of put me off. Turns out they're a pretty decent, old-time-ish stringband, along the lines of the early Red Clay Ramblers albums, and their album is surprisingly good. Their material is almost all original, and balances rambunctiousness with a certain fresh approach... Sure, it's a little cluttered and a little forced in the hick schtick department, but far less so than I would have imagined. If you're looking for something new and original in this field, then check these guys out. This isn't the kind of album that sends me into the stratosphere, but I am really curious to find out where they go from here.
Dallas Wayne "Here I Am In Dallas" (HighTone, 2001)
This time around, Wayne gets the full-on HighTone studio treatment, with a big, rich-sounding, pedal steel-heavy mix that's reminiscent of the best MCA albums of the mid-'70s... The material's still great, too -- plenty of great hard-drinking hillbilly novelty songs, and even a cover of Hank, Jr.'s "Here I Am In Dallas"... A really solid sound, at times perhaps a little too dense for the lyrics to come through, but satisfying nonetheless... Recommended!
Dwight Yoakam"Tomorrow's Sounds Today" (Reprise, 2000)
This is the record that Dwight has been working over a decade to make -- a punchy, cohesive album that combines the brilliant studio wizardry of guitarist Pete Anderson with Dwight's wry grasp of country music's stylistic evolution. It's got all the requisite hard country pizzazz, but also some sleek, slyly backhanded homages to early '70s countrypolitan, along with some truly skillful songwriting. This is as sharp musically as the Long Way Home album, but without such a blatant send-up of the genre's moroseness. Instead, here are some songs you can take on their own merit and not feel you've been "had" in some way. Plus, some of the riffs and musicianship are astounding -- for example, there are probably a million zillion alterna-twangcorers out there who would sell their souls to get as distorted and off-kilter a sound as the steel work on "Place To Cry", not to mention the relentlessly catchy rhythm that chugs along throughout the album. A first-rate record all the way, and -- I think -- the realization of Dwight's deepest musical aspirations. Highly recommended.
Various Artists "O, BROTHER WHERE ART THOU?" (Soundtrack) (Mercury-Nashville, 2000)
The promo sticker on the shrinkwrap calls this "THE ULTIMATE AMERICAN ROOTS MUSIC COLLECTION", which is a pretty lofty claim, considering all the competition. Still, this is one of the best traditionally-oriented acoustic music albums to come down the pike in a long, long while, and it's every bit as well-conceived, well-constructed and thoroughly enjoyable as the movie itself. Some of the best folks imaginable are on here, including humble keepers of the flame such as the Whites, the Cox Family, John Hartford and Norman Blake, along with celebrity young'uns such as newgrass idol Alison Krauss and neotrad superdiva Emmylou Harris. The pacing of the album is flawless and many of the film's thematic conceits come through with great charm, such as the morphing together of western swing impressario W. Lee O'Daniel and Louisiana governor Jimmie Davis (at one time a raunchy blues singer, who later went countrypolitan gospel and swept into office with "You Are My Sunshine" as his theme song...) along with the pseudo-Carter Family band that pops up in several scenes. In particular, it's great how the album presents homespun hillbilly gospel music, without stooping to condescend or mock the genre's unpretentious, pie-in-the-sky yearnings. (Although in the film, it's a bit disconcerting having Ralph Stanley's voice come out of the mouth of the fully-robed Ku Klux Klan grandmaster... an unfortunate slight which such a gentle old feller like Ralph really does not deserve...) Also included is hobo folklorist Harry McClintock's classic track, "Big Rock Candy Mountain", which apparently is a commentary on the tall tales that lecherous old tramps would tell to young boys and girls to get them to take up life on the road. Every thing about this album is good news, and it definitely deserves all the attention it's gotten so far. Preston Sturges would be proud.
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