Unabashed bluegrass, blues, Dixieland and more

This three piece (Ben Plasse - upright bass and banjo; Ian Craft - fiddle and banjo; Jared Green - guitar and harmonica; all three on vocals) performs its mountain bluegrass, Dixieland and late-night blues with a busker's verve. Plasse's bass holds down the rhythmic core on many numbers, but gives way…

It’s hard to imagine one person so diverse in his musical talents as to have successfully recorded key sessions with:

• Stan Getz & João Gilberto (Getz/Gilberto)
• Wes Montgomery (Far Wes)
• Burt Bacharach (Casino Royale)
• Dionne Warwick (Valley of the Dolls)
• The Free Design (Kites Are Fun)
• Elton John (11-17-70)
• The Band (Rock of Ages and Before the…

Tuneful combination of rock, pop, Americana and blues

The sophomore release from this Queens quartet continues to mine the intersection of angsty guitar pop, twangy Americana and Stonesish rock they debuted in 2009. Vocalist (and songwriter) Mike Montali also continues to…

Extraordinary solo demos for Gene Clark's White Light

Having passed through the New Christy Minstrels, founded and left the Byrds and dissolved a fruitful partnership with Doug Dillard, Gene Clark escaped the burdens of Los Angeles and relocated to a quiet spot on the Northern California coast. Although he owed A&M a pair of albums, Clark…

Pondering irreversible consequences

After an album of Blaze Foley covers in 2011, singer-songwriter Gurf Morlix returns to his catalog of forbidding originals. The album's title provides a clever play on words, suggesting a man catching up to the moment only to find that…

Juke-joint swing, twangy honky-tonk and hot rock 'n' roll

Wayne Hancock's been making great albums since he introduced himself with 1995's Thunderstorms and Neon Signs. His vocal similarity to Hank Sr. hasn’t abated a bit in the subsequent eighteen years, nor has…

The Otis Redding album that could have been

Producer David Gorman has worked a bit of sleight-of-hand in creating this what-might-have-been Stax/Volt release. By cherry-picking from Otis Redding’s catalog, Gorman’s built the most consistent studio album that Redding never released. Rather than balancing heartbreak with hip-shaking soul, Gorman’s playlist gives…

Classic A’s and B’s from 1962-1966

By the time that George Jones left Mercury and signed with United Artists in 1962 for his chart-topping “She Thinks I Still Care,” he’d been steadily minting hits since his 1955 debut, “Why Baby Why.” His two-and-a-half year run on UA produced sixteen singles, which the label managed to stretch over nearly five…

Lost soul classics lost no more



Industry veteran Jerry Williams, Jr. unleashed his alter ego on this 1970 masterpiece, spelling out his unconventional views in groove-heavy soul music. He makes good on the title’s brag with catchy, original songs that touch on environmental decay, social isolation, dystopian visions, racism and questions of paternity.…

Masterful live performance by country-folk singer-songwriter

Gauthier’s strength as a live performer is evident from the riveting cover of Fred Eaglesmith’s “Your Sister Cried” that opens her first live album. Taken at a resolute tempo, Gauthier is at once haggard, reportorial and sympathetic, and her hard-strummed guitar is augmented by dramatic…

Swamp-tinged, soul-grooved electric blues

Singer/guitarist Bobby Rush has traveled an interesting road as a musician. Born in Louisiana, his family relocated to Chicago in the early ‘50s, where Rush was schooled by Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and other giants of the Windy City’s iconic blues scene. He developed his own sound in the ‘60s, equally fueled by…

Haggard’s original 1960s Capitol singles – A’s and B’s

As with their collections of singles on Wanda Jackson and George Jones, Ominvore’s anthology of twenty-eight Merle Haggard sides – fourteen A’s and…

Stirring set of Memphis pop-soul singles in glorious mono

Fans of the Box Tops’ Memphis-tinged radio pop, whether period AM listeners or working their way backwards from Big Star or Alex Chilton’s solo work, will find something interesting here. The band’s ten charting singles (from 1967’s chart-topping debut, “The Letter,” through the non-LP “Turn…

Well-known A-sides and worthy B’s from 1956-63

Recent collections of singles from Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, Ray Charles and others have shed new light on much-loved performers. In addition to well-known hits, these anthologies highlight the valiant misses and B-sides that faded from an artist’s repertoire as their catalog was reduced to greatest…

A pensive set from a legendary singer-songwriter

It’s been nine years since Chris Stamey’s last solo album, Travels in the South. In the interim he’s worked with Yo La Tengo on A Question of…

Midwestern folk brings country to town

Though “Chicago Farmer” was originally the name of his band, six albums in, it’s become a solo sobriquet for Cody Diekhoff. A native of Delavan, IL (population 1,825), Diekhoff replanted his rural roots in the big city whose name was bestowed upon him. He cites Woody Guthrie and fellow Illinoisan John…

Six-EP series kicks off with a new song, a cover and a remake

After a less-than-satisfying engagement with his last record label, Marshall Crenshaw’s taking his music straight to the people. Funded through a Kickstarter campaign, Crenshaw’s kicked off a subscription project that will deliver a series of six three-song 10” vinyl EPs, each featuring a new song, a cover and a remake…

Moving set of originals from a master singer-songwriter

Nashville singer-songwriter Jeff Black complements his previous volume of B-sides and Confessions (one he presciently suffixed with “Vol. 1” back in 2003) with this second helping. It’s an unexpected treat, given that his…

Dark duets album from Aussie singer-songwriter

Henry Wagons’ namesake band has been galloping about Australia since their 2002 debut, but this EP is the singer-songwriter’s first “solo” effort. There are quotes around that because, as the title suggests, Wagons welcomes partners (including the Kills’ Allison Mosshart…

Skillfully crafted debut from a Nashville-born singer-songwriter

Paul Sikes is a rarity among Nashville country artists - a hometown boy. There are many Tennesseans in the industry, but those actually born in Music City, such as Deana Carter, Hank Williams III and Matraca Berg, are surprisingly rare. Sikes goes one step farther, in that he’s not…