Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Best of 2012 Americana, part 2
Part 2 of Best of 2012 Americana features #13 – #1
See Best of 2012 Americana, part 1 for #28-#13
#13 Man About Town – Moot Davis
We were long overdue for a new Moot Davis album and we finally ended the drought with Moot Davis’ Man About Town album. His music reminds me a lot of Lyle Lovett’s music. There’s just something a little but classier about his songs than the usually roots music fare. I like to call it “coat and tie country.” His lyrics are top notch, his riffs will make you tap your foot and he has a vocal style that is reminiscent of Roy Orbison. My favorites are “Rags to Rhinestones,” “Queensbury Rules,” and “Fade To Gold.”
#12 Packed for Exile – Jason Heath and the Greedy Souls
Even though Jason Heath and his band, The Greedy Souls, are based in L.A, they sound like a pure heartland American band. Lots of accordion, fiddle, and acoustic piano riffs mixed in with the electric guitar. But more than that, the songs have a feel good quality to them. Even my favorite track, the hard edged “Devil Ain’t Talkin’” has a high energy road house feel to it. I’m also into “California Wine,” “#1 With A Bullet,” and “Truth Rag.”
#11 Radar’s Clowns of Sedation
So many people who claim to write blues music these days are writing quaint odes to yesteryear that couldn’t ruffle a feather with the help of a strong breeze. So it’s refreshing to hear Pete Pawsey come along with his new band line up, Radar’s Clown’s of Sedation, and a set of songs that are rude, socially unacceptable, and even a little seditious. YES. This is the blues kids used to sneak away from their parents to hear. This is the blues that used to get banned from the radio. This is is the blues said the things that god folk didn’t have the guts to hear. My favorites from the self-titled release are “The Word (Came Down),” “She Likes To Ride,” “Death Follows Everyone,” and “Yesterday’s Clothes.”
#10 Good Day – AJ Downing
AJ Downing write cathartic, blue collar, barroom rock and roll and sings with the longest drawl in Texas. His songs are the tell-it-like-it-is variety. Nothing is glossed over or prettied up in his music. And that’s what makes it feel good. Highlights for me are “American Junkie,” “My Wagon Just Won’t Roll,” “Willie (Had We Never Been High),” and “The Other Cheek.” But the stand out track is the have a good day come hell or high water title track.
#9 Volume Ten – Junior Brown
Junior Brown’s 6 track Volume Ten EP was almost too short for me to consider for the Best of 2012. But here’s the thing. Every song on this disc is a perfect example of the many different sounds and styles of music he’s been known for over his long and storied career. You’ve got honkytonk, western swing, surf rock, jazz standards, and the occasional foot tapping novelty tune. If you’ve never experienced Junior Brown before this is a great first album of his to have. And conveniently, the cover art includes pictures of his other nine albums as a handy reference. If I had to pick highlight tracks, I’d go for “I’m Headed Back To Austin Tonight,” “Trust Me,” and his tribute to Buddy Charleton, “Almost To Tulsa.”
#8 Birds of Chicago
JT Nero and Allison Russell have put out their debut, self-titled album and it’s one of those creations that I want to put in the hands of everyone I know. There’s not a single person I’ve shared this album with that didn’t thank me for it later. But what kind of music is it? uhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I’m gonna have to go with electric-folk-pop. Maybe. The songs have a bounce to them. The lyrics are mostly sunny. Allison’s voice is sweet and gorgeous. She and JT Nero have great chemistry together. Somewhere deep in the music there’s an old school spiritual vibe. Hard to pick favorites on this one, but I’d choose “Trampoline,” “Cannonball,” “Sugar Dumplin’,” and “Galaxy Ballroom.”
#7 I’ll Keep Calling – JP Harris and the Tough Choices
If you built a still out on the back forty, shredded every honkytonk album you ever owned and mixed it up with the mash and distilled it for a year you might get something approximating the concentrated twang on I’ll Keep Calling by JP Harris and the Tough Choices. The songs are so perfect they ought to be in a museum, but thank goodness they are available anywhere you feel like doing the two step. Highlights for me are “Two For the Road,” “I’ll Keep Calling,” “Shake It,” and “Gear Jammin’ Daddy.” But the song that I keep going back to over and over is “Badly Bent.”
- Preview I’ll Keep Calling
#6 Two At A Time – The Two Man Gentlemen Band
Two guys on tenor guitar and upright bass writing music inspired by the 30′s and it’s so damn authentic even the most hard core audiophiles and musicologists think their original tunes are covers of classic tin pan alley. But this isn’t some dreary ode to yesteryear. They are writing fun, high energy music about modern day subjects and entertaining crowds everywhere they go. You’ll be amazed at the how much their songs will make you grin. My favorites are “Two Star Hotel,” “Pork Chops,” “Please Don’t Water It Down,” and “Cheese and Crackers.”
#5 Ghost of Browder Holler – Chelle Rose
Chelle Rose writes rock n roll songs, but songs that could only come from the Great Smoky Mountains. That’s not to say this is a folksy album full of traditional instruments. But it’s infused with gospel preachers, mountain flowers, rusted cars, home made quilts, and the ghosts of ex-boyfriends. The songs are stunningly original and bluesy. You listen to these songs and think, “well, its rock and roll, but I’ve never heard anything like it before.” Highlights for me are “Ghost of Browder Holler,” “Rattlesnake In The Road, and “Shady Grove Gonna Blow.” And to tell the truth, my favorite track is a soul number called “Rufus Morgan” that would have made Dusty Springfield proud.
#4 Free – Bonnie Bishop
There’s just no way to describe Bonnie Bishop’s album, Free, other than southern blues-rock. And like the best rock and roll there is a shot at redemption buried in the narrative. Bonnie Bishop is a master at building up that sense of redemption and the joy. By the time you get to the end of this album you’ll be waving your hands in the air as if you’re at a revival. My favorites are “Shrinking Violet,” “Bad Seed,” and “Right Where You Are.”
#3 Next To Nowhere – Beth McKee
Beth McKee is more than just a southern singer/songwriter. At some level she’s like a preacher. She’s got her own movement called the “Swamp Sistas,” and they spread the gospel according to New Orleans far and wide. And when you listen to Beth McKee’s latest album, Next To Nowhere, it’s practically impossible not to get sucked into the good-natured vibe. This is another album that’s hard to pick favorites, but I gotta say I like the title track, “Shoulda Kept On Walkin’,” “New Orleans To Jackson,” “Same Dog’s Tail,” and “On The Verge.”
#2 Grifter’s Hymnal – Ray Wylie Hubbard
It’s like that story about Robert Johnson meeting the devil at the cross roads in rural Mississippi and selling his soul for success. You listen to Ray Wylie Hubbard’s Grifter’s Hymnal and think that there’s got to be some Faustian deal in his back story. It’s like he stumbled out of the backwoods bearing Grifter’s Hymnal in one hand and a bunch of chicken bones tied up with guitar strings in the other, muttering something about finally understanding the relationship between the Devil, God, and Man. You want to call this music the blues, just to try to connect it to something earthly. You know that ain’t quite right, but that’s the best you can do. You kinda want to call it rock, but not that kind of rock that makes kids jump around, the kind that makes kids go slack-jaw. You might even want to call it gospel, but it would raise the question of just whose side is Hubbard on, anyway. Stand out tracks for me are “Coricidin Bottle,” “South Of The River,” “New Year’s Eve At The Gates Of Hell,” “Mother Blues,” and “Henhouse.”
#1 Down The River – Malcolm Holcombe
Malcolm Holcombe lives in the mountains of North Carolina where he write songs with a voice that sounds just as old as the mountains. The music on his latest album, Down The River, is mostly acoustic, driven by an energy that breaks guitar strings and punches holes in kick drums. His lyrics are cryptic, visionary, and biting. On some songs he’s the crazy grampa no one quite understands. On some songs he’s the working man that doesn’t have the time to suffer fools. Sometimes he’s the alcoholic picking up the pieces of his life, but making no apologies. Most people highlight “Trail O’ Money,” which he did with Steve Earle. But for me the highlight tracks are “I Call The Shots,” “Whitewash Job,” and “Down The River.” But the song that blows you away is the opener, “Butcher In Town.”
Rotation 339
- #13 Queensbury Rules / Moot Davis / Man About Town / 2:50
- #12 Devil Ain’t Talkin’ / Jason Heath & The Greedy Souls / Packed For Exile / 3:34
- #11 The Word (Came Down) / Radar’s Clowns of Sedation / Radar’s Clowns of Sedation / 5:02
- #10 My Wagon Just Won’t Roll / AJ Downing / Good Day / 3:25
- #9 Almost To Tulsa / Junior Brown / Volume Ten / 3:14
- #8 Trampoline / Birds Of Chicago / Birds Of Chicago / 4:32
- #7 Badly Bent / JP Harris and the Tough Choices / I’ll Keep Calling / 4:47
- #6 Cheese & Crackers / The Two Man Gentlemen Band / Two At A Time / 2:48
- #5 Rufus Morgan / Chelle Rose / Ghost Of Browder Holler / 4:28
- #4 Right Where You Are / Bonnie Bishop / Free / 3:39
- #3 Next to Nowhere / Beth McKee / Next to Nowhere / 3:04
- #2 South of the River / Ray Wylie Hubbard / The Grifter’s Hymnal / 4:07
- #1 Butcher In Town / Malcolm Holcombe / Down The River / 4:27
Americana Music Show
- Subscribe by email, by iTunes, or by RSS. It’s all free and you won’t miss an episode.
- Visit the episode list to listen to past episodes
Legal
The Americana Music Show is copyright 2012 by Taproot Media. The music and interviews in this episode are used with permission of the artists.
Feedback
If you have any feedback for this episode or any other episode feel free to leave a comment on the episode page or send mail to calvin@americanamusicshow.com.
These are all true winners–well done!
Love the Americana sounds!