2011

[Electrophile]

I wasn't anticipating it being released this year, but I've been extremely impressed with the new Beastie Boys album, Hot Sauce Committee Part Two. There are some phenomenal tracks on there, especially the duet they did with Santigold.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sou5NC9qEqY

I hope at some point we hear what would have been included on Part 1.

[Jahfin]

Cover of the new Gillian Welch record from her website. The album is due on June 28th.

[Jahfin]

Live Acoustic Album – August 16

The Rockets re-imagine and re-tool 13 songs from their vaunted catalog, including songs from albums long out of print. Look for it in the summer.

Here’s the skinny from the band:

“Although it may not be obvious, most Bottle Rockets songs are written on acoustic guitar. In contrast to being identified as a loud rock band, we enjoy the opportunities to perform without amplifiers and electricity. Songwriting is distinctly showcased under those stripped down conditions and requires the songs to sink or swim on their own. And on such occasions, we are always amused by the tangle of cords, plugs, and wires that are still involved with supposedly ‘unplugged’ music.

Choosing the right venue is important to the success of any show, and the Lucas School House in St. Louis was our correct choice for two sold out shows. Located on the edge of the historic Soulard neighborhood, the venue was formerly a one-room school built in 1898. The small, second floor gymnasium had been renovated into a concert hall with a beautiful wooden interior, stained glass, plush leather seating and state-of-the-art sound system. Serving as an ideal listening room during its short life, any performance in that space was an intimate music experience.

Recordings from those shows provide the material for this live album and the songs selected here include a mix of favorites, rarities, reinventions, and performances in-the-moment. Although the Lucas School House has since closed, this album preserves the essence of those two special nights.”

[Jahfin]

As part of NPR's First Listen series you can check out Eddie Vedder's new Ukelele Songs by clicking on the image above.

[DewieCox]

As part of NPR's First Listen series you can check out Eddie Vedder's new Ukelele Songs by clicking on the image above.

I love everything PJ members have put out to varying degree, but this is boring.

[Electrophile]

Eddie Vedder is one of those artists I want to like. He's super-talented, I loved Pearl Jam's stuff......but he's beginning to turn into Bob Dylan and to a lesser extent, Bruce Springsteen, vocally.

[Jahfin]

From Yep Roc Records:

Dave Alvin turns it up. The intensity, the focus, the volume. On Alvin's new album Eleven Eleven, he revisits the burning, guitar-centered blues rock that initially defined his career as part of The Blasters. Fast forward to Eleven Eleven and Dave is ready to raise the stakes again, calling on some Blasters including his brother Phil, with whom he duets for the first time ever on record. The inaugurals continue with Dave writing all the songs while on the road touring, a first for the seasoned performer. The new method clearly sparked new ideas for Alvin, with blistering guitar runs and Bo Diddley beats sidling up alongside gentle finger-picking. Street Date: 6/21/2011

[Jahfin]

From SecretlyCanadian.com:

The War on Drugs Deliver ‘Slave Ambient’ Aug. 16

On their debut, the life-affirming Wagonwheel Blues, and the follow-up EP, Future Weather, Philly’s The War on Drugs seemed obsessed with disparate ideas, with building uncompromised rock monuments from pieces that may have seemed like odd pairs. Folk-rock marathons come damaged by drum machines. Electronic and instrumental reprises precede songs they’ve yet to play, and Dr. Seuss becomes lyrical motivation for bold futuristic visions. Now, Granduciel has done it again, better than before: Slave Ambient (Out Aug. 16), their proper second album, is a brilliant 47-minute sprawl of rock ‘n’ roll, conceptualized with a sense of adventure and captured with seasons of bravado.

Slave Ambient features a team of Philadelphia’s finest musicians, including multi-instrumentalists Dave Hartley and Robbie Bennett, and drummer Mike Zanghi. Recorded throughout the last four years at Granduciel’s home studio in Philly, Jeff Ziegler’s Uniform Recording and Echo Mountain in Asheville, NC, the album puts the weirdest influences in just the right places. Synthesizers fall where you might expect more electric guitars (and vice versa); country-rock sidles up to the warped extravagance of ’80s pop. Instant classic “Baby Missiles” is part Spingsteen fever dream, part motorik anthem “Original Slave” might sound like a hillbilly power drone, but “City Reprise #12″ suggests Phil Collins un-retiring to back Harmonia. “I Was There” is Harvest rebuilt by some selection of psychedelic all-stars, while the shuffling, sleepy opener “Best Night” offers a band with too many ideas to be in a hurry. During the mid-album centerpiece “Come to the City,” Granduciel howls and moans, “All roads lead to me/I’ve been moving/I’ve been drifting.” Indeed, however unlikely that might seem, all these sounds arrive cohesively in one unmistakable place. Every song on Slave Ambient is instantly identifiable and infinitely intricate, a latticework of ideas and energies building into mile-high rock anthems. It’s a remarkable work for which we have an enormous pride and respect. And for which the story is only just beginning.

[Jahfin]

From Music.MyNC.com:

Dex Romweber Duo to celebrate album release at Cat’s Cradle

Simply put, Dex Romweber is a local legend. But Dex’s reach goes far beyond the Triangle; in fact, he is credited with being a massive influence for The White Stripes’ Jack White.

“His songwriting, along with his love of classic American music from the south — be it rockabilly, country or R&B — is one of the best kept secrets of the rock ‘n roll underground,” White said.

Perhaps best known for his incredible work with the Flat Duo Jets, Romweber has an equally impressive solo repertoire that includes 2009’s acclaimed album Ruins of Berlin.

The time now comes for the Dex Romweber Duo to release the follow-up to Ruins of Berlin. That album, Is That You In The Blue?, will see a release July 26 through Bloodshot Records.

“With a mix of originals and obscure nuggets from rock and roll’s dusky back closets, the DRD romps through the sweaty cinder block studios of Memphis of the ’50s, channels street corners on the wrong side of town with existential blues and instrumentals that’d find a home in a Tarantino spy flick,” a press release explains.

Is That You In The Blue? was recorded at Southern Culture on the Skids Rick Miller’s studio, and features contributions from members of The Old Ceremony and Savage Knights, as well as Rick himself and fellow SCOTS Mary Huff.

To kick-off the album’s release, Dex Romweber Duo will be joined by Birds of Avalon at Cat’s Cradle on July 22. Tickets go on sale June 10 for $10 in advance.

If you missed Dex Romweber Duo on Sessions at Studio B back in ‘09, check out the performance over on the video’s landing page.

[Electrophile]

From SecretlyCanadian.com:

The War on Drugs Deliver 'Slave Ambient' Aug. 16

On their debut, the life-affirming Wagonwheel Blues, and the follow-up EP, Future Weather, Philly's The War on Drugs seemed obsessed with disparate ideas, with building uncompromised rock monuments from pieces that may have seemed like odd pairs. Folk-rock marathons come damaged by drum machines. Electronic and instrumental reprises precede songs they've yet to play, and Dr. Seuss becomes lyrical motivation for bold futuristic visions. Now, Granduciel has done it again, better than before: Slave Ambient (Out Aug. 16), their proper second album, is a brilliant 47-minute sprawl of rock 'n' roll, conceptualized with a sense of adventure and captured with seasons of bravado.

Slave Ambient features a team of Philadelphia's finest musicians, including multi-instrumentalists Dave Hartley and Robbie Bennett, and drummer Mike Zanghi. Recorded throughout the last four years at Granduciel's home studio in Philly, Jeff Ziegler's Uniform Recording and Echo Mountain in Asheville, NC, the album puts the weirdest influences in just the right places. Synthesizers fall where you might expect more electric guitars (and vice versa); country-rock sidles up to the warped extravagance of '80s pop. Instant classic "Baby Missiles" is part Spingsteen fever dream, part motorik anthem "Original Slave" might sound like a hillbilly power drone, but "City Reprise #12″ suggests Phil Collins un-retiring to back Harmonia. "I Was There" is Harvest rebuilt by some selection of psychedelic all-stars, while the shuffling, sleepy opener "Best Night" offers a band with too many ideas to be in a hurry. During the mid-album centerpiece "Come to the City," Granduciel howls and moans, "All roads lead to me/I've been moving/I've been drifting." Indeed, however unlikely that might seem, all these sounds arrive cohesively in one unmistakable place. Every song on Slave Ambient is instantly identifiable and infinitely intricate, a latticework of ideas and energies building into mile-high rock anthems. It's a remarkable work for which we have an enormous pride and respect. And for which the story is only just beginning.

Oooh, I'm looking forward to this. I love their Future Weather EP. That was amazing.

[Jahfin]

Oooh, I'm looking forward to this. I love their Future Weather EP. That was amazing.

I hate I missed them when they played here with Destroyer this past Spring but I'm sure they'll be back around soon in support of the new record.

[Jahfin]

From NoDepression.com:

The Jayhawks Reunite for Mockingbird Time

by Craig Young

After a stretch of 11 years since their last studio recording, The Jayhawks have come together for the new album, Mockingbird Time. The album contains 12 tracks and will be released on September 20 on Rounder Records. The album will include all former bands members with songs written by band leaders Mark Olson and Gary Louris. Louris will also serve as the album’s producer.

Mockingbird Time was recorded at The Terrarium Recording Studios in Minneapolis over a month in the winter of 2010. When asked about their return to the studio, Lauris reflected, “The difference from then and now is that Mark and I have both experienced different kinds of music and expanded our palates. So this record has moments of experimentation and a bit of worldliness. I like a well-crafted, in-and-out kind of song, but with Mark, the lyrics dictate the music, and he’ll go off into interesting, asymmetrical compositions. So it’s a nice balance. Certain things were meant to be—like peanut butter and jelly—and Mark and I just work well together. And having done a lot of co-writing during the last six or seven years, I’m more appreciative of the magic that we have together. That doesn’t come along very often for anybody.”

In 2009, The Jayhawks’ first anthology covering the full length of their career, Music From The North Country, was released. The band’s first albums were re-released in August 2010 on CD, and two of their earlier albums were recently re-released in January 2011 with the addition of rare bonus tracks.

Here’s a look at The Jayhawks’ new album by track:

1. Hide Your Colors

2. Closer to Your Side

3. Tiny Arrows

4. She Walks in So Many Ways

5. High Water Blues

6. Mockingbird Time

7. Stand out in the Rain

8. Cinnamon Love

9. Guilder Annie

10. Black Eyed Susan

11. Pouring Rain at Dawn

12. Hey Mr. Ma

[Jahfin]

The debut album from John Howie, Jr. and the Rosewood Bluff. Most folks know Howie from his days with the $2 Pistols. They also had a very well received EP of duets Howie cut with Tift Merritt.

[Jahfin]

New from Eleanor Friedberger of Fiery Furnaces. Her new solo record, Last Summer, comes out on July 12th.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1A9Eiv_yBpY

[Jahfin]

GUY CLARK RELEASES SONGS AND STORIES, AUGUST 16 ON DUALTONE MUSIC GROUP

At the tail end of his performance of “L.A. Freeway,” master songwriter Guy Clark pauses to share a memory from that time decades ago, about a landlord and a grapefruit tree that might have added to the final push to say, “Adios to all this concrete. Gonna get me some dirt road back street.” It’s the kind of story you want to hear from a legend like Clark and on the live album Songs And Stories out August 16 on Music Group, not only are there the beloved songs, “The Randall Knife,” “The Cape,” “Homegrown Tomatoes,” and “Stuff That Works,” but also the essential asides and insights that can only be experienced from a seat in the audience.

The album was recorded at the Belcourt Theatre in Nashville, Clark warmly surrounded by his musical family -- his longtime sidekick and co-writer Verlon Thompson, along with Shawn Camp, Bryn Davies and Kenny Malone. It’s a comfortable atmosphere that feels like a peek into a 3am guitar pull at The Driskill Hotel.

Before beginning the song “If I Needed You,” written by his longtime friend Townes Van Zandt, Clark shares the story about the surprising ease Townes had writing the popular song when living with Clark and his wife in Texas in 1972. “Townes came in for coffee one morning, picked up his guitar and laid this piece of paper on his leg and sang this song…and I said ‘where did that come from?’ and he said ‘I wrote it last night in my sleep, I just rolled over and wrote it down and turned over and went back to sleep.’” Clark laughs, adding, “Suspicion confirmed.”

Releasing just months prior to his 70th birthday, Songs and Stories further evidence why Clark is a member of The Songwriters Hall of Fame, with craftsmanship that young writers study and seasoned writers admire. Clark has continued to reap awards with a recent Lifetime Achievement Award from the Americana Association, and Grammy nominations for his last two studio albums with Dualtone, Somedays The Song Writes You and Workbench Songs.

1. Introduction

2. L.A. Freeway

3. Story: Sometimes They Come Easy

4. Maybe I Can Paint Over That

5. Story: Townes' Road Keets

6. If I Needed You

7. The Cape

8. Homegrown Tomatoes

9. Shawn And Verlon

10. Story: The Legend Of Sis Draper

11. Sis Draper

12. Magnolia Wind

13. Story: I'm From Greasy Bend

14. Darweitta's Mandolin

15. Story: Hang In There

16. Joe Walker's Mare

17. A nod to Rodney Crowell

18. Stuff That Works

19. Out In The Parkin' Lot

20. Intro: The Randall Knife

21. The Randall Knife

22. Curtain call for the cast

23. Dublin Blues

Pre-order info here.

[Jahfin]

Downloadable in various formats for $5 until 2 pm EDT today.

[Jahfin]

From RollingStone.com:

Nirvana Celebrates 20th Anniversary of 'Nevermind' With Deluxe Reissue

Landmark album will be expanded with unheard songs and an unreleased live DVD

By MATTHEW PERPETUA

Nirvana's 1991 album Nevermind – the epoch-defining record that Rolling Stone has declared the Number One album of the Nineties and the 17th greatest album of all time – will be reissued on September 20th as a deluxe 5-disc edition. The expanded set celebrates the 20th anniversary of the record's original release with an extensive collection of previously unheard recordings, rarities, b-sides, radio sessions, live performances and an unreleased concert presented in its entirety on DVD.

As of yet, Universal has not released a full track listing for the deluxe edition. As it turns out, even band member Dave Grohl isn't quite sure what will turn up in the set. "I mean, as far as content and releases and stuff like that, honestly, it’s like I’m the drummer again. I’m the last one to know anything," Grohl told Rolling Stone. "It’s almost like a wedding anniversary – something that someone reminds you of about a week beforehand, and then you panic and buy flowers."

Even still, Grohl hints at other Nevermind anniversary surprises down the line. "I wouldn’t doubt it if something very special happens – we have a few things up our sleeves. I can’t really say anything yet. But you’ll see. It’ll be fun."

[Jahfin]

From SavingCountryMusic.com:

Hank III To Release 4 Records on September 6th

–Hank III to release 4 Records on September 6th: A double country album, a metal Attention Defecit Domination album, and a 3-Bar Ranch Cattle Callin’ record.

–New double country Ghost to a Ghost/Guttertown album will have a total of 41 new songs.

–Guest appearances include Tom Waits, Les Claypool, Dave Sherman, Troy Medlin, and Alan King of Hellstomper.

From Hank 3.com:

LOS ANGELES, CA – THURSDAY, June 23, 2011 — With his own new label, Hank3 Records, and the sense that he has thrown off the chains holding him back creatively, Shelton Hank Williams III, aka Hank3, is coming out swinging this year with the release of four records on September 6 – that’s right – FOUR.

The unprecedented launch, in a distribution partnership with Megaforce Records (MRI), features a broad range of music that bridges more than one head-thumping genre – a familiar theme that true Hank3 fans have embraced for years. Ghost to a Ghost/Guttertown, a double-album set, is a straight-shooting country collection, flavored with Hank3′s trademark hellbilly sound, and heavily weighted with Cajun influence (especially on Guttertown) and an ambient, lonesome mood – and a few very special guests.

Two more releases are Attention Deficit Domination and 3 Bar Ranch Cattle Callin' – intensely metal-driven records on which Hank3 plays all instruments. Attention Deficit Domination is a pressure-dropping, doom rock statement that has been anticipated by his hardcore fans for years, and Cattle Callin' explores a new mind-bending “Cattle Core” sound, featuring Hank3′s speed metal woven in and around actual cattle auctioneering.

All three projects were recorded at The Haunted Ranch, Hank3′s home and studio that lies on the outskirts of Nashville – a fitting place since the town has never really known what to do with this grandson of the American icon. He finally parted ways with Curb Records January 1.

“I have musical freedom. I’m able to say ‘Here’s my record’ and I don’t have to go through a million different channels just to put out a song,” he says. “It’s all me now.”

Hank3 wrote the lion’s share of the songs that appear on the 41-track Ghost to a Ghost. The players are Andy Gibson on steel guitar and banjo, who also aided in its recording, David McElfresh on fiddle and mandolin, Zach Shedd on standup bass, Daniel Mason on banjo, super-picker Johnny Hiland on guitar, Billy Contreras on fiddle, and Rory Hoffman on accordion.

Guest appearances include the mythical Tom Waits on the haunted “Fadin Moon” from Guttertown and on the Ghost to a Ghost title track, Alan King of Hellstomper, Les Claypool of Primus fame and beyond, Dave Sherman, Troy Medlin and Hank3′s dog, Trooper.

Cuts such as “Guttertown,” “Ridin The Wave,” and “The Devil’s Movin In” on Ghost to A Ghost, and “Goin to Guttertown,” “The Low Line,” and “I’ll Save My Tears” on Guttertown highlight both the excellent musicianship on the records, and Hank3′s unmistakable, confident vocals.

Attention Deficit Domination allows the listener into Hank3′s crunching, metal world of the heavy and the slow, complete with his renowned, fundamental percussion. The nine tracks hardly allow you to get up from the floor. With songs such as “I Feel Sacrificed” and the tormented “Livin Beyond Doom,” Hank3 works a ground somewhere between devastation and high theatre.

“Both A.D.D. and Cattle Callin' are very intense. It’s very manic,” Hank3 says. “It’s hard to follow, even for the guys I play with. I’m playing everything on these two. It’s very complex.”

There are 23 tracks on Cattle Callin', featuring Hank3′s driving, formidable guitar attack, with instrumentation build around the auctioneering and, in some cases, his own higherregister vocal treatment laid over the top. Metal fans will notice some tongue-in-cheek humor with titles such as “Heavy Cattle” and “Angus of Death.” Also, fans of bluegrass will love the banjo-driven “Cattle Callin Lonesome Blues,” featuring Mason.

“I was raised around it [cattle auctioneering] and it’s pretty amazing how fast these guys are,” Hank3 says. “Hip-hop has looped auctioneers. Bluegrass has messed around with it a little bit. This has never been done in the heavy metal world.”

The September release of all three projects represents a new birth for Hank3, and he’s happy to have the chance.

“Megaforce Records has helped me with my vision to do something that’s never been done before,” he says. “They’re handling my distribution, and I wanted to flood the market and do everything different. I wanted to come out of the gate strong.

“I’m opening up the mind a little bit and bringing some different styles together.”

[Jahfin]

From neonuniverse.org:

This One’s For Him: A Tribute to Guy Clark to be released November 1, 2011

Loving tribute celebrates Clark’s 70th birthday – Produced by Tamara Saviano and Shawn Camp

Double CD set includes recordings by Rodney Crowell, Lyle Lovett, Joe Ely, Shawn Colvin, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Emmylou Harris & John Prine, Patty Griffin, Ron Sexsmith, Rosanne Cash, Steve Earle, Vince Gill, Jerry Jeff Walker, Robert Earl Keen, and more.

Houston’s Icehouse Music will release This One’s For Him: A Tribute to Guy Clark on November 1, 2011 to celebrate Clark’s 70th birthday. Clark was born in Monahans, Texas on November 6, 1941.

Lovingly produced by Tamara Saviano—who is also working with Clark on his definitive biography—and frequent Clark co-writer Shawn Camp, the tribute includes 30 tracks by 33 Americana artists who are friends and colleagues of Clark or who have been influenced by his remarkable compositions. The collection was mixed and mastered by Austin engineer Fred Remmert. Part of the proceeds will benefit the Center for Texas Music History at Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas.

Guy Clark’s poetry resonates deeply with his fellow songwriters.

“Guy’s songs are literature,” says Lyle Lovett, among the venerable artists who eagerly gathered for This One’s For Him: A Tribute to Guy Clark. “The first time I heard Guy Clark, I thought it made everything I’d heard up to that point something other than a song. His ability to translate the emotional into the written word is extraordinary.”

Accordingly, Clark’s most vibrant (“Instant Coffee Blues”) and vivid vignettes (“Desperadoes Waiting for a Train”) reel with cinematic landscapes (“The Last Gunfighter Ballad,” “The Cape”). Novellas frequently unfold within minutes (“Better Days,” “She Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere”).

Clark’s singular storytelling chills with striking familiarity (“The Dark”). “Songs are like Japanese painting,” he explains. “Less is more. One brushstroke takes the place of many if you put it in the right place. I’m trying to get whoever is listening to think, ‘Oh, man, I was there. I did that. I know what that’s about.’ Too many details take away.” Clark’s add volumes. Remember that old blue shirt? Mad Dog margarita? June bug on the window screen?

Of course, our passions forever burn brighter for the flour sack cape. Few capture courage as timelessly. “Guy Clark is a like dancer with the way he talks and a photographer with the way he writes,” noted Texas indie artist Terri Hendrix says. “He’s the epitome of American songwriting.”

Clark’s watercolor imagery blueprints his legend, but generosity ultimately cements his legacy. For four decades, the longtime Nashville resident, whose own Grammy-nominated Somedays the Song Writes You (2009) soars as seamlessly as his hallmark debut Old No. 1 (1975), has cultivated songwriting talent enthusiastically. His matchless eye yields high dividends: Americana royalty Shawn Camp, Rodney Crowell, Steve Earle, Vince Gill and Lovett barely begin the list he’s given sea legs. Young writers today immediately earn credibility with his stamp.

“Guy is the king in a lot of ways,” says rising songwriter Hayes Carll, who has split pages in the storied basement workshop where Clark writes and builds guitars. “I think everybody who was around Guy learned a lot from him and I think the entire music world is indebted to him for what he taught other writers. Everybody who had a chance to learn from him came away a better writer. He gave me a shot before I deserved one.” As friends say, Clark’s a curator, a creative caretaker. He celebrates high watermarks that others achieve.

This One’s for Him: A Tribute to Guy Clark returns the favor. Artists brought two key instruments: a guitar and profound reverence. Individual investments quickly emerged. Perhaps most notably, Gill claims a haunting bond. “Giant tears were falling all over my guitar as we were playing,” the country star remembers about serving as guitarist on Clark’s original “Randall Knife” recording nearly thirty years ago. “My dad was a lawyer, and he died when I was forty. Guy and I are tied at the hip through that song.”

“Let’s give her a good go and make ol’ Guy proud of us…” said Rodney Crowell kicking off the collection on the first day as he readied to record “That Old Time Feeling.” The double CD set was recorded live in studio with a core house band that included multi-instrumentalist Shawn Camp, guitarist Verlon Thompson, & pianist Jen Gunderman. The tribute was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee and Austin, Texas with a rotating cast of other musicians including multi-instrumentalist Lloyd Maines, bass players Glenn Fukunaga, Mike Bub and Glenn Worf, and drummers Kenny Malone and Larry Atamanuik.

Folks mostly laughed throughout the sessions. Swapped stories. Enjoyed company. Picked and grinned like those dusky evenings over at Guy and Susanna’s near Old Hickory Lake in the 1970s. Fittingly, Crowell issued our collective mission statement the very first day. We think you’ll agree everyone succeeded.

Volume 1

1. That Old Time Feeling – Rodney Crowell

2. Anyhow I Love You – Lyle Lovett

3. All He Wants Is You – Shawn Colvin

4. Homeless – Shawn Camp

5. Broken Hearted People – Ron Sexsmith

6. Better Days – Rosanne Cash

7. Desperadoes Waiting For A Train – Willie Nelson

8. Baby Took A Limo To Memphis – Rosie Flores

9. Magdalene – Kevin Welch

10. Instant Coffee Blues – Suzy Bogguss

11. Homegrown Tomatoes – Ray Wylie Hubbard

12. Let Him Roll – John Townes Van Zandt II

13. The Guitar – Ramblin’ Jack Elliott

14. Cold Dog Soup – James McMurtry

15. Worry B Gone – Hayes Carll

Volume 2

1. Dublin Blues – Joe Ely

2. Magnolia Wind – Emmylou Harris & John Prine

3. The Last Gunfighter Ballad – Steve Earle

4. All Through Throwing Good Love After Bad – Verlon Thompson

5. The Dark – Terri Hendrix

6. LA Freeway – Radney Foster

7. The Cape – Patty Griffin

8. Hemingway’s Whiskey – Kris Kristofferson

9. Texas Cookin’ – Gary Nicholson, Darrell Scott & Tim O’Brien

10. Stuff That Works – Jack Ingram

11. Randall Knife – Vince Gill

12. Texas 1947 – Robert Earl Keen

13. Old Friends – Terry Allen

14. She Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere – The Trishas

15. My Favorite Picture of You – Jerry Jeff Walker

Source: Tamara Saviano

[spidersandsnakes]

THE SONIC RENDEVOUZ RELEASE...SOON TO BE OUT :)

By blackglove at 2011-06-23

[Jahfin]

From VanguardRecords.com:

THE GOURDS RELEASE VANGUARD RECORDS DEBUT OLD MAD JOY SEPTEMBER 13TH RECORDED AT LEVON HELM STUDIOS

One of roots music’s most fervent leaders, Texas greats, The Gourds will be releasing their Vanguard Records debut, Old Mad Joy, on September 13th. Produced by Larry Campbell at the infamous Levon Helm Studios a.k.a. ‘The Barn’, Old Mad Joy embraces the eccentric character and sonic range of the band while pushing their sound to the next level.

From the beginning notes of the first track, "I Want It So Bad," it is clear that something new is emerging. Larry Campbell (Levon Helm’s producer and musical director of Helm’s Midnight Rambles’) held the key to making it all work. " 'Coach' Campbell' found the strengths in our weaknesses and the vulnerabilities in our strengths and challenged our pre-determined aesthetic sensibilities," states front man Kevin Russell, "his qualification and compassion instilled in us a desire to achieve more than we thought we could as a combo and as individuals."

The foundation of Old Mad Joy is its five basic elements - Claude Bernard’s accordion and keyboards bring on the swamp fun. Kevin Russell’s original brand of gospel spirituals contrast with Jimmy Smith’s dark-and-twisted imagery, Max Johnston’s multiple-instrumental cache including banjo, rub-board, mandolin and fiddle, and Keith Langford’s drumming puts the whole train into motion.

Based in Austin, TX and formed in 1994, The Gourds have released eight studio records and multiple live recordings and soundtracks. In 2006, they performed in an episode of the NBC show Friday Night Lights and have been featured on PBS’ Austin City Limits. The Gourds high-energy live shows and endless touring have earned them the reputation as a ‘must see’ artist. The band will be kicking off the release of Old Mad Joy with a show in Los Angeles at The Echo on September 13th (additional dates below with more to be confirmed in Philadelphia, Seattle, Denver, and Washington, DC). Old Mad Joy is The Gourds ninth studio release and Vanguard Records debut.

Click here to listen to "I Want It So Bad."

9/13/2011 Los Angeles, CA - The Echo

9/16/2011 San Francisco, CA - Slim's

9/17/2011 Santa Barbara, CA - Lobero Theatre Sing Like Hell Series

9/22/2011 Beaumont, TX - Courvilles

9/23/2011 Austin, TX - Threadgills

9/24/2011 Dallas, TX - Kessler Theater

9/29/2011 Burlington, VT - Higher Ground

10/01/2011 New York, NY - Sullivan Hall

10/07/2011 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle

10/08/2011 Greer, SC - Albino Skunkfest

10/29/2011 Hall Sitka, AK - Harrigan Centennial

12/10/2011 Austin, TX - The Paramount Theatre

[Knebby]

Alfie Boe's new album in November

[Jahfin]

From RollingStone.com:

U2 Go Back to the Nineties With Massive

'Achtung Baby' Reissue'

I'm blown away listening to some of the outtakes,' says the Edge

Bono onstage at a Zoo TV tour stop in 1992

Michel Linssen/Redferns/Getty Images

By BRIAN HIATT

On the most recent dates of U2's 360° Tour, the band members have been showing grainy footage of themselves hanging out in Berlin during the recording of Achtung Baby — a rare moment of unabashed nostalgia that also hints at what's next from U2. This fall, the band will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the album that hit the reset button on its sound — along with the LP's accompanying Zoo TV Tour and its 1993 follow-up, Zooropa — with ambitious reissues, complete with unseen video footage and rare recordings.

"I'm blown away listening to some of the rough mixes and the outtakes," says the Edge. "There's some very interesting alternative versions that we discovered of songs that wouldn't have seen the light of day, alternative lyrics, different arrangement styles — it's like Achtung Baby out of focus."

It's likely there will be separate reissues of Achtung Baby and Zooropa, along with a deluxe box set that incorporates both albums as well as video and/or audio from Zoo TV. "There will be multiple formats," says U2's manager, Paul McGuinness. "If you pile a lot of extra material and packaging and design work into a super-duper box set, there are people who will pay quite a lot for it, so you can budget it at a very high level and pump up the value." The band is also working on a U2 app for the iPad and other tablets that could be involved with the releases.

The group recently filmed a new performance of songs from the period in a Canadian theater, reportedly for use in a documentary directed by Davis Guggenheim, who worked with the Edge on the guitar doc It Might Get Loud. The band has also discovered substantial unseen footage from the early Nineties. "We were filming everything," says McGuinness. "There's a lot of material that has never really been seen, and seeing it will be quite startling."

[Jahfin]

The opening cut from the new Ry Cooder album Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down which is due on August 30th.

[Jahfin]