[ aquarius records — Country Folk Blues ]

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Showing results 601 through 650 of 1618.

New album from white blues heavyweight John Hammond that consists solely of Tom Waits covers. If Tom Waits' own endorsement of Hammond as an artist -- "John has a blacksmith's strength and rhythm and the kind of soul and precision it takes to cut diamonds

RealAudio clip: 16 Shells From A Thirty-Ought Six
RealAudio clip: Shore Leave

New album from Chicago based no depression country duo. Slow, contemplative ballads, rounded out with hollow body guitar, then steeped in smokey reverb and boomy bar room bass - the occasional guest vocal gives this cd an almost Sons of the Pioneers feel. The end result is a very authentic sounding country record (and it was all recorded on a G3... Go figure.) On Archer Prewitt's Carrot Top label.

As the title states this is a live recording of the old country and bluegrass-y couple known as the Handsome Family (aka Brett and Rennie Sparks). This intimate show took place in Chicago (their hometown since '89) shortly before they relocated to New Mexico, and as such it's steeped in heartfelt sentiment. Plenty of warm, down to earth banter filled with kooky tales comes mainly from the mouth of Mrs. Sparks, while Mr. Sparks' singing thunders deep and thick with reverb like a voice from beyond set over an earthy, twangful backdrop. Very haunting. Having written some of the most beautiful, somber ballads of the last decade - some of which have been performed by a few of their friends like Sally Timms - the Handsome Family can take you directly from a hilarious story about magic balls to the absolute depths of dramatic despair. Note: If you're altogether new to this duo you might want to start with one of their great earlier studio albums such as In The Air or Through The Trees before proceeding to this live one.

RealAudio clip: My Sister's Tiny Hands
RealAudio clip: The Sad Milkman
RealAudio clip: I Know You Are There

The last Brian Harnetty record was a sleeper hit around here, fusing sampled bits of Appalachia and fragments of oral histories with dark brooding collaged soundscapes, the results were haunting and captivating, the two sounds working surprisingly well together, creating a sort of ghostly old world folk, the cracked and weathered voices wrapped in warm whirs and spectral ambience. For his latest record (which has taken us a while to get in to list), Harnetty has assembled a conventional band and composed a set of gorgeous and dark chamber rock / dark jazz vignettes, utilizing piano, accordion, clarinet, trumpet, violin, drums, bells, vibes as well as vocals on a few tracks courtesy of Mr. Will Oldham aka Bonnie Prince Billy, but more on that in a second. Harnetty hasn't abandoned his use of the strange old time samples either, they pop up throughout the record, a little burst of old timey Appalachia, a cute introduction from the bandstand of some dance, wild sawing fiddles, it sounds like a strange fit, but it weirdly sort of works. The record opens with a haunting ballad, all softly reverbed piano, and droning strings, shuffling drums, super moody and mysterious, when all of a sudden, right at the end, some old timey fiddle music fades while the song proper fades out, and the player says a few words and then we're already into the next song, another dark brooding drift. The whole record is pretty haunting and moody, a little Dirty 3, a little Max Richter, quite lovely, with the various old timey samples just adding a little bit of odd mystery. As for the vocals, Will Oldham actually only sings on 3 of the 12 tracks, not sure it's worthy of co-credit, but his songs are in fact quite nice, his creaking about-to-break croon perfectly complimenting Harnetty's dark and dreamy arrangements. And in some ways, Oldham's songs as well as his voice manage to sound as old and dusty as the sampled songs and voices...

MPEG stream: The Night Is, And Lights Are
MPEG stream: The Top Hat
MPEG stream: Sleeping In The Driveway

MPEG stream: Open Up The Door
MPEG stream: Living Circa 1920
MPEG stream: Winter Time

More Roy Harper for you, folks! We've been importing the hard-to-find reissued albums of the veteran British folk-rock singer-songwriter (always a cult figure, who shoulda been huge) and reviewing our favorites one by one. The first two Harper cds we listed were from the very early '70s -- his fourth and fifth albums, Flat Baroque And Berserk and Stormcock. But now we're gonna take a foray further along into the Roy Harper discography to feature album number ten, Bullinamingvase from 1977. 'Tis a full-band affair, and one that, as with quite a few of Harper's records, features a number of famous musicians as guests -- even though he never enjoyed much in the way of chart success, he was always being a big favorite among the rock royalty of the era. Notable among 'em this time are guitarist Alvin Lee of Ten Years After, Ronnie Lane of the Faces, and both Paul and Linda McCartney of Wings. And if you're a Wings fan (we are!) you will also immediately recognize the guitar of Jimmy McCulloch. You can't miss it. There's a trademark wavery sort of lick he plays that you've definitely heard before in Wings songs. (Sadly, McCulloch died just two years after this album was released, at the ripe old age of 26, due to drugs.) Fans of Stormcock know that Harper is one for the epic, and certainly the twenty minute opus "One Of Those Days In England Parts 2-10" is indeed "the major event on the record", as Harper's typically digressive and poetic liner notes say. Yet the other wonderful cuts here with single-digit running times shouldn't be overlooked. Fragile, emotional tracks like "These Last Days" and "The Naked Flame", (songs that show that Harper, though a romantic, had decidedly realistic views on relationships), alongside the much more rambunctious "Watford Gap", about a greasy spoon frequented by touring musicans in England, make the whole album something to savor. The single version of "One Of Those Days...", also included here, actually became the closest thing to a pop hit that Harper ever had. And indeed Bullinamingvase was Harper's most successful album to date (ever?), reaching number 25 in the UK charts. But despite all that he had a falling out with his record label and didn't release another album for three years... He's still going strong today, though, and maybe next time 'round we'll list his brand new anti-Bush, anti-Blair single!!

MPEG stream: The Naked Flame
MPEG stream: These Last Days

Ok, we're really rolling out the Roy Harper here at AQ, as promised last time 'round in our review of his Stormcock album (which got a *great* response, thanks everyone, we hope you liked it!). And if you did, as we not only hope but pretty much expect, then we've got another one for you: Flat Baroque And Berserk from 1970, the album that immediately preceeds Stormcock in Harper's discography. Compared to Stormcock, well, it's similar in feel, but there's more songs and they're shorter (though some venture into the seven and eight minute range) and thus more variety. The strings and orchestration of Stormcock don't make an appearance, this is a pure singer-songwriter setting, Roy Harper showing what he can do with just his acoustic guitar and his impassioned voice. Just try the intense, confrontational "I Hate The White Man" on for size. Or the opening salvo of "Don't You Grieve". The outpouring of emotion, the depth of feeling, his verge-of-insanity intelligence regarding themes both personal and societal... sheer brilliance in both his poetry and his playing. As a unique talent, Harper was surely a worthy contemporary to Bob Dylan and Donovan and Syd Barrett. Adding to the intimacy of the album, some of the tracks are interspersed with Harper talking (and laughing) about his songs, interacting with what sounds like a small audience, or just hamming it up with the recording engineer. Fascinating and sometimes quite amusing. His hippie humor lightens up music that's often delicate yet dark. So again, we urge anyone who still doesn't know why Led Zeppelin wrote a song entitled "Hats Off To Roy Harper" to check out this, and his other albums as we get them in. And, again, if you're at all enthralled by today's lauded folk troubadours -- the likes of Devendra Banhart, Ben Chasny, and Iron & Wine -- you need to hear Roy Harper.

MPEG stream: How Does It Feel
MPEG stream: Tom Tiddler's Ground

'Bout time for some more Roy Harper on our list! This time, we've imported copies of the cult British singer-songwriter's third album, 1969's somewhat goofily titled Folkjokeopus. It's an opus all right, and folky (with lots of exquisite acoustic guitar playing from Harper) but jokey only in that, as a "folk" musician, Harper is irreverent and idiosyncratic for sure, and witty -- but no joke. The mood here is actually pretty dark and serious a lot of the time. The track "One For All" is dedicated to Albert Ayler, whom Harper knew from his days of busking in the streets of Copenhagen. According to his typically cryptic liner notes, Ayler liked to call Harper "tough guy". And as delicate and beautiful as so much of this music is, there's a definite toughness to Roy Harper, as he rails against the wrongs of society, spitting out clever couplets or crooning high and emotively over his own impassioned strum. This record is the immediate predecessor to 1970's Flat Baroque And Berserk and 1971's Stormcock, both of which we've already listed, and if you like those two you should certainly get this one as well! The powerful, eighteen minute "McGoohan's Blues" (which grapples with some of the same themes as Patrick McGoohan's TV series The Prisoner, it seems) definitely foreshadows the epics of Stormcock, and is a crucial early composition in Harper's career. So we very much recommend this to all you '70s folk-rock fans, and/or those into the current scene inspired by such sounds (Devendra Banhart, Six Organs, Skygreen Leopards, Richard Youngs...). You need to hear Roy Harper and this is one of the classics of his discography.

MPEG stream: Sgt Sunshine
MPEG stream: She's The One

Unanimous aQ favorite Daniel Higgs, he of the mighty Lungfish and more recently a prolific solo artist, returns with a collaboration featuring fellow Baltimore noisenik Twig Harper, best known for his work in Nautical Almanac. Anyone keeping up with Higgs' output is undoubtedly aware of his brilliant grasp of minimalism, and with a voice like that, few people are complaining. While his recent solo work has included instruments like banjo, a shruti box, Jew's harp, and some spacey electronics, the emphasis here is on Higgs' voice and his words. Harper's sparse electronic accompaniment works perfectly on these performances, adding subtle layers of sound that never venture too far into full on noise territory while adding some necessary dimensions to Higgs' spiritual narratives. Comprised of seven pieces, Clairaudience Fellowship represents another evolutionary step for these two artists, utilizing spaciousness to a new effect. Higgs' voice is the one constant, mutating electronically throughout the record and sounding kind of like an alien delivering a religious sermon underwater. We're not entirely sure how Harper's sounds are made, but they often come off like field recordings of watery drips and breathy repetitions that soon change into clipped electronic noises, causing you to wonder what it is you are really hearing. Musically, one can detect similarities to the experiments of a wide range of groups like Cromagnon, the Red Krayola, Yahowha 13, and more recently, Amps For Christ. It might be misleading to call this "folk music", but then you have to wonder what such a term even means in 2010, and in a more abstract way, it seems pretty apt for this stuff. By the end of the record, Higgs' voice is warped beyond comprehension with only the occasional decipherable word popping up. Still, you know whatever it is he's saying, Higgs is speaking the truth steadily and surely. While it's hardly the feel good hit of the year, Clairaudience Fellowship is an amazing and engaging listen to anyone willing to sit down and pay attention. By now we can always count on Daniel Higgs to keep things surprising and interesting. Harper ain't no slouch either. Highest possible recommendation.

Except for one or two nice tracks, this album is a major disappointment -- we had very high hopes for Emmylou's first album comprised solely of self-penned songs. She's built a respectable career out of performing others songs in her own style, but... well, we see now why she doesn't do her own stuff very often. The album also suffers from embarrassing over-production which completely weighs down the music and gives it this faux-epic arena-huge sound that's just so fake and calculated and made-for-the-malls. Sigh.

Best known as the bearded, kinda imposing guitarist/vocalist/viking in the art-metal institution known as Neurosis, Steve Von Till is always working on other projects as well... Harvestman being his latest musical incarnation (with help from friends, including members of Amber Asylum), devoted to making psychedelic, electronic spacerock with a traditional folk heritage. It's like pagans were picked up at Stonehenge by an alien spaceship and deposited on some far off planet aeons hence to make music on futuristic instruments (that we call electric guitars and synthesizers). Lashing The Rye is mostly instrumental, with just two female vocal visitations and (on one song) the sampled voice of Bert Jansch. Also SVT "narrates" on one track, a la Current 93 or something. The twelve tracks here may have titles like "Scarborough Fair" and "Sheep-Crook and Black Dog" (Harvestman's renderings of those two inspired by versions recorded by John Renbourn and Steeleye Span, respectively) but while many of the tunes here may be traditional, Harvestman's interpretation and instrumentation sure ain't! Though there's some delicate guitar and piano (and searing bagpipe) this isn't all that "acoustic" -- there's also plenty of droning electronic spaciness and heavy waves of distorted electric guitar. It's calm, and quite pretty, but massive. Folk-drone for giants. Imagine Amps For Christ teamed up with Kinski. Parts even hint at the density of SUNNO))) or Boris. Recommended!

MPEG stream: The Burning Of Tara
MPEG stream: The Sea Maiden
MPEG stream: Jack Orion

We've got a bountiful harvest of, ah, Harvestman this list, two releases from the psychedelic alter ego of menacing Neurosis guitarist Steve Von Till, and that's very much okay by us, seeing as how we loved the first Harvestman album Lashing The Rye, and then utterly freaked out over the second one, In A Dark Tongue (made it a Record Of The Week in fact). Now, this week we've got Harvestman doing Hawkwind covers on a three-way split with U.S. Christmas and Minsk (highlighted nearby) and this, the third "official" Harvestman full-length. So far, they've all been a bit different, beginning with the druidic Brit-folk elements of the debut, morphing into the mindblowing space rock mantras of album number two, and now, an Italian horror soundtrack??? Literally, yes! Not long ago, Von Till received a commission to score an Italian film of psychological suspense oddly entitled h2Odio (or, for English speaking audiences, Hate 2 O). So, he entered his remote upper Idaho home studio and basically let his beard take over, eventually resulting in this instrumental soundtrack... don't expect spooky prog-funk a la Goblin, though! This seems more inspired by the cosmic kraut soundtracks of Popol Vuh. It's a spacey, mellowed out affair, hushed and hypnotic, full of quietly meandering psych guitar, ghostly synth pulsations, and washes of distorted drone, lovely and dark... it's not really scary scary music, just somewhat sinister, but equally soothing. We don't know much about the movie itself, this soundtrack is sufficient pleasure for us anyway, but we do imagine that if the characters/victims in the film could actually hear this music, they'd probably feel quite resigned to their fates. And now it's been released in a numbered, limited edition, in a spiffy black cardstock wallet. 71 minutes, 16 tracks, of which five, however, originally appeared on Lashing The Rye (we'd guess the director especially wanted those in his film, and then asked Von Till for more?). Listen meditatively, and become resigned to YOUR fate.

MPEG stream: Trinity
MPEG stream: Dig
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Local singer-songwriter who surprises with a remarkably un-singer/songwriter debut. Fahey/Nick Drakey fingerpickin'.

Traveling Songs is the second folksy twang album from Mr. Clay Hawkins. Vocally, he falls close to the sensitive male singer/songwriter tree a la Damien Jurado, Elliott Smith -- earnest and deeply heartfelt -- but where this album truly shines is when it's just him playing solo in his acoustic guitar on songs such as "Stepping Lightly" (or when he's simply joined by the sound of birds twittering on the ninth song "The Trip"). This Bay Area-based gent originally hails from Arizona and it shows. His skillful string plucking glows with golden desert sunset tones. Very comforting and warm.

MPEG stream: Stepping Lightly
MPEG stream: The Trip

Hey all you Alabama Chickens! Or admirers of Bay Area country boy Sean Hayes' album of that very name! If you're in the Bay Area, you just might've seen him performing with his pal Ms Jolie Holland recently. Such a great combination! From the clamour of folks coming in askin' about him, it seems like he made quite an impression. Well, we're happy to report that we've got a couple of his earlier releases for y'all straight from the man himself. Each proves him to be a prolific and consistently high caliber singer / songwriter. This one is his debut full length originally released in 1999, and what really struck us right off the bat was how soulful Hayes' vocal delivery is on it. In fact, when combined with the meditative barebones folk guitar plucking, it bears more than a striking resemblance to that of Tracy Chapman. That in itself is by no means a bad thing, just a little startling, and apart from that initial oddness, this reveals itself to be another fine, achingly expressive album from Mr. Hayes. Fourteen songs in all.

MPEG stream: Candles, Birds, Water
MPEG stream: Mary Magdalene

Now, we might wanna recommend right here and now that you not be mislead by the cover and title of this cd which sort of suggested (to us at least) something akin to a Southern Culture On The Skids style hootenanny. Not so! Although we wouldn't doubt that this gent can kick up some dust on his own. Instead, how 'bout some southern Americana twang from right here in SF? Sean Hayes is the man slinging this fine Alabama Chicken, and he's joined by a luminous group of guest players. To name just a couple of them... AQ fave Jolie Holland plays her fiddle and sings on a couple of songs, and AQ dear friend Will Waghorn plays drums on a bunch of 'em too. Actually the title track is one that Holland and Waghorn both grace, and it's definitely a highlight. It's ever so solemn, haunting and perhaps the most fleshed out of the album's down home dozen with the aforementioned fiddle, as well as some ghostly musical saw, banjo, and marimba. The rest are more barebones and intimate, allowing individual instruments to linger and lope all by their lonesome. A bittersweet swoop of harmonica, some understated acoustic guitar, a handful of soft piano keys, a hushed brush-tap on a snare drum and high hat. Lovely! Hayes' softly ragged, mournful voice (Andee compared it to James Taylor) pairs so well with Holland's -- like kindred spirits -- it makes you yearn for more of their stirring duets. We'd venture to say that if you've been swooning to Ms. Holland and The Be Good Tanyas, you just might want to check this out too. Even if you haven't, please do! A moving, earnest and earthy album.

MPEG stream: Alabama Chicken
MPEG stream: Two Big Eyes

The name Sean Hayes has swiftly become one that you can trust for some really good down-home listenin'. His ever-growing following around these parts know very well that this man has a special way with both word and song. His last album, the laidback bluesy beauty Alabama Chicken from 2003, really made its mark on the Bay Area country folk community, equally appealing to fans of his fellow indie folksters Will Oldham, Jason Molina and his pal Jolie Holland as well as fans of the less grassroots-y types such as Dave Matthews and Jack Johnson or country rock vets John Hiatt and Graham Parker. This, the eagerly anticipated Big Black Hole And The Little Baby Star, is his fourth full length. Honing, fleshing out and expanding on that which came before, it sure doesn't disappoint. Not one to let the grass grow beneath his feet nor one to rest on his laurels, Hayes continues to grow as a deeply soulful songcraftsman, discovering and exploring new broader possibilities in his music. Refreshing and strong from start to finish, Big Black Hole And The Little Baby Star's fourteen songs find him at his most confident and effortless. He's joined by a number of fellow SF musical luminaries Ara Anderson (Iron & The Albatross), Etienne DeRocher, Ches Smith (Trevor Dunn's Trio-Convulsant), Todd Roper and Kathryn Jensen. Be sure to check out the album's closing number, the slowly grooving "Turnaroundturnmeon" that perhaps offers a glimpse of his future directions. Sure to convert many many more ears to this gent's warm, earthy aural finery. Recommended!

MPEG stream: Boom Boom Goes The Day
MPEG stream: Turnaroundturnmeon

Please welcome the new Sean Hayes full length! You know we sure do! Such a terrific storytelling songsmith with a liltingly sensitive and soulful voice, Mr. Hayes and his music are always an absolute pleasure to encounter. He's followed up 2006's Big Black Hole And The Little Baby Star with a whole 'nother wonderful album that expands on what has come before, stretching its limbs stylistically, expressively and production wise too. In fact, this is his first studio-recorded album, but don't expect anything drastically different, distractingly slick or heavy-handed. No, it was for the most part recorded live, and it retains his trademark intimate, down to earthy charm. Who's joining him this time around? Well, quite an awesome seven member backing band which includes Ara Anderson (Iron & The Albatross) and Ches Smith (Secret Chiefs 3, Trevor Dunn's Trio-Convulsant). This baker's dozen does feature a broader instrument palette than his past releases which offers tasteful horn and accordion flourishes here and there to the rootsy proceedings. Yes, indeedie, Flowering Spade is another feather in his cap. Recommended!

MPEG stream: All For Love
MPEG stream: Elizabeth Sways

Hey all you Alabama Chickens! Or admirers of Bay Area country boy Sean Hayes' album of that very name! If you're in the Bay Area, you just might've seen him performing with his pal Ms Jolie Holland recently. Such a great combination! From the clamour of folks coming in askin' about him, it seems like he made quite an impression. Well, we're happy to report that we've got a couple of his earlier releases for y'all straight from the man himself. Each proves him to be a prolific and consistently high caliber singer / songwriter. This one, Lunar Lust is his second full length which came out in 2002. Much like on his debut A Thousand Tiny Pieces, what really struck us right off the bat was the earnest, yearning emotiveness of Hayes' voice. In fact, when combined with the meditative barebones folk guitar plucking, it bears a startling resemblance to that of Tracy Chapman. That in itself is by no means a bad thing, and apart from that initial oddness, this reveals itself to be another fine, achingly expressive album from Mr. Hayes. Fourteen songs in all.

MPEG stream: Simple + Ideal
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Wow, is this really album #6 for Mr. Sean Hayes? Yes, indeedie it is! Shucks, we kinda knew there was something special 'bout this fine gent waaay back in 2003 when we heard the first few tunes off of his engaging debut album Alabama Chicken which he hand-delivered to us. Now, seven years later he's still tending kindly to the grass roots, self-releasing his music, and personally presenting it to us. We're happy to report that Run Wolves Run is splendid, and sure to please his ever growing legions of fans. While the heart of this Bay Area troubadour's music is unmistakably rooted in folk Americana, he's open to venturing beyond the genre's boundaries and welcoming fresh possibilities while steering clear of current trends. This time we sense that he's injected a bit more rock and funkiness into the proceedings. The results are perhaps a bit more upbeat that his past recordings, but they still maintain a sound that's wonderfully soulful and warmly familiar. Recommended!

MPEG stream: When We Fall In
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Ace Of Spades is a cd-r series of live recordings showcasing the intimate acoustic music of a variety of local indie artists. The series so far boasts consistently strong performances from all participants (well played and well recorded at Mama Buzz Cafe in Oakland). Of the Volume 5 - January 2005 edition's seven featured artists, AQ customers will probably be most familiar with Sean Hayes. His three songs include "Diamond In The Sun", "Rattlesnake Charm" and a fine rendition of the title track of his beloved Alabama Chicken album. Other stand-outs are the haunting spartan female sung three songs from Black Bird Stitches, the easy-going pop folk double-shot from Songs From The Living Room and the rousing intoxicated gypsy strings of Sour Mash Hug Band. L.Carey, Jason Webley, and P. Panamarenko (who also appears on the Vol. 6 and Vol. 8 editions).

MPEG stream: Snapshot Memories
MPEG stream: Song 1

It's really a testament to the songwriting of AC/DC that their songs sound great no matter who sings them, or how. Whether it's the moody mumbly Mark Kozelek versions or the twangy good ol' boy versions presented here. And boy do they sound just right here, The only problem is the vocalist's country twang. It's SO pronounced and so purposeful sounding, we were convinced he was faking it. But once we got used to it we were digging this like crazy (well, not Allan). Nice version of 'Big Balls' too.

RealAudio clip: Hell's Bells
RealAudio clip: Have A Drink On Me

Light in The Attic continues their awesome Lee Hazlewood archival series with this rarest of rare releases, a 1975 soundtrack to the last (and least known) of the many films for Swedish television Hazlewood made with longtime collaborator Torbjorn Axelman. Half surrealist anecdote and half documentary, A Room Safe for Tigers is a bizarre self-portrait of the artist as he embarks on a new life in a new land. Filmed on the island of Gotland, Hazlewood shoots various scenes with the local townsfolk, running a marathon, trying to convince Swedish children to take sides against Nixon, and seeking protective spells from a witch. The centerpiece of the soundtrack, the song "Soul's Island", reads like a pastoral response to the Nancy & Lee classic, "Some Velvet Morning" with its epic orchestral sweeps and never-ending fade out. There are a couple of revisitations from the back catalog, namely "The Nights", a spoken-sung epic about Native American genealogy and genocide and an early Shackletons' cover, "Little Boy Blue". But the bulk of the release is material never released before including instrumentals, some country-funk numbers and a strange duet with Axelman as he recites all of Hazlewood's lines in Swedish. As seen with the last archival release, The LHI Years, Hazlewood's less heard '70s Swedish output was just as vital and essential as the famed sixties material he was best known for. Kudos to Light in The Attic for continuing to make the work of this eccentric American voice more widely available.

MPEG stream: Souls's Island
MPEG stream: A House Safe For Tigers
MPEG stream: Absent Friends

The Lee Hazlewood reissue train keeps a rolling with three new previously unreleased reissues from his early days: His second and third albums, The N.S.V.I.P.'s (Not So Very Important People) from 1965, and Friday's Child from 1966, as well as his ninth album Love And Other Crimes from 1968. The N.S.V.I.P.'s (Not So Very Important People) and Friday's Child are both full of quirky songs and song stories about eccentric folks and down-and-outers and their often surreal downfalls. These records have Hazlewood's trademark twisted take on popular songforms like country-folk and Tin Pan Alley-ish novelty tunes with his uncanny knack for sublime production and wry humor. Love And Other Crimes was recorded after the two Nancy & Lee albums he did with Nancy Sinatra, and the songs have a groovier almost psych-pop quality, even though there is some novelty schtick happening as well. Love and Other Crimes does however have some of our all time favorite Hazlewood tracks, especially the Byrds-by-way-of-Johnny Cash number "Pour Man" which is a gorgeously dark and groovy murder ballad, that we once thought referred to the relationship of Nancy Sinatra and Billy Strange, who arranged many of Nancy & Lee's signature songs. But their love triangle was merely played up for the press and didn't really exist, so we're told. Still a great record in a slew of great reissues!!

MPEG stream: Friday's Child
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You know it's been a cold and lonely world since Lee Hazlewood left it, not that he wasn't constantly reminding us what a cold and lonely world we live in while he was still alive. But somehow listening to his preternaturally world-weary songs -- sung in his trademark wooly baritone; sheathed in their unique, and at times kitschy, baroque country-pop splendor; resigned to epic restlessness, heartbreak, loss, and death; and yet resolutely and often humorously self-defiant -- feels even sadder, now that he's gone. His back catalog is huge and for the uninitiated can be difficult to navigate but thankfully Water has reissued his first three MGM recordings from the mid-sixties for the first time separately (the 2002 2cd Big Beat reissue, These Boots Are Made for Walkin': The Complete MGM Recordings compiled all three albums together). Beautifully arranged by Billy Strange and newly remastered, they are the perfect entry point into Lee's left-field western cinematic sound. We're reviewing our two favorites here, the third will be on the next list! Lee Hazlewoodism: Its Cause and Cure from 1967 continues in the same vein as its predecessor (The Very Special World of...) but includes more of his half-spoken / half-sung epic narratives such as "Jose" about a young boy's quest to be a matador, and "The Nights", about the harsh life of a white woman who decides to join a clan of Native Americans. Peppered with more upbeat numbers than ballads, the best of which are "In Our Time" with its Byrds-like 12 string guitar, "The Girls In Paris" and "Dark In My Heart". As with most Hazlewood records, listeners have to deal with some cheese, here most represented by the vaudevillian "Suzy Jane Is Back In Town", but that is grist for the mill when dealing with someone whose sound world maneuvers fearlessly into many of the strangest niches of American popular music. It's best to brave these minor moments than ignore one of the best examples of pop production put to tape. R.I.P. Lee!

MPEG stream: The Girls In Paris
MPEG stream: The Nights
MPEG stream: In Our Time

MPEG stream: Pour Man
MPEG stream: The House Song

Late seventies Nashville-inspired country record recorded in Sweden. In similar vein to his 1963 debut, Trouble Is A Lonesome Town. Equally sublime and goofy!

You know it's been a cold and lonely world since Lee Hazlewood left it, not that he wasn't constantly reminding us what a cold and lonely world we live in while he was still alive. But somehow listening to his preternaturally world-weary songs -- sung in his trademark wooly baritone; sheathed in their unique, and at times kitschy, baroque country-pop splendor; resigned to epic restlessness, heartbreak, loss, and death; and yet resolutely and often humorously self-defiant -- feels even sadder, now that he's gone. His back catalog is huge and for the uninitiated can be difficult to navigate but thankfully Water has reissued his first three MGM recordings from the mid-sixties for the first time separately (the 2002 double cd Big Beat reissue, These Boots Are Made for Walkin': The Complete MGM Recordings compiled all three albums together). Beautifully arranged by Billy Strange and newly remastered, they are the perfect entry point into Lee's left-field western cinematic sound. We reviewed the other two on last week's list, this is the third, not our favorite necessarily but still pretty dang good, and fans will of course want all three... The Something Special album from 1968 is unique in that after it was recorded and given a catalog number and cover (nice tan, Lee!), MGM decided to cancel it. So it has been given "lost album" status, making this the first time it has been issued on its own. The opening track "Shades" was actually recorded during the Lee Hazlewoodism sessions but the rest of the set, which covers more jazzy and Tin Pan Alley territory than the previous two records, doesn't quite reach the same majestic pop realms. In fact it features some bizarre Louis Armstrong style scatting (provided by Billy Strange himself) that will have less brave folks running. Not Hazelwood's finest moment as a whole record but for completists who have missed this, there are more than a couple of worthy moments. R.I.P Lee!

MPEG stream: Shades
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A fantastic compilation of Hazlewood tracks from his late-sixties/early seventies output when the country-pop production genius found himself in Stockholm and recorded some of his most weirdly romantic and beautifully bummed out records. Most of the tracks come from 1969's Cowboy and The Lady (with Ann Margaret), 1970's Cowboy in Sweden (with Nina Lizell and Suzi Jane Hokum) and the most awesomely embittered break-up record ever, Requiem for an Almost Lady from 1971. But fans familiar with those albums might not have everything here, including rare B sides and an unreleased track, "I Just Learned How To Run". The burnt out surrealist western influence came about largely from his collaborations with Swedish filmmaker Torbjorn Axelman who Hazlewood worked with throughout the seventies. Yet these albums were sometimes a bit much on their own, having a flair equally for epic wanderlust as they did for cornball humor. But by taking the best tracks from these albums, it really puts a spotlight on Hazlewood's druggy pop genius, and shows that his best years weren't behind him with Nancy Sinatra and his amazing output for Reprise. Anyone that dug those Water reissues a while back (The Very Special World of Lee Hazlewood and Lee Hazlewoodism: It's Cause And Cure) should pick this up too. A compilation that we couldn't heap more praise upon if we tried. FYI, there was a vinyl version of this that came out on Record Store Day; of course, it's long gone, but we do hear that they plan to repress it sometime...

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You know it's been a cold and lonely world since Lee Hazlewood left it, not that he wasn't constantly reminding us what a cold and lonely world we live in while he was still alive. But somehow listening to his preternaturally world-weary songs - sung in his trademark wooly baritone; sheathed in their unique, and at times kitschy, baroque country-pop splendor; resigned to epic restlessness, heartbreak, loss, and death; and yet resolutely and often humorously self-defiant � feels even sadder, now that he's gone. His back catalog is huge and for the uninitiated can be difficult to navigate but thankfully Water has reissued his first three MGM recordings from the mid-sixties for the first time separately (the 2002 2cd Big Beat reissue, These Boots Are Made for Walkin': The Complete MGM Recordings compiled all three albums together). Beautifully arranged by Billy Strange and newly remastered, they are the perfect entry point into Lee's left-field western cinematic sound. We're reviewing our two favorites here, the third will be on the next list! The Very Special World of Lee Hazlewood from 1966 is one of his best albums ever. Opening with "For a Moment", a ballad of hurt marked by a wall of phase-shifted strings and a chorus of female back-up singers, we're taken through a set of gloriously arranged ballads and loungey pop numbers including the original versions of "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'" and "Sand" (a duet with Suzy Jane Hokum, that he later recorded with Nancy Sinatra). But it's the centerpiece meditation on dying, "My Autumn's Done Come" that's worth the price of admission. It's hard to say if Scott Walker heard this record before embarking on his own string of baroque balladry the following year, but there are surely definite parallels. R.I.P. Lee!

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MPEG stream: My Autumn's Done Come
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Light In The Attic continues its deep digging into Lee Hazlewood's LHI archives with a beautiful and welcome reissue of Hazlewood's 1963 recording debut, Trouble Is A Lonesome Town. Lying somewhere between Johnny Cash and a bohemian Porter Wagoner, Hazlewood takes the listener on a travelogue of a tiny backwater called Trouble and its crazy cast of colorful characters. A sort of country novelty record, it's Hazlewood's deft handling of song-writing, narrative delivery and musical production that gives it a lasting quality that elevates it beyond kitsch. This expanded reissue comes with 15 bonus tracks of Hazlewood's singles and productions from the mid-fifties to the mid-sixties that paint a fuller portrait of the legendary artist in his early years, including tracks with Duane Eddy. Beautifully packaged with an 8 page booklet featuring a previously unpublished interview from 1998. Fans of the other LITA Hazlewood reissues should jump on this!

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This rare orchestral psych-folk gem finally sees the light of day, complete with bonus tracks, alternate mixes and a Christmas-themed single just in time for the holidays! Heaven & Earth were a female duo, so named for the harmonious elemental quality of their voices, one earthy, the other airy. Refuge is the lone record they made for Dick Schorry's Chicago-based Ovation Records imprint in 1973, and it's got his spacey percussive production all over it, especially in key Chicago session players, Bobby Christian on percussion and Phil Upchurch on guitar (Rotary Connection, Dorothy Ashby, Soulful Strings). The folk-funk opener "Jenny" has been on many DJ playlists including Andy Votel and was recently featured on Trish Keenan of Broadcast's final tour mixtape that was making the rounds after her untimely demise. But the whole album proper is stunning, showcasing a wistful and mystical autumnal vibe that connects the airy pop folk of Linda Perhacs, The Poppy Family, and Wendy & Bonnie to the next wave of singer-songwriters and rock groups like The Roches and Heart. We'll be playing this tons to warm us through the long cold winter. The cd features the album proper with 15 bonus and unreleased tracks pretty much containing their entire recorded output including their perhaps ill-advised attempt at heavy motorcycle rock,"Hawg For You Baby"! Also comes with two booklets of photos and liner notes and remembrances from each member. Quite beautiful and recommended!

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Awwww, February, blossoming romance is in the air! Fans of fey femme folk, here's a Valentine sweetie for you! Dan Bejar (Destroyer, New Pornographers, Swan Lake) and his ladylove Sydney Vermont took some time out from North America and travelled to Spain for a spell. The musical inspirations that their journey spawned are found on this here album. It's an earthy, ephemeral melange (yes, we said "melange"!) of Kate Bush drama, waif-pop Lavender Diamond, '70s soft rock AOR singers such as Melissa Manchester or Carly Simon. With a description like that you could be warily anticipating a somewhat milquetoast listen, but fear not! It's all distinguished and elevated by Bejar's unmistakable musical eccentricities. His prickly guitar and distinct voice are perfect foil for Vermont's lilting soprano tones -- particularly on fine songs like "Mediterranean Snow" and (Cup's current favorite) "Sunny Skies". Oh and yes there's even flute (ya hear me Andee?). Go on, don a flowing chiffon gown and sway to this floral loveliness. Includes a cover of Kevin Ayers' "Hymn".

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Arguably one of the wildest of all the later-day female blues performers, Jessie Mae Hemphill (aka, "The She-Wolf"!) didn't achieve wide fame until later in life. Feeling Good wasn't her first record, but it was her first American release, coming out in 1990, three years before suffering a stroke that would sideline her career. In it she takes the primal North Mississippi hill country blues traditions of her family (her grandfather was the fiddler Sid Hemphill), in a raucous set of electric blues minimalism honing each song to wild repeating riffs and bare-bone percussion. Her voice all primitive holler and beguiling moan. Perhaps best known for her guitar playing (she started playing at age seven), she was an accomplished drummer as well playing snare and bass drums in various fife and drum units. And it's that rhythmic instinct that binds her musical style together. This set is jumping!

Most folks are probably more familiar with Mathew Kvohst McNerney as a member of avant post black metallers Code, or Dodheimsgard offshoot DHG, but in Hexvessel, MKMcN explores a different sonic path altogether, a sort of ritualist psychedelic folk, that has more in common with groups like Woven Hand and Comus and other modern freak folkers than any of the bands in his more metal pedigree. The coolest part about Hexvessel is McNerney's distinctive vocals. For us, the best part of Code were McNerney's clean vocals, especially set amidst churning black buzz, or Interpol like metallized gloom, so to hear those same vocals draped over sun dappled acoustic guitars and fluttering flutes, is pretty spectacular, and reveals that in many ways, his talents were wasted screeching and shrieking over black buzz. The tracks are dark and haunting, minimal and dreamily druggy, hazy and washed out, warm and woozy and psychedelic, conjuring that seventies acid folk vibe, buzzing metallic drones swirling around lush finger picked steel string Appalachia, the vocals crooned one second ominously whispered the next, the core sound of the group augmented by a fantastic array of musical instruments including mandolin, banjo, bandoneon, upright bass, gongs, harmonium, dulcimer, zither, psaltery, bells and more, the songs alternately ominous and sinister, hushed and dreamlike, sometimes set amidst the sound of a summer glade, all bird calls and whispering wind, other times wreathed in strange occultic ambience, the lyrics mysterious and cryptic, the delivery, passionate and urgent, a gorgeously timeless collection of old timey ballads, haunting laments, foresty folk dirges, and various other permutations of Hexvessel's mystical dark folke. Most definitely for fans of all strains of folk: psychedelic, apocalyptic, doom, freak and otherwise, as well as fellow folk brethren like Woven Hand, Comus, Sixteen Horsepower, Burial Hex, Espers, Six Organs Of Admittance, Timesbold, Kiss The Anus Of A Black Cat, etc. Super striking packaging, all metallic gold ink on full color matte finish, inside an equally striking booklet filled with haunting images, lyrics, liner notes and original artwork by Albert Witchfinder of Reverend Bizarre.

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If you live in San Francisco, you've probably seen Tom lending his remarkable pedal steel skills to a bevy of local country acts. Formerly of the band Go To Blazes, currently doing time in The Court and Spark, Tom finally releases a record on his own. He has already proven himself an amazing player, but this records shows him to be quite a songwriter, as well as a pretty great singer. Fans of the Court and Spark, Uncle Tupelo and all that should definitely check this out.

Earlier this year when we reviewed School Of The Flower, the latest from modern day acid folk hero Ben Chasny's Six Organs Of Admittance, we mentioned that Ben had become obsessed with the music of one Gary Higgins, an obscure '70s hippie singer/songwriter whose lone LP from 1973, Red Hash, had developed something of a cult following over the decades, not that all that many people had even ever heard OF it, let alone actually heard it. But those who had all spoke highly of its mystic beauty, mysterious aura, and so forth. Ben covered a Higgins song on School Of The Flower, and asked that if anyone knew of his whereabouts to let Drag City know. Apparently that paid off, 'cause now Drag City *has* managed to track down Mr. Higgins and properly reissue Red Hash on cd to enlighten all of us to its wonders. And we bet Ben is excited to now be labelmates with one of his heroes! (They've even performed together in recent months!) Kicking off with the song that Six Organs' covered, "Thicker Than A Smokey", Red Hash immediately lives up to its reputation as a hidden treasure of psychedelic folk music, oft slow and sad and melancholically melodic. There's a lost and lonely vibe to a lot of this, with Gary's gentle singing and acoustic guitar backed by friends playing piano, cello, mandolin, flute and more. Together they weave eleven tracks of entrancing dope smoking folk music, drifting, sometimes dreary, but always oh so lovely. The freakiness is mainly in the lyrics, which can be quite interestingly cryptic and weird, often regarding the worried wandering and woes of a young man, while the music remains alluringly melodic and inwardly calm. Though, with a deeper voice and more urgent tone, the Beefheartian "Down On The Farm" stands out as more menacing (and humorous) than the rest. This remastered Drag City reish is really nicely done, with a full-colour booklet of photos and lyrics. Two (lesser) bonus tracks are also included, "Last Great Sperm Whale" from 1975 and "Don't Ya Know" from sometime in the early '80s. But the album alone is a gem and shines just a bright now as it did briefly back in '73. By the way, one reason for its obscurity is that shortly after the LP's original release, Higgins was sent away to prison to do a two-year stretch on a pot bust... so it must be really nice for him to gain some belated recognition nowadays.

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Daniel Higgs, of Lungfish and the Pupils, is one of the very few contemporary artists who we would absolutely consider a sort of modern day shaman. A musical alchemist, an artistic cypher, an abstract philosopher, a strangely charismatic, yet disarmingly humble master of any artistic endeavor he puts his mind to. A legendary (but now retired) tattoo artist, an incredible painter, whose paintings are at once hallucinatory and gorgeous (one painting adorns the cover of Leviathan's Tentacles Of Whorror record) and of course an incredible musician, whose sonic experiments range from the mesmeric riffrock of his band Lungfish, to an entire record of solo Jew's harp. But in addition to being an incredible lyricist, an amazing vocalist, and a master of the Jew's harp, Higgs is also a seriously mean guitar player, with a style and sound as familiar as it is totally alien. A gorgeous buzzing steel string drift through the cosmos. Lengthy droning ragas, that drift hypnotically from deconstructed Appalachia to John Cale like slow-shifting skree (joined on those tracks by violin), to moody melancholy crawls, to thick serpentine swirls of snake charmer melody and reverberating steel string shimmer. Raw and lo-fi for sure, but so darkly emotional, and dreamily hypnotic. We've been listening to this non stop since we got it and it continues to unfold more and more on each listen, we're thinking seriously about grabbing a boombox, taking a ton of peyote, blasting this tape and laying in the thick grass, sprawled naked on a hilltop in the middle of nowhere, beneath a sparkling moonlit sky. In other words, WAY RECOMMENDED! SUPER LIMITED of course. In spiffy, ultra cryptic packaging.

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. If you dug Hillstomp's album The Woman That Ended The World here that we got in recently here at AQ, then you might want to give a gander to another one of their full lengths. One Word offers up more of the raw, rowdy twang that this Portland, OR band do so well. Seems they've started a trend that whenever they're in town to play at the Makeout Room around the corner from our shop, they bring us another release. Keep 'em comin boys! Kick up those mud-crusted boots and swing yer baby round 'n' round. Yee haw!

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A new album from this Portland, OR combo who just swung through town and played right around the corner from us at the Make-Out Room. Although they define themselves as "North Mississippi-Style Punk Blues", we'd venture to say that they've much more traditional sounding Appalachian folk than that. Definitely for you if you've dug the recent offerings from Mercury Dimes, Crooked Jades, etc. Hillstomp are sorta like those considerably more mild-mannered, refined bands' rowdy, raucous cousins.

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It's been more than 3 years since the last Court And Spark full length, the gorgeous aQ fave Hearts, we were wondering when there would be a new C+S record, but we're beginning to think the answer to that question might be never, as at least part of the band has relocated to North Carolina. Thankfully, the music plays on, Court And Spark frontman MC Taylor, and his musical partner Scott Hirsch are now Hiss Golden Messenger (how great a name is that!), who take the sound of later Court And Spark, a sort of psychedelic folk with bits of dub (a la Souled American), and incorporate some more jammy improvised sounds, taking inspiration from Traffic, and especially the Grateful Dead, mixing slow burning twang, with wild sprawling grooves, wah wah guitar and horns (lots of horns!). Fans of the Court And Spark will definitely want to check this out, Taylor's voice is as warm and rough and emotional as ever, but a bit more melodic, and there's still plenty of twang, and Hirsch and Taylor can still pen a mean tune, but they definitely let loose a bit, embracing what some in the underground might consider guilty pleasures, and some of the songs and sounds here are definitely surprising and a bit unexpected. Smooth and groovy, laid back and mellow, a definite seventies FM radio vibe, a little Laurel Canyon, even a bit of funk here and there, a little jazziness, from country ballad to boogie stomp to jazzy dark pop (a sound that were it a bit more fucked up and acid fired could even be an Ariel Pink jam!) to one track that definitely gets a bit ska, but those songs are all wound up in a warm woozy playful sound that manages to be all it's own while proudly flying the flags of all the sounds that came before. As well as still keeping some of that Court And Spark, um, spark we love so much, alive! The record finishes with "Tongue In Cheek", a gorgeous stripped down acoustic lament, with lush harmony vocals, and a killer main hook, just to remind us that whatever wild tangent these guys decide to head out on, beneath it all, beats a heart of country gold. Country Hai East Cotton definitely might be too commercial sounding for some folks, it's not hard to imagine some of these tunes finding a home amidst other seventies classic rock, but then that's precisely what Taylor and his crew were shooting for. LIMITED TO 500 COPIES. Each one hand numbered, packaged in super nice, full color gatefold mini lp style sleeves.

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MPEG stream: Watch Out For The Cannonball
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When we first heard Hiss Golden Messenger, we weren't entirely sold, we definitely dug it, and tons of people we love were involved, and the sound was definitely reminiscent of the late great SF outfit the Court And Spark, whose M.C. Taylor fronts HGM, but where that band channeled classic country and folk, this new group explored the members' love of groups like Traffic and the Grateful Dead, especially the Grateful Dead. And while Jussi from Circle has spent the last ten years trying to convince us to love the Grateful Dead, it's been a tough sell, and it was maybe the one sticking point that kept us from loving HGM. But somehow, the more we listened, the more we got it, and it wasn't just the Dead, then, it was seventies AM radio, classic rock, Laurel Canyon country, hell even soul and classic pop, Taylor and his parter Scott Hirsch deftly cramming all of those influences into something weirdly timeless, modern, but entirely beholden to the music that came before, and we found ourselves pretty smitten. And more so with every record. The sound growing darker and darker, more polished, the songwriting better and better. It's hard to put a finger on just what it is, but 2011's Poor Moon sealed the deal. And the recent Record Store Day collaboration with Steve Gunn, was a stunner, and it's tragic that it was allowed to go out of print before all but a tiny handful of folks got to hear it. But with Haw, HGM have moved to the next level, crafting a dense, layered, lush, country rock, soul pop, folk flecked, classic rock gem that should be a no brainer for the usual No Depression suspects, but it's also the sort of record that has the crossover potential to hook fans of more mainstream pap like Mumford & Sons and all that Starbucks country rock. And heck, Fleet Foxes fans, this might hit the spot for you too. At its core it's folky, and country, but there's so much more going on, soaring strings that bring to mind E.L.O., and that's in the midst of a brooding ballad, there are horns too, even some soulful female background vocals, which are usually the kiss of death, but here, they kind of work. Lots of the songs are wreathed in field recordings, chirping crickets, chickens, barking dogs, the sound of life in the country. And pretty much every song here is a sprawling epic, almost symphonic in scope, multiple parts deftly woven into pop song form, and the songs themselves, gorgeously rendered, lovely lilting melodies, subtle hooks, the arrangements stunning, it's all pretty fantastic, and is easily the best thing we've heard from Taylor since the Court And Spark. Also doesn't hurt that Taylor's band now also seems to include recent aQ Record Of The Weeker William Tyler!

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Longtime SF locals probably remember The Court And Spark, on of our favorite local bands back in the day, their debut album released originally on Andee's tUMULt label, they played shows with Souled American when they were in town way back when, the band slogged away, making amazing record after amazing record, only to have the sort of success they so richly deserved escape them again and again. And thus like bands often do, they called it a day, with the core of the Court And Spark, M.C. Taylor and Scott Hirsch, continuing on as Hiss Golden Messenger, a group that traded in the traditional country influences of their previous outfit for some stranger influences, the Grateful Dead, seventies FM radio, classic rock, and of course that classic Laurel Canyon country pop, all woven into a sound, that while reminiscent of the Court And Spark was something all together smoother, and while we dug this new group, it wasn't really until this new one that we really GOT it. Not entirely sure what it is about Poor Moon, but everything seems to have fallen perfectly into place. Those same influences loom large, but there definitely seems to be a return to a more classic country vibe, the opener sounds like it could have been plucked straight off a Court And Spark record, the only difference some whirring organ, some horns, but Taylor's voice sounds as great as ever, and the song is crazy catchy, rife with swoonsome strings, it's definitely a stunner. "Call Him Daylight" is another winner, a swaggery twang flecked groove, laced with slithery melodies, and even some handclaps, but goddamn if we can't stop listening to it. The rest of the record unfurls similarly, the sound slipping from slide guitar laced country rock, to brooding country folk ballads, campfire bluegrass back porch hoedowns, super warm, melodic country tinged classic rock groovers, all of the tracks here fantastic, not a bum note in the bunch, the sound too, lush and expansive and so gorgeous, mandolin, clavinet, electric piano, violin, viola, fiddle, saxophone, banjo, Rhodes piano, all woven into probably the coolest country rock record we've heard in forever. Housed in a swank oversized old school tip on mini lp style gatefold sleeve.

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