[ aquarius records — Country Folk Blues ]

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Showing results 651 through 700 of 1618.

The second solo full length from Ms Kelly Hogan (formerly of Jody Grind and Rock-A-Teens). Always toting some impeccably selected songs to cover, this album contains only two Hogan originals. You may recall her crushing version of the Magnetic Fields' "Papa

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After hearing me (Cup) rage on about the fabulous Neko Case, perhaps you may have been itchin' for another beautiful voice from the Bloodshot camp? Well if so, look no further than Neko's Bloodshot labelmate (and occasional country chanteuse partner in crime), Kelly Hogan. Ms Hogan and company approach their songs from a more angelic, softer angle. Although it seems at times this album teeters quite close to the country-rock mainstream, fear not, strong storytellin' songwriting, some great guest players (Robbie Fulks, Edith Frost, John Wesley Harding to name a few), and her own ol' country heart (reminiscent of a young Tammy Wynette) keep it from completely tumbling over to that side of the fence. Plenty of rich reverb-y twang, fiddle and pedal steel embellished from time to time with horns. Lovely. Top it all off with tips of the hat to Magnetic Fields' Stephin Merritt and Willie Nelson (with fantastic covers of "Papa Was A Rodeo" and "I Still Can't Believe You're Gone" respectively).

Smithsonian Folkways thankfully reissues a second collection of recordings of Roscoe Holcomb. Arguably the greatest performer of old-time country blues ever recorded, Roscoe Holcomb has been praised and emulated from such opposite ends of white American roots music as Ralph Stanley and Bob Dylan. Where the previous collection of Holcomb recordings, aptly titled "The High Lonesome Sound", were recorded in his Daisy, Kentucky home in 1959, the tracks collected on this disc were recorded later -- between 1961 and 1973 -- either in the studio or live. "Newer", in the relative sense that is implied between the previous disc and this one should not be misconstrued as being any less worthy of our attention, or less immediate in sound as those landmark recordings. No matter whether Roscoe is playing a banjo, guitar (picked with a buck knife), fiddle, harmonica or just plain singing a cappella, the songs he performs are imbued with the same unique Holcomb style. The old, hackneyed stereotypes of "primitive" down home music don't stand up against Holcomb's performances. Bob Dylan's quote describing Holcomb which serves as this collection's title sums it up best: "an untamed sense of control". Included with the 26 tracks on this disc are twenty something odd pages of liner notes and photos from producer ("There Is No Eye" photographer) John Cohen. Highly recommended. MPEG Download: "Swanno Mountain" [/audio/holcombswannomtn.mp3] MPEG Stream: "Swanno Mountain" [/audio/holcombswannomtn.m3u]

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Hey Jolie Holland fans! Has your beloved Catalpa cd been spun down to a brittle wafer and left you craving more? Well, we've got some really good news for you! Her second solo full length (and first studio album) has arrived and it offers up a dozen more old tyme-y treasures. Sure to please those who adored her abovementioned solo debut (and we know there were *many* of you!) as well as her full band The Be-Good Tanyas, and will undoubtedly also win her plenty more admirers. She seems in slightly brighter spirits this time around. There are some songs that aren't quite as laden with aching sorrows, and a couple that even pep up tempo-wise. However, her voice seems less suited to these comparatively more lively numbers, losing some of its charm and inflections. Her voice is most potent when each word and held note are allowed to hang wavering in the air. No big worries though 'cause those songs are few and far between, leaving the rest of the album to haunt and enchant as only Ms Holland can.

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Yes, along with the first blossoms of May the highly anticipated new Jolie Holland album has arrived! Definitely less mysterious than her previous two albums, but no less magical. There's not so much of the 'from where did this antique gramophone recording get unearthed?' kind of feel that characterized both Catalpa and Escondida. While Springtime Can Kill You still maintains a foundation of old country petticoats, the recordings sound quite contemporary. Very full, fleshed out and crisp... so much so in fact that the brushes played on the snare drum effectively conjure the crunch of frost beneath your boots or the first bite into a freshly picked apple. It might be a bit of an overstatement, but it seems Holland's evolved from porchswing peasant gal into more of a composed chanteuse. No complaints here tho'. This is a beautiful album with captivating songs and fine performances by all involved. Guest players include multi-instrumentalist Ara Anderson of Iron And The Albatross, and singer/songwriter David Dondero. Sure to cause extensive bouts of swooning.

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Ms Jolie Holland has never been a shy wallflower, but we've never heard her sound as gutsy and world-weary womanly as on this, her fourth full length! Whereas her first two albums (Catalpa and Escondida) were hushed timeless jewels set in wistful earthy rural landscapes and perhaps intended to be listened to in small intimate gatherings, her last album Springtime Can Kill You brought more of the city folk and country rock into the fold, and The Living & The Dead continues forth. Stellar guests include M. Ward and Marc Ribot! Her sparkling performance here might be likened to a coming together of Cat Power, Lucinda Williams and Lisa Germano. Fans of those fine artists, definitely check this out! As well, on songs like "The Future" she almost sounds like a female Conor Oberst... not a bad thing in our books! Highlights: "Palmyra" and "Fox In The Hole" and the giddy album closer "Enjoy Yourself".

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Who'd have thought we'd be so taken with an album that opens with a song about "Six Space Shuttles and 144,000 Elephants"? For that matter, who the heck would MAKE an album with a song called "Six Space Shuttles and 144,000 Elephants"?? Well, a 63 year old 'outsider' artist, Alabama's one of a kind Lonnie Holley, would, and did. This is it, and it's pretty special. We highlighted Holley's Dust-To-Digital debut last year, Just Before Music, which was not only Holley's first released recording but also Dust-To-Digital's first 'contemporary' release (as opposed to all their well-researched vintage reissues), and this is the equally fantastic follow-up. Apparently Just Before Music garnered him some fans, as two of the seven tracks here, including the lengthy & hypnotic 13+ minute "Other Side Of The Pulpit", find him collaborating on the music with Bradford Cox (Deerhunter, Atlas Sound) and Cole Alexander (The Black Lips). At first, we were like, oh no, he doesn't need hipster indie rockers messing with his sound - but actually the music on those songs fits in perfectly with all the other tracks that he did all by himself, so no harm done, and probably a great experience for those guys. Holley's music, if you've heard the debut, you know is sparse and minimalist, with some thumb piano, some synth wash and warble (making us think of Tennessee's improv hillbillies the Shaking Ray Levis at times), and a bit of simple drum machine and other percussion. Reminds us a bit of some of the tracks on that Personal Space comp of electronic '70s soul. Often hypnotic and lovely, and an important part of Holley's unique sound, the electronics and instrumentation still take a back seat to his singing, the main event here, which we'd have to compare to an "outsider" Louis Armstrong when Holley belts it out, with lots of rough garrrrrrgle in his voice. His more gentle, mumbling moments are more akin to Arthur Russell, as we mentioned in our review of Just Before Music ("Holley's vocals, which come across as a shamanistic Arthur Russell as he sings a primitive-futuristic brew of blues mantras that twist into strange abstracted vocalization"). That's for sure true, and those vocalizations - sometimes multitracked, as on the very much mantric "Sun & Water" - when not utterly abstract, convey some wonderful lyrics, poetic and sometimes quite strange. That "Six Space Shuttles" song, one of the hardest to grok here, has something to do with the Queen's birthday (Queen Elizabeth II?) and how Holley wants to celebrate it by sending "expandable, transformable, solar adaptable" space shuttles the size of "the Hindenburg and the Titanic both put together" off into the universe, and when they come back "they can heal the air and fix the water", and wouldn't that be nice? Not sure if we quite get what he's sayin', but we're digging it a lot anyway. Other songs, however, are much more straightforward, like the aforementioned "Sun & Water", its title the main portion of its lyrics. What all his lyrics have in common is that Holley is "testifying", as he describes it in his brief liner notes. All his life, he says, he's been testifying, in both is visual art and now his music, testifying about his life, a life that almost ended before it really began, when he was dragged under a car as a small child and left in a coma for three months. His life and thoughts since, both happy and sad, is what he's Keeping A Record Of, in his art and music - that's where the title of this cd comes from. And we're so glad Holley has chosen to share his testimony with us, especially since so much of it is such a "joyful noise", as one short piece here, a conversation with members of his church, makes reference to.

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SORRY. Italian label Get Back is producing vinyl reissues of selected titles from the legendary ESP label.

Here's a new full length from this folk pop songstress following her lovely debut Honey For Breakfast album from 2002. Her slightly weary lilt of a voice hints that she might be the long lost kid sister of Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval. She picks right up where she left off with this lengthier gathering of unadorned acoustic guitar, banjo and vocals. Hushed, sweet and intimate. Please note: If you've seen her play recently and bought a copy of the cd-r that she had for sale, this might be the cd version of that same material (this is according to a Honeywell-lovin' AQ customer who did that very thing).

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Ms. Honeywell possesses a lilting, lamenting voice quite akin to that of Trailer Bride's Melissa Swingle, with the added sultriness of Cat Power and the dark hum of Edith Frost's delivery. On her debut album, we have gentle porchswing songs with

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When we listed the last release from Hoor-Paar-Kraat, it was limited to only 42 copies, of which we got 12. Which was definitely too bad as it was definitely one of the most amazing releases we had heard in ages and was exactly the sort of release that truly deserved to be heard by WAY more than 42 people. So here we have a brand new release from Hoor-Paar-Kraat, again limited, this time to 93 (when you see the amazing packaging, you'll understand why these are so limited. It must take forever to make them!) and this time we managed to get more than HALF of the pressing, but we're pretty sure these will be gone in no time just the same. While in some ways, Mercurial Little Jitterbug has much in common with its predecessor Asha Dasha, it is in many ways a whole new creature. It's still ambient, still dark and mysterious, spare and spacious. But on MLJ, the sound is much more rooted in found sound and field recordings. Voices, conversations, children laughing and playing, traffic, wind, footsteps, the clatter and clunk of shifting objects, people working, in fact the first track is as far as we can tell a straight field recording. Which is in no way to say it's not fascinating and lovely to listen to, it is. It's just not at all what we expected. which is usually a good thing. The second track is also based around field recordings, the honking of horns off in the distance, children's voices, bird songs, all heavily reverbed and dramatically panned, so a stick run a along a steel fence will trill from one ear to the other. But track two is also where Hoor-Paar-Kraat begins to shape and craft the sounds into dark ambient soundscapes. Adding thick swaths of low end rumble, deftly and subtly using effects to turn the sound of the city and the sounds of nature into an otherworldly dreamlike music. The next track is a barely there ambient whir, punctuated by the sound of dripping water, and some sort of distant bell or chime. Very abstract, but quite beautiful. The ten minute long fourth track is the most active, with the sound of bells and chimes and pipes, metal on metal, doused in reverb and allowed to hover in wide open expanses of room sound, only to occasionally be overtaken by huge throbs of low end and little squalls of kitchen sink clatter. Again so simple, but so strangely haunting and hypnotic. The final track is another muted clattery soundscape, although in this instance, part way through, the sounds bleed and blur, smearing into a washed out whirl of droning sound, metallic reverberations, struck metal, all stretched and blurred into a slow shifting, glacial shimmer, probably the most overtly 'musical' track on the disc. So lovely. In fact, this entire disc is just so completely and utterly captivating. Some of the most affecting, deep listening drone music we've ever heard! And again, SUPER LIMITED! ONLY 93 COPIES TOTAL, WE HAVE LESS THAN 50!! So act fast. Gorgeously packaged in a super elaborate, hand assembled sleeve. Hand stamped and glued thick paper sleeve, with a printed obi that is riveted to the sleeve, and folds over to seal the sleeve. The obi is also hand stamped, signed, and hand numbered. The cd disc face is hand stamped and signed as well.

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It was never any big secret that AQ faves Hotel Alexis sounded a LOT like Sparklehorse. How could it be really. After all, both groups crafted gorgeously lush low key country soundscapes, more whisper and hum than twang in most cases, with sweetly crooned vocals, nestled among rich worlds of minor key misery and soft lonely blues. And Hotel Alexis' Sidney Lindner (brother to Flying Canyon's Cayce, who both play together as Golden Hotel) has a voice that's a dead ringer for Mark Linkous from Sparklehorse. But for every similarity, there are some crucial differences. Lately, Sparklehorse has moved on, Danger Mouse production, super star guest spots, and a new sound closer to a countrified Flaming Lips, which is great, don't get us wrong, but it's not the sound we fell in love with. Lindner and his Hotel Alexis still wander those same rain swept streets, are still lost and alone, recording by lamp light, finding solace in each lonely note. The sound is similar, but there is definite progression. Lindner has continued to look inward, expanding his dark personal universe, getting more and more lush and expansive certainly, but without losing the hushed intimacy that made the debut, The Shining Example is Lying On The Floor such an absolute gem. If anything, Goliath, I'm On Your Side is even better, which is saying a lot considering how much we LOVED the first record. The sound is simple: strummed steel string guitars, heavily reverbed piano, Lindner's sweetly soulful vocals, brushed shuffling percussion, occasional flourishes of vibraphone, mellotron, lap steel, but the magic is in the songs, and the arrangements. These are the kind of songs that would sound just as good plucked out on a beat up old acoustic guitar by a crackling fire as they would recorded with a symphony orchestra at Abbey Road. Maybe even better. The sound is crisp and alive, it sounds like Lindner is right there, head on your shoulder, singing right in your ear, melodies drift and swoon, sometimes thick and vibrant, other times muted and mumbled. Every song on Goliath, I'm On Your Side is practically perfect, but the centerpiece has to bee the nearly 20 minute long blissed out FX drenched countrified space rock epic "Hummingbird / Indian Dog". Beginning with a vocal mantra repeated over and over amidst swirling keyboards, a sing songy melody and whirls of murky whir, the song eventually transforms into an ambient soundscape of backwards guitars, field recordings, running water, barking dogs, snippets of conversation lifted on the wind, hushed breathless vocals wrapped in reverb and buried in the mix, insistent atonal guitars, struggling to be hear over the muted whir, everything building into a super druggy blown out space rock drift, guitars warp and warble, buzzing and pulsing over the same swirling backdrop, splattery percussion drifts in and out of the mix, eventually fading out into a twangy No Neck sort of tribal drift, barely there vocals, simple hand drums, steel string buzz, some sort of indie twang "Revolution #9". And it's that sort of spirit, that pervades even the most straight forward song on Goliath, I'm On Your Side. What on first listen might sound like just a sweet country ditty, is more often than not, rife with unlikely melodies, strange sonic subtleties, and deep dark emotion. But then again, more often than not, most of these songs don't actually sound like just sweet country ditties, instead, instead, they tend to be lush worlds of soft focus twang, druggy dreaminess and sweet melancholy bliss.

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It's always frustrating when we get an amazing cd-r, that we all buy, and then later have to buy again when it comes out as a proper cd. We try to make sure we know about those sort of impending plans before listing limited cd-r's. But sometimes it just happens, not much you can do. And in the case of a record as fantastic as this one, all we can do is be grateful that it is finally getting properly released, and urge all of you who missed out last time to buy it now! And as a consolation for those of us who already own the first version, the new packaging may be quite spiffy, but it's not as sweetly and nicely handmade as the cd-r's. This is the first solo record from Sidney Linder, who plays in AQ faves Golden Hotel (with his brother Cayce) and fronts the hauntingly gorgeous Torrez. We've raved about both Golden Hotel and Torrez in the past, both bands exploring the dark and mysterious corners of ambient folk, druggy psychedelia, alt country and dreamy slowcore. So we had an idea of what to expect from Sidney's first solo effort, but there was little to prepare us for just how goshdarn breathtaking this record is. Pefectly recorded, intimate and crystal clear, with steel string guitars, shuffling brushed drums, shimmery vibes, haunting slide guitar, hushed raspy vocals (sounding quite a bit like Jeff Tweedy of Wilco at times, and Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse at others), and perfectly melancholy melodies. This record is just so completely beautiful and utterly heartbreaking, it's a little hard to know how to describe it in a way that does it justice. Everytime we put this on, it sucks us into another world, sepia toned and twighlit, dark and dusty, lonely and mysterious. This is the kind of record that is SO evocative, that really does make you feel the music in your heart and soul. You can hear some Sparklehorse, some Court And Spark, some Wilco, some Souled American, some of Sidney's other bands, but it all sounds so personal and intimate, filtered through Sidney's psyche, his triumphs and failures, his hopes and dreams, his loves and his heartbreaks. So so so good it just kills us.

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Damn. This is just amazing, another winner from Monk, compiling 8 different Delta blues greats on two lps, with the central focus on the mighty Son House. House's seven cuts here are from a legendary 1930 session in Grafton, Wisconsin for Paramount that also recorded Charley Patton, Willie Brown (also featured here), and Louise Johnson. It's pretty unbelievable to imagine these titans of American music all piling into a car in Mississippi and making the trip up to Wisconsin, but what is even more awesome is the music itself. These recordings capture House at his absolute prime, which is saying a lot considering what a force he remained throughout his many years. The level of intensity cuts right through Paramount's substandard recording quality, with House's former preacher voice booming over his expert slide playing, sounding like the toughest son of a bitch on the block and making so much else sound flat out weak in comparison. While Son House will most likely be the main selling point for this, the other bluesmen are no slouches. Rube Lacy offers two tracks of classic Mississippi blues, mournful and propelled by a steady rhythm, while the obscure Kid Bailey's only two recordings are featured here, detailing a masterful understanding of his craft. Willie Brown is perhaps most famous for being namechecked in Robert Johnson's "Crossroad Blues", while some have speculated that he might actually be Kid Bailey. His "M & O Blues" and "Future Blues" are the only two sides known to exist from a total of six, and they are certainly worthy of their legendary status. Brown's gravelly voice and harmonically rich guitar playing were perfected from years playing side to others (including House, Patton, and Johnson), but there is no question that he stands as a powerful and assured soloist on these tunes. Garfield Akers' four cuts (also his only known recordings) show off his clear, higher register vocals which often soar to an amazing yelp over his nonstop strumming, in which his chords almost seem to float. His two part "Cottonfield Blues" also feature second guitar from his pal Mississippi Joe Callicott, who contributes two songs himself. Jim Thompkins, another Delta enigma, is featured on "Bedside Blues", one of only two known recordings, while Blind Joe Reynolds (sometimes known as Blind Willie Reynolds and other names to remain one step ahead of the law), shows off his prowess with a bottleneck slide to go with a highly focused and intense vocal delivery. Some of you may have trouble keeping up with the sheer output of labels like Monk and Mississippi, but this comp stands out as a prime collection of classic blues that will appeal to anyone with even the slightest interest. If you don't know where to start, look no further.

The Numero Group label starts 2007 on the softer side of things with this obscure British gem from singer Catherine Howe. For those of you who enjoyed the Wayfaring Strangers: Ladies Of The Canyon compilation, that the Numero Group released last year, then this might just be up your alley. Mellow and melancholic, Howe has a soulful voice that's similar to Dusty Springfield or Bobbie Gentry, underscored by soft orchestral jazz arrangements (courtesy of Bobby Scott) that remind us of early A&M records or John Cameron soundtracks like Kes. In fact this seems more like the kind of soft British album Trunk records would have re-issued, but that goes to show what an unpredictable label Numero Group really is. Recorded for Reflection Records in 1971, What A Beautiful Place sank into obscurity when the label folded shortly thereafter. While we have never heard of her before this, Howe recorded two more albums after this one and has recently started recording again. This is a perfect record for a rainy day or Sunday morning with a nice hot cup of tea.

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This blues album had us sold on it already just by being by a guy named Peg Leg! That he's 'Legendary' is practically superfluous. Not to mention that this record comes to us via the always excellent blues/country/folk reissue vinyl label Sutro Park. So yeah, it's good, an album originally released in 1964 when Joshua "Peg Leg" Howell was about 75 years old. Peg Leg had begun his recording career back in the 1920s, when Columbia Records discovered him busking on the sidewalks of Atlanta Georgia. But he hadn't recorded anything since the '30s and in fact was presumed dead until being rediscovered again in the '60s. As documented on this lp, Peg Leg is an old bluesman returning to the songs of his youth, now wizened and wistful, as you might imagine a septuagenarian singing songs like "Jelly Roll Blues" and "Let Me Play With Your Yo-Yo" might be. Other tracks here include "Blood Red River", "Worried Blues", and "Skin Game Blues" to give you an idea of the vibe. Includes original liner notes and woodcut album art. 180 gram vinyl.

As if she's not already plenty busy with Erase Errata and Paradise Island, Ms Jenny Hoyston has joined forces with William Elliot Whitmore. Not sure if this is a one-off, but we sure hope not 'cause they make such a great duo, and this six song ep ends all too soon! Their voices compliment each other wonderfully as they weave their earthy tales in true country folk tradition. Yes, we could go on and on lavishing praise, but how 'bout we just cut to the chase and give this a hearty "Recommended!"

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History hasn't always been kind to bluegrass and folk musicians of yore who weren't so lucky to get recording contracts or be discovered by travelling musicologists. Case in point the story of Lena Hughes, a Missouri born fiddler, banjoist and guitarist who specialized in parlor music, a folk form that consisted of renditions of hymns, sentimental songs, 19th century airs and finger-picked tunes of fiddle songs, often played in specialized tunings. She was born in 1904 and died in 1998, and during her long life she only cut one record, which came out on a private press in the sixties. But, she was well-known on the Ozark mountains music circuit that she toured extensively throughout her career. Her finger picking style is magical, often employing an ethereal open tuning technique, on songs that have the sweet sadness of days gone by. Recently remastered, this Tompkins Square rediscovery is truly a joy to behold. Highly recommended!

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Sixth full length from one of San Francisco's treasures: Sonya Hunter. Sonya is a singer songwriter whose music is like a cool drink of water. Her calm, unhurried, super melodic style reminds me of Aimee Mann, her phrasing and slight melancholy is similar to fellow SF gal-with-guitar Barbara Manning, and her clear, unblinking strength brings to mind Linda Thompson and folk/rock singers of the '60s. Includes a lovely Buffy Saint Marie cover. Nice.

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New one from this old folkie. Nice.

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**MISSISSIPPI RECORDS ALERT** **MISSISSIPPI RECORDS ALERT** **MISSISSIPPI RECORDS ALERT** After a seemingly endless streams of reissues, comes some brand new music from folk legend Michael Hurley. Recorded over the last few years, Blue Hills finds Hurley in mostly solo mode, accompanying himself on one side with electric piano and old pump organ, while on the other side it's just acoustic guitar, with a tiny bit of violin on one track. The results are pretty stellar, Hurley's voice is rough and worn, a little ragged, but it suits these melancholic compositions. "In The Morning", with its strange melody and haunting electric piano ends up sounding mysterious and otherworldly, the soundtrack to a big empty house on a grey rainy day. The pump organ tracks have a similar vibe, darkly emotional, wistful, mournful, the wheezing organ a perfect compliment to Hurley's countryish croon, which slips smoothly from whiskey soaked to a surprisingly smooth falsetto. On the second side Hurley straps on an acoustic, and goes all back porch blues, down home country folk, and his voice sounds amazing, delicate, a little wounded, wrapped around simple crystalline melodies and folky fingerpicked guitar, add some buzz and hiss, and it could be some rediscovered old timey field recording. The record finishes off with Hurley re-doing one of his old songs, originally recorded in 1963, and although this was in fact recorded last year, it again sounds timeless, Hurley's falsetto floating dreamily over skeletal guitar melodies, and moaning violin. So nice.

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MISSISSIPPI RECORDS ALERT!! MISSISSIPPI RECORDS ALERT!! MISSISSIPPI RECORDS ALERT!! As always, that's the text version of the siren and the flashing light, to get the attention of the legions of record nerds who need to know nothing but the fact that this right here is a brand new MISSISSIPPI RECORDS release. For the rest of you, Hi Fi Snock Uptown is the latest in Mississippi's ongoing Michael Hurley catalog reissue campaign, after Parsnip Snips and Armchair Boogie. Hi Fi Snock Uptown is from 1972, and unlike the previous two records, that were basically solo voice and guitar, this one features an expanded lineup, a band proper, with mandolin and piano and clavinet and pedal steel, it's still mostly stripped down and minimal, but the sound is a bit more lush, a little more fleshed out, which actually dramatically alters the feel of Hurley's music. Whereas the first two records were a sort of sweet back porch folk, classic Americana, the songs here are a bit more rock, they sound like early seventies FM radio, think Flying Burrito Brothers, Jim Croce, even the Eagles. The core sound is still folk, and some of these songs definitely rank amongst Hurley's best, and many of the tracks definitely have the feel of his earlier records, but it's exciting to hear Hurley take his songs and his sound somewhere new, without losing the essence of what made his songs so special on the first place. Nice heavy vinyl. And cool cartoon cover art featuring Hurley's own strange comic book style 'wolves in the saloon' drawings.

**MISSISSIPPI RECORDS ALERT** The last Michael Hurley lp, Armchair Boogie, reissued on Mississippi was gone in a flash, so don't hesitate too long on this one. Originally released in 1995 on the Veracity label, Parsnip Snips features homemade archival recordings made between 1965-1972. Sunny and warm, like a long lazy summer weekday in the country with nothing to do but sit on a porch and strum a guitar, Hurley can conjure folk magic through the simplest of means with a down-home at-his-leisure delivery. This is how we like him best, when he's his most laid back spinning humorously surreal tales of love, loss and space-weevils!

MISSISSIPPI ALERT! MISSISSIPPI ALERT! MISSISSIPPI ALERT! This latest release from probably our favorite vinyl reissue label is a beautiful reissue of Armchair Boogie by the one and only folkie's folkie Michael Hurley! Released in 1971 this was Hurley's second album and it sure is a stunner! Produced By Jesse Colin Young from the Youngbloods and originally released on his Raccoon imprint, this is a low key, occasionally strange piece of charmed backwoods Americana. Songs about werewolves, penguins and English Noblemen that display his keen songwriting abilities and dry humor, all wrapped around simple spare, sweet back porch folk. It's an intimate, deep and vulnerable sounding ultra personal music, the kind of music that is better heard than described, better experienced for yourself, a music that on the surface seems simple, and surely is simple, but offers much to the listener, speaking to the heart, and the soul, as much as the mind. If you were going to get one Michael Hurley album, this would most definitely be the one. After listening to this, it will make perfect sense why he has fascinated many of the later breed of folk songwriters including Cat Power, Devendra Banhart and Tara Jane O'Neil. On vinyl, the way it was meant to be!

The consummate "folksinger's folksinger" Michael Hurley has had a long strange life on the influential fringe of American folk music. And as most marginal artists from the fifties and sixties folk revival, just like their early progenitors, Hurley has had much more influence and success in the latter half of his life than in the beginnings. Why, we know much more about Hurley's influence on and involvement with the freak-folk movement of the past decade, than his early beginnings as an East Village folkie in New York or his symbolic connection to Woody Guthrie (Hurley too was once a patient at the same Bellvue convalescent ward where Guthrie spent his last days). In fact, this first record from 1964 on Smithsonian Folkways when Hurley was just 23 years old was released just after he left Bellvue, and one can hear the strains of Guthrie's roaming influence on these ramshackle backporch ballads that sound much older than they are. Hurley's music wasn't politically motivated, but championed a rugged individualism well in tune with bouts of desperation, wry wit and visionary mythical brilliance. This insight has only made him grow as an artist who just keeps getting better and better. Highly Recommended!

Mississippi John Hurt's lone recordings from his younger days get a nice looking vinyl reissue from the good people at Monk. The material here has been available numerous times throughout the years, but if you missed out, GET THIS NOW! Before his rediscovery in the 1960s, Hurt had recorded a mere 13 songs in New York and Memphis for Okeh after winning a talent contest. Then, like many of the original bluesmen, he faded into obscurity and continued to work the land as a sharecropper, playing music on the side. Hurt possessed an expert style of intricate fingerpicking and an easy going vocal delivery which made quite an impression on his audience in the '60s. The greatest thing about his work is how effortless it comes across, even though this is some pretty unbelievable and complex guitar playing, not to mention highly melodic. He doesn't sound like a man in a hurry or with too much to worry about, despite some of the lyrical content and the oppressive nature of being black and living in Mississippi (or anywhere in the Western world for that matter) during this time, and Hurt never seemed quite as bleak as some of the other Delta greats. This, of course, does nothing to diminish his power, and this one definitely gets our seal of approval.

One thing's for sure, those Idaho Falls folks are a generous bunch. They offer up their self-titled debut album on vinyl and cd together in one package, and a very reasonably priced one at that! So you get to enjoy their rootsy, twangful tunes twice as much, or I suppose you could share it with a friend. A wide variety of tunes for those porchswing days or campfire nights - complete

RealAudio clip: Arroyo Seco
RealAudio clip: Sunset Down
RealAudio clip: Stoned @ Solar Culture

In the past we've alternately described Ignatz as space folk drone or alien Appalachia, owing much to Ignatz's blend of buzzing lo-fi murk, and Folkways style folk guitar. A confusional mix that works magically, Fahey meets Uton, or James Blackshaw recording with Starving Weirdos, a stumbling buzz infused sprawl as spacious as it is clattery and chaotic. Beneath the drone and ambience there was always a blues element to Ignatz, the guitar playing, distinctly blues in its alien Appalachia, but usually, those blues were sublimated by all the other various noises happening, the only trace being the bits of pick and strum, that weren't blues so much as bluegrass, and even then it was sort of twisted and abstracted. Well, III is Ignatz's blues record. And while this may be far out, and idiosyncratic and lo-fi and a bit freaky, this is most definitely BLUES. Big time. Right from the beginning, it's mostly just guitar and voice, the guitar effected and processed, the sound a little warped, the leads and melodies cracked and off kilter, but locked into a distinctly blues progression. The vocals raw and rich, a deep distorted croon, wrapped languorously over the creeping riffs and warbly melodies. It may be blues, but it's some seriously outsider blues for sure. And the whole first half of the record continues on in this fashion, unfurling haunting alien blues, "Gazing At The Fire" probably being our favorite, as the guitar gets all twisted up, stuttering and skipping, making all sorts of staccato rhythms within the various chord progressions, wreathed in space-y FX, and turning the song into something even more avant garde. The second half of the record finds Ignatz retuning to a more familiar sound, that mysterious murky drone folk, buzzing guitars, sad plaintive vocals buried in the mix, notes and chords detuned, everything warped and warbly, strange bagpipe like melodies stretched out over wide open expanses of reverb spring buzz and tape hiss, angular melodies and high end trills. The final track sounds like Ignatz jamming with Jandek, the guitar super warm and washed out, the vocals pained and anguished, the whole track thick with murky ambience, and a muted mumbled percussion, haunting and creepy and beautiful. At first we were thrown by the new bluesier Ignatz, but it's still such a unique sound. We can only imagine, while listening to this, that III was in fact made in the '30s or '40s, recorded by some mysterious old man in a cave somewhere in the South, and these tapes were literally dug up, discovered in the collapsed cellar of some old shack, wrapped in a bloodied flannel shirt, with a note written in rust colored ink, nothing but song titles and strange cryptic symbols. And even if that's not how it happened, it sure sounds like it did...

MPEG stream: The Water
MPEG stream: Two Nights And A Day
MPEG stream: Gazing At The Fire

Live acoustic recording of intense, dismal outsider folk from rural Western Japanese singer/songwriter Shuji Inaba. Yoenzanga was previously one of LVD's cd-r releases, back when they were a cd-r label only, and is now blessed with an actual cd edition. You also may recognize Inaba's name as he has had a disc released by Japan's PSF label a few years back. And indeed his raw, emotive balladry is comparable to the politically driven psych folk of fellow PSFers Kan Mikami and Kazuki Tomokawa, whom we love. Alan Cummings provides English translations of Inaba's lyrics in the liner notes, which is a plus, though really (as with Mikami and Tomokawa too) there's plenty just to FEEL in Inaba's harrowing voice and the haunting, sometimes violent, way he plays his guitar that goes beyond language.

MPEG stream: Fate And Fortune
MPEG stream: My Apple

Here is the DVD release of "Be Glad For The Song Has No Ending", the film about the Incredible String Band. Hugely influential (the Stones tried to sign them, they played Woodstock, Van Morrison covered them), the band played a psychedelic folk music that

1969's "Changing Horses" sees the ISB stretch out with two of their longest compositions/jams to date, both songs around the quarter hour mark, along with a handful of shorter tracks. The exotic, barmy hippy folk of the sixteen minute album closer "Creation" should appeal to today's Terrastock psych-folk fans into Ghost and Six Organs of Admittance and the like! It also reminds us a bit of ISB's quirky contemporaries Twink and Tyranosaurus Rex, or even Comus and the Wicker Man soundtrack. Mystically over-the-top. This might not be an essential ISB album, but if you like this sort of thing you'll want it for that track alone. "I Looked Up" from 1970 is similarily a decent but not crucial ISB effort, meaning don't get it first, but do get it if you are or become a fan. From the trad country-folk stylings of opener "Black Jack Davy" to the many moods of the ten-minute plus folk-prog rocker "When You Find Out Who You Are", this visits all of the ISB's colorful bases...

RealAudio clip: Creation (from Changing Horses)
RealAudio clip: Fair As You (from I Looked Up)

This is a nice treat for fans of the freakiest of the sixties British acid-folk scene, Incredible String Band, as this two disc set covers rare and unreleased tracks from the band's golden era. Due to some amazing research and archival sleuthing, this compilation of tracks recorded between 1966 and 1972 unearths lost outtakes from various albums, alternate versions, live radio performances as well as an early rehearsal recording of a Leadbelly cover. Though all the tracks have merits on their own, the range of line-up changes and fidelities don't make for a completely consistent listen. But the highlights are pretty fantastic including "Secret Temple", a beautiful track sung by Licorice McKechnie that was only available as a BBC recording, a 13 minute live radio version of "Maya", complete with sitar(!), and a six minute multi-epic suite composed for a mime troupe performance ("Poetry Play #1"). Probably not the place to start for unfamiliar beginners, but for fans, there are jewels aplenty!

MPEG stream: The Iron Stone
MPEG stream: The Head
MPEG stream: Poetry Play #1
MPEG stream: Secret Temple

1970's sprawling "U", almost two hours long, was the ISB's soundtrack to a stage show -- a "surreal parable in song and dance" according to ISB's Robin Williamson -- that combined the String Band's musicians with the performance of underground dance/happening group Stone Monkey. Must have been pretty wild, based on this psychedelic music, and the photos crammed into the disc's tiny booklet. It's a bit much to get a handle on -- possibly why this is apparently one of the ISB's more obscure releases. But there's great songs on here, hitting all of the prime String Band motifs: the folk, the raga, the rock, the country... Essential for fans, and recommended to newcomers too, if unafraid of ISB overkill.

RealAudio clip: El Wool Suite
RealAudio clip: Astral Plane Theme

Yay, 180 gram vinyl reissues of two canonical Britfolk elpees, all right! For those who need some brushing up on their acid-folk history, England's Incredible String Band were a late sixties/early seventies outfit who blended folk rock, psychedelia, and Eastern ethnic musics. Very sixties, very hippy - they played at Woodstock, in fact. With their folky male and female vocals and expertise with a plethora of exotic stringed instruments, a shorthand description might be that ISB was kinda like Fairport Convention with sitars, and crazy costumes. Perhaps less truly traditional than Fairport, they made a bigger splash with the LSD crowd of The UFO Club where they played often with the likes of early Pink Floyd, Tomorrow, and Procol Harum. Their music encompassed British folk, Indian ragas, Dylan, blues, country, hoedowns, etc. - an eclectic stew indeed. Sometimes ISB can come off as a little *too* varied: you might be digging some Eastern drone track and find an abrupt switch to, say, music-hall country a bit jarring. But that just means there's plenty of different things on these albums to like. While originally in 1968 these albums were issued together as a 2lp set, for reissue 4 Men With Beards have elected to do 'em as two individually available records... but you should get 'em both. Again the ISB mix their Celtic and Appalachian folkie roots with "world" influences, and although this is quite mellow and gentle, they also brought in some electric amplification at this point. With female vocals n' whistles n' fiddles n' sitar etc. this is quite pretty stuff, great summer morning sitting in a sunny meadow music. Both records are ISB fan favorites, with gorgeous four-part vocal harmonies, whimsical but sometimes dark moods, and of course lots of Incredible String-ed instrument playing. We're always mentioning ISB in reviews of other folk-psych albums past and present, from Forest and Trees to P.G. Six and Tower Recordings, so it's nice to have some of their essentials here on vinyl...definitely if you're into that British folk-psych vibe you need to investigate this band if you haven't already!

MPEG stream: Maya
MPEG stream: The Iron Stone

Back in print! Remastered with new liner notes, in a swank digipak with all the elements of the original packaging, these look heaps better than the Collector's Choice twofers that were the last reissued incarnation of these classic albums. The 5,000 Spirits and The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter have been released separately this time around, while Wee Tam and The Big Huge are still bundled together as a 2cd set. Here's what we said about them previously: England's Incredible String Band were a late sixties/early seventies outfit who blended folk rock, psychedelia, and Eastern ethnic musics. Very sixties, very hippy - they played at Woodstock, in fact. With their folky male and female vocals and expertise with a plethora of exotic stringed instruments, a shorthand description might be that ISB was kinda like Fairport Convention with sitars, and crazy costumes. Perhaps less truly traditional than Fairport, they made a bigger splash with the LSD crowd of The UFO Club where they played often with the likes of early Pink Floyd, Tomorrow, and Procol Harum. Their music encompassed British folk, Indian ragas, Dylan, blues, country, hoedowns, etc. - an eclectic stew indeed. Sometimes ISB can come off as a little *too* varied: you might be digging some Eastern drone track and find an abrupt switch to, say, music-hall country a bit jarrring. But that just means there's plenty of different things on these discs to like. 5000 Spirits Or The Layers Of The Onion dates from 1967 - it's their second album, featuring only the core duo of Robin Williamson and Mike Heron (Clive Palmer left after the first record to form his own band, C.O.B.) - and was the first solid fulfillment of their Brit folk + Middle Eastern + Indian raga equation, as they added the ouds an' sitars to their original Anglo-American folk interpretations with some wonderfully moody results. We're always mentioning ISB in reviews of other folk-psych albums past and present, from Forest and Trees to P.G. Six and Tower Recordings, so it's nice to finally get these listed in our catalog once again...definitely if you're into that British folk-psych vibe you need to investigate this band if you haven't already!

MPEG stream: Chinese White
MPEG stream: The Mad Hatter's Song

Back in print! Remastered with new liner notes, in a swank digipak with all the elements of the original packaging, these look heaps better than the Collector's Choice twofers that were the last reissued incarnation of these classic albums. The 5,000 Spirits and The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter have been released separately this time around, while Wee Tam and The Big Huge are still bundled together as a 2cd set. Here's what we said about them previously: England's Incredible String Band were a late sixties/early seventies outfit who blended folk rock, psychedelia, and Eastern ethnic musics. Very sixties, very hippy - they played at Woodstock, in fact. With their folky male and female vocals and expertise with a plethora of exotic stringed instruments, a shorthand description might be that ISB was kinda like Fairport Convention with sitars, and crazy costumes. Perhaps less truly traditional than Fairport, they made a bigger splash with the LSD crowd of The UFO Club where they played often with the likes of early Pink Floyd, Tomorrow, and Procol Harum. Their music encompassed British folk, Indian ragas, Dylan, blues, country, hoedowns, etc. - an eclectic stew indeed. Sometimes ISB can come off as a little *too* varied: you might be digging some Eastern drone track and find an abrupt switch to, say, music-hall country a bit jarrring. But that just means there's plenty of different things on these discs to like. Their 1968 follow-up to The 5,000 Spirits, The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter is one of the ISB's best-regarded efforts, taking the sound of their previous effort to more free-form extremes. Dolly Collins (sister of Shirley) helps out on this one. One of the pinnacle acid-folk records to inspire the likes of many modern bands from Current 93 to Devendra Banhart. We're always mentioning ISB in reviews of other folk-psych albums past and present, from Forest and Trees to P.G. Six and Tower Recordings, so it's nice to finally get these listed in our catalog once again...definitely if you're into that British folk-psych vibe you need to investigate this band if you haven't already!

MPEG stream: Waltz of The New Moon
MPEG stream: Three Is A Green Crown

MPEG stream: The Yellow Snake
MPEG stream: Air

Back in print! Remastered with new liner notes, in a swank digipak with all the elements of the original packaging, these look heaps better than the Collector's Choice twofers that were the last reissued incarnation of these classic albums. The 5,000 Spirits and The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter have been released separately this time around, while Wee Tam and The Big Huge are still bundled together as a 2cd set. Here's what we said about them previously: England's Incredible String Band were a late sixties/early seventies outfit who blended folk rock, psychedelia, and Eastern ethnic musics. Very sixties, very hippy - they played at Woodstock, in fact. With their folky male and female vocals and expertise with a plethora of exotic stringed instruments, a shorthand description might be that ISB was kinda like Fairport Convention with sitars, and crazy costumes. Perhaps less truly traditional than Fairport, they made a bigger splash with the LSD crowd of The UFO Club where they played often with the likes of early Pink Floyd, Tomorrow, and Procol Harum. Their music encompassed British folk, Indian ragas, Dylan, blues, country, hoedowns, etc. - an eclectic stew indeed. Sometimes ISB can come off as a little *too* varied: you might be digging some Eastern drone track and find an abrupt switch to, say, music-hall country a bit jarrring. But that just means there's plenty of different things on these discs to like. This two-fer 2cd is consistent with these albums' original UK release in 1968, as both Wee Tam and The Big Huge were issued together as a 2lp set. Again the ISB mix their Celtic and Appalachian folkie roots with "world" influences, and although this is quite mellow and gentle, they also brought in some electric amplification at this point. With female vocals n' whistles n' fiddles n' sitar etc. this is quite pretty stuff, great summer morning sitting in a sunny meadow music. Both records are ISB fan favorites, with gorgeous four-part vocal harmonies, whimsical but sometimes dark moods, and of course lots of Incredible String-ed instrument playing. We're always mentioning ISB in reviews of other folk-psych albums past and present, from Forest and Trees to P.G. Six and Tower Recordings, so it's nice to finally get these listed in our catalog once again...definitely if you're into that British folk-psych vibe you need to investigate this band if you haven't already!

MPEG stream: The Yellow Snake (from Wee Tam)
MPEG stream: Air (from Wee Tam)
MPEG stream: Maya (From The Big Huge)
MPEG stream: The Iron Stone (From The Big Huge)

Gram Parsons = Country Rock Pioneer. Before he made those two incandescently beautiful solo albums with Emmylou Harris (that IMO no record collection should be without, and we always have them in stock), before he joined the Byrds, he formed the International

So here we go again! Iron And Wine's The Creek Drank The Cradle was an AQ record of the week last year, was a unanimous staff favorite, and made most of our top ten lists for the year. Rightfully so we might add. A more beautiful and perfect record we hadn't heard in forever. And a lot of times we try not to make another record by the same band a record of the week, since usually it's hard for a band to deliver another record as good as THAT record, the one that blew us away and convinced us it had to be record of the week. But of course sometimes we do, and sometimes a band does, and this new Iron And Wine just happens to be that record. Sam Beam, who pretty much IS Iron And Wine has upped the ante, somehow navigating the precarious course of trying to progress and grow and explore, without ruining what was already basically perfect. And somehow he's done it. All of the things we loved so much about the first record are still present: gently fingerpicked guitar, sweetly breathy vocals, gorgeous harmonies, melancholy melodies, twangy banjo, slippery slide guitar, wistful and cryptic lyrics amd songs. The songs! So perfectly sweet and instantly classic. Songs that you find yourself humming to yourself even after only one listen. So what is it about this new record that makes it worthy of record of the week status? Hard to say. In fact we weren't sure if this record was actually better, or if we were just so excited to have more Iron And Wine! Because on first listen, Our Endless Numbered Days sounds like the perfect part two of The Creek Drank The Cradle. Which is a good thing. A very good thing in fact. We were all wishing The Creek was twice as long or even ten times as long. One of those records you want to never end. But the more we listened to Our Endless Numbered Days, the more it revealed itself as an entirely new record. But subtly so. It's a little more aggressive, and propulsive, the drums play a bigger part, and there are some distinctly intense bits, where the guitars are rough and the drums kind of rock. But only kind of. The core of the record is still Beam's perfect pop songs, twangy and folky, but sweet and lush, with melodies that while totally memorable and unforgettable, are so unique and fresh to your ears that you just have to sit and listen and let the sounds and songs envelop you. Some obvious reference points are Elliott Smith, America, Bread, Palace, Songs:Ohia, but the more you listen, and the more we hear from Iron And Wine, the more we realise that Beam occupies a singular place in popular music, referencing all sort of other musics, but existing totally and completely in his own sonic space. It's a rare performer who can pull that off, especially nowdays drawing from a century of recorded music.

MPEG stream: On Your Wings
MPEG stream: Naked As We Came
MPEG stream: Cinder And Smoke

It's really difficult for a musician to develop a distinct sound, and then to progress from record to record in such a way, that your 'sound' continues to grow and change without losing the elements that made it so unique and personal in the first place. Sometimes, if you like a band enough, you don't mind if every record sounds the same, ten more songs that sound like the last ten songs you absolutely loved can only be more of a good thing, right? But it's the folks who do manage that delicate balancing act of moving forward but remaining true to their original vision that continue to truly inspire and blow us away. Iron & Wine happen to be one of those bands. After two full lengths and one ep in about two years, this newest ep takes Iron & Wine's hushed melancholia, with its gently strummed guitars, Sam Beam's whispered/sung breathless vocals, sweetly miserable arrangements, and brings the songs' emotional urgency to the fore, where before it was only hinted at lyrically and alluded to in minor key melodies and bleak lyrical imagery. This new batch of songs is much more aggressive in tone, reflected by more percussion, more propulsive tempos and a bigger reliance on different instrumentation (violin, piano, etc.) adding a sonic veil of death and despondency to this already mournful / melancholy song cycle. But even without these changes, there seems to be no end to Sam Beam's songwriting genius. Every song is a new dreamlike world, populated by pain and sorrow, hope and happiness, love and loss, immediately warm and recognizable, like a long lost memory from your childhood, or a song you already love and cherish, but at the same time each song is a wholly unique new musical discovery full of unlikely melodies and gorgeous musical landscapes that stick with you, as if the song is an experience you lived through and remember, catchy, timeless and totally unforgettable.

MPEG stream: Woman King
MPEG stream: Jezebel

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

SORRY. Ara Anderson's sure stacked the decks in his favor for his debut release with a supporting cast that includes the beloved Jolie Holland on vocals, guitar and violin (perhaps repaying the kind favor of his stellar performance on her own Escondida album), and fine SF composer Erik Walker (psst, we also just got his wonderful album in stock on which you can also hear Mr. Anderson play). Much like that of Ms Holland, Mr. Anderson's music has an earthy, somber old tyme-y feel that's quite an anomaly these days. Much like the namesake of the seventh song ("Musee Mechanique" - the fabulous antique penny arcade here in SF) it's almost as though he's conjured his songbook pages from a very distant yesteryear. Richly expressive instrumentals are woven from player piano style ivory-tickling frolicks, wheezily congested horns, downtrodden strings and sullen woodwinds among other things -- occasionally off-kilter, whimsically carnivalesque, and often very melancholic. You might even wonder if Anderson was a silent movie score composer in a past life. The easiest (or, ahem, laziest) comparison that could be made is that many of these songs sound very much like the intimate rough-hewn music of Tom Waits minus the voice of Tom Waits (and actually Anderson has appeared on a couple of Waits' albums, Blood Money and Alice!), while others can be likened to the eccentric splendor of the Tin Hat Trio. Fans of both (as well as the abovementioned artists) should certainly take note of this talented gent. Simply wonderful!

MPEG stream: Musee Mechanique
MPEG stream: Chinese Opera