[ aquarius records — Country Folk Blues ]

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For those who missed, or couldn't handle the unbridled scope of the two cd anthology of Tim Buckley, here is a condensed version of his more popular and least difficult songs from his most enduring records: Hello Goodbye, Happy Sad, Self-titled, and Starsailor.

Sharing just one track with Rick Buckner's upcoming full length, Impasse-ette is a li'l ole pre-album teaser (albeit not with a li'l pricetag). Buckner, as you may already know, is a big fave here at AQ. His big, juicy, impossibly dextrous and emotive voice is pretty irresistible, especially when accompanied by chiming chords strummed on acoustic guitar. No, he's not just another singer/songwriter -- Buckner's good. In addition to his trademark dusty bittersweet sound, there's a track here that combines a private press recording of a woman discussing prayer, heavy with sincerity and laced with record static.

RealAudio clip: Born Into Giving It Up
RealAudio clip: It's Still '56

We've got a couple of new albums from two ol' reliable, looongtime aQ faves -- Bonnie Prince Billy (his latest full length is The Letting Go) and this gent, Mr. Richard Buckner. Like a visit from an old friend, there's a good deal of comfort that comes in their solid songwritin' and storytellin'. Yeah, it might seem a little strange to find such solace in both artists' well-worn melancholia, but we do! This is Buckner's terrific follow-up to his equally terrific Dents And Shells album of 2004. Comparisons have frequently been drawn between Buckner and American Music Club's Mark Eitzel as well as Son Volt's Jay Farrar, and they're still very applicable here -- all of them mighty fine singer/songwriters who probably have a few fans in common.

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Third album from SF's own Rick Buckner, the man with the juicy velvet voice. Previous efforts' dark twang is even less evident here, where he tempers his melancholia with help from Syd Straw, Tortoise's John McEntire, David Grubbs, Dave Schramm, etc.

Ex-San Franciscan (and longtime AQ-favorite) Richard Buckner, he of the juicy, resonant, trembling voice that gets under your skin, traveled to Tucson, Arizona, to record this single track, 34-minute album with John Convertino and Joey Burns, better known as Calexico. It's a fresh, bright take on road music, filled with rollicking neo-americana twang and intense backwoods vocals, at once John-Prine-style folk and intensely personal Springsteen-style singer songwriter fare, but always recognizably Buckner. Lovely. Oh, we shouldn't forget the literary connection here: Buckner's songs are in part inspired by Edgar Lee Master's "Spoon River Anthology" (poetic epitaphs for folks from a fictional Illinois town).

It's great to see these first three essential Sandy Bull lps on Vanguard finally get reissued, as his influence has been felt more and more lately. You can hear Bull's pluralistic presence especially in Sir Richard Bishop, as Bull was among the first key guitar players, along with the UK's Davy Graham, to combine styles and ideas from Middle Eastern, classical, jazz, gospel, rhythm and blues, chamber music and Appalachian folk sources. Yet Bull wasn't a purist, often pushing and pulling these wide-ranging ideas across instruments both acoustic and electric in ways that searched for the interior truth of the material. These were best expressed in his side-long excursionary tracks called "Blends" accompanied by jazz drummer Billy Higgins. Sadly, Bull had a short-lived career plagued by drug problems and illness, but these records are solid proof of his pioneering role in the solo-guitar genre. There's even a documentary playing in San Francisco soon made by his daughter, K. C. Bull, that folks should definitely check out! E Pluribus Unum from 1968 is the most experimental of Bull's recordings and perhaps our favorite. Comprised of two side-long tracks, "No Deposit, No Return Blues" and "Electric Blend" this is Bull's full on electric raga record. Using electric guitar and oud through vibrant tremolo effects, as well as Middle Eastern percussion and finger cymbals, Bull explores some psychedelic Bo Diddley territory channeled through the exotic mystique of Hamza El Din. Similar in vein to what was performed in the recently released live recording from 1969, Still Valentine's Day, time has been good to this recording as it sounds like something far more contemporary than its original critics gave it credit for. Perhaps its abandonment of classical sources and acoustic instruments in favor of more populist and drug friendly musical territory turned the more academically-minded musical purists off. And those druggy influences DID send Bull on a path he was never to return from, only recording one more full album after this one. Yet this record, like no other, captured his furthest exhilarating push into the depths of his musical being before he lost himself for good. Highest recommendation!

It's great to see these first three essential Sandy Bull lps on Vanguard finally get reissued, as his influence has been felt more and more lately. You can hear Bull's pluralistic presence especially in Sir Richard Bishop, as Bull was among the first key guitar players, along with the UK's Davy Graham, to combine styles and ideas from Middle Eastern, classical, jazz, gospel, rhythm and blues, chamber music and Appalachian folk sources. Yet Bull wasn't a purist, often pushing and pulling these wide-ranging ideas across instruments both acoustic and electric in ways that searched for the interior truth of the material. These were best expressed in his side-long excursionary tracks called "Blends" accompanied by jazz drummer Billy Higgins. Sadly, Bull had a short-lived career plagued by drug problems and illness, but these records are solid proof of his pioneering role in the solo-guitar genre. There's even a documentary playing in San Francisco soon made by his daughter, K. C. Bull, that folks should definitely check out! Fantasias (for guitar and banjo) was originally released in 1963, a year before John Fahey's debut turn on uncanny Americana, Blind Joe Death. It's often stuffed in the drawer behind Fahey's dirty socks though, such as it is that over the years, Fahey has taken a larger chunk of real estate in the guitar soli zeitgeist. But if Bull were to be compared with anyone, his playing style is much more influenced by Pete Seeger. Banjo was Sandy's first instrument and it was with a banjo that he first made an impression on the public as a precocious college freshman. Bull freely admits Seeger as being a mentor of his, and his "Carmina Burana Fantasy" is certainly inspired by Seeger's arrangements of classical pieces that were included on his "Goofing Off Suite" LP (released in 1955). But influenced or no, Bull had his own unique style and both his original compositions and arrangements of existing works are as good as much of the works of either Fahey or Seeger. "Blend", the first track which takes up all of side one (22 minutes), is a beautiful Sudanese-esque duet between Sandy on an open tuned guitar with jazz drummer Billy Higgins accompanying. A track that would make the Sun City Girls blush, "Blend", alternates between dark and slow musings from Bull to intense repartee between Bull and Higgins. Higgins does an excellent job of filling in, and avoids breaking the aesthetic by playing sans snare. The remaining four tracks on the album are all solo banjo and or guitar. Along with the aforementioned "Carmina Burana Fantasy", Bull pulls off a nice overdubbed arrangement of English Renaissance composer William Byrd's "Non Nobis Domine" on guitar, a rousing rendition of Appalachian folk ballad "Little Maggie" on banjo and a final piece simply entitled "Gospel Tune" played on a tremelo laden electric guitar.

Reissue of Sandy Bull's first album, originally released in 1963. Often stuffed in the drawer behind John Fahey's dirty socks though, if he were to be compared with anyone, his playing style is much more influenced by Pete Seeger. Banjo was Sandy's first

RealAudio clip: Blend
RealAudio clip: Carmina Burana Fantasy

It's great to see these first three essential Sandy Bull lps on Vanguard finally get reissued, as his influence has been felt more and more lately. You can hear Bull's pluralistic presence especially in Sir Richard Bishop, as Bull was among the first key guitar players, along with the UK's Davy Graham, to combine styles and ideas from Middle Eastern, classical, jazz, gospel, rhythm and blues, chamber music and Appalachian folk sources. Yet Bull wasn't a purist, often pushing and pulling these wide-ranging ideas across instruments both acoustic and electric in ways that searched for the interior truth of the material. These were best expressed in his side-long excursionary tracks called "Blends" accompanied by jazz drummer Billy Higgins. Sadly, Bull had a short-lived career plagued by drug problems and illness, but these records are solid proof of his pioneering role in the solo-guitar genre. There's even a documentary playing in San Francisco soon made by his daughter, K. C. Bull, that folks should definitely check out! Inventions (for guitar, banjo, oud, electric guitar and electric bass) from 1965 is considered to be Bull's best record as it fully covers his wide-ranging tenacity in interpretation and composition. Beginning with "Blend II", another side-long composition accompanied by Billy Higgins, the playing is born of a dark mystique, carving out bits from free jazz melodic motifs, and early-American folk tunes to Lebanese music and North African popular songs. The interplay between Higgins and Bull is more complex than the first "Blend" on Fantasias, with Higgins' standing on his own as a performer rather than a mere accompaniment. Side one ends with a short electric version of Bach's "Gavotte No. 2", which is repeated in a longer acoustic form at the beginning of side 2. The interpretation of Luiz Bonfa's Brazilian classic, "Manha de Carnaval" shows Bull experimenting with multi-tracking as he plays acoustic guitar, bass and oud. Here, Bruce Langhorne and Hamza El Din display their guiding hands on Bull's playing as Langhorne taught Bull the song, and El Din, the oud itself. "Triple Ballade" is a piece by renaissance composer Guillaume de Machaut, a gothic chamber piece performed with guitar, banjo and oud, while the final piece is Chuck Berry's "Memphis, Tennesee" a tremelo-laden rocker with Billy Higgins again on drums that sets the stage for the full on raga blues of Bull's third record, E Pluribus Unum!

Wow! Rare live document from one of the most enigmatic and legendary figures in the solo guitar scene. Recorded over two shows in 1969 at San Francisco's Matrix on the same bill as John Fahey (The Great Santa Barbara Oil Slick documents Fahey's performance on this night) and accompanied by free jazz percussionist, Billy Higgins. Using tape machines, oud, slide guitar and a new electric guitar and amp (apparently some of his equipment was stolen, so you can hear him fiddling with the new equipment, tweaking the settings), the pieces here are taken mostly from his 1968 album E Pluribus Unum, an electric departure from his earlier acoustic classical excursions, that was much derided by purists, but stands as one of Bull's most amazing recordings. Soaked in tremelo and reverb, the raga-ish blues he evokes here display a raw evocative power not captured on any of his studio recordings. The amazing pieces Bull performs on oud, an instrument he picked up after meeting Hamza el Din (whose Escalay: The Water Wheel is an AQ fave) show off Bull's singular gift for combining jazz, blues, middle eastern idioms and classical fantasias into new and unchartered territories.

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An archival live release from multi-instrumentalist Sandy Bull is a welcome occurrence any day. After the great 1969 live recording release Still Valentine's Day on the Water label from a few years back where Bull opened for John Fahey, we knew his live sets held a charged electric power that wasn't always evident on his studio records. This set is from 1976 recorded at the Berkeley Community Theater where he opened for Leo Kottke. Like the 1969 date, Bull uses a tape machine to accompany himself for the bass parts, but also adds a Rhythm Ace drum machine (!) which gives the song a soft organic momentum. The Rhythm Ace, an early Japanese manufactured commercial drum machine has a soft percussive sound similar to most console organs of the time, and has been sought out for its natural sense of tempo and warm unobtrusive rhythms. He even demos the various settings to much delight. He opens with one of his oud improvisations, but the songs on this set have a more twangy Americana blues vibe. "Driftin", inspired by the Drifters, has a countrified slide guitar feel, while "Alligator Wrestler" is more swampy, the accompanied rhythm set through beautifully analog phasing and wah effects. He does sing on one song called "Love Is Forever", which has a wonderful charm even though he isn't that great of a singer. But it's the quality of the sound that makes this set so nice. Like the 1969 recording, he's a virtual one man band and how he sets up the pieces, the beautiful energy of his playing, the friendly banter and that warm tube amp sound makes this a satisfying morning or late evening listen.

Nearly 10 years after her long-awaited return to recording in 2005, Vashti Bunyan is back with what is reported to be her final recording. To be expected, It's a delicate uber-gentle and pastoral affair with highly personal songs about life and family. Her soft dulcet voice creating beautiful folk lullabies that are lovely and oh so sweet, marked by warm atmospherics and lilting waves of sound. A longtime influential figure of British folk, Bunyan's quietude may not initially bowl you over, and indeed Heartleap is nearly the antithesis of the weathered pain of the other newly revived folk legend on this list, Alice Gerrard. But Bunyan's music has a way of sticking with you subtly over time and its long relaxed gaze into an unfettered way of life and beauty can be delightfully spellbinding and magical. Also this is perfect for hip parents looking for music to play around newborns and young children (ahem, Allan!).

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This beloved 1970 folk album is back on its original format... VINYL LP! Plus this reissue comes with a bonus 7"! Hurrah! Here's what we said about the cd version: We're pretty damn excited that this album is now available again. Inspiration for this turn of events must certainly have something to do with Ms Bunyan turning up on Devendra Banhart's recordings recently. Without a doubt Vashti Bunyan has played a big influence on the young Banhart's song writing, and fans of Devendra should definitely take note. This record is so incredibly charming! Having been expelled from a London art school in 1964 for not narrowing her field of studies to either music or painting, Vashti Bunyan took to singing her songs on the streets of London. She eventually left the city, hitching up a cart and horse to journey across the countryside, heading for the remote Outer Hebrides islands. It wasn't long before fans tracked her down to record an album. The album was released in 1970 and disappeared in relative obscurity -- only later being sought out fanatically by record collectors. Featuring accompaniment by such notables as Robin Williamson (fiddle, mandolin, Irish Harp) of The Incredible String Band and Simon Nicol (banjo) of Fairport Convention, Robert Kirby (string and recorder arrangements) who played with Nick Drake, Vashti Bunyan's music is an exquisitely delicate folk music with melodies reminiscent of hornpipes and shanties. Her clear voice is so full of innocence, and she sings so earnestly about her horse and the countryside full of hayfields and waiting for love and the simple rewards, like nice tea, that await after a long day's journey. It's so beautiful, it makes me want to dress in peasant garb (like Vashti on the cover) and forget all about the 21st century.

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An absolutely timeless ageless folk music beauty! If you fell in love with Ms Bunyan's Just Another Day album from 1970 (reissued recently on cd and lp!) as we did, you've probably been tingling with anticipation over the news that over three decades later she'd returned to the recording studio. Really, it's almost as though she never left. It's almost spooky! We caught a brief, but oh-so-pleasing glimpse of the present-day Vashti when she did an unexpected collaboration with Animal Collective earlier this year (the resulting recordings were released as a cdep titled "Prospect Hummer"). Now we get a full album's worth of her wonderfulness and she's joined by some youngsters named Joanna and Devendra. Recommended!

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Teaser single from the recently reissued collection of early singles and demos of Vashti Bunyan. Waify Folk Pop loveliness!

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It's been a long, strange journey from obscure British pop footnote to Elder Stateswoman of the modern Freak Folk scene for Vashti Bunyan. Her early lone album, Just Another Diamond Day, has charmed and bewildered many new fans since its reissue a few years ago and brought Bunyan out of obscurity and back to recording with the likes of Devendra Banhart, Animal Collective and a full length of brand new songs called Lookaftering. The reissue of Just Another Diamond Day had some bonus tracks from early 45's that barely hinted at her pop-star beginnings. Discovered by Andrew Loog Oldham, Bunyan came out of the wave of waifish pop-singers popularized by Marianne Faithfull and Francoise Hardy. While her songs had charm, her presence was too insecure to maintain a steady following. She recorded a string of singles, including the Jagger / Richards tune "Some Things Just Stick In Your Head, all but two singles remained unreleased. Until now that is. This 2 disc collection revives all of her early singles and demos, offering an almost bipolar spectrum of over-production and under-production. The singles are pleasantly arranged pop-gems yet marked by Bunyan's slightly uncomfortable (for her, that is, not us) vocal delivery. While the demos on the second disc are culled from home recordings that show Bunyan at her most intimate, vulnerable and lo-fi. Her guitar accompaniments barely register under her whisper like singing. While we always have mixed feelings about completist collections, this one works better than most with the singles being the more essential component and the demos the added bonus. At least it's priced accordingly! Lovely!!

MPEG stream: Some Things Just Stick In Your Head
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New album from Paul Burch of Lambchop. Less bluegrass and more old timey than last year's "Blue Notes", the songs on "Last Of My Kind" were inspired by Tony Early's novel "Jim the Boy."

Utterly delightful new project from Paul Burch of Lambchop. Country music with lyrics and vocals reminiscent of Arlo Guthrie or Bob Dylan, Country Jazz musical influences a la Doc Watson or Bob Wills and shades of bluegrass and barroom balladry. Though I felt a bit squeamish at first listening to this album, I must say it has an infectiousness and honesty to it that's quite refreshing. All the faster numbers are wonderfully "live" sounding without being murky - lots of deep, booming upright bass that makes you feel as though you're at the Freight & Salvage (for those out of town, that's the East Bay's best venue for country & bluegrass).

Burd Early strikes us as being very Silver Jews-esque. Perhaps a bit Smog, Dieselhed, and Leonard Cohen-ish too. The liner notes offer precious little information on the mysterious figure who goes by the name Burd Early, and further investigation (i.e. a

RealAudio clip: Tire

Latest from old-time bluesman Burnside, now kinda making a bid for the alt rock electronica market a la Beck (or at least, his label is). Includes a respectful remix by Alec Empire. And, when it comes right down to it, this is actually pretty darn good.

It seems you can hear each and every one of R.L. Burnside's 73 years whenever he opens his mouth. It's clear he's had his share of hard times. It's in his amazing, raw, weathered voice and in his brooding words. He can sing the true old Mississippi blues like no one else. And that's definitely the best way to hear him - on his own, but on this album, he's chosen to blend his blues with seemingly unlikely more modern styles and artists. Beats, scratching, synths, sampling, and definite ProTools editing pepper these recordings creating a respectfully unobtrusive yet lively backdrop for R.L.'s vocals.

Both James Burton and Ralph Mooney were two legendary sidemen who helped shape the Bakersfield sound in the 60's (Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, et al). Burton with his telecaster (along with dobro) and his tenure as a rockabilly guitarist and Mooney with his steel guitar together formed a unique sound, now indelibly associated with the slick sound of Hollywood's country session musicians and, by extension, commercials and television in general. Producer Rick Nelson (who Burton had worked with in his rockabilly days) convinced the two to record instrumental versions of the country hits of the period. Among the 12 included here are such classics as Spanish Eyes, Your Cheatin' Heart, Columbus Stockade Blues along with two originals by Mooney and Burton.

MPEG stream: Columbus Stockade Blues
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Okay, we mentioned this already a couple of AQ lists ago, but we've just gotta ask again... what's the deal with so many Canadian indie bands' names? Are they trying to prevent people from checking them out? Take this band for example, they're called The Buttless Chaps! C'mon, that rivals Corn On Macabre or Cream Abdul Babar on the wince-o-meter. Contrary to what almost everyone who has encountered the band's moniker has thought, they are not a joke band! They are in fact a mighty fine hybrid of country and '80s new wave pop... yes, their instrumentation includes a synth *and* a banjo! I know, I know! Even the description makes them sound like a joke band, but give these fellows a listen and you'll surely see things a little differently. They move effortlessly from barnyard boot stompers and moonlight porchswing ballads to ABC-esque synth melodramas - often fusing them together within a single song with nary a smartaleck wink nor a clumsy stumble. They seem quite sincere in their love of both genres. And we haven't even mentioned yet that lead singer Dave has a strong deep voice very well-suited to both musical styles (at times very Martin Fry or Jarvis Cocker). Truly, if they were only a country band or conversely only a retro synth pop band, they'd be a damn good one, and no eyebrows would be raised (uhh, unless they were still called the Buttless Chaps... wink!).

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What was once a 1970 double LP set of live and studio material is now a double cd, with the original "(Untitled)" now accompanied by an extra disc of previously unissued tracks. The lineup: Roger McGuinn, Skip Battin, Clarence White, and Gene Parsons. Worth it alone for the jammed-out sixteen-minute (a whole side of the original vinyl) version of "Eight Miles High." And with all the other stuff here, this is a great place to start with The Byrds as well as an essential item for longtime fans!

**SALE **SALE* *SALE** Y'know the special $5 sale cd list we did a few weeks ago? Well, there's actually a few more really good $5 deals available that we'll try to list, while they last. We reviewed 1968's Notorious Byrds Brothers before, now here's another Byrds gem for just $5 (or, $30, if you wanna spring for the brand new vinyl reissue that just came out!)� Originally issued in '69, with its title track appearing on the soundtrack to Peter Fonda's countercultural film classic Easy Rider, this was The Byrds 8th album, and their last of the '60s, with Roger McGuinn the only original founding member still on board (the other Byrds here being Gene Parsons, Clarence White, and John York). Still, it's a great bunch of songs, including not just the aforementioned Dylan-inspired title track (he wrote some of the lyrics), but also a fine interpretation of Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" (its sad vibes perhaps appropriate for the end of the '60s, the decade's revolutionary promise on the wane). This album also boasts one of our all time Byrds favorites, the rousing, rocking "Jesus Is Just Alright", originally by gospel singer Art Reynolds. Elsewhere, the record is mostly all about melancholic country and old timey folk, lovely songs including a traditional sea shanty and a Woody Guthrie protest number and even a timely drone-folk homage to lunar-landing Apollo astronauts "Armstrong, Aldrin And Collins". Regarding the cd, this nicely done reissue tacks on 7 bonus tracks, alternates and out-takes, including one written by a young Jackson Browne, and a spaced-out synthesizer / Appalachian folk hybrid from McGuinn called "Fiddler A Dram (Moog Experiment)". And, plenty of informative liner notes are to be found in the cd booklet. Well worth the five bucks for sure!

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Previously unreleased live concert recording from '69, with Roger McGuinn/Clarence White/John York/Gene Parsons lineup. Sixteen tracks.

**SALE **SALE* *SALE** Oooh, we love 1968's Notorious Byrd Brothers. Well, most Byrds albums are pretty great, but this one's a reall beaut. Pedal steel and Moog synth co-exist exquisitely, along with 12-string guitar jangle and lovely vocal harmonies, there's songs about drugs and hippies and Vietnam, it's got "Space Odyssey" and other sci-fi mystical stuff while of course they're kinda country too. This reissue includes plenty of liner notes, and six bonus tracks, including "Moog Raga", which is exactly what you think it is, and rad.

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Late Byrds album (1968) with Gram Parsons with many more classic songs than required to make an album essential. This inexpensive but nicely appointed reissue features eight never-before-available tracks/outtakes, including a GP vocal.

**SALE **SALE* *SALE**

The sheepish smile of Julie Byrne on the cover of this album belies the plaintive, minimalist patter of her beguiling yet melancholy songwriting. The image could very well be a lone snapshot of this woman caught in the daylight and slightly embarrassed that her photo is being taken. The simple and earnest songs of this album paint her more as one who stays inside for the bulk of her existence, with her face shrouded behind that brown mane of hers, hunched in the corner of a bedroom where she gently strums the accompaniments to her weary songs - oftimes bittersweet, wistful, full of longing. Her intimate compositions are little more than acoustic guitar and voice (with that 'little more' often being some tape hiss, or a light wash of reverb, or the sun-flecked monochord organ solos that end each side of this album), recalling the mood of those early Cat Power recordings, Sibylle Baier's hushed hymns of everyday life, and even the moonlit folk ballads of Nick Drake. This lp was dusted off from a couple of cassettes by Owen 'Casiotone For The Painfully Alone' Ashworth for his new imprint Orindal Records. Really lovely stuff!

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Yay! Never had this on vinyl before. This longtime AQ British folk fave from Incredible String band offshoot C.O.B. is back in print again, on deluxe 180 gram vinyl, remastered from original tapes at Abbey Road, packaged with cd version (which includes seven bonus tracks) and a large illustrated color booklet with tons of info, the works! Here's what we had to say about it the first time around: C.O.B. (Clive's Original Band) was the creation of Incredible String Band founding member and one of the grandfathers of today's fringe folk scene, Clive Palmer (R.I.P., he passed away just this year). The incredibly-named Moyshe McStiff And The Tartan Lancers Of The Sacred Heart was C.O.B.'s second and best - or at least most exotic and weird - album, released in 1972. Such beautiful melancholy! Some of the instrumentation here is similar to that of ISB (acoustic guitar, banjo, clarinet) but with lots of harmonium and the addition of a dulcimer with a widened bridge (invented by C.O.B. band member John Bidwell), an odd droning sound that darkens the mood a bit more than most stuff you'll hear from ISB. If you're a fan of British folk in the traditional and/or acid vein such as Shirley Collins, Trees, Forest, Fairport Convention, Vashti Bunyan, even Current 93, this cd promises to be a true wistful pleasure. WAY recommended!!

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C.O.B. (Clive's Original Band) was the creation of Incredible String Band founding member and one of the grandfathers of today's fringe folk scene, Clive Palmer. We don't know if you got the chance to see Mr. Palmer alongside fellow ISB founder Mike Heron at last year's reunion show, but it definitely seemed like his banjo-picking was a little rusty and he looked kind of dazed (no wonder, what with 35 years out of the spotlight). When this record (C.O.B.'s second and best, or at least most exotic and weird) was made in 1972, though, he was in top form, and the result is such beautiful melancholy! Some of the instumentation here is similar to that of ISB (acoustic guitar, banjo, clarinet) but with lots of harmonium and the addition of a dulcimer with a widened bridge (invented by C.O.B. bandmember John Bidwell), an odd droning sound that darkens the mood a bit more than most stuff you'll hear from ISB. If you're a fan of British folk in the traditional and/or acid vein such as Shirley Collins, Trees, Forest Fairport Convention, or current underground folkies such as Espers, Vashti Bunyan, or Current 93, this cd promises to be a true wistful pleasure.

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

SORRY.

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

SORRY. This may in fact be another eponymous release from Califone and not titled "Chicago" inspite of that word's prominent position on the front cover. Anyway, this five track cdep is the second release from Red Red Meat's Tim Rutili of front-porch acoustic slow-mo bluegrass melodicism spiced up with studio experimentation not unlike Loftus or even Souled American.

There is something so intimate about Bill Callahan's music. Whether recording under his name or his old Smog moniker, his songs evoke ghosts of memories, intense emotions, and such literate insights into the human condition. So a live record from Callahan actually makes a lot of sense. In some ways it seems strange to see him play in a hall full of people, as you want his songs sung directly to you in your own world. Rough Travel For A Rare Thing allows just that, a spot on live performance captured on tape and made for your private listening pleasure, on your turntable alone or with that special someone. Callahan's songs have a way of always cutting to the core, there is no questioning his integrity and singular voice. He's a story teller, a musician, and a force of nature. There is something commanding and immediate about his voice. In many ways he is like this generation's Leonard Cohen, with the ability to create songs that are both sensual, unnerving, sometimes bleak and always raw in their emotion. For this show, he plays songs from his Smog past and from what would be his first record under his own name. Stripped down and to the point, showing that his songs can be stripped down to a sparse statement that can evoke so much feeling. A total must have for Callahan/Smog fans.

In a time when so many male singers are going for the falsetto pot of gold, or the whining indie warble, or the muffled too-cool-for-school barley audible mumble, Bill Callahan's deep and clear voice rings so true, with more strength and truth than ever. This is Callahan's second album released under his own name, after dropping the Smog moniker, but no doubt longtime Smog fans will still love these darkly poetic songs. While his last album featured some of his sunniest and dare we say maybe even happiest moments ever set to tape, Sometimes I Wish... finds Callahan in more of a solemn and subdued mood, but what makes Callahan such a special songwriter is that even when his songs are sad or forlorn, they are never that simply defined. The songs here are lush and subtly epic, soaring with a heightened level of story telling, this is immaculate songcraft, all the various elements woven delicately into Callahan's unique soundworld. The music is at once immediate and intense, the sort of sound that gives you goosebumps, but also abstract and free, allowing the listener to wander freely, freeing your mind, drifting through memories, lingering desires and undying devotion.

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Folk/soul legend returns with this new album. The line-up includes Pharoah Sanders on tenor saxophone.

It's tempting with this new Glen Campbell record to assume it must have been produced by Rick Rubin, since at first glance, it does seem like Campbell is pulling a Johnny Cash, revitalizing his career by taking on some unlikely covers (Travis, Velvet Underground, etc.). But just like in the case of Cash, who while very likely got some new fans out of the deal, hardly needed a reinvention, as he was about as bad ass as they come. Well damn it if the same isn't true of Campbell. C'mon. "Wichita Lineman", Rhinestone Cowboy", "Galveston", he's been recording nonstop since the early sixties, and while he wasn't quite as much of a bad ass as the man in black, you just can't fuck with Campbell. And this new disc just drives that point home. Some strange song choices, but some incredible arrangements, some amazing playing, and Campbell's voice sounds amazing nearly 50 years on. The opener, a cover of "Sing" by the band Travis, who we had never really paid too much attention to, is just gorgeous, exultant, soaring and triumphant. So much so that it almost has us reconsidering our inadvertent Travis boycott. The other stone cold classic is Campbell's reinterpretation of The Velvet Underground's "Jesus", with its simple acoustic guitar, soaring strings, and sweet angelic female background vocals. His cover of Jackson Browne's "These Days" is also gorgeous, heartfelt and bittersweet. Paul Westerburg's "Sadly Beautiful" is so good, so pretty, and weirdly timeless. The whole production is very sixties / seventies soft pop, all warm and fuzzy and dreamy, string wrapped around subtle orchestrations, stripped down when it suits the song, lush and over the top when it doesn't, perhaps due in no small part to the fact that Campbell's band features Robin Zander of Cheap Trick as well as 2/3 of Jellyfish! The two Tom Petty covers are obscure enough to sound like they could be Campbell originals. There's a U2 cover which is pretty nice too. The weirdest covers are probably "Times Like These" by the Foo Fighters, which to be fair gets a pretty appropriately Campbell-y makeover, and Green Day's "Good Riddance", which while it does sound pretty good sung by Campbell, it's probably too familiar to remind you of anything but the original. But small complaints really. A gorgeous disc of classic soaring lush countrified orchestral pop from one of the best performers of the last 5 decades.

MPEG stream: Sing
MPEG stream: Jesus
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More fab western swing sounds from local guitar hero Campilongo and his band, also starring Joe Goldmark on pedal steel. Together Jim & Joe conjure the spirits of Jimmy Bryant & Speedy West. Adventurous, snappily dressed, fun stuff. Includes a cover of Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues" (alongside originals like "Mozart Woulda Played A Tele").

Definitely one of San Francisco's musical treasures, here's the country/jazz guitar master and band, with instrumentals inspired by robots, Pee Wee Herman, and the alien autopsy, along with versions of "Harlem Nocturne" and "Mr. Sandman"...wonderful. Fans of Speedy West & Jimmy Bryant will be happy (the pedal steel player is amazing!), and I could see folks into the likes of Man or Astroman? also digging this.

Yazoo has just released an entire cd's worth of songs by Cannon's Jug Stompers who've previously apppeared on numerous compilations of American roots music put out by the label. Cannon's Jug Stompers were a country blues trio led by banjo player Gus Cannon (who had a rack made to fit the jug around his neck so he could blow it and play banjo simultaneously.) The backbone of

RealAudio clip: Going To Germany

From Sundazed - the garage / psychedelic label that re-issued such notables as The West Coast Pop Experimental Group - comes Canterbury Fair: Renaissance faire-esque folk-psych from California circa 1969.

To tell ya the truth, Laura Cantrell could be singing the table of contents of a lawnmower manual, and still enchant the pants off of her listeners. Her newest album (and first on Matador Records) picks right up from where 2002's When The Roses Bloom Again left off. Her voice ringing as clear as a crystal dinner bell and as sweet as a bumbleberry pie at the state fair, and she's accompanied by a superb cast of players including those fellows from Calexico. Along with her original numbers she sings beautiful versions of an early previously unreleased Lucinda Williams' song "Letters", "Wishful Singing" a song originally sung by Skeeter Davis and penned by Wynn Stewart, and the old traditional murder ballad "Poor Ellen Smith". Actually if you like another lovely old tyme country style chanteuse who has great taste in cover material, namely Ms Kelly Hogan (or vice versa), this might be your new summer love.

MPEG stream: Letters
MPEG stream: Wishful Thinking

Hailing from Nashville and currently in NYC, chanteuse Laura Cantrell possesses a voice that's bell-clear, as clean and fresh as a glass of milk. Her second album is crisp, simple, classic country (with touches of bluegrass and folk) along the lines of Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, even a little Freakwater, and especially Nanci Griffith. No fake twang, very sincere. Singalong-able, catchy, touching. It makes me wanna go to a thrift shop immediately to buy one of those cotton flower print thrift store dresses I wore back in the late '80s. Languid pedal steel, jangling mandolin, and lots of acoustic guitars. Unfortunately the best songs on the record weren't written by her, but that's ok. You could say the same about goddesses Emmylou Harris and Nanci Griffith. Give the soundclips a try -- fantastic! Windy likes this a lot.

RealAudio clip: All the Same to You
RealAudio clip: Don't Break the Heart