Oct 2013

The hottest new American release this time around, has to be the collaboration of VINCE GILL and PAUL FRANKLIN on “Bakersfield” (Universal). Vince is well known as a superb singer and songwriter, whilst Paul is one of Country music’s most honoured steel guitarists. Both are regulars in Music City’s best loved jam band The Time Jumpers, but here, the pair turn their attention to the Californian hotbed of music – Bakersfield.  The city was put on the map when Merle Haggard and Buck Owens developed a sound there which stood out against the strings laden Nashville sound that was being developed in Nashville in the 60’s.
This wonderful new album really creates The Bakersfield Sound in 2013, with a selection of Buck & Merle covers.  But, although, you will hear “Together Again” and “Tonight The Bottle Let Me Down”, it’s more than a covers project for Vince & Paul. They really dig into the old LP’s  to find the right songs for the album.  Best example is “He Dont Deserve You Anymore”, from a 1966 Buck Owens album, that only the most devoted fan will know. “Holding Things Together”, written by The Hag, was an album cut on “His 30th Album”, in 1974.
The album kicks off with Buck’s blazing “Foolin’ Around” and closes with Merle’s “Fighting Side Of Me”. In between, another 8 tracks of pure bliss. Vince’s vocals sound as if they were made for these songs. I’ve never heard him sounding as good. Franklin’s steel just adds to the magic.
This is Country music the way I like it.  Brilliant stuff !

AUDREY AULD is an Australian singer songwriter, who has impressed me with a couple of previous albums that I’ve had the pleasure to hear. Now, the Tasmanian born, but now Nashville based, star has released her 10th album, “Tonk” , on her own Reckless label.
I’m glad the move to Nashville hasn’t turned Audrey into another pop singer. Far from it, here is one of the most traditional sounding albums to come out of Music City since Loretta Lynn hit town.
With musicians like Kenny Vaughn, Paul Franklin and Harry Stinson (from Marty Stuart’s band) and Chris Scruggs amongst others, she has created an authentic golden era sound.
The album kicks off with a superb gospel offering on “Bound For Glory”, followed with some good uptempo honky tonk numbers like “Broken Hearted Woman” and “Drinking Problem”. Later in the album, there’s more like that, especially “Your Wife” and the eye catching “Bury Me At Walmart”.
The moody “Kiss Me” slows the tempo, as does the bluesy “Crying The Blues”, and “Sweet Alcohol”, one of just two of the 14 songs, that aren’t self penned.
She then has two songs for her adopted hometown, a “Nashville # 1” and “#2”, one uptempo , and one delicately crafted to capture Music City’s tougher side.
“Siren Song” is a good paced number, which Audrey really gets into. It has quite a homegrown Aussie feel to it, although not as obvious as the infectious “Rack Off”, which she certainly lets fly with.
What really adds to the album is the old timey authenticity. Many of the tracks are quite short (Six tracks are under 2 ½ minutes long), and its all recorded live with some backchat and laughs kept in the recordings.
I really enjoyed this album. For sure, it’s like nothing else you’ll hear coming out of Nashville this year. She’s coming to the UK next May. At time of writing, she hadn’t been offered any Scottish dates. Hopefully that’ll be fixed.

Changing the tempo completely, and the new album from JOEY & RORY is such a joy to listen to.
“Inspired” is a well apt title, as the album, part of The Gaither Gospel Series, is just that, a beautifully constructed album of songs of Faith & Family.
No big arrangements. The album kicks off with an accapella introduction from Joey to the gospel classic “In The Garden”, Other classic covers including “Amazing Grace” and the joyous “Are You Washed in The Blood”,  which features The Isaacs.
As with previous Joey & Rory albums, they share lead vocals. Those mentioned so far feature Joey, but Rory leads the vocals on the Paul Oversteet/Thom Schuyler number “Long Line Of Love” and Richard Leigh’s “My Life Is Based On A True Story”, as well as the catchy “It’ll Get You Where You’re Going”.
“The Preacher And The The Stranger” featuring Rory, was recorded live, and is quite a show stopper. You can really hear the silence in the listening audience.
Of  course, Rory is known as a songwriter, and he has contributed three songs, including “Hammerin’ Nails” and “We Gotta Go Back”, a beautiful number which cries out for a simple life. The couple did perform this song on the Songwriters tour of Scotland back in the spring. On the album, the deep rich vocals of Josh Turner feature too.
 Joey & Rory make beautiful music together. On this new album they are totally “Inspired”.
 A beautiful album.

MICHELLE WRIGHT has been one of Canada’s biggest Country stars since she first appeared on the charts way back in 1990.  With her latest album, “Strong”, she proves that she’s still the one, where others have come & gone.
“Strong” is a good well titled mix of commercial radio friendly songs, most of which were co-written by Michelle herself.
Most of the songs are uptempo with a good beat. I especially enjoyed the catchy “Whats Better Than This” and “Another Good Day”. But she does slow the tempo, with a really emotional “She’s a Keeper”, a song about women who leave it later in life to find a soulmate, and how they’re worth keeping. “I’ll Cry Too”, is another emotional ballad that closes the album.
Throughout, Michelle delivers an album of  “strong”  arrangements, which maintains her place at the top of  Canadian Country music.

Next up, a very interesting album from the Netherlands, which is no stranger to producing good Country music acts. But, KAYLEIGH LEITH is different. She was born in Pennsylvania, but her parents took her all over the USA, before moving to Holland.
Kayleigh has built up quite a following on the continent, with dates all over Germany , Italy and Switzerland this autumn, to coincide with the release of her album, “This Woman”.
The album was recorded in Nashville, and wont be out of place on American Country radio. Rob Crosby, who had several hits on Artista Nashville in the 1990’s produced the album, and wrote a number of the songs with Kayleigh for the album.
The album kicks off with what could be a career song “Born Ready”, a punchy beat that sets the tone for the album. The title track is quite a poppy track, but certainly one that will gain radio exposure.
There are some nice ballads, like “Be Here All Night”, and the rather soulful “Feel Like Letting Go”.
But, for me the strongest track is “Ace Of Diamonds”, an catchy uptempo number.
Despite the Dutch connection, this is very much a Nashville sounding album. Indeed, probably that bit better than any girl singer that I’ve heard out of Music City this year.

Liverpool born NATHAN CARTER has firmly established himself as one of Ireland’s younger stars.  His latest album, “Where I Wanna Be” (Sharpe Music) certainly shows just why the fans love him so much. Like many of the Irish based artists, he’s not 100% Country, but definitely features a lot of Country music in his repertoire.
Several  of his recent singles are included on this, his 4th studio album, including the title track, which is a great homesick song.
The bouncy opening track “Welcome To The Weekend”, is self penned, and it’s Nathan’s own arrangement on “South Australia”, is certainly different. It’s quite a sea shanty style number, but quite infectious.
There’s also a song, “The Road Back”, written by his manager John Farry.
He does a fair job on a really wide choice of covers, from Van Morrison’s “Precious Time” , to Kathy Mattea’s “Eighteen Wheels” and Steve Wariners’ “Where Did I Go Wrong”. There’s also quite a stunning version of “The Twelfth Of Never”, and I enjoyed his version of “On The Other Side”.
Nathan offers a wide selection of material, and this album justifies why he is such a popular entertainer. Nathan is back in Scotland in November.

LISA STANLEY has won many admirers through her co-hoisting duties on The Phil Mack TV Show, and will be back in Scotland, at Glasgow’s Grand Ole Opry, and Thurso’s Northern Nashville club at the end of  October.
Her album “Love Me A Little Bit Longer”  is a well produced album with some really nice material.
I really enjoyed listening  to the variety of old songs like “Blackboard Of My Heart”, “Silver Threads & Golden Needles” and “Room Full Of Roses”, and newer numbers like “Who Cares”, written by Mary O’Brien, and “Lets Make It A Good Time” , another song written by John Farry.
There are a couple of duets, “We’ve Got Tonight” with Glenn Rogers, and “When You Walk In The Room” with Eddie Carey.
But the two tracks that stand out for me are “Home To Louisiana”, written by Scooter Lee, and “Walking In My Mothers Footsteps”, which naturally suits Lisa perfectly, as her mother was singer Maisie McDaniel. The song is another written by Mary O’Brien.
I really enjoyed this album. A nice mix of nostalgia and newer numbers.

AIDAN QUINN is not only one of the best newcomers on the Irish Country scene, he has pedigree, being the son of Philomena Begley. But on his latest outing, “Overworked And Underpaid” (H&H label), Aidan is out to prove he’s out on his own.
He shows just how Country he is, on tracks like “Sing Me Back Home”, “The Fugitive”  and “Six Days On The Road”. He is also joined by Georgette Jones on “Golden Ring”.
As with many Irish artists, there are a few Irish numbers, and Aidan excels on “Mother Ireland (Come Home Paddy)” and Lough Sheelin Side”.
But he’s not forgotten mum. Philomena joins Aidan on the excellent “Hit The Road Running”, and is acknowledged on “In My Mothers Footsteps”.
Aiden has a really strong Country voice, and will surely be part of the Irish Country scene for many years.

Still in Ireland, TREVOR LOUGHREY has a new album, “Donegal To Tennessee” (All Country label), featuring 14 Jivin’ songs.  Although billed as “a new voice in Country music”, Trevor has been on the road for more than ten years, building up a healthy fan base. Trevor has a good voice, and a style that will go down well on the dancehalls across Ireland.
There are a few songs from Irish writers, which is good to see. There are songs like “Erin Tennessee”, which stood out for me. Also the opening track, co-written by Trevor is worth a listen.
I did feel, however that there were just too many current favourites on the album. Do we really need another “Wagon Wheel”, “Say You Love Me” or “Galway Girl”?
There are a few covers from the other side of the Atlantic, with a Buck Owens medley, and Vince Gill’s “Old Time Fiddle”.
It’s a good catchy album, well produced, and no doubt will be a hit wherever he plays, but I just wish it had a bit more originality.
From the same label (All Country), comes JASON McALLISTER, and I cannot knock this young man for his music choice. Of the 20 tracks on the album, no less than 14 off the songs were self penned.
A few of his own songs are uptempo numbers like “Fallen Angel”, “Drive The Blues Away” , “Dont Fall In Love” and “Dreaming With Tears In My Eyes”, but it’s the slower numbers that stand out.
 “Take My Hand”, with it’s lovely steel licks, wouldn’t be out of place on a Gene Watson album. “Right Beside Your Heart” is quite traditional, and “You Cant Break A Broken Heart” and “Pour Me Wine” are  delivered with such emotion. I really liked “Teardrops On My Pillow”.
The remaining tracks include Buck, Waylon & Merle covers, a duet with Kim Dickenson on “If You See Him/If You See Her”, and with Kerry Ann Ferguson on Heather Myles’ “No One Is Gonna Love You Better”.
A really strong album, and with 20 tracks, it’s great value.

The Irish have never had a problem in mixing comedy with Country music.
Currently, Barry Doyle, who is known as FARMER DAN, has quite a following in that category.
His new album, “Putting The Craic Into Country” has a mix of standard Country songs like “The Games People Play”, “Wagon Wheel”  and “Come On Dance”, and Irish numbers like “Nancy Spain”, Tipperary Far Away” and “Our House Is Is A Home”.
But there’s also a string of farm related titles like “Me & My Dungspreader”, “The Cow Kicked Nellie In The Belly In The Barn”  and “New Holland Tractor”.
Barry has a fair voice when doing the serious numbers, but obviously has a lot of fun on the comedy numbers.
Perhaps not everyone’s taste, but I quite enjoyed my first listen to Farmer Dan.

Our homegrown album this time around, comes from Aberdonian COLIN MACKAY, whose album “Do What You Love” was recorded in Nashville.
Colin achieved a 3rd place in a national TSB Rock School competition at the age of 16, by performing his own songs. A chance meeting with two Nashville musicians at a SpeyFest Music Festival led him to making the trip to music city, and the rest as they say is history.
Of the 10 tracks on the album, Colin wrote six of them. Other writers include respected writers like Mike Reid, Karen Staley and Harley Allen.
The music does have a contemporary edge to it, but the songwriting talent that Colin has honed certainly leans towards Country.
I have to say that it’s Colin’s originals that impressed me most.
The album kicked off with “Do What You Love”, quite a poppy number, but fits nicely with what Nashville calls Country these days. “Whiskey Morning” is another uptempo number, with a bit more of a natural Country feel to it. “Let You Go” is a bit more laid back, whilst “Your Love” is a bit more pop than the other self penned tracks.
“Handle With Care” is a particularly nice ballad that Colin delivers really well. The closing track is also a pleasant ballad,
The album cover shows Colin on stage at the legendary Tootsies Lounge.
From a listen to the album, I can see Colin back in Nashville for more recording work before too long.
www.birnamcdshop.com

New Jersey born GREG TROOPER  got his musical grounding in  the folk clubs of Greenwich Village.  In 1976, he moved to Austin, Texas but ended up back in New York for much of the 80’s & 90’s , when he launched his recording career. At the same time he was honing his writing skills, which included “Little Sister” for Steve Earle.
Now, Trooper’s 11th album has just been released to coincide with a short tour here this month (see gig list). “Incident On Willow Street” has quite an eye catching cover, and the music inside proved to be ear catching too.
He has a good folk-rock sound, with more than a touch of Country.
Most of the tracks are quite uptempo, in a Tom Russell kind of way.
I really enjoyed the jaunty “Good Luck Heart”, and “One Honest Man”, and “Steel Deck Bridge” whilst he does slow the tempo on tracks like “Amelia”.
“The Girl In The Blue” is probably the closest to conventional Country, with even a slight gulf coast sound detected too.
There is a bit of celtic influence on “Mary Of The Scots In Queens”. It’s more of a folk song than Country, but quite an interesting listen nevertheless.
My first Greg Trooper album. I really enjoyed it.

JASON DANIELS is a new name on me. He’s from Nashville, but is one of these guys who headed out of Music City to pursue his musical career, and ended up in Jackson, Mississippi, known as the “City With Soul”.
He has Country music credentials. His uncles were George & Paul Richey (George was married to Tammy Wynette), but the Jackson soul influence really shines through too.
“On The Highway”, a good uptempo road song, and “Wide Open Spaces” is a strong ballad that I really enjoyed.
But, whilst I enjoyed tracks like “Going Back To Memphis”, many of the tracks were more soul than Country for my ears.

New Englander ROD PICOTT made it to Nashville via Colorado, and has certainly paid his dues in the business. When he arrived in Nashville In 1998 he signed a deal with the management company who also managed Alison Krauss. He initially worked as the driver of Krauss's merchandise truck, but was called upon to fill in when an opening act was needed, which led to a series of support slots with Krauss. Picott finally released his own debut album in 2001.
His latest album, “Hang Your Hopes On A Crooked Nail”, features 11 tracks, all self penned (a couple alongside people like Slaid Cleaves).
As with many singer songwriters, the music is carefully crafted, with little consideration to commercial success. However, I really enjoyed “Mobile Home”, and the more uptempo “Dreams”.

Texas based KIMMIE RHODES is one of the most popular singer songwriters on the Americana scene, and is certainly no stranger to UK audiences. But for her latest release “Covers”, she has put her pen down, and chosen to record 15 of other people’s songs.
She has chosen some iconic writers, like Lennon & McCartney, Neil Young, Mick Jagger, Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Rodney Crowell & Bono.
Ok, so, it’s not all Country, but she certainly does the songs in her own way.
I was particularly interested in what she’d do with Mark Knopfler’s “Cannibals”, in which she’s joined by Marcia Ball.  Well, It’s not for the linedancers, but quite a catchy arrangement all the same.
She also has guest appearances from Rodney Crowell & Delbert McClinton.
Some of the songs, notably Leon Russell’s “Bluebird”, The Beatles’ ”Yesterday”  and Bono’s “Stuck In A Moment” really work, but sadly not all songs work. She does a fair job on “Little Help From My Friends”, but, to be honest, her “friends” didn’t help much.
Interesting album. I prefer to hear Kimmie doing her own stuff though.

DREW HOLCOMB, as well as being a notable figure on the Americana scene, has a Scottish connection. His bio proudly describes him as a Tennessee born, French speaking, bourbon drinker ... with a Masters degree in divinity from the University of St Andrews.  Even whilst in Fife, he showed musical interest, by writing his dissertation on “Springsteen and American Redemptive Imagination”.
These days he tours widely with his band, The Neighbors.
They released their first album in 2005. Now, their sixth album, “Good Light” has just been released.
There’a a good mix of singer songwriter type numbers, and some more commercial tracks.
The title track does stand out, with some really neat harmonica in the intro. Good song too.
I especially enjoyed his homesick song, “Tennessee ”, and the rather light, bouncy “I Love You I Do”.
Some of the more acoustic numbers are quite appealing too, notably, “What Would I Do Without You” .
Quite an enjoyable album.  

Our final album this time around, comes from Cincinatti, but THE TILLERS will have a date at Glasgow’s Grand Ole Opry next month, so thought it worthwhile having a listen .
“Hand On The Plow”  is a blend of Appalachian folk music and bluegrass.
The whole album has a real live feel to it, as it was recorded live to tape. No editing, or technically enhancements. Just real music. Some of the tracks are real old timey, like “Treehouse”, whilst others are a bit more commercial sounding.
The opening track, “Old Westside” has a catchy beat, as does “Tescumseh On The Battlefield”, whilst “Cant Be True” is quite a slow number. I liked the racey, but still old timey “500 Miles”.
They’ll certainly bring a different sound to the Opry.

August 2013

When George Jones passed away a few months back, everyone was asking “Whose Gonna Fill His Shoes?.”  Well his namesake GEORGE STRAIT has to be one of those you have to consider.  With over 30 years of hits, the quiet Texan has just released his 40th studio album , “Love Is Everything”. The has been with the same label (MCA) all that time, but it’s Humphead that have released the 13 track album in the UK.
I guess after 40 album’s , it can be a bit of challenge to keep things fresh and interesting. He’s done a fair job over the years, but don’t think this is one of his best.
The album kicks off with the rather unimpressive “I Got a Car”, and continues with the slow “Give It All We Got”, his latest single stateside.
Other slow songs, like “Blue Melodies”  and  “I Just Can Go On Dying Like This” ,  did nothing to keep me interested.  Likewise, uptempo numbers like “The Night Is Young” seemed to be missing his usual magic.
The album does feature his new single, “I Believe”, which he wrote  with his son, Bubba Strait, and legendary songwriter Dean Dillon after watching the news coverage of the tragic school massacre in Newtown, Conn. last December. Having lost his daughter at a young age, Strait felt as if it was a song he needed to write.
“I Thought I Heard My Heart Sing”, is a jaunty little number, but is really lightweight.
 “That’s What Breaking Hearts Do” , also written by George & son Bubba is about the best track on the album. I also quite enjoyed the closing track, “When The Credits Roll”, more of a story song.   They’re  certainly the most traditional Strait songs in here.
Not a bad album, but certainly not the best George Strait album out there.

As George prepares to hang up his touring boots  after over 30 years at the top, Humphead are also looking back at his career, with a 3CD collection called “The Cowboy Rides Away – The Definitive Collection”.
This set features 50 of his big hit songs, like “Easy Come Easy Go”, “Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind”, “Ocean Front Property”, “The Fireman”,  “The Chair” and “All My Ex’s Live In Texas”.  I’m pleased to see a few of his early hits, like “Unwound” and “Amarillo By Morning” (which weren’t No.1’s for him) are included.
As with many of the Humphead collections, Maverick’s Alan Cackett has written some complimentary sleeve notes about George.
There have been many George Strait collections over the years. This is probably one of the most complete collections, but I’d fear that everyone that would want a George Strait collection already has the majority of these songs.
Hopefully there’s a few more unconverted fans out there that’ll make this album a must.

DARIUS RUCKER, one time frontman of southern rock band, Hootie & The Blowfish, turned to Country music five years ago, after his attempt at being a solo R&B singer didn’t break the charts.  He later played a singing cowboy in a Burger King TV commercial, which is maybe why he headed for a Country music career.  He certainly has created quite a successful career from his first two albums.
Now Humphead have released his third “Country” album, “True Believers” in the UK, following his visit for the c2c Festival in London.
I have to say that I’m still finding it hard to accept Darius as a Country singer.  Most of the songs just don’t sound Country to me.
The exception is Dylan’s “Wagon Wheel”, which has been recorded to death in recent years. The version here is good, but there are equally as strong versions been recorded by Scottish groups in recent years.
Darius has co-written ten of the twelve songs on the album, including  “Radio” , and the catchy “Heartbreak Road”, the closest to Country of his own songs.
Sheryl Crowe joins him on “Love Without You”, just to add that bit more pop appeal.

It could be argued that TRACE ADKINS is something of a late developer in the modern Country music world. The Louisiana Man was in his thirties when he came to the attention of Capitol Records in Nashville. That was 18 years ago, and whilst many other “new names” that were emerging around that time have been long forgotten Trace continues to build a fan base which encompasses both traditional and modern Country music.
“Love Will,,, “ is his 11th studio album, released here on Humphead.
If you’ve heard Trace before, you’ll know his rich deep voice lends itself beautifully to his Country style. This is best heard on tracks like “Say No To A Woman”, “Alter  Of Your Love” and “When I Stop Loving You”.
He has several guests popping up throughout the album. “Watch The World End”  features some lovely harmony from pop singer-songwriter Colbie Caillett, whilst the world famous Harlem Gospel Choir provide some magic on the album’s big production title track.
But did he really have to dig up Exile for an updated version of the pop group’s 1978 hit “Kiss You All Over” ? The group tried a Country career in the 80’s , and here they are , thirty years on still trying to get recognition in Country music, with their pop hit.  To be fair, Exile members Sonny LeMaire and JP Pennington wrote another of the album’s tracks “Come See Me”, which is a fair ballad.
An interesting listen .

LEE ANN WOMACK burst onto the Country music scene in 1997, with a beautiful song called “Never Again, Again” .  But it was three years later that she really got noticed with the huge hit “I Hope You Dance”.  Whilst she continued to release albums until 2008, she didn’t produce anything to challenge that song.
Humphead have just released “The Definitive Collection” , a 2CD set, featuring 34 tracks from her 6 albums recorded throughout her career. The collection kicks off with “I Hope You Dance”, and includes more of her hits, including “I’ll Think Of A Reason Later”, “The Fool”, “Lord I Hope This Day Is Good”, “A Little Past Little Rock”, “Ashes By Now”, “Last Call”  and “Twenty Years And Two Husbands Ago”. There’s also her version of “She’s Got You”, from a Patsy Cline tribute album. But her debut single is hidden away as the second last track on CD2. It does deserve a better place than that, I think.
Accompanied by a CD booklet, which includes sleeve notes from Alan Cackett, this package is a good way of remembering most of Lee Ann’s most memorable recordings. Hopefully we’ve not heard the last of her. She has apparently another album in the can, but no label to release it yet.
Hope we hear it soon.
RUSTY RIERSON is a native of Leon, Kansas. Growing up on the family farm he fell in love with agriculture and completed a masters degree in Animal Science from K-State in summer 2011. Rusty got into music when he was 14 years old. He learned guitar when his father, Roger, suggested that they take lessons together. In 2005, Rierson won the state wide "YF&R talent find contest" hosted by farm bureau and performed at the Kansas State fair where he is annually invited back. In 2007 Rusty won the "Colgate Country Showdown" at the state level and placed in the top 15 nationally. He has played all over the USA and has toured abroad in Mexico, Central America, and in the U.K.  To date, Rusty has produced 5 albums and a DVD.  His latest release is “Souvenirs”, a project recorded in Nashville with producer Richie Owens. As well as Owens, you’ll find Kenny Vaughn (Marty Stuart’s band) and Al Perkins amongst the players, and Jennifer O’Brien and Vicki Hampton on the harmonies. It’s a delightful album to listen to. From the opening “Real People”, through his cover of Dolly’s “Do I Ever Cross Your Mind”, to the catchy “We’re Not All There”, Rusty delivers a good traditional sound. The album has a certain cowboy charm, without being a western album. He wrote (or co-wrote) three of the album’s twelve tracks.  Of these, “I Just Miss You” has a certain Don Williams charm, whilst the other two tracks are a bit more honky tonk. The title track, and US single, “Souvenirs” deals with the loss of a father, and discovering the memories that he left. I also really enjoyed “Spurs Over Stetson”, which is probably my favourite track, but I really enjoyed the whole album. Worth checking out www.rustyrierson.com

SLAID CLEAVES is no stranger to the songwriter scene on this side of the Atlantic, and, indeed is back for Glasgow’s Americana Festival in October.  His latest album, “Still Fighting The War”, (Music Road label)  has a good selection of self penned songs, few written with friends like Rod Picott and Ron Coy.
There are few guests on the album, including Eliza Gilkyson, Jimmy LaFave and Terri Hendrix.
The title track kicks off the album, and is one of the strongest tracks on the album, although “Hometown USA” also stands out. Both are quite uptempo numbers.
Softer tracks include “Gone”, “I Bet She Does” and “Voice Of Midnight” .
My favourite tracks include the catchy “Texas Love Song”, and the steel infused “God’s Own Yodeler” .
Slaid has been in the business for20 years now, and his experience shows on this latest release.

MADISON VIOLET are made up of two lovely Canadian singer songwriters, Brenley MacEachern  and Lisa MacIsaac. The duo have been building up a fan base on both sides of the Atlantic for the past few years, with their  close harmonies.
Their latest album (and DVD) is a Live album called “Come As You Are Live”, and was recorded in Colonge, Germany in late 2011, and released here on True North Records in time for their Autumn tour.
I have, in the past, in this magazine, been less than enthusiastic about live albums. I stick by my philosophy that live albums should offer something different, and whilst there is a minimal amount of audience participation, mainly handclapping on “Never Saw The Ending”  and “Cindy Cindy” , or       crowd singing on “Fallen By The Wayside” , there’s not really much to justify the live album here.
Eleven of the seventeen tracks have been previously released on the duo’s last two albums. Any chat between songs has been edited out, and, if we’re lucky, we get one of the girls giving out the title before a song.
Having said that, I really enjoyed just sitting listening to the album. Their harmonies, and the simple, bluegrass style arrangements is extremely easy on the ear. My favourite Mad Violet song is “Small of My Heart” and their version here is quite atmospheric.  I also enjoyed the catchy “Never Saw The Ending”, which includes references to some very personal activities, (which may preclude it from radio play), but features some fabulous fiddle.
They are back in Glasgow in October, for the Glasgow Americana Festival. They’re at their own show at the CCA on the 5th , and at The Cottier Theatre the following night, as part of the Gram Parsons  Tribute concert.
 
 Next  up an English Midlands based singer called CARMEL SILVER.
Carmel was born in Dublin in the 1930’s , but emigrated to Coventry as a teenager. She’s been part of the Irish community in the Midlands for many years, as well as regularly performing  at a St Patricks Day concert in Spain for 3000 people each year.
For her latest album, “ He’ll Be There”, she headed for France to record with fellow Midlands based songwriter, performer & producer Terry Bradford, who has worked with the likes of Dominic Kirwan and Charlie Landsborough.
Although the album is a nice mix of gospel standards like “Old Rugged Cross”, “It Is No Secret” and “Abide With Me”, Terry has written the title track to the album, which is a bouncy number complete with a small children’s choir.
It’s a nice album of mainly well known gospel songs, well performed.

SCOTT COOK is an Alberta based singer songwriter, who has spend the past six years, touring not only Canada, but all over Europe and Asia, His new album, “One More Time Around”  features ten hand crafted songs, with simple instrumentation, which includes dobro, fiddle , bass and clawhammer banjo.
The album kicks off with “Pass It Along”, a very personal account of life from a guitar to patriotic love of his country, It’s one of the stand out tracks on the album.  I also quite enjoyed “Mama Always Said” and the quite melodic “New Ghrist” .
He’s back in Scotland in October. If you like singer songwriters, he’s worth checking out.
 


Country music is such a broad church. The styles range from bluegrass to pop, from the sentimental to Americana.
Our next new release is from a well established, and highly acclaimed quartet from Edinburgh called THE WYNNTOWN MARSHALLS.   The band features Keith Benzie, Iain Sloane, Murdoch MacLeod and Kenny McCabe.  I’m willing to bet that many readers haven’t heard of them, and others may only recall them opening for Marty Stuart at Celtic Connections a few years back.  But that sums up the diversity of Country music in Scotland.
Their new album, “The Long Haul” was recorded in Edinburgh, and is the follow up to “Westerner”, which, apparently, was regarded as one of the best European Americana releases ever.
If you enjoy the likes of The Eagles then these guys are worth giving a listen to.  There’s a clear Eagles sound, but they’re much more than that too.
The album kicks off with a couple of driving country rock numbers in “Driveaway” and “Canada!”, before one of my favourite tracks “Low Country Comedown”. It features some great harmonies, and is inspired by their regular visits to the continent.
I also enjoyed “The Submariner”, a neat story song about a modern day Captain Nemo. The number includes some really neat steel featured on this track. It’s probably the most Country track on the album.
There’s also some nice steel guitar evident in “North Atlantic Soul”, a strong song vocally, which may just be the track that will attract radio play.
“Crashing” (Like The Reds)” has a very strong Eagles sound, with lush harmonies and instrumentation.
“Whatever It Takes” and “Curtain Call” are quite slow numbers, as is the album’s closing number “Change Of Heart” , which features some nice harmonies from Diane  Christiansen from Chicago based group Dolly Varden.
It rounds off a very interesting and pleasant album.
Check them out at www.thewynntownmarshalls.com

INNES CAMPBELL is flying the Scottish flag down under. Originally from Stirling, Innes moved to Brisbane to work as a doctor, but a few years ago surprised himself at winning an award as top bluegrass guitarist in Tamworth.
He came home on a visit a couple of years ago with his band Present Company, and played the Guildtown Bluegrass Festival, and other venues from Edinburgh to Dunnet Head.
Now Innes is back with an album that is all him.
“Click To Like” features ten tracks, all composed and performed by Innes, recorded in his home studio, Although, he is particularly focussed on bluegrass, it’s very much an alternative sound that he has developed here.
Indeed there are a couple of tracks, where he has even enabled some electronic sounds and voice effects to give the songs a completely different feel.
The album kicks off with a short little bluegrass guitar instrumental, and is followed by a wide variety of styles, from the easy listening “Two’s Company”,   the catchy “Brown” and the fast paced pickin’ on “Pig Dog Man”.
It’s an  interesting album. Alternative Bluegrass.
www.innescampbell.com

STEVE EARLE’s career has been quite extraordinary, since he first come to the attention of fans through his MCA albums in the second half of the 1980’s. Some of his best stuff was in these early days, and Humphead has just released a 2CD “Definative Collection”, covering his recordings between 1986-92.
Included are such classics as “Copperhead Road”, “Guitar Town”, “My Old Friend The Blues”, “The Devil’s Right Hand”  and “I Aint Ever Satisfied”.
39 tracks in all, and a good way of picking up some early Earle recordings.

And finally, now here’s something real Country !
MICHAEL & THE LONESOME PLAYBOYS won great acclaim, and a No.1 on the Country Music People chart with his previous “Last Of The Honky Tonks” album, and let to gigs with Dwight Yoakam  and David Allen Coe. Michael Abaldini is billed as the Rock’n’Roll poet, and, yes his music is rock’n’roll, but from an era where r&r was closely emerged into Country.
He is based in California, and it’s that Bakersfield influenced sound that dominates his new album, “Bottle Sky Cap”.
All songs are written by Michael, from the opening baptism in “Walk Thru Fire”, through the really catchy “Moondog Man”.  The old time Country continues through tracks like “Sweet Ol’ Riddle” , “Rosewood Night” , “Another Side With Every Story” and “JM Pride, The Texas Oil Man” , to the slower “Lonesome When You’re Gone” .
“The Outlaw King” is perhaps a bit more modern, but doesn’t lose that twang!  And there’s a train song- “Steel Train” too !
“Two Wrongs Like Us Dont Make A Right”, is different again. With some nice steel licks, it conjours up some Crosby Stills, Nash & Young images.
Then , if it’s a slow Country ballad you want, listen out for  “Soulfoul; Love Rest”,“Heart Full Of Tears”  and “Three Cheers For Heartache”.
There are a couple of more bluesy tracks on the album,  but, in the main, a really enjoyable Country album.  I loved it. There’s a raw live musical feel to the album, which just adds to the mix.
www.rocknrollpoet.com

June 2013

The postman has been kept busy delivering a vast array of musical packages in the past few weeks.
BRAD PAISLEY’s new album .”Wheelhouse” (Sony) is quite a strange album. There’s some really good stuff on it, and some really weird stuff too.  The track listing has 22 tracks, but there’s really only 17 !. There’s quite a few little soundbites, like track 7, which has some great guitar picking, but mixed with asian sounds and chants, a quaint “Yankee  Doodle Dixie”, and there’s even Eric Idle doing a little dittie called “Death Of A Married Man”. How did he get in there ?
The inside sleeve says that the record is “the sound  of an old farmhouse, the sound of seven band members  creating, collaborating, & High fiving!”. There is certainly a sound on some of the tracks, that to me, comes over as just noise.
But there are some really good tracks too.
“Southern Comfort Zone” , the first full track, has some southern soundbites during its 36 second intro,  like southern fried chicken, apple pie, rednecks, and even the grand ole opry. I preferred the more acoustic version that closed the album, without the soundbites.
Quite a few of the tracks have a humorous side. Tracks like “Karate” about a wife taking lessons on how to get back on her wife beating husband , or “Harvey Bodine”, a long suffering hubby, who’s heart stops, and gives him the best five minutes of his life before the defib machine kicks in , and brings him back to life.
Then there’s “Facebook Friends”, with perhaps a warning about how that website can ruin lives.
He has caused a bit of controversy with the track  “Accidental Racist”, which teams him up with rapper LL Cool J. I think it does a good job at highlighting how a simple Lynyrd Skynyrd t shirt can cause offence and misunderstanding. I didn’t think the song was offensive. I was just concerned that a rapper was heard on a Country record. Then, am I falling into the trap that the song is all about ?
It was a strange, but interesting album.  And it’s growing on me.

RON DAVIES may not be the best known songwriter in the world. He did, however, write over 600 songs, in his lifetime, providing hits for David Bowie, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Joan Baez and Helen Reddy.  His best known song, “It Aint Easy” was on Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust album, and also recorded by Three Dog Night and Long John Baldry.
Ron Davies, who died in 2003, is the big sister of Gail Davies, and it’s Gail who is the force behind this album, bringing together an amazing list of mainly Country singers, to perform 22 of her brothers songs on “Unsung Hero” (Little Chickadee).
When I say Country singers, I meet ‘A list’ Country singers. There’s Dolly, John Anderson, Crystal Gayle, Vince Gill and Alison Krauss amongst others.
Gail has carefully matched the songs to the singers, and come up with one beautiful tribute to her brother.
The album kicks off with Gail performing “One More Night With You”, and she later features a duet with her late brother on “ Steal Across The Border”.  Jeff Hanna,(Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) revisits “Dark Eyed Girl”, with his wife Matraca Berg, whilst that Bowie hit is handled in quite bluesy fashion by  Southern Fried visitor, Shelby Lynne.  Unsung Music City backing singer, Jonell Mosser, also turns on the blues on “Saving It Up For You”.
Mandy Barnett delivers “Long Hard Climb” in a soulful lounge style, whilst Crystal Gayle, has a very laid back approach to “True Lovers And Friends”.  Vince Gill , with harmonies from Kelly Hogan , deliver a beautiful romantic atmosphere on “More Today Than Yesterday”.
There’s also Guy Clark, Rodney Crowell, Robbie Fulks, and a beautifully emotional closing track by Bonnie Bramlett.
There’s plentry of stand out tracks for me.
John Anderson does a good version of “What Good Is A Secret” , and Dolly sounds as good as ever on the ballad “It’s Too Late”.
BR-549, who I never really understood when they were at their peak, really turned on the hillbilly Country sound on the rip roaring “Hey Honey I’m Home”. I just love this track.
Jim Lauderdale takes an incredible Country story song approach to “Have To Come Down”,  and I enjoyed John Prine’s take on the jolly “We Stayed Away Too Long”.
But my favourite track has to be Suzy Bogguss on “Back To The South”. This is reminiscent of Suzy’s early recordings, with a very simple, almost western, but not quite, approach  to the song.
Although not over familiar with Ron Davies’ music, this is a beautiful album which shows just how much we should have known his work.
Congratulations to Gail Davies for keeping his music alive with this project, for which proceeds will go to the W.O.Smith Music School, providing instruments and music lessons for under privileged  children. The album has been in the works for nearly a decade, and worth the wait.

There seems to be an endless trail of girl singers in Nashville these days. Occasionally we hear one who is just that bit different than the rest, and stands out from the crowd. Probably Gretchen Wilson was the last one that stood out, but now, along comes a 24 year old Texan beauty called KACEY MUSGRAVES, who is certainly making waves in Music City these days.
Furthermore, her debut album, “Same Trailer, Different Park” got a UK release (Decca) following a list of accolades from the likes on NPR who named her “best new artist of 2012” , and the Washington Post who called her “country music’s new real deal”.
She certainly stands out from the pop laden Country female vocalist style that we’ve gotten used to.
As a vocalist, she sounds sweet, homespun and downhome , but as an artist, she’s the full package. She co-wrote all twelve tracks, plays acoustic guitar and harmonica on the album, which features her debut hit record “Merry Go Round” , which Rolling Stone listed in it’s Top 50 songs, off genres, of 2012.
Most of the songs are pleasant ballads that Kacey smothers with her sweet vocals, like cream on apple pie!  The opening track, “Silver Lining” stands out, as does “Dandelion” and “I Miss You”.
I really enjoyed the bouncy “My House”, which features some catchy harmonica, and clever lyrics, not to mention, her southern twang. It’s a song that really works for me, and is my favourite track on the album.
“Step Off” and “Follow Your Arrow” are both quite catchy little numbers , whilst “Stupid” shows a girl with a bit of attitude. “Blowin’ Smoke” is a bit heavy for me , but, overall, a really enjoyable album. Kasey Musgraves is one of this year’s biggest discoveries.

Any Country trio of ladies are instantly going to be likened to The Dixie Chicks, but I’m pleased to say that PISTOL ANNIES are different, and we all get a chance to find out why with the release of their second album, “Annie Up” (Sony) over here.
The Pistol Annies are a supergroup of female singer songwriters, at varying stages in their solo careers. Miranda Lambert has been an established artist for several years now, with several hit singles and CMA Awards under her belt. Ashley Monroe has been getting rave reviews for her recently released debut album, and the third member is Kentucky born Angaleena Presley.
They collaborated together on the writing on all of the songs, sharing the lead vocals, and harmonising together beautifully throughout the album.  Their southern accents add to the charm.
They cover a whole range of emotions, from being “Loved By A Working Man” through to “Being Pretty Aint Pretty” to “Unhappilly Married” , “Trading One Heartbreak For Another”  and  the bluesy accapella opening track “I Feel A Sin Coming On”.
The lead single from the album is the catchy “Hush Hush”, probably the most pop track on the album.
I liked the friendly advice song “Dont Talk About Him Tina”, whilst “Damn Thing” is a quirky uptempo fun number, with some nice banjo and bass. It’s different to anything else you’ll hear out of Nashville this year.
Other softer ballads include “Dear Sobriety”, “Girls Like Us” and the gorgeous closing track “I Hope You’re The End Of My Story”.
It’s a superb album. The sort of album you didn’t think Nashville produced anymore.
Girl power !

KENNY CHESNEY continues to be one of America’s biggest Country sellers, but still hasn’t cracked the international market, despite his albums regularly getting released here.
Columbia have just released his latest , “Life On A Rock” over here.
His music has a definite summer sound, and this continues on this album.
There are lazy summer days songs like “That Time Of Day” , “Lindy”, and “Happy On The Hey Now”.
And there’s the beach ballads like the album’s title track (and he’s not singing about being stuck on Rockall!) , and “When I See This Bar”.
“Spread The World” sees Kenny take up Bob Marley’s mantle, by teaming up with The Wailers, on a song that has a bit of the Marley magic, without taking Kenny too far out of his zone. Shows just how close the genres are.
But to even up the score, it’s Willie Nelson who joins Kenny on the equally tropical  “Coconut Tree” .
It’s quite a pleasant album to listen.

KAREN LYNNE is one of Australia’s best known singers, having visited our shores a good few years ago now. She has a number of albums under her belt. Despite her last album being straight country, in recent times her music has been more influenced by bluegrass, and her latest offering, “Shine Your Light”, I’d label as “bluegrass gospel”.
For this, her 10th album , she went to America to record . She had previously resisted that temptation, in support of the Australian recording industry. But getting to record an album like this in Tom T Hall & Miss Dixie’s studio in Franklin, Tennessee was too much of a temptation, and, how it has paid off for her.
The album kicks off straight into a honest downhome  jolly number called “Little Mountain Church House” , which really sets the tempo for a good time album. “Will There Be Any Stars”  is a catchy song, which has everything, good vocals, lovely harmonies, dobro, fiddle, mandoilin , bass  and banjo. A great track.
“He Loves To Hear You Shout” , “Lord Lift Me Up” and “Walk Slow” are also good numbers for radio play.
There are some more serious numbers, such as “Your Presence  is My Favourite Gift” and  “Where Jesus Is” (featuring Daryl Mosely)  . I also enjoyed “A Living Prayer”.
Karen also covers the classic “In The Garden”, and Dolly’s “Coat Of Many Colours”. Miss Dixie pulled out the stops, to arrange for, not Dolly, but sister Stella to join with Karen in the studio on this one. Karen’s vocals are so suited to the song, and Stella’s harmonies are beautiful.
I just love Karen’s voice . This is a beautiful album.
www.karenlynne.com

Whilst I cannot deny that TIM McGRAW is one of Country music’s superstar’s, I personally have never considered him to stand out from the many other male singers in Nashville these days.
However, his latest album, “Two Lanes Of Freedom”  (Big Machine/Decca) did catch my attention.
There’s certainly some good stuff on the album, which was released here to coincide with his appearance at the c2c festival in London.
The title, and opening track, is a good commercial, radio friendly number, which caught my attention.
In a similar vein are “Southern Girl”, and “Mexicoma”, which  has a strange sound to it. But It’s quite catchy, and works for him.
There are several power ballads, like “One Of These Nights”  and “Highways Dont Care”  which suits Tim’s style well, but just don’t stand out for me. The latter sees Tim team up with Taylor Swift and Keith Urban, which probably just triples the blandness. But no doubt will get three times the US radio play!
Softer ballads, like “Friend Of A Friend”, “Book Of John” , “Annie I Owe You A Dance”  and “Number 37405” really work much better for him.
I really enjoyed “Let Me Love It Out Of You”, a nice ballad which closes the album.
And “Nashville Without You” , another of the softer ballads, stands out as the best track on the album, and I’ve heard it on radio here, so I’m not alone in that opinion. As his homage to Music City, it’s probably the most Country number Tim has done to date.
The sticker on the CD case states “15 New Songs”, but one of them, “Truck Yeah” is on twice, one with a live version, so it’s just 14 tracks. The duplicate song, itself, is more of a rap number, certainly not Country, so once was too much, let alone two versions.
But all things considered, one of Tim’s best albums to date.

WILLIE NELSON recently turned 80, and celebrated with the release of “Lets Face The Music And Dance” (Legacy) .  It has to be said that this album leans more towards the lounge jazz sound than Country, but Willie is no stranger to that. It reminds me of his “Stardust” album, which he made in 1978, and remains to this day, one of his biggest sellers.
Song’s included here include Irving Berlin’s title track, and “Marie, The Dawn Is Breaking”, as well as the classics, “You’ll Never Know”, “Walking My Baby Back Home”  and  “Twilight Time” .       He does lift the tempo with a bit of rockabilly on Carl Perkins’ “Matchbox” , whilst Country fans will recognise “South Of The Border” and “Shame On You”.
He has one self penned number on the album. “Is The Better Part Over”.
Willie’s long time fans will enjoy this album. It didn’t do much to hold my  attention though.

There’s no doubt that BILL ANDERSON is still one of Nashville’s true legends. He has charted over 80 hits on the Country charts, including 7 Number One’s, in a chart career stretching from 1958 to 1991.  But he is also an amazingly successful songwriter , having written for artists as diverse as Ken Dodd, Aretha Franklkin and  Dean Martin , and is still writing hits today for the likes of Kenny Chesney, George Strait and Brad Paisley.
Over 30 of his biggest hits were self penned, and many of his hits are included in a new Humphead double CD release in the UK, “The Definitive Collection”.   You’ll recognise titles like “Tips Of My Fingers”, “Happiness”, “Mama Sang A Song”, “Golden Guitar” and “Still”, but this 50 track collection, also features a few duets with Jan Howard and Mary Lou Turner. There’s also his version of “Three Times A Lady”, which really doesn’t fit into this collection, but 49 out of 50 aint bad.
To be honest, many of the recordings do sound dated by today’s standards, but, for me, that adds to the nostalgic influence of this collection from a performer, who is still influential in Music City today.
There’s also an 8 page booklet, features sleeve notes by Maverick magazine’s Alan Cackett,

Back in 2006, ALAN JACKSON recorded an album of hymns, which, if we were to believe the hype, he just recorded for his mom, and was never intended for general release. The album went on to top the Country charts, and gave fans a new insight into the quiet man’s life.
Now Humphead have released “Precious Memories Volume II”, a delicate album of old time church favourites, accompanied by the most basic of musical arrangements.
Included are such standards as “Amazing Grace”, “Love Lifted Me”, “There’s Power In The Blood”, and “When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder”.
It’s a beautifully recorded work of art, but is just so laid back. There’s no energy in the production whatsoever, which may be deliberate.
If this wasn’t Alan Jackson, I doubt if this album would create any reaction at all. But it is Alan Jackson, and it’ll be another big seller, I’m sure.

ERIC CHURCH is one of the newer names in Nashville over the past few years. His album “Chief” won last years CMA Album Award, and he did get quite a bit of airplay over here for his “Springsteen” single a few months back.
His sound is more rock than Country, but has come over several times, on tracks like “Country Music Jesus”, “Hag” and “Jack Daniels”.  However, his latest album (released here on Humphead) is called “Caught In The Act”- a live album.
As I’ve said before in these pages, you have to do something different with a Live album.
Eric has captured his live show on the album alright – pretty much a rock show, and a screaming audience that just  kills off any appreciation you may have for the music.
If you want to listen to Eric’s music, this is not the album to do it with.
It’s just Noise- nothing else.

JOANNA MOSCA was born in Connecticut, and raised in New York , where she studied acting, which isn’t the normal upbringing into a career in Country music. As she moved into music, she  had a Top 30 on the Adult Contemporary charts, but she’s now found her way to the attention of Country music. She was, indeed, listed in the CMA’s “New to watch” list for 2012. Well it’s maybe taken a little longer, but Joanna has arrived with a 6 track mini album, “Let It All Begin”, produced by singer Bryan White, and featuring a duet with  Lonestar’s Ritchie McDonald.
The EP features the catchy single “Dream  On Savannah”, which is really radio friendly and should get her some good airplay.  “Where Does Good Love Go?”, the duet with Ritchie McDonald, is probably the strongest track on the CD. Again, it should get her noticed.
Whilst most of the tracks are quite uptempo, she does a mean ballad on “I Guess That Says It All” .
Certainly a name to look out for.

RANCE NORTON was one of the Texan names at the Caithness Festival this year, and had just released his second album, “Here We Go Again” (Heart Of Texas) just before his visit.
The young traditionalist’s first album contained mainly well known covers. This album , whilst still containing covers, has some lesser known songs. Writers include Dallas Frazier, Ray Pennington, Justin Tubb, Mel Tillis & Moe Bandy.
With players like Justin Trevino, Bobby Flores and Jake Hooker, you know you’re in for a treat.
Stand out tracks’s for me include the opening twin fiddles on “This Time I Wont Cheat On Her Again”, “Texas Dance Hall Girl” (which sounds like “Cool Water” in the intro, and “Loves Comes From The Other Side Of Town”. His cover of Moe’s “I Never Miss A Day Missing You” is also worth a listen , as is the duet with Frankie Miller (the Texan one) on “Nashville Drunkard”.
I enjoyed his live set in Halkirk, and really enjoyed this album.

I’m always impressed with the music that comes out of The Faroe Islands. With a population of just 48,000, they have a very healthy music scene.  Of course, Evi Tausen  was one of the big hits at this year’s Caithness Festival. But one of the members of her band, was also promoting his own album.
JENS MARNI came over in Halkirk as a bit of a rocker, but his album, “Anywhere You Wanna Go” proved to be a really good listen. He has a sound that would be hard to put in a box. Certainly not pure Country, but there are Southern rock and West Coast influences. I can certainly hear a bit of Doobie Brothers, for example.
There are some quite rocky/pop numbers, most notably, the catchy “You’re The Greatest” and the opener, “Heart Talking”.
But Jens really excels in his ballads.“It Was You” is particularly impressive, as is “Never Let My Angel Down”. I also enjoyed the rather different “Every Bluebird Needs To Fly” , which has a much simpler backing, and lets Jens vocals come to the fore.
For it not being an all out Country album, I found it a really enjoyable listen.
And another from that musical mecca in the north- The Faroes!

Nobody can deny that PHILOMENA BEGLEY is an icon of Irish Country music. Last year she celebrated her 50 years in the business, with a number of concerts and a TV special on BBC Alba.
Her latest album, “How I Love Them Old Country Songs” (H & H label), does have a nostalgic feel to it.
As well as the title track,  Philomena has a nice mix of new songs , including “I Aint Over The Hill” , written by Isla Grant, to her versions of classics like “Sentimental Journey”  and “Dont Tell Me How The Story Ends”.  There’s also her versions of “Raglan Road”, “The Story I Tell You Is True” and “It Only Hurts For A Little While”, which has a rather different arrangement to the other tracks.
Stand out tracks for me are the lively “Burning Old Memories” and “Taste Of Life”, but there are a couple of collaborations worthy of note.
“All The Road Running”, is a duet with her son Aiden Quinn, who is keeping her legacy alive. It’s a nice Irish favoured number , which was featured on the BBC Alba special.
There’a also a bonus track, “Country Girls Never Grow Old”, which features last year’s Caithness Festival visitors Moore & Moore. It’s a catchy fun number, which I think owes more to Debbie & Carrie, than Philomena, but fits nicely into the theme of the album.
Great to hear Philomena still going strong, and sounding as good as ever.

One of the acts that I was particularly impressed with, at the Caithness Festival was  JASON McGILLIGAN, and I’m  pleased to say that his album, “Looking Out My Backdoor” is just as entertaining as he was on stage.
The young Irishman had appeared at ease as he won over the Halkirk crowd, and this album finds him running through a varied set of songs with similar style.
There are classic songs like Slim Whitman’s“ When My Blue Moon Turns Turn To Gold”  and Marty Robbins’ “My Woman, My Woman , My Wife” through to lesser known songs like Del Reeves “Landmark Tavern” and Vince Gill’s “Love Never Broke Anyone’s Heart” .
There’s a rocking “Danny Boy” to close the album, which works really well.
A good album, and well worth looking out for this young man. He’s one of the best performers to come out of Ireland for a while.

If Jason is new, then PAUL KELLY is even fresher. He’s been performing around the North West of Ireland for quite a few years now, but “ So In Love” is his debut album, and a really good album it is.
He features a good mix of Country numbers like Gene Watson’s  “Fourteen Carat Mind”  and  Hoyt Axton’s “Della & The Dealer” alongside  Irish numbers like The Saw Doctors’ “ Clare Island” and Sean McCarty’s “Shanagolden”.
There’s a couple of duets, with Bernie Kelly joining him on the Dave Edmunds/Carlene Carter classic “Baby Ride Easy” and Georgette Jones on “Lost Love”.
There a fair number of original tracks  that Paul co-wrote, including the albums title track, the Georgette Jones duet, and a cracking opening track, “The Hooley”.
A superb debut.

BEN REEL  is an Irish singer songwriter, who has just released his 6th studio album, “Darkness & Light”. The album, of all self penned material, was recorded at his home studio in Armagh.
It’s not all Country- it’s not meant to be. There are rocky tracks, folk and pop too, but there are a few tracks that we Country fans will enjoy.
“River Of Time” is quite a melodic number, as is “Watershed”.  There’s a Roy O influence on “You’re Not Alone”.
“Heart Just Wont Heal” has quite a strong Americana / Dylan feel to it, as does “What is Done”.
“Before Your Time” is the stand out track, with it’s opening “Whiskey is a dear dear friend of mine”
I did enjoy the album. Quite a good listen.
Benreel.com

I don’t know much about CAMPBELL SCOTT, but his self penned album, “Scottish Working Man” tells quite a story.
With the strongest Scottish accent I’ve heard on record, he lives in France, and recorded this album in Prague. But his homeland is in the forefront of his mind, with the songs of the album.
His voice is not the most tuneful, and the instrumentation is fairly basic, but that all adds up to give the album quite a homesome charm.
He’d probably be more at home in a folk club, but there are some Country influences, especially on the lilting “Tennessee To Loch Maree”, and the closing track “Going Home To Scotland”. Both have some nice steel licks.
There’s also some Rock’n’roll on “Boy Who Cant Say No”, but it’s the more folksy numbers like “Beautiful” and “Fair Farfochan” , which  Campbell sounds most comfortable with.
www.campbellscottmusic.com

MICHAEL J RAMPLIN is a traditional Country and gospel singer songwriter from Lancashire, who will reach his 70th birthday this year. In his life, he has lived a lot of what you would hear in Country songs, but Michael has lived to tell the tale, found god, and Country music, which he has always loved since hearing Webb Pierce back in his Merchant Navy days.
This is unashamed old time Country music, which you don’t get too many British artists trying to keep alive. But here, the singer songwriter has an all self penned album  of traditional Country music.
There’s a lot of his influences showing through, notably on “Hank Singing On The Radio”, “Johnny Cash Led Me To Jesus”, and even a duet, “There’s Only One Name”, with George Hamilton IV.
Michael doesn’t have the best voice in the world, but what you hear is 70 years of life in a dozen Country songs.
Michael.ramplin@hotmail.co.uk

MIKE AIKEN is something of a travelling troubadour. The Virginian has just released his 6th album, “Captains & Cowboys”  (Northwind), which has apparently been two years in the making. But I think   it’s probably been a lot longer. The versatile singer songwriter captures his own life as a ocean crossing sailing captain (he’s lived on a sailboat for the past 20 years) , but has also raised horses and made his living as a farrier.
The song subject here is as varied as his life, from “Virginia” and “Coal Train” to “Take The Boy Fishin’”, and “Put A Sail On It” to “Night Riders Lament”.
It’s an enjoyable album, with quite a variety , from the honky tonk-ish “Bring Out The Bourbon”  and “Your Memory Wins” to the lilting “Dance With The Wind”.
One of the stand out tracks isn’t his own, but Country Joe McDonald’s folk anthem “Save The Whale”. Mike does a refreshing take on the song, giving it renewed life.
Quite an interesting album. One you’ll certainly hear on the radio.

It’s amazing how much the banjo is featured on CD’s these days. DUBI HANDI are a Brooklyn based duo, featuring Hilary Hawke and Brian Geltner. Their album, “Up Like The Clouds” is essentially a banjo album. There are a number of instrumentals, and songs featuring both members as vocalists.
Apparently Appalachian music like this is big in Brooklyn, and I have to say, it’s a nice listen.
Three of the tracks are written by Hillary, including the catchy instrumental “Pickin’ Chicken Breakdown”, which a certain Caithness band may be interested in.
Most are covers of traditional’s including “New River Train” , “Cluck Old Hen” and “Poor Ellen Smith”.  As a stand out track, I particularly enjoyed the slower “Undone By Sorrow”, which features some nice vocals by guest Zara Bode.
A nice listen.

WOODY PINES has built up quite a following over here, through his regular visits of late. The banner on his website says “Viper Jazz, Ragtime & Country Blues”, which does quite a good job at explaining the mix that you’ll find on his new album, “Rabbits Motel”.
It’s a good fun sounding mix of resonator guitar, with a bit of banjo and harmonica. There’s a couple of traditional numbers, a couple written with banjo player Felix Hatfield, and the rest is all Woody.
Slower numbers like the bassy “Heartbreaker”  mix nicely with the more uptempo numbers, like the old timey “Keep Youre Hand  Off”, and the more modern sounding “Like I Do”.
There’s even a couple of train songs in “Railroad Vine” and “Train That Carried My Gal To Town”.
Nine of the ten tracks were recorded in Ohio, but “Hobo And His Bride” was recorded in a makeshift studio in a lock-up garage in Lanarkshire.  It fits in nicely to the rest of the album.

RUTH MOODY is a singer songwriter, born in Australia, but resident in Canada, where she has firmly established herself as one of The Wailing Jenny’s. But she has also been pursuing a solo career, and her latest album, “These Wilder Things” (True North) is released to coincide with a UK tour, which featured a date in Glasgow last month, and 6 nights at London’s Albert Hall, opening for Mark Knopfler.  Knopfler plays on the album, as does folks like John McCusker and Jerry Douglas .
All but one of the songs on the 10 track album is self penned. The exception is a cover of Springsteen’s “Dancing In The Dark”.
Many of the songs are slow ballads, including the title track , a beautifully constructed 5 minute masterpiece.
But there are a few more uptempo moments, like “One And Only”, which really shows off her vocals.
Recorded primarily in Toronto, although additional recordings came in from as diverse locations as London, Nashville, Winnipeg and Oregon.
www.ruthmoody.com

DYLAN SNEED is certainly a new name to me, but he has toured Europe, even before this debut album appeared. “Texodus” is quite an apt title for the Austin, Texas native, who left the Lone Star State, and now calls Hartsville, South Carolina home. But you cant take the Texas out of the boy!
The album, which was funded through an internet site called Kickstarter.com, is a personal journey from the title tracks story of leaving home, through friendship (All Around Me) and relationships (Love You Like I Do, Keep You Still, Under The Sheets).
He even sneaks in a rather different cover of Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”. It’s really stripped back instrumentally, and fits nicely into the album.
My favourite track would be the uptempo “Climb The Wall”.
www.dylansneed.com

From Canada, JENNY RITTER is a singer songwriter with a fresh distinctive voice.  She first got herself noticed playing in a band called The Gruff for ten years, but is now firmly a solo artist in her own right, with her latest album “Bright Mainland” just released.
As well as writing all eleven songs on the album, this talented lady also plays guitar and banjo, alongside some impressive studio musicians.
The banjo injected tracks certainly caught my attention, including “We Must Sing” , which has quite a folky feel to it. “You Missed The Boat” also appealed to me. It’s probably a bit more radio friendly than the rest of the album.
But “Resolute” was, for my money, the strongest track on the album. It’s really melodic, and suits her vocals best.
An interesting voice, which I’m sure we’ll hear more of in the future.

Apr 2013

Starting off this month with an absolute cracker of an album called “Classic” from Canadian TERRI CLARK (Humphead). Quite a few Country girls have taken to recording an album of well known Country music standards – first it was Reba, followed by Martina McBride, then Leann Rimes. Now it’s Terri’s turn.
Terri captures the flavour right off, with a thirty second recording of Miss Kitty Wells, before launching into a blistering version of “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels”. There’s plenty of twang, a bit of a Status Quo feel, but with lots of fiddle and steel, and I dare you not to get the air guitar into action. It’ll be irresistible.
After such a wonderful start to the album, it’s going to be hard to keep up, but Terri just delivers one knock out track  after another. There’s “Love Is A Rose”, “Dont Come A Home A Drinkin”, “Swinging Doors”  and a softer “Gentle On My Mind”, and a few guests as well.
Reba duets on her old hit “How Blue”, and she enrols Tanya Tucker for a remake of her child hit “Delta Dawn”. She does the George & Tammy thing with Dierks Bentley on “Golden Ring” , and an incredibly good pairing they make.
She also goes back to Canada to team up with Dean Brody for a rockin’ version of Hank Snow’s “I’m Movin’ On” , and with Jann Arden, on a rather bluesy “Leavin’ On My Mind”.
With all the new pop country coming out of Nashville these days, this album was a pure joy to listen to. There’s nothing like the old songs, as they say. Especially when they’re performed with the voice and emotion of Terri Clark.
I was amused that it was felt necessary to list the original hit singers on the track listing. These songs should be engrained in every Country music fans mind. But then, Terri will be hoping to impress younger listeners with these songs, and, if that means they may then seek out the originals, then I’m all for it.
It’s only April, but this is my album of the year.  

CHARLIE LANDSBOROUGH was a late starter, but has certainly made up for lost youth.  His career didn’t take off until he was into his 50’s, but has now just released his 26th album!
“Silhouette” (Edsel Records) features an interesting mix of original and cover songs.
There are trademark Charlie ballads like “Rovers & Streams” ,  “More Honest Than Sweet”, and “Another Dream Of You”, and more uptempo numbers like “Fog On The Brain” and “Starting At The Bottom”.
It’s the cover songs that will probably raise the most interest, with an uptempo swing version of Hank Williams’ “Cold Cold Heart”, a jaunty cover of “City Of New Orleans”, and a lovely slow version of Rodney Crowell’s “Til I Gain Control Again”. He also covers “Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain” and “Spanish Pipedream”.
Charlie has found a formula which crosses boundaries from Country to Easy listening. It’s a formula that has won him a legion of loyal fans. This album will further enhance that loyalty.
A lovely album.

When a new Nashville duo LOVE AND THEFT released a radio single in the UK, it was an instant miss with me. “Running Out Of Air”, sounded more like something you’d hear in an 1980’s disco.
But when their self titled album was released (RCA), I thought I’d better give them the benefit of the doubt.
I’m glad I did. The album is very much a modern Nashville Country album. The single stands out on the album for just not fitting in.
The duo are Stephen Barker Liles and Eric Gunderson. Both guys take lead vocals and play guitar. They were originally formed as a trio in 2006, taking their name from a Dylan album. They have had one album released previous to this RCA debut.
The first US single from the album, “Angel Eyes” was a No.1 in the Country charts for them.
It features as a good opener to the album.
They have a distinct Eagles sound to them, especially on tracks like “Town Drunk” and “Girls Look Hot In Trucks”.
The stand out tracks for me are the slower ballads like “Thinking Of You And Me” and “She’s Amazing”.
“Inside Out” is quite an uptempo number, which I quite enjoyed, whilst the fast paced “Girls Love To Shake It” is just too sexist to take seriously.
After my initial dismissal, I have to say that I did quite enjoy this new duo. Whether they stand out from the crowd in a busy Nashville market remains to be seen.

“In Time” is the new album from the reunited MAVERICKS (Decca), who gave Scottish fans a preview by performing some of their new material during their visit for Celtic Connections back in January.
How their music ever fitted into the Country genre, I’m not sure. Certainly Nashville hasn’t really warmed to them. I recall a reviewer of their appearance at the CMA Festival, as “some band playing Cuban music!”. But on this side of the water, their music was especially popular with line dancers, and thus their adoption by Country fans.
Their new album doesn’t really mark any change in direction. Their sound is perhaps a little edgier. A little less trying to conform to something they’re not.
In the main, it’s foot tappin’ world beats, with songs like “Back In Your Arms Again”, “Lies” , “All Over Again” and “That’s Not My Name”, which will go down well with listeners & dancers alike.
A few songs like “Born To Be Blue” and  “Fall Apart” have more of the Latin crooner sound, whilst
“Come To Me” is totally Latin, which didn’t do anything for me at all.
Another couple of numbers, like “In Anothers Arms” and “Call Me When You Get To Heaven” were just  too slow to keep me interested.
But for Maverick’s fans, this album will be top of your list.

EMMYLOU HARRIS & RODNEY CROWELL are two of a kind. Their history goes back to Emmylou’s legendary Hotband in the mid 70’s.  They have went their separate ways over the years, but have got together again for this new album, “Old Yellow Moon” (Nonesuch Records) and a European tour, which plays Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall on May 15th.
Their harmonies still blend together beautifully on an album which also features James Burton, Vince Gill, Emory Gordy, Larry & Paul Franklin, John Jorgenson, Glenn Hardin and producer Brian Ahern, and three songs from Hank DeVito’s pen.
Crowell contributed four songs, whilst Matraca Berg, Allen Reynolds, Roger Miller and Kris Kristofferson also get writing credits.
It’s DeVito’s “Hanging Up My Heart” which opens the album. It’s a good uptempo  radio friendly number to get the project under way. That’s followed by a really enjoyable version of Roger Miller’s “Invitation To The Blues”.
The rest of the album, is perhaps, a shade less commercial, but does feature some nice material, showing off some beautiful harmonies, especially on ballads like “Back When We Were Beautiful”, and “Here We Are”.
This is a really enjoyable album, from two stand out Country performers.

CHRIS YOUNG is one of the brightest talents to emerge onto the Nashville scene in recent years. He is a local born , raised and educated young man, who won the Nashville Star TV talent show back in 2006. Still in his 20’s ,his third album, “Neon” (Sony) has been given a UK release to tie in with his recent visit to the Belfast Nashville Songwriters Festival.
Young has co-written seven of the album’s ten tracks, including two songs that have already hit the charts.
I think Young is best excelling at powerful ballads like the title track, “Neon” , “Old Love Feels New”, “When She’s On” and “Tomorrow”, a particular strong emotional ballad, and no wonder it was such a big hit for him. But it’s the closing track, a softer ballad, “She’s Got This Thing About Her” which really stood out for me.
In direct contrast, “Save Water Drink Beer” is a Hi energy modern honky tonk anthem. The bouncy “You” is also catchy enough to impress me.
I was really impressed with this young man. I’m sure we’re going to hear more of him in the future.

GARY ALLAN has had quite a few of his albums released here, but I’m guessing that he’s still going to be relatively unknown to most readers.
His latest album, his 10th to date, “Set You Free” (Humphead) was released here in late January, and features 5 songs which he co-wrote, including the No.1 US hit “Every Storm Runs Out Of Rain”. This was his 4th chart topper, but his first since 2004. It’s probably the one track I’d have chosen as stand out track.
I also liked “You Without Me”, a nice ballad, and the rather different “No Worries”. This one almost has a reggae influence running through it, but it works.
Gary’s album’s are quite listenable, but just don’t stand out from the pack.

Now for something very different.
West Coast bluegrass from SUSIE GLAZE & THE HILONESOME BAND, who have just released “White Swan”, their first album since 2008. And it’s well worth the wait.
The five piece outfit fuze bluegrass , bluegrass, Appalachian folk and celtic music into a sparkling sound that leaves you quite transfixed.
The songs are a mix of band compositions and covers, like James Taylor’s “Mill Worker”, and Jean Ritchie’s “The Soldier”.
All but two of the tracks feature Susie on lead vocals. The exceptions include “Me & The Eagle”, written by Steve Earle, which features band member Steve Rankin on the lead vocals. He does a good job.  As does Fred Sanders, who wrote and sings “Rockin’ In Your Granddaddies Chair”.
A few of the tracks are just a shade too folkie, such as “Fair Ellender”, but is delivered beautifully.
I really nice album.
www.susieglaze.com

ANNIE KEATING is a New York based singer songwriter who has made quite an impression on her previous four albums, and her visits to Europe, including Glasgow’s Americana Festival.
Her fifth album, “For Keeps” gets a release here this month.
Annie has a fuller sound that many singer songwriters, and has written all but one of the songs here. The exception is Neil Young’s “Cowgirl In The Sand”, which is a bit on the slow side, and doesn’t quite fit into the rest of the album for me.
The strongest songs, in my mind, are the quite punchy “Just For Today” and the quite commercial “Leap Of Faith”.
Her visits to Scotland has obviously made an impression, as one of the songs is called “River Clyde”. It’s quite a slow number that is growing on me, I have to say.
An interesting album, well worth giving a listen to, if you like your Country music slightly on the pop side, without sounding like it was straight out of the Nashville Music machine. www.anniekeating.com

Heading south to Texas, RITA HOSKING is another singer songwriter, who has made impressions over here. “Little Boat” is her latest EP, or Mini-CD, featuring seven self penned (one co-write with her daughter Kora Feder) songs, which were recorded over four days last November in Austin.
Uncut magazine said that “Her old-timey, keening vocals and simple accompaniments lie between Iris Dement and Gillian Welch”, and that’s not a label that I would dispute. I also hear a lot of Nanci Griffith in her style.
There’s some nice instrumentation, including banjo, clawhammer banjo and Hammer dulcimer running through the album.
The harmonies are quite outstanding, with “Sierra Bound” standing out as my favourite track. I also really enjoyed the more uptempo bluegrass influenced “Nothing Left Of Us”, and the “hometown” song, “Five Star Location”, about her town losing jobs to China. A theme we can all appreciate. She has a good view on the subject.
A nice listen.
www.ritahosking.com

JARROD DICKENSON  is another Texan, having grown up in Waco, but as his album title, “The Lonesome Traveler” suggests , he’s no longer there. He’s spent time in Nashville, California, and is currently based in Brooklyn, New York.
His musical style has travelled as far. His early influences were the blues,  but the guitar took over, and by the time he went to university in Austin, he was fully immersed in the songwriting scene.
“No Work For a Working Man” stands out, with it’s nice banjo instrumentation, and lyrics that many looking for jobs today, will fully appreciate. He certainly captures the emotions running through families in similar situations.
“Rosalie” also stands out, as probably the most radio friendly tracks on the album.
Other tracks tend to be on the slower side, and failed to keep my attention.
www.jarroddickenson.com

Back to Canada, where Vancouver based BARNEY BENTALL  has been telling stories with his music for the past 35 years. He has recorded ten albums in that time, and formed a band called The Legendary Hearts, whose debut album went Platinum in Canada, and won a Juno Award.
His latest album, “Flesh & Bone” (True North) is a fascinating set of stories well performed in song.
His music is a rich fusion of Country, folk, roots and celtic sounds, that blend together quite nicely.
They range from the uptempo “Ballad of Johnny Hooke” and “Four Went To War”, the more commercial “Outskirts of Buffallo”  to the softer “Annabel” and “Her Beautiful Mind” which features some lovely harmony from Angela Harris.
I enjoyed the bluegrassy flavoured “High Up On The Mountain”  and the harmonica infused “St Valentine’s Day”.
A really nice album. A bit different, but really enjoyable.

Staying in BC ,PHARIS & JASON ROMERO, are back with a new album for 2013, in “Long Gone Out West Blues”(Lula Records). Their previous album gathered awards from both the Canadian Folk and Independent scenes.
They have a unique old timey/bluegrass style that just sounds so effortless. Pharis leads the vocals on most, but not all of the tracks. Jason leads on the more gospel sounding “Wild Bill Jones” and “Waiting For The Evening Mail”.
Pharis has a vocal style, not too far from Emmylou’s early songs. But it’s tracks like “Come On Home”, which really show how harmonies make beautiful music. There’s also a couple of quaint little old timey instrumentals , “Lost Lula”  and “Sally Goodin”.
All the songs are either traditional numbers, or originals by the duo, apart from the final track “Across The Bridge”, credited to Walter Scott . It’s my favourite track  on the track., Great harmonies.
Certainly not for the modern Country fan, but a really nice listen all the same.

Country music in Ireland has an immense following, with a good mix of long time favourites and a healthy number of newcomers. TV and radio coverage  has really encouraged artists to make records and videos.
But whilst some acts are good live acts, the transition onto radio and television sometimes doesn’t work.
I feel that’s what’s happening with THE|OUTLAWS, who have a new album, “The Best Part Of The Day Is The Night” just released (Sharpe Music).
Despite four self penned numbers , and really original covers , including an uptempo “Lying Eyes”, this just sounded like a gig album to me. That’s to say, fans will love it, but I cant see them getting much airplay.
The album has a good selection of uptempo and waltz timed numbers, which will keep dancers on the floor all night, but, as i say, not a radio hit.

Feb 2013

THE STATLER BROTHERS were one of America’s most successful ever Country vocal groups, from an era before boy bands became ten-a-penny. Their rich harmonies, down home values, and nostalgia themed hits gave them a string of hits from the mid sixties right through into the 1990’s.  Despite their hits being played by UK Country presenters, their record label refused to release their product in this country.
Now, decades later, and years after the band have stopped touring, Humphead have eventually released their music in the UK. “The Definitive Collection MCA Collection” features 50 of their tracks, which despite, not being commercially available here before, many will be instantly recognisable. Hits like “Bed Of Roses”, “Class Of 57”, “Whatever Happened To Randolph Scott”, ”We Got Paid By Cash”, “Years Ago” and “Elizabeth” are all here.
Most of their material was self written, but they did occasionally lend their harmonies to classic pop hits like “Hello Mary Lou” and “Only You”, which are both featured here.
It’s a great collection, which I really enjoyed hearing all these old hits once again. It’s all packaged with a little booklet which details the chart dates and positions of each song, and sleeve notes from Maverick editor Alan Cackett. The one thing that did disappoint me, was in the CD’s subtitle “The MCA Years”! The Statlers were never on MCA!. Their label was Mercury Records, which is now part of Universal, MCA’s parent company, but The Statlers had no association with MCA Records.  It’s a small point, which doesn’t detract from the great music on the double album.

Quite a few Irish releases hit my desk just before the end of the year.
DEREK RYAN is one of the up and coming stars on the Emerald Isle , and the fact that he is a writer as well as a singer, makes him stand out from the pack. His new 15 track album, “Dreamers & Believers” features 5 self penned songs, including the catchy “Write Me A Letter”, about leaving the folks at home while becoming a star in America, which has a nice feel to it.
“Life Is A River” and “Perfect Days” are both beautifully performed songs, which work well for him, but it’s “Song Of Donegal” which stands out. It’s so different to anything on the album. It’s a slow, but spiritual stirring song for folks associated with the most musical corner of Ireland.
The covers range from Eddy Raven’s “I’m Gonna Get You”, and Buck Owens’ “Loves Gonna Live Here” to Bonnie Tyler’s “It’s A Heartache” (which has been recorded by a number of Country singers). He also does a nice version of “Galway To Graceland”, very different to The Indians version, that we’re probably more familiar with.
The title track is a Pete St John Song, a bouncy Country & Irish number which will work for him.
It’s a really first class album, a good mix of old & new, Country & Irish, and all well produced  and performed.  Certainly, an album which will further enhance Derek as a star for the future.

MIKE DENVER is already established  as a top entertainer in Ireland. His latest CD release is “The Live Show”, (Sharpe) which is also a DVD.
I’m finding it difficult to review the CD, as I’m sure the DVD would offer a very different perspective. But as a CD release, you have to offer something different on a “Live” album. Too often here, Mike introduces “another song from my latest album”. Why fans would buy an album full of songs they already have, I don’t know.  A live album should feature newer songs, perhaps numbers you wouldn’t otherwise record, or at least give a different perspective to previous hits.
One of the best examples of a live recording was Don William’s “Live At Carnegie Hall”, where he let the audience sing beautifully on “You’re My Best Friend”. Mike does that song here too, but doesn’t risk any audience participation.
I’ve seen Mike in concert. He is a superb entertainer, but this CD doesn’t capture that side of him.
As I say, if I were reviewing the DVD, I’d be looking at it from a different angle, but as a CD, it didn’t work for me.
Scottish fans will get to see Mike Denver in person in April when Ireland West Music TV hold a weekend in Glasgow, with Mike as the star attraction.

The first of our home grown recordings this time comes from Dunoon’s TONY COLLINS. “Just Passin’ Through” is what Tony describes as his “retirement project”, but it’s probably more like a life long dream.
Tony has been involved in music all his life, through the pop and gospel scenes. He wrote his first song at age 14, and was the writer of the official Glasgow Marathon song, “Marathon Man”.  But Country music has always been part of Tony, known as the “Tartan Cowboy”, so it’s no surprise that this album is Country!
The album has twelve self written songs, was recorded in Ballymena, and features the likes of Richard Nelson on pedal steel, and Eamon McLoughlin on fiddle.
I really enjoyed the mix of music, from the toe tappin’ “There She Goes” to the Tom T Hall styled “You Say”.
There’s also a good bit of “DooWaa’s” and “Hot Bananas” on the honky tonk inspired “AWOL”.
The opening track “Back On The Road Again” is a good upbeat number, and “America” is a good song which sums up several generations obsession with Uncle Sam’s land.
I was quite intrigued to listen to a song titled “Rocky Mountain Home”, with a lazy gulf coast / calypso arrangement, which surprisingly works well.
The title track, ”Just Passin’ Through” is a slower number, with some neat sax.
I’d say that Tony’s influences were the Elvis inspired balladeers. He’s not an Elvis clone- nothing like it, but I do hear influences I also hear similarities with Mickey Gilley and Billy Crash Craddock.
It’s a really good album, which I enjoyed listening too.

Next up, a new CD from THE GLG BAND, led by George L. Goodfellow, from Hawick. As an aspiring songwriter, he joined the Tennessee Songwriters Association which led to him making contact with an exiled Scotsman, Jim McParland who asked George to collaborate with him on some of his lyrics. A few contacts on the other side of the pond, and the GLG Band was formed. “Both Sides Of The Pond” (Smallboy Records) is their fourth album together.
All 13 tracks on the album are originals from the band. The arrangements are simple but effective. The project was recorded and produced in Bristol ,Tennessee (where The Carter Family recordings were made) and finished off in Galashiels at David Little’s Sound Studios. The songs range from the catchy “I’ll Put Me Life On The Line” and “Maybe In Time” to the slower “Number Three” or “More Than Welcome”
“Without Doubt” and “He Was My Friend” are the two tracks which stand out for me, and most likely to get a bit radio play.
www.GLGband.com

Austin , Texas CARRIE RODRIGUEZ has went through several stages in her career. Originally destined to be a classical violinist, she learned fiddle at Berklee, which set her up for a career on the road. She had a long standing partnership with Chip Taylor, who wrote “Wild Thing” for The Troggs and “Angel Of The Morning”.  Chip encouraged Carrie to write and sing, the pair became regular touring partners, and they recorded three albums together. She recorded her first solo album in 2006. In 2011, she recorded an EP of songs with Irishman Ben Kyle, and a new partnership was born.
Her new album, “Give Me All You Got” (Ninth Street) features songs from both Taylor & Kyle, as well as the lady herself.
She wrote 6 of the tracks  including the haunting “Whiskey Runs Thicker Than Blood” and the catchy opener “Devil In Mind”.
Something of an acquired taste, Carrie has built up quite a fan base, especially at festivals like Southern Fried in Perth, and this album will further her popularity there,

 THEA HOPKINS recently won American Songwriter magazine’s lyric writing competition, and now the Boston based writer releases her six track CD, “Lilac Sky”. She calls her music “Native Americana”, based on her Wampanoag and Cherokee heritage.
She has four originals on the disc, and two covers of Teddy Thompson and Marianne Faithfull numbers. Her own numbers include the catchy “Might’ve Stayed in Memphis Too Long” and the rather heavy title track, which may have been called “Angels Have Wings To Fly”, a line which is repeated rather a lot.
“Down By The Water” is quite catchy, if again a bit repetitive, whilst “Whatcha Gonna Do?” is the stand out track for me.  
www.theahopkins.com

An interesting album arrived from an American outfit called ROSIE’s PAWN SHOP, whose new album “Dancing On The Gallows”, is released here prior to their forthcoming tour of these isles. Their only Scottish date is in Stranraer on Sunday 3rd March.
Apparently singer songwriter, and lead vocalist, Paul Givant “grew up on a disparate array of popular musical styles. But in the mishmash of rock,punk pop and rap, was Americana Folk and Bluegrass”, says the publicity hand out.
After meeting some kindred spirits, they came up with a hi energy driving sound which blended Woody Guthrie & Bill Monroe with The Ramones & The Pogues!
They certainly have a unique sound.
Some of it is just too far out for me, but other tracks I really liked, such as “The Bed In Which You Lie”, a good uptempo number , and foot tapping “Straw Man” and the opening title track.
“The Well” had shades of “The Devil Went Down To Georgia”
 There’s an Eagles influence on “Pine Box”, whilst “Patiently” and “One Last Glass Of Whiskey” are more of a ballad.
All in all, a very interesting sound. Certainly an album with a lot of energy.
www.RosiesPawnshop.com

RICH MAHAN grew up in St.Louis and Los Angeles, where his dad was a big fan of Bobby Bare. Rich remembers his father jumping around the room playing air guitar and dancing to the likes of “Teqilla Sheila” and “Drop Kick Me Jesus Through The Goalposts Of Life”. This was a major influence on Rick, to the extent that it’s Bobby Bare who is a major influence on the Nashville based singer songwriter today.
So much so, that his debut album is simply called “ Blame Bobby Bare” (Snortin’ Horse Records). And it certainly does have a bit of a Bobby Bare feel to it. Of course, many of Bare’s hits, especially the quirkier ones, were written by Shel Silverstien, who is perhaps more of an underlying influence.
Just look at some of the titles – “Mamma Found My Bong”, “Rehab For Quitters” and “I’ll Get Off The Booze”!
I particularly liked his catchy geographic songs, “Overserved in Alabam” and the Silverstein flavoured “The Hills Of South Dakota”. “Tequilla Y Mota” has a definite Silverstein influence.
All the songs are self penned except Bob McDill’s “Put A Little Lovin’ On Me”, which fits in nicely.
Mahan, himself spend time in west coast coast pop & rock bands, only arriving ion Nashville in 2010, but seems to have found his roots in Music City.
www.richmahan.com

Our final selection this time, comes from an interesting American group called THE BEAN PICKERS UNION, which is led by Chuck Melchin, a veteran of the Vermont and New England Alt-Country scene.  Their latest album, “Better The Devil” (Inseam Records) gets a UK release, following the response to their 2007 debut, “Potlash”.
The album’s 11 songs are described as “songs of despair,hope and redemption”.
The arrangements are quite simple, which adds to the album’s intensity.
Many of the songs, like “Lydia’s Lullaby” and  “Numb” are quite slow and dark.
But there are upbeat songs too. Listen out for “Tranquility” and “Magnolia”, which has quite an Eagles sound to it.
There are story songs too, like “Sometimes I Just Sits”, which is probably my favourite track.

Dec2012

Nobody can deny that HANK WILLIAMS JR has made his own career. He may be the son of the legendary Hank Snr, but with a career that stretches back to 1964, and well over a hundred chart hits, he has made his own mark on Country music. That mark has always had an edgy Southern Rock/Outlaw/Honky Tonk feel to his music.
His new album, “Old School New Rules” (Humphead) is just what you’d expect from Hank Jr. It’s edgy, honky tonk music, with more than a patriotic slice of real Americana, and old school Country music.
The title track mentions Johnny Cash and Marshall Tucker, whilst he keeps the family tradition alive with “I’m Gonna Get Drunk And Listen To Hank Williams”, on which he duets with Brad Paisley. There’s also a duet with Merle Haggard on “I Think I’ll Just Stay Here And Drink”.  He also does a heavy rockin’ version of his fathers’ “You Win Again”.
Always looking to be controversial, he plays the American patriot card on “We Dont Apologise For America”, “Who’s Taking Care Of Number One” and “We’re Gonna Take Back Our Country”, which features a good number of his fathers influences.
Stand out track is the catchy gulf coast number “Three Day Trip”, which sounds like it’s right out of a Raul Malo album. I also enjoyed the humour of the “Stock Market Blues”.
The sleeve notes refer to ESPN’s dropping of his music from Monday Night Football, citing that the network “decided that I had no right to Freedom Of Speech”. It may have riled him into making this album, but it is the best Hank Jr has produced for a while.
I really enjoyed the collection (with the exception of the American patriotic numbers). Country music needs guys like Hank Jr to keep it fresh.

Groups with female lead singers are the current in thing in Nashville’s pop culture. LITTLE BIG TOWN have been around for a few years now, and have really reached the pinnacle of their career with their fifth album, “Tornado”, which has already produced the No.1 single “Pontoon”. The two guys/two girls group, consisting of Karen Fairchild, Kimberley Schlapman, Phillip Sweet & Jimi Westbrook, could be Nashville’s answer to Abba!
Indeed they just have too much of a manufactured pop sound for my ears. The title track, “Front Porch Thing”, “Self Made”, and “On Fire Tonight” are best examples of this. “Cant Go Back”, which is more of a ballad, does feature some nice harmony work, but oh so pop.
There are some nice ballads, such as “Sober” and “Your Side Of The Bed”, but the stand out track for me, is “Night Owl” which closes the album. The male vocal parts sound like the Everly’s and the females sound like The Family Brown. It’s an interesting mix. Sadly, it was the only track which caught my attention, or a rather pop sounding Nashville album.

Now EASTON CORBIN is something else ! The Florida native burst onto the scene with his 2009 debut album, and he’s back with a cracker of a follow up.
“All Over The Road” (Humphead) is an 11 song collection of new material from writers like Carson Chamberlain,(who produced the album), Bob DiPiero, Roger Springer, Michael White, Terry McBride and Shane MacAnally.
Whilst not writing any of the songs himself this time around (he co-wrote four on the previous album), he is certainly inspired by other singer-songwriters.
Corbin became the first male solo artist in 17 years to have his first 2 singles hit No.1, and he should have a few more with this album. The first single is the catchy “Lovin’ You Is Fun”.
I see the title, and opening track, “All Over The Road”, and “Only A Girl” being potential hits too. “A Thing For You”, has a catchy feel to it, with the minimum of instrumentation. I also really liked the simplicity of “Tulsa Texas”.
Most of the tracks have a mid to uptempo beat, but there a few nice ballads in “Dance Real Slow”, “Are You with Me” and “I Think Of You”.
People magazine cited Easton as “ the second coming of George Strait”. With George’s longevity, going back to before Easton was born, that may not be a bad thing.  George is giving up touring – enter Easton Corbin.  He’s the most Country artist coming out of Nashville these days.

TRACY BYRD was been one of Country music’s most consistent hitmakers of the 90’s, and to mark his 20th Anniversary, Humphead have released “The Definitive Collection”, with 20 of his early hits.
Included is his first chart hit, “That’s The Thing About A Memory”, his first No.1, “Holding Heaven”, and a string of other class songs like “Watermelon Crawl”, “Love Lessons”, “Lifestyles Of The Not So Rich And Famous”, “Keeper Of The Stars” and “4 to 1 in Atlanta”,
The great thing about Tracy Byrd is that he is COUNTRY!  He is old school, maintaining a good solid traditional sound to his music, with a taste of Texas Honky tonk thrown in for good measure.
These days, his family run a kitchen firm back in Texas. But his music still makes a great listen today!

TOBY KEITH, who graced the cover of the last issue on CMDS, has had quite an eventful career since first appearing on the charts in 1993, hitting the No.1 spot with his first single, “Should’ve Been A Cowboy”.  He later went through a publicity hyped spat with The Dixie Chicks, but I feel that it’s only since he started his own label, Show Dog, that he has been able to really express himself in his music.
“Hope On The Rocks” is his new album, released here by HumpHead, and features the catchy single “I Like Girls Who Drink Beer”. The title track, which kicks off the album, is a ballad which works well for Toby, but it’s songs like “The Size I Wear” that really show Toby’s fun side.   “Cold Beer Country” is another rather different sounding honky tonk song, which is really infectious.
Other uptempo numbers include “Get Got” and “Haven’t Had A Drink All Day”
I didn’t care much for the rather rocky “Scat Cat” , or the remixes of previous hits “Red Solo Cup” or “Beers Ago”, which totally detract from the original hits.
Nevertheless, an interesting album, and no doubt, a huge seller!

There are no shortage of groups on the American scene these days. LIVEWIRE are one of the hottest new bands on the block, with an album, “Livin” (Way Out West)  which is getting a lot of exposure recently.
They are a six piece outfit from Missouri, and have been together for the past decade honing their craft.  There is a definite Lonestar influence, which will do them no harm, as the formula has certainly worked for many groups.
“Whiskey Sunday” is a particularly catchy number, which stands out for me.
“I’ll Go To Prison” has quite a Hank JR / Southern Rock sound to it, which will make them stand out from the rest of the groups out there. “What Makes You A Man” also has a strong message in its’ lyrics.
Whether they will make it through the charts remains to be seen, but Livewire are certainly as good as any of the current crop of bands coming out of Nashville. Check them out.

Lurking in many Country groups are individuals who really want to be out on their own. Some make the move, and it works. For others, they just disappear, but I’m confident that  CODY McCARVER wont regret leaving Confederate Railroad. He was a member of the popular group for 12 years (albeit, joining the band after they were at the height of their career with songs like “Trashy Women” and “Jesus & Mama”), as keyboardist, but has so much more to offer.
His new album, “I Just Might Live Forever” (AGP) sees him billed as “Country’s newest outlaw”. He certainly rekindles influences of Waylon, David Allan Coe, Hank Jr, all rolled up with a Conderate Railroad sound.
Richard Sterban of The Oakridge Boys adds some “Bow Chicka Wow Wow”, in “Elvira” style, which I can see being a big dancefloor hit. “You Cant Hide Money”, has a good redneck beat, with a bit of humour added in.
He does prove that he can slow it down, on the rather romantic sounding “Left Side Of The Bed”, and I really enjoyed “Redneck Friends Of Mine”.
No fewer than three of the tracks are from movie soundtracks, including “Lets Get Dirty” from the Dirt Track Racing based “LA Dirt”; “Outlaws & Trains”, a softer song from  “Cole Younger & The Black Train”, and the impressive uptempo CD title track, from “Billy The Kid”.
“White Trash With Money” has a great uptempo Country beat , and I don’t even mind the Country rap lines from Colt Ford.  The appearance of Big Smo, another southern rapper, on the closing track did leave me cold, however. I’d also pass on the patriotic “I’m America”, and “Kick It In The Four Wheel Drive”.
But in the main, I really enjoyed this Southern rock experience!

Hank Cochran was one of Nashville’s most legendary songwriters writing major hits for Patsy Cline, Ray Price, Eddy Arnold ,George Strait and others. Cochran was also a recording artist between 1962 and 1980, scoring seven times on the country music charts, with his greatest solo success being the No. 20 "Sally Was a Good Old Girl".
He moved to Nashville , aged 24 and teamed with Harlan Howard to write the song "I Fall to Pieces." For Patsy Cline, who also recorded Cochran's "She's Got You"  and "Why Can't He Be You". He was one of the most fascinating people I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting.
Sadly, he died on July 15, 2010, aged 74, but his music lives on, and now relative newcomer on the Country scene, JAMEY JOHNSON has released an album dedicated to the songwriter. “Living For a Song”  (which was also the title track to Hank’s last album). The album, released here by Decca, features 16 tracks with some really impressive partners,
Emmylou joins in on “Dont Touch Me”, Allison Krauss on “Make The World Go Away”, Ray Price on “You wouldn’t Know Love”, Elvis Costello on “She’ll Be Back”, and George strait on “The Eagle”. And I just loved “A-11” with Ronnie Dunn.  There’s also several contributions from Willie Nelson, Vince Gill, Leon Russell and Kris Kristofferson.
On previous releases Jamey has sounded like more of an outlaw, but on this outing he really shows his traditional roots. It’s a wonderful tribute to one of the few people that Nashville can truly consider a legend.

The first of our home grown Scottish releases this time comes from Hamilton based TOM HOGAN, who was most recently been touring around the clubs as one half of Tequilla. “Keeping It Real”, is all Tom’s own work. He wrote all 10 songs (one co-written with Frank Young), played all the instruments, and produced the whole project, which was recorded in Strathaven.
The album is given a full sound, and features a good variety of songs. The album kicks off with “Heart Of The Country”, a good foot tappin’ number, which features some nicely placed harmonies from Irene Hulme, before he mellows a little for “Never Let You Down”.
Moving along, “Thinking About You Now”, which has a good uptempo beat to it.  “Words Alone” features keyboards a bit more, and perhaps more of a crossover appeal rather than straight Country!
But “Movin’ On” brings him back home. It’s a good driving guitar number, which suits his vocal style.
“It Aint Me” slows the pace again, and features some impressive instrumentation in its’ 47 second intro.  “Rollin It Over”, “For The Other And Me” and “Thought You Were The One” are also quite slow.
The album closes with a rather haunting number, “Tonight The Cowboy Rides Away.  Again featuring some interesting instrumentation.
Tom’s quite an accomplished guitar & keyboard player, and this album shows that side, as well as his vocals and songwriting skills.
Quite a talent.
Tomhoganx1@hotmail.co.uk

DEAN OWENS has been part of the Scottish scene, originally with his acclaimed Country rock band The Felsons, and then as a solo singer-songwriter. His new album is “Cash Back – Songs I Learned From Johnny” on the Drumfire label.
This is the recorded work following an evening of  Cash songs that Dean was part of at this summer’s Southern Fried Festival in Perth.
Will Kimborough, who plays on the session, claims that “this is not your everyday Johnny Cash tribute album “ (of which there have been a few) .
Dean has certainly put his own stamp on these songs. Although he has avoided the tried and tested “Ring Of Fire” and “Thing Called Love” and the like, he does include “I Still Miss Someone”, “Give My Love To Rose” and “I Walk The Line”. He also covers songs, that Cash recorded, but didn’t write, such as Dylan’s “Girl From The North Country” and Kristofferson’s “Sunday Morning Coming Down”.
I particularly enjoyed his cover of Nick Lowe’s (one time son in law of Johnny) “Without Love”, and The Stones ”No Expectations”.
From Dean’s own pen, comes “The Night Johnny Cash Played San Quentin”, a catchy , effective tribute, with lots of title dropping into the lyrics.  
It’s not Johnny Cash as you know him. By the same token, it’s not Dean Owens, as you’ve come to expect.
His most Country outing to date. One that will appeal to the Cash fans too.

There’s no question that MANSON GRANT & THE DYNAMOS are one of Scotland’s most successful  bands playing Country music. They are also quite different to any other group on the local scene, being the closest thing we have to the old Irish showbands.
Of course, that means when you see them, you’re in for a full blown entertainment experience, rather than a full Country show.
Having said that, their new album is simply called  “Country” (Pan Records) and reinforces their place in Country music.
There are twelve tracks on the album, mainly covers like “Daydreams About Night Things”, “Silver Haired Daddy”, “Streets of Bakersfield” and “Pass Me By”, which are performed in a good time dancing beat, as you’d expect.
Manson is featured on vocals on 8 of the tracks, including “The Mountains Are Higher In Scotland”, an original song, written by George Mack, and Keith MacLeod leads the vocals on Vince Gill’s “Pocket Full Of Gold”. The Dynamo’s also feature teenage award winning accordion wizard Brandon McPhee, who is featured on the instrumental “Celtic Cajun”, and on the vocals on Marty Robbins’ “Castle In The Sky”. Brandon proves to be as good a singer as he is on the accordion.
The album was recorded in Wick, but with additional work by Nashville’s resident Orcadian Phillip Anderson, who has added the talents of Steve Hinson and Fiddler Hank Singer into the mix.
It all comes out sounding good & fresh. Another winner from the far north!
www.panrecords.co.uk

Like him or loath him, you cannot deny that SYDNEY DEVINE is the most recognised Country music performer in Scotland. Everybody knows him.  He may not be everyone’s idea of what Country music is, but having been on the scene for 45 years, and still selling out the Glasgow Pavilion for three nights last month, the guy is a force to be recognised.
His latest Scotdisc release is a double album, “Tiny Bubbles And The Signature Songs”, with 43 instantly recognisable songs.
CD1 is all new recordings, but not new songs. These are new versions of the songs Sydney has been known for years. Songs like “Legend In My Time”, “Maggie”, “Almost Persuaded” , “The Answer To Everything” and “Crying Time”.  CD2 has more of the songs that he made his own, like “Laura”, “The Lightening Express”, “Scotland Forever”, and of course, “Tiny Bubbles”.
All recorded in Kilsyth, produced by Tommy Scott and Bill Garden, and featuring Steel guitar from Dougie Stevenson, guitars by Chas McKenzie, and harmonies from Eve Graham and Kevin Finn (from The New Seekers), this is just what you’d expect from Sydney.
No surprises. Just great singalong songs.
His fans will love it. If you’re not a fan, then this won’t win you over.

There’s no doubt that Ireland keeps producing talented Country performers, and indeed is attracting youngsters both in audiences, and as performers. Lisa McHugh moved over to Donegal from Glasgow to pursue her career, and two lovely London lassies, Carrie & Leann Benn, moved to Enniskillen to pursue their career. So far it’s worked for them, and THE BENN SISTERS, have just released their third album, which coincided with a recent Scottish tour with Nathan Carter, and another around now with Shaun Loughrey.
The album, “Girls Night Out” (Diamond Records) is a collection of classic Country tracks from the girls’ inspirations, from Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn to The Dixie Chicks and Gretchen Wilson.
You’ll find classics like “The Black Hills Of Dakota”, “Rose Garden” and “Blue Kentucky Girl”. Although there are a couple of duets, most of the tracks are performed by one or other of the girls.
Recorded mainly in Essex, the album features musicians like Wayne Golden, Richard Nelson and Eamon McLaughlin. It’s a good easy listening selection of well known songs, for any singalong party this Christmas.

From the fresh faced Benn Sisters, to the legendary FOSTER & ALLEN, who have a new double album released, called “The Ultimate Collection” (Demon Music Group). It’s apparently 30 years since Mick & Tony appeared on Top Of The Pops, and this album is a good collection of the songs they’ve made their own over the past three decades.
They are, of course, masters of the easy listening sound, and this is the ultimate easy listening album, with a touch of Country, Irish, Pop and Folk influences.  Old favourites include “Bunch Of Thyme”, “After All These Years”, “Old Flames” “When You Were Sweet Sixteen” and “The Wild Rover”.
You’ll tap your feet to “Mary Lou”, “Walk Tall”, “Johnny Will” and ”Happiness”, a reminisce with “The Old Rustic Bridge”, “Silver Threads Amongst The Gold”  and “The OId Rugged Cross”.
There are “duets” with Daniel O’Donnell, Gloria Hunniford and Jimmy Shand!  There are Cliff Richard covers in “Power To All Our Friends” and “The Young Ones”!. And there’s “A Tribute To Tommy Makem”.
You certainly cannot knock the duo for their versatility, and giving their fans value for money, with 40 tracks on this double CD collection.

NATHAN CARTER is another of the new young breed of Country singers out of Ireland. He recently pulled 400 fans into the Concert Hall in Glasgow, so must be doing something right. By all accounts, he is very much an entertainer, if not 100% Country.
His new album, “Wagon Wheel” (Sharpe Music) would tie in with that perception.
The album kicks off with the catchy title track, which has been recorded quite a few times of late. He also features the old Dobie Gray hit “Drift Away”, and does a great job.
He covers The Dixie Chicks’ “Long Time Gone”, Joe Nichols “Tequilla Makes Her Clothes Fall Off” and the classic “Nobody’s Darlin”, beautifully laced with some neat steel licks from Richard Nelson.
There’s songs by a few Irish writers, including Ben Sands (Hug), Mick Connor (Pub Crawl), Christy Moore (If I Get An Encore) and a couple from John Farry.
He also covers Dougie McLean’s “Caledonia”. I guess we should feel honoured that an Irish singer, born in Liverpool, should want to sing such a Scottish anthem. Why, I’ve not quite worked out.
But, nevertheless, a good catchy, well produced album, that will win him many fans,

PETE KENNEDY has been making quite a name for himself on both sides of the Atlantic during the past year. The singer songwriter from Co, Offaly in Ireland, has been doing some important appearances in Nashville, as well as some fine recording, and songwriting there. Over here, he’s been appearing at festivals like Wolvestock, and on major tours opening for Neil Sedaka & The Stylistics.
He released “Nashville Sessions Vol 1” earlier this year, and has followed up with “Vol 2” (KEMC Records). Each of the CD’s have 6 original songs. Both sessions were produced by Mark Moseley at Sound Control studios in Nashville. Mark has worked with many artists from this side of the ocean.
On Volume 2, Pete has worked with Ayla Brown, a former American idol contestant ,co-writing four of the songs, and dueting on “Do What’s Right”. The duet works really well. It could be Tim & Faith. A good modern Country pop delivery that has hit written all over it.
Volume 2 certainly does have a more modern “Nashville” sound to it, which should appeal the wider audiences that the Sedaka and Stylistics tours will have introduced him to.
“Crazy Country Girl”, co-written with Jo-Leay Gray comes over as the most Country track. It’s catchy, without being too poppy.
Pete has certainly proved that artists on this side of the Atlantic can produce a sound that fits so well into the Nashville groove.

STEPHEN SMYTH has built up quite a following as a solo Country performer on the Irish scene, and is back with, what I make out to be his 8th album, “Classic Country”.
As the album title suggests, it’s an album of well known Country covers, like Conway Twitty “Hello Darlin’ ”, Don Williams’ ”Some Broken Hearts Never Mend” and Ronnie Milsap’s “Pure Love”. There’s also Merle Haggard, Charlie Rich and Glen Campbell covers.
There are two original songs, I’m The Lucky One”, which opens the album, and the sentimental bonus track, “Here At Home In Ireland”, which fit nicely with the rest of the album.
Texan fiddler Bobby Flores (who is on the bill for Caithness next year) adds his magic to the album, as do The Benn Sisters with their lovely harmonies.
It’s a well produced album, but the song choice wont find too many admirers outside his already established fan base.

Back to the Americans.
BOB CHEEVERS should be no stranger to Country fans here, as the Texan singer songwriter has toured here on several occasions. He follows up his 2011 Texas Music Award for Singer Songwriter Of The Year, with a new double album, “Smoke & Mirrors”.
As Bob explains on the sleeve notes, “The phrase Smoke & Mirrors implies deceit, but to me, it also suggests how difficult it can be to see things clearly through life’s many distractions.  The Smoke disc is with a full band, with more of an electric, smokin’ feel to it, whereas the Mirrors disc is all acoustic, with more relevant lyrics”.
Well, if you haven’t heard of Bob, think Willie Nelson, and you’ll get a good idea of what he sounds like. The Smokin’ CD, as he says, has the full band. It’s a good solid Austin, Texas Outlaw sound. I really liked “Texas Diamonds”, “Flesh & Blood”, and the softer “Hope”, which shows Bob’s romantic side. He also does a really good Austin styled version of “Viya Con Dios”.
As expected the Mirrors CD is a rawer acoustic sound, with some specially placed accordion & banjo, for full effect.
One of the most interesting numbers is “Father McKenzie And Eleanor Rigby”, which has more than a passing resemblance to the Beatles song. “Dont Ever Sell Your Saddle” is one of the more uptempo, but still acoustic, numbers, and features some nice fiddle.
I also liked “She Cries Each Time She Hears A Train”, “Widow’s Walk”, and the banjo flavoured gospel number ““Man Named Jesus”.
Bob’s has recently been on tour here. If you missed him, it’s worth catching up with this album.

MATRACA BERG is one of Nashville’s songwriters, who has also a good run of recordings as well.
She has written hits for Reba McEntire (Last One To Know), Deanna Carter (Strawberry Wine), Trisha Yearwood (XXX’s & OOO’s, Wrong Side Of Memphis), Suzy Bogguss (Give Me Some Wheels,) and more recently, Kenny Chesney (You & Tequilla), and at the same time, recording a number of albums herself, over the past 20 odd years.
Her latest album, “Love’s Truck Stop” (Proper) was released to coincide with a short tour, which saw her perform at Glasgow Arches venue.
All 11 songs were co-writen by Berg, and are performed with some impressive background vocalists, like Emmylou Harris, Kim Carnes, Jessi Alexander, and her hubby Jeff Hanna.
There’s no doubt that the lady has a beautiful voice, and she delivers some stunning songs here, but many of them  are quite “dark”, with titles like, “We’re Already Gone”, “I Buried Your Love Alive” and “My Heart Will Never Break This Way Again”. Having said that, “Black Ribbons”, which features Suzy Bogguss and Gretchen Peters, is one of my favourite tracks on the album.
This is very much a songwriters album, one that you’ll love if you appreciate the finer aspects of singer-songwriters, but an acquired taste.

DREW NELSON is a Michigan based singer songwriter, with several CD’s to his credit. His latest, “Tilt-a-Whirl (Red House) has just been released here.
He wrote, or co-wrote all 11 tracks on the album. Many of the songs are quite slow, but there are a few gems.
“St.Jude” was one of my favourite tracks, helped by the lovely harmonies of Jen Sygit, a fellow Michigan singer songwriter. “Lessons” is quite an uptempo number, sung in a style likened to Robert Earle Keen, which I also quite liked.
Drew has quite an interesting vocal style, but,again, quite an acquired taste.  Worth a listen, if you like the singer-songwriter genre.

The Bellamy Brothers have been popular favourites amongst Country fans for moiré than a generation, but there comes a time for a new generation, and it comes in the form of JESSE & NOAH, who are the son and nephew of the famous Brothers.
The new generation, have just released their third album, “Driven Back”, and are noticeably trying to avoid the family ties. There’s no Bellamy name on the CD, and, to be honest, their sound bears no resemblance either.
They are billed, rather widely, as  roots-rock, power-pop and Americana. They certainly don’t aim for the mainstream Country market.
There are as few tracks that stood out for me.
They bypass a generation, and salute their grandfather in “The Homer Bellamy Centennial Blue Yodel”, which is the closest to a Bellamy’s song as you’ll get here. I also quite enjoyed “Travellers Prayer”. Elsewhere “Guilty Of Myself” and “True Lover Doesn’t Beg” are pleasant ballads.
Otherwise, I just didn’t get it. They just didn’t do it for me.
Sorry lads!