Month: July 2017

old and in the way, ‘live at the boarding house’

old and in the way was a short-lived bluegrass group formed in 1973. it featured peter rowan on guitar, the incomparable vassar clements on fiddle, jerry garcia on banjo, david grisman on mandolin, and john kahn on string bass. they released their only album in 1975 and it became one of the best selling bluegrass albums of all time. that album was culled entirely from the second show on this release – the complete recordings of two separate shows at the boarding house in san francisco in october of 1973.

recorded by owsley ‘bear’ stanley, it stands up well and is maybe the best representation of the group ever released. each show has nearly 30 songs in the two set lists. even though the second show will be more familiar to fans due to being used on the album, i think the first show may be better. they sound more crisp and focused, and the crowd seems to be more appreciative. there seem to be a few inebriated attendees in the second show, yelling out requests a little too aggressively. but i quibble.

it has been argued that the commercial success of the original album was due to the crossover appeal from fans of jerry garcia, and that no doubt is true. but, similar to the bluegrass popularity surge from the soundtrack of ‘o brother where art thou’, a lot of people got turned on to bluegrass in the mid seventies due to this band. and that’s a good thing. the genre is one dear to my heart, and deserves more sunlight. it should also be mentioned that this was perhaps the most productive period of jerry’s life. the grateful dead were touring heavily during 1973, and he was also playing with merl saunders on the side in the early formations of the jerry garcia band. four full discs of music at under 24 bucks, it is worth a listen.

midnight north, ‘under the lights’

i can’t recall how i first heard about this band featuring grahame lesh (phil’s son), but i was intrigued and bought their newest release. they are frequently found playing at papa lesh’s terrapin crossroads bar, and also appear in various iterations backing him on tours. a good way to get noticed, and i think they have enough talent on their own to be worthy of some consideration. this might be a stretch, but i hear a cross between tedeschi trucks and donna the buffalo, with superior vocals to both. individually elliot peck may not be up to susan tedeschi or tara nevins (yet), but she is damn good and is able to harmonize with grahame and alex jordan in a way that summons early crosby/stills/nash. see the cover of ‘helplessly hoping’ below. a band to keep an eye on, i think, and a decent addition to a summer playlist.

surprised the dog didn’t add a fourth voice. he looks pretty happy.

jim lauderdale, ‘london southern’

this is a new gem from one of the ambassadors of the americana movement. this is the 29th album of his career, with previous dabbles in numerous genres, including bluegrass, classic and contemporary country, jam bands and more. he has also made a living writing top hits for george strait, patty loveless, the dixie chicks, vince gill and blake shelton, plus many others.

this has been a pet project of his that he has been working on for quite a while. it was actually recorded over four years ago, but he kept it in the can as he either didn’t feel it was the right time to release it, or he was working on other projects (he has released seven records since recording these sessions). he was originally inspired for the concept of this album by wanting to pay tribute to the beatles, which were a huge early influence on him. the sessions were recorded in two takes in london’s goldtop studios, utilizing nick lowe’s longtime producer and nick’s travelling band.

although much of the write ups and interviews focus on the pop stylings of the beatles in many of the songs, i seem to hear more of the american musicians that influenced the band from liverpool. ‘no right way to be wrong’ is a jaunty little ditty that sounds more like ray charles. ‘different kind of groove this time’ has an early motown feel, specifically marvin gaye. my favorite might be ‘if i can’t resist’. all of it is elegantly and precisely played, and jim ties it all together with his southern drawl, at times either sounding a bit like willie but also like his good friend buddy miller.

all in all a vastly enjoyable album, one that hopefully gets him more of the recognition that he so rightly deserves.

jeff tweedy, ‘together at last’

in what i understand to be an ongoing project, ‘together at last’ is the first in a series of releases jeff tweedy has begun recording, showcasing his songwriting talents over the years. this one has eleven songs, nine from his wilco albums, and one each from his loose fur project and his golden smog days. all are performed solo at their studio in chicago, with mostly acoustic guitar and some occasional harmonica and whistling.

although i have seen wilco a number of times live, i have never had the opportunity to see him play solo live. but everything i hear is that this is how he often plays his songs in concert, acoustic and unaccompanied. the stark contrast between the takes here and the versions that were recorded on the original albums are for the most part significant, especially the wilco selections. jeff’s idiosyncratic lyrics can often be easily overlooked or underappreciated when ensconced in the sonic song structures that wilco creates, but we have no such excuse here. i have heard ‘hummingbird’ a hundred times but have never really listened to the lyrics like i did when listening to this version. that is true of nearly all the takes here, and maybe that is his intention. in addition, we get to hear just him on guitar, instead of the usual three guitar approach with the band. occasionally he dubs a second guitar line, but either way the playing is not just simple strumming but singularly geared to each cut. ‘muzzle of bees’ sounds almost like richard thompson at times.

a great new addition to my library and summer playlist.