new releases

the main purpose of this site – letting you know about albums i have discovered that need attention

turnpike troubadours, ‘a long way from your heart’

this is their fourth album by my count, and i think it might be their best yet. twelve years of relentless touring on the red dirt circuit of oklahoma and texas have allowed this six piece outfit to hone and develop their own brand of country. there is a lyric from john prine’s ‘storm windows’ that goes something like ‘and a country band that plays for keeps’, and i am often reminded of that phrase when listening to these guys. they play so well and ably together, whether they are doing ballads or the occasional barnburner. the lyrics are usually character vignettes of small town folk, good and bad. evan felker is the primary songwriter for the group, but shares credit on a few here, including one with my old pal kev russell of prior gourds fame (lord, i miss that band).

as you can hopefully hear below, they have a knack for catchy lyrics without being artificial – well thought out stories about real life people. on this release they brought in grammy winning producer ryan hewitt, which felker says was ‘able to definitely distill it down to a little better liquor’. and i think that is right. their last album got to number three on the country charts, and i would not be surprised if this one gets them to the top, hopefully displacing a lesser bro country act. these guys are the real deal. . as i said in closing on my review of their last: get a 6 of pbr tallboys and enjoy the ride.

tyler childers, ‘purgatory’

i was at a small americana music festival in central ohio about a month ago when i wandered backstage to engage with a band i had just seen there, buffalo wabs and the the price hill hustle. they told me they were headed down to kentucky to open for a guy they felt was going to be the next big thing. it was one of those times when a stranger looks you in the eye and says ‘you have to check this guy out’.

tyler childers hails from lawrence county kentucky. he has made a name for himself in the taverns and festivals around lexington, but now he has put together a top notch nashville session band to showcase songs he has been working on for years. he was able to get grammy nominated sturgill simpson to produce his debut album. he may be only 27, but his songwriting reflects a lifetime of experiences from the mountains and small towns of appalachia. if you like sturgill’s recent work, you will appreciate this. if you like your country a little bit on the outlaw side and have an ear for great songwriting, then i can suggest this. he is coming to the beachland ballroom this thursday. see you there, tyler.

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eilen jewell, ‘down hearted blues’

eilen jewell and her wonderful band are at it again, this time delivering a compilation of blues standards that they spin in their own special way. even though she is often categorized in the country/folk/americana world, she has a vocal style that has more of a jazz/torch singer quality. sort of a billie holiday or madeleine peyroux cross with loretta lynn. which i really dig. an excellent songwriter in her own right, she foregoes that part of her talent here to cover classic blues offerings from the likes of willie dixon, otis rush, little walter and howlin’ wolf, to name a few. instead of trying to be something she’s not, she uses the blues idiom and structures and employs her usual vocalizations. on top of that, she lets the band do their usual twangy honky tonk accompaniment. i have often felt that her guitarist jerry miller should almost get equal billing, as he is that good. on this one he really shines, and the blues leanings give him an opportunity to add some really nasty riffs. everyone else is more than up to task here, and the whole thing really clicks and grooves.

neil young, ‘hitchhiker’

one evening in the summer of 1976, neil – along with his longtime producer david briggs and actor dean stockwell -settled in for the night at indigo studios in malibu. the idea was to capture neil doing ten new songs in acoustic solo fashion. recorded in one night, the set list features many songs that would eventually be well known to his fans, but not because of this recording. when it was pitched to the record label, it was dismissed because they felt that it sounded like a bunch of demos, as opposed to a finished product. and to an extent, they have a point. the project was shelved, until now. of the ten tracks, eight would eventually be recorded on a later release. it opens with the first known version of ‘pocahontas’ which, along with ‘ride my llama’, would be included on the ‘rust never sleeps’ album. ‘powderfinger’ is stripped to the bone here, as opposed to the revved up crazy horse version. ‘campaigner’ is offered, otherwise not seeing the light of day until his ‘decade’ compilation. ‘human highway’ was originally pitched as a studio project for csn&y in 1974, recorded here, and eventually wound up on ‘comes a time’. the only two unreleased tracks are ‘hawaii’ and ‘give me strength’, the latter being a song about his breakup with actress carrie snodgrass.

this is pretty raw stuff, complete with studio banter and uneven production. but neil sounds great and for the most part plays these cuts with conviction and depth. so why has it not been released till now? neil has certainly not been shy about slowly releasing items from his vast archives, much like dylan. and the session has been known to young aficionados for a long time. i have never come across an explanation, but i suspect it might have something to do with the recording quality. it is a very good historical marker in his career, but i get the impression from interviews that the three people in the room might have been a little too far gone to make good studio decisions. but being a big neil fan, this is a welcome addition to my archives.

iron and wine, ‘beast epic’

sam beam started recording as iron and wine 15 years ago, and this is his sixth album under that moniker. in many ways this is a return to his earlier stylings, but with another decade of life’s experiences imbued within. the instrumentation is stripped down, which allows his lyrics and melodies to get the attention they deserve. i have seen him live and i have watched numerous videos of him performing out of the studio, but i really think his best work is done in studio – be that his family room or more professional settings. his hallmark half whisper whiskey breath vocals and lush acoustic guitar landscapes seem to be best captured on tape. he really is a great songwriter and his body of work is very impressive. ‘beast epic’ refers to narrative verses where the characters are animals with human emotions. he has mentioned in the past that he thinks it is a good medium for songwriting, and if you listen to his songs there are many references to animals – mostly dogs and birds.

but that medium is not overly employed here, and the range of subjects and styles is enough to keep the listener engaged in each story. the lyrics are often a bit obtuse, but repeated listening is rewarded by the incremental appreciation for the underlying music as well as a deeper understanding of the meaning of the song.

overall i think it is great outing for sam, and a great introduction to his work, if you have never heard of him.