Chris & Max Pick …songs from 2000

Happy Friday and almost weekend. It’s time for the next installment of this song series that initially was started by fellow blogger Max from PowerPop in June 2023 and spanned the years 1955 to 1995. Together with Max’s help, this continuation aims to cover the remaining years all the way to 2024. With this post of picks from 2000 we’re entering the current century.

3 Doors Down/Kryptonite

Kicking things off are post grunge rockers 3 Doors Down. Formed in 1996 in Escatawpa, Miss., the group initially was comprised of Brad Arnold (lead vocals, drums), Matt Roberts (lead guitar, backing vocals) and Todd Harrell (bass guitar). By the time they recorded their debut album The Better Life, Chris Henderson (rhythm guitar) had joined. It was an instant success, especially in the U.S. and Canada where it reached no. 7 and no. 6 on the pop albums charts, respectively. The Better Life also became the group’s best-selling album to date, with more than 7 million copies sold worldwide as of 2020. Undoubtedly, success was fueled by their catchy debut single Kryptonite. Written by Arnold, it topped Billboard’s Mainstream Rock and Alternative Airplay charts and climbed to no. 3 on the Hot 100.

AC/DC/Stiff Upper Lip

Of course, I couldn’t skip Aussie balls-out rock & rollers AC/DC who I trust don’t need an introduction. In February 2000, they released their 14th studio album Stiff Upper Lip. It was the final produced for AC/DC by George Young, who also had co-produced the band’s first six albums together with his longtime partner and ex-Easybeats bandmate Harry Vanda. Here’s the great title track, composed by AC/DC’s main writers, Angus Young and his older brother Malcolm Young. It was particularly successful in the U.S. where it topped Billboard’s Mainstream Rock singles chart.

The Hives/Hate to Say I Told You So

Swedish garage rock revival group The Hives weren’t on my radar screen, but I’m glad I found them during my research for this post thanks to the excellent website Acclaimed Music. Formed in Fagersta in 1994, they initially established themselves Sweden during the 90s before gaining international prominence in the 2000s. Their sophomore album Veni Vidi Vicious, released in April 2000, was the band’s first to chart in Sweden (no. 50) and the U.S. (no. 63). The follow-on Tyrannosaurus Hives from July 2004 would become their big breakthrough. Like all of their original songs, Hate to Say I Told You So was credited to Randy Fitzsimmons who the band has called an honorary “sixth Hive”, but apparently the name is a registered pseudonym for the group’s guitarist Niklas Almqvist.

The Jayhawks/I’m Gonna Make You Love Me

Since coming across The Jayhawks in August 2020, I’ve come to dig this alternative country and country rock band. Initially formed in Minneapolis in 1985, the group originally featured Mark Olson (acoustic guitar, vocals), Gary Louris (electric guitar, vocals), Marc Perlman (bass) and Norm Rogers (drums). By the time they made their sixth studio album Smile, only Louris and Perlman remained as original members. Karen Grotberg (keyboards, vocals), credited as a session musician, not as a member; Kraig Johnson (guitar) and Tim O’Reagan (drums, percussion, vocals) round out the band who recorded the album. Here’s I’m Gonna Make You Love Me, co-written by Louris and Taylor Rhodes.

U2/In a Little While

This brings me to Max’s pick: In a Little While, a track off U2’s 10th studio album All That You Can’t Leave Behind. After the group had experimented with alternative rock and dance music in the ’90s and received mixed reactions to their 1997 release Pop, All That You Can’t Leave Behind was seen as a return to their earlier albums. It also saw U2 reunite with Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno who had co-produced The Unforgettable Fire (1984), The Joshua Tree (1987) and Achtung Baby (1991). It all worked out well, yielding an album that has sold more than 12 million copies worldwide. In a Little While is what I would call a deep cut and, as such, perhaps a less obvious pick – something I like!

World Party/What Does It Mean Now?

This leaves one more pick to round out this post. I decided to go with World Party, a great project formed in 1986 by the extremely talented Karl Wallinger. Prior to that, from 1983 until 1985, Wallinger had been a member of British-Irish folk rock band The Waterboys. What Does It Mean Now? is a true gem from World Party’s fifth studio album Dumbing Up, which came out in October 2000. It would turn out to be the final. In February 2001, Wallinger suffered a brain aneurysm that sidelined his career until 2006. He slowly returned to performing and recording thereafter. In a 2022 interview, Wallinger said he was working on a new album. It didn’t materialize. Sadly, in March this year, he passed away from a stroke at age 66.

Sources: Wikipedia; Acclaimed Music; The Big Takeover; YouTube; Spotify

The Sunday Six

Happy Sunday, and hard to believe we’ve made it through another week. To all moms out there, Happy Mother’s Day and hope your families also appreciate you on all other days of the year! Welcome to another mini-excursion that once again will take us to music with different flavors from six different decades. The imaginary music time machine is ready to take off, so hop on board to join the fun!

Weather Report/Birdland

Today, our journey starts in March 1977 with Weather Report. While in general jazz fusion continues to be an acquired taste to me, I’ve come to dig this group co-founded in 1970 by Austrian keyboarder Joe Zawinul, one of the creators of jazz fusion, and saxophone great Wayne Shorter. By the time they released their seventh studio album Heavy Weather, the group also featured fretless bass maestro Jaco Pastorius, as well as Alex Acuña (drums) and Manolo Badrena (percussion). Here’s the neat Birdland, composed by Zawinul as a tribute to the Birdland nightclub in New York City.

Screamin’ Jay Hawkins/I Put a Spell On You

Next, we shall jump back two decades to October 1956 and a single that became the signature song of soul, R&B and rock & roll vocalist Screamin’ Jay Hawkins: I Put a Spell On You, which I first heard by Creedence Clearwater Revival who covered it on their July 1968 eponymous debut album. When Hawkins who co-wrote I Put a Spell On You with Herb Slotkin first released it as a single, it didn’t make the Billboard pop or R&B charts. But over time, it became a cult song, not only because of his unusual vocals, but also his wild live performances that included his emergence from a coffin on stage, wearing a long cape and featuring props like rubber snakes and smoking skull pieces – kind of like an early version of Alice Cooper.

Ozzy Osborne/Crazy Train

While it’s difficult to follow an eccentric performer like Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, I figured Ozzy Osborne could pull it off. In September 1980, the heavy metal singer released his solo debut Blizzard of Ozz after he had been fired from Black Sabbath by guitarist Tony Iommi. Crazy Train, co-written by Osborne, guitarist Randy Rhoads and bassist Bob Daisley, became Osborne’s solo debut and the album’s lead single. While it just made the top 50 in the UK (no. 49), Crazy Train also would turn out to be Osborne’s best-selling single over time. In the U.S., it reached 4X Platinum status (4 million certified sold units) as of September 2020. This is probably as much ear candy as you can get with metal. All aboard! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Ay!

Shinyribs/Dark Cloud

Okay, I suppose time for a little breather with Shinyribs. In case that name doesn’t ring a bell, you’re likely not alone. I only came across the Texas band a few months ago. They were initially formed in 2007 as a solo side project of singer and guitarist Kevin Russell who at the time still was a member of alternative country band The Gourds. After that group went on hiatus in 2013, Shinyribs became Russell’s primary focus. Today, the band is an eight-piece who in addition to roots rock incorporates Texas blues, New Orleans R&B funk, horn-driven Memphis soul, big band swing and other genres into what their website calls a sonic melting pot. Dark Cloud is a track from Shinyribs’ most recent album Transit Damage released in July 2023. This is rich stuff I hope you dig it as much as I do!

The Allman Brothers Band/Whipping Post

I trust y’all have heard of The Allman Brothers. The epic Whipping Post, written by co-founder Gregg Allman, takes us back to the group’s eponymous debut album that came out in November 1969. Apart from Gregg (organ, lead vocals), the group still had their short-lived original line-up featuring Gregg’s older brother and bandleader Duane Allman (slide and lead guitar), Dickey Betts (lead guitar), Berry Oakley (bass, backing vocals), as well as Butch Trucks (drums, percussion) and Jai Johanny Johanson (drums, congas). Sadly, the death of Betts last month at age 80 leaves Johanson (79) as the band’s only surviving member.

The La’s/There She Goes

Reaching our sixth stop once again means it’s time to wrap another trip. After jazz fusion, R&B, pop metal, rich roots rock and southern rock-plus, my final proposition is some jangle pop. In October 1990, British band The La’s released what would become their sole and self-titled studio album. It included their best-known song There She Goes, penned by the group’s frontman Lee Mavers. Founded in Liverpool in 1983, they were initially active until 1992, followed by a few reunions, mostly recently in 2011.

Of course, our little music excursion wouldn’t be complete without a Spotify playlist of the above tracks. Hope there’s something you dig and that you’ll be back for more music travel next Sunday. So long!

Sources: Wikipedia; Shinyribs website; YouTube; Spotify

Catching Up: Short Takes On New Music I Missed

With so much new music coming out, it’s time for another catch-up post on some I missed in my most recent weekly reviews. Unless noted noted, picks were released last Friday, March 29.

Big Head Todd and The Monsters/Thunderbird

Colorado rock band Big Head and The Monsters were formed in 1986. Including their 1989 debut Another Mayberry, they have released 11 full-length studio albums to date. Their members are Todd Park Mohr (vocals, guitar, keyboards, sax, harmonica), Jeremy Lawton (guitar, keyboard, vocals, steel guitar), Rob Squires (bass, vocals) and Brian Nevin (drums, percussion). Thunderbird is an upfront single from their upcoming 12th album Her Way Out, scheduled for May 31.

The Mavericks/Live Close By (Visit Often) (feat. Nicole Atkins)

Miami-based The Mavericks blend country with rock, pop and Latin flavors. They came together in 1989 and had an initial run until 2000. A 2003-2004 reunion was followed by another break-up and a second reunion in 2012. The group’s current line-up features co-founders Raul Malo (vocals, guitar, bass) and Paul Deakin (drums), together with Jerry Dale McFadden (keyboards, vocals) and Eddie Perez (lead guitar, vocals). Live Close By (Visit Often), which features singer-songwriter Nicole Atkins on vocals, is track from their forthcoming 13th studio album Moon & Stars set for release on May 17.

Alejandro Escovedo/Bury Me

Alejandro Escovedo is an eclectic rock musician and singer-songwriter. The son of a Mexican immigrant to Texas and a Texas native has been recording and touring since the late ’70s. He played in various bands, such as punk groups The Nuns and Judy Nylon’s band, as well as country rock formation Rank and File, before releasing his 1992 solo debut Gravity, an alternative country and heartland rock-oriented outing. His latest album Echo Dancing is a career-spanning collection of reinvented songs. Here’s Bury Me, which first appeared on Escovedo’s above-mentioned debut Gravity.

The Church/Manifesto

Since 1980, Aussie group The Church have created a cinematic and atmospheric blend of indie rock, shimmering post-punk, icy dreampop and psychedelic post-rock. In February 1988, they scored an internal hit with their stunning single Under the Milky Way, off their excellent fifth studio album Starfish. On their new 27th studio album Eros Zeta and the Perfumed Guitars, which comes just a little over a year after the predecessor The Hypnogogue, they still mistakably sound like The Church. What’s perhaps missing compared to Starfish are standout songs with easy-to-remember melodies. In addition to the only remaining original member Steve Kilbey (lead vocals, bass, keyboards, guitar), the group includes Jeffrey Cain (guitar, bass keyboards, backing vocals), Ian Haug (guitar, backing vocals), Ashley Naylor (guitar, backing vocals) and Tim Powles (drums, percussion, guitar, backing vocals). Here’s Manifesto.

Lee Aaron/Tattoo

Lee Aaron is a Canadian singer-songwriter who has released albums since the early ’80s. Her website notes, She was one of the very first women writing and performing hard rock, releasing her first album (The Lee Aaron Project) at the age of only nineteen. Her sophomore release, 1984’s Metal Queen, solidified Aaron as a trailblazer for women in rock in the ’80s with the title track – an anthem of feminine empowerment and shout-out against the sexism toward women in the genre – garnering her respect and legions of rock fans around the globe. Aaron is rocking on with her latest single Tattoo, released on March 15. The cool banger with a Stonesy vibe is the title track of her forthcoming album scheduled for April 26.

Joanne Shaw Taylor/Someone Like You

Wrapping up this post is the most recent single by English blues rock singer-songwriter Joanne Shaw Taylor. Discovered in 2001 by Dave Stewart of Eurhythmics at the age of 16, Taylor has been a performing artists for more than 20 years, yet just turned 39. She won Best Female Vocalist at the 2010 and 2011 British Blues Awards and Songwriter of the Year at the latter. Here’s her latest single Someone Like You. The great ballad, which dropped on March 15, is on her upcoming studio album Heavy Soul slated for June 7. She sounds dynamite!

Sources: Wikipedia; Alejandro Escovedo website; Lee Aaron website; YouTube; Spotify

The Sunday Six

It’s Sunday morning, at least in my neck of the woods in New Jersey, U.S.A., and I’d like to welcome you to another imaginary music time travel experience. In my book, escaping into the beautiful world of music works any time of the day or night, so I hope you’ll join me!

Jimmy Smith/Back At the Chicken Shack

Our journey today starts in February 1963 with groovy Hammond-driven jazz by Jimmy Smith who helped popularize the mighty B3 by blending jazz and ’60s soul music. As a young child, Smith began teaching himself to play the piano and at the age of 9 won a boogie-woogie piano talent context conducted by a Philadelphia radio station. After attending Royal Hamilton College of Music in Canada and Philly’s Leo Ornstein School of Music in the late ’40s, he played piano and organ in local R&B bands before permanently switching to organ in 1954. Soon thereafter, Smith purchased his first Hammond and was signed by Blue Note. His March 1956 sophomore album The Champ made him a jazz star. The amazing title track of Back At the Chicken Shack was written by Smith. He was joined by Stanley Turrentine (tenor saxophone), Kenny Burrell (guitar) and Donald Bailey (drums). Feel free to groove along!

AC/DC/Back in Black

This next pick was inspired by fun AC/DC tribute band Stiff Upper Lip who I saw last Saturday. The title track of the Back in Black album takes us to July 1980. It was the hard-charging Aussie rock & rollers’ first to feature Brian Johnson following the death of original lead vocalist Bon Scott in February 1980 at the age of 33. Fast forward 36 years to April 2016 when AC/DC announced Johnson’s departure during the Rock or Bust World Tour due to hearing loss. He was replaced by Guns N’ Roses singer Axl Rose to finish the dates. But AC/DC hang on and returned in November 2020 with their 17th studio album Power Up, which featured Johnson, along with Angus Young (lead guitar), Stevie Young (rhythm guitar), Cliff Williams (bass) and Phil Rudd (drums). Against long odds, AC/DC recently announced The Power Up Tour Europe 2024, which will feature Johnson. No word yet whether the tour will have an American leg! Meanwhile, here’s Back in Black, a rock song with one of the coolest guitar riffs I can think of.

Alejandro Escovedo/Sister Lost Soul

Let’s dial it down a bit with some great melodic roots rock by Alejandro Escovedo. The son of a Mexican immigrant to Texas and a Texas native and, according to his website, one of 12 children, is an eclectic rock musician and singer-songwriter who has been recording and touring since the late ’70s. He played in various bands, such as punk groups The Nuns and Judy Nylon’s band, as well as country rock formation Rank and File, before releasing his 1992 solo debut Gravity, an alternative country and heartland rock-oriented outing. Sister Lost Soul, written by Escovedo, is a great-sounding song from his June 2008 studio album Real Animal.

Bobby Womack/Across 110th Street

Time to pay a visit to the ’70s with some cool and groovy music by the versatile Bobby Womack, another great suggestion from my longtime German music buddy Gerd. Across 11oth Street (credited to Bobby Womack and Peace) was the title cut from the soundtrack for the 1972 action crime picture of the same name. Starring Yaphet Kotto, Anthony Quinn, Anthony Franciosa and Paul Benjamin, the film was inspired by ’70s blaxploitation pictures and the film noir genre. Over a more than 60-year career from 1952 until his death in 2014, Womack recorded and performed music in multiple genres, including R&B, jazz, soul, rock & roll, doo-wop and gospel. Across 11oth Street is one of Womack’s best-known songs, and it’s easy to see why!

Big Joe Turner/Shake, Rattle and Roll

For our next stop, let’s set the time controls to April 1954 to visit a rock & roll classic by Big Joe Turner. Shake, Rattle and Roll was penned by R&B and blues musician and songwriter Jesse Stone. By the time Turner recorded what became his best-known song that topped the U.S. R&B charts, he already was some 30 years into his career. Four months later, Bill Haley & His Comets released a cover of Shake, Rattle and Roll, which took the song to mainstream success, reaching no. 7 on the U.S. pop chart – the version I first knew. Turner performed until the ’80s and passed away from heart failure in November 1985 at the age of 74.

The Mavericks/Here Comes the Rain

Once again we’re reaching our final destination, which takes us to September 1995 and The Mavericks – shoutout to Randy from Mostly Music Covers, who with a recent post brought the Florida group on my radar screen. Founded in Miami in 1989, The Mavericks blend country with rock, pop and Latin flavors. Here Comes the Rain is from their fourth studio album Music For All Occasions and also became the album’s lead single in August of the same year. Co-written by the group’s Raúl Malo (vocals, guitar) and Greek-born American country songwriter Kostas Lazarides, Here Comes the Rain peaked at no. 22 on the U.S. country charts. It also climbed to no. 4 on the Canadian country charts, becoming The Mavericks’ highest-charting single there. It’s got a bit of a Roy Orbison vibe.

Last but not least, here’s a Spotify playlist of all the above goodies. Hope there’s something you dig. So long for now!

Sources: Wikipedia; AllMusic; YouTube; Spotify

The Sunday Six

Happy Sunday morning, afternoon, evening, night – whatever time it is in your neck of the woods. This is the day when I’d like to escape my current surroundings to embark on imaginary time travel to the beautiful world of music. As always, the trip includes six stops in different decades, and it starts right now. Hope you’ll join me!

Cannonball Adderley/Autumn Leaves

Having recently passed the autumn equinox, it feels right to start our journey with Autumn Leaves, a beautiful track that appeared in August 1958 on Somethin’ Else, a studio album by Julian Edwin “Cannonball” Adderley. The alto saxophonist was in fine company, including Miles Davis (trumpet), Hank Jones (piano), Sam Jones (bass) and Art Blakey (drums). At the time, Adderley also was a member of Davis’ band. The recording of Somethin’ Else occurred just after Davis had recorded his landmark album Milestones, which became known for introducing modalism in jazz and defined Davis’ music in the years to follow. Autumn Leaves is based on a popular 1945 French song, Les Feuilles Mortes (the dead leaves), by Hungarian-French composer Joseph Kosma, with original lyrics written by French poet Jacques Prévert. English lyrics were penned by Johnny Mercer. The song became a jazz standard and was recorded by many artists throughout the ’50s and ’60s, both in vocal and instrumental versions.

Son Volt/Flow

Having featured Wilco in my latest new music post, perhaps it’s not a huge surprise Son Volt were on my mind. Both groups emerged in 1994 from the ashes of alt. country band Uncle Tupelo. Flow is a song that takes us to October 1998 and Son Volt’s third studio album Wide Swing Tremolo. Like all other tracks, it was written by the band’s founder Jay Farrar, who had formed Uncle Tupelo with Jeff Tweedy and Mike Heidorn in 1987. I have a lot time for Farrar who writes great songs that oftentimes remind me of Neil Young.

The Liverpool Scene/Percy Parslow’s Hamster Farm

Let’s next head to 1968 and UK poetry band The Liverpool Scene. Sadly, I don’t remember how I came across this out-of-left-field pick but would guess my longtime German music buddy had mentioned them to me. According to Wikipedia, the group grew out of the success of a 1967 album titled The Incredible New Liverpool Scene, which featured two members of what became The Liverpool Scene, poet and painter Adrian Henri and guitarist Andy Roberts. Percy Parslow’s Hamster Farm appeared on The Liverpool Scene’s 1968 album Amazing Adventures of. While the band gained popularity on the UK university and college circuit and even opened for Led Zeppelin in 1969, they never achieved any commercial success and broke up in 1970.

Billy Idol/White Wedding

Unlike The Liverpool Scene, I trust this next artist needs no introduction. AllMusic perfectly puts it: Along with Duran Duran, Billy Idol was one of the first young pop/rock artists to achieve massive success in the early ’80s due to the advent of MTV. Mixing his bad-boy good looks with an appealing blend of pop hooks, punk attitude, and dance beats, Idol quickly rocketed to stardom before hard living briefly derailed his career. White Wedding takes us to July 1982 and Idol’s eponymous debut album. When initially released as a single in October that year, it missed the UK charts, though it made the top 40 in the U.S., reaching no. 36 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was more successful in New Zealand and Australia where it climbed to no. 5 and no. 9, respectively. But Idol got chart recognition in the UK as well in 1985, when the song was re-released as a single and soared to no. 6. I’ve always loved it and still do!

Mavis Staples/Down in Mississippi

While I’m still puzzled how The Liverpool Scene got on my radar screen, there’s no doubt my German music friend is responsible for our next stop in April 2007. That’s when the amazing Mavis Staples came out with her seventh studio album We’ll Never Turn Back. The gospel and soul singer and civil rights activist gained initial fame as a member of her family’s band The Staple Singers who started performing in Chicago area churches in 1948 and made their first professional recordings in the early 1950s. Staples, who is now 84 and the last surviving member of the group, released her eponymous solo debut album in 1969. At the same time, she continued to perform with her father and her siblings. We’ll Never Turn Back, which was produced by Ry Cooder who also contributed guitar and mandolin, is a concept album revolving around themes of the 1950s and 1960s Civil Rights Movement. Let’s listen to Down In Mississippi written by blues guitarist J. B. Lenoir who was active in the Chicago blues scene in the 1950s and 1960s.

Outlaws/Gunsmoke

And once again, it’s time to wrap up another Sunday musical journey. Let’s make it count with great music by southern rock band Outlaws. Formed in Tampa, Fla. in 1967, they are best known for There Goes Another Love Song and Green Grass and High Tides, both off their eponymous 1975 debut album, as well as their 1980 cover of (Ghost) Riders in the Sky. But there’s more to Outlaws, as illustrated by Gunsmoke, a great song from their third studio album Hurry Sundown, which appeared in 1977. It was co-written by the band’s Henry Paul (guitar, vocals) and Monte Yoho (drums). While they’ve had periods of inactivity along the way, Outlaws are still around, with Paul remaining as the sole original member.

Last but not least, here’s a Spotify playlist of the above goodies. Hope there’s something for you there and that you’ll be back for more music time travel next Sunday.

Sources: Wikipedia; AllMusic; YouTube; Spotify

New Music Musings

Happy Saturday and welcome to the latest installment of my weekly new music revue. All picks are from albums that came out yesterday (September 29).

Diamond Dogs/Get a Rock ‘n’ Roll Record

Diamond Dogs are a Swedish rock band initially formed in the late 1990s. Wikipedia notes their line-up has seen various changes over time, and the band announced their break-up in September 2015. They since reformed and based on a recent Facebook post, co-founder and vocalist Sören ‘Sulo’ Karlsson is part of the group’s current line-up. From Diamond Dog’s 15th and latest album About the Hardest Nut to Crack, here’s the great Get a Rock ‘n’ Roll Record – the title says it all!

Andrew Cushin/Just Like You’d Want Me To

Andrew Cushin is an up-and-coming singer-songwriter from the UK who first emerged in October 2020 with Where’s My Family Gone, a song for which he had teamed up with ex-Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher, as NME reported at the time. Cushin is now out with his debut album Waiting For the Rain. Here’s the excellent Just Like You’d Want Me To, which also became the sixth upfront single. “It’s a song about resilience, hope and inner belief, standing tall and knowing that better days are gonna come,” Cushin said in a statement included in a recent review by NME. The 23-year-old certainly is off to a promising start!

No-No Boy/Little Monk

No-No Boy is a music project by Asian-American singer-songwriter Julian Saporiti. His website explains, The project developed as the central component of Saporiti’s PhD at Brown University, drawing on years of fieldwork and research on Asian American history to write folk songs with uncommon empathy and remarkable protagonists: prisoners at Japanese American internment camps who started a jazz band, Vietnamese musicians turned on to rock ‘n’ roll by American troops, a Cambodian American painter who painted only the most beautiful landscapes of his war-torn home. Off his third album Empire Electric, here’s Little Monk. It’s impossible to do this unusual artist full justice here, so I encourage you to check out his website.

The Vaughns/Turn Around

The Vaughns are an indie rock band from Springfield, N.J. who were formed in 2014 after their members had met in high school. Their eponymous debut EP appeared in August of the same year. After another EP, they independently issued their first full-length album F.O.M.O. in May 2019. The following year, they signed with Equal Vision Records and are now out with their sophomore album Egg Everything. Here’s Turn Around, a nice song written by co-founding members Anna Lies (vocals, guitar, synth) and Ryan Kenter (drums, percussion). Jordan Smith (guitar, vocals) and Brian Hughes (bass, vocals) complete the band’s current line-up.

The Atom Age/New Season

The Atom Age are a punk band from Oakland, Calif., who have been around since 2009. They describe their sound as follows: A rocket propelled ode to the unhinged power of ‘60s punk and R&B, the Age are more Sonics than Hives, and more Link Wray than Jack White. From their eponymous fifth and latest album, here’s New Season, a charging punk rocker with a garage vibe!

Wilco/Evicted

While I imagine the previous bands and artists may be new to many readers, Wilco is likely a more familiar name. The Chicago alt. country-turned-alternative rock band around Jeff Tweedy emerged in 1994 as one of two groups following the break-up of alt. country outfit Uncle Tupelo. Tweedy’s former bandmate Jay Farrar went on to form Son Volt. Wilco’s new album, their 13th, is called Cousin. Here’s Evicted, which like all other tracks was penned by Tweedy. It had first appeared as a single on August 1.

Sources: Wikipedia; Diamond Dogs Facebook page; NME; No-No Boy website; The Atom Age website; YouTube; Spotify

Song Musings

It’s hard to believe we’ve reached the last Wednesday in June and July is just around the corner! I’d like to welcome you to another installment of my weekly feature that takes a closer look at songs I’ve only mentioned in passing or not covered at all to date. This time my pick is Something More Than Free by Jason Isbell.

I first started paying closer attention to the singer-songwriter and guitarist in May 2020 when I covered his then-new album Reunions. Isbell got back on my radar screen earlier this month with his new album Weathervanes, which I also reviewed here. For this post, I’m going back to July 2015 and the title track of his fifth studio album Something More Than Free.

Like all of the remaining 10 tracks on the album, Something More Than Free was written by Isbell. While he was backed by the musicians of his longtime band The 400 Unit, the album is solely credited to him. At the time the songs were recorded Isbell’s wife Amanda Shires still was an official member of his band, playing violin and providing backing vocals.

Something More Than Free became one of Isbell’s most successful albums. It topped three of Billboard’s charts: Top Country Albums, Americana/Folk Albums and Top Rock Albums. It also reached no. 2 on the Independent Albums and no. 6 on the Billboard 200 charts. Elsewhere, it became his first charting album in the UK (no. 17) and Australia (no. 32). At the 2016 Grammy Awards, it won Best Americana Album and Best American Roots Song for the tune 24 Frames.

According to Songfacts, Something More Than Free is about a blue-collar worker who is working hard to provide well for his family to the point where he can no longer enjoy life. Songfacts notes parallels to Outfit, a song Isbell wrote and recorded with Drive-By Truckers for their June 2003 studio album Decoration Day. Isbell was a member of that band from 2001 until his departure in 2007 to launch his solo career.

Following are some additional insights from Songfacts:

Uncut magazine asked Isbell to what extent his songs about ordinary hardship is a gesture of thanks that he escaped that kind of work? He replied: “These songs are inspired by conversations with my father. He’s worked very hard his whole life, as did his father and mother. I worked very hard myself, but there are obvious rewards to what I’m doing.”

“Dad’s only reward is a family that is well taken care of, and that seems to be enough for him. Those stories are the ones that interest me the most: work as a service, as a labor of love in the truest sense.”

Asked about the meaning of the song title by The Sun, Isbell replied: “Freedom is a means to the end. It can be the path to happiness, but it can also be enough rope by which to hang yourself. Once you’ve been granted the ability to make your own decisions, what then?”

“It’s a country song,” Isbell told Rolling Stone Country. “Not in the way that country songs sound like modern rock songs or hip-hop right now, but it’s got a country-sounding melody, and the images are about work and family.”

Jason Isbell explained how he wrote the track: “There were two things that happened at the same time that I thought were unrelated until I actually started the process of writing the song,” he said. “I was on the phone with my dad, and he works six days a week, sometimes seven days a week; he does maintenance at a hospital. And my sister, she and my stepmom go to church on Wednesdays [and] on Sunday mornings. Dad works all week, so you know, Sunday’s his only day to sleep past 5 a.m.”

“So I was on the phone with him, and he was saying, ‘You know, I wish I could go to church with them. I think I probably should be, but I’m just too exhausted every Sunday to do that,'” Isbell continued. “And it occurred to me, I thought, ‘Man, what kind of a position is that to be in – you know, where you’re really grateful for having this job that prevents you from being grateful in public about it in the way that people in my part of the country normally show their gratitude, by going to church and giving thanks with their community for something like that?'”

Isbell was struck by the thought of his father employed in a job that supports a life, which he doesn’t have time to appreciate. It also connected with a lyric idea that he’d come up with while on a plane. “The first line of the song … ‘When I get home from work, I’ll call up all my friends, and we’ll go bust up something beautiful we’ll have to build again’ – that came to me before the rest of the song did, and I was so thankful for that line.” Isbell said. “It was one of those lines, and I know these are going to work out well when I don’t have to record any sound, when I can just write it down on a piece of paper, and I don’t forget the melody.”

Sources: Wikipedia; Songfacts; YouTube

Catching Up: Bettye LaVette and Son Volt

Last week brought a lot of neat new music. Here are two great albums I didn’t include in my Saturday feature. Both were released on June 16.

Bettye LaVette – LaVette!

Soul vocalist Bettye LaVette first entered my radar screen in 2018 when I included her in a post about great female blues singers. I immediately liked how she makes songs she covers truly her own. While LaVette already recorded her first single as a 16-year-old in 1962, it took her more than 40 years until 2005 and the album I’ve Got My Own Hell to Raise to gain the broad recognition she deserved. Her latest album is titled LaVette! and it’s a true gem by an incredible vocalist.

All of the album’s 11 tracks were written by Randall Bramblett, some together with his longtime songwriting partner Davis Causey. Apart from having released albums under his name since 1975, Bramblett has worked with the likes of Gregg Allman, Bonnie Raitt, Robbie Robertson, Elvin Bishop and Steve Winwood. Guitarist Davis Causey over a 60-year career has accumulated impressive credits as well, which among others include Marvin Gaye, Jackie Wilson, Bonnie Raitt, Gregg Allman and Derek Trucks. Here’s Don’t Get Me Started, penned by Bramblett who also first recorded it for his 2020 album Pine Needle Fire. LaVette’s great rendition features Winwood on keyboards!

The soul and blues-oriented LaVette! doesn’t have any fillers. If you’d like to get a feel, also check out See Through Me (feat. Pedrito Martinez), Lazy (And I Know I), Plan B, In the Meantime (feat. John Mayer) and Hard to be a Human. Here’s a link to the entire album on Spotify.

Son Volt – Day of the Doug

Since I listened to Son Volt’s album Electro Melodier when it came out in July 2021, I’ve dug the alternative country and Americana rock band. They were formed by singer-songwriter and guitarist Jay Farrar in 1994 after the breakup of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo, who Farrar had co-founded with Jeff Tweedy in 1987. Tweedy subsequently formed Wilco.

Son Volt’s new album Day of the Doug is a tribute to the late Doug Sahm, a singer-songwriter who according to Wikipedia is “regarded as one of the main figures of Tex-Mex music, and as an important performer of Texan music”. Sahm gained initial prominence with country and roots rock band Sir Douglas Quintet. After they disbanded in 1973, he launched a solo career and also played in Tejano supergroup Texas Tornados. Sahm died from a heart attack in November 1999 at the age of 58.

Off Day of the Doug, here’s the great Sometimes You’ve Got to Stop Chasing Rainbows. Written by Sahm in 1973, the tune also appeared on May 10 as the lead single of Son Volt’s album.

While I’m not familiar with Sahm’s original music, I like the renditions Son Volt included on their album. Float Away, Yesterday Got in the Way, Dynamite Woman, Juan Mendoza and Segiun are some I’d like to call out. These covers actually make me curious to check out Sahm’s catalog. Here’s a Spotify link to the album.

Sources: Wikipedia; YouTube; Spotify

Best of What’s New

It’s Saturday and once again another week flew by. Welcome to my latest new music review. All picks came out yesterday (June 9).

Jenny Lewis/Psychos

Kicking off this post is American singer-songwriter and actress Jenny Lewis. She first became prominent as a child actress in the ’80s, appearing in a series of movies and TV sitcoms. By the mid-’90s, Lewis started focusing on music and in 1998 co-founded indie rock band Rilo Kiley. In 2004, Conor Oberst invited Lewis to record a collaboration album with Americana band The Watson Twins. Two years later, Lewis released the first album under her name only. From her latest, Joy’All, here Psychos. Like all of the remaining songs, it was solely written by Lewis.

Beau Jennings & The Tigers/People in This Town

People in This Town is a new single by indie rock band Beau Jennings & The Tigers. According to his website, Jennings is a Norman, OK-based singer and songwriter with a world of stories to tell as his recording career nears the two decade mark…From the Americana/indie rock band Cheyenne – which took him to Brooklyn, NY for the late 2000’s – to his ever-evolving solo career and penchant for home recording, Jennings explores the lives of others – both real and imagined – to craft touching, gallant pop songs with hints of Tom Petty, Wilco, Bob Dylan, and The National. The end of Cheyenne and a renewed self-reliance in his solo career led to the creation of The Tigers. People in This Town is a great rocker credited to Jennings and Tigers members Chase Kerby (guitar), Chris Wiser (organ), Michael Trepagnier (bass) and Dustin Ragland (drums).

Ultra Q/Saturday

Ultra Q are an American rock band who were formed in Oakland, Calif in 2019. They started out as a trio led by singer-songwriter Jakob Armstrong (guitar, vocals), who Apple Music notes is the youngest son of Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong. Enzo Malaspina (guitar) and his brother Chris Malaspina (drums) completed the initial line-up. Kevin Judd (bass) joined shortly thereafter. Saturday, credited to all four members of the group, is from their sophomore album My Guardian Angel. This tune nicely rocks!

Jess Williamson/Chasing Spirits

Jess Williamson is a Los Angeles-based singer-writer who I first covered three years ago. According to her website, she makes deeply felt songs that orbit around her powerful voice, a voice that’s strong and vulnerable, big room flawless, quietly ecstatic, and next-to-you intimate. In her most recent work, Sorceress [now her second-to-most-recent album – CMM], that voice is surrounded by a deep-hued kaleidoscope of dusty ‘70s cinema, ‘90s country music, and breezy West Coast psychedelia. Williamson’s fourth and latest Americana-flavored album Time Ain’t Accidental is now out. She wrote all of the 11 tracks by herself. Here’s the beautiful Chasing Spirits.

The Defiants/Hey Life

The Defiants are a hard rock band formed in 2015 by former members of glam metal band Danger Danger. AllMusic characterizes their music as filled with big guitar riffs, soaring solos, epic-scale drum sounds, and a super-sized portion of swagger, [which] recalls the glory days of the hair metal era. Their current line-up features co-founders Paul Laine (vocals), Bruno Ravel (bass, guitar, keyboards) and Rob Marcello (guitar), along with Van Romaine (drums). Hey Life, co-written by Laine and Ravel, is a song off the group’s third studio album Drive. I find this melodic hard rock very accessible.

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit/King of Oklahoma

Singer-songwriter and guitarist Jason Isbell initially entered my radar screen in March 2020 when I covered his then-new album Reunions, which he recorded with his backing band The 400 Unit. Isbell first came to prominence in the early 2000s after joining alternative country rock band Drive-By Truckers as a 22-year-old. After his departure in April 2007, Isbell launched a solo career, which has yielded nine studio albums to date. The 400 Unit was first featured on his second solo album and has since appeared five additional times, including on the latest album Weathervanes. Here’s King of Oklahoma, which like the other 12 songs was penned by Isbell. I’ll be sure to spend more time with this album!

Of course, this post wouldn’t be complete without a Spotify playlist of the above and a few additional tunes.

Sources: Wikipedia; Beau Jennings website; Apple Music; Jess Williamson website; AllMusic; YouTube; Spotify

The Sunday Six

It’s hard to believe another Sunday is upon us when it feels like the previous one only passed a couple of days ago! In any case, I hope everybody is spending a nice weekend. To make it even better, once again, I’d like to invite you to join me on another music time travel journey!

Hiromi/Blackbird

Our first stop today only takes us back a few years, to September 2019, and the second-to-most-recent studio album, Spectrum, by Japanese jazz pianist and composer Hiromi Uehara. Professionally known as Hiromi, she started her recording career in April 2003 and has since released 11 additional studio albums. Hiromi blends diverse musical genres, such as post-bop, progressive rock, classical music and pop, and is known for her virtuosic technique and energetic live performances. Off the above album is her lovely rendition of The Beatles’ Blackbird.

Fats Domino/Ain’t That a Shame

Next, we set our magical music time machine to April 1955 and a song that makes me smile every time I hear it: Ain’t That a Shame by the incredible Fats Domino, who first released the classic as a single. Credited to his birth name Antoine Domino, as well as prominent New Orleans music artist and producer Dave Bartholomew, the tune also appeared on Domino’s March 1956 debut album Rock and Rollin’ with Fats Domino. Man, I love how that song swings. You don’t hear that type of music much these days and, yes, that’s a shame!

Bob Marley and the Wailers/Could You Be Loved

Now that we’re all movin’ and groovin’, let’s kick it up a notch and travel to the early ’80s and a Jamaican who was instrumental in popularizing reggae all over the world: Bob Marley. Creatively borrowing from a 1971 John Lennon quote about Chuck Berry, if you tried to give reggae another name, you might call it Bob Marley. Here’s Could You Be Loved, the best-known track from Uprising, the 12th studio album by Bob Marley and the Wailers, released in June 1980. Sadly, it turned out to be the final release during the life of Bob Marley who passed away in May 1981 at age 36 from melanoma that had spread to his lungs and brain.

B.B. King/The Thrill Is Gone

The time has come for some blues. When I think of that genre, B.B. King is among the first artists who come to mind. One of the most influential blues guitarists of all time, King never showed off when playing his beloved Gibson ES-355, a semi-hollow body electric guitar he called “Lucille”. Here’s The Thrill Is Gone, off King’s December 1969 studio album Completely Well. Co-written by Roy Hawkins and Rick Darnell in 1951 and first recorded by Hawkins that year, The Thrill Is Gone became a major hit for King in 1970. With its lush and somewhat trippy string arrangement, it may not be what you traditionally associate with the blues, but it’s one heck of a gem!

Golden Smog/Red Headed Stepchild

Our next stop takes us to the ’90s and Golden Smog, an alternative country supergroup formed in the late ’80s by members of Soul Asylum, The Jayhawks, Run Westy Run, Wilco and The Honeydogs. After releasing their debut EP On Golden Smog in December 1992, which entirely consisted of covers, the group came out with their first full-length album of original songs in 1995, Down By the Old Mainstream. Red Headed Stepchild was co-written by Dan Murphy and Marc Perlman, of Soul Asylum and The Jayhawks, respectively, who like the band’s other members used pseudonyms for the credits.

Bruce Springsteen/Prove It All Night

You know and I know that once again we need to wrap up another trip with the magical music time machine. We also still need to pay a visit to the ’70s. Let’s do both with The Boss! Prove It All Night, penned by Bruce Springsteen, is a track from Darkness on the Edge of Town, his fourth studio album that came out in June 1978. Like its legendary predecessor Born to Run, the album was recorded with the E Street Band and as usual released under the Bruce Springsteen name only. Well, they don’t call him boss for nothing!

Last but not least, here’s a Spotify playlist of the above goodies. I enjoyed being your imaginary music time travel guide and hope we all do this again next Sunday!

Sources: Wikipedia; YouTube; Spotify