Rolling Country 2020

loving that Tender Things album. extremely my shit

Hah great! Been listening to that every day of past week.

New Gillian Welch and David Rawlings joint released today:

https://gillianwelch.bandcamp.com/album/all-the-good-times

ah, thanks for the heads up!

Been diggin' this Western Centuries 2020 joint
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNB0ARs-QH0

Need to dive into their new LP asap

Yeah, gotta check that, Tender Things too---meanwhile:

“Anybody see a problem,” he wrote, alluding at the fact that people can wear masks on crowded airplanes, but are not allowed to gather in live music venues.

https://www.countrynow.com/randy-housers-instagram-post-sparks-debate-jason-aldean-and-miranda-lambert-weigh-in/

Two probs: picture of masked people crammed together like eels in an airplane can is rong; pic of empty theater is because so far apparently no promoter wants to separate seated patrons and enforce staying in seats, also they might get mad if try to make or ask to wear masks. But surely some people would be reasonable; enough to suit promoters?

Speaking of Gillian, did yall see this on her thread?

Unearthed from a cache of home demos and reel-to-reel recordings, Boots No. 2: The Lost Songs is the second release of archival music from the vault of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. This remarkable 48 song collection, spread over three volumes, was recorded between the making of Time (The Revelator) and Soul Journey. It is an intimate glimpse at the artist’s sketchbook, containing some lifelong themes as well as some flights of fancy. The versatility and quality shown here greatly expand the Welch/Rawlings canon, and confirm that the acclaimed studio albums from the pair have never been an accident but a clear artistic choice. So far digital only:https://store.aconyrecords.com/products/boots-no-2-the-lost-songs-vol-1
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0675/9735/products/1e9dc3af-4c0d-4fc5-8021-3524e0dc0f449320812402375070028-LARGE_27348fde-d2f3-4b10-a43c-b0bca7c27f17_grande.jpg?v=1594828134

Midland Get Hardsonned In BBQ Beef

https://www.texasmonthly.com/news/midland-sams-bbq-photo/

Heard a new Mike & The Moonpies record yesterday, Touch of You: The Lost Songs of Gary Stewart. Had never heard of Stewart before but digging these covers a lot. Should I delve into Stewart's discography?

Yes! “Out of Hand” is my favourite (not sure if this is a canonical choice), the run of LPs that he made for RCA in the mid-late 70s is fantastic.

Nice, will check it out asap

Another fine set of choonz is the new album by The Western Terrestrials, called Back in the Saddle of a Fever Dream. This, with The Tender Things and Western Centuries new albums are my fav (alt)country albums this year. It's a good year so far!

Yeah, look for Out of Hand/Your Place Or Mine, two of his best LPs on one CD, like it says below. Also You're Not The Woman You Used To Be, think that might have been on another twofer later. Greatest Hits on RCA and on Hightone, where he came back, at least artistically, much later. Also Best of the Hightone Years (is Hightone still around? Thanks Hightone!). And the spooky Live at Billy Bob's I mentioned upthread. As for the true Gary Experience, and why I doubt good ol' Mick & The Monnpies can come close, although I'll check it out, here's my testimony in the Voice, long ago (it's short):

Out Of Hand

A bar-stool freebird of yore avoids a million nights alone
by Don Allred
January 28 - February 3, 2004 Issue 04

His songs flash by like whole lives.
photo: Andrew W. Long
Gary Stewart
Live at Billy Bob's Texas
Smith Music Group

(The following paragraph was written for a country music poll ballot in
December, right before I glanced up from my laptop, and saw the chyron crawl
beneath Larry King: "Singer Gary Stewart has just been found dead in his Florida home."
[Wife died, and he shot himself in the neck, a fairly slow way to go.])
On Live at Billy Bob's Texas, Gary Stewart is but a ghost of himself. Now
fitting the "quiet ones you gotta watch" barkeep's pro-file, this
free(dom'sjustanotherword)bird of yore (once hyped as the "Springsteen of country," when he
and the new Boss were go-cart Mozarts versus mid-'70s murk) no longer shivers
and wails, but leaves dusty fingerprints all over gleaming, surging
honky-tonkcore, the Lost City of his Greatest (mostly shouldabeen) Hits. The band's
eager, but also well disciplined, and totally unannotated, like ghost riders in the
sky.
(Later): Yeah, another dead guy. Once upon a time, he was Dr. Fun and Mr.
Doom (and self-awareness, and headlonging), simultaneously. Gary still sounds
like an impossibly corny, truly inspired evangelist, on Out of Hand/Your Place or
Mine, his two best LPs on one CD. Songs flash by like whole lives, but really
they're just his moments, ticking away.
Live cuts like "An Empty Glass (That's the Way the Day Ends)" turn the tides
down like blankets, till I'm bathed in (pace tua, St. Sade!) the *truly* sweetest taboo (of self-pity).
Tiring, soothing. I just stare through his stare, on the rocks, as he
imagines/avoids/follows her stare. "Maybe you feel cheated, for having married so young,"
he mutters to himself and his significant other, while shifting on his bar
stool, in the still-rousing "Ten Years of This." ("A million nights alone!") So:
Mebbe getting married is cheating? No! Not always!
The Live CD is labeled with Gary's chipmunky, half-quizzical half-smirk.
("Crazy world, haint it.") Vividly painted. Like one of those commemorative plates
advertised on late-night basic cable. I try to put it away, but then a-l-l-l
his damned drinkin'/cheatin' songs start swirling through their rounds again.
Scores unsettle themselves, in Gary's man-made afterlife. (Reminding
25-years-teetotaling me: For the first time in eight years, I gotta find another job,
and now Bush wants Mars.) Art sucks.

.

new Lori McKenna sounded nice after one late-night listen

Dow, fwiw I have never come across You’re Not The Woman You Used To Be on CD - I think they were pre- Out Of Hand recordings that MCA put out after OOH did alright. Edd H used to say on here that YNTWYUTB was his favourite Stewart material, I’ve never heard it. It’s one of those records I keep an eye out for.

Yes, according to discogs, you're right: almost all of it was prev. on the Kapp label. Never on CD, also according to discogs, although they do list the 80s cassette reissue that a friend of mine had, that's how I heard it. Amazon's got the vinyl for $7.79---tape for $68.35!
https://www.amazon.com/Youre-Not-Woman-You-Used/dp/B000002QD0/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Gary+Stewart+You%27re+Not+The+Woman+You+Used+To+Be&qid=1595632840&sr=8-1

Discogs marketplace has several, though looks like only one is US:
https://www.discogs.com/sell/list?artist_id=264158&ev=ab&sort=title%2Cdesc&q=You%27re+Not+The+Woman+You+Used+To+Be Prob somewhere else online, but I don't even have a working turntable, don't know most places to look for records.

It was rumored that all the Kapp label masters were destroyed in the Universal fire.

In better news, Hightone is apparently part of Concord Music Group now.

I could buy it - I’m in the UK as it happens - but one day I’ll find a copy in a shop and it’ll be excitement!

Lori McKenna makes it sound so easy, man

Retweeted by Ned:

http://d1w8cc2yygc27j.cloudfront.net/-3424050904899577017/4542045592072958183.jpg

Wait

I think I’ve listened to enough contemporary Americana and left-of-centre country LPs to conclude that almost everybody making them listened -a lot- to the first couple of Sheryl Crow albums, Tom Petty’s Wildflowers and John Mellencamp’s Human Wheels growing up.

— Thierry Côté (@tcote) July 29, 2020

Loving the Lori McKenna - thanks for flagging, as I only seem to hear about her albums through word of mouth.

Also, how is there not an ilm thread dedicated to her work? Think there's enough fans for an albums poll?

Regulars to the thread will enjoy streaming TexasFM out of Lubbock.
https://www.texasfm.com/

Recently played:
Ashley Ray - "Dirty Work"
Steve Earle - "Guitar Town"
Flatland Cavalry - "No Shade of Green"
Koe Wetzel - "Sundy or Mundy"
Chris Knight - "It Ain't Easy Being Me"
Turnpike Troubadours - "Every Girl"
Josh Weathers - "Before I Met You"
Jarrod Morris - "Stampede"
Robert Earl Keen - "Amarillo Highway"
Parker McCollum - "Pretty Heart"

Am I the only one who likes the country grunge stylings of Koe Wetzel?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqYB32IReWo

I love this song
https://youtu.be/Hw4MiegZxsU

wow, good song john

the Caylee Hammack album has some very good songs and several i will not be listening to again.

new morgan wallen song is really good

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Db_mZ_2gtLg

Rip Justin Townes Earle

Was gutted to hear about JTE last night. Though I'd lost track of his recent releases, his first two albums hold up and were among my very favorites in their release years. By all accounts he was a genuine character and a sweet guy who understood pain and estrangement firsthand, and his songs were imbued with stories that reflected those experiences.

I once quite literally bumped into him and Jason Isbell unloading on the afternoon of a show at the Double Door years ago, and they were both sweet and happy to chat for a minute. I remember his scarecrow smile and the way he filled up the stage with humor and stories that night...RIP.

Such sad news. RIP. Bummer we keep losing guys to addiction (I assume...sorry if I'm wrong). I'm so glad Isbell got out on the right side.

Yeah, I posted this on ILE's Rolling Obituary 2020 last night, don't go there unless you want to risk losing your shit:

O shit. The first album of his I heard, Midnight at the Movies, seemed like a well-negotiated rendezvous with somebody who brought a degree of balance, sanity, replenishment into his life, minus the drugs he'd run with since boyhood---and he was happy, he was, with a sense of wonder and nervous vibrancy, not letting himself run away---and the albums that soon followed (and The Good Life, which preceded) could be a lot moodier, Harlem River Blues, for instance, but he kept finding new ways to make music, new turns---but then gradually they got wearier, more fragile--until The Saint of Lost Causes, released at the end of May, 2019, seemed to me like his best in a decade, a return and a leap forward, developing from some of the best bits, glimmers and sparks, of prev. 2010s efforts. RIP. I suspect old traveling companion Isbell will write some more songs about him.

― dow, Sunday, August 23, 2020 9:53 PM

Frequent tour colleague Samantha Crain's good thread of memories, click post below for link:

Some of my best memories of Justin Townes Earle

1) upon finishing our first tour out with him in 2009, standing outside Gruene Hall in New Braunfels, TX saying our goodbyes, Justin hands me $400 (apart from our payout) and says "$100 for each of ya, I know it's hard out there"

— Samantha Crain (@sjcrain) August 24, 2020

@JasonIsbell
Justin bought the suit I got married in.
9:08 PM · Aug 23, 2020

Sad news, RIP. "Harlem River Blues" is the album I know the best. Would like to check out some of the more recent ones.

Bandcamp's got some, other places maybe more. The last one in his lifetime, The Saint of Lost Causes, roolz among later works, I think: https://justintownesearle.bandcamp.com/album/the-saint-of-lost-causes

Pic posted by Steve

Justin Townes Earle 1982-2020 pic.twitter.com/AzerqkUZa1

— Steve Earle (@SteveEarle) August 24, 2020

GRAMMY-WINNING ICON WYNONNA ANNOUNCES ‘RECOLLECTIONS’ EP

FEATURING INTIMATE RENDITIONS OF CLASSIC SONGS BY
JOHN PRINE, FATS DOMINO, GRATEFUL DEAD + MORE

OUT OCTOBER 30 VIA ANTI-

"Wynonna is the latest left-field addition to the eclectic roster of Anti- Records, where she expects she’ll have the freedom to explore her musical instincts.” – Boston Globe

“Wynonna was in perfect form and seemed utterly reinvigorated by her new
artistic surroundings.” – Rolling Stone on 2019 AMERICANAFEST set

Recollections, the captivating new EP from Wynonna, marks both a literal and a figurative homecoming for the GRAMMY-winning songstress who recorded much of the collection while quarantining on her Tennessee farm in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Forced off the road for the first time in years, she found herself reconnecting with her roots as she sang once again for the sheer joy of it, performing a series of loose and lively covers with her husband, former Highway 101 drummer, multi-instrumentalist and producer Cactus Moser.

The gritty “King Bee,” a half-century-old blues tune Wynonna and Moser have been performing live together for years, gets an extra boost of swagger from the couple’s palpable chemistry, with Wynonna bouncing swampy, distorted harmonica riffs off of her husband’s searing slide guitar. “ ‘King Bee’ reminds me of why I love the blues so much,” Wynonna said.

“I’ve learned a lot being at home these last few months,” Wynonna reflects. “When there’s no touring, no concerts, no band, no lights, no action, all that’s left is you and the song. All that’s left is your gift.”
‘Recollections’ EP

1. I Hear You Knocking (Fats Domino)
2. King Bee (Slim Harpo)
3. Feeling Good (Nina Simone)
4. Angel From Montgomery (John Prine)
5. Ramble On Rose (Grateful Dead)

"KIng Bee" is streaming somewhere, but my browser won't go there, says insecure. I liked Wynonna and The Big Noise in studio and live, hope they'll be back some day.

It's on Youtube ffs---if this doesn't show, it'll pop right up on yon 'Tube, or should:
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=pyFHsmzgOq8&feature=share

I have never been a big fan but this review piqued my interest

https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/mary-chapin-carpenter-the-dirt-and-the-stars/

Thx for sharing. I never read Pitchfork anymore but that review is both intriguing (as you say) and actually gives a pretty good idea of what the record might sound like. Is that how pitchfork works these days??

Not sure about other writers but Sodomsky knows his stuff and is always worth reading in my experience. He's become their go-to folk/country writer in the last few years (along with Stephen Deusner) and is doing a really nice job of filling in some gaps they had. This year alone he's reviewed Katie Pruitt, Brandy Clark, Lucinda Williams, Jaime Wyatt, and Kathleen Edwards, and he's also done the retrospective Sunday Review a few times - for The Dixie Chicks' Home, Elliott Smith's s/t, and Miranda Lambert's Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.

https://pitchfork.com/staff/sam-sodomsky/albumreviews/

I like how much ink he gives to the ballads in that Crazy Ex Girlfriend review, even if the score is TOO LOW. "Love Letters" and "Desperation" have long been favorites of mine and seem to get forgotten in the typical narrative hubbub around the shotguns and pool hall confrontations.

Good 'un on Gillian's latest installment (16 tracks, streaming on bandcamp):
https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/gillian-welch-boots-no-2-the-lost-songs-vol-1/

August 27, 2020—Starting Over, the highly anticipated new studio album from Chris Stapleton, is out November 13 on Mercury Records Nashville and is now available for pre-order/pre-save. Listen to the title track: https://strm.to/CSStartingOverSinglePR

Written by Stapleton and Mike Henderson, “Starting Over” begins an album of startling prescience—completed in late February only days before the shutdown began. Across its fourteen tracks are songs that examine life’s simplest joys and most serious struggles. Alongside eleven written by Stapleton with both longtime friends and new collaborators are three carefully chosen covers: John Fogerty’s “Joy Of My Life” and Guy Clark’s “Worry B Gone” and “Old Friends.” The resulting album—both timely and timeless—speaks to and transcends the current moment in ways unimaginable even while it was being created.
The album finds Stapleton back in his second home, Nashville’s historic RCA Studio A (with additional work done at Muscle Shoals Sound and Compass Sound Studio), surrounded by his trusted collaborators as well as some new faces. Produced by Dave Cobb (who also plays acoustic guitar), the record features his beloved wife, Morgane Stapleton (vocals, tambourine), with longtime bandmates J.T. Cure (bass) and Derek Mixon (drums). Special guests include legendary musicians Mike Campbell (electric guitar), Benmont Tench (Hammond B3 organ) and Paul Franklin (pedal steel) as well as the All Voices Choir who are featured on “Watch You Burn,” written by Stapleton and Campbell.

Stapleton’s “All-American Road Show” tour is planned to resume next year. Highlights include headline shows at Washington State’s Gorge Amphitheatre, Chicago’s Wrigley Field, New York’s Madison Square Garden and “A Concert for Kentucky”—a special performance benefitting his newly created Outlaw State of Kind Hometown Fund to be held at University of Kentucky’s Kroger Field on April 24. Presented by Live Nation, the performance is the first concert ever held at UK’s Kroger Field and will feature very special guests Willie Nelson & Family, Sheryl Crow and Yola. 100% of the concert’s net proceeds will go toward Chris and Morgane Stapleton’s Outlaw State of Kind Hometown Fund. Established in partnership with the Blue Grass Community Foundation, the fund will specifically support local and national organizations directly impacting Kentucky, with initial grant distributions focusing on music and arts education. See below for complete itinerary.
STARTING OVER TRACKLIST
1. Starting Over
2. Devil Always Made Me Think Twice
3. Cold
4. When I’m With You
5. Arkansas
6. Joy Of My Life
7. Hillbilly Blood
8. Maggie’s Song
9. Whiskey Sunrise
10. Worry B Gone
11. Old Friends
12. Watch You Burn
13. You Should Probably Leave
14. Nashville, TN
CHRIS STAPLETON’S “ALL-AMERICAN ROAD SHOW”
November 21—Arlington, TX—Globe Life Field*
April 21—Toledo, OH—Huntington Center†
April 22—Columbus, OH—Schottenstein Center†
April 24—Lexington, KY—A Concert for Kentucky – Kroger Field‡
June 5—San Bernardino, CA—Glen Helen Amphitheater§
June 10—Boise, ID—Ford Idaho Center Arena#
June 11—Portland, OR—Sunlight Supply Amphitheater#
June 12—George, WA—The Gorge Amphitheatre#
June 17—Bakersfield, CA—Mechanics Bank Arena#
June 18—Sacramento, CA—Toyota Amphitheatre#
June 19—Mountain View, CA—Shoreline Amphitheatre#
June 24—Salt Lake City, UT—USANA Amphitheatre^
June 25—Denver, CO—Pepsi Center^
June 26—Denver, CO—Pepsi Center^
July 8—Milwaukee, WI—Summerfest at American Family Insurance Amphitheater+
July 10—Camden, NJ—BB&T Pavilion°
July 17—Chicago, IL—Wrigley Field%
July 23—Holmdel, NJ—PNC Bank Arts Center**
July 24—Syracuse, NY—St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview**
July 28—Gilford, NH—Bank NH Pavilion††
July 29—Gilford, NH—Bank NH Pavilion††
July 31—Minneapolis, MN—U.S. Bank Stadium‡‡
August 5—Cuyahoga Falls, OH—Blossom Music Center°
August 7—South Bend, IN—Notre Dame Stadium§§
August 12—Charlotte, NC—PNC Music Pavilion°
August 13—Raleigh, NC—Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek°
August 19—Des Moines, IA—Iowa State Fair^^
August 20—Tulsa, OK—BOK Center##
September 18—Biloxi, MS—Mississippi Coast Coliseum++
September 23—Knoxville, TN—Thompson-Boling Arena++
October 1—Atlantic City, NJ—Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall++
October 2—Mansfield, MA—Xfinity Center++
October 8—New York, NY—Madison Square Garden++
October 14—Columbia, MO—Mizzou Arena++
October 15—Lincoln, NE—Pinnacle Bank Arena++
October 16—Sioux Falls, SD—Denny Sanford PREMIER Center++
October 22—Nashville, TN—Bridgestone Arena++
October 23—Nashville, TN—Bridgestone Arena++
October 28—Lubbock, TX—United Supermarket Arena°°
October 29—Albuquerque, NM—Isleta Amphitheater°°
October 30—Phoenix, AZ—Ak-Chin Pavilion°°
November 4—Austin, TX—Frank Erwin Center°°
November 11—Estero, FL—Hertz Arena**
November 12—Orlando, FL—Amway Center**
“ALL-AMERICAN ROAD SHOW” SPECIAL GUESTS
*with special guests Willie Nelson & Family, Jamey Johnson and Yola
†with special guests Margo Price and Yola
‡with special guests Willie Nelson & Family, Sheryl Crow and Yola
§with special guests Dwight Yoakam and The Dirty Knobs with Mike Campbell
#with special guests Margo Price and The Dirty Knobs with Mike Campbell
^with special guests Sheryl Crow and The Dirty Knobs with Mike Campbell
+with special guest Sheryl Crow
°with special guests Elle King and Kendell Marvel
%with special guests The Highwomen, Mavis Staples and Mike Campbell
**with special guests Sheryl Crow and Kendell Marvel
††with special guests Elle King and Nikki Lane
‡‡with George Strait and Little Big Town
§§with George Strait and Brothers Osborne
^^with special guest Nikki Lane
##with special guests Willie Nelson & Family and Yola
++with special guests The Marcus King Band and Yola
°°with special guests Jamey Johnson and Yola
For more information please contact
Asha Goodman or Carla Sacks at Sacks & Co., 212.741.1000, asha.goodman at sacksco.com or carla at sacksco.com

Did not know he had a new one coming out. Debut is absolutely gorgeous, classic countrypolitan. Excited to hear this.

Today is the day! Heartfelt thanks to all who were involved in making this record. These are unprecedented hard times for so many of us. It’s my hope you’re finding solace in music, and can take some time to enjoy this collection of songs.
Thank you for Listening To The Music pic.twitter.com/S0MRBilh0F

— Zephaniah OHora (@ZephaniahOhora) August 28, 2020

mega merle haggard vibes on that zephaniah ohora album.

That's a good album, listening to it now. Serves as a good enough companion to the Tender Things album, which is, still, very very awesome