Some Sunday Southern Soul

Disc 3 from Back to the River is entitled Going Back Home and features Southern artists but with songs recorded above the Mason-Dixon Line.
Artists whose musical heritage had followed them wherever they were based at the time of their sessions.

There is absolutely no doubt that the Macon born Georgia Peach Little Richard's version of the Don Covay song I  Don't Know What You've Got But It's Got Me recorded in Los Angeles in 1965 would have featured today had I not posted it relatively recently. Absolutely majestic.

Only slightly less majestic is Freddie Scott's version of Cry to Me written and produced by Bert Berns and recorded in New York in 1967 and released on the Shout label.
Freddie is followed by Lee Moses doing his best Otis Redding impression on If Loving You is a Crime (I Will Always Be Guilty).
Written by Swamp Dogg using his wife Yvonne Williams name  this was recorded in New York on the
Dynamo label in 1968.

That's all from Back to the River for now but I suspect it will re-emerge at some stage. Sooner rather than later I suspect.
More Soul next Sunday hopefully.

Freddie Scott - Cry To Me

Lee Moses - If loving You is a Crime (I'll Always be Guilty)

Stanraer Americana -Jay Farrar

The eight Stranraer Americana albums have not been posted in any particular order. However I thought it appropriate to conclude with Sebastopol by Jay Farrar given that the series started with Uncle Tupelo of whom he was part.
From 2001 Sebastopol is described on the sleeve as a project as opposed to an album.With 17 tracks (including 3 interludes) and at around 50 minutes (as befits a project!) it is perhaps over long.
There are however a couple of crackers on it including Barstow which includes Gillian Welsh and Dave Rawlings

Jay Farrar's voice is a bit like Marmite you either love it or you hate it . I quite like it but probably in small doses.

So there you have it. Eight pretty good Americana albums for six quid. Not a bad haul I feel. I shall be down in that part of the world again next month so you never know ....

Jay Farrar - Barstow

Jay Farrar - Outside The Door

Celtic Connections 2008

We finish Celtic Connections week by returning to the annual CD from the Sunday Herald and today we feature 2008.
2007 was greeted with a fair degree of indifference but rest assured I intend to continue right up to 2016.

Orcadian Kris Drever is a member of Lau and has also appeared as part of the Folk super trio Drever, McCusker and Woomble. However today we are featuring a solo number Steel and Stone taken from his 2006 debut album Blackwater.

Bluegrass music clearly has Celtic roots so it is apt that we feature Cherryholmes a Los Angeles based bluegrass band consisting of 6 members of the Cherryholmes family - mum, dad, 2 daughters and 2 sons.

Julie Fowlis has perhaps the most notable international profile of any Gaelic artist in no small part due to her providing and performing a couple of songs for the 2012 Pixar film Brave.
Hùg Air A' Bhonaid Mhòir however pre-dates this and comes from her 2007 album Cuilidh. It translates as Celebrate the Great Bonnett.

2009 to follow in due course.

Kris Drever - Steel and Stone

Cherryholmes - You Don't Know What Love Is

Julie Fowlis - Hùg Air A' Bhonaid Mhòir

Celtic Connections: An Evening with James Yorkston, The Pictish Trail and Withered Hand

It's the final Celtic Connections outing tonight and we are off to The Mitchell Theatre for an evening with James Yorkston, The Pictish Trail and Withered Hand three Scottish based singer songwriters.

I am looking forward to this one as I have limited knowledge of these three and probably know them more by reputation than by their music.
I have New Gods by Withered Hand (aka Dan Wilson) which is a terrific album bought on the strength of a radio broadcast of a previous Celtic Connection performance.
I have the occasional track by Anstruther based former Fence Collective member James Yorkston here and there including on the Ballads of the Book and The Fruit Tree Foundation compilations.
He features in Vic Galloway's splendid book Songs in the Key of Fife and also has written his own book It's Lovely to Be Here: The Touring Diaries of a Scottish Gent which is a wonderful read and highlights the difficulties of a vegetarian musician getting a decent meal whilst touring.
I am aware of The Pictish Trial (Johnny Lynch)'s association with The Fence Collective and that he is the founder of  Lost Map Records  and that he lives on Eigg but am not familiar with his music.

Something to look forward to I suspect

Withered Hand - Horseshoe

James Yorkston and Bill Duncan - A Calvinist Narrowly Avoids Pleasure

Roaming Roots Review Review

The Roaming Roots Review was a great night.
The idea was that various artists would come out and join the house band Roddy Hart and the Lonesome Fire and do one of their songs plus a cover of someone considered to be a troubadour .

Roddie and his band kicked off with Tenth Avenue Freeze Out  posted if only to annoy George and Swiss Adam.Topical given the weather that the East coast of the USA was facing.
Matthew E White was first up and was ok. Reasonable covers of John Prine's Angel From Montgomery and a Lee Hazlewood number,
He was followed by This is the Kit who were excellent and yes Swede they did Silver John.They were excellent and covered Satellite of Love plus  the Robert Burns song Now Westlin Winds which Kate had stumbled across via Dick Gaughan
Scottish singer Iain Anderson was pretty good covering a Nick Cave number plus an excellent Into the Mystic with Blue Rose Code whose solo number was Amy Winehouse's Rehab
Frazey Ford was a bit of a disappointment particularly as I like The Be Good Tanyas. In fairness she had sound problems with one of her songs. I'm not sure that Ann Peebles was a troubadour though.
Justin Currie was actually very good although if he was made of chocolate he would eat himself.
Honeyblood were not on for very long but Stina did a great version of Rebel Rebel

The revelation of the night for me was Anderson East. He came on wearing a poncho and then this wonderful soul voice emerged  on songs including an excellent version of Tupelo Honey which led Justin Currie to thank Roddie Hart for asking him to follow that.
I had never heard of him and thought given the name that it was actually a group.

Then Kris Kristofferson sauntered on and effortlessly pulled off half a dozen songs the highlight undoubtedly being Sunday Morning Coming Down.
The night was finished off by everyone singing Knocking on Heaven's Door  followed by Keep on Rocking in the Free World.
Terrific stuff.

One minor and one major gripe. Minor - how can you have a night paying tribute to troubadours without featuring Townes Van Zandt?. Major - the group of drunken  Weegie women who slightly marred KK's performance by acting as if they were at the karaoke in their  dodgy local.


Bruce Springsteen - Tenth Avenue Freeze Out

Dick Gaughan - Now Westlin Winds

Lucinda Williams Review

Last Wednesday saw Lucinda Williams pitching up at the Concert Hall.as part of Celtic Connections.

The support were the Jenny Ritter Band from Canada who I'm afraid did nothing for me.
Lucinda was joined on stage by her excellent backing band Buick 6 who feature David Sutton on bass, Butch Norton on drums and Stuart Mathis on guitar. They make a splendid bluesy rocky racket.

The show was a combination of the band's rocky numbers and a number of acoustic numbers by Lucinda both taking advantage of the hall's superb acoustics.
It occurs to me that Lucinda does not really have one big hit for which she is most famous (if you discount Passionate Kisses which she is more known for writing rather than singing).
She did however play some of the ones us fans know and love such as Pineola, Drunken Angel (her tribute to Blaze Foley), Lake Charles and Joy.
She also played a couple from Essence where the band came into their own.
There  were a few new to me songs as I am not really up to speed with her latest stuff.
I was particularly taken taken with West Memphis from her Down Where The Spirit Meets The Bone album and the title track from her latest The Ghost of Highway 20.

At 63 , she's still got it.

Lucinda Williams - Pineola

The Chieftains Review

The good thing about waiting a wee while to do a review is that someone usually beats you too it. So here is a review and some excellent photos courtesy of Pauline Keightley

My observations.
Exhilarating is a spot on description. Rarely, if ever, have I been to a concert with such a buzz about it.
The musicianship was absolutely first class with the mischievous leprechaun Paddy Maloney pulling all the strings.
I don't think I've ever seen so many people on a stage at the same time. In addition to the Chieftains and guests at one stage there was an orchestra, a choir, pipers and Irish dancers.
Their final song will live long in the memory a 20 minute epic with everyone being granted a solo.
And then there was Kris Kristofferson. Looking somewhat frail but what pressence .He ambled on like Cool Hand Luke and gave us For the Good Times and Help Me Make it Through the Night,
He returned for the finale with Me and Bobby McGee - a total goosebumps job.

A damn good night out

The Chieftains - The Chieftains Reunion

Kris Kristofferson - Me and Bobby McGee

Warning - this week will feature all things Celtic Connections. If this is not your bag I'll see you on Saturday