An A -Z of American Cities - B

There were absolute loads to choose from this week.  I decided not to include Boston as part of my considerations.

Let's start with Biloxi a Mississippi city on the Gulf of Mexico famous (apparently) for its seafood, beaches, casinos and maritime history and has a population of around 45,000 which would put it in line to be twinned with Kilmarnock or Coatbridge. The song is the opener on Heart Like a Levee a 2016 album by Hiss Golden Messenger

Brownsville is another Gulf coast city further to the east in the State of Texas. It has a population in the region of 186K making it the 139th largest city in the US. It would be the 4th biggest in Scotland after Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.  Jim White appears to be familiar with That Girl from Brownsville,Texas. Taken from his snappily titled album Drill a Hole in that Substrate and Tell me What you See.

A sneaky twofer with a cover of Boulder to Birmingham, the song written by Emmylou Harris as homage to Gram Parsons. I've gone for a cover by actress Jessie Buckley from the soundtrack to the film Wild Rose given that Emmylou featured last week. Boulder is in Colorado with a population of just over 100,000. 1,351 miles to the west lies Birmingham,Alabama with a population of just under 200,000 about a 6th of its English counterpart.

Finally it was a toss up between The Streets of Baltimore (Maryland, 600K  - Bobby Bare/Gram Parsons) and The Streets of Bakersfield (California, 400K - Dwight Yoakam). I've gone for Dwight.

Even more options next week when we get to C

Hiss Golden Messenger - Biloxi

Jim White - That Girl From Brownsville, Texas

Jessie Buckley - Boulder to Birmingham

Dwight Yoakam - The Streets of Bakersfield

The Saturday Shuffle 2

 

Another three random shuffles from my gym MP3 player for you today.

First up are Altered Images with Another Lost Look. I'm not altogether sure where this one came from.  The internet tells me that it was the b-side to a 1983 single Love to Stay from their Bite album which only reached no 46 in the UK singles chart. This suggests that it possibly came my way via a post from JC as part of his series on their singles.

I do know where Up Here comes from. It is the final track from Scarlet an album by The Motorcycle Boy which I spent some of my 2020 Christmas money on.

Today's final offering is another final track in the shape of Numbskull by Ash. It originally appeared on Nu-Clear Sounds as track 6 in 1998 but was subsequently the final track on the 2000 singles compilation Intergalactic Sonic 7's. I have both albums on CD but it is the singles album which has made it onto the mp3 player,

It is probably the most gymy (if there is such a word) of the three. 

Another random shuffle next Saturday

Altered Images - Another Lost Look

The Motorcycle Boy - Up Here

Ash - Numbskull

Perky Friday

 

Some stuff by the late great Carl Perkins for you today.

He started out on Sun Records  and was part of the legendary Million Dollar Quartet with Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis here

The rock'n' roll morphed into rockabilly and then like Johnny and Jerry Lee there was a gradual crossover into country music.

Here are a couple of his rockabilly numbers including the great Dixie Fried where you can hear the menace oozing from the record. These are followed by a country crossover number.

Finally we have a namecheck number written by Mike Cooley and featuring on the Drive-By Truckers album The Dirty South. 

Rave on children I'm with ya  Rave on cats he cried ..

Carl Perkins - Put YOur Cat Clothes On

Carl Perkins - Dixie Fried

Carl Perkins - Let the Dukebox Keep Playing

Drive- By Truckers - Carl Perkins' Cadillac

Lu's Jukebox

 

Another post of a legend covering other legends.

During lockdown Lucinda Williams released a series of  six themed livestream concerts that pay tribute to specific artists, musical styles, and eras. These were known collectively as Lu's Jukebox. Something to do and also something to generate some much needed income during those difficult times

The six volumes are as follows

Vol 1 -  Runnin' Down a Dream - a tribute to Tom Petty

Vol 2 - Southern Soul (from Memphis to Muscle Shoals & more)

Vol 3 - Bob's Back Pages - A Night of Bob Dylan Songs

Vol 4 - Funny How Time Slips Away -  A Night of 60's Country Classics

Vol 5 - Have Yourself a Rocking Little Christmas

Vol 6 - It's Only Rock'n'Roll - a tribute to the Rolling Stones

All available on Discogs here

As you can see three cover specific artists so in the spirit of legends covering legends a song from each is featured below.

Her long threatened autobiography Don't Tell Anybody The Secrets I Told You is finally available and has taken pride of place at the top of my birthday list

Lucinda Williams - Runnin' Down a Dream

Lucinda Willaims - Blind Willie McTell

Lucinda Williams - Dead Flowers

Carry Me Home

 

When musical legends in their own right get together to record an album it doesn't always work - I'm looking at you Tom Jones and you Elton John.

However when you join Soul legend Mavis Staples and the Band's drummer and singer Levon Helm it is a partnership made in heaven. Given their respective backgrounds there are plenty of choices on the table - soul, gospel , blues and what our American cousins would call roots music

Carry Me Home is a 2022 album on the Anti- label with recordings of sessions at Helm's studio shortly before his death in 2021. What a terrific record to go out with.

Not surprisingly given the participants in was critically well received with Pitchfork calling it a jubilant lesson in living history  and American Songwriter stating that it resonates in a meaningful and mighty way.

Mavis Staples is 83 and is still recording and touring. She was playing at the Usher Hall during last year's Edinburgh Bloggers Convention although I suspect that it would have been long sold out by the time we got there.Plus you can't have a good gab at a concert.

Any of the 12 songs on the album would be worthy of posting today but I think that is only fair to feature one from The Staple Singers and one from The Band.

Levon Helm and Mavis Staples -This May Be the Last Time

Levon Helm and Mavis Staples - The Weight

Hightone Records

 

I haven't yet got round to returning the Hightone Records Anthology - Rockin' From the Roots (here) to the shelves following posting Dave Alvin on the A to Z of American Cities

 It seemed logical then to give it a spin and to feature some more of the great songs on it prior to tidying it away.

Hightone Records was an American label from Oakland, California which specialised in American roots music including country, rockabilly, western swing, blues and gospel. It was founded in 1983 with its catalogue being sold on to Shout! Factory in 2008.

Many of the artists on the label have graced these pages before including the three below.

We start with some blues courtesy of the Robert Cray Band  with Phone Booth a song taken from 1983's Bad Influence which was the label's inaugural album.

Robert is followed by the late Chris Gaffney with a tribute to the great Panamania boxer Roberto Duran. Taken from his 1995 album Loser's Paradise. I saw him live once as half of The Hacienda Brothers.

Finally we have Tom Russell who recorded on Hightone for over a decade.When Sinatra Played Juarez from his 2001 album Borderland. I was all set to bookmark this one for my American Cities series until I discovered that Juarez is actually in Mexico.

The Robert Cray Band - Phone Booth

Chris Gaffney - The Eyes of Roberto Duran

Tom Russell -When Sinatra Played Juarez

Far Away Eyes

 

A couple of Sundays ago when I featured various versions of the song Sunday Morning Coming Down in the comments section Rol highlighted that I hadn't included the version by The Handsome Family. I responded that it was one I didn't have.

A day or so later a message popped up in my in box from him with a link to their album Smothered and Covered  which is a collection of outtakes, demos and rarities from Mr and Mrs Sparks.If you are a fan of Gothic Americana (and who isn't?) it should be right up your street 

They are no strangers to a cover and there are some crackers on the album. Their version of Sunday Morning Coming Down is pretty faithful to the original as are The Banks of the Ohio and Knocksville Girl.

However the pick of the bunch for me is their cover of Far Away Eyes a song from the last decent album by The Rolling Stones namely 1978's Some Girls. It seems that it is one that I have never posted before.

Thanks for the inspiration Rol.

The Rolling Stones - Far Away Eyes

The Handsome Family -Far Away Eyes