Eddie Hinton - Dear Y'all (The Songwriting Sessions Volume 1) / Playin' Around (the Songwriting Sessions Volume 2)
Eddie Hinton is among the most overlooked artists of the last 40 years. He was an incredible songwriter, a near-legendary session guitarist, and one of the finest soul singers of all time. He was also a deeply troubled man whose personal demons frequently threatened to undermine his enormous talent. Nine
Anita Carter - Appalachian Angel
Half a century ago, Anita Carter's stardom seemed assured. Her magnificent Appalachian soprano and physical beauty were unequaled. She had two 1951 hit duets with Hank Snow. She sang with Hank Williams on a 1952 appearance on Kate Smith's television show. Yet that year, demure, mature
Various Artists - Touch My Heart: A Tribute To Johnny Paycheck
The sensibility connections between the subject of this tribute (the late and unforgettable honky-tonker Johnny Paycheck) and the album's producer (the live and irreplaceable Robbie Fulks) go a long ways toward describing this music and the performers brought together to deliver it with so much audible affection.
Both
Muddy Waters - Hard Again / I'm Ready / King Bee
The lion in winter. He's the king of the jungle, and he's won the title fair and square. He suns himself on the hill and watches his young descendants vying for the spot he'll soon vacate. But what they don't know is
Yodel-ay-ee-oooo: The Secret History of Yodeling Around the World
Yodeling is the Rodney Dangerfield of singing styles, suffering from a lack of respect and an overabundance of misunderstanding. Bart Plantenga pulls yodeling out of the shadows of musical history for an overdue examination of this centuries-old form of vocal expression. Billed as the first book to view yodeling as
Laurie Lewis & Tom Rozum - Ten Years After
Laurie Lewis is weeding the back yard of the Berkeley home she has owned for 30 years. A crop of yellow-flowered oxalis is threatening to choke out the bright orange calendula and the calla lillies. Lewis has been on tour for most of the previous month; this is her first