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Jon Dee Graham - Escape from Monster Island

On the surface, the solo debut by Jon Dee Graham is certain to conjure comparisons with early Springsteen and later Tom Waits -- if one can imagine either of those urban artists transported to the border culture of the Tex-Mex cantina. Beneath the surface, however, is where the richness of

Terry Allen & The Panhandle Mystery Band - Smokin' The Dummy/Bloodlines

An unkempt romantic streak runs through the last two decades' worth of Texas songwriting, identifiable by its occasionally bombastic representations of violence and its more pervasive attempts at inflating even trenchantly average characters to the status of archetypes. As a lyrical tendency, it least serves those who insist on

Various Artists - Jitterbug Jive: Hot Texas Swing 1940-1941 / Heading Back To Houston: Texas C&W 1950-1951

While most American record companies seem content to let languish in their vaults countless classic performances from even the most well-known country legends, the British label Krazy Kat has once again dug up some long-buried musical treasures and compiled them on a couple of fascinating new collections. Jitterbug

ALBUM REVIEW: Buddy Miller - Poison Love

ALBUM REVIEW: Buddy Miller - Poison Love

Steve Earle calls Buddy Miller's 1995 debut Your Love and Other Lies the country record of the decade, and I believe him. Yet it wasn't until I heard Miller's new album, Poison Love – and specifically, his cover of Otis Redding's 1965 hit

Stanley Brothers - Earliest Recordings: The Complete Rich-R-Tone 78s (1947-1952)

Fifty years ago, the Stanley Brothers -- Ralph, Carter and company -- made their recording debut. One of the first tracks they committed to posterity was an as-of-then unreleased Bill Monroe composition called "Molly and Tenbrook". Just a few bars into the song, someone -- one of the Stanleys,

Various Artists - The Inner Flame: A Tribute To Rainer Ptacek

The most striking credit on this tribute to Tucson's Rainer Ptacek reads "Executive Producers: Robert Plant and Howe Gelb." That Led Zep's preening pretty boy and Giant Sand's desert visionary should find common bond in the musical inspiration of Rainer attests to

Whiskeytown - Adams and Escovedo

It happens more or less without warning or fanfare two minutes into the second track of Whiskeytown's Strangers Almanac album. An old familiar voice glides in and nudges an already spectacular song to an even higher level. "So if the rain falls down on your Mississippi town,