Steve Forbert - Rocking Horse Head
The tenderness and longing expressed on Steve Forbert's new album, especially the way he wraps these emotions up in his warm, sandpapery vocals, at times recalls early Rod Stewart classics such as "Handbags and Gladrags" and "An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You
Various Artists - Sweet Relief II: Gravity of the Situation the Songs of Vic Chesnutt
The story goes that on the day Vic Chesnutt recorded the song "Guilty By Association" for his 1995 album Is The Actor Happy?, he asked his pal Michael Stipe to stop by the studio to add backing vocals. The song tells the tale of a struggling artist obscured
Patty Griffin - Living With Ghosts
Patty Griffins debut is in most ways a simple affair, 10 songs presented with only her voice and guitar for company. Her voice, however, travels an uncertain road, with stops to visit Rickie Lee Jones, Lucinda Williams, Alanis Morissette, Tracy Chapman. Left to her own, Griffin has a strong, sometimes
Rosanne Cash - 10 Song Demo
10 Song Demo makes the most sense when taken in context with the rest of Rosanne Cash's career. Her country-star status was cemented with the incredible King's Record Shop in 1987; to follow up, she released Interiors, a brutal tour of her breakup with husband
Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown - Long Way Home
Gatemouth Brown is 72 years of lean American history. His music remains vital, despite his age, and spans an enormous repertoire of styles. Legend has it he picked up T-Bone Walker's ax during a break at Houston's Golden Peacock in 1947, and made $600 (and
Jill Olson - The Gal Who Would be King
As bassist and erstwhile leader of San Franciscos finest Tex-Mex-surf-polka-country-pop band the Movie Stars, Jill Olson shared songwriting duties with three diverse writers. Their two indie releases showed the band to be masterful musicians and interpreters but only hinted at their respective songwriting abilities. After