Bodeans - Joe Dirt Car
Bursting out of Waukesha, WI in 1986 on the heels of the T Bone Burnett-produced Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams, the BoDeans sounded like a trap door out of new-wave hell, back into a no-frills nirvana where acoustic guitars, harmony vocals and catchy three-chord
Joe Ely - Letter to Laredo
The first clue that Joe Ely is up to something different on Letter to Laredo is in the thank-you credits, where the Lubbock legend tips his hat to writers Garcia Lorca, Michael Ventura and Cormac McCarthy. The next clue is the disc's second track, a cover of
Palace Music - Viva Last Blues
Will Oldham has arrived. Those who think he's already here number many, but their ranks will likely swell with this release. Where Palace records once were exercises in style rather than substance, Viva Last Blues is a substantive landmark in a style Oldham is fast making his own.
Tarnation - Gentle Creatures / Paula Frazer - The Hand (7-inch)
Paula Frazer's voice swoops like a barn swallow on the last day of fall, riding hot currents for the pleasure of swooping and dipping, and not altogether concerned with destination. Hers is a beautiful voice, pure and limber.
Gentle Creatures is the second offering from the San Francisco
Crop Circles - Counterculture Country comes calling
Earl Brooks of Seattle band the Crop Circles did what any self-respecting musician would do. He dropped an advance of his bands first CD by the radio station in his hometown in Idaho. And after a few days, he called the guy and asked if he could have it
Whiskeytown - A short interview's journey into Hell
I have to tell you about the bizarre thing that happened while I was talking to Ryan Adams for this story. It was at a monthly show called the Songwriters Alliance Series at the Berkeley Cafe. A guy here by the name of Jeff Hart puts it on and invites