The Black Crowes – Warpaint (Preview)

As I’ve said before, week from today The Black Crowes release Warpaint to the world. I haven’t been this anxious for an album for as long as I can remember. I’ve been a fan of the Crowes since they played some shows with Jimmy Page back in the fall of 1999 (huge Zeppelin fan back then), and can pretty much say that almost all of the music I listen to these days I came to thru the Crowes. I remember the release day for Lions, the only Crowes release of all new material since I joined the society of Crowe fandom. Worked all day for the DOT (summer internship) and went to Walmart on my way home to pick up the album. I of course had heard and had a copy via napster for weeks prior. Hearing it prior to the official release made getting the actual album less exciting, as the anticipation was gone. Admittedly, I had hoped that the downloaded copy was an alt version and the store bought copy would be different (read better) but it wasn’t and Lions got played a number of times and then went on the shelf to be played at irregular and few and far between intervals. That was a disappointing drive home. It’s not that Lions is a bad album per say, it’s just not the best Black Crowes album. They’re held to a higher standard as they’ve proven that they are arguably the best band of the last 20 years. A ‘bad” Crowes album is still better than 95% of all other albums released in said year.

I tried not to get my hopes up for Warpaint, Eddie and Marc are gone, the band hasn’t put out a great new song in almost 10 years let alone a great album. But after hearing the first song (and only one I’ve heard) I started getting hope that this album wouldn’t be a let down. Add to that Luther Dickinson in the lead guitar slot, expectations rise further. The band then says that they will be playing shows where they will play the new album in it’s entirety before playing a set of older songs. One reads that as the band must really like the new album and have confidence in it to do that. Expectations rise even further. Then I started reading articles such as this one on Jambase by Dennis Cook. I’d say Dennis is probably the best rock writer in the business today (and the only one I read on a regular basis) but I try to temper Dennis’s flowery prose by reminding myself that I’ve never read a disparaging word on the band by him. He has written the liner notes for the Into The Fog DVD and the Lost Crowes archive release. His opinions might have some bias but you have to like what he and the band have to say in the article. Then late last week word gets out that Maxim gave the album 2.5 stars without even hearing the album. And the Crowes call them on it and they admit that they haven’t heard it and made an educated guess of a review. I’m not going to get into the journalistic ethics of what Maxin did, I’m going to say that if Maxim gave a good review of the album I’d be wary. The fact that they rated it poorly, expectations rose further. It’s not like Maxim is known for anything more than mostly naked pretty girls (not that there’s anything wrong with that). Needless to say, I’m back on the Crowes bandwagon and loving every minute of it.

Reviews/Articles/Videos concerning Warpaint

Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution

Chris Robinson’s Song By Song Breakdown

Billboard

Rolling Stone

Special Editions

So a week from now one of my favorite bands, The Black Crowes, will drop on the public their first album in seven years, Warpaint. No, I won’t be posting a review of the album right now as I haven’t heard more then the first song thats posted on their homepage. I’m not a writer for Maxim. I plan on going to Best Buy to purchase the album on cd during my lunch and I have a vinyl copy pre-ordered that comes with a 7″with two bonus songs. Warpaint is also offered in iTunes as many albums these days are. I never understood the point in buying mp3s of an album without getting an actual copy that you hold and look at and read the liner notes while listening to the album. Not that there’s anything wrong with doing that, it’s just not my style. I do have an issue with offering bonus songs as an iTunes pre-order and not making them available to those who buy the actual cd seems wrong. The last Son Volt album had an additional 8 tracks for iTuners. 8 songs, that’s almost an extra album.

Another thing on a similar subject is “Special” or “Deluxe” Editions of albums. Especially albums that are less than say 10 years old. I’m tired of an album coming out and them six months later a “special edition” is put out with additional tracks making the fans of the band who bought the album early to have to choose to buy the album again. The people who would buy the album again are probably the big fans who support said artist by seeing shows and buying other merch from said artist. It seems like the fans are being bilked, likely by the label, for their fandom. And it’s not right. Gotta say that bands such as Wilco do the right thing by putting the bonus tracks/features on their website and require the cd to be loaded in one’s computer to access the bonus features.

greetings!

I hope to post about once a week but past experience has shown it won’t be that often. This upcoming year promises to be a year with great potential music wise (for me anyways). Many, many bands who I’m a fan of have albums that will be release in the coming months.  I’ve reposted some old posts from my previous blog below.

Federale – (Repost)

Any fans of Marc Ford (The Black Crowes)? How about Luther Russell (The Freewheelers)? Bassist Fred Trujillo? Blues drummer Jimi Bott? Anyone? In the last year of the previous century these guys played in a band together. Seriously, then did. They, Federale, even recorded a demo for Interscope Records only to be passed over because the label was looking for the next Limp Bizkit. You can’t make this stuff up, nobody would believe you. Oh, one could only wonder what mark this band would have made to the musical landscape had they been given a chance.

Well, wonder no more for the results of those forgotten demo sessions are available for your listening pleasure. Both Russell and Ford take turns with the vocal duties here and the results are a very strong album which if released today would likely do well and could gain some radio airplay, on satalite radio anyways.

For fans of Marc Ford some of these songs may sound familiar. “Hell or Highwater” appears on Ford’s debut It’s About Time, “(It’ll) Be Over Soon” makes an appearance on Ford’s second album Weary and Wired, whose title comes from this song, and “This Ride” was a live staple in early aughts (2000’s) when he played with his backing band The Sinners. I’ll take the versions here to any of those, well maybe not some of those live versions with the The Sinner’s, Marc should give those guys a call, the studio versions for sure.

Federale – The Ventura Sessions – Demos
Recorded in Ventura, CA for Interscope Records
June 1999

01. Getting Bad
02. Mexican Passport
03. This Ride
04. Sandman
05. Back In Our Old Town
06. Be Over Soon
07. Way Past You
08. Kiss The Toad
09. Hell Or Highwater
10. Bajar
11. Landing Gear

Marc Ford – Guitar, Vocals
Luther Russell – Vocals, Guitar
Fred Trujillo – Bass, Vocals
Jimi Bott – Drums

MP3 Link Updated. Also flac files of these demos can be found here: T’s Southern Confort Road House*
*registration required

Drive-By Truckers – Brighter Than Creation’s Dark (Repost)

In what was to be a slow year for the Drive-By Truckers, they sure found ways of keeping busy in 2007. After band member Jason Isbell left the band in early spring to pursue a solo career the Truckers shortly departed on a tour which would carry them thru the fall playing more of an acoustic show then anyone who has seen them live before would expect. Throughout the dubbed “Dirt Underneath Tour” new songs would be debuted and worked out. These songs, when treated to some studio polish, would become the Truckers eighth album, Brighter Than Creation’s Dark. Oh yeah they also recorded an album with Betty Levatte which has been nominated for a Grammy, that’s all in an “off-year.”

At 19 songs and 75 minutes one would assume that Brigher would be bloated with a couple filler songs but every track here is a winner and makes sense as a part of the whole album. This is a true album, not a collection of songs. Patteron Hood himself compared the album and it’s length to the Rolling Stones’ classic Exile on Main Street thusly: “Exile on Main Street has lots of filler, yet I would hate to part with a single note of it.” While musical styles can vary greatly from song to song, from solid gold country to rock to soul, Brighter has a cohesiveness and flow few bands today even attempt and fewer still successfully accomplish.

Brighter Than Creation’s Dark is a portrait of a good band becoming great. Listening to it the first time gives you the feeling of what it must have been like to listen to one of the classic rock ‘n’ roll albums, Exile, Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti or The Band’s Music From Big Pink or the like for the first time back in the late 60’s/early 70’s and just knowing that this will be an album that will be with you for the rest of your life.

+++HIGHLY RECOMENDED+++

Standout Track: The Righteous Path

Drive-By Truckers
MySpace
Brighter Than Creaton’s Dark (stream)

Top 10 of 2007 – (Repost)

I guess it’s my duty as a music blogger to post a top album list at this time of year, so enjoy.

1. Jason Isbell – Sirens of the Ditch

An album recorded over a number of years during down time from the Drive-By Truckers, Sirens showcases Isbell’s song writing talent and a diversity only hinted on while with the Truckers.
Standout Track: The Magician
homepage, myspace

2. Two Cow Garage – Three

The third album by Two Cow Garage brings the rock while not being afraid to show some heart. Total package of great songwriting and kick ass rock and roll.
Standout Track: Shoulda California
homepage, myspace

3. Glossary – The Better Angles of Our Nature

See my full review posted earlier.

4. Ryan Bingham – Mescalito

Ryan Bingham’s debut album is proof that good country music is still being made, just not in Nashville. The guy’s a great talent who’s songs tell tales of the hard life on the road. Mescalito was produced by former Black Crowes’ guitarist Marc Ford who also plays on the album.
Standout Track: Southside of Heaven
homepage, myspace

5. J.J. Grey & Mofro – Country Ghetto

Swampy, bluesy, and ever so soulful, Country Ghetto features the vocals of the most soulful singer in the business today, J.J. Grey.
Standout Track: Country Ghetto
homepage, myspace

6. Avett Brothers – Emotionalism

The Avetts’ folky and bluegrassey approach results in an album that sounds familiar yet fresh. New, yet old in a way. Maybe its all the simplicity of it all, the songs are mainly just a guitar, bass, and banjo with some great harmonies. Whatever it is, it’s good. Very good.
Standout Track:Paranoia in B-Flat Major
homepage, myspace

7. Wilco – Sky Blue Sky

Wilco’s seventh album is a departure from the experimental nature of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost Is Born and more of a return to form to their countryish roots. SBS is relaxed and open feeling like a warm summer day and yet Tweedy and Co. manage to work still rock out in places.
Standout Track: What Light
homepage, myspace

8. Dinosaur Jr. – Beyond

So a band reunites and put of the inevitable ‘reunion’ album. You’ve heard this story before right? Doesn’t usually work out of the best either. Not so with Dino Jr.’s Beyond. I can’t say I’m all that familiar the Dino Jr.’s earlier works but Beyond is a breath of fresh air in today’s stagnate cesspool of rock music. Guitar solos that are actually worth listening to and songs that don’t sound like they’re trying to be more important than the are, it’s only rock and roll after all. And I like it.
Standout Track: We’re Not Alone
homepage, myspace

9. Levon Helm – Dirt Farmer

You should know Levon Helm from his days in The Band (if you don’t, WHY NOT?). Since The Band called it a day Levon has put out numerous albums and survived a bout with throat cancer in the late ’90’s. This is he first album since his fight with cancer and while his voice sounds a little rougher, it still has that tone you came to love on classics like The Weight or The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down. Dirt Farmer may not be a “Band” album, but it’s the closest we’re probably gonna get. A collection of traditional songs backed up by Larry Campbell and Levon’s daughter Amy among others. A must for fans of The Band.
Standout Track: Poor Old Dirt Farmer
homepage, myspace

10. Neil Young – Live at Massey Hall 1971

A great archive album & dvd showcasing Neil Young solo with just his guitar, harmonica, and at times, behind the piano. Features a number of songs from Harvest prior to that album’s release. A must for any Neil fan.
Standout Track: Helpless
homepage, myspace

Chuck Prophet does Waylon Jennings – (Repost)

So back in the early of this year Chuck Prophet & friends recorded their version of Waylon Jennings’ 1975 album “Dreaming My Dreams” in it’s entirety. Check out the link below to read more about the recording session and to stream the results.

Dreaming Waylon’s Dream

Track listing:

1. Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way
2. Waymore’s Blues
3. I Recall a Gypsy Woman
4. High Time (You Quit Your Low Down Ways)
5. I’ve Been a Long Time Leaving (I’ll Be a Long Time Gone)
6. Let’s All Help The Cowboys (Sing The Blues)
7. The Door Is Always Open
8. Let’s Turn Back The Years
9. She’s Looking Good
10. Dreaming My Dreams With You
11. Bob Wills Is Still The King

Also be sure to check out Chuck’s new album “Soap & Water” out on Yep Rock Records

THIS IS AMERICAN MUSIC – (REPOST)

THIS Is American Music – American Girl

This video is what rock & roll is all about. It’s the last song played at the opening night of the This Is American Music Revue’s first show in Denton Tx. What’s the This is American Music Revue you ask? Well it’s a group of bands (Glossary, The Drams, Two Cow Garage & Grand Champeen) that are playing a handful of shows together this week in the Midwest. It’s like a mini festival w/ each band playing a set then they all come up & play a song or two at the end. This video is of them covering Tom Petty’s American Girl. Unfortunately the audio with the video isn’t the greatest, but it’s listenable. But that doesn’t matter, because it’s the love for music comes in loud and clear. These are bands that will likely never hit the big time and will probably struggle to keep their music careers going. But it’s not because they’re not talented. Or because they don’t play with heart. If you can’t see that they play with their hearts on their sleeves from this video, you know what, just head on over the the Nickleback home page because you don’t get it and likely never will.

So if the This is American Music Revue is playing near your town week, get out to the show. I’m sure you won’t regret it. Supposedly they’re working on doing a bunch of these shows in the east this spring & if they’re coming anywhere around here I’m so there.

This is American Music Rock and Roll Revue