Ramblings on Music, Texas, Etc.

Tim Easton - 'Porcupine' (out tomorrow)

Yeah, Dylan has a new album out Tuesday (and yeah, I ordered it), but do yourself a favor and also check out another troubadour Tim Easton on his first album in several years Porcupine.  I haven't heard it yet, but I'm a huge fan of Break Your Mother's Heart and The Truth About Us (and his last record Ammunition was not bad either).

In the EPK for the album, Easton chats it up with Lucinda Williams...

Tim Easton - Porcupine EPK from New West Records on Vimeo.

UPDATE:  SongIllinois has some comments about the record and a preview of the awesome track "Burgundy Red".

UPDATE II:  Hear the whole thing over at Spinner.  And the always reliable Jonathan Keefe over at Slant gives the record 4 stars (out of 5).

UPDATE III:  PopMatters chimes in (positively) - "his best since Special 20."  I listened to it last night on Spinner.  Wow -- it's a great album.  Probably Easton's best, and I love all of his albums.

Phil Lee, aka The Mighty King Of Love, returns!

The Nashville underground is riddled with long-forgotten gems created by artists who never got their due.  The albums of Phil Lee fall squarely into this category.  So it's with great surprise and excitement that I found out that Phil has a new album, ominously (and hopefully ironically) titled So Long, It's Been Good To Know You.  You can purchase it directly from his website.

Phil Lee is one of those artists who will have you wondering, "Who the fuck is this guy?!"  In a good way...

 

'Ashes Of American Flags'

Well, we are entering Week 2 of what promises to be a long Wilco-centric rotation in my listening habits.  This all began with the April 18 release of the band's new concert film Ashes Of American Flags, and will probably last well past the release date of Wilco's new album (supposedly due in late June).

For a band that has a fairly rich filmic history (Man In The Sand, I Am Trying To Break Your Heart, Tweedy's solo Sunken Treasure), it's taken a long time to get a proper concert doc.  The film follows the band through several legendary venues in New Orleans, Tulsa, Nashville and D.C. and only briefly stops between performances to provide some context (mainly the band members' witness of the homogenization of American towns over the past decade or so).  Ashes has just enough behind-the-scenes commentary and stellar camera work to raise it well above the level of your standard concert film.

But what really separates this film is Wilco itself, and particularly the current lineup, which has now been together for nearly five years.  They simply have few peers when it comes to live performances, and it's hard not to buy the argument that Wilco just might be the best American rock band out there. 

The sound and visual quality is stupendous, by the way.  Even better, you get a download of all of the performances from the film, which are also top-notch (if you purchase from an indie store before April 28, you'll get the full 9:30 Club performance, but the sound quality is not nearly as high).  In fact, Ashes probably supplants the band's only proper live album Kicking Television: Live In Chicago as the definitive Wilco live document.

Having recently re-watched I Am Trying To Break Your Heart, the documentary that follows the trials and tribulations of getting the masterpiece Yankee Hotel Foxtrot released, I'm struck by how far Wilco has come.  Gone are the concerns over record label support and commercial potential.  Wilco has now carved out a beautiful niche for itself and tours year-round, regularly selling out theaters.  The band members may not be Rock Stars in the traditional sense, but they certainly are to their faithful fans.  Ashes Of American Flags is a love letter that cuts both directions.

(Currently available at independent record stores nationwide; available April 28 everywhere.)

UPDATE:  There's a rather cool article on Wilco's gear over at Gibson's site (warning: dorks only).

Happy Record Store Day (tomorrow!)

Okay, okay - so generally Record Store Day is generally just an excuse to drink free beer and see some bands at Cactus Music.  The deluge of "exclusive" material (lots of 7" singles) is mostly a major-label sham to take more of your money.  But this year has the Wilco DVD, which is exclusive to participating retailers until April 28 (and which gets you extra live downloads).  I mean, watch EW's clip of "Side With The Seeds" and tell me you're not excited about this film.

Some other notable items to look out for tomorrow:

• Tift Merritt's Buckingham Solo gets an official release, of sorts.  If you haven't ordered it online yet, you'll have your chance to pick it up tomorrow.
• Matador has some appealing exclusives, including a Pavement live show from 1998 on vinyl and split 7" between Sonic Youth and Beck (very small numbers of colored vinyl will be randomly floating around).
• Anti- will be offering a Tom Waits 7" with two live performances from last year's tour.
• Cactus will be hosting an art opening and performance by Centro-matic's Will Johnson at 7pm.

It's a shame that more indie labels don't early-release some of their upcoming products on Record Store Day, or at least plan the releases around the date.  I'd love nothing more than to save up and dump about $200 in Cactus, but for me there isn't generally a whole lot to buy.  So I'll be curled up with my Wilco movie pretty early on Saturday.

In any case, it should be a fun time.  Get out there and restock your moldy music collection.

Wilco - 'Ashes of American Flags' DVD (due April 18)

I presume that unless you live under a rock, you already know that Wilco has a new album due in late June.  Though some song titles have been released, very little information is known about it at this point - cagey bastards!

However, to sate the nerdy masses, Wilco will be releasing a long-gestating live film entitled Ashes of American Flags.  It will be released this Saturday exclusively to indie retailers participating in Record Store Day.  The purchase will also supposedly allow you to download a Wilco show.

Of course, you already knew this, but I was just looking for an excuse to get pumped up about the release...

John Doe and The Sadies - 'Country Club': The Ramblings Review

If, like me, you think country-punk pioneer John Doe is the fuckin' Man, then you're already excited about his new collaboration with space cowboys The Sadies (due Tuesday).  If you don't, then what is wrong with you?

Granted, John Doe's solo career has been hit or miss at times, but as a whole, his post-X body of work has more than lived up to the standards set by his former band.  He continues to mine a rich vein of American musical influences and graft them together effortlessly.  In the post-alt-country universe, that may not seem revolutionary, but few pull off the punk/country intersection as convincingly as Doe.

The song choices on Country Club (mostly covers) are audacious, to say the least.  Wiser men would steer clear of classics like "Stop The World and Let Me Off", "The Night Life" and "Help Me Make It Through The Night."  But I'll be damned if Doe and The Sadies don't find new ways to work over these standards, without really screwing around with the arrangements.  There are a surprising number of country weepers, considering that Doe is backed by one of the shit-hottest bands on the planet.  But after a few listens, even the slower numbers allow The Sadies to shine through in unique ways (check out the so-reverbed-it's-almost-psychedelic guitar work on "The Night Life").  However, if you're looking for some of that hot shit, skip straight ahead to the reactionary Haggard classic "Are The Good Times Really Over For Good" (featuring Kathleen Edwards on vocals).

Let's face it: I'm a sucker for any record that includes "Help Me Make It Through The Night."  If you can't already tell, I'm pretty much a sucker for anything that involves John Doe or The Sadies.  So you might say this is a bit of a dream collaboration from my vantage point.  Maybe in the future, they'll write some original material together, but this'll do for now.

Dave Alvin returns!

I guess it's unfair to say Dave Alvin really ever went away.  But with only one album of original material (Ashgrove) in over a decade, I've been wondering if he'd ever put out a record that moved me like King Of California and Blackjack David.

The Guilty Women are Alvin's new band, created in the wake of the death of Guilty Man and best friend Chris Gaffney.  Not quite ready to regroup with the Guilty Men, Alvin recruited some old friends including Cindy Cashdollar and Amy Farris, among others.  The result sounds to my ears like a true return to form for Alvin, and he sounds positively re-energized.  The self-titled album Dave Alvin & The Guilty Women will be released on May 26.

That same day, Yep Roc also releases a tribute to Gaffney called The Man Of Somebody's Dreams.  The album was organized by Alvin, who also performs alongside folks like Alejandro Escovedo, Joe Ely, Peter Case and many, many others.

Both records are available for pre-order from Yep Roc, separately or as a bundle.  You can hear both albums below...

New releases: Sara Watkins, Ramblin' Jack Elliott

A couple of notable releases are out today.  First is Sara Watkins (formerly of Nickel Creek), and she's assembled a ridiculous roster of talent for her self-titled debut.  I've been listening to this one for a while and I really love it.

Next is A Stranger Here by Ramblin' Jack Elliott.  Produced by Joe Henry, the album finds Elliott interpreting Depression-era classics.  I'm looking forward to hearing it.  (Paste has a stream of the entire album here.)

Joe Henry's Gift (by Josh Hurst)

The good folks at Image Journal have seen fit to give Josh Hurst a chance to discuss the many talents of Joe Henry.  Part I of his essay is here; Part II appears tomorrow is here.

Incidentally, Henry has two productions due this month.  The first is the new album from Ramblin' Jack Elliott called A Stranger Here, which is out this week.  The second is the highly-anticipated new instrumental album from Allen Toussaint, due in two weeks and entitled The Bright Mississippi.

(As always, you can read tons of great album reviews by Josh over at his site The Hurst Review.)

Hendrix DVD's and other assorted nerdiness

So I had approximately two days with the house entirely to myself, a situation I'd not faced since sometime in early 2007.  I had a small stack of Jimi Hendrix DVD's that needed watching, and I was able to knock a couple of them out.  These are small ambitions, I admit, but it's important to set achievable goals.

First off, I think it's safe to say that as far as Hendrix films go, Live At Monterey is still the gold standard.  I have the Criterion Collection's complete Monterey set, which also includes the complete Otis performance from 1967.  Both Redding's and Hendrix's performances are simply stunning, all the more so because they were both relative unknowns to the audience at that time.

Anyway, the two films I just watched are both documentaries.  The first was The Making of Electric Ladyland, which is just what it says.  It's a retrospective doc that is actually about 10 years old but has been released with additional footage.  It's quite a fascinating look at Hendrix's landmark album.  Producer Eddie Kramer is interviewed extensively, and he walks the viewer through some isolated tracks, which sheds a lot of light on the recording process.  There is some rare footage of Hendrix as well, plus lots of interviews with manager Chas Chandler and the members of The Experience (though Noel Redding was relegated to a lesser role on this album).  Overall, it's a great film, probably recommended for more serious fans.  It is available as a standalone DVD or a combo package with the original album.

The second is the classic doc A Film About Jimi Hendrix, filmed only years after his death.  This was re-released as a deluxe DVD a few years back, with extensive extras.  The best part of the film are the interviews with peers like Pete Townsend, Eric Clapton and Mick Jagger, back when they were still in their prime.  This lends the film a bit more authenticity and makes it feel less Behind The Music-y.  It is heavily weighted with footage from Monterey, Woodstock and Isle Of Wight, all of which are now commercially available but were probably pretty revelatory at the time of the film's release.  Also really fantastic are the interviews with Hendrix's girlfriend from his Harlem days.  She's smart and funny, with not a trace of bitterness.  The affection for Hendrix as a person comes across loud and clear.

Missing from this list is the 2-disc edition of Hendrix At Woodstock, which is on its way.  All of this adds up to a fairly dorky three days or so, but it's great to hunker down with a singular obsession for a while.

I should also add that my friend Darren came over, and we moved both of my amps and all of the guitar into the living room for the evening.  And Darren left with my first Strat, which I bought in 1993.  I had trouble parting with her, but I just never play her anymore, and I'm happy that she'll get more time in someone else's hands.  This sale was, of course, to make room for a new guitar that I'm trying to sneak into the house, but Mrs. K is quite vigilant about money during tax/home renovation season.