This current band’s line-up includes brothers Joe and Jamey Booher on mandolin, bass and harmony vocals and Josh Miller on banjo, guitar, harmony and lead vocals with special guest Jim VanCleve on fiddle. They've got a brand new album due April 26th called Live at the Down Home- it is NewFound Road’s first live album.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Friday, April 15, 2011
New Music Video From Big Kenny & Jaron & The Long Road To Love- "Beautiful Lies"
"Big Kenny and I got to talking, and I mentioned that I had an idea for a song called 'Beautiful Lies,'" Jaron says. "Before I could even finish my sentence, he grabbed his guitar and began belting out, 'Lie to me, oh lie to me ...' Not wasting any time or wanting to stop his flow, I grabbed my guitar and in no time we were midway through the song."
"In nearly every songwriting session, there is one person who leads and the other person(s) follow and play a more supportive role. Big Kenny was the driver on this one, and I love that I have been able to add a piece of his stylings to my performance. All artists are an amalgamation of the artists they love ... I'm happy to add some more Big Kenny to my mix."
Charlie Daniels Band Releases New Single "Let 'Em Win Or Bring 'Em Home"
Daniels posted on his Facebook page last week about the new song, "
Ashton Shepherd Announces July Release Of Where Country Grows
Where Country Grows comes after her 2008 debut, Sounds So Good, and attempts to capture her songwriting and singing evolution she’s made over the last few years. She has written or co-written 8 of the 10 songs on the new album, which was produced by Buddy Cannon.
“I felt like I had a basic plan for this record,” she says. “You’ve got your first record behind you; you’ve learned some things. Your sophomore record – I heard from all these people – is supposed to be different. It’s supposed to be another factor and define you a little more. I’m thinking, ‘How am I going to do this?’”One new approach was to spend time with several of Nashville’s prominent songwriters, including Dean Dillon, Dale Dodson, Bobby Pinson and Troy Jones, to see if these collaborations could inspire new sounds or themes.
“I was just a little scared of it, since I’d never co-written before,” says Ashton. “Once I started, I really, really enjoyed it. I felt like we had plenty of songs to choose from. So the angle on this record was trying to define Ashton Shepherd in a different way, maybe dig just a little bit deeper and try and put some different kinds of songs on it.
“I was listening back to the record, thinking, ‘This has something for everybody on it.’ I think we’ve accomplished that,” says Ashton, who wrote by herself two of the album’s most powerful songs – “I’m Just a Woman” and “Rory’s Radio.”
“This record is more tempo-heavy. The first record was very country with all the ballads,” she says. “It made it kind of hard to do live shows, because you had 11 songs and six of them were ballads. Now, we’ve got a good little handful of spunky songs that I think people will really like to sing along with and enjoy on this record.”
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
CD Album Reviews- Alison Krauss & Union Station- Paper Airplane
Paper Airplane is Alison Krauss' 14th album and the band's follow-up to 2004's triple Grammy award-winning Lonely Runs Both Ways- also on Rounder Records. It is Krauss' first release since her 2007 internationally acclaimed, multi-platinum collaboration with Robert Plant, Raising Sand, which won six Grammys including "Record of the Year" and "Album of the Year." Alison Krauss and Union Station features the talents of Krauss (fiddle and lead vocals), Dan Tyminski (guitar, mandolin and lead vocals), Barry Bales (bass and harmony vocals), Ron Block (banjo, guitar and harmony vocals), and Jerry Douglas (Dobro and harmony vocals). Paper Airplane was produced by the band and recorded in Nashville with engineer Mike Shipley (Maroon 5, The Cars, Def Leppard, Joni Mitchell). As bluegrass virtuosos the members of Union Station are beyond compare, and the music they create together transcends all genres. Their work on films such as Cold Mountain and O Brother, Where Art Thou? has contributed immeasurably to a renaissance of American roots music.
The Review:
From the minute that Krauss opens her mouth on the first and title track, she has you hooked. Quite honestly, she could sing the phone book with that ethereal voice of hers and I just might have to sit down and listen. Her voice caresses the mic with the tender touch of a velvet glove. It’s expressive. It’s personal. And it draws you in like a whisper on a wind.
That fragility is transferred best to songs that share the same sense of frailty. On “Lie Awake,” she tells a tale of laying down for eternity and the questions and thoughts it brings as you lie there. The lyrics she sings and inquiries she poses hang there in the air like a ghost to the ears. Krauss has also selected two covers, Jackson Browne’s “My Opening Farewell as well as Richard and Linda Thompson’s “Dimming of the Day.” The latter of these two was also covered by Bonnie Raitt in the late 90’s and it makes a perfect match for Krauss. It’s gentle and calm while tearing your heart out straight through the middle of your chest.
I have to stop and point out a great quote from Krauss about the recording of this song: “The day we cut the song in the studio, and hit the line, ‘When all my will is gone you hold me sway,’ I fell apart and had to stop. I said, ‘It’s so sad.’ And everybody was so sweet- I thought they were gonna laugh and rip me apart. There was this big long silence, and Barry says, ‘Well, that’s what you get for having a girl in the band.’”The remarkable part about the album, however, is the stand-out tracks by fellow lead-singer Dan Tyminski. Dan is no stranger to lead vocals, and his voice on “I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow” for the O Brother soundtrack left an indelible and unshakable mark on bluegrass music forever. But on most AKAUS albums, his vocals have generally played second fiddle to those of Krauss’. Not so on this album. Two amazingly written tracks are written precisely for Tyminski’s muscular and evocative voice- “Dustbowl Children” and “Bonita and Bill Butler.” “Dustbowl Children” is a snapshot of the great depression days of old and as he relates tales of twisters, crop losses and places “where the grass growing green fields are gone,” the runaway and frantic banjo playing matches perfectly. It’s amazing musical desperation in sound. The second of those great tracks tells of a seafaring saga of travelling to America. “Her dowry was my life between the shores,” he tells in the tale. It’s terrific bluegrass storytelling at its best.
Those two songs- as well as the stand-outs mentioned helmed by Krauss at the vocals, represent the powerful theme of the record. Remember when outstanding albums had themes and weren’t just a bunch of singles bunched together? Each song tells of a life trial and the ability- or sometimes inability- of the human element to withstand it and overcome. That in itself is worthy enough for high marks. When you add in the heavenly vocals of Krauss- and the job well-done by Tyminski- it’s enough for a perfect storm. Perhaps even a “dustbowl” storm.
Sounds Like:
There’s only one Alison Krauss
Stand Out Tracks:
Paper Airplane
Dustbowl Children
Lie Awake
My Love Follows You Where You Go
Dimming Of The Day
Bonita and Bill Butler
The Verdict:
Four Stars Out Of Five
The Resurrection Of Johnny Cash: Hurt, Redemption and American Recordings Hits Shelves In May
In 1992, Johnny Cash was battered and bruised. In constant pain through heart problems, broken bones and the aftermath of a second bout of drug addiction, his career wasn't in much better shape than his body. One of his last singles for CBS, before they dumped him in 1986 after nearly 30 years, had been 'The Chicken In Black' – in the video for which he appeared as a superhero fowl, dressed in cape, yellow shirt and tights.Author Graeme Thomson is the author of the acclaimed biographies on Elvis Costello: Complicated Shadows, Willie Nelson: The Outlaw (Virgin, 2006), an intimate portrait of Willie Nelson; and most recently Kate Bush: Under The Ivy and is also the author of I Shot A Man In Reno (Continuum 2008), a subjective history of the many different, often unsatisfactory ways popular music has dealt with the issue of mortality.
Cut to a little under two years later, December 1993, Cash is being introduced by Johnny Depp at the Viper Room in LA, with Sean Penn, Juliette Lewis and assorted Red Hot Chilli Peppers in the crowd, cheering, for the full ninety minutes. He had just completed recording his landmark American Recordings with Rick Rubin and would win a Grammy for that and four other American Recordings albums. He played an unforgettable Glastonbury set in 1994 and from thereon, until his death in 2003 (and beyond), Cash was the epitome of hip. Big Daddycool.
What happened?: The Resurrection Of Johnny Cash tells the story of perhaps the most remarkable turnaround in musical history. As well as acknowledging Cash's drug, drink and religious travails in the fifties and sixties, the book digs much deeper, focusing on a lesser known but no less remarkable period of his life: the inglorious fall post-1970 and the almost biblical rebirth in his later years. Homing in on the ten-year period between 1986 and 1995, The Resurrection Of Johnny Cash tells in detail the story of Cash's humiliating fall from grace and his unprecedented revival; his struggle with a cruel variety of illnesses; his ongoing battles with addiction; his search to find direction in his career; his eventual rebirth as both an artist and a man; and his hugely influential legacy.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
New Music Video From Jimmy Rankin- "Here In The Heart"
Jimmy Rankin comes from one of my favorite bands, The Rankin Family. Canadians know them well as they've been a fixture on the country music charts for the better part of two decades. This is the latest from their lead singer.
Up & Coming New Nashville- The Henningsens
Their own artistry is taking off in 2011, showcasing Clara's powerful vocal abilities coupled with Brian and Aaron's tight family harmony. Their unusual lyrical formulations keep audiences on their toes and spell bound. Look for them to do something big in 2011 and beyond. They are just getting started! They have already had eight of their songs recorded by major artists. Their cuts include the new super group The Band Perry's new radio single "You Lie" which is currently climbing the charts, soon to be radio single "Alone" recorded by Sara Evans, the title cut of country legend Highway 101's just released christmas album "Six Gold Coins" and "Love Out Loud" recorded by Wynona Judd as a tribute to her mother Naomi, soon appearing on The Judds' Oprah Network television series.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Big & Rich Writing New Album- Contribute To Upcoming Footloose Film Soundtrack
Big Kenny first revealed that the duo have just recorded a song entitled 'Fake I.D.' that will appear in the remake of 'Footloose.'
"Just when you think that that's pretty cool and really good, you find out that Julianne Hough is dancing to your song. And she looks so good and does such a fantastic job," said Big Kenny about the song. "It's hot, hot, hot and on fire. It's Big and Rich. It's edgy and sexy."The film, which is scheduled to hit theatres on October 14, stars former 'Dancing with the Stars' champ, Julianne Hough, Dennis Quaid and Andie MacDowell.
The duo is also reportedly heading to the studio to record a new album beginning next month- and have a new single that will be coming to radio soon.
"We're going to start new rehearsals next month," said Big Kenny in an interview on the red carpet with Walker Hayes and Jana Kramer. "We got new music coming out next month."
That Nashville SoundBites- Thompson Square- Thompson Square
The Review:
While the album came out earlier this year, the second single released off of the album, “Are You Going To Kiss Me Or Not,” has been making a steady trip up the charts and has just hit #1 this week after an incredible 36 weeks on the charts. The married couple made up of Kiefer and Shawna Thompson didn’t fare as well with their debut single “Let’s Fight”- a cute little number about kicking the doldrums out of a feisty romance with a good fight and make up session. It shamefully never cracked the Top 50. The band has some serious skill and some major potential. Shawna, the female lead, has a beautiful voice reminiscent of Deana Carter and her understated performance on the song, “Glass,” is beautifully well-executed. She shows another sultrier and soulful side on “If It Takes All Night” that’s equally strong. The problem here is in the production, however. Jason Aldean's road band, Tully Kennedy, Kurt Allison, David Fanning, and Rich Redmond, co-produced the album. And if there’s one obvious revelation about their style, it is that they like percussion. LOTS of it. And cymbals. And high hats. And more cymbals. And more high hats. (Perhaps I shouldn’t be so overly surprised at the bombastic production style from a bunch of guys that front country’s heaviest rocker.) Unfortunately, it drowns out the potential charms of the Thompson’s vocals. And on the times that the producers back off the pedal, there's much to like. Unfortunately, much of it just ends up being noise- so much so that it makes it difficult to appreciate the songs for their own merits.
Sounds Like:
A noisy version of Steel Magnolia
Stand Out Tracks
Glass
If It Takes All Night
Let’s Fight
The Verdict:
Two and a half stars out of five
Sunday, April 10, 2011
TNS Video History- Styx's Tommy Shaw Makes Opry Debut
Tommy Shaw, lead singer of Styx, makes his debut at the Grand Ole Opry performing songs from his bluegrass album "The Great Divide."
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