320 kbps | 83 MB | LINKS
Mike Aiken’s new release Wayward Troubadour (Northwind Records), is one of those summertime Americana “kick back and hang out” collections perfect to pop in the stereo and launch into the season. Featuring super talented friends: Kenny Vaughan (Marty Stuart) on guitars, David Roe (Johnny Cash, Chet Atkins, Jerry Reed) on bass, and with songs co-written by Henry Paul (Outlaws), who also contributes mandolin and vocals; and Chris P. James (Burrito Brothers), the songs are, as expected, stories of the life of a singing bard and nostalgia, with some amusing songs thrown in for good measure.
“Everything Changed” is a two-step shuffle with snappy beats, and wailing old timey fiddle; and then “Nashville Skyline” describes the homesickness and longing for people and places, and “Hangover Helper is another precise one, with drummer Tim Hurst popping crisp and clear over entertaining lyrics. “Two Lane Highway,” “where cokes were just a dime,” from the place where maybe all soda pop is referred to as “a coke” and the highways are mostly all two lanes, taking you “up around the bend.” You’ll notice Henry Paul and Amy Aiken’s nice high harmonies on this one, too. “Travelin’ Bone continues the troubadour theme with some more jug band style weaving guitar thanks to Kenny Vaughn. “Chesapeake” was rerecorded from one of Aiken’s earlier releases; this song was picked by Sports Illustrated for their list of “All-Time Top 40 Sport Songs,” a song about sailing and is just a cool little song.
Aiken co-wrote six, and wrote another two of the eleven tracks solo here, and then provided interpretations of three others: “Real Mean Dog” (Robbin Thompson, Gregg Wetzel);“Dead Man Runs Before He Walks” (Mark Collie, Shawn Camp) and “Penelope” (Christopher Hynes) with some throwback “yeah yeahs” over rubboard. All in all a groovy album with plenty of great musicianship and the kind of solid songs that’ll bring you back at least a couple decades to our roots beginnings.
The rest of Aiken’s band includes Amy Aiken – vocals, rubboard, African gourd, congas, tambourine and assorted noisemakers; Amy pulls a lot of the vocal weight on this project. And there’s Tom Hurst on drums; Michael Webb on the Hammond B3; Ben Probus’ fiddle work; Skip DeRupa on guiro, and jaw harp; and Randall Thomas on background vocals; with Tim Buppert on guest vocals. Give it a listen, and get your copy,
320 kbps | 134 MB | LINKS
Since 2004, Laurie MacAllister has traveled the country as part of the Americana vocal trio Red Molly. Here, on her first solo recording in 15 years, she’s stepping up to the microphone alone, with a crystalline voice that cuts straight to the heart. And while that voice is a spectacular asset, she shines in her roles as curator and storyteller; she selected these 13 musical gems, and assembled a studio band of folk music’s finest sidemen, a crack ensemble who provide a stunning backdrop for the delivery of these stories. The thread that runs through all the songs is as old as time itself: Love.
There’s the innocence and anticipation of a first kiss in “When We Begin” and the scary, about-to-fall-in-love shakiness of “Vertigo”. There’s the wry response to abandonment in “Are You Happy Now?” and the desperation and loneliness of loss in “Unfamiliar Moon”. There’s hope of eventual forgiveness in “A Reckoning of Us” and a story of decades-old love gone cold, in “Birches”. It’s all here, all the beauty, the longing, the heartbreak. This album of songs is a mixed tape lover’s dream.
Like she does in her work with Red Molly, Laurie pays tribute to her favorite songwriters, including songs by Bill Morrissey, Richard Shindell, Lucy Kaplansky, Cliff Eberhardt, and Vance Gilbert; and I’m honored to be on the list. The album in many ways is Laurie’s love letter to the contemporary folk music scene, celebrating a collection of it’s best songwriters, songs, musicians and vocalists.
Tracks:
01. My Stupid Heart
02. When We Begin (feat. Mark Erelli)
03. For a Song
04. Poison and Wine (feat. Jimmy LaFave)
05. Vertigo
06. A Reckoning of Us
07. Are You Happy Now? (feat. Richard Shindell)
08. Home (feat. Robby Hecht)
09. Ten Year Night
10. A Thousand Years (feat. Ellis Paul)
11. Unfamiliar Moon
12. Birches (feat. David Glaser)
13. The Right Words
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