Country – Page 3 – 7th Level Music

Live: Willie Nelson, Alison Krauss, and Ida Mae – Memorial Coliseum – Ft. Wayne, In – August 05, 2019

2019 is turning out to be a year of legends in terms of my concert viewing. First there was Sir Paul McCartney, then Jeff Lynne and his latest version of ELO, and now Willie Nelson – one of the greatest songwriters and country music legends of all time.

Opening for him were a new British country / blues husband (Chris Turpin) and wife (Stephanie Jean) duo Ida Mae, who put on a simple and effective set of dark country tunes using nothing but a foot pedal electric bass drum, a guitar, a tambourine, and matching vocals. They were elated to be on the tour and playing in the biggest venue they’ve played so far. According to Jean, the only other time they’d been in an arena was to see a hockey game.

Ida Mae playing the largest venue they’ve played so far.

Up next was none other than multiple Grammy Award-winner Alison Krauss. She’d put on a great show the first time I saw her, and I was sure she’d put on another great performance. She didn’t disappoint. Performing on a stage decorated with antique lamps, doll houses, benches, and even a bicycle, Krauss and her band played a lovely set of Americana, gospel, country, and blues that had everyone in the palm of her hand. Among the highlights were “River in the Rain,” “Forget About It,” “Ghost in This House,” “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground,” and “Down to the River to Pray.”

Alison Krauss and her lovely voice hypnotizing the place.

The Red Headed Stranger was up next, and he came out belting “Whiskey River.” He had the crowd laughing and singing during his cover of Toby Keith’s “Beer for my Horses.” Nelson’s singing was a little quiet at first, but his acoustic guitar shredding made up for it. His voice was warmed up by the time he reached “If You’ve Got the Money, I’ve Got the Time” and crowd favorites like “Mama, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys,” “On the Road Again,” and “You Were Always on My Mind.” He also made me giddy by doing three Hank Williams covers (“Jambalaya,” “Hey Good Lookin’,” and “Move It on Over.”).

He ended the show with a fourth Williams cover, “I Saw the Light,” as well as the classic “I’ll Fly Away” – both sung with Ms. Krauss who came back onstage wearing a jacket because it was chilly throughout the whole coliseum. It was nice to see them having fun and you could tell Krauss was joyfully singing with one of her idols.

Nelson has since cancelled his tour due to him experiencing “breathing problems.” I hope he recovers soon and get back on the road. Don’t miss him. He’s still touring at age 86, but I can’t imagine he’ll be doing it much longer.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Jake Xerxes Fussell – Out of Sight

Jake Xerxes Fussell is one of those artists who wouldn’t have been on my radar were it not for this blog. A country guitarist who sings songs about fish mongers? That’s usually not in my wheelhouse. Fussell’s last album, What in the Natural World, was sent to me by his label and it turned out to be one of my favorite albums of that year.

Now they’ve sent me Out of Sight, and it’s already in my top 20 of the year so far. The opener, “The River St. Johns” is that fish monger’s song I mentioned above, which Russell remembers hearing as a kid and he reproduces with great affection. “Micheal Was Hearty” is his reworking of an Irish folk song from the late 1800’s into, get this, a waltz. It works. It works quite well. “Oh Captain” is his cover of an obscure Willis Laurence James song from the 1920’s and has Fussell singing the blues about a deckhand’s toil aboard his ship.

“Three Ravens” is another obscure 1920’s American songbook classic that has Fussell’s guitar work shining throughout it, and the lap steel is a great touch. The soft bass drum on “Jubilee” is like the heartbeat of a child as she sees a carousel for the first time. “Swing and turn, jubilee. Live and learn, jubilee,” Fussell sings. It’s a simple message that carries a lot of weight and insight. “Winnsboro Cottonmill Blues” has Fussell singing about the hard life of a textile mill worker whose boss would “take the nickles off a dead man’s eyes to buy Coca-Colas and Eskimo Pies.”

The shuffle of the murder / love ballad “The Rainbow Willow” is only matched in its artistry by the lap steel guitar and Fussell’s vocals. The instrumental “16-20” is slightly creepy, yet warm – like a friend who emerges out of a fog on a lonely road. The closer is the spiritual classic “Drinking of the Wine,” which Fussell admits he sings like fisherman singing a net-hauling shanty.

I haven’t written anywhere near enough about Fussell guitar playing, which is so masterful that he makes every song sound easy. His vocals also seem effortless, and his backing band on this record is outstanding. Fussell mentions in the liner notes that he wanted this record to “sound like a band playing in a room – nothing too ornate or grandiose in concept.” He nailed it. Out of Sight is intimate and delightful.

Keep your mind open.

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Jake Xerxes Fussell’s new album, “Out of Sight,” due June 7th. The first single, “The River St. Johns,” however, is available now.

“North Carolina-based folk and blues guitarist Jake Xerxes Fussell creates music that resides at the seams of Appalachia and the cosmos.” — NPR Music

“Jake Xerxes Fussell is a national treasure.” — Aquarium Drunkard

“Achingly beautiful. He has an uncanny ability to illuminate the present by propping up a window against the past.” — Uncut

Jake Xerxes Fussell is pleased to announce his third album, Out of Sight, out June 7th on Paradise of Bachelors, alongside the album’s first single, “The River St. Johns.” Of the track, Jake writes: ‘The River St. Johns’ comes straight from one of Stetson Kennedy’s Florida WPA recordings of a gentleman named Harden Stuckey doing his interpretation of a fishmonger’s cry, which he recalls from a childhood memory. What compelling imagery there: “I’ve got fresh fish this morning, ladies / They are gilded with gold, and you may find a diamond in their mouths.” I can’t help but believe him.

Listen “The River St. Johns” — https://youtu.be/RaJCnhbVM64

On his third and most finely wrought album yet, guitarist, singer, and master interpreter Fussell is joined for the first time by a full band featuring Nathan Bowles (drums), Casey Toll (bass), Nathan Golub (pedal steel), Libby Rodenbough (violin, vocals), and James Anthony Wallace (piano, organ). An utterly transporting selection of traditional narrative folksongs addressing the troubles and delights of love, work, and wine (i.e., the things that matter), collected from a myriad of obscure sources and deftly metamorphosed, Out of Sight contains, among other moving curiosities, a fishmonger’s cry that sounds like an astral lament (“The River St. Johns”); a cotton mill tune that humorously explores the unknown terrain of death and memory (“Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues”); and a fishermen’s shanty/gospel song equally concerned with terrestrial boozing and heavenly transcendence (“Drinking of the Wine”).

Read Bonnie “Prince” Billy’s essay on Fussell below.

“In our house we’ve listened to more Jake Fussell than any other individual artist over the past year, with the possible exception of Laurie Spiegel. We’ve had the opportunity to witness several intimate performances of Fussell’s (to my mind, he creates a new standard for the value of up-close musical experience) here in Louisville. As long as Jake Fussell is making records and playing shows, there is ample cause for optimism in this world. Fussell’s repertoire, and the manner in which he creates, constructs and presents it, displays such a beautiful and complex relationship to time and currency. He’s able to listen to and understand the presence of an old recording, of crusty dusty written-out pieces of music and memories of musical encounters. And then he overlays his own now-ness on those pre-existing presences so that the lives of older musical forces, in effect, link arms with Fussell’s in-progress trajectory and skip down the brick road, picking up desperate and willing compatriots along the way. Meaning: Jake lives in music as a true time-artist, using the qualities of time itself as irreplaceable elements of content.

“When Jake sings a sad song, he presents it in such a way that makes me want to say “Hey, but everything’s okay because you’re Jake Xerxes Fussell!” Hopefully it’s okay by him that I wouldn’t accept full-fledged nihilism from him even if he were standing naked on the ledge of a tall building with “this World is Shit” written on his shaved chest in, well, shit. His deal with his songs is too strong and blatantly valuable.” — Bonnie “Prince” Billy

Out of Sight Tracklist: 01. The River St. Johns 02. Michael Was Hearty 03. Oh Captain 04. Three Ravens 05. Jubilee 06. Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues 07. The Rainbow Willow 08. 16-20 09. Drinking of the Wine

Pre-order Out of Sight: From PoB (LP/CD): http://www.paradiseofbachelors.com/pob-042

Elsewhere (LP/CD/DL/stream): http://smarturl.it/PoB42

Keep your mind open.

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Partner get country on new single, “Tell You Off.”

Partner are sharing the second song from their forthcoming new record entitled Saturday the 14th. “Tell You Off,” originally debuted on their Tiny Desk session, “We wrote this song in Josée’s bedroom last year in Windsor Ontario and it’s the first time we’ve had to bleep a lyric in a song.” – Partner

Stereogum calls it “…twangingly catchy. It’s pretty wacko, filled with farm animal samples and bleeped-out curses and a flippant attitude that’d fit right in at your local honky-tonk.”

Listen to “Tell You Off” HERE

Earlier, Partner shared the video for “Long and McQuade,” an ode to the Canadian music store chain. Watch the video HERE.

Saturday the 14th, out April 5th, follows Partner’s 2017 debut, In Search of Lost Time which landed on NPR, Stereogum, Noisey, Exclaim, and CBC Music year end lists. Pre-order Saturday the 14th HERE.

Partner will tour Canada and the Mid-West this spring.

TOUR DATES April 13 – The Danforth Music Hall, Toronto ON+ April 18 – The Capitol Music Club, Saskatoon SK+ April 19 – The Starlite Room, Edmonton AB+ April 20 – The Palace Theatre, Calgary AB+ April 22 – Spiritbar, Nelson BC+ April 23 – Sapphire Nightclub, Kelowna BC+ April 25 – Cactus Jacks, Kamloops BC+ April 26 – Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver BC+ April 27 – Capital Ballroom, Victoria BC+ April 30 – Bo’s Bar & Grill, Red Deer AB+ May 02 – The Exchange, Regina SK+ May 03 – The Garrick, Winnipeg MB+ May 05 – The Hideout, Chicago IL May 06 – The Cactus Club, Milwaukee WI May 07 – UFO, Detroit MI + supporting Wintersleep

Partner links Website: http://www.partnerband.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/partner.music.band/ Bandcamp: https://partnerband.bandcamp.com/ Record Label: http://youvechangedrecords.com/portfolio/partner/ Twitter: http://twitter.com/partner_band YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/partnerband

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Cass McCombs – Tip of the Sphere

In the liner notes to Cass McCombs’ new album, Tip of the Sphere, he mentions how it was recorded in Brooklyn, New York and that he only remembers “emotional things dictated by the city” from the experience. In another section, however (written from the perspective of a mental health professional evaluating McCombs after he was found on the streets), possible themes of the album are postulated to be “identity, reincarnation, criminality, Armageddon, and suicide.”

This is tongue-in-cheek, of course, but only to a point. Tip of the Sphere is a record full of tall tales of criminals, drifters, barflies, soul-seekers, and tricksters. McCombs could’ve met any and all of these types of folks while hanging out in Brooklyn and been intrigued by their stories.

The title of the opening track, “I Followed the River South to What,” implies a letdown experienced by McCombs or someone he knows, but it’s actually an uplifting tale about the dignity of the homeless. Each verse opens with a typical question asked of a homeless person (i.e., “You live out on the street, in the open air?”, “Where will you goes, when the winter comes?”) and witty, Zen-like replies from the person being questioned who merely asked for a dollar. McCombs’ guitar work is like a simple music box tune and Otto Hauser’s drums put down a beat that is more complex than you first realize. Frank LoCrastro’s mellotron work helps the tune float along on a carefree breeze.

“The Great Pixley Train Robbery” was inspired by an old newspaper article McCombs read about a real-life Old West event. It’s a tune that would make Waylon Jennings proud as McCombs sings from the perspective of one of three bandits who made away with $7,000.00 in gold and is now ready to tell the details of the crime that left two dead. Dan Horne’s bass and Jason Quever’s drums on the track provide a great groove that will be hard to match this year (and McCombs’ fuzzed-out guitar solo is great). Horne’s fine bass work continues on “Estrella,” a beautiful love song to a Latina whom McCombs lost and has found again after a literal or metaphorical reincarnation. Only he knows which.

“Absentee,” which is already on my list for Best Singles of 2019, is a song about giving so much of one’s self that you end up feeling like a ghost adrift in the physical world. It’s a torch song mixed with a blues track with psychedelia sprinkled on top for extra spice. Dan Iead’s pedal steel adds the bluesy touch, LoCrastro’s organ work brings in almost a gospel flavor, and Sam Griffith Owens’ saxophone work reminds me of Rahsaan Roland Kirk’s trippy, subtle jams. John Nellen’s tabla beats on “Real Life” add to the introspective nature of the song about what it means to be human.

“Sleeping Volcanoes” is McCombs proclaiming he and everyone else he knows is sick of the world in general and he prays Armageddon will take us to a better place in the next life. It’s not as nihilistic as you’d expect. It’s even a bit calming. The guitars on “Sidewalk Bop After Suicide” take on an outlaw country edge, which continues with Iead’s pedal steel on “Prayer for Another Day” – a lovely song about wanting to step out of this reality and into one that’s similar but without all the trappings we’ve created in it.

“American Canyon Sutra” has McCombs singing / speaking about economic inequality (“In American Canyon, where Walmart employees and customers are one and same. They’ve even built apartments here to add a residential coffin to the bargain. Guess I’ll stay forever and work for the company store.”) over processed beats and guitar notes that sound like distant war horns. “Tying Loose Ends” is about McCombs preparing for death (whenever that may be) by trying to learn his family history before he becomes a footnote in it. The weirdly worded “Rounder” closes the album with another solid beat by Hauser and more outlaw country flair from McCombs’ guitar and Iead’s pedal steel before it floats away into a nice, slow jam with a great organ solo from LoCrastro.

This is a lovely record that you could put into multiple genres. McCombs isn’t afraid to embrace and expand on those genres in order to tell his stories. Like any good storyteller, he tells a tale but leaves a lot of mysteries unsolved.

Keep your mind open.

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Top 30 Albums of 2018: #’s 20 – 16

We’ve reached the top 20!

#20: Diagonal – Tomorrow – My wife doesn’t really like shoegaze music. She just doesn’t get it. This record, however, made her say she might grow to like shoegaze. I can’t write a better recap than that.

#19: Blackwater Holylight (self-titled) – This debut from these dark psych rockers has sexy goth touches, doom riffs, and psychedelic flair that made it high on my list this year.

#18: Neko Case – Hell-On – Case’s latest is another beautiful record of masterful songwriting, sometimes heartbreaking lyrics, and plenty of folk, Americana, and outlaw touches.

#17: Shopping – The Official Body – This post-punk fun-fest is poppy, peppy, and punky. It’s fun from beginning to end.

#16: Terminal Mind – Recordings – Speaking of punk, this reissue of rare material from Austin, Texas punk legends Terminal Mind was a great time capsule from the Regan administration and full of anger, chugging riffs, and trashing of authority figures.

Keep your mind open.

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Top 20 Singles of 2018: #’s 10 – 6

We’re in the top 10 now. Let’s get right to it.

#10: “Never Coming Back” by A Place to Bury Strangers – I was excited to learn that Lea Braswell was the new drummer for APTBS. I thought she’d match the powerhouse duo of Oliver Ackermann and Dion Lunadon well, and this single not only proved me right, but it also heralded a new sound for the band that was outstanding.

#9: “Asia (Adrenaline)” by Hprizm – This single, and really the whole album, reveals more and more with each listen. Plus, the beats on it are great (That referee’s whistle used for timing!). It’s a song that makes you want to explore more of Hprizm‘s catalogue (as you should).

#8: “Fighting” by Here Lies Man – I was sent this by HLM‘s label, Riding Easy Records, in a clever scheme to make me fascinated with HLM’s heavy Afrobeat jams. The scheme worked, because this single was not only all over my earbuds, I even heard it on BBC 6 Music.

#7: “Great Job” by CHAI – These post-punks from Japan are fully committed to the DIY life and have serious musical chops. You can’t help but love them, especially when they make music as good as this single from their new record due later this year.

#6: “Curse of the I-5 Corridor” by Neko Case – Stunningly beautiful, this song is a prime example of Case‘s vocal wonders and songwriting skill. Few artists nowadays can write and sing a song like her, and even fewer could write and sing something like this.

Who made the top 5? That will be revealed tomorrow!

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Neko Case – Hell-On

Singer-songwriter Neko Case has been through a lot in the last five years. The biggest calamity was that her home in Vermont burned to the ground while she was recording in Sweden. The loss and enlightenment that fire brought to her were the inspiration for much of her new record, Hell-On. Even the album’s cover has her wearing a crown of cigarettes while a blazing tar fire burns on her shoulder.

The title track opens the record and has Case boldly stating, “God is not a contract or a guy….God is a lusty tire fire.” Nature, much like Case, cannot be controlled. You shouldn’t even try. “Nothing quite so poison as a promise,” she warns. Just sit back and listen. You’ll come through this song (and the whole record) with respect and an altered perspective for her, nature, detachment, and femininity.

“Last Lion of Albion” is one of Case’s many songs about nature, animals, and the importance of protecting both. The beats and acoustic guitar riffs are wonderful throughout it, but they (like most everything else) can barely keep up with Case’s expert vocals and assuredness. “Halls of Sarah” encourages women to stand strong in the times of #MeToo (and check out that saxophone solo!).

“Bad Luck” is the song Case wrote after her house and barn turned into ashes. It’s surprisingly upbeat and is an anthem for standing up when you’re knocked to the ground. The song ends with Case stating, “I died and went to work.” You take the loss, and you move on. The past is gone so take the moment now and run with it. “Curse of the I-5 Corridor” is a stunning showcase for Case’s voice as she sings, “I miss the smell of mystery.” and tells the story of a woman who left home with a fake I.D. and wandered in and out of relationships, one night stands, and life in general until she meets up with a former lover in old age when they both might be mad and facing death. It’s one of her best.

“Gumball Blue” has Case singing about the trappings of fame, “Dirty Diamond” seems to be an ode to the (currently) necessary evil of petroleum, and “Oracle of the Maritimes” is a lovely story of fishermen, lost love, and the dangers of the sea. I love how “Winnie” (a song about love among women) starts off with a quick four-count drumstick tap and then switches to a sultry bass groove that moves like a bathrobe being slowly dropped to the bedroom floor.

Case includes her cover of Eric Bachmann‘s “Sleep All Summer” (a song that, as the story goes, made her pull over her car and weep the first time she heard it) with Bachmann performing a duet with her is another stunner about lost love. Guests artists are all over this record. K.D. Lang, Beth Ditto, Mark Lanegan, Carl Newman, Katherine Calder, and John Collins are just a few (the last three are bandmates with Ms. Case in the New Pornographers) who provide guest vocals, production, and instrumentation to various tracks.

“Black is blue if I say it is,” Case sings on “My Uncle’s Navy” – a story about a relative she admired for his strength and resolve. The album closes with “Pitch or Honey,” in which she admits, “I use major chords to make this a sadder song…An effective manipulation.” She’s right. It works. “I wrote this song for me, and now I let it go. From the island of the Texaco, I release it into the custody of my huckleberry friend. Am I making pitch or honey?” I love the idea of Case embracing detachment yet still wondering if her work is any good. It’s the curse of any artist. Being satisfied with our work is a rarity, but we know we have to release it to someone sooner or later.

Case detached from many things while making this record, some literal (her house and many possessions) and some metaphorical (things from her past that she hadn’t yet fully sent down the river). Hell-On is another beautiful work from a master of her craft and one of the strongest voices in music today.

Keep your mind open.

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Live: Alison Krauss – September 12, 2018 – South Bend, IN

Alison Krauss‘ South Bend stop on her current tour was supposed to be at the Morris Theatre. That was changed, however, when a piece of the ceiling inside the Morris fell to the floor days earlier and the venue was closed for repairs. Her show (like Ringo Starr‘s before her) was moved to South Bend’s Century Center.

My wife and I arrived there with our tickets for “main floor left center” seats in row W, seats 12 and 13. What we found in the ad hoc seating area was chaos. All “main floor” seats were set up in the far rear stage left corner of the room. Five different docents each told us different information on where our seats were located. We were told to sit in the “mezzanine” seats at one point, and then told all “main floor” seats were across the room and to sit wherever we could find a seat. The “main floor” seats were listed by row, however (written in pencil that was hard to see, no less), and row W stopped at seat #10. Seats 12 and 13 didn’t exist. I asked if more chairs were available and was told they had enough seats for all tickets sold. This turned out to be more misinformation, because as more and more people showed up with no idea where to sit, docents started bringing out more chairs. One row of seats moved all their seats to the left by two spots either by suggestion of a docent or just for the hell of it. People were still confused about where to sit within seven minutes of the start of Ms. Krauss’ set.

Ms. Krauss did put on a fine show, so all was well once she took the stage. She and her band, which featured members of Union Station and the Cox Family Singers, performed a lot of spiritual hymns, bluegrass classics, and some of her more popular love songs.

Starting with a cover of Roger Miller‘s “River in the Rain,” Ms. Krauss’ amazing voice immediately filled the room. Her cover of Willie Nelson‘s “I Never Cared for You” was heartbreaking, and “Ghost in This House” was perfect now that pumpkin spice is all the rage and Halloween decorations are going up again.

Her cover of Little Milton‘s “Let Your Loss Be Your Lesson” was a blast and the traditional “Down to the River to Pray” was inspiring. The cover of the Carter Family‘s “Keep on the Sunny Side” was a fun highlight, and the closer of “It Is Well with My Soul” was divine.

Go see her if you can. Goofy seating is worth the headache for the lovely song craft you’ll hear.

Keep your mind open.

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Neko Case’s new single, “Hell-On,” is (as you would expect) wonderful.

One of the best singer-songwriters of our time, Neko Case, has unveiled the first single and title track from her upcoming album, Hell-On. It’s a lovely, haunting, and slightly quirky track highlighted by a cello backing Case’s distinctive voice and witty lyrics.

Hell-On is available for pre-order and is set for release on June 01, 2018. She’s also embarking on a U.S. tour with Ray Lamontagne beginning May 27th and ending July 10th.

This will surely be one of the best records of the year. Ms. Case always delivers.

Keep your mind open.

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