Americana, Part 2
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Get ready for another collection of Americana/Folk music. Where we last left off, I was talking about "The Boss".
With this entry, I thought I'd talk about one of my favorite American folk/protest singer: Harry Chapin. I discovered him in the 7th grade, while driving in the passenger seat with Mr Schemling to Yosemite National Park.
We were listening to Mister Mister and Harry Chapin. I loved the songs I heard so much that he made cassette tapes of some of his more famous songs like "Taxi" and "Cats in the Cradle".
There were other songs that I loved, of course. The epic "The Mayor of Candor Lied", original appeared on On the Road to Kingdom Come (1976). I have never seen that CD, but I eventually got the song from a 3-disc box set called Story of a Life.
It may have impacted me different when I was younger, but I have always imagined it to make a great movie: two love-torn lovers, a blackmail, and "a deal made in hell". There is a twist in the song, so you must listen to this all the way to the end when you find out why Coleen never returned from holiday.
Martyn Joseph later covered this song on his 1999 album, Far From Silent, which I didn't like it too much. He made a clumsy attempt at changing the lyrics at the end...
Incidentally, I was listening to some of his songs, you know, for old time's sake. In my modest collection of 70 Chapin songs, I have noticed that I often liked his live versions much better than the studio version. They are usually full of interaction and often the lyrics were changed. Check out the opening track "Dreams Goes By" from his Greatest Stories Live, it would've been amazing to see him live.
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MATT KEATING
mattkeating.com ♥ myspace.com
When I first saw that this was a two-disc release (23 tracks) for Quixotic, I must confess, I was a little overwelm. After I gave the first disc a listen, it went down really easy. Many of the songs are standard length (3 or 4 minutes), and they seem to be to be heartland rock. Although his biography would also lists him as "urban, indie rock". However, this quote from producer Gary Maurer really sums it up:
Reading on why Quixotic was split into two discs, Keating wanted to bring back the album concept. Think of "Disc 1" as "Side A" and you get the idea. Each side/CD is about fifty minutes of music (the album in its entirety is about an hour) and each side is design to play like a musical journey - with its mix of songs to keep you interested, to the slow and quiet song to end one side and ease you to the flipside. Many of the songs on his Quixotic seems to be about travelling and locations ("St. Cloud", "Louisiana", "Runaway Clown", "Now We're Home", "Road to Ruin", "Romeoville", "Valhalla Waltz", etc), you get the impression that Keating's been around. I believe he's refering to St Cloud, Minnesota, you can grab the free MP3 song from his website. I thought "Louisiana" was the best song on Side A, I especially love hearing this rocking music with its heartbreaking lyrics and its catchy chorus: "here in looooo-wee-zee-anna". Maybe it's just me, but it seems like Side B is about relationship ("Do You Want (To Not Be Lonely with Me)", "Before My Wife Gets Home", "Love Ain't"). Great songs, check out "As Much as You Can Bear" and "Love Ain't", these two songs really stood out for me. Before you know, the short violin/piano piece of "Valhalla Waltz" indicates the journey is about to end and the slow-paced, acoustic "Book of Changes" closes the album. Quixotic will be officially released July 7th, you can buy it directly from indiekazoo.com or the usual places (amazon, iTunes). It looks like he'll be doing a tour to support the album, so see him if you can:
07/10/08 The Living Room New York
07/12/08 Coffee East Easton, Maryland 07/13/08 The Tin Angel Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 07/14/08 The Galaxy Hut Arlington, Virginia 07/17/08 The Pour House Raleigh, North Carolina 07/19/08 The Bluebird Cafe Nashville, Tennessee 07/25/08 Horseshoe Chicago 07/26/08 Magdlaenas Tea House East Lansing, Michigan 08/12/08 The Cinema Bar Los Angeles, California 08/21/08 Comet Tavern Seattle, Washington 09/05/08 Village Tavern Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin 09/13/08 Common Grounds Lexington, Kentucky 09/14/08 The Milestone Charlotte, North Carolina 09/15/08 The Cave Chapel Hill, North Carolina 09/19/08 Housing Works New York 09/24/08 Frequency Madison, Wisconsin 09/28/08 Club Cafe Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
ABIGAIL WASHBURN
abigailwashburn.com ♥ myspace.com
Abigail Washburn wants you to know that she's a "banjo pickin' girl" on "Banjo Pickin' Girl", what sounds like a different take on a traditional song. There's plenty of banjo picking on this album, but this time she has an orchestra, The Sparrow Quartet (Bela Fleck, Ben Sollee, Casey Driessen), to back her up. To be honest, I first heard of her writing about her celloist, Ben Sollee, but looking at her discography, she was already well-established as a bluegrass/folk banjo musician. I've been bicycling to work and I put on her latest album, Abigail Washburn & The Sparrow Quartet (just released in May) to listen to, and this Chinese song came up that made me stop on the trail. I had to open up my iPod to look at the song title: "Sugar & Pie". At first I was confused, then I thought maybe it's gaelic or something, it possibly couldn't be Chinese? I later found out that she actually began her music career playing throughout China, doing a ten plus dates with a group of friends. She recalls:
In addition to "Sugar & Pie", I was pleasantly surprise that she has other Chinese songs on the album, "Taiyang Chulai" and "Journey Home". If you're wondering, she does sing in English, be sure to check out "It Ain't Easy", "Strange Things", and "Kangding Qingge/Old-Timey Dance Party" (it looks like the song is based on a traditional Chinese song, but the lyrics are old-fashion English). It looks like she is doing a ton of dates, be sure to check out her live to see the marriage of Traditional American music and Chinese folk songs. If she's also playing with The Sparrow Quartet, you should keep an eye out for Ben Sollee, his music have had very positive reponses from W♥M readers.
07/10/08 Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua Bayfield
07/11/08 Winnipeg Folk Festival Winnipeg, Manitoba 07/13/08 Vancouver Island Musicfest Vancouver, British Columbia 07/14/08 Benaroya Hall Seattle, Washington 07/15/08 Aladdin Theatre Portland, Oregon 07/17/08 Boarding House Park Lowell, Massachusetts 07/18/08 Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival with the Sparrow Quartet Ancramdale, New York 07/19/08 Vancouver Folk Festival Vancouver, British Columbia 07/20/08 Vancouver Folk Festival Vancouver, British Columbia 07/26/08 RockyGrass Festival with the Sparrow Quartet Lyons, Colorado 07/27/08 Calgary Folk Music Festival with the Sparrow Quartet Calgary, Alberta 07/28/08 The Myrna Loy Center Helena, Montana 07/29/08 Wilma Theatre Missoula, Montana 07/30/08 Sacajawea Center Salmon, Idaho 08/01/08 Kaslo Bay Park Music Festival Kaslo, British Columbia 08/03/08 Dunegrass and Blues Festival Empire, Michigan 08/08/08 Grand Targhee Bluegrass Fest w/Sparrow Quartet Alta, Wyoming 08/09/08 Edmonton Folk Music Festival with the Sparrow Quartet Edmonton, Alberta 08/10/08 Regina Folk Festival with the Sparrow Quartet Regina, Saskatchewan 08/23/08 San Francisco Music and Arts Festival San Francisco, California 08/29/08 Moe Down Turin, New York 08/31/08 Hookaville Thornville, Ohio 09/11/08 Memorial Hall Chapel Hill, North Carolina 09/13/08 Dominican University PAC River Forest, Illinois 09/14/08 Turner Hall Milwaukee, Wisconsin 09/15/08 Guthrie Theater Proscenium Minneapolis, Minnesota 09/16/08 Barrymore Theatre Madison, Wisconsin 09/17/08 The Music Mill Indianapolis, Indiana 09/19/08 The Ark Ann Arbor, Michigan 09/20/08 Parrish Auditorium Hamilton, Ohio 09/27/08 Dosey Doe The Woodlands, Texas 09/28/08 Austin City Limits Music Festival Austin, Texas 10/01/08 Fisher Center w/Sparrow Quartet Woodstock, New York 10/02/08 Town Crier Cafe Pawling, New York 10/03/08 First Parish Church Cambridge, Massachusetts 10/04/08 Flynn Theatre Burlington, Vermont 10/05/08 The Community Theater Morristown, New Jersey 10/10/08 Portland Art Museum Portland, Oregon 10/17/08 Ferst Center for the Arts Atlanta, Georgia 10/19/08 Lake Eden Arts Festival Black Mountain, North Carolina |
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STEVEN ALVARADO
stevenalvarado.com ♥ myspace.com
One look at Steven Alvarado's cover artwork for Let It Go, an album that was released in April 2008 from Mott Street Records, I thought it was a tribute to Bob Dylan's The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, but completely opposite: without a girl, presumably sadder, a little more modern, and his back to you. One listen to the album, it definitely feels like good-time American folk rock. I love the interaction of electric blues guitar fighting against the acoustic guitar on the brilliant opening track, "Get This Far". Even the lyrics seems to be duking it out and full of contradictions: "I'm outta gas, I got no car, I never thought I'd get this far" Many of these songs are short, but catchy, pop-rock-oriented songs, perfect for the radio. The few exception does stick out, for instance "Nobody Knows", a slow burning depressing song. What Alvarado does best here is give such a descriptive setting:
Somebody throw him a lifeline, it sounds to me as if he's committing suicide here! Fortunately, there's more happier songs makes up for that depressing one. Check out "New York", a song dedicated to Alvarado's friend and poet Aaron Smith. The song lyrics also lends itself to the title, "Let it Go". Let It Go is out now, you can pick it up directly from CD Baby. He's planning on doing a European tour in and around September 2008, I'll be sure to mention it if I hear anything. |
JJ APPLETON
jjappleton.com ♥ myspace.com
I'll tell you right off the bat: I love green packaging. JJ Appleton's Black & White Matinee
comes in a recycled cardboard, down to the soy ink that was used to
print the cover. This short six-track EP was recorded in Finsbury Park, London last year, 2007. Now, I'm under the impression that Finsbury Park is festival (live music), but listening to all the songs, the sound quality is too good to be live. Maybe he's just that good? I especially enjoyed the pianos on "Coming Back Alone". The lyrics on "You're Sweet On Him" does get a little repetitive... yeah we get it, "you're sweet on him." I think the song that you guys will really enjoy is "Today Today Today", it's very easy to get into and it reminds me of The Beatles. Kudos to the songwriters: JJ Appleton & Stephen Lironi You can catch those two, as well as Ged Lynch on a few selected dates for the month of July:
07/10/08 Puck Doylestown, Pennsylvania 07/30/08 McCarren Park Summerstarz Event - Greenpoint/Williamsburg New York I believe you can download all the songs on his website, but I recommend the Earth-friendly packaging for Black & White Matinee. So pick up a physical copy from your favorite CD Baby and, of course, if you wanted higher quality downloads, there's always iTunes. |
These articles takes me very long to produce because they are essentially five articles in one, so expect a final Americana article one this week.
Links:
www.weheartmusic.com
Comments
Been listening to that Chapin "WOLD" song. It is so epic, it tells a story of a DJ who got loose with the ladies and his wife left him and now he's on his knees begging her. "Playing all the hits for you, wherever you may be" all this time... And of course, it's no surprise, that she doesn't take him back. Wow, what a great song.
"Remember how we listened to the radio, and I said that's the place to be. And how I got a job as an FM jock, the day you married me? It was two kids and I was into AM rock but I just had to run around. It's been ages since I left you babe, let me tell you what's gone down".