The title song from Terri Hendrix’s latest album, The Ring, is inspired by a gift her father once gave to her mother. When Terri was a child, whenever an argument flared up between her parents, her father would quietly retire to his workshop and labor into the night. No one knew what he was working [...]

Whoever said that life is supposed to be one big happy face? Not Quebec-born Lynn Miles, who’d opt for intensity over giggles any day. Besides, as she discovered long ago, “You can make a perfect plan and see it all unravel.”
Unravel is Miles’ third album, and a damn fine one. Listening to her, you suspect [...]

Elaine Summers is a visual artist who specializes in mosaic pieces, from birdhouses and mailboxes to murals and the mosaic guitar that adorns her third album. On Sparkler, Summers demonstrates that the skills of a mosaic artist can be transferred to music. You’ll find her inlaying clavinet and “Trini Lopez slide guitar” here, some wah-wah [...]

Over the last 40 years, Bob Dylan has been lauded and lionized, while his songs have been covered, copied and caricatured. Some artists have devoted entire albums to his songs, such as the recently reissued (and expanded) The Byrds Play Dylan. Robyn Hitchcock and Mary Lee Corvette have taken the theme a step further, choosing [...]

For eleven years, the honky-tonk stalwarts of Austin have gathered each year at the fabled Continental Club to celebrate Buck Owens’ birthday with a raucous showcase of songs by the master. Now the rest of us can hear what it’s like with this 22-cut disc produced by Casper Rawls and David Sanger. Except for the [...]

The populist voice embedded in the heart of John Fogerty’s songs should make them a natural for being covered. That’s been true on a local and regional level; shortly after hitting the airwaves in the 1960s, they became staples of roadhouses across the country.
However, the very thing that made them naturals for campfire sing-alongs puts [...]

Since debuting in 1981 with the humble Iowa Waltz on what was, at the time, his own Red House imprint, Greg Brown has forged a singular career based on tireless touring, a seemingly bottomless sack of earthy tunes exploring simple concerns with regional-specific overtones, and inimitable, glass-rattling baritone pipes.
The label was sold in the mid-’80s [...]

It’s easy to forget today that Mel Tillis the songwriter was not always a pillar of Branson; 40 years ago he was a peer of Harlan Howard, Hank Cochran, Roger Miller and Willie Nelson. A superb honky-tonk vocalist and hitmaker, Tillis left a magnificent wealth of material on Columbia, Kapp, MGM and MCA, all unavailable.
Changing [...]

Tell The Kids The Cops Are Here marks a triumphant and long-awaited follow up to the Model Rockets’ 1996 release, Snatch It Back And Hold It. Though the pacing is more disciplined and guitars less choppy than past efforts, this a fine collection of superbly crafted pop songs.
By the second tune, the thematically fitting “A [...]