John Flynn includes two intriguing covers on Two Wolves. Kris Kristofferson wrote “Hall Of Angels”, a song inspired by the death of Eddie Rabbitt’s young son that Kristofferson never recorded himself, although he does contribute background vocals to this version. The other is “Pleasures Of The Harbor”, a well-known song by Phil Ochs, to whom [...]

Lots of bluegrass artists have excelled at singing gospel, but the coup­ling of country singers and gospel has produced a more inconsistent output. A successful example is Justin Trevino, who wraps his velvety vocal chords around songs of faith on his fifth album. Trevino tackles a cross-section of well-known old gospel songs such as “How [...]

Troy Campbell is yet another Austin artist whose lack of renown isn’t quite commensurate with his talent. His band the Highwaymen moved from Dayton, Ohio, to Austin in the late 1980s and released an excellent cassette that was recently reissued on CD. The band changed its name to Loose Diamonds and made a few more [...]

Lizzie West received acclaim for her 2003 disc Holy Road, originally a self-release before Warner Bros. reissued an altered version of it. Now on indie Apple­seed, West, supported mostly by Anthony Kieraldo (the White Buffalo) on piano, performs music that encompasses a range of themes and styles. “Rope Me In And Smoke Me” is an [...]

The Pine Leaf Boys are young Cajuns who come across as old souls with deep roots in the music. The band’s three vocalists sound like authentic Cajun singers with years of experience behind them. Wilson Savoy, who does double duty on accordion and vocals, is the son of noted musicians Marc and Ann Savoy. Cedric [...]

In recent years some authors have recorded songs and collaborated with musicians, inadvertently producing an obscure subgenre that’s been referred to as “lit-rock.” John McCutcheon has been known mostly as a folk musician, but with his latest album, he drew on his passion for literature to produce one of his most ambitious projects ever. Most [...]

With Volume 2 of his Great American Songwriter Series, Eric Andersen continues to mine the repertoire of folk icons from the 1960s Greenwich Village scene. Once again producer/arranger Robert Aaron (of Wycelf Jean fame) has given the tracks a warm, shimmering sound. Andersen has chosen from a few of the same luminaries, notably Fred Neil [...]