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Author: Rick Cornell

Record Review from web archive May 1, 2009

Tim Easton

Tim Easton plays and sings like an old man. For the record, that’s meant as praise, not a taunt. He often sounds as if he’s channeling any number of discovered-late bluesmen, as well as Doc Watson and everybody’s favorite great-uncle Bob Dylan (especially right after Uncle Bob went electric in his younger days). His voice [...]

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Record Review from web archive April 30, 2009

Nakia

Soul music. With its categories and subcategories – from northern and neo to country and deep – it can be a tough concept to pin down. You might want to rely on a variation of that classic method for identifying porn: you know it when you hear it.
On the first half of this assured debut, [...]

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Record Review from web archive April 1, 2009

Luka Bloom

Let’s start at the end, with “Don’t Be Afraid of the Light That Shines Within You”, a prayer of a song so glorious that it is required to conclude a record. It opens with piano drizzling on the trademark electro-acoustic strum of veteran singer-songwriter and presumptive Suzanne Vega/James Joyce fan Luka Bloom (real name: Barry [...]

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Record Review from web archive March 17, 2009

John Wesley Harding

John Wesley Harding has long been one of our most literary singer-songwriter types and a true cineaste. After all, he’s had two novels published under his given name, Wesley Stace, with a third on the way, plus his first two full-length releases were named after Frank Capra movies and his third after Capra’s autobiography.
Thus, it’d [...]

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Live Reviews from web archive March 9, 2009

Joe Romeo & the Orange County Volunteers

Despite change at the top – tremendously satisfying change from my perspective – optimism can still be an elusive commodity. At work, people are getting laid off by the tens of thousands every day. At play, the national pastime has a stain that might never wash out. And somewhere in between, music websites can’t stay [...]

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Feature from web archive January 30, 2009

Lost Crusaders: Praise the lord and pass the maracas

For many years Michael Chandler has been on a journey – sure, you can go ahead and call it a crusade – to a place where he could make an album like Have You Heard About The World? A gospel record with indie pedigree, country-soul undercurrents, and a take-responsibility message. A gospel record on which [...]

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Feature from web archive January 6, 2009

Even curmudgeons dig the Gourds

Over a dozen years down the road, it’s hard to remember the exact wording of the message that Mark Rubin of the Bad Livers sent to the Postcard music listserv. The post was about Austin, Texas, band the Gourds, specifically the band’s debut album Dem’s Good Beeble, and it went something like this: “You need [...]

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Record Review from web archive December 14, 2008

Scotland Barr & the Slow Drags

In addition to a place on the year-end list, some artists end up with a place in the heart. A special spot is reserved for those who not only drift into radar range unexpectedly but also have to jump up and down and wave their arms to get noticed once they get there. J.P. Olsen, [...]

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Record Review from web archive November 1, 2008

Wreckless Eric & Amy Rigby

When Wreckless Eric Goulden and Amy Rigby tied the knot back in April, it would have been fitting if the long-playing cult faves’ wedding announcement were a flier stapled to a telephone pole. Despite a body of work that recalls in varying doses such kindred-spirit peers as Nick Lowe, Robyn Hitchcock, and the late Ian [...]

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Record Review from web archive October 12, 2008

Mitty Collier

On the surface, Mitty Collier’s story seems somewhat stock in soul-music circles. She began singing in church as a child; sampled the secular music world in the ’60s with a smattering of singles, one LP, and a signature song as her legacy; and then returned to the church, performing only gospel music. But the surface [...]

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From the Blogs

  • The Felice Brothers On Tour
    The Felice Brothers will be hitting the road again this summer with a stop at the Newport Folk Festival August 1st before heading to Europe for several engagements. Upon their return to the U.S. in September the band will perform shows in Nashville, Sante Fe, San Francisco, Denver, Detroit, Washington and… […]
  • Freight Train Boogie podcast #80
    TIM O'BRIEN's new CD, Chicken & Egg is featured on show #80. Also new music from ROMAN CANDLE, STONEHONEY and CHATHAM COUNTY LINE. The full playlist is posted below. Check the artist's w… […]
  • Hot Rize / Red Knuckles tour announced
    Eight shows in late October early November. Featuring the astounding Bryan Sutton, Tim O'Brien, Nick Forster and Pete Wernick. This outfit rarely plays more than a few festivals per year so catch them when they stop at your local honky tonk. ' /> […]

Join the Discussion

  • Most depressing albums of all time?
    A sad song on an album is expected, but an album full of depression and substance abuse is genius. I'm wondering, what are some of your favourite albums - sad or not - that manage to tear you up/depress the hell out of you? […]
  • A review of Mark Erelli's "Hillbilly Pilgrim"
    "Turn the lights off, close your eyes, and you might actually think you're sitting at a stage-side table in a roadhouse on a two-lane somewhere between, say, Austin and Laredo." Read the rest of the review here: http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=1896 The album's been out for a while. Anyone have an favorite tracks? I […]
  • What is the best Son Volt album?
    I'm kinda digging these guys. A local record store has a bunch of their CDs used ($5 each). I might run by after work and grab one or two. What would you say are their best albums? In case they don't have what you consider to be their top album, what are the next best ones? Also, I'll go ahead and welcome myself to the board. I'm just st […]

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