Marty Stuart – Nashville Vol, 1: Tear The Woodpile Down

Marty Stuart has been making great music – either with acts such as Johnny Cash and Lester Flatt or on his own for over four decades now, and just like a fine wine –he gets better with age. His latest album, a follow-up to his excellent Ghost Train, puts his love of traditional Country music on display for all the world to see – with a little bit of energy that will no doubt make it appeal to a younger demographic, as well. The introductory title track is an old-fashioned sing-a-long with the Fabulous Superlatives, complete with a guest cameo from the legendary Buck Trent. The one-time Wagonmaster banjoist also appears on Marty’s take on the...

The Wood Brothers – Smoke Ring Halo

The Wood Brothers are adept at changing musical sounds from cut to cut. That means they are versatile! They definitely are at that. Listening to a cut like “Mary Anna,” one can detect a Levon Helm / The Band type influence that shines through. But, just as soon as you’re used to that style, they move to the groovin’ side of a cut like “Shoofly Pig” and “When I Was Young.” Then, Chris’s exuberant harmonica work on “Pay Attention” roars to the forefront, setting the tone of the track. There’s also the 70s Southern Rock...

Dolly Parton - An Evening With Dolly...Live

For close to five decades, Dolly Parton has been hitting the road, taking her music to the masses. Along the way, she's released some albums that document the Parton concert experience - most notably 1970's A Real Live Dolly and the disc that could be my favorite Dolly album of all time, 1994's Heartsongs: Live From Dollywood. Both of those were recorded in her native East Tennessee home of Sevier County, but her latest live offering takes her a little bit down the road from Sevierville and Locust Ridge - all the way to London, England! Though the setting might be a little bit different, the reception that Parton gets when she takes the stage is...

Tommy Womack - Now What!

“My last record was called, ‘There I Said It’…a record about being washed up and hung out to dry. [My new one] is about what happened after that first record gave me my career back,” says Americana artist Tommy Womack, as he plans to release his fifth solo studio album, “Now What!.” The Nashville singer/songwriter sounds like he’s in a comfortable place on this twelve-track offering on the Cedar Creek Music label. He has a hand in writing every song, showing his way with loose lyrics and bluesy...

Big Shot Reub & The Re-Loaders

San Diego-based trio the Reloaders love to perform the Blues, and why shouldn't they? They are, after all, very good at it. Lead singer Reuben Vigil, bassist Jodie Hill, and drummer Ric Lee have quite the synergy between them, and it sparkles very brightly on their latest project together. The title cut is a great example of this. It has a very interesting sound. It's Blues, but also mixed with a little bit of a 60's AM Radio sound. Of course, Vigil's lead vocals are both heavy with a lot of blues muscle and haunting ...

Amanda Nagurney - Gone

There is an enthusiasm that comes across when you hear Amanda Nagurney sing. You can tell from the opening bars that this is an artist whose dream is to perform and touch lives and souls with her music. With her brand new EP, I believe that this is just the beginning. Each of the six cuts here all brim with vitality and vigor, and you can just sense the fun the stunning dark-haired beauty is having living her fantasy! She addresses those emotions in the opening track, "That's What I Love About This...

Brad Brooks - Harmony Of Passing Light

There isn't much - if anything - that Bay area native Brad Brooks can't do. He can sing, play, and write, and he can do each rather well. To pigeon-hole him into one corner genre-wise would be the most difficult thing. At times, he's Alternative, or maybe a little Rock. No, on third thought, make that a little bit Country, or do you call him Americana? That might work, because if you can't classify something in a 4+4 box musically, the latter description fits the bill, right? The opener, "Calling Everyone," has a very cool 60s musical vibe, and Brooks knocks it out of the ballpark. The guitar work on this sounds like something straight out of 1960s...

Lionel Richie – Tuskegee

In the materials that accompany this album, much has been made of the fact that it marks a return to Lionel Richie’s roots. Some may cackle a little bit about that. After all, most artists that cross over from pop say the same thing. But, look deep into the Alabama native’s musical history, and you will find that to be very much the truth. At the height of his pop solo success in the 1980s, he was also turning out Country-oriented hits with songs like “Stuck On You” and “Deep River Woman.” His work with Kenny Rogers...

Erik Brandt – The Long Winter

Giving himself the freedom to explore all possibilities, St. Paul, Minnesota singer/songwriter Erik Brandt lets go with his eclectic, third solo project, “The Long Winter.” Self-produced along with Alex Oana and Jeremy Szopinski, and released by House of Mercy Recordings, the frontman for the Urban Hillbilly Quartet steps out here with his own dark-but-hopeful blend of folk, country, rock ‘n’ roll and jazz. The CD title is taken from his tremolo guitar-propelled, indie-rock opening track, “Greater ...

I See Hawks In L.A. – New Kind of Lonely

“A lot of our songs are a bit haunted by the ruination of Southern California, which we humans have accomplished with breathtaking speed.” In a recent interview, Paul Lacques, longtime member of West Coast psychedelic country-folk-rock trio I See Hawks In L.A., explains the thrust of their first all-acoustic album, “New Kind of Lonely.” “Northern California is much smarter or luckier…” Heavily influenced by the 60s and 70s counterculture, the band’s songwriting reflects eco-friendly lyrics of a ...

The Doors – Mr. Mojo Risin’: The Story of L.A. Woman

“‘L.A. Woman’ was like coming home. It was simple and bluesy. It was bare bones – the essence – of what we were about…and rock ‘n’ roll is supposed to be out of a garage.” This is how Doors drummer John Densmore opens the new documentary about the making of their last and arguably best album, “Doors – Mr. Mojo Risin’: The Story of L.A. Woman,” by Eagle Rock Entertainment. New interviews with band members, engineer/producer Bruce Botnick, manager Bill Siddons...

Jack Higginbotham - Roots

Nobody will ever accuse Jack Higginbotham of being a perfect singer - at least sonically. Unlike a lot of artists out there, it's not all clean when it comes to Higginbotham. But, just like with many of his Texas artist contemporaries, there are other factors - such as personality that enters into the musical equation that sets him apart from the pack. As a tunesmith, Higginbotham has a way of getting his point across and making the listener relate to what he is saying. Who hasn't felt the lyrics of the realistic lyrics of "Small Town Kid?" Better yet, who hasn't been that "kid?" Jack manages to connect the listener to that emotion in quite an effective...

Katy Boyd - Paper Hearts

When you grow up listening to such wide musical influences as American Music, Folk Music, and Tchaikovsky, the end result is going to be a little bit on the diverse side. The music of Katy Boyd definitely fits this description, and then some. It's hard to define what genre her music would fall in, as she has elements of the afore-mentioned musical styles, as well as a great deal of traditional country in her sound. The more "Country" sounds on the disc come on tracks such as "Jigs & Reels & Ferris Wheels" and "Can't...

Ice Cream Sundae - We're Just As Sweet

Sometimes, as a music reviewer, you have to take a step back from a project. This is one of those such "sometimes." This album, the brainchild of Oklahoma native Zak Monnet, is one of the most musically diverse records I have heard in a long time. It actually does have it all - Rock, Country, Alternative, Electronic, Showtunes - it's all here on one disc. It might take you a few listens to "get it" - and don't feel bad if, even then, you don't. I still am grappling with it, as well. But, it definitely qualifies as a unique listening experience. A graduate of Nashville's Belmont University, Monnet also has quite the different pen as a songwriter. There's songs about...

Music Worth Buying: Bruce Springsteen and Barry McCabe

Orange County Register (CA) music critic Robert Kinsler and his co-host, TJR review new CDs. This Week Robert Discusses "Wrecking Ball". The latest album by Bruce Springsteen, and TJR talks about the Barry McCabe's Blues Concept album "Beyond The Tears".