Taj Mahal - Mkutano 2005

One of the most prominent figures in late 20th century blues, singer/multi-instrumentalist Taj Mahal played an enormous role in revitalizing and preserving traditional acoustic blues. Not content to stay within that realm, Mahal soon broadened his approach, taking a musicologist's interest in a multitude of folk and roots music from around the world -- reggae and other Caribbean folk, jazz, gospel, R&B, zydeco, various West African styles, Latin, even Hawaiian. The African-derived heritage of most of those forms allowed Mahal to explore his own ethnicity from a global perspective and to present the blues as part of a wider musical context. Yet while he dabbled in many different genres, he never strayed too far from his laid-back country blues foundation. Blues purists naturally didn't have much use for Mahal's music, and according to some of his other detractors, his multi-ethnic fusions sometimes came off as indulgent, or overly self-conscious and academic. Still, Mahal's concept was vindicated in the '90s, when a cadre of young bluesmen began to follow his lead -- both acoustic revivalists (Keb' Mo', Guy Davis) and eclectic bohemians (Corey Harris, Alvin Youngblood Hart). Taj Mahal was born Henry St. Clair Fredericks in New York on May 17, 1942. His parents -- his father a jazz pianist/composer/arranger of Jamaican descent, his mother a schoolteacher from South Carolina who sang gospel -- moved to Springfield, Massachusetts, when he was quite young, and while growing up there, he often listened to music from around the world on his father's short-wave radio. He particularly loved the blues -- both acoustic and electric -- and early rock & rollers like Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley. While studying agriculture and animal husbandry at the University of Massachusetts, he adopted the musical alias Taj Mahal (an idea that came to him in a dream) and formed Taj Mahal & the Elektras, who played around the area during the early '60s. After graduating, Mahal moved to Los Angeles in 1964 and, after making his name on the local folk-blues scene, formed the Rising Sons with guitaristRy Cooder. The group signed to Columbia and released one single, but the label didn't quite know what to make of their forward-looking blend of Americana, which anticipated a number of roots rock fusions that would take shape in the next few years; as such, the album they recorded sat on the shelves, unreleased until 1992.

Mahal continued to record for Columbia through 1976, upon which point he switched to Warner Bros.; he recorded three albums for that label, all in 1977 (including a soundtrack for the film Brothers). Changing musical climates, however, were decreasing interest in Mahal's work and he spent much of the '80s off record, eventually moving to Hawaii to immerse himself in another musical tradition. Mahal returned in 1987 with Taj, an album issued by Gramavision that explored this new interest; the following year, he inaugurated a string of successful, well-received children's albums withShake Sugaree. The next few years brought a variety of side projects, including a musical score for the lost Langston Hughes/Zora Neale Hurstonplay Mule Bone that earned Mahal a Grammy nomination in 1991.Frustrated, Mahal left the group and wound up staying with Columbia as a solo artist. His self-titled debut was released in early 1968 and its stripped-down approach to vintage blues sounds made it unlike virtually anything else on the blues scene at the time. It came to be regarded as a classic of the '60s blues revival, as did its follow-up, Natch'l Blues. The half-electric, half-acoustic double-LP set Giant Step followed in 1969, and taken together, those three records built Mahal's reputation as an authentic yet unique modern-day bluesman, gaining wide exposure and leading to collaborations or tours with a wide variety of prominent rockers and bluesmen. During the early '70s, Mahal's musical adventurousness began to take hold; 1971'sHappy Just to Be Like I Am heralded his fascination with Caribbean rhythms and the following year's double-live set, The Real Thing, added a New Orleans-flavored tuba section to several tunes. In 1973, Mahal branched out into movie soundtrack work with his compositions for Sounder, and the following year he recorded his most reggae-heavy outing, Mo' Roots.

The same year marked Mahal's full-fledged return to regular recording and touring, kicked off with the first of a series of well-received albums on the Private Music label, Like Never Before. Follow-ups, such as Dancing the Blues (1993) and Phantom Blues (1996), drifted into more rock, pop, and R&B-flavored territory; in 1997, Mahal won a Grammy for Señor Blues. Meanwhile, he undertook a number of small-label side projects that constituted some of his most ambitious forays into world music. Released in 1995, Mumtaz Mahal teamed him with classical Indian musicians; 1998'sSacred Island was recorded with his new Hula Blues Band, exploring Hawaiian music in greater depth; 1999's Kulanjan was a duo performance with Malian kora player Toumani Diabaté. Maestro appeared in 2008, boasting an array of all-star guests: Diabaté, Angélique Kidjo, Ziggy Marley, Los Lobos, Jack Johnson, and Ben Harper. AMG.

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Snakefinger - Greener Postures 1980

English avant-guitarist Philip Charles Lithman, aka Snakefinger, began an association with the Residents in 1969, before the group even had that name. the Residents co-produced his two albums with Snakefinger. Greener Postures was originally released in 1980. This is the peculiar and unique material of a cult guitarist extraordinaire. Each song is a quirky island in a sea of sonic oddity. The gamut on Greener Postures runs from the edgy depression ballad "Living in Vain" to "I Come From an Island" with an oppressive beat and stark message that could come fromthe Residents' The Mole Show. A listen to this album forces consideration of his immense contribution to the Residents' sound. AMG.

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V.A. - An Autumn Almanac 15 Songs in The Spirit of Ray Davies (Uncut - Magazine) 2010

An interesting collection of songs that came together thru the Uncut Magazine, as a tribute to Ray Davies. Enjoy.

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Bob Mould - Silver Age 2012

Perhaps writing his autobiography put Bob Mould in a nostalgic mood, as The Silver Age -- arriving roughly a year after See a Little Light: The Trail of Rage and Melody, co-written by Michael Azerrad -- surges forth with a molten, melodic energy unheard in Mould's music since the days of Sugar. It's no coincidence Mould introduced The Silver Age by performing Copper Blue in its entirety during a series of summer concerts in 2012: it is the forefather of this roaring blast of overdriven pop. Once again working in a power trio format -- here supported by bassist Jason Narducy and drummer Jon Wurster -- Mould sounds liberated, eschewing any of the lingering sensitivity and fragility that echoed through parts of 2009's Life and Times, an otherwise powerful guitar pop record. Here, there's nothing but finely sculpted muscle, with even the handful of slower cuts--"Steam of Hercules," the closing "First Time Joy" -- grinding with precise purpose. Mostly, The Silver Age bursts forth with relentless momentum, alternating between such nervy, coiled explosions of energy as "The Descent" and the classic power pop of "Round the City Square." Mould's songwriting is lean and tuneful, as is the music itself. This may hearken back to Sugar, but isn't a complacent trip down memory lane: this is a king rightfully reclaiming his dominion. AMG.

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Calvin Russell - Crossroad 2001

Calvin Russell was the real deal, an authentic Texas-born cowboy whose face was a trail of hard-earned lines, proof of the rough mileage he'd put on his body in the years following his birth in 1948 in Austin. For someone who likes Texas and Russell's brand of country music, the act of researching his life and misadventures can often be challenging given that much of the information printed about the singing American cowboy -- including Russell's stint in jail -- is in French. Sometimes it's in another European language. Significant writeups in the language of his birthplace occur far less often, and that's because Russell found his greatest success, professionally and personally, far from home. He was a business owner and the proprietor of a Swiss nightclub, and his wife was Swiss. A good percentage of his albums were recorded in Europe.

The singer/songwriter was one of nine children born to his working-class parents, Red and Daisy. The family lived on an unpaved road, not far from the town's wrecking yard. His mom was a waitress in the same little café where his dad did the cooking. Calvin Russell, their fourth child, spent his youth putting together hot rod cars. Before he turned 13, he'd discovered the guitar. Within a year, Russell was playing with an outfit called the Cavemen. A wild time during his teens brought him to the attention of local authorities, who sent him to juvenile detention and, later, prison. At one point in the mid-'80s, he did time in a Mexican jail, where he spent his nights on a cold concrete floor. Upon his release, he headed back to his hometown, where his condition didn't improve much. He made his bed outdoors, in the small area beneath a house, in the dirt. Russell took to the open road on a motorcycle and began to write his songs in the Texas hill country.

By 1985, he had a single to his credit. Thanks to a chance meeting with record company executive Patrick Mathe four years later at Austin's Continental Club, Russell landed a contract with the French company that would release many of his albums, New Rose Records. Russell later went on to sign with Sony after New Rose Records folded. New Rose's release ofRussell's A Crack in Time album in 1990 caused a stir for the artist, and he started picking up quite a bit of attention. He went on to play festivals in Europe alongside such artists as the Kinks and Little Village. More albums followed from New Rose. Le Voyageur (1993) is a recording of live shows performed by Russell in such French cities as Rennes and Paris. When the record company was sinking and its assets frozen in bankruptcy proceedings, Russell was very close to having his career tied up in the company's legal woes. Dick Rivers, who had a career decades earlier in pop, rescued Russell when he purchased the singer/songwriter's contract. Soon, Sony foundRussell and stepped into the picture.

However, the remainder of the '90s and the first decade of the new millennium found a prolific Russell releasing a number of albums on both European and American independent labels far from the majors; his recordings included Dream of the Dog (1995), Calvin Russell (1997), This Is My Life (1998), Sam (1999), Crossroad (2000), Rebel Radio (2002), A Man in Full (2004), In Spite of It All (2005), Unrepentant (2007), Dawg Eat Dawg(2009), and Contrabendo (2011). Between recording dates, Russell could still be heard singing in the hideaway bars of Austin, preferring low-key gigs where he sang his own songs and lesser-known works from the traditional repertoire. Calvin Russell was 62 years old when he died of liver cancer on April 3, 2011 in Garfield, Texas. AMG.

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James Blood Ulmer - Birthright 2004

Since the end of the last decade, James Blood Ulmer has been involved in a conscious investigation of the blues as a force for reinvention. On various labels and with a varying group of musicians, Blood has fused, melded, and strained the genre through everything from funk to psychedelic rock and jazz with mixed but always provocative results. Guitarist and producer Vernon Reid has been a constant on Ulmer's last two offerings: 2001's Memphis Blood: The Sun Sessions and 2003's No Escape from the Blues: The Electric Ladyland Sessions. The quest continues on Birthright, and in some senses the stakes are even higher because this is a completely solo recording. Reid produces but doesn't perform. Ulmer is the only musician on the entire record. He plays guitars and flute, and he sings. Stripped to the bone, swampy, spooky, and sexy, Birthright is alternately jagged and flowing; it goes into the heart of the blues asBlood experiences it. Ten of the 12 tunes here are originals, either written in or transformed for the idiom. The set opens with "Take Me Back to the Church," and the familiar, dark, haunting harmolodic drone ushers in an entirely new take on the Delta pedigree. Going into the heart of music's origins -- the church -- he splits it wide open. He utterly revises "Where Did All the Girls Come From," a track originally performed on Free Lancing. His staccato multi-string lead playing offers chunky, riff-like figures as the vocals dig into the spaces between them. The rhythmic intensity is hypnotic. This doesn't mean he can't play it straight, as the strolling "I Can't Take It Anymore" attests. It uses the I-IV-V progression throughout, with embellishments only as one line bleeds into the next. On Willie Dixon's "I Ain't Superstitious," he brings the eerie, haunting atmosphere back into the tune. No rave-up workout, Blood's relaxed delivery allows his snaky, warm guitar to weave its spell on the listener as his voice hovers just outside the beat, zeroing in on the complex paradox at the heart of the song's lyric. Following a few tracks in, "The Evil One" is the Dixonsong's twin, with its foreboding message, footboard rhythmic attack, and low-string dronescape. The folk song storytelling blues of "Geechee Joe" evokes the spirit of Leadbelly with its meandering, poignant tale. In Blood's hands, "Sittin' on Top of the World" isn't so much a raucous party tune that celebrates the disappearance of a lover; it's a slow, labyrinthine tune of acceptance and discovery. The guitar acts as the singer's foil, pushing forward, pulling back, and ultimately underscoring the truth as it is revealed in the grain of the protagonist's voice. Birthright is the album Ulmershould have made years ago. All that matters is that listeners have it now. It's a shining star in his catalog and a chillingly intimate portrait of his expansive vision and singular talent. AMG.

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Prince - 20Ten (2010)

Once again abandoning retailers for U.K. newspaper giveaways -- ever the eccentric, he’s the only artist who's seized upon this unconventional distribution method -- Prince continues his bold voyage into the past on 20Ten. Its title may celebrate the present but the music is all about the past, continuing the retro-shock of the MPLSound segment of 2009’s triple-disc set, reviving the synthetic funk of the pre-Purple Rain days while adding too heavy a dose of slow-burning grooves. The songs have more snap and polish than those on LotusFlow3r/MPLSound -- enough of a shape to be attractive from a distance, not enough to withstand closer scrutiny. Everything on 20Ten exists on the surface: hooks don’t sink in, funk jams are stuck in low gear, sensuality only simmers, the rhythms are somewhat stiff, andPrince’s deliberate mining of the past only highlights how he’s stripped the freakiness out of his entire persona. What’s left behind isn’t bad -- he is a master musician luxuriating in his comfort zone so naturally that there’s some pleasure to be had within 20Ten, but it’s a passive pleasure and one that is forgotten within a day, so perhaps it’s fitting that it was packaged with a newspaper. AMG.

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Charlie Sexton - Cruel And Gentle Things 2005

It's been a decade since Charlie Sexton issued the sprawling, ambitious Under the Wishing Tree. But Sexton has been anything but idle. He's produced recordings by Lucinda Williams, Edie Brickell, Los Super Seven, Shannon McNally, and Double Trouble. He also played guitar in Bob Dylan's studio and road bands for over three years. Cruel and Gentle Things is only the fourth album issued under Sexton's own name. It was recorded, in many sessions over a number of years, whenever he got a break from his other occupational duties. It is a close and intimate affair that finds the songwriter and producer playing nearly everything over ten songs. There are a few guests who appear -- mainly bassist George Reiff and drummer J.J. Johnson, but overall this is truly a solo affair. The set opens with "Gospel," a slippery, languid acoustic blues testament to faith in times of trouble. The sheer skeletal beauty of the track is striking, and Sexton's vocal is full of a relaxed conviction that gets right at the heart of the lyric. Daniel Lanois would kill to have written this. Rock & roll enters on "Burn," a, dreamy and seductive nocturnal groove that stands in sharp contrast to the sheer lost-love desolation in its lyrics with a killer backing vocal by McNally. The rootsy country-folk stroll of "I Do the Same for You," with its lap steel and layered acoustic guitars, inspires with its gritty sense of dedication. "Once in a While," though another broken love song about moving on after a breakup, is bright bouncy pop fueled by a simple bassline and a layer of guitars. Dobro, ringing electrics, and skittering drums envelope the other instruments in a buoyant swirl around the singer. They seem to give him the courage to step out and state his willingness and truth. "Dillingham Lane" was written with Steve Earle and features Sexton's brother Will on backing vocals. A droning, open-tuned guitar piece, it narrates a look back to the street the pair grew up on. There's no romance in the lyric -- simply a statement of what was, looking at it as it informs the present. Ultimately, Cruel and Gentle Things is a series of postcards from various places and people in the songwriter's life. It comes across as an interior kind of travel record, one that charts, exposes, lays bare, and celebrates the years as the revelations of everyday life, lived in space and time but not bound by them. It is easily the finest and most poetic and musically realized record in Sexton's catalog. AMG.

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From Good Homes - Hick-Pop Comin At Ya! 1994

Most people who have heard of From Good Homes (much less own one of their CDs) probably know 1994's Open up the Sky or 1998's From Good Homes, both on RCA. Hick-Pop Comin' at Ya! was their first CD and was a self-released effort. The ten tracks here are the loosest and most inspired of the band's albums. It is no coincidence that the bonus material on the promotional CDs for Open up the Sky were live versions of Hick-Pop songs. "Drivin' and Cryin'" is a fast and furious song that any fan of Allgood and Rusted Root will find instantly familiar (and easy to dance to). Critics get apoplectic when Dave Matthews reigns in his jamming sensibilities and records a tight, song-oriented album. From Good Homes did the same thing with this underappreciated album of great pop songs that lent themselves to awesome live jams -- in 1993! "Suzanne Walker" is perhaps the most singable jam band song besides Blues Traveler's "Run-Around." And it is poignant too: "Suzanne Walker lost her parents at 13 -- you know how that rip your world apart/She ran away, had three kids at 17 and you know that's not an easy way to start." "Comin on Home" is a song any Train fan would love. Clearly, Dan Myers (sax), Jamie Coan (fiddle), and Patrick Fitzsimmons (drums) can clearly jam until last call. The real shame is that Hick-Pop Comin' at Ya! is an out of print, self-released CD from 1993 by a band few know about. But look closely at your used CD stores. This is a highly recommended CD. AMG.

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The Raveonettes - Observator 2012

On their 2012 album Observator, the Raveonettes take a step back from the darkly gloomy, intricately produced sound of 2009's Raven in the Grave for something stripped-down and much more intimate. With the help of longtime mentorRichard Gottehrer, the duo of Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo spends a portion of the album taking apart the band's guitar-heavy sound and reassembling it piece by piece, sometimes leaving things out (like the drums in "Young and Cold") and sometimes adding new elements (the hip-hop drum loop on "Curse the Night" or the stately piano in "Observations"). The carefully half-finished-sounding production works to bring out facets of the Raveonettes that are usually easy to overlook, like their often stunning vocal harmonies and the strength of their melodies. The first half of the album is made up of these precisely arranged songs and it provides an interesting sonic departure that only gives more power to the noise pop that makes up the bulk of the second half of Observator. Even those songs have some quirks that the duo's earlier work didn't have, and the noise and fuzz are much more arranged. "You Hit Me (I'm Down)" has a sophisticated yet simple arrangement that sounds like a wonderful combination of their early work and Raven; "Dancing in the Street" frames Wagner's poignant vocals with a misty, twangy haze of guitar; and "The Enemy" has a cheesy drum machine pulse that contrasts nicely with the grey wall of guitars and Foo's open-hearted vocal. The songs that are the most straightforward and traditionally Raveonettes-sounding, like the ultra-hooky "Downtown" and "Till the End," benefit from the off-kilter production and arrangements, too. The whole record has the feel of being quickly recorded yet fully thought-out, and it's one of their best albums to date. From starting out as almost a novelty act, the Raveonettes have grown into a band that constantly surprises listeners and takes chances that almost always pay off, while still retaining a core sound that is unmistakably theirs alone. Plus, as Observator proves again and again, they write really, really good moody pop songs. The record may not be their masterpiece, but it is an important piece of a surprisingly strong career. AMG.

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