White Ghost Shivers - Killing Tradition

Austin-based "hot jazz" ensemble the White Ghost Shivers are plugging in tonight at the Replay Lounge in Lawrence, KS, and playing a set of punked up versions of their 1920s-style fare. At their acoustic show last night I picked up a copy of a teaser EP featuring four of their songs redone in this style. Here's the original version of "Strictly Ornamental" from their latest full-length album Everyone's Got 'Em along with their new version.



Listen:

The White Ghost Shivers - Strictly Ornamental (acoustic album version)

The White Ghost Shivers - Strictly Ornamental (electric EP version)



Buy:

From Chicken Ranch Records

The Soul of John Black - The Good Girl Blues

Sometimes I think a lot of alt-country types think they own the "roots music" idea. I know I'm guilty of this a lot, assuming that the natural and appropriate method of engaging with popular and folk music history lies somewhere on the continuum between Uncle Tupelo and BR549. But sometimes I get CDs that show me I'm an idiot.

I got The Good Girl Blues by The Soul of John Black a couple months ago. Most of the CDs I get sent are by people I haven't heard of, and scanning down the list of names on this disc and recognizing none, I assumed it was just another indie outfit looking for a good word. As I listened to the CD and thought about how I would review it, how I could comment on the tight integration of acoustic and electric, city and country blues with elements of soul, funk, and hip hop, I realized that I didn't have the vocabulary to discuss these latter, more recent developments in African American music. Then I read the press packet and found out that front man John Bigham played with Miles Davis (even writing one of the songs on Davis' last album) and was a member of Fishbone for nearly ten years.

I guess my point is that my insular view of "roots" as nearly synonymous with alt-country prevented me from seeing strands of influence that should have been obvious and caused me to overlook playing with Miles Davis and Fishbone as legitimate avenues toward this.

Listen:
The Soul of John Black - Fire Blues
The Soul of John Black - Deez Blues

Buy:
From CD Baby

Top 10 of 2006, Part 3

Today we finish up the sample songs off my favorite albums of the year. My top two are perhaps the least well-known releases on this list, but don't think that I upped their placement just to have an unconventional top pick. I actually feel that these two albums are the best I've heard this year, surpassing the better-known and more-respected musicians who are below them on the list or not present at all.

3. Kris Kristofferson - This Old Road

Listen:
Kris Kristofferson - Pilgrim's Progress

Buy:
From Amazon

2. Bob Wayne and the Outlaw Carnies - Blood to Dust

Listen:
Bob Wayne and the Outlaw Carnies - 27 Years

Buy:
From Bob Wayne

1. Scott H. Biram - Graveyard Shift

Listen:
Scott H. Biram - Been Down Too Long

Buy:
From Bloodshot
From Amazon

Top 10 of 2006, Part 2

Today we continue the sampling of my top 10 of 2006. Follow the link for more detailed commentary.

7. Old Crow Medicine Show - Big Iron World

Listen:
Old Crow Medicine Show - I Hear Them All

Buy:
From Amazon

6. Solomon Burke - Nashville

Listen:
Solomon Burke - Valley of Tears

Buy:
From Amazon

4. Hank Williams III - Straight to Hell

Listen:
Hank Williams III - D. Ray White

Buy:
From Amazon

Top 10 of 2006, Part 1

Head over to Americana Roots to see my top 10 albums of 2006. All ten albums are highly recommended and I've included a brief paragraph of explanation after each choice. Here are my favorite songs from albums 8, 9, and 10. Stay tuned for the rest of the count-down.

10. White Ghost Shivers - Everyone's Got 'Em

Listen:
White Ghost Shivers - Little Kisses

Buy:
From Chicken Ranch Records

9. Gary Bennett - Human Condition

Listen:
Gary Bennett - Headin' Home

Buy:
From Gary
From Amazon

8. Grayson Capps - Wail and Ride

Listen:
Grayson Capps - Give It To Me

Buy:
From Hyena Records
From Amazon

Scott H. Biram - Graveyard Shift

I got this album pretty soon after it first came out last month, but I never had the will to take it out of my stereo, I just wanted to let it keep playing over and over. This is the second Bloodshot album by Austin-based "dirty old one man band" Scott H. Biram and his fifth album overall. Unlike his previous record (which I reviewed here), this record really is just him, singing lead and harmony vocals and playing all the instruments: guitars, harmonica, Hammond B3 organ, and a plethora of percussion and "random noise." He is only joined by another person for one track; Ethan Shaw of Chili Cold Blood and the Moonhangers plays steel guitar on "18 Wheeler Fever."

His previous album The Dirty Old One Man Band has a very live feel (not surprising since a good half of it are concert-recorded tracks) and features backing by the Weary Boys to round out the sound on several tracks. The other tracks only have Scott playing what he could conceivably play simultaneously: guitar, foot-pedal percussion, and harmonica or voice. I don't know if that album was recorded with or without overdubs, but Graveyard Shift doesn't have any pretense of avoiding them. This gives a much richer texture as electric and acoustic guitars intertwine, voice and harmonica overlay, and Hammond B3 provides a foundation for all sorts of stuff that definitely couldn't be played by the same person at the same time.

This record is rather morose, as is indicated by the title and the album art. Scott continues to work through his near-death experience in a head on collision with a semi. His deep ambivalence to death and spirituality is puzzling as it makes him hard to categorize. His frequent use of the gospel call and response form as well as calling out to Jesus both come off as neither sincere nor insincere. His use of religious musical forms certainly cannot be grouped with the so-called irony of current indie rock, but it also doesn't have a place within gospel.

While this album doesn't quite teeter precariously between Saturday night and Sunday morning (it's more Saturday night) the way Bob Wayne's Blood to Dust does, I feel that it further represents a revival of the ambivalent relationship between gospel and the blues that was so important in the formative years of what we have come to call country music and which has been somewhat lacking recently.

Listen:
Scott H. Biram - Been Down Too Long

Buy:
From Bloodshot
From Amazon

Solomon Burke - Make Do With What You Got

I have to admit that when I saw a taping of Conan O'Brien featuring Solomon Burke in the spring of 2001, I had no idea who Solomon Burke was. (Of course, this was before his "comeback" album Don't Give Up On Me (Epitaph, 2002). He was in New York to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.) I also have to admit that it's only been recently, since the buzz about his upcoming album produced by Buddy Miller, that I've really paid much attention to him.

This album is his 2005 follow-up to Don't Give Up and follows much the same formula: record songs by well known songwriters. Songs from the pens of Dylan, Robbie Robertson, Van Morrison, Jaggar/Richards, and Dr. John appear as well as the Hank Williams gospel tune that I'm including. I don't know what the Buddy Miller-produced album is going to sound like, but this album, although an album I would consider thoroughly soul, shows that country isn't far from Burke's vernacular. As it shouldn't be, since has first Atlantic recordings were soul covers of country songs, records made in much the same spirit as my (almost) namesake album.


Listen:
Solomon Burke - Wealth Won't Save Your Soul

Buy:
From Amazon

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals - Nothing But the Water

When I first got this CD by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals in the mail, I wasn't sure if it was appropriate to the scope of what I review. But after several listens, I've decided that not only is it appropriate, but that it actually highlights the cross-generic interplay which I really like and which I feel is vital to so-called roots music.

After listening to this album three times through, I'm still having trouble deciding what genre I would classify the album as. It ranges in influence from the searing vocals of Janis Joplin, to the roots funk of the Band, to the soft and smooth vocals of Norah Jones, to the (almost annoyingly) catchy pop-funk of Maroon 5. While several songs combine many influences, several are also more easily discernible as a specific genre. The album hangs together remarkably well, though, having such a variety of style incorporated.

I think the song I'm including does a good job of showing the breadth of influence. The main guitar riff is Delta blues by way of Dire Straits era Mark Knopfler; the organ almost takes us to church; and the drummer doesn't refuse to use the fundamental drumming he learned in marching band.

Listen:
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals - Joey

Buy:
From Amazon

Scott H. Biram - The Dirty Old One Man Band

If Scott H. Biram didn't have such a rough, son-of-a-bitch stage persona, his story might be considered inspirational. In early 2003, he was hit head-on by a semi, but only one month later, still in a wheelchair with IV bags attached, he returned to the stage.

He's a one man band of the Hasil Adkins sort (frequent references to chicken on this album draw to mind Adkins' Poultry in Motion), playing guitar and stomping his foot on an amplified box and singing through a distorted mic. On a couple of the songs on this record, he has the backing of Austin-based The Weary Boys, as well as his self-labeled Scott H. Biram's First Church of the Ultimate Fanaticism Gospel Choir. Some of the songs feature some pretty spooky CB radio recordings.

This album's currently on sale at Bloodshot Records as part of their effort to raise some money for their artists who are currently working on new stuff. (Also included are Bobby Bare, Jr., Paul Burch, the Meat Purveyors, and Wayne Hancock.) Scott's new album is due in July.

Listen:
Scott H. Biram - Whiskey
Scott H Biram - I See The Light/What's His Name?.mp3

Buy:
From Bloodshot

Soda and His Million Piece Band - Soda

I first heard about Soda and His Million Piece Band through the now-defunct podcast The Outhouse. They play some pretty gritty punk-influenced Americana/blues, complete with accordion, bari sax, and every kind of string instrument you can think of. The mix of instruments is really great and doesn't have the novelty to it that, say, my previous post the White Ghost Shivers has. The vocals are very course; I'm guessing they were recorded with a harmonica bullet mic.

This band is based in LA and hasn't traveled anywhere near me, which is understandable with a varying lineup of anywhere from 8 to 16 musicians. Their website said they were as SXSW and I wish they'd make their way up I-35 next time they're in Texas.

Listen:
Soda and His Million Piece Band - July.mp3

Buy:
From CD Baby

White Ghost Shivers - Everyone's Got 'Em

I first saw the White Ghost Shivers last fall when they opened for Split Lip Rayfield here in Lawrence, which I believe was their first trip this far up I-35. I missed a return trip 'cause it was an early show, but I made it to this show and I bought their latest CD, which is something like two weeks old.

I like this album very much. I can't say how it compares to the first studio disc or the live radio album, but it's a transfixing listen. The songs are familiar, more familiar than seeing two shows should make them. Their style is very '20s revivalism, and several of the songs seem like old standards, even though the liner notes seems to indicate they're all originals. (Unlike their name sake song which is an old standard.) The mix of string band and hot jazz instrumentation leads to a compelling mélange of styles: hot jazz, hokum, blues, and hillbilly music, I think the show poster read.

The record plays something like a concert, with the first track introducing the band and the last listed track wrapping it up, followed by the encore of the hidden track. I'm including the first track, a nice introduction to the band. I believe they started their show off with this one.

Listen:
The White Ghost Shivers - Everyone's Got 'Em.mp3

Buy:
From Chicken Ranch Records

Grayson Capps - If You Knew My Mind

I have to admit that I don't really know much about Grayson Capps. He played in KC last week, but I couldn't go. I think I first heard about him from Roots Rock Radio or from one of the americanaroots podcasts.

I had noticed this album at Love Garden, and then when I heard about him a couple of times on podcasts, I bought it. It was in the alt.country section, but I would say it is more of a blues type album. If you like recent Rodney Crowell or Buddy Miller, then this is probably up your alley. The backing is a bit more blues-rock informed, almost in the vein of the Black Crowes, but the songwriting is much more predominant, since he is, at the core, a singer-songwriter rather than the frontman of a band.

Listen:
Grayson Capps - Graveyard.mp3

Buy:
From Hyena Records
From Amazon

Truckstop Honeymoon

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, my local music scene found itself blessed with the seemingly permanent addition of former Ninth Ward residents Mike West and Katie Euliss, aka Truckstop Honeymoon, to our local scene. I've only been able to catch them once in the almost six months since, but I'm hoping to catch them soon, maybe outside at the Gaslight, like the show I just missed Monday.

Truckstop Honeymoon is a hard and raucous bluegrass/country/blues-holler married duo. They take their name from their wedding night stay at the Tiger Truck Stop in rural Louisiana. Their music is loud and fast and slow and soft and also includes some very humourous and sometimes macabre lyrics. I've included two tracks to show their range.

PS: They're playing this Friday night, 14 April, at the Uptown Theatre in KCMO with Drakkar Sauna, The Wilders, and others to benefit Kirk Rundstrom, singer/guitarist of Splitlip Rayfield, who is battling cancer. You should go.

Listen:
Truckstop Honeymoon - Weary Blues From Waitin.mp3
Truckstop Honeymoon - No Beer On Sunday.mp3

Buy:
From Mike West