The Jones Street Boys - Overcome

I got a song off this album from another blog (S:I?) a few months ago and couldn’t stop playing it. That song, “Last Time,” showed the Jones Street Boys as a promising string band willing to incorporate accent instruments such as piano, harmonica, and traps drums. When they sent me their disc last month, I was not disappointed. But their record shows a greater stylistic range than I was expecting. They keep their record centered on the New York-style string-band sound, but they foreground harmonica, piano, organ, and other keyboard instruments on a few tracks. This album comfortably inhabits the uneasy middle ground between string-band revivalism, insurgent country, adult alternative acoustic, and hipster folk. The other stand-out track on the disc is a cover of the Band’s “Twilight.”

Listen:
The Jones Street Boys - Last Time
The Jones Street Boys - Twilight

Buy:
From Insound
From Amazon

Jeff Zentner - Hymns to the Darkness

A couple months ago I posted about "distortion folk" group Creech Holler. Lead singer Jeff Zentner also sent me his solo CD, Hymns to the Darkness. Unlike Creech Holler, which takes a distorted electric take on largely traditional tunes, Zentner's disc brings a baker's dozen of acoustic originals. Truly a solo album, Zentner plays guitar, dobro, steel, mandolin, and banjo, and provides his own harmony vocals.



Listen how the steel guitar hovering over the more "old time" sounding acoustic instruments creates an interesting ethereal Southern Gothic sound.



Listen:

Jeff Zentner - Rusty Town



Buy:

From CD Baby

Dressed in Black: A Tribute to Johnny Cash

The last half decade has seen an explosion of Johnny Cash tribute albums. Leading the pack in 2002 was this indie-country oriented set produced by BR549's Chuck Mead. This compilation, probably due to its house band of Chuck Mead on guitar and Dave Roe on bass, flows together remarkably well considering the breadth of music included: the psychobilly of Rev. Horton Heat and the punk-country of Hank III and J.D. Wilkes of the Shack*Shakers as well as the Dale Watson's honky tonking and Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis's Americana.

This album has a general sense of sincerity and comfortableness that isn't exhibited in tributes (such as the Marty Stuart-produced Kindred Spirits) featuring better-known performers some of whom seem as if they are coming to the material for the first time. This album also gives some much needed attention to several people, such as Earl Poole Ball, Redd Volkaert, and Kenny Vaughan, who are better known as sidemen or backing musicians, allowing them to step up into the spotlight.

Listen:
Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis - Pack Up Your Sorrows
Damon Bramblett - I'm Gonna Sit on the Porch and Pick on My Old Guitar

Buy:
From Dualtone
From Amazon

Texas Unplugged Vol. 2

This is the second volume in the Palo Duro series of acoustic albums from their stable of Texas musicians. Included are the Derailers, Dale Watson, Johnny Bush, and Two Tons of Steel. This albums serves as both an introduction to the label as well as a look into Texas music in a particular style. The low-key, but not quite "stripped down", nature of the acoustic constraint gives a little more prominence to the songwriting in most cases, although Cindy Cashdollar and Carolyn Wonderland supply a wonderful Dobro/Guitar duet instrumental.

Of the twelve contributors to this album, only the Derailers and Watson are already in my CD collection. Their contributions are pretty close to the nature of their regular, electric work. I'm not sure about the rest of the people, though. I was a big fan of the MTV Unplugged years ago, but those performances often had little to do with the studio albums of the groups. Nirvana's MTV Unplugged in New York (their only listenable album, to me) is practically an alt-country album, quite different from their studio work or normal performances.

I am interested in following up on some of the groups on this CD. Two Tons of Steel has been on my wish list for a while, and the Sidehill Gougers sound very promising.

Listen:
The Sidehill Gougers - One Tiny Sin

Buy:
From Palo Duro
From Amazon