Spicewood Seven - Kakistocracy

I got this CD more than a month ago but haven't had the time to review it until now. I figured that after tomorrow, it would be a moot point to feature a disc intent on effecting the political status quo.

"Kakistocracy" is "government by the least qualified or most unprincipled citizens," according to the American Heritage Dictionary. I don't think it's risky to guess to whom the Spicewood Seven are referring. This CD isn't a liberal diatribe, though. Including a dig at "hippie girl" protesters and lamenting the removal of "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance, this album is more reminiscent of Merle Haggard's populism than Steve Earle's full-fledged liberalism.

The album touches on a variety of issues, but the focus is the war in Iraq. Unlike some east coast liberals, this album doesn't show disdain for military personnel and it touches on religion as a force for progressive social change in a way that the Democratic establishment doesn't seem to get. The rise of populist opposition to the war in Iraq as exemplified by this album and Haggard's recent album makes me think the GOP is going to be in trouble tomorrow. The Democrats' inability to seize this discourse on a national level, however, mystifies me and if they don't pull it off tomorrow it wasn't for lack of opportunity.

The album, masterminded by Tennessee State U. English professor Luke Powers and Austin producer Tommy Spurlock, features guest appearances by Leon Rausch (of Bob Wills' Texas Playboys), Rosie Flores, Elana Fremerman (of Hot Club of Cowtown), and Garth Hudson (of the Band), who provides a church pipe organ version of the Doxology/Old 100th entitled "Garth's Dox."

The portion of the proceeds from this album are being donated to The Center for the Intrepid rehab facility being built at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio.

Listen:
Spicewood Seven - 21 Guns (For Cindy Sheehan)

Buy:
From CD Universe

Caught in the Webb: A Tribute to the Legendary Webb Pierce

To be honest, before I picked up this tribute album, I didn't really know that much about Webb Pierce. I'm not sure I could have named more than a couple songs of his. "There Stands the Glass" was his one really big hit, and BR549 covered "Honky Tonk Song." But somehow I know most of the songs on this CD. I guess he was a bit more prolific than I knew and is well remembered by classic country radio.

This is a remarkably successful tribute album. Like many country tribute albums, this one has a house band, led here by Kenny Vaughan, that gives a unifying sound. The individual needs of the singers aren't ignored, though; the band is able to adjust according to the style of each guest. The contributions from Emmylou Harris, Dwight Yoakam, Dale Watson, and Willie Nelson, all highly distinctive artists, fit well within their individual bodies of work.

Being such an even album, there isn't one obvious stand out track. I'm going to post the contribution from the disc's producer, Gail Davies.

Also, the proceeds from this album go to the Minnie Pearl Cancer Foundation and the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Listen:
Gail Davies - Love Love Love

Buy:
From the Minnie Pearl Cancer Foundation
From Amazon

The Pine Valley Cosmonauts - The Executioner's Last Song

I just heard a piece on NPR today about North Carolina's new Innocence Inquiry Commission which got me thinking about this CD. I actually got this several months ago during Bloodshot's spring cleaning sale, but it got lost in the mess of my car. Well I dug it out and gave it another listen.

Although billed as by the Pine Valley Cosmonauts, this is in reality a compilation album. The Cosmonauts serve as house band for the project, but every song is credited to a guest performer. The song selection is probably about the most morbid of any album I have (even more so than American V), but mostly in a humorous way, if you can be humorous about death, seeking, as the cover says, "consign songs of murder, mob-law & cruel, cruel punishment to the realm of myth, memory & history!!"

The proceeds to this album benefit the Illinois Death Penalty Moratorium Project, which I don't think exists anymore. I think maybe it goes to the Illinois Coalition Against the Death Penalty. It may have dropped out of the news, but the moratorium is still in effect, leaving the death penalty in Illinois in a strange limbo, as it still exists de jure and several people have been sentenced since the moratorium, but it cannot be carried out. The fate of the Moratorium probably rests in the hands of the voters in the upcoming gubernatorial election.

Anyways, this album is quite enjoyable considering the weighty topic. I know we've all laughed at the Louvins' "Knoxville Girl," which is the lead off track, here performed by Brett Sparks. And we laughed through most of this album, as maybe we should, at the sheer absurdity of it. Not that there aren't serious songs here, such as "Oh Death" by Diane Izzo or "Idiot Whistle," with Tony Fitzpatrick giving a very serious recitation about the politics behind the continuation of the death penalty.

Listen:
The Pine Valley Cosmonauts w/ Frankie & Johnny Navin - 25 Minutes to Go

Buy:
From Bloodshot
From Amazon