He Will Shine

I'm really looking forward to the upcoming solo album of Phil Cook, the former Megafaun man who shines on guitar and soulful organ in Hiss Golden Messenger at the mo. Want a sneak peek? Here goes. All together now: gonna be a...

Phil Cook - Great Tide

And in case you overlooked 'em, Megafaun was a pretty cool combo, too. Here they honour Phil Kaufman, the producer and tour manager who really made a name for himself when he stole the corpse of countryrock legend Gram Parsons and burned it near Joshua Tree.

Megafaun - Kaufman's Ballad

Callin' Me Home

To make you feel better, here's two by Emmylou, live with her Hot Band. Paying homage to her late great mentor Gram Parsons of course.

Emmylou Harris - Hickory Wind (live '75)
Emmylou Harris - Wheels (live '76)

Lonely Soul

"My mailman died, my phone won’t ring..." The current issue of Uncut magazine comes accompanied by a crispy collection of songs that inspired Gram Parsons, the late godfather of cosmic American music. All tracks being bona fide country classics, there was only one I didn't own already: a splendid honky tonker called A Broken Heart And A Glass Of Beer by Hank Thompson. My bad, Hank, and cheers. Here goes.

Hank Thompson - A Broken Heart And A Glass Of Beer

TCB

"Pick it for me, James..." And mr. Burton, proud veteran of the Elvis band, takes care of business. Q.E.D.

Gram Parsons - Return Of The Grievous Angel

Devil In Disguise

Don´t you mess with Christine, folks. Gram knows, he´s been there and back. "It´s alright to call her but I´ll bet you, the moon is full and you´re just wasting time..." A bona fide vintage country rock classic, coming at you in true cosmic American stereo, with vocals left, right, and centre.

Should Ingram Cecil Connor III be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame as soon as possible? Of course. He may not have invented country rock single handedly, but he sure played a very important part in its conception.

The Flying Burrito Brothers - Christine´s Tune MP3

Wild Weekend Vol. 5

Long live the weekend, the weekend is here. And it´s gonna be another wild one... My iPod shuffle function picks the tunes, and we´ll just have to wait and see what comes up. Ready, set, go.

Let´s get this show on the road with some intense blues from the inimitable Robert Pete Williams. Recorded live in Angola Prison, where the guitarist was doing time for fatally shooting a (white) man in what was probably self-defence. "Some got six months, but me and my buddies got a lifetime here..." These ´59 recordings actually helped to get his case looked at anew and his sentence reduced. Jandek provides another kind of blues: of the outsider variety. Most people find his stuff unlistenable, but I regularly need a shot of the unique Houston loner.

Robert Pete Williams - Some Got Six Months MP3

Jandek - Naked In The Afternoon MP3

The Buzzcocks more or less defined the punkpop genre in the magical year of ´77. They´ve been unrivalled ever since really. To be sixteen again... oh no! Find it on Love Bites, their somewhat underrated second offering. I stupidly forgot to include Tom Russell´s Blood And Candle Smoke in my list of last year´s fave albums. Sorry Tom, won´t happen again. Check out the impressive East Of Woodstock, West Of Vietnam and add this album to your wishlift pronto. Them mariachi-like horns are delicious. "Raise high the roof beams, carpenter boy..."

Buzzcocks - Sixteen Again MP3

Tom Russell - East Of Woodstock, West Of Vietnam MP3

Next up are the Byrds. Makes sense, as I´ve got a lot of their timeless songs on my iPod. One Hundred Years From Now was sung by McGuinn on their groundbreaking countryrock classic Sweetheart Of The Rodeo, as the original vocals of the one and only Gram Parsons were erased for contractual reasons. The version here comes from the Byrds box set, with Gram´s wonderful voice restored. And we bid you goodnight with some intense flamenco from the Jerez Earthquake. "Toma, toma..."

The Byrds - One Hundred Years From Now MP3

Terremoto De Jerez - Fiesta En El Barrio Santiago MP3

Omnivore grab bag

It´s another grab bag Friday, and I´ve got a great variety of styles for all you musical omnivores tonight. There´s blues featuring Lightnin´Hopkins and electronica with the amazing Silver Apples, while Bonnie Prince Billy takes care of lofi and the Heptones provide roots reggae and dub. And then we´ve got the country contingent: Gram Parsons, The Flatlanders and Joe Ely. Great songs all of them, so check it out.

Let´s get going with some old electric blues. Lightnin´ Hopkins recorded his Herald sessions in April ´54 in Houston, and he never played a meaner guitar. With just Ben Turner on drums and Donald Cooks on bass, the overall sound is remarkably open and airy. Life I Used To Live sees Hopkins looking back on a life of sin: "I´m gonna change my way of living, I´m gonna join the church again". He doesn´t sound like he actually will go through with it though... Lightnin´s Special is a furious instrumental that´s hard to beat. You can find them on Lightnin´And The Blues: The Herald Sessions (Buddha records).

Lightnin´Hopkins - Life I Used To Live MP3

Lightnin´Hopkins - Lightnin´s Special MP3

The Silver Apples were unique. Two guys from New York City who made electronic music that was way ahead of its time. The duo built its own instruments: a huge percussion kit called the Taylor drums and the Simeon, some kind of oscillator set which was played with hands, elbows, knees and feet. Contrary to most bands the Apples didn´t play their first gig in some small club. Their manager secured them a place on the bill for a huge free festival in Central Park, so they debuted for 30.000 people... They recorded two revolutionary albums for the Kapp label in the late sixties that didn´t sell but became hugely influential on lots of bands (think Suicide for instance). Both are compiled on one wonderfully weird cd on MCA.

Silver Apples - Oscillations MP3

Here´s two songs about country hicks taking their true loves to the big city. Both fail. In Gram Parsons´ Streets Of Baltimore (written by Tompal Glaser and Harlan Howard btw) the protagonist even decides to go back home after a while, leaving his baby behind in the largest city in the state of Maryland. "I soon learned she loved those bright lights more than she loved me..." It´s from that wonderful showcase of ´cosmic American music´ called G.P. (Reprise ´73). The Flatlanders (featuring the mighty triumvirate of Joe Ely, Jimmy Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock) take their Rose from the mountain to L.A. "where the air ain´t clean" but money talks. They soon hoof it back to Colorado however, as the rose is slowly but surely wilting. Well, at least they go back home together. Find it on their ´72 gem More A Legend Than A Band (Rounder).

Gram Parsons - Streets Of Baltimore MP3

The Flatlanders - Rose From The Mountain MP3

Joe Ely made his first claim to fame with the Flatlanders, although that seminal band never made it big. More a legend than a band indeed. Why this guy is still a cult hero at best I simply can´t understand. Take the exemplary compilation No Bad Talk Or Loud Talk ´77-´81 (Edsel ´95) for instance. Ely writes great songs and can handle honky tonk, rockabilly and pure country with ease. The melancholic Tonight I Think I´m Gonna Go Downtown, a song written by co-Flatlander Jimmy Dale Gilmore, is a good example of the latter. And that accordeon sure is a nice touch.

Joe Ely - Tonight I Think I´m Gonna Go Downtown MP3

I finally managed to track down a copy of the extremely limited Dawn McCarthy & Bonnie Prince Billy cd Wai Notes. Released on the tiny Sea Notes label, it contains demos (in lofi quality with quite a lot of tape hiss) of songs that later ended up on Billy´s wonderful last outing The Letting Go. Great stuff, but for hardcore fans of the Louisville bard only I guess. Nice touch: there´s a real polaroid glued to the sleeve.

Dawn McCarthy & Bonnie Prince Billy - Wai MP3

Let´s call it a night with some reggae from one of my favorite vocal groups, The Heptones. Youngsters Earl Morgan, Barry Llewellyn and Leroy Sibbles started out in the sixties as a rocksteady ensemble in Trenchtown, Jamaica. They proved one of the few groups that could make the transition to roots reggae in the seventies with ease. Cool Rasta is a good example of their fluent style. And the dub version, produced by the great Harry J, is irie too. Buy it on the Cool Rasta album (Trojan).

The Heptones - Cool Rasta MP3

The Heptones - Rasta Dub MP3