New West

Earle Steve: Townes - The basics (Gold) [Vinyl LP]

3 bonus tracks.<br/><br/>Som titeln antyder är nya plattan en hyllning till läromästaren och vännen Jerry Jeff Walker, som dog hösten 2020, 78 år gammal. <br/><br/>Med "Jerry Jeff" kompletterar Steve Earle den serie hyllningsplattor som inleddes med 2009 års "Townes" (Townes van Zandt), fortsatte med 2029 års "Guy" (Guy Clark) och som nu avslutas med "Jerry Jeff".<br/><br/>2021 gav Steve Earle dessutom ut "J.T.", en fin men smärtsam hyllningen till sonen Justin Townes Earle, som dog 2020, endast 38 år.<br/><br/>"The records were recorded and released in the order in which they left this world. But make no mistake - it was Jerry Jeff Walker who came first," says Earle.<br/> <br/>Earle was 14 when he first heard Walker. His high school drama teacher gave him a copy of "Mr. Bojangles," Walker's classic ballad about an unforgettable character he met in a New Orleans jail. After Earle moved to Nashville in the 1970s, he had the opportunity to get to know Walker, who enlisted him as his designated driver.<br/>"There's a tendency to think of Jerry Jeff around a relationship to one song," Earle says, referring to "Mr. Bojangles," which was covered by everyone from Bob Dylan to Sammy Davis Jr. "He was also such a great interpreter of other people's songs. But my main purpose in recording this album was to remind people that he wrote a lot of fucking great songs."

McMurtry James: The horses and the hounds 2021 [Digipack / CD]

Earle Justin Townes: All in/Unreleased... [Digipack / CD]

Kacy & Claytons album "Strange Country" bjuder på en spännande kombination av psykedelisk folk, engelsk folk revival och forn musik från södra Appalacherna.<br/><br/>Kacy and Clayton är nästkusiner från trakterna kring Saskatchewan, Kanada. "Strange Country" är deras tredje album, producerat av Shuyler Jansen, spelades in under några smällkalla vinterdagar 2015.<br/><br/>"While writing and recording this record, we had a certain subject matter in mind", minns Clayton. "For our first album, we focused on the imagery of the bible, old-time religion, and the spiritual side of things. For "Strange Country", we wanted the stories and characters to portray a darker and more worldly side of life." <br/><br/>"Apart from the three traditional arrangements, we focused more on songwriting than we did on the last album" förklarar Kacy. "Our songwriting process varies but typically one of us gets a basic idea for a song, presents it to the other, and we finish the song together. When writing songs we attempt to use the imagery and language of the old folk forms." <br/><br/>Det som omedelbart slår en när man lyssnar på "Strange Country" är Kacys fantastiska röst, som inte helt förvånande jämförts med Fairport Conventions Sandy Denny. Lägg därtill Claytons utsökta gitarrspel. Med ett sound influerat av Shirley Collins, the Incredible String Band, Richard and Linda Thompson och Magnolia Electric Company håller Kacy & Clayton inte bara liv i en tradition. De adderar också ny energi och modern touch.

Denna liveklassiker släpps igen - inspelad live 2007 och är oumbärlig i samlingen. Dryga halvtimman lång till specialpris.

Earle Steve: Townes (Clear/Ltd) [Gatefold / 2 Vinyl LP]