The year started off slow, but boy, things are heatin' up now. From
Ricky Skaggs's Ancient Tones (a worthy followup to Bluegrass Rules!) to
Hadacol's Better Than This (aggressive twang-rock with roots in
rockabilly and the anthemic country-rock of Mr. Earle), some good twang
albums have finally arrived. I also managed to acquire a few of those
hard-to-get late arrivals from last year -- Cisco's Wishing You Well From
The Pink Motel (yep, solid Bakersfield with added punk attitude), James
Hand's Shadows Where The Magic Was (100% hard country -- could be better
produced, but shows lotsa potential), Beaver Nelson's The Last Hurrah
(roots rock with catchy tunes aplenty), and Real: The Tom T. Hall Project
(more winners than losers here, particularly Kelly Willis, Iris DeMent,
Joe Henry, and Whiskeytown).
Best of all though may be the new album from Chuck E. Weiss, titled
Extremely Cool. It ain't particularly twangy, but the album title pretty
much sums it up. Co-produced by Tom Waits (who also co-wrote a coupla
songs and helps out on guitar and vocals), it's wild and loose boho
barroom blues shot through with smartass irreverence and musical
brilliance. While Weiss's vocal mannerisms and musical quirks may remind
you of Waits, he's much more thoroughly grounded in the blues and other
American roots styles. Jon Spencer can only dream of bein' this cool.
And for those who like to venture far afield, keep your eyes open for the
new album from Malian guitarist Habib Koite and his band Bamada. Koite's
an incredible guitarist, and he manages the tricky feat of subtly blending
Malian danssa music with a variety of other styles while shunning the
cheap and easy glossy crossover moves that blight so much afro-pop. Ma Ya
is one of the most soulful, rootsy albums I've heard in a long time.
Putumayo Records used to be known for making world music safe for yuppies
by producing lightweight compilations of watered-down world-pop, but last
Fall's Latin releases on Putumayo Artists and the Koite album (along with
the companion Mali To Memphis compilation) show a label changing for the
better.
I also dig Ondar's Back Tuva Future (gotta love that Tuvan-bluegrass
fusion track), Built To Spill's Keep It Like A Secret (Doug Martsch's
usual explosive guitar bliss, but with tighter song construction),
Yungchen Lhamo's Coming Home (heavenly vocals, and thank god producer
Hector Zazou didn't muss up her sound too much), and Mike Henderson's
latest album of perfectly executed roadhouse blues, Thicker Than Water.
It makes me a little uneasy though to see it climbing up the Gavin
Americana chart -- Henderson's album has as much to do with country music
as J.B. Hutto and Sonny Boy Williamson. Funny how the only blues artists
who ever make that chart are the ones with white skin.
Oh, and I shouldn't forget David Olney's Through A Glass Darkly -- if folk
music always had this much bite and grit, I'd fly my folk flag high!).-don
