James
>Hand's Shadows Where The Magic Was (100% hard country -- could be better
I thought I had made arrangements to get a copy of that one but so far no
dice, and now I can't find the contact info. Can someone help?
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Mike Hays www.MikeHays.RealCountry.net
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-----Original Message-----
From: Don Yates <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: passenger side <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Thursday, January 21, 1999 12:02 PM
Subject: Chuck E. Weiss & other cool new shit
>
>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),
>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
>
>
