Elena Skye in the NY Times
hey everyone there was a great article (and picture) of our own Elena Skye (and Boo Reiners and the Demolition String Band) in the NEw York Times New Jersey section under the title "Two Paths To Bluegrass That Converged In Hoboken". and they'll be playing at Maxwell's next sunday at 10PM way to go Elena MarkM
Re: Clip: Phil's New Zone
In a message dated 99-04-13 12:55:16 EDT, you write: PHIL'S NEW ZONE Grateful Dead bassist is feeling fine after his successful liver transplant and will celebrate with three shows at the Warfield Bassist Returns to Stage in Phil Lesh Friends Shows James Sullivan, Chronicle Staff Writer Tuesday, April 13, 1999 ©1999 San Francisco Chronicle URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1999/04/13/D D3153.DTLtype=music When Phil Lesh went in for a liver transplant in December, old friend and transplant survivor David Crosby kidded him about his hospital gown. ``He wanted a picture of me with my ass hanging out,'' Lesh says with a laugh. At the time, it was no laughing matter. Last September the Grateful Dead bassist, 59, was rushed to the hospital with an acute case of internal bleeding. After he had lived for years with the symptoms of liver disease, diagnosed in 1991 as hepatitis C, the infection finally caught up with him. This week Lesh celebrates his successful surgery, returning to the concert stage with three Phil Lesh Friends shows at the Warfield. Proceeds from Thursday's opening night will benefit Lesh's Unbroken Chain foundation, which he plans to use to increase awareness about liver disease. He feels good. ``The doctors are extremely pleased,'' Lesh says in his first interview since the operation. ``The first weeks after the transplant they were using words like `beautiful' and `perfect.' There've been a couple of little bumps, but they've been minor ones.'' Helping himself to a piece of lemon cake, he's sitting alongside his wife, Jill, at the dining room table of their new Marin County home. Through tall plate-glass windows they share a view of the morning dew on the property's lush greenery. Having experienced a hepatitis ``flareup'' as far back as the early 1970s, Lesh cleaned up more than a decade ago, around the birth of his first of two sons, Grahame and Brian. He quit drinking, started exercising and became a vegetarian. Still, the disease began to affect his energy and appearance. Lesh struggled last summer through the first tour of the Other Ones, the eight-piece post-Dead group he established with band mates Bob Weir and Mickey Hart. He was 30 pounds underweight. But the performances drew raves from fans and critics around the country and kept him going. ``You can be in bad shape, and if the music is happening you don't even notice,'' Lesh says. ``When I was playing with those guys, I was in heaven.'' But when he got home, he knew it was time to deal with his illness. ``People were saying, `Wow, you don't look good, man,' '' he says. ``You could see he was gray,'' says his wife, who lost her father to liver cancer several years ago. As word spread of Lesh's illness, the Deadhead community rallied via the Internet. ``One Sunday just before we went out of town (to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla.), they all agreed to send me good vibes at the same time. ``We sat out here'' -- he waves a hand at the porch -- ``and you could feel it.'' Such serenity, he says, isn't always the norm within the Dead camp. ``After Jerry (Garcia) died there was a lot of stress in the organization. We had to consolidate our operations, and there was resistance to that.'' Lesh's wife now goes to the Dead's board meetings. ``While Jerry was alive, let me say, it wasn't as difficult as it is now,'' he says. ``Now I feel I'm in the minority most of the time.'' After Garcia's death in 1995, Lesh fought against bringing investors into the Dead fold, which was reeling from the loss of its touring income. ``Phil was kind of the lone cowboy,'' says his wife. ``It seemed like a quick fix at the time, but then you'd be hearing `Truckin' ' for Chevy trucks and stuff like that.'' When the Other Ones formed a year ago, there was much speculation over who would take Garcia's place. The band compromised, hitting the road with two guitarists, Steve Kimock and Mark Karan. (Kimock and Other Ones drummer John Molo will play in Lesh's band this week, along with guitarist Trey Anastasio and keyboardist Page McConnell of the band Phish.) Lesh fought to keep the Other Ones lineup compact. ``I know that it could be even more successful musically if there wasn't quite so much clutter -- not so much solo after solo after solo, but more of a conversation. Which was what the Grateful Dead were all about.'' Originally intended as a one-time reunion, the Other Ones were preparing to tour again this summer. Lesh declined. ``It was not so much a question of my health as the issues that are still unresolved,'' he says. Among other things, the band needs new material, he says. ``Otherwise it's just going to be the best Grateful Dead cover band in the world,'' he chuckles, folding his hands. In the meantime, he is returning to his early training as a classical
Re: CDs for SALE (+/-475 CDs)
Still buying/still listening/still culling Same old, same old; CDs are $6 each and i pay the postage in the US; or CDs are $5 each if you buy 10 or more and i still pay the postage (if you want the $5 each, please give me more than ten choices so i have a fighting chance since i try to accomodate as many people as possible) ND references are to the particular CD if possible or at least to an article or review about the person/group for those who want a little more info than they may have. For those who wanted a particular CD in the past but didn't get it and now see it on this list, please accept my explanation/apology; simple fact is i may have a CD, sell it and then later find another copy of the same one. and remember; buy early, buy often;) PLEASE REPLY OFF LIST.THANKS Acetone "Cindy" (unopened) Tina Adair "Just You Wait And See" American Lesion (unopened)(ND #14) Bill Anderson "Fine Wine" (ND# 19) John Anderson "Takin' The Country Back" (ND# 11) Thomas Anderson "Blues For The Flying Dutchman" (ND# 7) Angry Johnny The Killbillies "What's So Funny?" (ND# 15) Ass Ponys "Electric Rock Music" (unopened) (ND#4) Ass Ponys "The Known Universe" (unopened) (ND# 4) Asylum Street Spankers "Spanks For The Memories" (ND# 7) Athenaeum "Radience" (unopened) A3 "Exile On Coldharbor Lane" (2 CD promo w/ regular CD and bonus mix CD) Sherrie Austin "Words" Backbone (Grateful Dead's Bill Kreutzmann) (unopened) The Badlees "River Songs" (unopened) Bad Livers "Delusions Of Banjer" (ND# 8) Tom Ball Kenny Sultan "Double Vision" (unopened) Bobby Bare "Lassoes 'N Spurs" (ND# 11) Bare Jr. "Boo-Tay" (unopened) (ND#19) Mandy Barnett "I've Got A Right To Cry" (advance w/ no front insert;) Beau Sia "Attack! Attack! Go!" Joshua Bell "Gershwin Fantasy" (unopened in paper sleeve) Martyn Bennett "Bothy Culture" Byron Berline "Outrageous" (w/ Dan Cary, JD Maness, James Burton etc.) Bestkissersintheworld "Puddin'" Big Back Forty "Bested" (unopened)(ND# 10) Big Blue Hearts (ND# 10) Big Hate "You're Soaking In It" Big House "Travelin' Kind" Big House Terri Binion "Leavin' This Town" (ND# 13) Jeff Black "Birmingham Road" (unopened) (ND#16) Hal Blaine "Buh-Doom!" John Blinn "Notes From The Road" Blue Flannel "XL" Blue Rags "Rag-N-Roll" (unopened in paper sleeve) (ND# 13) Deanna Bogart "The Great Unknown" Bonepony "Stomp Revival" Marques Bovre and the Evil Twins "Flyover Land" (ND#16) Robert Bradley's "Backwater Suprise" Randall Bramlett "See Through Me" Garth Brooks (scuffed) Marty Brown "Here's To The Honky Tonks" (unopened) Junior Brown "Long Walk Back" (no front insert) (ND# 17) The Buffalo Club The Carpetbaggers "Sin Now...Pray Later" (unopened) (ND# 4) Roseanne Cash "The Wheel" (ND# 4) Mary Chapin Carpenter "A Place In The World" Mary Chapin Carpenter "Stones In The Road" Peter Case "Six Pack Of Love" (unopened) (ND# 14) Chance The Gardner "The Day The Dogs Took Over" (ND ad) Marshall Chapman "It's About Time" Marshall Chapman "Love Slave" (unopened) Charm Farm "Pervert" (unopened) Citizens' Utilities "Lost And Foundered" (unopened) (ND #12) The Clarks "Someday Maybe" (ND# 9) (unopened) Claw Hammer "Hold Your Tongue (and say apple)" Claw Hammer "Thank The Holder Uppers" Clarence Clemons "Peacemaker" (unopened) Jerry Clower "Peaches And Possum" Jerry Clower "Live At Dollywood" Phil Cody "Offering" Adam Cohen (unopened) Marc Cohn "Burning The Daze" Marc Cohn "The Rainy Season" Gerald Collier (ND# 7) (unopened) Neal Coty "Chance And Circumstance" (ND ad) John Cowan "Soul'd Out" Cowboy Mouth "Mercyland" Cowboy Nation (Kinsman Bros. from Rank File) (ND# 19) Floyd Cramer "Favorite Country Hits" Hank Crane (ND ad) Cravin' Melon "Red Clay Harvest" Cravin' Melon "Squeeze Me" Kacy Crowley "Anchorless" (ND# 11) (unopened) WesCunningham"12WaysToWinPeopleToYourWayOfThinking"(unopened)(ND#19) The Customers "Green Bottle Thursday" (ND ad) Mary Cutrufello "When The Night is Through" (unopened) (ND# 17) DAAU "We Need Some New Animals" (unopened) The Damnations "Half Mad Moon" (ND# 19) Charlie Daniels "America, I Believe In You" Kyle Davis "Raising Heroes" Dead Hot Workshop "1001" Dead Hot Workshop "River Otis" EP The Dear Janes "No Skin" (unopened) Del Amitri "Twisted" (unopened) Wesley Dennis The Derailers "Reverb Deluxe" (ND# 10) Ditch Croaker "Secrets Of The Mule" (unopened) Julie Doiron "Lonliest In The Morning" (unopened in paper sleeve)(ND# 11) Drill Team "Hope And Dream Explosion" Drivin' N' Cryin' "Wrapped In Sky" Pete Droge The Sinners "Find A Door" (ND# 15) Francis Dunnery "Lets Go Do What Happens" Fred Eaglesmith "Lipstick Lies Gasoline" (no inserts) (ND# 12) Don Edwards "Songs From The Trail" (Alejandro Escovedo)Buick MacKane "The Pawn Shop Years" (ND# 8) John Ewing Band "Delta Flares" Fabulon "All Girls Are Pretty" (unopened) Amy Fairchild "She's Not Herself" Farm Dogs Last Stand In Open Country" (unopened) Farm Dogs "Immigrant Sons" (unopened) Five Easy Pieces (unopened) Flamingoes "Plastic Jewels"
Cash tribute on TV
Sunday April 18 @8pm on TNT "an all-star tribute to Johnny Cash" Emmylou Harris Kris Kris Willie Nelson Lyle Lovett Chris Isaak Dave Matthews Cheryl Crow Rosanne Cash Brooks Dunn etc.
Re: CDs for SALE (+/-435 CDs)
Hello again stillbuying/stillculling/stillselling CDs are $5 each if you buy 10 or more and i pay shipping in the US via Post Office CDs are $6 each and i pay the shipping (extra outside USA) I will try to accomodate as many people as possible so if you want to get the 10 please give me more than 10 choices so i have a fighting chance to get you ten. give me a week or two to reply because it takes that long to get everyone's e- mails and sort everything out PLEASE REPLY OFF LIST thanks Mark Acetone "Cindy" (unopened) Tina Adair "Just You Wait And See" C.C. Adcock American Lesion (unopened)(ND #14) American Standard "Piss Vinegar" Bill Anderson "Fine Wine" Thomas Anderson "Blues For The Flying Dutchman" (ND# 7) Ass Ponys "Electric Rock Music" (unopened) (ND#4) Ass Ponys "The Known Universe" (unopened) (ND# 4) Athenaeum "Radience" (unopened) A3 "Exile On Coldharbor Lane" (2 CD promo w/ regular CD and bonus mix CD) Sherrie Austin "Words" Backbone (Grateful Dead's Bill Kreutzmann) (unopened) The Bacon Brothers "Forosoco" (unopened) The Badlees "River Songs" (unopened) David Baerwald "Bedtime Stories" (unopened) Tom Ball Kenny Sultan "Double Vision" (unopened) Bare Jr. "Boo-Tay" (unopened)(ND#19) Mandy Barnett (unopened) (ND# ) Mandy Barnett "I've Got A Right To Cry" (advance w/ no front insert;) Beat Farmers "Manifold" (unopened) Beau Sia "Attack! Attack! Go!" Harry Belafonte Friends "An Eveening With..." (unopened) Joshua Bell "Gershwin Fantasy" (unopened in paper sleeve) Martyn Bennett "Bothy Culture" Bestkissersintheworld "Puddin'" Big Back Forty "Bested" (unopened)(ND# 10) Big Blue Hearts (ND# 10) Big Hate "You're Soaking In It" Big Head Todd and the Monsters Big Head Todd And The Monsters "Stratagem" (unopened) Big House "Travelin' Kind" Big House Terri Binion "Leavin' This Town" (ND# 13) Birddog "Ghost Of The Season" Jeff Black "Birmingham Road" (ND#16) Hal Blaine "Buh-Doom!" John Blinn "Notes From The Road" Blue Flannel "XL" Deanna Bogart "The Great Unknown" Bonepony "Stomp Revival" The BottleRockets "The Brooklyn Side" (unopened) The BottleRockets "24 Hours A Day" (no front insert)(ND#9) Boneshakers "Shake The Planet" (unopened in paper sleeve) Marques Bovre and the Evil Twins "Flyover Land" (ND#16) Robert Bradley's "Backwater Suprise" Doyle Bramhall "ll" (unopened) Randall Bramlett "See Through Me" Chuck Brodsky "Letters In The Dirt" Marty Brown "Here's To The Honky Tonks" (unopened) The Buffalo Club Buffalo Tom "Sleepy Eyed" (unopened) Buttercup "Love" (no front insert) The Carpetbaggers "Sin Now...Pray Later" Neal Casal "Fade Away Diamond Time" (unopened) Peter Case "Six Pack Of Love" (unopened) Chance The Gardner "The Day The Dogs Took Over" (ND ad) Marshall Chapman "It's About Time" Marshall Chapman "Love Slave" (unopened) Charm Farm "Pervert" (unopened) Citizens' Utilities "Lost And Foundered" (unopened) (ND #12) The Clarks "Someday Maybe" (ND# 9) (unopeneed) Claw Hammer "Hold Your Tongue (and say apple)" Claw Hammer "Thank The Holder Uppers" Clarence Clemons "Peacemaker" (unopened) Jerry Clower "Peaches And Possum" Jerry Clower "Live At Dollywood" Bruce Cockburn "Big Circumstance" Bruce Cockburn "Nothing But A Burning Light" Bruce Cockburn "Dart To The Heart" Phil Cody "Offering" Adam Cohen (unopened) Marc Cohn "Burning The Daze" Marc Cohn "The Rainy Season" Marshall Coleman "Love Is Suicide" (unopened) Gerald Collier (ND# 7) (unopened) Neal Coty "Chance And Circumstance" (ND ad) Floyd Cramer "Favorite Country Hits" Hank Crane (ND ad) Cravin' Melon "Red Clay Harvest" Cravin' Melon "Squeeze Me" Kacy Crowley "Anchorless" (ND# 11) (unopened) Wes Cunningham"12WaysToWinPeopleToYourWayOf Thinking"(unopened)(ND#19) The Customers "Green Bottle Thursday" (ND ad) DAAU "We Need Some New Animals" (unopened) DAG "Apartment #635" The Damnations "Half Mad Moon" (no front insert) Charlie Daniels "America, I Believe In You" Kyle Davis "Raising Heroes" Dead Hot Workshop "1001" Dead Hot Workshop "River Otis" EP The Dear Janes "No Skin" (unopened) Del Amitri "Twisted" (unopened) Wesley Dennis John Denver "The Very Best Of..." The Derailers "Reverb Deluxe" Ditch Croaker "Secrets Of The Mule" (unopened) Donna The Buffalo "Rockin' In The Weary Land" Drill Team "Hope And Dream Explosion" Drivin' n' Cryin" "Wrapped In Sky" (unopened) Pete Droge The Sinners "Find A Door" Francis Dunnery "Lets Go Do What Happens" Fred Eaglesmith "Lipstick Lies Gasoline" (no inserts) Don Edwards "Songs From The Trail" John Ewing Band "Delta Flares" Fabulon "All Girls Are Pretty" (unopened) Amy Fairchild "She's Not Herself" Farm Dogs Last Stand In Open Country" (unopened) Farm Dogs "Immigrant Sons" (unopened) Five Easy Pieces (unopened) Flat Duo Jets "Lucky Eyes" (no front insert)(ND#18) Matt
Re: Garth plays ball (from The Sporting News)
SAN DIEGO -- Garth Brooks is trading in his cowboy hat for a baseball cap. The Oklahoma country singer will join the boys of summer and suit up at San Diego Padres training camp in Peoria, Ariz. "I'm coming down there to play ball," Brooks said today from Los Angeles during a conference call in which he was introduced as "the newest San Diego Padres outfielder -- Garth Brooks." "I'm excited. I'm nervous. I'm scared. You know, it's going to be neat," the switch-hitting Brooks said. "I want to be a 10th man, a utility man." Brooks, 37, appeared as a pinch runner for the Padres last March during an exhibition game against the Chicago Cubs. It's a fantasy for the "Unanswered Prayer" singer, who was a four-sport schoolboy star in Yukon, Okla., and earned a track and field scholarship to Oklahoma State, where he threw the javelin. He left behind his life as a jock when he graduated in 1985 -- with a degree in advertising. Brooks was asked if heading to spring training was a publicity stunt. "For me, it's totally serious," he said. "I don't need the publicity. . . . I'm going to go down there to live out my dream and the dream of 99 percent of the other guys out there." As he often does, Brooks spoke in the plural: "We're going to take it extremely serious." Padres owner John Moores said earlier it was no secret that Brooks longed to play professional baseball. "He had indicated through channels that he was interested in going to spring training," Moores said, adding, "I think that would add a dimension to the game." Some regard the move as a vehicle designed to shore up support for a publicly funded new stadium. The team badly needs community goodwill after failing to keep the core of last season's championship team, said Diane Dixon, one of the leaders of an unsuccessful campaign last year against public funding. "I see this as damage control, grasping for straws in an attempt to manipulate the fans to get what they want, which is a new stadium at the taxpayers' expense," Dixon said. "I don't think he's going to mend the hearts of the Padres' fans -- unless he can really play baseball." Where the spring training invitation leads is anyone's guess. If Brooks is a bust, he certainly won't have to go hunting for another job. He's sold almost as many albums as Elvis and the Beatles, and makes millions selling out concert dates across the globe. But he has taken the year off from touring. If he shows he can play, he likely would be sent to a minor league club to live out his dream. Several recent developments pointed to Brooks' involvement in baseball. He and several baseball stars, including some Padres players, recently announced formation of the Teach 'Em All: Teammates for Kids" foundation to benefit children's charities. There was talk that Brooks would make a cameo appearance with the Padres at spring training like he did last year, and one of the Padres' vice presidents is now head of the foundation. With the controversial trade of slugger Greg Vaughn still fresh in the minds of fans, the Padres likely will make it clear Brooks isn't going to be paid. In lieu of a salary, the Padres are expected to make a donation to his foundation, with assurances that some will be spent in San Diego. A fling in camp might allow Brooks the chance to develop relationships with ballplayers so his foundation will flourish. "All I ever heard was that he wanted to play baseball," Moores said. "I understand he routinely takes batting practice at home. He's got an athletic build and a big pair of wheels." "Maybe he can make it work -- he obviously knows the Michael Jordan story. Obviously, it would be very hard. If Garth makes it, I'll try to do it myself," Moores joked. "I'm sure he knows this is a tough row to hoe. Everybody's got to follow their dreams." Jordan tried baseball after his first retirement from the Chicago Bulls, but struggled as a member of the Birmingham Barons and went back to basketball. Brooks spent two days working out with the Padres last spring, and even got into a game as a pinch runner. Brooks, who sings of "Friends in Low Places," was almost picked off twice, diving back into the bag once. He hugged the umpire after he was called safe on what appeared to be a generous call. Finally, he was forced out in a double play. "He was nicely received by the ballclub," Moores said. "The players liked the hell out of him." As long as he's with the big-league club, he'll merely be the third musician in camp, albeit the most-recognized. Third base coach Tim Flannery recently released his third CD, and pitcher Mark Langston, who's friends with Bruce Hornsby, plays guitar in his own band. Copyright 1998 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Mandy Barnett
(I'm getting lucky today) If you hate where country has gone to, and you like (or at least don't mind) Owen Bradley production with background singers and strings and you LOVE a big beautiful female voice then get Mandy Barnett's "I've Got A Right To Cry" this is new old-fashioned traditional (whatever that is) country at its best (in aural paradise) Mark M.
Re: CDs for SALE (+/-330 CDs)
Still buying/still culling/still selling My biggest and best list yet if i do say so myself. CDs are $6 each and i pay the postage in the US, or CDs are $5 each if you buy ten or more and i still pay the postage in the US If you are intending to buy ten to get the $5 price i ask that you list more than ten picks since there are usually multiple requests for the more popular CDs. Please give me at least a week to respond to your requests because it takes me some time to get and sort out all the e-mails PLEASE RESPOND OFF LIST Thanks Mark Absinthe "Blind" C.C. Adcock Agents Of Good Roots "One By One" American Lesion (ND #14) Bill Anderson "Fine Wine" (ND#19) Thomas Anderson "Blues For The Flying Dutchman" (ND# 7) Angry Johnny The Killbillies "What's So Funny" (ND#15) Ashes "Wisconsin Avenue Tour" (unopened) Ass Ponys "Little Bastard" (ND# 14) Ass Ponys "The Known Universe" (ND# 4) A3 "Exile On Coldharbor Lane" (2 CD promo w/ regular CD and bonus mix CD) Sherrie Austin "Words" Backbone (Grateful Dead's Bill Kreutzmann) The Backsliders "Throwin' Rocks At The Moon" (ND#11) The Badlees "River Songs" (unopened) Tom Ball Kenny Sultan "Double Vision" (unopened) Bare Jr. "Boo-Tay" (ND#19) Mandy Barnett (unopened) (ND# ) Bass Is Base "Memories Of The Soulshack Survivors" (unopened) Beau Sia "Attack! Attack! Go!" Joshua Bell "Gershwin Fantasy" (unopened in paper sleeve) Martyn Bennett "Bothy Culture" Dan Bern "Dog Boy Van" (ND#7) Betty The Bops "Pin-Up Confidential" Big Back Forty "Bested" (ND# 10) Big Blue Hearts (ND# 10) Big Hate "You're Soaking In It" Big House "Travelin' Kind" Big House Terri Binion "Leavin' This Town" (ND# 13) Jeff Black "Birmingham Road" (ND#16) Hal Blaine "Buh-Doom!" John Blinn "Notes From The Road" Blue Flannel "XL" Blue Rodeo "Nowhere To Here" (ND#11) The BottleRockets "The Brooklyn Side" (ND#9) Boneshakers "Shake The Planet" (unopened in paper sleeve) Marques Bovre and the Evil Twins "Flyover Land" (ND#16) Robert Bradley's "Backwater Suprise" Randall Bramlett "See Through Me" Dennis Brennan "Iodine In The Wine" (ND# 7) Richard Buckner "Since" (paper sleeve) (ND#17) The Buffalo Club Chance The Gardner "The Day The Dogs Took Over" (ND ad) Charlie Chesterman "Dynamite Music Machine" (unopened) (ND#12) Citizens' Utilities Citizens' Utilities "Lost And Foundered" (unopened) (ND #12) The Clarks "Someday Maybe" (ND# 9) (unopeneed) Claw Hammer "Hold Your Tongue (and say apple)" Claw Hammer "Thank The Holder Uppers" Patsy Cline "Don't Ever Leave Me Again" Bruce Cockburn "Big Circumstance" Phil Cody "Offering" Adam Cohen (unopened) Gerald Collier (ND# 7) (unopened) Neal Coty "Chance And Circumstance" (ND ad) John Cowan "Soul'd Out" Hank Crane (ND ad) Cravin' Melon "Red Clay Harvest" Cravin' Melon "Squeeze Me" Kacy Crowley "Anchorless" (ND# 11) (unopened) Wes Cunningham"12WaysToWinPeopleToYourWayOf Thinking"(unopened)(ND#19) The Customers "Green Bottle Thursday" (ND ad) Mary Cutrufello "When The Night Is Through" (ND#17) DAG "Apartment #635" Charlie Daniels "America, I Believe In You" Dash Rip Rock "Paydirt" (ND#15) Kyle Davis "Raising Heroes" Dead Hot Workshop "1001" Dead Hot Workshop "River Otis" EP Del Amitri "Twisted" (unopened) The Del Lords "Lovers Who Wander" Wesley Dennis Hazel Dickens, Carol Jones Ginny Hawker "Heart Of A Singer" Ditch Croaker "Chimpfactor" (unopened ltd. ed. in paper sleeve) Ditch Croaker "Secrets Of The Mule" Ditch Witch "Everywhere Nowhere" Ditch Witch "Starvation Box" Arthur Dodge The Horsefeathers (ND#9) The John Doe Thing "For The Rest Of Us" (no inserts) John Doe "Meet John Doe" Drill Team "Hope And Dream Explosion" Francis Dunnery "Lets Go Do What Happens" Fred Eaglesmith "Lipstick, Lies Gasoline" (ND#12) John Ewing Band "Delta Flares" Amy Fairchild "She's Not Herself" Farm Dogs Last Stand In Open Country" (unopened) Farm Dogs "Immigrant Sons" Five Easy Pieces Flat Duo Jets "Lucky Eyes" (ND#18) Matt Flinner "The View From Here" (ND#14) Fool's Progress Steve Forbert "Rocking Horse Head" Ebba Forsberg "Been There" (no front insert) The Freewheelers "Waitin' For George" Tom Freund "North American Long Weekend" (ND#18) Frum The Hills (ND# 9) Robbie Fulks "Let's Kill Saturday Night" (ND#17) Greg Garing "Alone" (ND# 11) David Garza "This Euphoria" Laurie Geltman "No Power Steering" Mickey Gilley "Super Hits" (unopened) Goat "Great Life" The Golden Palominos "Pure" The Good Sons "Angels In The End" The Great Divide "The Break In The Storm" (ND #17) Great Plains "Homeland" (ND# 8) The Greenberry Woods "Big Money Item" Patty Griffin "Living With Ghosts" (unopened) (ND#16) Patty Griffith "Flaming Red" (unopened) (ND#16) Lisa Hall "Is This Real?" Tom T. Hall "Songs From Sopchoppy" Hamell On Trial "The Chord Is Mightier Than The Sword" (unopened) (ND# 4) John Hammond "Long As I Have You" (unopened in paper sleeve) Ty Herndon "Big
Re: The Postcard2 Best of 1998
In a message dated 98-12-31 17:13:09 EST, you write: Before we get to the actual list, I'd like to thank everyone who contributed to the third annual best of P2 poll. More folks contributed than ever before (153, compared to last year's 124 and 1996's 50), and it made for a remarkable list. It was twang-predominant (as expected), but it also featured a fair amount of musical diversity, with the key ingredient being as always an emphasis on quality songwriting. As with the last two years, I've listed all of the new releases that received more than 10 points. I felt it was necessary for at least two people to vote for a particular release for it to make the list, so that's why the minimum score to make the P2 list was 10.5 for new releases and 5.5 for reissues. Some releases received two or even three votes and still failed to get the minimum point number, so they also didn't make the list. Votes were cast for 388 albums this year, with just 137 of them making the list, demonstrating once again that diversity of opinion remains strong on P2. For those releases that did make it, they are listed in order of the total number of points they received. In case of a tie, the number of *votes* for each release was the first tiebreaker. The second tiebreaker was the number of *first-place votes* each release received. Each release that received at least 10.5 points is listed, followed by the total number of points, then the number of votes, and then the number of first-place votes (if any). Taking a look at the list, can anyone really be surprised by who's on top? A critics' darling whose oft-ridiculed perfectionist tendencies drove her to create a near-perfect record, Lucinda Williams cruised to #1 by getting votes from more than half of the contributors, including an impressive 19 first-place votes. As for the rest of the top 10, there aren't any real surprises, except perhaps the #2 slot being taken by countrypolitan advocate Mike Ireland. There may still be some folks on P2 with a kneejerk anti-strings bias, but there's also apparently a large number of others willing to judge instrumentation on a case-by-case basis (always a sensible attitude). Women returned to the top 10 this year after being shut out the year before. Last year, the highest-ranking woman was Neko Case at #22 (ironically, it's a number she equalled this year with the same album, thanks to it being released in the US by Bloodshot). This year, not only did Lucinda take #1, but Gillian Welch and Cheri Knight also made the top 10 (at #6 and #7 respectively). You won't exactly see the P2 chart being overrun by women this year though - the alt-country genre is still a predominantly male playground. Still, this year was the best showing for women in the P2 poll to date. You also won't see very many people of color on the list, although Los Super Seven clocked in at #27, and both Lauryn Hill (#42) and Massive Attack (#49) made encouragingly strong showings for a purportedly alt-country forum. Mainstream Nashville also made its best showing in the P2 poll, led by Vince Gill at #17, and followed by the Mavericks (#31), Allison Moorer (#36), Dolly Parton (#51), Danni Leigh (#53), Connie Smith (#60) and Lee Ann Womack (#111). It was nice to see P2 acknowledge most of the better albums to come out of Music Row this year, although I was hoping Gill would've charted even higher - it's not often a Nashville talent of his caliber makes such a thoroughly traditional country album of such high quality. Bluegrass continued to make inroads on P2, but the Bluegrass Borg is gonna have to wait awhile longer for total assimilation. Ralph Stanley's all-star double-CD charted at #19 this year, falling two slots short of '97's best bluegrass album (Ricky Skaggs' Bluegrass Rules). Still, Stanley was joined by a number of other 'grassers this year, including Blue Highway (#69), the Gibson Brothers (#100), Jim Mills (#108), Jerry Douglas and the Lonesome River Band (both #119), and Bobby Hicks (#129). The largest bluegrass contingent to make the P2 list were joined once again by our favorite alt-blugrass/old-timey iconoclasts the Bad Livers (#23), along with P2's sassiest alt-bluegrass band the Meat Purveyors (#38) and those youthful old-timey revivalists the Freight Hoppers (#48). As with the previous two years, not nearly as many folks chose to folk for reissues, but the reissue poll had its own landslide winner. Bob Dylan's Live 1966 had more than double the votes of second-place Hank Williams. Anyway, enough yakkin' from me -- here's the Postcard2 Best of 1998: New Recordings: Artist Title Label Points-Votes-First Place Votes (if any) 1. Lucinda Williams - Car Wheels On A Gravel Road (Mercury) 625.5-86-19 2. Mike Ireland and Holler - Learning How To Live (Sub Pop) 354-54-7 3. Billy Bragg Wilco - Mermaid Avenue (Elektra) 350-59-7 4. Richard
