Saturday 6 November 2010

Don Conoscenti - Extremely Live at Eddie's attic

Don Conoscenti -  Extremely Live at Eddie's attic
Chicago native, Colorado-based singer-songwriter Don Conoscenti is a highly respected musician and songwriter.  He spent 10 years in Atlanta, Georgia, some of them working on his musical skills at Eddie's Attic, revered venue of many a fine singer songwriter, from Gretchen Peters to the Indigo Girls.   In December 2001, Conoscenti returned to Atlanta for two performances, neither of which he realised at the time, were being recorded.  The result is this 20 track CD, Extremely Live at Eddie's Attic and its magic lies in that as it wasn’t intentionally recorded it has a wonderfully relaxed, natural feel about it.
The CD opens with Into/ Tipi in Oklahoma and What Else Could I Do? inspired by some time spent one summer summer in a tipi in Oklahoma reading a biography of Crazy Horse.  The song looks at Crazy Horse and beyond.  I won’t spoil it by revealing the story, but quite simply, it is storytelling at its best, beautifully conjuring an image of the American West.

For the rest of the CD, Conoscenti, or Don Con, as he often refers to himself, effortlessly switches between guitar and banjo, showing his incredible musical talent.  His voice, throughout the CD is absolutely unique – prior to seeing him perform with Sam Baker I had never heard a voice quite like it. 

The other magical element to this CD is the introductions to his songs, the vignettes that set the scene for each story.  Usually these are omitted or cut short for live CDs, but for this one they are often several minutes long.  This has always been one of my favourite parts about seeing an artist perform live, so to get to hear a full set, with vignettes, is wonderful and makes the songs all the more meaningful to the listener.

This has fast become one of my favourites and I look forward to hearing more from Don Con and I hope, seeing him play some solo shows here in the UK.  Paradox of Grace concludes the CD, but I think the greatest paradox is that he is not much more well known.  I am however, confident that his time will come.

Marathon – Darden Smith

Marathon – Darden Smith
Tracks: 15

Darden Smith is one of Austin’s most revered musicians, and with an impressive catalogue over twenty five years, (one CD of which saw him collaborate with British folk singer Boo Hewerdine)  to his name already, Marathon is his new release.
Interestingly, the result wasn’t quite what Smith set out to create. After composing a performance work for the Austin Symphony Orchestra in 1999, Smith, known primarily as a singer-songwriter,
wanted to challenge himself with another large symphony or theatrepiece. He experimented with different approaches until settling in 2003 on an idea for a song cycle, a set of songs that could later integrate aseries of monologues for the stage.  The result was Marathon.
The album is not about a race, but rather is inspired by and evocative of the stunning country out in the far West of Texas.  Marathon, for those who are wondering, is a small railroad town north of the Big Bend, on a grassy plain below the Glass Mountains – that’s a part of Texas I haven’t yet visited but must.  I suspect that Darden Smith’s greatest skill is that he creates the images and atmosphere of that sprawling land that is Texas, every bit as well as fellow Texans Tom Russell, Sam Baker and Kimmie Rhodes, or indeed author Cormac McCarthy.   I have found that once you have been to Texas it gets under your skin and stays there; something about Smith’s writing about Texas has the same effect.   In fact he has himself described Marathon as a place of mind and says the songs of Marathon are as much about the places within us all.

It is almost impossible to select standout tracks, as somehow the CD is greater than the sum of its parts, but perhaps Sierra Diablo, Marathon Sky, Tinaja and 75 Miles of Nothing are the most striking. 
Well worth a listen whether you love Texas or have never been and I wonder what this CD has the potential to become...

Larkin Poe - Summer EP

Larkin Poe – Summer EP
tracks: 9

Summer follows Spring, not only in life, but in the EP set being launched by Larkin Poe.  Equally wonderful, it shows progress, in their style and sound.  Whilst at times it seems they have moved forward, at times they also seem to flash back to their Lovell Sisters days, but whatever, the result is a fabulous EP of over 30 minutes of music.
From the opening track, Praying For The Bell, it seems that the two have started the EP as they mean to continue, paving the way for a further eight great tracks and some wonderful musicianship throughout.  Natalie is the only song on the EP written by Megan Lovell, but it is exquisite.

Unusually, the final three tracks were recorded live, which in my opinion not only gives us a flavour of their sound live, but gives these three songs a slightly different edge,  adding to the eclectic sound of the EP.
I have to admit though, my favourite moment on the disc could be easily missed.  In the opening bars of  Wrestling A Stranger Rebecca's voice cracks for a mere split second during the line "The fields are on fire."  I love that rather than edit it out, they opted to leave it be; evidence of a singer’s vulnerability, enhancing a song about our frailty and vulnerability as people.
Spring and Summer have been revelations; I await whatever Autumn and Winter hold in store for us...

It All Comes Back to Love– Stephanie Bettman and Luke Halpin

It All Comes Back to Love– Stephanie Bettman and Luke Halpin

It All Comes Back To Love is California’s Stephanie Bettman’s second CD and the long awaited follow up to 2007’s fabulous Get Close To Me.


For the writing, recording and production, Stephanie collaborated with long time band member Luke Halpin (who has played with Lonestar and Merle Haggard, among others),  to produce a CD of which they should be proud.  Halpin offers harmony vocals throughout the CD, aswell as  guitar, fiddle and mandolin, which adds to the eclectic sound.  All eleven songs were written by Bettman, Halpin, or both.

Betttman has been compared to Joan Baez and Emmylou Harris and as soon as you hear her sing, it is easy to see why, such is the richness of her stunning vocals as she effortlessly combines the sounds of  Americana, bluegrass, folk and classic country .

The standout track is perhaps the stunning  ballad, Leavin’ New York, where the emotion in her voice is palpable.   However, there are also soime fabulous upbeat, certainly radio friendly songs, such as Stiff Upper Lip, I Just Wanna Love You and Fiddler’s Bend.

I look forward to hearing more from Stephanie Bettman as I think she has a great musical future ahead.  I highly recommend that you look her up and add both this and her earlier CD to your collection.

Fall For Beauty – Lynn Miles

Fall For Beauty – Lynn  Miles
Tracks – 10
www.lynnmilesmusic.com
The first thing I have to note about this CD is that the cover art is exquisite.  The second is that I didn’t think Ottowa’s  Lynn Miles could produce a song which would outdo Casinos el Camino (from 2005’s Love Sweet Love CD), which spent a long time on repeat in my house.  Do you know?  I think maybe she has given it some touch competition.
Often compared to contemporaries such as Shawn Colvin, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Gretchen Peters and Kim Richey, it is easy to say why; she is lyrical and articulate and creates stories within her songs, moments in time.  There is also just something about her voice that you just cannot resist, regardless of whether it leans more towards her folk or her pop tendencies.

To select just a few songs from the ten, all penned by Lynn Miles, is tricky, but here goes... Three Chords and The Truth, rather than being a cover of the Harlan Howard song, is her expression of what she still looks for, perhaps an indication of her musical integrity.  Cracked and Broken, rather than being a cover of the Diana Jones song, is very much her own, emotion-filled track.  Love Doesn’t Hurt is stripped back to just Lynn’s vocals and acoustic guitar, to create a stirring story of domestic abuse.  Goodbye is not the Patty Griffin song, but a song lamenting the end of a relationship and the emotions that accompany it.  More upbeat are the wonderful Fearless Heart and the optimistic Time to Let The Sun.

Any Lynn Miles fan should have this CD in their collection and anyone who hasn’t heard of her would do well to start with this wonderful collection of songs - an opportunity indeed to 'fall for beauty.'

Fall or Fly – Adrian Nation

Fall or Fly – Adrian Nation

Tracks: 12
www.myspace.com/adriannation

UK native Adrian Nation was a new name to me and it turns out that this is a re-release of a CD first launched in 2009.
On listening to the CD, it is immediately obvious that his guitar playing far outdoes his vocal performance.  That said, he makes this CD work, as he sings of a variety of life experiences, with an impressive energy.


The Other Side of The night, or Song for Maria is perhaps the standout track on the CD, written for the funeral of one of his best friends; instead of being depressing as it could have been, it becomes a musical celebration of a life well lived. Uilean pipes add an unusual and uplifting touch to this song, too.

Balance, or The Ballad of Clacton describes his experience of observing a boat struggling against the wind and waves and turns this observation into a metaphor for our lives.

That is simply to select two songs from the CD, which particularly stood out for me.  That is not to say the others are bad; indeed, they are all well written, often touching on difficult experiences and all featuring the earlier mentioned exquisite guitar playing, particularly on songs such as the emotion-laden Brightest Star and Five Finger Rapids. The CD is worth a listen for that alone.

Miracles on Christmas Day – Kimmie Rhodes

Miracles on Christmas Day – Kimmie Rhodes
Tracks: 12
www.myspace.com/kimmierhodes

I had no idea that Texas singer songwriter Kimmie Rhodes was working on a Christmas CD, her first such project, so I couldn’t wait to get this into my player, even if it is barely November!
The story goes that one Christmas, years ago, inspired while watching her friend Willie Nelson open multiple packages all containing platinum records of his beloved song, Pretty Paper, Kimmie pledged to write a holiday song every year. Now, as a gift to her fans and friends worldwide, she and her son, musician Gabe Rhodes have collaborated on brilliant new productions of each of those songs, along with her producer husband Joe Gracey and a wonderful group of musicians;  Kimmie Rhodes  on vocals and rhythm guitar, Gabriel (Gabe) Rhodes (Kimmie’s son) on guitars, mandolin, keyboards, glass harp and vocals, vocals, Hunt Sales on drums, percussion and bells, Glen Fukunaga on bass, Brian Standifer on cello,  steel guitar,  John Mills on clarinet, saxophone and flute,  Floyd Domino on piano, Joel Guzman on accordion and guitar and, last but not least, Nigel Eaton on the wonderfully named hurdy gurdy.  Recorded in Kimmie and Joe’s own Sunbird Recording Studios in Austin, Texas, the CD features mostly tunes penned by Kimmie herself.  However, it also  includes a stirring cover of Patty Griffin’s exquisite Mary and two intriguing versions of Christmas classics, namely , Carol of the Bells, (which, I have since learned, is an ancient pagan Ukrainian chant), and What Child is This (set to the tune of Greensleeves – trust me, it works!).
To me, this CD is of the same caliber as Christmas offerings by such artists as Gretchen Peters and Mary Chapin Carpenter.  Why?  Simply because they are perfect to play in your living room with a lit fire,  burning candles and a mug of hot chocolate on a cold winter’s night.  It is as much a ‘winter’ CD as it is a ‘Christmas’ CD and at this time of year should have a place in every music lover’s ‘frequently played’ pile.