SMM #15: August 27th, 2021
A new releases dedicated issue focuses on 10 fresh albums worth giving a spin.
YOLA - Stand for Myself… the English soul/R&B singer was a relative unknown until she signed with Dan Auerbach’s (the Black Keys) record label, Easy Eye Sound... her 2019 album, Walk Through Fire, displayed a great 60s Southern soul style with some rock and country blended in, and is also recommended… Stand for Myself has more of a disco/soul sound but Yola puts in a powerful, dynamic performance, and looks like a star in the making…
LOS LOBOS - Native Sons… this is one of my all-time favorite bands… I have seen them live a dozen times and they never fail to deliver… during the Covid lockdown they decided to pay tribute to their hometown of Los Angeles and the local artists that have influenced them over the years… the one original song on the album, “Native Son”, is on the playlist but the covers are all excellent, and include songs from Buffalo Springfield, the Beach Boys, and Jackson Browne…
JON SHAIN & FJ VENTRE - Never Found a Way to Tame the Blues… this was my first time listening to this veteran Southern bluesman and I was pleasantly surprised… Shain mixes traditional country/folk blues (“Lord Have Mercy”) with some more rockin’ full band tunes (playlist song, “Overnight from Memphis”) all featuring his tasty acoustic and electric guitar playing… a solid listen from end to end!
TOBY LEE - Aquarius… following in the tradition of American teenage blues-rock guitar prodigies Jonny Lang and Kenny Wayne Shepherd, here is English teen Toby Lee with his impressive debut album… unlike many in this genre, his original sings are quite good and not just a format for wild guitar solos… he also does an excellent job of reworking old blues warhorses, “Key To The Highway” and “Kansas City”… Lee is someone to keep an eye on...
JON BATISTE - WE ARE… New Orleans stalwart and bandleader for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Batiste’s music is joyous, uplifting and puts a smile on your face… he’s hitting on all cylinders on this album with his eclectic pop style that mixes jazz, soul, gospel, NOLA funk, hip-hop and more… the playlist song “Freedom” makes you want to get up and dance… he recently performed it live on the Colbert show with a gospel choir and lots of horns… great stuff!
JAMES McMURTRY - The Horses and the Hounds… McMurtry is a singer/songwriter from Texas who has been putting out excellent country-rock albums for over three decades… he is a master storyteller and the characters in his songs are usually everyday people dealing with everyday problems… his band is led by veteran guitarist, David Grissom, and they rock hard on the album’s title track featured on the playlist… if you want to dig deeper into his catalog, check out his albums Childish Things (2005) and Just Us Kids (2008)...
THE BEATERS - Harari… this is a reissue of a long out-of-print album originally released in 1975… they were a very popular, highly regarded band in South Africa at the time and this is considered a masterpiece of the Afro-rock genre… I have listened to it several times and it reminds me of the kind of music Traffic was playing in the early 70s… mostly instrumental, smooth flowing grooves that hook you in… something different, highly recommended!
DEER TICK - Live from Fort Adams… Deer Tick is a roots/garage rock band from Rhode island that built a solid following after releasing their first album in 2007… have seen them in concert a few times and their shows are usually rowdy affairs led by frontman, John McCauley… this album was recorded at Fort Adams, site of the annual Newport Folk Festival, and the concert stream was used as part of the virtual festival in 2020… sans audience, it’s a little more low key than what I’ve experienced, but it’s a representative sampling of their rootsy blend of country, rock, and folk...
GA-20 - Try It… You Might Like It: GA-20 Does Hound Dog Taylor… back to the blues here as the Georgia band covers ten tracks made famous by legendary 6-finger slide guitar master, Hound Dog Taylor (check out that album cover picture!)… nothing fancy but like the title says, try it you might like it!
JEFFREY ALEXANDER & THE HEAVY LIDDERS - Self Titled … Alexander comes in from the outer fringes of the psych/jam/freak-folk world here with something more accessible to the average listener… there has always been a significant Grateful Dead influence to most of his music, especially with his other band Dire Wolves… this one includes a cover of the Dead’s Black Peter and less of the spacey psychedelic jamming found on his previous releases…—SL