The original rockabilly filly heats up her final session
If you’re going to cut a rock ‘n’ roll record – a real rock ‘n’ roll record – dropping eleven tracks in two days is the way to do it. Get everyone in a room, run ‘em through the songs once or twice and let it fly. It doesn’t need polish and pitch correction, it needs abandon and raw energy, and rockabilly singer Janis Martin had the latter two in spades. Recorded only a few months before she passed away, these sides find Martin’s voice deeper than her late ‘50s work as “the female Elvis,†and though she no longer had the tone of youth, she still had the fire. Longtime friend Rosie Flores (who’d coaxed Martin into the studio to sing on 1995’s Rockabilly Filly) pulled together a talented band of Austin-based musicians and produced this album of retro-rockabilly in 2007. It’s taken five years to get it released, but it was well worth the wait.
At the age of sixteen, R&B vocalist Edna McGriff scored a hit with only her second single, 1952’s “Heavenly Father.†But despite more solid outings on a half-dozen labels, she never again found true commercial success. Bear Family’s twenty-nine track anthology picks up the story in 1954 and winds through a multi-year tenure on Bell with backings from the Jimmy Carroll Orchestra, and one-offs for Brunswick, Felsted and Savoy. She and her producers ranged widely for material, covering many hits-of-the-day, including R&B, pop (The Chordette’s “Born to Be With You†and Sal Mineo’s “Start Movin’ in My Directionâ€), rockabilly (Lee Hazlewood’s “The Foolâ€), spirituals (“He’s Got the Whole World in His Handsâ€), folk revival favorites (“Freight Trainâ€) and a trio of tunes from Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Flower Drum Song.
Though she was a sophisticated balladeer, her R&B numbers generate the most heat and vocal distinction. She hadn’t the bluesy grit of either Ruth Brown or Lavern Baker, but her energy really moves the former’s “Mambo Baby†and the latter’s “I Can’t Love You Enough.†At times she’s more kittenish, as on covers of “Sh-Boom†and “Dance with Me, Henry,†though, to be fair, even Etta James waited until 1958 to really hot-up the latter tune. McGriff could rock a bit, as she does on the clever multi-voiced, guitar-driven “Oh Joe!†She was a precise vocalist, and her control worked well on ballads, where the tremolo in her held notes added emotion. On rock ‘n’ roll tunes, such as the Bobettes’ “Mr. Lee,†her excellent diction feels at odds the song’s youthful exuberance.
Extraordinary set of early rarities and a superb 1970 concert
This 2-CD set of previously unreleased material provides a superb complement to the previously issued Essential anthology. Where Essential set surveyed thirty-three years of Mahal’s immense catalog, this latest collection focuses on five years from early in his career. Those formative years found Mahal exploring numerous threads of the blues, including pre-war styles, as well as soul and funk. The first disc includes a dozen finished studio tracks that clock in at a generous 77 minutes. The recordings were made in Woodstock, Miami, the San Francisco Bay Area andNew Orleans, the latter produced by Allen Toussaint in rustic, drumless arrangements. The bands include 3- and 4-piece combos, as well as larger aggregations that feature the Dixie Flyers and a brass band. Jesse Edwin Davis’ guitar provides a strong, guiding presence on many tracks, and Mahal’s harmonica adds an expressive voice on a superb cover of Dylan’s “I Pity the Poor Immigrant†and a soulful instrumental version of “People Get Ready†titled “Butter.â€
Disc two features a 1970 concert atLondon’s Royal Albert Hall. The live set features both original material and covers, including Sleepy John Estes’ “Diving Duck Blues,†Sonny Boy Williamson’s “Checkin’ Up on My Baby,†and a lengthy take on Robby Robertson and Garth Hudson’s pre-Band era “Bacon Fat.†Mahal starts his set – an opening slot for Johnny Winter and Santana – with a gutsy, a cappella version of the traditional “Runnin’ by the Riverside.†His stage manner is warm and welcoming, offering detailed introductions to his songs and drawing on the folk tradition of audience participation. His performances are backed by a superb four-piece that includes Jesse Davis (guitar), John Simon (Piano), Bill Rich (Bass) and James Karsten (Drums), as well as Mahal’s National Steel and harmonica.
Twenty years after his debut as a solo act, Radney Foster revisits the record with which he broke through commercially. The original Del Rio, TX 1959, released by Arista in 1992, spun off five Top 40 singles, including the memorable “Just Call Me Lonesome†and “Nobody Wins.†Foster’s continued to record terrific material, including 2009’s masterful Revival, and developed an intensely loyal following, but he’s never re-struck the chart success chord of his debut. To be fair, he long ago gave up making records for the mainstream, leaving Arista after three albums for independent releases and more recently, his own label. With his latest effort, he ties the two ends of his solo career together by re-recording his debut with twenty years of hindsight and a free artistic palette.
The original album’s honky-tonk and then-contemporary country sounds are replaced here by unplugged, live-in-the-studio arrangements; the comfortably worn-in product of two decades touring this material. At 53, Foster’s new interpretations work on two levels: looking back at his 33-year-old self (who was, at the time, looking back at his even younger self), and rethinking younger responses with mid-life reflexes. The broken heart of “Just Call Me Lonesome†is twenty years further from the singer’s first and twenty years closer to his last. Experience turns out to be both informative and exasperating, and repetition both soothing and alarming. The farewells are more fatalistic than wounded, broken promises no longer hold an emotional surprise that’s due a meaningful apology, and unfulfilled expectations are met with more weariness than disappointment.
The eagerness of Foster’s 30-something self, a singer then on the cusp of his solo career, has given way to a more considered and wizened voice. The emotional centers of his songs gain layers as they’re slowed and sung in a reflective tone. “A Fine Line†initially offered the urgent feel of Steve Earle’s Guitar Town, but replays as a songwriter’s nostalgic meditation, and “Louisiana Blue†resigns from a two-stepping honky-tonk bruise to a deeper wallow in blue misery. The younger Foster sings “Hammer and Nails†with the full-throated enthusiasm of an explorer setting out on a monumental journey, while the elder Foster sings with the experience of one who’s already hacked his way through love’s jungle.
Alter egos have a long history in popular music, ranging from individuals such as Hank Williams’ Luke the Drifter and Lady Gaga’s Jo Calderone, to entire groups, such as XTC’s Dukes of the Straosphere. Actors dabbling in music have also had a long history, though often one that’s more of opportunism and dilettantism than actual craft. Luckily onn his debut as the nomadic Escape Tailor, actor Jeremy Sisto (Six Feet Under, Law & Order, Suburgatory) shows himself to be both a good storyteller (Tailor’s history includes fifteen years busking the streets Los Angeles) and a talented musician. His self-titled debut is led off by “Just Cuz,” sung in a voice whose emotional quality quietly supersedes Tailor’s fright wig and chalk makeup.
Terrific country, rock and soul from A-list songwriters with an A-list rhythm section
Leave it to ace songwriters – Big Al Anderson, Shawn Camp and Pat McLaughlin – to come up with an attention-getting, tongue-in-cheek name for their new group. All three are indeed world-famous, at least among those of who read songwriting credits, and Andersonis widely known, at least among a well-bred set of listeners, for his guitar slinging and lengthy tenure in NRBQ. All three have written Nashville hits, co-written with rootsy outsiders, and had their songs covered by both mainstream and non-mainstream legends. Together with veteran players Michael Rhodes on bass and Greg Morrow on drums, the trio of songwriters steps up front for a set of country, rock, blues and soul originals whose eclecticism is not unlike the variety recorded by Anderson’s previous band.
The set opens at a Rockpile-styled canter with “Give Your Love to Me,†featuring call-and-response vocals and electric guitar solos; Morrow kicks off the subsequent “Mamarita†with a solid second-line beat that eases the band into the song’s New Orleans mood. 1950s balladry threads through several songs, but the modern touches, such as the bewitching bass vamp of “Heart of Gold,†keep the productions from turning retro. The vocalists often sing as a chorus, but there are solo turns that conjure the straight-shooting delivery of Waylon Jennings, with some yowling harmonies that suggest The Band. The group plays loping country soul, ala the Hacienda Brothers, and Cajun-spiced rockers that will remind you of David Lindley’s solo work.
First and third albums from soulful mid-70s one-hit wonders
Ed Sanford and John Townsend first worked together in their native South, but it wasn’t until they moved toLos Angelesthat their music garnered any commercial impact. The duo initially signed on as staff writers, but their aspirations to perform was achieved via songwriting demos and a contract with Warner Brothers. Their self-titled 1976 debut was produced by Jerry Wexler at Muscle Shoals, but even with all that going for it, it didn’t make a commercial impression at first. It wasn’t until the single “Smoke from a Distant Fire†climbed the chart and the album was reissued under the single’s title that the duo gained traction, including opening slots for major ‘70s hit makers. But as hot as the single became, climbing to #9, the duo was never able to chart again, and was dropped by their label after their third album.
Early ‘70s country-rock, blues and soul from Marin County
Clover was a Marin County, California four-piece that formed in the late ‘60s and recorded this pair of albums for Fantasy Records in 1970-71. Their renown, however, stems from later exploits, including the slot as Elvis Costello’s backing band on his 1977 debut, My Aim is True, as well as spinning off Huey Lewis and the News, and launching the solo and songwriting (including Tommy Tutone’s “867-5309/Jennyâ€) career of Alex Call. Their original albums didn’t catch on upon initial release, and have been tough to find. Reissued on this two-fer, the performances reveal a band drawing inspiration from both the San Francisco scene and the country-rock wafting up from Los Angeles, and with additional dashes of blues and soul Clover was ready to rock the local clubs and bars.
Forty years after, Alvin Lee is still picking up a storm
