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About FTB |
 MOLLIE
O'BRIEN 
Things I Gave Away... (Sugar Hill) | |
Mollie started singing duets with her talented younger brother Tim O'Brien and
they put out a series of fine albums together. This is her third solo work and
she moves farther away from the folk/bluegrass base towards jazz, pop and R&B
songs performed with spare acoustic arrangements. The opening track, Percy Mayfield's
beautiful "River's Invitation" is a standout, as is the blues "Train
Time". Although not a songwriter, Mollie is a fine interpreter with a beautiful
soulful voice. John Magnie and Steve Amedee from the long-lost Subdudes play on
most of the songs. Respectfully produced by the brilliant lead guitarist Nina
Gerber. | | Release date:
Aug. '00. Sugar
Hill Records. |
 TIM
O'BRIEN
The Crossing....(Alula) | | What
could easily have been a fairly ponderous journey back to one's roots is instead
a contemporary blend of musical excellence from Tim O'Brien and some of America
and Ireland's finest players. I say contemporary because though the
music seems very much the result of this journey to great-grandad O'Brien's home
place, it is very much the present day O'Brien telling the story. It has
the history of Ireland and the space of America written into the original pieces
and the heart and soul of an old time musician playing with his Irish cousins.
Great production ensures that the rich layering of the music and O'Brien's voice
hang together nicely. His fellow players are, as he says, "top names
in their fields" and hail about evenly from both sides of the Atlantic.
Yes, It's not bad at all.... for a Cavan man. | | Fav picks: Down in the Willow Gardens, Lost Little Children, The
Crossing, Wandering, Talkin' Cavan ....and all the rest.
Alula Records' site... Released
May, '99, reviewed by Kay Clements (KWMR). |
 OLD
97's
Fight Songs....(Elektra) | | Well,
Old 97's fourth album is definitely their least twangy effort, but it's also their
best, even though much of it is pure pop. Well, roots pop maybe... the point
is the songs are first class catchy little ditties that grab a hold of you and
don't let go. The arrangements and production are just a little more sophisticated
then their old days. I say, more power to them. If they pick up a
few Gin Blossoms or Counting Crows fans along the way then that's fine.
They'll be buying old George Jones albums maybe someday. |
| Best songs: Jagged, Lonely Holiday,
Indefinitely, Crash On The Barrelhead, Murder (Or Heart Attack), Busted Afternoon,
There's Old97s.com, which
has bio and tour stuff and is actually the band's site as opposed to the label's
( Elektra.com).
Released May, '99 and reviewed by Bill
Frater. |
 OLD
AND IN THE GRAY
Old and in the Gray... (Acoustic Disc) | |
Every few years Dave Grisman steps away from the “Dawg” music he created, gathers
up some old friends, and cuts a bluegrass record. That was the genesis of “Old
and in the Way” and “Here Today”, perhaps his best bluegrass outings. This new
CD combines players from each of those bands. Pete Rowan and Vassar Clements from
the former, and Herb Pedersen from the latter, combine with new comer Byn Bright
to make a bluegrass lovers dream come true. This is west coast bluegrass at it’s
best: competent, powerful and yet somehow casual feeling. This may not be boundary-breaking
bluegrass but it is entertaining and fun (hey, check out the comic caricature
cover art!). These are journeyman pickers and singers doing what they do best.
The material is varied and interesting; old bluegrass numbers (On the Old
Kentucky Shore), originals, (Rainmaker) and more modern songs ‘grassed up (Honky
Tonk Women). And the playing’s as solid as one might expect from these loose veterans.
Has Grisman ever done a record that wasn't at least mildly, if not wildly, interesting?
Make room on the CD shelf for this one. | |
Acoustic Disc's site. Buy
from amazon. Released Oct. 2002.
Reviewed by Kevin Russell. |
 OLD
CROW MEDICINE SHOW
O.C.M.S....
(Nettwerk) | | First time I saw this band coincided
with my first trip to Nashville and the Station Inn. They were like a pack o'
wild puppies on stage, climbing over each other yippin' and hollerin' and making
such spirited music, they impressed (and delighted) the hell outa me. I ran into
them a couple more times over the next couple of years and loved their wildness
but you couldn't take it home in a CD - didn't translate. Their first release
on a real "label" has happily nailed it - impressively loose but tight
collection of music that makes you believe in the power of mountain music to be
heard, loved and played by kids who didn't come from the life. They make it theirs
without stylizing so much that they lose focus... Producer David Rawlings (Gillian
Welch) helps them deliver a cleanly arranged CD that invites the listener in without
knockin' em to the floor. | | Buy
from amazon. Released Feb. '04, reviewed by Kay
Clements (KWMR). |
 OLD
JOE CLARKS
Metal Shed Blues...(Checkered Past) | | I
think lead vocalist and songwriter Mike Cuykendall took his time with these songs
and to give it a fair hearing I had to hang out and really listen. It has a lazy,
relaxed feel to it that, along with the rolling arrangements, can easily slip
you into another space. Fortunately, the gravelly quality of his voice (Bill
insists on calling it Dylan-esque) calls you back from the edge of that space
and says "hey, I'm talkin' to you". For all that his voice
is distinctive, the entire band is talented and I thought played generously together.
Wonderful arrangements. Pump organ and lap steel have never sounded so meant
for each other and the strings? ...get outta here... |
| Fav
picks: .No Going Back, Slow, Spent, Tiple Blues for Chris. Check out Checkered
Past's site, where they have bios and CD ordering. Released March '99, reviewed
by Kay Clements (KWMR). |
 MARK
OLSON & THE CREEKDIPPERS
December's Child... (Dualtone)
| |
If you surveyed most alt.country fans and asked them when the genre left its'
first phase and entered its' second, most would tell you when Uncle Tupelo disintegrated
into Wilco and Son Volt. An interesting time in the brief history of the genre
to be sure, but to me, the most telling incident was the splitting off of Mark
Olson from the Jayhawks. The first blush of the genre was off and nothing has
been the same since. There has been great music made to be sure, but when those
two bands were altered, things changed, maybe for the better, but things definitely
changed. That the split among the Jayhawks mattered more to me was related more
to the band being more high profile and the album they were working at the time
(Tomorrow The Green Grass) getting way more airplay and notice than Uncle
Tupelo ever did. Olson basically got tired of the political games in the music
business and grabbed his wife, Victoria Williams (a great artist in her own right),
and moved to Joshua Tree, California to put some space between his music and the
corporate world that tries to control it. After releasing a couple of mail-order
only releases that were wonderfully homespun and low-key, Olson has re-entered
the mainstream music world, seemingly re-energized and ready to go. He even reunites
with Jayhawk Gary Louris for a co-write on the song "Say You'll Be Mine".
To say this is a return to form for Olson would damn his mail-order releases with
the Creekdippers but I think this album is a whole hell of a lot better, be it
because he's got his spark back or just because he's maturing as a songwriter.
Whatever. It's Olson's best yet and if you like the early Jayhawks stuff or singer/songwriter
stuff in general, you'll love this Welcome back, Mark. | |
Dualtone's site. Buy
from amazon Released July, '02. Reviewed by Scott
Homewood . |
ONE FELL
SWOOP 
Crazy Time... (self released) | |
Not being familiar with the music of this band but hearing a lot of great things
about them, I was excited when their new CD (their third, actually) arrived in
the mail not long ago. Produced by the band with assistance from Gurf Morlix both
at the board and on steel and electric guitar (former Face Ian McLagan plays B3
on this, as well), this album manages to blend bluegrass, folk and country in
a way that fans of all three genres should find very listenable. To be honest
I am not a folk or bluegrass devotee. I care about certain performers, but do
not really listen to the genre with any sort of regularity. I am about to start,
though. Vocalist Cheryl Striker has an open, clear voice that takes me and drops
me at a meadow in Wyoming and the band's blending of electric instruments with
acoustic touches of mandolin, accordion, fiddle, dobro and other gee-gaws create,
to me, the best of both worlds. Country music that is as free and open as it would
be if played with friends on a back porch somewhere. It's good to hear the positive
spirit of this act. They have made a new fan and I hope you check this album out
and become one as well. | |
Order the CD from Miles
Of Music. Reviewed by Scott
Homewood |
 MICHAEL ONEILL
who's bad now... (Sleeping Trout Music)
|
In his last outing, O'Neill exorcised his demons, and this time around, he's celebrating a bit. The opening title cut has a country/funk groove that sounds like someone rode a horse through a Motown studio. The tempo keeps on rolling through “Chance”, a dobro and pedal steel enhanced piece of up-tempo country. While the next two cuts sound somewhat like throwbacks to the introspective tenor of his previous release, they're immediately followed by, “Austin”, good old FTB style of country chugging, and a delightful bit of pickin' on a rendition of Lowell George's “Dixie Chicken”. As was the case with from the beginning, O'Neill and his crew again display an unerring sense of what constitutes 'enough', the right amount of production, that lets the music be itself. And, lest anyone fear that the man has lost his touch for a beautiful ballad, “Run to the Sea”, with counterpoint provided by Nancy Apple, is probably the best cut on the disc. The CD ends with an acoustic take on the title cut, which makes for an interesting juxtaposition when repeat play is engaged; nice touch. |
| The CD's site.Order from CD Baby. Released June, '06, reviewed by Don Grant. |
 one left
songs from the wound... (self released)
|
It's unclear whether one left is a person with a backing band, or whether it is the band, but that's a minor detail. What songs from the wound is, is a CD of Americana from the pen of Rick Rowland, (he'd be the person), performed by him and Sven Abow, Eric Leifert, and Riley McMahon, (that would be the band). Take the style of, say, a John Prine, or the late Townes van Zandt, and hook it up with a musical backing circa the era of Hank Williams, and you've got this one dialed in. Take rock solid rhythm, embellish it with McMahon's strings, add some guest piano and fiddle icing to complement the flavour of Rowland's writing, the main ingredient, and pop it into the changer for a tad over 46 minutes. Presto! A baker's dozen,(13), slices of primo Americana. |
| Their web site. Order from CD Baby. Released Oct. '05, reviewed by Don Grant. |
 STEVE
OWEN
The Turlock 2... (Ethic Recordings) | | How could
anyone not like a CD that has songs about nail-gunning yourself to a fencepost,
a fistfight at a train crossing, and missing the last chance to tell your ex-wife
off for good? This is a well-done, introspective CD full of songs that grab tiny
little pieces of life, creating great songs out of them in the way that Arlo Guthrie
did. Steve Owen manages to touch on references ranging from Dan Fogelburg to Jimmie
Rogers to Harry Chapin in original songs, and covers Paul Westerberg's song about
the Minneapolis Habitrail, "Skyway." The arrangements are simple and sparse, most
of the songs having just three instruments. His songs manage to remain sincere
and authentic, no matter whether the song is about heartbreak, stressed out drivers,
or getting right with God. The production on this CD is really nice, giving it
that impression that you're out on the front porch with them, drinking a little,
singing a little, and enjoying it all a whole bunch. The musicianship is really
nice, with excellent dobro and mandolin work as well as tight harmonies. This
is a great CD and one you'll listen to until you're singing right along. | Steve's
site. Buy
from amazon. Released Feb. '04, reviewed by Clint
Weathers. |
|
