CORIN RAYMOND – THERE WILL ALWAYS BE A SMALL TIME

 

Listening to Corin Raymond’s latest cd brought a smile to my face and reminded me of John Prine back in the seventies. Corin alternates optimistic cheerful songs(Paid to party, Stealing my heart, There will always be a small time) with more melancholy songs(Blue mermaid dress, I wish I was in love, If wishes were horses). The music ranges from acoustic to semi-acoustic and some Tex-mex influences(Micheline, Leftover tears). (The Lonely one) (think Roy Orbison) could have been a great hit in jukebox times. The picking is brilliant with people like David Baxter(guitar), Sean Cotton(guitar), Treasa Levasseur(accordion), etc.

 

There’s no filler on this cd. Words fail me to describe the greatness of this musical project. This cd is highly recommended.

 

Score : 10/10

 

http://www.myspace.com/corinraymond

 

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/corinraymond

 

 

SLEEPY DRIVER – STEADY NOW – BLACK BELL PRODUCTIONS

 

Although Steady Now consists of 3 Americana songs(Where You Are, Only Water, North Dakota) , driven by the pedal steel of guest player Dave Palmer, Sleepy Driver is essential a rock band. Comparisons with compatriot bands Blue Rodeo and slices of Skydiggers and Blackie and the Rodeo Kings are obvious.

 

Some songs are radio friendly(Like A Weapon, And The Gravediggers  Says), others have a Steve Miller band vibe (Get Right With The Lord, Architects).

 

Responsible for all these melodic songs is Peter Hicks, who wrote all the songs and also co-produced the cd.

 

Sleepy Driver has established itself with Steady Now on the Rockscene and created great expectations for the future.

score : 8/10

 

www.sleepydriver.ca

www.myspace.com/sleepydriver05

 

CRAIG BANCOFF - EDEN - SWEETIE RECORDS

 

Imagine yourself by the side of the river and the sun is shining and no clouds in the sky, that’s the way I felt listening to Craig’s cd. The songs are entertaining and warm. You can hear influences of the Jayhawks and the folkier side of Crowded House. Craig is helped by people like Tom Hampton(mandolin,pedalsteel,banjo), Matty Muir(drums), Adam Winokur(bass), Mike Frank(piano,Hammond) and Shelley Weiss(violin).

Craig is the right example how good Americana should sound.

Score : 8/10

http://www.craigbancoff.com

www.myspace.com/craigbancoff

www.cdbaby.com/Artist/CraigBancoff

PAUL INMAN – SONGS OF THE BROKEN EARTH

 

MOJAVE MOON RECORDS

 

In his latest cd folk,pop, country and blues merge together in one great Americana writ. His influences lie in the folk-rock of the seventies. He plays many string instruments and keyboards Many of his songs deal with love or the lack of it. “Railroadin’ Days” reminds me of the great Dutch-Canadian singer-songwriter Ad Vanderveen.  “(Oh Mercy, Look At) The Way She Moves” is a beatlesinspired song and very radiofriendly. “Black Snake Crawlin’” is bluesy singer-songwriterstuff with a nice harmonica. “Jenny Roe” is one of the love songs accompanied with a brilliant steel guitar. “Annabelle Lee” is a piano-driven love song. “Cities of the world” is one of the more rockier songs. “Girl”, “Baby Ramble Down”, “In The Eyes Of Maribel” and “Isle Of Skye” are slow guitar-driven love songs, while “Down In The Vale Of Old Avalon” is a piano-driven song. “I Got No Money” is a slow bluesy rockin' song. The cd ends with “I Still Want To Ramble” about a restless man who still hasn’t found his home.(again great instrumentation). Finally I must mention a  great interpretation of Woody Guthrie’s “More Pretty Girls Than One”

Score : 8/10

www.paulinman.net

www.myspace.com/paulinmansdelivery 

CARRIE WADE – THE OLD WAYS

 

Carrie’s music is an amalgam of country, rock and folk with some psychedelic elements thrown in the mix. All this gives the music a very “seventies feeling”.  It’s hard to believe that this is a debut cd as this sounds so mature and her voice is ideal for this kind of  Americana. Her voice reminds me of other great singers like Mary Chapin Carpenter, Tift Merritt, Lucinda Williams and Patty Griffin. All the songs are written by Carrie herself.

 

Although all songs are worth listening to(no filler), some songs excel like :

 

“Needles in the waves” with some great pedal steel playing from Marty Rifkin

 

“American Boys “ with some great dobro

 

“ In a world that goes wrong” again with great pedal steel playing from Marty Rifkin

 

Very recommended

 

Score : 9/10

 

www.myspace.com/carriewade

 

www.carriewade.com

THE FIVE AND DIMERS – QUARTER OF A TANK

 

If I had a porch the five and dimers would be the band playing there.  They play on their debut cd a very fine sort of Americana, very entertaining, with lots of country and folk elements.  Most of the songs are mid-tempo except for 3 ballads(Quarter of a Tank, Restless Angel  and Drunken Smile) with great lapsteel playing from Pete Klein. Also the fiddling of Matt McGibany is very impressive. Other members of the band are Matt Taul on vocals and rhythm guitar, Adam Peipert on banjo, John  Masinelli on bass and Jeff Walker on drums.

 

It’s hard to mention highlights because all songs are so great. If you can see these guys live, don’t hesitate and buy their cd.

  

Highly  recommended

 

Score : 9/10

 

www.myspace.com/fiveanddimers

 

www.thefiveanddimers.com

Recensie “MAD ABOUT MOUNTAINS”

 

Lo-fi Americana of moeten wij hier spreken van lo-fi belgicana of misschien nog beter lo-fi limburgiana, aangezien deze band aangevoerd wordt door Piet de Pessemier uit Herk-de-Stad, die met zijn band “Krakow” al twee albums heeft uitgebracht. Op deze cd krijgt hij hulp van van Floris Gevers op viool en zang, van Myrthe Luyten op zang, van Isabelle Pavone op piano, van Gianni Marzo op lapsteel en banjo en van Stijn Persoons op drums.

 

De muziek herinnert me aan bands zoals Bonnie Prince Billy, Iron & Wine, The Deep Dark Woods, Over the Rhine,Arcade Fire en de legendarische Cowboy Junkies.

 

De songs zijn meestal balladisch of mid-tempo. Heerlijke muziek om met je koptelefoon weg te mijmeren en genieten maar. Het is een zeer evenwichtig album met een paar uitschieters waarbij je “Best Friend”, “After You” en “My Brother & I” “radiofriendly” zou kunnen noemen.  Al de songs zijn geschreven door Piet de Pessemier die bovendien nog tal van instrumenten bespeelt zoals : guitaar, lapsteel,banjo,bas,glockenspiel,moutharp en harmonica.

 

Warm aanbevolen.

 

Score : 9/10

 

Zeal Records

info@zealrecords.com

 

KATY BOYD – PAPER HEARTS

 

First time I heard this cd, it blew me away, it was like the eighties and nineties were back with Mary Chapin Carpenter and Nanci Griffith sounding from the speakers.

 

“Paper Hearts” is the best Americana cd I’ve heard in many years. It seems that Katy has gathered a lot of songs during her long stay in the UK. Together with some great musicians like Fats Kaplin on steel, accordion and Thomm Jutz on guitar, keys she has now recorded an excellent cd in Nashville. The rest of the band consists of Justin Moses on fiddle,mandolin,banjo; Lynn Williams on drums and Mark Fain on bass.

 

If you like music from Lucinda Williams or Eliza Gilkyson, you can buy this cd blindly.

 

Very recommended

 

Score : 9/10

 

www.myspace.com/katyboyd

 

www.katyboyd.com

ROOSEVELT BANDWAGON – JOBLESS MEN KEEP GOING

 

Anglicana(British Americana) that’s what these guys are playing just like some other compatriots like the Redlands Palomino Company, The Rosellys, The Wynntown Marshals and Kete Bowers.

 

Rich Evans is the driving force behind this “Collective”. It’s not a steady band, so the composition can change depending circumstances.  These are compromises you’ll have to make when still having a dayjob.

 

On this cd Kevin Bartholemew joins them on the pedal steel, which give the songs that warm pleasant feeling.

 

Reference points are Yayhawks, Gram and Emmylou, which gives one a indication which way these songs are going.

 

It’s hard to tell highlights because every song has such great quality in a way that one gets a bit disappointed that there are only 10 studio songs. The cd ends with 2 live songs.

 

Very recommended

 

Score : 9/10

 

www.rooseveltbandwagon.com

 

www.myspace.com/rooseveltbandwagon

 

RICHARD THOMPSON - ELECTRIC - NEW WEST RECORDS

 

Does the presence of Buddy Miller, Stuart Duncan, Taras Prodaniuk and Alison Krauss make this an americana record? The answer is no, but Richard displays again his brilliant skills in the electric folk-rock scene with the emphasis on rock. The base is guitar, bass and drums.

 

The guitarplaying is throughout topnotch, except for the ending of "Sally B", where the guitar sounds a bit too distorted.

 

"Salford Sunday" is a mid-tempo folk song with a very English feeling.

In my opinion the best song is "My Enemy", a love lost ballad.  Also "Another small thing in her favour" is a ballad in the vein of broken relationships.

 

Other great ballads are "The snow goose"(with Alison Krauss) and "Saving the good stuff for you"(with Siobhan Maher Kennedy).

 

"Stuck on the treadmill" is a great mid-tempo song about unemployment and surviving in the present society, while "Where's home" a nice mid-tempo song about someone who seems to belong nowhere at all.

 

"Straight and narrow" is an up-tempo song with lovely keyboard sounds.

 

As usual Richard wrote all the songs. Buddy Miller produced.

 

There's also a bonus disc with another 7 songs.

 

Richard Thompson fans will be pleased with this album.

 

score : 8,5/10

 

http://soundcloud.com/proper-music-distribution/richard-thompson-good-things

 

 http://proper-records.co.uk/richardthompson-electric/

 

HEIDI TALBOT - ANGELS WITHOUT WINGS(Navigator Records)

 

Heidi has gathered a bunch of virtuoso around her for her latest album. The presence of pickers like Mark Knopfler, Jerry Douglas, Tim O'Brien and others create expectations which are firm fulfilled and remind me of the great "Transatlantic Sessions".

 

Her music can be described as a blend of Celtic and British folk with touches of Americana thrown in the mix.

 

Her trembling sweet voice flows through these gems of songs. There's absolutely no filler on this cd.

 

Standout songs are : "When The Roses Come Again", "Dearest Johnny", "New Cajun Waltz" and the title track.

 

The songs are recorded in Glasgow with her regular bandmembers : Ian Carr(guitars), Phil Cunningham(accordian), Michael McGoldrick(flutes/whistles), James Mackintosh(percussion),Boo Hewerdine(acoustic guitar) and Ewan Vernall(bass).

 

Very recommended.

 

Score : 8,5/10