September 6, 2006

Too Many Great Albums

Posted by Larry Karnowski at September 6, 2006 10:00 AM

I'm just swimming in great albums right now. There's so many, each deserving their own amazing review, that I just can't decide. So here's what's in my playlist right now:

* Chris Thile's How To Grow A Woman From the Ground - Crazy good Bluegrass, Thile-style.
* Old Crow Medicine Show's Big Iron World - not as high-energy as I expected, but still crazy good. Check out "God's Got It," "My Good Gal," "Don't Ride That Horse," and Stacy's review from yesterday.
* Bernard Fanning's Tea & Sympathy - Lost Highway's new "it boy" really is good. I'd never heard of him before, but his music is a great mix of country, folk, and a little 70s rock n' roll. (Hear the Zeppelin influence in there? Very nice!)
* Kamikaze Hearts' Oneida Road - This was an "out of the blue" submission that I had never heard of... but wow! I'm really digging this CD. Imagine a crossing of Son Volt and Clem Snide... Jay Farrar singing for Snide... with a few folk-rock sounding tunes like "Defender." It sounds like Fairport Convention crossed with the Flatlanders. Crazy good!
* Mike Therieau's Living From A Suitcase - This was another unsolicited submission that really caught my ear. It's smooth blend of country and soul, very polished for Alt Country, but I don't know what else to call it. Not over-produced, far from it, just smooth. I just got it last night, but it consumed my stereo all night, and it appears to be doing the same today. Great album!

Like I said, each of these is good enough to deserve their own review with a deep, deep analysis. But who has the time this week? Sheesh!

Comments

I found a used copy of that Bernard Fanning disc the other day, and I've been enjoying it as well.

Posted by: Sean at September 6, 2006 3:19 PM

Bernard Fanning is a huge star in Australia. He's the lead singer of a band called Powderfinger who have had about five mega-platinum albums here, but their Pearl Jam-ish alt-rock has never appealed to me much. His solo gear is rootsier and better for it, IMHO. Great singer.

Posted by: Captain Wacky at September 11, 2006 12:38 PM

I had wondered where he came from. Lost Highway is pushing him pretty hard, but from where I was sitting, he seemed to just appear out of thin air. Thanks for the heads up, Wacky.

Posted by: larry at September 11, 2006 12:41 PM

I enjoyed the Kamikaze Hearts' Oneida Road disc. I found it somewhat distracting/schizophrenic the way the lead vocals alternated by odd or even track number (an attempt to play fair?). I enjoyed the odd number tracks with the Farrar/Son Volt vibe the most. I didn't really hear the Flatlanders connection. When I think Flatlanders I think "musical saw" and I guess that was buried in the mix!

Posted by: Hal at September 13, 2006 12:21 AM

Well, I'm not as familiar with the Flatlanders as you are Hal, but I was thinking that the lead vocalist on the "Defender" song (the even-numbered, non-Farrar-sounding songs) sounded a bit like Jimmie Dale Gilmore.

Posted by: larry at September 13, 2006 9:06 AM