Back To Birdland

Hey, gang. Sorry to be posting so late in the day, but I just blew back into town from Virginia Beach (and, man, my lips are tired).

You regular readers might recall that no trip to the beach is complete for me without a stop (or two) at Birdland Music. Barry Friedman keeps his establishment well-stocked with the latest and greatest as well as buried treasures. Since Barry's an Americana fan, too, it's just about guaranteed that by the time I get home I won't have the cash to buy a Snickers but enough ATM slips to paper the walls in my baby's bedroom.

This visit was typical, which is to say I spent too much and I was turned on to some fine releases. I could keep it all to myself, but I've decided that I'll pass the chance at poverty on to you. Here are the top three discs that Barry recommended to me this time:

"Push Comes to Shove," John Hammond � This disc was produced by G. Love, "the hip-hop John Hammond," so I've been intrigued since it came out a couple weeks ago. I might have guessed that Barry would start pumping it up shortly after I came through the door. I'm glad he talked me into it, though I made it pretty easy on him. I was more or less sold when he said that although Hammond's discs tend to run together after a while, "Push Comes to Shove" just had some "pop" coming out of the speakers. Right he was. I've only spun it all the way through once, but "I'm Tore Down" and the cover of Dion's "If You Wanna Rock & Roll" have been the real highlights for me so far.

"Children Running Through," Patty Griffin � The Hammond disc wasn't the first thing Barry mentioned, though. It was this disc, the much anticipated new album from Griffin, part of the Austin scene who originally hailed from my home state of Maine. This one required zero salesmanship on Barry's part. One of my objectives was to find some new music to send as a thank-you to my folks, who a few weeks ago shipped me a used Martin that my dad found for a tremendous price. Barry said that he got the new Patty Griffin, and I said, "I'll take two." Indie record store guys have got to love that, and I love being able to provide that small thrill once in a while. The disc is exactly what you'd expect from Griffin at this point: a lot of songs about loneliness that are sometimes whispered and sometimes belted out in one of the biggest voices around. You'll be hearing a lot more about this one before the year is out.

"Original Soul," Grace Potter � Each time I visit Birdland I try to buy one disc based on Barry's recommendation alone. This album, self-released by Potter in 2004, filled the bill this time around. His description � "a little Bonnie Raitt, a little Susan Tedeschi and a little Lucinda" � got my attention immediately. I haven't had time to get too far into this one, but Potter's got a big voice and the band is pretty well-versed in blues-rock with a Hammond-organ sheen. Not bad for an independent group from Vermont. I can only hope that Barry is typically dead-on with his description.

That's about the extent of the stuff I was steered into. I will mention, though, that Barry also was high on the new Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter, "Like, Love, Lust & the Open Halls of the Soul." I passed this time around, but I have a nagging feeling that I'll be shelling out for it in the not-too-distant future. And, just before the end of my follow-up visit today, Barry played for me a bit of the new disc by Billy Bremner, "No Ifs, Buts, Maybes." Bremner played guitar in Rockpile with Dave Edmunds and Nick Lowe, and if I hadn't been given the set-up in advance I would have sworn that I was hearing a Dave Edmunds disc. In case you were wondering, I think that's a very fine thing indeed. I had already exceeded my spending limit by this point so I had to decline, but based on what I heard I would recommend Bremner's disc to anyone out there who is into Edmunds, Lowe or Rockpile.

There were a few other notable finds from my travels through the Birdland bins:

"State of Grace," The Holmes Brothers � A glorious blend of roots styles that mostly boil down to gospel and R&B. I haven't had a lot of time with this one yet, but along with the Patty Griffin it might be the cream of this new crop of discs I hauled home. The harmonies are beautiful, and the choice of covers is inspired. Cheap Trick's "I Want You to Want Me" gets such a total makeover that you have to hear it to appreciate it. Nick Lowe's "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding?" also is reworked, as is Hank Williams' "I Can't Help It If I'm Still In Love With You" (with an assist from Rosanne Cash). CCR's "Bad Moon Rising" gets a re-do, and all you Lyle Lovett fans out there should get a kick out of the band's takes on "If I Had a Boat" and "God Will." Other guest stars include Levon and Amy Helm, Joan Osborne and multi-instrumentalist Larry Campbell.

"New Train," Paul Pena � My friend Dalton burned me a copy of this lost classic, but when I found myself face-to-face with a proper copy I couldn't leave the store without it. It includes the original version of "Jet Airliner," which is more soulful than Steve Miller's bajillion-selling cover (which is a fine track in its own right, and provided Pena with some much-needed coin in his many lean years).

"The Memphis Sun Recordings," Johnny Rivers � I've been gaining a new appreciation for Rivers in the past year or so. I used to listen to a lot of oldies radio, but for some reason it never registered with me that this guy made a truckload of great records. A lot of them were covers, but there's no shame in being a greater performer than a songwriter. This disc, cut at Sun in the mid-'90s, is right up my alley. I love those old Sun recordings, and I'm starting to give Rivers his due. He does a great job on Sun classics such as "Mystery Train," "That's Alright Mama," "Honey Don't," "Big River" and "Matchbox." Rivers also revisits some of his hits, such as Chuck Berry's "Memphis" and his own "Poor Side of Town."

Rounding out my purchases were much-needed compilations from The Dillards, Jr. Walker & The All Stars, Johnny "Guitar Watson and Slim Harpo.

All in all, it was a healthy haul. There's an awful lot of music to sort through before we go back to Birdland in September. I'd better start saving now.