Reviews of Joey + Rory’s The Life of a Song and Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson’s Rattlin’ Bones “Turn it up loud so we all can sing along,” sings Joey Martin Feek at the beginning of The Life of a … [read more]
Here are two videos from the great Kasey Chambers, an Australian country singer/songwriter. I think hers is one of the most unique voices in music today – both her actual voice, and her songwriting.
A review of Michelle Shocked’s Short Sharp Shocked (1988) Some of the most memorable music from the 1980s, for me at least, stems from this album (and that’s perhaps because none of it sounds like the 80s at all). Michelle … [read more]
A review of Lambchop’s OH (Ohio) (2008) Despite the recording industry’s continuing contraction (not unlike the financial system’s), the world is full of beautiful music that’s worth hearing. One result of the long tail economy has been that there’s so … [read more]
Staying with the theme of how country music could be, here’s a favourite record by Chip Taylor and Carrie Rodriguez. Taylor is a singer-songwriter who emerged as a writer of hit songs in the 60s (‘Angel of the Morning’ and … [read more]
A towering achievement and also an immensely likeable record. Emmylou Harris, after spending the first half of the 90s playing and recording solid if traditionally-oriented country albums, in 1995 teams up with Daniel Lanois and engineer Malcolm Burn to make … [read more]
I know people say “Snorah Jones.” But I like her music – I think it’s mature in a good way: music that begs to be listened to, music that’s firmly based in craft (she’s a very fine pianist) and sung … [read more]
I love this band. They’ve gone through many changes over the years, but there’s always something musical and inspiring to discover in their records. I’ve never seen them play live, but their 2005 live album, Alive and Wired, suggests they’re … [read more]