ReviewShine Round-Up

It is time for our monthly round-up of a few of the new albums sent to me by those lovely folks at ReviewShine. As always, there have been far too many to choose from so, with apologies to the many fine musicians we're leaving out, here come four of the best.

We kick off with the closest thing we have this month to a celebrity - Marvin Etzioni, once of Lone Justice and since then a prodigious sideman, songwriter and producer. Marvin has gathered some of his better-known mates around him - the likes of Richard Thompson, Steve Earle, Buddy Miller and (on today's choice) Lucinda Williams - to help him interpret his songs, some old and some new. Called "Marvin Country!", the album hits the streets on 17 April. It's a double album and, as with most double albums, there is some filler on there that could have been excised. But there is more than enough good stuff to make it worth checking out.

"Lay It On The Table" - Marvin Etzioni (with Lucinda Williams)

We'll stick with the duets. Dylan Guthro is a young Canadian singer-songwriter whose debut album, "All That's True", came out earlier this month. The album as a whole is pleasant if not overly distinctive, but there is enough to suggest he is worth keepng an eye on for when he finds his own style and voice. For me, though, the stand-out track is this duet and co-write with fellow Canadian, Breagh MacKinnon.

"Sing To Me" - Dylan Guthro (with Breagh MacKinnon)

Still in Canada, next up is Brock Zeman. I must admit I had never previously heard of him but his latest album, "Me Then You", is apparently his ninth. I am going to have to start searching out his back catalogue. There is something about his voice and his songs that reminds me very strongly of Chuck Prophet, which can't be a bad thing. The similarity is particularly strong on this little cracker.

"Triple Crown" - Brock Zeman

We finish off with Blue O'Connell. I chose Blue for three reasons: its a good record, she has a bionic ear (I am not sure what that is but I think I want one), and she used to have a radio show called "The Eclectic Woman Show". That sounds like our kind of show. Her album, "Choose The Sky", is her debut but distils over thirty years of musical experience. Half the tracks on the album are instrumentals. Now I am not normally a great one for instrumentals, but I really like these. It could be because there is something ethereal and otherworldly about them. Or it could be because I am an old hippy and they make me think of the Incredible String Band - this one especially.

"Innermission No. 50" - Blue O'Connell

And now for something completely different, as requested by my old friend Mr Jackson.

Sam on Sunday

It's a lovely sunny Sunday morning here in London. And how better to enhance the mood than with the sunshine sounds of Cameroon's Master of Makossa, Mr Sam Fan Thomas.

"Olga" - Sam Fan Thomas

"Mole" - Sam Fan Thomas

As a name, Sam Fan Thomas sounds slightly Welsh. Not as Welsh as this though, from last year's "Can i Gymru" talent contest.



And as a special treat, let's bring back that old Welsh reggae classic, "Gwlad y Rasta Gwyn".

Sweetness Is My Weskness

I was lucky enough to be at the Scala last night to see First Aid Kit promoting their new album, "The Lion's Roar". They were absolutely fantastic. I had expected the great songs and beautiful harmonies. What I hadn't expected was their propensity for wigging out, which got more and more pronounced as the set went on.

The album is excellent as well but has already been featured heavily on plenty of other blogs. So rather than repeat what you can find elsewhere, here are some more fine female harmonies of a slightly older vintage.

"Green Rocky Road" - Kathy & Carol

The obvious forebears for First Aid Kit are the 1970s Laurel Canyon set, performers who made sweet and soothing sounds while delicately leading the listener through the minefield of their relationships. They displayed a degree of sensitivity that has probably been unmatched by any artist since. With one very notable exception - Mister O.B. Buchana.

"Lollipop Man" - O.B. Buchana

Following where O.B. has led, here are two other purveyors of confectionery to finish things off for the week.

"Ice Cream Man" - Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers

"The Candy Man" - Sammy Davis Jr.

Katya, Rising Star

Those nice people at Hearth Music over in Portland, Oregon very kindly sent me a copy of "Big, Big Love", the newish album by Katya Chorover.

Katya is a new name to me, but it turns out this is her third album. However there was a ten year gap between this and the last one, which might explain her lack of visibility outside the North West USA. I don't have much to say other than its exactly the sort of folk/country mix I like, she has a great voice, some good songs, and the album is highly recommended. As - judging by the free downloads you can pick up at her website - are her two earlier albums. Here is one from each.

"Satisfied Life" - Katya Chorover (from "Big Big Love", 2011)

"Off The Map" - Katya Chorover (from "Off The Map", 2001)

"Blessing Bowl" - Katya Chorover (from "The Clearing", 1998)

There is something about Katya's voice and musical mannerisms that remind me quite a bit of Nanci Griffith. And, as it happens, Nanci's new album called "Intersection" was issued in the UK and Europe yesterday (I think you have to wait until April in the States). I have been a fan of hers since "Last Of The True Believers" came out back in the mid-1980s - it is still one of my all-time favourite albums.

After a fairly lengthy fallow period, Nanci really returned to form with "The Loving Kind" in late 2009. On first listen "Intersection" is continuing in the right direction. Apart from "Davey's Last Picture", a 9/11 song that is a bit too syrupy for my taste, it is good mix of strong originals and well chosen covers, including this Ron Davies number. Her voice is not quite the thing of wonder that it was twenty or thirty years ago - which is not surprising in view of some of the health problems she has had in the interim - but it still does the job for me.

"Waiting On A Dark Eyed Girl" - Nanci Griffith

Here is some vintage Nanci, the live performance of "Love At The Five And Dime" that appeared on her "One Fair Summer Evening" album. The introductory monologue is made all the more poignant by the sad fact that you can no longer visit a Woolworths in London as they went bust a few years ago.



And for you old punks out there, here are some more Woolworths enthusiasts.

It Came From The West

When it comes to download sites I am a big fan of eMusic. Some folks criticise it because it doesn't have anything from the major labels, but for me that is its strength. It encourages you to wander off down musical alleyways that would otherwise remain unexplored.

This month I have used up most of my allocation digging into the reissued back catalogues of the self-explanatory Zimbabwe Music Corporation and Bristol Archive Records. We will no doubt feature some Zim sounds before too long, but today we'll focus on Bristol.

Most of the releases on Bristol Archive Records date from the late 1970s through to the mid 1980s. I was living in the West Country for much of that time and there are some familiar names like Essential Bop, Talisman and pre-Polly Harvey era Automatic Dlamini - who I once saw play in a scout hall in Yeovil at a fund-raiser when the bill was topped by local heroes The Mob. But there is even more that passed me by completely, and a lot of it is top quality.

Bristol has always had a strong reggae tradition and that's what we will mostly be featuring today. The first couple of tracks come from the excellent two-volume "Bristol Reggae Explosion" compilation, and the wonderfully named "Sheepdog Trial Inna Babylon" from "The Best of Fried Egg Records". Sandwiched in between is a track by the Ivory Coasters, from an EP called "Mungaka Makossa" that was originally released in 1982. As far as I can tell it was their only release, which is a real shame as it is a cracker.
 
"Bristol Rock" - Black Roots

"Robin Hoods Of The Ghetto" - Cool Runnings

"The Bongo That Ate Pik Botha" - Ivory Coasters

"Sheepdog Trial Inna Babylon" - Shoes For Industry

That last one is a natural companion piece to this little oddity from Cherry Red Records that came out around the same time:

"Wuthering Heights" - Jah Wurzel

Jah Wurzel wasn't really a wurzel at all. It was Morgan Fisher (formerly of Mott The Hoople and Love Affair) arsing about. These fellers, on the other hand, are the genuine article.

Single Girls

After our tribute to ladyhood at large on Valentine's Day we return as promised with a selection of songs dedicated to single - and indeed singular - girls.

While listening, spare a thought for the "James Bond Girl" who has, perhaps a little prematurely, informed the Cimarons that now she has met Elton John she doesn't need another man - a decision that surely redefines the phrase "unlucky in love".

"American Girl" - Roger McGuinn

"Bahia Girl" - David Rudder

"Bikini Girl" - Mighty Sparrow

"Euro-Trash Girl" - Cracker

"James Bond Girl" - The Cimarons

"Lady Gay Girl" - Danie Ian & The Spades

"Laughing Girl" - Eternity's Children

"London Girl" - The Pogues

"Morning Girl" - Neon Philharmonic

"Post-War Glamour Girl" - John Cooper Clarke

I suppose after serenading a series of single ladies, there was a certain inevitability we would finish up with this.

Valentine's Special

With the post of Mrs Goggins currently going unfilled - applicants please form an orderly queue to the right - we don't have a Valentine's Day dedication to a one special lady. Instead we are spreading the net as widely as we can because, to quote Paul from The Floaters, I like all the women of the world. Which leads us very nicely into our first song, after which we proceed in roughly descending order of magnitude.

"Ladies Of The World" - Flight Of The Conchords

"All You Pretty Girls" - XTC

"Rock And Roll Girls" - John Fogerty

"I Dig Black Girls" - Raw Spitt

"Coastal Girls" - Robbie Fulks

"Southern Girls" - Cheap Trick

"The Girls From Texas" - Ry Cooder

"London Girls" - The Vibrators

"Carolina Girls" - General Johnson

"88 Lines About 44 Women" - The Nails

From 44 we will trim it down by roughly, er, 44.



Next time out we will bring you a selection of single girls, unless I get distracted and forget. But for now we finish off with the true masters of lurve.