Release Date: October 11, 2011
Label: Capitol

There's a My Morning Jacket song that has nothing to do with Ryan Adams.  I suppose you could say that no MMJ songs have anything to with Ryan Adams, but that's not the point.  The MMJ lyric I have in mind is, "they told me not to smoke drugs, but I didn't listen...I guess I just had to get it outta my system".  Most people, I think, can relate to that.  Adams is sober now, and has been for his past few records.  But that's not the point either.  

When you get right down to it, Ryan Adams has always been capable of knocking your socks off with a great song.  But he's also almost always had a few head-scratchers on each record (there are a few early exceptions - see Heartbreaker; see also Gold).  Even some of his more enjoyable stuff with his erstwhile backing band The Cardinals was more or less Grateful Dead American Beauty covers.  The point of this endless set-up diatribe is that Ashes & Fire finally marries that clarity that comes with sobriety to the focus of a consistently great original songwriter.  Which is to say that it's a really good country-rock record with flashes of brilliance that's long overdue.

Adams has always been better when he's understated, and he seems to have dialed himself back a bit intentionally for this one.  The title track "Ashes & Fire" is the high point and is one of the best country songs you'll hear this year.  When he belts lyrics like "the wind was suddenly sweeter than Roosevelt pines / the windows broke out and the cigarette smoke drifted by" over open chords and those great country drums, you can't help but smile.  "Invisible Riverside" is a soulful wanderer's tune that dances in and out of jamband territory (in a good way).  "Dirty Rain" sounds a little bit like he's striving for a polished Big Pink sound.

For a relatively young guy, Adams has put out 13 records and seems to have put a lot of miles on an already weary soul.  It hasn't always been great.  But maybe he just had to get all of that out of his system.  If Ashes & Fire is the shape of things to come, it'll all be worth it. 

Had LC gotten off of its dead ass and put together a 'best of' list for 2010, Deerhunter's Halcyon Digest would have probably come in at #1.  Not exactly the most original choice for a rock & roll blog (this record was a music geek fave), but it really doesn't matter.  That's not Deerhunter's fault.  Really a great and fantastically confusing album.  

This lyric's off of "Desire Lines" and the song sounds like the feeling of plowing down the freeway at 100 mph.  In the opposite direction of all of your problems, that is.    

Have a listen below.  Cheers to Brooklyn Vegan for the excellent shot of Bradford Cox in action (top left). 

Sometimes the blues just need you.  

Muddy Waters is one of those guys...without Muddy...are the blues the blues?  I'm not sure that question can be answered (well, maybe by good ol' Keef). 

Regardless, Sunday morning is a good time to ponder such age-old dilemmas.  That's if you can push last week out of your mind and let next week's potential sit for a few more hours.  Let the excellent "Live at Mr. Kelly's" from 1971 get you in the right frame of mind this morning.  Muddy won't let you down.  We'll find that Sunday in-the-moment clarity together.  Have a listen to the full set below.  

Sometimes you just need the blues.

Timing is critical.  Sometimes it's the only thing that really matters.  The most amazing thing about Buena Vista Social Club is that these great old Cuban musicians were finally brought together in the twilights of their careers to make this incredible record.  Ibrahim Ferrer's voice still blows me away every time I listen to this album.  

BVSC almost never happened.  Thank God for Ry Cooder for bringing them together and doing it right.  Check out the fantastic PBS documentary for the full story.

Don't forget to tune into latest installment of Sunday Morning Sessions after the weekend.

Miles Division: BVSC is more jazz than anything else.  I guess.

Honorable Mentions:  Radiohead - OK Computer; DJ Cam - Mad Blunted Jazz

Awhile back we headed down the dusty trail of selecting an album for each year from 1980 to the present.  Just one man's ramblings on a lifetime of listening to a lot of music.  The goal is not necessarily to try to choose the best album for each year, that's just stupid.  But, there are rules.  And there are winners.  Hopefully, though, there will be no losers.

We're picking this back up where we left off.  Like all lists, it will no doubt miss a few gems.  Don't be shy to speak up if the train's gone off the tracks...   

Mark Farina's Mushroom Jazz series has something like 7 editions last time I checked.  Like most collections, the first one is the best.  Half jazzy hip-hop, half cool house - it's the lounge / acid jazz soundtrack to the coolest party you've ever been to.  

Miles Division:  I mean, Jazz is in the title.

Honorable Mentions:  Beck's Odelay; Stereolab's Emperor Tomato Ketchup 

It's important to remember where we've come from.  A homebase from which to move forward.  Creedence put the ROCK in country-rock, and their massive influence seems to be mostly underestimated.  With a few notable exceptions.  This one's obviously from Green River and it's a subtle reminder that CCR doesn't judge.  Just come on home and we'll take care of ya.  

 

Release Date: October 11, 2011
Label: Anti-

Life's pretty good in the information age.  You can play online blackjack, download tunes and select your adult content for the day (if you're into that sort of thing) - all at once.  It's pretty fantastic.  But it can also be stressful and exhausting.  It's gotten to the point where we feel inadequate if we're behind the curve in any way.  No matter how hard you try, it's still impossible to know everything.  Even today.

Admittedly, I have almost completely missed the boat on Joe Henry.  Reverie is the first album of his that I've spent any time with, and man do I feel stupid.  That said, I have no frame of reference of how this record fits into what seems like a long and successful run.  I'm definitely reminded of some of the more accessible Tom Waits records - folk, jazz and blues are all part of the sound.  Like Waits, Henry doesn't exactly come at his songs with a sunny perspective.  There's not an overabundance of hope here.  And like all great modern American music, Henry adds just enough dissonance to keep you uncomfortable.  

It's difficult to single out tracks, because the album sounds like a complete thought (at least to me) - cryptic reflections on a life that Henry's not particularly proud of.  The stoned-blues guilt of "Sticks & Stones".  The sparse piano and mantra-like lyrics ("...I gave away what never was mine...") of "Strung".  The light-hearted madness of "Grand Street" ("...he spoke to himself, right out loud...").  The sad accusations of "Deathbed Versions" ("...how do you like your blue-eyed boy?").  The pre-death promises of "Eyes Out for You".  All chapters in a book as opposed to a collection of singles.                     

David Fricke (the only good writer left at Rolling Stone) once said something to the effect of, "you have to allow yourself the time" to get what you need out of a good record.  Reverie is that kind of album.  And it is definitely a good album.  It won't knock your socks off right away.  But it will if you're patient.  Not exactly tailor-made for the information age, but that's part of its charm.   
  
         

mp3: Sticks & Stones 

Anything Neil Young did up until the late 70s is perfect for Sunday morning.  I mean, you really can't go wrong.  This probably won't the last Neil SMS installment, but it should be the first.  Awhile back I read Elton John say that Neil Young sat down in front of a piano late one night and played him After the Gold Rush in its entirety prior to its release.  Once I get that rock and roll time machine up and running, that night will be destination #1.  

It doesn't get any better than Gold Rush.  Have a listen to the full album below (recorded from the original vinyl, don't mind the scratching).  

Happy Sunday all. 


mp3: After the Gold Rush (album) 

Let's be honest.  We here in the good old U-S of A like to think we're superior than our friendly neighbors to the north.  And maybe we are.  But then again, maybe not.  Regardless, we can agree that Canadians are much nicer people than we are.  And they indisputably like to rock.  And flannels.  

The latest and greatest Canadian classic-rockish import is The Sheepdogs, riding high from their recent RS cover and feature story.  I mean, look at these guys.  Now listen to them below. 

The Sheepdogs been picking up steam lately and seem to have it all - their latest record "Learn & Burn" is rock & roll, R&B, and even has some soul leanings.  These guys obviously love their southern rock but don't pigeonhole themselves.  Also a great story coming from virtually nowhere (no offense to Moose Jaw, Sasketchewan).  I'm pulling for these guys and hope they can keep building on their recent success.  

Go check them out at the Belly Up tonight with Joe Lewis and the Honeybears.

Release Date: October 24, 2011
Label: Partisan

“Give me a spark, you’ll get an atom bomb!  Give me some pills and I can’t stand up!”  That's the kind of attitude I want in my rock & roll.  Right there.  As much I love 'indie', sometimes it's too sensitive.  Too touchy-feely.  Being well-read shouldn't be a requirement for indie-rock street cred.  A little swagger is OK after all for Christ's sake.  I'm looking at you Andrew Bird.  Anyway, as lead singer John McCauley boozily croaks those lines in the opening track of Divine Providence, you realize that this record is a little different.  

It’s not that Deer Tick is suddenly raucous - they’ve always been wired live.  But where the band seemed a little guilty and blue about it before, they’re not anymore.  Gone for now are the days where Deer Tick and McCauley look inward by churning out records full of drunken country ballads.  After three albums mostly in the same vein…this is that record in a band’s trajectory where they stretch out, poke their heads out of their comfort zone, and see what sticks. 

Drunken barroom pianos, spit-shined electric guitar production and even a less-raspy croon out of McCauley all contribute to the hard left.  “Funny Word” and “Main Street” sound like tracks left on the cutting floor of the loft from early Wilco records.  “Now It’s Your Turn” is a Use Your Illusion-era Guns ‘n Roses style ballad.  Hell, “Let’s All Go To The Bar” sounds like the angry, raging bastard child from a Johnny Ramone bender.

Sometimes a band tries too hard to sound different – but that’s not exactly the case here.  The ‘old’ Deer Tick tunes on this record fit well with the ‘new’ songs and it doesn’t seem forced.  Just honest.  And unexpected.  And a little brave.  Divine Providence is proof that the party can come after the hangover.  A band that's decided to kick a little ass in a different way. 


mp3: Let's All Go To The Bar