New West

Som titeln antyder är nya plattan en hyllning till läromästaren och vännen Jerry Jeff Walker, som dog hösten 2020, 78 år gammal. <br/><br/>Med "Jerry Jeff" kompletterar Steve Earle den serie hyllningsplattor som inleddes med 2009 års "Townes" (Townes van Zandt), fortsatte med 2029 års "Guy" (Guy Clark) och som nu avslutas med "Jerry Jeff".<br/><br/>2021 gav Steve Earle dessutom ut "J.T.", en fin men smärtsam hyllningen till sonen Justin Townes Earle, som dog 2020, endast 38 år.<br/><br/>"The records were recorded and released in the order in which they left this world. But make no mistake - it was Jerry Jeff Walker who came first," says Earle.<br/> <br/>Earle was 14 when he first heard Walker. His high school drama teacher gave him a copy of "Mr. Bojangles," Walker's classic ballad about an unforgettable character he met in a New Orleans jail. After Earle moved to Nashville in the 1970s, he had the opportunity to get to know Walker, who enlisted him as his designated driver.<br/>"There's a tendency to think of Jerry Jeff around a relationship to one song," Earle says, referring to "Mr. Bojangles," which was covered by everyone from Bob Dylan to Sammy Davis Jr. "He was also such a great interpreter of other people's songs. But my main purpose in recording this album was to remind people that he wrote a lot of fucking great songs."

All Them Witches: Live on the internet [Digipack / 2 CD]

Rootshjälten Steve Earle's första album med enbart nytt material på fyra år. "I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive" är titeln på plattan och även på boken som kommer ut i USA samtidigt. Boken, som redan fått mycket bra kritik, handlar om en fiktiv läkare som inte får någon ro eftersom Hank Williams ande plågar honom. Till saken hör att läkaren var den som försåg Williams med tabletter under hans sista tid... " I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive" var titlen på den sista låten<br/>Hank Williams spelade in. <br/><br/>I vackra "Heaven Or Hell" gästar Earles fru Allison Morer. Som producent hittar vi ingen mindre än T Bone Burnett som bland mycket annat producerat kollaborationen mellan Alison Kraus & Robert Plant. Han har också producerat album med John Mellencamp, Elvis Costello och soundtracket till "Walk The Line".<br/><br/>Digipack.

"How would you feel if you got the opportunity to make your favorite band's album?"<br/>-Brandi Carlile <br/><br/>The Secret Sisters album "Saturn Return" är producerat av Brandi Carlile, Tim Hanseroth och Phil Hanseroth.<br/><br/>På tidigare album och live har systrarna Laura och Lydia Rogers konsekvent sjungit tillsammans, i stämmor, och det har så klart i stor utsträckning präglat deras sound. Stämsången är självklart fortfarande en viktigt ingrediens på "Saturn Return", men för första gången sjunger systrarna även på egen hand, uppmuntrade av producenten Brandi Carlisle: "It's really uniquely unified and harmonious when they're in tandem and very tumultuous and deep when they're not in tandem and I think for a brief, beautiful moment on this album we caught The Secret Sisters not in tandem for the first time". Carlile fortsätter, "To be a harbinger for their honesty in these songs and to watch them work together to see the tension was one of the greatest gifts of my career because those are two very powerful people in a very interesting point in their lives".<br/><br/>"Saturn Return" skapades under en omtumlande period i systrarna Rogers liv. De förlorade både sina far- och morföräldrar samtidigt som både Lydia och Laura fick barn för första gången. Stora, omvälvande händelser som givetvis reflekteras i texterna till plattans tio låtar.<br/><br/>The Secret Sister kommenterar plattan så här:<br/>"As we age, we face obstacles that are beyond our control. Some forces are internal: insecurity, anxiety, fear. Some are external: the loss of loved ones, an unjust system and the fragility of time. Yet the mark of maturity is how you respond when you realize you're not in control. Where do you find your resilience? This album is a reflection of us coming to terms with how to find our power in the face of an unfair world. These songs lead listeners past 'where happy man searches, to a place only mad women know.' We question our purpose, our relationships, our faith. Trading the fears of our youth for the dread that rages within us as mature women. With Saturn Return, our hope is that women can feel less alone in their journey through the modern world. We need each other more than we ever have; the less competition and the more inclusiveness and understanding, the better. We are southern women in the 21st century, convicted by our beliefs".

Wallflowers: Exit wounds 2021 [Digipack / CD]

I can do whatever I wanna all by my lonesome<br/>If that's a problem well you can't say shit<br/>Cause I'm going my way<br/>Livin' and dyin' - NIKKI LANE<br/><br/>From the first bass note within the driving drum beat you can tell something is different about the new record from Nikki Lane. The backbeat feels like a gutsy strut while the lead guitar feels like a revved up engine shifting gears. Denim & Diamonds comes out firing, spit shining the cowboy boots and tossing on a jean jacket.<br/>Produced by Joshua Homme (Queens of the Stone Age), Denim & Diamonds has the Highway Queen embracing a more rock-oriented sound while still maintaining the heartfelt outlaw country sound she has developed across her previous three releases. Denim & Diamonds still has the fuck-off flare of which Nikki has come to be known. Her stylized, story-telling lyrics are all there as well as her catchy country hooks. The outlaw country sound is now balanced out with a gritty guitar and a machine gun snare that echoes the sound of 70's rock.<br/>Nikki Lane has made a record that sounds new and old. Familiar and surprising. She embraces where she has come from, ("First High", "Born Tough") the lessons learned along the way, ("Good Enough", "Try Harder") all while doing things her way, ("Denim & Diamonds", "Black Widow").

Yoakam Dwight: Blame the vain 2005 [Digipack / CD]