New West

Shaver: Shaver's Jewels - The Best Of Shaver [CD]

Denna platta är en sagolik tidsresa tillbaks till 70-talets countryrock allt uppblandat med lite Tom Petty's första plattor. Ny signad till New West, och ska man dra någon likhet med en labelkompis är det hyllade Daniel Romano - Aaron Lee är precis hur bra som helst!

Rodney Crowells album "Close Ties" visar hans styrka som låtskrivare och hur han hittat balansen mellan personliga minnen, litterär kvalitet och djup musikalitet. "Close Ties" är ett av hans mest personliga album samtidigt som det kanske är ett av hans mest lättillgängliga. Livet och konsten smälter samman till ett.<br/><br/>"It's a loose concept album, you could say", berättar Crowell. "And the concept is related to how you tell stories about yourself. Having a few years ago written a memoir, my sensibilities toward narrative-especially trying to find a common thread in different pieces of writing-had become a part of my songwriting process". <br/><br/>"Close Ties" är ett album med djupa musikaliska rötter, inte minst för att Crowell själv har en historia som sträcker sig ända tillbaka till den alternativa country-scenen i det tidiga sjuttiotalet. Och på senare år har etablerandet av Americana-genren betytt mycket för Crowell. "I have declared my loyalty to Americana. It's a hard category for people to get their heads around, or at least the terminology is. But all the people who represent it-Townes van Zandt, Guy Clark, Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle and more recent stars like John Paul White and Jason Isbell-share a common thread, and that thread is poetry. Whether they are actual poets or their music exemplifies a poetic sensibility, generally speaking, the Americana artist shuns commercial compromise in favor of a singular vision. Which resonates with me".<br/><br/>Det finns även en tydlig ton av blues som präglar "Close Ties". "Recently, I think-I hope-that my study of the blues is starting to show up in my music. Those artists, whether it's Lightnin' Hopkins or John Lee Hooker or the acoustic Delta players, connected to something fundamental. With that in mind, I'm trying to move forward but also get back there".

Earle Steve: Townes (Clear/Ltd) [Gatefold / 2 Vinyl LP]

Earle Steve & The Dukes: Guy (Red/Orange) [Gatefold / 2 Vinyl LP]

Blue vinyl.

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."