Cowboy Junkies - All That Reckoning (Album Review)

July 12, 2018 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Alt-Country, Alternative Rock, Americana

Formed way back in 1985, Cowboy Junkies have become something of a Canadian institution over the decades with a run of albums released to both critical and fan praise. Things started off on a slightly unusual note with a covers album ‘Whites off Earth now!!’ before their sophomore release ‘The Trinity Sessions’ would put them on the world map selling over a million copies. Thirty years on from that particular landmark Cowboy Junkies return with their first album since 2012’s ‘The Wilderness’. This new release has been referred to by songwriter-guitarist Michael Timmins (one of the three Timmins siblings that form 3/4 of the band) as “These songs are about reckoning on a personal level and reckoning on a social level”. With this in mind, and as few bands do reflective melancholia better than Cowboy Junkies, this should be good.

The Milk Carton Kids - All The Things That I Did and All The Things That I Didn't Do' (Album Review)

June 27, 2018 by Rich Barnard in Acoustic, Album Reviews, Americana, Folk

Until now, The Milk Carton Kids have been Kenneth Pattengale and Joey Ryan alone but for their latest record they’ve gone for a full band treatment to fill out their sound. And it’s a lineup to die for, featuring, among others, Jay Bellerose, Pat Sansone, Russ Pahl and Dennis Crouch. Everything remains light-touch however and the duo’s twin vocal and acoustic guitars remain very much in the foreground. The pair have been through some personal changes too in the time since 2015’s hit LP Monterey, with Ryan now a father of two and Pattengale surviving a battle with cancer. Thus, ATTTIDAATTTIDD (even as an acronym it’s a ridiculously long title) sees The Milk Carton Kids reflecting on how they got this far, while simultaneously forging ahead with a new chapter to their story.

Steve Dawson - Lucky Hand (Album Review)

June 14, 2018 by Rich Barnard in Acoustic, Americana, Instrumental, Blues, Folk

In our house, space is a very precious commodity. Instrumental guitar records have to work extremely hard to earn their place on the CD shelves (yes, I do know what Sonos and Spotify are, and no, no thank you). No matter how impressive, super-noodling is not enough if there is no musical heart beating beneath. Thankfully, the latest release from celebrated Canadian guitarist Steve Dawson has that beating heart and yes, he has the hands to match.

Saxon - 2018 Album Reissues (Album Reviews)

June 12, 2018 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Classic Rock, Rock, Heavy Metal, NWOBHM

With their recently released ‘Thunderbolt’ album garnering universally great reviews and a typically busy touring schedule, including special guest status on the USA leg of the Judas Priest ‘Firepower’ tour, 2018 is shaping up very well indeed for Barnsley’s finest Saxon. The NWOBHM (New Wave of British Heavy Metal) legends have been cranking out their brand of heavy metal / hard rock for 40+ years and show no signs of slowing down. An ideal time then for a look back at the roots of the band as their catalogue gets a welcome reissue via Union Square Music / BMG. The band’s first six albums have been reissued in 24-page media book CD packaging or, if you prefer, rather fetching coloured splatter/swirl vinyl in keeping with each album’s primary colour scheme. The vinyl pressings look especially cool and scream collector’s item.

Lucky Bones - Matchstick Men (Album Review)

May 17, 2018 by Rich Barnard in Album Reviews, Americana, Pop, Rock, Singer-Songwriter

After a spell touring as a duo, Dublin-based Lucky Bones have returned to a full band sound for their third album Matchstick Men. Rocky and reflective in equal measure, the record doffs its hat to some musical heavyweights and doesn't pale in comparison. It also offers us a glimpse of songwriter Eamonn O’Connor’s gift for pitching downbeat emotion against a decidedly upbeat musical sensibility.

Glenn Frey - Above The Clouds: The Collection (Album/Box Set Review)

May 09, 2018 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Americana, Box Set, Country, Country Rock, Pop, Singer-Songwriter

When Glenn Frey passed away in 2016 he left a legacy of music of which any artist would be proud. Over the years his work as a solo artist and with the Eagles seems to have divided opinion, for every Eagles fan there seems to be hater just around the next corner, a situation I’ve always found very surprising. ‘Hotel California’ and ‘Their Greatest Hits 1971-75’ (the latter of which is the second bestselling album of all-time with 29,000,000 sales in the USA) are a fitting tribute to Frey and his talents. After forty years I’ll still happily spin 'Hotel California' and those early hits, which I consider to be solid gold classics, and I’m pleased to report the Library of Congress selected the hits album for preservation as "culturally, historically, or artistically significant" so I’m in pretty good company. The 3-CD + 1-DVD set ‘Above The Clouds’ finds us venturing far from those early country rock roots as Frey the solo artist seemed content to follow his muse wherever it took him, generally in a soft-rock / soul / R&B direction. The results, especially looking back in the cold light of day, are uneven but not without some genuinely standout tracks, all of which are presented with a professional sheen when maybe, on occasion, a little grit would have been welcome.

Scott Matthews - The Great Untold (Album Review)

April 24, 2018 by Rich Barnard in Acoustic, Album Reviews, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

Scott Matthews is one of those artists I just can’t imagine not being there. His solemn, haunting vocal style has been winning over fans ever since his acclaimed debut, Passing Stranger, was released in 2006. Back then, amid the acoustic singer-songwriter boom of the 2000s, there emerged a handful of acts that may no longer make huge commercial waves but still continue to make exquisite, interesting records. New releases from the likes of Polly Paulusma, Tom Baxter and Tom McRae - all contemporaries of Matthews - are a comforting reminder that great songwriters can and do endure, regardless of time or fashion. A new album from Scott Matthews (or any of the above) is the sort of thing that, even before I hear it, helps to restore my ailing faith in humanity.

Johnny Cash - Forever Words (Album Review)

April 23, 2018 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Americana, Bluegrass, Country

Growing up there was one album that never seemed to be very far from the old stereo in the back room (as we called it) of my family home. That album was ‘Johnny Cash at San Quentin’ and to this day I can’t hear that album and not think of my Dad. There always seems to be a debate over the Prison albums but for me, it’ll always be ‘San Quentin’ that I’ll reach for and Johnny Cash would, in a roundabout way, become the inspiration for Red Guitar Music, but that’s another story. I have a good deal of respect for John Carter Cash and the Cash family who’ve treated the Cash catalogue, in the nearly fifteen years since Johnny Cash passed with great dignity. No signs of mud-slinging and courtroom battles here, maybe the likes of the Zappa and Prince families should take note.

Old Crow Medicine Show - Volunteer (Album Review)

April 18, 2018 by David Vousden in Acoustic, Album Reviews, Americana, Bluegrass, Country, Folk, Traditional

Looking back, It must have been four years ago and the fledgling RGM was just starting to get noticed by Pr companies and labels. It was an exciting time; a review of the self-titled Parker Millsap album would lead to an invite to see him open for Old Crow Medicine Show on their UK tour, at The Roundhouse in London, in support of the ‘Remedy’ album. Parker was excellent and he fully lived up to the promise of his record and Old Crow would be up next. Now, to be honest, I wasn’t really fully aware of O.C.M.S. much beyond ‘Wagon Wheel’ but a very quick spin through the highlights of their back catalogue on the day of the show made me think they could be pretty good. Obviously, as any fan of the band knows, they’re a monster live act with songs and musical dexterity to burn. Needless to say ‘Remedy’ became pretty popular in the RGM office in the days that followed so when ‘Volunteer’ hit the RGM inbox I was very keen to check it out.

Torgeir Waldemar - Jamais Vu (Album Review)

April 03, 2018 by David Vousden in Acoustic, Album Reviews, Classic Rock, Folk

Norwegian singer-songwriter-guitarist Torgeir Waldemar will be no stranger to regular readers of RGM as we reviewed his second album ‘No Offending Borders’ back in 2017. An album of sprawling classic rock with more than a passing nod to Neil Young & Crazy Horse ‘No Offending Borders’ was a quality record (if you’ve not heard it I urge you to seek it out). The record exhibited an, often meandering, rough-around-the-edges 70’s rock approach that was in stark contrast to his debut release, which owed more to the California infused sounds of the Laurel Canyon singer-songwriters of the early 70’s. Bearing this in mind, it should come as no surprise that for his latest release Waldemar has taken a good look at both albums and made a few changes. The more stripped back folky sounds of the debut album have been seriously electrified while ‘No Borders’ material is now laid bare.

Bennett Wilson Poole - S.T. (Album Review)

March 29, 2018 by Rich Barnard in Album Reviews, Americana, Classic Rock, Pop, Singer-Songwriter

This band’s moniker may make them sound like a municipal leisure centre but, thankfully, an unassuming supergroup is actually what lies behind the name. BWP are Robin Bennett, Danny George Wilson and Tony Poole. Many readers will know Danny Wilson from his time fronting Grand Drive and Danny & The Champions of the World and some will know Robin Bennett from his work with The Dreaming Spires but BWP’s secret weapon is veteran guitarist and producer Tony Poole. Poole was one half of Starry Eyed and Laughing who released two records in the mid-1970s earning a reputation as the ‘English Byrds’. If you pair Poole’s pedigree, and famed mastery of the 12-string Rickenbacker, with Wilson and Bennet’s background in contemporary harmony-driven Americana you’ll already have a decent idea of where the band are coming from.

FM - Atomic Generation (Album review)

March 26, 2018 by Rich Barnard in Album Reviews, AOR, Classic Rock, Melodic Rock

It’s not easy being a heritage act like FM. Your fans want a nostalgia hit but they also want new releases. You’re trapped. You may want to move on, but you don’t dare go too far. Despite lacking the international successes of Def Leppard or - to a lesser degree - Thunder, FM remain one of the UK’s best-loved melodic hard rock bands and their new record is an impressive balancing act between that rock and that hard place. They might just be the one band on the scene that can manage to please nearly all of the people… nearly all of the time.

Canadian Double Feature: Dom Fricot + Oh Geronimo (Album Reviews)

March 20, 2018 by Rich Barnard in Singer-Songwriter, Album Reviews, Alternative Rock, Pop

The RGM inbox is visited daily by up-and-coming Canadian acts trying to spread the word about their new records here on this side of the water. We love nothing more than to hear all this fantastic new music but, unfortunately, we can’t possibly cover it all. However, two recent (and very different) releases that mustn’t pass without a mention have come in from Vancouver-based singer-songwriter Dom Fricot and the artful five-piece Oh Geronimo.

Joan Baez - Whistle Down The Wind (Album Review)

March 01, 2018 by David Vousden in Folk, Singer-Songwriter

With a career that effectively straddles the entire history of popular music, Joan Baez is an artist for whom the legendary tag was probably invented. Baez made her debut at the Newport Folk Festival in 1959 and released her debut album in 1960 (an album selected by the Library of Congress to be preserved in the National Recording Registry) and was one of the first artists to recognise the talent of an aspiring Bob Dylan before she closed out the 60’s with a performance at Woodstock. Her recording career has continued to this day with over thirty albums and songs performed in a range of languages. Alongside her musical achievements, her political and social activism has shone a light on many areas including the civil rights movement, human rights and the environment. Joan is one of very few artists who can claim (not that she would I’m sure) to have made a difference and her legacy is assured. Refusing, at 77, to rest on her laurels she’s back with a new album ‘Whistle Down The Wind’ her first release in almost a decade.

Darlingside - Extralife (Album Review)

February 23, 2018 by Rich Barnard in Acoustic, Album Reviews, Folk

Darlingside - the world’s coolest band without a drummer - totally floored us with 2016’s Birds Say. The band enjoyed much praise from the mainstream press here in the UK and subsequently picked up a lot of new admirers. Now they’re back with a new record, Extralife, to the delight of one and all here at Red Guitar H.Q. At first glance the record is a little more weird and therefore a little less immediate than its predecessor but the band’s thrust remains the same. Welcome to harmony-driven acoustic bliss with uncommon quirks and unusual weight.

I'm With Her - See You Around (Album Review)

February 12, 2018 by Rich Barnard in Acoustic, Album Reviews, Bluegrass, Folk

Celebrated bluegrass stars Sara Watkins, Aoife O’Donovan and Sarah Jarosz first joined forces as a trio in 2014 and, having dabbled with some singles and live appearances in the last couple of years, they’re now releasing their debut album ‘See You Around’. As individual live performers each has a formidable reputation, so catching them as a band on their current tour is surely a must (they’re back in the UK in May if you missed their recent London show). Given Jarosz’s modest collection of Grammy awards and the lauded, long-established band and solo careers of O’Donovan and Watkins (of Crooked Still and Nickel Creek fame, respectively) it’s little wonder that this release carries with it the weight of high expectation.

Mary Gauthier - Rifles & Rosary Beads (Album Review)

January 25, 2018 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Folk, Singer-Songwriter, Americana

Possibly the most shocking statistic I’ve come across in recent times is the following: It is estimated that 7400 current or former members of the United States Armed Services take their own lives annually. This is obviously not just a problem specific to the USA, here in the UK military personnel face the same challenges on active duty and when their tours end. SongwritingWith:Soldiers is a non-profit organisation, founded in 2012 by singer-songwriter Darden Smith, which pairs veterans and active duty military with songwriters to hopefully confirm the old idiom “A problem shared is a problem halved.” With this in mind Mary Gauthier’s ‘Rifles & Rosary Beads’ could well be the most important album you’ll hear this year.

Dane Joneshill - Everything That Rises Must Converge (Album Review)

January 19, 2018 by Rich Barnard in Album Reviews, Americana, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

Dane Joneshill and I have a few things in common: we both write songs and make records; we are both slightly ill-at-ease with social media; we’re the same age and we both know the simultaneous joy and pain of life as a domestic dad. Obviously, I shouldn’t let this sense of kinship colour what ought to be an objective appreciation of his debut album, Everything That Rises Must Converge, but it’s just possible it might.

Glen Hansard - Between Two Shores (Album Review)

January 17, 2018 by Rich Barnard in Album Reviews, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

Between Two Shores is Hansard’s third solo album and, rather than finding him adrift as its title might suggest, it sees him grounded as a solo artist for the first time. Plenty of the songs from his first two outings would’ve passed unnoticed as Frames songs but this album really seems to put an end to all of that. I will always associate Glen Hansard with the raw crunch and visceral angst of ‘Pavement Tune’ and the Zeppelin crashings of ‘The Stars Are Underground’ (that said, I do always seem to be about twenty years behind the times) but that urgent, exploratory rock of youth has totally given way to an effortless songwriting maturity and an altogether more seasoned approach to making records.

Althea Grace - Dreamers EP (Album Review)

January 15, 2018 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Blues, Pop, Singer-Songwriter

Chicago based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Althea Grace has packed plenty into her eighteen years. Althea played her first show with the highly respected; Grammy-winning Los Lobos aged eight, an association that continues to this day. More recently there was a debut solo album at fifteen and even more recently touring and recording with Gabe Burdulis in the duo Future Stuff. This would bring her to the attention of guitarist Doyle Bramhall II whose credits include Roger Waters, Eric Clapton and (for those of us with long memories) Arc Angels with Charlie Sexton and the Double Trouble rhythm section.