Bob Bradshaw - American Echoes (Album Review)

October 19, 2017 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Americana, Country, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

I have recently taken up photography as a hobby, not digital, but on film. I am shunning “Auto” and taking time to compose each shot, being choosy about what I take, as the roll is not infinite. As such, each shot becomes treasured, even if it does not come out as expected. Bob Bradshaw’s new album, ‘American Echoes’, has the feeling of a treasured photo album crammed with fond memories and experiences. Indeed, Bradshaw started his journey in America, which has led to the content of ‘American Echoes’, way back in 1989. It is a product of the people, places and venues he has visited and the experiences he has had in his adopted homeland. It draws on classic American genres ranging from country and folk to bluegrass and the blues. The album is a celebration and a document of the dreamers, poets and sinners that he has met on his journey across the nation’s landscape.

Shawn Colvin - A Few Small Repairs 20th Anniversary Edition (Album Review)

September 19, 2017 by Rich Barnard in Album Reviews, Pop, Singer-Songwriter

As a teenager in the 1990s, hunting for CDs to feed my music addiction was pretty much my sole concern in life. This was a time when new releases were still quite costly, so bargain bins and second-hand shops were usually where I went looking for treasure. Prohibitively expensive import CDs were a forbidden extravagance but once a year, on my birthday I allowed myself the purchase of just one deliciously overpriced disc. I would be recklessly impulsive, routinely choosing something I’d never heard before. In 1996, the year I turned 19, that disc was Shawn Colvin's A Few Small Repairs.

Paul Brady - Unfinished Business (Album Review)

September 07, 2017 by Rich Barnard in Album Reviews, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

Paul Brady celebrated his 70th birthday earlier this year and has been making albums and stealing hearts with an onstage twinkle in his eye for more than five decades. His significant achievements are little known (especially outside of Ireland) making him an almost secret national treasure and speaking volumes about the man’s modesty. Given the changes in the music industry during the seven-year gap between this release and 2010’s acclaimed Hooba Dooba, Brady admits wondering - for a time - if there was even any point in putting out a new record but his fans will no doubt be glad he did. The album has evolved at its own pace over the past four years with Brady handling almost all the instruments himself, as well as engineering the record at his own studio in Dublin. This gives Unfinished Business a cosy, boxy feel but cements the idea that Paul Brady is unassuming, humble and grounded, despite being one of the most important folk-rock artists of his generation.

Ron Pope - Work (Album Review)

August 17, 2017 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Rock, Pop, Country, Singer-Songwriter

Recently the subject of the state of the music business has been the source of much debate in the RGM office...not that we have an actual office, more like a desk really but... The inspiration for much of this chat was a documentary film by Rain Perry ‘The Shopkeeper' reviewed here which explains just how difficult aspects of the business are in 2017. For another side of the modern music business let's take a look at Ron Pope on a one-man mission to demonstrate how to do things in 2017 while remaining fiercely independent.

Rain Perry - The Shopkeeper (Film Review)

August 08, 2017 by Rich Barnard in Film Review, Americana, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

Anyone who’s ever financed the recording of their own album will know that there are certain things that really ought to matter, and The Shopkeeper is a stark reminder of those things. People matter. Can you think of an app that can replicate the relationships between songwriter, musician, producer and engineer? Thought not. Places matter. Can you imagine The Beatles without Abbey Road? Nope, neither can I. Things matter. If you’re making an album, why wouldn’t you want to make it into a something you can hold in your hands? Musicians today find themselves in a world where people, places and things appear to all matter a little less than they once did and The Shopkeeper pushes us, ever so gently, to consider the consequences.

Carrie Elkin - The Penny Collector (Album Review)

July 13, 2017 by Jon Amer in Album Reviews, Americana, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

Carrie Elkin has a fascinating voice. Earnest, yet powerful, with a sense of longing to her vocal and a purity which adds gravity to her emotive lyrics. Legendary Radio 2 DJ Bob Harris has compared her spellbinding performance to Patty Griffin, Iris DeMent, and Nanci Griffith, no less. Her vocal style shares similarities with Sheryl Crow, Carole King, Karen Carpenter, Joan Armatrading and Marie Fredriksson of Roxette. There is also elements of First Aid Kit to be found here - albeit solo voice with male harmonies. Carrie’s debut album “Simplicity” was released in 1996 and she has never looked back. She received glowing reviews for her 2007 LP, “Jeopardy of Circumstance” and toured the UK and the US as well as recording on her partner, Danny Schmidt’s, albums. “Call It My Garden”, recorded for award winning folk label Red House Records in 2011, gained widespread acclaim and “For Keeps” followed in 2014. “Penny Collector” is a collection of songs which inhabits the musical realm of Americana/Roots, Folk and Indie Rock. It is her sixth solo album and arrives in the wake of much critical praise and admiration for her previous recordings.

Ani DiFranco - Binary (Album Review)

June 08, 2017 by Rich Barnard in Album Reviews, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

Free of major-label interference for her entire twenty-seven-year career, Ani Difranco is one of the most revered independent artists on the planet. After all, she pretty much invented the idea of subverting the music industry’s normal route to success, inspiring countless other coffee house singer-songwriters to follow her DIY example and to never, ever, ever sell out. Her fierce independence is part of her appeal, along with her sharp lyrical wit and flair for balancing the political with the personal in her prolific output of spikey guitar-driven songs. She may not be the ball of unstoppable feisty energy that she used to be but Binary sees her unafraid as ever to tell it like it is and stick it to the man.

Aimee Mann - Mental Illness (Album Review)

May 07, 2017 by Rich Barnard in Album Reviews, Folk, Pop, Singer-Songwriter, Alternative, Acoustic

Mental Illness is the sort of provocative title a rapper might choose for a record but for Aimee Mann the name of her first album in five years is a tongue-in-cheek pre-emptive strike against the critics who've always labelled her output as depressing. She is, of course, guilty as charged but it's no apology - the title should be taken as a gentle warning: Mann mines the loneliness, anxieties and complicated human relationships that can so often be the cause of our mental malaise. The songs on this record aren't fairytales; they're personal, real and, more often than not, don't have a happy ending. It's this unflinching reflection of life's various disappointments that is part of Aimee Mann's appeal. Difficult, conflicting emotions aren't neatly reconciled; regrets don't disappear overnight and sometimes things just don't turn out as planned.

Colin Hay - Fierce Mercy (Album Review)

March 21, 2017 by Rich Barnard in Album Reviews, Americana, Pop, Singer-Songwriter

As the lead singer from Men at Work, Colin Hay was the man who famously rhymed ‘language’ with ‘Vegemite sandwich’ on the hit song ‘Down Under’, way back in 1983. If that seems an odd thing to remember then please forgive me, I was six years old at the time; rhymes were almost as important to me as sandwich fillings and this one I hadn’t even heard of. Working as a solo artist since 1987, Hay has released a steady stream of well-received records and Fierce Mercy will be his thirteenth of that thirty-year period. It’s therefore no surprise that themes of age, memory and the passing of time course through the album. But far from being maudlin, Fierce Mercy is joyful, philosophical and full of life-affirming hope.

Torgeir Waldemar - No Offending Borders (Album Review)

March 20, 2017 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Alt-Country, Classic Rock, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

Norwegian singer-songwriter Torgeir Waldemar released his debut album in 2014 to widespread acclaim, and a Norwegian Grammy Award nomination, for a record that had a marked 70’s Laurel Canyon influence. At first glance, the tall and bearded Waldemar looks like he should be fronting a Black Metal act with an indecipherable logo, luckily images are often deceptive, and Waldemar is more folky troubadour than extreme metal screamer as his debut disc proved. Three years on and ‘No Offending Borders’ finds Waldemar intent on expanding on his musical palette.

Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors - Souvenir (Album Review)

March 13, 2017 by Rich Barnard in Album Reviews, Americana, Singer-Songwriter

Souvenir is their tenth album in just twelve years (a fairly impressive work-rate by anyone’s standards) but Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors remain relatively unknown outside the United States. If you’re new to them and happen to like your American roots music passionate and delicate; strong and fragile; sweet and bitter all at once, then Souvenir is definitely, positively, absolutely going to be your bag.

Jim Lauderdale - London Southern (Album Review)

March 07, 2017 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Americana, Country, Singer-Songwriter

Jim Lauderdale is one of the most respected artists working in the country / Americana field today. As a songwriter Lauderdale’s credits include some of the greats of the country genre and beyond (Blake Shelton, Lee Ann Womack, George Strait, Vince Gill, The Dixie Chicks and Elvis Costello) in a career that dates back to the 80’s. His latest solo release is a silky smooth slice of soulful country music that finds Lauderdale working in the UK with Nick Lowe’s band and a host of great players.

Benjamin Folke Thomas - Copenhagen (Album Review)

February 27, 2017 by Rich Barnard in Folk, Singer-Songwriter, Album Reviews

Originally from Gothenburg but now based in London, Benjamin Folke Thomas has already made a name for himself on the folk scene; it is, after all, his actual middle name.

Linah Rocio - Warrior Talk (Album Review)

February 01, 2017 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Singer-Songwriter, Jazz, Indie Pop

I first discovered Linah Rocio in the Summer of 2016 when she opened for fellow Aveline Records artist Ruth Theodore at the, always welcoming, Green Note in London’s Camden. Finding good music at Green Note is not exactly difficult as they seem to manage to find great acts every night of the week but I was especially taken with Linah’s short set and have been looking forward to her album.

Whitney Rose - South Texas Suite (Album Review)

January 19, 2017 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Country, Singer-Songwriter

The latest release from Whitney Rose finds the Canadian native embracing all things Texas with a lovingly compiled short-but-sweet set of songs that beautifully capture the sound, feel and traditions of the Lone Star state.

Roddy Hart & The Lonesome Fire - Swithering (Album Review)

December 13, 2016 by Rich Barnard in Album Reviews, Alternative Rock, Singer-Songwriter, Folk

If you were a successful BBC radio DJ with not one but two regular shows; if you assembled international tributes to Bob Dylan; if you worked as a musical director for film and you curated annual festival events like the Roaming Roots Revue then I'd have thought you might want a little rest from music on your days off. This is certainly not true of Roddy Hart who, on top of all of the above, has been touring and making music of his own since 2007.

Anna Elizabeth Laube - Tree (Album Review)

November 01, 2016 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Americana, Country, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

The latest album from singer-songwriter Anna Elizabeth Laube is the enchanting ‘Tree’ a record that is about finding a home and laying down roots. The much travelled Laube, who was born in Iowa, raised in Wisconsin and is now resident in Seattle, must know this feeling of home can be as difficult to find as it is to categorize. It was this recent move to Seattle that would prove to be the unexpected inspiration for the new album while the environmental issues that are so important to Laube are again evident in her songs.

Gitta De Ridder - Feathers (Album Review)

October 19, 2016 by Rich Barnard in Acoustic, Album Reviews, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

If you like delicately crafted and quietly shimmering acoustic music then the debut LP from Gitta De Ridder is something you really ought to know about.

Greg Cornell, Lynne Hanson, Cody Jinks reviews

October 16, 2016 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Americana, Country, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

With so much good music reaching us at Red Guitar Music these days we thought we'd add a few more in-brief style reviews for albums we feel are worthy of your attention from Greg Cornell & The Cornell Brothers, Cody Jinks and Lynne Hanson. As regular readers will know we have an eclectic approach here at RGM so you'll find a little folk an album of murders ballads and some old-school country for your perusal

Ray Wilson - Makes Me Think Of Home (Album Review)

October 06, 2016 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Pop, Progressive Rock, Singer-Songwriter, Rock

Makes Me Think Of Home’ is the second album of 2016 from singer-songwriter Ray Wilson following the acoustic ‘Song For A Friend’ release and for some artists they’d be stretching themselves a bit thin. This is not an issue for Ray Wilson as the inspiration well is far from dry and ‘Home’ is another fine addition to his solo discography that brings together multiple influences from the worlds of pop, rock and prog.