You would think at this point and time that we would find everything we could want for music. The past month I think I bought more music. A never ending cycle that seems to be worth blogging over. Looks like Jeff Higgins' Groove Sandwich site has been very quiet for the past month.
Blogging is like record collecting. It's a hobby and a way that keeps me from going insane. There's plenty more music and record sites that are probably better and more informed than the Crabb Review site. But at least 20 of y'all out there continue to support the latest music efforts (although only 3 views of my shoot the redwings blog?) and once in a while we'll get a comment or two from some people too. But we only live so long and maybe after I'm gone this may serve as some sort of reference to the lesser known. And with the discovery of Ragged Records, there's still hope for the return of vinyl and perhaps a record store in my area. May have to open one up if need be but I'm such a specialty, artist, looking for the lesser known, that I would be out of business within a month or two.
You know it seems when my mom took me up to Woolworth's in 1963 to look at those plastic things with the hole in the middle that I think she left me back there for the next 48 years and I never came out of. Same attitude, different record store.
If you like a good record store with a good blog here's another one for you..
http://hymiesrecords.com/ or http://hymiesrecords.com/
They're based in Minneapolis so it may be worth going up there one of these years.
On the Crabb Review Consortium, is where you can find the Music Of My Years: Teen Idol blog.http://rscrabbmusicconsortium.blogspot.com/2012/06/teen-idols-of-60s.html
There's still might be hope of finally reaching the 2,000 view plateau by the end of the month since we're about three quarters of the way to it but this could also be one of months that I blogged about 15 plus times. Didn't plan it that way but a lotta things have been happening along the way and I'm sure there's more to blog before the month comes out. I'm sure I'll be writing a few more novel chapters as well.
Which comes to more new releases and reviews. For the most part I have been associating country music that I play to be Americana which somebody commented to me that was derogatory, http://www.moonrunnerscountry.com/
To which I never thought of it that way. Myself I associated Hank Jr, Waylon, Alan Jackson, Munford & Sons and many others in that light since I couldn't figure out any other term to describe it all. I don't get caught up in the hoopla that CMT or whatever calls country or alt country Americana and half the time I get lambasted for even playing Alan Jackson. But if the trailer trash country they call Brantley Gilbert or Luke Bryan Americana maybe I have to change it to just music I like and leave the Americana in the trash. BTW I still like Hank Jr. He may have fucked up to the point of losing his MNF anthems but you cannot take away his music output that made him part of the new Outlaw movement. So there.
For new releases, I'm surprised to point out that John Mayer Born & Raised (Columbia) is his best album ever despite Bruce at the pawnshop making gagging faces. He maintains a easy South Cal pop that harks back to the days of CSN or a very laid back Eagles although his lyrics can be corny at times. Even David Crosby and Graham Nash add vocal support on the title track. At times this album is in need of a rocking song but I can listen to this all the way through. Not so much with Hit The Lights Invicta (Razor & Tie) which is punk music gone wrong. Used to be punk bands would play lightning fast and spew out lyrics left and right but this band plods along, using Oi like chants and other vocal that recall U2 or Rise Against. It's not very original and just bores me half way through the album. If this is the way The Warped Tour bands sound nowadays, think I'll stay home.
Nevertheless the blues rock is coming back and Delta Moon Black Cat Oil (Red Parlor) continues to tread on the music that CCR made famous but drawing more on the delta blues of Fred McDowell as well and on this effort a nod toward Americana (er) Country with Jukin', a term I haven't heard since Atlanta Rhythm Section used it for their 1976 single. Continuing the one two punch of Tom Gray and Mark Johnson's stinging steel slide guitars Delta Moon keeps the fires burning on how it used to be for blues rock swamp music (Boogie is too strong of a word). While one critic wishes for the return of Gina Leigh, I still think Tom Gray's world weary vocals of his songs are a better fit, especially on Down And Dirty or Wishbone or Applejack. The title track is fun revisit of Love Potion Number 9 or Your Cash Ain't Nothing But Trash. In other words another great album from Delta Moon to which they have made 7 albums in their 10 year history.
Another surprising good album is The Royal Southern Brotherhood (Ruf) which is a blues supergroup in its own way, Devon Allman, son of Gregg, Mike Zito who's recorded a few blues albums on various labels Delta Groove comes to mind and Allman formed Honeytribe a band that somehow managed to follow me at My Space but I never gotten around hearing any of their music, Devon sounds more Duane than Gregg from what I heard. They join up with Cyril Neville from the Neville Brothers to make a perhaps one of the better albums of 2012 with Jim Gaines (Huey Lewis, George Thorogood, Stevie Ray Vaughn) producing. This album actually draws more on Neville's New Orleans roots and gumbo music more than the actual blues that Zito plays (although there's a couple songs that are blues based and some that are rock, Zito's more blues, Allman more rock with Neville balancing things out). This the kind of music that they don't make anymore cuz it doesn't sell and nobody has that good looks persona that appeals to the CMT or Americana crowd. Their loss. Like Delta Moon, or Black Mountain Communion but without Glenn Hughes' over the top vocals, RSB keeps it true and keeps it bluesy. The way it should be.
And finally Adele is back on top with her 21 album again to which I may have jinxed John Mayer by buying his album. I'm Adele is worthy of all the attention and sales but let's raise our glass and toast Alejandro Escovedo for getting his Big Station album on the top 200 at number 200.
Grades:
John Mayer-Born & Raised (Columbia) B+
Hit The Lights-Invicta (Razor & Tie) C-
Delta Moon-Black Cat Oil (Red Parlor) A-
Royal Southern Brotherhood (Ruf) A-
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