• Folk

    Seeger Sessions: American Land Edition

    / August 9, 2006

    The latest Springsteen / Seeger Sessions news is an October 3rd re-issue of ‘We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions”. It’s called the “American Land Edition”, and will include – you guessed it – “American Land”, which I guess we can finally confirm is a Springsteen original.

    Also featured are studio versions of Blind Alfred Reed’s “How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live” and Pete Seeger’s “Bring ‘Em Home” with modified lyrics by Springsteen, as well as “Buffalo Gals” and “How Can I Keep From Singing,” which were previously included only on the DVD side of the original DualDisc edition. – – from this Yahoo article

    Hmm, is this a calculated ploy to get more money from the Springsteen faithful? Or is it a semi-spontaneous, good-will gesture of getting these songs “officially” released? To be fair, the extra songs will be available as individual downloads on iTunes, but like many Boss freaks, I need to hold it in my hands. So, I’ll be shelling out a few more bucks for this edition. *sigh*

    Here’s “American Land” from the US tour finale…

    Bruce Springsteen & the Seeger Sessions Band: American Land (mp3) – live, June 25, 2006 in Holmdel, NJ

    Lyrics can be found at this previous post.

  • Bluegrass,  Folk

    Crooked Still

    / August 9, 2006

    I have some bluegrass to get out of my system. A few of my coming posts will lean toward the bluegrass / traditional side as I showcase some cool artists I’ve come across. First off is Crooked Still.

    For those who had the pleasure of seeing Bruce’s Seeger Sessions tour, you undoubtedly noticed the banjo player with the bushy ‘do. His name is Greg Listz (Dr. Gregory Liszt actually, he has a Ph.D. in Biology from M.I.T.), and his full time gig is banjo man for Boston bluegrass outfit Crooked Still. Joining Greg are sweet singin’ Aoife O’Donovan (it’s pronounced “EEf-uh”), Rushad Eggleston on cello, and Corey DiMario on bass.

    One of the free mp3’s offered on their web site is this forlorn bluegrass ballad. I like the dynamic of the instruments. The cello and banjo trading off riffs is a cool touch. And Aofie’s soft & sweet vocals add a lot to the tune as well. As you’ll hear, there’s some serious folkybluegrass goin’ down in Beantown. If you like what you hear, pick up one of their CD’s.

    Crooked Still: Look on and Cry (mp3) – from their debut CD, ‘Hop High’. You can check it out here.