• Acoustic

    David Gray Acoustic


    Here’s a couple of good live ones from David Gray back in April of 2001. The first is my favorite D.G. ballad, followed by his version of Senor Springsteen’s “Mansion on the Hill”.

    David Gray:
    Twilight (mp3)
    Mansion on the Hill (mp3)

    (live from St. Louis, Missouri, April 14, 2001)

    You can download the rest of the show here if you’re so inclined.
    Buy David Gray’s latest, ‘Life in Slow Motion’.

  • Acoustic,  Folk

    Mercy Mercy

    Mary Gauthier (pronounced Go-Shay). If someone was cut out for a duet with Steve Earle on his next album, it’s her (it might be the Lucinda-esque drawl). She’s a Nashville singer songwriter, originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who has led a hell of a life thus far: alcoholic father, suicidal mother, stole her parents car at age 15 (read her bio here).

    Well this song gets better and more profound each time I hear it. And after watching the video, I’m almost genuinely bummed… there you have it, the power of a great song. A great melancholy tune will drag you right down with it. This is definitely one of ’em. Shout out to Vin Scelsa’s Idiot’s Delight for turning me on to Ms. Gauthier.

    Mary Gauthier: Mercy Now (mp3) – title track from her latest CD, buy it on Amazon.

  • Acoustic,  Rock,  Roots Rock

    World Series: Home to Houston via Chicago

    This Steve Earle tune has been zippin’ through my head for the entire MLB playoffs. So now that the Houston Astros have made it to the World Series, I figure I’d celebrate the moment with a very non-celebratory song: “Home to Houston”. Steve writes it from the perspective of a Texas truck driver who heads off to Iraq for a quick buck, and regrets it from the get-go. “If I ever get home to Houston alive, I won’t drive a truck anymore.”

    Steve Earle
    : Home to Houston – from The Revolution Starts Now

    And to complement it (hats off to the Chicago White Sox), here’s another uplifting tune whose opening line is “I dreamed about killing you again last night and it felt alright to me.” That Jeff Tweedy, he’s a charmer…

    Wilco: Via Chicago – live from American Stars & Bars. Studio version comes from Summerteeth.

  • Acoustic,  Rock

    The Boss’ Lost Radio Show

    It’s been a while since I’ve paid homage to the Boss, so tonight is the night. On March 9th, 1974, a 24 year old Bruce and the boys strolled into Houston’s KLOL-FM for a sit down interview and performance. The show made its way on to a bootleg entitled ‘The Lost Radio Show’. It’s an amazing snapshot of Bruce’s life at the time. ‘Born to Run‘ would be released a year later, and he had released his 2nd album ‘The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle‘ several months earlier (Sept. 11, 1973).

    So here’s my picks. “The Fever” is a Bruce-penned tune that stayed in the vaults until it was finally released on 1999’s ‘18 Tracks‘. “Something you Got” was written by New Orleans native Chris Kenner (1929-1976), and was covered by the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Dr. John, and Jimmy Johnson. Kenner is best known for writing “Land of 1000 Dances”.

    Bruce Springsteen:
    The Fever (mp3)
    Something you Got (mp3)

  • Acoustic,  Roots Rock

    Mister Earle and his post big house blues

    Sundays are for playing music that matches your end of the weekend BLAHS. This tune has been my woe-is-me companion since I discovered Steve in the mid-90’s thanks to the formerly good Phoenix radio station KZON (a station whose only saving grace these days is their 4 hours of Howard Stern every morning).

    I got the chance to see Steve around that time at the now defunct Rockin Horse saloon in Scottsdale (burned to the ground I think). Steve had just completed his stint in the big house due to his recurring problems with drugs, and he was embarking on the best musical journey of his career. His first album after the drug & jail adventures was ‘Train a Comin’, released in 1995. It was an acoustic journey made up of old and new songs alike, as well as a great covers of “I’m Looking Through You”, “Rivers of Baylon”, and “Tecumseh Valley”. The highlight of the album for me though – due to my fondness for the melancholy tunes – is “Goodbye”.

    Last verse:

    I only miss you here every now and then
    Like the soft breeze blowin up from the Caribbean
    Most Novembers I break down and cry
    But I can’t remember if we said goodbye

    Sniff. Damn Steve. I hope this tune turns someone out there on to Mr. Earle. I reckon it will.

    Steve Earle
    : Goodbye (mp3)

  • Acoustic,  Roots Rock

    I hear mariachi static on the radio

    I feel compelled to post this song because it’s been a recurring one over the last week on my playlists. And I just found that the chords are real simple (just E, A, and B7) so I can grab my acoustic and strum along or entertain my family with my own version. My almost-2 year old can’t tell that the song is about a depressed heroin junkie, it’s only a beautiful piece of music (hmmm, maybe she does know and she’s just not telling me because she can’t). OK, back to “head shoulders knees and toes” when she’s around.

    “Carmelita” is on Warren Zevon’s self-titled 2nd album, released almost 30 years ago back in ol’ 76. Warren was a session man in LA for several years prior, and befriended Jackson Browne, who produced this album.

    Warren Zevon (1947-2003, RIP): Carmelita (mp3)

    I hear Mariachi static on my radio
    And the tubes they glow in the dark
    And I’m there with her in Ensenada
    And I’m here in Echo Park

    Carmelita hold me tighter
    I think I’m sinking down
    And I’m all strung out on heroin
    On the outskirts of town

    Well, I’m sittin’ here playing solitaire
    With my pearl-handled deck
    The county won’t give me no more methadone
    And they cut off your welfare check

    Carmelita hold me tighter
    I think I’m sinking down
    And I’m all strung out on heroin
    On the outskirts of town

    Well, I pawned my Smith Corona
    And I went to meet my man
    He hangs out down on Alvarado Street
    By the Pioneer chicken stand

    Carmelita hold me tighter
    I think I’m sinking down
    And I’m all strung out on heroin
    On the outskirts of town

    Carmelita hold me tighter
    I think I’m sinking down
    And I’m all strung out on heroin
    On the outskirts of town

  • Acoustic,  Folk

    Channeling the Grievous Angel

    I know it’s Friday night, and I know I should be kicking off the weekend with an upbeat, shit-kicking type number, but it ain’t gonna happen. Why? Because a few weeks ago on Vin Scelsa’s weekly radio show on Sirius, this bounced from his New Jersey studio up into space, and down to my humble abode in the Arizona desert. It’s a purty little tune, and it prompted me to buy this new CD, and it just might do the same to you.

    So it’s Caitlin Cary, who was once a member of Whiskeytown, who is joined by Thad Cockrell. Their album of duets, ‘Begonias’, was just released a month and a half ago by Yep Roc. It was recorded in Nashville with some seasoned session players backing them up.

    This is their take on a Percy Sledge classic. This is a nice one. Reeeal nice.

    Caitlin Cary & Thad Cockrell: Warm and Tender Love (mp3)

  • Acoustic,  Indie

    Et tu, Mr. Earle?

    I don’t know quite what to think. In the midst of the MLB All Star Game last night, I hear the bad-ass sounds of Steve Earle permeating the airwaves… IN A CHEVY COMMERCIAL. Yes, “The Revolution Starts Now” has gone from the battlecry of those not entirely please with the current administration to the trumpeting of the new Chevy truck revolution or whatever. I – as I said, not quite sure how to feel here. Sure tons of artists have contributed music to commercials, and who’s to say I wouldn’t for that sweet almighty U.S. dollar? So who am I to really judge? But it just feels weird to think Steve Earle took a song so near and dear to his heart like that, and gave it to Chevy. BUT, by the same token, it is possible to discover cool music through commericals. Like Richard Buckner‘s “Ariel Ramirez”.

    Richard Buckner: Ariel Ramirez (mp3) from Since

  • Acoustic,  Laid Back

    Down in the Basement

    Basement Apartment. This Minneapolis band came to my attention recently while listening to Radio Paradise. From the handful of samples I’ve heard, they’re a mellow bunch. To me, they remind me of a little Mazzy Star here, a little Luna there. This song, “Empty Skies” is a right up my alley. Laid back slide guitar, beautiful harmonies, and basically just a breath of nice clean air.

    The audio to “Empty Skies” is from the Quicktime video available on their web site, which I highly recommend checking out. Go to their web site, click the Images link, and you’ll see the link for the QT video. They also offer a few mp3 downloads, as does CNET’s Download.com.

    The band is the brainchild of Vince Caro, who used to be in a band called Pilot Light. Don’t know anything about ’em, but – ah yes, – I shall investigate.

    Basement Apartment – Empty Skies (mp3)

    Buy Transistor! on CD Baby.