MUSIC THREAD

Agreed on Give the People What they Want - a tremendous, underrated record by many rock critics and mainstream music fans. "Around the Dial, the titile track, Destroyer, and Better Things are among the standout tracks on this disc.

 

Some singers and bands I haven't seen mentioned in this thread yet that are tremendous:

Waco Brothers - on their first few discs one critic described their sound as Johnny Cash fronting the Clash (or was the phrase Cash meets Clash? I can't remember). But their second disc - Cowboy in Flames in tremendous. Their most recent disc Freedom and Weep is extremely good. Another disc by them I'd recommend is Electric Waco Chair.

Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers - The front man of the 90s band The Refreshments is back with more mature songwriting and more of a southwest kick-ass rock 'n' roll sound. The Peacemakers' first disc Honky Tonk Union is outstanding, but might be a little too honky-tonk for some outside of the first song "Beautiful Disaster" which just rocks. The disc also contains the funny track "Jack vs. Jose" about getting off the bus in Memphis and having the bar refuse to give him a shot of tequila insisting that he take whiskey instead. The Peacemakers' third disc - Americano - flat out rocks.

Old 97s - Mentioned on many other threads, but not this one... great alt-country rock band. Too Far To Care is a fantastic disc and their more recent discs return to that early sound after trying to go pop.

Rod Picott - great singer-songwriter with an at times gravelly Tom Waits meets Springsteen type voice. His most recent disc - Girl from Arkansas might be a little too melancholy for some, but his second disc - Stray Dogs - is a must have. He's a childhood friend of Slaid Cleaves and they've written several songs together ('Broke Down' and 'Bring it On' to name two)

Tift Merritt - Dynamite vocals, great looks, great musicanship. Her first disc - Bramble Rose - is mostly folk/country influenced while her second disc - Tambourine - which I abosolutely love - is country, rock, and blues influenced, a strong Dusty Springfield influence on some tracks, Eagles sound on others, "Good Hearted Man", "Write my Ticket" , "Late Night Pilgrim" and "I am your Tambourine" are among the standout tracks.

Terri Hendrix - A true singer-songwriter in the folk sense. Nice voice, Jennifer Aniston type looks, nice voice, good songs. Her more recent albums - The Ring and Art of Removing Wallpaper - are both highly recommend. Her producer and guitar accompaniment are provided by Llyod Maines (former Joe Ely sideman and father of Dixie Chick Natalie)

Joe Ely - Great Texas-style rock 'n' roller. Get any of his live discs to start and then go from there. The most recent live disc, Live at Antoine's is excellent, but his first live disc, Live Shots, was recording during a tour of the UK when they were opening for the Clash, whom he must've had an influence on, as he was one of the background vocalists in the studio on The Clash song "Should I Stay or Should I Go"

Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes - Any fan of Springsteen, classic r&b, soul, or horn-driven rock/blues/soul needs to hear this band. Springsteen-penned compositions made up most of their first three discs (of which Hearts of Stone is a classic). Over the years they've changed labels, several times, but their horn-driven rock 'n' blues sound has remained a constant. If you can track it down (and  you probably can find it cheap on Half.com) definitely get their Better Days album. They are most famous for their cover of Sam Cooke's "Havin' A Party" which was used in Bud commercials in the late 70s/early 80s.

need to add one more I just realized I forgot....

The Jayhawks - Another great alt-country band. This group out of Minnesota has a range of folk/alt-country styles. They were at their best in the early days when Greg Olson was in the band with 'Tomorrow the Green Grass' and 'Hollywood Town Hall'. However their most recent album - 'Rainy Day Music' is great too.

 

Agreed on Old 97s and Roger Clyne, EStreet.

In fact, I was going to mention Clyne on my earlier post here, but I forgot. ... As for the Old 97s, I kinda liked their pop ventures. Satellite Rides was an excellent album. I didn't like Drag it Up -- their recent return to alt-country -- nearly as much as their earlier stuff. A few too many holes on the disc.

 

If anybody's into old school country, or just something different, check out Wayne Hancock.

www.waynehancock.com

 

Anybody out there like Great Big Sea? Incredible group out of Newfoundland.

And here I am thinking the only thing good to come out of Canada were comedians.

Also: New Tom Petty CD coming out in July is something I'm not-so patiently waiting on!

 

On the Old 97s front, I enjoyed Satellite Rides and Drag It Up, however I didn't care for Fight Songs.

 

EStreet, you seem to like some of the same SWSX bands I do. ... So I'll throw a couple more out here. Alejandro Escovedo is excellent, excellent. ... Moonlight Towers are pretty damned good too.

 

Instead of continuing to add to my last post, I'll just make a separate post for three other female singers that deserve some attention (besides, I need to boost my post total somehow LOL):

Shelby Lynne - Great singer/songwriter, Grammy winner in the "Best New Artist" category for her fourth or fifth album - I Am Shelby Lynne which I highly recommend. If you like simple, acoustic band music her last two discs - Suit Yourself and Identity Crisis are top notch.

Allison Moorer - Shelby's sister. Her first album was way too country-ish. But I got into her with her second album - The Hardest Part... combination of rock and country. The follow-up album to that - Miss Fortune also had some great songs on it as well. But the fourth album - The Duel IMHO was a weak album, not nearly as good as its predecessors.

Kasey Chambers - some know her best from her song "The Captain" which was used in a Sopranos episode a couple of years ago. As good as that debut album was, I like her second album - Brickwalls and Barricades - even better.

 

I'll throw out Beth Orton "Comfort of Strangers" and KT Tunstall "Eye to the Telescope".

Not a chick, but Anthony Hamilton's "Ain't Nobody Worryin'" is pretty sweet also.

 

Recent albums I been really diggin:

Neil Young - Prairie Wind. Excellent album from start to finish, a rarity for a Young album. Haven't heard his war one yet. How's that sound?

Sleater-Kinney - The Woods. One of the best rock bands of the last 8 years, IMO, with their best album yet. They refuse to play verse, chorus, verse chorus and yet they write cool hooks.

Fugazi - End Hits. Gots a few other Fugazi albums but not this until until last week. It's everything Radiohead will never be. LOL OK OK, I hate Radiohead. It's out.

The Strokes - First Impressions of Earth. Nice change from their first 2 albums. edgier, not so formulaic. me like.

 

For you Old 97s' fans, check out the V-Roys. They made three albums in the 90s before breaking up. They made "Just Add Ice" and "All About Town" in the studio, and "Are You Through Yet?" is a great live CD. This was an awesome, awesome, awesome alt-country-rock band that should never have broken up.

I think you can still buy their CDs online, but you won't find them at Best Buy.

 

Weren't the V-Roys on Steve Earle's label?

Six String Drag was another great alt-country-rock band that broke up too soon (also on Earle's label, I think). The lead singer, Kenny Roby, is awesome. He sounds a lot like a Southern Elvis Costello and I definitely recommend that you see him if you get the chance.