Valerie June, "Pushin' against a stone"

/ ARTIST: Valerie June / TITLE: "Pushin' against a stone" / GENRÉ: Folk / LABEL: Sunday Best / FORMAT: CD /

I first acquainted myself with miss June's talent on the Letterman show and decided that I must buy her CD, which came out earlier this year. When I caught her on the Letterman show, it was said that it was her debut on telly and I watched a few clips on youtube with her and all of a sudden, things just took off in number of viewers on youtube, as well as "likes" on facebook. I think miss June has the ability to become a crossover act and earn respect outside the narrow circles of folk crowds.

Anyway, the first thing that hit me while seeing her on the telly was the obvious beauty of the woman, second, I liked her voice and thirdly, I really loved her music. The tune she played was Workin' woman blues, which made me, while recommending a mate of mine to check her out, make the comment that this is what Townes van Zandt would sound like if he was a young african american woman.

Such a remark, after having listened to her whole album, is still valid, but it doesn't cover all of her abilities, because miss June has a unique expression of music. Still, while she may not live up to van Zandt's intelligence and emotion in lyrics, she comes pretty close and does communicate, at times, the same feeling I get while listening to Townes.

Another cool thing about miss June, which sets her apart from ordinary folk singers is her eclectiveness. She doesn't sing pure folk, american way, but puts rich offerings of african american culture in her brew. You can hear blues, as well as gospel, soul and west african folk music in it all and, perhaps influenced by another fave act of mine, the Carolina Chocolate Drops, brings in a soft hip hop flavor with a few electronic beats to some tunes.

Valerie June is cool, gifted and in every sense a blessing to all non-orthodox fans of american music, country fans and blues fans alike will like this.

Easily one of the best albums of the year so far. Don't miss her and remember where you read about her first!

A pretty good record like this gets a whoopin' 83,6% in rate of satisfaction!

Johnny Cash, "Hymns by..."

/ ARTIST: Johnny Cash / TITLE: "Hymns by..." / GENRÉ: Country gospel / LABEL: Legacy / FORMAT: CD /

For a long while, I've been in doubt whether I should review my absolute favorite performers, performers like Johnny Cash and Townes van Zandt. These people were that talented that my words simply wouldn't do them justice.

However, when it comes to Johnny Cash, the man together with Nathan Abshire, that made me discover American people's music, I think there's a lot of revisionism going on. Punks and skinheads, the scene I have belonged to and whose music I still listen to, have claimed him. Even out and out anarchists listen to the late master.

It's easy to see why. When you belong to a subculture as hated as skinheads are, then the outcast anthems of Johnny Cash are well appreciated. I am a labor man myself which I have stated when I reviewed Dock Boggs and although I'm not politically active, nor agitate, I appreciate the songs about social justice that only Johnny Cash could pen.

But, like Dock Boggs, Cash had another side than the social rebel's, he was a Christian. So am I.

Of course, everyone who has seen the Walk the line movie, will know how he started out as a singer of gospel songs and tried to cut a record deal as a gospel singer for Sun records. Which failed.

I have always thought that Cash brought a bit of gospel feeling into his rockabilly and country stuff. On this record, which gathers hymns performed by him between 1958 and 59, one can almost say that he brings a country/rockabilly attitude to his gospel music.

Must've come as a shocker for those who had thought of him only as a rebel. Today, Christianity means being a rebel in a world that has fallen into the sinful depths of fornication and consumption.

True, there are performers of gospel music who are better than Cash, I am thinking primarily of The Louvin Brothers, but Cash brings his Cash-ness to it all.

Of course, Cash's music is timeless and so is the message on this record. Christianity remains, however unpopular it is to say so, the way, life and the truth. The lyrics are thoughtful and not written by someone who wants to cash (no pun intended) in on the gospel scene. They reflect the living faith that mr Cash had on earth, which lead him to his social convictions. He still has this faith today, I'm certain, as he watches over all his fans on earth from Heaven.

I am sure that this little CD is one of the most relevant things Cash ever recorded, some of the tunes being his own, some being written by other and a few timeless classic and this part of his legacy should not be forgotten.

Cash shouldn't be made a rebel that refused to conform to society's norms alone. He had this side to him, true, but it was fed by a stronger conviction than provocation for provocation's sake. It was fed by the conviction that us Christians must make moral choices, love our neighbors and not fall into the trap of conventional sins.

This is one of the records in my collection that I value the most. It's a real gem of a plastic disc.

A perfect record like this get 100% in rate of satisfaction!

Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell, "Old yellow moon"

/ ARTIST: Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell / TITLE: "Old yellow moon" / GENRÉ: Country music / LABEL: Nonesuch Records / FORMAT: CD /

To be honest, I haven't heard too much by Rodney Crowell before, so I can't really say anything about his input on this disc as compared to previous works.

Emmylou, on the other hand, has aged beautifully and I don't just mean her looks, she's still got a great voice and is anything but just a pretty singer. If she was, she wouldn't keep on doing her thing for as long as she has lasted and I consider her as great as Loretta Lynn. She impresses me as much when she does love songs as when she covers Townes van Zandt and though there are no Townes covers on this disc, she does touch a few serious subjects too and there's a strain of melancholy on quite a few numbers on this disc.

Merle Haggard was absolutely right in paying tribute to her on the record he released the other year. Emmylou means class.

That being said, this record, which is full of various flavors of country, bluesy stuff, waltzy stuff and ballads, isn't exactly groundbreaking. I know, I am an old fart and a jackass in disguise as a middle aged European geezer and I like the old stuff better than the new stuff on the country circuit. Most of the stuff being produced nowadays is utter shite. But then again, every age has had it's rebels and it's old farts and jackasses whom have considered the new stuff to be anything but country.

I like it, but to be objective, this isn't as good as the hype says. It sounds like country should sound according to me and country is supposed not to be the music for geeks like me, but for dancing on a Saturday night tavern over a few bottles of Budweisser and I suppose that much of the music on this record is danceable, it's just that it sounds like stuff you've heard a zillion times before. I wish some cool kid could make a record sounding groundbreaking, yet drenched in tradition.

Lyrically, you get a cocktail of love songs, as well as songs about drinks and drugs, even coffee and one tune about a bull rider.

I like this record, but I'm sure that Emmylou could pull something better off, therefore, not a perfect rate.

I wouldn't say it's a must-buy, rather, listen to the record first at Spotify and if you like it, support the artists by purchasing it!

I'll give this disc 61,8% in rate of satisfaction.

Frank Hutchison, "Complete recorded works in chronological order, volume 1, 1926-1929"

/ ARTIST: Frank Hutchison / TITLE: "Complete recorded works in chronological order, volume 1, 1926-29" / GENRÉ: American folk music / LABEL: Document Records / FORMAT: CD /

Who says Sham 69 invented street punk? Frank Hutchison had a lot of punk attitude, despite this record  being made with only acoustic guitars, fiddle, harmonica and banjo. Hutchison was a working class man, like so many other of the musicians in his time, he befriended black musicians (but had no qualms with performing a black face routine) and his lyrics are punk too.

But what made me think of punk when I listened to this record is the fact that Hutchsion performs with an enormous speed at some tunes, it's "faster, louder" 50 years before it's time. Some of the rag-times on this album could easily have been made by some punk combo, if they had been recorded with electrical instruments and drums.

On this album, you get, which is logical, as it is the beginning of his complete works, a showcase of his enormous repertoire. You get a lot of blues numbers that could've been recorded by black performers, the quality of the guitar play is that good, only his voice, which I find mediocre and his least quality in music, give him away. He sounds like a southerner trying to pass as a New England man.

You also get, apart from proper blues numbers, early country tunes, singing-free rag-times where Hutchison shows his great techniques with the guitar, pre-bluegrass and talking blues numbers.

I really like the Document Records project of re-releasing on CD a lot of old-timers that would otherwise be left as the luxury of anal 78-collectors. Yeah, record-collecting has it's charm, but at some time it has to be about the music and not about rarity, so let the collectors collect vinyl and let us ordinary fans of American music listen to these CDs.

No mess, no fuss, just pure impact. If you like old-time American music, you'll love this album, I think Hutchison was one of the best performers of his time and this little record should have a place in the collection of every true fan of the genré(s).

The only thing I'm slightly miffed with is the fact that the bio, as usual, is bloody short. I'd love to read more about him.

Get this record!

A great record like this gets a great rating. 94,3% in rate of satisfaction.

Willie Nelson, "Live from Austin, Tx"

/ ARTIST: Willie Nelson / TITLE: "Live from Austin, Tx" / GENRÉ: Musical film / FORMAT: DVD /


Much has happened in the world since I last wrote on country music on this blog. For starters, Blake Shelton made his infamous "old farts and jackasses" statement and, very sadly, a legend passed away, none other than George Jones.

The two things can be seen as two sides of the same coin. The old timers are getting old and soon there will be no "old farts" remaining in country music and as the young generation takes other, there will be what Merle Haggard called "too much boogie-woogie" and not much traditional country. Even Dwight Yoakam is getting old.

Anyway, I often say that other people got Joy Division and Morrissey, I've got Buck Owens, but performers like Willie Nelson comes pretty close too.

This DVD/CD is a live recording of Nelson's music, spanning most of his career as it looked when he recorded this in 1990. You got all the faves on it, tunes like On the road again and Always on my mind, as well as some tunes from the start of his career like Crazy.

I've got straight edge and am no big fan of drugs, that goes without saying. Still, I think Willie Nelson, does a good job at singing, with his distinctive voice, whether it's christian music like the tunes on his Troublemaker album or the druggier stuff like his recent duet with rap legend Snoop Dogg, he always delivers.

Anyway, you don't get any open drug propaganda on this vid, but you do get music that breathes of the 70's drug-fuelled music and a couple of "far out" treatments of instruments.

But maybe this is Nelson's grandeur? That he can consume that much ganja and still remain active as a great artist. Artists who consume ganja quite often degenerate and their music becomes intolerable. Not so with Willie Nelson.

Fact is that Willie, despite being a junkie, sounds as good live as on record, something many artists of today can't manage. Over all, the band and Nelson makes a good impression of a bunch of lads and lasses who've enjoyed playing this kind of music and done it for a long time.

On this piece of recording, you also get a duet with Shelby Lynne, whom I hadn't heard before, but who's got a great voice.

I really liked this vid and would recommend it to anyone who likes country music and to fans of Willie Nelson, it's a must-have.

A vid as good as this gets a good review, 81,3% in rate of satisfaction!

Jerry Lee Lewis, "The best of..."

/ ARTIST: Jerry Lee Lewis / TITLE: "The best of" / GENRÉ: Rock & roll / LABEL: Crimson / FORMAT: CD /

To my generation, those born in the 70's, too young to have experienced the first wave of punk and too old to fall for all the shite on the pop charts, we have to settle for retro. Myself, I like old school punk, old school country and old school rock & roll.

The problem with retro when it comes to soulful music like all those three genrés, is that you can't really appreciate how groundbreaking it was when it first shook society.

Sure, punk was rebellious, but them kids were wearing designer clothes that ordinary folks couldn't afford and the anarchist message was very much a middle class pose.

No, I don't think any musical genré has shook society to the extent that early rock & roll did. Here you have a nice, well-mannered nation who listens to Jim Reeves (that being said, I bleeding love Jim Reeves) and all of the sudden two southern kids appear on the charts. One shakes his hips in obscene ways and another kids sings about what the first one symbolize with his fits. To top it off, he sets fire to his piano. What ever punk did, it had nothing on Jerry Lee Lewis, not even the first wave of real punk. I'd much rather fight Jimmy Pursey of Sham 69 in a fist fight than that mean old geezer Jerry Lee Lewis. Gary Hodges of the 4-skins is a different kettle of fish entirely, though. I think the only genré that has ever come close to the impact of early rock & roll is oi!.

Well, enough the manners of that old rebel that will surely go to his grave a rebel and let's talk music, cos, at the end of the day, that's what matters!

Not surprisingly, what you get on this record is the best of Jerry Lee. According to the bloke that put the record together, at least. There's a load of covers on this album and I would've wanted to see the Big Bopper's Chantilly Lace being covered too. If anyone doubts that this is one of Jerry Lee's best covers, just get on youtube.

The record is a bit predictable, with other words. You get great tunes like Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On and Great Balls Of Fire. Great tunes and well established ones of his career.

Maybe precisely cos it's full of lack of surprises it makes this a good record. Not a perfect record, but a good record. Perfect to give to those of your relatives that were young in the 50's or to anyone interested in the ear and to be honest, that's what Best of's are for.

As I said, there's a load of covers, some better than others. I was surprised that, his voice being so different from the original singer, Jerry Lee could make such a brilliant version of Malcolm Yelvington's rockabilly classic Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-o-Dee. It's better than the original and the best cover on the album, the worst being a piss-poor version of Hank Williams Sr's You Win Again.

Jerry Lee has never had the voice of other greats of the era, but with the voice he had, he managed to put across the spirit of youth rebellion like no other and irregardless of what you think of his personal qualities, at least he's one of the best piano players in the industry and that piano and voice is backed up by a driving drum sound.

I really liked this record and it get's a whoopin' 91,3% in rate of satisfaction!

Hacienda Brothers, "What's wrong with right"

/ ARTIST: Hacienda Brothers / TITLE: "What's wrong with right" / GENRÉ: Western Soul / LABEL: Proper Records / FORMAT: CD /

Country music has always adapted to some extent to popular music of the times it's in. I'm no fan of Taylor Swift's latest hit, but just like some old timers tomorrow won't simply hear a watered down country version of Avril Lavigne, but a genius, I am sure country purists at the time thought western swing was sacrilege, cos it didn't sound like the Carter family, whereas Willie Nelson, who is seen as one of the most "true" names in country music of today, did a brilliant western swing album the other year.

This record is a strange being, it has adapted to a sound that is far from modern. What you get is "western soul", a 60's Motown soul version of country.

I, as one who likes both soul and country could deem this record useless, but I won't. These geezers are soulful, fact is that they're the best white soul artists I've heard, far more soulful than Dexy's Midnight Runners.

It might sound strange to record soulful numbers with steel guitars, accordions and a southern brogue, but it's actually a stroke of genius, cos soul music and country music has a lot in common. Both genrés are often about heartaches and blue moods and The Hacienda Brothers manage to combine this into excellence.

There is not much more to say. A good, but in no way a perfect record. If you like country and if you like soul, you'll like this record. It's a good little gem of a CD and I would recommend everyone to get this.

I'll give it 78,8% in rate of satisfaction.

Various Artists, "Hear my back door slam"

/ ARTIST: Various Artists / TITLE: "Hear my back door slam" / GENRÉ: Blues / LABEL: Bakhåll / FORMAT: CD /

Before I start writing this review I must come clean, I like blues, but it's one of the many genrés of music I like that I know the least of, being a newcomer to the genré. Something which can only be blamed on the Eslöv City blues festival that has sparked an interest in the genré for me.

To me and all newcomers, this is a wonderful compilation put out by a Swedish record label called "Bakhåll" and I couldn't resist buying it, not only cos I want to support the scene in Sweden and the fact that it was ridiculously cheap, it cost me about €5, no, cos what you get here is the perfect introduction to the genré.

On this little darling, you get 20 of the best known American blues singers doing some of their best numbers. BB King, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Robert Johnson, they're all here. Then add the fact that you get a good little brochure with facts about the performers that is highly welcomed for people like me, people who consider starting a blues record collection. The brochure is in Swedish, though, which might make it less usable for non-Swedes.

Why should one buy a compilation of blues then? You get a load of different styles of blues, some with bands and some just an acoustic guitar on them, "but doesn't all blues tunes sound the same?", my punk and skinhead mates ask me. No, they don't, they all bring the performers soul into the music which make every number stand out. Even if you're not a blues die-hard, you should respect the legacy of the genré. Most tunes on this compilation comes from the 50's and sure, not much groundbreaking has been done since then, but blues has gone on, through r&b, to influence everything from rockabilly over the mod music of the 60's to punk. There's a straight lineage of influence from that time till the present.

As I said, this record makes one want to start a collection of blues vinyl. Every tune on this album is a killer! The tunes, apart from those of the superstars of the genré that stand out are the tunes of JB Lenoir and Jimmy Reed, both of whom I'll check out more stuff by.

I really liked this compilations and it get a bloomin 96,7% in rate of satisfaction

Willie Nelson, "Heroes"

/ARTIST: Willie Nelson / TITLE: Heroes / GENRE: Country music / LABEL: Legacy / FORMAT: CD /

This is Willie Nelsons latest CD and the fact that it's full of interesting collaborations, including the fact that the three big names of old school country, that is Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and Merle Haggard, are present on this disc is reason enough to buy it.

However, it's hardly groundbreaking. Willie is like Cock Sparrer, you get what you get on album after album. There are plenty of good tunes on this one, but no On the road again and no You were always on my mind. There are, however, songs with a message and songs about broken hearts, something Willie does good, cos, remember that he was a short haired singer of romantic songs once, before he turned out to be a long haired rebel.

If this record is like most other stuff he's turned out over the last few years, I would still recommend everyone to buy it and support one of the last greats of country music. I compared him to Cock Sparrer before and another trait he shares with oi! is the fact that he combines staunch patriotism with criticism of the system. He shows you can love your country and it's traditions and still be mad as hell about what the leaders of men get up to. The next last tune on the disc, Come back Jesus, shows that clearly.

I really liked Willie's reggae album and his collaboration with Toots Hibbert of the Maytals fame. When I picked this record up, I noticed on the back that he was going to collaborate with rapper Snoop Dogg. For a minute, I feared there would be some dreadful nu country, where Willie would rap. Fortunately, that didn't happen. If he went reggae on his other album, this is Snoop going country. Gangsta rap meets outlaw country. The tune itself is one of the worst tunes on the album and one can clearly hear why Snoop raps and doesn't sing normally.

Well, what could Willie and Snoop have in common? Duh!

Unfortunately, there are a few drug-glorifying tunes on this album that I, as a straight edge guy and as someone with mates that have died from overdoses, simply can't endorse. I see no reason to glorify that shit and those who do so through music should be held accountable for all the drug-related deaths there is.

Fortunately, Willie doesn't only sing about drugs. Best songs on this album are, as usual, his songs about broken hearts, whereof The sound of your memory and Just breathe stand out as the finest.

I think this is an okayish album that delivers the goods, but hardly anything groundbreaking. It gets 58,3% in rate of satisfaction!

Hank Snow, "The essential Hank Snow"

/ ARTIST: Hank Snow / TITLE: The Essential Hank Snow / GENRE: Country / LABEL: RCA / FORMAT: CD /

The title of this record says it all, it's the essential Hank Snow. Essential to one extent cos what you get is the best stuff he's done, but also cos a Hank Snow record is essential to any country music lover's collection.

Most of the stuff on this one is from the time rockabilly and rock & roll saw the light of day. I'm sure this what the squares could have a ball to in Muskogee, Oklahoma. It's not that it's bad music, it's just that it came out in a time when country music needed a kick up the arse and start to notice what was happening, something Johnny Cash did very well, by the way.

But simply saying that it's bad music, cos it was traditional, it just won't do. Hank Snow was a great singer. He had a great voice and seemed to have been able to pick the right tunes to record. What more can one ask for?

What you get on this album is a few ballads, some waltzy stuff, as well as some more uptempo numbers like the brilliant I've been everywhere, which sound at times a bit like the latest hit of young R&B star Rihanna's.

This a very good record and I would recommend it to any fan of traditional country.

I'll give it 82,5% in rate of satisfaction!

Carolina Chocolate Drops: "Leaving Eden"

I have wanted to check this band out for a long while. I read a piece on them in the excellent magazine Country Music People and it basically said that banjo is originally an African instrument and this band wanted to reclaim an often forgotten part of American folk music, the African American part that is.

Not that this band has to be "the black band". They're a real powerhouse of a band on any merit, black or white, but it's still a recommendable thing they're doing. I had the pleausre to aquaint myself with this tradition on the compilation The stuff that dreams or made of and I liked it. Normally when you speak of African American folk music, it begins with Robert Johnson and ends with Muddy Waters. Sure, I like blues, but it would be a shame if the black string tradition would die out and this trio does it's best to prevent it from doing so.

To be honest, I am perhaps the wrong man to review this record, as I don't know too much about the genre, but I sure like it.

So it would be a shame if I just kept it to myself and didn't share my views on it.

American folk musics are to some extent intermingled with each other. There's a real blues feel to good bluegrass and there is sure some European influences in the music of Carolina Chocolate Drops, but still most of it is African-inspired.

When I read on them in the CMP piece, it said they sometimes cover modern R&B songs and I have already listened to their famous interpretation of Blu Cantrells Hit 'em up style. On this record, they take this step one step further by not only interpretating modern music through folk styles, but the other way around too. They bring R&B to folk by beatboxing and scratching, they give their music a real urban flavour.

But they never downplay the strings on any tune, 'cept for the a capella tunes Read 'em John and the beautiful Pretty Bird.

So, what you get musically is a folkish album with roots everywhere (even in Scotland!), but most of all, as the lyrics to the best tune on the album, Country girl, explains, in the deep south.

There are no bad tunes on this album, even if all tunes aren't great. Still, it's agood album and by buying it, you support a hardworking young band that is really doing an effort to make brilliant music and saving a tradition in doing so.

All in all, as I said, a good album. I give it 78,9% in level of satisfaction!

Hobart Smith, "Traditional Appalachian Songs and Tunes"

I like this record and I will tell you why. Theese days, musicians are experts at what they're doing in a narrow field, real musicians, that is, not the crap that doinates the pop charts.

Take a real, good, modern band like Zac Brown Band, they are a perfect combo and they are all experts at what they're doing. The fiddler is a mean fiddler, the guitarist is an expert guitarist, etc.

Things were different in the old days, you didn't make much money as a musician and most of the times, you couldn't make a living out of it. If you were a musician, you had to play a number of instruments, be able to sing decently and have a repetoire full of dance numbers, as well as entertainment numbers, blues numbers, social commentary and sacred songs.

Hobart Smith was active as a musician back in those days and he sings, as well fiddles decently and is okayish at the guitars, but his real strength lies in his banjo-picking. His banjo dance numbers are played with an intensity and energy you normally find only with very skilled punk rock guitarists. You simply get lost in the banjo-only tunes, the rythms and melodies are simply amazing!

As I said, you get dance tunes, as well as social comments like The Great Titanic and entertainment numbers like The Devil and the Farmer's Wife. A few numbers are a bit bluesy and I don't like those. I have nothing against blues in general, though it's certainly not one of my favourite styles, it's just that mr Smith's blues numbers are a bit dull.

On a few numbers, you get some inspiration from the southern gospel tradition too. They're all related to each other, the different branches of American music, black and white, sacred and secular, cos America is such a great melting pot.

I'd recommend this record to fans of American Folk with a particular interest. If you are new to the genré and want to discover the greats of the genré, I'd rather go for Earl Scruggs or Dock Boggs, as they're, simply, better. It's not that mr Smith is bad, it's just that the greats are even greater. His banjo skills are excellent though and a record consisting of his banjo tunes alone would give him a friendlier ear in me.

A good, though far from perfect, record like this gets 82,3% in rate of satisfaction!

First Aid Kit, "The lion's roar"

Let me start the review of this wonderful band consisting of two young sisters from Sweden by saying that I haven't as utterly enjoyed a Swedish country act as this for, basically, ever. They're darn good at what they're doing.

Even if you don't like this act, you'd be mad not to appreciate the fact that they're putting country music firmly where it belongs, in the charts, here in Sweden.

Anyway, what you get is a band with a tune that goes "I'll be your Emmylou and I'll be your June..." and this sums the band up pretty well to some extent, cos they got that 70's country feeling to it that Emmylou Harris brought us way back when before I was even born.

Theese girls aren't satisfied with sounding as Emmylou, though, they bring their own flavour to the stew. You get some of the hippie music we all are ambigious to, including some hippie flutes that actually do the job and don't dominate it. You also get some 60's country, as well as some pure Scandinavian ingredients. For some reason, I get to think of Norwegian singer Ane Brun. I could well see First Aid Kit breaking into the charts in Norway, perhaps easier than in Sweden, as Norwegians appreciate this music higher than us Swedes. (For that matter, I can see First Aid Kit breaking into the charts everywhere, they're that good!)

At the start, I thought their lyrics were a bit too naive and bland, but the more I listen to it, the more I think they reveal a splendid youtful playfulness that is way too often abscent from contemporary music. This is a band of two young sisters singing harmonies and with lyrics that actually reflect their age. In the tune Blue, they have a verse where they rhyme two times on "you" and then "blue" and "twenty two", but it doesn't matter. As I said, it's a playfulness fitting to their age and the lyrics work well with the tunes.

Now, some may complain that the title of my blog is A Swede on American culture and this band is not American. That's just ridiculous. This band sounds a lot like the American music we all love and had they been an American band, they would have been all over the bleedin place. They're that good. It's about time us Swedes show you Americans that not all Swedish music is premanufactured disco garbage, but we can produce some fine stuff too!

Buy this record and support a young band knocking out some of the finest retro country music I've ever heard.

And oh, there's actually a bit pop thrown in for good measure too!

The best Swedish country band ever naturally gets 100% in rate of satisfaction!

Bascom Lamar Lunsford, "Ballads, banjo tunes and sacred songs"

I have often written on how good the Folk Å Rock record store in Malmö is. I went there yesterday with a pal of mine to buy tickets for the Will Kimbraugh concert at the end of March, which I am super stoked for.

Any way, I don't get to go to Malmö that often, so I browsed through the country/folk/bluegrass section and found this Lunsford record, which I bought. To be honest, I hadn't heard Lunsford before, but the fact that this record is released on the Smithsonian/Folkways label is enough to know that it's good.

Fans of more contemporary country music must forgive me for writing so much on banjo pickers of the 30's, but I really enjoy that kind of music and would like to see it gaining in popularity, so I do my bit for spreading the word.

Well, well, what you get here is perhaps not the best singing voice in the world, but Bascom makes up for that with his superb banjo skills. The totality of the music is just pure dead brilliant.

The full title, Ballads, banjo tunes and sacred songs of western north Carolina, says it all. On this record, you get 18 top tunes of that description. As a practicing Christian (Evangelical Lutheran), I could have settled for some more spiritual tunes, but I'm quite content. The secular songs are top notch. It would be a shame to complain when you get such a brill record for your money's worth.

People have often spoken loads of the Irish roots of American folk and I agree to some extent, though I would rather like to call the influence "Gaelic", as some of the tunes, most notably Bonny George Campbell, with it's fiddle and it's unaccompanied singing, sound really Scottish to me. I'm not an expert on Scottish (nor American, really) folk, but I think there are clear similarities.

If you like old American folk, you'll definitely like this. It's not the holy Grail of American folk, but it's still pretty good.

A record as good as this gets 77,3% in rate of satisfaction.

Grayson & Whitter, "Complete recorded works in chronological order, vol 1: 1927-1928"

First of all, I must say that it's to the credit of the record company to release this treasure. Country music and related genrés aren't that fashionable, but to us who love the music, some of the best records are only available on old original vinyl that cost a zillion bucks. To release this album is therefor an act of charity to all of us who love the music but can't afford the vinyl.

Musically, this is pre-bluegrass American folk music. If bluegrass is rooted in black, as well as white, musical traditions, this leaves out the banjo, which is an African instrument originally, as well as the more bluesy escapades in favor of acoustic guitars and a mad fiddle.With these instruments, Grayson & Whitter plays American folk deeply rooted in Celtic tradition with some other European influences to it too. Sometimes, I can almost feel a Scandinavian touch.

What I like about this band is that hey took lyrical writing seriously. You got songs dealing with a load of deep subjects country artists of today dare not touch. On the other hand, music was the CNN of times past, you got news as well as entertainment from the musicians.

Most of all, however, this is music made to dance to. It's almost a pity that music with that energy as this and as danceable to as this, has for so long been the treasure of vinyl nerds.

You can sense from the recording that Grayson & Whitter had fun recording it, as they talk to each other backwards and forwards over the tracks, a couple of "yee-haws" and "pass the bottle".

In case you haven't noticed, I really like this album and if you like old American folk too, you're probably going to like this as well.

An old treasure being returned to the audience gets 83,7% in rate of satisfaction!

Gillian Welch, "The harrow & the harvest"

Two things I want to have said before I begin reviewing this record proper.

I went to my favourite local record store, Folk Å Rock in Malmö, yesterday. I picked up some Louvin brothers stuff, as well as some banjo pickers from the 1920's. The geezer in the record store has started to recognise me and shares my taste in music and sometimes comes with small advices when it comes to music. "Do you like the Carter family?", he asked. "I do, I replied." "Have you heard Gillian Welch?". I hadn't, so he put the record The harrow & the harvest on. I liked it enough to buy it. Before I bought it, he said he reckoned they continue the legacy of the Carter family and I can, after having listened to it a zillion times yesterday and today, see where he was coming from.

Anyway, I brought the record to work today and almost everyone at work liked it. A colleague of mine looked at the sleeve, she's a bit older than me, and asked when it was from. "From 2011", I replied. She was gobsmacked, she thought the sleeve art, as well as the tunes oozed of the flower generation and I can see where she was coming from too.

In fact, this album has one foot in both worlds. A bit of it is rooted in old American folk from the 20's and 30's, another bit of it is, but in a good way, something my old hippie mate Charli would like.

In case you haven't noticed yet, I think this is pretty much the best record I've bought for ages. I rank it just beneath Townes Van Zandt, who is impossible to outdo, although miss/mrs Welch comes pretty close.

What I like in it is that it has that melancholic, laidback southern folk feel to it that you get from Swedish folk as well. You won't jump with joy from hearing it, that's true. But on the other hand, I think melancholic music has that quality to it that you start to think how good your life really is and makes you thankful to God for all the blessings He has given you.

This record is recorded in the old way, no drums, no electrics, no sampling, no fancy stuff, just acoustic guitars, banjo, harmonica and hand clappings. And loads of songs sung in harmony. In fact, miss/mrs Welch only has one back up musician, but they do their stuff like a whole orchestra when it comes to quality. The only thing I think this record could be missing is perhaps a fiddle and some mandolins. But, though the inclusion of those two instruments could've highten the feeling to the album, I don't miss them really that much.

As I said, this is the best record I've picked up for years. There is no bad track on it, they all stand out in quality and I'm convinced that it will be remembered in the American folk scene for ages and I wish the artists success and that they play Sweden. Only criticism I have of it is that some tunes, most notably The way the whole thing ends, goes on for too long.

A great, almost perfect, album like this gets 96,1% in rate of satisfaction!

Dwight Yoakam, "Live from Austin TX"

This is actually a boxed set of one cd and one dvd of live material from what was once, back in the 1980's, a popular American tv show.

At the moment, I haven't listened to the live cd, only watched and utterly enjoyed the dvd. I'm sure I'll put the cd in my record player one time or another in the future, but at the moment I don't see the point, as it's the same material on the cd as it is on the dvd.

This vid is from a performance given in October 1988. Dwight was still new to the game, though he had released some records and consequently, this vid is full of his 80's hits we all love, groundbreaking as they was when he first came into popularity.

Dwight has a voice quite similar, I think, to Pd Heaton of British 80's pop act The Housemartins, a bit soft, one could say. This means I have trouble hearing his stage talk in between the numbers, but I'm sure he's much more confident belting out his hits than he is talking to people. He's also got those wild dance moves one has come to associate with him.

It is with difficulty one must pick the best tunes on this, cos it's full of lovely ones. I, however, think he made a wise decision in saving two of my faves for the encore, they really are some of the best he's ever sung.

One song that must be mentioned though is the classic Streets of Bakersfield, on which Dwight calls in some support from another country vocalist. I won't tell you whom, but I'm sure you can guess! ;-)

This is a good dvd and I'd recommend it, not just to Dwight's die hard fans, but also to country fans in general and to people into 80's country music in particular, cos he was one of the most important newcomers back in the days and he's still a master musician.

A good, although not perfect vid like this gets 73,7% in rate of satisfaction.

Elvis Presley, "Christmas with Elvis"

The content of this record might fall out of the usual scope of this blog, as Elvis, most of the times, was a rock & roll singer and not a country singer.

But, on the other hand, I think Elvis will be remembered in the future as a classical artist of the 20th century. He will, in his genre, which he helped popularise, be remembered as one of the American greats. I think he might even be remembered as a great American folk singer, if the French regard Edith Piaf as French folk, why not Elvis as American folk?

Well, enough about that. What you get here is a triffic Christmas album featuring the king. How can you go wrong with that? This is a cheap CD reissue of Elvis Christmas Album, it includes the same tracks, but also a few bonus tracks, which I could do without, as they've got nothing to do with christmas or God, but I can understand how the regular guy who might like Elvis, but who won't collect records as manically as I do, sees this as a good thing. A pair of beautiful christmas anthems coupled with some of his greatest hits.

Most songs (if you exclude the bonus tracks) are slow numbers packed with christmassy emotions and spirit. Cept for the opening track, Santa Claus is back in town, but even if some of the number ooze more 50's pop than the Presley brand of rock & roll we're used to, Elvis will be Elvis and keeps his rebel attitude in it.

He also got those background singers singing in almost country style harmonies he used on Teddy bear.

Best tunes are Silent night, Santa Claus is back town and, one of my all time fave Elvis songs, Blue Christmas.

Everyone likes Elvis, so I'll try to play this record on my family's Christmas party this year. My sis always get away with playing that heathen hippie John Lennon's socialist anthem which has nothing to do with Christmas. This year will be the year of Elvis. Move over, limey!

Last but not least. I'm a christian man, despite my flaws, and I try to go to Church on Sundays. On the one hand, this might shock some that i love God and still like Elvis, but on the second it shouldn't. Elvis was a rebel, but so was Christ and in fact, Elvis has some nice faithbased tunes on this record, which you gotta love. I can't see any contemporary singer record tunes like some of the ones on this record and if he or she would, the atheist lobby would make radio and television boycot his or hers record.

This is the perfect christmas album. Naturally, it gets 100% in rate of satisfaction. You can just ignore the bonus tracks, I did. Not that they're bad, they just got nothing to do with christmas.

Various Artists, "The stuff that dreams are made of"

This two disc compilation features rare collectibles in cajun, country, blues and pre-bluegrass, vinyl now made available on cd.

Lately, I've grown to appreciate old American folk tremendously. Sure, I like a lot of modern stuff too, but theese old records from the 20's and 30's have a quality to them like movies from that age shares as well. Just as laurel and Hardy still make you chuckle in a sense Adam Sandler won't in just ten years, theese skilled musicians (among them my fave, Dock Boggs) knock out quality tunes that makes you want to put on your dancing shoes.

There's a lot of blues on this compilation and I for one ain't all that keen on blues, sure, I can listen to it and enjoy it, it's just that I don't enjoy it as much as other genres of American folk.

There's a few instrumental tunes on the discs, as well as quite a few with singing to them and they all have that old record feel to them, none of the tunes have been processed with equaliser, the background, old vinyl, dust sound is all there.

Musically, the tunes are well more diverse than today's format. You get piano and trumpets on some tunes, instruments that are not too common on today's folk recordings.

Lyrically, you get a lot of innocense too. Country had, back in those days, often a humorous side to it that more modern country tunes (with perhaps the exception of Johnny Cash's Boy named Sue) lack. Wilmer Watts and the lonely eagles has a very funny tune on this one, that is Fightin' in the war with Spain.

The only things that I hold against this record is that there's not enough Cajun tunes, there's too much blues and that one of the tunes, Chicken don't roost too high, by The Georgia Pot Lickers, could be interpreted as a racist tune, which might have been acceptable in the 20's, but not now and even if it is a collectible, it shouldn't have been included on a record with musicians what own that much to African American traditions.

This means that this compilation is, in other words, not perfect, but pretty close. I give it 95,8% in level of satisfaction.

Faron Young, "The best of"

Faron Young is a new acquaintance of mine. I had never heard of him before a fellow Swedish country music fan of mine recommended me to check out his music, so, trusting as I am of my pals, I immediately picked his Best of up the last time I visited Folk Å Rock (still the best record store in southern Sweden when it comes to country music).

Part of me is very grateful to my pal for recommended me this artist, but part of me like what ever. It's good stuff, sure, but it's not supergood.

To me, it sounds like Faron Young is the result of a mix between Jim Reeves (whom I've been meaning to review for some time now) and the Bakersfield sound. Young's got that smooth voice the gentleman also had and the guitar sound, at least so at times, what Buck Owens had. I think Young has a better voice than Reeves, though.

Young's voice and his sound is not the only thing I like about him, though. His lyrics might not win the Nobel Prize for litterature, but they're clever and I for one like typical country music lyrics and Young knows how not to dissapoint. He's got it all, heartaches, love, honky-tonks, drinks, depression, what you'd expect from Dwight Yoakam, only Young did it 10-20 years before Dwight.

Best tune on this album is the beautiful ballad Four in the morning.

Fans of generic outlaw country will not like this album and though Young is somewhat classic "cheesy" country music, I suspect the fans of Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers will find his lyrics a bit too outlaw to suit their tastes.

I would still recommend all country fans to listen to Faron Young. He's an important part of country music history and sort of builds a bridge between Jim Reeves and Dwight Yoakam.

As I said, a good record, though not supergood.

Faron Young's Best of gets 63,7% in rate of satisfaction.