Oakley Hall

Been trawling some Daytrotter (more of which anon). Got listening to some Oakley Hall, who have two sessions; I'd forgotten how much their mix of rock'n'roll & trad floats the proverbial sea-going vessel. Here's from the first session:

mp3 Oakley Hall: All the Way Down (daytrotter)

From Gypsum Strings:

mp3 Oakley Hall: Confidence Man

From Second Guessing:

mp3 Oakley Hall: Landlord

Buy here, download drm-free here.

43 Presidents: Of Great & Mortal Men

It's here. A couple of years back J Matthew Gerken, Christian Kiefer and Jefferson Pitcher, took up a challenge via the February Album Writing Month: between the three, to come up with a song for each of the 43 presidents of the USA. They posted the demos, and decided to take it further. The result is Of Great & Mortal Men, a remarkable three cds worth of songs featuring a whole roster of leading talent, but maintaining a remarkable coherence. I've got my copy all the way from the USA. Try this:

mp3 The last Cocked Hat (click here to go to label)

Buy from the label here or pay more here

Elvis & Lucinda: some more You Tube

Two of my favourite artists, together. Try these:

Elvis & Lucinda: Indoor Fireworks

Elvis & Lucinda: Blue

Elvis & Lucinda: Wild Horses

Some Footage: Magazine, Neil Young

Looking back, two great bits of contrasting live footage. An old bit of Howard Devoto's band at his icy best and Neil Young with a phalanx of hippies.

mp3 Magazine: Permafrost (live)

mp3 C,S,N & Y: Down by the River (live)

Damien Jurado: Caught in the Trees

It's great to have a new Damien Jurado album. There's a real depth to his body of work now, as well as a bucketful of real sweet melody. Try these:

mp3 Damien Jurado: Gillian was a Horse
mp3 Damien Jurado: Last Rights

As a bonus, here's a song from his last album performed live in the studio:

mp3 Damien Jurado: Denton, TX (live)

Buy here, download drm-free here.

Okkervil River: The Stand-ins

It's the companion piece to last year's The Stage Names, rather as Appendix was to Black Sheep Boy. Try this:

mp3 Okkervil River: Blue Tulip

Released with The Stage Names was a parallel album of demos. Try this:


mp3 Okkervil River: John Allyn Smith Sails (acoustic demo)

Buy here, download drm-free here.

For...

It's my wedding anniversary, so I thought I'd post these to my wife of these 18 years, along with a picture of the fine village of Ventry, where we went on our honeymoon. Hope they ring a few bells for some....

mp3 The Jayhawks: All the Right Reasons
mp3 Broken Family Band: You Get Me
mp3 Richard and Linda Thompson: A Heart Needs a Home
mp3 Gillian Welch: I Made a Lover's Prayer
mp3 John Hiatt: Feels Like Rain

Buy here.

Lest we Forget: The Jayhawks' Sound of Lies

Gary Louris' masterpiece came after Mark Olson quit the band. It is suffused with a quiet bitterness, weariness and longing, some crunching rock and aching twang. At the time it seemed to pass under many people's radar. A pity. Try these:

mp3 The Jayhawks: Sound of Lies
mp3 The Jayhawks: Bottomless Cup

The later song was written and sung by Tim O'Reagan. This is an acoustic take on his later song:

mp3 The Jayhawks: Tampa to Tulsa (acoustic)

An earlier Gary Louris song:

mp3 The Jayhawks: Waiting for the Sun (acoustic)

As a final treat, here's an Olson?louris song sung by Maria McKee, and the men themselves:

mp3 Maria McKee: Precious Time

Buy here.