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Outlaws are not always villains and villains are not always outlaws – yours truly

    I mentioned The Antiracism Trainings by David Reich last issue but failed to say the book can be ordered via Small Press Distributors, Berkeley, CA. I think it can be found on line too, at Amazon.com.
We lost some special writers recently: Robert B. Parker, creator of the Spenser novels that spawned both a TV series and several movies; Dick Francis, a jumps jockey turned mystery writer; J. D. Salinger, whose tale of the misfit Holden Caulfield energized more than one generation of social questioners. I have read, if not all of their works, certainly most of them, and I feel the world will be poorer without them. Both Parker and Francis were winners of various mystery-writing awards.
    We also said goodbye to jazz drummer Jake Hanna, who played with Woody Herman among others. He was 78. Larry Johnson, a filmmaker who worked with Neil Young for four decades after meeting the Canadian rocker at Woodstock, passed recently at 62.
    Kathryn Grayson, a lovely and elegant actress and singer, star of many MGM musicals, has passed away at 88. She had aspired to the opera, but settled for the silver screen.
    Kate McGarrigle has also passed on at 63. With her sister Anna, she performed folk music, starting in coffee houses in Montreal and then on a broader stage as several American artists picked up on their original songs to make hit records, including Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, and Judy Collins. Kate McGarrigle was once married to Loudon Wainwright III.
    And say goodbye to blues guitarist Li’l Dave Thompson of Greenville, Mississippi. He died as the result of injuries suffered in a crash while on a road trip with his band in South Carolina. Robert Lester of Chi Lites fame also passed recently and we were told that Dale Hawkins has died, but no details, Suzy Q.
    Not a musician, but someone whose flying disc is seen at many an outdoor concert, the man credited with inventing the Frisbee (which he called a Pluto Platter) has sailed on to the next plane of existence. Walter Morrison was 90 years old.
    I doubt many of you will recognize the name Irina Arkhipova, unless you are a fan of the Bolshoi. She was a Russian diva who had sung there since 1956. She was 85 when she died of cardiac arrest.

SOUTHERN MUSIC (11TH EDITION)
Various Artists
Oxford American
    Oxford American was born, if I am not mistaken, on the Ole Miss campus, but somehow gravitated to UCA in Conway. Anyway, they have issued an album of incredible scope within a small world, if you will. There are recordings from an amazing variety of artists and in myriad styles from different eras. You will find boogie-woogie, blues, country, swing, jazz, gospel, rockabilly, rap, rock, pop, soul, even classical. The recordings range from 1943 through 2009 and feature a staggering panoply of performing artists, both the well known and the obscure. This is a two-disc set, one featuring Arkansas artists and the other focused on Southern artists. Both discs are treasures with 20+ tracks on each. Lucinda Williams does the intro, then there are songs by such diverse singers as Sonny Burgess and Bukka White, Fern Jones and Caroline Herring, Sleepy LaBeef and Billy Lee Riley (with the Little Green Men, of course), and bands like the Windbreakers and the Gunbunnies, and vocal groups such as The Jubilee Humming Birds and True Gospel Wymics. Suga City does a bit that may be the only time you will hear beans and rice mentioned in the same breath as savoir faire. This is a must-have album for anyone interested in the history and the cultural diversity of music in our little corner of the world. See oxfordamerican.org for more information, such as how to order.

MY PERSONAL SKY
Sara Haze
Indie
    Got no information on this disc other than the song list and the cover photo of a beauteous blonde. A listen reveals that she does some very nice pop and has quite a good vocal range. Sweet. High-quality production values too.

ONE MORE DAY
Joe Pitts
Kijam
    Good buddy Mike Dollins tipped me to Joe Pitts and I see why: the cat can play and sing. He wrote or co-wrote all the songs (recorded at Lonesome Oak Studio), aided and abetted by Jimmy Lynn on bass, Jahleel Eli on percussion, Wayne Sharp on B-3, Gary Getts on harmonica, Stephen Winter on piano, and George Mitchell on drums for two tracks. Pitts and Tom Kelley produced and Rhonda Pitts handled the recording and mixing.

RENEWAL
Rob Katz & Friends
Indie
    This CD would be of interest to anyone who likes a variety of music with Biblical roots. Not all refer directly to the Holy Bible, but many are taken from Jewish history reported there. The theme of course is renewal and there is an anti-war bias and a call to seek accord among people. Well, to paraphrase the philosopher Rodney King, we should all try to get along. Music is one of the best ways to find accord in my humble opinion. Rob has a lot of friends helping on this product recorded in Oakland, California. Sing, baby, sing!

KNOWLEDGE YOU CAN’T GET IN COLLEGE
R. J. Mischo
Greaseland
    R. J. Mischo plays harmonica and sings. He does more than just play a harmonica though. He coaxes raw emotion from a variety of harps (some brands I never heard of before) including specially customized Marine Band models by Joe Filisko and Joe Spiers. Recorded in San Jose, California, this disc also showcases some great guitar work from Chris Andersen (AKA Kid) and Rusty Zinn and some very atmospheric upright bass from Kedar Roy (he also plays a Fender), tasty keyboards by Sid Morris, and a slew of drummers. All but five of the fourteen songs are by Mischo. They are mostly blues tunes, but they slip into rock or country modes here and there. His website is rjblues.com.

THE SALTY DOGS AND FRIENDS
The Salty Dogs
Indie
    This is their first full-length album and it is a dandy. The liner notes say they had a hoot recording it and it shows. Brad Williams, Bart Angel, Mike Nelson, and Nick Devlin are joined in this effort by a few friends from the local music scene, such as Amy Garland, who co-wrote one of the tunes with Brad (other than that one, they are all his own) and does some sweet duet singing. This album was done at Commando Recordings in Little Rock. Other friends involved include Isaac Alexander, Shelby Smith, Beth Massa, Ben Ellis, Steve Brauer, John McAteer, and Kevin Kerby. I know I had a hoot listening to it and I have to say it is as authentic and as excellent as any country music coming out of Nashville, Austin, or Bakersfield and Brad can load his voice with heartbreak just like Buck Owens or Dwight Yoakam, while Nick can handle that lap steel as well as, well, Gil Franklin. I spun this one for Carolyn and she was delighted with it, just as you will be if you give it a spin. Look up TheSaltyDogs.net for further information.

HARD RIDERS
The Southern Pickin’ Band
Tweet
    These guys are a trip. They sent us two separate discs: the one whose title is mentioned above and another that appears to have no title, I reckon it must be one of those eponymous things. The one with a title is but seven songs, all written by lead vocalist / guitarist Jim Galloway, while the other has a dozen songs, some of which are covers (they do a very good version of an old Santana hit). One tune in particular I can only describe as redneck rap. Need I mention that there is a bit of a motorcycle theme running through the music? I must mention though that proceeds from sales of their album go to the Southern Christians Children’s Home and other local charities in our own altered state. Jim is joined by James Galloway (drums / vocals), Ed Schultz (lead guitar / vocals), and Dave Palmcrest (bass / keyboards). They have a myspace page (key in thesouthernpickinband) and one may also call Jim at 501-541-1425 or 501-838-2314 or contact Charlie Morgan at Morgan Music Management (501-519-4898). Keep it in the wind!

BEYOND METAPHOR
South Cry
Big Sky Rock
    The label is from Missoula, Montana and the band is from Brazil. The promo material mentions that this is their first album and they recorded it without benefit of professional equipment and that singer / songwriter Daltri Barros taught himself English. All I can add to that is that they did a good job, regardless of the equipment and I know for a fact that English is a much harder language to learn than portugues. Posso falar assim porque eu aprendi cada un. Promoter Tyler Sant compares them to Pearl Jam and Sound Garden, but I think they are better. We reviewed their newer album a couple issues ago and I was impressed, but I must say I much prefer this earlier effort, despite its lack of the more advanced studio techniques used on that one.

EVERYTHING YOU LOVE WILL BE TAKEN AWAY
Slaid Cleaves
Music Road
    Slaid Cleaves reminds me a lot of John Prine, though his voice is not quite as raspy and his sense of humor not quite as quirky, but he does have that same sort of down home touch. This album is a fold out and the first thing you see in the liner notes is testimony from none other than Stephen King. Like King, Cleaves is from Maine, so it is only natural for them to connect as homeboys, but the music was recorded mostly in Austin, Texas (at Rootball Studio and The Bee Hive) with a couple cuts coming from White Star Sound in Louisa, Virginia. The boy does get around. Gurf Morlix (what a great name) gets production credit mostly and, to his credit, it is of very high quality. This is a nice, laid back collection of thoughtful songs, all but one of which were written or co-written by Cleaves.

View previous News of Record.

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