R2OK!

Cherskiy

I was a little late listening to Bob’s show this week – due to watching a whole load of stuff downloaded via Bittorrent…. (which also explains why I haven't been around much in the forum this week either). As it happened, there wasn’t a great deal that particularly inspired me to commit to bandwidth, although the following were worthy of comment at least.

The Bird and the Bee are a band I’ve never heard of – the introduction to “Again and Again” from their eponymous-titled album was slightly reminiscent of Piney Gir in her more mellow appearances, the whole song being nothing short of what I’ve seen described elsewhere as ‘dreamy pop’. Very pleasant to listen to, though, although the album advertises ‘explicit lyrics’ so presumably it goes off in a very different direction to this track. The female vocals were provided by Inara George, daughter of Lowell George – better known as the mastermind behind Little Feat, Bob also playing “Willin’” from their album “Sailin’ Shoes”. I’ll freely admit I’m rather clueless when it comes to remembering what tracks Little Feat were famous for, but going on the strength of the track played tonight I want to hear more.
Bob has featured Uncle Earl in recent weeks, and played “Bony on the Isle of Saint Helena” from their album “Waterloo, Tennessee” tonight. Uncle Earl is the name of a four-piece all-female band who came from diverse states and musical backgrounds (the banjoist even recording songs in Chinese!), some of whom had already released one or two CDs in their own names before their collaboration began. Favouring traditional material, “Waterloo” is their second album, produced by John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin fame – although “Bony” is about as far removed from “Stairway” as you can get, but the fiddle and banjo accompaniment help the old-time lyrics sit nicely in a contemporary bluegrass setting. Absolutely beautiful….
“Blacksmith” showed off Lisa Knapp’s strong vocals, the song featuring on her debut album “Wild and Undaunted”. Shades of Juliet Turner’s voice in “Burn the Black Suit” mode resonate here: whilst the music is undoubtedly acoustic folk, it has also been described as ‘experimental’. This is clearly a bit of a stretch, since both the arrangement and Lisa Knapp’s delivery is traditional in tone. Some might think her a little harsh but I believe it works rather well.

The live session was provided by the Endrick Brothers, Bob playing “Queen of the Summer” from their album “Built to Last” before introducing three of the five-piece band in the studio. Despite advocates of Americana and having been compared to early REM, when they started speaking, it was obvious they hailed from Stirling rather than Seattle. They are deeply committed to playing that sort of music, having built up a reasonably small yet loyal following across Europe on the way. “Thorns on Every Rose” was the first live song, the opening track from their new album “Attraction Versus Love” (the title taken from a line from this song), and the comparison to Michael Stipe is uncanny when Niall Holmes started to sing, despite sounding like a young Midge Ure when he talks! Conversations with Bob explained their collaboration with Ryan Adams, stemming from when Niall was working for a company organising gigs up in Glasgow and was introduced to the singer, plus Jesse Malin’s habit of taking CDs from artists that had opened for him in concert, along to various pubs and clubs after a gig and then acting as a DJ, promoting them instead of himself. “Beautiful Rejection” followed next, the REM influence striking me immediately, accompaniment consisting of a couple of acoustic guitars and backing vocals from Yorick Cormack and Martin Kelly serving his own delivery well. Having done the rounds on BBC local radio this past month, the Endrick Brothers appear to have left a mark, programmes on Radio Scotland and West Midlands hailing it as ‘record of the week’. And where does the name of the band come from? They hail from Strathendrick, a collection of small villages north of Glasgow. The last song on the new album rounded off the set – Niall admitting that “Loser’s Excuse” wasn’t the most upbeat track on it but one he liked to perform. I can see from their set and Bob’s enthusiasm for their music that this won’t be the last time that the Endrick Brothers feature on his weekend show – the promise of a ‘small live album’ modelled on Jackson Browne’s “Running on Empty” sounded rather good, too.

Speaking of ringers, Dan Bern almost sounds more like Bob Dylan than Dylan does. This, however, is not a bad thing: “Breathe”, taken from his eponymously titled album was enjoyable, the tune standing up for itself without any further comparison.
Rosie Thomas has been on my Amazon wish list for a while now, and I was looking forward to hearing “Much Farther To Go” from her album “These Friends of Mine”, a showcase for what have been described as ‘weird yet delicate’ vocals. Very pleasant delivery and a clear departure from what she’s probably better known for – as being a stand-up comedienne who plays a brash, loud, neurotic woman in a neck-brace….
Waking the Witch are a four-piece Leeds-based outfit – “Spring Song” from “Boys from the Abattoir”, their debut album, showed off the dreamy, breathy delivery and simple yet effective acoustic accompaniment to great effect.
“Sitting on Top of the World” by Richard Shindell, from his album “South of Delia”, was another great example of just how good acoustic music can be. Already acclaimed as something of a lyrical genius by Bob and other critics – plus Fish Records, which can always be relied upon to promote excellent artists in the folk and acoustic realms, he has an eye (or an ear!) for an arrangement. The album this song comes from is a collection of covers (including Springsteen’s “Born in the USA”, Guthrie’s “Deportee” and Gabriel’s “Mercy Street”) but all have had an acoustic treatment – if they are anything as good as this particular track, then “South of Delia” is definitely worth getting hold of.
Can’t say I’ve heard of Southern Culture on the Skids before, Bob playing “Funnel of Love” from their album “Countrypolitan Favorites” tonight. I still can’t quite quantify what I actually liked about this track – you’d have to listen to it for yourself and make your own mind up…. With previous album titles including “Dirt Track Date”, “Girl Fight” and “Plastic Seat Sweat”, you could be forgiven for thinking they were a bit of a joke, though – especially when their debut album, “Ditch Digging” espoused such song titles as “Too Much Pork For Just One Fork” and “Leave Your Teeth Up On The Window Sill”. If I really had to sit down and work out some sort of comparison, I’d plump for a country-fied version of the B-52s.

Plus honorary mentions for the tracks by Buffalo Springfield, Robert Plant and Chicago….
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Author: “To the Ends of the Earth: A Snapshot of Aviation in North-Eastern Siberia, Summer 1992”
(Free to read via Kindle Unlimited)