This is a nice track to add to the ol’ indie rock collection.
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RIYL: The Vaughan Brothers, Southern Culture on the Skids, Hacienda Brothers, Los Lobos
Guitarist Dave Gonzalez (Hacienda Brothers) and singer Mike Barfield, the core of Austin’s Stone River Boys, came together in 2008 when Gonzalez recruited musicians for a benefit tour to help raise money for his ailing Hacienda Brothers bandmate, singer Chris Gaffney. Gaffney was battling cancer and Gonzalez recruited musicians from Austin’s fertile talent pool, including Barfield, nicknamed “the Tyrant of Texas Funk.” Sadly, Gaffney succumbed to the disease, but the tour continued with proceeds being sent to Gaffney’s widow. Along the way, Gonzalez and Barfield began writing songs and eventually started laying down tracks while on the road. The good karma from the Stone River Boys’ noble gesture is evident as their debut album, Love on the Dial, is one of the most lively collections of music you’ll hear this season. Perfect for barbecues and games of cornhole; or just hanging out with your baby trying to stay cool (or heat things up) on a hot summer night.
A cover of Stephen Bruton’s “Bluebonnet Blues” propels the album forward like a sturdy old Ford and sets the tone of an album that crosses traditional country music with Texas blues and ’60s soul music for a hybrid the Boys like to call country funk. The sound is best exemplified in “Can I Change It,” which blends a Steve Cropper guitar lick with a steel guitar playing like a horn section, and “The Struggle,” which brings to mind the Fabulous Thunderbirds in their ’80s heyday.
Elsewhere, the band adopts more traditional country sounds, such as “Lovers Prison” and the lovely “40 Acres,” a heartfelt lament of times gone by. The highlight of the record may be their cover of the Gerry Goffin/Carole King classic, “Take a Giant Step.” Fusing country, soul and a surf guitar twang, they create a magical, dreamlike song, something you’d expect to hear from Chris Isaak or Los Lobos.
The combination of Barfield’s voice and Gonzalez’s guitar playing have created unique group. Barfield sings with bravado and a sincerity that seems lacking in so much of the slick country music that gets radio airplay. Meanwhile, Gonzalez’s guitar slinging is sharp and economical. When he needs to, he can put on a display of fast fingerwork, but he is such a fine musician that he knows when the song calls for fireworks and when it requires something more subdued. (Cow Island 2010)
Stone River Boys MySpace Page
Click to buy Love on the Dial at Amazon
When looking for the 10th song to round out my first collection of Quintessential Songs of the ’00s — by the way, I’m dubbing this playlist “The Rock Set” — I had a few different contenders, but settled on OK Go’s “Here It Goes Again” which typified the decade in that it became a hit after the band posted its unique video (a.k.a. “The Treadmill Video”) on YouTube.
The video became an internet sensation (even spawning this rendition from a group of industrious students at a high school talent show) and it doesn’t hurt that the song is catchy as hell, either.
According to the song’s wiki page, it took 17 takes to finally nail the video.
So that wraps up the first Quintessential Songs of the ’00s set. Here’s an overview:
1. The White Stripes: “Seven Nation Army”
2. Franz Ferdinand: “Take Me Out”
3. Modest Mouse: “Float On”
4. Jet: “Are You Gonna Be My Girl?”
5. Kings of Leon: “Use Somebody”
6. The Killers: “Mr. Brightside”
7. The Strokes: “Last Night”
8. Spoon: “The Way We Get By”
9. The Hives: “Hate to Say I Told You So”
10. OK Go: “Here I Go Again”
See all 10 posts here.
RIYL: Eric Clapton, Sting, Jackson Browne
Will everyone who feels like they need to hear another version of “Maybe I’m Amazed,” “After Midnight,” or – God help you – “Make It With You,” please raise your hand? Thank you. The rest of you may be excused.
As covers projects go, Marc Cohn’s Listening Booth: 1970 has an admittedly nifty concept; it focuses strictly on songs from the year of its title. But the minus in this equation is that any song popular enough to survive the last 40 years has been played to death. There’s no doubt that Cohn really loves “Wild World” and “Long As I Can See the Light,” but so do millions of other people, which is why you’ve been able to hear the originals (as well as not a few covers of the songs on this album) on classic rock radio every day for at least the last 20 years. If you aren’t going to add something new to add to these songs, why bother?
It’s a question Cohn never really provides a satisfactory answer to here, aside from the obvious one: Because people from Cohn’s generation are suckers for nostalgia, and if they aren’t going to purchase his generally excellent original material — which, incidentally, does a far better job of synthesizing his influences than anything here — then he might as well cash a check and cut a slowed-down version of “No Matter What,” suitable for the next time Adam Sandler or John Cusack decides to film a romantic comedy.
Thoughts this cynical are depressing when you’re listening to classic songs like “Into the Mystic” and “The Tears of a Clown,” but they are, sadly, more interesting than anything that happens during Listening Booth: 1970. The performances are tasteful, the production is finely burnished, and Cohn’s voice remains a marvelously soulful instrument, but this is a hollow exercise. Like a musical Slanket, it’ll put your mother-in-law to sleep with a smile on her face. If you want more, look to Cohn’s albums of original material — or, better yet, the original recordings of these songs. (Saguaro Road 2010)
RIYL: Pink, Alison Iraheta, Paramore
Rock band Automatic Loveletter is a bit of an anomaly. On the one hand, this sounds like one of those Warped Tour, Fuse-era bands that winds up on those tween TV shows. But on the other, this female-fronted outfit is just a damn good rock band with a singer that is clearly gifted. That singer is Juliet Simms, who has one of those voices you just can’t peg – it’s equal parts Janis Joplin and a female Butch Walker. Sound interesting? It is. But it’s more, because this young band has some killer songs on Truth or Dare, their debut album on Sony’s SIN (Sony Independent Network). That said, Simms’ voice can be shouty and one-dimensional at times, and that can distract a bit. But for the most part, this one is worth checking out. Among a solid set of 12 tracks, the best of the bunch are the opening anthem “Heart Song,” which is like one of those Pink/Butch Walker hybrids; “Fade Away,” which sounds like one of those teen summer romance songs; and “Day They Saved Us,” which is a combo power ballad/balls-out rocker. Yes, at times Automatic Loveletter defies description – you just have to hear it for yourself. But it’s all good. (Sony Independent Network 2010)
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