Category: Americana

Jimmie Spheeris – Isle of View : Looking Back

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Isle of View - Jimmie Spheeris

The Post Request….

Ok so today on the Record Collectors Facebook  Group a member asked people to dig into their collection and post an album that is  unknown and/or obscure. Well, I have many vinyl albums that fit that description! And many more CDs that do also!

However the album I decided to listen to and write about is the debut album from singer-songwriter Jimmie Spheeris Isle  of View. (Say it three or more times fast). Anyway the album has been one of my favorite quiet night albums since I bought in in the early 70s! However, I think Jimmie’s music has largely been forgotten because his career was cut short by a tragic accident.

\The Tragic Accident

From Wikipedia…

Spheeris died at the age of 34 in Santa Monica, California, when his motorcycle collided with a van at 2 a.m. on the morning of July 4, 1984. The driver of the van, Bruce Burnside, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and felony vehicular manslaughter.

About Jimmie Spheeris

From Wikipedia….

Jimmie Spheeris (November 5, 1949 – July 4, 1984) was an American singer-songwriter who released four albums in the 1970s on the Columbia Records and Epic Records labels.

Spheeris primarily composed on the guitar and piano. His musical genre was generally in the folk music and singer-songwriter traditions, although later work explored jazz, rock music, jazz-rock fusion and new wave music.

With few exceptions, Spheeris’ guitar compositions employed the use of open tunings, also referred to as alternate tunings. Johnny Pierce (November 30, 1953 – December 12, 2005), worked with Spheeris as a recording session and touring artist from 1973 to 1980, and wrote extensive guitar tablature regarding the tunings Spheeris used throughout his career.[6]

Spheeris’ vocal range was primarily baritone and tenor, with occasional falsetto flourishes. His voice is most often described by music critics and fans as “soulful,” “sultry,” or “smoky.” (Read More)

Links for the Further Exploration of the Music of Jimmie Spheeris

Artist Website
Discogs
Wikipedia
AllMusic

The Video

Without a doubt my favorite Jimmie Spheeris song – “I am the Mercury”

 

Stillhouse Junkies – Small Towns

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Since this week’s theme is “It’s been a long time”, the first Roots Music charts I looked at this week we’re the Folk and Bluegrass Charts. Those charts along with the Folk DJ and Euro-Americana charts were where I found most of the new music I liked. However over the last several years, I have listened to more Blues, Jazz and New Age music. One of the reasons is many of my favorite artists including; Jerry Jeff Walker, Guy Clark, John Prine, Leonard Cohen and Jesse Winchester have passed away and I can’t seem to find replacements for them.

Anyway, in the early part of this week I gave several albums the 30-45 second test and came up with a few albums to explore in more depth. And some  that will be in my music rotation for a while. The first album I’m going to write about is Small Towns the latest release from Stillhouse Junkies. Currently, the album sits at number 3 on the chart.  Since I had never heard of the band I had to do a little exploring, Here’s what I found!

Stillhouse Junkies

About Stillhouse Junkies

The band was formed in a distillery in Durango, CO and have garnered a good deal of notoriety. They were named a 2021 IBMA Momentum Band of the Year, Additionally they have been a two-time Telluride Bluegrass band contest finalists. As well as, Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival showcase artist and 2020 & 2021 IBMA World of Bluegrass showcase artists. Not bad for just starting out,

eh?

Stillhouse Junkies is comprised of three very talented musicians and songwriters. As such they share both lead vocal and songwriting duties. The three band members are fiddler Alissa  Wolf, bassist Cody Tinnin and and quitarist, banjo and mandolin picker Fred Kodak. Together, according to their website, they play a “delirious, head-spinning mixture of original roots, blues, funk, swing, and bluegrass music.” Again from their biography>>>>

 the Junkies conjure a wide range of tonal landscapes that pay tribute to the iconic sounds of Gillian Welch, the Allman Brothers, Tim O’Brien, the Wood Brothers, John Hiatt, and countless others while breaking new musical ground with their genre-bending original material.

The Bottom Line

I’ve only listened to Small Towns a few times but each time I listen to the album I discover something new. On the first listen the first thing that caught my attention was Alissa’s fine fiddling and Cody;s bass. However, on subsequent listens Ive heard some good picking from Fred!

Favorite tracks right now are “River of the Lost Souls” and “Colorado Bound”. I do think though as I listen to more songs several more may become favorites! So Check It Out!

However, don’t just take my word to it! Here’s what some others say about Stillhouse Junkies

Listeners can expect a riveting ride through the terrain Stillhouse Junkies bring to life in their music, and a confirmation of why the group was voted the 2021 IBMA Momentum Band of the Year. — No Depression

Stillhouse Junkies make a mighty big joyful noise for a trio!  There is some really fine pickin’ and songwritin’ within. That riff from the title cut, ‘Hillbilly Poetry’, especially grabbed my ear.  Y’all really need to check them out.

— Becky Buller, The Becky Buller Band

Here’s one of my favorite tracks on Small Towns “Colorado Bound”

 

Links for the Further Exploration of the Stillhouse Junkies

Artist’s website
Facebook
Instagram
Amazon

Jeremy Garrett – River Wild Returns Me to Bluegrass!

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River Wild - Jeremy Garrett

So I started this post Sunday, when I was on ADHD overload, watching the Phillies game, listening to Savoy Brown’s Raw Sienna and writing this post??Earlier in the afternoon, I was listening to River Wild by Jeremy Garrett, while watching the game. Jeremy Garrett is one of those Americana musicians I have been listening to over the last several weeks. He is also the subject of this post.

About Jeremy Garrett

Even though I haven’t, over the last several years,  listened to the amount of Americana music that I have previous listened to, there are certain bands whose albums I usually check out The Infamous Stringdusters are one of those bands. However, I unlike my younger days, I’ve never taken time to learn all the band members. If I had I would have known Jeremy Garrett is the band’s fiddle player, along with being an expressive singer and songwriter!

And what a career the infamous Stringdusters have had since they burst on the seen in 2007. That year they won 3 IBMA awards including Album and Song of the Year. Since then, the group has become an international ambassador for progressive bluegrass. Their album count stands at around 16!

About River Wild

River Wild is comprised of twelve bluegrass tracks: four  instrumentals (I love them all!) and eight tracks with vocals. Of the vocal tracks seven were written or co-written by Jeremy. On the other is a classic Bill Monroe song that Jeremy gives a new spin.

The musicians Jeremy assembled for the album include:  Seth Taylor (guitar), Alan Bibey (mandolin), Ryan Cavanaugh (banjo), Gena Britt (banjo), Russ Carson (banjo), Travis Book (bass), Barry Bales (bass), Andy Hall (dobro), Lou Reid (tenor vocals), and Josh Shilling (harmony vocals). All the musicians are great my favorite of the bunch though is the mandolin picker Alan Bibey!

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is River Wild is a terrific album with stellar songs and picking! Like I said I love the instrumentals. However, I do find myself saying “I AM the River Wild” throughout the day! So Check it out! As for me I have a lot more Americana music to check out so stay tuned!

Links for Further Exploration of the Music of Jeremy Garrett

Artist’s Website
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube
Twitter

Here’s “ I Am the River Wild”

Blues with Friends from Dion Makes a Struggling Run Better

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Blues with FRiends -Dion

Ok so I’m doing it again. I started to posts yesterday and I didn’t finish either one of them! So now rather than go back and write a little in each one of them I’ll just plot ahead and write a new posts. Recently, I haven’t run very often on Saturdays, but yesterday the weather conditions were slightly better than they were in Friday, so off I went, with Blues with Friends from Dion providing the soundtrack.

I quickly  realized, even though the temperature was fairly low, the humidity was going to make this a tough run!

The Run

So it became one of those runs during which I need to trick myself. As I reach the 2.5 mile mark my thought become ‘“well you’ve made 2.5 mile you only have 1.5 miles to go you can do that”z. Then at 3 miles it’s 3 miles down only 1 more to go.. “if you’ve gone 3 you can certainly make 1 more“. But even with that semi-positive re-enforcement the last mile was a struggle. Additonally, he emergence of the sun and the lack of shade over the last half mile didn’t help things!  Needless to say I made it, but with no semi-strong sprint at the end. My pace over the last block was more of a slow  crawl. Here are the nerdy details.

The Nerdy Details

Total Miles: 4.08 Total Time 46.52 Pace 11:29

Avg Hr 144 bpm Max HR 157 Cals Burned: 611

I am not going to list the mile splits because the GPS was goofy during they run. Consistently, I was reaching the mile and half mile points well before I normally. Therefore, my pace was actually a little slower than listed above.

The Soundtrack: Blues with Friends -Dion

Throughout the run though I was struggling.  I was still able refocus on this fine new album.’s music. And yes for those of you who remember it is that Dion DiMucci better known mononymously as Dion

For those of you who don’t remember here’s some background from Wikipedia….Dion’s…

…. work has incorporated elements of doo-wop, rock and R&B styles—and, most recently, straight blues. Initially as lead singer of Dion and the Belmontsand then in his solo career, he was one of the most popular American rock and roll performers of the pre-British Invasion era. He had 39 Top 40 hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s as a solo performer, with the Belmonts or with the Del Satins. He is best remembered for the singles “Runaround Sue”, “The Wanderer”, “Ruby Baby” and “Lovers Who Wander”, among his other hits. Read More

About Blues with Friends…

I really enjoyed the album both during the run and  when I listened to it earlier in the week.

From Amazon

Blues With Friends, the new studio album from Dion, is packed with a great batch of songs written during a productive time coming off his latest release. When the legendary Joe Bonamassa was eager to be involved, it inspired Dion to invite others to join the project. He says, “I wanted the best musicians alive like Jeff Beck, Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Van Morrison and more to take them in unexpected directions. Wayne Hood, my producer, brought out the best of them.” Read More

My Thoughts

The bottom is that Blues with Friends is a terrific album. Three of my favorite songs are “Blues Comin’ on ” with Joe Bonamassa and “Uptown No 7” with Brian Setzer. and “Song for Sam Cooke (Here in America)” with Paul Simon. Here it is and it’s a great song….

Check Out Dion on  Facebook or Spotify

Malcolm Wells – Hollerin’ Out Loud Helps a Tough Run!

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Yesterday  The Weather Channel’s morning Running Condition Rating was a 7 out of 10. While that rating is indicative of good running conditions, it’s on the dividing line between good conditions and difficult conditions. For me, today’s conditions were tough. They were tough not because of temperature or humidity but for that damn bright sun! I decided that the soundtrack for the run would be Malcolm Wells and the Two-Timers Hollerin’ Out Loud.

I have started judging the running conditions based on where I first break a sweat and today it was quite early in the run. When I completed the first mile in 10:20 ( a time that would have thrilled me a couple of months ago) I knew today was destined to be a normal run.

At the 2nd mile mark my overall pace had gotten even slower and I was struggling just a little. So I mentally decided to slow down and live to run another day. By the middle of the third mile my pace had slipped to around 10:30 per mile. And all I wanted to do was finish with a pace faster than 10:30.
I had to really force myself to give it all I had over the last 0.1 miles. And with that last sprint which was run  at a pace of 8:28 minutes per mile, I was able to finish with an overall pace of 10:21 minutes per mile. That finish is the one good thing I‘ll take away from today‘s run! Here are the Nerdy Details…..

   The Nerdy Details

Total Dist: 3.12 Time 32:35 Pace: 10:26 min/mile

Mile Splits

Mile-1 10:20   Mile-2: 10:24 Mile-3 10:47

Mile-4 (0.12)8:28

Avg HR 140  Max HR 158 Cals Burned: 384 Cals

The Soundtrack -Hollerin’ Out Loud 

The soundtrack for the run was Hollerin‘ Out Loud the debut release from Malcolm Wells and the Two-Timers. As soon as I heard the Blues harp that kicks off „call My Name“ the first track on Hollerin‘ Out Loud  I knew I  was going to love this album. Then came the great guitar and truly sealed the deal!

Malcolm Wells is a terrific blues harpist who lists the these musicians ascontemporary influences:James Harman, Rick Estrin, Gary Primich, RJ Mischo and The Fabulous Thunderbirds. A few of my favorites!

Malcolm is also a fine composer, arranger and vocalist! Malcolm composed and arranged all eleven tracks on the album.

Malcolm‘s biography on his website is very short

Malcolm was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, in the summer of 1966. He is very good at surrounding himself with talent.

Malcolm Wells Surrounds Himself with Talent

Those that he has surrounded himself with collectively known as the Two-Timers include: acclaimed guitarist Matt Woods, bassist Patrick Recob and drummer Dwight Dario.

Each member has been successful prior to becoming a Two-Timer.

Matt Woods‘ releases have been nominated for a Blues Music Award, two Blues Blast Awards and have twice made the finals in the Blues Foundation’s “Best Self Produced CD” competition;

Patrick Recob, was also a Blues Blast Award nominee, who has played with just about everyone of Malcolm’s influences previously mentioned.

While Dwight Dario‘s has been performing for five decades! He was a seventeen year member of The Big George Jackson Band. Dwight has toured Europe a dozen times and has received several of his own various music organization awards.

Thoughts about Hollerin’ Out Loud

Hollerin‘ Out Loud is a terrific album from track one to track eleven. The songs are varied and interesting and the musicianship on each track is top notch, as are the vocals.

What makes Hollerin‘ Out Loud special for me is Malcolm‘s blues harp and Matt Woods guitar work. My favorite tracks include: “Call My Name”, “Muffin Top”  and “Gentleman’s Bet”

So Check It Out!

Links for the Further Exploration of the Music of Malcolm Wells

Artist’s Website 
Facebook
Album Review
Spotify
Amazon

Here’s “Muffin Top” from Hollerin’ Out Loud

Mike Zito -Resurrection Makes a Good Run Great!

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The following was posted earlier this week on Renaissance Granddad I thought I’d catch you up a bit before I post about today’s run!


The Run

Oh, what a difference a cloudy sky and a temperature that is a few degrees lower make on a morning run! I have been making it a habit to check the running conditions each night before a run. Last night the rating for this morning was an 8 out of 10 until after 10am. And the rating was correct! The beat thing was there was no bright sun beating down on me!

I ran the first mile in just a shade under 11 minutes. (10:59). The second mile was slower because much of the mile was uphill. My mile time was 11:20 and the average pace dropped to 11:09. I ran the third mile and fourth mile in around 10:56 with a little sprint at the end.As a result,  I was able to finish with an overall pace of 11:00 min/mile and I was a happy runner! Here are those pesky nerdy details

The Nerdy  Details

Total Dist: 4.14 Time 45:33 Pace: 11: 00 min/mile

Splits

Mile 1 10:59 Mile 2: 11:20 Mile 3 10:56 Mile 4 10:58? (I screwed up the Fitbit results by trying to edit my time and lost the exact last 1.14 miles)

Avg HR 138  Max HR 152 Cals Burned: 563 Cals

The Soundtrack: Resurrection

The soundtrack for the run was Resurrection the latest release from Blues Guitarist Mike Zito. I’ve been a fan since I first heard his debut album Pearl back in 2010.

Resurrection - Mike Zito

Zito says this about Resurrection ….

….Resurrection is an album of feelings, emotions, and is very personal. The title track is how I once almost lost my love, but it came back stronger than ever. I have had this song in me for years, but it only makes sense now to share it with the world. After the year we have had on planet Earth, I believe we all need a rebirth. This rebirth has given me an opportunity to be who I want to be musically and artistically.” More

About Resurrection

Resurrection was produced by Grammy-winner David Z. He is best known for his long-standing work with Prince. In addition, Z has contributed to albums by Etta James, Billy Idol, BoDeans, Buddy Guy and John Mayall, among many others.

Zito has help from a lot of old friends on Resurrection. While Zito provides blistering guitar work and lead vocals, those old friends helping out include: Matthew Johnson – drums; Doug Byrkit – bass guitar; Lewis Stephens – piano, organ; Zach Zito – acoustic guitar; Lisa Andersen – backing vocals; Eric Demmer – Saxophone; and Fernando Castillo – Trumpet.​

About The Tracks on Resurrection

The eleven tracks on Resurrection include eight original songs that showcase Zito‘s talent as a composer. The remaining four tracks showcase his talent as an interpreter of other compositions, as he tackles the work of JJ Cale (“I’ll Make Love To You”), Eric Clapton (“Presence of the Lord”) and Willie Dixon (“Evil”). 

“I wrote and recorded the music I felt strongest about and I wanted to share it with the world,” Zito says.” I played my guitar the way I want to play my guitar, not the way anyone says I am supposed to play my guitar. I sang the way I wanted to sing – in my voice with my emotions. I had David Z produce for me again after a few years apart. We have now worked on seven albums together and I believe he understands my music and helped me to shape this album to be strong in the year 2021. This is an album that requires deep listening from beginning to end. More

Final Thoughts

I was really glad that unlike many runs today‘s run was fairly easy.  That’s important because I was able to “come back to the music” several times during the run.
What I heard each time was Mike Zito at the top of his game! His vocals were “vintage” Mike Zito and they reminded me at several points along the way of the vocals I first heard on Pearl.
I know this album is going to be in my music rotation for a while! So Check It Out!
Speaking of Mike Zito being at the top of his game. At this years Blues Music Awards at The Blues Foundation’s 42nd Blues Music Awards in Memphis, TN,  Zito won two awards

The first award was in the category of Blues Rock Artist. While the second wasBlues Rock Album of the Year for Mike Zito and Friends – Rock ‘n’ Roll:  A Tribute to Chuck Berry. Check it Out, too!!

Links for the Further Exploration of the Music of Mike Zito

Here’s a short playlist of the songs on Resurrection. At the 3.25 mile mark of today’s run I “came back to the music” and chuckled when I heard “Running Man”…..

 

Brooks Williams Little Lion Kicks Off My Weekly CD Listens!

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Little Lion - Brooks Williams Album Cover

Little Lion – Brooks Williams

Amazon  Website

 

As part of my on-going effort to listen to music from MY music library, last week, I randomly selected  five albums and loaded them into my CD player. Then at some point in the week I listened to them. I confess that I did listen to one of them twice? Any guesses on which one? Anyway here are the five albums…..

This is one of my favorite acoustic guitar albums. The album was released in 2000. It was his second release coming on the heels of Brook’s Hundred Year Shadow.

My wife and I saw him at The Main Point in Bryan Mawr around the time of the release Hundred Year Shadow album, which had been getting a lot of air time on Philly’s WXPN. When I spoke with him during  the break in the show, I told him I was in awe of his guitar work. He said that was his first love. He also said he was working on an acoustic guitar album!

New Riders of the Purple Sage – New Riders of the Purple Sage (NPRS)

New Riders of the Purple Sage Album Cover

New Riders of the Purple Sage – New Ridersof the Purple Sage

Amazon  Website

While this is the CD version NRPS’s debut album, I do own the album on vinyl.  NPRS along with Poco laid the groundwork for my life long love of country rock.

If you guessed, at the beginning of this post, this was the album I listened to twice, you were correct!

My wife and I always say “we were hippies without the drugs” and I lived vicariously through the music of bands like NPRS and Jefferson Airplane. “Henry” is one of my an all-time favorite songs.

Step Right Up – Charlie Robison

Amazon   Website

Charlie Robison, his brother Bruce, pat Green and Jack Ingram and other Texas Music artists were are staples in my music rotation in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

During those years Charlie’s wife was a member of the Dixie Chicks. “ The Wedding Song” which features Emily’s band mate Natalie Maines is probably the best known track on the album. (Natalie’s father Lloyd Maines was, at the time,  a bandmate of one of my musical heroes Jerry Jeff Walker and a fantastic one of musics best steel guitar players)

As I listened to this album for the first time in a long time, I realized that Charlie was a damn good songwriter and storyteller. And his prowess is on display in songs on this album in songs like “John O’Reily”, “Desperate Times” and even “one in a Million” which he wrote with his brother Bruce”

Charlie released his last album High Life. 2013. He has now officially retired! I wish him well and after listening to Step Right Up I think I need to go back and visit some of Charlie’/ other albums in my CD shelves.

David Olney - Omars's Blues

Omar’s Blues – David Olney

Amazon     Website

David Olney was one of the myriad of artists who left us in 2020. He died in January of 2020 prior to the start of the pandemic. He was giving his third performance of the day at a folk festival in Florida when he became still dropped his head. It took several minutes before anyone realized he had passed.

David was a world class storyteller and songwriter. Note I say storyteller first because that to me was where he stood head and shoulders above most songwriters.

The late Townes Van Zandt famously said of Olney: “Any time anyone asks me who my favorite music writers are… I say Mozart, Lightnin Hopkins, Bob Dylan and Dave Olney. Dave Olney is one of the best songwriters I’ve ever heard — and that’s true. I mean that from my heart.”…

For more on David Olney and his storytelling magic, check out my full post here.

Voices from Heaven – Vol.2 – Runaround Malonen and Trom Syverson

Now I will confess I didn’t listen to all of the fifth album Voices from Heaven. However you can read a post I wrote about the album back in 2017 here

On the sidebar is a playlist from Spotify containing songs from three of the above albums.  Omar’s Blues is not on Spotify. So here is an official video from David Olney’s This Side or the Other

Doc Watson – Elementary Dr. Watsonn – Always a Joy!

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Doc Watson - Elementary Doctor Watson

Roots: Doc Watson – Elementary Doctor Watson

Doc Watson is one of the foundations of my folk music library.
The other night, I revisited one of my favorite Doc Watson albums:
Elementary Doctor Watson.

Doc Watson was an essential part of the 1960s Folk Music Revival.
From Wikipedia:

Biographical Information
Arthel Lane “Doc” Watson (March 3, 1923 – May 29, 2012) was an American guitarist,
songwriter, and singer of country and gospel music.
Watson won seven Grammy Awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
His fingerstyle and flatpicking skills, as well as his knowledge of traditional
American music, were highly regarded.

Blind from a young age, he performed with his son, guitarist Merle Watson,
for over 15 years until Merle’s death in 1985 in an accident on the family farm.

Elementary Doctor Watson (1972

I can’t remember which I bought first—The Essential Doc Watson (1973)
or Elementary Doctor Watson (1972)—but after 50 years,
it doesn’t really matter. Both albums became cornerstones of my collection.
Essential pulled from his Vanguard recordings,
while Elementary was his first on the Poppy label.

This album has always been a “go-to” whenever I need a lift.
The opening track, “Going Down the Road Feeling Bad”,
instantly puts a smile on my face. Then comes a heartfelt cover of Tom Paxton’s
“The Last Thing on My Mind”, and by the time I hit
“Freight Train Boogie”, I’m all in.

The bottom line: Elementary Doctor Watson is a
terrific album. I never lose my awe watching Doc play—he makes it all look effortless,
and he did it blind. Simply amazing!

Other Favorite Doc Watson Albums

  • Lonesome Road (1977) – with Merle Watson
  • Doc and Merle Watson’s Guitar Album (1983)

Note to self: give these a spin soon!

All told, Doc recorded 38 studio albums and 16 live albums,
along with 23 compilation releases. His music is timeless—check him out!

Links for Further Exploration

Doc Watson – “Going Down this Road Feelin’ Bad”

Helpimg out on this performance are the great Tony Rice, Dan Crary Steve Ksufman and Jack Lawrence

John Gorka – Land of the Bottom Line

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Land of the Bottomline John Gorka

I often divide my folk music collection into Roots, Branches and Leaves. The roots are artists who I listened to in the 60s and 70s. The branches are folks I discovered in the 80s through 2010. Finally, the leaves are musicians I have discovered since 2010, when I started to write about music. Today I listened to the music from one of those branches musicians – John Gorka.

Discovering John Gorka

I first encounter the music of John Gorka on Legacy: A Collection of New Folk Music a compilations disc Windham Hill released in 1990. The album was designed to introduce listeners to a new crop of young singer-songwriters….Some of the artists included on the compilation went on to major label record deals. Others remained fairly obscure. Windham Hill began long term relationships with some of the artists. John Gorka said the following about the album….

.…: “Windham Hill decided to include one of my songs on the first Legacy songwriters compilation. Before it was even released, Will Ackerman called to say that they would like me to record for them. Land of the Bottom Line came out shortly thereafter….

Likewise, it wasn’t too long after I found that I bought my first John Gorka album which was the aforementioned Land of the Bottom Line.  As a sidenote, Bill Morrissey also appeared on the album and it was long after that I bought Inside which was the first Bill Morrissey album I bought.

Land of the Bottom Line

Anyway , let’s get back to Land of the  Bottom Line. . Like many of my folk albums, I haven’t listened to this album for a long time. As a result, I have forgotten what a terrific album it is! From Wikipedia:

Land of the Bottom Line is the second album by contemporary folk singer-songwriter John Gorka. The album was also Gorka’s major label debut for High Street Records/Windham Hill Records. The album was highly acclaimed by critics at the time, and continues to be cited by some as Gorka’s finest work. The album’s fifteen tracks and near hour-long length also provided an unusually large amount of music for a recording of that era. As Sing Out! editor Mark Moss noted in a review, the topics covered run “the gamut of John’s favorite subjects: love, hard luck, local characters, and more.”[3]

John Gorka has the ability to say a lot with a few words. And that ability is fully on display with the opening line from “Land of the Bottom Line.”….

I couldn’t bribe a wino on what I used to make
My Fortune was as sure as the wind
But I was free to wonder and time was on my hands
It was mine to burn and to bend

The Playlist

There are a ton of great songs on the 15 song album. The playlist below includes my top six songs from the album. They are “Land of the Bottom Line”, “Stranger in My Driver Seat”, “Dream Street”. “The Sentinel”, “I Saw a Stranger with Your Hair” and “Armed with a Broken Heart”.

Artist Website
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Amazon

The Video

Here’s John performing “The Sentinel” from Land of the Bottom Line

 

Ellis Paul a Celebration of His Translucent Soul

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Ellis Paul Trnslucent Soul

Last night and this morning, I was thinking about which folk musician to listen to today.
When I stumbled upon the album The Speed of Trees, I took it as an omen:
it was time to spend the day with Ellis Paul.

That decision was doubly confirmed when I received a Facebook notification that today was Ellis’ birthday!

Translucent Soul (1998)

This morning, I cued up Translucent Soul,
the first Ellis Paul album I ever bought.
The album was released in 1998, but I probably picked it up a year or two later.
While I liked the whole album, it was the title track that really turned me into a fan.

His best-known song, “The World Ain’t Slowing Down”,
also appears on Translucent Soul and gained wider recognition when it was used as the theme song
in the Farrelly brothers’ movie Me, Myself and Irene starring Jim Carrey and Renée Zellweger.

About Ellis Paul


Ellis Paul (born Paul Plissey; January 14, 1965) is an American singer-songwriter and folk musician.
Born in Presque Isle, Maine, Paul is a key figure in what has become known as the
Boston school of songwriting—a literate, provocative, and urbanely romantic folk-pop style
that helped ignite the folk revival of the 1990s.
His pop-folk songs have appeared in movies and on television, bridging the gap
between the modern folk sound and the populist traditions of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger.
Read More

The Day After Everything Changed

After listening to Translucent Soul,
I followed it with The Day After Everything Changed,
which may be my favorite Ellis Paul album.

The only time I saw Ellis live was at The Tin Angel in Philadelphia,
when he was touring in support of The Day After Everything Changed.
It was a wonderful show, and after the set he autographed my copy of the album,
which now has a special spot in my collection.

The bottom line: Ellis Paul is a terrific singer-songwriter
with a unique, distinct, and expressive voice.
If you haven’t explored his music, today is a good day to start!

The Storyteller’s Suitcase a Great Album

Ellis continues to write powerful, socially conscious songs.
One standout is “The Battle of Charlottesville”,
written after the tragic events in Charlottesville.
It appears on his 2019 release The Storyteller’s Suitcase
and shows his ability to blend storytelling with current events.

Explore More Ellis Paul