Ags Connolly - How About Now Drumfire Records

Ags Connolly is a name I’ve been aware of for quite a while with respect to a Country 2 Country Festival pop up stage appearance and numerous interactions on social media. Now finally we can add recording artist to his repertoire and without any hesitation it has to be said that HOW ABOUT NOW is an exceptional release that ranks highly among UK artists actively involved in producing country music. You get no pulled punches with Ags and don’t shout too loudly about the current output of Nashville’s mainstream crop in his presence. Regardless of whether you adopt his views or not, understanding the inner qualities of what Ags is trying to re-interpret is sufficient enough to savour the merits of this album which has the depth to reach out to fans across the spectrum of country from mainstream to alt via all ports of Americana.

The concept of this album was born from a meeting between Dean Owens and Ags at last year’s Country 2 Country Festival, with the pair re-convening up in Scotland to bring the project to fruition. Having a stellar group of musicians around him has allowed Ags to bring his fine songs to life and we are served with a collection of 11 tracks that get to the crux of what country music is all about. Maybe it’s not the style embraced by commercial radio, CMA and advocates of evolution but it represents a sound that will be embedded on the epitaph of country music in the unlikely case of it meeting its maker.

Back to the finer details of the album and there is no finer place to start than the opening track where ‘When Country Was Proud’ explicitly leaves you in no doubt as to where Ags Connolly’s allegiance lies. So right from the off we are in the territory of Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and David Allen Coe. This theme, style and sound doesn’t waiver as we weave through the drinking, loneliness, companionship and reflection songs, all delivered with loads of guitars from pedal steel to mandolin and electric amidst a vocal style aching like the tortured soul of country music.

Alongside the excellent opener, the other two tracks worthy of stand out nomination are the nostalgic ‘I Saw James Hand’ and the heart wrenching ‘Trusty Companion’. The former sees Ags recounting his ‘I saw the light’ moment when witnessing the subject of the song playing alongside Dale Watson at a London gig. Many country fans will recognise this scenario as having a particular moment when you were ultimately hooked into the genre.

The lyrical content is far from abstract and the musical production is at a suitable level to give the songs centre stage and this is really what country music is all about. So whether you are cursing what’s already happened as in ‘The Dim And Distant Past’ or wallowing in the confusion of ‘I Hope She Wouldn’t Be Here’, the travails of life are all captured here in a collection of 3 minute songs. However just as we learn to accept the melancholy in a self-comforting way, the final and title track ‘How About Now’ just opens the door for a smidgeon of optimism.

Ags openly states that this album should be viewed as a step into the ‘Ameripolitan’ world inhabited by Dale Watson rather than merely country or Americana but I’m going to beg to differ. This is an unashamed country album that should be gorged upon by all serious fans of country music and not just confined to sub-genre backwaters. HOW ABOUT NOW by Ags Connolly is one of the best UK country albums recorded in recent years and should be showcased alongside the work of My Darling Clementine in how a style immortalised in the past should be preserved for enjoyment in the future.

www.agsconnolly.com


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Robby Hecht - Robbie Hecht Old Man Henry Records

With his roots firmly in the folk inspired singer-songwriter set, Robby Hecht is an established member of the Nashville based informal Americana movement and has the UK in his sights for development in 2014. To support a summer tour when Robby visits some of our established listening venues and a slot at the Maverick Festival, a new album hits the airwaves on March 24^th to showcase why he is a respected artist. Choosing to go down the route of releasing a self-titled record, this 3^rd album of Robby’s has all the components you would expect from a previous winner at the prestigious Kerrville Folk Festival. Although the album has moments of slightly inflated intensity it is best defined by a soft, soothing and serene sound.

Weighing in at 12 tracks and 44 minutes, Robby’s album is a thoughtful introspective record rooted in the art of personal expression. Produced by Lex Price (Mindy Smith, k.d. Lang), the former resident of Knoxville Tennessee has re-created a sound inspired by some of the great singer-songwriters of the past and is a comfortable fit into the wealth of folk-Americana which is currently undergoing a transatlantic resurgence.

There is much merit in raising the awareness of different types of mental illness and Robby doesn’t shy away from using the release to explain how he has come to terms with bipolar. The 3^rd track on the album titled ‘Feeling It Now’ is his own composition on the subject and is a brave attempt to develop a coping strategy. Elsewhere the album has a couple of moments where the accelerator pedal is slightly more de-compressed including the track ‘New York City’ which has had a video made to enhance the album’s promotion. In a similar vein, ‘Papa’s Down The Road Dead’ is one of the album’s more rhythmic numbers but generally, tranquillity is the overriding feel from the listening experience best exemplified by the softening ‘Barrio Moon’.

My favourite track off the album is split between the country sounding ‘Soon I Was Sleeping’ where extra steel infiltrates the instrumentation and the gorgeous vocals of Juno winning songstress Rose Cousins join to form a duet. This is rivalled by the splendid ‘The Sea And The Shore’, a song which had duet status when it was originally recorded last year by Amy Speace and John Fulbright. This extended metaphorical masterpiece is a co-write between Robby and Amy, and his solo version only just falls marginally below the one involving Amy. Another excellent song on the album is ‘Hard Times’ which continually draws you to the song writing style of Gillian Welch during each listen. To add a little more diversity to the music, a touch of horns gives an alternative feel to ‘The Light Is Gone’.

While the album slightly undulates in its mood, the inbuilt tranquillity is a firm fixture of the final three tracks namely:  ‘Cars and Bars’, ‘Stars’ and ‘When I’m With You Now’. However the quality is seamless and the content is an antidote to throwaway pop that falls straight into the arms of an Americana movement raised on a diet of Townes Van Zandt.

When Robby teams up with fellow artists David Berkeley and Peter Bradley Adams under the New American Troubadours banner for their summer European dates, the stakes of song writing are certain to be raised and the bar of anticipation is to be set high. While we wait for these live dates, enjoying this 3^rd release by Robby Hecht is the perfect aperitif. 

www.robbyhecht.com

Anais Mitchell - Glee Club, Birmingham Wednesday 5th March 2014

Riding on the back of a recent success at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, Anais Mitchell gave her Midlands fans a reminder of her talents with this Birmingham gig slotted in at the tail end of this short UK tour. The Glee Club played host to Anais on the evening for a show promoted once again by Cosmic Americana Music and the near 200 turnout justified their decision to bring the gig to the West Midlands instead of their normal Nottingham base. Over the hour and a quarter she spent on stage, Anais breathed a vibrancy that allowed her enthusiasm for song and a distinctive voice to swarm your senses, drawing you into her mystique and slightly quirky world.

For me the depth of song and original addictive vocal style are the primary attractions and why I found YOUNG MAN IN AMERICA a compelling listen when initially discovering Anais. This first opportunity to see her live confirmed the early impressions especially as she included some of the better tracks from that album in the set list. These included the title track, ‘Venus’ and my personal favourite ‘Coming Down’. Also from the record Anais sang ‘Shepherd’ and she shared her family experience of growing up with artistic parents in Vermont, USA by explaining how this song originated from a short story written by her father.

A recurring theme of the evening was Anais constantly returning to her 2010 folk opera album HADESTOWN with songs both being planned and subject to spontaneous and invited audience requests. Of course Anais had to adapt the songs from their orchestral original version to one delivered solo with an acoustic guitar but with consummate ease, and the aid of the immense depth of the songs, she managed the transition effortlessly. Amongst the songs played, ‘How We Build The Wall’ and ‘Wedding Song’ were planned while ‘How Long’ and ‘Flowers’ tested her recalling skills to meet the audience requests.

Not surprising, one of the best received songs on the evening was the award winning version of ‘Willie of Winsbury’ which saw Jefferson Hamer and Anais top the Best Traditional Song category at the recent folk awards in London. Elsewhere during the set, Anais stepped back in time to extract ‘Out of Pawn’ and ‘Old Fashioned Hat’ from 2007’s THE BRIGHTNESS and back three years further to re-visit HYMNS FOR THE EXILED recorded in 2004 and supplying ‘Cosmic American’ to the offerings this evening.

Anais shared several entertaining stories with the audience including spending time on the road with her 9 month old daughter and indulging in a history lesson via Wikipedia with fellow artist Ned Roberts who was opening for her on this short tour. In fact Ned performed a highly accomplished set of contemporary folk to support the main event with, alongside several originals, an excellent cover of Dylan’s ‘Don’t Think Twice’.

Anais Mitchell purveys a style of Americana music that can be best described as alt-folk and there is no doubt that the live version of her material hooks you in to the same high degree as listening to her records. She may be getting well known now in UK folk circles but if you haven’t discovered the delights of Anais Mitchell yet, it’s definitely worth checking out her material and maybe hopefully in the future catch one of her shows when she next returns to the UK.

www.anaismitchell.com

Diana Jones + Jarrod Dickenson - Hare and Hounds, Kings Heath, Birmingham Monday 3rd March 2014

It’s been a few years since Diana Jones last visited Birmingham and a fair number of her fans defied the often uninspiring Monday night slot to catch her return to the city. For this tour, Nottingham based promoters Cosmic American Music decided to utilise the small room at the Hare and Hounds pub and were rewarded with a decent turnout. This bodes well for this relatively new venture of the promoter spreading their wings and enhancing the Birmingham music scene with a serving of quality Americana which has been bypassing the area in recent years.

In support of Diana, the services of her fellow US compatriot, Jarrod Dickenson, were secured and he duly entertained the audience with the usual high singer-songwriter standard that we have come to expect from UK PR stable of Geraint Jones. Jarrod has just released an excellent short EP titled SONGS FROM WILLOW ST with the biggest regret being that funds restricted the record to four tracks. My personal favourite from this EP is the melodic ‘Misty Eyes and A Troubled Mind’, although Jarrod chose to feature more of his previous full length album in the set and limited showcasing the EP to just ‘Your Heart Belongs To Me’. Jarrod was raised in the infamous town of Waco, Texas and the now New York based artist definitely possesses the Lone Star State troubadour genes. He tackled the age old issue of finding employment with ‘No Work For A Working Man’ and added weight to the theory that tough economic times can be fertile ground for the travelling folk singer.

One man and his guitar was replaced by one woman for the evening’s main set, although Diana did have pair of such instruments to aid her brand of Appalachian storytelling utopia. She has the unique trait of possessing a voice steeped in the soul of the mountain although her heritage had to be discovered after a more urban upbringing. Diana’s career continues to grow since the re-connection with her roots and this has been really in evident over her last four albums. The latest record released last year titled MUSEUM OF APPALACHIAN RECORDINGS featured heavily in the set with it both opening proceedings with ‘Oh Sinner’ and closing the evening with the evocative a capello track ‘The Other Side’.

This inspirational album recorded at the title’s cabin in Clinton Tennessee during live sessions is perfectly suited to be shared with intimate audiences and among its highlights featured during the set were the twin state tracks ‘Ohio’ and ‘Tennessee’ as well as the snappy ‘Love O Love’ which acted as a prelude to the encore. Diana turned the spotlight on the audience to select the first track for the extended set segment and there were few complaints for a rendition of ‘Better Times Will Come’. Prior to this there was plenty of old favourites sprinkled across the set along with the usual stories which explain the inspirations for the tracks. The poignant ‘Henry Russell’s Last Words’ never fails to move while male members of the audience get a little unnerved to the murder ballad ‘If I Had A Gun’. ‘Pony’, ‘Poverty’ and ‘Cracked and Broken ‘were familiar tracks from her previous Midlands gigs which have numbered appearances at the Shrewsbury Folk Festival and the Big Sessions when it was held in Leicester.

Paring Jarrod and Diana together was a masterstroke by the organisers and the opening Monday night of March was a lot richer from the experience of listening to two excellent practitioners of contemporary Americana music with a folk twist. Diana continues to be a popular draw for UK audiences and Jarrod will surely grow his stock once word gets around about his talents. 

www.dianajonesmusic.com

www.jarrod dickenson.com

Eric Church - The Ritz, Manchester Saturday 1st March 2014

With the wrapping barely off his fourth and latest studio release, an opportunity has arisen for UK fans to check out live the latest instalment in Erich Church’s quest to be a country music game changer. It may be a brave move to base the name of your record so explicitly on your mission and only time will tell whether the rules are being re-written. However there is no doubt that Church is at the top of his game both as a live performer and a recording artist. It didn't take many listens to appreciate the inner qualities of THE OUTSIDERS and the experience of seeing him live for the first time lived up to the hype generated from his one-off debut UK gig last year.

You know the fiddle and steel is not going to make an appearance at an Eric Church gig, although the banjo appeared from time to time, but this show, at a packed mid-size venue, was far from a rock extravaganza. That is not saying there weren’t times when the guitar-laden six piece band didn’t truly rock the joint but just as THE OUTSIDERS isn’t defined by the ratcheted up sound, the more poignant moments possibly saw the best side of Church as a performer. There was no more definitive example of this theory than the evening’s golden moment with the stunning delivery of ‘A Man Who Was Gonna Die Young’ from the new record. An audience probably split with contrasting knowledge of his career work were highly appreciative of the moments when the band stepped back to give us more of an insight of Church the performer rather than just a band front man.

There was certainly no brashness or arrogance about his on stage persona and at times he came across as a touch humble of the respect he was getting from a market probably still alien to him. The strength of the songs he has written, many with anthem-like qualities, is sufficient enough to bring them to life on the stage. In addition to my personal standout moment, ‘Drink In My Hand’, ‘Sinners Like Me’ and ‘That’s Damn Rock & Roll’ all had an enthralling feel to their live version, while the crowd gave most love to the interactive ‘These Boots’, ‘Homeboy’ and encore opener ‘Smoke A Little Smoke’.

Let’s get the facts out first that ‘Springsteen’ is a classic song with sheer sustainability and it was highly likely that it would bring the evening to a close. Yet it was felt that its introduction could have been more dramatic to milk the anticipation and the live version was delivered at a faster pace than the recorded one I've listened to and enjoyed hundreds of times.Still the audience vociferously played their part on cue and the song’s lyrical structure continues to amaze me. This evening he chose to sample ‘I’m On Fire’ to celebrate The Boss mid-song and there’s no complaints about that.

The hour and twenty five minute set, delivered rather too early in the evening due to the commercial desire of the venue to clear the place for whatever they put on for the remainder of the night, was packed full of songs from across his four albums and was virtually free of chat, which can though sometimes add value to a touring artist’s show. Also on this note, he chose not to deliver the emotive prelude to ‘Devil, Devil’ which was a pity as ‘Princess Of Darkness’ is an excellent piece of prose showing Church’s master depth of genre interpretation. ‘Talladega’, my favourite track from the new album, was one of the four numbers from this release omitted off the set list but on the plus side it was great to get a decent balance of material from the four albums to date.

A new band to me, Cadillac Three, played a lively opening set with a raucous brand of Southern Rock that has been making waves with those who are a partial to venturing down this route of country music. They are certainly an acquired taste and from a personal angle would need further exploration to make a truly subjective comment on them. However this evening was all about the rise of Eric Church to the summit of the brand of country music which is under the jurisdiction of the Nashville majors. Country music has been guided and inspired by its outsiders for many decades and whether Eric Church joins the elite influential club remains to be seen. In the meantime the work-in-progress is highly promising and Eric Church has the gifts, craft and integrity to continue to set the agenda in steering the rock infused side of country music. His healthy UK fan base will continue to grow once word gets around and there was no doubt few complaints from this Manchester crowd.

Set List: Creepin, Cold One, That’s Damn Rock n Roll, Sinners Like Me, I’m Getting Stoned, Drink in My Hand, Give Me Back My Hometown, Jack Daniels (sampled with Livin' Part Of Life), A Man Who Was Gonna Die Young, Dark Side, Devil Devil, Guys Like Me, Lotta Boot Left To Fill, Homeboy, These Boots, The Outsiders  Encore: Smoke A Little Smoke, Like A Wrecking Ball, Springsteen (sampled with I’m On Fire).

www.ericchurch.com

Beth Nielsen Chapman - Birmingham Town Hall Friday 28th February 2014

There have been two main strands to the career of Beth Nielsen Chapman, both immensely respected, and to the great delight of this Birmingham audience, both very much on display during this packed evening of high quality entertainment. The celebration of Beth as a very successful Nashville song writer is currently being honoured by the recent release of her rather good UNCOVERED album and the many fine songs from that record formed the centrepiece of her return to the city. When you take into account her fine voice and acclaimed other recordings which tended to be in a more Adult Contemporary style then this sophisticated mix lent itself to an enjoyable show.

The support Beth received from her core band of Martin Allcock on various guitars, Tripp Dudley on drums and the delightful Ruth Trimble on a variety of instruments ranging from bass, keys, piano and whistle helped make the evening a resounding success but the icing came from the support act Red Sky July. Not only did this talented trio play a wonderful opening set but remained onstage for most of Beth’s as well to generally provide harmony vocals and a touch of extra guitar.

Red Sky July are a relatively new name but comprising of seasoned artists such as husband and wife team Shelly Poole (Alisha’s Attic) and Ally McErlaine (Texas) with American Charity Hair completing the line-up. Together they delivered a harmony driven country folk sound which perfectly suited the girls’ vocals. Amongst a collection of original songs spanning their upcoming and previous releases, a sublime version of Donna Fargo’s 1970’s country hit ‘The Happiest Girl In The Whole Of The USA’ crowned a memorable performance to make many of the audience take serious note.

While on the subject of country music, it is that genre where Beth Nielsen Chapman had most commercial success with some of the very best performers cutting her songs of which many went to number one. In her own bubbly manner, Beth took great pleasure in enthusing about the background of each song and the stories that led to her acquaintance with artists such as Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Vince Gill and Bonnie Raitt. The audience listened attentively and responded positively to most numbers but especially the big Faith Hill hit ‘This Kiss’ and the invited audience participation track ‘One In A Million’. Having giving this album a very favourable review at the start of the year and liking most of the tracks, it was difficult to pick a live highlight but the passion Beth shared regarding the writing therapy gained from composing ‘Simple Things’ during a period of recovering from a serious illness gave this song added understanding.

On a night of many high spots, there was one downside in missing out ‘Five Minutes’, my favourite song from UNCOVERED, but at least there was the opportunity to listen to her other material, much of it sung while playing the very grand in-house piano. Many of the audience were there to share the experience of these songs and her 1997 hit ‘Sand and Water’, a tribute to her late husband, probably had the best reception. The exceedingly talented Ruth Trimble took centre stage for one song and filled every inch of the elegant Town Hall with her beautifully delivered number ‘Goodbye’.  

Just to show her diversity and immense pride, Beth shared a couple of songs from her recently Grammy nominated children’s album, THE MIGHTY SKY, both delivered in an amusing and exuberant style. At the end of this rare and special evening we were left with an exquisite version of the Beach Boys classic ‘God Only Knows’ but the show really belonged to the songs from the talented and creative pen of Beth Nielsen Chapman. While this evening had a nostalgic and reflective feel to it, Beth is far too young to live on past glories and hopefully there is still much more outstanding new material to come. 

Set List: How We Love, All I Have, Here We Are, Strong Enough To Bend, Simple Things, Sweet Love Shine, Maybe That's All It Takes, Meet Me Halfway, Pray, One In A Million, Goodbye (Ruth Trimble), Test Re-Test and Verify, Rockin' Little Neutron Star (Both from The Mighty Sky), Emily, This Kiss, Nothing I Can Do About This Now, Almost Home    Encore: Sand And Water, God Only Knows.

www.bethnielsenchapman.com

Album review of UnCovered

www.redskyjuly.com

Steve Scott Country - Those Tears I've Cried Self Released

THOSE TEARS I’VE CRIED by Steve Scott Country is an intriguing release which succeeds in both striving to conform and challenge convention. With a very slick presentation and set up, Steve seems to have a firm idea of where he is heading .The radio friendly vibes which Steve does not hide as an intended influence are prevalent across the record and the themes will resonate with many. You get the impression that Steve is a highly focussed and principled person and there is sufficient merit in the record to buy into what he is trying to achieve.

The slogans and hyperbole liberally frequent his online profile and they are not too far from the mark in suggesting that Steve Scott is attempting to marry the ideals of country music with the more urban sounds of Detroit Michigan. Certainly many bases are covered throughout the eleven tracks which make up Steve’s sophomore solo release, One concern is whether there is enough country in it for that genre or being suitably progressive enough  for the wider Americana movement. Perhaps the best way to enjoy the record is to lap up its multifaceted approach to music making and the styles it touches regardless of the purist response. 

The hat image and country addition to his name will add weight to recognition in that genre but it is much better focusing on the excellent sentimental ballad ‘Halo’ which is a pure country home style song and is my favourite track on the album. The title track ‘Those Tears I’ve Cried’ follows in a similar vein with a steel-driven mellow sound in contrast to the plethora of pop/rock which decorates a fair proportion of the album including the aesthetically pleasing opener ‘I Think About You’. Any link to the sounds of Detroit will inevitably lead to soul and there are a couple of tracks leaning in this direction. ‘Thoughts About Fire’ and ‘Geronimo’ fall into this category with the latter fuelled by some spicy soulful keyboard solos.

There is a nagging urge on two of the tracks namely ‘Lorra’ and ‘Hide and Seek’ to conjure up thoughts of the Red Hot Chili Peppers in Steve’s vocal style and both songs have a rock feel to their structure although the latter features a dose of mandolin. The most diverse track on the album is when it veers thousands of miles south to the Mexican border with ‘Teqilarama’ where the contribution of trumpet adds considerably to the Tex-Mex sound.

All eleven tracks have emanated from the pen of Steve,with two of the compositions likely to have more appeal in the home market. ‘She’s Made In The USA’ is one such track and definitely resides in the pop/rock category while the emotional ‘Have You Ever Known A Soldier’ is the centrepiece of Steve’s cause of raising awareness for a captured US soldier and his wider military appreciation.

Extended plays of THOSE TEARS I’VE CRIED are probably required to get to the gist of what this album is about and each listen is an increasingly enjoyable experience. There is likely to be enthusiasm for it from a wide base of music lovers and that is a credit to Steve's ability to craft an album that will appeal to many.

www.stevescottcountry.com