Susan Cattaneo - Haunted Heart Jersey Girl Music

When Susan Cattaneo’s previous album LITTLE BIG SKY was reviewed here last year, there was a lack of clarity in where the music was heading and the subsequent effect of her talents not connecting with a truly appreciative audience. It is glad to report that there are no such blips with her latest release as HAUNTED HEART is an excellent well-directed album that has the potential to catapult Susan straight into the welcoming arms of the Americana community.

While strong reservations existed as to whether the country pop direction and chasing the hit was the appropriate outlet for Susan, the melting pot of sounds such as country, blues and rock lend a perfect accompaniment to her thoughtful song writing and versatile vocal acumen. Susan hasn’t done herself any harm in securing the services of a stellar line up of assistance whose resume extends from working with Lori Mckenna through Buddy Miller, Jim Lauderdale right to Mary Chapin Carpenter. Under the guidance of Lorne Entress, HAUNTED HEART is a delectable assortment of tunes tipping its hat to a style where steel sits alongside keyboards and electric guitar mingles with mandolin.

Susan has every right to be proud of this lauded collection of self-penned material which provides a stimulating 55 minutes of listening pleasure. Taking away the bookending opening prelude and closing unlisted bonus track, the remaining 13 songs each have their own defining characteristic and where better to start than the twin pair of country standards, ‘Queen of the Dancehall’ and ‘How a Cowboy Says Goodbye’. Tracks like these by contemporary artists such as Susan Cattaneo are essential to moderate the evolution of modern country music to ensure traditions are adhered to. An album of likeminded songs wouldn’t go amiss in many quarters but Susan’s style is far to varied to be constrained by a single genre and this diversity is best exemplified by the jazz/blues tones that illuminate the outstanding title track ‘Haunted Heart’ . This number oozes with sophistication, of which a similar adjective can be applied to the soothing number ‘Revival’.

Photo by Jyoti Sackett

A native of the North Eastern US and graduate from the prestigious Berklee College of Music, Susan has successfully managed to combine these classical influences with the rural experiences of spending time in Arizona. The more earthy side to her music surfaces in the rootsy guitar led blues number ‘Worth the Whiskey’, a subject content obligatory to an Americana album and one which Susan rises to the challenge to roughen up her style. The multifarious angles of the record head towards conventional rock in the track ‘Barn Burning’ where keyboards and electric come to the fore. While lots of artist similarities are mooted in the various press coverage, a more rounded vocal style of Eve Selis springs to mind with some of the rockier tracks. ‘Lies Between Lovers’ is another song falling into this category.

On a softer note, Susan shows that she can also be the Queen of the Balladeer with ‘Done Better’ just shading ‘Memory of the Light’ in this style of song. As the album heads towards its conclusion, the slower pace takes control as the gentler ‘Ingenue’ leads into the more uplifting ‘John Brown’, although both tracks have a strong vocal presence which possibly exceeds their melodic qualities. On the subject of melodies, they are probably at their strongest on the album’s third track ‘Lorelei’, which is the perfect follow up to what is effectively the opening number ‘Abide’. You only need to listen to a few bars of this track to get a feel that Susan is moving in an alternative direction.

Once an artist has produced a really strong product, the challenge of promoting it is slightly alleviated. Susan Cattaneo has succeeded in the first part and, with any justice in the music world, the wider Americana community will do the rest by acknowledging the deep qualities which warrant HAUNTED HEART hopefully being her most successful and respected record to date.

www.susancattaneo.com

Jitterbug Vipers + The Toy Hearts - Hare and Hounds, Birmingham Sunday 1st December 2013

Having made an all-to-brief visit to Austin, Texas a few years ago, it wasn’t too difficult to absorb yourself into the psyche which made this alternative oasis ‘the live music capital of the world’. So whenever exports from the capital of the Lone Star State hit your town, it’s best to expect the unexpected albeit usually with a high quality guarantee. Upon their return from a six month stint in Austin, Birmingham based The Toy Hearts have wasted no time in extending  the invitation to share the talents of the Jitterbug Vipers with a UK audience. In line with several previous evenings over the past year, the band played host to their guests and shared a bill at the Hare and Hounds in Kings Heath.

For the record, the Jitterbug Vipers are a four piece band specialising in creating a sound that swept through the jazz rooms of prohibition era America but the challenge is how to put into words the ambience and mesmeric atmosphere which emanated from their interaction during the hour-plus long set. Amidst a scene of onstage eccentricity and joviality, the audience were seduced by a sound split between smart originals and ongoing standards which provided a taster of an era where legalised drugs reigned supreme over outlawed alcohol and gambling.

However before we were immersed into the vibes of viper jazz, The Toy Hearts announced their return to a home town crowd with a staple and well executed set of that other great musical sound of Austin, Texas – western swing. With a mixture of self-penned tunes and covers from that genre spanning the decades, the trio of Hannah, Sophia and Stewart Johnson have hit on a style which has seriously moved their live show forward. The promise of new material recorded during their extended Austin visit was delayed a little longer. However while this is highly anticipated, the reproduction of songs from their recent CD WHISKEY and carefully selected covers still retain that embedded ability to showcase the high quality sounds from Stewart’s triple neck steel guitar, Hannah’s mandolin and Sophia’s, on this occasion, electric guitar.

With a reasonably sized audience in the venue’s smaller music room suitably entertained by one strand of Austin music, the stage was set for the quartet of Sarah Sharp (vocals), Masumi Jones (drums), Francie Meaux Jeaux (bass) and Slim Richey (guitar) to take you on a journey of discovery deep into an inner world where artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Bessie Smith were central figures. The mood inducing sultry vocals of Sarah are the cornerstone of a Jitterbug Vipers’ set and she extends her talents to co-writing the original material, all of which appear on the latest record PHOEBE’S DREAM, incidentally also produced by her. A touch of eccentricity flanked Sarah in the guise of married couple, Slim and Francie. We learned that they had been married at least 13 or 14 times as well as owning a large piece of land in the wide open spaces of West Texas costing a mere $5. Perhaps the most intriguing and entertaining member of the band was Masumi who added a sheer infectious joy and radiant aura to her percussion role as well as some impromptu off mic yells.

Photo by April Miles

The Vipers excellent new album PHOEBE’S DREAM supplied all the original material for the set with the elegant ‘Viper Moon’, entertaining real life tale ‘Dangerous’ and the humorous ‘Stuff It’ leading the way. Alongside these and other tracks from the record, we learned about the vocabulary and the ethos of this period as well as the origin of one of the evening’s covers ‘Sweet Lotus Blossom’ and its name change from the original one of marijuana. The other classic interpretations from this iconic era of American music included a Billie Holiday number ‘Billie’s Blues’ and the much loved ‘Ain’t Nobody’s Business’, made popular by Bessie Smith.

Aside aspects of the Jitterbug Vipers attempting to live up to the motto of ‘Keep Austin weird’, this band certainly put on a memorable show which grew in stature with each song and story. The judgement of The Toy Hearts, and a few others who have championed this act, certainly paid off. The purchase and playing of PHOEBE’S DREAM is proving to be the perfect night cap following an enthralling experience of seeing the Jitterbug Vipers live.

www.jitterbugvipers.com

www.thetoyhearts.com

The Band Perry - The Institute, Birmingham Friday 29th November 2013

The bandwagon of new country rolled into Birmingham this evening as The Band Perry made the second city their first stop on the UK leg of the Pioneer World Tour. An enthusiastic and committed crowd gave the Alabama raised sibling trio a warm reception with Kimberly endearing the locals by perfecting the art of hometown pronunciation. Mutual love was certainly on the menu as an action packed eighty minute set confirmed the reputation of The Band Perry as being one of the hottest live acts surfacing out of the Nashville majors.

The fast paced evolution of modern country music always has the potential to exasperate the chasm that has always existed within different strands of the genre. The Band Perry have anchored their style securely to the radio friendly and arena fraternity but have an underpinning substance to broaden their appeal and reach out to those who prefer the package a little less gift wrapped. While the stage presence and song delivery from their two studio albums to date rotated between unabated brashness and genuine heartfelt sincerity, the slick yet high octane performance brought the material to life in a way that met the full approval of this mixed aged audience.

The evening was not short of pop/rock overtures as the trio backed by a four piece touring band opened their set with ‘Done’ from the latest album and closing the two-song encore just over an hour and a quarter later with a rip roaring cover of Queen’s ‘Fat Bottomed Girls'. From a personal point of view the gig got into the groove from the second track ‘Night Gone Wasted’ and from then on Kimberly orchestrated the moods from the lower key ‘All Your Life’, concluded with a sampling of ‘I Will Always Love You’, to the rousing ‘I am a Keeper’ and its lively follow on track ‘Forever Mine Never Mind’.

The segment of the show where Kimberly and her brothers, Neil and Reid, shared the roots of their act with the audience went a long way to defining the important role The Band Perry have to play in driving a new generation. The trio of ‘Pioneer’, ‘Amazing Grace’ and ‘End of Times’ couldn’t help but captivate those present at this well attended gig which hopefully demonstrated to promoters that more mainstream touring country artists should add Birmingham to their UK itineraries. As well as sharing the pride of their musical Alabama upbringing, the siblings also acknowledged the influence previous UK audiences had in the ultimate naming of their sophomore album PIONEER which has proceeded to be a very successful venture for The Band Perry.

As impressive as this heart rendering trio of songs was, the current pivotal sound of the band is to step up the pace and there was no finer example of this during the evening than the current US radio smash ‘Don’t Let Me Be Lonely’ which in my opinion serves as a perfect example of their mass appeal. Just prior to the encore we had a reminder of the excellent writing talents of Brandy Clark who had a prominent role in the composing of the popular ‘Better Dig Two’. However for many of the crowd, the anticipated highlight came soon after the band returned to the stage and Kimberly didn’t need to extend the invitation for some vocal assistance to ‘If I Die Young’. At this point of the evening there was an increasingly sad realisation that a personal favourite ‘Independence’ wasn’t going to make the set cut.

Despite this irritating omission, the evening was a resounding success and The Band Perry are living the dream of being an influential act capturing the moment and spearheading a fruitful path for the cross mass appeal sector of the country music genre. As long as artists like The Band Perry are the leading lights of new country then evolution need not be viewed too negatively and the spirit in the title of the PIONEER album can continue to set the agenda. 

www.thebandperry.com

Billy Bragg - Birmingham Symphony Hall Sunday 24th November 2013

Thirty years after launching his recording career, plus a few more engaged in performing, Billy Bragg has lost none of the firebrand passion that has decorated his music, song craft and mission to spread the word of justice. The wrath was even extended to music journalists who the exiled Barking Bard, had taken exception with for being accused of turning country with his latest album TOOTH AND NAIL. Billy duly responded by demonstrating the twang he has always possessed, albeit an Essex variety, in a rendition of his 1992 single ‘You Woke up My Neighbourhood’. This set the tone for an evening where nostalgia sat comfortably alongside the very Americana-feel to the new material.

Despite the sly dig at some music critics, TOOTH AND NAIL is a far-from-subtle and excellent Americana album which has raised Billy’s profile significantly amongst those with a country leaning. As well as extensive touring stateside, which has earned respect from the alt-quarters of Music City, Billy has enlisted the services of a fine up and coming UK multi guitarist in Chris (CJ) Hillman who demonstrated his expertise on pedal steel, Dobro, conventional and B-Bender guitars to bring to life the magical sounds of the current album.

Circulating the lavish surroundings of Birmingham’s Symphony Hall were the delightful tracks – ‘No One Knows Nothing Anymore’, Goodbye, Goodbye’, ‘Chasing Rainbows’ and ‘Handyman Blues’ from this album. Also featured from the release were the ramped up ‘The Reckoning’ which in true Billy Bragg-tradition warned against the far right infiltrating the working classes and the Woody Guthrie penned ‘I Ain’t Got No Home’. The latter portrays the highly respected humility Billy has for the legendary and iconic American troubadour whose relevance in modern times shows no sign of abating. The link between Guthrie and the wider Americana sound peaked with a superb version of ‘California Stars’, as this song put together in association with Wilco proved an adept vehicle for Hillman’s B-Bender to sparkle.

However this two and a quarter hour set was not just confined to his transatlantic inspirations as Billy treated the loyal and partisan crowd to the songs which have defined his career, all interwoven with the political rhetoric that is as engaging as it is virtually a trademark of  his live gigs. So amongst a combination of macro and micro politics, the audience sang along to old favourites such as ‘New England’, ‘The Milkman of Human Kindness’, ‘Sexuality’ and ‘Levi Stubbs Tears’. Probably the most poignant song from his back catalogue to grace the set was a solo version of ‘Between the Wars’ as the four piece backing band, which had integrated so well with the selected songs, gave way for Billy to provide a slice of acoustic ambience.

The anecdotes, stories, pleas and rallying calls were ultimately too frequent to feature explicitly in a concise review but, as well as taking on board the ultimate enemy of cynicism, the tale of an encounter with Ramblin’ Jack Elliot in California was ranked high on impact. It ultimately led into a version of Guthrie’s ‘All You Fascists Bound to Lose’ and best exemplified the link between Billy’s twin passion for music and protest.

By the time the audience filed out of the hall with their ears still ringing from a  finale including ‘Power to the Union’ and the closing ‘Great Leap Forward’, there was perhaps one moment of Bragg brilliance from earlier in the evening to reflect on. His description of Americana as ‘country music for people who like The Smiths’ wonderfully captured the essence of a misunderstood genre. The spirit of such a movement has always resided within the soul of Billy Bragg and, with or without the twang; the onward march of his poetry, music and passion is still in full stride. 

www.billybragg.co.uk

Hidden Trail Records Presents...'Hidden Brighton'

In these days where the Internet has made the world a much smaller place, it is often easy to fail to notice some great music right on your doorstep. With this in mind it is worth noting the ethos, passion and motivation behind the latest project unveiled by Hidden Trail Records The people behind this fairly new venture have scoured their home town of Brighton and its surrounding areas to identify and champion a number of local artists. The result is a 13-track compilation titled HIDDEN BRIGHTON which, as the implicit title indicates, aims to reveal to a wider audience some under the radar acts plying their craft around the town.

The album draws on a multitude of styles encompassing beautiful harmonies, melodic guitar pieces both acoustic and electric, tranquil folk, distinctive vocals and raw indie. The collection is delicately presented to seduce open minded connoisseurs and even if all 13 sounds are not to your taste, the probability of connection with a significant number is high. With the profits of this laudable project going to a local Sussex charity Grace Eyre supporting greater independence for people with learning disabilities, the best approach is to buy the package and then settle for honing in on your preferences.

There has been a growing connection between this blog and Brighton during 2013 including album reviews of Emily Baker and Jamie Freeman, festival musings about Hatful of Rain and a visit to Palmfest in June. That early summer trip took in a Self Help Group gig and the very same combo has donated an alternate demo version of ‘Kings’ to the record. All other artists are unsurprisingly new to me and no doubt to any other out of town listeners. Three tracks that immediately caught the ear were ‘Arrows’ by The Raving Beauties, ‘A Word to the Wise’ by Ellie Ford and Kokopelli’s ‘How to Be’. The former has some cool harmonies wrapping themselves around an infectious guitar sound, while the latter possesses a distinct aching vocal style which oozes roots authenticity. The quiet mellow folk tones of Ellie have that soothing influence which burrows deep into your soul and suitably curls up to implant its tranquillity. The 5 track EP SHOW NIGHT IN is a worthy extension into the world of Ellie Ford.

Perhaps the true legacy of this record for people outside Brighton is take a little more interest in your own local scene as you are likely to find some gems much nearer to home than always seeking offerings in distant lands. In the meantime, give HIDDEN BRIGHTON a chance and as well as backing a good cause, the revealing of an undiscovered talent which enriches your music appreciation is more than likely to occur. 

Track Listing:

Shine - Kill Moon

Sleeptalking - Hella Better Dancer

Arrows - The Raving Beauties

Thinking Above My Station - Flash Bang Band

The Cracks - The Standard Lamps

Kings (Alternate Demo) - The Self Help Group

Last Drive - The Hundredth Anniversary

Seventeen - Woodland Blue

Chalk It Up - Fiona Sally Miller

A Word To The Wise - Ellie Ford

A millioN winterS - tiNhearT

How To Be - Kokopelli

Swamp - Us Baby Bear Bones

http://hiddentrailrecords.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/HiddenTrailRecords

The Jamie Freeman Agreement - 100 Miles From Town Union Music Store

If the mythical music genre ‘Briticana’ ever takes root then, on the evidence of this new release, Jamie Freeman will be right at the core of the movement. With the help of his band The Agreement and a wealth of guest contributors, Jamie has cut a record that combines a plethora of American music influences, all woven together with a distinct British, if not more specifically English, flavour. 100 MILES FROM TOWN is the second album from Jamie who balances a recording career with running the different strands of the Union Music Store and generally being an Americana music activist. This multi-merited release has the potential to nestle securely amongst the finest of British purveyors of this music style.

Diversity is a popular word frequenting the modern day dictionary and over the course of a 43 minute-13 song experience, Jamie fluctuates between folk, country, Americana and  rock n’ roll as well as adding a hint of gospel and even a Mod feel to a couple of tracks. The appeal of the record lies within the layers of musical arrangement and song construction, along with Jamie’s ear for a story and the valuable acquisition of additional vocals to help bring the tracks to life.

Jamie has certainly utilised the gifts of the many top notch artists that pass through his East Sussex base. The instant effect of one such talent is the lap steel and mandolin playing of the Lovell Sisters, Megan and Rebecca, now more commonly known as Larkin Poe, which soaks into the folk oriented opening song ‘The Knight’. Later in the album, Canadian songbirds The Good Lovelies add a sublime harmony touch to the retro but still relevant rocker ‘Two Sugar Baby’ which even before reading the sleeve notes was recalled as a familiar social media handle.

The third and probably most profound interim input comes from highly respected Austin based artist Brandy Zdan who co-wrote with Jamie the album’s standout track ‘Steel Away’. This superb song echoes the vibes from the golden age of west coast country rock and who better to step forward to offer his Pedal Steel services than UK stalwart of this iconic instrument B.J. Cole. To further infiltrate the core of American roots music, Jamie has chosen to promote this album with a classic-styled up tempo Americana murder ballad ‘Hey Hey Indianna’ and reveals his writing ability to pen a serious tale with a catchy hook.

For a closer influence to home, Jamie has assembled a fine band under the collective name of The Agreement consisting of regular contributors Abigail Downs, Jessica Spengler, Jonathan Hirsch and Joe Ellis. The two female band members join guest vocalist Rachel Davies and Jamie to deliver the groovin’ almost instrument free gospel-eque moving song ‘Hey Mama’ which you could envisage being a popular live participation number despite it’s quite sad lyrics and true inspiration. More traditional English influence surfaces on the dobro driven ‘Down from London’ while folk figures strongly on the Amy Tudor poem ‘Message from Limbo’, an acoustic effort very reminiscent to the work of Seth Lakeman. One suspects that Jamie may be rolling back the years a little with the guitar rock style used on ‘Scrabble in Afghanistan’ as vivid images of a post-punk new wave band immediately accompany the solos decorating this song, co-written with the previously mentioned Amy Tudor.

The best of the rest probably lies within the penultimate track, another groovin’ narrative piece titled ‘Annie Ran Away’. This is in effect the album closer as the 13^th and final track is a short piano piece which is intended as a thoughtful response to the previous song. Jamie admits on the sleeve notes that he doesn’t play piano, however this has no adverse impact on the album which is healthily stocked with a wide multi-dimensional offering of string instrumentation.

100 MILES FROM TOWN may indeed turn out to be a rare musical outing for Jamie Freeman but the mileage for appreciation, airplay and live performance has limitless potential. Maybe an early July festival appearance in deepest Suffolk is one possible ideal occasion to hear it live. In the meantime, investment in this album is an enriched activity and will yield little regret.

www.jamiefreeman.co.uk

Rod Picott + Wild Ponies - Elford Village Hall, Staffordshire Saturday 2nd November 2013

Rod, Doug and Telisha in full throttle

For the second time in a month, a trip to England’s rural heartland has unveiled evidence of the true spirit of top notch country, roots and Americana music thriving amongst communities which are sometimes excluded from the schedules of travelling musicians. In the case of this particular evening in the Staffordshire village of Elford, it was a serving of the old and the new as seasoned UK visitor Rod Picott elected to bring East Nashville based duo Wild Ponies with him on this latest European tour. While Rod is an established artist in the Americana scene on both sides of the Atlantic, it was the music of Doug and Telisha Williams, on their first UK visit, which engineered most reflection in the aftermath of this gig.

This is not meant to do any disservice to Rod, who after a few years of touring with his ex-partner on both fronts Amanda Shires had a renewed energy to his performance aided by his fine new record HANG YOUR HOPES ON A CROOKED NAIL and the wise selection of touring partners. The Wild Ponies opened the evening with a five-song set giving a taste of their albums to date before morphing into Rod’s backing band The Gun Shy Dogs. Rod delivered a 90-minute accomplished performance of singer-songwriter fare drawing on material across his several albums from around a dozen or so recording years.

Released on the Ditch Dog Record label, Doug and Telisha adopted the new name Wild Ponies for their latest record THINGS THAT USED TO SHINE and amongst their all-to-brief set included four tracks from the album. Alongside the title track, ‘The Truth Is’, the excellent ‘Another Chance’ and the murder ballad ‘Trigger’ showcased the inner qualities of this Ray Kennedy-produced album. The vocal duties on the evening were the domain of Telisha and right from the first track ‘Ghost of the Knoxville Girl’ off their earlier album of the same name, you could sense a voice rich in the heritage of southern storytelling and an innate ability to get to the core of the subject and style of the music. Telisha’s talents expanded to adding the rhythm of the double bass and perfectly complemented the multi guitar playing skills of Doug who seems to confine his vocal contribution to a number of tracks on the record.

Rod Picott has garnered wide respect over the years for his astute song writing skills and two of his finest recent efforts opened the second half of the set shortly after the organisers of the gig had splendidly served a hearty portion of loaded nachos to the 90-strong audience. ‘Welding Burns’ and ‘Rust Belt Fields’ define Rod’s blue collar, passionate and perceptive style of music making as well as any of his vast catalogue and on several occasions he reminded the audience that happy songs may be at a premium. One such composition ‘Angels and Acrobats’ featured early in the set and like so many of Rod songs has been recorded by others, in the case of this song a neat version appears on Amanda Shires album WEST CROSS TIMBERS.

The essential storytelling repertoire of Rod was in fine fettle during the evening. A particularly lengthy tale preceded ‘Your Father’s Tattoo’, while ‘Circus Girl’ was introduced with a reference to the contribution of Alison Krauss to the track. A slice of philosophical humour was never far away especially regarding his past relationships, yet the true essence of a Rod Picott gig is the endearing quality of the songs and those selected from the new album show no dip in his high standards. ’65 Falcon’ has been considered the strongest track on the record and this closed the main set but the beautiful country vibes of the break up song ‘I Might Be Broken Now’ saw the live rendition raise its profile.

A special mention must be reserved for Hot Burrito Promotions who superbly organised this gig and there is indication that more special evenings are planned for the future. Having booked Rod Picott before, they were always on solid ground with what evening to expect but the lasting impression of this excursion into the village hall communities of the rural shires was discovering the Wild Ponies. Investigating their music is highly recommended and it wouldn’t be surprising if more is not heard and seen of this group in the future.

Set List:

Rod Picott – Welding Burns, Rust Belt Fields, 410, Angels and Acrobats, Circus Girl, You Don’t Know, Missing Anything, Stray Dogs, Your Father’s Tattoo, Could A Been a King, I Might Be Broken Now, Where No-one Knows My Name, 65 Falcon Encore: Down to the Bone

Wild Ponies – Ghost of the Knoxville Girl, Another Chance, Things That Used to Shine, The Truth is, Trigger

www.rodpicott,com




More info about Wild Ponies