Three Chords and the Truth UK

To borrow that much used cliché from our stateside cousins, there is one word which describes this Terri Clark solo acoustic gig – awesome. It was a little out of the blue when this short four-date inaugural UK tour was announced in February but for those who have followed Terri’s career from the heady days of Nashville stardom to her more recent mature independent direction this was not an opportunity to be missed. The Glee Club in Birmingham’s Arcadian Centre, with its smallish capacity of a couple of hundred, was the perfect venue for Terri to test the water of a live UK following and the intimacy of witnessing an’ A’ list country superstar was the privilege of those fortunate to be present. For well over an hour and a half, the colourful and charismatic Canadian (Albertan to be more in tune with her provincial pride) treated the audience to a wonderful country fuelled journey from the dreams of growing up in Medicine Hat through the early years of Nashville emergence right to the...

In these ever changing times of music industry economics, the constant search for new viable funding models occupies the time of up and coming artists as much as the song writing and producing. U.S. singer-songwriter Jamie Kent is one such artist seeking ways to solve the finance conundrum and he believes he may have discovered a potential solution by democratising his work. As a result of assembling a group of fan backers known as The Collective who have a varying degree of input into his career development, Kent has been able to create, produce and release his sophomore album ‘ Navigation ’. This collection of diverse songs from New England native Kent covers a lot of bases and has the potential to attract a fair degree of mainstream support if it lands in the right marketing hands. The album springs into life with a decent   pop acoustic number titled ‘ Changes’ , also selected as the first single, which explodes mid song when Kent’s fine guitar strumming intensifie...

If you’re on the lookout for music that is the total antithesis of pop then the sixth album from Chicago based singer- songwriter Al Rose is perfectly designed to meet your needs. ‘ Sad Go Lucky’ is a deep eclectic album that while being a touch indulgent has a sophisticated feel that will probably only have limited appeal outside connoisseurs of Americana music. However those listeners prepared to dig deep will reap the rewards from repeated plays with each listen being a voyage of discovery as you grasp the complexity of Rose’s song writing style. A quick glance to the homepage of Rose’s website will give you a flavour of his artistic pretentions with some iconic imagery of 20 th Century American culture setting the scene for those exploring his work for the first time. This twelve track strong album contains plenty of five minute plus songs to test the stamina of a casual listener but his hard hitting and complex lyrics are expertly supported by the usual array of sounds that y...

It doesn’t take long when listening to this album to conjure up images of the ‘Man in Black’ and it’s certainly more circa Rick Rubin than Sam Phillips. In this current climate of a wealth of Johnny Cash imitators and impersonators, to produce a sound so similar to that of one of America’s music icons does risk attracting a little contempt but it would be unfair just to class this record as another tribute act. Firstly, all but one of the recordings are from the pen of singer-songwriter CS Nielsen, and rather than fall back on another lazy cover of ‘ Folsom Prison Blues’ , the only non-original track covered is an old Scottish Borders folk song which gives the album an element of variety just as it develops a little one-paced feel about it. You sense the sound and direction of this album within the opening track when Nielsen references Luke the Drifter, a recording pseudonym of Hank Williams, and that eternal country music road known as the Lost Highway. A few killing, road and tr...

Photo not taken at gig Lucy Wainwright Roche has always shown an independent streak, right from the day she elected to pursue a conventional teaching career rather than instantly ride on the crest of being part of a family with a rich musical heritage. Even now when the genetic pull of exploring her inherent talent has led to the journey from classroom to microphone, she is determined to strike out alone and plot a very individual route to success and recognition. So five years on from the career changing decision, Lucy is still prepared to jump on a plane and be content to singularly undertake a week long low key UK tour, not really knowing what response she is going to get. Yet on the evidence of this penultimate show in the upstairs music room of a suburban Birmingham pub, greater awareness on a much larger scale is surely not too far in the future. Over the course of the evening, Lucy grew in confidence as she entertained the handful of regular concert goers present with a s...

This six-track well produced and impressively packaged EP from the Mandolin Brothers benefits enormously from the input of several experienced Austin based musicians and creates a finished product that fairs well against some of the continental European offerings you come across. This Italian band have been sporadically active with their releases over the last decade but the ‘Moon Road ’ EP recorded and launched in 2010 shows what they can be capable of with a little assistance. The six-piece band led by ‘’Jimmy’’ Ragazzon doesn’t appear to have any brotherly family links on the surface and a mandolin only appears on two of the tracks but you might as well have a memorable   country name if you’re going to try and crack that market. As a band they produce a tight close knit sound that leaves you in little doubt what they’re trying to achieve and what direction they’re heading, with it definitely being more Texas than Turin. However you’re always going to be in fine hands by enli...

Photo by Robby Ballhause Not taken at gig The strong touring presence of the flourishing Canadian folk and roots music scene continues to go from strength to strength as Alberta born and raised artist Cara Luft returns to the UK for a month-long promotion of her new CD culminating in an appearance at the annual Canada Day celebration in London in early July. After the unfortunate scenario of being unable to attend either of the Midlands gigs on this tour, an opportunity to catch her show at Bishop Auckland while on a short break in the North East was one not to be missed and ultimately a very rewarding experience. Cara’s two-set show formed part of a small monthly gathering of folk fans in the Town Hall bar of this County Durham market town and her brand of rock infused folk and roots music entertained those present who were probably more used to the rich vein of local artists participating in the art of performing traditional music. Accompanied only by the exchange of guitar and...

Having recently reviewed the latest themed compilation release from Swedish based label Hemifran, comparisons were always inevitable when presented with an immediate opportunity to check out one of their previous collections from last year. Whereas their latest release took a few listens to appreciate the depth and quality of some of the recordings, there was no such delay with grasping the artistic merits of this album, the second of a two-part series based around the concept of the ‘home’. This was probably due to the down to earth country sound of a majority of the tracks which was more in tune with the album’s theme rather than the inner deep thoughts surrounding the follow up collection of secular hymns. As synonymous with their other compilations, well respected artists from America share the platform with their European counterparts and it’s a credit to the latter that the quality is seamless throughout the album. Also, in line with other Hemifran collections, ‘ I Like It Bet...