Red Fang

Don't ask me where or what I heard about this band. Whatever it was, it made me jot the name down. After a quick preview, I've now been through it. This is the kind of record that gave the "Ol' Mad Rocker" his moniker. Think Cheap Trick's debut album, some Black Sabbath, a large dash of Motorhead, and more of a Rose Tattoo flavor instead of AC/DC. Out of Portland, OR. This album was so heavy that the digital display froze at 1:12 during the first track while the entire CD played on!

The Minus 5 "Killingsworth"

Wow, I've got to start getting better quality photos than this one...

Anyway, this record was just too country for me. Not that this is a "country " record, it's just not what I had expected after the "Gun" album in 2006. Loved that record! Played lots of it on my "PM in the AM" program on WPRK. For "Killingsworth" you have Scott McCaughey & Peter Buck, along with some of the Decemberists, and I still didn't like it enough to keep. Short (less than 4 minutes), quick well-written songs, but it just didn't work for me even while on a country bent. It received some excellent reviews, and even appeared on one respected "Best of 2009" list.

Cross Canadian Ragweed "Happiness & All the Other Things"

I am glad these guys are doing well. I really liked their first record from a few years ago while at Music 4 Less. It's funny, but I'm aware that they are from Oklahoma, or somewhere near there, but I always seem to hear influences of Canadian bands, based on the power of suggestion, I guess. For instance, I hear Canadian Hall of Famers' Tragically Hip. I also think of Blue Rodeo (I have their new record coming up later). A car commercial a couple of years ago featured a track by CCR which was credited as the ad played, ala MTV/VH1 when they used to play music videos. I suppose CCR is considered country, since "Happiness..." hit #10 on Billboard's Country Chart. Maybe "country" like the early Eagles were "country."

How about they're "country" like Lynyrd Skynyrd...

Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson "Rattlin' Bones"

I was completely floored by this girl's debut album in 2000. Mind you, she's as country as you can get, via Australia! She has an unmistakable voice and beautiful songs to sing, many of which she wrote. She's a huge star Down Under and should be here, but I guess she's too complicated for the Country scene in the US. She's country like K D Lang and Lyle Lovett were country back in the day, pigeonholed that way because it's as close as you could get to a category description. Anyway, she's teamed up on "Rattlin'Bones" with her husband, and initially I was jealous, thinking he'd rob me of one of my favorite talents of this decade. When this album came out in 2008, I listened to it briefly in an FYE and could not pull the trigger to buy it, it was just too damn country. Very sparse instrumentation, lots of banjo, some pedal steel, but still that incredible voice of hers. A few months ago I hit another country rock phase (more on that to come) and revisited this album. If you are a fan of the Alison Krause/Robert Plant collaboration, you need to give this record a try. I know it's a couple of years old, but do yourself a favor and listen to this or any of her past records. In my book, she's one of the most underrated artists in music today.

Muse "The Resistance"

I first discovered this band in 2003 with "Absolution" and was so excited by the sound that I actually researched the two older releases, something I very rarely do. "Showbiz" worked for me but "Origin..." didn't. With "Black Holes..." and now this release, Muse is a bonafide, big-time, worldwide smash. You can hear their music at professional sporting events...now that's acceptance in the US market! I saw them live a couple of years ago and was blown away by a three-member band creating all that bombast. There are the obvious Queen influences and I hear Sweet in some of the tracks. Gotta love the classical influences, as well. A piano is a good thing for rock music, in my opinion. Most of all I believe Muse has come into its own sound and identity, and I hope this isn't the peak of their career just yet. But when front man Matthew Bellamy tires of the arena rock scene, he'll be the next Danny Elfman.

Just a quick story about the acquisition of this record. When I purchased the download originally, I wasn't very impressed with the quality and songs and was initially disappointed with it. But after reading multiple glowing reviews, I decided to go online and sample the record from another source, and sure enough, what I had was a hybrid of the new album with some B-cuts and alternate tracks for the 3-part symphony that finishes the album. I revisited my download and finally obtained the proper release, but I wonder if what I have is some sort of rarity to be cherished. If any of you know out there, please let me know!

Chuck Prophet "Let Freedom Ring"

CP got his start in the 80's with a band called Green on Red, a CA based paisley-pop, jangly REM-ish, psychedelic sounding group. He went solo in the 90's but it's the albums released this decade that have hit my collection. Each release has its own aura, "Freedom" having more than a touch of country-folk-roots, but again, each CD is slightly different from the previous, which is why I am certainly going to get the next album without having to hear any of it first. I hear Rolling Stones and Tom Petty in places on this record. This is a back-to-basics release of guitars, bass and drums, featuring songs written by one of the best storytellers out there today.

Joe Henry "Blood From Stars"

I nearly choked on my cereal the other morning when I read the
Birthdays section of the paper, wishing Happy Happys' to
Country Musician Joe Henry! Now I've only been aware of him since 1999, and there's nothing country about him at all since then. OK, OK, so he was at the forefront of what came to be known as "alt country" with his earlier work in the 90's, but come on people, that was 15 years ago (and they wonder why newspapers are dying). The four albums since '99 have been trippy, subtle, jazzy, bluesy...all over the board. They sound like they could have been produced by Daniel Lanois or T-Bone Burnett, you know, the kind that need to be absorbed and experienced. "Blood " has that feeling, like you're sitting in a dark, smoky jazz club, JH on the piano, Marc Ribot seated with guitar in hand, an upright bassist and the tiny trap kit (with brushes) in back. His voice comes off a little like Leon Russell, with songs written in a Tom Waits style. These songs are what I like to call "aural sculptures." He's even had one of them (Stop) "dumbed down" by his sister-in-law, Madonna (Don't Tell Me)!

Metric "Fantasies"

So here's an example of finding a record through referral. I've been giving music to my friend Liz (which is something I do whether I've known you for a lifetime or a week) and she turns the tables on me a couple of weeks ago and hands me this disc. OK, so I put it into rotation in the changer and it comes up a few days later and I'm smiling from song to song. First thing I thought was Garbage, then it was Missing Persons, and on the most recent spin I hear Berlin. This is my sweet-tooth, guilty pleasure of the year (Black Kids was last year's equivalent). Female-fronted, catchy Canadian synth/power pop music...radio hits across the disc (if only radio had brains). Deserving of a little research, I find this is album #4, so off I go to previous releases only to discover that there's no comparison. And apparently I'm not alone as this is their first time to chart in the U.S., for eight weeks no less. Thanks Liz!