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RGM first encountered Josh Taerk in late 2017 with the release of his ‘Stages’ EP a five track collection full of lyrical positivity and melody. Less than a year later and Josh is back with ‘Beautiful Tragedy’ which takes up where ‘Stages’ left off. I’m pleased to report that despite a serious haircut Josh hasn’t endured a Samson style loss of his creative strength.
Read MoreRuston Kelly has one of those back stories so strange you couldn’t make it up. Born in South Carolina Kelly's early childhood was fragmented as his dad worked in paper mills and travelled often for work, so every couple of years the family upped sticks. In his early teens Kelly hoped for a career in figure skating, so he moved to Michigan and joined an Olympic coaching team, which proved to be a very tough and lonely existence. Those dreams didn’t pan out, but with the music of Jackson Browne and his dad’s old guitar for company, the songwriting seed was sown. It wasn’t until his senior year in high school that he discovered The Carter Family and Johnny Cash in, of all places, the Belgium city of Brussels that things really started to click. At seventeen he returned to the USA and moved in with his sister in Nashville. Eventually, in 2013 a publishing deal was signed and Kelly placed songs with Josh Abbott and Tim McGraw — that helped pay the rent — before he snagged his own record deal and released the ‘Halloween’ EP in 2017 to impressive reviews.
Read MoreWhen Glenn Frey passed away in 2016 he left a legacy of music of which any artist would be proud. Over the years his work as a solo artist and with the Eagles seems to have divided opinion, for every Eagles fan there seems to be hater just around the next corner, a situation I’ve always found very surprising. ‘Hotel California’ and ‘Their Greatest Hits 1971-75’ (the latter of which is the second bestselling album of all-time with 29,000,000 sales in the USA) are a fitting tribute to Frey and his talents. After forty years I’ll still happily spin 'Hotel California' and those early hits, which I consider to be solid gold classics, and I’m pleased to report the Library of Congress selected the hits album for preservation as "culturally, historically, or artistically significant" so I’m in pretty good company. The 3-CD + 1-DVD set ‘Above The Clouds’ finds us venturing far from those early country rock roots as Frey the solo artist seemed content to follow his muse wherever it took him, generally in a soft-rock / soul / R&B direction. The results, especially looking back in the cold light of day, are uneven but not without some genuinely standout tracks, all of which are presented with a professional sheen when maybe, on occasion, a little grit would have been welcome.
Read MoreGrowing up there was one album that never seemed to be very far from the old stereo in the back room (as we called it) of my family home. That album was ‘Johnny Cash at San Quentin’ and to this day I can’t hear that album and not think of my Dad. There always seems to be a debate over the Prison albums but for me, it’ll always be ‘San Quentin’ that I’ll reach for and Johnny Cash would, in a roundabout way, become the inspiration for Red Guitar Music, but that’s another story. I have a good deal of respect for John Carter Cash and the Cash family who’ve treated the Cash catalogue, in the nearly fifteen years since Johnny Cash passed with great dignity. No signs of mud-slinging and courtroom battles here, maybe the likes of the Zappa and Prince families should take note.
Read MoreLooking back, It must have been four years ago and the fledgling RGM was just starting to get noticed by Pr companies and labels. It was an exciting time; a review of the self-titled Parker Millsap album would lead to an invite to see him open for Old Crow Medicine Show on their UK tour, at The Roundhouse in London, in support of the ‘Remedy’ album. Parker was excellent and he fully lived up to the promise of his record and Old Crow would be up next. Now, to be honest, I wasn’t really fully aware of O.C.M.S. much beyond ‘Wagon Wheel’ but a very quick spin through the highlights of their back catalogue on the day of the show made me think they could be pretty good. Obviously, as any fan of the band knows, they’re a monster live act with songs and musical dexterity to burn. Needless to say ‘Remedy’ became pretty popular in the RGM office in the days that followed so when ‘Volunteer’ hit the RGM inbox I was very keen to check it out.
Read MoreBack in October, I was lucky enough to be invited along to the first night of Country Music Week at Bush Hall in London. The act who had the unenviable task of opening proceedings, in the wake of the Las Vegas atrocity the previous day, were Nashville based duo Jordan Walker and Johnny McGuire collectively known as Walker McGuire. The pair got the evening off to a superb start with a bunch of cool harmony-driven songs laced with charm and humour, while still respecting the fallen. A few months on and the boys are about to release their first EP and the results are impressive.
Read MoreToronto native Josh Taerk (pronounced Turk) is a new name to me but, with heavy-hitting support on his bio from E-Street Band drummer Max Weinberg and John Oates of Hall & Oates fame, my guess was his new ‘Stages’ EP would be well worth checking out. I’m pleased to report this assumption would prove to be correct as ‘Stages’ is a little gem.
Read MoreThe covers album is a tricky old beast and one that few acts manage to fully tame. It’s an endeavour that can easily expose a lack of direction, an absence of fresh ideas or worse still, an ill-judged excursion into self-indulgence. It’s no small miracle, then, that female-vocal-bluegrass darlings The Wailin’ Jennys have made such a coherent success of Fifteen, their first album since 2011’s highly acclaimed Bright Morning Stars.
Read MoreI have recently taken up photography as a hobby, not digital, but on film. I am shunning “Auto” and taking time to compose each shot, being choosy about what I take, as the roll is not infinite. As such, each shot becomes treasured, even if it does not come out as expected. Bob Bradshaw’s new album, ‘American Echoes’, has the feeling of a treasured photo album crammed with fond memories and experiences. Indeed, Bradshaw started his journey in America, which has led to the content of ‘American Echoes’, way back in 1989. It is a product of the people, places and venues he has visited and the experiences he has had in his adopted homeland. It draws on classic American genres ranging from country and folk to bluegrass and the blues. The album is a celebration and a document of the dreamers, poets and sinners that he has met on his journey across the nation’s landscape.
Read MoreRecently the subject of the state of the music business has been the source of much debate in the RGM office...not that we have an actual office, more like a desk really but... The inspiration for much of this chat was a documentary film by Rain Perry ‘The Shopkeeper' reviewed here which explains just how difficult aspects of the business are in 2017. For another side of the modern music business let's take a look at Ron Pope on a one-man mission to demonstrate how to do things in 2017 while remaining fiercely independent.
Read MoreIf ever an album lived up to its title it must be ‘Transatlanticana’ which finds the “Titan of the Telecaster” Bill Kirchen recording an album with the “Godfather of Pub Rock” Austin De Lone. Needless to say the results are pretty amazing and the UK release via The Last Music Company / Proper Records features two bonus tracks.
Read MoreJim Lauderdale is one of the most respected artists working in the country / Americana field today. As a songwriter Lauderdale’s credits include some of the greats of the country genre and beyond (Blake Shelton, Lee Ann Womack, George Strait, Vince Gill, The Dixie Chicks and Elvis Costello) in a career that dates back to the 80’s. His latest solo release is a silky smooth slice of soulful country music that finds Lauderdale working in the UK with Nick Lowe’s band and a host of great players.
Read MoreBrigitte DeMeyer & Will Kimbrough’s first collaborations began some 6 years ago (first on DeMeyer’s 2011 release, Rose of Jericho and Savannah Road in 2014), while continuing to forge successful solo careers themselves. Brigitte DeMeyer’s work has received very favourable reviews comparing her blues-folk-rock to early Bonnie Raitt and Sheryl Crow with the gutsiness of Little Feat’s initial outings. She has opened for Bob Dylan and toured with John Mayall. Similarly, Will Kimbrough’s solo and band work has been championed by critics both sides of the Atlantic with vocal, lyrical and style comparisons to John Lennon, Billy Joel, George Harrison and Neil Flynn to mention just a few. He has toured and collaborated with the likes of Todd Snider and Emmylou Harris. DeMeyer and Kimbrough’s career path together has seen them hone their song-crafting skills, showcasing their talents across North America and Europe. Based in Nashville, this is their first album as an official duo and brings their love of, and influences from blues, gospel, early jazz and country music together; “the good stuff” as Kimbrough calls it. DeMeyer characterises their seamless blend as acoustic soul.
Read MoreThe latest release from Whitney Rose finds the Canadian native embracing all things Texas with a lovingly compiled short-but-sweet set of songs that beautifully capture the sound, feel and traditions of the Lone Star state.
Read MoreWith the holiday season fast approaching the Red Guitar Music team thought it might be time to take a look at some of the seasonal music released this year. Now I will admit, grudgingly, to having a reputation for being a little bah humbug with regard to all things tinsel and fairy lights. Rumours that I make Ebenezer Scrooge look like Father Christmas are really only rumours (honest) so without further ado here is the Red Guitar Music Xmas round-up.
Read MoreThe latest album from singer-songwriter Anna Elizabeth Laube is the enchanting ‘Tree’ a record that is about finding a home and laying down roots. The much travelled Laube, who was born in Iowa, raised in Wisconsin and is now resident in Seattle, must know this feeling of home can be as difficult to find as it is to categorize. It was this recent move to Seattle that would prove to be the unexpected inspiration for the new album while the environmental issues that are so important to Laube are again evident in her songs.
Read MoreWith so much good music reaching us at Red Guitar Music these days we thought we'd add a few more in-brief style reviews for albums we feel are worthy of your attention from Greg Cornell & The Cornell Brothers, Cody Jinks and Lynne Hanson. As regular readers will know we have an eclectic approach here at RGM so you'll find a little folk an album of murders ballads and some old-school country for your perusal
Read MoreVery occasionally an album comes along that just instantly feels like an old friend. It feels like you’ve owned it for years and you’ll always find yourself going back to it when the mood takes you. The title track which opens the new album from The Looking did just that for me. I felt an instant connection; one of those moments when a piece of music suits you right down to the ground and you just know ‘Lead Me To The Water’ is going to be a great album.
Read MoreHailing from Nashville, Tennessee The Cadillac Three are perhaps an unlikely act to be enjoying success this side of the pond. The trio employ a sound that appeals to Southern rockers and country fans alike but historically this has proved a hard sell in the UK. For TC3 this has not been an issue as they’ve been incredibly well received and built an increasingly ardent following with a run of impressive festival slots and headline shows at increasingly larger venues. The release of new long-player ‘Bury Me In My Boots’ and a UK tour, that will include a show at Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London, is confirmation that the guys are on a roll. The band are here to have a good time, turn the music up and crack open the Tennessee Whiskey which kinda helps and definitely works for me.
Read More“Sometimes it feels like darkness has taken over. I know sometimes it feels that hope’s just not there” are the opening two lines of ‘Enjoy It While It Lasts’ from ‘Amen 1’ the debut solo album from Mikko Joensuu. Needless to say when you match the lyrics to plaintive pedal steel, gently picked acoustic guitar and the swell of strings it’s obvious that Mikko Joensuu is dealing with some seriously weighty issues. The fact that the track has an incredibly stark, raw beauty to compliment the melancholy marks ‘Amen 1’ as the beginning of something a little bit special.
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