New Albums by Todd Snider and Hayes Carll

KMAG YOYO releases February 15th


If you’re one of those people who enjoys songs that tell stories, the first couple weeks of February, roughly, are a good time for you. There are two new releases by artists that are among our greatest musical storytellers coming out during the first half of the month.
On February 5 Todd Snider released a CD and DVD called “Live: The Storyteller,” and on Tuesday Hayes Carll releases his first album since 2008’s Trouble in Mind. Both artists are part of the tradition of America great singer-songwriters. But they also hail from an older tradition, going back centuries and transcending cultures, that of the troubadour who set their tales to music and, as Snider puts it, travel the land “playing them to whoever will listen.”
If you are not familiar with Todd Snider, his live albums are an excellent introduction. His studio albums give a good sense of his witty lyrics and catchy tunes, but his live shows are what really intrigues. To quote the Blurt review by John B. Moore, Snider is “an Americana poet, storyteller and barstool comedian.”
An Oregon native and East Nashville resident, he’s definitely a bit of a hippy folk singer. After all, most of the time he comes out on stage with an acoustic guitar, barefoot, in loose fitting old jeans and shirt or sweater, to sing about traveling across America and the people you meet along the way, with a fair amount of pacifist politics thrown in for good measure.
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Junky Star by Ryan Bingham and the Dead Horses

Ryan Bingham and the Dead Horses


Anyone would forgive Ryan Bingham and the Dead Horses for a disappointing album at this point. Mescalito, their major label debut was exciting and intriguing, with its tales of wandering souls with guitars slung over their shoulder, truck-drivers and trains. Songs alternated between country flavored rock &roll and emotional folk ballads.
Then came Roadhouse Sun. This could well have been the dreaded “sophomore slump” album, but Bingham avoided that trap. While there as songs such as “Country Roads,” which are enjoyable enough, but somewhat cliche, there are also songs like “Dylan’s Hard Rain” and “Hey Hey Hurray” which are startlingly original with lyrics that are pointed social commentary.
So now comes Junky Star. It could have been a major disappointment and no one would have been surprised. But it’s not disappointing; It is unbridled brilliance. It’s the band’s best record to date!
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Praise and Blame. Well, Pretty Much All Praise.

The video below is a recording of “Did Trouble Me,” a Gospel song by Susan Werner, as sung by Tom Jones on his new album Praise and Blame. To most people Tom Jones is probably best know for songs like “What’s New Pussycat?,” “Green, Green Grass of Home,” “It’s Not Unusual,” and his cover of Prince’s “Kiss.” Praise and Blame is his second release on Lost Highway Records, better known for releasing music that might be labeled “Roots Music” or “Americana.” It turns out the fit between Jones and the label is not at all a forced one.

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More Train Songs

Almost exactly a month ago I posted a list of Train Songs, but I did so too early. I had asked the help of friends in Lost HighwayRecords Fancorps. They reminded me of lots of songs I had forgotten and even more that I didn’t yet know. They also introduced me to Jimmie Rodgers, The Singin’ Brakeman. A few suggests came in from other places, too.
Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who contributed. This was fun. I may just take SlowMovinOutlaw up on his suggestion and do another list on another theme. He suggested trucking songs. Maybe, though I don’t know how much that crosses genres. I found train songs that were Country, Rock, Jazz, Blues, Folk, Soul… They’re all here.
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Hayes Carll Album On Sale at Amazon


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