Dave Adkins & Republik Steele "That's Just The Way I Roll" (Rural Rhythm, 2013)
(Produced by Steve Gulley)
An assertive, hard-edged modern bluegrass album, featuring impassioned, sometimes anguished vocals by songwriter Dave Adkins, who gives kind of an "outlaw" roots-rock sound to the songs. The picking is solid and truegrassy, with sweet fiddles and delicate mandolin work... Indeed, the band's sensitive side is often its greatest strength, providing an intriguing contrast to Adkins' growling, bluesy vocals, which break many of the bluegrass conventions... This contrast is perhaps best heard on a couple of noteworthy cover songs, a version of John Conlee's codependent classic, "Rose Colored Glasses," as well as Dave Loggin's folkie-AOR hit, "Please Come To Boston," which both seem like unlikely songs for a bluegrass band to cover, and which both are remarkably compelling. Indeed, the Conlee cover has been echoing around in my head for days, and prompted me to dig out the original and play it as well. Producer Steve Gulley shapes the album sonically as well as with the contribution of several songs, and with smooth harmonies that help temper Adkins' more ragged style. If you're looking for a "new" sound in trad-grass, this album is worth checking out: Adkins' barroom belter singing style might not be for everyone, but I have to admit, after my initial "what the?" reaction, it grew on me. Give it a spin!

Terry Allen "Bottom Of The World" (TLA, 2013)

Barbwyre "Barbwyre" (2013)
Loose-limbed, playful "funkgrass" from this Colorado quartet. They mix bluegrass and western swing with a little smidge of rock and jazz in there as well... If you like, oh say, John Cowan or Sam Bush, you'll probably dig these mile-high hillbillies as well.

The B-Stars "West Coast Special" (Rust Belt Recordings, 2012)
(Produced by Pappy Stuckey)
A nice, low-key set of hillbilly retro from this SF Bay Area band, playing in an oldies groove along the same lines as bands like Big Sandy or the Dave & Deke Combo, harkening back to the pre-rock era when twang was king. A swell set of original material, with some fun (and funny!) novelty songs and plenty of nice, old-fashioned picking. Particularly noteworthy is the steel guitar work by Larry Chung, who taps into the Hawaiian-style steel sound of the 1930s and '40s -- y'know, the older Eddy Arnold records, stuff like that. This is real-deal DIY-indie retro-twang the way I like it! Bet they're fun, live, too...

The Crooked Jades "Bright Land" (2013)

The Good Luck Thrift Store Outfit "Old Excuses" (Heckabad, 2013)

Merle Haggard "The Complete '60s Capitol Singles" (Omnivore, 2013)
You can't go wrong with a collection of Haggard's early Capitol singles, especially when the A-side hits are combined with the B-side backup songs, including gems such as "Falling For You," "The Longer You Wait" and "This Town's Not Big Enough," which are often forgotten on best-of sets and other reissues. Haggard was really on fire when he first hit the scene -- original songs like "Swinging Doors," "Mama Tried," "Silver Wings" and "Bottle Let Me Down" were all just doozies. Buck Owens might have handled the good-timing side of the Bakersfield Sound, but Haggard was its real poet-craftsman, and his stuff in the 'Sixties was his best, if you ask me. This is Merle at his absolute peak. This disc has the added advantage that the tracks are all mixed from the original Capitol masters, so the sound quality is pretty sweet. There are other Merle Haggard best-ofs that are equally satisfying, but this is a killer introduction to his early work, with a slightly more rootsy feel than collections which also go into his '70s stuff. Highly recommended!

Wayne Hancock "Ride" (Bloodshot, 2013)
New stuff from Wayne "The Train" Hancock, a guy who still sets the gold standard for alt-twang authenticity... This album is as strong as anything he's ever done... On a couple of tracks he digs into a surprisingly grungy rockabilly/rock sound (hanging out with that Chicago crowd at Bloodshot, I guess...) but mostly this is the same great acoustic hillbilly retro he's been making all these years, with a dash of Tin Pan Alley swing in there for good measure. Great stuff... highly recommended!

Ben Harper & Charlie Musselwhite "Get Up!" (Concord/Stax, 2013)
I don't review a lot of blues on this site, but I am a blues fan, and my attention was definitely caught by the pairing of blues-pop star Ben Harper and harp player Charlie Musselwhite, one of my favorite musicians of the 1960's electric blues scene. They get pretty gritty and grungy and seem to have a good collaborative vibe, though Harper's pop tendencies come to the fore, and he generally takes the lead role on most tracks. Still, a nice vigorous album in a genre that's had trouble tapping into its roots in recent years. Definitely worth checking out.

Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell "Old Yellow Moon" (Nonesuch, 2013)
(Produced by Brian Ahern)
A summit meeting of two giant figures in the modern American scene, and two of my old musical heroes who, I have to admit, have lost my attention in recent years. Rodney and Emmylou go way back: as a Top Forty country star in the 1970s, she recorded several of his early songs and helped establish him as one of the major songwriters of his generation. She was also his boss for several years, as a guitarist he helped anchor the late '70s edition of the Hot Band, before breaking out into his own highly successful solo career. Of course, there are a couple of ways they could have gone with this album -- super-rootsy or high-tech and glossy, which is kind of the direction they've each gone since the late '80s. I guess you could call this album a compromise between those two poles -- it's mostly too slick and lofty for me, but there's a back-to-basics feel on several songs that's kind of nice, and they pick some interesting oldies to cover, including a slew of Rodney Crowell songs such as "Bluebird Wine" and "Bull Rider," which harken back to the old days. It's also nice to hear them reunited with producer Brian Ahern, who sculpted many of Emmylou's classic early albums, and to hear them sing a couple of songs by their old bandmate, steel guitarist Hank DeVito, who also penned some big hits in the early '80s. All in all, a nice outing that will make a lot of old fans feel all warm and fuzzy.

Kathy Kallick "Time" (Live Oak Records, 2013)
A superlative, picture-perfect West Coast bluegrass album. I've always been a fan of Kallick's warm, pleasantly burred vocals, as well as her flawless sense of melody. When she sticks to a traditional sound -- as she does on this excellent album -- she's plain old solid gold for a true twang fan. Backing her are a crew of low-key locals, regular folks from the SF Bay Area all playing their hearts out with sweet, melodic performances that get it right on song after song. Fiddler Annie Staninec is a particular standout, as is dobroist/banjo player Greg Booth, but honestly, every note on this album is a shiny gem. Kallick is a gracious host, and shares the spotlight with her fellow musicians, giving the lead vocals on several songs over to bassist Dan Booth while generously doling out plenty of room for everyone's solos. There's a sense of warmth and camaraderie on here that's delightful, with an underlying humanity that's sometimes missing on the the slick 'grass albums of today. Among many fine tracks are several sweet and penetratingly soulful gospel songs, notably a high-harmony version of "Lord Protect My Soul" and a brush-arbor "Precious Memories," with a sincere spirituality that's echoed in the reflective yet more secular originals such as the propulsive album opener, "Time" and Kallick's "Fare Thee Well." Other highlights include a cover of Terry Fell's "Old Black Choo Choo" (best known from the '50s hit by Rose Maddox) and a trio of zippy instrumentals. This is one of the most listenable and most satisfying truegrass albums in recent memory... Highly recommended!

The Mavericks "In Time" (Valory Music 2013)
(Produced by Raul Malo & Niko Bolas)
This is the first new studio album from Raul Malo and the Mavericks in nearly a decade -- the band broke up in 2003 and reunited about a year ago, and now they're back with their same classic sound. There are, of course, several of the sweeping, schmaltzy, Orbison-esque ballads that Malo excels at, as well as some bouncier, twangier songs, and a little bit of Latin swing. I prefer the band's uptempo tracks, and there's plenty of both kinds of music on here to satisfy any long-time Mavericks fan. If you liked their old stuff, you'll definitely want to give this one a spin, as well!

Ashley Monroe "Like A Rose" (Warner Nashville, 2013)
(Produced by Vince Gill)
This album's a neotrad dream: great stuff. Ms. Monroe is the most Dolly-licious gal to make it in the Nashville mainstream since Elizabeth Cook a few years back. This set is resolutely Parton-esque, and every bit as rich and rewarding as you'd hope it would be. There are plenty of twangy ballads, as well as a few novelty songs with surprising bite, such as "Weed Instead Of Roses" -- another gem is the Blake Shelton duet, "You Ain't Dolly (And You Ain't Porter)," which harkens back to the glory days when Porter and Dolly recorded one great record after another. Monroe comes from the alt-y side of the street, having collaborated with songsmith Guy Clark and was a member of the rollicking Pistol Annies trio. I sure hope her solo debut does well, because country radio sure needs a shot of real country soul, and this gal's got it. Fans of (old) Dolly Parton or (new) Joey + Rory will definitely want to check this out!

Buck Owens "Honky Tonk Man: Buck Sings Country Classics" (Omnivore, 2013)
Like many Americans, my introduction to classic country music came in part through hearing Buck Owens and Roy Clark singing on the Hee Haw TV program, and although Owens was known as a songwriter and stylistic innovator, he didn't just sing his own stuff on the show. Many fine country oldies found a new audience on Hee Haw, including the songs heard on this fascinating collection. It's fascinating because while Owens sang live while taping the show, the instrumental backup was prerecorded by his band, the Buckaroos, with Owens and his co-stars singing playback later on... But Owens, ever a perfectionist, would work out his vocal arrangements at the same time the Buckaroos did the instrumentals, and this album features not the songs as they were broadcast, but as they were demo-ed by Buck and his band. It's a testament to his high level of professionalism that these recordings, which were originally only meant as scratch tracks, sound so damn good. Plus, we get to hear Owens singing country classics from honky-tonk heroes such as Webb Pierce, Hank Williams, Johnny Horton, Hank Snow and even his Bakersfield buddy, Merle Haggard. There are a few real oldies, too, such as his renditions of Jack Guthrie's "Oklahoma Hills" and Jimmie Rogers' "In The Jailhouse Now," showing -- not surprisingly -- the depth of Buck's hard-country background. One real treat in this collection is hearing him sing a couple of then-more recent hit songs, "Is Anybody Goin' To San Antone" (a huge hit for Freddy Fender), and Johnny Russell's "Rednecks, White Socks and Blue Ribbon Beer," which closes the album. This is great stuff, with Buck and his band in fine form... (It should also be mentioned that the Buckaroos sometimes did kind of pepped-up versions of the songs on Hee Haw, less streamlined and economical than what they'd do on an Owens album, and it's fun to hear these tracks, with a little bit more rock'n'roll and show-offy picking added in the mix... You couldn't always hear this at home on '70s TV, but it's clear as a bell here.) Highly recommended... Hope they can find more stuff like this in the vaults soon!

Pine Box Boys "Worms" (EP) (LTR, 2012)
An odds-and-ends, live tracks and outtakes collection from this grisly, gothic, good-timing' "bloodgrass" band... The Pine Boxers started out as a "cover band" specializing in punked-up versions of old country murder ballads like "Knoxville Girl" and the sort of stuff the Louvin Brothers used to sing. Naturally they branched out into original material -- but with similarly morbid themes -- seen here in songs such as "O Death," "The Band's Drunk" and "Puking Blood Spitting Teeth Being High." This particularly brand of novelty twang isn't really my thing, but if you're into groups like Drive By Truckers (or if you're already a fan of this band) you might enjoy this collection. Apparently, if you buy directly from the band, they'll send you a bigger batch of files... more misery for your money!

Poor Man's Whiskey "Like A River" (2012)
(Produced by Jason Beard & Josh Brough)
A heartfelt, bluegrassy tribute to the late Kate Wolf, foremother of the California contemplative folk scene... Nice, mellow stuff mixing indie-folk and old-timey vibes. Wolf herself was always just a stone's throw away from the '70s West Coast bluegrass scene, and her songs adapt nicely to the banjodelic jug band vibe of this easygoing Northern California crew. As they point out in the liner notes, her songs have been adapted for years by various 'grass and twang artists, but it's nice to hear an entire album's worth of top-flight adaptations. Includes Kate Wolf classics such as "Like A River," "Across The Great Divide," "Everybody's Looking For The Same Thing" (one of Wolf's rare overt novelty songs) and "Here In California," a song whose magnificent chorus encapsulates the real feel of rural California in a few deft lines: Here in California/the fruit hangs heavy on the vine/There's no gold/I thought I'd warn you/And the hills turn brown in the summertime. A nice tribute album that manages to be respectful and reverential while also having fun and breathing new life into old songs... Definitely worth a spin!

Leroy Powell & The Messengers "Life And Death" ($Signs, 2013)
A weirdly uneven album. This starts out with some nice, soulful Waylon Jennings-y, Jamie Johnson-type outlaw-country ballads, and then shifts abruptly and abrasively into some really lame, old-school hard rock. For a split second I thought, oh -- this'll be a little ZZ Top-ish, but then it quickly devolved into stuff that sounded a lot like Kiss. Which I don't mean as a compliment. If he'd stuck to the country stuff, it would have been fine, but the retro-'70s rock thing didn't do much for me.

Don Rich "...Sings George Jones" (Omnivore, 2013)
A true master of twang, the late Don Rich helped define the "Bakersfield Sound," working as Buck Owens' guitarist throughout the 1960s, and as the leader of the Hee Haw house band in the late '60s and early '70s. Rich was the consummate sideman, but other than several mainly-instrumental albums with the Buckaroos, he never emerged as a solo star. Rich died tragically young in a 1974 motorcycle accident, although he did record one solo album, a George Jones tribute recorded in 1970, though sadly shelved by the label and left in the vaults until now. Finally, four decades later, twangfans and Buckaholics can hear this robust, rootsy outing, where Rich blasts his way through a dozen bouncy old classics from the early Jones canon. As a singer, Rich isn't really on par with Owens, but he's got the same down-home charm and the music will have a familiar irresistible appeal. Good-natured, melodic honky-tonk with a few rough edges -- apparently just enough to scare off the record execs in the countrypolitan era, but definitely the right amount for the hard-country true believers of today. Highly recommended!

Junior Sisk & Rambler's Choice "The Story Of The Day That I Died" (Rebel, 2013)
(Produced by Wes Easter)
Fun, traditionally oriented melodic bluegrass with a slight country tinge, played in the style of the great Jimmy Martin. This time around Sisk is specializing in novelty numbers, including the oddly-named title track, which is about a guy who fakes his own death and cashes out his insurance policy as a way to get back at his cheating ex, as well as "Old Bicycle Chain," which is the device what he's gonna whup somebody with if they don't start doing like he wants them to do. On the other side of the coin are several high-quality gospel songs, the most resonant of which is "Prayers Go Up" (and blessings come down), as well as several fine, straightforward trad-grass numbers about the old folks back home and true loves we can't forget. Another solid set from one of the best bands around... Recommended!

Son Volt "Honky Tonk" (Rounder, 2013)

Carl Story "Bluegrass, Gospel, And Mountain Music: 1942-1959" (Bear Family, 2011)
A much-welcome and long overdue collection of classic work by a largely-ignored giant of the golden age of bluegrass. Why Carl Story has stayed so far off the radar is a bit mysterious: I've always found him to be an immensely appealing, subtle performer, with a softer melodic side than your average "high lonesome" traditionalist. Perhaps it's because Story eventually devoted himself almost exclusively to gospel material, and made himself less accessible to secular fans? I dunno. But he was definitely there at the dawn of bluegrass, as this beautiful 4-CD box set shows, collecting all of his studio work from 1947-1959, along with some previously unreleased recordings from 1942... A nice mix of secular and spiritual material, and a powerful testament to one of bluegrass music's greats. Highly recommended.

Townes Van Zandt "Sunshine Boy -- The Unheard Studio Sessions & Demos: 1971-1972" (Omnivore, 2013)

Shannon Whitworth "High Tide" (2013)
(Produced by Seth Kauffman)
Delicate, windswept twang, with a strong indie sensibility; this is the fourth solo album by songwriter Shannon Whitoworth, also familiar as a member of the North Carolina indie-grass band, The Biscuit Burners... Paula Frazier's work comes to mind, although I find Whitworth's vocals (and songwriting) more straightforward and more compelling... These are low-key, pop-tinged songs, combining the slowcore drift of Cowboy Junkies with a hint of the simple melodic drive of indiepop's Camera Obscura. She gets a little glum, but if any of those artist touchpoints pique you're interest, you'll definitely want to give Whitworth a whirl.

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