album that sounded like a bootleg of a 3 a.m. jam session -- not a surprise, really, considering that the idea for the band came out of impromptu playing at Jack White's house. It’s also unsurprising that the Dead Weather evolved quickly, given that the group went from releasing Horehound to touring to recording again almost nonstop. Sea of Cowards isn’t a radical change from Horehound’s smoky, sludgy sound -- if anything,White, Alison Mosshart, Dean Fertita, and Jack Lawrence go even deeper into their classic rock and blues fetishes -- but it feels more organic, the product of a band instead of four separate personalities. A quick glance at the album’s liner notes shows they wrote these songs in almost every conceivable combination, yet Sea of Cowards sounds more cohesive: dense and charged like the air just before a rainstorm, replete with fat basslines and heavy organ solos equally inspired by ‘70s album rock and silent movie scores. Most ofHorehound's loose ends have been trimmed, but Sea of Cowards still has plenty of weird moments. Witness the lunging lead single and album opener “Blue Blood Blues,” which shows just how much more solid and dynamic the Dead Weather became since their debut -- and also features breathy backing vocals that are more than a little creepy. Sea of Cowardsalso fulfills Horehound's promise of letting Mosshart be the band’s frontwoman. She carries many of these songs, adding spark and shade to their monochromatic tones. “The Difference Between Us” is a particularly bright spotlight for her, showcasing her intense vocals as the band’s blues-rock takes on a dark, sci-fi pop edge thanks to an eerie keyboard riff. Her interplay with White is also more intuitive and exciting: on “Hustle and Cuss,” they switch between singing lead and harmony, with White taking a high part and Mosshartthe commanding low; on the trippy blues-metal workout “I’m Mad,” their voices are almost interchangeable, suggesting they could be brother and sister. Like Horehound, most of Sea of Cowards' songs grapple with the yin-yang of love and hate, with “Die by the Drop” and “Gasoline” yielding some of the most potent results. The album’s deviations from the Dead Weather's signature sound are also more distinct than they were on Horehound, but Sea of Cowards' weirdest track is all White's: “Old Mary,” a psychedelic dirge that plays on the verses of the Catholic prayer “Hail Mary,” closes the album on a unique, if unsettling, note.Sea of Cowards is often cryptic and almost always unrepentantly old-fashioned, its A-side featuring most of the singles and its B-side playing like one long jam. White and company make almost no concessions to their audience, and fewer songs stand out here than they did on Horehound. And yet, this is a more satisfying album overall. Fortunately, Sea of Cowards' mysteries are more intriguing than frustrating.Tuesday, June 14, 2011
The Dead Weather - Sea of Cowards
Sea of Cowards arrived less than a year after the Dead Weather's debut, Horehound, an album that sounded like a bootleg of a 3 a.m. jam session -- not a surprise, really, considering that the idea for the band came out of impromptu playing at Jack White's house. It’s also unsurprising that the Dead Weather evolved quickly, given that the group went from releasing Horehound to touring to recording again almost nonstop. Sea of Cowards isn’t a radical change from Horehound’s smoky, sludgy sound -- if anything,White, Alison Mosshart, Dean Fertita, and Jack Lawrence go even deeper into their classic rock and blues fetishes -- but it feels more organic, the product of a band instead of four separate personalities. A quick glance at the album’s liner notes shows they wrote these songs in almost every conceivable combination, yet Sea of Cowards sounds more cohesive: dense and charged like the air just before a rainstorm, replete with fat basslines and heavy organ solos equally inspired by ‘70s album rock and silent movie scores. Most ofHorehound's loose ends have been trimmed, but Sea of Cowards still has plenty of weird moments. Witness the lunging lead single and album opener “Blue Blood Blues,” which shows just how much more solid and dynamic the Dead Weather became since their debut -- and also features breathy backing vocals that are more than a little creepy. Sea of Cowardsalso fulfills Horehound's promise of letting Mosshart be the band’s frontwoman. She carries many of these songs, adding spark and shade to their monochromatic tones. “The Difference Between Us” is a particularly bright spotlight for her, showcasing her intense vocals as the band’s blues-rock takes on a dark, sci-fi pop edge thanks to an eerie keyboard riff. Her interplay with White is also more intuitive and exciting: on “Hustle and Cuss,” they switch between singing lead and harmony, with White taking a high part and Mosshartthe commanding low; on the trippy blues-metal workout “I’m Mad,” their voices are almost interchangeable, suggesting they could be brother and sister. Like Horehound, most of Sea of Cowards' songs grapple with the yin-yang of love and hate, with “Die by the Drop” and “Gasoline” yielding some of the most potent results. The album’s deviations from the Dead Weather's signature sound are also more distinct than they were on Horehound, but Sea of Cowards' weirdest track is all White's: “Old Mary,” a psychedelic dirge that plays on the verses of the Catholic prayer “Hail Mary,” closes the album on a unique, if unsettling, note.Sea of Cowards is often cryptic and almost always unrepentantly old-fashioned, its A-side featuring most of the singles and its B-side playing like one long jam. White and company make almost no concessions to their audience, and fewer songs stand out here than they did on Horehound. And yet, this is a more satisfying album overall. Fortunately, Sea of Cowards' mysteries are more intriguing than frustrating.
album that sounded like a bootleg of a 3 a.m. jam session -- not a surprise, really, considering that the idea for the band came out of impromptu playing at Jack White's house. It’s also unsurprising that the Dead Weather evolved quickly, given that the group went from releasing Horehound to touring to recording again almost nonstop. Sea of Cowards isn’t a radical change from Horehound’s smoky, sludgy sound -- if anything,White, Alison Mosshart, Dean Fertita, and Jack Lawrence go even deeper into their classic rock and blues fetishes -- but it feels more organic, the product of a band instead of four separate personalities. A quick glance at the album’s liner notes shows they wrote these songs in almost every conceivable combination, yet Sea of Cowards sounds more cohesive: dense and charged like the air just before a rainstorm, replete with fat basslines and heavy organ solos equally inspired by ‘70s album rock and silent movie scores. Most ofHorehound's loose ends have been trimmed, but Sea of Cowards still has plenty of weird moments. Witness the lunging lead single and album opener “Blue Blood Blues,” which shows just how much more solid and dynamic the Dead Weather became since their debut -- and also features breathy backing vocals that are more than a little creepy. Sea of Cowardsalso fulfills Horehound's promise of letting Mosshart be the band’s frontwoman. She carries many of these songs, adding spark and shade to their monochromatic tones. “The Difference Between Us” is a particularly bright spotlight for her, showcasing her intense vocals as the band’s blues-rock takes on a dark, sci-fi pop edge thanks to an eerie keyboard riff. Her interplay with White is also more intuitive and exciting: on “Hustle and Cuss,” they switch between singing lead and harmony, with White taking a high part and Mosshartthe commanding low; on the trippy blues-metal workout “I’m Mad,” their voices are almost interchangeable, suggesting they could be brother and sister. Like Horehound, most of Sea of Cowards' songs grapple with the yin-yang of love and hate, with “Die by the Drop” and “Gasoline” yielding some of the most potent results. The album’s deviations from the Dead Weather's signature sound are also more distinct than they were on Horehound, but Sea of Cowards' weirdest track is all White's: “Old Mary,” a psychedelic dirge that plays on the verses of the Catholic prayer “Hail Mary,” closes the album on a unique, if unsettling, note.Sea of Cowards is often cryptic and almost always unrepentantly old-fashioned, its A-side featuring most of the singles and its B-side playing like one long jam. White and company make almost no concessions to their audience, and fewer songs stand out here than they did on Horehound. And yet, this is a more satisfying album overall. Fortunately, Sea of Cowards' mysteries are more intriguing than frustrating.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
Neil Young - A TREASURE (2011)
A Treasure (Archives Vol.9) de Neil Young incluye grabaciones en directo de los años 1984/1985 con la banda International Harvesters.
"A mediados de los 80 toqué con Rufus Thibodeaux en el violín. Era grande. El difunto Ben Keith, el gran Ben Keith. Tenemos a Spooner Oldham en el piano en algunos de los cortes, en la gran mayoría de los cortes. También tenemos a Tim Drummond en el bajo, que todavía está en el planeta y meneándose. Tim Drummond es un gran bajista, es increíble, como también lo es Joe Allen. En las últimas canciones del álbum está Joe Allen en el bajo, comienza alrededor de 'Southern Pacific'", comenta Young.
El álbum contiene 12 canciones, 5 de ellas inéditas, que han sido extraídas de la gira americana de 1984-85. Esta fue una época complicada en la carrera de Neil Young; sin un disco nuevo y con problemas legales con la que entonces era su discográfica por su excesiva orientación al country, Neil salió a la carretera rodeado de un grupo de músicos de lujo. Bajo el nombre de The International Harvesters, Neil Young agrupó a algunos de los mejores músicos country; Ben Keith, Rufus Thibodeaux, Spooner Oldham, Tim Drummond, Joe Allen o Hargus "Pig" Robbins.
Las grabaciones han sido mezcladas y masterizadas por Tim Mulligan. "Me encanta este disco" ha declarado Neil Young. "No había escuchado estas cintas desde hace 25 años, pero cuando las recuperamos, el co productor Ben Keith dijo 'Esto es un tesoro'".
http://www.lahiguera.net
Amber Jean
Are You Ready For The Country?
It Might Have Been
Bound For Glory
Let Your Fingers Do The Walking
Flying On The Ground Is Wrong
Motor City
Soul Of A Woman
Get Back To The Country
Southern Pacific
Nothing Is Perfect
Grey Rider
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Sunday, June 05, 2011
Saturday, June 04, 2011
Tedeschi Trucks Band - REVELATOR
Revelator is the debut studio album from the 11-piece Tedeschi-Trucks Band, who already have a reputation as a wildly exciting live jam group. That said, the record that Susan Tedeschi and husband Derek Trucks have recorded proves something beyond their well-founded reputation as a live unit: that they can write, perform, and produce great songs that capture the authentic, emotional fire and original arrangements that so many modern blues and roots recordings lack. The duo forged their two individual solo bands (Trucks remains with the Allman Brothers Band) and added some other players. Oteil and Kofi Burbridge and Mike Mattison, as well as drummers Tyler Greenwell and J.J. Johnson are on board, as well as backing vocalists and a horn section. Produced by Trucks and Jim Scott, these 12 songs seamlessly meld blues, rock, Southern soul, gospel, and funk traditions into a heady, honest brew. The record also showcases Tedeschi as one of the finest vocal stylists in roots music, and Trucks, who has become the true heir of Duane Allman in his slide tone as well as his sense of taste and restraint. More than this, Revelator offers proof that this pair and their bandmates are serious songwriters. While the single, "Midnight in Harlem," highlights the softer, soulful side of the band with Tedeschi's croon and Trucks' swooning slide, it's the harder numbers that fill out the story. The sexy opener "Come See About Me," the bluesy, gospelized "Don't Let Me Slide" (one of two cuts written by Trucks with Jayhawk Gary Louris), the second-line funk-blues of "Bound for Glory" with its punchy horns; all of these offer evidence of the real depth that this band abundantly possesses. There's the skittering, slow-tempo guitar and B-3 soul-blues of "Simple Things," and the New Orleans-style horns introducing "Until You Remember," which can distract the listener -- for a moment -- from experiencing these songs for what they are, until Tedeschi opens her mouth and lets the lyrics come up from her belly and drip from her lips and Trucks matches her emotion in his solo: these are love songs. We haven't heard any like them since Delaney & Bonnie! The Eastern tinge in Trucks' playing enters in the psychedelic blues "These Walls," tempered by the power of his wife's vocal. The nasty, funky, Hendrixian droning blues of "Learn How to Love" is textured by Kofi's funky clavinet and Wurlitzer. Speaking of funk, Tedeschi takes her own smoking guitar break in "Love Has Something Else to Say," a slamming, break-ridden funk tune that should have been the single. It combines hard Southern Stax-styled rhythm, soul, blues, and nasty-assed rock for a show stealer. Revelator is a roots record that sets a modern standard even as it draws its inspiration from the past. It's got everything a listener could want: grit, groove, raw, spiritual emotion, and expert-level musical truth.
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