On the Right Side of 2014

   As I was putting the finishing touches on my year end, I couldn't help but notice how many veteran acts are on the last half of Disc Two (save Benjamin Booker, Mr. Little Jeans, and even, by comparison, Andrew Bird).  All I'll say is that the old cats still had it this year.  To encourage folks to go out and buy a new artist they're interested in, all the mp3s are tagged with the album they came from.  I've also re-upped all the best of compilations from years past.  Hope everyone has a very happy New Year.


Disc One

Morning	Beck
Life of Doubt	Withered Hand
Long Legged Blonde Memphis	Margot & The Nuclear So & So's
Now Hear In	Cloud Nothings
Cruel City	Augustines
Hard Wired	Shakey Graves
The New SF Bay Blues	Hurray for the Riff Raff
Dogs	Sun Kil Moon
When He's Gone	Drive-By Truckers
Next Time	Curtis Harding
Can You Do This	Aloe Blacc
Alafia	Orlando Julius with The Heliocentrics
The Silent Orchestra	Hamilton Leithauser
I Never Learn	Lykke Li
Holding On for Life	Broken Bells
Close My Eyes	Redding Hunter
This Old Heartache	Lucinda Williams
Lights Out	Angel Olsen

Disc Two

Title Of This Song	Moses Sumney
What Love Looks Like	Mirel Wagner
Love Song	Dawn Landes
Lift Me Up	Michaela Anne
Life of Sin	Sturgill Simpson
I Can't Keep The Tears From Falling	Nude Beach
Cult Of Love	Dum Dum Girls
African Man	Tony Allen
Stranger to My Happiness	Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings
Blue Surf	Dex Romweber Duo
How You Want It Done?	Dave Alvin & Phil Alvin
Dirt	Chuck Prophet
The Killing Season	Mark Lanegan Band
Rescue Song	Mr. Little Jeans
You Got Me Singing	Leonard Cohen
Slow Coming	Benjamin Booker
Recalling the Truth	Robyn Hitchcock
Cathedral in the Dell	Andrew Bird

On the Right Side of Christmas 2014

  It's that time of year again for my annual Christmas mix.  I've also re-upped all the previous ones (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013) for the newcomers to the blog.

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I'll Be Walkin' The Floor This Christmas	Ernest Tubb
Have Yourself A Merry Christmas	Freedy Johnston
Merry Christmas Baby	Ike & Tina Turner
Go Where I Send Thee	Joan Osborne
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen	Los Straitjackets
Father Christmas	The Kinks
Stay In	Army Navy
Christmas Eve	Teenage Fanclub
The Little Drummer Boy	Johnny Cash
Christmas In Vietnam	Soul Searchers
Christmas Time Blues	Roy Milton
The Christmas Song	Jimmy Smith
I Know What You Want For Christmas	Kay Martin & Her Body Guards
Christmas Is Going To The Dogs	Eels
Holiday Spirit	The dB's
Christmas Night	Dwight Twilley
Hang A String Of Lights	Great Lake Swimmers
I'll Be Home for Christmas	Merle Haggard
Let Me Be Your Christmas Toy	Chocolate Snow
Christmas Thyme	The Olms
So Much Wine	The Handsome Family
It Came Upon A Midnight Clear	The Louvin Brothers
Merry Christmas	Sister Lucille Pope
Auld Lang Syne	The Drifters

I Was on My Way to Nowhere

   I'm fairly cognizant of the belief that songs about being on the road are kinda hackneyed.   But, well, you know...I still like them - especially on my morning ride on the commuter train.  I'm also in the process of re-upping the ones from previous years if you're new to the blog.

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Return of the Grievous Angel	Gram Parsons
Trip To Hyden	Tom T. Hall
Driving Along	Nilsson
Is Anybody Goin' To San Antone	Charley Pride
Side Of The Road	Foster And Lloyd
Lucky Moon	True Believers
I'm Movin On	Clyde McPhatter
Lonesome Road Blues	Bill Monroe
Milwaukee Here I Come	Jimmy Martin
I Just Wanted To See You So Bad	Joy Lynn White
Travelin' On	Simon Bonney
Coming Home	Roy Orbison
Lonesome Roads	Carla Bozulich
Green, Green Rocky Road	Oscar Isaac
Eight More Miles	Kieran Kane
Yesterday Clyde Virginia	Terry Anderson
Ramblin Man	Jimmie Dale Gilmore
87 Southbound	Wayne Hancock
Stranger In The Mirror	Tarnation
Water In the Fuel	Paul Kelly & Kasey Chambers

Sing a Sad Song with Buck, Merle, and Wynn

    I haven't done any Los Angeles music scene - past or present - mixes this year, so I thought it
was high time for a 1960s Bakersfield Sound comp.  And while there were a bunch of good acts during this time, Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, and Wynn Stewart were in a league of their own.  I tried hard not to use too many of their standards, but sometimes a boy just can't help himself.

Download Both Discs

Volume 1

Sing A Sad Song	Merle Haggard
Don't Let Her Know	Buck Owens
Unfaithful Arms	Wynn Stewart
Judy	Wynn Stewart
Old Fashioned Love	Merle Haggard
All of a Sudden	Wynn Stewart
Honky Tonk Man	Buck Owens
I'm Gonna Break Every Heart I Can	Merle Haggard
(I Want) No One But You	Buck Owens
Buck's Polka	Buck Owens
I Done Done It	Wynn Stewart
California Cottonfields	Merle Haggard
He Don't Deserve You Anymore	Buck Owens
You Took Her Off My Hand	Wynn Stewart
Gambling Polka Dot Blues	Merle Haggard
Travelin' Blues	Merle Haggard
You Can Always Give Her Back to Me	Wynn Stewart
Down To The River	Buck Owens
Volume 2
Let the Whole World Sing it With Me	Wynn Stewart
If I Had Left It Up To You	Merle Haggard
Where Does The Good Times Go	Buck Owens
I'll Take a Chance on Loving You	Buck Owens
Little Ole Wine Drinker Me	Merle Haggard And The Strangers
Slightly Used	Wynn Stewart
My Shoes Keep Walking Back to You	Buck Owens
The Girl Turned Ripe	Merle Haggard
I Keep Forgettin' That I Forgot About You	Wynn Stewart
Something To Remember You By	Buck Owens
I'll Break Out Again Tonight	Merle Haggard
Angels Don't Lie	Wynn Stewart
Three Cheers For The Losers	Wynn Stewart
Keys In The Mailbox	Buck Owens
Mixed Up Mess Of A Heart	Merle Haggard & The Strangers
The Girl On Sugar Pie Lane	Buck Owens
Don't Spook Me	Wynn Stewart
Long Black Limousine	Merle Haggard & The Strangers

Soul in the Post-Soul Era

   It's probably best not to spend too much time comparing the soul music of the last 35 years to classic soul (I'd call it the period from the early 60s to the mid 70s, but that's just me) mostly because you just sound like an old crank.  Since I probably sound like an old crank a lot more than I think, I think it's best, then, to just groove (as we used to say in the 70s) to all the good soul since the early 80's.   As for the comps below, I tried to stay from those artists who were classic soul stars and still recording in the 80s, 90s, or 00s, but I couldn't help myself and had to include a track from Al Green. (I defend its inclusion on the grounds that it's a duet with Corinne Bailey Rae.)

Side A

Why Didn't You Call Me Macy Gray Comin' From A Higher Place Baby Charles Do The 45 Ryan Shaw Baby Angie Stone with Betty Wright Paradise Lost Kings Go Forth Desert Song Alice Smith White Noise Willis Earl Beal I Need A Friend Curtis Harding Do You Love Me (Like You Say You Do) Lee Fields & The Expressions Who's Gonna Save My Soul Gnarls Barkley Soul Suckers Amos Lee Rocketship Donnie Too Late MED 100 Yard Dash Raphael Saadiq Sign Your Name Terence Trent D'arby When You Love Somebody Leela James Promises india.arie Untitled (How Does It Feel) D'Angelo

Side B

I Need A Dollar Aloe Blacc Feeling Free Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators Hi Roller The Bo-Keys Everything Is Everything Lauryn Hill Back To Black Amy Winehouse Super Rich Kids Frank Ocean Honey Molasses Jill Scott Comin' From Where I'm From Anthony Hamilton Pink Cashmere Prince T.O.N.Y. Solange Answer Me Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings Idlewild Blues (Clean) Outkast Kick The Blanket The Mighty Imperials I Let You Go Ricky Fanté Take Your Time Al Green featuring Corinne Bailey Rae Tell Me What Fine Young Cannibals Always Waiting Michael Kiwanuka Crying in the Chapel (feat. Menahan Street Band) Charles Bradley

An Homage to Jo Carol Pierce: Across the Great Divide, Bad Girls Upset by the Truth, and Songs from Chippy

   It's another bright sunny afternoon here in the Northeast (even though I am currently inside), so I thought some Texas alternative country music was in store.   Specifically a trio of out of print albums from the 1990s all featuring Jo Carol Pierce: Across the Great Divide, an album of Austinites covering Jo Carol Pierce songs; Pierce's own release Bad Girls Upset by the Truth; and Songs from Chippy which features (among others) Pierce, Wayne Hancock, Terry and Jo Harvey Allen, Butch Hancock, and Robert Earl Keen.  I know it's a little blasphemous, but I like the covers album best -  a few missteps and perhaps a little dated twenty years after its release, but most of the performances and songwriting still hold up well.

Across the Great Divide

Sacrifical Island Tombstone	Psycomotor
Queen Of Heaven	Joe Ely
Across The Great Divide	Kris McKay
My Boyfriend	Pork with Alejandro Escovedo
Ruby	Loose Diamonds
Scratch Upon Her Windowpane	Darden Smith
Something More	Lords Of Love
Jim Henry Henley	Spot Removal
Reunion	Jimmie Dale Gilmore
Heaven And Hell (Their Exact Location)	Michael Hall
Does God Have Us By Twat Or What ?	Girls In The Nose
You Bother Me	The Wannabes
Buttons Of Your Skin	Lisa Mednick
Loose Diamond	David Halley & Rich & Katy Brotherton
Borderline Tango	Shoulders
Secret Dan	The Namedroppers
Blue Norther	Gretchen Phillips & Kathy McCarty
I Blame God	Terry Allen
Apocalyptic Horses	Robert Jacks & Kim Longacre

Bad Girls Upset by the Truth

You Bother Me

Blue Norther

Secret Dan

Across the Great Divide

Scratch upon Her Windowpane

Borderline Tango

I Blame God

Does God Have Us by the Twat or What?

Loose Diamonds

Daddy's Song

Apocalyptic Horses

Vaginal Angel

Songs From Chippy

Goodnight Dear Diary	Joe Ely
Across The Great Divide	Jo Carol Pierce
Chippy Narration	Jo Harvey Allen
Buildin' More Fires	Joe Ely
Wind's Gonna Blow You Away	Butch Hancock
Gonna California	Terry Allen
Thunderstorms & Neon Signs	Wayne Hancock
Fate With A Capital F	Joe Ely & Terry Allen
The Way I Was Raised	Jo Harvey Allen
Cup Of Tea	Jo Harvey Allen & Joe Ely
Tongues	Jo Carol Pierce
Low Lights Of Town	Butch Hancock
I Blame God	Jo Carol Pierce
Oil Wells	Jo Harvey Allen &amp Joe Ely
Cold Black Hammer	Joe Ely
Boomtown Boogie	Butch Hancock, Terry Allen, Jo Carol Pierce, & Joe Ely
Back To Black	Wayne Hancock
Just Dancin'	Jo Harvey Allen & Barry Tubb
Whiskey And Women And Money To Burn	Joe Ely
Morning Goodness	Robert Earl Keen & Butch Hancock
Angels Of The Wind	Terry Allen
Roll Around	Butch Hancock
Goodnight	Joe Ely

I Like the Sound of that Tweedy Fellow

     When Bob Dylan, Wilco, and My Morning Jacket played a couple of shows together, one writer labeled it as the ultimate "Dad Rock" event.  I couldn't help but feel more than a bit older than I had just seconds before reading it, but I couldn't deny there was at least a little truth to the moniker. Nonetheless, it didn't deter me from putting together a compilation covering all of Jeff Tweedy's musical ventures over the last 25 years.  In doing so, I was impressed by how many "white guy rock" (for lack of a better term) subgenres he's at least dabbled in - punk, folk-rock, experimental indie rock, classic rock, prog rock, and of course, alternative country. I guess, as Tweedy himself say, one "shouldn't be ashamed" of their enduring fondness for Dad Rock.  Also, fyi, he's got a new solo album coming out in September with his son playing drums.  

Download all three discs

Disc I

When the Roses Bloom Again	Billy Bragg & Wilco
Deeper Down	Wilco
No More Poetry	Wilco
Black Eye	Uncle Tupelo
Me Avive	Wilco
War on War	Wilco
Ever Fallen In Love	Wilco
Just A Kid	Wilco
Speak Into The Rose	Wilco
No Sense In Lovin'	Uncle Tupelo
The Family Gardener	The Minus Five
Dash 7	Wilco
Disc Two
I Love My Label	Wilco
Childlike & Evergreen	Wilco
Handshake Drugs	Wilco
Behold Jeff Tweedy in the Darkness	Deerhoof with Jeff Tweedy
Listen To Her Heart	Wilco
Peace, Love And Understanding	Golden Smog
Joe Dimaggio Done It Again	Billy Bragg & Wilco
Gun	Uncle Tupelo
James Alley Blues	Wilco
I'm Into Something Good	Wilco
Blasting Fonda	Wilco
How to Fight Loneliness	Wilco
Disc Three
Far, Far Away	Wilco
Screen Door	Uncle Tupelo
Alone (Shakin Sugar)	Wilco
I Might	Wilco
Cock In My Pocket	Wilco
Sugar, Baby	Wilco (w/Roger McGuinn)
Sky Blue Sky	Wilco
The Ruling Class	Loose Fur
Any Major Dude Will Tell You	Wilco
Cars Can't Escape	Wilco
One By One	Billy Bragg & Wilco
True Love Will Find You In The End	Wilco

Sucking in the '70s - Volume 6

        This is my 6th Sucking in the '70s compilation (you can still download volumes 1-5, btw).  I think the reason I like this stuff so much is that ineffable 1970's groove, regardless of the particular genre.  I can't quite put it into words, but listen to the last three songs on this comp one right after the another and I think it'll be clear.  Alas, it's my last one in the series (though I always reserve the right to change my mind).


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Viva Tirado	Fania All Stars
Love or Let Me Be Lonely	The Friends of Distinction
I Want to Take You Higher	Ike & Tina Turner
Slow Ride	Foghat
Running On Empty	Jackson Browne
Too Late to Turn Back Now	Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose
5-10-15-20 (25-30 Years of Love)	The Presidents
Run To Me	Bee Gees
Heart of Gold	Neil Young
Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain	Willie Nelson
I'm Easy	Keith Carradine
Sundown	Gordon Lightfoot
The Scenery Has Slowly Changed	Bobby Whitlock
Superstition	Stevie Wonder
Shining Star	Earth, Wind & Fire
Love Hangover	Diana Ross
Fool For Love	Sandy Rogers
For The Good Times	Kris Kristofferson
Come Get to This	Marvin Gaye
And It Stoned Me	Van Morrison

I'm Living in the 80's: Disc Six

       I don't have much to say about this sixth volume of mostly post-punk 80s music, other than it's probably the last one and that you can still download volumes 3-5.   Oh, and I am aware that it's beyond obvious to start this last volume with Killing Joke's Eighties, but I was a pretty obvious fellow for much of the 1980's so it seemed apropos.

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Eighties	Killing Joke
Infected	The The
Natural's Not In It	Gang Of Four
If You Were A Priest	Robyn Hitchcock And The Egyptians
Looking From A Hilltop	Section 25
The Ability To Swing	Thomas Dolby
Come On	The Hoodoo Gurus
She's Lost Control	Joy Division
Down On Me	Jesus And Mary Chain
Desire (Come And Get It)	Gene Loves Jezebel
World Shut Your Mouth	Julian Cope
Bad Life	Public Image Ltd.
Columbus	The Church
2 Boys	Bauhaus
When Your Dream Of Perfect Beauty Comes True	Bill Nelson
Smalltown Boy	Bronski Beat
Ivo	Cocteau Twins
You Cause As Much Sorrow	Sinead O'Connor

In a World of Willie

          I was listening to a lot of Willie Nelson last summer - in particular, discovering his more
obscure 70s stuff.   Additionally, I've  been digging Phosphorescent's dandy Willie tribute album To Willie for several years now.  Hence, a collection of Willie Nelson covers seemed apropos. In doing so, I found out, much to my surprise, that Willie Nelson didn't write Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain (it's a Fred Rose tune, btw).  Still, it's such a "Willie song" (and the guy did write a ton of other great ones), I had to include Elliott Smith's version stay in the mix. Revoke my purist card, if you must (especially since Elliott screws up a verse in his live version), but it really fit nicely.

(Late update 12/4/14: Kevinpat, a friend of the blog, has graciously agreed to share a dandy 3rd compilation.  See below for track listing.)

Disc One

Reasons to Quit	Phosphorescent
You Look Like The Devil	Deadstring Brothers
On The Road Again	Pickin' On Series
I'm a Memory	Sara Watkins
The Most Unoriginal Sin	John Hiatt
She's Not For You	Mark Lanegan
Who Do I Know in Dallas	Merle Haggard
Make Way for a Better Man	Deke Dickerson
Three Days	k.d. lang
Are You Sure	Ray Price
Crazy	Mandy Barnett
Tragedy	Charlie Rich
Somebody Pick Up My Pieces	Bettye Lavette
Blue Eyes Cryin' In the Rain	Elliott Smith
Sad Songs And Waltzes	Cake

Disc Two

I Still Can't Believe You're Gone Kelly Hogan & The Pine Valley Cosmonauts Funny How Time Slips Away Al Green Permanently Lonely The Little Willies I'm Building Heartaches Thomas Marriott Undo The Wrong Justin Trevino Hello Walls Jason & The Scorchers A Good Hearted Woman George Jones Man With The Blues Del McCoury Sister's Coming Home Emmylou Harris One Day at a Time The Flatlanders It's Not Supposed To Be That Way Waylon Jennings Touch Me Buck Owens Hands on the Wheel The Geraldine Fibbers Opportunity To Cry Holmes Brothers Night Life [Live] Aretha Franklin Disc Three Valentine The Beautiful South Heartaches of a Fool Charlie A'Court A Moment Isn't Very Long Johnny Bush I Never Cared for You Deke Dickerson Still is Still Moving to Me Acapulco Radio Bloody Mary Morning Supersuckers Roll Me Up and Smoke Me Bitz 'n' Pieces Band Face of a Fighter Texas Tea Hands on the Wheel Norah Jones You Left Me a Long Time Ago Miss Leslie Don't Say Love (Or Nothing) Bobby Flores The End of Understanding Jim and Eve Selection I Gotta Get Drunk The Little Willies Kneel at the Feet of Jesus George Jones Family Bible Ricky Skaggs Healing Hands of Time Jessi Colter I Never Cared for You Paula Nelson Good Hearted Woman The Everly Brothers It's Not Supposed to be That Way Jackson Taylor and the Sinners Slow Down Old World Richard Buckner I Didn't Sleep a Wink Last Night Colin Cooper Project Yesterday's Wine George Jones w/Merle Haggard My Own Peculiar Way Joe Dolan Lonely Little Mansion Patti Jerome The Party's Over Phosphorescent

There's a Soul on Fire: A Bryan Ferry Retrospective

     I quite liked Bryan Ferry (and Roxy Music) back in the 1980s, but I went through a fairly long stretch where I didn't listen to him at all.  In about 2002, several years after it was released, I got As Time Goes By, an album of all 30s and 40s covers.  Maybe it was listening to the album shortly after seeing the movie In the Mood for Love, which features Ferry's version of the title song, but damn, I loved that album.  So go ahead and call me a New Romantic, but here's a two disc retrospective of his more than 40 year career (I stayed away from anything that's on his 1989 Greatest Hits release Street Life.)

Download both discs

Side One

I'm In The Mood For Love	Bryan Ferry
My Only Love	Roxy Music
Don't Worry Baby	Bryan Ferry
In Your Mind	Bryan Ferry
All I Want Is You	Roxy Music
The Main Thing	Roxy Music
New Town	Bryan Ferry
Manifesto	Roxy Music
I Thought	Bryan Ferry
Make You Feel My Love	Bryan Ferry
Side Two
I Put A Spell On You	Bryan Ferry
Which Way To Turn	Bryan Ferry
Editions of You	Roxy Music
Whirlwind	Roxy Music
Shameless	Bryan Ferry
That's How Strong My Love Is	Bryan Ferry
Ladytron	Roxy Music
Valentine	Bryan Ferry
Always Unknowing	Roxy Music
Help Me Make It Through The Night	Bryan Ferry