It isn't surprising that Joan Osborne was drawn to The Holmes Brothers after meeting them in New York in the '80's. The sound that the band had developed by then, a mix of gospel, soul, country and roadhouse rock was right up her alley. They all became friends and collaborators and in 2001, she produced "Speaking In Tongues". She has returned to produce the new CD "Feed My Soul".
Wendall and Sherman Holmes, and Popsy Dixon formed The Holmes Brothers in 1979, and this is the 4th album that they have done in a decade, all on Chicago's Alligator Records. Wendall's 2008 cancer diagnosis was a devastating blow to the group, but the triumph of his recovery lead directly to the making of this album with it's ever-present sweet and stunning vocals, strong songwriting, gently commanding performances.
I'll feature the album tonight on mvyradio's Uncharted Waters at 9 PM ET. www.mvyradio.com
We had a visit from the band Sonos this week and they joined me on mvyradio's Lunch Hour Wednesday. Sonos is a group of six singers from L.A. who all came out of the Southern California college A Capella scene. They have just released their debut CD, covering songs by artists as diverse as The Jackson 5, Fleet Foxes, and Radiohead. I loved the new record immediately when I heard it last December, and I thought as I listened that it would be great to have the chance to interview Sonos at some point and to hear them live. And that's just what happened inside the cozy main studio at mvy!
The interview process is so great for connecting with an artist or group, to get the inside scoop on what goes on with the creation of a certain sound, how it all comes together, the challenges that present. And then the music plain and simple and superb right there before your eyes and ears. It seems that Sonos is treading new ground inside an old tradition. The harmonies and arrangements are precise but the spirit is free-wheeling. That combined with adventurous song choices make this vocal group one to cheer for.
When Corinne Bailey Rae's self-titled debut album came out in 2006, millions went crazy for it and this bright new voice from the UK. "Put Your Records On" and "Like A Star" became hit singles and the album was nominated for multiple Grammies and Brit Awards. As big and accomplished as that album was, nothing could have prepared us for the monumental acheivement of Bailey Rae's new album "The Sea".
As I listened, I keep asking myself, "Is anyone else doing anything like this"? The record breaks through and rises above any idea of genre. It's completely unique. Her influences are clear - jazz, soul, r&b, singer-songwriter - but as Bailey Rae writes in the song "Diving For Hearts", "I long to keep on diving until my heart is found". That's what she has done and the fearlessness of her pursuit has translated into the most compelling album of the new year.
I'll feature tracks from "The Sea" tonite at 9 p.m. ET on mvyradio's Uncharted Waters.
A few years back, hands around a cup of coffee, Joe Pug decided to leave his life as a playwright student at The University of North Carolina, to start putting ideas, originally meant for a play he was writing, to song. He moved to Chicago and eventually recorded a pack of songs that became the EP "Nation Of Heat". Joe started offering this CD to his fans for free, mailing it out, complete with a thank you note and postage covered. He still does this on his website. Recognizing that his potential fans might not want to throw down $ for an unknown entity, Joe makes an offering of his music, spreading the word and building his audience by going over to their side of the musician-fan relationship.
"Messenger", Joe's first full-length CD is due February 16, 2010. Two times through the album now, I am sitting with his clean, unadorned sound and approach, layers of unaffected nuance emerging as light as a feather. Joe Pug has piercing blue eyes, and I'm thinking about this as I write. You know that expression, "You can get lost in his eyes"? Well, what is true about Joe Pug's eyes is true about his music. An open space that draws you in and affects you. Lost and found.
Chicago visual artist Shawn Stucky provides the beautiful album art.
Listen to some tracks from the new CD tonight at 9 PM on mvyradio's Uncharted Waters and on Joe's website.
Galactic, one of New Orleans' premiere bands and just about the funkiest of the funky will release a new CD, "Ya-Ka-May" on February 9, one week before MardiGras. Good timing! We got a song from the album in yesterday - I jumped right on it and played it on What's New For Lunch today.
Irma Thomas guests on the song, "Heart Of Steel", and she is one of about 15 New Orleans' musicians that join Galactic on this, their sixth album. "The Soul Queen of New Orleans" delivers in her usual solid, understated, right on the money way. Allen Toussaint, Walter "Wolfman" Washington, Rebirth Brass Band and other New Orleans' musicians from many different genres collaborated with the band not only in the performances, but also in the writing of the songs.
Okay, I know, it's over ---2009. We've counted down the Top 25 (check the list here) and we're already five days into 2010. But I have the song list for part 3 of UW Best Of '09 and another artist to praise.
One sure way to realize how you feel about a record is where said record ends up ---physically, I mean. I'm on vacation in Florida (it's not as cold as many other locales this morning, but it's not exactly beach weather!!) and before I left home, I loaded some CD's into iTunes on my computer and brought a few to listen to in the rental car. Madeleine Peyroux's "Bare Bones" came with me both on my computer, and by chance, tucked inside a Mozart Piano Quartets CD jewel case.
So, as I drove around Delray, I listened for the ?? time to this one-of-a-kind album by one of today's most intriguing songwriters. Collaboration, introspection, playfulness, precision, sonic intuition, understatement ---I could go on and on. I am once again reminded of why I'm a music fan, and a fan of all artistic expression. To be happily marooned in a new, yet familiar world. The skillful and easy connection the artist provides, the bridges they make. Madeleine Peyroux is an artist creating her art for herself and her fans, but it feels like it's just for me.
Listen to clips of "Bare Bones" here:
Friday/Sunday January 1/3 2010 - Best of Uncharted Waters 2009 part 3
"Fairlie" Rey Fresco The People Eight O Five "I Should Speak" Sarah Blacker The Only Way Out Is Through Sarah Blacker "Get Lucky" Mark Knopfler Get Lucky Reprise Records "Videotape" King Wilkie King Wilkie Presents The King Wilkie Family Singers Casa Nueva "Wilco (the song)" Wilco Wilco (the album) Nonesuch "Homeless Happiness" Madeleine Peyroux Bare Bones Rounder "Time Stands Still" Chris Smither Time Stands Still Signature Sounds "Oh, No" Andrew Bird Noble Beast Fat Possum Records "Bury Me Under The Weeping Willow" Roseanne Cash The List Manhattan "Groove Of the Storm" Kellar Williams Odd kw enterprises "Jackdaw" David Gray Draw The Line Mercer Street Records "Fan It" Willie Nelson and Asleep At the Wheel Willie & The Wheel Bismeaux Records "Cedars Of Lebanon" U2 No Line On The Horizon Interscope "Horses" Dala Everyone Is Someone Campus Music
"Townes" is Steve Earle's tribute to the great and troubled songwriter Townes Van Zandt who Earle met in 1972 at The Old Quarter in Houston, TX. Van Zandt became Earle's friend and mentor, and even though Earle has recorded and performed Van Zandt songs throughout his career, with this album, Earle gives himself the opportunity to comprehensively demonstrate Van Zandt's skill and heart by applying his own. Earle's wife, singer Alison Moorer, and his son Justin Townes Earle (named after Van Zandt) contribute to the record, as does Darrell Scott and Tom Morello. The result is an intimate and deeply personal record, an insiders view on this great American songwriter.
I featured Part 2 of mvyradio's Best of Uncharted Waters 2009 last Friday 12/18 (repeated on Sunday 12/20, and now streamed in our program Archves at www.mvyradio.com). What was going to be a 2-parter has become a 3-parter --too many great songs and albums to reprise.
Scroll down and read what I wrote about back in June about one 2009 UW Discovery, and listen to her music...
Listen for Part 3 on 1/1 (repeated on 1/3).
BTW, mvy would like to know YOUR favorites of 2009! Click here to vote.
Check out the Part 2 song list:
mvyradio's Uncharted Waters playlists
Friday/Sunday December 18/December 20 2009
"Fire Escape" Diane Birch Bible Belt S-Curve Records
"Move Along Train" Levon HelmElectric Dirt Dirt Farmer Music
"Sweet Rose" Eilen JewelSea Of Tears Signature Sounds "California Zephyr"" Benjamin Gibbard/Jay Farrar One False Move And I'm Gone Music from Kerouac's Big SurAtlantic Records
"Great Mistake" BrookvilleBroken Lights Unfiltered Records
"All The Pretty Girls" FunAim and Ignite Nettwerk Records
"It's Gonna Be" Norah JonesThe Fall Blue Note Records
"Mrs. Cold" Kings Of ConvenienceDeclaration Of Dependence Mawla Records
"Drops In The River" Fleet FoxesSun Giant Sub Pop
"I Really Love You" Ruthie FosterThe Truth According To Ruthie Foster Blue Corn Records
"Love That Conquers" The Swell SeasonStrict Joy Anti
"To Live Is To Fly" Steve EarleTownes New West
"Hiram Hubbard" Among The Oak And AshAmong The Oak and Ash Verve Forecast
"Your Gonna Miss Me" The Band Of HeathensOne Foot In The Ether Band Of Heathens
"Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth" Neko CaseMiddle Cyclone Anti
Diane Birch's "Fire Escape" started the hour. I loved her from the start in June, recognizing her connection to the songwriting genius and performance of Laura Nyro and Carole King, and now that the year is almost done, I still feel excited when I listen to her music and stand by what I wrote here:
Famous Blue Blog post from June 29th
Diane Birch | "She's Got The Juice"
Soul and R&B legend Betty Wright, one of the producers of Diane Birch's debut album Bible Belt, is the one who's talking about "the juice" here as she describes the young singer from New York City. This is the best album to be released so far this year! And lot's of people are going to jump right on right on in because of Birch's superb songwriting and musical vision. Effortlessly drawing from doo-wop, singer-songwriter, blues, r&b and a life lived all over the world, Birch wants to connect and she does so, instantly, like an old friend.
As I look back over the year in music at mvy, I'm thinking about all the years of album releases that have provided the radio station with it's currency and it's basic structure. There are songs and artists that come along that are a natural fit for mvy, some that are obvious from the start and some that are wonderful surprises. Actually, Scottish singer-songwriter Paolo Nutini's 2009 CD "Sunny Side Up" falls into both categories.
We got to know Paolo's music in with the release of his 2006 debut "These Streets". We couldn't get enough of the song "New Shoes", and when the new record arrived in May of this year, we couldn't wait to hear it. I kept returning to the CD and every time I did, I liked it more and more. There's a maturity to the songs and his delivery, and an old soul sweetness that is impossible to resist.
I started a two-part Uncharted Waters 2009 Retrospective last Friday 12/11, and will continue this coming Friday 12/18. I'm featuring songs from albums that stood out as I went through the music week after week over the course of this year. It has been a very interesting process, looking and listening back, a wonderful return to the initial feelings I had as I listened to these albums for the first time. I have a deeper recognition of the qualities that make these records so NOTE-worthy!! Scroll down and read what I wrote about back in August about one 2009 Discovery, and listen to his music...
BTW, mvy would like to know YOUR favorites of 2009! Click here to vote.
Here's the UW Best list from last week. If you haven't checked out these albums, consider giving them a listen!
mvyradio's Uncharted Waters playlists
Friday/Sunday December 11/December 13 2009
"Two Grains Of Sand" Piers Faccini Two Grains Of Sand Tot Ou Tard "Wish You Well" Katie HerzigApple Tree (05557) "Sweet Inspiration" Derek TrucksAlready Free Sony Music "Fee Da Da Dee" Guggenheim Grotto Happy The ManUnited For Opportunity "Baby I'm A Fool" Melody Gardot My One and Only Thrill Verve Records "Letter From A Flying Machine" Peter Mulvey Letter From A Flying Machine Signature Sounds "Windshield" Peter Mulvey Letter From A Flying Machine Signature Sounds "Darkness" Robert FrancisOne False Move and I'm Gone Atlantic "My Love" The Bird and the BeeRay Guns Are Not Just The Future Blue Note "Master Macqui" Rodrigo y Gabriela11:11 ATO Records "Cuckoo's Nest" Lee Harvey Osmond A Quiet Evil Latent Recordings "The Killer In Me" Amy SpeaceThe Killer In Me Wildflower Records "High Hopes" Paolo NutiniSunny Side Up Atlantic Records "Dead End Driving" Ari HestTwelve Mondays Project 4
Famous Blue Blog post August 13, 2009:
A New Friend-Peter Mulvey
I have a new friend and his name is Uncle Peter. I never expected to make such an acquaintance on a record but that's exactly what happened. I met Uncle Peter while listening to Peter Mulvey's most enjoyable and engaging new CD "Letters from A Flying Machine". Uncle Peter is Peter Mulvey himself, appearing on the record as a character, a narrator of sorts, offering his worldly wisdom and stories to his actual (I think) nieces and nephews. He does this from his seat on an airplane in the form of several spoken word pieces that serve as the connective tissue between songs on the album. Mulvey's done this in his performances for years, but it's the first time he has presented such pieces on record. The effect is progressive; step by step you are granted wider entrance into a very personal and rich world made all the more substantive and compelling by Mulvey's folksy delivery and language. The songs are fantastic, too, and you forget just how good they are because of the strength of the spoken segments.
A good friend is hard to find --thanks Peter.
Listen to clips of Peter Mulvey's Letter From A Flying Machine:
I just played "Bluff", a new song from Daphne Willis, on What's New For Lunch. The CD came in earlier this week, and I happily put it in the player to check it out. Things pretty much come to a grinding halt as far as new releases go at this time of year, so any action is welcome. I always thought it was a smart move to get a song to radio this week or next 'cause it's much easier to get our attention when things are so slow!
Daphne is a 21 year old singer-guitarist and songwriter from Chicago and Vanguard Records has signed her to a record deal for the album "What To Say". She and her band mates have been together for only two years, playing lots of gigs in the Midwest, and it was after one of these shows that Nashville based A&R rep Gary Paczosa, who has worked with Alison Krauss and others, lent his talents to recording an EP with Daphne.
It's when you can't tell the difference between art and life that you know you're in good shape, in good company. Jack Kerouac merged his life and art in ways far beyond most similar mergers, and the writing that came of it is uniquely musical and transcendent, and to this day absolutely resonant, touching and important.
Benjamin Gibbard and Jay Farrar are among the many that admire Kerouac and they seized the opportunity to apply their singular talents to providing music for Curt Worden's documentary "One False Move and I'm Gone: Kerouac's Bid Sur". Tom Waits, Patti Smith, Dar Williams and Sam Shepard are also fans and it's great to hear their take in the movie. Gibbard and Farrar stayed with it and went on to make an album of songs inspired by Kerouac's book. The insightful documentary and this wonderful musical by-product are proof of Kerouac's continued and brilliant relevance.
I feature tracks from the album on this week's Uncharted Waters (Fridays and Sundays at 9 ET, and next week in the Archives at www.mvyradio.com)
"...You're living for nothing now. I hope you're keeping some kind of record."
Famous Blue Raincoat by Leonard Cohen
When I first heard Famous Blue Raincoat, the song that Leonard Cohen wrote in the form of a letter to his friend/rival/"brother"/"killer", I was there with him at his writing desk in New York at "4 in the morning", hanging on every word, every note. This kind of response to songs and the artists that write them, has repeated itself thousands of times in my life in music and this is what my Famous Blue Blog explores.
Barbara Dacey
Since 1970, I have lived and worked on Martha's Vineyard. I am mvyradio's Director of Worldwide Programming and for 25 years have shaped and been shaped by the sound of mvy. I am on air weekdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and host Uncharted Waters, mvyradio's weekly new music show. I am a singer-songwriter and guitar player, and a long-time Buddhist practitioner.
It isn't surprising that Joan Osborne was drawn to The Holmes Brothers after meeting them in New York in the '80's. The sound that the band had developed by then, a mix of gospel, soul, country and roadhouse rock was right up her alley. They all became friends and collaborators and in 2001, she produced "Speaking In Tongues". She has returned to produce the new CD "Feed My Soul".
