Black Friday RSD 2012

Some really nice releases for Black Friday Record Store Day.

http://www.recordstoreday.com/SpecialReleases

The Dillards - Homecoming and Family Reunion

This is Bluegrass at it's very best. The Dillards'(along with the great John Hartford) musicianship is as good as it gets and the relaxed, downhome feel of this recording, including the conversational banter between tracks, really feels like you're at a family picnic somewhere in "rural" Missouri.  The Dillards are often known only as the "hillbilly" band that appeared a few times on the Andy Griffith Show as The Darlin' Boys, but they were an accomplished band in their own right!  One of the best, IMHO.

Produced by Rodney Dillard

Flying Fish #215, 1979

Side one:

Old bald eagle (HomerE. Dillard, Sr.)

Hop high, ladies (Traditional)

Cripple creek (Traditional)

Whole world round (Mitch Jayne)

Ground hog (Traditional)

High dad in the mornin' (Homer E. Dillard, Sr.)

Douglas and I used to sit around and play (John Hartford)

Old Joe Clark (Traditional)

Side two:

Tennessee breakdown (Traditional)

Ebo Walker (Rodney Dillard/Mitch Jayne)

Old man at the mill (Rodney Dillard/Mitch Jayne/Doug Dillard/Dean Webb)

Listen to the sound (Mitch Jayne)

Daddy was a mover (Rodney Dillard/Mitch Jayne)

Banjo signal (D. Reno/R. Smiley)

Musicians:

Rodney Dillard: guitar, dobro, vocals; Doug Dillard: banjo, guitar, vocals; Homer E. Dillard, Sr.: fiddle; Homer E. Dillard, Jr.: accordion; Earl Jay Dillard: banjo; Earline (Sissy) Dillard: guitar; Brian Dillard; tambourine; Linda Dillard: vocals; Mitch Jayne: bass; John Hartford: fiddle, vocals; Dean Webb: mandolin; Herb Pedersen: guitar, banjo, vocals; Bill Bryson: bass; Jeff Gilkinson: harmonica, cello; Richard Godfrey: drums; Douglas Bounsal: guitar, banjo vocals

Link - Vinyl LP Rip @320

Check out the video from Playboy After Dark, 1970.  What a contrast!

Red Allen and the Kentuckians

Red Allen and Frank Wakefield were part of the thriving bluegrass scene around Washington D.C. during the 1960s. Others in this scene included The Country Gentlemen, Don Reno, and Red Smiley. When Wakefield and Allen went their separate ways in 1965, Red Allen teamed up with one of Wakefield's students; a young mandolin player named David Grisman. This 1967 recording represents on the earliest recordings featuring Grisman, who remains one of the most influential purveyors of acoustic music. As a result of Red Allen's influence, Grisman would later join Vasser Clements, Peter Rowan, Jerry Garcia, and John Kahn in 1975 to form Old and In The Way.

LINK

Lester Flatt Live

This out of print LP features a young (15 year-old) Marty Stuart on mandolin, as well as Bill Monroe on several performances.  This record was recorded live at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN in 1974, and does a really nice job articulating the experience of live ("classic") bluegrass music.  At a time when so-called "Newgrass" was becoming more popular, this album reveals the "old-guard" holding their own; and tutoring a youngster at the same time! Click on the link below, and Enjoy!

LINK

Best New Music of 2011

What a great year for new music!  This list features some of my favorites from the past year.  It's a wide range of genres, certainly not limited to "Americana," but all worth a listen. 

Best of 2011

1. Middle Brother – Middle Brother

2. Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues

3. Dawes – Nothing is Wrong

4. Hayes Carll – KMAG-YOYO

5. Tune-Yards – WhoKill

6. J. Mascis – Several Shades of Why

7. Johnny Corndawg – Down on the Bikini Line

8. Drive By Truckers – Go-Go Boots

9. Sarah Jarosz – Follow Me Down

10. Lucinda Williams - Blessed

11. Jason Isbell – Here We Rest

12. My Morning Jacket – Circuital

13. Gillian Welch – The Harrow and The Harvest

14. Wilco – Whole Love

15. Yuck – Yuck

16. Ryan Adams – Dirty Rain

17. Amy Winehouse – Lioness: Hidden Treasures

18. The Black Keys – El Camino

19. Foster the People – Torches

20. Man Man – Life Fantastic

21. The Black Angels – Phosgene Nightmare

22. Alison Kraus and Union Station – Paper Airplane

23. Chris Thile and Michael Daves – Sleep With One Eye Open

24. Tom Waits – Bad As Me

25. Portugal the Man – In the Mountain in the Cloud

Also Worth Noting...

Amanda Shires – Crazy Lightning; Thurston Moore – Demolished Thoughts; Seryn - This is Where We Are; Those Darlins – Screws Get Loose; Malcom Holcombe – To Drink the Rain; Deer Tick – Divine Providence; Radiohead – King of Limbs; Tedeschi Trucks Band – Revelator; Greg Allman – Lowcountry Blues; TV on the Radio – Nine Types of Light; Umphrey’s McGee – Death by Stereo; John Hiatt – Dirty Jeans and Mudslide Hyms; The Jayhawks – Mockingbird Time; The Gourds – Old Mad Joy; Primus – Green Naugahyde; The Head and the Heart – Self-Titled; Gomez – Whatever’s on Your Mind; The Decembrists – The King is Dead; Steve Earle – I’ll Never Get Out of this World Alive; Big Daddy Love – Let it Grow; The V-Roys – Sooner or Later; Trombone Shorty – For True; Stuart Duncan, Chris Thile, Edgar Meyer, Yo-Yo Ma – The Goat Rodeo Sessions