Ashley’s Piercing ‘Blade,’Haynes’ Americana Sidestep & More
Ashley Monroe: The Blade (Warner Music Nashville) For all the talk of “Bro-country,” certainly as fascinating a topic as “Glitter Rock” and “Hair Metal” in the scheme of things, it’s funny how albums like Kacey Musgraves’ Pageant Material and this, singer Monroe’s second Warner Bros. set, end up being two of the year’s most exciting representations of modern country music. Again produced by Vince Gill and Justin Niebank, The Blade showcases Monroe’s undeniable songwriting skills and evokes an authentic personality that appears less interested in contemporary country trends than solid and expressive music. It also sounds just great. She’s got heavy friends—let’s not forget she was “Hippie Annie” back in the Pistol Annies—but she’s never had to rely on them, and this album makes clear she never will. Strong, solid, and one of the year’s best country albums by far.
[Related: Miranda Lambert Joins BFF Ashley Monroe Onstage]
Warren Haynes featuring Railroad Earth: Ashes & Dust (Concord) Given the jam-packed, muso-heavy résumé guitarist Warren Haynes carries, and the fact that he’s spent nearly a quarter-century making music with Gov’t Mule, the Allman Brothers and its many permutations, David Allen Coe, Phil Lesh, Garth Brooks, and Dave Matthews, it’s hard to believe we’d be getting much more than exceptionally well-played, polished, and perhaps slightly predictable music. But not so here. While this is being touted as his “Americana” album—and boy is that description becoming more incomprehensible by the minute—there are fiddles galore, acoustic guitars all over the place, and arrangements just as important as the riffing at which Haynes naturally excels. Much credit due to the excellent playing of backing band Railroad Earth—a New Jersey combo equally adept at bluegrass, jazz, and lots more—but the focus remains on Haynes through and through. A fine showing, a big win, and something likely to surprise those who haven’t heard him lately.
[Related: Warren Haynes: ‘The Door Is Always Open’ for Allman Brothers Reunion]
The Rolling Stones: From The Vault: Hyde Park Live 1969 (Eagle Rock Blu-Ray) When it rains it pours, it appears, when people start digging into the Rolling Stones’ Vault. This welcome addition to the new series isn’t exactly new—it stems from a well-known British TV documentary from 1969, which itself had already been released on an UK DVD some years back—but it’s fun to see. Guitarist Mick Taylor makes his major debut with the band here, just two short days after band founder Brian Jones was found dead in a swimming pool, and while the band isn’t exactly polished, it’s just enough to tickle the fancy of any die-hard Stones fan looking to catch them during that prime era. Sit down, kick back with Hyde Park’s “400,000 delirious fans of all ages,” and enjoy it.
[Related: Hear Keith Richards Ward Off 'Trouble’ on Ragged New Single]
Continental Drifters: Drifted: In The Beginning And Beyond (Omnivore) A well-deserved look back at an undersung collective of musicians with familiar names and roots—Peter Holsapple of the dB’s, Vicki Peterson of the Bangles, Susan Cowsill of the illustrious Cowsills, Mark Walton of Giant Sand, among others—expertly compiled here by Omnivore and recontextualized in the best sense. Starting out in LA in the early ‘90s in LA, the combo made a move to New Orleans that would last until the arrival of Hurricane Katrina—and during that decade or so made a whole batch of music that rocked, had rhythm, and pretty much represented good musicians making good music purely because it sounded like a good idea. And that’s a lot of goods. There’s two discs here, and between them, you get live stuff, rarities, covers, a Fairport Convention tribute, and, always, a conspicuous sense of love for all that is good about music. If you hear this, you will probably like it loads.
Lamb Of God: VII: Sturm Und Drang (Epic) “Enjoy/destroy” advises Randy Blythe, frontman for the celebrated hard rock/metal/cookie monster combo Lamb Of God, when it comes to opening track “Still Echoes.” Its first line? “A thousand heads cut clean across their necks,“ roars Blythe. And then he roars some more. With several Grammy nominations under their belt, their prior album Resolution entering the charts at No. 3, and the unfortunate visibility Blythe received via a controversial Prague manslaughter court case a few years back, and the promised book to come, this is an album a lot of people are waiting for. I suspect it won’t be perceived as a letdown by anyone.
Gwenno: Y Dydd Olaf (Heavenly) It’s always a problem falling for a record with a title you can’t pronounce, but word is Y Dydd Olaf is Welsh for The Last Day—which you might be able to surmise from hearing the 10 luscious, electro-poppish songs here, were they themselves not sung in Welsh as well. But no matter. Gwenno’s last name is Saunders, she was a member of the frisky Brit indipop band the Pipettes, and while there a tad more art than bounce on display here—unless she’s signing about lollipops, who can tell?—it’s equally as appealing and much smoother on the ears. All over the place, but in the very best way.
Hugh Hopper: Volume 7: Soft Boundaries (Gonzo Multimedia) The love for trail-blazing Brit band Soft Machine—who colorfully traversed the outer reaches of pop, psychedelia, and sophisticated jazz fusion—knows no bounds, nor never ends. This is the seventh in a planned 10-CD set dedicated to the work of band bassist Hopper, who died in 2009 but produced many vital recordings along the way. Each of these sets feature Hopper in a different musical context, and this one is especially good: Heard here with former band partner Elton Dean (also deceased), pianist Sophia Domanich, drummer Simon Goubet and guest saxophonist Jean-Michel Couchet, and recorded in France in 2004-2005, the album’s four tracks are evenly split between compositions by Hopper and former Soft Machine keyboardist Mike Ratledge. It’s all extremely well-played, very much in the best latter-day Soft Machine tradition (circa maybe their Fourth album, texturally), and a worthy addition to a growing catalog. Highly recommended and available here.
