Random musical thoughts on some new albums, old music and all things in between:
I was driving hom the other night, listening to Y-Rock on XPN the other night when this amazing three-minute explosion of rock ‘n’ roll blew from my speakers. The song was called “All Better Now” by a relatively obscure New York band called Earl Greyhound. Blew me away.
I’ve been emmersed in the new Johnny Cash disc — the posthumously released fifth edition of his classic “American Records” series. The disc, “American V: A Hundred Highways,” is the weakest of the five, but still a compelling disc. Cash’s late ragged voice, colored by age and illness, lends weight to a surprising version of “If You Could Read My Mind” and uncovers the tender side of Bruce Springsteen’s “Further on Up the Road” — which makes this disc worth every penny. It is a reminder of how much Cash is missed.
Guy Clark is a country-music legend, or at least he should be. One of the genre’s best songwriters — and I would argue, one of the best songwriters, period — he writes from the outlaw tradition, a folky approach to country music that has fallen out of favor these days. His latest, “Workbench Songs,” nothing but good work, from the opening paean to the politically committed (“Walkin’ Man”) to the tender “Out in the Parking Lot” to the closing duet with Verlon Thompson, “Diamond Joe” — not a bad song in the bunch.
Brett Dennen, Clark’s Dualtone labelmate, also has a solid folk album out, called “So Much More” that is understated and compelling.
South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick
Hank Kalet 