Weekend Music Roundup

It's the weekend, and up these ways, it's a bit of a rainy one. Rainy weekends are my favorite time to stay inside and listen to tunes. Hopefully the same is true for you, and if it is, I got some things that you might feel like checking out. This week's list features a nice mix of genres, some stoner rock, some introspective singer songwriter stuff, and of course some jazz. It's a mix of new releases and albums that are new to me. Enjoy.

Green Lung - Woodland Rites: The debut full length album from the London stoner metal band. As is the case with most bands in this genre, it owes a lot to Black Sabbath, but that's not something ever bothers me. It opens with a the blistering Ozzy sounding title track. The heavy ode to Sabbath continues with "Let the Devil In" and basically runs throughout this great album. Definitely worth checking, and a band worth following. 

Mahogany Rush - Child of Novelty: Released in '74, this is the second album from the Montreal band. This is a heavy psych, hard blues rock album sounds a bit like a groovy Jethro Tull meets a soulful Mountain. The inspiration for these guys is clearly Jimi, but they are certainly moving toward prog rock here. "Thru the Milky Way," "Makin' My Wave," and "Changing" and crazy psych track "Guit War," are my favorite tracks. Some have said it sounds too much like Hendrix, and vocally it does, and guitar, it does, the overall feel is something that feels like an evolution of the Hendrix sound being translated into something else four years after his death. Good stuff, this.

Mark Eitzel - Hey Mr Ferryman: This 2017 release is the most recent album from the prolific singer songwriter and former frontman for the 80s - 90's indie rock band American Music Club. Though that band is one that I'd known about forever, it was one that just never fell on my radar. But Mark played an intimate show in my town a few weeks ago and a friend, who is a long-time fan, invited us along. From the first thirty seconds of the show, I could tell this was something special. Mark writes songs with the kind of intense honesty and poetic beauty that reminded me instantly of Leonard Cohen, but in an entirely modern American sense. This record is remarkable and I'm excited to journey deeper into his work. 

Dory Previn - On My Way to Where: The second album from the folk singer was released in 1970. This is a rich sounding record that strays from the typical folk sound of the period, incorporating brass instruments to create a deeply psychological journey. This is an introspective record that explores loss, the pains of childhood, and the attempt to define self. It's a nearly forgotten record of the period, but one that is worth exploring. "I Ain't His Child," "Esther's First Communion," and "Mister Whisper" are stand outs for me on this fine album. 

Blackberry Smoke - The Southern Ground Sessions: This Southern rock band out of Atlanta have been around for 15 years, but they've only popped up in my world recently. I decided to check out this EP from last year, consisting mostly of songs from the full length album also released last year. This recording was the band's attempt to capture a more laid back, bare bones feel and it works. These acoustic tracks capture the soul of what Southern rock is all about. "Medicate My Mind," "Let Me Down Easy," and the cover of Tom Petty's "You Got Lucky" are my personal favorites. 

Earl Hines - Archive of Jazz: One of the early pioneer's of the Ragtime movement, Earl was a jazz pianist who was a fixture on the swing and Dixieland scenes. Over the past year of so, I've come across a bunch of this compilations from the Archive of Jazz series that was released in France, all of them in the cheap bins, and all of them exposing me to great musicians. These recordings were all made in the late 10's and early 20's and have that old timey sound that I can really dig. "Dear Old Southland" is a track that any one who digs jazz vocals should check out. A very nice addition to the growing jazz collection.