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This week on the Down Home Shakedown on UtahFM.org, we played a whole stack of new music. The Black Lillies got a few spins, I've been enjoying that new CD. I continue to love the new release from Those Darlin's - that one makes me feel like summer, despite the long cold spring. The CD that was on my iTunes most however, was the new CD from Zoe Muth and the Lost High Rollers. This group out of Seatle does fine, authenic country music. Zoe is a fantastic songwriter, and has one of those singular country voices. I particulary got…
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Friday, 04 March 2011 14:17
Bright Littlefield - Treatment Bound - A Ukelele Tribute to the Replacements
Written by Paul Hefti
I have long been of the opinion that a great song is best heard in a stripped down, acoustic setting. If a song can be played on an acoustic guitar and you love it as much as an auto-tuned, 1,001 strings version, it's probably a great song. I don't think it matters if it is a prog-rock epic by Rush or a Howard Jones synth-pop song. If you can play it on an acoustic guitar and it has great lyrics and you think "whoa" when you hear it, then it's a pretty well-written song. Remember the first time you…
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Sunday, 27 February 2011 20:27
Two classic reissues by The Jayhawks - Seminal Americana
Written by Paul Hefti
I missed the Nirvana revolution and all the grunge sounds coming out of Seattle. Those sounds were lost on me having already enjoyed the noisier days of the Replacements and even before that with the first wave of real hard rock in the form of a continuum from Deep Purple and Uriah Heep to Rainbow and Rush to Ted Nugent, Blue Oyster Cult, and AC/DC with Bon Scott. I spent my "grunge" years without a beard spinning classical music in Texas, busy catching up on piles of music made by everyone from Guy Clark to Townes Van Zandt. By the…
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Thursday, 10 February 2011 19:58
Down Home Shakedown Playlist - February 9, 2010
Written by Troy Mumm
This week on the Down Home Shakedown, I checked out a bunch of new releases, with a number of classics thrown in as usual. I continue to enjoy the latest from Wanda Jackson. The Party Ain't Over" is nice cross between her classic rockailly sound and the contemporary influence of producer Jack White. Shaun Horton's Del Rio Ramblers is an interesting release from the UK, playing authentic honky tonk and rockabilly that sounds a lot like classic Hank Williams. Carrie Rodriquez and Ben Kyle released "We Still Love Our Country," and I look forward to exploring that some more soon.…
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Lots of new music this week on The Down Home Shakedown. The new CD from Gregg Allman is nice, acoustic blues treat, from one of real legends of rock. Glad to see him returning to his roots. However, the album that really stuck out for me this week is the new one from Bow Thayer & The Perfect Trainwreck called "Bottom of the Sky." The songs are catchy, clever and soulful. The CD was recorded with Levon Helm, and you can feel that "Band" vibe. I look forward to spending more time with this CD, and exploring their back…
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2010 was a very good year in Americana music - there were quite a few very strong releases. So many in fact, I've given up trying to pick a top top, or rank them. Looking at the list, however, so a glaring lack of good blues releases - did I just miss them all or has that genre been lacking in the last few years? It seems to me to be harder and harder to find strong new releases in blues. Here, in no particular order, are some notable roots and Americana releases of 2010. Let me know your…