Ho ho hum. It’s Christmas so the shops and the airwaves are full of jingle belled songs spreading the cheer. Let’s admit it, most are awful and even the better ones are dulled by repetition. So Blabber’n’Smoke has spent some time on the old interwebs thing to try and find some Christmas songs that are a wee bit off of the beaten track. Enjoy.
Otis Gibbs
American Gun
Daniel Michaelson
Cam Penner
Viv Albertine
Robert Earl Keen. Most folk will be familiar with his song Merry Christmas With The Family. This is just as good.
Wild Billy Childish
Erin McKeown
The Felice Brothers
Joseph Spence. Cerys Matthews seems to like this on a lot.
This went the rounds some years ago claiming to be by Nick Cave and Tom Waits. It ain’t.
It’s Christmas so we need an orphan song
Some power pop
And some hokum
And finally, as television is so important to Christmas here’s a TV special from the good folk in Glossary
It’s coming up for Celtic Connections time again and as usual there’s a hefty wallop of Americana music on show. Blabber’n’Smoke aficionados will already be familiar with some of the acts appearing. John Murry whose album, The Graceless Age, was our No. 1 release of last year appears along with the Cowboy Junkies at Kelvingrove art gallery while another of our top ten faves Petunia & The Vipers hit the Old Fruitmarket accompanied by Woody Pines. A Blabber’n’Smoke night to savour we think. Others we’ve previously mentioned here include the Heritage Blues Orchestra at the Royal Concert Hall, The Lost Brothers(supporting Glen Hansard), again at the Old Fruitmarket and finally a show that promises to be a doozie, Otis Gibbs at the Glasgow Art Club. Gibbs’ Hard As Hammered Hell was another album in our top ten releases of 2012.
This list only scratches the surface of course and it’s serendipitous that all of the above were mentioned here last year. We thought we’d take some time to mention a few others whose albums have fallen into our lap recently and who are also appearing.
The curiously named Leon Hunt n-Tet will be the must go gig for any music loving mathematicians as the n-tet suffix denotes a number that is liable to change (in layman terms they can be a duo, trio, quartet etc) and it’s likely that only boffins will get this. If so the boffins will be rubbing shoulders with bluegrass fans as Mr. Hunt is reckoned to be the UK’s premier 5-string banjo player and can be heard on numerous collaborations with a stellar array of transatlantic musicians. Here he’s promoting his tribute to the late Earl Scruggs. Farewell Blues (Remembering Earl Scruggs) sees him teamed up with three other UK exponents of the high lonesome sound (Jason Titley, Guitar, Ben Somers, Double Bass and Joe Hymas, Mandolin) and it’s pretty much what you’d expect from such experienced hands. The playing is impeccable, vibrant and joyous as they wheel through 12 cuts which range from the whirlwind Foggy Mountain Special to the ragamuffin roll that is Deep River Blues. It’s a joy from start to finish and in a blindfold test you’d swear these guys were raised on a porch on momma’s moonshine liquor. They play St. Andrews In the Square on 26th January supporting Sarah Jarosz
The Two Man Gentleman Band are a different kettle of fish although they also base their sound on a vintage American sound, in this case the very cool, hip and voutereeniest man ever, Slim Gaillard. Gaillard was a blast in the past, hobnobbing with Hollywood royalty and recording some of the daftest and deftest music ever. Most popular in a twin setting (as Slim and Slam then Slim and Bam, perhaps the chaps should rename themselves for Celtic Connections as Slim and Tam) he appeared in movies and was as popular as Louis Jordan. Playing guitar accompanied by double bass Gaillard scatted and jived about food, drinking and at times just nonsense in his invented language, vout. The Two Man Gentleman Band don’t share his language but they do sing about food (Pork Chops, Tikka Masala, Cheese and Crackers) and drinking (Chocolate Milk, Wine, Oh Wine!, Please Don’t Water It Down). What they do manage is the sense of fun, the joy of goofing off on a riff and the almost absurd (think Warner Brothers’ Looney Tunes and Bugs Bunny) worldview that on record is engaging but should go down a storm live. They’re at the Glasgow Piping Centre on 26th January.
Otis Gibbs is a bearded and bewhiskered folky agitator, never happier than when singing about the common man, injustice or the environment. He sings from the heart and sounds like a bear might if it carried a guitar and, well, sang, and gargled with honey. The title of this, his sixth album comes from a phrase he heard when working as a tree planter. A 70-year-old co-worker would describe ground that was tough to dig as “harder then hammered hell” and Gibbs has co-opted it to describe his travels and travails and the songs herein.
For a man with a growl of a voice some of the songs here have a tender feel, sweetened by delicate guitar and the vocal harmonies of his partner Amy Lashley. Don’t Worry Kids is a songmap encouraging kids to persevere with the tough journey to adulthood while the love song Second Best breezes by at a fine clip with some fine guitar from Thomm Jutz. Big Whiskers meanwhile is a home spun folky tale of a granddad’s lifetime obsession with catching a giant catfish. With a Johnny Cash styled delivery Gibbs shows a talent for some fine writing with his description of the bait preparation a special delight.
The other songs are more sinewy. Made To Break tells of the toil and desperation that batters down the human spirit while Broke and Restless is a defiant response to those same tribulations that has a wonderful soulful quality akin to early Van Morrison or Dobie Gray. Again the guitar playing of Jutz deserves mention playing some sweet soul licks as he does again on The Land of Maybe where Gibbs dismantles the American Dream. Alongside Jutz on guitar Gibbs is well supported by Mark Fain on bass and Paul Griffith on drums. They shine throughout the album but the group really meshes on Detroit Steel, a rumbling road song that sounds great with the amp switched up.
Overall this is a solid set of songs of the soil, toil and plight of the working man that packs a Southern punch.
Seems that talented female singer/songwriters keep tumbling from the Americana womb. Every month several albums find their way to Blabber’n’Smoke with smoky voiced sirens, back porch country girls and rootin’ tootin’ honky tonkers all well represented. Separating the wheat from the chaff might be a thankless task but in all honesty there’s been precious little chaff of late. The latest to tickle our fancy is this grower of an album from Amy Lashley who grew up in a small (population 376) community in Indiana and who now resides quietly in Nashville with her partner Otis Gibbs, himself a seasoned performer of powerful and at times politically charged songs. While Gibbs travels the world Lashley apparently avoids live performance but together they’ve delivered this fine collection of observations and tales that resonate with a sense of being out of step with life in general.
Describing herself as an “emotional misfit,” uncomfortable in social situations there is no lack of confidence in the delivery of these songs. Lashley sings well with no obvious discomfort and the style swings from country blues (Lil’ Red Girl), old time swing (Livin’ On Beans and Cornbread) to attractive country pop (Night With No Moon). Her lyrics however point to an uncomfortable life that only now has found a sense of comfort. Having said that this is by no means a confessional type album with only the last song Older Brother appearing to be autobiographical. It’s a testament to Lashley’s skills that one is unsure if this is a celebration of or a put down of her brother. All in all it’s an album that repays repeated listening.
.gif)
Blabber 'n' Smoke 