Monthly Archives: June 2005

Creosote – Blacksmoke

  By naomi | June 27, 2005 - 10:59 am |
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Few things in life are more exciting than buying a disc from an artist you’ve never heard of and discovering it’s one of the best albums you’ve heard in years.   

creosoteThe description of Creosote’s “Blacksmoke” at Miles of Music included a comparison to Slobberbone so I couldn’t resist.  And it delivers.  Big time.

There’s not a lot of information about Creosote out there.  They’re from Tucson.  "Blacksmoke" was released by NowPublishingNow, a small company that publishes music and books without commercial pressure.

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Lucinda Williams – Live at The Fillmore

  By jitter | June 26, 2005 - 10:50 am |
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lucindafillmore Early in her career, Lucinda Williams gained a reputation for being a perfectionist. It took her five years to make a record.  Her live shows were rare and elusive – rumors of her being difficult abounded.  But with each release she got better, both in her songwriting and delivery.  It was always worth the wait.

As I’ve heard it, during the recording of her breakthrough record "Car Wheels On A Gravel Road," she terminated the relationship with long time guitarist – producer Gurf Morlix.  Steve Earle stepped in to finish the production and the results were her best record to date, one with Steve’s fingerprints all over it.  It launched her into the big time, selling lots of records, winning a Grammy and garnering critical praise as one of the best living American songwriters.

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Todd Snider & the Nervous Wrecks plus Fred Eaglesmith @ The Gypsy Tea Room, Dallas

  By jitter | June 25, 2005 - 10:56 am |
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The Fred heads were there. So were the Todd faithful.

The big side of Dallas’s Gypsy Tea Room was about half capacity so there was plenty of room to maneuver through the crowd without getting jostled (or having to jostle) yet still offering a respectable turnout for Todd Snider and opener Fred Eaglesmith.

It was a pretty good night for train songs, sing-a-longs, talking blues, rants, and party tunes.

Fred played solo.  While the front of the crowd was singing along to “Freight Train” and “I Shot Your Dog”, the rear of the crowd was conversing away.

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Todd Snider – East Nashville Skyline

  By naomi | June 20, 2005 - 10:52 am |
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eastnashville Todd Snider’s CDs have always been autobiographical and that’s never been more apparent than in his 2004 release from Oh Boy Records, “East Nashville Skyline.”

The liner notes don’t have song lyrics but they have something even better: Todd’s notes in typical Todd style.  You can get a real sense of Snider by reading his blog – or by listening to his songs.  It’s pretty much the same thing.

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Bruce Springsteen – Devils and Dust

  By naomi | June 4, 2005 - 10:40 am |
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devils What can you say about Bruce Springsteen that hasn’t already been said?  He’s the quintessential rock and roll troubadour.  A master storyteller and a mighty rocker.

Springsteen has been a superstar for almost 30 years and still manages to write songs that speak to the common person.  Songs about how you feel about your day-to-day life, your relationship with your dad, losing your dream, getting old.  Songs of love, songs of hope, songs of desperation.  Most of all, songs about just getting by.

His songs reach out to the secret yearnings in all of us.

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