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A skilled guitarist and breathless vocalist,
Rosie Flores
has worked in the past with honky-tonk heroes like Asleep At The Wheel and Butch
Hancock as well as recording two mid-‘80s classic cowpunk albums with her SoCal
band the Screamin’ Sirens. Flores’ solo career has stretched over almost
fourteen years and, with the release of her seventh album
Speed of Sound (Eminent Records), has hit another artistic plateau.
Flores works in a traditional country vein with healthy doses of rockabilly
(Buck Owens’ classic “Hot Dog”, “Rock-A-Bye Boogie”), alternative country
(Robbie Fulks’ “I Push Right Over”, John R. Cash’s “Country Boy”) and rockin’
pop (Marshall Crenshaw’s “Somewhere Down The Line”) as well as a handful of her
own originals. All of the material features Flores’ engaging vocals and highly
underrated guitar playing while producer Rick Vito provides clean lines and a
glossy finish to the collection. If you want to hear some country music with
heart and soul, look no further than Rosie Flores and
Speed of Sound.
Bill Lloyd is remembered by many as
half of the popular country duo Foster & Lloyd, who recorded three hit
albums during the late 1980s. Lloyd has always been a rocker in his heart,
however, and he’s enjoyed a successful career as a songwriter and session
guitarist, playing with artists like Al Kooper, Kim Richey, Steve Earle, and
Marshall Crenshaw. His fourth album, All In One Place (Def Heffer
Records), gathers a decade’s worth of Lloyd’s songs from various tribute albums
and compilations. A glorious collection of pop-influenced roots rock, Lloyd
joyfully interprets songs by folks like the Hollies, Badfinger, Bobby Fuller,
Todd Rundgren, and Harry Nilsson. He also throws in a few of his own spirited
compositions, as well as songs co-written with artists like Dan Baird (The
Georgia Satellites), Jerry Dale McFadden (The Mavericks), and Steve Wynn (Dream
Syndicate). Think a mix of the Beatles and the Kinks with a slight Nashville
twang and you’ve nailed the pop-rock aesthetic that makes
All In One Place an enormously charming collection of tunes. (Available
from Bill Lloyd Music at
www.billlloydmusic.com)
Corporate music magazines depend on big advertising bucks from the
major record labels to survive, so it’s no surprise that their editorial
coverage tends to slant towards today’s trends. Fan-produced “zines” often offer
a more diverse perspective on music, although none provide the range of interest
that is the staple of Cool and Strange Music! magazine. A labor of love
on the part of publisher/editor Dana Countryman, every quarterly issue of
Cool and Strange Music! covers the strange and obscure, the wild and the
wacky in a 64-page package with clean graphics and knowledgeable, entertaining
writing. The latest issue includes a cover feature on guerilla comedians
Firesign Theatre, articles on musicians David Bagsby and Bruce Haack, a look at
Latin label Seeco Records and a guide to self-help records. Every issue is a
musical education in itself. Cool and Strange Music! can be found at
Tower Records and Borders Books.
We’ve lost a few giants of music and
movies this past month or so. Although most had long since passed their days of
glory, the contributions that all of these individuals made to pop culture can’t
be forgotten. Carroll O’Connor (born 1925) had achieved a modicum of success as
a character actor in over two dozen films but will always be best-known as
Archie Bunker, a role he played on television for twelve seasons and for which
he won four Emmy Awards. Actor Jack Lemmon (born 1925) often represented the
common man during a remarkable film career that included dozens of movies and
won Lemmon two Academy Awards, his first for the film Mister Roberts in
1955. Equally adept at playing both comedic and dramatic roles, Lemmon was a
triple threat talent, also dabbling in music and poetry.
Guitarist
Chet Atkins (born 1924) was a six-string virtuoso who defined the “Nashville
Sound” in country music during the 1960s. Atkins recorded close to 100 studio
albums during a fifty-plus year career, and played with a diverse group of
talent that included Hank Williams, Elvis Presley, George Benson, and Mark
Knopfler of Dire Straits. Johnny Russell (born 1940) is best known as a country
songwriter who scored hits with folks like Buck Owens, George Jones, Dolly
Parton and even the Beatles. Russell also enjoyed a lengthy career as a
performer in his own right, charting his first country hit in 1971 and joining
the Grand Ole Opry in 1985, where he remained a fixture almost every Saturday
night until his death.
John Lee Hooker (born 1917) was the last of
the true Delta Bluesmen. Whereas most of his contemporaries made their way from
the Mississippi Delta northward to St. Louis and Chicago, Hooker’s sojourn took
him to Detroit, where he forged a lengthy career with a unique sound and
charismatic performances. Hooker recorded over 100 albums during a career that
spanned six decades, working with such musical luminaries as Bonnie Raitt,
George Thorogood, Van Morrison, Carlos Santana and Canned Heat. All of these
entertainers will be missed for the timeless moments of joy their talents
brought us. (View From The Hill, June 2001)
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