Book Review: Cary Baker’s Down On the Corner: Adventures In Busking & Street Music (2024)

‘Busking’ is defined as “the act or practice of entertaining by dancing, singing, juggling, etc., on the street or in a public place,” which is a fairly comprehensive list of…you know…the kind of stuff that buskers actually do for the few coins tossed their way by passersby. Although they’re usually found in high-traffic urban centers, it’s not unusual for buskers to show up in even the smallest of burgs.

Our rural WNY town boasts of a population of >16k but we have a guy that dresses up in black leather and death metal face paint and rips off chords on an electric guitar and portable amp while standing by the side of Main Street. When the mood hits him, he migrates down the road to the smaller (8k) village of Brockport, setting up shop in front of the Vinyl Record Revival store where he can perform for college kids from SUNY. Truth is, busking is a time-honored tradition that has been around almost as long as humans began smashing two rocks together in rhythm.     

Cary Baker’s Down On the Corner: Adventures In Busking & Street Music

With his first book, Down On the Corner: Adventures In Busking & Street Music, writer Cary Baker takes a fairly comprehensive look at the busking tradition. I say “fairly” comprehensive because Baker hints at a second volume (yes, please!), but even if that never comes to fruition, Down On the Corner provides a deep look at many talents behind the tradition. Baker is a music biz lifer, formerly one of the best publicists in the industry for a number of record labels, including I.R.S. and Capitol Records as well as his own hard-working firm, Conqueroo, working with talents like Bonnie Raitt, Bobby Rush, Willie Nile, and R.E.M. Before all that, however, Baker wrote about music for publications like the Chicago Reader, Creem, and Trouser Press.

I’ve known Cary since we were both in high school and contributing to the regional hippie rag Sunrise, where we were mentored by rockcrit legend Rick Johnson. As a writer, I worked with him for decades (sometimes to his aggravation) in his role as publicist and can vouch for his knowledge of musical matters (many of which he had a hand in). Although many of us thought that he’d pen his first book about his years in the biz, it’s not really surprising that he chose busking as the subject of his first tome – Baker has been enchanted by street musicians since he was a teen, seeing bluesman Blind Arvella Gray perform at the market on Maxwell Street in his Chicago hometown. Appropriately, Down On the Corner kicks off on that long gone section of the Windy City before traveling around the world.

Blind Arvella Gray

 

The stories told by Down On the Corner are as enchanting as they are insightful, covering a wide range of bluesmen-and-women, folkies, country artists, and one-man bands in environs like NYC, New Orleans, London, Los Angeles, and Nashville. Although some of the names are familiar – Billy Bragg’s pre-fame busking years are an integral part of his story, and artists like Ted Hawkins, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Moondog, and Wild Man Fischer are well-known to even a few casual music fans as rising from the street to the suites as they hammered out careers of one sort or another on major and minor record labels. However, I was surprised to see talents like Americana legend Lucinda Williams, 1980s-era college rock faves Violent Femmes, folk-rocker (and former power-popper) Peter Case, ‘90s-era alt-rocker Mary Lou Lord, and bluesman Fantastic Negrito as having launched their careers on the streets.

Down On the Corner also introduces the reader to regional artists that are definitely more obscure or never got a proper shot at the brass ring, folks like Oliver Smith, Nashville’s Cortelia Clark, George ‘Bongo Joe’ Coleman, and the duo of Satan & Adam, every one worthy of further research on Discogs. Most of the artists relate their story in their own words, which can make for a lively conversation – I particularly liked reading about the social activism of the duo of David & Roselyn, or Mary Lou Lord’s adventures in the subways of NYC. Baker does an admirable job of capturing that ‘something special’ about each performer, and has delivered an overall well-written and well-researched…although never dull…book on busking that digs into the lives of the buskers as well as the tradition.           

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

Down On the Corner is a quick read, with each chapter sort of open-ended and dependent on the reader to do their own research by checking out the featured artists’ music, some of which you can find on YouTube and most of which can be dug up on vinyl and CD. Aside from the artists, Baker also includes the localized busking scenes of places like Chicago, New Orleans, and Venice Beach, California, which provides an invaluable backdrop to the artists’ stories. The book includes a 16-page insert of vintage color and B&W photos of people and places that also help add to the book’s historical import. Down On the Corner is mighty impressive first effort from Mr. Baker, and doubly so as it shines a light on a seldom-addressed but nevertheless rich niche of music history. (Jawbone Press U.K., published November 12th, 2024)

Buy the book from Amazon: Cary Baker’s Down On the Corner

Hot Wax: Can't Steal My Fire: The Songs of David Olney (2024)

The late David Olney was a superlative songwriter and a natural storyteller, capable of spinning tales with an imagination the equal of any novelist or poet. A Rhode Island native who landed in Nashville by way of North Carolina and Georgia, Olney and his band the X-Rays were early pioneers of the Music City’s bourgeoning late ‘70s rock scene, recording two albums for Rounder Records. Olney launched a solo career in the mid-‘80s that resulted in better than 30 studio and live albums, his last being 2021’s Whispers and Sighs, a posthumous collaboration with singer/songwriter Anana Kaye. Olney passed away of an apparent heart attack in January 2020 while performing onstage at the 30A Songwriter Festival in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida.

Although Olney never received the commercial returns an artist of his talent deserved, he was well-respected by other artists and songwriters. Musical legends like Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Del McCoury, and Linda Rondstadt thought enough of his skills as a wordsmith to record Olney songs like “If My Eyes Were Blind,” “Women Cross the River,” and “Jerusalem Tomorrow” while talents such as John Hiatt, Guy Clark, and Townes Van Zandt considered him a peer. As Olney told me in an interview for my 2012 book The Other Side of Nashville, “I used to be pissed-off about not being more famous. But I got to see the world in an intimate kind of way, and that’s OK.”    

Can’t Steal My Fire: The Songs of David Olney

It’s been almost five years since Olney’s death and he’s been provided an honor afforded few of even the most commercially-successful of his contemporaries – a bona fide tribute album. Released by Americana label New West Records, Can’t Steal My Fire: The Songs of David Olney compiles 17 of Olney’s tunes on four sides of vinyl (also available on CD), performed by folks like Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams, Dave Alvin, Mary Gauthier, and Willis Alan Ramsey. Olney makes an appearance himself with the eerie, previously-unreleased “Sonnet #40,” while Executive Producer Gwil Owen, a longtime friend of Olney’s, dug up a vintage, unreleased live recording of Townes Van Zandt performing Olney’s “Illegal Cargo” in 1977 in Chapel Hill NC.

Although Olney is usually pigeonholed as a country or folk artist, as I wrote in my review of his 2014 album When the Deal Goes Down, “much like Van Zandt, Olney brings country and folk influences to his songs, but he also imbues his performances with a punk-rock intensity and attitude.” In truth, Olney brought whatever tool he needed – country, folks, blues, rock – to crafting his songs. Can’t Steal My Fire opens with Lucinda Williams’ take on Olney’s “Deeper Well,” the title track of his 1988 album for Rounder Records. Williams is a kindred spirit, a fellow musical outsider who has tasted fleeting success, and an incredible vocalist. When she sinks her teeth into a performance like she does here on “Deeper Well,” she transforms the song, this time into a powerful Delta blues dirge, her haunting vocals supported by Stuart Mathis’s otherworldly guitar playing. It’s an electrifying reminder of what a singer like Williams can do with an already great song.

By contrast, Olney’s longtime friend Steve Earle applies his own considerable vocal talents to “Sister Angelina,” a standout track from 1992’s Border Crossing album. A folkish ballad with Mexican instrumental flourishes, Earle’s nuanced performance is boosted by Jeff Hill’s engaging and exotic fretwork. It’s a gorgeous song, done right by Earle. The McCrary Sisters – unknown to me before now – take “Voices On the Water,” co-written by Olney with Gwil Owen, and apply a Gospel fervor to their performance, magnifying the lyrics and raising a joyous noise. Buddy Miller doesn’t so much interpret “Jerusalem Tomorrow” as much as he moves in and inhabits the song with a strong spoken/sung performance that focus more on the song than the singer.

David Olney 2019, photo by Scott Housley

If My Eyes Were Blind

The Steeldrivers open side two of Can’t Steal My Fire, bringing a bluegrass fury to “If My Eyes Were Blind,” also from Deeper Well. The band weaves elegant instrumentation around Olney’s poetic lyrics, creating a lush soundscape that perfectly captures Olney’s emotional original. Acclaimed Texas singer/songwriter Willis Alan Ramsey brings a bit of whimsy to his performance of “Women Across the River,” his atmospheric vocals accented by Tammy Rogers’ lovely mandolin and fiddle-play. Louisiana folkie Mary Gauthier brings a minimalist Southern Gothic vibe to “1917,” from 1999’s Through A Glass Darkly. Although she’s accompanied by subtle and subdued instrumentation, her vocals are simply mesmerizing, drawing your focus to the story so that everything else falls away.

Americana legend Jimmie Dale Gilmore kicks of the album’s third side with “If It Wasn’t For the Wind,” a co-write with Joe Fleming from Olney’s first solo LP, 1986’s Eye of the Storm. Gilmore applies his warm, high-lonesome vocals to the winsome ballad, imbuing the song with a dreaminess that is punctuated by Warren Hood’s fiddle and guitarist Rich Brotherton’s lovely guitarplay. Olney collaborated with young singer/songwriter Anana Kaye and her musician husband Irakli Gabriel on Whispers and Sighs and they return the favor with an inspired performance of “Running From Love,” Kaye’s breathless vocals adding an urgent sensuality to the lyrics while guitarist Joe McMahan fiery leads lead the song to blues-rock territory. “That’s My Story,” from one of Olney’s more obscure albums, 1991’s Top To Bottom, is provided a talking blues-styled reading by folkie Greg Brown, who brings a Tom Waits vibe to the offbeat, absurdist story.

Olney’s “Sonnet #40” is equally bizarro, a short, shocking spoken-word vamp with Olney’s studio-altered vocals accompanied by jazzy instrumentation and lyrics that surprise. Afton Wolfe is another artist unfamiliar to these ears, but his high-energy, hard-rockin’ version of “Titanic” is as steely as its namesake’s hull. With gritty vocals driven to madness by McMahan’s metallic fretwork, it’s a dino-stomp in a league with Sabbath or Zeppelin. Dave Alvin digs all the way back to the X-Rays’ 1981 album Contender for “Steal My Thunder,” the Americana pioneer transforming the song into a bluesy roots-rocker with help from the Rick Holmstrom Trio. Jim Lauderdale brings a honky-tonk authenticity to “Delta Blue,” complete with enchanting Dobro and fiddle. The aforementioned Townes Van Zandt performance of “Illegal Cargo” closes out Can’t Steal My Fire. Another great song from Deeper Well, what this 1977 live recording lacks in sonic quality it more than makes up for with pathos and sincerity.        
 

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

I was privileged to have known David Olney, and to have seen him perform a number of times – more than enough to stand in awe of the man and his music. A singular talent, Olney’s skills as a lyrical storyteller are unequalled in popular music, and his ability to perfectly capture the human condition in the unyielding amber of song is his legacy. As shown by the 17 songs on Can’t Steal My Fire, Olney was a hell of a wordsmith, and it’s because his work drew so deeply from the entirety of American music that it is truly timeless and open to endless interpretation. Can’t Steal My Fire provides a wonderful introduction to David Olney, and will motivate more than a few first-time listeners to dig into his rich and varied catalog of music…for which they’ll be suitably rewarded. Grade: A+ (New West Records, released August 27th, 2024)

Buy the album from Amazon: Can’t Steal My Fire: The Songs of David Olney

Also on That Devil Music: Gwil Owen talks about David Olney & the Can’t Steal My Fire LP

The Reverend’s tribute to Olney on the Rock and Roll Globe website

The View On Pop Culture: Delaney & Bonnie, Lucinda Williams (2003)

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They had lots of famous friends who would stop by and play sessions, folks like Eric Clapton, Leon Russell, Rita Coolidge, Duane Allman, Tina Turner, and many others. They scored a couple of early ‘70s radio hits with “Never Ending Song of Love” and “Only You Know and I Know,” yet many critics and rock historians treat Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett as meaningless footnotes, mere asterisks next to the names of their better-known friends.

Truth is, the short-lived entity known as Delaney & Bonnie and Friends was not only a major influence on Clapton’s work in the ‘70s, but also upon the music of Russell, Coolidge, Turner, and Joe Cocker through the decade. Bonnie Bramlett’s gritty, soulful vocals rival those of her contemporary Janis Joplin for power and emotion. Delaney’s skill as a bandleader and eye for talented musicians is vastly underrated, many of the duo’s “friends” later comprising bands for Joe Cocker’s “Mad Dogs & Englishmen” tour as well as Clapton’s Derek & the Dominoes and George Harrison’s band. Delaney managed to slide egos to the side and coax excellent performances from his “friends” over the course of six influential albums.

The duo’s final album, D & B Together (Legacy Recordings), recently reissued with bonus cuts, is fairly representative of D & B’s creative milieu. A spirited blend of soul, gospel, blues, roots-rock, and Southern-fried grooves, D & B Together yielded a Top Twenty hit in Dave Mason’s infectious “Only You Know and I Know” and provided both Rita Coolidge and the Carpenters with respective hits in “Groupie (Superstar).” A collection of original material and songs contributed by friends like Mason, Clapton, Steve Cropper, and Bobby Whitlock, D & B Together is as fine an example of blue-eyed soul as the ‘70s would create, a time when genre-mixing and wearing your influences on your sleeve was not “verboten.”

As their marriage disintegrated, so too did Delaney & Bonnie’s musical collaboration, the pair splitting off into respective solo careers, a glimpse of which is provided at the end of D & B Together. Of the bonus tracks provided here, four are taken from a pair of Delaney solo projects from 1972 and ’73, showing the bandleader traveling much the same direction as did D&B and Friends, cranking out high-energy Southern funk and soulful ballads. The two tracks culled from Bonnie’s 1972 solo album Sweet Bonnie Bramlett only hint at the power of her voice, pairing Gospel-tinged arrangements with unfortunately muted vocals. Bonnie would go on to record several excellent albums for the Capricorn label, forging a career as a backing vocalist for a veritable “who’s who” of rock music. As shown by D & B Together, however, for a brief time Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett helped define popular music, setting the course for others to follow.

The full effect of Lucinda Williams’ music on the country and rock genres has yet to be fully charted, especially when the alt-country goddess continues to release albums as raw, revealing and powerful as World Without Tears (Lost Highway Records). While a lot of Williams’ past work has focused on love and lust, romance and relationships, never before has she delivered an album so seemingly obsessed with the sweet and bittersweet aspects of romance

World Without Tears is, on the surface, an elegant collection of folkish country songs with elements of rock and blues, guitarist Doug Pettibone adding an edge to the material with his excellent six-string work. Paired with a weeping country lilt, “Three Days” vividly retells the passion and abandonment of an intense love affair while “Ventura” accurately portrays the melancholy that follows a lost love, wonderfully supported by a mournful pedal steel guitar. With sparse instrumentation and a reliance on Williams’ provocative vocals, “Sweet Side” mimics the talking blues of early Bob Dylan, which were influenced, in turn, by the Delta folk bluesmen that Williams also listened to in her youth.            
       
There are moments on World Without Tears that rock pretty hard, too, such as the Stones-inspired country honk of “Real Live Bleeding Fingers and Broken Guitar Strings,” a story of romantic obsession from afar. “Atonement” rocks like Howlin’ Wolf moaning at the moonlight, Williams’ dirgelike vocals paired with a martial rhythm and brilliant apocalyptic imagery. Pettibone’s guitar licks are razor-sharp on “Atonement,” Williams sounding like Patti Smith at her most powerful. The hauntingly beautiful “Minneapolis” may be the saddest tune on the album, Williams’ eerie, trembling vocals supported by a chiming guitar in the distance.

World Without Tears is a masterpiece of songwriting and musical composition, Williams’ poetic songs perfectly paired with appropriate supporting music. Long-time fans may be shocked at the intensity of Williams’ lyrics, stark portraits of love and betrayal that rise above the mundane level of contemporary pop songwriting. It is the goal of the artist, however, to follow their muse and to forever strive to grow and mature in their work. With World Without Tears, Lucinda Williams has not only surpassed her previous (excellent) work but she has also delivered an album that will continue to influence romantic songwriters for a generation to follow. (View From The Hill, 2003)

The View On Pop Culture: Bryan Ferry & Roxy Music, Lucinda Williams, "Too Much Coffee Man" & "Unbreakable" (2001)

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A stylish and charismatic performer, Bryan Ferry of Roxy Music is rock’s equivalent to the suave pop crooners of the 1940s. Although the creative lifespan of Roxy Music was brief by pop/rock standards, stretching across a mere ten years, the influence that the band had on eighties new wave bands and modern British pop is priceless. There have been previous compilations of Roxy Music’s hits, but The Best of Roxy Music (Virgin Records) may well be the most complete. Starting with hits like “Avalon” and “More Than This” from Roxy’s 1982 swan song, Avalon, the collection works its way backwards chronologically, featuring well-known tracks like “Dance Away” and “Love Is the Drug” alongside non-album singles like the 1981 Lennon tribute “Jealous Guy” and the band’s early hit “Virginia Plain”.

Roxy Music’s core talents of Ferry, guitarist Phil Manzanera and saxman Andy MacKay never failed to deliver music that was rich and multi-hued, a tapestry of style and sound that is classy and timeless. Although the band’s stateside fortunes were limited to a mere handful of hit singles, they consistently placed in the top ten on the British charts and, even more admirably, they knew when to call it quits and rest on their considerable laurels. The Best of Roxy Music serves as a wonderful introduction to the band for the uninitiated but also provides long-time fans with some of the best that Roxy had to offer on one CD.

Not the most prolific of artists, Lucinda Williams is nonetheless one of music’s more interesting talents. A perfectionist, Williams crafts each recording like a diamond cutter shaves a gem. Williams’ sixth album, Essence (Lost Highway/Universal), is no different, its eleven songs carefully detailed and performed with great skill and consideration. Although the somber songs on Essence veer in a different direction from those on Williams’ last album, longtime followers will see Essence as an inevitable evolutionary step.

An album about self-reflection and discovery, Essence is a poetic sojourn, its songs speaking of the search for love, for acceptance, for faith in a world growing ever harsher and impersonal. The songs here feature sparse musical accompaniment behind Williams’ throaty, uniquely beautiful vocals, producer and musician Charlie Sexton deftly juggling the demands of the studio with those of each individual song. Sexton and folk artist Bo Ramsey add subtle and mesmerizing guitar lines to create a structure on which Williams builds her lyrical creations. With Essence, Williams and friends have delivered an enchanting and thoughtful set of songs.

First there was Too Much Coffee Man the comic book, a reckless and joyful celebration of all things caffeine sketched out in crude black & white comic strips. After spending ten years at the drawing board, TMCM creator Shannon Wheeler has opted to change the format of his comic books to that of a full-featured magazine. The inaugural issue has hit a newsstand near you and it’s well worth checking out. The ‘zine includes expected reviews of stuff like coffee ice cream and “be-bop” biscotti but also offers up the unexpected, like pieces on crime and punishment in America, identity theft and cartoonist Kieron Dwyer’s account of his legal struggles with Starbucks as well as several comic strips, including TMCM. Entertaining and intelligent, Too Much Coffee Man the magazine is the Rev’s “must read” for the month (www.tmcm.com).

Proving that the cinematic excellence and storytelling skills that he showed audiences with The Sixth Sense were no fluke, writer and filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan followed up that surprise blockbuster with the equally impressive Unbreakable (Touchstone Home Video). Although it was not the smash hit of his first film, Unbreakable is an admirable work in its own right. Bruce Willis stars as David Dunn, the lone survivor of a deadly train wreck. The accident proves to be a sort of watershed for the character when he meets up with the enigmatic stranger Elijah, played perfectly by Samuel L. Jackson.

The story twists and turns in unexpected directions, as the mysterious Elijah leads Dunn to discover his true nature. Shyamalan is an original and insightful director, using interesting framing and camera angles to drive this unique and thrilling tale. As with his previous film, Shyamalan provides viewers with a surprise ending. The DVD release includes a second disc with a “behind the scenes” feature and one discussing comic books and superheroes (a major theme in the film). Unbreakable is a remarkable film that will keep you thinking for days after watching it. (View From The Hill, June 2001)

Short Rounds: The Burrito Brothers, Richie Owens & the Farm Bureau, Jon Savage's 1969-1971, Webb Wilder, Lucinda Williams & X (2020

New album releases in 150 words or less…

The Burrito Brothers – The Notorious Burrito Brothers (The Store For Music)
Whether “flying” or not, the Burrito Brothers have consistently evolved as a band since Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman first tried to fuse country and rock into “Cosmic American Music” back in 1969. This newest incarnation follows in their footsteps, the Chris James-led, Nashville-based outfit acquitting themselves nicely with The Notorious Burrito Brothers, the band blending country, rock, and soul with the all-important twang provided by Tony Paoletta’s weeping steel guitar and Bob Hatter’s elegant fretwork. Although James’ voice strains at times, he knocks the Dan Penn classic “Dark End of the Street” out of the park with a soulful reading. The ballads are gorgeous, but it’s honky-tonk jams like “Do Right Man” and “Gravity” that are the band’s bread ‘n’ butter, showcasing their instrumental virtuosity and country-rock mastery. Forget about questions of “authenticity”; these guys are the real deal, cranking out poop-punting tunes in the true Burrito Brothers tradition. Grade: B+   BUY!

Richie Owens and the Farm Bureau – Reconstruction (Kleartone Records)
Nashville’s Richie Owens and the Farm Bureau have quietly made some of the best Americana music of the past 20 years, the talented singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist forging an inspired blend of roots-rock and twangy country for albums like In Farm We Trust and Tennessee. Owens’ brilliant Reconstruction is a paean to the classic rock he grew up with and, although he wears his influences well, Owens brings an unbridled enthusiasm and energy to these 11 original tunes that transcends mere mimicry or adulation. The performances are rich with melody and the band’s skilled instrumentation is simply gorgeous, but it’s with tunes like the insightful, guitar-driven country-rock of “Welcome To America” or the hauntingly-beautiful “Stay In My Memories” that Owens showcases formidable lyrical skills as impressive as the musical accompaniment. With a talent equal to current hipster faves like Jason Isbell or Lukas Nelson, Owens is an artist worth discovering. Grade: A+   BUY!

Various Artists – Jon Savage’s 1969-1971: Rock Dreams On 45 (Ace Records U.K.)
British music journalist Jon Savage has curated several of these bespoke sets for Ace Records, each compilation album collecting pop/rock tunes from a single year, documenting both the hits and the obscurities. With Rock Dreams On 45, Savage moves beyond K-Tel and into the FM radio era where bands uncomfortably straddled the line between AM pop and FM street cred. This heady two-disc combo offers up 43 über-cool tunes from both well-known rockers like Jethro Tull, Free, the Kinks, the James Gang, Procol Harum, Mott the Hoople, and Velvet Underground, with a song selection that often eschews the hits in favor of the art. More obscure outfits like Steamhammer, the Idle Race, Kaleidoscope, Blossom Toes, Man, and the Flamin’ Groovies fill out a dream playlist of vintage hard rock and blues. Rock Dreams on 45 is the perfect introduction to the often-exhilarating dawn of the classic rock era; highly recommended. Grade: A+   BUY!

Webb Wilder – Night Without Love (Landslide Records)
Americana legend Webb Wilder’s Night Without Love is a concept album, exploring both the wonder and woe of love and romance. Wilder tackles the heady subject matter with his usual aplomb, his trademark blend of roots-rock, country, and R&B (rhythm and blues) literally built for this sort of artistic exercise. The Big Man doesn’t disappoint, his deep, twangy vocals perfectly suited for tunes like the yearning title track (penned by long-time friend R.S. Field) or the lyrical poetry of “Illusion of You” while a cover of Los Lobos “Be Still” is performed beautifully. Wilder’s original “The Big Deal” is as heartfelt a love song as you’ll hear, Wilder’s earnest vocals accompanied by multi-instrumentalist George Bradfute’s gorgeous strings while a honky-tonk cover of Chip Taylor’s “Holdin’ On To Myself” will have you crying in your beer. Overall, Night Without Love is a perfect showcase for Wilder’s enormous talents and unbridled enthusiasm. Grade: A+   BUY!

Lucinda Williams – Good Souls Better Angels (Highway 20 Records)
Lucinda Williams has built her reputation as a talented singer/songwriter plumbing the depths of country, folk, and rock music with highly-personal lyrics. With Goods Souls Better Angels she strolls along the muddy Mississippi with as bluesy an album as you’ll hear in 2020. Backed by her road-tested touring band – including stellar guitarist Stuart Mathis – Williams belts out these 12 tunes with the brass of Koko Taylor and the finesse of Etta James. Sure, there’s some twang to be heard in the grooves of songs like “Bad News Blues” or “Big Rotator” but when Williams cuts loose on tracks like “Bone of Contention” or “Down Past the Bottom,” she’s howlin’ like The Wolf, her bruised vocals pouring out emotion like a thunderstorm. Many blues artists try their entire lives and fail to capture the grief and anger that Williams channels through Good Souls Better Angels, the singer’s most powerful album yet. Grade: A   BUY!

X – Alphabetland (Fat Possum Records)
The opening notes of Alphabetland, punk legends X’s first album in 25+ years will have you thinking that it’s 1980 all over again. When Exene Cervenka’s distinctive vox jump in and guitarist Billy Zoom hits a nasty razorblade chord, you’re sure of it. Alphabetland offers the band’s original line-up of Cervenka, Zoom, singer/bassist John Doe, and drummer D.J. Bonebrake, reunited for the first time since 1985’s Ain’t Love Grand! and it sounds like it was recorded in a time warp. Each song provides the sort of short, sharp shock that was the band’s trademark on LPs like Los Angeles and Wild Gift, but with contemporary lyrics. The band’s reckless musical chemistry remains intact, X’s magical blend of raging punk, roots-rock, and rockabilly as fresh and startling as it was 40 years ago. Don’t call it a “comeback,” but rather a continuation, Alphabetland an inspired collection of timeless rock ‘n’ roll. Grade: A+   BUY!


Previously on That Devil Music.com:
Short Rounds, April 2020: Datura4, Dream Syndicate, Drivin’ N’ Cryin’, Bryan Ferry, Game Theory & Supersuckers

Short Rounds, March 2020: The Bluefields, Dave Clark Five, Marshall Crenshaw, Gwil Owen, Gary Moore & Watermelon Slim

Short Rounds, February 2020: Beach Slang, The Bar-Kays, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, Delaney & Bonnie, Mott the Hoople & Television Personalities

Short Rounds, January 2020: The Band, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Dana Gillespie, Manfred Mann, Mick Ronson & An A-Squared Compilation

New Music Monthly: April 2020 releases

Hope that everybody has been staying safe, staying indoors, and listening to a bunch of music! The pandemic crisis has impacted album release dates and distribution, so while the list below is current it could change at any moment and you might have trouble finding some of these titles on their release date. There's a lot of great new music, too, including albums from Dream Syndicate, Lucinda Williams, Thundercat, the Strokes, and many more! No matter your taste in music, there's something here for everybody... 

Release dates are subject to change and nobody tells me when they do. If you’re interesting in buying an album, just hit the ‘Buy!’ link to get it from Amazon.com...it’s just that damn easy! Your purchase puts valuable ‘store credit’ in the Reverend’s pocket that he’ll use to buy more music to write about in a never-ending loop of rock ‘n’ roll ecstasy!

APRIL 3
The Claudettes - High Times In the Dark   BUY!
Gentle Giant - Acquiring the Taste [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
Gentle Giant - Gentle Giant [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
Gentle Giant - Octopus [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
Gentle Giant - Three Friends [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
Steve Goodman - Live '69   BUY!
The Monkees - The Mike & Micky Show Live   BUY!
Thundercat - It Is What It Is   BUY!
Various Artists - Stone Crush: Memphis Modern Soul 1977-1987   BUY!
Rick Wakeman & The English Rock Ensemble - The Red Planet   BUY!
M. Ward - Migration Stories   BUY!

APRIL 10
Ayreon - Electric Castle Live and Other Tales   BUY!
Dream Syndicate - The Universe Inside   BUY!
The Gladiators - Serious Thing [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
Joe Satriani - Shapeshifting   BUY!
The Strokes - The New Abnormal   BUY!

APRIL 17
Black Dahlia Murder - Verminous   BUY!
Danzig - Danzing Sings Elvis   BUY!
The Nighthawks - Trying To Get To You   BUY!
Ron Sexsmith - Hermitage   BUY!

APRIL 24
The 1975 - Notes On A Conditional Form   BUY!
Brendan Benson - Dear Life   BUY!
Robby Krieger - The Ritual Begins At Sundown   BUY!
Trivium - What the Dead Men Say   BUY!
Lucinda Williams - Good Souls Better Angels   BUY!

Album of the Month: Not just one album this month, but rather four long overdue vinyl reissues of the first four albums from prog-rock legends Gentle Giant! The British band was right in the fray of early '70s progressive rock, and if they didn't get the respect of King Crimson or sell as many platters as Yes or ELP, these four LPs – 1970's self-titled debut, 1971's Acquiring the Taste, 1972's Three Friends and Octopus – were nevertheless innovative, ground-breaking works that set the standard for prog-rock during the decade and introduced the rock world to the immense talents of guitarist Gary Green, keyboardist Kerry Minnear, and the skilled multi-instrumentalist Shulman brothers (Derek, Phil & Ray). These albums have gone in and out-of-print on CD through the years, but these deluxe vinyl reissues are a welcome addition to the prog fan's collection!