Truesounds - Spring '09

Man, that cover makes my neck itch just looking at it! Here we have our quarterly Truesounds compilation. Featuring music of the mostly newly released persuasion. As noted in one of the comments of an earlier post....with Flameupload, you have to wait a minute for the downloads to appear. Here be the tracklist:

1. Steve Earle - White Freight Liner Blues
Off his new ode to Townes Van Zandt album aptly titled Townes. A fine collection of tunes I must say, and Steve's best album in years

2. Iris Dement - Big City
well, there seems to be alot of cover albums/songs being released this year, so I thought I would throw this excellent Merle Haggard cover on here to show how it's done. Off the 1994 Merle Haggard tribute album Tulare Dust

3. Todd Snider - Stuck On A Corner (Prelude To A Heart Attack)
If you listened to that Marilyn's on K show then surely you know the story behind this one. Off last years Peace Queer EP

4. Deano Waco - Box Store
Surely you watched the video of this 3 posts down....right....Off the free and good album Deano Meats The Purveyors (look three posts down!!)

5. Slaid Cleaves - Beautiful Thing
I think Slaid is being a tad cynical and sarcastic in this song....well he brings it back around at the end. Off his latest Everything You Love Will Be Taken Away......it's good.

6. The Gourds - Country Love
Funky little song off their latest Haymaker!

7. Tim Easton - Stones Throw Away
"Girls who drink whiskey can charm you out of your mind"....Love that line, off his latest album Porcupine

8. Scott Miller & The Commonwealth - Appalachian Refugee
Well I've already espoused my love for this particular song.....I had to include it on here. Off his latest For Crying Out Loud

9. Doug Paisley - We Weather
Off his latest self titled debut

10. John Doe & The Sadies - The Cold Hard Facts of Life
Cover of the Porter Wagoner classic off the newly released collection of classic country songs Country Club

11. The Fox Hunt - Hang Me
Off their latest album titled Americas Working Hard So We Don't Have To, expect a review of this album sometime soon

12. Gurf Morlix - She's A River
Buffalo's finest and producer extraordinaire Gurf Morlix returns with an album of his own this year called Last Exit To Happyland....it's good.....this song is a good example of why it's good

13. Easton Stagger Phillips - She Was Gone
Alt Country "supergroup" so to speak consisting of Tim Easton, Leeroy Stagger, and Evan Phillips of The Whipsaws. From last years One For The Ditch

14. The Deep Dark Woods - Nancy
Off the newly released Winter Hours

15. The Wood Brothers - Loaded
I think I talked these guys up last year....do not recall....anyway I'm still digging it. Off their 2008 album of the same name

16. Richard Shindell - Get Up Clara
Cool song from folk legend Richard Shindell. Off his latest Not Far Now

17. Old Crow Medicine Show - Tennessee Pusher
Off last years album of the same name, those boys sure do love to sing about drugs

18. Son Volt - Dust of Daylight
Jay Farrar & Co. are back with an incredible album titled American Central Dust due out in July

19. Justin Townes Earle - Halfway To Jackson
Effortless country crooner Justin Townes Earle is back this year with another album of throwback country goodness titled Midnight At The Movies

20. The Felice Brothers - Penn Station
The Felice Brothers also return with a new album titled Yonder Is The Clock

21. Phosphorescent - Reasons To Quit
Did I mention a lot of folks are putting out tribute and cover albums this year? Well this is off one of them titled To Willie, which is....you guessed it, a tribute to Willie Nelson. Pairs great with Chuck Prophet's album from last year Dreaming Waylon's Dreams

22. Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit - Cigarettes and Wine
Jason & Co. carry the torch for classic memphis soul with their latest self titled release

MP3 @ 192
Truesounds - Spring '09

All my rowdy friends are rowd'n on down :(

So just found out two of the blogs over in my blog roll over there are calling it quits. I was told that Oldrockr1 over at Too Old To Rock & Roll...Too Young To Die is hanging up his blogger hat, and Paul over at Setting The Woods On Fire has just left a farewell post saying he's taking a break, possibly indefinitely. This is a sad day friends....but I know how it is because I went through the same thing last year. Sometimes life must come first.

I just want to thank both of them right now for all the great posts and extend an invitation if either one wants to guest post over here, feel welcome. Just hit me up at truersound@gmail.com

John Doe & The Sadies - Stop The World & Let Me Off (Video Clip)

A cool clip from their recent in-store appearance at Sonic Boom records in Toronto (read a review over at My Aimz Is True). Man I could listen to Dallas Good belt out the country licks all day long.....best tele player since Clarence White?......hmmmm I don't know but he definitely makes a good case.

Heads up on another great free album: Deano Waco - Deano Meats The Purveyors

I'm really likeing this. It's Deano Waco of The Waco Brothers with The Meat Purveyors backing him up. Now I've expressed my love of The Meat Purveyors many times on here, and hopefully this means they have gotten back together (again) and we can look forward to another fine album from them. Until then, this one will more than make up.

Now call it heresy, but I'm not much of a Jon Langford as a singer fan, which is why I don't talk about The Waco Brothers too much. Unfortunately that has caused me to completely overlook the other half of The Waco Brothers, Deano Waco......he's not bad at all....I may have to go back and relisten to some of those Waco Brothers albums now. This album here is very good.....as in I can't believe he's giving it away!! He is taking donations though....so if you feel so inclined, drop the man a dime or two.

Deano Waco - Deano Meats The Purveyors

odds and ends: Roger Miller etc...

well the Roger Miller was a big hit....this surprised me actually. You guys never let me down. So now I get a chance to pretend I'm a music blogger, and well if there is one thing music bloggers love to do it's talk about their record collections. Being able to show pictures of your vast vinyl library is the ultimate music blogger cred. It's the equivalent of shanking a nazi in prison culture. And if you happen to have some super rare out of print limited edition french edition with a misprint on the cover.....oh hell.....you are like music blogger God!

So with that said.....here are some pictures of my sweet record collection :P

Now since I've posted that Roger Miller show I've been on a big Roger Miller kick....matter of fact it's about all I've been playing down in my secret lab whilst building my mom's mother's day gift. While burning through the grooves and wood, one song in particular stuck out, it's called Private John Q, and it's about a reluctant soldier fighting World War III. A song as apt today as ever. I can just hear this song being used in the opening credits of some kick ass war movie.....like say the new Tarantino flick Inglorious Basterds.....
Roger Miller - Private John Q

While I'm at it I thought I would post my favorite Roger Miller tune, the absurd My Uncle Used to Love Me But She Died
Roger Miller - My Uncle Used To Love Me But She Died

Now I said about all I've been playing has been Roger Miller, well since I heard of Vern Gosdin's passing I've also been playing this bad boy

Now I am an unashamed fan of 70's country music.....Don Williams, Hank Jr., Johnny Lee, Eddie Rabbit, you know all of the "Urban Cowboy" type country that I'm not supposed to admit I like (there goes my recently aquired music blogger cred!!). Well this album, Vern's first solo album from 1977 has that sound in spades. At the end of the 60's after a couple albums with his brother (as the Gosdin Brothers), most notably a seminal album with country rock legend Gene Clark, Vern had tired of the music scene and was running a glass company in Atlanta, Georgia. Lore has it that Emmylou Harris convinced him to record again in 1976 and this album is the outcome....this album was the springboard that led him to become a country hitmaker throughout the 80's. Well anyway, if you want to know more about Vern "The Voice" Gosdin I suggest you read his bio on his official website.

So here are two of my favorite tracks off the above pictured album....the ode to country music herself....."Mother Country Music", and maybe my favorite version of the classic Harlan Howard song "The Chokin' Kind" (that's saying a lot right there, but hey, I love this funky smooth country soul version)
Vern Gosdin - Mother Country Music
Vern Gosdin - The Chokin' Kind

Thanks for "the voice" Vern.....R.I.P.

Roger Miller - Live at The Birchmere (Alexandria VA 2/16/91)

"Now wait a dern minute..." I can hear you guys saying, "....I thought this was supposed to be all about the outlaw country?" Well in my opinion Roger Miller laid the ground work for what became known as "outlaw country". "What?" you say....stay with me here....for one Roger shared and apartment with Johnny Cash in the early 60's, legend has it they took a lot of pills and wrote a lot of songs. Another is he's was one of Willie Nelson's best friends. Did you know Roger Miller was the first person to record Kristofferson's "Me and Bobby McGee"?. Not only that but Kristofferson's first couple of records have more than a subtle hint of Roger Miller influence running throughout. Waylon's obviously a fan too, as he covered Been A Long Time Leaving on the previously mentioned Dreaming My Dreams album. He hung with George Jones during those early years, wrote the song Tall Tall Trees for him (later covered by Alan Jackson).

If you're not familar with Roger Miller you are probably familiar with some of his songs. King of The Road has been used in many man movies and commercials, most famously a Burger King commercial from the late 90's. Walking In The Sunshine was used recently for some credit card fast pass commercial that lot's are sure to recognize. Oh yeah and then there was that stint he did in Disney's Robin Hood (probalby my favorite Disney movie), where he voiced the Rooster/Narrater/Balladeer and sang the impossible to get out of your head ooh-da-lally song.

If his song titles don't clue you in, listen to this show and it will become obvious that Roger doesn't take himself too serious. In that affect you could call him the proto-Todd Snider.....definitely a good comparison can be made between the two. Now that we have worked our way up to alt-country, it's worth mentioning that The Sadies & Neko Case have covered his songs, numerous others I can't think of off the top of my head. Anyway, if there is one thing this world needs more of is live Roger Miller...and certainly more Roger Miller talk in the "blogosphere".

An afterthought, in this show, he talks about relaunching his career, sadly he never did as he died a little over a year later on Oct. 25th 1992....RIP

Oh, BTW, this is a killer show, great sound.....when I started listening to it I didn't even realize it was from 1991, I thought it was vintage from the 60's.....his voice sounds EXACTLY like it did back then.

MP3 @ 192

Roger Miller - Live At The Birchmere

Oops, sorry. Here is the missing track: Roger Miller - Don't We All Have The Right To Be Wrong Now And Then

From The Archives: Billy Joe Shaver - Seste Calende, Italy 7/25/97

Like I said last post, nothing better to me this time of year than rowdy outlaw country, and folks it just don't get no rowdier than Billy Joe Shaver. ESPECIALLY if he's got his son Eddie with him. If you didn't get this one the first time around GET IT, GET IT, GET IT! This is one of the best things I've ever posted!



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Here is a damned fine show from Billy Joe Shaver. Recorded in Italy in 1997 almost 10 years ago to the day. Features his late son and guitar virtouso Eddie Shaver, and man does he shine. I've always been a big fan of both Billy Joe's songwriting and Eddie's "Don Rich meets Stevie Ray" guitar style. If your not a BJS fan and you like rockin' country, download this.....cause he is the master......Billy Joe Shaver is a living legend....he IS outlaw country. Without him there would never have been such a thing. Anyway, I could go on for days about how much love and respect I have for this man....just download this show and maybe you will too.

MP3
Billy Joe Shaver - Seste Calende, Italy 1997

Waylon Jennings - Live 1975 - Sugarloaf, Maine 8/2/78

In my opinion there's nothing better to usher in the summer than some rowdy and raucous outlaw country (OK, well maybe Neil Young too). So in that spirit here is a damn fine Waylon show from 1975. Now let's take a look at that date. Waylon had just released what some call his greatest album (that's not made up of Billy Joe Shaver songs :P) Dreaming My Dreams, and was on the verge of releasing the album that would shoot him into popular culture along with Willie Nelson, the seminal Wanted! The Outlaws. That's the backdrop of this show......if that's not the peak of his career it is somewhere damn near it. Great sound on this one, great song selections with just a couple technical problems (during Only Daddy That'll Walk The Line and Clyde) that are easy to overlook, especially since you get to hear Waylon talk shit to a guy in the crowd who threw a rock onstage during Bob Wills is Still The King.

MP3 @ 192

Waylon Jennings - Live 1975

Slobberbone - Acoustic Slobberbone 4/6/96

Here is a cool ass show. Some acoustic Slobberbone recorded shortly before the re-release of thier debut album Crow Pot Pie. The sound on this one is incredible, and it's cool to hear these songs in a more stripped down setting. If your not familiar with Slobberbone, they were one of the seminal Alt Country bands from the mid 90's along with Whiskeytown, Old 97's, Bottle Rockets, Son Volt, etc... These guys probably relied more heavily on their punk influences than any of their peers. Fans of Supersuckers, Lucero, Social Distortion, Two Cow Garage, even The Replacements....if you don't already know about Slobberbone, you should.

MP3 @ 192

Slobberbone - Acoustic Slobberbone

Todd Snider - Marilyn's On K - Sacramento, CA - 2/15/09

"I found a four leaf clover in my yard today, it had one leaf missing off it but that was OK". That's how Todd Snider opens this show, and what a show folks. Superb, superb sound quality, great set list, great stories, Todd's taking requests, great variations on the old songs, and best of all NEW SONGS! This this is worth downloading just for the story about Slash and his "wastelets". It's been awhile since I posted anything new, so I hope this makes up for it folks.

BTW, I spent a few weeks exploring the so called "blogosphere" and I agree with you guys....sharebee sucks....matter of fact when I tried to use it I got a virus warning pop. Nice! So here is my new policy for uploads, if it's under 100mb, it will be mediafire. If it's over 100mb it will be something else....right now I'm trying this Flame Upload site which seems nice to me DL & UL wise. Don't know what the shelf life on the files there will be though....we will see, let me know what you think. Another thing is I always prefer .zips over .rars, only reason I use .rars is when I have to split the files to suite the upload site......Flame Upload allow files up to 200mb, which should take care of most of the things I up.

anyway, enjoy the new Todd, cause I'm enjoying the hell out of it

Read about it over at Eighteen Minutes

MP3 @ 192

Todd Snider - Marilyin's On K