songs:illinois

There were a couple of factors that drew me to the music of Catl. First was the name of their new record – With the Lord for Cowards You Will Find No Place. Second was their groovy cover art. And third was the fact that their brand of blues was described as dirty and scuzzy and punk. So yeah this isn’t the polished sound of blues coming out of Chicago or LA. It’s more akin to the delta sound except infused with rock and punk.

You can get this release from their label Electro Fi here or here through Emusic.

Church On Time

On Jan 12 the new record from T-Model Ford arrives on Alive Records entitled Ladies Man. T-Model is hailed as the real deal by those in the know. And I tend to agree; this is not some tame, polished, overproduced schlock. Instead it’s all rough around the edges and alive (no pun intended).

Pre-order it here.

Two Trains

If you were really paying attention to the Americana music scene and truly had your ear to the ground you might have heard some rumblings about the band Avi And Celia. I know I’ve heard a thing or two – so I looked them up and got permission to share the lead off track from their new record Let It Rise.

“Rollin’ and Tumblin’” is a traditional song that’s been reworked by this duo. They’ve kept in tact that southern blues feel and added a few new lyrics to the tune. I suspect the new additions are the ones that make the song a little more about world peace and a little less about internal peace (of mind). The new record came out September 26 and is available now at Dig Station here.

Rollin’ and Tumblin’

The line graph above is a representation of the Songs:Illinois traffic trend. Can you tell which way it’s trending? Neither can I. While I’m happy with the number and quality of visitors I would like to see that trend going up instead of jumping all over the pace.

SO while this is dorky and a little pathetic I thought I’d ask for your help. I ask this because I truly love the music on Songs:Illinois. The writing leaves a lot to be desired, I know. But the music inspires me, often brightens my day, and never fails to move me in some small way.

SO SO I was thinking I’d ask you guys for help. If you’re a regular reader or even a newbie I thought I’d ask you to help spread the word about this little site. Email a friend or two, if you’re on Facebook do one of those little updates (ie “Fred Smith is loving Songs:Illinois right now”), add a link to me on any of your online sites, sign up for the email update, etc., etc.

I’d like to thank everyone else who links here especially the excellent web mashup Ample Sanity and my brother from another mother music blog The Late Greats.

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Here’s a little something that will make the spiders at Hype and Elbo.ws pick up this post. These songs are from the early 1900′s and have just been reissued on Tompkins Square. Read more about this fascinating release here.

Pre-order it here through Amazon.

Oysters and Wine At 2 AM

Of late Fat Possum has gotten into the reissue business. Not reissuing lost nuggets from the 50′s or even pre-war blues mind you, but instead lost classics from the past year or so. First there was the reissue of AA Bondy’s terrific solo debut and now the reissue of Wilem Maker’s self released record Stars Fell On.

“Red As A Rose” is a trance blues number that should appeal to fans of Charlie Parr and William Elliott Whitmore. It’s a bit busy in parts, but when the fog clears and you get Wilem’s possessed vocals and incendiary guitar it’s pretty special.

There’s a few copies left here or you can pick it up in September through Fat Possum.

Red As A Rose

Bonus tracks from the Big Legal Mess Records’ archive:

Goin Away – Elmo Williams and Hezekiah Erly
Believe – Famous L. Renfroe
Talkin It (Remix) – T Model Ford

Sometimes I think the blues genre is just completely played out. There doesn’t seem to be anything new that’s being attempted. But sometimes you can hear something that has that little spark of energy that gives you hope. Track 1 of the new cd by Moreland & Arbuckle has that spark. From the wild slide intro reminiscent of Hound Dog Taylor to the multiple cliches found in the lyrics, this song breaks no new ground but it does so with such enthusiasm and verve that it’s hard not to sit back, tap your foot and smile.

1861 is out now and can be purchased here.

Gonna Send Ya Back To Georgia

P.S. The fine music blogs Hero Hill and Nine Bullets jumped right on these guys. So to get even more perspective (and a couple more songs) check out the links above.

Shit…no one told me someone re-released Charlie Parr’s 2002 record entitled 1922 last year. Isn’t that why we have all these mp3 blogs? Come on guys, I can’t do it all by myself.

“Yo Yo Blues” is a classic blues tune with a clever play on words at the expense of Yo Yo Ma.

As best as I can figure the re-release is being handled by Low’s in-house Label Chairkickers Union but it’s digital-only so check with iTunes.

YoYo Blues
1922 Blues
Jesus At The Kenmore

P.S. This is a truncated post on account I’m off to SXSW. A day late and at least a dollar short but I’m looking forward to checking out about 300 bands.

I can’t get with all of the electric guitar bravado that is Alligator Records, but from the good press surrounding recent signee Eric Lindell, and the song below, with all it’s Boz Scaggs circa 1969 soul, Muscle Shoal type horns, and sex-fueled delivery I’m very open to hearing more from him.

Eric Lindell is a New Orleans native and that comes through on the mix of styles present in even this one song. If NYC is the melting pot, than New Orleans must be the gumbo stew that gets cooked up in that pot. You can hear traces of blues, Van Morrison’s blue-eyed soul and even the surf-jamband-lite of contemporaries like Jack Johnson. The new record, Low On Cash, Rich In Love, came out this past Tuesday and is available to be ordered directly through Alligator Records here.

Lay Back Down

P.S. Is there a great blues blog that I’m not aware of, cause I’ve never found it.

Bakelight 78 is practically the house band over at Chicago’s Hideout. They, along with Devil In a Woodpile, have found a second home in this out of the way hole in the wall. It’s somewhat fitting that the bands name comes from an early form of plastic used to make records since they strive to emulate that early jazz/folk/blues sound.

Bakelite 78 has been recording their new album in Como, Mississippi with Jimbo Mathus of Squirrel Nut Zippers fame. In interviews with the band it’s clear that they see themselves as a punk rock type entity and on “President Can’t Be Reached” you can hear some of that fire and brimstone anti-Bush rhetoric shining through. This song will be on the new record, due sometime this winter. The band plays tomorrow, Friday, at Old Town School Of Folk Music.

President Can’t Be Reached