| Artist |
Track |
Comments |
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Big Guitars from Texas
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Ride of the Ruthless
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Not steel but pretty good guitar to get us started!
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Debashish Bhattacharya
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Gat in Teentala
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Brilliant Indian guitar from "Trinity of Guitars" on P&M Records, Kolkata (2003)-- with brother Subhasis on tablas. Debashish makes hybrid guitars, adds Hawaiian rhythms and often plays (and records) with American musicians, like Kenny Wessel and Bob Brozman.
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Ken Wessel, Badal Roy, Stomu Takeishi
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Testimony
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Kenny & Badal played together in Ornette Coleman's Prime Time Band. This trio-- with Stomu on bass-- mixes Indian rhythms with jazz. From "Daybreak" on Igmod (1998).
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Don Tyack & Chuck Campbell
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"Amazing Grace"
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Recorded at the Sacred Steel Convention in March 2001, at Sanford (FL) Civic Center. On Arhoolie Records.
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Johnny Bellar w/ Linda & David Lay
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Aloha Oe
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Lap steel plus rhythm and bass; from "Masters of the Steel String Guitar" (Arhoolie, 2000)
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Bob Brozman
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Paauau Waltz
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Cool steel guitar instrumental, from "Blue Hula Stomp (Kicking Mule Records, 1981)
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Sol K Bright's Hollywaiians
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Hawaiian Cowboy
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Isn't this a killer tune? From "Hawaiian Steel Guitar Classics: 1927-1938" on Arhoolie (2002).
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Sol Hoopii Trio
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Palolo
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The All Music Guide describes Sol Hoopii as "the most celebrated steel guitarist of the Hawaiian golden age." He first came to the mainland as a stowaway in 1919, recorded hundreds of tune in Los Angeles and was a huge influence on country & western music.
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The Pahinui Brothers w/ Ry Cooder
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Jealous Guy
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Listen to this mix: 3 Hawaiian brothers with Ry, David Lindley on steel, Dwight Yoakam on vocals-- doing a John Lennon tune. Check out their 1992 self-titled album on Private Music.
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Ry Cooder
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Sountrack to Johnny Handsome
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Cool movie music as talkover bed.
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Herb Pederson
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Can't You Hear Me Calling
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Title cut for 4 CD bluegrass collection on Columbia/Legacy (2004).
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Don Reno, Bill Harrell & the Tennessee Strings
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Choking the Strings
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Bluegrass instrumental from same CD collection, subtitled "80 Years of American Music"
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Byrds
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Bristol Steam Convention Blues
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These Byrds were the Gene Parsons & Clarence White Byrds-- and they sure could pick. More bluegass, I guess.
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Dixie Chicks
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Tortured, Tangled Hearts
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The last of four tunes from the "Can't You Hear Me Calling" collection, from these righteous country gals.
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Bill Monroe
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Summertime is Past and Gone
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Something from the "father" of modern bluegrass, with Lester Flatt on lead guitar and vocals; recorded in 1946.
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Tony Joe White
|
Gabriella
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Fine new album from country singer-songwriter ("Polk Salad Annie" "Rainy Night in Georgia") White.
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Tony Joe White w/ Shelby Lynn
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Can't Go Back Home
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The new CD-- "The Heroines" on Sanctuary (2004)-- has nice duets with Jessi Colter, Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams plus Shelby Lynn and White's daughter Michelle.
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Nora O'Connor
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My Backyard
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Is this a great song? From "til the dawn" on Bloodshot (2004)
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Buddy Miller
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Don't Wait
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This guy should be our next rock & roll hero! He writes great songs and plays as well as anyone. What are we waiting for?
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Madeleine Peyroux
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Lonesome Road
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Eight years after we first heard of her, Madeleine Peyroux puts out a new CD on Rounder-- "Careless Love"-- filled with cool smokey covers.
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Elizabeth Cotton
|
Fox Chase
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Cotton won a Grammy at age 90. A great guitar picker until she died in 1987, this tune is from the "Shake Sugaree" collection from 1965-66 on Smithsonian Folkways.
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Bill Morrissey
|
Coffee Blues
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Cover of Mississippi John Hurt song, aka the Maxwell House coffee song, from an album of John Hurt covers by NH singer-songwriter Morrissey.
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Mississippi John Hurt
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Farther Along
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When he was re-discovered in the 1960s, he could sing and play as well as he ever did. This tune is from "Last Sessions" on Vanguard (1966), produced by Patrick Sky.
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Lttle Axe
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The Way I See It
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Short instrumental from "Champaigne & Grits" on Real World (2000).
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Little Axe
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Walk on Water
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Little Axe-- Skip McDonald, working with pals Doug Wimbish, Keith LeBlanc and producer Adrian Sherwood-- combine real blues with audio bits. Listen for Howlin' Wolf and Leadbelly in the mix.
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Moms Mabley & the Orioles
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Yes, Indeed
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Moms Mabley was a Harlem fixture from the 30s to the 60s, mostly doing standup. But she sang too! Check out "Step It Up & Go! Tearing Up the Roots of Rock n Roll"
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Annie Laurie & Paul Gayten
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One Sweet Letter from You
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Classy New Orleans R&B, also from "Step It Up & Go!" (President Records, 2004)
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Ted Hawkins
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Long As I Can See the Light
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Hawkins was a street musician in Venice, California, for years, until he was discovered in the 1980s. He recorded a couple of strong albums, then he died.
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Eddie Hinton
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Too Much Monkey Business
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White soulster covers Chuck Berry, from "Playing Around: The Songwriting Sessions, Vol.2" (2004)
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James Cotton w/ Dave Alvin
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Stealin' Stealin'
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One of the last of the great Chicago blues greats recently put out a nice album of duets; here he plays with Dave Alvin and guitar pal Chris Gaffney.
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Kris Kristofferson
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The Law is For Protection of the People
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Early clever Kristofferson, when he was still pushing a broom in Nashville.
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Bushspeak
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On the Environment
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Well, it looks like we can use this CD-- "Bushspeak: The Curious Wit and WIsdom"-- for years to come. So sad.
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Carol Lester
|
Shine (Feed the Love)
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Jersey City singer-songwriter. For more info, email her at SongFull@aol.com
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Leon Rosselson
|
Harry's Gone Fishing
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Great tune about fighting the power, from fine British songwriter. Title cut to his 2000 CD, available on Gadfly Records in Burlington, VT
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Big City Orchestra
|
Welkevil
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"Smirky" is the CD title. More cutups, Bush and Welk and others.
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Beach Boys
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Old Man River
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No comment
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Chandler Travis
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I Threw Some Meat into the Pond
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Singer/Songwriter/Poet?? You can see home every Sunday in the summer at the Beachcomber on Cape Cod
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Chandler Travis
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With My Feet Planted Firmly in the Air
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To hear this witty fellow rock & roll, check out his "Writer-Songsinger" CD on Sonic Trout" (1992) or his more recent stuff.
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Michael Fracasso
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When I Lived in the Wild
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NYC singer-songwriter moved to Austin, put out some fine work. This tune is the title cut to his 1995 album on Bohemia Beat Records.
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Big City Orchestra
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Hidden2
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More "Smirky"
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Phil Ochs
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Power & the Glory
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A tune that fights back!
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Joe Val
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Long Lonesome Road
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A one-time member of the Charles River Valley Boys, Joe Val was the best of the Boston bluegrass guys in the 60s. Listen to the great compilation album on Rounder Records called "Diamond Joe."
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Woody Guthrie
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Going Down the Road Feeling Bad
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Ending a show with a Woody Guthrie song is always a positive move! "I ain't gonna be treated this a way."
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