Amythyst Kiah positions her unique voice and songwriting with one of the best albums of the year with “Wary + Strange.”
One of my favorite albums from 2021 is Amythyst Kiah‘s Wary + Strange. The Tennesseean’s first nationally distributed album defies categorization, with many finding indie, alt-rock, roots, folk, country-blues and other sounds in it, with a deep voice that may remind some of Tracy Chapman. Kiah, though, is an experienced artist making her own music, with experience that includes time spent in Our Native Daughters, a talented supergroup that includes Rhiannon Giddens, Leyla McCalla, and Allison Russell.
Wary + Strange shows an artist continuing to develop since 2013’s debut Dig and the 2016 EP Amythyst Kiah And Her Chest of Glass. The newest album is packed full of memorable songs. One stand-out is “Black Myself.” The New York Times called the song “a down-home, defiant testimony to Black pride that earned a Grammy nomination for best American roots song.” Check it out.
Kiah wrote or co-wrote all of the songs on the album, which was produced by Tony Berg. Another powerful song is “Fancy Drones (Fracture Me),” a song about being cut off from your emotions. Another favorite song showing a softer bluesy side is “Tender Organs,” revealing both strength and vulnerability in dealing with internal struggles.
Notice here, notice here, These tender organs rotting inside me; Notice here, notice here, The hands that healed me, now they’re writhing.
With such a talent for songwriting and a distinctive powerful voice. Kiah should be around for a long time adding to the soundtrack of our lives. Give the album a spin.
What do you think of the album? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Sam Williams, the youngest grandson of Hank Williams, released his debut album featuring the mesmerizing track, “Can’t Fool Your Own Blood.”
Sam Williams has a last name with a lot of musical history. The grandson of Hank Williams and the son of Hank Williams Jr., Williams is carving his own musical trail. With songs encompassing rock, folk, and country, Williams released a debut full album in 2021, Glasshouse Children. One of my favorite tracks from the album is “Can’t Fool Your Own Blood.”
And you can lie to a liar, Go ahead and flame the fire, And Burn down everything you love; You can steal from a thief, I’ll act like I believe, But you can’t fool your own blood.
One might be tempted to speculate that the heavy weight of being in a legendary family has led Sam Williams to reflect on what a family means. And is that a reference to Hank’s “Lost Highway” in the line, “And then the lost highway claims me its own.”
But the song is after something more universal. Beginning with the portrait of an alcoholic mother, the song remarks on how you might be able to hide a lot from the world, but ultimately you can’t hide from those that know you best.
It’s a stunning song on a wonderful debut album from a young artist. Here’s hoping we have Sam Williams around for a long time.
John Denver’s “Christmas in Concert” features joyous renditions of many Christmas classics and a touching “O Holy Night.”
I have a pretty broad collection of Christmas music that expands every year. One of the albums I’ve been listening to this year is John Denver’s Christmas in Concert (2001). And one of the highlights of the album is Denver’s rendition of “O Holy Night.”
The live album was recorded in Washington, D.C. in December 1996, so the Christmas spirit throughout is real, unlike Christmas albums recorded in July. Denver sticks to a holiday theme throughout the performance, with the exception of giving the audience a handful of Denver classics at the end. For listening purposes, it is refreshing that the non-holiday songs are at the end rather than mixed with the holiday songs.
The album’s holiday songs range from several classics like a fun version of “Jingle Bells” to the odd “Please Daddy (Don’t Get Drunk This Christmas).” The latter’s awkward happy chorus, accompanied by a children’s choir, would unlikely make the cut today. And even in 1996, Denver introduces the song that had appeared on his 1975 album Rocky Mountain Christmas in a way that recognizes he was reassessing the song he recorded as a younger man (Denver did not write the song). Finally, unlike on many Christmas performances, Denver also embraces more religious-based classics like “Away in a Manger.”
OnChristmas in Concert, Denver is backed on various songs by the World Children’s Choir and the National Symphony Orchestra. But it is often Denver’s voice that is the star, an that is most true on his performance of “O Holy Night.” When we think of Denver, I often overlook what a wonderful tenor voice came out of the man. And when he gets to the high notes of “O Holy Night,” it can make believers out of the most cynical.
Below is a 1996 performance of Denver playing “O Holy Night.” While it is not the same one from the album, this tribute clip appears to be from a Today Show appearance he mentions on the album.
“O Holy Night” comes from an 1843 poem by Placide Cappeau, set to music in 1847 by Adolphe Adam (with the English version is by John Sullivan Dwight). It remains one of the most religious of the Christmas classics, and one that carolers may avoid due to being more difficult to sing than other Christmas songs.
Denver on October 12, 1997, so the album captures Denver during his last Christmas, reminding us we can never know which will be our last. So, check out the John Denver Christmas in Concert album this holiday season, during a time when we all could use some faith in something or someone who knows our needs and is not a stranger to our weaknesses.
Or at least we can settle for a short respite. Wishing love, faith, hope, comfort, and good health to you and yours.
As The Pines at Night, Matthew Ryan releases an excellent full-length contemplative album, “A Year of Novembers.”
Perhaps no artist has been as prolific as Matthew Ryan in creating art reflecting the mood of the last few years as our country and the world have struggled through difficult times. Earlier this year, he released the maxi-single “A Song for a Hard Year” under a new name to reflect the collaborative nature of his music, The Pines at Night. Now, under the new name The Pines at Night (and apparently with a new name also as songwriter, “Ryan C. Webb”), he has released a full album through Bandcamp called A Year of Novembers.
The release on November 7 marked an important 50th birthday for Ryan. Although in the last year he retreated largely from social media to find a quieter peace in our crazy world, he now gives us another generous gift with music that captures the atmosphere of the times, what one writer has called a “hopeful dark moodiness.”
The acoustic songs on A Year of Novembers are quieter than other full-album releases from Ryan in recent years like Hustle Up Starlings and Boxers. But in releasing several online EP’s or “maxi-singles” in recent years, Ryan’s music has been focused on the contemplative (although that always has been true of his music to a large extent).
As a general matter, the music is quiet, largely electric guitar or piano based with a dash of harmonica and additional non-intrusive bass, cello, Vox, and percussion. It’s all the better to keep the focus on the lyrics and a certain mood captured in the album’s title (although not all tracks have lyrics with To Be Young and In Love In America in November” being an improvised instrumental with David Henry).
From the opening track, “Peace and Love,” Ryan’s raspy voice draws you in, asking what starts as a familiar rock question that then takes a left turn, “What’s so funny about peace and love? Peace and love and murder?”
The songs from the album are not currently on YouTube, but the demo for “Peace and Love” (then called “Peace, Love & Murder”) originally appeared as an extra on Ryan’s release of an acoustic version of his album Hustle Up Starlings (2017), called Starlings Unadorned (2018). Below is the demo.
I loved the demo, yet I’m thrilled that the song found a new life on the new album. The completed version of the song on A Year of Novembers, not surprisingly, takes the song to a different level with fuller instrumentation that highlights the vocal and lyrics even more than the acoustic demo. Musicians, in addition to “M. Ryan,” adding to the album include Doug Lancio, Neilson Hubbard, and David Henry.
The opening song also tells us that “the heart is a ruthless plow,” which may sum up much of the album’s explorations. There are references to hearts throughout the album, and there is love’s redemption waiting everywhere. Yet, there also are other themes too.
The album ends with “The Day After the End of the World,” continuing Ryan’s recent trajectory of beautiful and amazing doomsday songs like “On Our Death Day” and “The Last Event” on recent releases. Here, with some “sha la la’s,” he tells us to “shake off the night” and assures us “we’re gonna be alright . . . for a while.”
I believe his reassurances that we are going to be okay, at least as long as he keeps providing us with the most essential soundtrack for these crazy times.
Head over to Bandcamp to listen to and, if you like it, buy the album (naming your own price), supporting Ryan’s continuing work. The album cover above, entitled “Last November,” was taken by Ryan. Leave your two cents in the comments.
See how local news stations covered a young Bruce Springsteen after the release of “Darkness on the Edge of Town.”
Many of us are so used to Bruce Springsteen being a rock icon that it can be easy to forget a time before Springsteen and the E Street Band attained legendary status. Therefore it is interesting to look back at local news coverage of the band early in Springsteen’s career.
The following video features a couple of local television news interviews with the young Bruce Springsteen starting off his Darkness on the Edge of Town tour. The interviews feature some cool concert footage too, as “the kid from Asbury Park” talks about “the most important” night of his life. Check it out.
