Robert Earl Keen‘s upcoming album Happy Prisoner: The Bluegrass Sessions (2015) heads into bluegrass territory on tracks like the classic nineteenth century ballad “Wayfaring Stranger.” As Rolling Stone reports, Keen grew up listening to bluegrass music and that music has continued as a “hidden influence” throughout his career. So, it is exciting to see him bringing this music to the forefront with the new album.
The song “Wayfaring Stranger” has been recorded by many artists including Johnny Cash, Neil Young, Emmylou Harris, and Burl Ives, who used the song’s name for the title of his autobiography. On Keen’s new version of “Wayfaring Stranger,” Natalie Maines provides harmonies. Check it out.
“Wayfaring Stranger” is not Natalie Maines’s only connection to Keen’s Happy Prisoner album. Her father Lloyd Maines produced the album. Happy Prisoner: The Bluegrass Sessions will be released on February 10, 2015.
What is your favorite version of “Wayfaring Stranger”? Leave your two cents in the comments.
As part of the annual Key West Songwriter’s Festival, singer-songwriter Robert Earl Keen was challenged to write a song off the top of his head. During this visit to the famous Chart Room in Key West with GAC’s Headline Country show host Storme Warren, Keen found inspiration from learning that the bar contained the ashes of former bar patrons who had passed away.
So, in this video, Keen takes a tour of the Florida bar and performs a bit of “Buried in the Bar.” Check it out.
The new impromptu song led Keen to record a complete version of “Buried in the Bar.” You may hear the entire song below, and if you like it like I do, you may download it for free at Keen’s website.
Check out this music from Ariel Abshire, a young singer-songwriter from Austin, Texas. Her website puts her in the “Americana” genre, noting some similarities to the likes of Jenny Lewis, Neko Case, and Nicole Atkins. She’s performed at shows that also featured Jerry Jeff Walker and Robert Earl Keen. Her voice has appeared in movies, video games, and even a cartoon. Give her a listen and decide for yourself. On the following tracks, you might hear a little high lonesome sound on “Nothing New,” while “No Great Pretender” evokes the pop sensibility of some of Jewel’s best songs.
Her debut album Exclamation Love (2008) came out when she was seventeen, and her second album came out last year, Still So New (2011). Check out Abshire’s website for more information and videos, which you can also catch on YouTube, like this live performance of Lady Gaga’s “Speechless.” The blog Cat 5 has a good article about her too. Keep an eye out for this rising star.
What do you think of Ariel Abshire’s music? Leave your two cents in the comments.
One of my favorite recent CD purchases is This One’s For Him: A Tribute to Guy Clark (2011), which I have had on repeat play since I got it in December. This One’s for Him is a solid 2-CD collection of songs by the wonderful Texas singer-songwriter Guy Clark. Although tribute albums often are hit-and-miss affairs with an uneven collection of interpretations by various artists, this one maintains a nice consistency throughout. One reason the CDs work so well is the consistency of Guy Clark’s writing, although tribute albums usually consist of well-written songs. Another reason that the listening experience is like listening to a CD by one artist is because the producers recorded live with the band and a limited number of overdubs, giving consistency throughout. Finally, the great collection holds up due to the group of artists assembled for the project. Although there are some famous singers on the collection, the producers clearly opted for talented musicians who love Clark’s music instead of just seeking big names, and the love comes through the music.
It is hard to choose a favorite song, but one of mine is Jack Ingram’s version of “Stuff that Works.” In a video no longer available on YouTube, Jack Ingram talked about his love of Guy Clark’s music, noting that the music feels “like the Truth.” The great thing about Clark’s songs is that he writes beautiful words to go with his beautiful music. Stuff that works, stuff that holds up; The kind of stuff you don’t hang on the wall; Stuff that’s real, stuff you feel; The kind of stuff you reach for when you fall.
Artists on the CD include a who’s who of great singers and songwriters: Rodney Crowell, Willie Nelson, Jerry Jeff Walker, Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Kris Kristofferson, Robert Earl Keen, Ray Wylie Hubbard, John Prine, and many more. [UPDATE: In a promotional video no longer on YouTube, Hayes Carll, who sings “Worry B Gone” on the tribute CD, talked about hanging out with Clark.]
If you are already a fan of Guy Clark’s music, you will love the CD. But if you are new to his music, the tribute CD is a great place to start. One of my favorite songs of all-time is Guy Clark’s “LA Freeway.” Radney Foster does an excellent job covering the song on the CD. I could not find his version on Youtube, so here is the songwriter’s version. He does a pretty good job too.
If I can just get off of this LA freeway, Without getting killed or caught; I’d be down that road in a cloud of smoke, For some land that I ain’t bought — bought — bought.
“LA Freeway” captures the common longing for running off and being free. Even if you cannot make that kind of escape, you might come a little closer if while you’re on the road you pop in this CD.
