Author: Rick Bayles

This album sounds so much like it was made sometime in the late sixties/early seventies that there’s a kind of time capsule feel to it; a little glimpse into a forgotten world. You can almost see Marla & David Celia sitting in a coffee shop discussing their latest gigs with Arlo Guthrie while they wait for Joni Mitchell to come and join them!  ‘Daydreamers’ is an album that invokes the Hippy spirit. This is Laurel Canyon folk music dressed up for the 21st century – a sound infused with nostalgia for simpler times. ” Continue reading “Marla and David Celia “Daydreamers” (Elite Records, 2018)”

Now this is a really interesting album. To give it its full title it is ‘Restoration: Reimagining the Songs of Elton John and Bernie Taupin’ and it does exactly that. Sixteen different acts from a country music background re-interpret thirteen songs from the massive back catalogue of two of the most prolific writers in popular music. The combination of country and Elton John could’ve been really cheesy but it’s actually quite glorious and the reason for that is the songs they’ve chosen and the artists selected. Continue reading “Various Artists “Restoration” (Universal Music Nashville, 2018)”

One of the interesting things about reviewing new music is that, every so often, an artist will throw a real curve ball with a new recording; and that’s exactly what we have here on the latest release from Parker Millsap, ‘Other Arrangements’. In 2014 Millsap was hailed as one of the Emerging Artists of the Year by the Americana Music Association. He has been feted for his traditional approach to roots music, with his last two albums both going to number one in the US Americana charts and his 2016 album ‘The Very Last Day’ being nominated for Album of The Year at the Americana Music Honours & Awards. To date all his recordings have been about a simple acoustic guitar, bass and fiddle combination. Continue reading “Parker Millsap “Other Arrangements” (Thirty Tigers, 2018)”

Johnny “Chops” Richardson is a member of established Texan outfit the Randy Rogers Band, where he’s held down the bass player role for the last sixteen years. Here he steps away from the bass guitar role to front his own band as guitarist, vocalist and writer on what is his second solo outing. It’s a solid, competent recording, as you’d expect from a band of all star musicians – drawn from the likes of Reckless Kelly, the Miranda Lambert Band and John Fogerty’s touring outfit – well produced by Johnny Chops himself and Reckless Kelly guitarist David Abeyta. Continue reading “Johnny “Chops” Richardson “Johnny Chops and the Razors” (Independent, 2018)”

What we have here is a batch of songs from the late sixties and early seventies re-interpreted by various artists, the majority of which are most closely associated with the Nu-Folk genre. This is a real old-school style compilation album; lots of recognisable tracks covered by artists you wouldn’t usually associate with the song’s original musical style. And it’s a great batch of songs from artists like Cream, The Zombies, The Nice, Led Zeppelin, The Byrds, Leonard Cohen…the list just goes on and on. And then there’s the artists doing the covers – Eliza Carthy, Teddy Thompson, Jackie Oates, The Imagined Village, Marry Waterson; again, the list goes on and, again, it’s an impressive one. Continue reading “Various Artists “The Self Preservation Society” (ECC Records/Lush 2018)”

Glenn Frey will forever be associated with the Eagles, the band he formed with Don Henley and which came to define Country Rock in the 1970s. Sadly, Glenn was one of the flurry of musicians that left us recently, dying just over two years ago, and Geffen/USM have now decided to celebrate his solo career with a four-disc retrospective,  ‘Above The Clouds’. Continue reading “Glenn Frey “Above The Clouds” (Geffen/USM 2018)”