It was hardly a normal start to a musical enquiry such as we are accustomed (now) to address in this feature. It was a very worried looking Willie Nelson who burst through the door to the consultation room and – not bothering to take a seat – spilled out his concern. With his hands firmly planted he leaned across the desk and gave us the full life and death – quite literally for once – nature of his problem. “See,” he drawled, “there’s a pistol packin’ mama hot on my trail. She could be here any moment.” He flopped into the chair “all I was doin’ was drinkin’ beer in a cabaret” he confessed. “Well, maybe I was dancin’ with a blonde as well”. Now though, it seems that all his appeals to “lay that pistol down” have had no beneficial effect. Continue reading “What should I do, Americana UK?”
‘No Battle Hymn’, the striking first single from ‘Painting Blue’, the fifth album by Memphis-based Amy LaVere, is a timely anthem for a world in crisis. “No one’s ready to admit we may be out of time,” she sings, over a slick, yet moody, blues-pop groove, with some chunky organ riffs and mean electric guitar licks, coming across like an edgier Sheryl Crow. Although its lyrics tackle defeatism, it’s ultimately a hopeful song, which calls for unification: “We need a victory march in our hearts.”