the UK home for americana music
AUK’s quest to identify the top ten americana albums ever continues. Each week one of our writers chooses their own personal selections and when they have all contributed, a short-list will be drawn up, from which they will be invited to vote for our ultimate top ten. This week Mark Nemadic brings a healthy dose of cynicism to the process, not to mention some bloody good records too. Continue reading “AUK’s top 10 americana albums ever: Mark Nenadic”
Welcome to another feature in the FORGOTTEN ARTISTS series, where we take a look at some of the Americana musicians that may just have dropped out of people’s memories or who, perhaps, never received the appreciation their contribution to the genre deserved. This time Martin Johnson shines a light on one of the great pioneering musicians of Americana; the wonderful Rose Maddox. Continue reading “Forgotten Artists – Rose Maddox”
There are musical moments in your life that are of such significance that you will remember them forever. I recall buying my first record, going to my first gig and lying in bed as a 15-year-old listening to John Peel play ‘New Rose’ by The Damned. I wish that I could similarly pinpoint the first time that I heard Tom T Hall, but alas, I can’t. He just seemed to always be there, occasionally referenced by artists or in the media whenever the conversation turned to great songwriters. Then in 1998, by which time my affection for Dave Vanian, Rat Scabies and Captain Sensible had long since waned, a tribute album was released – ‘Real: The Tom T Hall Project’. Continue reading “Classic Americana Compilations: Various Artists “Real: The Tom T. Hall Project” (Sire, 1998)”
Welcome to another instalment of our (increasingly) popular VERSIONS feature. This time Clint West has a go at ‘Long Black Veil’ – possibly the definition of a ‘country’ staple. That said you will discover all sorts of goodies out there including a reference to a collaboration between Mick Jagger and The Chieftains. Crikey. Continue reading “VERSIONS – “Long Black Veil””
At AUK we are on a quest to find the ‘Top 10 Americana Albums Ever’. Over the last few weeks our writers have been going through the mental anguish of trying to narrow the whole history of Americana down to just ten albums. When every writer has had their say, a shortlist of the most frequently chosen albums will be drawn up and voted on, in order to generate the definitive AUK writers top ten. This week’s tortured soul is Andrew Frolish. Continue reading “AUK’s top 10 americana albums ever: Andrew Frolish”
Third Man Records, Jack White’s Nashville-based labels has announced the release of ‘Vault Package 45, A Night to Remember’ by Johnny Cash, the next in its quarterly series of collectible recordings. Starting on April 29th 1973 and lasting for another six evenings, the “A Week To Remember” concerts dreamt up by music industry icon Clive Davis were envisaged as a way to highlight the Murderers Row line-up of artists that were then signed to Columbia Records. With highlights like Miles Davis, the Staples Singers, Bruce Springsteen and Earth, Wind and Fire, the seven nights of shows at the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles was, by all accounts, a remarkable showcase of the clout the legendary label wielded. Continue reading “Third Man Records to release archive Cash concert”
Johnny Cash had a career that would take a very large book or two to encapsulate and this Mojo sampler from 2004 offers 15 tracks that only represent the briefest overview with a variety of disparate artists offering their takes on the man’s work. It is a good selection though and worth a listen; the cover versions fascinate in the way the somehow do. Continue reading “Classic Americana Compilations: Various Artists “Cash Covered” (Mojo, 2004)”
Here are ten songs written about other artists. The list below is not the final word, but represents the start of a conversation. The idea is to explore some of our favourite artists singing about other artists. In most cases the songs are celebratory or pay tribute, others simply observe or comment and one here is not very complimentary. So, having set the ball rolling, I’m passing it over to you folks. I’m sure that the collective knowledge and wisdom of the AUK readership can come up with many more great additions. Please post them in the comments section at the bottom of the page. I hope that you enjoy my selections and I look forward to hearing yours. Continue reading “10 songs about other artists”
A new addition to the Scottish music scene, Cash Back In Fife is a weekend of music dedicated to the memory of Johnny Cash and in particular, Cash’s delight at discovering he had ancestors who had come to the new world from the ancient kingdom of Fife in Scotland. It’s the brainchild of Dean Owens, the singer songwriter from Leith who has previously released an album of songs sung by, written, or inspired by Cash. That album, ‘Cash Back (Songs I Learned From Johnny)’ led on to a successful Edinburgh Festival Fringe show and when Owens heard of Cash’s links to Fife, allied to his discovery of a relatively new music venue in the Fife village of Aberdour, well, something clicked. Continue reading “Cash Back In Fife, Woodside Hotel, Aberdour, Fife, 6th – 8th March 2020”
Johnny Cash was a force of nature. There are not enough superlatives in the dictionary to do the man any kind of justice. J.R. was a magnificent songwriter. Just as magnificent, perhaps even more so, was he an interpreter of other people’s songs. However, in an (almost) fifty-year recording career, during a time when labels demanded and released two or three albums per year, The Man In Black gave us over ninety long players. Surely some songs must have slipped past quality control? Particularly during Cash’s ‘lean period’, spanning the mid-1970s up to the first ‘American Recordings’ in 1994? Continue reading “The ten worst Johnny Cash tracks”