the UK home for americana music
It’s time, folks, for another instalment of our feature in which the writers of AUK attempt to put into words their personal reflections of what our genre is and why they love it so much. This time Richard Phillips, lover of cheap records and twelve-string guitars tells us where it’s at musically speaking. Continue reading ““What Is This Americana Thing Anyway…?” – Richard Phillips”
What makes a great compilation? Good music is a must obvious, the historical importance of some of the tracks, certainly, rare and forgotten tracks and artists that nevertheless capture an elusive something that was in the air for a golden period definitely helps. All these apply to ‘Silver Meteor – A Progressive Country Anthology’ and if there is any lingering doubt as to how great this compilation is then the fact that it came in at number eleven on Uncut magazine’s list of the 50 Greatest Lost Albums is the clincher. Continue reading “Classic Americana Compilations “Silver Meteor – A Progressive Country Anthology” (Sierra Records, 1980)”
4AD have announced that they will be reissuing Gene Clark’s legendary ‘No Other’ album this coming November. Recorded at the Village Recorder in West Hollywood and produced by Thomas Jefferson Kaye, the album was originally released in 1974 on Asylum Records, coming a year after the Byrds short-lived reunion. Clark delivered a visionary record of psychedelic rock, folk, country and soul which famously cost a small fortune to make (“It took a lot of time in the studio before we could actually get the songs to the point we wanted them,” Gene said in 1977). Although warmly received by critics, the album was a commercial failure and was subsequently deleted shortly after. Continue reading “Gene Clark “No Other” to get deluxe reissue from 4AD”
Given the way in in which people typically consume music nowadays, all too often the lyrics are sidelined, if not completely overlooked. But great lyrics are often what make the best songs truly memorable. The following is the first in an occasional series about songs with great lyrics. Mark Underwood explains what makes the following 10 tracks so special. Continue reading “Here’s 10 americana songs with great lyrics”
Have a good weekend dear reader – we leave you today with news of Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman who on Wednesday night re-united at downtown L.A.’s vintage, cathedral-like Ace Hotel Theatre. Billboard report: “The night’s Sweetheart of the Rodeo 50th anniversary album tribute offered such a steady stream of—mostly quite intriguing—curatorial observations that some attendees may have wondered if they had happened upon a “So You Want to Be A Rock and Roll Star” Ted talk that, happily, kept threatening to break out as a concert extravaganza of guitar-drunk Americana. Continue reading “Hillman and McGuinn play at Byrds tribute gig”
Not every A-Z artist is a complete unknown, sometimes it’s good to remember just how good some of the seminal bands really were. The Byrds are the band that spawned a thousand jangly guitar bands, seemingly destined to be ‘rediscovered’ every ten years or so. The Byrds famously invented country-rock on ‘Sweetheart of the Rodeo‘ – although even putting aside the many other contenders for that claim there is the small matter of previous material on ‘Younger then Yesterday‘ and ‘The Notorious Byrd Brothers‘. Continue reading “AmericanA to Z : The Byrds”
HATS are a celebratory kind of a band; their music rings with the joy of making music, not the artistic struggle. The songs don’t sound like they were wrung from a tormented soul, more like they escaped like blissful bursts of inspiration. They’re an Americana band, blending most of the touchstones, corralling folk, blues, country and rock. Footsteps relies on acoustic guitar and harmonies to gain a foothold, gradually introducing the piano, electric guitars and drums with a relaxed easy charm that is infectious. Continue reading “House Above The Sun “Five Hours North” (HATS Music, 2017)”
Sadly the track is embedded on Rolling Stone’s page so you’ll have to head there for a listen but it’s worth the click. They report: “This fall, with his 73rd birthday looming on the horizon, Chris Hillman will release Bidin’ My Time, a new album that both upholds and updates the country-rock sound he pioneered during the mid-Sixties. Although still something of an unsung hero within the Americana scene, Hillman has woven his legend throughout much of the last half-century, logging time in the Byrds’ original lineup before teaming up with Gram Parsons to launch the Flying Burrito Brothers in 1968. Continue reading “Chris Hillman updates Byrds’ classic”
News courtesy of Stereogum this morning who report: “This fall, the Byrds’ Chris Hillman will release his first studio album in over a decade, Bidin’ My Time. It was produced by Tom Petty at his studio in SoCal, and featured guests on the recording include fellow Byrds David Crosby and Roger McGuinn, Herb Pedersen (who also served as executive producer), John Jorgensen, Jay Dee Maness, a bunch of Heartbreakers affiliates, and more. The album contains a few reworkings of old Byrds tracks and a number of Hillman originals. Check out the tracklist and a teaser for the album below. Continue reading “The Byrds’ Chris Hillman announces new album”
to have been there – February 7th and 8th 1969 at Bill Graham’s Fillmore West! The irony is that The Byrds were a warm up act on this occasion, a sound check for others including Paul Butterfield, and just happened to be recorded by the Columbia engineers who were there and thankfully the tapes were kept. This is a fantastic record of one of the great bands in their 1960’s country rock heyday featuring the line up of Roger McGuinn on lead vocal and guitar, John York on bass, Gene Parsons (not Gram!) on drums and one of the truly great guitarists and innovators Clarence White whose distinct style shines through here and really lights up the performance.Continue reading “The Byrds “Live At The Fillmore – February 1969” (Floating World Records, 2017)”