Tag Archives: Americana music

The Red Clay Ramblers’ It Ain’t Right

The Red Clay Ramblers have been playing what’s now known as “new old-time” music since the early 1970s, and it’s entirely possible that they invented the genre, or at least played a part in its birth. They’ve put out more … Continue reading

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Rick Danko’s Times Like These

No’am Newman wrote this review. Liking The Band does not mean that automatically you are going to like Rick Danko’s solo records, especially if The Band’s records you like the most were recorded in the 1960s. But there is a … Continue reading

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John Hiatt’s The Tiki Bar is Open

John Hiatt has done it again. The Tiki Bar is Open is a rocking followup worthy of last year’s Grammy-nominated, folky Crossing Muddy Waters. In 1987, Hiatt made what was at the time the record of his career, the soulful … Continue reading

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Ray Wylie Hubbard’s Eternal and Lowdown

Eternal and Lowdown is easily the match of any alternative country CD released in 2001. It’s packed with solid, passionate songwriting and intense singing and playing. Ray Wylie Hubbard, a 54-year-old Texan, has been writing and singing songs since the … Continue reading

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Riders of the Purple Sage’s 27 Hits Performed Live and Drifting Clouds

Buck Page has been leading various incarnations of the Riders of the Purple Sage off and on since 1936. These two recent releases feature two different lineups, with only Page and Mike Ley in common. The stronger of the two … Continue reading

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David Goodman’s Modern Twang

Whatever “alternative country” music is, you’ll find just about everything about it through 1999 in this comprehensive book. David Goodman, as a fan of the music and a scholar of American Studies, has compiled what amounts to a one-volume encyclopedia … Continue reading

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Tim Eriksen’s Tim Eriksen

Spine, by Cordelia’s Dad, was one of my favorite discs of 2000, and it remains among my frequently played CDs. Tim Eriksen, the frontman of Cordelia’s Dad, presents a heartfelt solo debut with roots deep in American traditional music. The … Continue reading

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Rosie Flores’s Speed of Sound

Rosie Flores rose to prominence as the rockabilly queen of the roots-rock and alternative country scene in Los Angeles in the mid-1980s, although she’s been playing in bands since the ’60s. The 50-year-old San Antonio native shows she can still … Continue reading

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The Holy Modal Rounders & Friends’ I Make a Wish for a Potato

The Holy Modal Rounders have been making musical mischief and mayhem for just about 40 years now. In lieu of the comprehensive box set that I think they deserve, the good folks at Rounder (who named their label after the … Continue reading

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Red Mountain White Trash’s Chickens Don’t Roost Too High

Red Mountain White Trash is a traditional band with a decidedly untraditional name. But don’t let the moniker put you off. This outfit plays old-time fiddle-based dance music with roots deep in the rich Southern soil. The Birmingham septet produces … Continue reading

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