September 2008 Newsletter ------------------------ Yesterday & Today Records P.O. Box 54 Miranda NSW 2228 Phone/fax: (02) 95311710 [email protected] www.yesterdayandtoday.com.au ------------------------------------------- Post:Australia post have increased charges recently but all previous rates will stay the same for the time being. 1 cd $2/ 2cds $3/ 3- 4 cds $6 1 dvd $2 2-3 dvds $6 I apologise this newsletter has been a while in coming but frankly the loss of a very good friend has set me back more than a little. Any one who had been to my store may have met my good mate, Charlie Evans. Certainly if you had been in a few times you would have. Charlie was a mate almost from the day I opened. We bypassed the preamble and he became a trusted friend and ally from the word go. Sadly, Charlie passed away in August after what was in effect not a short illness. He was as close to being the quintessential Aussie as anyone you could meet, with only the best qualities filtering through. There were simply no bad qualities in Charlie. We bounced things off each other and we laughed. We crapped on and we were philosophical. And we never had a harsh word for each other in all the time I knew him. He was always an inspiration to me. He was a little like the knight in Monty Python’s Holy Grail. You know the one; he loses an arm, then another but says it was “only a flesh wound”. Charlie was like that. He suffered a lot of pain and illness in the time I knew him but he would always say “I’m okay”. You knew deep down that wasn’t the case and that is the hard bit. You still half expect a phone call or a visit but you know it isn’t going to happen. But Charlie would not want anyone to feel sad in any way. A 2 hour visit I had with him when he was in hospital is something I will treasure forever. Simply put there was none better and I really do believe he wore shorts “because I wore out all the knees in my trousers by praying too much”. Well, maybe I don’t but it could very well have been. His family are in my thoughts. I was truly blessed to have a friend such as Charlie Evans. Enough said. Thank you. Now, on with the newsletter. There are many gems. O, yeah!! Amber Digby – Passion, Pride & What Might Have Been $30 The greatest independent female vocalist of all time has returned with her third album, again produced by the great Justin Trevino and featuring her interpretations of some wonderful songs. No pseudo political correctness, Amber is the honky tonk girl full on, lying drinking and cheating her way through an album that will stand up with the classics and even passes her first two efforts which are of course enshrined in the Yesterday & Today Records Hall of Fame. She has a new band led by her new husband, Randy “Bobo” Lindley (don’t you wish you were called “Bobo”) and shows she is the consummate vocalist with interpretations of songs of the likes of Wynn Stewart, Loretta Lynn and Ronnie Milsap, who contributes the liner notes. Something that has let her previous albums down a tad has been the unimaginative album covers. This is easily the best. Superb in fact. Glad to see they have worked hard on this important presentation aspect. Lots of info too. Tracks: How You Drink The Wine Love Is The Foundation I Can't Get Used To Being Lonely Deep As Your Pocket She Didn't Color Daddy One Kiss Away From Loneliness Soakin' Wet Let Me Be The Judge Bring Your Love Back To Me Take Me Back Again You Snap Your Fingers (And I'm Back In Your Hands) We're The Kind Of People (That Make The Jukebox Play) And yes folks, it may even outdo Miss Leslie as Album of the Year. For those who don’t already have them we also have the first two: **Music from the Honky Tonks $30 **Here Come the Teardrops $30 It is hard to imagine anyone having just one Amber Digby album. Patty Loveless – “Sleepless Nights” $30 Subtitled, “The Traditional Country Soul of Patty Loveless” this cd confirms what we already know and that Patty is the consummate female country singer of her age. She has presented us with her interpretations of 14 country standards which don’t merely mimic the originals. The title track was revamped by Gram Parsons in the 70s and Patty combines with Vince Gill to offer a superb soaring version which takes the song to new heights. She has also enlisted the aid of Aussie Jedd Hughes, a member of her touring band, for a great take on a song George Jones recorded with Gene Pitney, “That’s All It took”. Her producer husband, Emory Gordy, has assembled a fine bunch of musicians to back her including legends Harold Bradley on guitar and Hargus “Pig” Robbins on piano. She does a wonderful version of Dolly Parton’s “The Pain of Loving You”, and holds back not one bit on the emotion. That is what I love about Patty..her sheer emotion. She puts all into each and every song she sings. Her love of the music of George Jones is shown to great effect on “Color of the Blues” and the song written by Dickey Lee, “She Thinks I Still Care”, which was the subject of a wonderful Pinkard & Bowden parody in “She Thinks I Steal Cars”. It is great to here a female version of the Carl & Pearl Butler smash “Don’t Let Me Cross Over” as it is a take on a hit for Conway Twitty “Next in Line”. She could literally sing the phone book! A must!! Heads Hands & Feet “Old Soldiers Never Die” $20 Reissue of a very popular UK group who were often compared to The Band. Like The Band they had a number of lead vocalists; although the majority were handled by Tony Colton they often traded lines in the songs most notably on the opening “Jack of All Trades”. Chas Hodges (vocalist number 2) went on to form Chas & Dave (he sings in his natural voice here, though personally I found something likeable about Chas & Dave) whilst Albert Lee (vocalist number 3 and guitar wiz extraordinaire) went on to do a number of things which included being a member of Emmylou Harris’ “Hot Band”. This includes the original version of his most famous song “Country Boy” (which of course was a hit for Ricky Skaggs) and features a fine vocal by Albert and of course some of his famed guitar picking. “Just Another Ambush” has similar themes to The Band’s classic second album. In addition a couple of lush ballads especially “Soft word Sunday Morning” are particularly effective. Reissued on the excellent Wounded Bird label. Bill Green – “Dang These Texas Honky tonks” $30 The Swedish Cowboy may be the world’s greatest collector of independent honky tonk music. He has a genuine set of Texas bullhorns set up over his music system which is in his bar which has all the accoutrements such as Johnny Walker bottles, peanuts in the shell and of course a bowl of salted Baltic herrings (I did say a Swedish bar). And on the player which is attuned so as to not play anything which does not contain at least 3 shuffles has been this great Bill Green cd. You would almost define the style with the exciting “Under a Neon Halo” being just about the perfect opener. Only thing Mrs Cowboy has not seen him for over a week and when she attempted to have him come out for the evening smorgasbord she was greeted with a rather abrupt “just one more time”. It finally took a bowl of his favourite “giftas” dessert, with extra cream, to lure him out. Even then he went by the computer to punch out a message that this was a “real Texas country music album”. I must say I love this album almost as much as the Swedish cowboy….I guess I do love it as much but perhaps with a different degree in showing it. Bill Green runs BGM Records which also boasts the great Tex-Mex artist Billy Mata. I guess you could say Bill was schooled in the classic Ray price/Johnny Bush school. As far as I know this is only the second album he has ever had. Every Texas group must have a fiddle player and steel guitarist better than any Nashville player. That is certainly the case with Richard Helsley and Kenny Groham respectively. “Dang These Texas Honky Tonks” from another under-recorded Texas artist in David Price paints an exact picture of that wonderful establishment. Price also contributes “Unsung Hero of the Honky Tonks” about the guy who hasn’t made it big but hasn’t given up hope. “Texas Greats” from one of his earlier sessions is added as a bonus and sounds totally in place even though it was recorded back in 1976 and makes a reference to the likes of Johnny Bush and the great Darrell McCall, Red Steagall, Charlie Walker (who sadly has just passed away) etc. We just hope there is not such a gap between this and the next album. Emmylou Harris – “Last Date” $28 Back in print again but who knows how long for. One of the best live country albums ever and it captures her at her peak.