June 2009 Newsletter --------------------------------------- Yesterday & Today Records PO Box 54 Miranda NSW 2228 Phone (02) 95311710 [email protected] www.yesterdayandtoday.com.au ------------------------------------------------------------- It has been a while between drinks but all has been pretty good on this end. Had my first overseas buying trip in nearly 9 years and actually got to Nashville this time round. Let me say it was just wonderful. Music City USA is a great place. The people are friendly and there is a down home quality. The Country Music Hall of Fame has so much class. There is currently a Hank Williams exhibit but the whole place is just brilliant. Nothing hokey just brilliant fun all the way. Then I was lucky enough to be able to see the “Always Patsy Cline” show at the Ryman Auditorium. What a building!! It is hard to believe that there was a time in the 70s it was going to be demolished. Starring Mandy Barnett in the title role and the hilarious Tere Myers it is rivetting. Mandy is so good as Patsy that for the show’s duration she ceased to exist. That was Patsy Cline on stage or so it seemed. Every subtle movement and vocal inflection was how you would have imagined Patsy. And Mandy like Patsy is all woman!! The other highlight was seeing Hugh Moffatt in the round at the Bluebird Café. The Bluebird has the word SHH!! plastered around and as strange as it may seem everybody there actually does listen. What next! That is something a lot of people in Australia would not believe. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post 1 cd $2/2cds $3/3-4 cds $6 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Tennessee Ernie Ford “6000 Sunset Boulevard” $32 One of my very favourite ever cds is the “Capitol Collectors Tennessee Ernie Ford”. I love it for many reasons; firstly there is Tennessee Ernie’s amazing voice. Deep and mellow with a wonderful ability to make even the most mundane song exciting. Then there is the seemingly infinite variety of the material. Country boogies though broadway shows, all given his distinctive treatment. No one has ever been groovier than Tennessee Ernie. The massive hit “Sixteen Tons” is based around Ern’s finger snapping arrangement which lifts it to a new direction. In an appearance on Ernie’s tv show of the 50s, Ernie had a great conversation with Merle Travis, the author of the great song. Said Ern, “I was going nowhere till that song came along”. Replied Merle, “That song was going nowhere till you found you”. Merle of course was being typically humble but Ernie single-handedly took it to a new dimension. We do have a couple (see rarities section below) but they will go quickly. This cd comes on the back of a new book written by Ernie’s eldest son which reveals throughout his career Ernie was a deeply troubled chronic alcoholic; a man who had the public face of good-natured joviality (you’d almost say Dick Clark was a grouch by comparison) but was different to what we imagined. Even harder to imagine after listening to this brilliant cd which on first playing was elevated to a position equal with the Capitol Collectors Series cd. These were recorded for radio shows, similar if you like to the Hank Williams ones. But there was an amazing looseness that even Hank could not emulate. Every one of the musicians is a star but initial praise must go to Billy Strange on rhythm guitar and George Bruns on bass. They lay down a rhythm which is unrelenting and lets the soloists take their turn without the songs missing a beat. Stars of this outing are Speedy West on steel guitar and even more so Billy Liebert on accordion and occasional piano. Liebert is everywhere and he seemingly doesn’t play the same solo twice. West is similarly entrancing and it is hard to believe there is only one steel guitar playing. Joining them is Harold Hensley on fiddle and on “Sophisticated Swing” he plays a clarinet that is right out there. The notion of variety is something that never had any limits when Ern was at the mike. Here he does country covers such as “Won’t You Ride in my Little Red Wagon”, songs from Broadway shows such as Pajama Game (many may know the Pointer Sisters version of “Steam Heat” which Ernie prforms here), and old vaudeville numbers such as “Nobody” (When life seems full of clouds an' rain and I am filled with naught but pain,who soothes my thumpin' bumpin' brain ? Nobody). There are a few instrumentals and even a couple of quartet & trio vocals (Liebert, Strange, West & Hensley). Ernie’s version of “Georgia on My Mind” instantly is elevated to that of Ray Charles and Willie Nelson; maybe Willie had this set in mind when he recorded his “Stardust” album. There are 23 tracks and many are quite short but I could not imagine anyone not loving this and then some. Tennessee Ernie, assuming that is his stage persona (compared to Ernest Jennings Ford…his off stage persona) may be the most consummate entertainer in any genre of music. Incidentally the recording quality of this could not be equalled if it was done today. **Boyd, Jimmy and his Playmates with Frankie Laine, Rosemary Clooney & Gayla peevey 30 tracks from his early period $32 **Bush, Johnny – Lillie’s White Lies $30 What a singer and what a title song. Many know I consider Martin Delray’s version of the title song as perhaps the greatest song deserving of a number one hit never to be even released to radio. Damn!! But Johnny almost gets there. Well, I played it 3 times in a row before I got to the second track so I guess he does get there. The song selection is just great. “One Shot at a Time”, from indie hero Curt Ryle is classic honky tonk. “You’re Turning Down the Flame” is a great song written by Johnny himself (in cahoots with Lee Emerson who had the ignominy of being shot by Sergeant Barry Sadler, who served a whole month in the clink despite being convicted of his manslaughter). “Mind Breakin’ Blues” is another great Bush song. 15 tracks in all and produced by Justin Trevino. The album was recorded in both Nashville and in Justin’s Brady, Texas studio….the Nashville sessions feature Don Helms on steel guitar, assumably on the 2 Hank Williams songs featured on the album. One of Johnny’s best but as with Martin Delray I still think it should be spelt “Lily’s White Lies”. But I’m not going to lose any sleep over it. **Richie Furay Band – “Alive” Late 2008 release 2cds $35 which includes a great Buffalo Springfield medley as well as some great new versions of Poco songs (Furay was a founding member of both). This has been a return to the country rock style which he does so well. He had been taking a hiatus of sorts from that style; he has recorded 2 religious album but these recordings show why he has a place in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. **Wayne “The Train” “Viper of melody’ $30 The great Wayne the Train Hancock’s fabulous new Bloodshot label cd is as always with “The Professor” Lloyd Maines as producer. This is recorded live in the studio with his current touring band and they are all superb. Anthony Locke (called in as “Tony” when he does his great solos) is a steel guitar player of the highest order. Infinitely interesting with solos that are seemingly all different. Slap bassist Huckleberry Johnson gives a hound dog of a performance (get it!) and “Throwin’ Away My Money” has a wonderful solo which could be right out of the Maddox Brothers and Rose, whilst lead guitarist Izak “Izzy” Zaidman can be jazzy or bluesy depending on the mood. Wayne The Train is as always on his game. “Working at Working” is not an entirely new song but could be aimed right at today’s troubled times. Mind you this could almost be lifted straight off a Hank Williams’ album but Wayne even manages a Jimmie Rodgers’ flourish at the end. “Freight Train Boogie” isn’t the Delmore Brothers song but a new Wayne the Train composition which more than stands up to the original. I hope he comes to Australia again. His Sydney show of a few years ago was equal to the best offered by Dale Watson and that is a recommendation and a half!! **Joni Harms – That’s Faith (Gospel) $30 Joni’s all new gospel album. It is a mix of originals and mainly traditional covers. “Joseph Built the Cradle” is a great Joni original with some fine dobro playing by Pat Severs. Dolly Parton’s “God’s Coloring Book” is made Joni’s own. For the uninitiated Joni sings in a style reminiscent of a female Michael Martin. She uses a similar band with Hoot Hester on fiddle. “The Place Where I Worship” invokes the spirit of the Sons of the Pioneers, who of course did an early version of this classic. Dispense with the thankfully short opener (38 seconds) and you have a great album. Nice cover. **Cornell Hurd Band “American Shadows: The Songs of Moon Mullican” $30 Our Austin hero with 18 songs (always great value) associated with the great Aubrey “Moon” Mullican, who played a mean piano (he was perhaps the main influence of Jerry Lee Lewis) Floyd Domino and Miss Debbie are great guests on piano; T Jarrod Bonta is also featured.