A great week for musical discoveries:
1. Unannounced, a CD arrived in the mail from Pepe Alvarez: I Have to Paint My Face: Mississippi Blues 1960. Makes me want to move to Mississippi! Acoustic recordings by Chris Strachwitz of Arhoolie Records, bless him for all his good work, these are bluesmen who never made it into prime time. Blues fans, I heartily recommend this one; you’ll love it.
2. Marion Williams, Remember Me. I’ve had this gospel record for years, just pulled it out. Marion had a 4-octave vocal range. I listened to it driving along the coast a few days ago. What power! Black gospel singers get the message of Jesus right. What joy! Another of my gospel favorites is Dorothy Love Coates.
3. On The Jimmy Reed Highway Omar Kent Dykes and Jimmie Vaughan, along with guests like James Cotton and Delbert McClinton, are channelling Jimmy here. Baby What You Want me To Do, Bright Lights Big City, and a version of Big Boss Man that’s had me dancing (when no one’s around), and has been rolling through my brain for days/ You ain’t so big, you just tall that’s all… Thanks to bayrider for the tip on this one. More good music from Austin…
I was pretty sure you'd dig that one, it's classic and fresh all at once. Omar also has a new release with the same lineup – Big Town Playboy, it's pretty great also.
You are right, Austin is the heart and soul of the roots music scene, it seems most everything I really like these days comes out of Austin, something special is going on down there. But every time I tell my wife we should consider moving to Texas she rolls her eyes in disbelief. We're planning to do an exploratory trip this year.
Everyone, I wish you a wonderful New Year.
#2 reminds me… Mahalia Jackson, link below is her singing How I Got Over live in Chicago. The vid isn't great, but her voice! Goosebumps!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l49N8U3d0Bw
Happy New Year!