Joe Ely appears on A Prairie Home Companion
Tuesday, May 27, 2008 – Joe Ely and accordion ace Joel Guzman will join Garrison Keillor and crew for A Prairie Home Companion Saturday, May 31, live from Las Cruces, N.M. The program airs in most markets on public radio beginning at 6 p.m. eastern, 5 p.m. central. Ely and Guzman are touring in support of their new release, "Live Cactus!," which features stripped down versions of some Ely classics, backed only with guitar and accordion. The music was recorded live last year at Austin's Cactus Cafe.
More news for Joe Ely
CD reviews for Joe Ely
Live Cactus
As a country music "outlaw," Joe Ely has always stood out from the pack. On his latest, Ely has decided to forge an alliance with premier accordionist Joel Guzman, and the combination works.
This is not the typical Ely album with a lot of edginess. The live disc is a confluence of two excellent and distinct talents whose music covers a wide spectrum. With more than an hour of material available, there is a lot to choose from with the wispy balladry of "Up On the Ridge" »»» |
Silver City
As wonderful as The Flatlanders are, this all-star trio sometimes obscures the greatness of its individual members, which makes this such a surprisingly welcome revelation. It's an all-acoustic work, with Joe Ely singing, playing guitar and adding a little harmonica and percussion in various places.
Joel Guzman also contributes accordion. These 10 songs remind us once again what a truly commanding singer Ely is. One is tempted to call him the Chuck D. of country music because he sings »»» |
Happy Songs From Rattlesnake Gulch
Don't let this CD's title fool you: you won't find much happiness running through these pained tracks. Joe Ely is oftentimes an inspirational leader when singing his songs, which may be why guys like Bruce Springsteen gravitate to him. Not so with this effort, however; Katrina's horror haunts this recording like a howling banshee. "All I wanna do is get back home," cries a troubled character in "Baby Needs a New Pair of Shoes," "instead of »»» |
Editorial: A fine night for Taylor Swift –
Taylor Swift's showing at the Country Music Association awards Wednesday night was no surprise. In some respects, it was invigorating to see someone who was not male and not around umpteen years like some of her male counterparts take home the biggest prize of the night, entertainer of the year. »»»
Concert Review: Radney Foster sparks a revival –
Radney Foster told fans that he came home from the University of the South one weekend early in his college career and told his parents in the wee hours of the morning that he wanted to quit college and head to Nashville to pursue a music career. His parents agreed...fortunately.
Three decades later, that resulted in Foster playing songs on this... »»»
Concert Review: Neko Case overcomes obstacles –
The opening of Neko Case's show was unusual to say the least. "I'm angry right now," said the red head. "We just had a big fight with the promoter. We're going to sing weird, but we're actually very happy to be here."
Making quite clear that she was not a happy camper, Case still channeled her musical energies... »»»
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