The Flatlanders plan on yet another CD
Thursday, December 11, 2008 – The Flatlanders are getting downright prolific. After taking a three decade break from recording, The Flatlanders - Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Joe Ely and Butch Hancock - are slated to release their third studio disc for New West Records, "Hills & Valleys" on March 31, 2009. This follows "Now Again" from 2002 and "Live Europe '72" and "Wheels of Fortune" from 2004. Gilmore, Ely and Hancock also have their own individual careers keeping them busy.
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CD reviews
The Odessa Tapes
The Flatlanders' debut album, when it was eventually released years after it was recorded, was appropriately entitled, "More a Legend Than a Band." The group, which came together in 1972 and featured a very young Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Joe Ely and Butch Hancock, never really had a chance to make their mark the first time around. After all three singer/songwriters became stars of the Texas music scene, the band was rediscovered, leading to an eventual reunion and more excellent albums. »»» |
Satisfied At Last
Often, it seems that a veteran singer getting into his or her 60s or 70s will start writing more frequently about life and death. While the results can often be compelling (the best parts of Johnny Cash's "American Recordings" sessions, for example), they can also be plain depressing (the worst parts of "American Recordings"). Then, there's the Joe Ely approach. On his new album, "Satisfied At Last," Ely, 64, says he wants his ashes loaded into some shotgun »»» |
Hills And Valleys
When The Flatlanders sing, "We're all just migrants on this Earth" during Homeland Refugee, it's a great equalizing statement. Yes, Joe Ely, Butch Hancock and Jimmie Dale Gilmore, three iconic singer/songwriters that moonlight as The Flatlanders, once again honestly reflect the collective mood of the nation. Homeland Refugee and After the Storm allude to the way such factors as weather events and economic upheaval severely alter the way we live.
There are also straight out »»» |
Editorial: Walking the talk –
When names like Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Waylon and the Hag are invoked, you're talking hard core country. These are the touchstones of country , the guys who made country music what it was and still is (or maybe can be). When these folks would sing about being down-and-out and the rough-and-tumble, they knew of what they were singing about. Fast forward a few years to the country singers of today. »»»
Concert Review: Size doesn't matter to Winslow-King –
Luke Winslow-King may have a fine new CD out ("The Coming Tide") on a long respected indie country/roots label (Bloodshot), but that didn't mean the throngs were going to fill the club. In fact, in a second night of shows in the Boston area, Winslow-King drew a handful of people. Well, make that literally two handfuls of people.
As in 10 people.... »»»
Concert Review: McGraw has plenty of fight left –
Despite the fact that Tim McGraw is five years sober, fit as a triathlete and touring behind a number one album, he is still in an unenviable position. As he approaches 50, McGraw has to stay a step ahead of the current crop of young country hunks with TV shows, cross format radio airplay and wider appeal. But as he proved at First Niagara's... »»»
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Some folks listening to Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison's new duet album, "Cheaters Game," may well exclaim, 'Well, it's about time!' after finally hearing these two talented country singer/songwriters recording music as a pair for the first time. Willis has built quite a following for her independently-minded feminine perspective, while Robison has written hits for the Dixie Chicks ( Travelin' Soldier) and Tim McGraw and Faith Hill ( Angry All the Time), as well as penning the ultimate Willie Nelson tribute, What Would Willie Do? and recording it as a solo act.
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Last fall, singer/songwriter Steve Forbert dropped the 14th studio album of his 35-year career, the impeccable "Over With You." Critics recognized the album as a return to the form Forbert displayed on his earliest works - 1978's stripped back and personal "Alive on Arrival" and 1979's more lushly produced and commercially accessible "Jackrabbit Slim" - but the fact is that Forbert has never strayed far from their basic folk/rock tenets.... »»»
Over the course of the past 20 years or so, Jim Lauderdale and Buddy Miller have both experienced a certain rise in their respective rootsy country profiles. Miller has become one of Nashville's hottest speed dial numbers, as an artist, a guitarist-for-hire (a role he has performed for Lucinda Williams, Emmylou Harris and Robert Plant, among others) and an intuitive producer (he's currently working with Executive Music Producer T Bone Burnett to provide the soundtrack for ABC's "Nashville" television series).... »»»
Wilderness
"Wilderness" is another twisted menagerie of The Handsome Family songs. Once again, husband Brett Sparks sings their songs, sometimes in a bellowing gravedigger voice, after adding music to wife Rennie's lyrics. This time out, each and every tune is named after an animal, insect or other such nature creature. However, Rennie studies animals the way Flannery O'Connor wrote about humans, which is with the weirdness and character flaws in primary focus. »»» |
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