Tara Nevins - Wood and Stone
When we last saw Tara Nevins, do her own thing, outside of the
Donna the Buffalo "herd", it was an award winning Bluegrass
album, but it has been over 10 years since
Mule
to Ride. On her new release,
Wood and Stone, she
showcases a broader stroke of the Americana landscape. On the
surface it invokes a similar territory traveled by Donna, but
on her current solo project Nevins puts aside the jams.
Instead she delivers a Country leaning effort that conjures up
a time before the Opry. An era just before Nudie began making
his sequined suits for Little Jimmy Dickens and Hank Williams
(and a long time before he made the infamous gold lame' suit
for Elvis). It is the music sung by and to the rural poor, who
lived on the margins of the Post-Depression era economic
recovery. People whose lives were defined by their broken
relationships.
The earthy tunes on Wood
and Stone are captivating. Nevins takes the past and
utilizes drums and a steel guitar, to ensure the album is
still contemporary. However, the real bridge between past
and present is a voice, so singular and beautiful, that it
must be heard to be appreciated. Ask any one of the "herd"
who has followed her for years, and they will back me up. It
has been too long since we heard from Tara Nevins as an
individual artist, but the wait was worth it.
Marty Stuart - Ghost Train , The Studio B Sessions
The
new Marty Stuart release,
Ghost
Train , The Studio B Sessions, has everything a real
Country album should have. The album was recorded at the famed
RCA Studio B in Nashville. The studio was designed in the 50's
by Chet Atkins and quickly became the Country Capital's
premier recording venue. In fact, It would be easier to make a
list of the "Nashville Sound" era artists that did not record
there than a list of the ones that did. Marty Stuart has
always played the role of being a bridge from the past to the
present. He works hard to keep the traditional styles of
Americana vibrant, even in the current Idol winner tuned
hillbilly world of Country Music. Along the way he has been
able to buck the trend and record some big hits of his own.
On Ghost Train he
decided to include as many of the styles and themes of
traditional Country as possible. Of course there is the
unmistakable influence of
his former father-in-law, Johnny Cash. In fact,
the executioner's tale, "Hangman", was co-written with Cash
shortly before the Man in Black passed away. Ghost
Train begins
with the outlaw Honky-Tonk of "Branded", then follows it up
with a Rockabilly number, "Country Boy Rock". The most
emotional
song is the he heartbreak ballad "Driftin' Apart". When Stuart
sings "I'm a stranger in your world now and it's driving me
out of my mind", you feel the pain of a love torn apart over
time. Along the way he even works in a Bluegrass tune
and themes such as the plight of the working man. It is as if
Stuart is on a missionary's journey to preserve the
history of Americana Music. Hopefully, he wins a lot of
converts along the way.
Check out Marty's newest venture: The TV network RFD-TV
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