A recent recap of under-the-radar releases
By Lee Zimmerman
Bill Mallonee – “Trailways”
An Americana original, the onetime leader of essential ensemble Vigilantes of Love has been creating earnest roots rock since before the term even existed. As a solo artist, he’s released an ongoing series of albums that now numbers in the dozens. His work has been praised by America’s leading music publications, and his occasional contributions to the endeavors of others (Buddy Miller, Jim Lauderdale, Bruce Cockburn, Dwight Yoakam, North Mississippi Allstars) offer further verification of his credence and consistency. Yet despite that remarkable proficiency, he still manages to elevate each new effort with singular standing.
Each song becomes an essential experience, a memorable melodic encounter flush with emphatic emotion. For the most part, this new album finds Mallonee writing all the songs and playing almost all the instruments (his wife Muriah Rose adds harmony to one track while Bill Pratt does one-off honors on pedal steel on another). For most artists, “Trailways” would be considered a singular masterpiece. For Mallonee, it’s simply another exceptional stop on a journey that sees literally no end in sight. (www.billmalloneemusic.com)
Charley Pride – “Endlessly”
When two legendary careers intersect, it makes for a truly special occasion. Such is the case with this long-lost, never-before-released archival offering from the late troubadour, recorded in the 1980s as a tribute to singer-songwriter Brooks Benton. As the story goes, the tapes were buried in a storage room in Pride’s production office in Dallas. In 2017, they were rediscovered, and in 2021, the tapes were carefully transferred to multitrack digital audio files. Although the two men operated in different spheres – Pride in contemporary country and Benton within the realms of classic soul and R&B – the music still syncs effortlessly and efficiently.
Although Benton was best known as a crooner (“Rainy Night in Georgia,” “Just a Matter of Time”), he effectively bridged the gap between pop and soul. For his part, Pride became the first Black artist to make major inroads into country while becoming a major superstar. While the setlist consists mainly of deep cuts, the immediate appeal remains consistent throughout. Songs such as “Thank You Pretty Baby” and “Pretend” demonstrate that, despite both men’s reputations as balladeers, they were equally adept when it came to expressing verve and vitality. As its title suggests, “Endlessly” is an album for the ages. (www.musiccityrecords.com)
James Yorkston and Friends – “Songs for Nina and Johanna”
This is the Scottish folk singer’s third album recorded in Stockholm, Sweden, in collaboration with members of The Second Hand Orchestra. Nina Persson of The Cardigans, who was featured on his previous critically acclaimed album “The Great White Sea Eagle,” shares singing duties with Johanna Söderberg of folk combo First Aid Kit. Each sings separately with Yorkston on five and four tracks, respectively, and the results soar with an almost indescribable beauty that is by turns soothing, sensuous and completely captivating.
The harmonies convey grace and delicacy that make tracks like “Love/Luck,” “I Can Change” and “A Moment Longer” instantly affecting. The arrangements enhance each of these ethereal offerings, creating a feeling of comfort that echoes throughout each entry. It is, in short, a remarkable set of songs, flush with intimacy and illumination. Yorkston, of course, deserves credit for orchestrating the results, but each individual involved helped in creating these meditations on family, love and parenthood, with the gentle melodies and poignant lyricism underscoring the intent. (https://www.jamesyorkston.co.uk)
Lord Huron – “The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1”
If ever there was an album title that summed up the sounds of the songs that lay within, this one is it. As the name implies, these dozen songs bask in ethereal ambiance and psychedelic suggestion. Primary components of their charm, these surreal sensibilities invite listeners to soak up the sounds and allow their minds to wander. That’s not to say the music is elusive in any way; conversely, it makes a marked impression immediately upon first hearing it. Those looking for easy reference points should consider early Pink Floyd or the Alan Parsons Project, both of which have used similar celestial effects to their advantage. Still, Lord Huron stands on its own, ruling over realms as vast and spacious as the cosmos itself. One can only hope a second volume will be soon to follow. (www.lordhuron)
Shawn Camp – “The Ghost of Sis Draper”
A song cycle of sorts, this album was conceived during Camp’s period of friendship and collaboration with the late, great Guy Clark, with whom he worked until Clark’s passing. Camp was 7 years old when an Arkansas fiddle player named Sis Draper arrived at a pickin’ party in the hills of Perry County. “I remember her walking in the house, the first time I saw her, with a big beehive hairdo and a fiddle in a coffin case,” Camp says of the titular character. “She was a legend before I’d ever laid eyes on her, my grandpa and Uncle Cleve had talked her up so much.”
In a way, that legendary stature also applies to Camp himself. He’s worked with John Prine, Loretta Lynn, the Osborne Brothers, Jerry Reed, Alan Jackson, Shelby Lynne and Trisha Yearwood, and he was a successful songwriter for the likes of Willie Nelson, Garth Brooks, Brooks & Dunn, Josh Turner, Blake Shelton, George Strait and many others. When Clark won a Grammy in 2014 for his final album, Camp took home one of his own as one of the record’s producers, and a year later, took home another as lead vocalist for bluegrass supergroup the Earls of Leicester, with whom he still works. The new album finds him plowing similar firmament, making it a decidedly down-home, biographical narrative that does justice to its original inspiration and, in turn, ought to inspire us all, as well. (shawncamp.com)
lee@blanknews.com
