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"DOWN HOME" #20
Sunday, September 27, 1998

Hosted by Chuck Taggart (e-mail chuck)
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ROBBIE FULKS - Can't Win For Losing You [LET'S KILL SATURDAY NIGHT/Geffen]
        Robbie's major label debut and foray into a more rock direction
        will raise a few eyebrows, but he's still got his country chops too.
ROSIE FLORES - Crying Over You [A HONKY TONK REPRISE/Rounder]
        From her 1987 debut (?), rereleased with extra tracks.  This set
        completed one that Bobb Lynes started with Patsy Cline and Lefty
        Frizzell just before the shift changed.

THE FRIEGHT HOPPERS - Fall On My Knees [WAITING ON THE GRAVY TRAIN/Rounder]
        This record just gets better and better with each subsequent
        listening.
BRUCE MOLSKY - Wild Bill Jones [LOST BOY/Rounder]
        Bruce picks up the banjo for this traditional song from Kentucky.
THE NEW LOST CITY RAMBLERS - Tom Sherman [OLD-TIMEY MUSIC/Folkways LP]
        Unaccompanied solo vocal.  Still working my way through this
        nice, cheap find (in excellent condition) at a local used vinyl
        shop. Love live vinyl!
JEFF TWEEDY, ROGER McGUINN and JAY BENNETT - James Alley Blues [THE
        HARRY SMITH CONNECTION: A LIVE TRIBUTE/Smithsonian-Folkways]
        Excellent new release of various folk/roots artists performing
        their versions of traditional songs from THE ANTHOLOGY OF AMERICAN
        FOLK MUSIC, compiled by Smith.  Jeff's been doing this in some solo
        shows recently.

E. C. with ORNA BALL - John the Baptist [E. C. BALL WITH ORNA BALL/Rounder]
        Sweet old-time gospel music from the Virginia/North Carolina border.
THE PRESERVATION HALL JAZZ BAND - Jesus on the Main Line [IN THE SWEET BYE
        AND BYE/Sony]
        An all-gospel traditional jazz album ... great idea!  Vocals here
        by Harold "Duke" Dejan of the Olympia Brass Band.
THE BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA - Down By The Riverside [HOLDIN' ON/House of Blues]
        Their second on the HoB label; doesn't quite have the energy of
        its live predecessor, but still fine jubilee gospel.

Johnny Adams, "The Tan Canary", and one of the finest singers in New
Orleans music, passed away last week after a long struggle with prostate
cancer.  I was privileged to see him three times during last year's
Jazz and Heritage Festival, and sad to see him go.

JOHNNY ADAMS and AARON NEVILLE with NICK DANIELS, CHARLES ELAM, III and
        EARL J. SMITH, JR. - Never Alone [MAN OF MY WORD/Rounder]
        Stunningly gorgeous a cappella gospel song.  I heard Johnny
        and Aaron sing together in the Gospel Tent at Jazzfest last
        year - I had never ever seen the tent so crowded.  It was hair-
        raising.
JOHNNY ADAMS - Room With a View [ROOM WITH A VIEW OF THE BLUES/Rounder]
        Song written by Billy Vera and Lowell Fulson; Walter "Wolfman"
        Washington and Duke Robillard on guitars.
JOHNNY ADAMS - I Don't Know You [AFTER DARK/Rounder]
        Written by Doc Pomus and Mac Rebennack

When I went on the air for this shift, it was looking like my hometown
of New Orleans would undergo a catastrophic direct hit from Hurricane
Georges.  This set was a strong wish that it wouldn't.  (And it didn't.)

RANDY NEWMAN - Lousisiana 1927 [GOOD OLD BOYS/Warner LP]
        "They're tryin' to wash us away ..."
LIGHTNING HOPKINS - Hurricanes Carla and Esther [PO' LIGHTNIN'/Arhoolie]
        Sounds like he made this one up on the spot.  He has a song
        I prefer to this one called "Hurricane Betsy" (one I experienced
        when I was a wee tot), but didn't have that particular record
        in my collection.  I guess the big music library is the only
        thing I do miss about that *other* station...
ONE RIOT ONE RANGER - Who'll Stop the Rain? [SIDE TRACKS/Hayden's Ferry]
        New bluegrass/country/cowboy out fit out of Columbus, Ohio.

This turned out to be my favorite set out of the last several weeks...

DAVID LINDLEY and WALLY INGRAM - Spodie [TWANGO BANGO DELUXE/Ulftone]
        His latest live duet CD, tearin' it up on anything with strings,
        as ever.
RAKOTO FRAH and DAVID LINDLEY - You Done Me Wrong [A WORLD OUT OF TIME,
        VOLUME 2: HENRY KAISER AND DAVID LINDLEY IN MADAGASCAR/Shanachie]
        Octogenarian Rakoto Frah is a master of his instrument, the metal
        flute called the sodina, and is so revered by his people that
        his pictures is on some of the money in Madagascar.  Lindley
        was strumming this old Ray Price tune and Rakoto Frah joined
        right in, never having heard it before ... and it was perfect.
        Luckily, the engineer happened to have the DAT rolling.
CONJUNTO JARDIN - Cruzando en el Barco [NUEVO SON JAROCHO/Trova]
        I was blown away as soon as I heard this track - it's a jarocho
        style rendering of "Afindrafindrao", one of the most famous
        Malagasy valiha (tubular zither-harp) tunes; Lindley covers it
        on bouzouki on one of his recent albums. With additional vocals
        in Spanish.
LOS SUPER SEVEN - La Morena [LOS SUPER SEVEN/RCA]
        Fabulous side project of David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas from Los
        Lobos with Flaco Jimenez, Freddy Fender, Joe Ely and others.
        Solid bit of jarocho here.

DONAL LUNNY - The Mouseskin Shoe and Dancing in Allihies [COOLFIN/Metro Blue]
        This album also gets better and better.  Two tunes written by
        the band's fiddler, Nollaig Casey.
EDWARD MULLANEY and PATRICK STACK - Slip jig: The Rambling Pitchfork
        [WHEELS OF THE WORLD, VOL. 1: EARLY IRISH-AMERICAN MUSIC FROM
        THE 1920s & 30s/Yazoo]
        Mullaney on pipes and Stack on fiddle; recorded in Chicago.
BATTLEFIELD BAND - Jenny O' the Braes [RAIN, HAIL OR SHINE/Temple]
        From their latest; Alan Reid on vocals

Happy 100th birthday, George Gershwin!

THE HOT CLUB OF COWTOWN - Somebody Loves Me [SWINGIN' STAMPEDE/Hightone]
        This album is awesome.  Imagine a Western swing band crossed
        with an old-time crossed with The Hot Club of France.  A trio,
        from Austin.
JUDY GARLAND with the MGM STUDIO CHORUS - Embraceable You [GEOREGE AND
        IRA GERSHWIN IN HOLLYWOOD/Rhino]
        Okay, so it doesn't exactly fit my format, but one of the
        primary composers of American music doesn turn 100 every day.
        I very nearly played "Rhapsody in Blue"!

KRISTINA OLSON and PETER GRAYLING - Brownsville [DUET/self-release]
        Singer-songwriter Olson teams with Australian cellist Grayling.
        She's playing solo at McCabe's on Friday, October 2.
MOLLIE O'BRIEN - Eleezah [BIG RED SUN/Sugar Hill]
        From her newest.
COWBOY NATION - Way Out West [COWBOY NATION/Coconut Grove Records]
        Latest incarnation of Chip and Tony Kinman, once of Rank and File,
        leading into some countryish tune that Eric cued up to start
        Sarcastic Deadhead ...

 
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Chuck Taggart   (e-mail chuck)