Lindi Ortega – Cigarettes & Truckstops

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Let’s deal with the obvious first, yes, Nashville-by-way-of-Toronto Lindi Ortega’s soprano trill is reminiscent to a certain buxom, bewigged country music superstar. It’s not something she shies away from. Hell she even name-checks Dolly on the title cut. But where Dolly would chirp hopefully within every syllable leading to a home-spun happy ending Ortega takes a dreamy Julie Cruise into a beautifully melancholic coastal journey driving the protagonist toward a reunion with a love that may (or may not) end well
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Fly Me To The Moon – Frank Sinatra w/Count Basie & The Orchestra & Quincy Jones

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In a musical career that has spanned six decades, Quincy Jones has earned his reputation as a renaissance man of American music. Jones has distinguished himself as a bandleader, a solo artist, a sideman, a songwriter, a producer, an arranger, a film composer, and a record label executive, and outside of music, he’s also written books, produced major motion pictures, and helped create television series. And a quick look at a few of the artists Jones has worked with suggests the remarkable diversity of his career — Miles Davis, Frank Sinatra, Count Basie, Lesley Gore, Michael Jackson, Peggy Lee, Ray Charles, Paul Simon, and Aretha Franklin.
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Yes – I See You

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Guitarist Peter Banks, a founding member of the band Yes, has died at his home in London at the age of 65.

Banks, who was born in Barnet on July 15th 1947, became a mainstay of the progressive rock world after recording two albums with Yes — their self-titled debut release in 1969, followed by Time And A Word in 1970.

It was announced on Banks’s website that he had died on March 7th, and was found in his home after he failed to show up for a recording session.

A statement from fellow Yes band members said: “We are deeply saddened to learn about the passing of fellow bandmate and founding Yes member, Peter Banks. He was a huge piece of the fabric that made Yes what it is, and our thoughts, sincere condolences and prayers are with him and his family. Peter, we shall miss you greatly.”
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Jessica Lea Mayfield – (David Bowie I Love You) Since I Was Six

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Jessica Lea Mayfield teams up with The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach for a haunting rendition of Brian Jonestown Massacre’s ‘(David Bowie I Love You) Since I Was Six.’

This might be the first cover of a Brian Jonestown Massacre tune I’ve heard — and of a personal favorite no less — but Jessica Lea Mayfield delivers. With help from producer Dan Auerbach (a collaborative hero of late), she drops the usual twang inflection from her voice and settles into the shadows of the reverent groove. It’d be tough to beat the original, but tying this take for the film Apart to the slow dance scene above really resonates in the moment.
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Son Volt – Hearts and Minds

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Alt.country/Americana music pioneers Son Volt will release Honky Tonk, their highly anticipated follow-up to 2009’s American Central Dust.

According to a received press release, the 11-track album features a mix of classic honky tonk and acoustic-based songs about “heartache, heartbreak, and the road.” Sounds like a winning combination.

According to a press release, the 11-track album us described by band leader Jay Farrar thus, “Honky tonk music is about heartache, heartbreak, the road.” He reflects that as he wrote and recorded the songs so deeply steeped in tradition, “I wanted these songs to sound more contemporary and modern. There was no strict adherence to methodology of the past. You never want to be a nostalgia act.”
– See more at: http://www.twangnation.com/2013/01/14/son-volt-announces-new-album-april-tour-dates/#sthash.r6EU1FbZ.dpuf

Wayne Hancock – Ride

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“Ride”, the new release from Wayne Hancock, exhibits a little less of his customary Juke Joint Jive. Hank Williams style lonesome Blues is more prevalent on the album. However, Hancock still knows how to swing. Since we last heard him on 2009′s “Viper of Melody”, Hancock has gone through a divorce and sobered up. In Country music a woman leaving doesn’t normally lead to sobriety, but it seems to have worked for the man known as “The Train”. (Instead of drinking songs we now have “Cappuccino Boogie”.) There is also a new love in his life. The title cut describes this new love, motorcycles. “Ride” is one of the songs that swings on this album, as does “Deal Gone Down”, a song of revenge.
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Sarah & The Tall Boys – Who But A Fool

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Specializing in original country/soul, Sarah Potenza & The Tall Boys is a Nashville-based Americana band.

In 2008, Sarah Potenza & The Tall Boys released their debut album, “Shiny & New”, a powerful collection of original songs that drew attention from venues and festival producers nationwide. Within that year, the band was performing at festivals and sharing bills with acts like Joss Stone, Bonnie Raitt and the legendary Stevie Wonder. In 2010, the group released its second full-length album, “A Lifetime Worth of Sin”. A collection of Americana music, derived from blues, bluegrass, and alternative-country, all songs were written and produced by Sarah and the band, with the exception of one cover of Lucinda Williams. This CD features a talented list of notable guest musicians from such groups as The Hen House Prowlers, The Hoyle Brothers, and The Congregation. To capture a warmer and more authentic sound, the entire album was recorded on two inch analogue tape with a Studer track tape machine at Strobe Recording Studio in Humbolt Park, Chicago.

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Elephant Stone – Heavy Moon

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Though the shock value of dropping a sitar into Western pop music has decreased since George Harrison’s Hare Krishna days, the metallic, resonant drones of the instrument can still take a normal pop song and twist it into something unexpected. Rishi Dhir, sitarist, bassist and founding member of Elephant Stone, takes full advantage of the juxtaposition.

In “Heavy Moon,” amid the more conventional sounds of electric organs, stomping drums and vocals that recall a strident Elliott Smith, Dhir’s sitar traces a winding path that folds back on top of itself in a continuous loop. Many attempts to incorporate traditional Eastern instruments into Western pop or rock music sound sloppy and cobbled-together, or even teeter on the edge of cultural tourism. Elephant Stone avoids this by cleverly employing the sitar as a textural sound rather than a more prominent melodic one. It’s not an entirely new approach, but one the band has honed to an art.
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Supertramp – All Along The Watchtower

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Watch it here:
http://www.europafilmtreasures.de/PY/374/film-ansehen-supertramp_portrait_1970

Supertramp Portrait 1970 – BRD 1970 – 11 Minuten – Regie und Produktion: Haro Senft – Kamera: Klaus Müller-Laue, Konrad Kottowsk – Schnitt: Jane Hempel – Musik: Supertramp, improvisiert nach einem Song von Bob Dylan – Darsteller: Richard W. Palmer (Gitarre), Richard Davies (Orgel), Roger Hodgson (Bass), Keith Baker (Schlagzeug), sowie diverse Zuschauer