Bloggerhythms

A good friend told me about the music download website, NoiseTrade , a couple of years ago and I'm glad he did. I've discovered some good sounds that I would never have heard otherwise and that's always appreciated. Some of what I found has even been reviewed on this blog such as a mighty fine, seven song, EP from the obscure Matt Stansberry & the Romance . Not all of the music you'll find on NoiseTrade is by new or unknown talent waiting to be discovered and the site offers everything from hip hop to Christian music. Some artists will give you only one song, many an EP, and a few will offer full albums or even complete concerts. I've found tunes by established acts such as Brandi Carlile, Dawes, Susanna Hoffs, and Josh Ritter who currently has two full length concerts online. Much of the music has been on the site for years but some of the downloads are taken down after awhile. Hoff's EP is one of those, so if you discover something you like take p...

Ever since Shelby Lynne's acclaimed I am Shelby Lynne turned her into a star (sort of) in 2000 one wouldn't be climbing too far out on a limb to say she could be the most outstanding female country artist on the scene today and one of the very best singer-songwriters to ever take a stage or enter a recording studio. She proves it once again with her brief, fifteen minute, five song EP, Thanks . On this fine set of music the native Alabaman continues to demonstrate both her independence, originality, and eclecticism as she genre-jumps from album to album and song to song almost as often as she changes hair styles (and that's a lot if you look at her CD covers). From Texas swing, to roots rock, to gospel, R & B, and more, she has done it all while still keeping her feet firmly planted on her home turf of country music. Thanks is Lynne's followup to the very personal and sparsely produced and arranged Revelation Road . Lynne continues to write intelligent and...

Veteran rocker Mick Fleetwood has returned to his roots. This means he's playing the blues once again, hence the title of this CD, an enjoyable, sixty-five minute, live-in-concert, musical excursion that he dedicates to the three other greats who co-founded Fleetwood Mac with him: Peter Green, Jeremy Spencer, and John McVie. Fleetwood's very fine blues quartet features former Fleetwood Mac member Rick Vito, who was Lindsay Buckingham's replacement form 1987 to 1991, on guitar and lead vocals. Vito, who also played with Jackson Browne, John Mayall, Little Richard, Maria Muldaur, and a host of others, is the obvious star. His singing is perfect for fronting a blues group and his slide work is surprisingly tasteful. The lineup is completed with two unknowns, Lenny Castellanos on bass and backing vocals, Mark Johnstone on keyboards and backing vocals, and drummer Fleetwood. The solid support Vito received from them is essential to this CD's suc...

Despite hailing from that hipster heaven known as Brooklyn it turns out The Lone Bellow may be out of touch. They actually released their new album, Then Came The Morning on CD in a plastic, shrink-wrapped, jewel box complete with a booklet loaded with liner notes, lyrics, and credits. How 90s of them. No cheap cardboard packaging for this trio. Once you open the case you'll also realize that there is nothing cheap about the music inside of it either. The group clearly doesn't suffer from the sophomore jinx, proving their eponymous debut was not beginner's luck. Lone Bellow remains true to the their sound but their vocals have improved, especially in the case of lead singer Zach Williams (not that they were shabby before). His voice is stronger, more self-assured, and the powerful singing of Kanene Donehey Pipkin continues to be an asset. She is the band's secret weapon and deserves more than the single lead vocal ("Call to War") she is allowed he...

Many people have made fun of The Monkees as the "Pre-fab Four," a Beatles knock off, and while it is true that they were often totally controlled in the studio by their producers, record label, and, of course, TV in the end we all realized they were a talented bunch of guys. It's to their credit that they later rebelled to become a real band. I bought a whole bunch of The Monkees' singles on their red, white, and black Colgems label back in the day and because one of these purchases was their 1967 hit single "Daydream Believer" I was also treated to one of the best b-sides I've ever heard anywhere, "Goin' Down." It's an original song that was never released on any of their main albums. The quartet's best singer, Mickey Dolenz took the lead vocal and Wikipedia states that Peter Tork and Mike Nesmith played guitars. Long ago I was told that Al Hirt played trumpet but I've found absolutely nothing to back ...