IN BRIEF .......................................................28 NOV 2005
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Artist:
CLAUDE DIAMOND |
You just have to be impressed with Claude Diamond. After a career as a civil servant, the 67-year-old retiree has found his second calling: country music. Highway of Life (available from CD Now) is Diamond's second full-length release, and lo and behold, the ol' duffer's got the goods. With a warm delivery that's somewhere between John Prine and Townes Van Zandt, Diamond offers up eleven original tunes--old-school country with a dash of the blues and a bit of cajun flavor thrown in for good measure. Among our favorites are "Little Copper Wire" [REAL AUDIO CLIP] and "Bluesy Blues" [REAL AUDIO CLIP].
We'd be remiss, however,
if we didn't acknowledge the album's production problems. While we dig
Mr. Diamond, producer J David Leonard has a fondness for cheezy drum machines
and other studio magic that, quite often, threatens to overpower the music.
Memo to industry types: someone take a chance on Claude Diamond. Give
the guy a modest contract and the means to scrap his drum-machine-loving
producer. With competent production and a full backing band, Diamond might
well turn out a gem.
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Artist:
TREVOR MacDONALD |
The eclectic, Americana-tinged Porch Light is the debut release from Ithaca, NY native Trevor MacDonald. On the album's better songs, MacDonald emulates alt.country stalwarts such as Ryan Adams and Bobby Bare, Jr. ("The Highways" [REAL AUDIO CLIP] could be an outtake from Whiskeytown's Pneumonia sessions and you'll swear that "Porch Light" [REAL AUDIO CLIP] appeared on Young Criminals' Starvation League.) Although the disc contains a handful of solid tracks, MacDonald's eclecticism does get the better of him at times. "Seven Blind Beats" with its jazzy blather, and "No Re-Entry" with its Jimmy Buffet inspired percussion are non-starters. While it seems Mr. MacDonald couldn't decide exactly what kind of album to make this time out, he's one to keep an eye on.
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Artist:
BLIND ARVELLA GRAY |
Out of print for more than 30 years, The Singing Drifter is the only album recorded by legendary Chicago street musician Blind Arvella Gray (1906-1980). Born Walter Dixon, Arvella lost two fingers and his eyesight either holding up a bank, or fighting over a woman in a brothel (depending on who is telling the story). And, in the great tradition of the American raconteur, Arvella contributed to his own mythology by offering multiple accounts of the accident. (Incidentally, on the topic of American raconteurs, Bob Dylan credits Blind Arvella Gray with inspiring the song "He Was a Friend of Mine.")
Whatever the real story, the loss of two fingers led Arvella to develop a uniquely compelling (albeit rustic) slide guitar style. This fascinating collection sounds half a century older than its 1972 recording date. Check out "There's More Pretty Girls Than One" [REAL AUDIO CLIP] and "John Henry" [REAL AUDIO CLIP].