Monday, January 30, 2012

SF Opry's NM Centennial Show

The festivities at the Roundhouse today for the 100th anniversary of statehood for New Mexico made me realize I haven't posted the stream of my Jan. 6 Santa Fe Opry centennial set on this blog yet.

I'm going to start uploading some of my radio shows to Mixcloud in the weeks to come. More on that later.

Until then, Happy Birthday, Land of Enchantment!

Sunday, January 29, 2012

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, January 29, 2012 
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M. 
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time 
Host: Steve Terrell
Webcasting!
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell(at)ksfr.org

 OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
No Fun by Iggy Pop
Love Train Express by Rocket from the Tombs
Caroleen by Pere Ubu
Tijuana Hit Squad by Deadbolt
You Better Find Out by Stomachmouths
Nightmare Blues by R.L. Burnside
Moneymaker by The Black Keys
Opus 17 (Don't You Worry 'Bout Me) by The Four Seasons

Shave Your Beard by Dengue Fever
Can't Hold On by Reigning Sound
I Got High by JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound
Black Snake Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears
Look Out Miss James by Richard Berry
Stop the Wedding by Etta James
Babblin' Brook by Andre Williams & The Goldstars
Cry Me a River Blues by Little Esther Phillips with The Johnny Otis Show
Wreck My Flow by The Dirtbombs

Pancakes by Mark Sultan
She's a Tiger by The Ding Dongs
Out the Door by Les Sexerinos
Too Much in Love by The King Khan & BBQ Show
Bow Down and Die by The Almighty Defenders
Growl by Johnny Kidd & The Pirates
Everything's Raising by The Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band
Who Put the Garlic in the Glue by NRBQ

I Told a Secret by Delaney Davidson
Hey Pachuco by Royal Crown Revue
Messin' With the Man by Muddy Waters
She Got the Devil in Her by Buddy Guy
Lord Bloodbathington by Kid Congo & the Pink Monkey Birds
Kickboxer Girl by The Black Smokers
Tootie Ma Is a Big Fine Thing by Preservation Hall Jazz Band & Tom Waits
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast! CLICK HERE


Friday, January 27, 2012

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST


Friday, January,27, 2012 
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM 
Webcasting! 
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time 
Host: Steve Terrell 
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrel(at)ksfr.org
 OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Wildwood Flower by Mike Ness
Old Man From the Mountain by The Gourds
It's Not Enough by The Waco Brothers
God Fearing People by Th' Legendary Shack Shakers
Eight Piece Box by Southern Culture on the Skids
49 Women by Jerry Irby & His Texas Ranchers
Highway Cafe by Kinky Friedman & His Texas Jewboys
Parallel Bars by Robbie Fulks with Kelly Willis

The Ballad of Lightning Bill Jasper by The Imperial Rooster
Crazy Heart by Charlie Feathers
Tear Up The Honky Tonk by Suzette Lawrence & The Neon Angels
Don't Walk Out on Me by Burley Joe & The Countrymen
I'll Fix Your Flat Tire, Merle by Pure Prairie League
Eggs of Your Chickens by The Flatlanders
Girl on Death Row by T. Tex Edwards & Out of Parole
Boogie Woogie Baby of Mine by Bob Burton
Dust Off Them Old Songs by Jason Eklund, Mike Good & Tom Irwin
Crazy Words, Crazy Tune by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
I Wish I Was a Single Girl Again by The Maddox Brothers & Rose

Copperhead Road by Steve Earle
Between Lust and Watching TV by Cal Smith
Somebody's Been Using That Thing by The Great Recession Orchestra
Bonapart's Retreat by Glen Campbell
Ain't No God in Mexico by Waylon Jennings
I Don't Care by Webb Pierce
I've Done That Before by Dale Watson & The Texas Two
Don't the Girls All Get Prettier at Closing Time by Mickey Gilley
Can't Change Me by Lydia Loveless
I Saw The Light From Heaven by Delaney Davidson
The (New) Call of the Freaks y Luis Russel & His Orchestra
Pissin' in the Wind by Simon Stokes with Texas Terri
Dark End of the Street by Frank Black
What Happened Last Night by Amanda Shires
Go Ahead and Cry by Rick Broussard & Two Hoots and a Holler
All in the Game by Merle Haggard
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast! CLICK HERE
Steve Terrell is proud to report to the monthly Freeform American Roots Radio list

TERRELL'S TUNEUP: Mark Sultan & Delaney Davidson

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican 
Jan. 27 2012


Mark Sultan, a Canadian who has made a living, or at least part of a living, as a one-man band — and sometimes as half of two-man bands such as The King Khan & BBQ Show and, with Bloodshot Bill, as The Ding Dongs — has a pretty strong opinion of one-man bands.

He hates them.

Ranting on his blog last year, Sultan wrote:

“I can see how a one-man-band set-up can leave a bad taste in someone’s mouth. ... I hate one-man bands. Seriously. There are only a couple I like, and those few I do like I like because I don’t consider them one-man bands, but rather musicians who manipulate minimal gear and sounds and transform it and themselves into something special and transcend what they present. ... I don’t like the one-man band as gimmick. Or this fucking community of one-man-band team thought. I hate teams. I hate competition. This is all sports mentality. I hate sports, too.”

Now, I love the raw, stripped-down blues-bash basics of a Bob Log III and O Lendario Chucrobillyman. The one-man format works fine for an artist like Scott H. Biram, boiling down blues and honky-tonk to its basic DNA. There are some European one-manners out there, like King Automatic and Urban Junior, who have taken the form to weird dimensions. And I believe that the ascended master Hasil Adkins knew cosmic truths that most of us lesser mortals will never comprehend.

Whatever
But on the other hand, I think I know what Sultan is talking about. Like any kind of music, there is definitely some sameness in the sounds produced by the minions of second-rate Bob Logs proliferating at the edges of the garage and roots-rock scenes.

So, it’s fitting that Sultan’s latest work — two new albums released simultaneously late last year — seems to drift further than ever from the typical one-man band sound. On the new albums Whatever I Want and Whenever I Want, he continues to explores his beautiful obsession with doo-wop. Basically, Sultan just does what he’s always done best — melodic (mostly) tunes colored by R & B, rockabilly and primitive rock ’n’ roll.

But the sound, while still a million miles from overproduced, seems fuller than ever. As he’s done on previous albums, Sultan uses guest musicians. On the new records are Sultan’s pals from The Black Lips (with whom Sultan plays in the garage/gospel supergroup The Almighty Defenders) and Dan Kroha of The Gories. And, even more so than past efforts, he’s not above using a few studio tricks to give the tracks a little heft.

Whenever
A word about formats here: Whatever I Want and Whenever I Want are available only on vinyl and downloads. However, for CD loyalists, there is a 13-tack compilation called Whatever, Whenever. Unfortunately it doesn’t have some of my favorites, like “Blood on Your Hands” (which sounds  like a weird team-up of Danny & The Juniors and The Kingsmen), “Repulse Me, Baby,” which has a little King Khan in it, and “Pancakes,”  which you might mistake for  Sha Na Na making the greatest IHOP commercial in the history of the world.

Other favorites from the new albums include Whatever’s “Just Like Before,” on which Sultan goes right for the doo-wop jugular. It sounds like a lost cousin of some vintage Drifters hit. The rockabilly influences show on “Satisfied and Lazy” (on Whenever), while “Party Crasher” on Whenever gets psychedelic with a droning organ, some “Paint It Black” guitar riffs, and distorted background vocals that may make you think of Dion & The Belmonts interpreting the Tibetan Book of the Dead.

Whenever closes with an unexpected twist. The epic eight-minute “For Those Who Don’t Exist” starts out with Sultan strumming a guitar with the tremolo way up and whistling a weird little melody that could almost be a slower version of the Pixies’ “La La Love You.” Then, with clanging railroad-crossing bells apparently warning you, the saxes come in, and it’s a free-jazz odyssey.

What sets Sultan above most slop-rock purveyors is his voice. He has always owed far more to Sam Cooke than to Hasil Adkins. While he messes with several styles, his soaring voice is the thread that holds these two albums together.

Also recommended:

* Bad Luck Man by Delaney Davidson. This New Zealand native reminds me of some ghostly troubadour wandering the Earth searching for shadows.

As was the case with his previous album, Self-Decapitation, Davidson’s music shows traces of blues and hillbilly sounds, a little Gypsy jazz, faint strains of Dixieland, perhaps a touch of tango, and who knows what else.

Every song on Bad Luck Man has its charms, sometimes fully revealing themselves only on a second or third listen. Among the standouts are “Time Has Gone,” the kind of sad waltz Davidson does so well. Organ and horns rise up during the first instrumental break, giving the song a circus-orchestra texture.

The murder ballad “I Told a Secret” is a faster-paced waltz with a droning slide guitar. “I made a promise I would tear out my darlin’s sweet heart,” he sings in the first verse. And, by golly, he keeps that promise.

Davidson goes straight for the blues on “Windy City,” a raucous blues burner that comes late in the album, with chugging harmonica and a low gutter guitar. This tune pays its respects to Howlin’ Wolf, Bo Diddley, and other monsters of Chicago blues.

Delaney in Santa Fe
Though most of the songs are originals, Davidson plays some covers. He takes bluesman Abner Jay’s “I’m So Depressed” and makes it rock.

And there’s “I’ve Got the Devil Inside,” written by Davidson’s Voodoo Rhythm crony and touring partner, The Reverend Beat-Man. (The two played together in Santa Fe twice in recent years.) Davidson is backed only by loud drums you might think are a high-school marching band from the netherworld.

But for all the demonic energy, there are also some redemptive moments, the finest being “I Saw the Light From Heaven,” a backwoods gospel tune on which Davidson is accompanied by a lone banjo.


BLOG BONUS!
Here's Mark Sultan performing The Rolling Stone's "Out of Time" and his own "I'll Be Lovin' You" from the $ album


And here's Delaney Davidson waltzing with the ladies in Tucson, Ariz. the night before he and Beat-Man played Santa Fe in July, 2010. The song is "Time Has Gone," which is on Bad Luck Man.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST


Sunday, January 22, 2012 
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M. 
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time 
Host: Steve Terrell
Webcasting!
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell(at)ksfr.org

OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Freedom by J. Mascis & The Fog
Party Crasher by Mark Sultan
Revolution Part 1 by The Butthole Surfers
I've Got The Devil Inside by Delaney Davidson
Tip My Canoe/Family Business by Dengue Fever
Brokenhearted Woman by Ros Sereysothea
Oh No She Didn't Say by The Cyclones
Timothy by The Nervebreakers


JOHNNY OTIS TRIBUTE
Court Room  Blues by Johnny Otis
Hound Dog by Big Mama Thornton
Baby You Don't Know by Roy Milton with The Johnny Otis Show
Honey Hush by Big Joe Turner
It Ain't What You Say by Little Esther
Pledging My Love by Johnny Ace
So Fine by The Fiestas
You Better Look Out by Delmar Evans with The Johnny Otis Show
Willie and the Hand Jive by Johnny Otis


ETTA JAMES TRIBUTE
All songs by Etta unless otherwise stated
The Wallflower (Roll with Me Henry)
Good Rockin' Daddy
My Dearest Darling
I'd Rather Go Blind by The Del Moroccos
The Pickup
Tough Lover by Nick Curran & The Lowlifes
Let's Burn Down the Cornfield
At Last by Richard Berry & The Dreamers
W-O-M-A-N

Tell Mama by Janis Joplin
Ain't It Strange by Patti Smith
Howling Wolf Blues by Johnny Dowd
Seeing is Believing by Bobby King & Terry Evans
Girl With Bruises by jack Oblivian
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis
Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast! CLICK HERE


Friday, January 20, 2012

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST


Friday, January 20, 2012 
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM 
Webcasting! 
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time 
Host: Steve Terrell 
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrel(at)ksfr.org

OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Cool and Dark Inside by Blonde Boy Grunt & The Groans
Fried Chicken and Gasoline by Southern Culture on the Skids
Diesel Smoke, Dangerous Curves by Last Mile Ramblers
You Take the Cake by Sammy Johnson & The Rhythm Lads
(Now And Then) There's A Fool Such As I by John Doe & The Sadies
Learn to Say No by Lydia Loveless
The Ballad Of Bill Blizzard by The Fisticuffs
I Need Some Lovin' by Harold Allen

Baby Doll by Charlie Gracie
Nothing at All by Rick Brousard & Two Hoots and a Holler
Blue Collar Blues by Jason Eklund
Down, Down, Down, Down, Down by Dale Watson & The Texas Two
Bent by The Calamity Cubes
Here in This Honky Tonk by The Western Starlanders
Slippin' Away by Jean Sheppard
The Thief Upon the Tree by Roy Acuff
There's More Pretty Girls Than One by Hylo Brown & The Timberliners
Double Track by Ugly Valley Boys

This Old House by Willie Nelson
If I Should Wander Back by Jimmie Dale Gilmore & The Wronglers
Roly Poly by Brett Sparks & The Pine Valley Cosmonauts
Time Changes Everything by Johnny Cash
Smoke, Smoke, Smoke That Cigarette by Commander Cody & The Lost Planet Airmen
Leaving Home by Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers
Big Rock Candy Mountain by John Hartford
Deep Elum Blues by Harmonica Frank Floyd
A Satisfied Mind by Porter Wagoner

Late Night Lover by Rachel Brook
A Girl in a House on Felony Flats by Richmond Fontaine
Nobody Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone by Graham Lindsey
The Scarlet Tide by Alison Kraus
Goodnight Irene by Wayne & Gina Hancock
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast! CLICK HERE
Steve Terrell is proud to report to the monthly Freeform American Roots Radio list

TERRELL'S TUNEUP: Them Old Country Songs

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican 
Jan. 20, 2012



I probably won’t be here to collect, but I’d be willing to bet that in 50 years, country singers — whatever in Sam Hill country music looks like in 2062 — will still be making albums of nostalgic old country songs.

They won’t be recording songs by Taylor Swift, Blake Shelton, or Jason Aldean. Nope, they’ll still turn to the songbooks of Hank and Lefty, Willie and Merle, Bill Monroe and Bob Wills. They’ll still turn to the finely crafted tunes by Harlan Howard, Floyd Tillman, Boudleaux and Felice Bryant, Merle Kilgore, and Cindy Walker.

And there’s a reason for that. Those old songs still pack a powerful punch. It’s not that any of the venerated masters shunned commercialism. Far from it. They wanted to make hits. But they did so without writing songs that sounded as if they were created by committee and the recordings checked by focus groups. Even though you’ve heard songs like “I’m Moving On” or “Footprints in the Snow” a jillion times, if a singer has a little soul, he or she can still cover those tunes and they will connect.

And Willie Nelson and Jimmie Dale Gilmore have a lot more than a little soul. Both of the latest releases by these Texas troubadours are worthwhile experiences, even if most the songs on each are very familiar.

Nelson’s Remember Me, Vol. 1 is his second album in the last couple of years consisting of hillbilly classics.

His T Bone Burnett-produced Country Music consists mainly of bluegrass, folk, and backwoods gospel songs. The new album is slightly more modern, covering country songs going back to the 1940s and one from the late ’80s — Verne Gosdin’s “That Just About Does It.” There are songs by Nelson’s contemporaries like Haggard and Kris Kristofferson, as well as tunes made famous by his heroes such as Ernest Tubb, Webb Pierce, and Bob Wills.

Some are familiar, some are a little obscure. But there’s not a bad one in the bunch.

The arrangements, for the most part, are simple and basic — lots of fiddle and steel — though Nelson nods to the early-’60s Nashville sound on “Release Me,” which has vibes, a jazzy guitar, and a soft female chorus. With the exception of harmonica player Mickey Raphael, the band here is not Nelson’s usual Family Band, but the musicians serve him well.

The title track, which opens the album, is a Tubb song — the first version I ever heard was by Dean Martin back in the 1960s. No, it’s not the same as “Remember Me (When Candle Lights are Gleaming),” which Nelson sang on Red Headed Stranger. It’s a midtempo tune, maybe a little slow to kick off an album. But it draws a listener in, and that fiddle by Aubrey Haynie sure sounds sweet. Plus, the bridge offers a reassuring promise to Nelson’s listeners: “And through all kinds of weather you’ll find I never change/Through the sunshine and the shadows, I’ll always be the same.”

Wilson does a great finger-poppin’ take on Tennessee Ernie Ford’s greatest moment (written by Merle Travis), “Sixteen Tons.” And he does a jumping cover of the Tex Williams western-swing novelty tune “Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette),” which most people my age probably first heard played by Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen in the early ’70s. Nelson’s version is fun, though he’s not really known for smoking nicotine.

Speaking of western swing, Nelson’s take on “Roly Poly” is perhaps the best version of this Texas Playboys song I’ve ever hear. Much of the credit goes to drummer Eddie Bayers who pounds like a maniac.

The prettiest tunes have to be “Slowly,” an early-’50s Webb Pierce song, along with “Satisfied Mind,” a Porter Wagoner signature tune (though my favorite version is the one by The Byrds).

Nelson, who is pushing 80, gives these songs a sagely quality. I’m happy he’s still singing them.

Like Nelson, Gilmore is an excellent songwriter, but he loves playing the songs of his country forefathers. His 2005 album, Come on Back, which showcases his space-alien voice, cosmic spirituality, and honky-tonk sensibilities, consists of dusty old country songs that his dad loved.
Jimmie Dale & Wronglers

His latest, Heirloom Music, is more of a folk/blues/old-timey venture, an acoustic string-band affair with wonderful old songs like “Deep Elum Blues,” “Foggy Mountain Top,” and The Carter Family’s “I’m Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes.”

Gilmore and his band draw from bluegrass sources such as Bill Monroe (“Uncle Pen”), Flatt and Scruggs (“If I Should Wander Back”), and Rupert Jones (“Footprints in the Snow”).

He teams up for this album with The Wronglers, a northern California band — the album is actually credited to The Wronglers with Jimmie Dale Gilmore. Warren Hellman, who founded the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in San Francisco, played banjo with the group. He died last month.

The main intersection with Nelson’s latest is a Bob Wills cover, “Time Changes Everything,” though Gilmore performs it as a sad country ballad, not as a western-swing tune. In an interview on NPR's  Fresh Air last year, Gilmore said he had found a bluegrass version of the song by Monroe, though he first came to it via Johnny Cash’s cover.

My favorite tune here is Charlie Poole’s version of “Frankie and Johnny,” which is titled “Leavin’ Home.” It’s the happiest-sounding song about domestic violence ending in murder you’ve heard. You almost believe that a pistol goes rooty toot toot.

Also commendable is The Wronglers’ version of the hobo fantasy “Big Rock Candy Mountain.” Hellman and Gilmore trade off on lead vocals. Maybe it’s not as heartwarming as the late John Hartford’s live version in the movie Down From the Mountain, but it’s up there.

Gilmore sounds like he enjoyed every second on this album. I did too.


Check out a performance by Gilmore with The Wronglers on Mountain Stage:


Monday, January 16, 2012

Kickstarting Gregg Turner

I did something I normally don't do for musicians and probably won't again real soon. But I've been friends with Gregg Turner for too many years and have been an occasional part of of his Hatchet-Wielding Jews revue. He played for free at my CD release party 15 years ago! He saved my life at the ol' swimmin' hole. He jack-knifed his 18 wheeler to save that busload of kids ...  So how could I turn him down when he asked me to plug his Kickstarter project? (Plus, he agreed to tape a quick spot for The Big Enchilada! The log-rolling is shameless!)

Turner, for the uninitiated, is a former member of The Angry Samoans, Vom, and I think maybe Herman's Hermits. More recently, he's played with a group of miscreants called The Blood-Drained Cows. And don't forget The Hatchet-Weilding Jews.

Turner is trying to raise money to record a new album called Gregg Turner Plays the Hits. Check out all the details HERE.

And check out the other fine testimony of Nicole Panter, former manager of The Germs, (and former College of Santa Fe instructor) HERE,  right below my own sleazy offering.




eMusic January

Here's my latest batch of downloads from eMusic:

* Jack Mack & The Heart Attack: Club Lingerie 1982. It was almost 30 years ago that I took a trip to California with my pals Alec and Rich. The stated purpose of the trip was to promote my then-new album Picnic Time for Potatoheads. But it was also a time to get out of the insular world of New Mexico and check out some music.

The most memorable music we saw on that trip included The Waitresses (popular at the time for their New Wave hit "I Know What Boys Like") and an obscure soul-revival group that nobody back home had ever heard of -- Jack Mack & The Heart Attack. We saw them at what I guess was their favorite haunt, Club Lingerie on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood.

These were the days when the sounds of Stax, Motown, Al Green and whatnot were way out of fashion. In fact, by the next year, the Motown-heavy soundtrack of The Big Chill would come to symbolize yuppie nostalgia and a sort-of rebuke to anything that came after. ("There is no other music, not in my house," Kevin Kline's character  declared indignantly in the movie.)

But Jack Mack and the boys weren't mere nostalgia merchants. Though it was obvious they loved the era they emulated, they were not a covers band. If they did any covers at all that night, they were so obscure I didn't recognize them.

And most importantly they played with an energy that set them miles apart from your usual bar band playing covers of "Soul Man" or "I Heard it Through the Grape Vine." I don't actually hear any overt punk or New Wave influences, but the Club Lingerie crowd, which was made up largely of early '80s Hollywood punks, loved it. It would be cool if there was a time machine and you could send Black Joe Lewis or JC Brooks or King Khan back in time to sit in with The Heart Attack.

I guess I was feeling a little neo-Big Chill nostalgia one recent night when I stumbled on this album while Googling Jack Mack & The Heart Attack. I was overjoyed when I saw it on eMusic. Though as the songs were downloading I feared the music would not match my memory. But I was far from disappointed. In fact, listening to "Wonderful Girl" took me right back there.

Weird Footnote: There's still a band called Jack Mack & The Heart Attack working today.  I'm not sure if any of the original players are in in, but there's a new "Jack Mack." The singer back in 1982 was a guy named Max Carl Gronenthal. After leaving The Heart Attack, he went on to sing with .38 Special and currently is singing with the current version of Grand Funk Railroad.

* Corn Demon by The Hickoids. "Cowpunk" is a term that gets thrown around quite a bit, but way back in the '80s, this Texas group helped get the concept off the ground. No, it's not just redneck parody -- though, as the Hickoids show on "Driftwood 40-23," a tender country lust song about a romance born in a truckstop restroom (you can hear it on my latest Big Enchilada episode) had a good knack for that sort of thing when they want.

But this collection, which features The Hickoids' first album We're In it for the Corn plus an early EP, basically is downhome ferocious rock 'n' roll played with hillbilly abandon. this is one dangerous rodeo.

One of my favorites is "The Longest Mile," which changes tempo at least a couple of times but maintains a fiery intensity even during the slow part. "Corntaminated" is an insane hoedown that starts out with a chicken-scratch guitar. I'm not sure what "Animal Husbandry" is about, but I assume it's something unwholesome. But you gotta love the stomping, twang-infused guitar slop.

Corn Demon mostly focuses on original tunes, ) but there's some wild covers too. Carl Douglas' "Kung Fu Fighting" becomes "Korn Fu Fighting" while Elvis' "Burning Love" becomes a hunka hunka crazy ride. One of my favorites here is the instrumental "Willamanza," which is a high-voltage melding of "The William Tell Overture" and, you guessed it, the theme from Bonanza. And perhaps the most radical cut here is the irreverent, screaming version of The Eagles' (!!!) "Take it Easy."  No, The Hickoids don't take it easy, but they take it.

* Crying and Sighing by McKinney's Cotton Pickers. This is what big band jazz sounded like back in the 1920s and '30s. Lots of horns of course, but also a prominent banjo and frequent vocals.

The Cotton PIckers were a black group that started out in in 1926, led by drummer William McKinney but led by Don Redman, a former member of the Fletcher Hendeson Orchestra. At various points in its history, members of the Cotton Pickers included Fats Waller on piano, Coleman Hawkins on clarinet and tenor sax, Doc Cheatham on trumpet  and Benny Carter on clarinet and alto sax.

I actually downloaded this album because it contains a jazzy version of
 "Beedle Um Bum," a song usually associated with jug bands and Tampa Red. It's credited to gospel songwriter Thomas Dorsey, in his earlier incarnation as "Georgia Tom" was Red's piano player. "Down in Memphis, Tennessee, lives a girl named Cindy/ With a meat shop on her block, she's always got the gimme ..."  But's not the only Tampa Red/Georgia Tom tune in this collection. Also there's great versions of "It's Tight Like That" (one of Red's signature songs) and "Selling That Stuff."

* Whatever I Want by Mark Sultan. " I can see how a one-man band set-up can leave a bad taste in someone’s mouth. ... I hate one-man bands. Seriously. There are only a couple I like, and those few I do like I like because I 'don’t consider them one-man bands, but rather musicians who manipulate minimal gear and sounds and transform it and themselves into something special and transcend what they present. "

That's what Sultan --  who has made a name for himself partly by his work as a "one-man" band"  -- said a few months ago on his website. Thus, it's fitting that Sultan's latest work doesn't have a typical one-man band feel.

He uses guest musicians including pals from The Black Lips (with whom Sultan plays in the garage/gospel supergroup The Almighty Defenders) and Dan Kroha of The Gories.

Basically, Sultan does what he does best -- melodic (mostly) tunes colored by doo-wop, rockabilly and primitive rock 'n' roll. My favorite so far is "Blood on Your Hands," which sounds like a weird team-up of Danny & The Juniors and some mid '60s garage band.

Also notable is "Just Like Before," on which Sultan goes right for the doo-wop jugular.

Whatever is one of two Sultan albums released last fall. (I'll talk about the other, Whenever I Want It, next month. There's also a CD called Whatever/Whenever that consists of music from both albums.)

Plus
A bunch of Christmas songs for The Big Enchilada podcast or Terrell's Sound World, or both.

* "Black Santa" and "Sock it to Me Santa" by King Salami & The Cumberland 3
* "A Christmas Duel" by The Hives and Cyndi Lauper 
* "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" by Los Straitjackets

Sunday, January 15, 2012

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST


Sunday, January 15, 2012 
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M. 
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time 
Host: Steve Terrell
Webcasting!
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell(at)ksfr.org

 OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Watching My Baby by The Reigning Sound *
Judgement Day by The Pretty Things
Magic Touch by The Plimsouls *
Devil in a Blue Dress/Good Golly Miss Molly by Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels
Maelstrom by Rocket From The Tombs
Who Do You Love/Spoonful by Johnny Thunders
Haunting You by Jay Reatard
High Gear by Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
Strawberry Soda by Bastard Winos
Mary Had a Little Lamb by Old Skull

Hot Coffee by Andre Williams & The Goldstars
Wilder Wilder, Faster Faster by The Cramps
I'm a Hog For You Baby by Screaming Lord Sutch
Come Levitate With Me by The King Khan Experience *
Anala by The King Khan & BBQ Show
I Hate CDs by The Legendary Stardust Cowboy
Hurricane Boogie by Dick Lewis & His Harlem Rhythm Boys
The Drag by Ty Segall

Safe as Milk (Take 5) by cCaptain Beefheart & His Magic Band
Crazy with the Blues by Cleo Harve
Catfish Blues by Jimi Hendrix
I'm Not Satisfied by The Fall
Do You Understand by The Sinister Six
Alleys of Your Mind by The Dirtbombs
Geraldine by The A-Bones

Rock 'n' Soul Music/Love by Country Joe & The Fish
Graceful Bow by The Revelations feat. Tre Williams
What You Lack in Brains by The Batusis
Wormeater by Grinderman
Ac-cen-tu-ate the Positive / Things Are Getting Better by NRBQ
Traveling Mood by Wee Willie Wayne

* Follow link to free download

 MORE TO COME (Keep refreshing your browser until midnight)

CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis
Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast! CLICK HERE


Friday, January 13, 2012

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST


Friday, January 13, 2012 
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM 
Webcasting! 
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time 
Host: Steve Terrell 
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrel(at)ksfr.org
OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Blood, Sweat and Murder by Scott H. Biram
Home in San Antone by The Pine Valley Cosmonauts with Chris Mills
Barroom Crazy by Ray Condo
Don't Judge Your Neighbor by Roy Acuff
Pots and Pans by Ray Wylie Hubbard
Rambling Fever by Willie Nelson
Waitin' Around to Die by The Goddamn Gallows
I'll Take What I Can Get by Floyd Tillman with Hank Thompson
Fryin' Bacon Nekkid by Roger Alan Wade
One Helluva Weekend by T. Tex Edwards

American Trash by Betty Dylan
Takin' to You by The Western Starlanders
Keeping Up With the Jones by The Austin Lounge Lizards
One Woman Man by George Jones with Marty Stuart
A Rejected Television Theme by Shooter Jennings
Seven Lonely Days by Ginny Carter
Diggin' in the Dirt by Tom Irwin
Wedding of the Bugs by Robbie Fulks
Delia Rose by Calamity Cubes
The Rubber Room by Porter Wagoner

Everybody's Clown by Skeeter Davis with NRBQ
It Comes To Me Naturally by NRBQ
A Sleepin' at the Foot of the Bed by Shorty Ashford
Back to the Country by The Sixtyniners
Honky Tonk Hardwood Floor by Johnny Horton
Go on Home by Jason Eklund, Mike Good & Tom Irwin
Deep Ellum Blues by Jimmie Dale Gilmore & The Wronglers
Gum Tree Canoe by John Hartford
Nine Pound Hammer by The Waco Brothers

I Love You a Thousand Ways by Lefty Frizzell
You're Learning by The Louvin Brothers
21 Days from Macon by John Egenes
The Unballed Ballad Of The New Folksinger by Slim Cessna's Auto Club
Old Friends by Terry Allen
Meet Me by The Apple Tree by Rachel Brooke
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

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Terrell's Tuneup: Have Some Freebies

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican 
Jan. 13 2012



So you’re broke after the holidays, but you want to keep up on some new groovy tunes? You’ve come to the right place. Because I’m your friend (I’m not like the others), I’m going to point you to some recent digital albums or digital EPs that are absolutely free and just a few clicks away.

Two of these three albums are promotional gifts from Scion, a line of cars from Toyota. Scion has teamed up with Vice magazine to sponsor a lot of free music projects — music downloads, concerts (such as the Kid Congo Powers show in New York I saw a couple of years ago), videos, and even a festival.

One of Scion’s loves is modern garage music. Why do they do it? “Scion’s commitment to artistic expression provides a platform for passionate artists to focus on developing their art and exploring the endless possibilities,” is what the website says.

Personally I think a couple of junior executives in the marketing department pulled a fast one on the senior suits and, so far, have gotten away with it. Without promoting or disparaging their fine product, I’m glad they’re doing it.

Here’s what I think about these offerings:

*  The King Khan Experience. This is His Highness’ first album with his new band. The overall sound is closer in style to Khan’s soul revue, The Shrines, than it is to the stripped-down records he’s made with The King Khan & BBQ Show or The Tandoori Knights. There’s lots of variety in the nine tracks.

The album starts out with “Bob Log Stomp,” a tribute to the helmeted one-man band from Arizona. With a rubbery slide guitar and cheesy organ in the background, Khan sings sly references to Log classics like “Boob Scotch,” “Drunk Stripper,” and “Log Bomb.” This is followed by a soulful little workout called “Fa Fa Fa (Love Song).”

The high-charged, not-quite-funky “I Got Love” and the raucous “Knock Me off My Feet” could almost be Shrines outtakes. It was only on my second listen that I realized that there was no horn section on either song. I suppose a little sax would be nice here, but it’s certainly not necessary. There is a sax in “Dr. Ruin Your Life,” a slow song that evokes memories of Otis Redding.

Khan stretches a little in “Come Levitate With Me.” A jazzy flute that might have been born in a Gil Scott-Heron song dominates this tune. In “Keep it Simple, Stupid,” Khan draws on his Hindu heritage and droning psychedelia. Here Khan almost sounds like George Harrison in his Ravi Shankar phase. Go to www.scionav.com/collection/851 to download the King Khan album.

*  Abdication ... For Your Love by Reigning Sound. While this group isn’t very well known among the general population, in the garage-punk universe, the musicians are considered pretty huge stars. They’re led by Greg Cartwright, the artist formerly known as “Greg Oblivian” of the dearly departed Memphis band The Oblivians.

Like that older band, Reigning Sound can rock with thunder; it proves that right from the start with the opening song, “Lyin’ Girl.”

But the band also proudly displays its Memphis soul heritage (even though Cartwright moved to North Carolina a few years ago and picked up new band members there), showing the influence of classic Stax/Volt sounds and Al Green, whose current RS member Dave Amels seems to echo through his slinky keyboards.

Cartwright and company, even in their most rocked-out tunes, are conscious about creating melodic hooks. And they aren’t shy about sprinkling downright pretty melodies into their sets. On this album “Eve” fills that bill. It’s an irresistible slow dance.

One of my favorites here is the up-tempo “Watching My Baby.” With its refrain “Watching my baby get ready, she’s going out tonight,” it sounds as if Cartwright is making a play for the daughters of all the middle-aged women who swooned over Eric Clapton’s “Wonderful Tonight.”

Find this one at www.scionav.com/collection/852  .

*  An Introduction to The Revelations featuring Tre’ Williams. This album didn’t come from Scion.

 Unlike Reigning Sound or King Khan, I’d never heard of Williams or The Revelations. Until, that is, last November, shortly after I got home from the Black Joe Lewis & The Honey Bears show at Santa Fe Sol Stage & Grill. After I posted a video of a song from the show on Facebook, the bizarre demons who determine which ads go where on that site decided to put a little blurb on my page.

I forget the exact wording, but basically it said, “If you like Black Joe Lewis, you’ll love The Revelations.” I’ll admit I was cynical at first. Most such recommendations are so off base they’re ridiculous. But I thought it might be good for a laugh, so I bit.

As it turned out, even though this neo-soul group from Brooklyn isn’t quite in the same league as Black Joe — the band members don’t have his intense energy or humor — these guys aren’t bad. In fact Williams and The Revelations would sound right at home with Sharon Jones, Charles Bradley, and others on the New York Daptone label.

Most of the songs here come from The Bleeding Edge and Deep Soul, previous Revelations albums, though there also are some cuts from the band’s latest album, Concrete Blues, which was released around the same time as this sampler.

My favorite track is “How Do I Tell Him,” a classic story of a guy who cheats with his best friend’s girl. The poor cuckold never should have asked a guy like Williams to give his woman a ride home from work.

Another worthy tune is the opening song “Graceful Bow,” which sounds closer to Al Green than to Reigning Sound.

To download this, go to www.therevelations.bandcamp.com/album/an-introduction-to-free-sampler. Then check out The Revelations’ other work on the group’s Bandcamp site. You’ll be tempted to actually spend some money (Spend money on music? What a novel idea!) on The Revelations’ other albums.

Blog Bonus:

Dig that crazy Reigning Sound!



And here's Tre Williams & The Revelations




And for the hell of it, here's King Khan & The Shrines when I saw them at the 2008 Pitchfork Festival in Chicago. (I didn't shoot this video, but I was there)


 

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Free Download from New Live Plimsouls Album

There's another live album culled from the Plimsouls' vault.

Beach Town Confidential , to be released Feb. 7, was recorded:

"at the height of their onstage power at The Golden Bear in Huntington Beach, CA on August 13, 1983, this recording captures Peter Case, Eddie Muñoz, Dave Pahoa and Louie Ramírez ripping through these 16 tracks with a youthful and reckless abandon. Six of these songs have never been recorded before by The Plimsouls (“Making Time,” “Fall On You,” “The Price Of Love,” “Who’s Gonna Break The Ice?,” “Jumpin’ In The Night” and “You Can’t Judge A Book”), plus it also features the only live recordings of “Magic Touch,” “Oldest Story In The World” and “Hobo.”
And with the full blessing of Alive/Natural Sound Records, here's a link to a free download of "Magic Touch." 

Monday, January 09, 2012

New Hillbilly Episode of Big Enchilada!

THE BIG ENCHILADA


Enjoy a fresh jug of 100-proof wild sounds from deepest backwoods America. This episode will kill more brain cells that the strongest White Lightning! You'll hear hillbilly hits past, present and maybe even future -- honky-tonk, bluegrass, rockabilly, cowpunk, XXX-country and more. Download this and play it loud in your car as you blast down Thunder Road.

DOWNLOAD | SUBSCRIBE| SUBSCRIBE TO ALL GARAGEPUNK PIRATE RADIO PODCASTS

Here's the playlist:

(Background Music: Hackberry Hop by Daigle, Doucet & Elin)
Moonshine by Montie Jones
There Stands The Glass by The Frontier Circus
Driftwood 40-23 by The Hickoids
Hot Lips Baby by Herbie Duncan
White Dress by Anthony Leon & The Chain
UFOs, Big Rigs & BBQ by Mojo Nixon & The World Famous Blue Jays
Gone Back to Whorin' by Roger Alan Wade

(Background Music: Panhandle Rag by Ronnie Durbin)
Moonshiner's Child by Tammy Faye Starlite
Moonshiner's Daughter by Harmonica Frank Floyd
South of Nashville by Honky Tonk Hustlas
Cluck Old Hen by Bad Livers
Suzie Anna Riverstone by The Imperial Rooster
Topless Bathing Suit by Kelly Rogers
American Trash by Betty Dylan

(Background Music: Basil Smith Stomp by Basil Smith)
Moonshine Still by Jack Holt
Another Man's Eyes by Delaney Davidson
40 Acres of My Heart by Bob Burton
It Wouldn't Be Hell Without You by Cornell Hurd
Livin' on Pabst Blue Ribbon by Hellbound Glory
Chick Inspector by Dick Curless
That Old Mountain Dew by The Delmore Brothers
(Background Music: Brown Jug Blues by Ezra Buzzington's Rustic Revelers)


You like this hillbilly stuff? If so, then you'll probably like some of my previous episodes like:

Episode 39: Podunk Holler Hoedown
Episode 36: Sweathog of the Rodeo 
Episode 31: Below Tobacco Road
Episode 26: Hillbilly Pigout
Episode 22: Honky in a Cheap Motel
Episode 16: Hillbilly Heaven
Episode 10: More Santa Fe Opry Favorites
Episode 8: Santa Fe Opry Favorites Vol. 2
Episode 2: Santa Fe Opry Favorites

Check out all the GaragePunk Pirate Radio shows HERE.

Play it here:

Sunday, January 08, 2012

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST


Sunday, January 8, 2012 
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M. 
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time 
Host: Steve Terrell
Webcasting!
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell(at)ksfr.org

OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Mystic Eyes by Them
Keep 'em Satisfied Part 1 by Mark Sultan
Treat Her Right by Los Straightjackets starring Mark Lindsay
On Our Way by Pierced Arrows
This is the Life by Mudhoney
At the Ruin of Others by Kid Congo & The Pink Monkey Birds
Bad Rap by Joe "King" Carrasco & The Crowns
Man With The Gallows Eyes by The Chatham Singers

Your Haunted Head by Concrete Blonde
Nate Will Not Return by The Fall
Smokestack Lightning by The Yardbirds
Call Me #1 by The Reigning Sound
Diet Pill by L7
Kill My Baby by Nick Curran & The Lowlifes

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRESIDENT NIXON!
Superbird/Tricky Dick by Country Joe & The Fish
Nixon's Dead Ass by Russel Means
N-I-X-O-N by The Dick Nixons
Buckle Down With Nixon by Oscar Brand
Campaigner by Neil Young

John Lawman by Roky Erikson
Johnson in a Headlock by The Fuzztones
New Kind of Kick by The Cramps
That's All by Sister Rosetta Tharpe

Dr. Ruin Yer Life by The King Khan Experience
Stop Stop by The Black Keys
My Ass Is Shaking by Stomping Nick & His Blues Grenade
How'd Ya Like to Be King by The Civil Tones
That's How I Got to Memphis by Solomon Burke
Talking Old Soldiers by Bettye LaVette
She Stole the Blush by Tom Waits
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis
Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast! CLICK HERE


Friday, January 06, 2012

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST


Friday, January 6, 2012 
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM 
Webcasting! 
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time 
Host: Steve Terrell 
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrel(at)ksfr.org

UPDATE: You can hear the second half of this show online HERE

OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos

Kit Kat Clock by The Bottle Rockets
Sweet Lucy by Shorty Ashford
Let's Go Burn Ole Nashville Down by Mojo Nixon & Jello Biafra
Hot Lips Baby by Herbie Duncan
Gone But Not Forgotten Blues by Joey Allcorn
Last Call at the Old Ponderosa by Paula Rhea McDonald
The Rock-A-Boogie Piggy by Junior Jordan
Elbow Grease, Spackle and Pine Sol by Dale Watson & The Texas Two
Gone Back to Whoring by Roger Alan Wade
Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! That Cigarette by Willie Nelson
Never Did No Wanderin' by The Folksmen

Can't Take a Hint by The Western Starlanders
They Call Me Country by DM Bob & The Deficits
Leavin' Home by Jimmie Dale Gilmore & The Wronglers
Party Dolls and Wine by Eddie Spaghetti
Halden is a Hell-Raisin' Town by Rick Broussard & Two Hoots and a Holler
Cussin' In Tongues by Legendary Shack Shakers
Crazy by Lydia Loveless
Don't You Want Me by Moonshine Willie

NEW MEXICO CENTENNIAL SET 
New Mexico by Johnny Cash
Dreamville, New Mexico by Giant Sand
They Don't Rob the Trains Any More by Ronny Elliott
Santa Fe Woman by Rolf Cahn
Come Back to Old Santa Fe by Jerry Faires
Albuquerque by Eric Hisaw
Trip to Roswell, N.M. by Joe West
Taos New Mexico by Waylon Jennings

(Background Music: Taos Pueblo by Impala)

Silver City Two-Step by Bayou Seco
Silver City by Ugly Valley Boys
Hidin' Out in Espanola by Broomdust Caravan
Santa Fe Trail by Mose McCormack
Los Lunas by Felix y Los Gatos
Billy the Kid by Ry Cooder
Snowing on Raton by The Flatlanders
Santa Fe by Scott H. Biram
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast! CLICK HERE
Steve Terrell is proud to report to the monthly Freeform American Roots Radio list

Bad News for Spotify's Free Account Holders

Looks like Spotify is about to start limiting free accounts.

 According to ZDNet, when Spotify's 6-month introductory period ends next week, those with free accounts will be limited to 10 hours a month of listening and five plays per track.

You still switch to the $5 or $10 a month plans. I'll have to think about that.

Check out my Spotify playlists HERE.

Tuesday, January 03, 2012

Kell Robertson Memorial Show

Kell Robertson
Friends of the late great Kell Robertson have organized a memorial show for the old poet/picker/prophet/pendejo next month at The Mine Shaft Tavern in Madrid, N.M.

The show, scheduled for 7 pm Feb. 11 will feature Kell's poems and songs performed by poets Bill Nevins, Argos MacCallum, Kendall McCook, Lisa Gill,Tony Moffeit, Lynne Robinson , Gary Brower , Mary Mier, Brian Dickson, Don McIver, Martha Straba, and Penny Read, Kell's daughter from San Francisco.

 Kell's songs will be performed by Mike Good, Tom Irwin,and Kevin Hayes, of the Old Crow Medicine Show.

This shindig is free. Organizers say "The Mine Shaft is a family friendly restaurant offering a full delicious menu."

UPDATE 1-8-2012: More folks have been added to the show. They include songwriter Jason Eklund and poets Mitch Rayes, Larry Goodell, and Tammy Gomez.

UPDATE: 2-1-2012: I just learned Kevin Hayes is still with Old Crow Medicine Show. The text above now reflects that.

Sunday, January 01, 2012

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, January 1!, 2012 
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M. 
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time 
Host: Steve Terrell
Webcasting!
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell(at)ksfr.org

 OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Voodoo Walking by Mama Rosin with Hipbone Slim & The Knee Tremblers
Victory Song by Scott H. Biram
Work Song by The Animals
Laptop Dog by The Fall
The Pink Scream by Dan Melchior und Das Menace
Knock Me Off My Feet by The King Khan Experience
The Pimps Don't Like It by Juke Joint Pimps
I Sell Soul by Rocket From the Tombs

THESE ARE PEOPLE WHO DIED (in 2011)
Oh! Bondage Up Yours by The X-Ray Spex
Riding the Rails by Dave "Honeyboy" Edwards
Back to Black by Amy Winehouse
Time Has Come Today by Coco Robicheaux
I Don't Want The Night to End by Phoebe Snow
I'll Take Care of You by Gil Scott-Heron
If You Win You Lose by Kell Robertson
How Come My Bulldog Don't Bark by Howard Tate
Goodbye by Hubert Sumlin

TOP 10 2011
Cannibal Courtship/Cement Slippers by Dengue Fever
Booty City/What Love Is by Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears
Three Bloodhounds Two Shepherds One Fila Brasileiro by Slim Cessna Auto Club
Girl With Bruises/Old Folks Boogie by Jack Oblivian
Miniskirt Blues/Infected by Simon Stokes

It's Mighty Crazy/Willie Meehan by Barrence Whitfield & The Savages
City of Shame by Rachel Brooke
Brazil/Jungle Drums by Dex Romweber Duo
Black Tiles/Boom by Wild Flag
New Year's Eve by Tom Waits

Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast! CLICK HERE


TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

  Sunday, March 17, 2024 KSFR, Santa Fe, NM, 101.1 FM  Webcasting! 10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time Host: Steve Te...