And Kajik even did an entire album of Tom Waits covers, which I reviewed a few years ago. Here's a video of "Singapur."
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Join the KULT
And Kajik even did an entire album of Tom Waits covers, which I reviewed a few years ago. Here's a video of "Singapur."
Friday, October 08, 2010
THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST
Friday, October 8, 2010
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org
OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Ghost Riders in the Sky by Last Mile Ramblers
Country Boy by Rosie Flores
Guacamole by Freddy Fender with Augie Meyers
Living Hell by Thunder Road
I Feel Like Singing by Dan Hicks & The Hot Licks
Nothin' Shakin' by Linda Gail Lewis
See Willie Fly By by The Waco Brothers
You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet by Kim Lenz & The Jaguars
Super Boogie Woogie by Jerry Irby with His Texas Ranchers
Stop Look and Listen by Patsy Cline
Jack & Jill Boogie by Wayne Raney
The Happy Camper by Rev. Horton Heat
Hot Dog by Buck Owens
Hot Dog, That Made Him Mad by Wanda Jackson
Thirty Days In The Workhouse by Peter Case
One Woman Man by George Jones with Marty Stuart
Swingin' From Your Crystal Chandeliers by The Austin Lounge Lizards
Hey Bub by Halden Wofford & The Hi Beams
Strangler In The Night by T.Tex Edwards & Out On Parole
The Fugitive by Merle Haggard
I'm a Honky Tonk Girl by Eilen Jewell
Foothill Boogie by Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys
Ain't Got Time For the Blues by Bill Kirchen with Maria Muldaur
Do You Believe (In Reincarnation)? by Cornell Hurd
No Good For Me by Waylon Jennings
Tomorrow's Just A Train Wreck Away by Joe Swank And The Zen Pirates
Reel Cajun (451 N. St. Joseph) by Beausoleil
You Made Me What I Am Today by The Watzloves
Garage Sale by Eric Hisaw
I'm Not Like Everyone Else by Chrissy Flatt
Rest Awhile by Bobby Bare
Heaven is My Home by Doug Jeffords
Don't Knock by The Staple Singers
I Belong to the Band by Mavis Staples
No Drunkard Can Enter There by The Delmore Brothers
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org
OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Ghost Riders in the Sky by Last Mile Ramblers
Country Boy by Rosie Flores
Guacamole by Freddy Fender with Augie Meyers
Living Hell by Thunder Road
I Feel Like Singing by Dan Hicks & The Hot Licks
Nothin' Shakin' by Linda Gail Lewis
See Willie Fly By by The Waco Brothers
You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet by Kim Lenz & The Jaguars
Super Boogie Woogie by Jerry Irby with His Texas Ranchers
Stop Look and Listen by Patsy Cline
Jack & Jill Boogie by Wayne Raney
The Happy Camper by Rev. Horton Heat
Hot Dog by Buck Owens
Hot Dog, That Made Him Mad by Wanda Jackson
Thirty Days In The Workhouse by Peter Case
One Woman Man by George Jones with Marty Stuart
Swingin' From Your Crystal Chandeliers by The Austin Lounge Lizards
Hey Bub by Halden Wofford & The Hi Beams
Strangler In The Night by T.Tex Edwards & Out On Parole
The Fugitive by Merle Haggard
I'm a Honky Tonk Girl by Eilen Jewell
Foothill Boogie by Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys
Ain't Got Time For the Blues by Bill Kirchen with Maria Muldaur
Do You Believe (In Reincarnation)? by Cornell Hurd
No Good For Me by Waylon Jennings
Tomorrow's Just A Train Wreck Away by Joe Swank And The Zen Pirates
Reel Cajun (451 N. St. Joseph) by Beausoleil
You Made Me What I Am Today by The Watzloves
Garage Sale by Eric Hisaw
I'm Not Like Everyone Else by Chrissy Flatt
Rest Awhile by Bobby Bare
Heaven is My Home by Doug Jeffords
Don't Knock by The Staple Singers
I Belong to the Band by Mavis Staples
No Drunkard Can Enter There by The Delmore Brothers
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
Thursday, October 07, 2010
TERRELL'S TUNEUP: THE MIGHTY MAVIS
A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
October 8, 2010
Mavis Staples is in her 70s, and her new album, You Are Not Alone, finds her doing what she’s always done best — blurring the edges of soul, gospel, and pop music. And she sounds as strong as ever doing so.
I’m not saying that lightly. This album is truly powerful, recalling some of her most memorable moments with The Staples Singers back in the ’60s, without sounding nostalgic or self-conscious.
Staples’ fellow Chicagoite Jeff Tweedy of the band Wilco produced this album. And he did as well as, if not better than, Ry Cooder on Staples’ previous studio album, We’ll Never Turn Back (an impressive collection of spirituals and civil rights-era tunes).
To his credit, Tweedy obviously wasn’t interested in making a “Mavis Meets Wilco” record — which, I’ll admit, I feared when first I heard about the partnership. He was just determined to make a good Mavis Staples record. (This is the second excellent album in recent years featuring a soul matron with an alt-country producer. The first was Bettye LaVette’s The Scene of The Crime, which was co-produced by the Drive-By-Truckers’ Patterson Hood in 2007.)
Tweedy is obviously in love with that swampy, tremolo-guitar sound that was the trademark of Mavis’ late dad, “Pops” Staples, back in The Staples Singers days. For the best introduction to this sound, don’t look to the group’s popular hits like “Respect Yourself.” Search out its gospel works. A few years ago, I found a copy of a Staples gospel collection called Uncloudy Day from the ’50s that seriously twisted my head off with Pops’ snaky guitar and those gritty vocals.
Most of my favorite songs on You Are Not Alone feature that guitar sound — provided here by a capable picker named Rick Holmstrom — and that gospel spirit.
There are three of Pops’ tunes here. “Don’t Knock” (which was also on Uncloudy Day) kicks off the record. It’s an upbeat number that does a great job of setting the mood. Another Pops song, “On My Way to Heaven” is part of a medley with a tune called “Too Close,” which closes the album. In between is the old man’s coolest contribution to this record, a hoodoo-dripping cruncher called “Downward Road.” Mavis sings lead while a chorus including Chicago songbirds Kelly Hogan and Nora O’Connor back her up.
There are some fine traditional gospel numbers that are among my favorites. Tony Joe White could have done a great version of “Creep Along Moses” — but I doubt if it would have been as great as the version by Staples and crew. “Wonderful Savior” is sung a cappella by Staples and her backup singers. This one has some truly nasty distorted guitar by Holmstrom.
And then there’s “In Christ There Is No East or West.” This is done as a lilting folk-rocker, an unusual arrangement for this album. But it’s an emotional standout — sweet-spirited, straightforward, and inviting, yet sung with Staples’ aura of knowing experience.
Staples sings several secular numbers written by well-known songwriters. There’s an obscure Randy Newman song called “Losing You,” which is slow, somber, and bluesy — it starts out with “I was a fool with my money, I lost every dime.”
Staples does a Creedence Clearwater Revival tune, John Fogerty’s “Wrote a Song for Everyone,” which, like most of The Staple Singers’ pop hits, sounds like it’s a gospel song without mentioning God, Jesus, or church. Staples goes down to New Orleans for Allen Toussaint’s “Last Train.”
And there are a couple of songs by Tweedy — the title cut and a surprisingly funky track called “Only the Lord Knows.” It’s a song about being confused and mistrustful in the modern world. “Only the Lord knows, and he ain’t you,” goes the refrain.
One of my favorite tunes here is a dandy cover of “We’re Gonna Make It,” a Little Milton soul hit from the ’60s. The lyrics are secular, but they have a poignant message about faith in times of economic hardship: “We’re gonna make it, I know we will.”
What I love about Staples is that she is unswervingly positive and inspirational without ever sounding corny or cloying — righteous, but never self-righteous. I’ve never met the woman, but I imagine she could make you feel better by just being around her. At least that’s how I feel when I listen to her music.
Also recommended:
* Joined at the Hip by Pinetop Perkins & Willie “Big Eyes” Smith. Staples may be over 70, but Perkins could call her “young lady.” He’s 97, (no, that’s not a typo!) and Smith is a mere lad of 74. These two blues codgers — who played in Muddy Waters’ band in the 1970s and later together in The Legendary Blues Band — can still boogie.
This record isn’t earth-shattering, but its good basic Chicago blues. Perkins is still playing piano (he was playing at the Thirsty Ear Festival a few years ago), but Smith is no longer beating the drums (his son Kenny is doing that here); he’s singing and playing harp.
Two of my favorite songs here are by the two different Sonny Boy Williamsons. There is a good version of “Eyesight to the Blind” by Sonny Boy II (Rice Miller). And there is “Cut That Out,” a lesser-known song by the lesser-known Sonny Boy, John Lee Williamson.
But the showstopper here is a gospel standard, “Take My Hand, Precious Lord,” written by Thomas A. Dorsey. This version is far bluesier than most of the renditions I’ve heard. But remember, Dorsey started his career as “Georgia Tom,” a blues pianist who backed Tampa Red on songs including “Tight Like That.”
For reasons best known to Perkins, “Precious Lord” ends with a quick “Jingle Bells” piano riff followed by “Shave and a Haircut.”
October 8, 2010
Mavis Staples is in her 70s, and her new album, You Are Not Alone, finds her doing what she’s always done best — blurring the edges of soul, gospel, and pop music. And she sounds as strong as ever doing so.
I’m not saying that lightly. This album is truly powerful, recalling some of her most memorable moments with The Staples Singers back in the ’60s, without sounding nostalgic or self-conscious.
Staples’ fellow Chicagoite Jeff Tweedy of the band Wilco produced this album. And he did as well as, if not better than, Ry Cooder on Staples’ previous studio album, We’ll Never Turn Back (an impressive collection of spirituals and civil rights-era tunes).To his credit, Tweedy obviously wasn’t interested in making a “Mavis Meets Wilco” record — which, I’ll admit, I feared when first I heard about the partnership. He was just determined to make a good Mavis Staples record. (This is the second excellent album in recent years featuring a soul matron with an alt-country producer. The first was Bettye LaVette’s The Scene of The Crime, which was co-produced by the Drive-By-Truckers’ Patterson Hood in 2007.)
Tweedy is obviously in love with that swampy, tremolo-guitar sound that was the trademark of Mavis’ late dad, “Pops” Staples, back in The Staples Singers days. For the best introduction to this sound, don’t look to the group’s popular hits like “Respect Yourself.” Search out its gospel works. A few years ago, I found a copy of a Staples gospel collection called Uncloudy Day from the ’50s that seriously twisted my head off with Pops’ snaky guitar and those gritty vocals.
Most of my favorite songs on You Are Not Alone feature that guitar sound — provided here by a capable picker named Rick Holmstrom — and that gospel spirit.
There are three of Pops’ tunes here. “Don’t Knock” (which was also on Uncloudy Day) kicks off the record. It’s an upbeat number that does a great job of setting the mood. Another Pops song, “On My Way to Heaven” is part of a medley with a tune called “Too Close,” which closes the album. In between is the old man’s coolest contribution to this record, a hoodoo-dripping cruncher called “Downward Road.” Mavis sings lead while a chorus including Chicago songbirds Kelly Hogan and Nora O’Connor back her up.
There are some fine traditional gospel numbers that are among my favorites. Tony Joe White could have done a great version of “Creep Along Moses” — but I doubt if it would have been as great as the version by Staples and crew. “Wonderful Savior” is sung a cappella by Staples and her backup singers. This one has some truly nasty distorted guitar by Holmstrom.
And then there’s “In Christ There Is No East or West.” This is done as a lilting folk-rocker, an unusual arrangement for this album. But it’s an emotional standout — sweet-spirited, straightforward, and inviting, yet sung with Staples’ aura of knowing experience.
Staples sings several secular numbers written by well-known songwriters. There’s an obscure Randy Newman song called “Losing You,” which is slow, somber, and bluesy — it starts out with “I was a fool with my money, I lost every dime.”
Staples does a Creedence Clearwater Revival tune, John Fogerty’s “Wrote a Song for Everyone,” which, like most of The Staple Singers’ pop hits, sounds like it’s a gospel song without mentioning God, Jesus, or church. Staples goes down to New Orleans for Allen Toussaint’s “Last Train.”
And there are a couple of songs by Tweedy — the title cut and a surprisingly funky track called “Only the Lord Knows.” It’s a song about being confused and mistrustful in the modern world. “Only the Lord knows, and he ain’t you,” goes the refrain.
One of my favorite tunes here is a dandy cover of “We’re Gonna Make It,” a Little Milton soul hit from the ’60s. The lyrics are secular, but they have a poignant message about faith in times of economic hardship: “We’re gonna make it, I know we will.”
What I love about Staples is that she is unswervingly positive and inspirational without ever sounding corny or cloying — righteous, but never self-righteous. I’ve never met the woman, but I imagine she could make you feel better by just being around her. At least that’s how I feel when I listen to her music.
Also recommended:
* Joined at the Hip by Pinetop Perkins & Willie “Big Eyes” Smith. Staples may be over 70, but Perkins could call her “young lady.” He’s 97, (no, that’s not a typo!) and Smith is a mere lad of 74. These two blues codgers — who played in Muddy Waters’ band in the 1970s and later together in The Legendary Blues Band — can still boogie.This record isn’t earth-shattering, but its good basic Chicago blues. Perkins is still playing piano (he was playing at the Thirsty Ear Festival a few years ago), but Smith is no longer beating the drums (his son Kenny is doing that here); he’s singing and playing harp.
Two of my favorite songs here are by the two different Sonny Boy Williamsons. There is a good version of “Eyesight to the Blind” by Sonny Boy II (Rice Miller). And there is “Cut That Out,” a lesser-known song by the lesser-known Sonny Boy, John Lee Williamson.
But the showstopper here is a gospel standard, “Take My Hand, Precious Lord,” written by Thomas A. Dorsey. This version is far bluesier than most of the renditions I’ve heard. But remember, Dorsey started his career as “Georgia Tom,” a blues pianist who backed Tampa Red on songs including “Tight Like That.”
For reasons best known to Perkins, “Precious Lord” ends with a quick “Jingle Bells” piano riff followed by “Shave and a Haircut.”
55 FREE GARAGE/PUNK/WEIRDNESS TRACKS
Thanks and a tip of the hat to John at Monkey Beat Podcast for alerting his listeners to a 55-MP3 sampler from Slovenly Records, a Reno, Nevada company.
There's cool stuff from Wau y Los Arrrghs!!!, The Black Lips, Billy Childish, The Reigning Sound, King Automatic, The Hollywood Sinners and more.
And did I mention they're free??!! All you have to do is join their mailing list.
So check out Slovenly and check out Monkey Beat.
Sunday, October 03, 2010
TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST
Sunday, October 3, 2010
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@ksfr.org
OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
The Cutester Patrol by The Grandmothers
Topless by Rolls Royce & The Wheels
Sun Is On My Side by Gogol Bordello
Mickey Mouse & The Goodbye Man by Grinderman
Grindin' Man by Pinetop Perkins & Willie "Big Eyes" Smith
Do the Slide by The Montesas
Hulkster in Heaven by Hulk Hogan
Mo Gu by Carsick Cars
Let's Dress Up the Naked Truth by New Bomb Turks
Old Devils by Jon Langford
Before They Make Me Run by Steve Earle & The Supersuckers
Fate Has to Change by Kazik
Quiche Lorraine by B52s
Karma Chameleon by Petty Booka
Global Warming Set
In honor of Chuck McCutcheon's New Book What Are Global Warming & Climate Change:Answers For Young Readers
Hot Pants by James Brown
Damn, It's Hot Part 2 by Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings
Heat Wave by Martha & The Vandellas
A Question of Temperature by The Balloon Farm
Ring of Fire by Ray Charles
Hot and Nasty by Black Oak Arkansas
Burning Love by Elvis Presley
Disco Inferno by The Trammps
Timothy by The Buoys
Charlie Laine Ate My Brain by The Ruiners
Bad Vibrations by The Black Angels
Shake For Me by Howlin' Wolf
Tender Heart by Alejandro Escovedo
Where Do We Go from Here by Death
Baby You Crazy by Nick Curran and the Lowlifes
Satan Get Behind Me by Dead Men's Hollow
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis
Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast! CLICK HERE
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@ksfr.org
OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
The Cutester Patrol by The Grandmothers
Topless by Rolls Royce & The Wheels
Sun Is On My Side by Gogol Bordello
Mickey Mouse & The Goodbye Man by Grinderman
Grindin' Man by Pinetop Perkins & Willie "Big Eyes" Smith
Do the Slide by The Montesas
Hulkster in Heaven by Hulk Hogan
Mo Gu by Carsick Cars
Let's Dress Up the Naked Truth by New Bomb Turks
Old Devils by Jon Langford
Before They Make Me Run by Steve Earle & The Supersuckers
Fate Has to Change by Kazik
Quiche Lorraine by B52s
Karma Chameleon by Petty Booka
Global Warming Set
In honor of Chuck McCutcheon's New Book What Are Global Warming & Climate Change:Answers For Young Readers
Hot Pants by James Brown
Damn, It's Hot Part 2 by Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings
Heat Wave by Martha & The Vandellas
A Question of Temperature by The Balloon Farm
Ring of Fire by Ray Charles
Hot and Nasty by Black Oak Arkansas
Burning Love by Elvis Presley
Disco Inferno by The Trammps
Timothy by The Buoys
Charlie Laine Ate My Brain by The Ruiners
Bad Vibrations by The Black Angels
Shake For Me by Howlin' Wolf
Tender Heart by Alejandro Escovedo
Where Do We Go from Here by Death
Baby You Crazy by Nick Curran and the Lowlifes
Satan Get Behind Me by Dead Men's Hollow
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis
Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast! CLICK HERE
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TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST
Sunday, August 3, 2025 KSFR, Santa Fe, NM, 101.1 FM Webcasting! 10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time Host: Steve Terrell ...
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