TERRELL'S TUNEUP: PORTER, ACIE & KRIS

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
August 11, 2006

Porter Wagoner has always held a special place in my musical heart. With his electrifying sequined jackets and his most pomp-worthy pompadour, Wagoner turned his syndicated TV show in the 1960s and ’70s into a classic.

While many think of Dolly Parton as a glitzy superstar, I still remember her stunning harmonies with Wagoner. Also unforgettable are those soap commercials in which the duo pulled dish towels out of boxes of Breeze.

In recent decades, Wagoner’s musical output has been negligible. However, his recently released CD, The Versatile Porter Wagoner, is pleasantly surprising. If you like your country music spooky and mysterioso, you have to check this one out.

While the CD has some predictable, modern, Branson-ready country-and-western filler, some of the tunes on Versatile remind me of Wagoner’s weirdest song ever, “The Rubber Room.”

On “Indian Creek,” Wagoner teams up with John Anderson with a musical backdrop of heavy tom-toms and Native American flute as well as a Cherokee fiddle and “Kaw-Liga” steel guitar.

“Sometimes, the water gets crimson red/From the battles they fought and the blood they shed/If you look real close, you can almost see the ghosts and hear the mournful sound of their retreat,” Wagoner sings. The song ends with Wagoner praying to the Great Spirit.

In “Mystery Mountain,” Wagoner challenges the haints and hostile critters on a forbidding landmark, while “Divers Are Out Tonight” is a tale of crime, punishment, and hidden treasure. “Cookeville Kid” is a twangy outlaw/gambler ballad in which Wagoner speaks the lyrics (“Here lies the Cookeville Kid/He bought one too many queens/so said Judge Roy Bean”). Wagoner duets with Pam Gadd on a sweet version of the old folk song “Mary of the Wild Moor.”

You can get the Versatile album for a mere $7.97 on Wagoner’s Web site,

Also recommended:

* In Old Oklahoma, by Acie Cargill and The Coyote Kick Band. Cargill isn’t really an Okie — he lives in Illinois and has roots in Kentucky — but he’s got some kin in the Sooner state. After this album, as a born Oklahoman myself, I’d be the first to nominate him for honorary Okiehood.

“I can always tell an Okie,” Cargill says in one song. “They treat you like we’re all in the same boat, nobody’s special. They hold up their end, and they expect the same from you/And they’re not afraid to be friendly.”

This pretty much sums up the spirit of this album, which celebrates the history of Oklahoma, from the Indian migrations up to the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building bombing in 1995.

The album starts off with a seven-and-a-half-minute history lesson called “In Old Oklahoma,” featuring a spoken-word recitation by Cargill in his folksy drawl backed by a jaunty country instrumental. Cargill’s Coyote Kick Band does some convincing Western swing on “Okies,” another spoken-word piece, this one concerning the Dust Bowl.

As he’s done on some of his past records, Cargill, who wrote nearly all the tunes on this album, turns over the microphone to various relatives and friends, giving the effort a homey, homemade feel. Standouts include celebrated singer-songwriter James Talley, whose “Oklahoma, You’re OK” is a moving ballad about the 1995 bombing. It reminds me of another recent Talley song, “I Saw the Buildings,” which is about September 11.

I’m also fond of cowgirl singer Mary Minton’s contributions in “Pawnee Bill” and “Tom Mix and Lucille Mulhall.”

In Old Oklahoma is part of a planned trilogy of Cargill albums honoring Oklahoma’s statehood centennial, to be observed in 2007. Red Dirt, which isn’t available yet, features Cargill, his uncle Henson (“Skip a Rope”) Cargill, Talley, Byron Berline, and others doing original tunes plus covers of Okie giants such as Woody Guthrie, Spade Cooley, and J.J. Cale. Also in the works is Oklahoma Roots, featuring Cargill and his pals.

*The Pilgrim: A Celebration of Kris Kristofferson This is the third tribute album to the old lion in recent years. Perhaps it makes sense that Kristofferson would inspire so many people to want to cover his tunes. After all, most of us old fans were introduced to his songs through interpretations of others. “Me and Bobby McGee” was first recorded by Roger Miller but made famous by Janis Joplin; Johnny Cash had a hit with “Sunday Morning Coming Down”; Ray Price recorded “For the Good Times,” to which Al Green later would add soulful new dimensions; and one-hit-wonder Sammi Smith’s soulful country/pop cover of “Help Me Make It Through the Night” is the version we remember.

The previous tributes, Don’t Let The Bastards Get You Down and Nothing Left to Lose (both released in 2002), consisted mostly of alt rockers and alt-country types. Pilgrim, on the other hand, is more mainstream, with singers such as Emmylou Harris; Willie Nelson; Waylon Jennings’ widow, Jessi Colter, and their son, Shooter Jennings; Roseanne Cash; and Rodney Crowell.

Among my favorite songs on Pilgrim are Crowell’s two-steppin’, honky-tonk version of “Come Sundown” and Gretchen Wilson’s properly aching “Sunday Morning Coming Down.”

I can’t forget Todd Snider’s convincing version of a relatively obscure song called “Maybe You Heard,” written after Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge divorced. The song angrily blasts friends who took sides in the aftermath of the breakup. Snider sounds like he’s taking it personally as he sings the final refrain, “Don’t turn away, hey goddamn you, you used to love her ... don’t you condemn her.”

The album has a couple of clunkers though. Brian McKnight’s overwrought, middle-of-the-road, soul/samba version of “Me and Bobby McGee” makes me yearn for Janis. Also, if the producers wanted someone to sound like Claudine Longet, why didn’t they just hire Claudine Longet instead of Jill Sobule, who duets with Lloyd Cole on a forgettable “For the Good Times”?

RICHARDSON TO LIEBERMAN: QUIT!

Gov. Bill Richardson just added his thoughts on the Lamont/Lieberman race.

“Joe Lieberman is a good friend of mine, a true public servant who has served his constituents and the Democratic Party well. However, after a hard-fought race Connecticut's Democratic voters chose Ned Lamont as their candidate for US Senate. I look forward to supporting Ned as he fights to help Democrats take back the Senate, and I call on Joe Lieberman to respect the will of the voters and step aside.”

ROUNDHOUSE ROUNDUP: OIL MONEY

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
August 10, 2006

Early this week, Gov. Bill Richardson’s re-election campaign released a statement blasting Republican opponent John Dendahl for not filing his July campaign-finance report on time.

Besides implying that Dendahl was trying to hide something, Richardson campaign chairman Dave Contarino commented on what the GOP candidate had said was his major source of contributions — the oil and gas industry.

“At a time when big oil companies are reaping record profits and New Mexican families are struggling to pay $3 per gallon,” Contarino was quoted, “the public deserves to know whether or not he’s received a large percentage of his contributions from these large oil and gas corporations.”

Right on, Dave! It’s about time someone stood up to the oil barons. It’s good to know that our governor would never touch their filthy lucre.

Oh, wait a minute ...

According to Followthemoney.org, the Web site of the Institute on Money in State Politics, Richardson’s campaign, as of the end of May, had pumped the oil and gas industry for $234,263. Only three other sectors have contributed more to Richardson: lobbyists and lawyers; real estate; and his own now-defunct political action committee, Moving America Forward.

In his 2002 campaign, according to Followthemoney.org, the Richardson campaign took in $201,558 from the oil and gas industry.

To be fair, most of these contributions aren’t from “these large oil and gas corporations” Contarino was lambasting. Many are from businesses that service the oil and gas companies. His biggest single oil-and-gas contributor in this election cycle was Calloway Safety Equipment Co. of Hobbs, which gave two checks totaling $30,000.

Major multinational oil and gas producers don’t contribute that much to New Mexico politicians. But Richardson has received more money from the big boys than any other candidate in the state: $5,000 from Alon USA (which produces Fina gasoline), $4,000 from Chevron and two contributions totaling $3,000 from Conoco-Phillips.

Dendahl who finally submitted his finance report Wednesday, didn’t show any money from major oil companies.

The Cargo wing of the GOP?: I received an e-mail from a New Mexico congressional candidate Wednesday who declared that antiwar candidate Ned Lamont’s victory over incumbent U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman in Tuesday’s Connecticut Democratic primary was “a victory for all Americans.”

No, it wasn’t Rep. Tom Udall, a progressive Democrat who voted against the Iraq war. It was his Republican opponent, Ron Dolin.

And no, Dolin wasn’t coming from a “yippee-the-Democrats-are-divided” point of view.

“We witnessed the birth of a movement,” Dolin said in his news release. “Grass-roots Americans, tired of professional politicians who have forgotten the people they represent, are taking back their government. ...”

“I believe Americans want a return to a citizen-based form of government,” Dolin wrote. “Incumbents in Congress no longer represent the people. Incumbents view politics as a career not as a service. Thomas Jefferson would be pleased to see a common citizen topple an entrenched incumbent.”

This goes against the typical Republican line of praising Lieberman and using Lamont’s victory as evidence the Democrats have been taken over by left-wing weirdoes.

Indeed, Dolin, a homeland-security expert with Los Alamos National Laboratory, seems to be a different kind of Republican — perhaps a “Lonesome” Dave Cargo for the new century.

A few weeks ago, Dolin attacked Udall for voting for a telecommunications bill opponents say jeopardizes the concept of “net neutrality” and an open, democratic Internet.

Later on Wednesday, Dolin unleashed another e-mail, this one blasting Republican National Committee chairman Ken Mehlman for refusing to endorse the Republican candidate in the Connecticut Senate race.

“This is one of the most upsetting political betrayals I have ever witnessed,” Dolin wrote. “I feel bad for Republican candidates across America who have the courage to stand for election against an incumbent.”

(Dolin never mentioned his name in his statement, but the Connecticut candidate is Alan Schlesinger.)

Nobody’s expecting Udall to have any real trouble in this election. But Dolin’s making the race a lot more interesting than I expected.

DEVELOPERS CONTRIBUTED TO LYONS CAMPAIGN

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
August 9, 2006

Developers who contracted with the State Land Office to prepare more than 400 acres for sale have contributed to the re-election campaign of incumbent Land Commissioner Pat Lyons.

The land in Rio Rancho includes 216 acres where The University of New Mexico wants to build a west-side campus. Some UNM regents have criticized the business lease with the developers — which was awarded without going through a bid process — as a “sweetheart deal.”

The State Land Office contracted with a team of developers consisting of West Wood Realty of Albuquerque, GSL Properties Inc. of Portland, Ore., and Gregory Campbell of Rio Rancho, who works as a broker for West Wood.

According to state campaign-finance records, the Lyons campaign has received $500 from West Wood, $500 from West Wood manager John Black; $500 from Campbell and $500 from Walter Grodahl III, the chief executive officer of GSL.

Lyons on Tuesday denied the contributions had anything to do with the developers getting the contract.

But Democrat Jim Baca, who is running against Republican Lyons, said, “I don’t think it’s a coincidence.”

Lyons also denied the contract for the Rio Rancho land involved preferential treatment. “It’s no sweetheart deal,” he said. “There’s a business risk. They could lose money.”

Lyons said it’s standard procedure to approve such leases to develop trust land, and bidding is not required for leases of five years or less.

But, he said Tuesday, “maybe next time we’ll put ’em out to bid, and we’ll see what happens.”

Baca said the Rio Rancho contract and other no-bid development contracts with the State Land Office shows the need for an independent board to oversee the office’s transactions.

UNM regents expressed interest in buying the 439 acres of state trust land from the State Land Office when it was appraised for $16,500 an acre. About half would be used for the proposed new campus and the other half for commercial development to provide income for the school and to help cover the cost of the new campus.

Lyons said state law requires him to sell the land at fair market value, which currently is $32,000 an acre. Even though UNM is a beneficiary of money made on state trust lands, a spokeswoman for Lyons said that particular parcel is earmarked to benefit elementary and secondary public schools.

The property borders an area where Rio Rancho’s city hall is to be built and an arena is scheduled to open in October.

The lease charges the developers $5,000 a year and requires them to do master planning and engineering and design work to prepare the land for sale.

The developers would receive 40 percent of the land’s increase in value above a base figure of about $15,000 an acre. In addition, they get reimbursed for the money they spend on the project.

The Associated Press was used in this report.

BUSK A MOVE

I had a nice chat with Michael Combs of the Santa Fe Buskers last night. He told me that on Wednesday the City Council will consider his group's proposal to allow musicians to play for tips on downtown Santa Fe streets.

He told me that local government first got interested in restricting street entertainment back in the 1800s. Something about Mexican acrobats performing downtown. (Sounds like an insurance nightmare.)

I first met Michael about 20 years ago when I was covering City hall for the Journal North and he was leading a one-man fight for his right to pick his tunes downtown. His opponents were downtown merchants who seemed to be in great fear that street musicians would somehow scare away affluent tourists. "Gee I'd like to buy that $15,000 sculpture, but I just gave my last buck to a guy singing Bob Dylan songs up the street ..."

Combs lost that battle in the 80s. But he didn't give up. (And indeed, some of his opponents blew out of town long ago. I assume they managed to go broke without the help of street singers.)

I think it's obvious where my sympathies lie. Here's what the S.F. Buskers argue:

1. Santa Fe prides itself and markets itself on its orientation to the arts and culture. Busking is another wonderful artistic, cultural outlet and phenomenon that is an integral part of many great cities.

2. Busking will enliven the streets of downtown Santa Fe and help draw locals and tourists alike to the downtown area. This builds community.

3. Local musicians benefit from an additional source of income, and Santa Fe benefits in turn by having a better music scene.

I just snapped the above picture of a busker in Boulder, Colorado's Pearl Street Mall last week. This guy didn't seem to be driving away commerce there. Take a deep breath, Santa Fe shopkeeps. The empire won't crumble over a few guys with a few bucks in their guitar cases.

So check out the web site for Santa Fe Buskers . Note the proposed code of conduct and see exactly what Combs and crew are asking for.

And if you can, show up at City Hall about 7 p.m. Wednesday.