William Tyler - Goes West

(This review first appeared in issue #87 of Shindig! magazine.)

Merge CD/LP

Listeners to Tyler's occasional It's All True podcast series will be familiar with his insightful take on music's relationship with human emotions. Equally articulate whether discussing the importance of silence, white noise or obscure indigenous folk music, it's this deep thinking that underpins his guitar playing. Goes West is the first record he's made since relocating from his home town of Nashville to the Californian coast. A ten track instrumental album of ambient Americana, it finds Tyler in a hopeful, even optimistic mood. Despite being an in-demand electric guitarist here he's restricted his own playing here to acoustic guitar but is ably backed by a hand-picked band of sympathetic players.

With an ego-less virtuosity and precise technique similar to that of Brit-picker Martin Simpson, Tyler makes melodic journeys that have roots in British and Appalachian folk, bluegrass and southern country, but mood and magic take precedence over any genre-specific stylings. Majestic.

Thomas Wynn and The Believers - Wade Waist Deep

(This review first appeared in issue #67 of Shindig! magazine.)

Mascot CD/LP

Thomas Wynn is a man not afraid of asking big questions, as befits someone whose musical upbringing was centred around the Christian church. Family, spiritual fulfilment, redemption and the hope to become a better person are all themes which run through his band's third album.

Longtime local heroes, the Orlando-based sextet to opted to record in Nashville this time round, hoping for a sound that might bring them wider recognition. A good move. Their melting pot of classic and country rock, southern soul and gospel sounds big thanks to a sterling production job. Their sound may be traditional but they can also throw nu-rock moves – the riffage and slow-burning groove on 'Burn As One' or the shifting time signature and tempos on 'We Could All Die Screaming'.

With hot musicianship and in-the-pocket playing this is a record for fans of Little Feat, Drive-By Truckers and Joshua Tree-era U2. Authentic modern Americana for grown-ups.

Robyn Hitchcock - Robyn Hitchcock

(This review first appeared in issue #66 of Shindig! magazine.)

Yep Roc CD / LP

Lemmy once said a problem of being a living legend is that no one listens to your most recent LPs. Robyn Hitchcock may be the best exception to this rule, with each new LP being essential listening. This eponymous album shows no let up in his knack for heart-on-sleeve lyrics combining childhood memories, skewed observations, compassionate worldviews and juxtapositions of the absurd with the everyday.

Producer Brendan Benson (Raconteurs) brings out a powerpop punch but maintains Hitchcock's left-of-centre edge over the stylistically diverse tracks. From the album opener 'I Want To Tell You What I Want' where Hitchcock states his desire for the future (“world peace, gentle socialismo, no machismo”) through to the Nashville country knees-up of 'I Pray When I'm Drunk' and the Revolver-esque guitar-pop of 'Virginia Woolf' and 'Time Coast'. Best of all is the eastern strings and backwards guitar on 'Autumn Sunglasses'. Thought provoking and essential as ever.

Various - The Spar Records Story - Nashville's Great Unsung Indie Label

3 x CD treasure trove of under-the-radar 60's pop, soul, country, doo-wop, R&B, ballads and all points between.

Just when you think you have the sixties sussed, and feel that there's no musical stone left unturned, that every release has been pored over a million times, a compilation appears that shows just how rich the pickings of that decade are.

Spar Records was set up in Nashville in 1961 and became most famous for being a “sound-alike” label, releasing cut-price cover version records of the hits of the day on their Giant Records imprint, and distributing them through outlets that didn't normally stock records. The irony was that many of those recordings were as strong as the original versions, in some cases better. In fact if the original version was recorded in Nashville, it was highly likely that the same session musicians would end up playing on the sound-alike version. Musicians playing on this compilation also played on big hit records by the likes of Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, The Monkees, George Jones, Linda Ronstadt, Neil Young and Johnny Cash among others.

Click over the jump for more on Spar Records