Last week I saw a fantastic concert of
Bruce Springsteen and his E Street Band. Of course,
Little Steven was also present. Although he didn’t mention it, this guy now also has his own record label, Wicked Cool Records. Today, it released a cool compilation by
The Grip Weeds, a New Jersey band named after the character played by
John Lennon in the movie How I Won The War. A few weeks ago, I received a promo copy and I was quite impressed by the energetic power pop of this band, that sounds as if the ‘80’s, 90’s en ‘00’s never happened.
The Byrds,
Big Star and
The Who seem to be the most obvious influences, though The Grip Weeds also sound a lot like their contemporaries
Sloan.
My favorite new release of the past few weeks, however, is something completely else. It’s an intimate folk record that is as beautiful as its artwork: Two by
Kathryn Williams &
Neil Maccoll. Until now, Kathryn Williams, had been somewhere under my radar, though I had heard of her. Neil MacColl is the brother of
Kirsty MacColl and son of
Ewan MacColl, the guy who wrote the beautiful evergreen The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face for his wife Peggy Seeger, sister of
Pete Seeger. I don’t know if Williams and MacColl are romantically involved, but their soft voices blend together very well. Together, they sing thirteen lovely songs, that remind me a bit of
Emiliana Torrini’s Fisherman’s Woman, which is one of my favorite records.
Ron Sexsmith has also released a new cd. The guy that has written some of the most beautiful lovesongs ever, returns with fourteen new songs, produced by Martin Terefe, who did the same for Sexsmith’s best records to date, Retriever and Cobblestone Runway. This time, he suggested to Ron to add Cuban horns to his music. At first, Ron was not very pleased with the idea, but after hearing the tracks he was really excited. And so am I. Exit Strategy Soul sounds like a typical Ron Sexsmith record, but the horns make it sounds as fresh as his earlier stuff. The record also contains the song Brandy Alexander, which he wrote with
Feist, who also recorded it for her own record. I’m not sure yet if Exit Strategy Soul is as good as Retriever and Cobblestone Runway, but I certainly like it a lot.
Another of my favorite artists also put out a new record. A live album, his fourth to be exactly. Still,
John Mayer’s Where The Light Is – Live In Los Angeles, is well worth your money. It’s released on cd as well as on dvd and it contains three different sets, one solo, one with the
John Mayer Trio and one with his full band. Personally, I like the last part best, though I have to say he’s great as a blues guitarist in the songs with his trio. If you think his studio recordings are too polished, you should definitely try this one! It’s nice that Where The Light Is also contains a few unreleased songs, including a nice cover of
Tom Petty’s Free Fallin’.
Another great singer/songwriter who also released a live cd and dvd is
Luka Bloom. The Man Is Alive contains two performances, one for a small selection of fans, the other for an even smaller group of friends and family. Just a guitar, a beautiful voice and a couple of great songs. What more do you need?
Jakob Dylan doesn’t need much more either, though he adds a few instruments on his first solo record. I like
The Wallflowers a lot, but this is a bit different. Seeing Things sounds rather folky and is produced by Rick Rubin, which is easy to hear. I haven’t listened to the record often enough for a well-formed opinion, but my first impressions are favorable.
Two other records I liked are Beauty In This World by
Jason Plumb and The Willing and The Day Is Brave by
Brendan James. The former is from Canada and makes honest heartland rock, influenced by seventies softrock and also reminiscent of
Edwin McCain and
Hootie & the Blowfish. The latter has the voice of a
James Taylor or
Peter Sarstedt, though he sounds more like
James Blunt or
David Gray. I would not be surprised if he will soon be very popular…
I wonder what records the mailman will bring me in the next few weeks. ;)