The Derek Trucks Band

Roadsongs

Sony Legacy

4.5 out of 5 stars

Some bands are better in the live experience than on studio efforts and The Derek Trucks Band is no exception. Led by the 31-year-old slide guitar master, Derek Trucks, the band has quietly become the elder statesmen for the blues-rock movement over the past 16 years — keeping blues tradition alive through aggressive touring while gracefully merging that blues with elements of jazz and rock. And for those of you not familiar with Trucks, who are trying to figure out that math, yes, Trucks, whose musical pedigree is as shining as stage lights, has been shredding for that long.

Currently on extended hiatus, The Derek Trucks Band’s latest live release, Roadsongs, is a proud reminder that on a good night the band can put on one of the best live shows, period.

Recorded in April, 2009 over a two-night stand at Chicago’s Park West, the double CD features the classic Derek Trucks Band lineup of Trucks (guitar), Kofi Burbridge (keyboards, flute), Todd Smallie (bass), Yonrico Scott (drums), Mike Mattison (lead vocal) and Count M’Butu (percussion). A highlight of this latest release is the presence of the stellar horn section made up of Paul Garrett (trumpet), Mace Hibbard (saxophone) and Kevin Hyde (trombone), who joined the band for the Chicago shows from which this live album was compiled. The result is the most exciting and well-crafted Derek Trucks Band live release to date.

The Derek Trucks Band has always been smart in their selection of cover songs. For a band that relies more on instrumental prowess and improvisation than on writing original material, cover songs have become a very exciting part of their live show and they have always tried to stay away from the obvious.

Roadsongs does a great job of documenting some newer cover choices for the first time on a Derek Trucks Band official release, including a scorching take on Allen Toussaint’s “Get Out My Life Woman,” and an awe-inspiring, 14-minute run through “Afro Blue,” a song popularized by John Coltrane.

“Afro Blue” is simply magnificent. Based on a funky, laid-back bass groove, the instrumental structure of the song allows the entire band to shine as they transition through various solos, including three staggered guitar solos from Trucks with flute, saxophone and keyboard solos sandwiched in between them. This one track alone would be a show highlight for most touring bands and is definitely a highpoint on the album.

The band also pays tribute to other artists as well, through an 11-minute take on Bob Marley’s “Rastaman Chant,” Bob Dylan’s “Down in the Flood,” Toots and the Maytals’ “Sailing On,” and their 9-minute Derek and the Dominoes closing tribute “Anyday,” which is another album highlight and features a scorching outtro solo by Trucks.

The few Trucks Band compositions on the album are also strong and include the album opener “I’ll Find My Way,” the shuffling “Already Free,” and the high energy romp “Get What You Deserve.”

For a group that got together because of a shared passion for improvisation and musical exploration, Roadsongs is a perfect summary of a band firing on all cylinders.

It’s a damn fine live album by any standard and a reminder that the live setting is where most good bands thrive.          — Jonathan Keller

STS9

Axe The Cables

1320 Records

4.5 out of 5 stars

On December 29 of last year, STS9 did something that many of their fans didn’t think was possible:  they stripped their music down to its bare bones and played an acoustic show in an opera hall on the campus of Denver University. Fans and critics alike approached the night with some trepidation, but if the thunderous applause that explodes between each track on their recent Axe the Cables album is any indication, the performance exceeded most people’s wildest dreams.

Throughout the record, the band flirts with jazz, classical, and rock and roll as they interpret songs that have stood the test of time in their catalog alongside songs that are brand new to most listeners. Of the 19 songs that were performed that evening (and included in their entirety on this album), only five were interpretations of songs that had been previously released on an STS9 album. While the acoustic renditions of old favorites like “Satori,” “Equinox,” and “Lo Swaga” are enthralling, a stand-out moment of the collection comes when the band welcomed sax player Dominic Lalli, of The Motet, Juno What?! and Big Gigantic, to the stage for a smooth and jazzy take on “Between 6th & 7th.”

With fewer effects and less electronic wizardry than their past releases, the essence of the music comes through clean and pure. The argument that this wasn’t the way the music was intended to sound is sure to surface, but David Murphy counters that early on in the performance when he says, “We thought we would just invite you into our studio, we thought we would be candid tonight … this is how we write music, we sit around and play like this, contrary to popular belief.”

On that evening, the band invited their fans into their inner sanctum to give them a peek “behind the curtain” and see where the magic happens, and as this recording illustrates, it was indeed a magical night.

Simply put, STS9 took a chance, went out on a limb, and defied the odds with an incredible performance that redefined the depths of their talents as a band.  Best of all, they captured it in pristine audio and have released it for anyone to hear.

While it’s no wonder the band has been booking more of these so-called “Axe The Cables” shows, there may never be one that replicates the raw energy and focus of the very first.

— Timothy Dwenger

Leonard Cohen

Bird On A Wire (DVD)

MVD Visual

5 out of 5 stars

I feel like I just discovered and fell in love with Leonard Cohen all over again for the first time.

The re-issue of this 1972 classic European tour film is a long overdue homage to Cohen, who still stands as one of this country’s greatest songwriters, ever.

But what makes this release extra special is the fact that it almost never happened. The film was originally released in 1974, had a limited run and then seemingly disappeared. But in 2009, British filmmaker Tony Palmer received 294 cans of film — some so poorly weathered that they needed to be hammered open — after Frank Zappa’s manager found them in a Hollywood warehouse and shipped them to Palmer. The cans did not contain the negative (still lost), some of the prints were in black and white, and much of it had been cut to pieces or scratched beyond use. But the original sound dubbing tracks were there and so with the help of digital technology, Palmer painstakingly pieced the film back together, very close to its original form.

It’s an unbelievably up close and personal portrait of Cohen at one of the heights of his career, and a testament to the poetry he’s created.

— Brian F. Johnson

Michael Adam

The Maybe EP

Independent

4 out of 5 stars

This album would be good for a seasoned vet, so it’s amazing that this is Michael Adam’s debut.

The offspring of missionary workers, Adam was born in Guatemala and lived there until he was a teenager, when his family moved to Denver. He spent time away from Colorado attending school in Boston, before returning to the state to complete his masters’ in Spanish literature. On the day of his first PhD course this summer, Adam decided instead to roll the dice with music.

It must be all that worldly knowledge that gives Adam’s music such a full and rich tone, that feels so far beyond an up and comer.  Take the first single “NYC,” which starts off sounding like a soft almost Death Cab for Cutie kind of tune, and transforms into a Ryan Adams and the Cardinals rocker just when the song reaches the one minute mark. It’s catchy, country, poppy, folky and rocking all at the same time.

This EP is just meant to be a taste of things to come, as Adam has a full length he’s working on for release early next year, and if this is any indicator, that album may be awesome.

— Brian F. Johnson

Darker My Love

Alive As You Are

Dangerbird Records

4 out of 5 stars

A casual listen to Darker My Love’s latest effort Alive As You Are feels like a late-’60s neo-psychedelic beach pop romp.

But closer inspection reveals a deeply personal album that focuses on loss and hard work.

With Alive As You Are, the band’s third release on Dangerbird Records, guitarist/vocalist and songwriter Tim Presley took an admittedly different approach to not only his writing, but the final feel of the songs. Whereas their 2008 release 2 was heavy on the indie pop, Alive As You Are is more heavy on emotion. There are certainly some rockers on the album, but the disc could also be soft Sunday morning music, too.

By stripping away the glorious fuzz and distortion of past records in lieu of a crisp, reverb-free production, the album bridges the sonic schism between trippy, hippie San Fran psych and L.A.’s edgier Paisley Underground.   — Brian F. Johnson

:: Darker My Love ::

:: supporting Band of Horses ::

:: Fillmore Auditorium :: September 29 ::

John Mellencamp

On The Rural Route 7609 (4-CD box set)

Island Def Jam

4 out of 5 stars

The gloriously packaged On the Rural Route 7609 is a long-overdue 4-CD boxed set that concentrates on John Mellencamp’s 35-year songwriting career. The set is perfectly packaged, well-compiled and does a magnificent job of showcasing Mellencamp’s songwriting chops, which have often been overlooked throughout his hit-laden career.

Some very smart decisions were made concerning this set and the first is the packaging. The boxed set is packaged within a book that most bands would dream of being able to release. The 75-page, hard-bound, glossy book, which houses the CDs in the back sleeve, features a 4,500 word essay by rock journalist Anthony DeCurtis and also features track-by-track commentary for all 54 tracks by Mellencamp. It’s one of the better boxed set packages I have seen and gives plenty of eye candy to flip through while listening.

The main reason this set works, however, is the selected music contained within. A conscious lack of attention was given to Mellencamp’s hits, which probably wasn’t an easy decision as Mellencamp has had a lot of them — 22 Top 40 hits in the United States alone. Most of his hits aren’t even presented on the set, and the tracks that did make the cut are featured in reworked or demo form. Demo versions include “Cherry Bomb,” “Authority Song,” and “Jack and Diane.” I must admit, it’s pretty damn cool to hear these songs with just an acoustic guitar and Mellencamp’s voice — an easy reminder that Mellencamp really is rooted in the folk tradition.

The set’s 54 tracks are broken out onto four discs and each disc is set up as an individual album with common themes rather than being presented in chronological order.  This format allows each disc to have great song flow, which is usually lacking on many chronological retrospectives.

The boxed set obviously leans heavily on obscure album cuts, outtakes and rarities. In all, 17 selections make their debut here.

Whatever your opinions of John Mellencamp may be, one must admit his career has seen him stay true to his Midwest roots and music. He is to the Midwest what Bruce Springsteen is to New Jersey. As Springsteen is often mentioned in the upper echelon of songwriters, Mellencamp seems to have always been overlooked, at least in my social circles. On the Rural Route 7609 should hopefully give him some long overdue credit.                    — Jonathan Keller

Los Lobos

Tin Can Trust

Shout Factory

4.5 out of 5 stars

The godfathers of East L.A. Chicano blues-rock are back with their first collection of new material in four years, Tin Can Trust.

Most are familiar with Los Lobos’ breakout #1 hit attached to the 1987 film La Bamba. However, fans have always known there is so much more to Los Lobos than what that single could offer. Fans of their classic albums in the 1990s (Kiko, Colossal Head, and This Time) will love Tin Can Trust. It’s nice to know the boys have still got it.

Clearly one of the best releases of the year thus far, Tin Can Trust is simply packed full of great music.                   — Jonathan Keller

Weather Maps

Places

Independent

4.5 out of 5 stars

Denver multi-instrumentalist Jimmy Stofer is absolutely overflowing with creative outlets these days.

He is the newest member of Rose Hill Drive, has played with a whole host of local acts ranging from up-and-comers to The Fray, and in the midst of all of that, he has just released Places under the moniker Weather Maps.

The album is a collection of solo acoustic tracks that Stofer has been working on for the past few years. While Stofer is known around the Denver scene as the go-to bassist, Places, which he recorded almost entirely on his own, shows him picking up a whole slew of instruments to transform the album from the typical singer/songwriter fanfare into a voluptuous and lush collection of tracks.

While Places may be a debut for Stofer as a solo artist, his ample experience insures that this album doesn’t sound like a first-try. Additionally, Stofer’s ability to play so many different genres, comes through on Places, which ranges from folk-acoustic, to indie flair to rock.

— Brian F. Johnson

:: Weather Maps ::

:: Hi-Dive :: August 5 ::

John McVey

Unpredictable

Independent

4 out of 5 stars

It took 10 years for Boulder, Colo. songwriter John McVey to release his third CD, but  the Princeton, N.J. native said in an accompanying press release that he likes taking time with his songs.

Back in his East Coast days, McVey won several accolades for his songwriting, but for the last several years he’s been working at Coupe Studios in Boulder on the other side of the studio glass, as a producer/engineer. That must have helped a lot, as Unpredictable sounds rich and polished — a professional package from start to finish, in everything from song structure to production.

In addition to going above and beyond on the album itself, McVey is also going above and beyond when it comes to the album’s proceeds. He is donating a portion of every album sale to Kids Food Basket, a charity that provides bag lunches to underfunded kids and schools. “I want this CD to be about something other than my own ego,” he said.

—Brian F. Johnson

Kinetix

Let Me In

Independent

4 out of 5 stars

Something happened to Denver band Kinetix last year. The rock group has been around for five years, but last year, while logging more than 10,000 miles in the van, the band took a gigantic step forward in their sound — maturing from the solid rock club band that they were into a professional, mainstream and slick radio group.

Their newest release Let Me In showcases this metamorphosis for the band that grew out of the Lamont School of Music at Denver University. Produced by Andy Guerrero of the Flobots and engineered and mixed by Jason Livermore at Blasting Room Studios, Let Me In sounds friendly enough to make it onto the radio, but edgy enough to set itself apart from the majority of the drivel on the FM dial.

The album spent time in the iTunes Top 200 Rock Charts, peaking at #47, and they dropped the CD to a sold-out Bluebird Theater crowd. Great job, gents. Kudos!

— Brian F. Johnson

:: Kinetix ::

:: Fort Collins Summer Concert Series (Old Town Square) :: August 12 ::

:: Bohemian Nights – New West Fest :: August 21 ::

Various Artists

Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows: Songs of John Prine

Oh Boy Records

3.5 out of 5 stars

I love it when compilations go for the deep cuts. Nothing is worse than hearing a compilation whose track list reads like a “Best Of” release.

That said, however, I can’t believe no one did “Sam Stone” on this compilation of John Prine songs, Broken Hearts and Dirty Windows. I’m sure there are other fans of Prine who would miss other songs, and I guess that’s the only real downfall to this compilation.

Since his first, self-titled album was released in 1971, former Illinois letter carrier Prine has been simultaneously defining and defying the post-Dylan singer/songwriter movement from which he sprang. Bolder and stranger than the rest, yet beguilingly old-fashioned, Prine functions on his own timetable and by his own rules, going so far as to found his own label with longtime manager Al Bunetta, Oh Boy Records, thus liberating himself from the cat-and-mouse pressures of major label recording.

Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows was born in the Oh Boy offices, as a group of staffers at the five-person company were discussing their favorite artists and wondering how some of these newer acts would go about interpreting John Prine’s music. From there, inquiries began to be made.

In a brilliant move, the record company didn’t make any suggestions about the songs the artists,picked, nor how they should sound. But, most brilliant of all, they didn’t enforce a deadline, thus giving artists all the time they needed to make their tracks shine. However, that move did make this project take two-and-a-half years — and it was worth every second.

From the opening notes of “Music Arcade,” by Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, it’s clear that Oh Boy carefully chose the artists on the album — most of whom are well known enough to keep it interesting, but just off the radar enough to keep it from being some slick commercial b.s.

Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band do great justice to “Wedding Day in Funeralville” with a rocking flare. My Morning Jacket puts in one of the album’s best performances with “All The Best.” Jim James’ haunting vocals soar through the song, and the track ultimately sounds like something that could have been on the Jacket’s break-out album It Still Moves.

Josh Ritter, Lambchop and Justin Townes Earle each turn in strong renditions of some of Prine’s lesser-known tracks.

The Avett Brothers make “Spanish Pipedream” very much their own — their old-timey twang fits the track perfectly. Old Crow Medicine Show run splendidly through the sing-along ballad “Angel From Montgomery.”

Anyone who knows Prine’s work knows his vocal partner Iris Dement, and Sara Watkins of Nickle Creek pays homage to Dement’s style, in delivering the waltzing lullaby of “The Late John Garfield Blues.”

Drive-By Truckers, not shockingly, crank it up and tear through “Daddy’s Little Pumpkin,” before Deer Tick and Those Darlins close out the album with “Unwed Fathers” and “Let’s Talk Dirty in Hawaiian.”

This is a great homage to Prine, and one is sorely needed, but all in all, for this release to really shine it should have included even more artists, doing even more songs. Anything short of a boxed set on this, just kind of seems like an informal “Thanks,” instead of a hearty, humble “Thank you, sir.”

— Brian F. Johnson

Ben Jordan & The Heathens

Ghosts Breathing Through Our Strings

Crying Soul Music

4.5 out of 5 stars

Yeah, it’s really that good!

Boulder singer/songwriter Ben Jordan comes alive with this release, Ghosts Breathing Through Our Strings — his first full-length with his band The Heathens.

Since his vagabond days, before he settled in Colorado, Jordan has surrounded himself with top-notch musicians and on this release he outdoes himself. With accompaniment by Front Range session staples, drummer Brian McCrae (e-town, Yonder Mountain String Band) and guitarist Jack Leahy (The Paper Stars, Gregory Alan Isakov), Jordan takes his acoustic guitar sound and gives it a depth that he could never achieve on his own. That sound is significantly flushed out by Adam MacDougal of The Black Crowes on piano, Rhodes, Wurlitzer and B3.

But even MacDougal’s famous pedigree is overshadowed by the final element that makes this album so impressive — the blend of vocals between Jordan and Jess DeNicola (John Common and the Blinding Flashes of Light, Jen Korte and the Loss).

Jordan and DeNicola compliment each other perfectly and that, combined with tales of travel and love, hearken back to the musical relationship between Ryan Adams and Caitlin Cary, that made Whiskeytown such an enthralling and beautiful act.

Just like Whiskeytown, Jordan and the Heathens play a rock/alt-country blend that might not really be country, but is definitely something that you could wear cowboys boots to. The maturity that Jordan has gained in his several solo albums leading up to this release is shown in deep lyrics which refuse to date themselves, but seem to be from generations ago.

Recorded in several studios, both local and elsewhere, Jordan kept the production of the album very local, indeed. Ghosts Breathing Through Our Strings was co-produced, mixed, mastered and engineered by local studio owner Morgan Harris. Photos and art direction were provided by local friends Tyler Rose and Lindsay Holmes, and even Bolder Ink owner Lance Talon got in on the action, supplying one of his paintings for the cover.

The album is not only a great project for the band but, as it turns out, a great project for the local music community that came together for it. Jordan is great singer/songwriter, but without all of the other elements coming together on this project, the album could have been just another release.

Thank God it’s not.

— Brian F. Johnson