Michael Elliott's Blog, page 11

1987

The year 1987 gave us the nostalgic escapism of Dirty Dancing and the gritty realism of Vietnam by master filmmakers Oliver Stone (Platoon) and Stanley Kubrick (Full Metal Jacket) as well as Robin Williams’ memorable depiction of Army DJ Adrian Cronauer in Barry Levinson’s Good Morning, Vietnam. TV’s top shows were The Cosby Show and Roseanne (ok, that’s awkward now) and The Simpsons debuted as a short on The Tracy Ullman Show. And Reagan told Gorbachev to “tear down this wall.”

While both 1985 and ‘86 represented the height of the decade’s synth-driven and digital obsession, the following year signaled a turning point. With releases as seemingly disparate as Appetite For Destruction and Bring the Family, the tide was turning back toward a more organic approach. Even Nashville embraced a more traditional sound - at least for a short while.

I turned 17 in 1987 and all the albums that follow here were in heavy rotation in my cassette player or on my turntable. 35 albums for each year passed.

Scroll down to the bottom and you’ll find a playlist representing more tracks from each of these albums as well as 35 more songs that made an impact on my very impressionable teenage mind.

35. Gregg Allman Band - I’m No Angel

Most of the 1980s were completely void of Allman Brothers Band material. They called it quits early in the decade and didn’t reunite until the end. It’s probably for the best because it quite possibly saved us from hearing the Brothers awash in synths and drum machines. (We were threatened of that future with Mike Lawler’s keytar during the Brothers of the Road era. Yes, kids, once the Allmans briefly utilized a keytar.)

Instead, the closest we came to digitizing the Brothers came with Gregg’s fourth solo album, and his first in ten years, I’m No Angel. Bookended by the fantastic title track and his remake of the “Don’t Want You No More/It’s Not My Cross To Bear” pairing that kicked off the ABB’s debut (he basically remade an Allmans’ chestnut on all his solo efforts except his last two), the rest of I’m No Angel is, shall we say, less than stellar. Even with one song bearing a Michael Bolton co-write, the nadir may be “Evidence of Love”, a cringe-worthy foray into pop neverland that sounds like bad Chicago and also employs longtime Allmans’ buddy Don “Miami Vice” Johnson on backing vocals. Still, Gregg’s incomparable soulful wail carries the day in spite of it all.

Oh, and here’s Gregg miming the title track on Solid Gold. Yes, Solid Gold.

34. George Harrison - Cloud Nine

The Quiet Beatle delivered one of the best solo albums of his career with the Jeff Lynne-produced Cloud Nine. The album would also propel Lynne into defining the sound of late ‘80s Boomer Rock, as he would hold court over albums by Tom Petty (1989’s Full Moon Fever), Roy Orbison (1988’s Mystery Girl), Bob Dylan (1990’s Under the Red Sky) and, of course, all of them together as the Traveling Wilburys. But this is what got the ball rolling…

33. Pat Metheny Group - Still Life (Talking)

As is proven a couple of times in this list, synthesizers were not bad in and of themselves, it’s all in how they were used. Pat Metheny demonstrated just that with this lush and beautiful journey of an album, with the entrancing “Last Train Home” as its captivating centerpiece.

32. Tom Waits - Frank’s Wild Years

The third in Waits’s reinvention trilogy (following Rain Dogs and Swordfishtrombones), Frank’s Wild Years continued his ongoing gutter symphony experiment and paved the way for his later years where he would eventually (and successfully) combine his experimental ‘80s era with his early jazz-blues-lounge-singer-songwriter-folkie thingamajig into something quintessentially Waits.

31. Merle Haggard - Chill Factor

When the “New Traditionalists” started making their mark on the country charts circa 1986, to “make room”, country radio started edging out the elder statesmen (and women) of the genre. It was becoming harder for legends to hit the upper reaches of the charts. Merle Haggard defied expectations by hitting big with what would be his final chart-topper, “Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Star”, a doo-wop throwback and the lead single from that year’s Chill Factor. The whole album is up to the Hag’s usual standards and stands confidently alongside a decade filled with fantastic material.

30. The Replacements - Pleased To Meet Me

Enlisting the legendary Jim Dickinson as producer and the almost equally legendary Ardent in Memphis as their studio, the Replacements broke through to the mainstream, albeit briefly, with this minor masterpiece. Sure, it’s not the brazen, brash, punk power of their first two releases or the left-of-the-dial cutting edginess of Let It Be and Tim, but it finds inspiration in Memphis and its very own Big Star, whose guiding light, Alex Chilton, is namechecked in song and contributes guitar on the effervescent “Can’t Hardly Wait.”

29. Ry Cooder - Get Rhythm

I’d been a Ry Cooder fan throughout the ‘80s having heard Bop ‘Til You Drop as a pre-teen. So when Crossroads hit theaters and featured Cooder’s guitar in a movie about Robert Johnson (whom I’d discovered a few years earlier), that made me a happy kid. I was even happier when I heard the quirky Get Rhythm a year or so later. His funky take on “All Shook Up”, included here, would end up on the massive Cocktail soundtrack the following year. Oh, and he and his longtime partner-in-groove, drummer Jim Keltner, would end up on another album that would have a pretty big impact on me in 1987. More on that later…

28. Charlie Daniels Band - Powder Keg

Powder Keg hit between two CDB albums that had significant radio play. 1985’s Me and the Boys and 1988’s Homesick Heroes boasted the fiddle-happy stompers “Drinkin’ My Baby Goodbye” and “Boogie Woogie Fiddle Country Blues,” respectively. On this one, Daniels put down the bow, picked up a Les Paul, and turned up the amps. He was rewarded with rock radio airplay (for the lead-off track, “Bogged Down In Love With You”) and he enlisted Ricky Skaggs to sing back-up for the heavy album-closing “Juanita”, which sports one of the best slide riffs and grooves this side of Duane Allman.

27. Mason Ruffner - Gypsy Blood

The local radio station (WRDU 106 at the time) aired a song called “Red Hot Lover” by this guy Mason Ruffner. I loved that meaty Strat tone and the lazy, Dylanesque/Hendrixian vocal delivery. (Little did I know he’d end up contributing guitar to Dylan’s welcome return-to-form, Oh Mercy just a couple of years later.) Soon enough, this was one of the records I picked out as part of the Columbia House Record Club (this and 12 others for a penny!). With the always-reliable Dave Edmunds behind the board for this, Ruffner’s second album, things got funky (“Runnin’”), Chuck Berry-wacky (“Baby, I Don’t Care No More”), and even hard-driving in an ‘80s pop way (“Dancing On Top Of the World”). This is peak ‘80s rock with a ‘50s attitude.

26. Los Lobos - By The Light Of The Moon

Roots-rock mainstays Los Lobos delivered one of their best front-to-back albums of their career in ‘87, featuring a lead-off track whose dark lyrics set against its bright melody was a perfect representation of America in the waning years of the Reagan era.

25. Pink Floyd - A Momentary Lapse of Reason

The first Pink Floyd album without founding member Roger Waters sounded just like what one would imagine a Water-less Pink Floyd would sound like. Stunning guitar and sweeping arrangements, yet void of tension and angst. Whether that’s what you want in your Pink Floyd experience is up to you. For me, this set just right and was a welcome return after the bitter FInal Cut.

24. Warren Zevon - Sentimental Hygiene

Joining up with R.E.M. and a host of other famous support (including Bob Dylan and Neil Young), Zevon continued his masterful journey through the depths of his - and our - paranoia, isolation, cynicism, and doubt. (The Hindu Love Gods also come from these sessions, but it would be about three years before we’d get to hear those tracks.)

23. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Let Me Up II’ve Had Enough)

Seen as a disappointment upon its release, Let Me Up (I’ve Had Enough) rocks harder than any other TP release, and its lack of focus only enhances its mystique all these years later.

22. Prince - Sign O’ The Times

The best double album of the ‘80s, Prince pulled out all the stops in his follow-up to the relative disappointment of Around the World in a Day and. Parade by throwing everything at the studio wall. Thankfully, everything stuck.

21. Robbie Robertson - Robbie Robertson

At times achingly beautiful, other times frustratingly impenetrable, Robbie Robertson’s highly-anticipated debut boasted a who’s-who of the rock world in 1987 and Daniel Lanois’s atmospheric production. An aural feast that mostly succeeds and still holds up today.

20. Van Morrison - Poetic Champions Compose

Van Morrison continued his fascinating spiritual journey with this marvelous, intense album while showing us that there was indeed a proper way to use synths (it’s for atmosphere, kids).

19. U2 - The Joshua Tree

Lanois pops up again, this time with Brian Eno, crafting U2’s love letter to America, containing songs that are still mainstays on rock radio 35 years later.

18. George Michael - Faith

From the Bo Diddly beat of the opening track to the very end, George Michael’s solo debut was one of the most electrifying (solo) debuts of the decade, proving he was much more than the “jitterbug” bubblegum guy. “One More Try” is one of the best vocal performances of the year, but man, could it use an Eric Clapton guitar solo in that barren middle section.

17. Foster & Lloyd - Foster & Lloyd

Part of the ‘Great Credibility Scare’ of mid-to-late 1980s Nashville (more on that below), Radney Foster and Bill Lloyd gave us pop sensibility (by way of the Beatles, Byrds, and the Everlys) mixed with rock swagger and country twang, all wrapped up in a big backbeat and jangling guitars. A stellar debut.

16. Lyle Lovett - Pontiac

By 1987, the ‘Great Nashville Credibility Scare’, as Steve Earle coined it, was in its second year proper. The stellar debut albums by the likes of Dwight Yoakam, Randy Travis, and Earle himself, were being followed by their all-important sophomore efforts. Another artist in this same predicament was Lyle Lovett, who offered up as his entry the incredible Pontiac. Anchored by semi-hit singles, “Give Back My Heart” (a deadpan delivery with a nod to Arlo Guthrie which got away with hilariously almost saying “shit” in every chorus) and the sly Henny Youngman-esque “She’s No Lady”, Pontiac doubled down on what Lovett’s debut promised: traditional country mixed with less-than-subtle jazz and folk textures underneath dark and darkly comic observations about the human condition.

15. Joe Ely - Lord of the Highway

Flanked by both the great Bobby Keys on sax and the fierce David Grissom on guitar, Joe Ely returned to hard-rockin’ form on Lord of the Highway. While “Me and Billy the Kid” is the highlight, I’m a sucker for a lengthy two-chord jam and the moody, brilliant “Letter to LA” more than scratches that itch (paired below with a blistering “Settle For Love”).

14. John Mellencamp - The Lonesome Jubilee

Mellencamp went from Johnny Cougar to Stonesy rebel to, by the time of Scarecrow, a heartland rocker with a conscience. Its follow-up, The Lonesome Jubilee, was the logical next step, as the socially-conscious lyrics of Scarecrow were paired with folk and Appalachian-style instrumentation, explicitly (sometimes heavy-handedly) drawing a throughline from Woody Guthrie’s dustbowl to the era of Reaganomics. It’s a fiddle-and-accordion hoedown with a heavy backbeat and great hair.

13. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, & Emmylou Harris - Trio

Parton, Ronstadt, and Harris had been friends and colleagues for years when their collaborative album finally came out in 1987. It was worth the wait. Their harmonies were other-worldly and they cut the music back to its bare essentials. Each track was carefully selected and arranged but “Those Memories Of You” is the highlight. A haunting masterpiece and a master class in folk, bluegrass, and traditional country.

12. The Cult - Electric

AC/DC was not exactly at the top of its game in 1987. Even though they provided the soundtrack to Stephen King’s ridiculous Maximum Overdrive the year before, 1985s Fly On The Wall did nothing to enhance their legacy. Instead, the best AC/DC album of the mid ’80s came from The Cult with the Rick Rubin-produced Electric. There’s not one second of groundbreaking originality here, but it rocks hard and vocalist Ian Astbury was at the top of his game. The only misstep is a completely unnecessary cover of “Born to be Wild”…oh, and the ridiculous video for “Love Removal Machine”. But hey, it was the ‘80s.

11. Bruce Springsteen - Tunnel of Love

Coming off the biggest hit of his career with Born in the USA, Springsteen did an about-face and looked inward for the intense and personal Tunnel of Love. Nowhere near as spare or bleak as Nebraska, ToL’s paranoia lies not in what’s out there but in what’s in bed next to you. Or, more chillingly, what’s in the mirror.

“God have mercy on a man who doubts what he’s sure of.”

10. Fleetwood Mac - Tango In The Night

Another example of how you successfully incorporate synths into your sound, Tango in the Night should actually be Exhibit A. Masterful production, songwriting, and musicianship, it was a highlight of the ‘80s in general, and for Fleetwood Mac’s catalog overall.

Rest in peace, Christine McVie. You were one of a kind.

9. Grateful Dead - In The Dark

After over 20 years of being one of the most popular acts that never had a hit single, the most unlikely of unlikelies happened. The Grateful Dead had a hit single. “Touch of Grey” hit the top 10 on the Billboard charts, and the album in which it was housed, In The Dark, caused a whole new generation to be swept up into the world of the Deadheads. In The Dark also had a plethora of great moments. From the demonic joy of “Hell in a Bucket” to the moving closing self-eulogy, “Black Muddy River,” the Dead proved that they were ready for prime time, without sacrificing their sound or principles.

8. Rosanne Cash - King’s Record Shop

Rosanne Cash embraced the Nashville New Traditionalist movement by flexing her country music bonafides; she put one of her daddy’s songs on the brilliant King’s Record Shop. “Tennessee Flat-Top Box” was a big hit, as was her take on John Hiatt’s “The Way We Make A Broken Heart”. But the album went even deeper. She covered a John Kilzer song (“Green, Yellow, and Red”) and others by Benmont Tench, her then-husband Rodney Crowell, and more. One of the great albums, from any genre, of the decade.

7. Dwight Yoakam - Hillbilly Deluxe

Following up his full-length debut by doubling down on the hillbilly thing (his record label didn’t want “hillbilly music” to complete the Guitars, Cadillacs trifecta in the title of his first, resulting in the awkward use of the Etc, Etc), Yoakam went up in the holler on route 23, delivered one of the beautiful ghost songs in country music history (“Johnson’s Love”), and gave us hicked-up takes on Elvis and Lefty Frizzell favorites. Hillbilly Deluxe indeed.

6. R.E.M. - Document

After trying out heartland roots rock producer Don Gehman for Lifes Rich Pageant, R.E.M. turned to Scott Litt, who’d previously produced The dB’s. Litt’s tenure with R.E.M. would reap benefits well beyond anyone’s expectations and Document is where the move toward superstardom began.

5. INXS - Kick

I admit I was a little confused at the progression of INXS. I first discovered them via the video for “The One Thing” on MTV (of course), and for someone who was more into roots-based music, it sounded indistinguishable from Duran Duran or U2, so I ignored them. Then came “What You Need” and I couldn’t deny the fun funk of it. By the time Kick appeared, they were basically full-tilt rockers. Still the best album of their career, Kick is where everything clicked into place.

4. Steve Earle & The Dukes - Exit 0

Leading the New Traditionalists into uncharted territory on the country airwaves, Steve Earle was the resident bad boy. The greasy rocker. The rebel with a cause. And that cause was to remind Nashville that country music could be as character-based as any Bruce Springsteen anthem. He backed it up with tracks like “No. 29”, “Angry Young Man”, “The Rain Came Down”, and the undeniable “I Ain’t Ever Satisfied”. Exit 0 continued the mission Earle began with Guitar Town, and while the production is frustratingly thin (he’d fix that on the following year’s mighty Copperhead Road), the songs break through the digital chill.

3. BoDeans - Outside Looking In

Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams set the stage for the BoDeans’ rootsy heartland folk-rock with the help of the production expertise of T Bone Burnett. For its follow-up, however, the Talking Heads’ Jerry Harrison was brought on board to produce. The result is a much more satisfying and unpredictable experience. There was atmosphere this time, from the nocturnal beauty of “Take It Tomorrow” and the eerie folk-rock of "The Ballad of Jenny Rae". There was also tear-the-roof-off rock’n’roll, from “Say About Love” to the single, “Only Love”. The BoDeans came to play with the big kids on their second album. They were no longer outside looking in.

2. John Hiatt - Bring the Family

Oh, this old thing? I may have written a word or two about it.

Bonus: Various Artists - Original Soundtrack: Less Than Zero

By 1987, Rick Rubin had become a force in the music world and had his fingers in several pies, from Run-DMC and the Beastie Boys to Slayer and the Cult (see above). He also ran a label, Def Jam Recordings, with Russell Simmons, which by this time had a distribution deal with Columbia Records. It all culminated in one of the great of-its-time soundtracks of the late 1980s. Less Than Zero boasted an atmosphere that reflected its brooding, tense film. Songs that defined the era were included here: Public Enemy’s “Bring the Noise,” the Bangles’ cover of “A Hazy Shade of Winter,” and LL Cool J’s irresistible “Goin’ Back To Cali” just to name three.

Bonus: Various Artists - A Very Special Christmas

What became the first volume of many charity-based various artist holiday projects over the years, A Very Special Christmas has entered the same revered space as holiday fare from Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole. At the time, however, it was a perfect snapshot of the pop music world in 1987 (Alison Moyet! Robbie Nevil!) and reflected the sound the featured artists were going for at the time (Mellencamp’s extension of his Lonesome Jubilee affectations on “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” for example). While Chrissie Hynde played up our need for nostalgia and U2 hammed it up while paying tribute to the Spector sound (while right in the middle of their American culture obsessions), Run-DMC offered the collection’s most original moment, making us all want to “bust Christmas carols.”

Guns n’ Roses - Appetite For Destruction

By now you may be asking, “Where are all the hard rock bands?” Yes, 1987 was big for heavy metal and hard rock, and I had my share of ‘em. Judas Priest was touring behind the bizarre Turbo and released Priest…Live! with its bland brown cover. Metallica gave us The $5.98 E.P. – Garage Days Re-Revisited. I even like a couple of songs off Manowar’s Fighting the World. And there were landmark albums by everyone from Poison and Motley Crue to Whitesnake and Def Leppard. There were releases that year by Dio, Helloween, King Diamond, and Anthrax. Of course, I listened to all of them, even some I sincerely now regret. They were inescapable. But cutting through the sheen, gloss, and “Nothin’ But A Good Time” posing, was the dangerous, primal, siren scream of W. Axl Rose.

The natural progression from the Rolling Stones, the New York Dolls, and Aerosmith, Guns n’ Roses was the rock band - and Appetite For Destruction was the rock album - that the rock world needed in 1987. Much like what happened with “Bro-Country” decades later, rocking all night and partying every day rang hollow after being exposed to that sort of life’s consequences and dark underbelly. Almost instantly, every band around them began “toughening up” their image and sound. Though Rose’s ambitions later outgrew his ability (ultimately resulting in the ridiculous 14-year wait for Chinese Democracy), the late 1980s belonged to what was, for a brief moment, hard rock’s greatest band.

Bonus Playlist

More songs from all 35 of the albums listed above, plus 35 more songs that are still stand-alone great and came from albums that almost made the cut. Either way, they’re all more than deserving of another listen 35 years on.

R.I.P., The Killer

He sang like there was nothing to it. Like the songs were inside the whole time, and they just effortlessly poured from his lips. Whether it was an incendiary rocker like “Great Balls of Fire”, a thinly-veiled sensual come-on like “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On”, or a country standard such as “Crazy Arms” or “Another Place, Another Time”, Jerry Lee Lewis not only made them his own, but made damn sure when he sung it, it had been sung and all other versions would be measured against it.

He was the last man standing, the final surviving member of the fabled “Class of ‘55” (Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and Roy Orbison) and the “Million Dollar Quarter” (same lineup sans Orbison). He was also the last living inductee of the very first Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame ceremony. And just this month, he was (finally) inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Although he couldn’t made the ceremony, his longtime friend Kris Kristofferson accepted on his behalf and then drove it out to his home to present it to the Killer in person.

There’s not really much to say that hasn’t been written far better over the years (I suggest Hellfire, the daddy of all rock’n’roll biographies from Nick Tosches, or Rick Bragg’s more personal account, with the Killer’s consent and participation, in Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story for starters.)

He embodied rock’n’roll in all its joy, madness, controversy, and rebellion. A deeply conflicted, complex individual who spent a lifetime fighting in his head, heart, and loins between the sacred and the profane, as illustrated in the below now-infamous exchange between him, Sam Phillips, and Billy Riley:

(Interesting that Jimmy Swaggart is the only one of the three ivory-pounding cousins still alive and kicking.)

There’s never been another like him, and nor will there ever be. Here’s to the Killer. He now joins his cousin, Mickey Gilley, in the great beyond for another piano duet.

Kick his ass, Killer.

Music Talks Podcast

Spoke with host Terry Smith in my most wide-ranging interview yet. The premise is to choose one song from each decade of your life and talk about the song and how you identify with it. Before you know it, you’ve given an overview of your life. A fascinating journey in just over an hour.

Listen here or on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts.

WIZS Town Talk

I returned to Town Talk on WIZS AM/FM to speak with Bill Harris about the upcoming book signing in my hometown of Oxford, NC.

Find out more about the event, sponsored by Page 158 Books, by clicking here.

Love That Album Podcast

Had a fun, freewheeling chat about all things John Hiatt with Maurice Bursztynski and Geoff Smith

NCRS New Visions Gala

I was honored to be the Keynote Speaker at this year’s event for the North Carolina Reading Service at the North Raleigh Hilton.

The New Visions Gala is an annual event that raises funds for the North Carolina Reading Service, a a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit serving the blind and print-impaired community since 1983. Volunteers read news and information to the blind and print impaired over the airwaves and online around the clock and all year long.

This year was special, because it was the first gala since the onslaught of the Coronavirus shut down most all mass gatherings. It was wonderful to be able to connect and re-connect with a community that means so much to my journey. To be invited to be this year’s Keynote Speaker was a wonderful surprise that I was honored to fulfill.

With (l-r) North Carolina radio legend Tom Guild (WQDR, WRDU, 96 Rock) and NCRS President Greg Suggs.

My wife Elizabeth conducted the Paddle Raise with emcee and NC radio legend Mike Edwards. Together, they helped hit and exceed the evening’s $10,000 goal.

To find out more about the NC Reading Service, click here.

With Elizabeth: the love of my life, my motivation, and my inspiration.

New & Notable for 2022 (Vol. 2)

Now that we’re well over halfway through the year, let’s check out some of the best music that’s arrived since our last installment. (Click here for volume one.)

Bonnie Raitt - “Made Up Mind”

The kick-off track of her incredible new album, Just Like That… finds Raitt in that sweet spot that made her a superstar in the Nick of Time/Luck of the Draw era. She makes this fine Bros. Landreth song her own by simply wrapping those warm, bluesy vocal cords around it and layering her biting, silky slide throughout. A perfect way to announce her return following her - and our - extended isolation from the outside world.

Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs- “Wicked Mind”

Campbell has kept busy since the untimely death of his brother-in-arms, Tom Petty, in 2017. He filled the gap left by a fired Lindsey Buckingham in Fleetwood Mac and he formed a raucous new band, the Dirty Knobs. The lead-off track of their second release is representative of the album as a whole: a loud, dirty, celebration of rock’n’roll at its best.

Elles Bailey- “Who’s That”

Big voice, bluesy, rootsy with a strong hook. Bailey’s been kicking around the music scene for a while now and it’s time more folks knew her name.

Harry Styles - “As It Was”

It took an appearance on Howard Stern, where Styles performed a version of Peter Gabriel’s 80s-defining moment, “Sledgehammer”, that finally made me take notice of pop’s biggest star. Now, everything I hear from this former boy-band idol is better than what came before. Following in the footsteps of everyone from Bowie and Mercury to Prince and, yes, Gabriel, I expect Harry to stick around for quite a while.

Twen - “Feeling In Love (From the Waist Down)”

Finding new music is still a thrill, and discovering an act as joyous as Twen makes sifting through hours of blandness more than worth it. These Bostonians mix neo-psychedelic rock and pop with aural atmospherics that entrance and delight. (See - or hear - also, “Dignitary Life”.)

Robin Trower - “No More Worlds To Conquer”

Trower is still gifting us quality, moody, transcendent blues-rock well into the 21st century, and the title track from his fine new album is no exception. The theme was inspired by Alexander the Great, but don’t let that distract you. That fat, inimitable tone and the gruff vocals of Richard Watts deserve the focus. (Trower handles the bass as well, with drums provided by Chris Taggart.) You can almost hear the bridge sighing under the weight of these moody blues.

Dave Stryker - “River Man”

A beautiful cover of a Nick Drake song, Stryker and his combo of jazz all-stars (including bassist John Patitucci, pianist Julian Shore, drummer Brian Blade, and featuring Sara Caswell on violin) glide effortlessly through this dreamy arrangement; a welcome nine-minute respite from the world.

Amythyst Kiah - “Sugar”

Kiah puts her deeply soulful spin on this powerful Tori Amos chestnut, fully transforming the 1992 subtle masterpiece into a driving homage to 120 Minutes-esque alternative beauty.

Kendell Marvel - “Hell Bent On Hard Times”

A Nashville songwriter by way of southern Illinois, Marvell pens tunes that stand out for their soul/blues/outlaw/whatever-you-call-it sound and feel. He’s written for and with the likes of Gary Allen, Chris Stapleton, and Jamey Johnson - guys that know how to approach the dark and lonesome side of country in the 21st century. This slab of nocturnal country blues just adds to - and deepens - an already impressive resume.

Angel Olsen - “All the Good Times”

Lonesome, trad country continues its residence on this playlist for a bit with the latest from Angel Olsen. Conjuring the greats, she finds her own space alongside them, while effortlessly bridging that timeless sound - and feeling - with the now.

Drive-By Truckers - “Welcome 2 Club XIII”

Growing up in the rural south, we all have a club that we had a love/hate relationship with. I could write a book about a few (and I just might…one day). The Drive-By Truckers crafted an album - or at least its title track - around the one where they made their bones. The fact that it mentions NC’s own legendary Sidewinder doesn’t hurt one bit. Welcome to the club…

Tedeschi Trucks Band - “Soul Sweet Song”

From one of the best album projects of the year - and, I’ll say it, decade - so far, the four-LP I Am the Moon, one of the best rock bands working today, the Tedeschi Trucks Band, gives us this sweet soul number that accentuates all that’s great about them in just under four minutes. Sweet.

The Struts - “Fallin’ With Me”

There’s been a quiet yet glorious resurgence of rock’n’roll occurring over the last few years, and UK neo-glammers The Struts are part of that (see also Italy’s Måneskin, etc). On their new single, the ebullient “Fallin’ With Me”, the chorus boasts one of the best hooks of the year, and their hunger and enthusiasm jump right off the screen.

Kaitlin Butts - “it won’t always be this way”

Just as there’s been a resurgence of rock of late, more and more artists are reaching back to country music’s roots for inspiration. A powerful storyteller and vocalist, Butts knows her way around a country song, while pointing the way to a more ass-kicking future for the embattled genre by reclaiming its past. This song is exhibit A: a devastating, yet, in the end, hopeful reclaiming of one’s power and identity.

Kenny Roby - “New Day”

The creative force behind 6 String Drag steps out on his own again with this self-titled set. On its kick-off song, “New Day”, Roby channels the laid-back aura of the likes of the late Greg Trooper while offering a song of hope and resilience (“Here We Go Again” opening lines notwithstanding). Prime, magical stuff.

Jack Broadbent - “Ride”

Ferociously laid-back blues-rocker that seems to have jumped in a time machine from the glory days of the 1970s, Broadbent’s release Ride has all the stuff you want if you’re looking to scratch that dirty guitar and driving backbeat itch.

Sarah Borges - “Wouldn’t Know You”

The always-awesome Sarah Borges returns with the lockdown-appropriate-titled album, Together Alone, produced again by Eric “Roscoe” Ambel (who provides gritty guitar throughout). Among the many standouts is this roots-pop gem that glides along effortlessly as it sinks into your head, where it will undoubtedly set up shop for hours, if not days.

Patty Griffin - “Get Lucky”

Patty Griffin is back, but (sadly) not with a cover of the Daft Punk modern classic. Instead, her “Get Lucky” is the perfect launch to an album of no-nonsense, raw, demo-like recordings that promote a quiet evening of back-porch reflection. Roll tape.

Ian Noe - “River Fool”

Look! Up on the stage! It’s John Prine! It’s Mike Cross! It’s…

No, it’s Ian Noe. A Kentuckian that, in fact, did open for Prine, Noe’s voice and sound do harken back to those halcyon days of progressive country singer-songwriters, but his lyrics also touch on today’s concerns, which, as it happens, are still pretty timeless. So I guess it all evens out. Either way, his new album is one of the highlights of the year.

Willie Nelson - “I Don’t Go To Funerals”

Willie’s output in the last decade would be considered prolific for any artist, but for one who’s quickly approaching 90, it’s remarkable. The fact that it’s all of high quality, with some even rivaling his classic work, is even more exciting. The perfect example is this track from his latest album, A Beautiful Time, which has Willie once again flipping the bird at mortality.

Eric Ambel - “Honky Tonk Women”

With Jimbo Mathus behind the boards and on guitar, roots-rock legend Eric “Roscoe” Ambel takes this classic Stones rave-up to its logical conclusion: blending their hard rockin’ 45 version with Let It Bleed’s “Country Honk”, while creating a take that sounds like it was taped off the floor of some late ‘50s Bakersfield honky tonk. Rave on!

If you’re more into handy playlists, here you go (or better yet, go buy physical copies of everyone featured here and elsewhere on this site, if it moves you).

Songs of Hiatt, Part Two

More covers of the songs of John Hiatt by some of the most respected names in music.

Perfectly Good Podcast

Spoke with host Jesse Jackson on his ‘Set Lusting Bruce’ podcast about John Hiatt’s ‘Perfectly Good Guitar.’

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New Books Network

A stimulating talk with Daniel Moran about all things John Hiatt.

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