Artists and their management regularly submit records for review here or at GoodSongs.Com.  This gives me welcomed access to new music I might not otherwise hear, given that my preferred genre (alt. country) is pretty scarce on over the air radio.  Even better, it gives me the chance to promote artists who are making the kind of music I like.  It’s a win-win, for sure.

Promoting your music has changed over the past decade, largely in a way that benefits the artist and the listener by removing the big record label cartel from the middle.  One thing, though, remains the same.  As a longtime musician/songwriter, I have always argued that picking the right band name is the most important piece of marketing a band will ever do.  A cool and attention-grabbing name will attract that initial listen that can turn someone into a fan.

Which is why I knew the moment I saw a submission for the debut record Grizzled by The Council of Smokers and Drinkers that I would listen to the record and probably review it.  What an ass-kicking name.  In fact, it caused me to create a new rating for my Rancho Reviews- band name.

So without further adieu, let’s get to, the review.

The Council of Smokers and Drinkers, who hail from Anchorage, Alaska, combines three of my favorite genres- alt. country, rock and blues.  Joe Erickson (drums), Russell Biggs (vocals/guitar), Elizabeth Dubey (vocals and keys), Jonathan Russell (guitar), Mark Kimmins (harmonica) and Mack Rogers (bass) create a smoking sound that’s part Seigel-Schwall Band and part Porter Batiste Stoltz, with a little Brothers and Sisters era Allman Brothers thrown in for good measure.  Anyone who knows my musical taste will tell you that’s a high complement.

The first thing I noticed about the Council is that they can flat out play.  In this era where the barrier to entry is low, internet space is free or cheap and musical success is too often determined by some marketing dude at Disney, it is so refreshing to queue up a record and hear people who are really, really good musicians.  When the Council is in session, instruments are getting the workout of their lives.  Guitars, bass, keyboards, drums.  All played hard and tight.

Chicken in the Pan, the third song, has a mighty bass track, some blazing guitar work and keyboards that would make Chuck Leavell proud.

Little Rock is a Black Crowsy mid-tempo number that became one of my favorites as I listened to the record.

The Best that I Could Do has a funky classic southern rock feel.  I love the line “I didn’t know that she’d break my heart, but I had suspicions.”  Good stuff.

There’s not a bad song on the record.  If I have a criticism, it’s that neither is there one song that simply blows you away.  All of the songs are very good.  As a deep album cuts kind of guy, this is OK with me.  I prefer consistency to the age old approach where you have 4 good songs and a bunch of filler.  There’s no filler here, and while you may not stop what you’re doing and run to the CD Player to see the name of the song that just blew you away, you also won’t have to hit the skip button every other song.

Grizzled is not going to change your life.  But if you enjoy hearing great musicians mix up some righteous county, rock and blues, you’ll like this record.

You can buy Grizzled directly from the band’s web site.

John the Wolf King of LA (1970) is the first solo record by John Phillips, one of the leaders of and primary songwriters for the Mamas and the Papas. It’s a mildly countrified record (largely thanks to Buddy Emmons’ excellent pedal steel work), with several excellent songs, including my favorite, “Topanga Canyon.”  Most of the songs dealt with recent events in Phillips’ life, including references to his new girlfriend Genevieve Waite (the sort of freaky “Let it Bleed, Genevieve”) and longtime friend Ann Marshall (the Emmons’ featuring “April Anne”).

Phillips was the primary songwriter and musical arranger of the Mamas and the Papas, and had a major hand in the band’s string of hits.  He also wrote “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)”, the 1967 Scott McKenzie hit, and the oft-covered “Me and My Uncle,” which was popularized (at least to me) by the Grateful Dead.  He co-wrote the Beach Boys‘ hit “Kokomo.”

The performances on this record are spectacular. Phillips was backed by an all-star group of musicians, including members of Elvis Presley’s band, including James Burton, among others.  Other members of the Mamas and the Papas said that if the band had recorded the material from John the Wolf King of LA, it might have been their best album.

The very cool album cover was the inspiration for Bob Dylan’s wardrobe and pose on Dylan’s excellent 1976 album Desire.

This was one of my turntable mainstays back in the 70’s, and I rediscovered it when it was rereleased a few years ago, with several bonus tracks.  It’s not quite country enough to fit squarely in my early country rock sweet spot (in some alternate universe somewhere Clarence White brought his B-Bender magic to this record), but it’s plenty good and, unlike a lot of music of the era, has aged well.  It sounds as good today as it did the first time I heard it.

When I first moved to Houston back in the mid-eighties, I used to frequent all sorts of music halls.  Fitzgeralds, The Ale House, Rockefellers, etc.  One of my favorite bands back then was Austin’s The Reivers (originally called Zeitgeist).  John Croslin and Kim Longacre made some fine records, and were great live.  Their vocal arrangements, both on their records and on stage, was among the best I have ever heard.

Take Electra, for example.  I love the way Kim wails in the background while John sings the lead (this is not the best version of Electra, but it’s the only one I have).  The trade-offs in Cowboys are just as good.  Another favorite of mine is their cover of Atlantic City.

Great stuff.  My favorite Reivers record, Saturday, is hard to find on CD- if you see it, grab it because it is a good one.

Here’s a post at 30 Days Out with more information about The Reivers.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that they have a MySpace page, where you can hear Secretariat, my favorite Reivers song, and learn about Right or Happy, their new project.

Tonight, I added the only two Reivers records I have in digital format, Translate Slowly and Pop Beloved, to the Rancho Radio (our internet radio station) playlist.  Two great additions to the best playlist on the net.

Enjoy.

I have enjoyed reading the best of 2008 lists from my favorite music sites, such as Twangville (Mayer, Tom), AWOT, Hickory Wind, Nine Bullets and Hear Ya.

I do my yearly best of lists a little differently.  Since I buy more old records than new ones, I base my lists on records that I heard for the first time this year.  Here are my picks for 2008.

Record of the Year

Hands down and without a doubt, The Avett Brothers’ Live, Vol. 2 (2005) is the best record I heard for the first time in 2008.  These guys are from Concord, NC, which is less than ninety miles away (name that song reference for extra credit) from my hometown.  I have no idea how I missed them until now.  Live, Vol. 2 is not only my record of the year for 2008, it will likely wind up in my top 10 of all time.  There are 17 songs on the record, and every one is excellent.  November Blue is without a doubt one of the best songs I have ever heard.

Smoke in Our Lights and Offering, among many others, are also excellent.  The singing, playing and writing is uniformly excellent.

Do yourself a favor and buy this record right now.

Other Great Finds

One of the many wonderful things about Pandora is its function as a music discovery tool.  A few weeks ago, I was working in my shop when an absolutely amazing song came on.  I ran over to the computer to give it the thumbs up and write down the name.  It was a song called Speed Train by J.J. Schultz from his record Something to Me (2005).

Speed Train is the best song on the record, but there are plenty of other great songs to make this a worthy addition to your collection.

I’ve been a fan of The Band for years.  Dirt Farmer (2007), the latest record by Levon Helm, reminds me why.  It won a Grammy for Best Traditional Folk album, which is great, but I wouldn’t classify this record as a traditional folk record.  It sounds like American farm music to me- which is even greater.  I would love to attend one of Levon’s Midnight Rambles.

I didn’t get all the hoopla about The Black Keys, until I heard their 2003 record, Thickfreakness, which was on Fat Possum Records, one of my favorite labels.  This is some righteous blues, and Have Love, Will Travel rocks so hard it will rattle your teeth.  If Led Zeppelin wants to tour and Robert Plant won’t come around, Dan Auerbach is the answer.  This album is a must for blues rock fans.

No other band has held my love and attention as much as the Grateful Dead.  I have a ton of their records as well as a ton of solo stuff by the members.  Somehow I missed Jerry Garcia’s records with Merl Saunders until I heard their cover of Positively 4th Street on XM a couple of months ago.  I don’t generally buy “best of” records, but this is the one I found when I went looking for that song.  It’s a mighty fine record, with the cover of Mystery Train being another highlight.

I have always loved female alt. country bands.  Freakwater is a long time favorite of mine, as were the Texas Rubies (Kelly Kessler and I co-wrote some songs back in the day).  My newest discovery is The Be Good Tanyas, particularly their record Hello Love (2006).  They do a great cover of Neil Young’s For the Turnstiles.  They even do a pretty darn good cover of Prince’s When Doves Cry.  My favorite song on the record is the beautiful A Thousand Tiny Pieces.  I played this song for my young daughters, both of whom are, to one extent or another, aspiring musicians and told them to write, play and sing just like this.

And, finally, as I predicted in a post last month, Porter Batiste Stoltz’s Moodoo, an excellent record anchored by the wonderful Funky Miracle/Sing a Simple Song/Rainy Day Women.

Those are my picks for 2008.  What are yours?

I got a new band.  New to me at least.

It’s such a great feeling to discover a really, really great band.  I still remember the first time I heard a Grateful Dead song (Uncle John’s Band), the first time I heard the Allman Brothers (At the Fillmore), the first time I heard the Star Room Boys sing about Gastonia.

I had a moment like over the Thanksgiving weekend.  Delaney and I were driving a friend home, listening to the Jam Band station on XM (one of the great new channels we get post-merger).  Along comes a song medley called Funky Miracle/Sing a Simple Song/Rainy Day Women by a band called Porter Batiste Stoltz.

I was completely blown away 5 minutes into this 11 minute mix of awesomeness.  I recorded a note on my iPhone (via Note2Myself) for future research.

It turns out PBS is comprised of 3 well-known Louisiana musicians.  George Porter, Jr, Russell Batiste, Jr and Brian Stoltz.  Fortunately, you can buy or download the record from Amazon.

I haven’t heard a band rock this hard since, at least, the Allman’s Southbound on Brothers and Sisters.  This could easily end up being my record of the year.

If you like good music, you need to own this record.  And you need to support this kind of music.  So, if I get 10 comments (by 10 different commenters) to this post recommending another great record, I’ll draw two commenters’ names out of a hat and buy each of them a copy of this record.