Bruce Sylvester produces "Troubadour," a weekly roots-music program on WMBR-FM (Cambridge, MA) and www.wmbr.org. His travels have included Turkey, Morocco, most recently Prague and, numerous times, Spain. Shakespeare, Margaret Atwood, Zora Neale Hurston, Lars Saabye Christensen and Steve Earle are among his favorite authors.
Jack White Lazaretto Columbia Records www.columbiarecords.com Blind Willie McTell’s 1928 Victor recording “Three Women Blues” was pure Piedmont blues with undertones of racial pride in his yellow, black and brown-skinned lovers. In Jack White’s … Continue reading →
Various Artists For Freedom Alone: The Wars of Independence Greentrax 1314 www.greentrax.com June 23rd and 24th mark the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn, a major victory in Scotland’s 1297-1328 struggle for independence from … Continue reading →
Various Artists Peabody Blues St. Charles Blues Jackson Stomp Nehi Records 1, 2 & 3 www.nehirecords.com Though there are plenty of crossovers and cross polinizations on these three vintage collections, two have local focuses. Peabody … Continue reading →
Mary Gauthier Trouble and Love In The Black #1007 www.marygauthier.com “The body’s just a prison and the soul’s a refugee,” Gauthier (pronounced go-shay) quietly sings in her emotionally riveting portrait of at last daring … Continue reading →
Wayne Raney Why Don’t You Haul Off and Love Me 20 Old-Time Gospel Favorites Gusto 2228, 2229 www.gustorecords.com Besides ranking with the top harmonica players of the post-World War II years, Arkansas-born Wayne Raney … Continue reading →
Various Artists You Are There Shanachie 622 www.shanachie.com Back in the previous century’s videocassette era, Shanachie put out a series of early-1950s live performances by country acts (including Chet Atkins, Ernest Tubb and Marty … Continue reading →
ROD PICOTT Hang Your Hopes On A Crooked Nail Welding Rod Records www.rodpicott.com Some songwriters adopt a blue-collar persona. For Picott, a former sheetrock worker, it’s an honest voice. After growing up in Maine … Continue reading →
VARIOUS ARTISTS 12 Years a Slave Columbia 88843 00857 2 www.columbiarecords.com One of this season’s most wrenching films, director Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave is based on the memoirs of Solomon Northrup, a … Continue reading →
VARIOUS The Johnson City Sessions: 1928-1929 “Can You Sing or Play Old-Time Music?” Bear Family BCD16083 www.bear-family.de The Big Bang of American folk music is said to have been the 1927 Bristol Sessions – a … Continue reading →
ROBBIE FULKS Gone Away Backward Bloodshot 211 www.bloodshotrecords.com Years ago, a promoter fondly described Fulks as a big Dennis the Menace of country music – something country music often deserves. At 50, he’s mellowed … Continue reading →
