Ahhh…summer is winding down. Here in the heart of Texas, we are getting geared up for the release of a new album and extensive touring through the end of the year. The album is called “Sunday Morning Record” (preorder it here). It contains some of the best writing and singing I’ve heard from Gordy and Ed. Front to back, it has a warm, early 70’s songwriter aesthetic (along the lines of James Taylor “Mud Slide Slim and The Blue Horizon”, Gregg Allman “Laid Back”, Jackson Browne “The Pretender”, Paul Simon “Still Crazy After All These Years”). I think George Reiff and Steve Christensen’s mix is incredible. We had 18 tracks in the can and briefly considered a double record, but in the end it was narrowed down to 11. Odds are good that the remaining tracks will be included on another release in the future. If you do decide to preorder it, I highly recommend any of the packages that include the Cuveé coffee…it’s delightful.
Per usual here are some things to check out:
-Tedeschi Trucks Band, Made Up Mind. This is the best band around. Amazing record.
-The Crusaders, Scratch. Recorded by Wally Heider live at The Roxy in 1974. The band is at the height of their powers individually and collectively. Definitive version of Wilton Felder’s “Way Back Home”. Stix Hooper’s merciless kick drum dominates each groove. Joe Sample’s Rhodes playing is melodic, bluesy and restrained. Can’t help but get down to this record.
-Warren Hood Band, self-titled. This is a wonderful debut from some of Austin’s finest musicians. When Emily Gimble’s vocals come through your speakers, prepare to get lifted. She is a supreme talent. Willie Pipkin’s guitar playing is a fantastic amalgamation of Texas legends Jimmie Vaughan, Johnny Guitar Watson, and Freddie King.
-Pete Carr, Not A Word On It. Pete Carr was in the Hourglass with Duane and Gregg and legend has it, turned down an offer to join the original Allman Brothers lineup in 1969. This Muscle Shoals side from 1975 is, as the title suggests, all instrumental. The playing is superb and the album as a whole is reminiscent of Jeff Beck’s Blow By Blow, albeit with a little Southern sensitivity. Chuck Leavell cuts a groove five miles wide throughout (no surprise there!).
-Bonnie Raitt, Home Plate. Another gem from 1975. The songs are all great, especially “Pleasin’ Each Other”, “Fool Yourself”, “Sweet And Shiny Eyes”. Bill Payne on keyboards. Jackson Browne, Tom Waits, Terry Reid, J.D. Souther on background vox. Bonnie is a national treasure.
-Keith Jarrett, La Scala. Solo performance from Milan in ’97. Keith is in ‘the state of grace’, in what is supposedly a very historic venue. There are several long passages that are so hauntingly beautiful and delicate…very deep stuff is happening on this night.
I’ll leave you with a nice clip from an in-studio performance at KUTX Austin with the Birds of Chicago. Thanks for tuning in.
Peace,
TN
“There is no source of happiness other than that in the heart of man.” ~Hazrat Inayat Khan