With his new album Songs of Resistance 1948 - 2018, Ribot—one of the world’s most accomplished and acclaimed guitar players—set out to assemble a set of songs that spoke to this political moment with appropriate ambition, passion, and fury. The eleven songs on the record are drawn from the World War II anti-Fascist Italian partisans, the U.S. civil rights movement, and Mexican protest ballads, as well as original compositions, and feature a wide range of guest vocalists, including Tom Waits, Steve Earle, Meshell Ndegeocello, Justin Vivian Bond, Fay Victor, Sam Amidon, and Ohene Cornelius.
"The Common Linnets” is the first album by the Dutch “songbirds” Ilse DeLange and Waylon, who formed country-duo The Common Linnets to represent the Netherlands at the 2014 European Eurovision Song Contest and came in second place. Their self-titled record was born from their love of country and folk, and it shows.
Grant-Lee Phillips' latest album, Lightning, Show Us Your Stuff, is a turbulent and highly musical rumination that finds the veteran singer-songwriter at his most inspired. His tenth solo release bears the markings of his prolific output, a melodic prowess and an ear for lyric in everyday conversation. The album is grown from the same rich soil that Phillip's long career, from Grant Lee Buffalo to his solo work has sprang from. The result is a beautifully human musical tapestry. The warm, live on the floor, instrumental bed is the perfect support for Phillips' inimitable voice. This spontaneous approach has become a tradition among his solo works. This record is supported by peerless drummer, Jay Bellerose (whose many credits include Raising Sand by Alison Krauss and Robert Plant) and bassist Jennifer Condos (heard on Bruce Springsteen's Ghost of Tom Joad and other classics).
Essential Alison Krauss is a brand newinspired selection of songs [ut together by Alison herself, which displays her development as a vocalist, fiddle player and producer; from her early signing to Rounder Records at 14 years old, up to the present day. The tracks are drawn from her extensive back catalogue, truly representing Alison's commitment to Bluegrass and American traditional music styles, combined with her unique ability to contemporise the sound and take it to a very wide mainstream audience. She has a unique talent to select contemporary songs and sing them in a traditional style. It was these factors which drew Robert Plant into collaborating with Alison in the American roots world and the massive worldwide success of Raising Sand. What this collection proves more than anything is that Alison Kraus's music is timeless–her tracks from 1995 remaining as relevant today.[/quote]
It's been so long since B.B. King stepped outside of his comfort zone that One Kind Favor comes as a bit of a shock. Unlike so many albums he's cut in the wake of the crossover success of The Thrill Is Gone way back in 1970, the sound is stripped-back, not splashy, there is not a reliance on guest stars, and the repertoire is pure blues - and these are all songs that he's never recorded before, including three tunes by his longtime idol Lonnie Johnson. Credit for the concept must be given to producer T Bone Burnett, who applies a similar neo-rootsy aesthetic to One Kind Favor that he did to his production of Robert Plant and Alison Krauss' Raising Sand - an approach that's grounded in tradition but has a smoky, smeary veneer that's thoroughly modern…
Marc Ribot Announces Anti-Trump Album 'Songs Of Resistance 1942 - 2018'. “Every movement which has ever won anything has had songs,” says accomplished New York City guitarist Marc Ribot.