Discourse Review Archives
Review of The Coffee Shop Chronicles : Part 2
Review of: David Lummis
The Coffee Shop Chronicles of New Orleans, Part 2: The Last Beaucoeur by David Lummis takes place on a single day, Friday August 26, read more...
King of the Road
Review of: Paul Hemphill
(Houghton Mifflin Company) Paul Hemphill wrote his novel King of the Road in 1989 as a tribute to his father who was a truckdriver. In an age when heroes read more...
Back To The Woods
Review of: Chuck Leavell
(Evergreen Arts) Chuck Leavell, no doubt, stands as one of the finest piano players on the planet. His musical resume includes working with artists such as Aretha Franklin, Chuck read more...
The Grifter's Hymnal
Review of: Ray Wylie Hubbard
(Bordello Records) The Grifter's Hymnal serves as the follow-up album to Ray Wylie Hubbard's 2010 release A: Enlightenment B: Endarkenment. The Oklahoma-born read more...
Leaving Eden
Review of: Carolina Chocolate Drops
(Nonesuch Records) Leaving Eden follows the Carolina Chocolate Drops Grammy-winning 2010 release Genuine Negro Jig. This North Carolina group has earned well-deserved respect for read more...
Where It Hits You
Review of: Jim White
(Yep Roc) Jim White is an interesting character. Born in Pensacola, Florida, as Michael Davis Pratt during 1957, he grew up listening to gospel music. White's debut album Wrong-Eyed Jesus! came out in 1997. He's collaborated with Victoria Williams, Aimee read more...
The Songs of Woody Guthrie
Review of: New Multitudes
(Rounder Records) The New Multitudes is a group composed of Jay Farrar, Anders Parker, Will Johnson and Yim Yames (My Morning Jacket's Jim James). This is a debut album of
Facing The Music
Review of: Larry Brown
(Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill) Larry Brown's Facing The Music contains ten short stories. Published in 1988, Facing The Music counts as the first book the late Mississippi writer published. These stories serve as a prelude to Brown's read more...
A Hell of a Woman
Review of: Jim Thompson
(Vintage Crime/Black Lizard) Jim Thompson's novel A Hell of a Woman contains no soft-hearted sentiments the Oprah crowd would applaud. A Hell of a Woman tells the story of salesman/killer Dolly Dillon. Mr. Dillon tried to do the right thing, but read more...
The Rum Diary
Review of: Bruce Robinson
The Rum Diary This review was written to coincide with the 7-year anniversary of Hunter S. Thompson's death on February 20, 2005. I watched read more...
The Complete Plantation Recordings
Review of: Muddy Waters
(Chess/MCA) Muddy Waters' The Complete Plantation Recordings contain the historic 1941-1942 Library of Congress Field Recordings. The father and son team of John and Alan Lomax brought read more...
This Wheel's On Fire
Review of: Levon Helm & Stephen Davis
(William Morrow & Company) "It's a wicked life But what the hell, Everybody's got to eat." --"Goin' To Acapulco"
Old Clinton BAR-B-Q House
Review of: Old Clinton BAR-B-Q
James Calemine's "Never Ending Soul Food Tour" includes documented visits to barbecue joints, catfish dens, chicken shacks and any establishment serving memorable vittles. All Photos by James Calemine Old Clinton BAR-B-Q House 4214 Gray read more...
The Last of the Pascagoula: A Review
Review of: Rebecca Meredith
Rebecca Meredith's first published novel The Last of the Pascagoula read more...
If They Move...Kill 'Em
Review of: David Weddle
(Grove Press) Published in 1994, David Weddle's biography of filmmaker Sam Peckinpah provides a detailed look into "Bloody Sam's" life and films. If They Move...Kill 'Em begins with read more...
Vertically Coastal by Jerri Chaplin---A Review
Review of: Jerri Chaplin
I met Jerri Chaplin fifteen years ago at a conference for the National Association of Poetry Therapy. I was struck at that time by her warmth and genuineness and read more...
Reverie
Review of: Joe Henry
(Anti) Joe Henry's interesting musical journey coalesces on his latest album Reverie. These 14 original songs revolve around a concept of reflection. Reverie counts as Henry's 12th studio release. Henry's family moved from Charlotte to Atlanta when he was read more...
Underground
Review of: Thelonious Monk
(Columbia) Originally released in 1968, Thelonious Monk's Underground was his first album since the mid-fifties to contain as many as four previously unrecorded original read more...
Dirt Floor
Review of: Chris Whitley
(Messenger Records) Chris Whitley's 1998 release Dirt Floor counts as his 4th studio album. Besides his debut disc--Living With The Law--Dirt read more...
Still Looking Up At The Stars
Review of: Bruce Piephoff
(Speranza Recordings) Greensboro, North Carolina, native Bruce Piephoff has been writing, recording and performing songs for over 40 years. His latest release counts as his 21st studio album. Piephoff published his second book of poetry--Fiddlers and Middlers--in read more...
Palmer's Village Cafe
Review of: Palmer's Village Cafe
Palmer's Village Cafe 223 Mallery Street Saint Simons Island, GA 31522 912-634-5515 James Calemine’s “Never Ending Soul Food Tour” includes documented visits to barbecue joints, catfish dens, chicken shacks and any establishment read more...
Devout Catalyst
Review of: Ken Nordine
(Grateful Dead Records) In 1991, Ken Nordine recorded a spoken word album, Devout Catalyst, at the Grateful Dead studio--Club Front--in San Francisco. Nordine began his career in the 1940s by recording radio voice-overs and commercials. Later Nordine hosted a read more...
Bad As Me
Review of: Tom Waits
(Anti) Bad As Me, the 22nd studio release by Tom Waits earned the highest chart appearance--#6 on Billboard's Top 200--in his amazing career. Bad As Me contains 13 read more...
Motel Chronicles
Review of: Sam Shepard
(City Lights Books) Published in 1982, Sam Shepard's Motel Chronicles serves as a time capsule in his long career. Some of the chapters from this read more...
True Soul: Deep Sounds From The Left of Stax
Review of: Various Artists
(Now-Again Records) The Arkansas label Now-Again Records release True Soul: Deeps Sounds From The Left of StaxVolumes 1 & 2 contain 60s and 70s Soul, Funk, Disco, Party-Rap and Boogie read more...
Said I Had A Vision: Songs & Labels of David Lee
Review of: David Lee & Various Artists
(Paradise of Bachelors) Said I Had A Vision revolves around the talented songwriter/preacher/producer David Lee from Cleveland, North Carolina. Ray Harper--of the Harper Brothers--led the Paradise of Bachelors label to Lee's door. Harper was the college roomate of read more...
Live In Japan
Review of: Leon Russell
(Omnivore Recordings) Omnivore Recordings just released Leon Russell's Live In Japan album. This marks the historic album's first release outside of Japan and its first time on CD anywhere. The read more...
This May Be My Last Time Singing
Review of: Various Artists
(Tompkins Square) Tompkins Square's latest release is an amazing 3-CD set titled This May Be My Last Time Singing: Raw African-American Gospel On 45RPM 1957-1982. Tompkins Square released this official statement regarding this rare package: Get read more...
Stellar Regions
Review of: John Coltrane
(Impulse!) The compositions on Stellar Regions were recorded five months before John Coltrane's death in 1967 at the age of 40. However, Stellar Regions was not released read more...
Crescent
Review of: John Coltrane
(Impulse!) "The main thing a musician would like to do is to give a picture to the listener of the many wonderful things he knows of and senses in the universe."
Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get
Review of: The Dramatics
(Concord Music Group) Stax Records president Al Bell brought in Detroit producer Don Davis to work with artists such as Carla Thomas read more...
The Ballad of Little River
Review of: Paul Hemphill
(The University of Alabama Press) The Ballad of Little River: A Tale of Race and Unrest in the Rural South revolves around church arson in Little River, Alabama. In 1997, Little River, Alabama, emerged as the site of the U.S. government's first conviction under a read more...
The Legend Begins: Rare and Unreleased Recordings
Review of: Hank Williams
(Time Life Entertainment) These newly discovered recordings include Hank's first session at 15 as well as his lost syndicated Radio Series. This remarkable 3-CD set features restored recordings of previously unheard Hank Williams music that will hit stores on September read more...
Gentle Spirit
Review of: Jonathan Wilson
(Bella Union) Born in North Carolina, Jonathan Wilson moved to California years ago. Wilson's undeniable musical talents have allowed him to work and collaborate with musicians such read more...
Drifting Into Darien
Review of: Janisse Ray
(The University of Georgia Press) "I seek the darkest wood, the thickest and most interminable and, to the citizen, most dismal swamp. I enter a swamp as a sacred place,--a sanctum sanctorium. There is the strength, the marrow, of nature."
Late Late Party: 1965-1967
Review of: Charles 'Packy' Axton
(Light in the Attic Records) Charles "Packy" Axton--to some extent--was an unsung hero on the Memphis music scene during the late 50s, 60s and early 70s. Axton's mother, Estelle, founded Stax Records read more...
Songs And Stories
Review of: Guy Clark
(Dual Tone Music) Guy Clark's Songs And Stories was recently recorded live at the Belcourt Theatre in Nashville. This collection culls Clark's most memorable material. The backing band on this album includes Kenny Malone (drums), Bryn Davies (bass), Shawn Camp read more...
Dedicated: A Salute To The 5 Royales
Review of: Steve Cropper
(429 Records) Songwriter/guitarist Lowman Pauling fronted the North Carolina group the 5 Royales in the 50s. Steve Cropper always cited Pauling as a major read more...
The Night Train
Review of: Clyde Edgerton
(Little, Brown) Clyde Edgerton remains one of North Carolina's most vibrant literary voices. He was born and raised in the Durham area and attended UNC-Chapel Hill. Today, he lives in Wilmington and teaches at UNC Wilmington. Small town North Carolina often read more...
Citrus County
Review of: John Brandon
(McSweeney's) Floridian John Brandon arrived in 2009 with his debut novel Arkansas which immediately created a literary voice deserving attention. Arkansas told the interweaving stories of a pair of small time criminals, their divergent, but read more...
Stranger Me
Review of: Amy LaVere
(Archer Records) Real art is personal, close to the bone, unshakable and undeniable. Stranger Me slices throats and raises the black flag. If you've followed Amy read more...
The Harrow & The Harvest
Review of: Gillian Welch
(Acony Records) The Harrow & The Harvest serves as Gillian Welch's first studio album in eight years. This is her fifth studio album with her musical partner David Rawlings. Welch's respect in the industry is well deserved. She's performed and collaborated with read more...
The Bayou Trilogy
Review of: Daniel Woodrell
(Mulholland Books) Thanks to the success of the Academy Award nominated film Winter's Bone based on his novel of the same name, Daniel Woodrell has received wider recognition as a one of today's most significant literary voices. Another fantastic film Ride read more...
Live At Antone's
Review of: Ruthie Foster
(Blue Corn Music) Texas native Ruthie Foster contends as one of this generation's finest singers. Her voice is often compared to Ella Fitzgerald, Mavis Staples and Aretha Franklin. Foster's songwriting also deserves honorable mention. Her six solo albums contain a wealth of read more...
Distillation
Review of: D. Charles Speer & The Helix
(Thrill Jockey) D. Charles Speer and the Helix emerge as an up-and-rising country-hearted ensemble. Distillation counts as the group's second studio release. Recorded at Black Dirt read more...
Seems To Me
Review of: Cary Hudson
Cary Hudson's songs stand the test of time. The Mississippi singer/songwriter/guitarist cultivated a songwriting partnership with Wilco's John Stirrat many years ago in a group called The Hilltops. When Stirrat joined Uncle Tupelo, Hudson started
Ragged and Right
Review of: Jack Rose, D. Charles Speer & the Helix
(Thrill Jockey) The concept for Ragged and Right originated from inspiration surrounding the Mordicai Jones/Link Wray 3 Track Shack sessions. Released in 2010, Ragged and Right counts as one of Virginia guitarist Jack Rose's final recordings before he died read more...
Mule Variations
Review of: Tom Waits
(Anti-Epitaph) Mule Variations contends as one of Tom Waits' finest albums. Recorded in a converted northern California chicken coop--Prairie Sun read more...
A Painter's Psalm
Review of: Redding S. Sugg, Jr.
(University Press of Mississippi) When he was alive, Mississippi painter Walter Anderson lived as a recluse in his Ocean Springs home. Nature served as the fulcrum of every Anderson painting. Redding S. Sugg, Jr., edited The Horn Island Logs of Walter Inglis read more...
Florida Frenzy
Review of: Harry Crews
(University Press of Florida) Florida Frenzy culls 13 essays and articles along with 3 short stories into one of the finest collections written by Harry Crews. These stories span from read more...
Dare You To Do It Again
Review of: Jessie Mae Hemphill
(219 Records) This 2004 documentary was filmed at Sherman Cooper's farm in Como, Mississippi. Jessie Mae Hemphill died on July 22, 2006, at 71. As a child she learned to play various instruments and spent years performing in the Mississippi hill country. Jessie Mae played read more...
Long Gone
Review of: Paul Hemphill
(Iver R. Dee, Publisher) Long Gone is a baseball story. Stud Cantrell manages a Class-D Florida team in 1956. Stud's life intersects with his lover Dixie Lee Box, a young second baseman named Jamie Weeks and a black catcher--Jose Brown pretending to be read more...
Never Ending Soul Food Tour: Monroe's Smokehouse
Review of: Monroe's Smokehouse BBQ
Monroe's Smokehouse BBQ 4838 Highway Avenue Jacksonville, FL 32254 904-389-5551 James Calemine’s “Never Ending Soul Food Tour” includes documented visits read more...
Big In China
Review of: Alan Paul
(Harper Collins) Alan Paul takes readers on a spectacular journey in his book, Big In China. From 2005-2009, Paul's family lived in China after his wife became the Wall Street Journal's China Bureau chief. Paul had been making a living as a free lance read more...
The Palace Guards
Review of: David Lowery
(Savoy/429 Records) Texas born songwriter/singer/producer David Lowery founded the bands Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker. Lowery now works with David Barbe at The University of Georgia. The read more...
Be Altitude: Respect Yourself
Review of: The Staple Singers
(Concord Music Group) Originally released in 1972, Be Altitude: Respect Yourself finds this Staple Singers album operating between gospel and secular music. Be Altitude: Respect Yourself captures the Staple Singers at their zenith. Rob Bowman, Grammy read more...
Fay
Review of: Larry Brown
(Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill) Trouble finds Fay Jones wherever she goes. Fay leaves her north Mississippi home on foot with two dollars, rotting tennis shoes, a half-pack of cigarettes and a serious survival instinct. Fay meets various men throughout the book who all pay read more...
Never A Pal Like Mother
Review of: Dust To Digital
(Dust To Digital) Never A Pal Like Mother, Dust To Digital’s latest release, counts as a book that contains “vintage songs and read more...
Ugly Ways
Review of: Tina McElroy Ansa
(Harcourt Brace & Company) Macon, Georgia, native Tina McElroy Ansa published her second novel, Ugly Ways, in 1993. Ansa ranks as an influential novelist, teacher, filmmaker and journalist who lives on the Georgia coast. Ugly Ways tells the story of read more...
Crazy Horse
Review of: Larry McMurtry
(Lipper/Viking) This economical 141-page biography of Crazy Horse proves why this Sioux warrior exists as one of America’s most revered legends. Texas author Larry McMurtry has written over twenty bestselling novels including Lonesome Dove and The read more...
Tell My Horse
Review of: Zora Neale Hurston
(Harper & Row) Alabama born author Zora Neale Hurston wrote Tell My Horse: Voodoo And Life In Haiti And Jamaica in 1938. The vivid stories reveal how voodoo is interwoven within the cultures. Tell My Horse exists as a first hand read more...
Here We Rest
Review of: Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
(Lightning Rod Records) Alexander Beaufort Meek wrote Alabama’s first motto ‘Here We Rest’ in his 1842 essay outlining the history of the state. Jason Isbell and the 400 read more...
Revealed
Review of: Joel Gilbert
(Highway 61 Entertainment) Bob Dylan turns 70 in May. Joel Gilbert’s Bob Dylan Revealed offers a fine overview of Dylan’s five-decade career. read more...
When The Women Come Out To Dance
Review of: Elmore Leonard
(Harper Paperbacks) Born in New Orleans during 1925, Elmore Leonard ranks as one of America’s finest writers. His family soon moved from the Crescent City to Detroit when he was a child, and Leonard never moved away from the Motor City. Author of 45 novels, Leonard read more...
Discovering Life's Trails: Adventures in Living
Review of: Tom Dennard
(Rainbow Books, Inc.) Published in 1993, Discovering Life’s Trails: Adventures in Living remains a seminal account from one of the south’s greatest travelers. This counts as Tom Dennard’s first of four books. Born in Pineview, Georgia, a read more...
Automatic Y'all: Weaver D's Guide to the Soul
Review of: Dexter Weaver
(Hill Street Press) Published in 1999 by the University of Georgia’s Hill Street Press, Dexter Weaver’s book Automatic Y’all contains stories and recipes revolving around the Athens, Georgia, soul food joint
Blessed
Review of: Lucinda Williams
(Lost Highway) Blessed counts as Lucinda Williams’ tenth studio album. Produced by Don Was (Rolling Stones &
Crossing the Creek
Review of: Anna Lillios
Crossing the Creek: The Literary Friendship of Zora Neale Hurston and Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings University Press of Florida, Gainesville, FL , 2010 Literary friendships are relatively commonplace, but a friendship which reaches read more...
Baby, How Can It Be?
Review of: Dust To Digital
(Dust-To-Digital) The 3 CD set--Baby, How Can It Be? Songs of Love, Lust and Contempt From the 1920s and 1930s--originates from the rare 78-rpm read more...
The Hurricane That Hit Atlanta
Review of: Rev. Johnny L. Jones
(Dust-To-Digital) This 2 CD compilation of archival recordings from Rev. Johnny L. “Hurricane” Jones, culled from more than 1,000 tapes of live read more...
Grandma's Roadhouse
Review of: Riley
(Delmore Recordings) In 1970, a killer rock & roll trio called Riley—named after bandleader and guitarist Riley Watkins—recorded Grandma’s Roadhouse at Owen Bradley’s legendary read more...
The Definitive John Coltrane
Review of: John Coltrane
(Concord Music) The Definitive John Coltrane on Prestige and Riverside Collection encapsulates Coltrane’s most significant recordings as a sideman. This two-CD set begins in 1955 when
A Storm--A Tree--My Mother's Head
Review of: Bobby Bare Jr.
(Thirty Tigers) Bobby Bare Jr. knows music. He grew up in the shadow of his father, lived next door to George Jones & Tammy Wynette, earned a Grammy nomination at 6 and wrote read more...
Junky Star
Review of: Ryan Bingham & The Dead Horses
(Lost Highway) Marc Ford exposed me to Ryan Bingham’s music. Ford produced Bingham’s debut release Mescalito. The read more...
RIYEL----Eclectic and Kreyol Jazz
Review of: RIYEL (Ken Watters, Andre Atkins, Yves Abel)
Summit Records, April 2010 Released internationally on April 13, 2010, Riyel’s first album is an overview of read more...
Hickory Wind: Live at the Gram Parsons Guitar Pull
Review of: Charlie Louvin
(Tompkins Square) Gram Parsons always admired the Louvin Brothers. Brother Charlie read more...
Dusty In Memphis
Review of: Warren Zanes
Continuum I met Warren Zanes at Stanley Booth’s house in the early 90s. Booth plays a major role in Zane’s well-written book Dusty In Memphis published in 2003. In read more...
The Coffee Shop Chronicles of New Orleans
Review of: David Lummis
SIster Schubert: Cast Your Bread Upon the Waters
Review of: SIster Schubert
Reviewed by Penne J. Laubenthal Sister Shubert's recent cookbook,
The Way of the World
Review of: Mose Allison
(Anti-Records) At 82, Mose Allison stands as one of the hippest musicians in American music. His solid foundation of jazz and blues influenced artists such as
Geniune Negro Jig
Review of: Carolina Chocolate Drops
(Nonesuch Records) “Tradition is a guide, not a jailer. We play in an older tradition but we are modern musicians,” says the Carolina Chocolate Drops’ Justin Robinson. The North Carolina-based ‘Drops’: Dom Flemmons, Rhiannon Giddens and Robinson read more...
The Big To-Do
Review of: Drive By Truckers
(ATO Records) The Drive By Truckers represent one of America’s finest bands in the last 20 years. The Big read more...
Day Out of Days: Stories
Review of: Sam Shepard
(Knopf) Mystery And Manners' Honorary Southern Artist Sam Shepard’s new book Day Out of Days proves the read more...
A. Enlightenment, B. Endarkment (There is no C)
Review of: Ray Wylie Hubbard
(Bordello Records) Ray Wylie Hubbard is an Oklahoma native who later moved to Texas and fell in with the likes of Waylon Jennings, Doug Sahm,
Panic In the Streets
Review of: Widespread Panic
(Zomba Video) On April 18, 1998, Widespread Panic’s Light Fuse Get Away album release performance in downtown Athens, Georgia, set the attendance record for at read more...
Cabin Fever
Review of: The Black Crowes
(Silver Arrow Records) Cabin Fever represents an official documentary of The Black Crowes' 13-day Before The Frost...Until The Freeze recording sessions at
A Review of Undeniable Truths
Review of: A. M. Garner
Rank Stranger Press, November 2009 Reviewed by Penne J. Laubenthal This month Anita M. Garner published her first collection of short stories: Undeniable read more...
Fairly Odd Mother
Review of: Kelly Kazek
Published by iUniverse, Inc 2009 Reviewed by Penne J. Laubenthal I have been a huge fan of humor in journalism for over thirty years. I particularly enjoy those southern humorists who follow in the footsteps of
In The Sanctuary of Outcasts: A Memoir
Review of: Neil White
In the Sanctuary of Outcasts: A Memoir Neil White William Morrow By Diann Blakely Neil White had--or thought he had--everything. A newspaper/magazine entrepreneur read more...
When The Buddha Met Bubba: A Review
Review of: Richard "Dixie" Hartwell
Turner Publishing Co., Nashville, TN 2009 Reviewed by Penne J. Laubenthal When the Buddha Met Bubba is best-selling author
Pat Conroy's "South of Broad": A Review
Review of: Pat Conroy
Published by Nan A. Talese/Doubleday Company, August 2009 Reviewed by Penne J. Laubenthal When I read my first Pat Conroy book in the early 70s, it was love at first paragraph. When I finished reading the read more...
Art of Field Recording Volume 2
Review of: Dust To Digital
Art of Field Recording Volume 2 Dust To Digital Dust To Digital By James Calemine On the heels of the GRAMMY-winning Art of Field Recording Volume read more...
Burning Angel
Review of: James Lee Burke
Burning Angel James Lee Burke Hyperion Books By James Calemine James Lee Burke’s Burning Angel revolves around detective Dave Robicheaux. AA attending read more...
Delta Blues
Review of: Ted Gioia
Delta Blues:The Life and Times of Mississippi Masters Who Revolutionized American Music by Ted Gioia W. W. Norton, 2008 Reviewed by bluesman Billy C. Farlow Delta Blues read more...
Take Me To The Water
Review of: Dust To Digital
Take Me To The Water: Immersion Baptism In Vintage Music Dust To Digital Dust To Digital Recordings By James Calemine Dust To Digital’s latest release, a handsome book called Take Me to the Water: Immersion Baptism In Vintage read more...
$5 Cover Memphis
Review of: Craig Brewer
$5 Cover: Memphis Craig Brewer MTV Networks By James Calemine The director of Hustle And Flow and Black Snake Moan, Craig Brewer, serves as the catalyst read more...
In The Electric Mist
Review of: Bertrand Tavenier
In the Electric Mist Bertrand Tavenier Image Entertainment By James Calemine Based on the James Lee Burke novel, In the Electric Mist With Confederate Dead, this read more...
Milking the Moon
Review of: Eugene Walter
Milking the Moon: A Southerner's Story of Life on this Planet Eugene Walter (as told to Katherine Clark) Crown Publishers Reviewed by Penne J. Laubenthal Hold on to your hat and get ready for a wild ride.
Dixieland Delight
Review of: Clay Travis
As we head into the off season, now that the recruiting season is over (mostly), there might be no better time to pick up and read Clay Travis's
Friday Night Lights, Season 3
Review of:
Friday Night Lights began its entertainment lifespan as a fantastic book written by Buzz Bissinger. Bissinger's book told the engaging story of the near "life and death" importance of a high school football team to the west Texas town of Odessa. Bissinger's read more...
The Last Pale Light in the West
Review of: Ben Nichols
(Liberty And Lament) Based on the Cormac McCarthy novel Blood read more...
Eat, Drink, and Be From Mississippi
Review of: Nanci Kincaid
Nanci Kincaid’s most recent novel hit the bookstores just two weeks before President Barack Obama delivered his inaugural address, read more...
Polk Miller & His Old South Quartet
Review of: Polk Miller & His Old South Quartet
Polk Miller & His Old South Quartet Polk Miller Tompkins Square By James Calemine James "Polk" Miller was born in Virginia during 1844. His story is important because he was one of the earliest examples of a white read more...
Boys Will Be Boys
Review of: Jeff Pearlman
Boys Will Be Boys: The Glory Days and Party Nights of the Dallas Cowboys Dynasty by Jeff Pearlman Harper Books Jeff Pearlman's new book neatly summarizes the shift to the modern era of the Dallas Cowboys. The early history of the team isn't read more...
A Deeper Blue
Review of: Robert Earl Hardy
A Deeper Blue: The Life and Music of Townes Van Zandt Robert Earl Hardy University of North Texas Press By James Calemine “But the aces only flew through heaven And the diamond jack called no man friend…” read more...
Forever Green
Review of: Chuck Leavell
Forever Green: The History and Hope of the American Forest Chuck Leavell Longstreet Press By James Calemine “The Earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed accordingly read more...
Ecology of A Cracker Childhood
Review of: Janisse Ray
Ecology of A Cracker Childhood Janisse Eay Milkweed Editions By James Calemine
The Prince of Frogtown
Review of: Rick Bragg
“My father was the prince of Frogtown” writes Alabama author and Pulitzer Prize winner Rick Bragg in his latest book entitled
The Sunset Limited
Review of: Cormac McCarthy
The Sunset Limited Cormac McCarthy Vintage International By James Calemine Cormac McCarthy's latest book, The Sunset Limited, stands as a novel in read more...
Tooth of Crime
Review of: T-Bone Burnett
Tooth of Crime T-Bone Burnett Nonesuch Records By James Calemine Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Burnett grew up in Fort Worth, Texas. Burnett’s career continues gaining steam over the years. He’s worked with
See You In A Hundred Years
Review of: Logan Ward
See You In A Hundred Years by Logan Ward Benbella Books Has the stess of today's world with instant communication (Internet, cell phones, and texting), long work hours, and hectic urban pacing made a life on a rural farm seem appealing? read more...
Third And A Mile
Review of: William C. Rhoden
Third And A Mile by William C. Rhoden ESPN Books Third and read more...
Just Us Kids
Review of: James McMurtry
Just Us Kids James McMurtry Lightning Rod Records By James Calemine Austin, Texas, musician James McMurtry’s new CD--Just Us Kids--proves an uncompromising collection of 12 songs. Years ago, McMurtry read more...
Bug
Review of: William Friedkin
Bug William Friedkin Lionsgate By James Calemine Kentucky girl Ashley Judd was recently nominated for a Saturn Award for this film. Judd plays a lonely read more...
Being Dead Is No Excuse
Review of: Gayden Metcalf and Charlotte Hays
Being Dead is No Excuse: The Official Southern Ladies Guide to Hosting The Perfect Funeral Hyperion Press, 2005 Reviewed by Penne J. Laubenthal Straight out of the Mississippi Delta,
Cocaine Angel
Review of: Damian Lahey
Cocaine Angel Damian Lahey Cinema Libre Studio By James Calemine This independent film was shot in Jacksonville, Florida. Cocaine Angel tells a dark tale of drug addiction in a way only independent filmmakers get away with because no read more...
Big Bad Love
Review of: Larry Brown
Big Bad Love Larry Brown Vintage Books By James Calemine Mississippi writer Larry Brown wrote ten published books. Big Bad Love, his second collection of short stories, ranks as a formidable collection of fiction. Other essential Brown read more...
Brighter Than Creation's Dark
Review of: Drive By Truckers
Brighter Than Creation’s Dark Drive By Truckers New West Records By James Calemine “Trying to hold steady on the righteous read more...
Hernando
Review of: North Mississippi Allstars
Hernando North Mississippi Allstars Songs of the South By James Calemine Hernando is the town in Mississippi where legendary producer Jim Dickinson read more...
Darius Goes West
Review of: Logan Smalley
“Something’s gonna happen like…Just spark the whole world,” exclaims Darius, the star of the award-winning independent documentary feature film Darius Goes West (DGW), 2007. read more...
Conversations With Tom Petty
Review of: Paul Zollo
Conversations With Tom Petty Paul Zollo Omnibus Press By James Calemine Tom Petty writes in the foreword of this book about writer Paul Zollo: “We met many times in 2004 to 2005 for talks that came to necessitate my read more...
Buy The Ticket: Take The Ride: Hunter S. Thompson
Review of: Tom Thurman
Buy The Ticket, Take The Ride: Hunter S. Thompson on Film Starz Entertainment By James Calemine
Death Proof
Review of: Quentin Tarantino
Death Proof Quentin Tarantino Genius Productions By James Calemine Quentin Tarantino always gives a nod to the south in his films. Most folks are aware of Knoxville-native Tarantino films such as True Romance, Reservoir Dogs, read more...
How Low Can You Go?
Review of: Anthology of the String Bass
How Low Can You Go? Anthology of the String Bass Various Artists Dust-To-Digital By James Calemine This 3 CD set explores the earliest recorded history of the string bass. These recordings include a scope of symphony read more...
Salvation On Sand Mountain
Review of: Dennis Covington
Salvation On Sand Mountain Dennis Covington Penguin Books By James Calemine “This descent into himself will, at the same time, be a descent into his region. It will be a descent through the darkness of the familiar into a world read more...
Desperate Man Blues
Review of: Joe Bussard
Desperate Man Blues: Discovering The Roots of American Music The Story of Joe Bussard Dust-To-Digital By James Calemine Desperate Man Blues tells the story of Fonotone read more...
I Belong To This Band
Review of: Sacred Harp Recordings
I Belong To This Band: Eighty-Five Years of Sacred Harp Recordings Various Artists Dust-To-Digital By James Calemine This 30-song collection serves as a companion to the film Awake, My Soul: The Story of Sacred Harp. Sacred Harp Singing read more...
Never Ending Soul Food Tour
Review of: Southern Soul Barbecue
James Calemine's "Never Ending Soul Food Tour" includes documented visits to barbecue joints, catfish dens, chicken shacks and any establishment serving memorable vittles. All Photos by James Calemine Southern Soul Barbecue (Part Two) 2020 Demere read more...
Meat Market
Review of: Bruce Feldman
Meat Market by Bruce Feldman ESPN Books Bruce Feldman wrote Meat Market to read more...
Song of America
Review of: Various Artists
Song of America Various Artists 31 Tigers Records By James Calemine This 50-song, 3 CD collection tells the story of America through songs from the year 1492 through modern times. Song of America contains a diverse line-up of artists read more...
Blood Meridian Or the Evening Redness in the West
Review of: Cormac McCarthy
Blood Meridian Or the Evening Redness in the West Cormac McCarthy Vintage Books By James Calemine ...A classic volume of southern literature... Blood Meridian Or the Evening Redness in the West ranks as one of
Feast of Snakes
Review of: Harry Crews
Feast of Snakes Harry Crews Macmillan Publishing By James Calemine November in Mystic, Georgia, means it's time for the Feast of Snakes. This novel remains one of the Georgia writer
GONZO: The Life of Hunter S. Thompson
Review of: Jann S. Wenner & Corey Seymour
GONZO: The Life of Hunter S. Thompson Jann S. Wenner & Corey Seymour Little, Brown and Company By James read more...
Hurricane Season
Review of: Neal Thompson
Hurricane Season by Neal Thompson Free Press Author Neal Thompson has tapped read more...
KELBRN
Review of: Carter Martin
KELBRN by Carter Martin Xlibris Press, 2007
I Don't Want No Trouble
Review of: Don Nix
I Don't Want No Trouble Don Nix Section Eight Productions By James Calemine Songwriter Don Nix's latest CD, I Don't Want No Trouble, should attract a wide audience of music fans. Nix, an obscure music hero, helped create 'The Memphis read more...
Mescalito
Review of: Ryan Bingham
Mescalito Ryan Bingham Lost Highway By James Calemine This CD ranks as one of the best releases in 2007. Recorded at Compound Studios in California, Ryan Bingham's Mescalito proves this young man is a musical force. Ex-
Killers From Space
Review of: James Luther Dickinson
Killers From Space James Luther Dickinson Memphis International Records By James Calemine Recorded at Zebra Ranch in Independence, Mississippi, during February and March of 2007, Killers From Space marks another interesting release by read more...
Coltrane:The Story of a Sound
Review of: Ben Ratliff
Coltrane: The Story of a Sound Ben Ratliff FSG Books By James Calemine Ben Ratliff wastes no words in this book of John Coltrane's life. Instead, Ratliff chooses to write read more...
Live at the Bohemian Caverns
Review of: Carla Thomas
Live at the Bohemian Caverns Carla Thomas Stax Records By James Calemine Recorded live at the Bohemian Caverns in Washington, D.C. on May 25, 1967, this new Carla Thomas CD serves as timeless testimony to her golden voice. Carla Thomas, daughter read more...
Whatever Remembers Us: An Anthology
Review of: Various Authors
Whatever Remembers Us: An Anthology of Alabama Poetry edited by Sue Brannan Walker and J. William Chambers Negative Capability Press, Mobile, Alabama Whatever Remembers Us: An Anthology of Alabama Poetry, edited by Sue read more...
Atlantic Records: The House That Ahmet Built
Review of: Ahmet Ertegun
(Atlantic DVD) Let me tell you a story. According to The Rolling Stones and Led Zappelin, that is the way Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun began his conversations, almost every time. When Ahmet was 14, he read more...
Black Snake Moan
Review of: Craig Brewer
Black Snake Moan Craig Brewer-Director Paramount Vantage By James read more...
Come Early Morning
Review of: Joey Lauren Adams
Come Early Morning Joey Lauren Adams-Director The Weinstein Company
Brothers Of A Feather
Review of: Chris & Rich Robinson
Brothers Of A Feather Chris & Rich Robinson Eagle Records By James Calemine Recorded in April 2006, during a break from the Black Crowes tour, Atlanta’s Chris and Rich Robinson showcase 14 songs on Brothers Of A read more...
Southern Soul Barbecue
Review of:
Southern Soul Barbecue 318 Mallory Street Saint Simons Island, Georgia 31522 912-634-7516 www.southernsoulbbq.com By James Calemine James Calemine’s read more...
Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room-Savannah, Georgia
Review of:
Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room 107 West Jones Street Savannah, Georgia 31401 912-232-5997 James Calemine’s “Never Ending Soul Food Tour” includes documented visits to barbecue joints, catfish dens, chicken shacks and any read more...
Red Dirt Marijuana & Other Tastes
Review of: Terry Southern
Red Dirt Marijuana & Other Tastes Terry Southern Citadel Underground By read more...
Driving With The Devil
Review of: Neal Thompson
Driving With The Devil by Neal Thompson Crown Publishing “We read more...
Jesus Out To Sea
Review of: James Lee Burke
Jesus Out To Sea James Lee Burke Simon & Schuster By James read more...
Cigar City Mafia
Review of: Scott M. Deitche
Cigar City Mafia: A Complete History of The Tampa Underworld Scott M. Deitche
To Live's To Fly
Review of: John Kruth
To Live’s To Fly: The Ballad of The Late, Great Townes Van Zandt John Kruth
A Love Supreme
Review of: John Coltrane
A Love Supreme John Coltrane Impulse By James Calemine Born September read more...
The Getaway
Review of: Jim Thompson
The Getaway Jim Thompson Vintage Crime By James Calemine Jim read more...
The Complete Recordings
Review of: Robert Johnson
The Complete Recordings Robert Johnson Columbia Records By James read more...
40 Greatest Hits
Review of: Hank Williams
40 Greatest Hits Hank Williams Polydor By James read more...
Straight No Chaser
Review of: Thelonious Monk
Straight No Chaser Thelonious Monk Warner Brothers DVD By James read more...
Dislocation Blues
Review of: Chris Whitley & Jeff Lang
Recorded in Sydney, Australia, eight months before the Texas guitarist Chris Whitley died of lung cancer at 45, Dislocation Blues marks Whitley’s final studio album. These 13 spooky read more...
Atlanta Twelve String
Review of: Blind Willie McTell
Atlanta Twelve String Blind Willie McTell Atlantic Records By James Calemine Perhaps the most gifted of all blues artists, Blind Willie McTell ranks as a seminal figure in American music. Born in Thomson, Georgia, in May of 1898 (some say 1901); McTell's read more...
Criss-Cross
Review of: Thelonious Monk
Criss-Cross Thelonious Monk Columbia Records By James Calemine Born October 10, 1917, in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Thelonious Monk's family soon moved to New York City. Monk worked as a professional musician since his early teens as an organ player read more...
AKA Grafitti Man
Review of: John Trudell
AKA Grafitti Man John Trudell Rykodisc Records By James Calemine John Trudell, a Native-American poet, recorded this classic spoken word CD twice. Trudell formed the Grafitti Band with Oklahoma Native-American guitarist Jesse Ed Davis. Davis read more...
New Lease On Life
Review of: William Bell
New Lease On Life William Bell Wilbe Records William Bell's music epitomizes the classic Stax/Volt sound. With Stax Records, Bell joined other musicians like Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, The Staple Singers, Eddie Floyd, Albert King, Issac Hayes, read more...
The Queen Alone
Review of: Carla Thomas
Carla Thomas The Queen Alone Stax Records By James Calemine Carla Thomas--the great Rufus Thomas' daughter--experienced a first rate musical experience growing up in Memphis, Tennessee. The angelic Thomas was later dubbed the Queen of Soul and Stax read more...
Portraits and Songs From the Roots of America
Review of: Various Artists
Enclosed within the new Music Maker book titled Portraits and Songs From the Roots of America rests a CD featuring 22 different Music Maker artists. This collection reveals some of the country’s most neglected Southern musicians who remain pioneers and vital sources read more...
Saul Williams, Greenville, S.C. 3/16/06
Review of: Saul Williams
Saul Williams Barnes & Noble Bookstore, Greenville, S.C. March 16, 2006 Saul Williams is a genius. He’s not only one of our greatest living poets, but also an amazing live performer, musician, and actor. We first discovered read more...
Edgar Winter Group - Live at The Galaxy
Review of: Edgar Winter
Edgar Winter Group Live At The Galaxy (Classic Pictures) Edgar Winter’s rockin’ just as hard these days as he did back in 1973, and his new group sounds great. Yeah, I will always have fond memories of White Trash read more...
The Black Crowes - Freak 'N' Roll...Into The Fog
Review of: Black Crowes
The Black Crowes Freak’N’Roll ...Into The Fog The Black Crowes All Join Hands The Fillmore, San Francisco (Eagle Vision) Damn, it’s good to see Rich and Chris Robinson together again. This show, recorded during their read more...
Gram Parsons - Fallen Angel
Review of: Gram Parsons
Gram Parsons Fallen Angel A Film By Gandulf Hennig (Rhino) Gram Parsons was one of a kind, a pretty-boy with a trust fund and a whole lot of musical genius. He brought country music into the Byrds, performed with Paul Suratt in the read more...
Open Casket
Review of: Minton Sparks
Minton Sparks Open Casket (Ruckus Films) Minton Sparks is a wonderful storyteller. Her tales are true to life, southern fried stories made into free form poetry, set to a bed of music by John Jackson, Steve Conn, Pat FLynn read more...
A Salute to Hee Haw - Collector's Edition
Review of:
A Salute To Hee Haw Collector’s Edition (Time Life) This 5-disc DVD is jam packed with all the downright corny jokes and excellent musical performances that made Hee Haw a multi-generational success story. Hosted read more...
Country Music Changed My Life
Review of:
Country Music Changed My Life by Ken Burke (Chicago Review Press) My first exposure to Ken Burke was through his writings in Goldmine Magazine. His articles and reviews were always well written, and when Country Music read more...
Sing My Way Home: Voices of the New American Roots
Review of:
Sing My Way Home Voices of the New American Roots Rock by Keith and Kent Zimmerman (Backbeat Books) The Zimmerman brothers have really done their homework, and our libraries are just a little bit richer because of it. read more...
Hey Rube
Review of: Hunter S. Thompson
Hey Rube by Hunter S. Thompson (Simon and Schuster) When Hunter S. Thompson cashed in his chips, it was the end of one helluva game. One of America’s true treasures made an exit, and legions of devoted fans, including read more...
Honky Tonk Hero by Billy Joe Shaver
Review of: Billy Joe Shaver
Honky Tonk Hero by Billy Joe Shaver (University of Texas Press) Billy Joe Shaver had lead a very interesting life, to say the least. We have all been privy to certain chapters of the Texas singer/songwriter’s life by read more...
No Saints, No Saviors
Review of: The Allman Brothers Band
No Saints, No Saviors My Years With The Allman Brothers Band by Willie Perkins (Mercer University Press) Between the years of 1970 and 1989, Willie Perkins worked for the Allman Brother’s Band and as read more...
Between Rock And A Hard Place: Chuck Leavell
Review of: Chuck Leavell
Between Rock And A Hard Place Chuck Leavell with J. Marshall Craig (Mercer University Press) Chuck Leavell is a musician that has been around to see a lot of music history, and has been a big part of music history. In his new read more...
Lovesick Blues: The Life of Hank Williams
Review of: Hank Williams
Lovesick Blues: The Life Of Hank Williams by Paul Hemphill (Viking) So much has been written about Hank Williams Sr., arguably the greatest figure in country music, that it comes as a shock to find that a biography could be produced read more...
The Unsolved Murder of Lynyrd Skynyrd Bassist Leon
Review of: Lynyrd Skynyrd
The Unsolved Murder of Lynyrd Skynyrd Bassist Leon Wilkeson by Dale Bowman (Jaguar Publishing) When Leon Wilkeson was found dead in a Florida hotel back in 2001, the world not only lost a great bassist, but a totally unique, kind read more...
Rock 'N Blues Stew
Review of:
Rock 'N Blues Stew by Mitchell D. Lopate (Authorhouse) In his debut book, Gritz contributing writer Mitch Lopate collects many of his interviews, reviews, thoughts, essays, and commentaries into one fine volume. Many read more...
Skydog: The Duane Allman Story
Review of: The Allman Brothers Band
Skydog The Duane Allman Story by Randy Poe (Backbeat Books) I have been waiting on this book for years, and to coin a cliche, it was well worth the wait. Randy Poe has gone deep, digging through source material with read more...
Jammin' For Danny Joe Brown
Review of: Various Artists
(GWP Records) One of the most emotional all-star jams in recent history took place at Orlando, Florida's Club LaVela on July 18, 1999. A benefit to help offset the vast medical expenses of original Molly Hatchet lead singer Danny Joe Brown, the event , read more...
John D. Wyker & Eddie Hinton - Johnny Wyker Video
Review of: John D. Wyker & Eddie Hinton
(MFOV) Once in a very blue moon, something crosses my desk that is absolutely, without a doubt, totally unique. Well sir, they don’t come any more unique than my buddy John D. Wyker. But more than just being cool and unique “John Wyker Volume 1” is read more...
Tom Dowd & The Language of Music
Review of: Tom Dowd
(Palm Pictures) thelanguageofmusic.com The documentary Rolling Stone calls “brilliant” and rock critic Dave Marsh cites as “ a truly beautiful picture,” pays read more...
Live From The Garden State
Review of: Marshall Tucker Band
The Marshall Tucker Band Live From The Garden State 1981 (Shout! Factory) During it’s very first year on television, MTV brought us real music, everything from punk to new wave, pop to Southern rock. It was during that read more...
The Man, His World, His Music
Review of: Johnny Cash
(Sanctuary) Watching this DVD is a little like looking at home movies. Actually, a lot of it is old home movies. And the fact that many of us children of the sixties and seventies felt like Johnny Cash was a part of our family, causes it all to make sense. read more...
CDB-DVD-Live
Review of: Charlie Daniels Band
(Koch) I could not have imagined a better DVD from our old friends The Charlie Daniels Band. In this, their first ever concert DVD, we get a full length, absolutely smoking live set from Charlie Daniels, Joel "Taz" DiGregorio, Charlie Hayward, Bruce read more...
Live From Austin, Texas Cash, Hiatt, Yoakam, & Tex
Review of: Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash John Hiatt Eric Johnson Dwight Yoakam Texas Tornados Live From Austin Texas - (New West) With the latest installment of DVD’s and CD’s culled from the archives of the read more...
Back Where It All Begins
Review of: Dickey Betts & Great Southern
Back Where It All Begins - Live At The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum (Eaglevision) Like many, I was really and truly bummed out a few years ago when Dickey Betts left the Allman Brothers Band. I just knew it would read more...
The Legends, Live in 1971
Review of: Ike & Tina Turner
Ike and Tina Turner The Legends - Live in 1971 (Eagle Vision) Red hot, smokin’, funky, get down, Soul Train, sexy, sweaty, rhythm and blues soul, delivered by the masters. Filmed at the pinnacle read more...
All Star Bluegrass Celebration
Review of: Various Artists
(Sugar Hill) Both the DVD and the CD of this live show, recorded onstage at the revered Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, are absolutely indispensable to any lover of Bluegrass music. I mean, the cream of the crop of today’s pickers are on hand, and the read more...
Heartworn Highways
Review of: Various Artists
(Catfish Entertainment/Snapper Music) In the early 1970’s outlaw country music came onto the scene to clear the air. The mainstream country music ideology of the day was known as the Nashville Sound, but folks like Willie and Waylon chose to do it read more...
Live at The Beacon
Review of: The Allman Brothers Band
( Sanctuary) The Allman Brothers Band’s annual spring pilgrimage to New York’s Beacon Theatre has become a rock-n-roll ritual, and in 2003, the band returned again to the Beacon for another series of sold out shows featuring the current lineup of read more...
Lyve: The Vicious Cycle Tour
Review of: Lynyrd Skynyrd
(Sanctuary) Recorded live in Nashville at the Amsouth Amphitheater in July, 2003, Lyve is an excellent documentation of the highly successful Vicious Cycle tour the band has taken around the world during 2003. The set list features all of the read more...
Alison Krauss and Union Station - Live
Review of: Alison Krauss and Union Station
Alison Krauss and Union Station Live (Rounder Records CD/DVD) Alison Krauss and Union Station are on a roll. They have carved out an audience that supports their shows to the tune of sell-out after sell-out. Now, with the read more...
Soldier of the Cross - The Concert
Review of: Ricky Skaggs
Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder (Skaggs Family) Ricky Skaggs brings his award winning gospel album Soldier Of The Cross to the stage for a rousing, spirit filled, bluegrass fueled set. Along with guest artists The Whites and Jerry read more...
Pieces and Bits
Review of: Johnny Winter
(LLC) The long awaited video compilation produced by Val Minett (with Johnny's manager Teddy Slatus acting as Executive Producer) is now available, and it is nothing short of a beautiful thing. Previously unseen photos of Johnny taken by his wife Susan open read more...
One Ruined Life of a Bronze Tourist
Review of: Col. Bruce Hampton
One Ruined Life of a Bronze Tourist was originally recorded in 1978 for Atlanta’s Pine Tree Records. Terminus Records has now re-released the album, complete with three bonus tracks. Colonel Bruce is a rare breed—he abides by no conventions or read more...
Southscape
Review of: Chuck Leavell
Chuck Leavell commands respect in the music world. He’s played piano with the Rolling Stones (for half the band’s history), Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Dr. John, The Allman Brothers, Sea Level, The Black Crowes and many others. Leavell’s read more...
Arkansas
Review of: Col. Bruce Hampton
Colonel Bruce Hampton’s album Arkansas, like his 1978 One Ruined Life of A Bronze Tourist, has been recently re-released on Atlanta’s Terminus Records. Arkansas was originally recorded in 1987 and released on Landslide Records. Arkansas certainly read more...
If I Could Only Fly
Review of: Merle Haggard
The name Merle Haggard carries a heavy weight in country music. Haggard remains a maverick who stared into the face of decadence during peaks and valleys of his legendary music career—thirty-nine number #1 country hits, IRS troubles, addictions, prestigious accolades, extreme read more...
In The Beginning
Review of: Townes Van Zandt
Ten undiscovered Townes Van Zandt songs demoed for an early Nashville publishing contract in 1966 remained unheard for thirty-seven years until now. A new CD titled In The Beginning emerges as a read more...
Ragged Old Flag
Review of: Johnny Cash
Originally released on Columbia Records in April 1974, Ragged Old Flag consists of twelve original Johnny Cash compositions. In the liner notes, Cash revealed, “I got so excited writing the songs in this album that you’d think I just started in read more...
Hard Luck Guy
Review of: Eddie Hinton
Eddie Hinton, the Muscle Shoals singer/songwriter, did not live to complete the 1999 Capricorn release Hard Luck Guy. In July 1995, Hinton died of a heart attack during the sessions. Hard Luck Guy should be a contender for soul album of the year.
You're Gonna Need That Pure Religion
Review of: Reverend Pearly Brown
Born August 18, 1915 in Abbeville, Georgia, Reverend Pearly Brown lived his life preaching and singing about the word of God to common folk in the streets. Rev. Brown spoke of his childhood: “I was born blind so I have never seen the world. My mother died when I was quite read more...
Muscle Shoals Sounds: The Rhythm Of The River
Review of: Various Artists
Back on November 13, the University of North Alabama hosted a symposium dedicated to the musical history of the Muscle Shoals area. The event mainly covered the area's musical past, but also included segments on the business of songwriting, modern studio production, read more...
Say It One Time For The Brokenhearted
Review of: Barney Hoskyns
In the wake of Ray Charles's new country music box set as well as Lambchop's recent soul dabbling both on their own and with Vic Chestnutt, this reprint of Barney Hoskyns's "country soul" study couldn't have come at a better time. "Say It One Time For the read more...