Spyboy Review

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(More customer reviews)This is an astonishing album -- not only does it capture the essence of who Emmylou Harris is (as a singer and songwriter), but it showcases her wonderfully as a live performer. Spyboy is a brilliant title for this live CD. The spyboy is the young lad who leads off the Mardis Gras parade, which is a great metaphor for Harris' career. She has always been at the forefront of defining and redefining the confluence of country, rock, and folk music.
Here, she and her band beautifully reinterpret songs that she has made into classics. My Songbird, a Jesse Winchester gem, is delivered in classic Harris style -- aching, plaintive, and with an air of resignation. It doesn't matter that the song is written in the first person and spoken by a man. This is a haunting and painful song about separation that only Harris could deliver so sweetly.
This theme of pain, separation, and moving on permeates this recording, and is exemplified by such songs as Daniel Lanois' Where Will I Be, the traditional Green Pastures, and her own composition about Gram Parsons, Boulder to Birmingham. But this is not sappy sentimental country-folk-rock. Instead, it is intelligent music making in the same way that is true of other performers such as Richard and Linda Thompson, Mary Black, or Mary Chapin Carpenter.
The aura cast by the musicians is somewhat ethereal, being clearly influenced by Daniel Lanois, long-time producer of U2's recordings, and of Bob Dylan's Oh Mercy. Lanois' influence on Harris is most pronounced in her Wrecking Ball recording, a style that overflows into this live concert. In fact, Harris sings two Lanois compositions, in addition to Deeper Well (a song I have yet to appreciate), which they co-wrote. I have to admit that I'm getting a little tired of the Lanois style (he's also produced a recent Willie Nelson recording), however, there's no denying his success. My other pet peave is that any recording that Lanois produces includes one or two of his songs. He seems great at marketing himself and his production style. Mercifully, a performer like Harris is so transcendental that one doesn't notice such seeming trivialities. Rather, this (or any other Harris recording) is an experience not to be missed.

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Band of Joy Review

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(More customer reviews)OK, I'll get this out up front: I think this is Robert Plant's single best offering. Ever. There, I said it - and I can feel the psychic outpourings from a gazillion Zep fans already.
Of course Plant produced wondrous things in 'that other band'. I'm sure I could select any number of permutations of single Zeppelin, or even post-Zeppelin, tracks and put them together in a compilation that I rate higher than I do this. But, no previous, non-compilation, offering satisfies me in quite the way Band of Joy does. Perhaps that simply reflects the 30 plus years I've put on post the untimely demise of what to me was the unparalleled rock band. As one other reviewer has said: there was Zeppelin and then there was everyone else.
So what makes Band of Joy so pleasurable for me? It's a long list. For starters and in no particular order:
Track selection: I like the way Plant has delved into the archives and brought to us a selection of tunes that range from foot-stomping to dark and brooding. I can't fault it. He's introduced me to stuff I would not otherwise have heard and that means that I will probably go back to the source for some of it to hear how they have been reinterpreted. So, he's honouring us as listeners and those who have laid the way before him.
Plant's voice: Of course his has always been one of the great distinctive rock voices. At 62 though we can't expect the wail of the Immigrant Song. On this album his voice ranges from playful to introspective and at all times he sounds completely in control of it. He does give us the occasional peek back to signature notes from his career but this is a wonderfully assured mature voice. He seems an artist who has absolutely nothing left to prove and is revelling in the artistic freedom that gives him.
Musicianship: With the exception of Buddy Miller, I was not aware of any of the other instrumentalists on this album. Of course, RP has worked with the best in his time. These guys all live up to the standards one would expect. Plant's own comments sum them up: "The musicianship of these guys is almost frightening, singing with them, I'm just sliding down the rigging with a knife in my teeth, trying to make off with a few experiences. Sometimes I think I should just be helping out in catering."
Patty Griffin: long one of my favourite singer-songwriters Griffin brings an other worldliness to Band of Joy. Make no mistake, this is not an album of duets. Rather she adds a depth, complexity and richness to the sound that is almost instrumental. Having heard it I struggle to imagine the album without it.
I'm hard pressed to single out favourites from this album. There's certainly no tracks that on the umpteenth listening I'm hitting the skip track button on. If pushed I would pick 'Central Two-O-Nine'; 'Silver Rider'; 'Falling in Love Again'; 'The Only Sound That Matters'; 'Monkey'; and 'Harm's Swift Way' but that list might change tomorrow.
I'm fascinated to hear where Plant goes next. I could care less whether Zeppelin reunites - we have a wonderful archival history to draw from. In the liner notes to Band of Joy Plant gives gratitude to David Rawlings and Gillian Welch for kindness and hospitality. A collaboration with that couple would be fascinating.

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2011 GRAMMY NOMINEE: BEST SOLO ROCK VOCAL PERFORMANCE & BEST AMERICANA ALBUM Robert Plant's Band of Joy reflects his unquenchable thirst for new songs and new sounds. Not satisfied with his stature as one of the great innovators and heroes of pop music, he continues to let his curiosity guide him to unexplored territory. Building on the roots-imbued sound he achieved with Alison Krauss on the wildly successful Raising Sand, Plant's song selection and incomparable vocals make Band of Joy a new triumph.

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Majestic Silver Strings Review

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(More customer reviews)I didn't like parts of this album at all the first time I listened to it. Indeed, more than once I found myself thinking "what was he thinking?" With repeated listenings, however, I started to get it.
This album is unlike anything Buddy has done before. It is far and away the most ambitious album he has undertaken in his entire career.
Yes, some of the usual suspects show up (Ann McCrary, Patty Griffin, Shawn Colvin, Lee Ann Womack, Emmylou Harris and, of course, Julie.
But then there's a bunch of folks you wouldn't expect. First, you've got Bill Frisell (one of jazz's pre-eminent guitarists whose musical roots are very broad and very deep), Marc Ribot (another world-class guitarist whose past work has been labeled no wave, free jazz and Cuban among other things - trust me, Marc doesn't fit in a box any more than Bill does), and Greg Leisz (who plays just about anything with strings exceptionally well). [Greg's steel guitar will make your skin crawl it's so good] Together with Buddy, these four men constitute the Majestic Silver Strings, which will play as a group at the Grammy Museum in LA on Thursday, March 10th (only show scheduled that I know of). Add in Chocolate Genius, a floating member group centered on Marc Anthony Thompson, a New York-based singer/songwriter, and you've got a heck of a mix.
The album (the promo copy I have been listening to) states that it is "Buddy's re-imagination of classic country songs, loaded with guitars, atmosphere, and attitude." That's about as apt a one-line description as you're likely to find. That's also why there's a bit of culture shock at first. Most of these are not typical country arrangements; indeed, some are arguably not country at all (the cover of "Bury Me Not On The Lone Prairie's" layered guitars are much more jazz and avant-garde, some of it downright dissonant at times - but it works).
As I've listened to this album I've had a lot of reactions and thoughts. There's a dark, brooding melancholy underlying some of the arrangements and singing. Some of the arrangements are reminiscent of Ry Cooder's "Jazz" album with a real turn-of-the-century 1800s/1900s feel to them ("Meds"). Some are lush and deeply layered, some are pretty stripped down and spartan. You can legitimately say that the album is a hodge-podge, but it all works nonetheless and it's cohesive as an album.
The best songs for me (and these may well change in the future) are Buddy and Ann McCrary's take on "No Good Lover," Marc Ribot's "Bury Me Not On The Lone Prairie," the upbeat, jazzy instrumental "Freight Train," Buddy and Marc's "Why Baby Why," and the simple, straightforward "God's Wing'ed Horse" by Buddy and Julie that closes the album. That said, there's not a bad song on the album, just some that aren't quite as effective as others.
I'm sure some A&R moon unit at a super-sized label would have tried to talk Buddy out of working with Bill and Marc, and possibly out of making such an album at all. And on my first listening, I might have agreed. Careful, repeated listenings, however, revealed more and more; it lives up to the old adage, more will be revealed. After 8 full, careful listenings (three with the headphones on), all I can do is shake my head and think "Buddy, ain't that ol' boy something." Indeed, he is.
This album has its flaws and faults, but they are almost completely lost in the huge shadows cast by the sheer ambition of what is attempted and the brilliance of what is achieved. There is an old saying that there is nothing new under the sun; well, this album is something new under then sun and it goes places no one has been before. This is one of the most important albums to be released this year in any musical genre. Plus it's pure pleasure to listen to.
Recommended without any qualification or reservation.


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The Majestic Silver Strings is Buddy's reimagination of classic country songs with unrestrained guitars, atmosphere and attitude. Buddy and the three acclaimed guitarists Bill Frisell, Marc Ribot and Greg Leisz (together they are The Majestic Silver Strings) together push each song into a new cosmos warped in reverb. Guest vocalists include Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Shawn Colvin, Lee Ann Womack, Chocolate Genius and Julie Miller.

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