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REVIEWS
MUSIC
Jade Jackson
Gilded
Jade Jackson is being hailed as a
young country artist to watch, and
for good reason. Having played
guitar since she was 13, Jackson
quickly attracted a strong fan base
and wrote over 300 songs before
she graduated. It was a Social
Distortion concert and the lasting
impression Mike Ness left on her
that have inspired her to pursue
a musical career. As it happened,
one thing led to another and Ness
ended up mentoring Jackson and
producing this, her debut album.
He’s added some punk rock
attitude while being truly respectful
to Jackson’s old soul country style,
reflecting her inspirations fromThe
Smiths to George Jones.
(ANTI) Denise Hylands
John Moreland
Big Bad Luv
If you like your country true,
honest and heartfelt, John
Moreland could be your guy.
Fronting hardcore and punk bands
before being lured to the lyricism
of country and folk music, it was
Steve Earle’s song
Rich Man’s
War
that struck a powerful chord
with Moreland, and along with
the influences of Guy Clark and
Townes Van Zandt, prompted
him to pursue the music he now
makes. Predominately a self-
produced and self-promoted artist,
this is Moreland's fourth solo
album with a crew of hometown
Tulsa players. Offering songs
of love, faith and the human
condition, Moreland is one of
the great new songwriters of
his generation.
(4AD/Remote
Control) Denise Hylands
Sheryl Crow
Be Myself
Reportedly written after
listening back to her early
records in an attempt to figure
out why they resonated with
so many people,
Be Myself
has
Sheryl Crow revelling in her
age: hipsters are bad, comfy
jeans are good, and nothing’s
better than a beer and a great
beat. These earthy mannerisms
make Crow’s ninth album more
country-rock than she might
like, at a time when she’s
distancing herself from country
radio, but the no-frills approach
has universal appeal. Switching
between personal tragedy and
empathising with a world in
crisis, Crow hits all the marks
for a record as intimate as it is
topical.
(Warner) Jake Cleland
Xavier Rudd
Live In The Netherlands
Sexiest Australian Vegetarian.
Environmental activist.
Campaigner for Indigenous
rights. Xavier Rudd is all of those
things. But most of all, he’s a
potent performer, and this live
set – recorded on the final night of
his 2016 European tour – shows
him in his natural habitat. This is
a big album in more ways than
one, with 18 tracks and nearly
two hours of music, spread over
two CDs or triple vinyl. “Feel the
love vibration,” Rudd urges the
obliging crowd. Live albums don’t
have a lot of currency these days,
but this is a great live album, with
a compelling artist in complete
command. A career highpoint.
(Salt X Records/Universal)
Jeff Jenkins
Tim Rogers
An Actor Repairs
Sex? Drugs? Sometimes all you want is a great
story. They don’t make ’em like Tim Rogers
anymore; with “the spirit of Ollie Reed” he’s the
last of the great rock stars, and there can be no
denying he’s a great artist as well.
An Actor Repairs
is a concept album of sorts, about an ageing actor
who decides to retire. But maybe the record reveals more about Rogers,
a true rock ’n’ roll survivor. “They can scratch,” he declares, defiantly,
“I never bleed.” Then he adds, “It’s said I have no discipline, yeah, well,
discipline’s for creeps.” It’s self-deprecating (“I’ve written bullsh-t songs”),
with revealing, wry rhymes. Every song is perfectly realised – props to
producer Shane O’Mara – and the instrumentation is so vivid, all you have
to do is close your eyes and you can see the story come to life. It’s more
stage show than rock record, though the final track salutes Springsteen
and Chuck Berry, as well as Rogers’ own body of work. “There ain’t nothin’
better,” he sings, “than singin’ about cars and girls.” It’s a flippant coda to
an album that’s about a whole lot more.
An Actor Repairs
is a masterwork.
(FOUR|FOUR/ABC) Jeff Jenkins
Ruthie Foster
Joy Comes Back
Two decades into her recording
career, singer/songwriter/musician
Ruthie Foster continues to push
the boundaries of gospel-based
blues forms with this eclectic
release.
Her gospel roots are represented
by Sean Staples'
Joy Comes Back
and embellished by
Derek Trucks' slide guitar, and
there's a cover of Mississippi
John Hurt's
Richland Woman
Blues
, albeit with a bluegrass
arrangement. But Ruthie has also
included a soul ballad, a Motown
cover (The Four Tops' hit
Loving
You Is Sweeter Than Ever)
, the
self-written
Open Sky
, and a
soulful, harmonica-driven take on
Black Sabbath's anti-war song
War
Pigs
.
(Planet/MGM) Billy Pinnell
Rory Block
Keepin' Outta Trouble
Acclaimed acoustic blues guitarist/
singer/songwriter Rory Block
recently released the sixth in
her Mentor Series, in which she
performs the songs of country and
blues legends whose music has
changed her life.
On this album she pays tribute
to Bukka White, remembered as
a player of National Resonator
guitars, who died in 1977.
Since the age of 15, Rory's
distinctive guitar technique (she
uses a socket wrench as a slide)
has enabled her to tap into the
spirit of timeless songs such as
Bukka's
Parchman Farm Blues
,
and
Fixin' To Die Blues
– songs
that inspired her to include some
of her own for this release.
(Only Blues) Billy Pinnell