This week we meet Beach House. They came by a few weeks ago and we had a chat before they went to play at King Tuts.
I couldn’t make the gig but I know it would have been good. Beach House are Alex Scally and Victoria Legrand. (Legrand being such a famous musical name I had to ask her and yes, her UNCLE is the man who wrote this.) Some of these songwriting genes have rubbed off as Beach House are making some lovely music. We played Zebra last week and I said at the time that we’d not played a better song all night. See for yourself.
When you’re putting together suggestions for the Beginners Guide to Americana it’s hard to avoid Ryan Adams.
This will give you a clue to the album choice for Friday.
We also have some splendid new things from Audra Mae ,She and Him and Merle Haggard.
On Sunday….
400 years of The King James Bible, David Baddiel on The Infidel, The Moderator of the Church of Scotland and we discuss the
new campaign to prevent young men committing suicide. We will play some brilliant music from The Blind Boys of Alabama, Lesley Duncan
and Ed Harcourt. All on BBC Radio Scotland, Sunday Morning at 8.
Ryan Adams – fantastic! Really looking forward to this, Gold is one my all time favourite tracks and La Cienga Just Smiled is a sublime track. He can be a bit of a hit or a miss though especially live and I have Ryan to thank for one of the worst gigs I have ever been at! But when he is good…..
I dont always get the chance to listen to your Sunday show but did last weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it. The Rising an inpired choice and Dame Burnell was a fascinating guest.
Cheers all
Norrie
I loved “Zebra” (not to mention zebras as a theme – but that’s another story) and so look forward in particular to hearing more of Beach House this week.
In terms of Americana, I was reading this week about my most hotly anticipated new album of the year from a personal favourite: Mary Chapin Carpenter’s “Age of Miracles”, which is due for release on 27th April. Her music just goes from strength to strength and this album sounds sublime from what I’ve read about it thus far.
Also, I read that she’s set to be honoured in an event called “Freedom Sings” on the same day in Washington DC. At that event, she’ll receive the “Spirit of Americana” Free Speech in Music Award from the Newseum’s First Amendment Center and the Americana Music Association. Previous recipients include Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Judy Collins and Steve Earle, so she’ll be in very good company indeed!
I don’t think Mary Chapin has been heard much – if at all – on Another Country, and maybe that’s purely an editorial decision but I wondered if the combination of these two might mean we’ll get to hear her in the near future, maybe with something from the upcoming album?!
As a postscript, I have to agree with Norrie too on “La Cienega Just Smiled”. It’s the song that introduced me to Ryan Adams (via Whispering Bob Harris no less) and just beautiful.