Rock Chick of the Day: Christy Baron – Will It Go Around In Circles

I am not sure I have ever heard a cover version of this Billy Preston classic let alone one as cool as this one. Christy Baron performs this on as well as a loin tingling version of “She’s Not There” on the album Steppin’.  Don’t sleep on “Spooky” or  Peter Gabriel’s “Mercy Street” either.  This is good midnight Noir Julie London kind of stuff.

Live Video of the Day: Grace Potter – White Rabbit

Back when The Nocturnals were cool, and Grace wasn’t corporate.

“Tell ‘em a Hookah smoking caterpillar has given you a call.”

Video of the Day: Whitehorse – Sweet Disaster

There is a lot of good music coming from Canada, here is the husband and wife team of Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland known as Whitehorse. The vibe is Americana Noir and their new album Leave No Bridge Unburned Rock and and Roll wonder.

Video of the Day: Jose Gonzales – Lead Off/The Cave

Supremely sweet Indie Folk from the Swedish singer from Vestiges and Claws, his latest album.

Video of the Day: Blackberry Smoke – Too High

Blackberry Smoke, our favorite 70’s vibing Country Rock band with their latest single and video.

Best Albums of 2015: Chris Spedding – Joyland

Chris Spedding – Joyland (Rating 4 out of 5)

With Joyland, Chris Spedding has further established himself as one of the few guitar heroes of the punk era to step out from  under his quif topped lid to cement himself as a much sought after session player and an eclectic solo artist in his own right.

Now, with Joyland,the 70-year-old Spedding has released his first record in six years, and this one is one of his best.  Starting with the opener on the title track where Deadwood resident Ian McShane does a Vincent Price like spoken-word narrative turn, the atmosphere of the album is set against a spooky-noir backdrop that seems to creep throughout most of the tracks here. “Now You See It” is an up-tempo rocker of a tune that celebrates the patented Spedding yell-snarl that falls somewhere between Billy Idol and Bon Scott. This one is one hell of a driving song as is “Cafe Racer” a beauty of a surf guitar instrumental that would have fit in perfectly on any ventures album.

Robert Gordon, one of his frequent collaborators, shows up with a vocal turn on the more than excellent “I Still Love You.” This R&B and soul influenced number is a bit out-of-place and seems a bit noir-blocking, but standing on its own, it is one hell of a song.

“Heisenberg,” the spaghetti western tinged instrumental with The Smiths Johnny Marr adding guitar support is a brilliant, all be it head scratching, number that probably would have been better served as an album closer. It would have been perfectly complemented with the actual final track on the album “Boom Shakka Boom,” a song that would have been a perfect fit on an episode of Trueblood.

 

Rock Chick(s) of the Day: The Staves – Black & White

The first single from their sure to be excellent new album. Showing a little more grit than on their last album Dead & Born & Grown, the future is pretty bright for these siblings from Hertfordshire, England.

Video of the Day: Carl Barat and the Jackals – Glory Days

With the on again, off again Libertines always in various stages of band-dom, Carl Barat takes matters in his own hands with this Post Punk gem from, Let it Reign his soon to be released L.P.

Ray Wylie Hubbard – Snake Farm

Ray Wylie Hubbard – Screw You We’re From Texas