Playlist: Episode 160

Folk Roots Radio on July 26 2014 (Episode 160) featured interviews with Lauren Mann from Lauren Mann And The Fairly Odd Folk and slide guitarist Dennis Johnson alongside the usual music mix.

Lauren Mann has been delighting audiences with her folk-pop since 2008. She joined us in the first hour to chat about her Guelph area show on August 2 2014 at the Eden Mills Community Hall. Tickets are $30 for adults, and $10 for students and available at the Bookshelf in Guelph or by contacting Kathie Lamie at 519-501-3550. The show starts at 8:00 p.m. (doors at 7:30 p.m.).

Later in the show we talked to California based slide guitarist Dennis Johnson about his great new album “Slide Avenue”, the follow up to “Slide Show”. Slide Avenue moves effortlessly between genres, from Blues to New Orleans Jazz to Rock to Swing, as it takes you on a ride that stays with you long after the album has finished. Featuring three Robert Johnson reinterpretations alongside a slew of Dennis Johnson originals it’s an album with so many standout tracks its hard to pick one though “She Looks Good”, featuring some outstanding fiddle from Joe Craven, deserves special mention.

This week’s mystery theme featured songs about ‘postcards’. We started off with Eddi Reader and a song entitled “Postcard” from her 1994 album “Angels & Electricity”. We followed that with Corin Raymond (with The Sundowners) and “Postcard from Winnipeg” from his 2013 album “Paper Nickels”, the album he used Canadian Tire Money to pay for. We continued the “postcards from places abroad” theme with Glen Campbell, with “Postcards From Paris” from his 2013 album “See You There”, Leon Rosselson with “Postcards From Cuba” from his 2011 compilation “The World Turned Upside Down: Rosselsongs” and another song entitled “Postcard” from Roddy Frame from his latest album, Seven Dials (2014). We wrapped it all up with Pugwash with “Answers On A Postcard” from their 2011 album “The Olympus Sound”. We even found time for some instrumental background music from Explosions In The Sky with “Postcard From 1952” from their 2011 album “Take Care, Take Care, Take Care”.

I can’t remember the last time I received a postcard. It used to be a nice surprise getting them in the mail though I suspect we all took them for granted. Unfortunately we now live in a 24/7 socially-networked world where they’re just not necessary. It’s rather a shame that no one sends them any more. Still that’s progress for you…

This week’s guilty pleasure (that song you still love though think it unfashionable) went out to Eileen who asked for some Nilsson, specifically “Without You”. Without You was actually a cover version of a Badfinger song written by Pete Ham and Tom Evans. As a single, it reached No. 1 in Canada, the US and the UK in 1972; it also appeared on the album “Nilsson Schmilsson” (1972). You can now also find it on a fabulous compilation, The RCA Albums Collection, that came out last year. It features every one of Nilsson’s albums that came out on that label plus three albums of sessions covering the 1967 – 1974 period. It is an amazing boxed set. Well worth picking up, if like Eileen, you love Harry’s music.

If you have a guilty pleasure you’d like to share – that song you still love though you think other people would find it unfashionable (believe me, they won’t), get in touch. We’d love to play it for you! And, if you have a good story about why you love that song, so much the better.

Among the new music we listened to was a beautiful Michael Johnathon song Ravenwood from his new live album “Looking Glass”. That album has some good songs on it but because of poor editing it is just about unlistenable unless you are just dipping in to listen to a single track. I actually re-edited the song that we played today. It’s a shame. We followed that with a song from an album where everything… songs, production, packaging was perfect, a deluxe version of Lucinda Williams debut album Lucinda Williams from 1988. The deluxe album is beautiful in every way, and , as well as true original album, features an excellent live set and bonus tracks. Today we listened to “I Just Want To See You So Bad”. Later in the show we played another song by Jason Wilson & Dave Swarbrick from their great recent album “Lion Rampart”. “The Fish Gutters Song” also features Peggy Seeger and the Bevvy Sisters. Peggy has just released a new album under her own name, “Everything Changes”. After a period of illness its good to have her back. We’ll be playing tracks from that album on future shows.

And finally, we also found time to play a track from The Hello Strangers, a roots / alt. country duo from Austin by way of Pennsylvania, featuring Larissa Chace Smith and Brechyn Chace. They have just released a great self-titled album, from which we played the catchy “What It takes To Break A Heart”. We will be playing more and hopefully will get an interview in the next few weeks.

Well, that’s about all we have time for this week. You can find the full playlist for the show below. Thanks to all the artists who share their music with us, and thank you for listening. We’ll see you next week!

You can listen to the show again on Mixcloud.

Folk Roots Radio – July 26 2014 by Folk Roots Radio on Mixcloud

Mystery Theme: “Postcards”

Eddi Reader
Postcard
Angels & Electricity (1994, Warner Bros)

Corin Raymond And The Sundowners
Postcard From Winnipeg
Paper Nickels (2013, Local Rascal) CDN

Glen Campbell
Postcards From Paris
See You There (2013, Surfdog Records)

Leon Rosselson
Postcards From Cuba
The World Turned Upside Down: Rosselsongs (2011, Fuse)

Roddy Frame
Postcard
Seven Dials (2014, AED Records)

Pugwash
Answers On A Postcard
The Olympus Sound (2011, Lojinx)

Explosions In The Sky
Postcard From 1952
Take Care, Take Care, Take Care (2011, Bella Union)

Lauren Mann And The Fairly Odd Folk
I Lost Myself
Over Land And Sea (2012, Wanderer Records) CDN

Interview: Lauren Mann regarding her current tour and winning CBC Searchlight 2014.

Lauren Mann And The Fairly Odd Folk
Over Land And Sea
Over Land And Sea (2012, Wanderer Records) CDN

Harry Nilsson
Without You
Nilsson Schmilsson (The RCA Album Collection) (2013, Legacy Recordings)

Michael Johnathon
Ravenwood
Looking Glass (2014, Poetman Records)

Lucinda Williams
I Just Want To See You So Bad
Lucinda Williams (Deluxe) (2014, Lucinda Williams / Thirty Tigers)

Wilson & Swarbrick
The Fish Gutters Song (feat. Peggy Seeger)
Lion Rampart (2014, Shirty Records) CDN

Dennis Johnson
She Looks Good
Slide Avenue (2014, Self)

Interview: Slide guitarist Dennis Johnson discussing his new album “Slide Avenue”

Dennis Johnson
Phonograph Blues
Slide Avenue (2014, Self)

Lee Palmer
Do What It Does
60 Clicks (2014, Self)

Vince Gill, Zac Brown and Greg Allman
Midnight Rider
All My Friends Celebrating The Songs And Voice Of Greg Allman (2014, Concord Music)

Ronnie Lane’s Slim Chance
G’Morning
Oh La La: An Island Harvest (2014, Island Records)

The Hello Strangers
What It takes To Break A Heart
The Hello Strangers (2014, IMI)

Jackie Morris
Can’t Fix Crazy
Can’t Fix Crazy (2014, Button Box Records)

Bill Steely And Where’s Dave
Walking Through Grand Central
Jane (2014, Sky Llama Records)

Theme:
Mary Margaret O’Hara
Anew Day
Miss America (1988, Virgin) CDN