Yep Roc Records’ New Benefit Record Can And Likely Will Succeed In Its Aim

Courtesy: Yep Roc Records

Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro, NC has hosted countless acts over the course of its 50 years in business, but its future is now in doubt as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Its closure meant the cancellation of its entire concert schedule, leading to trouble paying the rent and basic overhead costs.  In response, many of the North Carolina bands that have gone on to national (and even global) fame since their days performing at Cat’s Cradle have come together for a benefit compilation meant to raise money for the famed venue.  The compilation, Cover Charge: NC Artists Go Under Cover To Benefit Cat’s Cradle, was released Friday through Yep Roc Records.  The 25-song collection is a widely appealing presentation that will connect just as much with fans of Americana and southern rock as it will to those with an appreciation of pop music.  That is proven through the acts and songs featured throughout the compilation.  This will be addressed shortly.  The performances of the noted songs by the featured North Carolina acts adds to the record’s appeal.  They will be discussed a little later.  The record’s sequencing rounds out its most important elements.  Each noted item is important in its own way to the whole of this compilation’s presentation.  All things considered, they make Cover Charge: NC Artists Go Under Cover To Benefit Cat’s Cradle a work whose own music is sure to help keep the music alive at its beneficiary club.

Yep Roc Records’ new benefit record Cover Charge: NC Artists Go Under Cover To Benefit Cat’s Cradle is sure to benefit the famed local music venue, an greatly at that.  That is proven in part through the acts and songs that are featured in the 25-song presentation.  They range from a cover of The Go-Gos’ Can’t Stop The World’ by Superchunk, to an updated take of Buffalo Springfield’s timeless protest song ‘For What It’s Worth’ by Faith Jones, to a cover of Paul McCartney’s ‘Every Night’ by Terry Anderson and the Olympic Ass-Kickin’ Team and so much more, the compilation runs the gamut on genres and acts.  There is even a cover of Madonna’s ‘Dress You Up’ next to Beck’s ‘Think I’m In Love’ along with a pair of Neil Young covers to add to the presentation.  Again, what listeners get here is an extensive list of covers of songs from a wide range of well-known acts.  The covers in question are unique takes on the noted songs by acts that are well-known in their own right and others who are building their reputations quite well.  That aspect alone makes for its own reason for audiences to take in this record.  It is just one of the aspects that makes the compilation worth hearing.  The acts’ performances of the respective covers add their own hare of interest and appeal to the record.

The performances in question are of note because while they largely stay true to their source material, they give the songs their own unique updates.  Case in point is the noted update on Buffalo Springfield’s ‘For What It’s Worth.’  The original song is well-known by audiences of all ages.  It is a very subdued composition.  That reserved nature and feeling was used intentionally so as to heathen the feeling of the song’s subject as he/she looked around at everything happening in the world at the time.  Faith Jones’ update is less subdued and reserved than its source material.  It is not more energetic than said song.  It is however, still impacting in its own right.  The use of the pedal to give it a sort of funk vibe plays into its infectious nature.  The addition of the slide guitar alongside that element gives the song a bit of a country vibe.  Those two elements serve well to play into the song’s bigger message of unity, what with the genres begin so different yet coming together.  The overall energy level through the arrangement plays alongside the music to help translate the emotion in the continued message of that need for unity and hope even with everything going down.  The whole is a work that is one of the compilation’s highest points.  It is just one of the ways in which the record’s featured performances prove important to its presentation.  Mandolin Orange’s take of Bob Dylan’s Boots of Spanish Leather’ is another way in which the performances stand out.

Bob Dylan’s original song is a timeless song of lost love in its own right.  To say that it is a deeply emotional work is a powerful statement in its own right, what with Dylan’s minimalist approach to the song musically and lyrically.  It is just Dylan by himself singing and strumming his guitar.  Mandolin Orange takes that deeply emotional impact and builds on it.  The duo – Andrew Marlin and Emily Franz – offer audiences a composition here, that is even more reserved than Dylan’s original work.  The guitar work is noticeably slower in the act’s take on the song than in Dylan’s original.  What is so important to note though, is that even with the increased emotional approach, the duo doesn’t let itself go over the top.  Rather, the pair, with its violin and guitar, make it just as powerful as Dylan did with his work if not more so.  It would have been so easy for Marlin and Franz to go over the top, but that never once happens.  The result is, again, a work that pays wonderful tribute to its source material while introducing successfully, for a whole new generation of listeners.  It is yet another way in which the compilation’s performances prove important to its whole.  Chatham County Line’s over of Beck’s ‘Think I’m in Love’ is one more example of what makes the record worth hearing.

Beck’s original song ‘Think I’m In Love’ is a stark contrast to that of Chatham County Line’s cover of said song and vice versa.  Beck’s work is a funky, upbeat composition that exudes well, a person’s thought of, well, being in love.  That is the case even with the subtleties in its guitar line and beat.  CCL’s take on the song meanwhile, is even lighter than its source material.  The light, bluegrass approach that the group uses is an approach for which the band has come to be known throughout its life.  The subdued use of the mandolin and percussion alongside the vocals gives the song a whole new identity here that is certain to engage listeners in its own right.  Together with the other noted performances and those not directly addressed, the performances in whole give audiences just as much engagement as the featured songs and acts.  Even with all of this in mind, there is still one more item to address in examining the compilation, its sequencing.

The sequencing of Cover Charge: NC Artists Go Under Cover To Benefit Cat’s Cradle is important to address because of the impact that this aesthetic element has on the record’s general effect.  As the genre styles change from one to the next, the album also manages to keep its overall energy stable throughout.  The crests and troughs are places at all of the right places from one to the next.  Case in point is the first handful of the record’s featured songs.  The record’s energy starts high in its opener, Superchunk’s cover of The Go-Gos’ ‘Can’t Stop The World.’  From there, the energy pulls back immediately in Sarah Shook & The Disarmers’ cover of Cigarettes After Sex’ ‘Apocalypse.’  The energy gradually builds back over the course of the next two songs before pulling back again in the Steep Canyon Rangers’ cover of Neil Young’s ‘Unknown Legend.’  The album pulls back even more in its energy immediately after in Skylar Gudasz and Erich Bachmann’s cover of The Everly Brothers’ timeless hit ‘All I Have To Do is Dream.’  This song stays true to its source material, but at the same time, is much slower than the original in terms of its tempo.  The noted rise and fall happens again over the course of the next two songs before quickly shifting gears again in The Love Language’s cover of Teenage Fanclub’s song ‘Everything Changes.’  The rises and falls in the album’s energy continue throughout the record from there, with each happening at the right places and rates of change.  Keeping this in mind, the album’s sequencing clearly proves pivotal in its own way to the whole of its presentation.  When it is considered along with the record’s featured songs and acts, and performances, the whole of the compilation becomes a work that holds its own against it counterparts in this year’s already vast sea of covers compilations.

Yep Roc Records’ new covers compilation Charge: NC Artists Go Under Cover To Benefit Cat’s Cradle is a positive offering from the independent label.  It is a work that is certain to make plenty of noise as it helps save a venue that has helped Cat’s Cradle create its own noise over the years.  That is due in part to the songs and acts that are featured throughout the collection.  Regardless of listeners’ familiarity with the acts, this aspect is certain to generate its own share of engagement and entertainment among audiences.  The performances of the featured covers will generate its own interest for the collection, as has been noted.  The record’s sequencing rounds out its most important elements.  All three noted elements are key in their own way to the whole of this collection.  All things considered they make Charge: NC Artists Go Under Cover To Benefit Cat’s Cradle a presentation that is sure to help keep the music coming at Cat’s Cradle thanks to its own music.  The collection is available now.

The track listing for Cover Charge: NC Artists Go Under Cover To Benefit Cat’s Cradle is noted below.

Cover Charge Track Listing:

1. Superchunk – “Can’t Stop the World” (The Go-Go’s)
2. Sarah Shook & the Disarmers – “Apocalypse” (Cigarettes After Sex)
3. Hiss Golden Messenger and Jonathan Wilson – “Travellin’ in Style” (Free)
4. The dB’s – “I’m on an Island” (The Kinks)
5. Steep Canyon Rangers – “Unknown Legend” (Neil Young)
6. Eric Bachmann & Skylar Gudasz – “All I Have to Do is Dream” (The Everly Brothers)
7. The Connells – “Keep Your Distance” (Richard Thompson)
8. Mandolin Orange – “Boots of Spanish Leather” (Bob Dylan)
9. The Love Language – “Everything Flows” (Teenage Fanclub)
10. Dex Romweber (feat. Jennifer Curtis) – “A Face in the Crowd” (Andy Griffith)\
11. Tift Merritt – “Help Me Make It Through The Night”  (Kris Kristofferson)
12. The Old Ceremony – “Alone Again Or” (Love)
13. Mayflies USA – “There is a Light that Never Goes Out” (The Smiths)
14. The Mountain Goats – “The Longest Winter” (Paradise Lost)
15. Faith Jones – “For What It’s Worth” (Buffalo Springfield)
16. Mipso – “Long Distance Love” (Little Feat)
17. Terry Anderson and The Olympic-Ass Kickin Team – “Every Night” (Paul McCartney)
18. Florence Dore – “Somewhere Down the Line” (Marshall Crenshaw)
19. Southern Culture on the Skids – “Let’s Work Together” (Canned Heat)
20. Iron & Wine – “Piss Diary” (Kingsbury Manx)
21. Mount Moriah – “Don’t Let It Bring You Down” (Neil Young)
22. Sam Melo of Rainbow Kitten Surprise – “Stars” (Janis Ian)
23. Don Dixon & Marti Jones – “Respoken” (The Lovin Spoonful)
24. Chatham County Line – “Think I’m in Love” (Beck)
25. The Veldt – “Dress You Up” (Madonna)

More information on Cover Charge: NC Artists Go Under Cover To Benefit Cat’s Cradle is available at https://www.facebook.com/CoverChargeMusic.

To keep up with the latest entertainment news and reviews, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it.  Fans can always keep up with the latest entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.

Rock Super Group’s 2014 Debut Getting Proper U.S. Release This Spring

Courtesy: MVD Entertainment Group

It may only be January. But rock collective The Bullhounds is officially giving American audiences good reason to think warm. That is because the band will release its debut album Protector this spring via MVD Entertainment Group.

The members of The Bullhounds are no strangers to the music business. Guitarist Peter Stroud has performed and recorded with both Sheryl Crow and Pete Droge & The Sinners. Drummer Mauro Magellan and guitarist Rick Richards both spent time with the famed Southern rock band Georgia Satellites. Richards also spent time alongside Guns N’ Roses founding member Izzy Stradlin in his own solo career. Magellan also joined bassist Keith Christopher as part of Keith & The Satellites. Singer Erling Daell rounds out the band’s lineup.

Protector was originally released overseas in May 2014. The album’s U.S. release can be pre-ordered online from MVD Entertainment Group’s website at http://mvdb2b.com/s/TheBullhoundsProtector/BASTARD001?utm_source=The+Bullhounds+%22Protector%22+will+be+one+of+the+purest+rock%27n%27roll+records+in+2015&utm_campaign=Bullhounds&utm_medium=email. And while audiences wait for the album’s U.S. release date, they can check out the video for the album’s lead single ‘Make It’ online now via YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3oGabJotw8 to get a feel for what the band has to offer audiences. More information on The Bullhounds is available online along with any tour schedule updates at:

Website: http://www.thebullhounds.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheBullhounds

To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it. Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.

Crain’s Third Record One of 2013’s Early Sleeper Hits

Courtesy: Ramseur Records

Samantha Crain is one of the music industry’s best kept secrets.  This twenty-six year old Oklahoman has been making waves with her upcoming third full length studio release, Kid Face.  Crain’s new album has been getting attention from both the public sphere and that of public broadcasting with positive reviews from Rolling Stone magazine, Spin, and National Public Radio.  What’s most intriguing about the album isn’t so much its songs, but the ability of the songs to keep listeners’ attention throughout the course of the record.  Considering that the album was recorded and mix over the course of just nine days, the album becomes that much more impressive.

Crain’s third album is a solid piece of county/folk that not only Crain’s fans will enjoy but also those of fellow female artists Nora Jones, and Regina Specktor among a handful of others.  Its opener, ‘Never Going Back’ makes for quite the interesting starting point for Crain on this album.  The song, as Crain herself writes of it, is about an individual who had been involved in an affair but has made the life altering decision to not go back; thus the song’s title.  It goes completely against the mold of the stereotypical country song.  Instead of someone singing about having lost a partner, this is an empowering song about someone who has made the decision to get out of a relationship that would have otherwise led to such a country song.  She writes in ‘Never Going Back’, “The ending of ten thousand dreams/My soul has finally been set free/From his cool eyes/I’ll hide myself in softer storms/Crawl out of holes/Become reborn/To my surprise…I’ve stayed afloat in quicker sand/But now I have a place to stand and call my own/I had a deal with man and God/One let me down and one did not/So I made my way back home.”  The uplifting and infectious sound of the song and the equally positive lyrics make this a good start to this record.  On top of that, the two together make for a song that is sure to be an instant hit for Crain’s fans.

Crain doesn’t note in writing about the songs on this album the roots of ‘Never Going Back.’  More than likely, it had no influence from any personal bearings.  Though in reading through what she had to note about other songs, many of the other songs on this album did in fact come from personal experience.  And one of the best of those songs is another song that goes almost completely against the grain of standard pop song writing.  That song comes late on the album in the form of ‘Somewhere All The Time.’  Crain writes of this song that its influence comes from her life on the road.  She notes that travelling is in fact, her “obsession and her method.” Although sometimes she does need a break.  And thus this song was born.  It’s a response to the people who ask her if being on the road so much is difficult.  She writes of those who ask her, “Everybody wants to go somewhere/Everybody wants to go all the time/Don’t you ever want to sit down some/Take a little time.”  Her response is two-fold.  By and large, she writes of the joys of touring despite things like vehicles breaking down and people who seemingly get paranoid when she’s out on the road.  For everything that she loves of being on the road, Crain does explain that need to get away as she sings, “Somebody better say a prayer for me/Cause I need a break from this whole scene/Spend some time in the grasslands/And my man to love me/Could you forget about me for a while.”  As with the album’s opener, this is another nice upbeat piece all the way around that fans will instantly enjoy.  It’s really one of those classic storytelling style songs that will especially impress fans of singer songwriters the likes of Neil Young and Bob Dylan.  And it makes for one more piece of the whole that will make this album a favorite both for long-time fans and for those who are new to Samantha Crain’s music.

As has already been noted here, a big part of what makes Samantha Crain’s new album so impressive is her ability and seeming drive to go against the grain of standard music and general human standards.  As the album nears its final notes, listeners get one more song proving that in ‘Ax.’  It really comes across as a song of social commentary, so to speak.  Crain writes about the song that ‘Ax’ is her response to the seemingly increasing negativity in the world today and that while it seems “against her own nature most days”, she wrote this as her own “call to try and be one of the giving and humane.”  In simple terms, ‘Ax’ is proof that people can be good.  They just have to try.  She writes, “You can put your ax back in its place/Your face is wearing all that awful hate/It’s tough to be afraid/But you have to let it lay.”  This is such a short verse in an equally short song.  But being such a short song and short verse, it proves that less is more.  She says so much in so few words.  The gentility of the song’s musical backing adds even more emotion to the song.  It’s just her singing along with a piano and guitar.  The minimalist approach—both lyrically and musically–harkens back to another era of music’s greatest eras past.  That being considered too, one can’t help but appreciate this song even more both in itself and as a part of the bigger picture that is Crain’s new album.

Samantha Crain offers audiences a lot of impressive material, both musically and lyrically, as has been noted here.  The songs already mentioned are just a tiny picture of what audiences can expect from her upcoming release.  It offers eight more tracks of which listeners will each find their own favorite.  The album will be available February 19^th on Ramseur Records.  In celebration of its upcoming release, Samantha Crain will be touring in support of the album.  Her tour starts January 23^rd in Raleigh, North Carolina at the Berkeley Café.  Doors open at 7pm and the show begins at 8pm.  For full information on the show, including ticket information, go online to http://www.berkeleycafe.net.

Her performance in Raleigh will be followed up by a set of dates in Wilmington, North Carolina and Pembroke, North Carolina between January 24^th and 26^th.  From there, she will be heading up to New York before making her way through the Midwest.  Fans can get a full tour itinerary online at http://www.facebook.com/Samanthacrainmusic and http://www.samanthacrain.com.

To keep up with the latest entertainment reviews and news, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it or its companion page, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Reel-Reviews/381028148587141.  Fans can always keep up with the latest entertainment reviews and news in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.