JD McPherson—with Jason Smay on drums—performs in Nashville in 2015. As every little schoolboy knows, McPherson is playing his custom TK Smith guitar through a Texotica Presidio 15 combo. (Image credit: Erika Goldring/Getty Images)
Rootsy American music—for lack of a better name (although some people are calling it Americana or Ameripolitan)—is pretty much all I listen to these days. It calms me down, keeps me going when things get unsavory and streams out of my guitar (and/or iPhone) every time I pick it up.
In its seeming simplicity, I hear countless nuances, bottomless sadness and joy, winks to the past and nods to the future. I hear new and old pickup sounds and effects that often send me sprinting to eBay, not to mention guitar riffs and solos that sometimes send me back to the drawing board (especially when it comes to Cousin Harley's new album).
Anyway, if you've spent your year listening to, well, something other than "rootsy American music," and if you'd like to catch up on what you've been missing, you'll find 10 solid recommendations below. Enjoy!
The Oklahoma-bred retro rocker branches out a bit on his third album, Undivided Heart & Soul. “I love rock and roll all the way through Rockpile, through T. Rex and the Stooges," McPherson told us. "All those things are fair game to soak up into what we do.” Highlights include the Radiohead-meets-Duane-Eddy shimmy of “On the Lips,” the angular “Lucky Penny” and the simply brilliant “Hunting for Sugar,” but the entire disc is full of surprises. Check out my 2017 interview with JD right here. (New West Records)
Way Out West, Stuart's ode to the American West, is packed with engaging tunes and fine guitar playing, courtesy of Stuart and Kenny Vaughan. Best of all, Stuart gives his Clarence White Tele a workout throughout. Highlights include the mesmerizing title track (below), "Whole Lotta Highway (with a Million Miles to Go)" and "Wait for the Morning." If you're heading to Joshua Tree, Yucca Valley or Twentynine Palms, be sure to bring this one along. P.S.: Way Out West was produced by the Heartbreakers' Mike Campbell. You can find our 2017 Marty Stuart interview in this general direction. (Superlatone)
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Whether you realize it or not, Kim Wilson is one of the world's—that's right, the world's—most talented, devoted and committed blues artists, and this brilliant throwback (and awesomely monophonic) album proves it. The longtime Fabulous Thunderbirds frontman shines on everything, but in terms of highlights, check out "Same Old Blues," "Searched All Over" and "Worried Life Blues." It's Wilson's finest release since 1993's Tigerman (which you need to own, by the way). (Severn Records)
This was a great year for Byrds fans. First we got to hear Clarence White's Telecaster all over Marty Stuart's Way Out West (see above), then we got this—a masterful album by Byrds cofounder Chris Hillman. The disc features three original Byrds (Hillman, Roger McGuinn and David Crosby), re-workings of three Byrds tunes and, best of all, the first-ever studio recording of the very Byrds-like "Here She Comes Again," a song Hillman and McGuinn wrote nearly 40 years ago. It's also worth noting that this was one of the late Tom Petty's final projects; the album was produced by Petty and executive produced by Herb Pedersen, who's been performing and recording with Hillman for decades. Check out my 2017 interview with Hillman right here. (Rounder)
Nikki Lane is a Nashville-based songstress who straddles that gritty, pedal-steelin' line betwixt country, Americana and roots rock. She and her crew are also heavily into the fading art of the music video, and we suggest you check out "Jackpot" (below), "Send the Sun" and "Highway Queen." Blending witty lyrics, bluesy guitars and Sixties country-pop swagger, Highway Queen resonates as easily with Black Keys and Tom Petty fans as it does with those trillions of rabid Pete Drake fans out there. (New West Records)
Cousin Harley, Blue Smoke: The Music of Merle Travis
Rockabilly guitar master Paul Pigat was in the process of recording a solo album when he realized Merle Travis would've turned 100 this year. "When I discovered his birthday was November 29, 1917, I put my solo record on hold and did a [Travis-themed] Cousin Harley album instead," Pigat said. "I'm a firm believer that most guitar players are somehow influenced by Merle—they just don't realize it." Check out Pigat's "great Gretsch sound" on "Deep South" below—but be aware that the entire disc is packed with jaw-dropping guitar playing. For more about this album, step right this way. (Little Pig Records)
After two solid albums packed with alt-country (2009's American Central Dust) and earthy country (2013's Honky Tonk), the 10 songs on Notes of Blue are inspired by the blues, but not the standard blues as most of us know it. The unique and haunting tunings of Mississippi Fred McDowell, Skip James and Nick Drake were all points of exploration for frontman Jay Farrar. That said, "Back Against the Wall" (below) is a fine piece of Son Volt-style alt-country with a wiry, growly (dare we say bluesy?) guitar solo. (Thirty Tigers)
The musicianship on this moody live disc is top-notch all around, from Mike Flanigin's magnetic Baby Face Willette-style Hammond organ magic to Frosty Smith's thunderous drumming to Jimmie Vaughan's steady-as-a-rock rhythm and lead playing. Jimmie is the Ringo Starr of blues guitar: not too flashy but super steady and blessed with a distinctive, often-imitated style. It doesn't hurt that there are two (purely accidental) Ringo tie-ins on the album—covers of the Beatles' "Can't Buy Me Love" and Bruce Channel's "Hey! Baby," which Starr recorded in 1976. The album was recorded at C-Boy’s Heart & Soul, an atmospheric club on South Congress Street in Austin. Both the album and the venue are dripping with late-night-club mojo. For more about this album, head here. (Proper Records)
This latest album by JD Wilkes and his groundbreaking Southern Gothic band, the Legendary Shack Shakers, is truly rockin', truly weird and truly enjoyable. These guys will throw together blues, carnival music, rockabilly and the swampiest swamp rock this side of Paducah, Kentucky, and it will—somehow—suck you in, time and time again. If you need a visual/audio aid, simply check out their just-released "Sing a Worried Song" music video; for something on the rockier side, aim your peepers and ears at the album's title track. (Last Chance Records)
Although it hasn't shaken the music world like Robert Johnson's King of the Delta Blues Singers did in 1961, this sprawling, 31-track posthumous release by Hayes McMullen was certainly one of this year's blues highlights. McMullen—who died in 1986 at age 84—was a bluesman, sharecropper, church deacon and civil rights activist who was "discovered" by American roots scholar, collector and documentarian Gayle Dean Wardlow in the late Sixties. That's also when these engaging, stripped-down acoustic-blues pieces (music and spoken word) were recorded. I'd like to keep these individual album profiles brief, but if you're intrigued by this album, be sure to read Pop Matters' album review right here. For even more information, step right this way. (Light in the Attic Records)
Three Honorable Mentions
Also, be sure to check out Jenni Lyn's Burn Another Candle, Larkin Poe's Peach and "Slide Off of Your Satin Sheets," a new single by country artist Craig Gerdes. It's a Johnny Paycheck cover that sounds like it's straight out of 1977 (it also sounds a bit like Whitey Morgan, not that there's anything wrong with that). Gerdes' new album, Smokin' Drinkin' and Gamblin', will be available in early 2018. Below, check out Larkin Poe's powerful cover of Son House's "Preachin' Blues." For more about Larkin Poe—aka Rebecca and Megan Lovell—be sure to read "Larkin Poe Are Preachin' the Blues and Convertin' the Masses."
Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.
