CASH, JOHNNY At Folsom Prison (Sony / BMG) lp 15.98

CASH, JOHNNY At Madison Square Garden (Columbia) cd 16.98
Johnny Cash is finally released from prison, so to speak. Previously unreleased, this 1969 live recording finds Johnny performing to a packed crowd of non-incarcerated fans in New York City. The concert is presented in its entirety, with all of Johnny's remarks -- both rehearsed and off the cuff -- included, retaining the live feel of this concert recording that's so often lost in most efficiently trimmed and crossfaded live albums. As well as being accompanied by his band, the Tennessee Three (Marshall Grant on bass, W.S. Holland on drums and Bob Wooten on electric guitar) there are several guest appearances from The Statler Brothers, Carl Perkins, The Carter Family and even Johnny's younger brother Tommy. The resulting 26 songs on the setlist have a running time just under 80 minutes, so you're getting your money's worth in time alone. Along with all this are included a couple reviews of the concert, including one that appeared originally in the New York Post three days after the performance.
RealAudio clip: "Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream"
RealAudio clip: "He Turned The Water Into Wine"

CASH, JOHNNY At San Quentin - Legacy Edition Box Set (Columbia) 2cd+1dvd 45.00

CASH, JOHNNY Cash Unearthed (American) 5cd 89.00
Boy, we sure had a lot of trouble getting these boxes. As did lots of other stores we'd imagine. It's a shame too since this would have made an amazing Christmas gift (as it was released right before Christmas). But we have 'em now, and the good thing about it not being Christmas anymore is you don't have to feel guilty about buying it for yourself! One hell of a kick ass box set. Of the five discs that are housed in this cloth-bound volume, four of them are of unreleased material. Three of those are out-takes from the various Cash American sessions and the other an entirely new album of gospel songs from John's mother's hymn book. As a bonus to this material one is also rewarded with a best of disc compiled from the entire Johnny Cash on American series. Of course those already owning the original issues may not find much use for it, but it might come as a further tempation to fence riding erstwhile Cash fans. The cherry on the top as it were is a 104 page (hardcover cloth-bound) booklet with photos and Johnny's personal comments on each and every song. Don't hesitate lest it disappear again!

CASH, JOHNNY God (Sony) cd 12.98
See? We told you that you could get these three cds separately! Originally released as a three disc set, the career-spanning God, Love and Murder themed cds were compiled by the Man In Black himself. As one of the last masters of the Southern morality tale, Cash through his commanding voice sang songs of good and evil under the ever vigilant eyes of God, who hands down the mercy of justification right along with the misery of the sinner. From his earliest Sun recordings to the latest Rick Rubin produced work, almost every facet of his career is chronicled here. Cash's work exhibits variations in production techniques, but retains the singular voice that could only be Johnny Cash. While the Murder disc is easily the most complex, Love and God are really necessary to complement his violent tales. Soooo, fyi... after some consideration, if you do want the set in its entirety it's still available for $30.00.

CASH, JOHNNY Live From Austin TX - Austin City Limits (East West) cd 14.98
The long running TV show Austin City Limits has been dipping into its rich vaults as of late. Elsewhere on this list is a totally stunning live performance from the show that Neko Case recorded a few years back. Digging a couple decades back finds this never before released live performance by the late great Johnny Cash. After a twenty or so years of being on Columbia, the 1980's found him bouncing from one record label to another, never quite getting the freedom or respect he so rightfully deserved, and would finally begin to claim again right before his death. But even in those tumultuous times, there would be no denying Johnny's power as a live performer. This live set from 1987 finds him visiting many of his classics and he's joined by June Carter Cash on the bittersweet "Where Did We Go Right?" Needless to say even with Cash gone, we'll no doubt be hearing lots more from the man in black.
MPEG Stream: "Folsom Prison Blues"
MPEG Stream: "(Ghosts) Riders In The Sky"

CASH, JOHNNY Live From Austin TX - Austin City Limits (New West) dvd 21.00
The New West label releases something old and something new... They've recently released a cd and dvd of Neko Case's appearance on Austin City Limits, and here is the dvd of Johnny Cash's performances for the great Austin City Limits television series back in 1987. While the '80s were a hard time for Cash in the recorded realm, bouncing from one label to another and never getting the freedom and respect he so deserved, he still shined bright in the live setting. These fourteen songs were culled from the full concerts he did exclusively for A.C.L. which were edited down to fit the program's half hour running time. Much of the footage is previously unreleased. With special guests June Carter Cash and Anita Carter!

CASH, JOHNNY Love (Sony) cd 12.98
See? We told you that you could get these three cds separately! Originally released as a three disc set, the career-spanning God, Love and Murder themed cds were compiled by the Man In Black himself. As one of the last masters of the Southern morality tale, Cash through his commanding voice sang songs of good and evil under the ever vigilant eyes of God, who hands down the mercy of justification right along with the misery of the sinner. From his earliest Sun recordings to the latest Rick Rubin produced work, almost every facet of his career is chronicled here. Cash's work exhibits variations in production techniques, but retains the singular voice that could only be Johnny Cash. While the Murder disc is easily the most complex, Love and God are really necessary to complement his violent tales. Soooo, fyi... after some consideration, if you do want the set in its entirety it's still available for $30.00.

CASH, JOHNNY Love / God / Murder (Columbia / American) 3cd 38.00
The Man In Black himself compiled this career-spanning anthology of his work with each of the cds reflecting the major themes of Cash's songs - Love, God, and Murder. As one of the last masters of the Southern morality tale, Cash through his commanding voice sings songs of good and evil under the ever vigilant eyes of God, who hands down the mercy of justification right along with the misery of the sinner. From his earliest Sun recordings to the latest Rick Rubin produced work, almost every facet of his career is chronicled here. Cash's work exhibits variations in production techniques, but retains the singular voice that could only be Johnny Cash. Each of these discs are also available individually for 12.98, and while the Murder disc is easily the most complex, Love and God are really necessary to complement his violent tales.

CASH, JOHNNY Murder (Sony) cd 12.98
See? We told you that you could get these three cds separately! Originally released as a three disc set, the career-spanning God, Love and Murder themed cds were compiled by the Man In Black himself. As one of the last masters of the Southern morality tale, Cash through his commanding voice sang songs of good and evil under the ever vigilant eyes of God, who hands down the mercy of justification right along with the misery of the sinner. From his earliest Sun recordings to the latest Rick Rubin produced work, almost every facet of his career is chronicled here. Cash's work exhibits variations in production techniques, but retains the singular voice that could only be Johnny Cash. While this one, the Murder disc is easily the most complex, Love and God are really necessary to complement his violent tales. Soooo, fyi... after some consideration, if you do want the set in its entirety it's still available for $30.00.

CASH, JOHNNY My Mother's Hymn Book (American) cd 17.98
Attention Johnny Cash fans, be forewarned: This is actually Disc Four from the Cash Unearthed cd boxset released all by itself with no special changes, omissions or additions. So, if you bought the box, you've already got this. However, if the fact that Unearthed was five discs long and the $79 price tag proved to be too daunting, My Mother's Hymn Book is a definite highlight of the collection and a stunning, resonant album all on its own. The title says it all. The gospel songs, clearly so close to his heart and deeply rooted in his being, are indeed drawn from his mother's hymnal. It's perhaps one of the most profound and most personal historic documents of the life of Johnny Cash. All extraneous elements are stripped away, the spotlight shining squarely on Cash's voice and guitar. Truly mighty.
MPEG Stream: "Where We'll Never Grow Old"
MPEG Stream: "If We Never Meet Again This Side Of Heaven"

CASH, JOHNNY Personal File (Columbia) 2cd 23.00
It's to be expected when a legendary recording artist passes away that any recording studio that had the minutest relationship with said artist will unearth from their vaults lost or unreleased recordings, alternate takes, demos, b-sides and what have you. But it is much rarer to see that the unearthed vaults containing the unreleased recordings belonged to the artist himself. And that's just what we have here: 49 tracks on 2 CDs from the personal file of Johnny Cash recorded at the House of Cash circa 1973. With just acoustic guitar and voice, these stripped down songs and stories are prescient of the American Recordings he made with Rick Rubin 20 years later. Though they lack the impending weight of death that hovered throughout the Rubin sessions, nevertheless these are some of the most intimate recordings of the post-Man In Black era. He even unwittingly adds his two cents to the Da Vinci Code debate on "If Jesus Loved A Woman". Walk the Line, indeed!
MPEG Stream: "Jim, I Wore A Tie Today"
MPEG Stream: "The Cremation of Sam McGhee"
MPEG Stream: "If Jesus Ever Loved A Woman"

CASH, JOHNNY Sings Hank Williams (Get Back) lp 14.98

CASH, JOHNNY Sings The Ballads Of The True West (Columbia) cd 12.98
1965 concept album (his first?) resulting from Cash's growing obsession with the stories of the old west. Along with several originals by Johnny Cash which were inspired by historic tales, there are plenty of standards like "I Ride An Old Paint", "The Streets of Laredo", "Bury Me Not On the Lone Prairie" (but not "Cool Water" oddly enough), as well as several tunes from such heavyweights as Carl Perkins ("Ballad of Boot Hill"), Ramblin' Jack Elliott ("Mister Garfield"), Harlan Howard ("The Blizzard"), June Carter ("The Road To Kantuck") and much more. The choruses, strings, guitar, bass, drums, the occasional banjo (or "five-string lute" as it's diplomatically called here) and heaping helpings of reverb on Johnny's voice might be a little too rich of a production for some people's blood. The lush mid-sixties production sounds more like what one would expect from an Eddy Arnold or Marty Robbins record. But for those who enjoy the occasional over-produced country record, this is definitely worth checking out. The omni-present pulsing bass is a warm accompaniment to Johnny's sometimes singing, sometimes narrating voice. Along with all the session musicians involved, there are appearances from Johnny's family of friends The Carter Family and The Statler Bros. Includes two bonus tracks not included on the original LP.
RealAudio clip: "The Road To Kantuck"
RealAudio clip: "Bury Me Not On The Lone Prairie"

CASH, JOHNNY Story Songs of the Trains and Rivers (Get Back) lp 14.98

CASH, JOHNNY The Man Comes Around (American IV) (American) cd 13.98
Johnny Cash has done a pretty great job of both remaining relevant and making consistently great music. This album is pretty wonderful. It's got a healthy mix of Cash originals (indeed "The Man Comes Around", based on the Book of Revelations, is one of the best songs he's ever written, IMO) and covers of such unlikely sources as Nine Inch Nails, Paul Simon, Sting, Depeche Mode, the Eagles, etc. To Cash, if a given song is exceptionally well-written and suited to his stylistic interpretation, then he'll do it. No genre snobbery here. He infuses all the songs with an epic, anthemic tone some of them didn't know they had in 'em! (There are only a couple duds -- a stiff "Danny Boy" and an ill-chosen Beatles tune.)
The guest musicians are also unlikely, and as much as I hate random celeb-littered projects, believe me they're not annoying at all. Guests include Fiona Apple, John Frusciante (Red Hot Chili Peppers), the legendary Billy Preston on piano, Roger Manning Jr (Jellyfish), etc. This is a really nice record, classic and modern and smart at the same time. Recommended!
RealAudio clip: "The Man Comes Around"
RealAudio clip: "Hurt (Trent Reznor)"

CASH, JOHNNY Unchained (American) cd 17.98

CASH, JOHNNY AND ROSCOE HOLCOMB Pete Seeger's Rainbow Quest (Shanachie) dvd 16.98

CASH, JUNE CARTER Wildwood Flower (Dualtone) cd 14.98
No, this is not a new release by the legendary June Carter Cash -- it came out last year -- but we were listening to it the other day and thought we oughta list it 'cause we hadn't already. These are her final recordings captured on tape shortly before her passing in May 2003. However, Wildwood Flower is by no means a solo effort, it features a number of Cash relations. A wonderful family gathering, it conveys the down-home warmth and true love of the Cash clan. Such a rare and wonderful thing to behold. In addition, some of the non-music recordings included on this album are a total hoot such as Lady June's tale about Lee Marvin. Oh my!
MPEG Stream: "Temptation"
MPEG Stream: "Big Yellow Peaches"

CASH, TOMMY Rise And Shine (The Omni Recording Corporation) cd 16.98
It seems like most of the recent reissues on Omni have had a distinctly kitsch element to them: Lorne Green, Dee Mullins, Gil Trythall's Country Moog, but there are plenty of lost country classics that Omni have given new life to, records by Hoyt Axton, Porter Wagoner and others, and now this, a cd collecting two classic lps from Tommy Cash, younger brother of the man in black. And one listen is all it takes, there's no mistaking that voice, it definitely ran in the family.
These songs are fantastic, classic country for sure, but unlike the dark desperado gunslinger jailbird jams of his big brother, the songs of Tommy were much more working class, often extolling the virtues of the working man, more traditional, and thus always overshadowed by his older brother. So much so that until recently, we didn't even know there was a Tommy Cash, and had never heard either of these records, although we had heard "Six White Horses" we just somehow never realized it was Tommy Cash. A brooding bit of storytelling country, a tribute to the fallen greats, JFK, MLK, a dark and gorgeous timeless country classic for sure. Then there's "Rise And Shine", another total classic, with a strange horn fanfare peppering the otherwise traditional twang, with a chorus that will stick in your head forever. And there's 28 more songs, a fantastic collection, once you get into it, the similarity vocal-wise to Johnny begin to fade, but every once in a while some turn of phrase, or some specific pronunciation, will remind you that this is indeed the little brother of the man in black.
Deluxe Omni packaging, tons of full color vintage photos, original album art reproduced, new liner notes, reprinted original liner notes and more!
MPEG Stream: "Six White Horses"
MPEG Stream: "One Song Away"
MPEG Stream: "Rise And Shine"
MPEG Stream: "The Honest Truth"

CASTANETS Cathedral (Asthmatic Kitty) cd 14.98
Castanets bring us gentle slightly-jangly psych-country all the way from San Diego with, technically, their second album, Cathedral. Fans of the Gris Gris, The Dirty Three, and Six Organs of Admittance will love this. Castanets' leader, Ray Raposa, reigns in some of San Diego's favorites, members of Tristeza, Pinback and Rocket From The Crypt to create music that's pretty darn epic in its simplicity and sensitivity. We look forward to hear the first album, previously a cd-r only given out to friends and at live shows, which should be out on Asthmatic Kitty soon.
MPEG Stream: "You Are The Blood"
MPEG Stream: "The Smallest Bones"

CATALPA BOYS s/t (self-released) cd-r 6.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY. ... are brothers Jake and Josh Housh. Jake can also be heard in the band Moviola, while Josh can also be heard in Our Lady Of The Highway. They took some time out from their respective bands to get together for a little acoustic family gathering. The result? A baker's dozen of rough-hewn gentle twang tunes full of brotherly love. Very homespun, earthy and warm which extends to the packaging too - a delicately hand-printed white cardboard jacket. Oh and they thank their folks and family in the liner notes too. Awww! Note: as of February 2004, this album has been repackaged and re-released on cd by Anyday Records. Hurrah!
MPEG Stream: "Cat Autry"
MPEG Stream: "Money in The Bank"

CHARLES, MATTY Lonesome Lull (Ruby) 7" 3.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Local boy Matty Charles' first 7" won't, or shouldn't, be his last. Beautiful, heart rending songs sung with a voice at times silky and others gravelly. Some of the best country to come out in a while.

CHERRY BLOSSOMS (AND JOSEPHINE FOSTER) s/t (self-released) cd-r 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Never heard of the Cherry Blossoms? Neither had we, but some quick digging around revealed that they are a damaged abstract free folk jugband from Tennessee, and that for this here disc, they were joined by none other than folk songstress Josephine Foster for a dizzying, tripped out experimental folk freeforall. Foster fans should be well prepared to not expect only gentle strumming, dreamy torch songs, and Appalachian fingerpicking, while some of that stuff is present, Foster spends as much time wading through dizzying folk flecked soundworlds that have way more in common with the No Neck Blues Band or Sunburned Hand Of The Man or Avarus. But even compared to those far out cats, some of this sounds pretty dang unhinged.
Thee opening track is a minimal chaotic swirl of random clatter, detuned guitar strum and scrape, and a dense cloud of tangled voices, a druggy psychedelic choir, voices all intertwined, crooning and cooing, careening back and forth, wild and confusional, eventually coalescing into a drug folk lament right at the end, before drifting into the next track, a wandering atonal folk jam, the guitar stumbling and detuned, jaw harp, more kitchen sink clatter, and those vocals again, not your typical harmonies, ghostly and mildly atonal, the main male vocal, a lazy drawl, wandering through a forest of feminine chanting and falsetto ooh's and ahh's. A lot of this sounds like genuine old timey music, that became corrupted as it was transmitted forward through time from the old days, everything coming through slightly twisted and tweaked, the vocals wavery and haunting, the guitars slightly out of tune, the drums more a splatter of percussion than actual rhythm, the whole record wavers druggily from dreamy damaged folk to abstract drone and strum, back and forth, often multiple times in the same song. On first listen, it's definitely strange and off putting, but a few songs in, we couldn't help but be carried off, lulled into a strange trance, by these mesmerizingly off kilter lullabies.
MPEG Stream: "Shimey Chuck Down"
MPEG Stream: "Shaker Tune"
MPEG Stream: "These Were Our Woods"

CHESNUTT, VIC Ghetto Bells (New West) cd 15.98
After last year's Silverlake album and slew of old Chesnutt reissues, we've sure had our fave Vic on the mind around here, and been wishing for more. Well folks, whadyaknow?! Here's a brand new album, and it does not disappoint!
Some folks we know were a little disappointed by Silverlake, not sure why, maybe they were missing the more playful ramshackle Chesnutt of old, and while those folks might not necessarily find what they want here, they should be prepared (and excited) for yet another new direction from the musically restless Chesnutt. Even darker (if that's possible) and a lot more lush, Ghetto Bells is a swoonsome, melancholy dream world of droning soundscapes, twangy melancholia, and wistful countrified folk. Lyrically, less wryly clever secretly silly, and more serious and somber. The seemingly incongruous pairing of his gravelly voice atop the surprisingly elegant string arrangements brought to mind a few recordings of Leonard Cohen.
We might venture to say though that the final song on the album is by far the strangest, most out-there song Chesnutt has ever recorded. A delicate, sparse, moody soundscape of upright bass, vibes, chiming harmonics, with Chesnutt singing in a wavery falsetto. Weird but really quite beautiful.
MPEG Stream: "Little Ceasar"
MPEG Stream: "Gnats"
MPEG Stream: "Virginia"

CHESNUTT, VIC Little (New West) cd 16.98
Vic Chesnutt's early albums have always been a bit hard to come by... especially this one from 1990. Fingers are crossed that New West keeps these reissues in print!
This is the album that started it all, and it's the one that's nearest and dearest to Cup (Andee on the other hand hugs Chesnutt's Is The Actor Happy? album). Unlike his later albums which infused pop elements into the foundation of his rootsy blues-folk, Little features some of his most barebones, raw acoustic guitar work. This starkness provides an all the more effective backdrop for one of the most expressive sourpuss voices around singing some of the most gnawingly bleak songs around. Bleary and skewed, his words tumble unapologetically from his lips -- emotional scars and verbal barbs all completely out in the open. Produced by Michael Stipe who took a shine to Chesnutt early on and helped bring him to college radio eyes and ears. Includes five previously unreleased tracks.
MPEG Stream: "Isadora Duncan"
MPEG Stream: "Independence Day"

CHRISTIE, SUSAN Paint A Lady (Finders Keepers) lp 28.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
NOW ON VINYL!!!!
Here's what we said about the CD:
The latest jewel unearthed by the B-Music Collective for Finders Keepers is so obscure it was actually never released. Only a small number of privately pressed vanity copies were made of this 1970 Philly-based folk-beat head trip. Using Philly studio session musicians, Axelrod-style breaks, spaghetti-western guitar, A&M strings and the "legendary" production of John Hill, who is dubiously credited in the liner notes as the inventor of both Trip Hop and Heavy Metal for his production work with Margo Guryan and The Riders of the Mark (a heavy psych predecessor to Black Sabbath, supposedly?!). Don't know about that, but the trip hop mystique of Susan Christie is definitely apparent by the opening riff of the title track begging to be sampled a million times over if it hasn't already. But it isn't just the sample potential that makes this a worthy listen. Just about every song is full of hooks and unique arrangements and darkly-tinged songwriting. Check out the nine-minute centerpiece "Yesterday, Where's My Mind?" with its spoken recitations of a bad trip culminating in a damning freak-out, before slipping into a fuzzy downbeat rocker. Freak-folk indeed!
MPEG Stream: "Paint A Lady"
MPEG Stream: "Yesterday, Where's My Mind?"

CIRCULUS Clocks Are Like People (Rise Above) cd 16.98

MPEG Stream: "Dragon's Dance"
MPEG Stream: "Song Of Our Despair"
MPEG Stream: "Willow Tree"

CLARK, GENE With The Gosdin Brothers (Sundazed) cd 17.98

CLETRO, EDDIE Flying Saucer Boogie (Bear Family) cd 17.98
Who can resist such a title???

CLINE, PATSY Walking and Dreaming (Masked Weasel) cd 14.98
Here's the real deal! Vintage recordings of Ms Patsy Cline! This generous serving of 23 songs from the '50s showcases her awesome voice and stylistic range beautifully. Walking And Dreaming is part of an impressive reissue series of classic old country artists from the mysterious Oakland, CA label The Masked Weasel. Also featured in the series thus far are great collections of early recordings by Willie Nelson, Buck Owens and Waylon Jennings. AQ friend and country music expert Kurt Wolff (author of the Rough Guide To Country Music, among other things) contributed the fine liner notes for each volume of the series.
MPEG Stream: "Walkin' After Midnight"
MPEG Stream: "Stop, Look And Listen"

CLOUD, DAVE All My Best (Thee Swan) cd 14.98
Nashville is best known as a magnet for songwriters, musicians, and performers looking to break into the country music business; at the same time, it continues to house a small yet viable collection of exceptional artists and outlandish freaks within its genteel Southern city limits. Nashville should be proud of its eccentrics, especially the atypical songwriter Dave Cloud, who can be regularly found parked at the Springwater (a dive bar which happens to be next to Hog Heaven which slow-cooks some the best BBQ in Middle Tennessee ... make sure to try the white sauce). Cloud's alcoholic croon caught the ear of the members of Lambchop who as the Gospel of Power helped Cloud realize his second album All My Best. Cloud affects a number of vocal styles; on occasion, it's a baritone that ripples with excessive vibratto like Isaac Hayes on a motley selection of prescription drugs; on others, he's stuck in a locked groove like Philip Jeck record picking unusual phrases to repeat a few too many times. It becomes quite clear that Cloud's head is not quite screwed on right; but fortunately, the Gospel of Power keep true to Cloud's outsider aesthetics, as opposed to the Wesley Willis albums which found him working with a bad metal-funk fusion band or later Daniel Johnston records which that suffer from too much production. All My Best includes a wide selection of idiosyncratic covers such as the Rolling Stones' "Let's Spend The Night Together" and KC and the Sunshine Band's "Get Down Tonight," plus a smattering of originals.
MPEG Stream: "Evil Dracula Man"
MPEG Stream: "Get Down Tonight"

CLYDE-EVANS, JOHN The Smell Of The Burning Empire (Sloow Tapes) cassette 9.98
A name that seems to be popping up more and more among the new breed of new folk / free folk underground noisemakers is Tirath Singh Nirmala, who has released a series of limited cd-r's on various microlabels, as well as a handful of lps and cds, the only release we've had was an lp collaboration with longtime AQ fave Richard Youngs, and even in that review we were lamenting the fact that we had yet to review a Tirath record proper. Well, while this isn't a proper Tirath record, per se, it is a brand new recording by John Clyde-Evans, who just so happens to be the man behind Tirath Singh Nirmala, and while the name may be different, the sound is quite similar. 
Asian instruments are bowed and coaxed into unfurling long dreamlike drones, shrouded in Sunroof!-like clouds of glistening sparkling high end skree, like a sky full of shimmering metallic confetti, simple percussion peppering the gauzy swirl, haunting melodies wrapping themselves around thick sheets of crystalline feedback, a fantastic slab of shimmering trance-like upper register ur-drone drift. 
LIMITED TO 100 COPIES. Already SOLD OUT and OUT OF PRINT at the label. We have a bunch, but they obviously won't last long. The tapes are all psychedelic and hand painted, with tripped out full color covers. 

COE, DAVID ALLAN Penitentiary Blues (Hack Tone) cd 10.98
Oh yeah, the original country bad boy. For all the tough guys who acted the part, snarled and swaggered, none could hold a candle to David Allan Coe, who spent a good amount of his younger years in prison before he headed to Nashville to make it big in country music. He was bad ass and prison tough before it was cool. But once the big boys decided it was cool, they all came crawling back, dying to hear Coe's tales of life behind bars. This is true life, bad ass, foot stomping, boogie woogie country blues. Tales of drugs and fighting and lonliness and death. As well as one of our favorite Coe tracks "Death Row", where Coe unveils his impossibly exotic and ridiculous requests for his last meal. After all, a man can't die until he's had his last meal, so if you have to track down a double yoked egg from an albino pigeon, with fried bat wings over easy, well you'll be sitting pretty for a long long time. Each song is a stone cold classic, wild guitars, honky tonk piano, wailing harmonicas, shuffling rhythms and Coe's lazy countrified drawl. All packaged in a gorgeous digipak reissue that faithfully recreates the original lp's die cut bars and has extensive liner notes that tell Coe's unbelievable life story. But nothing says it better than Coe's dedication on the sleeve:
"Pennitentiary Blooos - O.K.! So my spelling is bad! I'm not a colledge graduate. I didn't even finish high school. I was in prison. Most of my life. Reform Schools, reformatorys, and prisons. But I'm a songwriter and a singer. Over the years I've made millions of dollars, Writing songs for Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennnings, George Jones, John Cash, Johnny Paycheck, Tanya Tucker, Elvis, the Dead Kennedys, Unkle Kracker, Kid Rock. And many others. All kinds of music.Rock + roll, rap, country, pop, hip hop, do wop, ragga and blues.
THIS WAS MY FIRST ALBUM. I'm 65 years old now. And as I listen back to these songs I realize I've always been part of the blues and the blues have always been a part of me. The blues isn't a black thing or a white thing. It's a black and blue thing. you have to experience it. Sincerely, David Allan Coe, Ex-convict"
Fuck yeah! Includes a bonus booklet along with the liner notes, an excerpt from Coe's book "Ex-Convict", called How To Pull Time And Parole. Complete with reproduced original typewritten pages and one of Coe's early mugshots.
MPEG Stream: "Penitentiary Blues"
MPEG Stream: "Cell #33"
MPEG Stream: "Death Row"

COGAN, ORA Tatter (self-released) cd 14.98
Previously only available as a homespun cdr, Ora Cogan's fine Tatter album has now been released on cd with two extra live tracks! Packaged with lovely new artwork in a digipak.
Here's what we had to say about the cd-r:
While on the road Canadian indie songstress Ms Ora Cogan came strolling into our shop with these cd-rs charmingly hand-packaged in cut up old flea market record sleeves. On first glance of the varied decontextualized artworks, you might expect her music to be along the earthy experimental lines of the Bay Area's Jewelled Antler and Jyrk Collectives, but she's definitely coming from a different place -- Salt Spring Island, BC, haha! Seriously though, she's been making good ol' down home, twilight porch swing tunes for the past seven years. Her vocal delivery bears more than a passing resemblance to Ms Jolie Holland's. It possesses that haunting, soulful quality that seems like its source is coming from deep deep within or beyond. Like a mysterious transplant from decades past, it's as though she opens her mouth and a lilting voice from the '20s comes drifting out. It's beautiful in its simplicity, just her and her guitar and a few banjo and back-up vocal additions. Cogan is part of a close knit Canadian folksy sisterhood which includes the Begood Tanyas (some of whom perform on this here album) and Carolyn Mark. If you've a fondness for those ladies (and Ms Holland too), don't wait another second. This is totally for you!
MPEG Stream: "Old Black Swan"
MPEG Stream: "Take Me Home"

COGAN, ORA Tatter (self-released) cd-r 7.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
While on the road Canadian indie songstress Ms Ora Cogan came strolling into our shop with these cd-rs charmingly hand-packaged in cut up old flea market record sleeves. On first glance of the varied decontextualized artworks, you might expect her music to be along the earthy experimental lines of the Bay Area's Jewelled Antler and Jyrk Collectives, but she's definitely coming from a different place -- Salt Spring Island, BC, haha! Seriously though, she's been making good ol' down home, twilight porch swing tunes for the past seven years. Her vocal delivery bears more than a passing resemblance to Ms Jolie Holland's. It possesses that haunting, soulful quality that seems like its source is coming from deep deep within or beyond. Like a mysterious transplant from decades past, it's as though she opens her mouth and a lilting voice from the '20s comes drifting out. It's beautiful in its simplicity, just her and her guitar and a few banjo and back-up vocal additions. Cogan is part of a close knit Canadian folksy sisterhood which includes the Begood Tanyas and Carolyn Mark. If you've a fondness for those ladies (and Ms Holland too), don't wait another second. This is totally for you!
MPEG Stream: "Old Black Swan"
MPEG Stream: "Take Me Home"

COGAN, ORA FEATURING ANNI ROSSI Peep Creek (self-released) cd-r 4.50
Perched on the same weeping willow branch as the lovely folksy likes of her pals Be Good Tanyas and Jolie Holland, Ora Cogan's Tatter (both in its original cd-r format and on the more recent cd release) album has been going about its kindly hushed way, charming the ears of all who've encounter it. Peep Creek is another little homespun release by this Canadian gal. It's a 2-song ep on cdr with packaging fashioned out of recycled lp jackets, sheets of fancy paper and gold star confetti. The two tunes are Spartan and lovely with simply plucked guitar, an occasional cello and lilting vocals that also bring to mind Karen Dalton and Jesse Sykes. Our only complaint is that this is far too short. More, please!
MPEG Stream: "Riverside"

COLEMAN, GEORGE Bongo Joe (Arhoolie) cd 17.98
Originally released on Arhoolie in 1969 this disc features the collected wildness, weirdness and wisdom of one George Coleman, also known as Bongo Joe, on vinyl for the first time in AGES (you may remember Bongo Joe was on the bonus 7"s that originally came with the first pressing of the Mississippi release Life Is A Problem!)
George Coleman is not called Bongo Joe because he plays the bongos, it's because, well no one is sure exactly, but he does play the drums, or more specifically, the giant oil barrel. Modified of course. Coleman's instrument of choice is a 55 gallon oil drum, it's sound customized by dents and bulges and tears created with a small axe. He beats this oil drum with hammer handles, the bottom of the barrel filled with sand and buckshot to create a sort of rattle. And while that might be amazing on its own, it's Coleman's singing, or rapping, or whatever it is, probably somewhere right in between that really seals the deal. When former aQ staffer Byram worked here this was his FAVORITE record and he played it incessantly, and we all eventually grew to love it, a totally wacked stripped down freaky funky sort-of-steel-drum rhythm and blues, Coleman calls it "fundamental beat music", as played by a crazy Texas street musician, who has plenty to say about pretty much everything, and does so quite eloquently, and a bit confusionally, a wild unhinged delivery that some folks around here have likened to Wesley Willis, but we think it's way more soulful, like James Brown crossed with Screamin' Jay Hawkins, imagine one of those guys jamming with Moondog and voila.
Bongo Joe played all over Texas, once with Dizzy Gillespie, for presidents, for Muhammad Ali, in front of the Alamo, he eventually ended up in San Antonio after a retirement community complained about the racket he was making outside. And at one point he shot a man who he thought was going to rob him while he was performing. Woah.
But none of that matters as much as the music, and the music is amazing. Far out and funky, rhythmic and stripped down, wild and strange and beautiful and pretty much unlike anything else you'll ever hear.

COLEMAN, GEORGE Bongo Joe (Mississippi) lp 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
NEW ON MISSISSIPPI RECORDS. Just thought we'd get that out of the way, since it seems like folks want anything and everything this tiny Portland label releases, and for good reason, they have amazing taste for one, their records look and sound fantastic, and probably most importantly, most of their releases have never been available on vinyl before.
Originally released on Arhoolie in 1969 (and still available from them on cd!), this lp features the collected wildness, weirdness and wisdom of one George Coleman, also known as Bongo Joe, on vinyl for the first time in AGES (you may remember Bongo Joe was on the bonus 7"s that originally came with the first pressing of the Mississippi release Life Is A Problem!)
George Coleman is not called Bongo Joe because he plays the bongos, it's because, well no one is sure exactly, but he does play the drums, or more specifically, the giant oil barrel. Modified of course. Coleman's instrument of choice is a 55 gallon oil drum, its sound customized by dents and bulges and tears created with a small axe. He beats this oil drum with hammer handles, the bottom of the barrel filled with sand and buckshot to create a sort of rattle. And while that might be amazing on its own, it's Coleman's singing, or rapping, or whatever it is, probably somewhere right in between that really seals the deal. When former aQ staffer Byram worked here this was his FAVORITE record and he played it incessantly, and we all eventually grew to love it, a totally wacked stripped down freaky funky sort-of-steel-drum rhythm and blues, Coleman calls it "fundamental beat music", as played by a crazy Texas street musician, who has plenty to say about pretty much everything, and does so quite eloquently, and a bit confusionally, a wild unhinged delivery that some folks around here have likened to Wesley Willis, but we think it's way more soulful, like James Brown crossed with Screamin' Jay Hawkins, imagine one of those guys jamming with Moondog, and voila!
Bongo Joe played all over Texas, once with Dizzy Gillespie, for presidents, for Muhammad Ali, in front of the Alamo, he eventually ended up in San Antonio after a retirement community complained about the racket he was making outside. And at one point he shot a man who he thought was going to rob him while he was performing. Woah.
But none of that matters as much as the music, and the music is amazing. Far out and funky, rhythmic and stripped down, wild and strange and beautiful and pretty much unlike anything else you'll ever hear.
[Fair warning, Mississippi is a pretty DIY operation, so very often the lps are not in absolutely perfect condition, the records themselves are immaculate, but sometimes the sleeves have slightly bent corners or something similar, all very minor, but super vinyl collector nerds beware]

COLLINS, SHIRLEY Adieu To Old England (Fledg'ling) cd 16.98

COLLINS, SHIRLEY False True Lovers (Fledg'ling) cd 16.98
Sad old songs sung in the beautiful, pure voice of the incomparable Shirley Collins, the UK's "first lady of folk". This cd is a reissue of her very first album from 1959, recorded by her then-boyfriend Alan Lomax (with whom she travelled the American South on his field-recording expeditions) and released on the American Folkways label. Accompanied by banjo and guitar, she sings a variety of British and American traditional folk ballads (including "Scarborough Fair", about which Lomax's thoughful and informative liner notes say "The survival of this ancient piece of folklore is assured by the fact that all the couplets in this song contain gentle, but evocative erotic symbols"). A Shirley Collins disc like this might make a good gift for the Gillian Welch fan in your life.
RealAudio clip: "The Spermwhale Fishery"

COLLINS, SHIRLEY False True Lovers ( Vinyl Lovers) lp 25.00
Newly reissue on vinyl, this Britfolk treasure.
Sad old songs sung in the beautiful, pure voice of the incomparable Shirley Collins, the UK's "first lady of folk". This is her very first album from 1959, recorded by her then-boyfriend Alan Lomax (with whom she travelled the American South on his field-recording expeditions) and released on the American Folkways label. Accompanied by banjo and guitar, she sings a variety of British and American traditional folk ballads (including "Scarborough Fair", about which Lomax's thoughful and informative liner notes say "The survival of this ancient piece of folklore is assured by the fact that all the couplets in this song contain gentle, but evocative erotic symbols"). A Shirley Collins record like this might make a good gift for the Gillian Welch fan in your life.

COLLINS, SHIRLEY Fountain of Snow (World Serpent) cd 18.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Traditional English folks songs recorded in the sixties and seventies by Shirley and her sister. Guitar, flute-organ, and one of the clearest voices we've ever heard. So beloved by David Tibet of Current 93 that he was involved with reissuing this...

COLLINS, SHIRLEY The Power of the True Love Knot (Fledg'ling) cd 16.98

COLLINS, SHIRLEY & DAVY GRAHAM Folk Roots, New Routes (Fledg'ling) cd 16.98
There's been quite a few Shirley Collins reissues lately, and they're all pretty great if you've got a soft spot for this British singer's sweet voice and the trad folk she celebrates. We should get 'em all reviewed one of these days, but we thought that we absolutely had to provide a little write-up for this one, originally released on LP in 1964. Amidst the many wonderful Collins discs, this one is just a little bit different and special because it finds her collaborating with pioneering jazz/folk guitarist Davy Graham. It was some record company's notion of getting folk vet Collins and up-and-coming guitarist Graham (a fellow turned on to both Thelonious Monk and Indian raga) to make a "folk-swinging" record, but one that worked out well, even if they were somewhat of an odd couple -- Collins a responsible young mother with two children, the younger Graham a decidely bohemian character with vices that extended beyond merely smoking pot. But despite their differing lifestyles, Collins and Graham's Folk Roots, New Routes is quite a wonderful one-off work, blending old fashioned folk and modern jazz and strains of non-Western music into arrangements both innovative and lovely.
MPEG Stream: "Hares On The Mountain"
MPEG Stream: "Rif Mountain"

COLLINS, SHIRLEY & DOLLY Love, Death & the Lady (Fledg'ling) cd 16.98

COLLINS, SHIRLEY & DOLLY Snapshots (Fledg'ling) cd 16.98
This compilation of unreleased recordings and demos from 1966-1979 was released as an addition to the Fledg'ling label four cd Shirley Collins box set Within Sound. This 22 song set of traditional fare accompanied by sister Dolly on organ is sweet but a bit lackluster, perhaps for completists only. While this is meant to be a tribute to Dolly who passed away in 1995 (as well as a final career rounder for Shirley herself), for anyone new to the Collins sisters stunning musical power, we recommend 1970's apocalyptic folk epic and Current 93 fave, Love, Death and the Lady as a more proper introduction.
MPEG Stream: "Poor Murdered Woman"
MPEG Stream: "The Banks of Sweet Primroses"
MPEG Stream: "Black White Yellow and Green"

COLLINS, SHIRLEY AND THE ALBION COUNTRY BAND No Roses (Castle Music) cd 12.98

COMMON EIDER, KING EIDER Figs, Wasps And Monotremes (Root Strata) cd 12.98
Record number two from the peculiarly monickered Common Eider, King Eider, the one man project of Mr. Rob Fisk, formerly of Deerhoof, currently of Badgerlore, and much like the first disc, Figs, Wasps And Monotremes, is another haunting missive of long drawn out drones, and minimal folk mesmer.
The intro is a smoldering shimmer of scraped strings, wavery falsetto vocals, and all manner of overtones and harmonics, mysterious and hypnotic, we would have been quite happy if it had gone on just like that for the record's entire 32+ minutes, but the record soon shifts to something more songy (only slightly though), deep distant swells, dense soft drones and more ethereal falsetto vocals, all drift over insistently sawed strings, the string unfurling an almost looped sounding rhythmic melody. The record drifts lazily after that from spare melancholic reverb drenched sun dappled soft folk, all shimmery and washed out, to still more keening high end drones, looooong tones allowed to howl and buzz and slowly decay before being overtaken by still more growling, scraped strings, sounding almost like a 20th century string quartet slowed down to no beats per minute, to fractured free folk, steel string buzz, angular abstract riffage wrapped in haunting gauzy lo-fi hum, to super intense, almost Sunroof! worthy sheets of high end ur-drone, the notes crumbling and distorted and gorgeously blown out, and back to more introspective folky flutter.
A gorgeous sprawling, abstract record, the listener drifting dreamily from song to song, sound to sound, sinking ever deeper, falling in slow motion, Common Eider's blurred soundscapes moving past, like a film slowed way down, so each frame flickers gently before slipping away, allowing another to take its place. Absolutely lovely.
Gorgeous packaging too, as with all Root Strata releases, a three panel white cardstock sleeve, printed in silver ink, adorned with images of fruits and branches and a platypus!
MPEG Stream: "Wasp Tunnels (Intro)"
MPEG Stream: "Monotreme Mom (For Jamie & Andrew)"
MPEG Stream: "Brown Trumps White (Harry's Mix)"

CONTINUOUS PEASANT Intentional Grounding (Good Forks) cd 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This is Mr. Chris Stroffolino and co.'s follow-up to their warmly received debut album Exile In Babyville from a couple of years ago. Once again Stroffolino's expressive saloon-style piano playing is a key ingredient to C.P.'s potency. It shines forth from the backdrop which is solid rootsy rock with some Pavement-y indie boy slouchiness. Comparisons to Silver Jews (with whom Stroffolino has played keyboards) are still very apropos. That said, Ms Mia Lipman's backing vocals certainly offer a nice contrast to his world weary 'n' whisky'd delivery. Prior to entering the musical realm, Stroffolino put his thoughts to paper rather than music, writing numerous books of poetry and prose. His literary past definitely surfaces in his evocative lyrics which take primarily an intimate, observational, first person perspective. They're granted ample space to unwind and sink in, given the songs' mostly slow to mid tempos. That said, occasionally the band kicks up a cloud of dirt for more rollicking numbers such as "You Don't Believe In Nuthin'".
MPEG Stream: "All I'm Saying"
MPEG Stream: "You Don't Believe In Nuthin'"