Teddy Thompson and Gillian Welch and David Rawlings
Teddy Thompson’s recommendation: “These two are the most blissful musical union since George and Tammy, Gram and Emmy Lou. Their sound though is closer to the Carter Family or The Louvins: spare, almost always acoustic and totally honest. The fact that neither is from the South probably only helped them avoid any of the Nashville sheen that has ruined modern mainstream country music. It’s tempting to classify them as retro sounding or a throwback to a bygone era but rather than being dated, it’s just timeless.”
New to Gillian Welch & David Rawlings? Teddy recommends you start here: “I’d say Time (The Revelator) is a good place to start if you’ve never heard them. I believe it’s their 3rd or 4th record. It has a bit of everything. Catchy “pop” tunes, My First Lover, Red Clay Halo. Dreamy love songs, Dear Someone. A blistering live recording, I Want To Sing That Rock n Roll. And the remarkable last song which clocks in at over 14 minutes, I Dream a Highway. Somewhere in the middle there’s also perhaps the best song about Elvis I’ve ever heard.”
About our guest author, Teddy Thompson: Teddy is the son of folk legends Richard and Linda Thompson, so great song-writing is almost an automatic (not that we’re taking it for granted!). What really hooked us on Teddy is his ultra-smooth voice. We’re talking Roy Orbison smooth. We’re talking Chris Isaak smooth. We’re talking one-of-the-best-voices-in-the-pop-game smooth. His last outing, A Piece of What You Need is chock full of up songs, complete with bouncy bass and twangy guitars. No wonder The Guardian declared it “one of this year’s best” in 2008. Thompson’s next effort, Bella is coming out on Feb. 1 and is produced by David Kahne (The Strokes, Regina Spektor, Paul McCartney). Excited yet? Cruise over to the official Teddy Thompson website and sign up for his email newsletter for album and tour info.
Mark Olson’s recommendation: “I really like the music of the Norwegian {singer/songwriter} Ane Brun. She is Nick Drake meets Country, meets Jazz meets Bjork. Her album Changing of the Seasons is the one I have listened to the most. I think she is on tour with Ani DiFranco now. Her band is cool too! She features a violin, a background singer and a drummer and bass player who create a rolling hypnotic sound. Highly recommended. Ingunn {Ringvold} played her for me and we both enjoy her songs. There is something Nordic and intense about her music, of course!”
About our guest author, Mark Olson: Mark is the founder and principal singer/songwriter of The Jayhawks, the legendary Americana group from Minneapolis. It takes an artist of great courage to leave a group after their most popular record, (in this case, it was The Jayhawk’s Tomorrow The Green Grass), but that is just what Olson did in 1995. Since The Jayhawks, Mark formed The Creekdippers, released a record with co-Jayhawk Gary Louris and launched his solo career. His latest effort, Many Colored Kite burns bright with optimism. “I put everything I had into this one,” Olson says of the record. “I tried to play my best, sing my best, and write my best. I want this to look towards the future, and I hope our story goes on.” Check his upcoming tour dates here and be sure to check Mark Sasso’s recommendation of The Jayhawks here on Rocktorch.com.
Abraham Villanueva’s recommendation: “The Temptations are one of my favorite groups and I feel are often wrongly disregarded as 60′s love/bubblegum pop. The discography attached with this vocal group is amazing, the production, musicianship and songwriting talent that went along with the temptations were an amazing catalyst that provided opportunity for a talented group of singers to flourish. The range of style which the Temptations preformed is in part due to the fantastic quality of the performers ability to interpret the songs (making otherwise lyrically banal top 40 songs genuine and unique) and also to the inventiveness of the producers and the musical talent of the legendary Funk Brothers. The earlier hits are most often associated with the band, but as the years and styles changed through the 60′s you find a group of artists (arrangers, writers, musicians and producers included) willing to push the boundaries of an otherwise simple act into a vehicle for great musical achievement. A fact I find incredibly important is the team never sacrificed groove and melody for ego/novelty as you often find with a lot of late 60′s music.”
New to The Temptations? Abraham suggests you start here: “I find some of the most interesting tracks came during the production/writing transition from Smokey Robinson to Norman Whitefield. Not yet into the 7-9 minute funk epics to come, and far from the simple sugary pop of the early years; albums like I Wish It Would Rain and Sky’s the Limit find the band feeling their place in a musical climate built around the overemphasized political messages and psychedelics of the era. Pulling from all the creative elements of the bands past (R&B, Broadway, Vocal-Pop), The Temptations created a group of songs that are probably as beautifully strange today as they were back then. More often then not, it seems, when presented with the question: why would you make a certain musical choice, the group responded with: why not?”
About our guest author, Abraham Villanueva: Abraham is the piano player and one of the vocalists of Hacienda, a Mexican-American quartet that wowed Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys. Auerbach heard a six song demo from the band and went on to produced both their 2008 offering, Loud Is the Night and their latest, Big Red & Barbacoa. The Beach Boys are clearly an influence on the boys, but spy the Younger Days clip below and you’ll think your listening to the Band (is that Robbie Robertson on gueeetar?). Check the Hacienda MySpace page for tour dates, and New Yorkers, be sure to catch them opening for My Morning Jacket!
Mark Sasso’s recommendation: “A slew of bands flood into my head when I think about which band or artist have had a profound influence on me. They can range anywhere from Neil Young to Simon and Garfunkel, The Rolling Stones and The Band to present day groups like Grant Lee Buffalo, Richard Buckner, The Weakerthans, Wilco and lately Blitzen Trapper, Damien Jurado and the Avett Brothers. But one band that I feel inspired me early in my teenage years and never really seemed to get the acclaim or main stream attention they rightly deserved was The Jayhawks. The band excelled at great song writing and are one of my all time favorites. They were at their best with the song writing duo of Gary Louris and Mark Olson. Olson and Louris had a way of allowing their charm and brilliance to bleed right into their songs. Their distinctive singing style is a trademark all their own, that coupled with their soulful melodies is pure gold.”
New to The Jayhawks? Mark recommends you start here: “On Tomorrow Green Grass, their second album with American Records (their fourth studio album). This collection of songs blew me away from the first listen. I spent one summer devouring it daily and petty soon that tuned into a year. Its that special type of album that grows older with you. Still one of my all time favorites and definitely worth the listen. Best enjoyed on sunny afternoons lounging by the beach or during a car ride to the cottage and finally sitting by the campfire at the end of the day.”
Mark’s track picks are:
“Blue”
“Over my shoulder”
“See him on the Street”"
About the guest author, Mark Sasso: Sasso is the lead singer and guitarist for the alt-country/traditional outfit, Elliot BROOD (explanation of the band name here). The band’s 2005 release, Ambassador was nominated for a Juno award and their high energy show helped them secure gigs alongside the likes of Wilco and Calexico. Their 2008 release, Mountain Meadows was also nominated for 2 Juno awards was and short listed for the 2009 Polaris Prize. Canada and Europe…be sure to check their upcoming tour dates on the official Elliott BROOD website.
Grace Potter’s recommendation: “I just started listening to Karen Elson. I read about her while we were at SXSW and was drawn in by that fact that she had so many pre-conceived notions about her because she’s a high-end fashion model and she’s married to Jack White. That’s a lot to live up to. No one ever wants to believe that a model has any talent beyond starving themselves and looking forlorn, but I found her take on gothic americana deeply moving.”
New to Karen Elson? Grace suggests you start here: “Her new record The Ghost Who Walks is bone chilling from beginning to end and had me listening to it over and over again.”
About our guest author, Teddy Thompson: Teddy is the son of folk legends Richard and Linda Thompson, so great song-writing is almost an automatic (not that we’re taking it for granted!). What really hooked us on Teddy is his ultra-smooth voice. We’re talking Roy Orbison smooth. We’re talking Chris Isaak smooth. We’re talking one-of-the-best-voices-in-the-pop-game smooth. His last outing, A Piece of What You Need
is the one I have listened to the most. I think she is on tour with Ani DiFranco now. Her band is cool too! She features a violin, a background singer and a drummer and bass player who create a rolling hypnotic sound. Highly recommended. 
About our guest author, Mark Olson: Mark is the founder and principal singer/songwriter of The Jayhawks, the legendary Americana group from Minneapolis. It takes an artist of great courage to leave a group after their most popular record, (in this case, it was The Jayhawk’s Tomorrow The Green Grass), but that is just what Olson did in 1995. Since 
burns bright with optimism. “I put everything I had into this one,” Olson says of the record. “I tried to play my best, sing my best, and write my best. I want this to look towards the future, and I hope our story goes on.” Check his upcoming tour dates 
and 
find the band feeling their place in a musical climate built around the overemphasized political messages and psychedelics of the era. Pulling from all the creative elements of the bands past (R&B, Broadway, Vocal-Pop), The Temptations created a group of songs that are probably as beautifully strange today as they were back then. More often then not, it seems, when presented with the question: why would you make a certain musical choice, the group responded with: why not?”
About our guest author, Abraham Villanueva: Abraham is the piano player and one of the vocalists of Hacienda, a Mexican-American quartet that wowed Dan Auerbach of the 
and their latest, 
. The Beach Boys are clearly an influence on the boys, but spy the Younger Days clip below and you’ll think your listening to the Band (is that Robbie Robertson on gueeetar?). Check the 
, their second album with American Records (their fourth studio album). This collection of songs blew me away from the first listen. I spent one summer devouring it daily and petty soon that tuned into a year. Its that special type of album that grows older with you. Still one of my all time favorites and definitely worth the listen. Best enjoyed on sunny afternoons lounging by the beach or during a car ride to the cottage and finally sitting by the campfire at the end of the day.”
About the guest author, Mark Sasso: Sasso is the lead singer and guitarist for the alt-country/traditional outfit, Elliot BROOD (explanation of the band name 
is bone chilling from beginning to end and had me listening to it over and over again.”
About the guest author, Grace Potter: Even though Grace Potter just released her third album, she still managed to sneak on to Rolling Stone’s 
was produced by heavyweight Mark Batson who in the past has spun the dials for biggies like Dr. Dre, Eminem, Jay-Z and The Dave Matthews Band. Potter and her crew also have an explosive live show, called by Jambase.com “…without a doubt one of the very best American touring acts today.” Check 
