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One of my favorite albums of 2023 was Margo Price’s Strays (released in January). I was delighted in October of 2023 when she released a sequel, Strays II. The sequel has the same vibe as Strays and comes from the same Jonathan Wilson-produced sessions. I am a huge fan of Wilson (both as a performer and as a producer). Most songs from both albums were written by Margo and her husband, Jeremy Ivy. Strays II has the same psychedelic late 70s classic rock feel as its predecessor. Although it is retro, it sounds fresh.

Strays II was marketed as an expanded re-release of Strays. It was promoted with three “acts” of songs. “Act I: Topanga Canyon” was released on August 22, 2023. “Act II: Mind Travel” was released on September 14, 2023. The complete Strays II and “Act III: Burn Whatever’s’ Left” was released on October 13, 2023. The vinyl edition of Strays II was released in January of 2024. Despite how it was marketed and promoted, Strays II is not bonus material or leftovers. Everything on II is as good as I – I slightly prefer II.

My elevator pitch for Margo Price is that she is a female Tom Petty, and both Stays albums have Mike Campbell as a guest musician to legitimize the Petty comparison. Campbell was Tom Petty’s guitarist and co-writer. He was part of Mudcrutch (a Petty side project), the most recent touring version of Fleetwood Mac, his current band, The Dirty Knobs, and he is a session ace extraordinaire.

The album opens with the titular song, per Price:

The title track is the story of how my husband, Jeremy [Ivey], and I met and fell in love in Nashville two decades ago. I wrote most of the words and Jeremy wrote the chords and melody. It also reflects how we have always tried to stay true to who we are as people: “Love and pain it comes in waves but it was quite enough in those early days, we were wild as wolves my darlin’, we were strays.”

Pitchfork

“Closer I Get” feature Ny Oh. Ny is a New Zealand folk singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. She is the lead singer of the band Neon Gru and has toured with Harry Styles as a multi-instrumentalist. She is the perfect backup vocalist for Margo. Per Margo, the song was:

…originally meant to open this double album with the line, “Being alive costs a lot of money but so does dying.” I’ve always thought it was unfair that the moment we are born, we immediately start racking up debt just for existing. This song was conjured from the ashes of our initial psychedelic trip—sometimes your perception and depth of field changes depending on where you’re at in life.

Pitchfork

“Malibu” is my favorite song from the whole project. This song has a solid Petty vibe. In addition to Campbell, the song also features Jonathan Wilson and Buck Meek (Big Thief). Per Margo:

“Malibu” was written with Mike Campbell in his Malibu home after Jeremy and I had driven through the canyon fleeing a forest fire to get my guitar from our Airbnb. I had the start of the song and brought it to him looking to finish it out. I wanted to write something with a country funk/Bobbie Gentry feel, a good long rambling story about the minutiae of the day, like “Ode to Billie Joe.” Mike added the long “California” yodel and the bridge and was exactly what the song needed. My favorite line is, “Love and grief are a package deal, the more you have, the more you feel.

Pitchfork

“Black Wolf Blues” – per Margo (from Holler)

“I love how these songs came together. ‘Black Wolf Blues’ in particular, Jeremy started writing the words from my exact point of view – he found myself reflecting on my ancestors, my grandparents (Paul & Mary Price) and their love and how it grew despite the drought and the loss of their farm. I wrote the chords and the melody and helped finish the verses and chorus. Even though it has a sweetness and a nostalgic way about it, there is a looming darkness – the wolf who’s been watching and weaving his way like a stray throughout the entire album. Look for him. It’s like an invisible plague hanging in the air, it’s the man in the suit and tie who’s lying to you through his straight, white teeth. He hides in shadows”.

“Mind Travel” is a psychedelic – per Margo (from Holler)

“…one of the more lyrically strange songs I’ve written. Jeremy and I wrote it in South Carolina. It’s pretty much beat poetry on drugs with a back beat – it was influenced by having an out of body experience on psilocybin. We both had some pretty incredible breakthroughs about accepting death and just reckoning with how fast it’s all going. It’s okay to be reflective and remember the past as long as you don’t get stuck back there. This part of the trip is where you learn to be satisfied with the present”.

“Unoriginal Sin” (feat. Mike Campbell) – per Margo (from Holler)

“The psychedelic journey continues down the blurry rabbit hole of time and space. We were lucky to have Mike Campbell co-write a dark rocker called ‘Unoriginal Sin.’ Working with him on some of these songs was like having a master class in songwriting. Sometimes there are dark corners you haven’t explored for some time, but it does some good to clean them out”.

“Homesick” (feat. Jonathan Wilson) has a Beatleseque vibe. Margo uses the term “homesick” for a feeling vs. place.

“Where Did We Go Wrong” sounds like a long-lost 1970s soft rock hit—a bit country but leaning more toward pop. It’s gorgeous.

“Burn Whatever’s’ Left” is a fantastic ending to the album. A psychedelic vision of death that declares:

“Strike a match and start again
Lock the road, from either end
Build me a house for memories I’ve kept
Then burn whatever’s left”

Margo released a six-song live Strays EP as part of Record Store Day Black Friday 2023. The performance was an in-store show at Grimey’s in Nashville on Strays I album release day (1/13/23). The vinyl is pressed on sangria marble vinyl. Grimey’s famously commissions murals on its outdoor wall to promote new albums. Although I am disappointed at how short this live album is, it is great to hear the road band playing the material. I saw Margo and the band in Phoenix in February 2023 at the Cresent Ballroom, and they were fantastic. This live EP is a beautiful souvenir of the live show. Unfortunately, this Record Store Day vinyl is the only way to listen to the EP.

Strays II is bundled with Strays I on streaming services:

I am a 65-year-old white cisgender male—not precisely in the Beyoncé demographic. But I am also a musichead who likes a broad range of genres (with Americana and singer-songwriters dominating). Of course, I know Beyoncé, and I have listened to many of her songs and liked some of them. I have heard several of her albums (album guy vs. a singles guy), but none has resonated with me; therefore, I have not been a Beyoncé fan (spoiler alert: I am now). I appreciate her as an artist, but she hasn’t clicked with me. The pre-release hype for this album was that it would be her Country album. I listened to the two singles “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM” and “16 CARRIAGES,” and they are Country (ish), and I liked them – enough so that I was motivated to listen to COWBOY CARTER the moment it was released (9:00 MST on March 28, 2024 – one of the benefits of living in Phoenix is I get to hear new releases “early”). On first listen, a Beyoncé album resonated with me for the first time. COWBOY CARTER has been in constant rotation since, and with each listen, I like it even more and have become obsessed with trying to figure it out. In his review, New York Times music critic Jon Pareles points out that Beyoncé albums are “meant to be discussed and footnoted, not just listened to.” That is precisely what I find myself doing.

As much as I love the album, I also recognize it as a hodgepodge. It feels like Bey is showing off: “Look at all the genres I can do and how profound I can be!” Then it hits me, Bey is pissed at the music industry. Despite all her success, she is underrated. Consider Jay-Z’s recent speech at the Grammys, where he calls them out for slighting his wife: “I don’t want to embarrass this young lady, but she has more Grammys than anyone and has never won album of the year. So even by your own metrics, that doesn’t work.” So Bey has made an album for guys like me and the old white guys who vote for the Grammys (and anyone else who has not accepted her genius): “Here you go, assholes, try to dismiss this.” COWBOY CARTER is like how Taylor Swift’s folklore opened my ears to her music by working in a style in my comfort zone (in TSwift’s case, Americana). Beyoncé is playing in a place closer to my neighborhood (Country, rock, folk, Americana, old school R&B, etc.), something an old white musichead can understand. I can’t dismiss COWBOY CARTER; it is brilliant; it is the gateway drug for people like me. This is just what I needed to become a Beyoncé fan.

So, on to the music, let’s start with the teaser singles and then move on to the rest of the album.

“TEXAS HOLD ‘EM” is what I would expect in a Beyoncé Country song: sassy, danceable, twangy guitar and banjo (courtesy of Rhiannon Giddens), and most importantly, a banger. It is Queen Bey’s version of a hoedown: “Furs, spurs, boots.” This is a great first single and could be the song we remember from this album a decade from now (but there are several other candidates, too). “16 CARRIAGES” is a different beast; it is a serious song where Bey contemplates the sacrifices of being a mega pop star for a quarter of a century. I assume the 16 carriages refers to the semis associated with an arena concert. I wonder if she chose 16 to reference the Junior Parker/Elvis song “Mystery Train” (“Train I ride, sixteen coaches long”). Sonically, it is adventurous and a more challenging listen than the pure fun of “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM.” It suggests the new album is not a novelty but a big statement. It sounds better in the context of the album. The two singles accurately foreshadow COWBOY CARTER: it is fun but also a huge artistic statement. Bey has met me at a place where I can more than intellectually appreciate her; I can now enter the BeyHive as a fan.

After signaling that COWBOY CARTER would be a Country album (including the two teaser singles), she does a bait-and-switch and says, “This isn’t a country album. This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album.” It has Country elements, but it is more in the tradition of a singer-songwriter album (ironic given that Bey creates more like a movie director, that is, collaboratively, vs. the typical solitary methods of singer-songwriters). It is also genre-diverse, and Beyoncé puts on a clinic of her magnificent voice performed in several styles (Country, pop, hip-hop, rock, folk-rock, and even opera) – it is like there are ten different vocalists on the album.

“AMERICAN REQUIEM” opens as a solemn hymn with a riff that reminds me of Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth.” Lyrically, Bey is claiming her right to the Country genre by alluding to her controversial performance of “Daddy Lessons” with the Dixie Chicks at the 2016 Country Music Awards. She was criticized by Country fans who found issues with her liberal politics and lack of Country cred.

“It’s a lot of talkin’ goin’ on
While I sing my song
Can you hear me?
I said, ‘Do you hear me?'”

“BACKBIIRD” A great example of Beyoncé’s genius on COUNTRY CARTER is covering the Beatles’ (more specifically, McCartney’s) “Blackbird.” In the past, McCartney has said that the lyrics were inspired by hearing the call of a blackbird in India and racial tension in the Southern United States. The lyric: “you were only waiting for this moment to arise” is about black people’s struggle in the US. In 2018, McCartney elaborated on the song’s meaning, explaining that “Blackbird” should be interpreted as “black girl” (“bird” is a British term, similar to the American term “chick” for girls/women) in the context of the civil rights troubles in southern 1960s US, specifically the Little Rock Nine. Beyoncé uses the song to point out the struggle of black women (blackbirds) in Country music – a genre black people helped invent. To emphasize her point, she is joined on the track by four contemporary “blackbirds” of Nashville: Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Reyna Roberts, and Tiera Kennedy. It is a relatively straight cover of the Beatles classic, but the fact that Bey and black Nashville artists are performing it is Bey’s demand for women of color to get their “moment to arise” in Country music.

“PROTECTOR” opens up with Carter’s daughter, Rumi, asking her mom to play the lullaby, and Mom obliges. The song is a gorgeous Country ballad. The arrangement is acoustic guitar-focused with a dash of Gary Clark Jr.’s slide guitar. Lyrically, it is a mom’s pledge to protect their child.

“MY ROSE” is a Beyoncé choir (Bey overdubbing herself – an old Joni trick). It is a short song about accepting your and others’ beauty.

“SMOKE HOUR ★ WILLIE NELSON” is a hip-hop skit featuring Willie introducing “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM.” But first, there is the spinning of an imaginary radio dial where we hear snippets of Son House’s “Grinnin’ in Your Face,” Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s “Down by the Riverside,” Chuck Berry’s “Maybelline”, and Roy Hamilton’s “Don’t Let Go.” Then Willie instructs us to spark one up and enjoy “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM.”

“BODYGUARD” is one of my favorite tracks on the album. It has a sexy lilt and is neither Country nor R&B, but closer to Stealy Dan with better vocals, that is pop jazz. This is the Raphael Saadiq show – he rocks the house with his funky bass, guitar, and production. I love Lemar Carter’s Motownish drums – man, can he create a groove.

“DOLLY P/JOLENE” – Dolly throws Bey a soft pitch that Bey hits out of the park. This is not a reverent cover; Bey changes the album’s mood from Dolly’s resignation to defiance. There are even some lyric changes like: “Jolene, I know I’m a queen, Jolene/I’m still a Creole banshe bitch from Louisiane (Don’t try me).” Yup, don’t mess with QueenBey!

“DAUGHTER” is not about the narrator’s daughter but the narrator as the daughter of her father. Bey’s vocals and arrangement reminded me of Joan Baez. At the bridge, she becomes an opera singer and performs the famous opera aria “Caro Mio Ben,” a song about loneliness due to the absence of a loved one. The aria’s message is in stark contrast to the narrator’s violent mood toward their lover’s infidelity.

“SPAGHETTII” Bey presents a witness, Linda Martell, the first Black female artist to join the Grand Ole Opry, who says in the spoken word section of “SPAGHETTII”: “Genres are a funny little concept, aren’t they? In theory, they have a simple definition that’s easy to understand, but in practice, well, some may feel confined.” Bey doesn’t feel confined and proceeds to rap, contrasting with the rest of the album’s predominantly Country, pop, and R&B styles. I assume “spaghetti” refers to “Spaghetti Westerns,” genre busters like Bey.

“ALIIGATOR TEAR” sonically has a singer-songwriter vibe, a cross between Laura Marling and Sheryl Crow. The song suggests that some of her accolades, for example, her many Grammys, are unctuousness (alligator tears). I love The-Dream’s (Terius Adamu Ya Gesteelde-Diamant) production.

“SMOKE HOUR II” is another Willie Nelson spoken word interlude. This time Willie is giving his full endorsement of Beyoncé genre jumping “…if there’s one thing you can take away from my set today, let it be this: sometimes you don’t know what you like until someone you trust turns you on to some real good shit. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I’m here.”

“JUST FOR FUN” (with Willie Jones) is a lovely modern country rock tune with a heavy dose of gospel produced by Dave Hamelin (The Stills). I have never heard of Willie Jones – he kills it with his sweet country voice. It turns out that Willie is an X Factor kid. Pretty low on the totem pole – this is one hell of a bump. It is refreshing that Bey ultimately does this music thing for fun:

“I’m goin’ all out just for fun, I am the man, I know it
And everywhere I go, they know my name
So I laugh and I lie and the coyotes cry
And, uh, time moves quickly and so do I, so do I
So I’ll say my goodbye”

“II MOST WANTED” (with Miley Cyrus) is a jam! These two are perfect duet partners. They are both distinctively different singers, but they are both divas. The song sounds like an interpolation of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide.” Googling this song, it appears it is a tribute to Beyoncé’s mother-in-law, Gloria Carter, and her wife, Roxanne Wiltshire. Love these lyrics:

“I’ll be your shotgun rider
‘Til the day I, ’til the day I die”

This should be a massive hit on Country Radio, or the world is wrong. I would love for Lady Gaga and someone like Annie Lenox to cover this.

“LEVII’S JEANS” (with Post Malone) is a trashy Country song with modern R&B production values. I love it!

“Boy, I’ll let you be my Levi’s jeans
So you can hug that ass all day long”

Tacky but damn clever. Post Malone is a perfect cameo with his rap-singing. Tip of the hat to Nile Rogers for the funky folk guitar riff.

“FLAMENCO” is a short song that has a Joni Mitchell vibe: vocally, the arrangement, and lyrically (“Realize that you don’t know what you got until it’s gone”).

“THE LINDA MARTELL SHOW” is a spoken word interlude where Martell introduces the wildest song on the album. “YA YA” has a lot going on – this is the most over-the-top track on the album – lyrically and in the arrangement. It is a brilliant pop cocktail of 60s pop (“These Boots Are Made for Walkin’” and “Good Vibrations”), Tina Turner, James Brown, Little Richard, and Elvis. Bey is resurrecting the Chitlin Circuit and reminding us of the genius of that juxtapositioned with the whitest of pop music from the 60s, which coexisted with Motown and Stax. It is, without exaggeration, a tour de force. I hope it is a huge hit.

“OH LOUISIANA” is a cover/sample of a Chuck Berry song. It is a brief tribute to Bey’s Louisiana Creole heritage. It is also the second time she invokes Berry, who supercharged Country music to help create Rock ‘n Roll.

“DESERT EAGLE” is a short funk jam with a prominent bass riff. The song is sexual (desert eagle is a sex position).

“RIIVERDANCE” is an Irish dance tune performed over a rhythm of Dolly-inspired nail percussion. The dance feels like an analogy of the excitement of love.

“II HANDS II HEAVEN” is the kind of pop and hip hop I equate with Beyoncé. Lyrically, I am not sure what is going on here, but Bey’s vocals are outstanding.

“TYRANT” (with Dolly Parton)—beyond the intro, this is barely Dolly. Again, she is working in the pop/hip-hop genre. She uses the term “tyrant” to describe her power, especially her sexual power.

“SWEET ★ HONEY ★ BUCKIIN’ (with Shaboozey)” is three songs. The “SWEET” section opens with a hip-hop Patsy Cline interpolation, then goes into a Shaboozey rap. This first section focuses on how far black folks have come: “We’ve come a long way from the rough ride from the railroads to the rodeos, sweet country home.” In the “HONEY” section, Bey is joined by Pharrell Williams. It has a 60’s girl group feel and is about making love. The “BUCKIIN” section also includes Pharrell and has a hip-hop feel. This section means she is “bucking” trends and will do what Bey will do.

“AMEN” ends the album with a song that echoes the opening track. It is a hymn that brilliantly concludes the album:

“This house was built with blood and bone
And it crumbled, yes, it crumbled
The statues they made were beautiful
But they were lies of stone, they werе lies of stone
Trumpets blarе with silent sound
I need to make you proud
Tell me, can you hear me now?”

Beyoncé has delivered an impressive piece of art. It is a history lesson on how the black (and female) experience has been significant in developing Country music and other “white” pop forms. Despite demanding to be taken seriously, the album is fun. I am embarrassed as a musichead that I did not understand what a significant talent Beyoncé is. Her vocals are insane – it is like several vocalists are on the album. The juxtapositions are a bit messy, but I am okay with that, I like the variety. This is the most sophisticated pop I have heard in a long time.

I have been a Norah Jones fan since February 26, 2002. I know that specific date because I had read the pre-release promo back in the day, and based on what I read, I was confident enough to buy her debut album on CD on release day without hearing it first. It was love at first sight (actually, at first listen). I was not alone: Come Away with Me sold over 27 million copies.

Over the next 22 years, Norah did not release a bad album, however, there have been some albums that didn’t grip me. Good news: Visions grips me. Anytime Norah wants to get a little weird, I am all in – Visions is a little weird (adventurous) in the retro funky soul grooves it explores.

The collaboration of Norah and Leon Michels is inspired. Michels is the album’s producer, cowriter, and backup musician (he is a multi-instrumentalist). His claim to fame is he played saxophone in Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings and has performed with Lee Fields & The Expressions, Dan Auerbach’s band The Arcs, Menahan Street Band, and his own project El Michels Affair. Michels and Jones first collaborated on the single “Can You Believe” and later worked together on Jones’ 2021 holiday album I Dream of Christmas (which I have never listened to – I will now based on Visions). 

Per the Visions pre-release promo, Norah said: “The reason I called the album Visions is because a lot of the ideas came in the middle of the night or in that moment right before sleep, and ‘Running’ was one of them where you’re half asleep and kind of jolted awake. We did most of the songs in the same way where I was at the piano or on guitar and Leon was playing drums and we were just jamming on stuff. I like the rawness between me and Leon, the way it sounds kind of garage-y but also kind of soulful, because that’s where he’s coming from, but also not overly perfected.”

Here are some track-by-track comments:

“All This Time” (Jones/Michels) opens the album and wow what a sexy song! I could imagine a 70s soul/R&B male vocal group doing this, for example, the O’Jays or The Stylistics. Love these lyrics:

“All this time, I think of you
I think of you
Stay with me, I’ll make it easy”

“Staring at the Wall” (Jones/Michels) sounds like an indie version of Bonnie Raitt and I can imagine Bonnie covering it in a blues-rock style. Norah’s guitar playing has advanced to the point that it rivals her piano playing. It is nice to have this guitar edge as part of her palate.

“Paradise” (Jones/Michels) was the teaser single released a couple of months before the album. It is girl-group splendor – like The Supremes. Norah has developed amazing self-backup vocals (what Joni used to do). Lyrically it is a complex romance – exes back together, it’s hot, but it can’t continue:

“I watch you fall
I try to stop
Waiting for the pain to drop
I know I’ve got to let you go again
Although I never wanted this to end
I know it’s time to let you go”

“Queen Of The Sea” (Jones) – Norah has really developed as a songwriter and singer and this song showcases that. This is a guitar-based arrangement with more amazing self-backup vocals and wonderful horns. The song has a country music vibe. Again her fretwork is so cool – it is minimalistic but groovy AF. This could be a Lucinda Williams’ song.

“Oh, you made a mess out of me
But I’m finally free, ooh
Oh, you made a mess out of me
But I’m finally free
Ooh, oh, ooh”

The “Ooh, oh, ooh” almost sounds like “boo-hoo” which is lyrically appropriate.

“Visions” (Jones) is a mournful deconstructed Mariachi/country song with a gorgeous rich vocal.

“Running” (Jones/Michels) sounds like Roxy Music, but with female vocals and point of view. I like the bass (wow Norah you have come a long way from just tinkling keys on a piano) and baritone sax courtesy of Michels.

“I Just Wanna Dance” (Jones/Michels/Steinweiss) sounds late at night. The song has a nice retro soul feel with outstanding horns (assume that is the Steinweiss influence). Norah’s keyboards have a Billy Preston vibe.

“I’m Awake” (Jones) has an empowering lyric. It has a funky keyboard, like something Stevie might do. A little bit of an Al Green (arrangement) and Diana Ross (vocals) vibe too.

“Swept Up in the Night” (Jones/Michels) has some Joni in the arrangements. Again some nice horns.

“On My Way” (Jones/Remm) Pete Remm is Norah’s husband and father of their children, so not surprisingly this is a lullaby.

“Alone with My Thoughts” (Jones/Michels) starts as a mournful piano ballad. The arrangement gets fuller as the song progresses – again great use of horns.

“That’s Life”(Jones/Michels) is jazzy, but schmaltzy, in a good way. It is a nice long goodbye to end the album.

Overall Norah has advanced on several fronts. I assume the pandemic gave her a chance to really woodshed. Her vocals are the most adventurous and satisfying in her catalog. As mentioned earlier her guitar playing now rivals her piano. Her songwriting is strong. The arrangements are loose but serve the songs (however I am not feeling the birds in some of the arrangements). Michels is a strong musician-producer presence – which I like because Norah is a musician’s musician and consummate collaborator. This is my favorite Norah Jones record since Little Broken Hearts (2012) – also an album with a strong producer presence (Danger Mouse). This will clearly be my “best of 2024” list.

I am a little disappointed in the quality of the vinyl, it does not live up to the usual Blue Note standards in that is a little noisy. I did go with the indie record store Orange Blend version – I may need to skip these pretty vinyl records in favor of the old reliable: black. The 24-bit/96 kHz FLAC on streaming sounds fantastic.

I am a long-time fan of The Black Crowes and the Robinson brothers’ various side projects. I was disappointed that Chris and Rich could not find a way to get along to keep their rock ‘n roll train rolling. Right before the pandemic, the brothers mended fences to cash in on the 20th anniversary of their brilliant debut Shake Your Money Maker (1989). That tour, like everything, got paused due to Covid. The tour got going once the world opened up and in 2022 they released an EP of covers inspired by the year 1972. Hopefully, new music was on the way. The brothers have continued to get along: there is more touring and now a new album: Happiness Bastards.

The new album sounds great. They have taken a deep inhale of the Stones, Faces, AC/DC, and Aerosmith and exhaled a cloud of their unique brand of country-fried jam band boogie swagger.  It is great to have them back.  Nothing new here, but that is ok with me – just finely crafted rock ’n roll (although the collaboration with Lainey Wilson is a nice new spice).  

They have taken a deep inhale of the Stones, Faces, AC/DC, and Aerosmith and exhaled a cloud of their unique brand of country-fried jam band boogie swagger.

Here are some track-by-track thoughts:

“Bedside Manners” – Blasts off with classic Crowes’ swagger.

“Rats and Clowns” – Has an AC/DC groove that makes you want to wiggle.

“Cross Your Fingers” – opens with a gorgeous acoustic intro. Chris’ vocals are tender. Then it blasts off with a Led Zepplin-like swagger.

“Wanting and Waiting” was the teaser single back in January and it signaled the boys were back. A bit of an AC/DC groove but clearly with a Crowes’ twist. It rocks! The organ is insane.

“Wilted Rose” (featuring Lainey Wilson)- Happiness Bastards is produced by Jay Joyce who also produces Wilson. I listened to a Chris Robinison podcast and the collaboration with Wilson seemed pretty organic and not clickbait. Wilson’s contribution is perfect – a nice spice to the meal, without overshadowing it.

“Bleed It Dry” has an opening riff that would make Keef proud and Chris’ vocal move like Jagger’s.

“Dirty Cold Sun” is some more Stonesy greaze – tightly sloppy.

“Flesh Wound” – has a fun pop-punk vibe that shows early influences were as much indie rock as classic rock.

“Follow the Moon” has a wonderful classic rock intro – look out riff-master Joe Walsh!

“Kindred Friend” closes the album on a gentle note. This is a gorgeous acoustic-based ballad with a Joe Walsh inflection to Chris’ voice

Overall – Happiness Bastards is not a pivot or reinvention – just more of the Crowes’ brilliant craftsmanship. Maybe that is why the cover art is a semi-transparent whitewashing of The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion (my vote for the best in their catalog) album with the album title sloppily scrawled on it (the black cover is a similar concept to Shake Your Money Maker).

I have been looking forward to the new Kacey Musgraves album since the lead single “Deeper Well” was released in early February – it signaled Kacey was back. 2021’s star-crossed never resonated with me, and I was hungry for a return to Golden Hour (2018) form. The One Lo ve movie-inspired Bob Marley cover “Three Little Birds,” released in January, caught my attention too. Unfortunately, Kacey and her team wasted money on a teaser commercial at the Grammys. It got totally lost when Taylor Swift mic dropped that her new album, The Tortured Poet’s Department, is coming on April 19. But now that it is here, I happily declare that Deeper Well is an excellent album.

Like Golden Hour, Deeper Well has a luscious production. However, this is not Golden Hour Vol. 2, as Deeper Well has its own aesthetics. Kacey sings slightly differently: more pop but still with a singer-songwriter vibe (and, when appropriate, a little twang). The lyrics are direct and have a world-weary, smart-ass attitude, but somehow optimistic.  

…lyrics are direct with a world-weary smart-ass attitude

“Cardinal” opens the album with a baroque folk-rock intro—like a Byrds’ song. The music has a sad and wistful sound. Lyrically, Musgraves explores the old trope that a cardinal (bird) is a messenger from someone who has died. The narrator tries to decipher the message from the bird. No conclusions are made, just guesses. It is a beautiful start to the album.

“Deeper Well” is a gorgeous single, and if this was the only bright star on this album, this album cycle would be a success. Fortunately, this is just one of several great songs on the album. Again, Kacey is exploring a Bryds-like sound. Lyrically, the narrator is doing some weighty introspection: failed relationships, drugs have become too important, sycophants, etc. All these things need to be left behind and instead focus on a “deeper well.” In an interview, Kacey explains the deeper well metaphor:

“”Deeper Well’ cuts to the core of the human experience for those that are wanting to experience a deep relationship with themselves and also other humans that are existing. The older I get, the more I realize that if you don’t know yourself and you don’t have a deep relationship with yourself, you’re not going to have that with anybody else.”

“Too Good to Be True” – I love good songwriting that puts a twist on a cliche. Kacey delivers a brilliant twist on the “too good to be true” cliche:

“Be good to me and I’ll be good to you
But please don’t be too good to be true”

“Moving Out” is a song that remembers a house that two ex-lovers shared.

“Giver / Taker” is the most conventionally country song on the album, yet it reminds me of a combination of Dylan and Beck.

“Sway” has a country vibe with a Bon Iver(ish) ending. It has a simple message: don’t get uptight, and learn to go with the flow:

“I’ll sway (Yeah, oh yeah)
Like a palm tree in the wind”

“Dinner With Friends” is a ditty that examines romance.

“Heart of the Woods” has an indie rock/Americana feel to the music. Lyrically, this song is more opaque than the rest of the album.

“Jade Green” has Nick Drake vibes, but it also, musically, evokes Chris Isaak’s 1989 hit “Wicked Game.”

“The Architect” is a clever musing on the existence of god via a gorgeous jangling folk arrangement.

“Lonely Millionaire” is a pretty pop ballad with Kacey’s take on “money can’t buy you love.”

“Heaven Is” has a Celtic folk song feel. Lyrically, it points out the simple things that make it great.

“Anime Eyes” is the album’s most elaborate and experimental arrangement. It has a superb crescendo.

“Nothing to Be Scared Of” is a plea to a lover to open their heart and lose their life’s baggage:

“Come to me, and drop your bags
And I’ll help you unpack them
You’re the only one I want to give my love
There’s nothing to be scared of”

This album will burnish Kacey’s reputation as a singer-songwriter and recording artist. The songwriting is simple and direct, and the music/arrangements perfectly augment the lyrics. One odd feature is that many of the songs just end. Kacey could have done a better job sticking the landing on some of these songs. Golden Hour was a huge step forward, moving Kacey from an up-and-coming country star to a brilliant pop singer-songwriter. Deeper Well is evidence that Golden Hour was not a fluke and Kacey is for real.

My introduction to the album was the 24-bit/44.1 kHz FLAC stream on Tidal, and the sonics are like butter.

The vinyl version has an excellent master and pressing, and the packaging is well done. I chose the indie record store version and pressed it on “spilled milk” vinyl. The leaves are scented with “KM + Boy Smells” – a nice gimmick.

Dume is yet another “lost” Neil Young album. In the mid-’70s, Neil Young, Crazy Horse, and producer David Briggs lived in the Point Dume area of Malibu. Zuma, named after the beach they lived near, was recorded during that period. When Young was assembling his 2020 Archives Vol II box set he created Dume to combine songs from Zuma with unreleased tracks and mixes from that same period. Of the 16 tracks on Dume, half were not on Zuma. Most of the non-Zuma songs eventually found their way onto other releases (in different arrangements) including three on Rust Never Sleeps. All the Zuma tracks are represented except the CSNY song “Through My Sails.”

Zuma is one of my favorite Neil Young albums so it is a delight to have this new compilation from the Neil Young Archives series. “Cortez The Killer” is my favorite cut on the original Zuma and one of my favorite Neil Young songs. Its groove and the slow grinding lugubrious jam are the sounds that hooked me on Neil Young and Crazy Horse in the first place: heavy metal on Red Wine and Quaaludes. I absolutely love when Neil does this kind of shit. Well, Dume has plenty more. I am going to focus this review on the Dume songs that were not on Zuma. The songs marked with a # were unreleased versions of songs that appeared in other places in the Neil catalog until the Archives Vol II CD/digital box and are new to vinyl. The songs marked * were unreleased songs until the Archives Vol II box and are also new to vinyl. Here is the annotated track list focused on the non-Zuma songs:

“Ride My Llama” # is a Rust Never Sleeps track. The Dume version is full-on Crazy Horse electric grunge compared to the acoustic version on Rust. Both are great and each deserves a place in the catalog.

“Born To Run” * This is not the Bruce song. This is a song I had not heard before. It is a typical vibe of Neil and The Horse.

“Kansas” * Is another song that I have never heard before, but it fits like a glove on this album. It is classic wonderful sloppy proto-grunge from The Horse.

The vinyl is well mastered and pressed and this album is analog heaven. The wax sounds great on my system – it is tube extasy on the guitar solos. The packaging is nicely done – an enhanced version of the original Zuma LP. The album can be streamed on all services, including Spotify. I use Tidal and Dume is buried in the Archives Vol II compilation (tracks 99-114) in. 24 bit/192 kHz FLAC.

I get overwhelmed by the volume of the Neil Young archival releases, but Dume has muscled its way through the mess and will be a great pre-game to the Neil Young & Crazy Horse show (and new album Fu##In’ Up – which is a redo of 1990’s Ragged Glory when Neil was in his godfather of grunge era) that I will be seeing in Phoenix this spring. I am amazed at how coherent this album is and further amazed that Young was able to use these songs on other albums – especially Rust – they seemed like they belonged on Rust, but Rust and Zume are very much companions and this is even more evident after listening to Dume.

I am a longtime fan of Cat Power (AKA Charlyn Marie “Chan” Marshall) and her mellow purr since her 2006 album The Greatest. Cat Power, although an excellent singer-songwriter, has a history of doing great covers including three albums of cover songs. The concept here is to cover Bob Dylan’s legendary 1966 British concert where he challenged his fans by going electric as documented by the 1998 album: The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966, The “Royal Albert Hall” Concert.

The original Dylan show was actually recorded at the Manchester Free Trade Hall during Dylan’s 1966 world tour, but early bootlegs attributed the recording to the Royal Albert Hall so it became known as the Royal Albert Hall Concert. The original setlist consisted of two parts, with the first half of the concert being Dylan alone on stage performing an acoustic set of songs, while the second half of the concert is Dylan playing an “electric” set of songs with his band The Hawks (later renamed The Band). The first half of the concert (acoustic) was greeted warmly by the audience, while the second half (electric) was filled with heckling due to some of the audience’s dissatisfaction with Dylan going electric. The show included Dylan’s legendary confrontation with a heckler who yelled “Judas” which can be heard on the recording. After “Judas!” there is clapping, followed by more heckles. Dylan then says “I don’t believe you”, then after a pause, “You’re a liar.” Bob Dylan then said to his band, “Play it fuckin’ loud” as they began “Like a Rolling Stone.” At the end, the audience erupts into applause and Dylan says, “Thank you.”

A pretty amazing concert for Cat Power to cover. She takes the same approach as Dylan: the first half acoustic and the second half electric with her band. She has the same set list (songs and order) as the famous recording. The performance is a live show at Royal Albert Hall recorded on November 5, 2022.

The arrangements are faithful to the Dylan originals, yet Cat Power’s unique vocals make the material her own. Hearing her interpret these songs opens up new meanings and nuances.

LP One: Acoustic Set

These covers are faithful to the original album: voice, guitar, and harmonica. Cat Power’s performance is like a sweet caress – she is clearly in love with the material – it is devotional. Cat Power has a similar but unique phrasing to Dylan. The recording quality is pristine.

LP Two: Electric Set

This is by far my favorite set. It is wonderfully feisty. The arrangements are faithful, but not beholden to the original. It is like the band took the original and readjusted it for Chan’s phrasing and Chan’s phrasing is wonderful – Dylanesque, but still plenty of Cat Power. It is an inspired interpretation. It includes an audience member shouting “Judas!” at Cat Power in the same manner as the original Dylan show.

This is a brilliant concept for an album and Cat Power nails it. She is taking this show on the road too (unfortunately not to a city near me).