Slowly Going Bald

November

Murry Hammond, I Don't Know Where I'm Going But I'm On My Way (2008)
The best way to describe it is ethereal roots music, shot through with images of lonesome trains. That reads like nonsense, but the music is great.

Mindy Smith, Long Island Shores (2006)
A beautiful, accomplished follow-up to her debut One Moment More. I wish I could come up with something smarter or more engaging to say than that, but right now, I can't. Just pick it up if you get the chance.

Johnny Cash, At Folsom Prison (1968)
Untouchable classic. I already owned At San Quentin, and needed this to feel complete.

Ryan Adams, Cardinology (2008)
Ryan Adams has been almost startlingly prolific in the past few years, churning out albums and EPs like a depressed little machine. He's mellowed into the sound that defines his current era — countryish rock with a faint '70s vibe — and he makes it work for him, even on an outing like Cardinology, which is more adequate than anything. He doesn't hit the songwriting heights of, say, Jacksonville City Nights, but this also miles better than 29. It's a solid little Adams record, and I'll take that any day of the week.

San Saba County, ...Though Cheating Was Never an Option (2008)
This is a great alt-country record with a mature sound that's often reminiscent of Son Volt or other harder-edged outfits. But I love the way I came by it. I mentioned in an earlier post how I'd picked up San Saba County's first record online, and a couple days later I got an email from frontman John Saba asking if I'd like a copy of their new one. Things like that rarely happen to me, a guy who runs a small blog mostly read by people he actually knows, so for that kind of connection to happen through the magical tubes of the interweb was cool. And it's a good album, to boot.

December

Steve Earle and the Dukes, Shut Up and Die Like an Aviator (1991)
Steve Earle live. Enough said.

The Jayhawks, Sound of Lies (1997)
This is the first record The Jayhawks put out after the departure of Mark Olson, but the leadership of Gary Louris proved itself over and over in this group of fantastic songs. Edgier but more polished than the band's previous efforts, it's a wonderful example of how the group stayed together and reshaped its sound even in the absence of one of their guiding lights. They wouldn't top this album until 2003's Rainy Day Music.

Mark Olson and the Original Harmony Ridge Creekdippers, My Own Jo Ellen (2000)
A total value find at a CD Exchange on the north side of San Antonio. CD Exchange is a decent but mostly ratty chain of used music stores, and their shelves run mostly toward mainstream pap from a decade ago; basically, imagine your iTunes library hijacked by a baby boomer. But most stores have a small Americana section carved out toward the back, and it's there that you can find some genuinely good albums like this one.

Sam Cooke, Portrait of a Legend: 1951-1964 (2003)
This is a greatest hits collection that's packed with great songs, from a couple of spiritual Cooke did with the Soul Stirrers to classic tracks from the era, like "Twistin' the Night Away" and "Another Saturday Night." Good stuff.

Muddy Waters, Muddy "Mississippi" Waters Live (2003)
If this double-disc reissue of Muddy Waters live doesn't grab you, I don't know what will. Powerful, blistering blues from a master.

The Drams, Jubilee Dive (2006)
I didn't pick this up until I saw the Drams open for the Old 97's, even though I was familiar with Slobberbone, a great Texas band that's since broken up and re-formed as the Drams. They put on as good a show as ever, and most of their raw energy is pretty well captured in their album.

The Welcome Wagon, Welcome to the Welcome Wagon (2008)
The producing talents of Sufjan Stevens are evident from the first note, and that's a good thing. Stevens' songs already brush up against modern religion, and this album by the husband and wife team of The Welcome Wagon is the reverential flip-side to Stevens' pop-infused explorations of Americana. Good stuff.

Billy Bragg & Wilco, Mermaid Avenue (1998)
This is another one of those records for which I already owned a few songs — "California Stars," etc. — but not the whole album. So I picked it up, and of course the rest of it was just as wonderful.