English: Frank Turner at an XFM radio session in London. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Former punk rocker, Frank Turner (Million Dead was his band in the day), has changed his tune (pun intended) to a folk based acoustic style, one that he is quite proficient with. I heard this particular song in my regular time and place, the drive to work while listening to CBC2. It is off his soon to be released album (April 23?), “Tape Deck Heart” and is called Recovery. Great song, and if the album is this strong, it will promptly become a staple on my iPhone. As an added bonus, a great video.
The Civil Wars’ Barton Hollow cover (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I am thinking this could be my new favourite song, until the next one. To bad The Civil Wars have broken up, at least they got a Grammy. Call them folk or country or whatever, good is good. The song is “Barton Hollow” and is from the album of the same name, released in 2011.
Kind of a cheat here. Stephen Fearing and Andy White (Stephen is Canadian, Andy should be) have successful solo careers, but have teamed up here as Fearing in White to record an album and tour together. The album, Fearing and White, was released in March of 2011. They toured Western Canada and recorded the attached video on an iPhone. Nice job. I clued in on this band as Andy White and Fearing and White both follow me on Twitter. When I got the follow, curiosity drew me to YouTube to check them out and was pleased with what I found. Promotion in any way always helps. They made me a fan, and maybe you as well.
A bit about them now. Stephen Fearing is out of Vancouver and is a double Juno winner (Canada’s Grammy for the non-Canadians reading this). He is well-known roots and folk artist. He has been successful as a solo artists and as a member of Blackie and the Rodeo Kings.
Andy White hails from Northern Ireland and is basically a rambling troubadour. He tours constantly and has played with a who’s who of Irish players, including Van Morrison and Sinead O’Connor.
A quick note to mark the passing of Billy Grammer. Not someone that I had ever been into, but one song stands as a classic “Gotta Travel On”. the song was written by Paul Clayton and recorded in Nashville in 1959. Although basically a one hit wonder, this one hit is a standard, known by most people, and he made a career of it, touring extensively with his band the the Travel On Boys. A historical sidelight. He played at a rally in Laurel, Maryland, followed by US presidential candidate George Wallace speaking to the rally. After speaking, Wallace mingled with the crowd and was shot, and made a paraplegic.
The Canadian Music Blog 