Rodney Parker & 50 Peso Reward‘s album from a couple of years ago, The Lonesome Dirge, went criminally under-discussed from me on this site. I’m now trying to make up for that offense by really making sure that as many people as possible get all up in the grill of their latest release, The Apology, Part One. This EP is just plain ol’ kick-ass country rock. Too many times, “country-rock” means cheesy, 1980′s rehashing while various country-related lyrical themes are introduced. Not here. The second part of The Apology will be making it’s way soon enough, and an acoustic record of some sort will be making its way into the marketplace, as well.

Tell you what, give a listen to the track below, then go on over to my review of the album on The Dallas Observer’s website. You’ll be crazy glad that you did.

LISTEN: “Guitars” – Rodney Parker & 50 Peso Reward

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I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. Jamey Johnson is simply playing on a whole different, and superior, level than the rest of the mainstream country music world. I think it’s nothing short of a miracle that Johnson can even  be lumped into the mainstream, to be honest.

This new album, due in a couple of weeks and entitled The Guitar Song, is nothing short of brilliant, period. I’m not ready to go too deep right now with why I’m so blown away by this 25 song, double LP. Really, every song has been a gem, so far. Perhaps I’ll tire of a couple of tunes, but man, this is a serious collection of pure, honky-tonk gold. I love that Johnson has decided to use the momentum gained from all of his awards and his gold-selling status for something this ambitious and decidedly unsafe. A couple of excellent covers, mixed with authentic tunes that deal with heartache, the foils of fame, love for his daughter and also his love of songwriting, make up an insanely well constructed album, even if it’s a mammoth one, with a running time of over an hour and a half.

Much has been made about Johnson’s alleged status as the saviour of modern country music, and after this new release, I’m not sure about what he is or isn’t saving, but I know that this album represents much more than what is typically represented when other Nashville hitmakers predictably and generically release their yearly, committee-created piles of crap.

Ray Lamontagne’s latest project might be the most un-Lamontagne album he has done, thus far, even though it’s the first album he has produced for his own self. God Willin’ & The Creek Don’t Rise, his fourth studio LP, was recorded in Lamontagne’s New England cabin with the help of his country, soul-brothers, the Pariah Dogs. Featuring the in-demand pedal steel of Greg Leisz, this record boasts a group feel that, understandably, hasn’t exactly been present in the previous efforts of the solemn, bearded one.

While most of the album elegantly ambles in the folky terrain of country music, there are some bluesy stompers that recall certain, earlier works, most notably Lamontagne’s stellar 2006 record, Til the Sun Turns Black. The lead single and the album’s standout track, “Beg Steal or Borrow” plays like a more laid back, less neurotic Ryan Adams tune from his prolific, Cold Rosesera. To be sure, that’s in no small part to the contributions of the aforementioned Mr. Leisz, wh is also a frequent collaborator of the eccentric Adams. Also, in the span of that specific tune, the trembling fender strat and shuffling beat just find a groove and live in it as if it went ahead and paid first and last months rent for it.

Certainly, Lamontagne has been a star as a folk-intensive, singer/songwriter, but this album and it’s beautiful set of songs is surely an Americana album of the highest order.

I’ve made little secret that I contain a relatively decent-size man-crush on Bobby Bare Jr. Dude’s a genius, in my book. If he’s put out a bad record, I haven’t heard it. Once I really began to dig into his solo stuff a couple of years ago, I have eagerly awaited anything the dude puts out, even if it’s not a “proper release”. The EP that he put out last year, American Bread, which consisted of killer America and Bread covers, was predictably stellar. This year’sShel Silverstein tribute project, which he helmed and contributed a song too, might go down as one of 2010′s great records, actually.

Well, for those who, like me, were wondering when the next dose of goodness from Bare Jr would be dealt, worry no more. In the next couple of weeks, you’ll get not one, but two hearty gulps of new Bobby Bare Jr material.

This week, you can go to his official site and exchange your email address for a new, free acoustic EP. Then, a couple of weeks from now, you can get all up in a new, full-length LP, A Storm – A Tree – My Mother’s Head.

I’ve been listening to the new full-length casually over the last few days and, yeah, solid. It rocks, it gently weeps, it’s another well-concieved, thoughtfully produced record.

As for the acoustic EP avaialable now, check out this song from it, below…

SAD SMILE  (acoustic) by BOBBY*BARE*JR

I got to high five this fine lady at SXSW, and while I doubt she was as thrilled by that as I was, it was an even bigger thrill to her Lissie bust out with a folky, yet still rocking, version of Metallica’s slow-jam classic, “Nothing Else Matters.” She’s following up her EP, Why You Runnin’? with a very solid, full-length, entitled, Catching a Tiger.

Basically, if you have enjoyed her previous outout, you will surely leave this record satisfied. I know that I was.

Listen: Lissie – “Bully” 

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Tags: Lissie