I always give local music at the holidays. For years, I’d buy a dozen or so copies of the latest Greetings From Area Code 207 disc, but Charlie Gaylord has let me down the past two Christmases. No matter. I’ve just had to be more attuned to potential gift receivers.
So far, I’ve purchased about three copies of Light at the End, since Rustic Overtones are kind of one-size-fits-all. Then I bought the Cambiata and Are You a Fox? EPs for my sister’s black-clothes-wearing-sophisticate husband. He likes to rock out, but wants to think he’s being smart while he’s doing it. For my sister, a closet underground hip-hop devotee, I bought Sontiago’s Steel Yourself and the latest album from sole, who hasn’t lived here in more than a decade, but we can still claim as our own.
When my list of the top 20 best discs of 2007 comes out next week, you’ll have plenty of suggestions for late present buying, but I thought I’d take this week to point out some discs that have been released this past year and might have niche appeal, but I haven’t had a chance to review before now:
For your older sister, who moved to Alaska : Arborea, Wayfaring Summer
Actually released in 2006, this disc has undeservedly flown under the local radar. Reminiscent of husband-and-wife team Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, Shanti and Buck Curran produce ethereal and ancient string-band music that’ll tear your heart out. Shanti’s vocals on “Wake up, Little Sparrow” stab me right in the gut.
For your younger brother, who just joined the debate team : Randy Browning,Radical Rags
Sounding quite a bit like that other songwriting Randy, Newman, Browning knows how to put together a boppy singalong as well as a melodramatic folk ballad, and even covers Newman’s “Political Science” from 1968, a tow-minute-long stinging indictment of American hubris. Any disc that can equate the persecution of a modern-day gay teenager and Galileo is worth a listen.
For Grandma Sue, the Christmas sentimentalist: Dave Rowe Trio, A Holiday Concert
Sure, you could buy that new Christmas in Maine album Con Fullam has put together, but a more consistent effort can be had from Dave Rowe and friends. It’s a great mix of originals and traditionals, including a parody of “Old Time Religion” that’s pretty funny. Also, Denny Breau’s take on “Linus and Lucy” is wicked.
For your old man, the blues fan : Lex & Joe, Chicken Gumbo
Lex Romane and Joe Riillo are joined by a score of friends here on their newest full-length, a mix of classic blues tracks like “Deep Elem Blues” and original takes, all of them southern fried with gritty horns and warm guitar. Riillo’s clarinet on “Stealin,’” which the duo attribute to Taj Mahal, though it was first recorded by the Memphis Jug Band in 1928, is worth your tenner.
For your Ma, the philanthropist : John Muthyala, Katrina
Well, honestly, philanthropy is probably the only reason you’d buy this disc. A new-agey soft-pop curiosity from a well-meaning guy who hasn’t played music seriously since the 1970s, this CD single may not stay in your CD player long, but the sentiment should stick with you for a while. All proceeds from the sale of the disc fund continuing Katrina clean-up by Project Katrina, a effort run by the Trinity Lutheran Church in Westbrook. Plus, the guy quotes Spivak.
