Marti Brom: “Seven Lonely Days”

It’s probably bad form to link to a feature I wrote for the Austin Chronicle in my first post. But the word on the new Marti Brom record, Heartache Numbers, really hasn’t gotten out yet and it’s the best pure country disc I’ve heard this year so I can’t resist. It’s a concept disc where the Austin-based Brom, best known as a rockabilly diva, sings old country songs with numbers in their title and then sequences them on the disc in numerical order. Producer Justin Trevino is known for making solid trad country and he brings top notch players like Bobby Flores, Lisa Pankratz, Kevin Smith and Levi Mullen to the project to assure that Brom’s ideas really shine.

“Seven Lonely Days” was originally sung by Patsy Cline in 1961 and was written by Marshall Brown, Alden Shuman and Earl Shuman. It’s a perfect fit for Brom. When I first heard this disc I said that this would be the record Cline would make if she was still alive. Other number songs on the disc range from the fairly well known “A-11,” “Apartment #9″ and “One Way Ticket To The Blues” to the obscure like “13 Steps Away” which she claims she found on a Jimmy Dean record.

And no Marti (mar-tee, btw) doesn’t have a website.

- Smilin’ Jim
Marti Brom: “Seven Lonely Days”

the everybodyfields: “The Only King”

the everybodyfields are a trio from Johnson City, TN, who play a quietly gorgeous mix of folk, old-time, and alt-country (if we must use that term). I learned about them from a guy who shares my fondness for dreamy, atmospheric sounds, but the everybodyfields are a lot less ethereal than that description implies. They may remind you of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, though I didn’t notice that similarity until I’d listened to their most recent album, “Plague of Dreams,” for the third or fourth time; it didn’t occur to me at all after multiple listens to their first record, last year’s “halfway there.” That might have something to do with the fact that co-lead vocalist Jill Andrews has a voice that’s both sweeter and, I think, a little more memorable than Gillian Welch’s, or maybe it’s because the everybodyfields make fairly heavy use of dobro, courtesy of reso-master Dave Richey. (Now that I’ve name-checked two of the band members, I’d be remiss if I didn’t also mention the other lead vocalist—and co-bassist/guitarist, along with Jill—Sam Quinn.)

I keep wavering about whether I like the looser, longer first record or the tighter, more song-oriented new one better, but the plain truth is that I love them both. For your listening pleasure, here’s “The Only King,” one of my favorites from the new record.

Visit the everybodyfields‘ Website for more info.

Welcome

Welcome to the TwangBlog. It’s pretty much a basic MP3 blog, with these general criteria:

1. Unlike just about any MP3 blogs we’ve been able to find, this one will be primarily but not exclusively focused on twang. By “twang,” we may mean anything from mainstream country (gasp!) to whatever passes for alternative country these days, from traditional/classic country and bluegrass to current and mostly unheard honky-tonk. And anything else we decide to define as twangy. But we’ll also be including other varieties of music that we enjoy and want you to hear, not being narrow-minded exclusionary purist types.

2. More than one person will be contributing MP3s and related write-ups, so there will be a wide range of tunage available.
3. MP3s will appear on the site for a limited time only (roughly 4 days each), and only a few will be available on the site at any one time. We’ll do our best to keep adding new stuff as we take down the old.

Two important notes for artists:

1. If we’ve included an MP3 of yours here and you’d like us not to, please let us know at postmaster at twangblog dot com. We’ll remove it immediately.

2. If, on the other hand, you’d like us to include an MP3 of yours here, let us know at the e-mail address noted above. We’ll give it a listen and work with you to add it if we like it.

That’s about it. Let the twangblogging commence!

—Amy