Tim O'Brien, Red on Blonde. O'Brien takes on a formidable task: the songs of Bob Dylan, string-band style. He knows that a comprehensive or historically representative selection of Dylan's repertoire is an impossibility, but he and friends Scott Nygaard, Mark Schatz, Jerry Douglas, and Kathy Mattea demonstrate the natural adaptability of a thoughtful mix of titles, including "Tombstone Blues" and "Masters of War," to bluegrass and old-time treatment. The standout here is "Subterranean Homesick Blues," with Schatz' ham-bone body-percussion accompaniment. (Sugar Hill)
--Ben Elder
Clive Gregson, I Love This Town. On his second release for Compass, Gregson displays more of his acoustic pop inclinations as a songwriter. He combines his gift for creative storytelling with an engaging melodic sensibility on songs like "Lonely Street," "Things I Didn't Do," and the heartbreaking "That's the Cross I Bear." He rocks hard on the blistering "Secondhand Car" and shows off his nimble fingerpicking on the lament "Ramshackle Road." I Love This Town is a thoroughly satisfying collection by an underrated writer and performer. (Compass, 117 30th Ave. S., Nashville, TN 37212)
--James Jensen
Mele Hula--Hawaiian Style: Vintage Hawaiian Treasures, Vol. 4. This collection of recordings from the decade following World War II encompasses everything from modernized chant to hula tunes to pop-influenced hapa haole ("half-white") ditties. The ensembles feature slack-key and steel guitars, ukulele, and bass in support of some lovely falsetto singing, notably by John K. Alameida (who also produced the original sessions) and the incredible Genoa Keawe. In both repertoire and feeling, this material provides a context for more guitar-centered slack-key music, and it's great listening in its own right. (Hana Ola, Cord International, PO Box 152, Ventura, CA 93002)
--Russell Letson
Preacher Boy and the Natural Blues, Gutters and Pews. Chris Watkins (aka Preacher Boy) plays a mean slide on National guitar and growls with cheese-grater vocals on his second CD of renegade blues. His music is steeped in the Delta tradition, but he infuses his originals with an eclectic mix of rockabilly, bluegrass, country, ragtime, swing, and funk. He croons on subjects relevant to the '90s on such tunes as "Ugly," a satire on plastic surgery, and "Railroad," a poignant tale about homelessness. This album proves that a blues-loving artist can pay homage to the tradition while putting a contemporary spin on it. (Blind Pig, PO Box 2344, San Francisco, CA 94126)
--Dan Ouellette
Steve Forbert, Rocking Horse Head. On his tenth release, the dusty-voiced Forbert rocks out with the guys from Wilco (minus Jeff Tweedy) on 12 original songs. About half the cuts are primarily acoustic, and the rest offer unusual combinations of acoustic and electric instruments. In "If I Want You Now," for example, fiddle and mandolin combine seamlessly with Hammond organ, and in "Don't Stop" the banjo rolls over grungy electric guitar, creating a sound reminiscent of the defunct Uncle Tupelo. It's these cross-bred arrangements, as well as Forbert's simple, sincere songwriting, that make this record connect. (Revolution/Warner Brothers)
--Simone Solondz
Dick Gaughan, Sail On. Not since the release of his Different Kind of Love Song in 1983 has this Scottish singer-guitarist captured the gritty breadth of emotion with which he's stunned live audiences for decades. He toggles here between his trademark driving acoustic work (which often renders time signatures irrelevant) and some very rocking electric leads. The songs are highly political, the lyrics deeply poetic, the singing impassioned. "The 51st (Highland) Division's Farewell to Sicily," a 10-minute&endash;plus gem of hypnotic restraint and Scots musical idiom, is worth the price of the whole CD. Beautifully recorded, too. (Appleseed, PO Box 2593, West Chester, PA 19380)
--Danny Carnahan
Allen Wayne Damron, 35 Years. While other Kerrville performers went to Hollywood or Nashville in search of major-label recording contracts, Allen Damron remained within a rattlesnake's strike of his front porch, ever close to the lyrical traditions of Texas. Damron never exploits the listener's notion of the Lone Star State, instead selecting great songs from everywhere to illustrate where he is in life and performing them in an honest and direct fashion. 35 Years is a wonderful retrospective that shows Damron at his best. (Quahadi, *Street Address?, Austin, TX 78745)
--Roger Deitz
Lori Carson, Everything I Touch Runs Wild. Singer-songwriter Lori Carson takes her melancholy music to a new level of longing on her latest CD. With hushed, almost whispered vocals and simple fingerpicking, Carson muses on and laments about matters of the heart. The arrangements are stark, with additional instrumentation ranging from jazz trumpet on the catchy "Something's Got Me" to strings on "Make a Little Luck." The collection gets a slight lift from the somber zone with "Souvenir" and a surprisingly effective cover of Todd Rundgren's "I Saw the Light." (Restless)
--Dan Ouellette
Jimmie Lee Robinson, Guns, Gangs, and Drugs. A veteran of the Chicago blues scene of the '40s, Robinson has personally witnessed the City of Big Shoulders' many musical and sociological changes. He self-produced these 12 songs, which reflect his concerns regarding drugs and gang warfare and fondly reminisce about the once-thriving Maxwell Street scene. Robinson's melodic fingerpicking and jazz-chord strumming within the standard 12-bar blues format wonderfully complement his mellow vocals--and the little bit of whistling he throws in for good measure. (Amina, PO Box 368139, Chicago, IL 60636)
--George Hansen
Tony Green, Gypsy Jazz. Although Tony Green hails from New Orleans, the jazz he plays is inspired by Django Reinhardt, not Louis Armstrong. Green is an accomplished guitarist in the Reinhardt tradition; his playing has a distinctly European flavor, and he performs plenty of waltzes. This is only fitting, since the waltz occupies a central place in the history of Gypsy jazz, much as the blues does in rock 'n' roll. Some say you need Gypsy blood to play Gypsy jazz; Tony Green shows that all you need is a heart that beats in 3/4 time. (Orleans, 828 Royal St. #536, New Orleans, LA 70116)
--Michael Simmons
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