Sights and Sounds: Eddie Van Halen, Alabama Slim, Strawbs, Nobody's Girl

 A number of upcoming releases have been announced this week. Here are details on several of the most anticipated titles, as well as a leading news item on a tribute to the late Eddie Van Halen by Kramer...Robert Kinsler

Kramer Tribute to Eddie Van Halen on his birthday

In honor of Eddie Van Halen's birthday today (January 26th), guitar maker Kramer has posted a nice tribute to the late guitar great who passed away in October 2020. Read the tribute HERE.

New Orleans Bluesman Alabama Slim offers up a new solo album with an All-Star cast

Alabama Slim's 'The Parlor' is due Friday, Jan. 29, 2021

Due Friday, January 29, 2021, 'The Parlor' dives deep into the blues with a less-is-more approach overflowing with soul but keeping steady on the boogie, eliciting comparisons to the late great John Lee Hooker

Special guest Little Freddie King joins Slim on New Orleans Blues summit

PopMatters premiered a track ("Rock Me Baby") you can hear HERE

NEW ORLEANS, La. — Alabama Slim was born Milton Frazier in Vance, Alabama on March 29, 1939. His father built trains at the Pullman plant and his mother did domestic work to make ends meet. In their home they had an old Victrola turntable and a boxful of 78s. Slim fell in love with the blues of Bill Broonzy and Lightnin’ Hopkins, and that’s where the journey began for the always dapper bluesman, who was poised for a late-in-life breakout in 2020 with a scheduled appearance at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

 

“I met Alabama Slim in New Orleans while visiting bluesman Little Freddie King,” remembers the Music Maker Relief Foundation founder and president, Tim Duffy. “Slim is a towering man, close to seven feet tall. He was well spoken and dressed in an impeccable tailored suit. He told me he was a cousin of Freddie’s and was originally from Vance, Alabama.”

 

When Duffy asked Slim how he honed his craft, his response was a vibrant timeline of decades past all wrapped into a few sentences. “I grew up listening to the old blues since I was a child. I spent summers with my grandparents who had a farm. Them old folks would get to moanin’ while they worked, and I just started moanin’ with them. That’s where I learned to sing. When I got grown I formed a band and we played little juke joints in the ’50s and ’60s. In ’65, I came to New Orleans after Hurricane Betsy. Got me a job with a moving company and then one making cooking oil. My cousin Freddie King was drinking hard in those days, and I was too. We jammed every once in a while. By the time the ’80s rolled around I was not doing much but Freddie always checked on me. By the ’90s I got myself together and we have been best of friends ever since, tighter than brothers really; there is not a day that goes by when we do not speak or see each other.”

 

You can hear this in the way the two play together. Bobbing and weaving guitars like a middle-weight title fight, one shakes the trees while the other rakes the leaves. It’s an otherworldly connection really, one rooted in song and making a joyful noise, much deeper than blood or a familial line. The two lived and played music daily in New Orleans up until Katrina’s landfall. In fact, during the storm, Slim rescued his cousin, King, with the two evacuating together.

 

Slim and Freddie settled into a Dallas apartment complex and spent most of their days working up old and new songs post-Katrina. Freddie's guitar work followed Slim wherever he went vocally. They visited Music Maker in Hillsborough, N.C. that December and together along with some fellow New Orleans musicians cut The Mighty Flood, released in 2007 on the Music Maker imprint. Slim is also featured in the 2019 Music Maker Relief Foundation book Blue Muse and the compilation album of the same name, both of which were critically acclaimed and garnered national media attention.

 

Now back in New Orleans, the pair has been touring the globe with the Music Maker Relief Foundation’s all-star band, playing Telluride Blues and Brew Festival, Roots N Blues N BBQ, Outdoors at Lincoln Center, even landing a prime slot on the lineup of the duo’s hometown Jazz and Heritage Festival that was sadly cancelled due to the pandemic.

 

On June 7, 2019, when the world was still like we remember it, Slim, Little Freddie King, and drummer Ardie Dean entered a New Orleans recording studio called the Parlor. The session took merely four hours with Reginald Nicholas at the board and Dean in the producer’s chair. What was tracked is a master class on deep soulful blues. Slim and King’s guitars interweave with Dean’s masterful drumming to create a driving boogie, with Slim’s soothing vocals sprawled out on top, reminiscent of John Lee Hooker. And yes, he sings as well as he dresses … impeccably.

 

Cornelius Chapel Records teamed up with the Music Maker Relief Foundation for this record, titled The Parlor, to immortalize where it was initially captured. The album was tracked in one-take for a straight-to-tape feel but was captured digitally. Cornelius Chapel brought in Dial Back Sound’s Matt Patton of the Drive-By Truckers and the Dexateens for post-production. He and Jimbo Mathus (Squirrel Nut Zippers, Mississippi Blues Legend) sequenced the record and added the perfect amount of bass, organ, and piano so that the other half of DBS, Bronson Tew, could work his audio magic.

 

The Parlor will be available on January 29, 2021 on vinyl, CD, and all streaming and digital platforms.

 

The final product is an instant classic, a lesson of perseverance and true grit. One never knows when the proper team can come together to leave their cumulative mark on an age-old genre. Pearl Rachinsky Moreland (Pearl JR) provided the album artwork.

 

There’s a politically charged, poetic masterpiece titled “Forty Jive” that paints the perfect picture of the past year. The name pretty much says it all. That opening salvo was premiered by American Blues Scene fittingly just before Election Day. Slim’s writing is inspired and stands among the pillars that’ve come before him. His delivery drips in soul — Slim was meant to sing. From opening track “Hot Foot” to the superior low-end sanctum of “Rock Me Baby” his vocal prowess is on full display whether retooling old classics or stomping out new masterpieces, Slim and company deliver the goods. Special guest Little Freddie King takes over lead vocals on “Freddie’s VooDoo Boogie.” 

 

“Who knows how many incredible unrecorded blues artists are out there,” says the Music Maker Relief Foundation’s Tim Duffy. “It is clear that the blues will never die within the community from which it was born, as there are artists that embrace the older musical traditions and are determined to scuffle and hold dear to their blues even if it takes them 50 years to get into a studio.” We couldn’t agree with him more.

Slim was recently a guest on NPR’s Thacker Mountain Radio Hour on 10/17 - Listen Here!

Here is video of Slim performing and speaking with Offbeat Magazine.

Pre-sale link here.

STRAWBS Release New Studio Album “Settlement”

Album set for release on February 26, 2021

Esoteric Antenna is delighted to announce the release of the new studio album by the legendary band STRAWBS. “Settlement” is the latest album recorded by STRAWBS, more than 50 years on from the band’s first major label release. The album comes at a time of political and social upheaval, which the lyrics and melodies of the songs reflect. Undeterred by the fact that ‘business as usual’ was not possible because of the global COVID-19 pandemic – working remote from one another, from their own home studios – “Settlement” is a remarkable achievement.

David Cousins, leader of STRAWBS says: “‘Settlement’ is something extraordinary. I can’t think of another band who can go from metal grunge to the lilt of an Irish ghost story – or from a song in 6/8 time to singing in 4/4 over a 5/4 backbeat – in half an hour. The lyrics reflect the times we have been living through and I’m immensely proud of what we’ve achieved.”

“Settlement” is produced by Blue Weaver who played with STRAWBS and Bee Gees in their 1970s heydays. The recording was coordinated from Blue’s studio in Germany, where he now lives. STRAWBS are David Cousins, Dave Lambert, Chas Cronk, Tony Fernandez and Dave Bainbridge. Special guests on the album are John Ford, another former member of STRAWBS, who lives in New York, Cathryn Craig, with her lovely voice and unmistakable Southern lilt, who lives in Northern Ireland, and bass player Schalk Joubert, with whom David Cousins performed in South Africa at the beginning of the year. The album will be available both on CD and 180 gram vinyl formats.

“There comes a time when every Settlement is due!”

Track Listing:

1. SETTLEMENT
2. STRANGE TIMES
3. JUDGEMENT DAY
4. EACH MANNER OF MAN
5. THE VISIT
6. FLYING FREE
7. QUICKSILVER DAYS
8. WE ARE EVERYONE
9. CHORALE
10. CHAMPION JACK
11. BETTER DAYS (LIFE IS NOT A GAME)
12. LIBERTY

To pre-order:
https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/strawbs-settlement-cd-edition/
https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/strawbs-settlement-180g-vinyl-lp/

Austin Trio Nobody's Girl bridges the great divide between folk and heavenly pop on upcoming self-titled album due this summer

Americana/folk-pop supergroup featuring acclaimed singer-songwriters BettySoo, Rebecca Loebe and Grace Pettis to release first full-length on July 30, 2021 via Lucky Hound Music

Ditty TV recently premiered the video for the band's version of Carole King classic "So Far Away" - view the video HERE

L-R: Rebecca Loebe, BettySoo, Grace Pettis Photo by Valerie Fremin Photography AUSTIN, Texas — “We always joke that it started out by accident,” offers singer-songwriter (and former Voice contestant) Rebecca Loebe when asked about the fortuitous aligning of stars that officially brought her and fellow Austin-based troubadours BettySoo and Grace Pettis together as Nobody's Girl. “Well, actually, Grace and I like to joke that we tricked BettySoo into being in a band with us ...”    BettySoo, sitting across the table from her two bandmates at a post-rehearsal Tex-Mex dinner, laughs at this, but Grace is quick to correct the record. “It’s not really a joke, though,” she insists with a mischievous grin. “It’s true!”   But why split hairs? Whether it was sparked by happy accident or some manner of sly master plan, the magic of that union was undeniable from the get-go. That three of the loveliest voices in Americana and contemporary folk music could complement each other so beautifully might have been a given, but it was the songs they wrote together — songs unlike any of them had ever or probably would ever write on their own — that really made Nobody’s Girl, well, sing.   “In a lot of ways, I think of Nobody’s Girl as a super fun project that lets us blow off steam, because it gives us a whole different channel to tap into," says Rebecca. “But most of all, I’m always really moved by the power of what we're able to access as a trio: ‘ust the power of three voices onstage together, carrying the same message.”   They’ve carried that message for the better part of two whirlwind years, playing more than a 100 shows together from Texas to Ireland in support of a 2018 EP, Waterline, and a handful of singles released late last year. But that “power of three” they share has never been stronger than it is now, and it’s captured like bottled lightning on the trio's strikingly assertive — and yes, striking fun, too— full-length debut: Nobody's Girl, releasing on digital, CD, and vinyl through Lucky Hound Music on July 30, 2021.   Recorded in September of 2019 and January of 2020 at Lucky Hound’s own state-of-the-art Studios at Fischer campus in the Texas Hill Country, the new album found Nobody’s Girl once again working with Michael Ramos, the Grammy-winning producer who helmed Waterline. The sessions also reunited — and expanded — the veritable dream team of Austin talent that played on the EP. “Michael brought in so many great players for this record, it’s kind of insane,” marvels Rebecca. In addition to Ramos on percussion and keyboards and the formidable rhythm section of bassist Glenn Fukunaga and drummers J.J. Johnson and Conrad Choucroun, Nobody’s Girl features arguably the deepest roster of Texas guitar heroes this side of a classic Joe Ely or Arc Angels record: Charlie Sexton, David Grissom, and David Pulkingham.    Of course, as road-seasoned (and in the case of BettySoo and Rebecca, classically trained and Berklee educated, respectively) musicians themselves, BettySoo, Rebecca, and Grace can certainly hold their own with the best of the best, just as they all have literally on their own, both as a lean-and-mean touring trio and as solo artists with more than 15 albums among them. But it’s the gorgeous sound of their voices, be they harmonizing as one or trading leads with the graceful, elegant precision of aerial silk dancers, that's clearly the main event. Well, that and the revelatory nature of the songs themselves. Lyrically, their co-writes can be as heavy and introspective as anything each of the three Kerrville “New Folk” winners has ever shared with a listening room or festival audience of serious Americana/folk fans. But the energy throughout the album leans decidedly more rock, with buoyant melodies and catchy choruses that often as not move the needle clear into the straight-up pop zone. It’s a disarmingly delightful turn that BettySoo playfully calls “bubblicious.”   “By that, I don’t mean that it’s flaky or light,” she explains, “because I think our songwriting instincts are all honed from the folk world. But I do think that the textures we tap into when we write together for Nobody's Girl are definitely more pop.”   “And, I don’t think there’s anything bad about that!” adds Grace. “I think for some people, ‘pop’ is almost like a dirty word — especially in a town like Austin thats all about ‘serious’music with integrity. But sometimes something fun is good in its own right. The kind of songs I want to write are the ones that have something to say, but that also make your foot tap and that you want to play really loud in your car and sing along to. And in a lot of ways, those songs are a lot harder to write, at least for me. But as a band, I think we are able to really do that sometimes. I don’t know what it is about the combination of our different backgrounds that brings that out, though, and it actually really surprised us when we started recording that EP two years ago. We were all going, like, ‘Oh, wow — these are pop songs!’”   Two of the songs from that EP, “Waterline” and “What’ll I Do,” are featured again on the new album, remixed with a brand new coat of proud sheen. “What’ll I Do” was actually one of the first two songs they ever wrote together. Back in late 2017, the three longtime friends decided to embark on a tour together — not as a “band” so much as one-time, three-week song-swap. But on a whim, just for fun, they decided to try co-writing. Doubtless it had something to do with the fact that Grace happened to already have an “in” with the Studios at Fischer (and Lucky Hound) team, who’d offered her and her friends an overnight stay for a writing retreat. Come morning, when they played their hosts the two songs they’d written as a thank you for the hospitality, they were offered a record deal on the spot.    “At this point, we had not even played a single gig together,” Rebecca recalls with a laugh. “But the chemistry was really good, and we were already having so much fun, we just figured, why not? And that'show we became a band!”   Apart from its two covers (one by another Austin songwriter friend, Raina Rose, and the other by New Wave legends Blondie), the rest of that first EP was written in about 36 hours and recorded nearly just as quick. By contrast, the new songs on Nobody’s Girl came along quite a bit slower — as in a little over a week, spread out over a couple of non-consecutive months in late 2019 and early 2020. Those were literally the only days that they could schedule for writing together all year, given the myriad distractions and responsibilities of road-managing themselves on tour. “But fortunately,” says Grace, “we have a pretty high productivity rate in terms of hours that we're able to actually write together yielding songs that we're all excited about.”   All nine of their new co-written originals that made the cut for Nobody’s Girlcertainly warrant that enthusiasm. From the Wizard of Oz-inspired opener (and lead single) “Kansas,” a stirring call to technicoloradventure and self discovery, straight through to the closing lullaby of "Lark" (described by Rebecca as an abstract meditation on earth and life and letting go, chock full of love and loss and “a whole lot of tenderness”), it’s an album rife with intriguing juxtapositionsnot unlike the aforementioned balance of lyrical depth and effervescent fun. Sometimes the contrasts are weighed against each other within the confines of a single song, as in the somber reflection on family pride and generation-spanning guilt in “Birthright” and the soaring, cautious optimism of “Promised Land,” with its metaphorical mountaintop perspective on the entire country (and human race), hoping to see a picture big enough to eclipse the bitter political and social divides tearing us apart. Other times, entire songs seem to pair off against each other as two sides of the same coin. Take, for example, "Rescued" and "Tiger," two future singles that balance each other out like the proverbial devil and angel over one’s shoulders. “Tiger,” notes Grace, is a warning about the “darker side of what happens when you let loose of your self control”; “Rescued,” on the other hand, is a defiant paean to not just losing self control, but owning that decision with unabashed pride.    “In other words, don’t mansplain my bad decisions to me,” explains BettySoo with a laugh. “And don’t try rescuing me, either, because I'm going to make this irresponsible choice and I’m going to have fun doing it! Because sometimes in life you have to be able to do that. Basically, if you’re not going to hurt anybody, bend the rules a little bit. But when there are stakes, then take care of each other! That’s what ‘Promised Land’ is about — and I think that also hews pretty closely to our philosophy as a band.”   Well, that, and maybe this, too: No matter how much songwriting talent you have in-house, a smart cover or two can really help tie the proverbial room together. Back before they wrote their first two Nobody’s Girl songs together, BettySoo, Rebecca, and Grace took Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” for a spin and posted a video of them performing the classic as a sort of teaser trailer for their maiden tour. Late last year, they revisited it again with a proper studio recording that was released as a stand-alone single. And although you won’t find that particular gem on their new album, the record does offer two other covers every bit as perfect: “Beauty Way,” a resplendently bittersweet anthem/ballad for the troubadour life penned by Eliza Gilkyson, another Austin-based songwriter and one of their biggest heroes, and Carole King’s ‘So Far Away,” from 1971’s immortal Tapestry.    “I don’t know that we necessarily added anything to ‘Beauty Way,’ because Eliza herself and even Ray Wylie Hubbard have already done a pretty damn near perfect job on that song,” admits BettySoo. “But the siren call of it was too strong. We love it so much, we couldn’t resist attempting it — we just felt it in our bones that we had to sing it.”   And the King song? Let’s just say the piano made them do it. As in the very same piano that King herself played on the original recording of “So Far Away” — and the whole rest of Tapestry, too. It was the same piano that was also used on Joni Mitchell’s Blue— and that now just happens to be proudly owned and homed by Studios at Fischer. And although it was actually Ramos, the producer, who played the piano on the album, just knowing that the instrument so prominently featured on two of the most iconic singer-songwriter records of all time can now be heard on theirrecord, too, is a thrill in itself for all three women in Nobody’s Girl.   “I mean, we’re all fans of both of Tapestry and Blue, so for as long as we’ve known that that piano was there, we dreamed about recording a song from one of those albums,” says BettySoo. “We daydreamed about just letting that piano sing through one of those songs again — and about having an album that would be a vehicle for that to happen.”   Who knows? Maybe it was destiny. But Nobody's Girl, the album, is a lot more than just a vehicle for three friends to cover a beloved old song on a piano with an especially storied history. It’s a testament to the power of three strong independent songwriters with three strong voices coming together as one, carrying their message along the beauty way with a "bubblicious" roar like nobody else.     To view the broadcast premiere of the Nobody’s Girl “So Far Away” video on January 27 at 10 p.m. CT: DittyTV is accessible on the web and on any connected device, and also on your TV set via AppleTV, FireTV, Roku, GoogleTV, Sony and LG Smart Televisions, on DittyTV's iPhone and Android phone apps and through cable providers with digital service, such as Mediacom, Comcast and Cox via a Tivo box. https://dittytv.com/apps/ Or, online via this link: https://dittytv.com/watch/ https://www.wearenobodysgirl.com

Music Royalty Celebrated Via New Titles

The legacy of several of music's greatest artists are celebrated via several wonderful new titles available now. 

Author: Ringo Starr

Title: Ringo Rocks: 30 Years of the All Starrs

Publisher: Julien's Auctions

Pages: 375

You might like if you enjoy: Ringo Starr, The Beatles, Joe Walsh, classic rock, rock and roll photography

Photo: Scott Ritchie

Tell me more: A wonderful 30th Anniversary retrospective of rock and roll's longest-running supergroup, "Ringo Rocks: 30 Years of the All Starrs" is a must-have for not only fans of Ringo Starr, but of the incredible line-up of top-tier musicians who have performed as part of his illustrious All Starrs dating back to 1989. Indeed, a true who's who of legendary names that includes Dr. John, Billy Preston, Levon Helm, Clarence Clemons, Todd Rundgren, Joe Walsh, Nils Lofgren, Colin Hay, Peter Frampton, Steve Lukather and many others are among the All Starrs' ranks.  As amazing as the intimate details that Starr shares about his fellow band mates and the hundreds of fantastic photographs captured between 1989 and 2019 is the look into Starr's deep connection to drumming and being part of a band. "The bottom line is my life didn't work well when I stopped drumming before The All Starr Band," the world's most famous drummer writes early in the book. "Listen, that's who I am in this life — I'm the drummer. And even when I first started drumming, my mother would come to the gigs, and she would always say, 'You know what, son? I always feel you're at your happiest when you're playing.' My mother was right. That's what The All Starr Band means to me — for 30 years, its given me the chance to be who I was born to be and to just play." In addition to a focus on his band mates and more than a dozen concert tours, the lavish book also showcases Starr's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015, his 70th birthday celebration and other notable events. Sold exclusively online at Julien's Auctions, both a standard edition and an autographed copy are available; proceeds from the sale of the limited-edition Ringo Starr signed edition will benefit The Lotus Foundation. Information: juliensauctions.com.

Artists: Barry Gibb, Keith Urban, Dolly Parton, Little Big Town, more

Title: GREENFIELDS: The Gibb Brothers Songbook, Vol. 1 (Capitol Records)

You might like if you enjoy: The Bee Gees, Brandi Carlile, Keith Urban, country music

Tell me more: A true celebration of the legacy of The Bee Gees as well as top-tier songcraft, GREENFIELDS: The Gibb Brothers Songbook, Vol. 1 exudes warmth with every countrified cut. This is no mere celebrity-filled vanity collection; the collaborations between surviving Bee Gee member Barry Gibb and some of country music's greatest names adds up to a rousing journey marked by new versions of some of pop music's most beloved songs. Keith Urban joins Gibb on a mostly faithful take on "I've Gotta Get A Message To You," the soaring track enhanced by their harmonies, wonderful piano passages and lead guitar work that is particularly striking in the song's finale. The lovely "Run To Me" teams Gibb's vocals with those of multiple Grammy winner Brandi Carlile; the recording equals the poignancy of the original 1972 recording. "Lonely Days," an early hit for The Bee Gees in 1970, is revisited via a luxurious collaboration with quartet Little Big Town. The gentle "Words" shines via a particularly affecting duet between Gibb and Dolly Parton. A tune not as familiar, "Words Of A Fool," is one of the disc's most dazzling reveals with Jason Isbell and Gibb each tackling verses and ultimately kicking things up a notch when their voices join on the Southern soul-flavored ballad. Other artists who join Gibb on the album include Miranda Lambert, Jay Buchanan, Olivia Newton-John and Gillian Welch. If you purchase the audio CD version, pick it up at a Target store or on the retailer's website so you get two bonus tracks ("With The Sun In My Eyes," "Morning Of My Life"). Information: BarryGibb.com or target.com.

From left: Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb singing in
'The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart'
Photo courtesy of HBO

Artist: The Bee Gees

Documentary title: The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart (HBO Documentary Films)

You might like if you enjoy: The Bee Gees, music documentary films

Tell me more: The new Frank Marshall-directed documentary "The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" is one of the more affecting music-minded tributes in memory, capturing the long and dizzying history of The Bee Gees. Beginning with their childhood in the 1950s, brothers  Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb are seen and heard in interviews, via old home movies, as well as in the studio and on stage during crucial moments of the group's history. There is a real magic in witnessing the brothers writing and recording songs in the studio, and reliving their triumphs (their worldwide fame in the late 1960s, initial comeback in the early '70s, worldwide phenomenon "Saturday Night Fever") and ability to overcome backlash at the end of the disco era to help deliver a slew of hits for other artists in the 1980s and their own well-deserved comeback in the '90s. With only Barry Gibb alive now (Maurice suffered a fatal heart attack in January 2003; Robin lost a long battle with cancer in May 2012), his modern-day reflections are often the most profound: "I'd rather have them all back here and no hits at all." Among the parade of notables who discuss the Bee Gees' enduring impact are Noel Gallagher (of Oasis fame), Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin, Eric Clapton and Justin Timberlake. This documentary comes just as the world seems to have finally and fully caught up to the group's otherworldly ability to soar in a number of musical genres from pop and rock to R&B, soul and folk — all anchored by their incredible vocal harmonies. "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" is available via HBO and HBO Max on demand. Information: hbomax.com.

Robert Kinsler

New Year's Day Roundup: Andrew McMahon's 'New Year Song,' Barry Gibb and Dolly Parton collaboration, Yusuf / Cat Stevens releases new video

 Happy New Year's everyone! Hoping this year is better than last...Let's hope 2021 brings better days - Robert Kinsler

Listen to wonderful Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness track "New Year Song" available now with arrival of 2021

Singer-songwriter Andrew McMahon has unveiled a brand new song and it's worth sharing today on this first day of 2021. Here is the announcement from McMahon about the song:

"I’ve been on this earth a fair amount of years, most of them I’d count myself lucky while a handful have been quite challenging. If I’ve learned anything, they sneak up on you, the hard years, and this one was no exception. I won’t bore you with my story, since so many of our stories overlap these days. What I will say, is that in a year where I’ve spent more time behind a laptop than a piano, I woke up a couple weeks ago with a little hope in me and a song. I recorded it on my favorite piano at 4th Street in Santa Monica and had the amazing Suzy Shinn produce it a few days later in hopes of finding some speakers in time to wish you all well. Wherever this song finds you in life, whether you feel inclined to skip it or listen on repeat, I send it on with the sincere hope that whatever hardships and beauty you’ve encountered this year. you find half the hardship and twice as much beauty in the next."

Listen to McMahon's poignant "New Year Song" HERE.

BARRY GIBB AND DOLLY PARTON COLLABORATE ON “WORDS” OUT TODAY 

NEW ALBUM GREENFIELDS: THE GIBB BROTHERS SONGBOOK, VOL. 1 OUT JANUARY 8

THE BEE GEES: HOW CAN YOU MEND A BROKEN HEART DOCUMENTARY OUT NOW ON HBO MAX

Photo credit: Becky Fluke 

January 1, 2021—Two legendary artists—Barry Gibb and Dolly Parton—join forces on a new version of the beloved Bee Gees’ song, “Words,” out today. Listen/share HERE. 

“Words” is the third and final song unveiled from Gibb’s anticipated new album, GREENFIELDS: The Gibb Brothers Songbook, Vol. 1, which will be released next Friday, January 8 on Capitol Records (pre-order/pre-save). Produced by Grammy Award-winning producer Dave Cobb, the record finds Gibb realizing his long-time dream of working with some of the artists he admires the most. In addition to Parton, the album features collaborations with Alison Krauss, Brandi Carlile, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings (listen to “Butterfly”), Jason Isbell (listen to “Words of a Fool”), Jay Buchanan, Keith Urban, Little Big Town, Miranda Lambert, Olivia Newton-John, Sheryl Crow and Tommy Emmanuel. Watch the album’s official trailer HERE. 

Gibb continues to receive widespread attention ahead of the release, including an extensive profile at The New York Times, who praises, “Gibb’s voice on ‘Words of a Fool’ is strong but also spectral…Nearly six decades after he first sang on a record, it remains one of the most otherworldly instruments in popular music.” He was also recently featured as part of Rolling Stone’s “Musicians On Musicians” issue speaking with Jason Isbell and, last month, was a guest on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”

In addition to the new album, Gibb is the subject of an acclaimed new documentary, The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend A Broken Heart, directed by Frank Marshall. Out now on HBO Max, the Washington Post heralds, “magnificent…thorough and beautifully appreciative,” while The Hollywood Reporter calls it, “a warm blast of musical nostalgia” and the A.V Club asserts, “a fascinating, unprecedented story.” Watch the trailer HERE. 

photo credit: Desiree Prieto // album cover

Of recording GREENFIELDS, Barry Gibb shares, “From the first day we stepped into RCA Studios in Nashville (the very place where Elvis, Willie, Waylon, Roy, the Everly Brothers and so many other legends made their magic) the album took on a life of its own. I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity to work with Dave and all the artists who stopped by. They were all incredibly generous with their time and talent. They inspired me more than words can express. I feel deep down that Maurice and Robin would have loved this album for different reasons. I wish we could have all been together to do it…but I think we were.”

Dave Cobb comments, “It was truly an honor to work with one of my heroes. The Bee Gees’ first album has always been a staple for me and it was surreal to get to witness the genius of Barry Gibb in the studio—he’s one of the greatest of all time!”

With a career spanning more than five decades, Sir Barry Gibb stands as one of the most renowned and celebrated musicians of the modern era. As co-founder and creative leader of the Brothers Gibb—better known to the world as the Bee Gees—Barry with his brothers, Maurice and Robin, represent one of the most successful vocal groups in rock and roll history, having sold more than 200 million albums to date. With nine #1 singles as a performer, Barry is also amongst the most successful songwriters of all-time (with sixteen #1 singles) and is seventh on the list of most successful producers (with fourteen #1 singles). He is also tied with John Lennon and Paul McCartney for most #1 singles in a calendar year with seven. Among his many awards and honors are eight Grammy Awards, the Grammy Legend Award and, most recently, the 2015 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He is also the recipient of the American Music Awards Lifetime Achievement Award, the BMI Icon Award, four BMI Songwriter of the Year Awards, four BMI Song of the Year Awards and is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2004, Barry received one of Britain’s highest honors when the Bee Gees were made Commanders of the British Empire and, in 2018, was Knighted “Sir Barry Gibb” by Prince Charles for his services to music and charity.

GREENFIELDS: THE GIBB BROTHERS SONGBOOK, VOL. 1 TRACK LIST 

 1. “I’ve Gotta Get A Message To You” with Keith Urban

   2. “Words of a Fool” with Jason Isbell

   3. “Run to Me” with Brandi Carlile

   4. “Too Much Heaven” with Alison Krauss

   5. “Lonely Days” with Little Big Town

   6. “Words” with Dolly Parton

   7. “Jive Talkin’” with Miranda Lambert, Jay Buchanan

   8. “How Deep Is Your Love” with Tommy Emanuel, Little Big Town

   9. “How Can You Mend A Broken Heart” with Sheryl Crow

   10. “To Love Somebody” with Jay Buchanan

   11. “Rest Your Love On Me” with Olivia Newton-John

   12. “Butterfly” with Gillian Welch, David Rawlings

YUSUF / CAT STEVENS RELEASES MUSIC VIDEO FOR NEW VERSION OF “TEA FOR THE TILLERMAN,” OFFERING POIGNANT MESSAGE OF HOPE AND OPTIMISM FOR 2021

WATCH HERE

 

FROM NEW ALBUM, TEA FOR THE TILLERMAN², THE ACCLAIMED REIMAGINING OF HIS CLASSIC RECORD FOR ITS 50^TH ANNIVERSARY 

LISTEN HERE

 

 

Yusuf / Cat Stevens has shared a new music video for “Tea for the Tillerman” in a poignant message of hope and optimism for 2021. Watch Here

 

The new video arrives following a 2020 that saw spectacular celebrations for the 50^th anniversary of Cat Stevens’ classic era-defining album, Tea for the Tillerman. Reimagined, the newly recorded Tea for the Tillerman² saw Yusuf recast the same 11 songs for a new age with dramatic results.

 

Described as “a statement of intent, as pertinent today as it was when it came out in 1970” by GQ (UK), “a powerful way to track the passing of time" by the NME and a “fascinating project” by Forbes, the album received glowing reviews across the US and UK where it debut at #4 in the UK albums chart, marking Yusuf’s ninth UK top 10 album and highest charting studio release in over 40 years. Rolling Stone enthused, “The new renditions of the 11 Tea for the Tillerman tracks are not note-for-note recreations. In many cases, they are lusher than the sparse originals and some take surprising left turns, like a funkafied ‘Longer Boats’ featuring guest vocals from rapper Brother Ali. ‘Wild World,’ meanwhile, now sounds almost like a waltz. That said, Yusuf worked hard to maintain the same spirit of the originals.” Billboard exclaimed, “The reinvention upends many of the familiar arrangements, while staying blessedly true to the mission of the album—to explore life and oneself fearlessly” while American Songwriter declared, “the unmistakable, rich, booming voice of Yusuf / Cat Stevens is in fantastic form.” 

 

The new music video for ‘Tea for the Tillerman²’ bookends a series of striking new visual collaborations. “Where Do The Children Play?” saw Yusuf and acclaimed director Chris Hopewell, with Black Dog Films, exploring the possibilities of waste free music video production, with 90% of props and scenery made from recycled materials. The brilliantly eccentric “Wild World” combined elements of Wes Anderson, “Casablanca” and Bugsy Malone as child actors played out a Blackjack gambling duel. “On The Road To Find Out”’s journey of self-discovery recalled sci-fi classics such as “Star Wars,” “Dune” and even “Mad Max,” with an added touch of magic realism, and “Father & Son” saw a stunning stop-frame animation, again partnering with Hopewell, relocating the narrative into a modern, emotive suburban setting.

 

Following the widely acclaimed release of Tea for the Tillerman², December 2020 saw the 50th anniversary celebrations continue. Released only seven months apart in 1970, the two albums that first established Cat Stevens as his generation’s premier acoustic troubadour, then lifted him to international superstardom, Mona Bone Jakon and Tea for the Tillerman received Super Deluxe Collector’s Edition anniversary box set releases. Described as “joyously overwhelming" by Record Collector, and Uncut confirming that “half a century on, the naked intimacy of the songs still sounds fresh and alluring,” each are filled with unheard studio material, unreleased tracks, and a host of other rarities from this era.

 

A virtual festival celebrating the music of Yusuf / Cat Stevens closely followed. Over 40 artists including Dave Matthews, Jack Johnson, HAIM, Feist, James Morrison, Brandon Boyd of Incubus, Passenger, as well as a host of rising talent, performed songs from across Yusuf’s entire catalogue, broadcast live to thousands of fans in an evening truly representative of the unity and spirit of inclusion that is an essential aspect of Yusuf’s perennial message of peace. Watch here.