New Music: Marshall Crenshaw, The Rave-Ups, Sam Moss

Don't let this trio of terrific releases escape your listen.

Artist: Marshall Crenshaw

Title: #447 (Shiny-Tone)

You might like if you enjoy: Marshall Crenshaw, The Smithereens, Gin Blossoms

Tell me more: In 2020, Marshall Crenshaw launched a series of reissues focused on a handful of his classic albums beginning with the release of his 1996 album Miracle of Science. On Feb. 4, 2022, a deluxe and expanded edition of his 1999 masterwork #447 will be available. This was an ambitious effort featuring Crenshaw on lead vocals, guitar, bass, drums, percussion and vintage keyboards; the album was bolstered by the contributions of Bill Lloyd, Greg Leisz, Andy York and former E. Street Band member David Sancious. Remastered with perfection by engineer Greg Calbi, the new edition of #447 allows listeners to rediscover a parade of outstanding selections including the melodic "Television Light," Americana "Glad Goodbye," jazzy instrumental "Eydie's Tune," power pop gem "T.M.D." and Irresistible "Tell Me All About It" along with two new bonus tracks (the terrific roots rocker "Will of the Wind" and a wistful cover of Gregg Turner's "Santa Fe"). Information: MarshallCrenshaw.com.  

Artist: The Rave-Ups

Title: Tomorrow (Omnivore Recordings)

You might like if you enjoy: The Rave-Ups, The Beat Farmers, Walter Clevenger & The Dairy Kings, The Blasters

Tell me more: Roots rock troupe The Rave Ups are back with the must-hear Tomorrow, the quartet's first new album since 1990. The original Rave-Ups lineup —  singer-songwriter Jimmer Podrasky, guitarist Terry Wilson, bassist Tommy Blatnik and drummer Timothy Jimenez —  have crafted a return that is truly a glorious and uplifting listen; Tomorrow is filled to the brim with explosive rockers and affecting more restrained Americana (notably the beautiful "Roll" and reflective "Cry"). The driving opener "So You Wanna Know The Truth?" and melodic pedal steel-adorned "How Old Am I?" (whose affecting lyrics focus on the relationship between father and son) and shimmering "Coming After Me" are among my early favorites on the 11-track album, while late-disc entries "The Dream of California," blues-flavored "When I Write Your Name" and countrified "Tomorrow" shine just as bright. Information: OmnivoreRecordings.com. 

Artist: Sam Moss

Title: Blues Approved (Schoolkids Records)

You might like if you enjoy: Eric Clapton, Alvin Lee

Tell me more: Singer-songwriter/guitar great Sam Moss' legacy and talent cast a strong and lasting influence on the Winston-Salem, North Carolina music scene during his lifetime and even after his death in 2007. Listening to his so-called "great lost" album titled Blues Approved it's easy to hear why. Although the majority of the tracks on the wonderful album were originally recorded on 4-track analog equipment, their magic and fidelity sound great. These priceless recordings were originally produced by Moss, who would travel from his home in Winston-Salem to nearby Chapel Hill to record with Mitch Easter (who played drums and engineered on the sessions). In 2020, noted producer Chris Stamey discovered an old tape that featured many of the tracks heard on Blues Approved that were recorded in 1977. Although the majority of the selections on Blues Approved are anchored in blues (just listen to “Rooster Blood” and “King of My Hill”), the sounds of Memphis soul, ‘70s classic rock and R&B are artfully incorporated along the way. Kudos to Stamey (along with Easter and Gene Holder) for restoring and enhancing the older source tapes for today’s audiences.  There is a myriad of great originals and covers on Blues Approved, including a tasty British blues-styled take on Mike Bloomfield's "If You See My Baby," the original classic rock-mining "To Those Still at Sea," and “Ain’t That Peculiar” (a buoyant and riveting cover of the Marvin Gaye 1965 classic), the latter with Mike “Wezo” Wesolowski’s harmonica adding to the magic. The crunchy original “Vida Blanche” recalls the might of Bad Company’s best work, with Moss’ fiery rhythm and lead guitar mastery on display.  Moss ventures into psychedelic hard rock territory via the dazzling instrumental “Nightflight Over Berlin.” Among the other far-flung nuggets on the set is a rousing take on the Gerry Goffin and Carole King classic “Pleasant Valley Sunday” and infectious reading of the rare Rolling Stones cut “Who’s Driving Your Plane?” Listening to the album in 2022 is to discover an artist who possessed impressive and stylish talents as a lead singer, songwriter and guitarist. A 16-page booklet really provides a wealth of images and liner notes that tell the full story on Moss and how these tracks were readied for release in 2022. Information: SchoolkidsRecords.com.

Robert Kinsler

'Blues Approved,' great lost album by NC music legend Sam Moss is discovered; release set for January 29, 2022 on CD and vinyl

Another lost treasure of interest to fans of Southern blues rock and '70s rock is set for release...Robert Kinsler

BLUES APPROVED, “GREAT LOST” ALBUM BY N.C. MUSIC LEGEND SAM MOSS IS DISCOVERED, NOW MIXED FOR DELUXE RELEASE JANUARY 28, 2022, ON CD AND VINYL   Chris Stamey restores record by regionally renowned guitarist and mentor. HEAR + WATCH NOW: Americana Highways premiered a new song and video: https://bit.ly/3y2yuYf

Sam Moss (Photo: Alex Forsyth) CHAPEL HILL, N.C. —  In Winston-Salem, N.C., the late guitarist Sam Moss is a legend. A superior, highly versatile musician whose advocacy for the blues and 1960s mastery of the nuances of electric soloing somewhat paralleled Mike Bloomfield’s in Chicago, Moss was an inspiring, charismatic mentor to generations of North Carolina rockers, including Let’s Active and The dB’s. Southern Culture on the Skids’ Rick Miller tells us: “Sam was one of the hippest guys we knew — our Guru of Groove, the Maharishi of Mojo." A larger-than-life character, Moss astounded local audiences in his club appearances, yet he never released a record in his lifetime. So producer Chris Stamey was thrilled to discover, in 2020, on the end of an old tape, forgotten masters of Blues Approved, a spectacular Stax– and Muscle Shoals–influenced solo record, made with Mitch Easter in 1977. This “great lost” record reveals that Moss was also a soulful songwriter and singer. It has now been carefully remixed and produced for release, with a deluxe booklet featuring detailed liner notes and bio, session notes by Easter, and lots of vivid color photos. Peter Holsapple (The dB’s) explains: “Sam Moss was an inspiration to so many of us; with the release of Blues Approved, now people everywhere will understand why.”   Blues Approved will be released on CD and digitally by Schoolkids Records on January 28, 2022, with a vinyl edition to follow in early summer.   Moss had made the first of several trips to nearby Chapel Hill to record his own original compositions in early 1977, with old friend Easter on drums (and engineering). Mitch recalls: “I had a ‘studio’ in my house, meaning a Teac 2340 four-track recorder, three or four humble microphones, and for monitoring, the home stereo system. For extra-fancy sessions, I’d rent a Tapco six-channel mixer. . . . Sam came down with two or three guitars, his Fender Twin. I played drums and Sam played everything else. And it was a really good session! Sam wrote interesting songs that almost always had a blues angle, but he brought in a lot of elements from elsewhere. He was pleased with the results, so we met a couple more times that year and recorded an LP’s worth of songs.” But the material then sat on the shelf, unheard, as Moss opened a vintage guitar store, selling internationally to rock stars and other celebrities for several decades. Sam Moss (Photo courtesy of Margil Conrad) Stamey felt that most of the material seemed fully formed on its own, despite the limited recording options then available, but for a few tracks — the openers “Rooster Blood” and “King of My Hill,” and the Stonesy “Vida Blanche” — he enlisted the help of the Uptown Horns’ leader Crispin Cioe, a veteran of Rolling Stones tours whose Southern-fried additions on sax fit the material like a glove. And once a few later covers (created with Henry Heidtmann and Jay Johnson at Creative Audio/Turtle Tapes in the early ’90s) were added to the picture — including the captivating, bluesy spin taken with “Ain’t That Peculiar” featuring “Weso” Wesolowski on harp — the record was complete.    Contemporary technology was used to reassemble the various generations of four-track tapes into first-generation sources, peeling back the layers to put the listener back in the room where it happened. The mono closing track, a teenage Moss in his first band singing Buck Owens’ “Act Naturally” in a church basement, was too cool not to include. And as bonuses, there are three additional surprises from the Turtle Tapes sessions: the Monkees’ 1967 hit “Pleasant Valley Sunday” (written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King) an instrumental of Pomus and Shuman’s “Can’t Get Used to Losing You,” and the Stones’ obscurity “Who’s Driving Your Plane?” Sam Moss (Photo: John French) Easter: “I had a pretty good memory of this material, but when I actually heard it again I was delighted that it really is great.  Sam was always strangely unconcerned about stardom, but he was a star anyway.  When you play the record, you'll see what I mean.” On July 30, 2021, the City of Winston-Salem honored Moss with a sidewalk star in the city’s Walk of Fame downtown.    Original Sessions Produced by Sam Moss at Route 8, Box 1-C and at Creative Audio/Turtle Tapes  Produced and Mixed for Release by Chris Stamey  (with Input from Gene Holder and Mitch Easter) at  Modern Recording (Chapel Hill, N.C.)