New Releases Celebrate a Myriad of Musical Styles

Fans of great American pop, rock and roots music will want to purchase four collections available now.

Artist: Roger Joseph Manning Jr.
Title: Glamping (PledgeMusic)
You might like if you enjoy: XTC, Jellyfish, ELO
Tell me more: A founding member of Jellyfish and key member of several other celebrated troupes (Imperial Drag, TV Eyes and The Moog Cookbook), and having subsequently worked alongside Beck since the late 1990s, it's no wonder Roger Joseph Manning Jr. has returned with a recording of incredible depth, melodic songcraft and lyrical complexity. Glamping is a four-song EP and marks Manning's first new batch of songs since his terrific 2009 disc Catnip Dynamite. With the lush and intoxicating "Operator" (a timely plea to somehow make real connections in an inter-connected world) opening the collection, the outstanding set also includes the driving and aptly-named "Funhouse," psychedelic-tinged introspective standout "Is It All A Dream" and probing "I'm Not Your Cowboy." In addition to Glamping (available on CD, purple vinyl and via digital download), Manning has just released deluxe editions of his 2006 solo debut Land of Pure Imagination and his 2009 sophomore release Catnip Dynamite. Information: https://www.facebook.com/RogerJosephManningJr/.

Artist: The California Honeydrops
Title: Call It Home: Vol. 1 & 2 (Tubtone Records)
You might like if you enjoy: Vintage Trouble, Leon Bridges
Tell me more: The California Honeydrops' newly-released Call It Home: Vol. 1 & 2 is not only a wonderful celebration of New Orleans jazz, funk, classic R&B and soul and all kinds of blues, but the songs across the wide-ranging collection will make the listener feel great. The positive life-affirming spirit of the Northern California-based group is infectious and cast of talented singers and instrumentalists deliver the mix of songs recorded over a span of 18 months with perfection. The uplifting title track "Call It Home," soulful "Coming Around," aptly-dubbed "Standin' Still Blues," lovely "Only Home I've Ever Known" and shining "Things We Used To Do" are among this writer's favorites on a terrific release. Information: www.cahoneydrops.com.

Artist: Buck Owens and the Buckaroos
Title: The Complete Capitol Singles: 1967-1970 (Omnivore Recordings)
You might like if you enjoy: Dwight Yoakam, Buck Owens
Tell me more: The second of three volumes collecting the late Buck Owens' Capitol singles discography, more than 30 classic tracks have been collected on the newly-issued The Complete Capitol Singles: 1967-1970. Whether you are a new or long-time fan of the father of the so-called "Bakersfield Sound," you will find plenty to love across the two-disc set featuring a slew of great remastered tracks. The uptempo "Sam's Place," spirited "Happy Times Are Here Again," and sweet ballads "Don't Ever Tell Me Goodbye" and "I'd Love To Be Your Man" are among the timeless tracks on this wonderful collection. There are also several beloved duets Owens did with soprano Susan Raye, including the lively "We're Gonna Get Together" and the reflective "The Great White Horse." In addition to all the great music are the new liner notes from Scott B. Bomar shedding details and context to the singles. Information: OmnivoreRecordings.com.

Artist: Larkin Poe
Title: Peach (Tricki-Woo Records)
You might like if you enjoy: The Record Company, First Aid Kit
Tell me more: Although Larkin Poe's album Peach was released back in September 2017, I only recently discovered the superb disc after catching the duo's incredible performance at the Doheny Blues Festival in Dana Point, CA. Sisters Rebecca Lovell (lead vocals, electric guitar) and Megan Lovell (lap steel, slide guitar, keyboards, backing vocals) are from Georgia and have carved out a bona fide sound that blends the blues-infused Southern rock and style of the Allman Brothers with the harmonies and magic of Sweden's First Aid Kit (the latter a roots-minded duo also featuring two talented sisters). On Peach, Larkin Poe offers up a mix of outstanding original material and reworked classics they make their own. Standouts on the 10-track collection include their own rollicking "Freedom" and the introspective blues ballad "Pink & Red," as well as a rousing cover of the traditional African-American work song "Black Betty" and a tender take on Robert Johnson's iconic "Come On In My Kitchen." Information: www.LarkinPoe.com.



Robert Kinsler

Doheny Blues Festival-bound California Honeydrops' new track debuts at No Depression; album out April 6

"Live Learn" is the latest bit of sonic gold from The California Honeydrops, and you can listen to the new track via the post below. I'm looking forward to catching the group when they perform at the Doheny Blues Festival this coming May...

THE CALIFORNIA HONEYDROPS’ “LIVE LEARN” DEBUTS AT NO DEPRESSION

NEW DOUBLE ALBUM CALL IT HOME: VOL. 1 & 2 
DUE APRIL 6, 2018

CONFIRMED TOUR DATES INCLUDE DANA POINT'S DOHENY BLUES FESTIVAL, LOS ANGELES,
SAN FRANCISCO, NEW YORK, CHICAGO, NEW ORLEANS, PLUS AUSTRALIA’S BLUESFEST IN BYRON BAY

Photo credit: Keith Berson

“It’s rare to find a band as much in love with music and each other as The California Honeydrops. Their deep understanding and mastery of classic R&B, New Orleans Jazz and more has allowed them to create music that is as fresh as it is funky, and uniquely their own. Lech has one of the most soulful, elastic voices I’ve ever heard...and he shreds on trumpet and guitar as well. They are truly one of my favorite bands!”—Bonnie Raitt

“Live Learn,” the second track from The California Honeydrops’ upcoming album, premieres at No Depression who call it, “a playful tune that’s impossible not to dance along to,” furthering, “[it] opens with a plunking bass before lead singer Lech Wierzynski joins in on a call-and-response banter with the bass, even as a bright guitar riff adds some tasty seasoning to the bubbling stew.” See the post here and listen/share here.

The band’s seventh album (and first double album) Call It Home: Vol. 1 & 2 is set for release on April 6 via Tubtone Records. The lead track, “Call It Home” features music legend Bonnie Raitt, with whom the band toured on her 2016-2017 Dig In Deep tour. The song premiered at Noisey and was featured in Rolling Stone’s “10 Best Country, Americana Songs of the Week” Listen/share the track here and pre-order the album here.

In celebration of the release The Honeydrops will tour extensively, with stops in L.A., San Francisco, Chicago, D.C., New York, Australia and many more. See below for current dates, with more to be announced.

Recorded over the past year and a half, the new album takes its inspiration from the many facets and ever-changing nature of the idea of home—a subject frontman and co-founder Lech Wierzynski thinks a lot about. “Home’s been on my mind since I was a kid,” he says. “I was born in Warsaw, Poland. My parents brought me here as a kid and we moved around a lot. They were always talking about missing where they were from and I was always wondering who I was in that way, whether I was Polish or Amercan or both. I didn’t set out to make an album about that, but these songs just started coming out that way…” Drummer and co-founder Ben Malament mentions that it also grapples with the many changes their longtime home of Oakland, California has undergone in the past decade. “We’ve always been a Bay Area band and the Bay Area has been such a hotbed of change the last 10 years. It’s been interesting for us to see and live in, and it’s affected the way the band works.”

With a “tub full of songs” written by Wierzynski, the band—made up of Wierzynski (lead vocal, trumpet, guitar), Malament (drums, washboard, percussion), Johnny Bones (tenor saxophone, clarinet), Lorenzo Loera (keys, melodica) and Beau Bradbury (bass, percussion)—took to the studio on breaks from touring, collaborating on a multitude of tracks blending a diverse array of styles, in true Honeydrops fashion. On the decision to compile and release them all as a double album, Wierzynski says, “This was a breakthrough year for the band. I wanted something that captured the totality, instead of doing something small. That’s why you’ve got the whole cosmos on the album cover. This is my life. This band has never been for sale. This band has been everything for us. It’s something that we do for the love. I’m proud of that.”

The California Honeydrops got their start busking on the streets of the San Francisco Bay Area, where they quickly developed a passionate local following that has continued to grow over the course of nonstop American, European and Australian touring. In addition to Raitt’s Dig In Deep tour, the band has also supported such icons as B.B. King, Allen Toussaint, Buddy Guy and Dr. John. They have sold out headline shows at venues across the country and performed at major festivals including Outside Lands, Bluesfest Byron Bay, Monterey Jazz, High Sierra and many more. Their previous record, A River’s Invitation, was released in 2015 with KQED hailing it as “a winning new album,” and The Bluegrass Situation furthering, “The groove is Muscle Shoals deep, singer Lech Wierzynski’s voice is Sam Cooke wide, and saxophonist Johnny Bones bangs heavy on the door of Ben Webster.”

CALL IT HOME: VOL. 1 & 2 TRACKLIST

Vol. 1 

1. Call It Home
2. Coming Around
3. Cry For Me
4. Standin’ Still Blues
5. Hold It Down
6. Your Sweet Love
7. Those Days
8. Live Learn

Vol. 2 

9. Only Home I’ve Ever Known
10. Silicon World
11. Tell Me (I Wanna Know)
12. Drop By Drop
13. Good Good Lovin’
14. Things We Used To Do
15. In My Baby’s Arms
16. Starr Child

TOUR DATES

March 29–April 2—Byron Bay, Australia—Bluesfest
April 6–8—Squaw Valley, CA—Winter Wondergrass
April 11—San Diego, CA—Belly Up
April 12—Los Angeles, CA—Teragram Ballroom
April 13 & 14—Las Vegas, NV—Bender Jamboree
April 19—Dallas, TX—Gas Monkey
April 20—Waco, TX—Brazos Nights
April 21—Lockhart, TX—Old Settler’s Festival
April 22—Houston, TX—The Studio at Warehouse Live
April 24—Nashville, TN—High Watt
April 25—Memphis, TN—Growlers
April 27—New Orleans, LA—House of Blues
April 28—Birmingham, AL—Zydeco
April 29—Asheville, NC—Salvage Station
April 30—Raleigh, NC—Lincoln Theatre
May 2—Richmond, VA—Capitol Ale House Music Hall
May 3—New York, NY—Bowery Ballroom
May 4—Brooklyn, NY—Music Hall of Williamsburg
May 5—Washington, DC—The Hamilton
May 8—Ann Arbor, MI—The Ark
May 9—Madison, WI—High Noon Saloon
May 10—St. Louis, MO—Atomic Cowboy
May 11—Chicago, IL—Concord Music Hall
May 12—Minneapolis, MN—Cedar Cultural Center
May 17—Sacramento, CA—Harlow’s
May 19—San Francisco, CA—The Fillmore
May 20—Dana Point, CA—Doheney Blues Festival      
May 24 & 25—Cumberland, MD—DelFest
May 27—Bradley, CA—Lightning In A Bottle
July 6 & 7—Quincy, CA—High Sierra Music Festival
July 20–22—Winthrop, WA—Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival
September 22—Morrison, CO—Red Rocks Amphitheatre*
October 28–November 4—San Diego, CA—Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise

* supporting Greensky Bluegrass

Additional summer and fall tour dates coming soon.

http://www.cahoneydrops.com/
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