Ryan Bingham - Mescalito

I will be honest:  I know nothing about this guy other than the fact that his voice is what 100-grit sandpaper would sound like if sandpaper could sing.  And if sandpaper had a band, they would probably sound a lot like Bingham's band. 

Mescalito came out in 2007, and I think I might have listened to a few songs at one point.  How I didn't keep on listening is beyond me, because I have fallen in love with this album.  Bingham's voice itself is the highlight, but so is his ability to get your feet tapping.  He kind of sounds like a hung-over Steve Earle mixed with some Neil Young/The Band instrumentation.  I know - Steve Earle sounds plenty hung-over already.  That's how cool Bingham's voice really is.

So here's what you need to do:  Fire up iTunes, Rhapsody, Napster, or whatever you use, and put on the song "Hard Times."  Spend a few minutes with that song. Then enjoy the rest of the album because you'll be hooked.

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Mark Olson - The Salvation Blues

Mark Olson, along with Gary Louris, was once part of the duo-fronted group The Jayhawks. He left the band shortly after the release of Tomorrow The Green Grass to spend more time with then-wife Victoria Williams and release some lesser known albums along the way.

I consider The Salvation Blues to be Olson's comeback album. It's got his signature alt-country twang and some Jayhawks-like harmonies. In fact, Louris even shows up in some of the songs.

My favorite tracks on this album are "Clifton Bridge", "Poor Michael's Boat", and "Look Into The Night." This is yet another album I love playing during any significant time traveling in the car.

Olson's voice is somewhat of an acquired taste but once you get used to is you'll appreciate his unique sound and phrasing. When he and ex-wife Williams put out a few albums as the The Original Harmony Ridge Creek Dippers it was almost too much since their voices are so similar (She's got a far goofier voice however).

I've heard that Louris and Olson have been doing a few shows together in the past year. Here's to hoping they can follow the lead of the Blues Brothers and get the band back together, man!

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Danny & The Champions Of The World

I started Best Album of the Day almost two years ago and I think someone has been reading my posts, learning my likes and dislikes, and doing everything they can to get their album listed on this site. His name is Danny George Wilson. His original alt-country band is called Grand Drive and he's also done some solo work.

Danny & The Champions Of The World is the self-titled album by DGW and a bunch of other musicians from various English groups including Brakes, Goldrush (fantastic band!), Electric Soft Parade, and more. It's basically everything I could ask for in a single collection of songs: Great melodies, beautiful orchestration, desperate vocals, natural sounding acoustics, sonic experimentation that doesn't distract from the whole of the song, and a general "big" sound without sounding overwhelming.

There are hints of Golden Smog (many hints actually), Faces/Ronnie Lane, Big Star, Wilco, The Byrds, Bob Dylan, The Beatles (note the sitar work), and even some John Denver. Trust me, it's cool and you'll love it. You know a band is great when the first influence they list on their MySpace page is The Muppets, the greatest band of all time.

I'm marking this album for consideration as one of the albums of the year which we'll publish next January. It's that good. Listen to "Red Tree Song" and you'll know why I love this one.

And for some useless trivia, DGW's other band, Grand Drive, was once being considered for a record deal by Death Row Records' Suge Knight. Yes, they are a rock/alt-country band and are not hip-hop whatsoever. Amazing.

Even more amazing is that at the moment Death Row's Tupac Shakur was killed, he was listening to Grand Drive's "Tell It Like It Is" in his limo. The band was even invited to play at his funeral which they declined due to prior engagements.

Now you know, and knowing is half the battle (~GI JOE).

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Romantica - America

In honor of the show they are playing at First Ave tonight, I present a great Minnesota band in Romantica. America is their second album and like their first it's an excellent work of alt-country/Americana in the same vein as Old 97's/Rhett Miller, early Wilco, and Ryan Adams.

Singer Ben Kyle has a very smooth vocal style that is easy to listen to. The music itself has just enough twang and the string parts as played by Jessy Greene are a nice touch. She actually used to play with the Jayhawks so she's been with some great bands.

I think my favorite song is "The National Side" just because I really like the Mexican horns and accordion. It makes me hungry for burritos in fact.

This is another album I love listening to whenever I'm in the car for an extended period of time. It's a great soundtrack to any road trip.

Short review today so you have more time to listen to this album!


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Gary Louris - True Blue

Gary Louris (former frontman of The Jayhawks) is pretty much a living legend in my mind. I think it might be years down the road but someday someone "important" will dust off one of the many incredible Jayhawks' albums, give it a spin in a old clunky CD player, and the world will realize what an amazing band The Jayhawks were. And Gary Louris is largely responsible for that. When one-half of their front-duo Mark Olson left the band in the mid-nineties I remember wondering how the band could even continue. Well they went on to make three of my all-time favorite albums with Louris as captain.

The bottom line is when Louris is in control, he is incapable of making a bad album. I use the phrase "in control" because I haven't particularly enjoyed the past two Golden Smog albums (a side collaboration project he's been involved with where he's likely forced to go with other musician's ideas that suck).

True Blue is distinctly Louris. Well every song that guy sings is distinctly Louris. He has one of the most recognizable voices out there. Fans of The Jayhawks should not be disappointed with this album. My favorite track so far is "She Only Calls Me On Sundays." Instant classic.

Minnie Driver - Seastories

Right now you're probably thinking "What? Dave hasn't posted in months and his comeback post is MINNIE DRIVER?!"

Yes. Yes it is.

Any fans of Ryan Adams, Tift Merritt, EmmyLou Harris, Wallflowers, etc. need to check this album out. In fact, Adams plays a big part in this album as does Rami Jafee (Wallflowers). I guess that makes sense. Driver's voice is fantastic though and so are the songs. I loved her first album and this one is infinitely better than that one. Would love to hear a duet of Driver and EmmyLou Harris sometime...

Uncle Tupelo - Anodyne

Continuing with the Wilco theme this week - in honor of the release of their Sky Blue Sky album (you gotta check that one out!) - today's Best Album goes back to their roots with alt-country pioneers Uncle Tupelo. Even if Jeff Tweedy had never left U.T. to create Wilco, he would still be considered somewhat of a legend for his role in the band.

This was one of their final albums and my personal favorite. I could actually post their entire discography on this site because every bit of it is all worthwhile listening. The reason this one is so special is just the overall concentration of Jeff Tweedy-sung tunes. It's basically like my statement in the last entry about Blue Rodeo - love the band, love a specific vocalist in the group, but not really a big fan of the other lead vocalist. Jay Farrar's voice just never hits that sweet spot for me.

The must-hear songs on this album are Acuff-Rose, New Madrid, and We've Been Had. You can totally hear Tweedy's style evolve into Wilco's debut, A.M.

Jim Cuddy - All In Time

I'm a big fan of Blue Rodeo, an alt-country band from Canada. They basically have 2 lead singers, Jim Cuddy and some other guy I don't really enjoy as much. So when I found this Jim Cuddy album from 1998 I was pleased to hear 11 songs that sound like Blue Rodeo but don't have the other guy.

The cool thing about this album is that Cuddy admits it was inspired by Wilco's Being There, probably my favorite album of all time. In fact, Jeff Tweedy and Jay Bennett (now booted from the band) of Wilco actually appear on "I'll Make Believe It's You". Cuddy's album isn't even close to being as "out there" like Being There was, but I can hear the Wilco influence.

A side note: the ironic thing about Blue Rodeo and Wilco is that after Wilco decided to go more "art rock" with their Summerteeth release, they dismissed pedal steel player Bob Egan from the band and he went on to join Blue Rodeo.