LEWIS - L'Amour

Just over two years after Weird Canada's Aaron Levin first posted about this peculiar, gently creepy record, Light In The Attic have finally reissued it, out now on CD with a vinyl edition soon to follow on July 8th. Anyone looking for some whispered new-age L.A. loner synth-folk to file near (but not too near) their Jandek and Arthur Russell records should look no further.

"In 1983, a man named Lewis recorded an album named L'Amour, which was released on the unknown label R.A.W. And that’s about all we know..The ingredients are simple: smooth synthesizers, feather-light piano, ethereal, occasionally inaudible vocals and the gentle plucking of acoustic guitars, but the effects are arresting...L'Amour is a true discovery of the blog age, uncovered in an Edmonton flea-market by collector Jon Murphy, passed on to private press fanatic Aaron Levin, shared on the internet and speculated over by lovers of curious LPs. There’s almost no information about Lewis or the album on the internet...Lewis remains a ghost, a total mystery, but the music will be heard." - Light In The Attic

THE BROTHERS AND SISTERS - Dylan's Gospel

Unavailable for the past 10 years with copies of the out-of-print CD selling for hundreds of dollars, it's a joy to see this finally available again. And with Light in the Attic releasing it you're guaranteed a top-notch package; it's a perfect companion piece to their previously released revelatory gospel set from Pastor TL Barrett. Dylan notably found God in the late-70s but, based on the evidence here, it was in him all along. Undoubtedly, my favorite reissue of the year.

"In the summer of 1969, producer Lou Adler gathered twenty-seven of the best backup singers in Los Angeles to cover the music of Bob Dylan during a marathon two-day session. 'Sometimes there were more than twenty-seven voices,' Adler told Rolling Stone in 1969, 'because on several occasions real brothers and sisters stopped by and grabbed a part. It sounds corny, but that was the spirit of the thing. The tape stopped, but they were still singing.' Adler called his gospel choir The Brothers and Sisters of Los Angeles, and they made songs like 'Lady Lady Lay,' 'I Shall Be Released' and 'The Mighty Quinn' sound like they were written to be sung in church. 'You can find something spiritual about almost all of his music,' Adler says today. 'It's something that goes beyond just being a pop song, there's always something deeper than that in a Dylan song.'" - Rolling Stone

SANDRA RHODES - Where's Your Love Been

A long-overdue reissue of this downhome and laidback funky country classic, perfect for the coming summer (if it ever shows up).

"While Sandra Rhodes made a name for herself singing behind Al Green on his classic Hi Records sides and writing songs including Conway Twitty's #1 single 'The Clown,' her best work missed the public eye (and ear).
 
Where's Your Love Been was Sandra’s 1972 album, recorded at Sam Phillips' recording studio in Memphis and originally released on Fantasy Records. Just as her backing vocals (usually performed with sister Donna and then-husband Charlie Chalmers) appeared on recordings of every genre, Where's Your Love Been moved from country to sweet Memphis soul, the same reason her songs have been recorded by artists as diverse as Skeeter Davis to Isaac Hayes. Co-produced by Sandra and Chalmers, the ten tracks on Where’s Your Love Been include originals like the title cut to a cover of The Rolling Stones' 'You Can’t Always Get What You Want.' To make this album's CD debut even more special, seven bonus tracks from the sessions have been unearthed—all previously unissued!" - Omnivore Recordings

SID SELVIDGE - The Cold Of The Morning

A starkly arranged, mostly solo set of country blues and folk interpretations (opening with a bold rendition of Fred Neil's "I've Got A Secret [Didn't We Shake Sugaree]" which coolly and confidently holds its own against Neil's version), this reissue of The Cold Of The Morning is yet another labour of love from the folks at Omnivore Recordings, one to file aside such earlier essential archival Americana from the label as Gene Clark's White Light demos and Townes Van Zandt's Sunshine Boy studio outtakes and demos.

"The Cold Of The Morning is a mid-'70s Memphis classic that almost never saw the light of day. Selvidge and producer Jim Dickinson created this 12-track song cycle live in the studio in 1975, with Selvidge on vocals and guitar, plus Dickinson on piano with Memphis' iconic Mudboy and the Neutrons on two tracks. The cover photo was by William Eggleston. The record seemed destined for greatness.

But when Peabody Records’ benefactor decided not to put it out at the last minute, he gave the rights to the recently pressed LP to Selvidge, who drove down to the plant, loaded up his car and distributed the discs himself. The album eventually found its way into regional stores and the national press, even reaching the Cashbox charts; this was enough to take Selvidge to New York. But life intervened, and bigger record deals were not in the cards.

Co-produced by Sid’s son, Steve (of The Hold Steady), The Cold Of The Morning has been expanded to include six previously unissued tracks from the original sessions. Consisting of originals, blues standards, and Broadway classics, the record is not only a snapshot of a time and place, but of Selvidge himself." - Guitar World

LAMBCHOP - Nixon (Expanded Edition) / LUCINDA WILLIAMS - S/T (25th Anniversary Reissue) / UNCLE TUPELO - No Depression (Legacy Edition)

Three modern Americana classics receive the deluxe treatment they deserve, as each act's major players are still active, and their original approaches continue to exert an influence on peers and devotees in the current roots music landscape.

"Starting with the swell of horns in the middle of album opener 'The Old Gold Shoe,' Nixon glides easily from one unexpected grace note to the next, peppering in funk, R&B, gospel, country, vintage folk—and integrating them all, not presenting them discretely. Lambchop has always taken its Nashville origins seriously, making use of the wide variety of talented musicians who live and work in Music City. The double-CD includes the original album plus a bonus disc containing White Sessions 1998: How I Met Cat Power, a remastered live solo session Kurt recorded in 1998." - Merge Records

"Her first two albums, Ramblin' and Happy Woman Blues, were released in relatively quick succession in 1979 and 1980. Then, for certainly not the last time in her career, she went dark. But when this self-titled album emerged those eight years later, it was, in a lot of ways, the true coming out party for Lucinda Williams the artist. Over the next fifteen years, she would put out five albums that would prove her as a truly remarkable songwriter, but it's 1988's Lucinda Williams that gives us the first fleshed-out vision of the artist to come. It’s appropriate the album is self-titled, as if Williams herself knew what she had on her hands." - Aquarian Drunkard

"Pitched as 'Hüsker Dü meets Woody Guthrie,' Uncle Tupelo's 1990 debut made the countrypunk notions of the Mekons, the Meat Puppets and others into a raison d'être, furthering a major movement. This expanded reissue adds Not Forever, Just for Now, the 1989 demo tape that got them signed. Its 10 songs, recorded in an attic in Champaign, Illinois, were beefed up on No Depression (and its sister single, the Midwest indie-rock boozer anthem 'I Got Drunk'), but Not Forever shows a vision startlingly complete, and its scrappiness occasionally serves the songs better–see 'Whiskey Bottle,' with harmonica instead of pedal steel." - Rolling Stone

DOUG PAISLEY - Strong Feelings

With longstanding co-producer Stew Crookes capturing a live-off-the-floor feel from such players as Garth Hudson, Bazil Donovan and Emmett Kelly and guest vocal turns by Mary Margaret O'Hara, Afie Jurvanen of Bahamas and Tamara Lindeman of The Weather Station, Strong Feelings serves both as a great intro for those new to Paisley's work as well as another solid batch of songs sure to satisfy his already-substantial fan base.

"Doug Paisley is a singer-songwriter out of place and time. His songs are steeped in the steely resolve, forlorn soul-searching, and regrettable heartbreak of classic country tunes. His guitar parts can be as spare and searching as a Nick Drake ballad, or as ornate and filigreed as the stitching on a Nudie suit; his vocals are equal parts Merle Haggard and Jackson Browne, a wistful tenor with a slight quiver. Like its predecessor, 2010's Constant Companion, Strong Feelings is an exquisitely warm, intimate recording—you can hear Paisley's fingers shift on the strings of his guitar, and the faintest creak each time Garth Hudson presses down on his keyboard." - The Grid

"Paisley gave himself a little extra time while making his new album. After recording his previous two LPs in something of a hurry, the Canadian singer and songwriter allowed himself to stretch out more in the studio while recording these ten songs. The result is an album of tasteful subtleties: warm guitars unspooling over the gentle hum of an organ enveloping Paisley's AM-gold voice with just a hint of a twang, on songs that glide by like beautiful scenery." - Wall Street Journal

THE BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA - I'll Find A Way / VOLCANO CHOIR - Repave

Those anxiously awaiting the next Bon Iver album can tide themselves over with these excellent new Justin Vernon projects. We're especially enjoying his production work on the Blind Boys of Alabama record with songs boasting guest vocal turns from Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond), Sam Amidon, Merrill Garbus (tUnE-yArDs) and Justin himself on the ethereal cover of Dylan's "Every Grain Of Sand".

"Insouciance isn’t a gospel word, yet that’s what makes the Justin Vernon-produced I’ll Find A Way so engaging. Here, the iconic Blind Boys Of Alabama sound more joyful, jubilant and ready than ever, their faith a source of palpable euphoria, whether laced with tuba, tambourine or resonator guitar.

The Bon Iver leader makes Way a progressive, rootsy affair. As a drum echoes hollow and the piano sustains and spreads like a sunset, Vernon’s reverence permeates Bob Dylan's 'Every Grain of Sand.' What reads as a match made as generational marketing becomes an intersection of faith from different realms. Elegant and elevated, believing’s universality becomes a bond." - Paste

"Over a year after its well-received release in September 2009, a decision was made to adapt Unmap to live performance and to tour Japan, after which it was clear that Volcano Choir existed as a fully-formed entity. There would be another record, but as with Unmap, there was no timeline. There were writing sessions that continued for years, sometimes within a couple of months of one another, sometimes within half of a year between November 2010 and March 2013.

Repave brings Volcano Choir into sharp focus. The glitch-laden, cautious presentation of the band's previous work serves as points of both reference and departure across these eight songs, the product of growing conviction and trust, of a fully-operational band, gifted in shading and nuance, and rumbling with power" - Jagjaguwar

DEVON SPROULE & MIKE O'NEILL - Colours / DOUG TIELLI - Keresley

Coventry, England's Tin Angel Records has spent the past few years pooling the talents of a particular pocket of players within Toronto's leftfield folk/pop-rock/jazz-improv underground, and Colours (a follow-up to Sproule's 2011 effort I Love You Go Easy, likewise produced by Sandro Perri and recorded at T.O.'s 6 Nassau studio) and Keresley (named after the village near Coventry where Tielli temporarily resided, shaping this second solo album after missing a flight back home) are the newest results of this cross-Atlantic cultural exchange.

"Colours features an all-star Toronto band including guitar and synth wiz Thom Gill, a rhythm section borrowed from the R&B project Bernice (Robin Dann on vocals, Philip Melanson on drums and Dan Fortin on bass) and Sandro Perri at the production helm. Considering how long these two Ontarians have been away from home, Colours is decidedly a product of Toronto. The city, the songs and the ensemble have knocked these two established artists off balance and right into their element.

Hints of African high life, British folk, free improvisation, Brazilian spirituals and blue-eyed soul gracefully come together in Doug Tielli's second release, Keresley. The record is a wide spray of textures, dynamics and styles and feels unified by Doug’s fluid voice and musicianship. Voice, guitar, percussion and brass don't just outline a melody; they resonate as one with grace and simplicity. Doug Tielli uses his songs to translate the natural and the un-natural world around him." - Tin Angel Records

SARAH SISKIND - Covered

Justin Vernon's Chigliak imprint chugs along at an appreciably leisurely release pace with only its second reissue title to date, one that clearly made quite an impression on Vernon when he first heard it, and with good reason, as Sarah Siskind's debut is one of the most intruiging roots-tinged pop/singer-songwriter records we've heard in some time.

"Although it was initially intended as a national release, then 22-year-old Sarah Siskind's 2003 debut album, Covered, produced by Tucker Martine and featuring contributions from guitarist Bill Frisell and the Story's Jennifer Kimball, was eventually released independently that same year when Siskind became suddenly ill and was unable to tour widely and support the album. Several surgeries later, Siskind got her career back on track, but, Covered, although it was a strikingly unique album, has never quite gotten the attention it should have. Sparse, unhurried, and atmospheric, helped immeasurably by Frisell's exact and appropriate guitar playing and centered around Siskind's subtle, literate, and often haunting songs, the album doesn't seem to belong to any era, which gives it a kind of patient power now ten years later...Ten years on, Covered is still an impressive and coherent debut, with songs that fit together like patches in a patchwork quilt, each gathering strength from the others." - Allmusic

MICHAEL HURLEY - Armchair Boogie/Hi Fi Snock Uptown

Following limited-edition vinyl pressings of both these albums by Mississippi Records, Light In The Attic's new Future Days imprint has now remastered these second and third records in Michael Hurley's storied but long-unavailable discography, originally respectively released in 1971/72 on The Youngbloods' Warner Bros.-distributed Raccoon label. Snock on [mouth trumpet solo]!

"The semi-reclusive Hurley is best known these days for high-profile reissues from Light In The Attic and Mississippi, as well as his association with Devendra Banhart and Vetiver. But he rose to a strange sort of fame in the '60s via his association with outsider folk acts The Holy Modal Rounders and The Youngbloods. He then struck out on his own and released Armchair Boogie and Hi Fi Snock Uptown, masterpieces of left-field Americana characterized by Hurley's brilliant, offbeat guitar playing and creeping insanity. This is the first time either album has been reissued on CD, and in typical Light In The Attic fashion, they come remastered with thoughtful accoutrements. For example, a Hurley-helmed comic book accompanies Armchair Boogie. Hurley's drawings—which also grace the album covers—are good indicators of his music: nonsensical, non-linear, funny, warm, and somehow familiar." - Ad Hoc

SAM AMIDON - Bright Sunny South

As fans of Sam since the pair of albums he recorded for Iceland's Bedroom Community label (2008's All Is Well and 2010's I See The Sign), we were very excited to hear of his signing to Nonesuch; similar to the case of Devendra Banhart's impressive effort for them earlier this year with Mala, Amidon has stepped up to the major-label plate and delivered what could be his best record yet, with thoughtful, sparse arrangements and a set of adaptations (both trad and not-so-trad) sung with graceful restraint.

"Throughout the record, there’s an underlying tension between what Amidon is singing and the means of his delivery—a melancholic feeling allowed to take root in the spaces between the thin arrangements...The result is his most emotionally and tonally complex LP to date. With Bright Sunny South, Amidon has taken a huge step forward as a folk artist, creating arrangements which preserve his musicianship, while deepening the maturity of his interpretive skills." - Drowned In Sound

"Amidon describes Bright Sunny South as a 'a lonesome record' and a return to the more spare sound of his 2007 self-recorded debut, But This Chicken Proved Falsehearted: 'There was an atmospheric quality to my last two records; those albums are like a garden of sounds,' says Amidon, 'but this one is more of a journey, a winding path. The band comes rushing in and then they disappear. It comes from more of a darker, internal space.'" - Nonesuch

NATHAN ABSHIRE - Master of the Cajun Accordion: The Classic Swallow Recordings

Chronicling this legendary Louisianan's work with both the Pine Grove Boys and Balfa Brothers, Master of the Cajun Accordion is an irresistibly swinging slice of '60s and '70s roots revivalism that's lost none of its joyful vitality over the intervening years.

"After some 20 years, Ace Records' Nathan Abshire 2 LPs-on-1 CD has been totally revamped by John Broven. With stunning new mastering, the track sequencing better reflects the recording chronology in the distinct periods with the Pine Grove Boys and then the Balfa Brothers, with the addition of ‘French Blues’ to complete the Swallow output. The now-sumptuous booklet features an essay by Lyle Ferbrache based on his original research with members and families of Abshire’s Pine Grove Boys; a comprehensive song analysis with sterling contributions from Ann Savoy and Neal Pomea; a first-ever attempt at a discography with personnel; many vintage photographs; and LP and label scans. The end result is one of the most listenable and enjoyable Cajun CD releases ever, by one of the music’s most revered musicians." - Ace Records

THE HIGHEST ORDER - If It's Real

A mix of psych/country covers and originals split into sides by the intervention of three two-chord takes of motorik "Cosmic Manipulations," If It's Real is the debut recording by the newest project to spin off from the One Hundred Dollars/Fiver axis.

"The Highest Order formed in early 2012 after its members found good fortune in an unfortunate situation: while alternative-country band One Hundred Dollars was on tour, drummer Dave Clarke was unable to participate in one leg. The band recruited Simone TB (Ell V Gore) as a replacement. She had such great chemistry with the group that vocalist and guitarist Simone Schmidt, vocalist and guitarist Paul Mortimer, and bassist Kyle Porter started a new project with with her. Since then, The Highest Order has been making a name for itself by composing and performing spacey, psychedelic country that’s as strange at it is soulful." - Torontoist

"While Simone Schmidt's projects typically focus on her first-person stories—One Hundred Dollars and Fiver, for example, put listeners in the steel-toed boots of migrant farmers, hopeless addicts and bottom-rung oil men—her supporting ensemble is usually underrated. Songs of Man and Forest of Tears, to the credit of electric guitarist Paul Mortimer and bassist Kyle Porter, painted impeccable country-music backdrops for Schmidt’s tales of work, love and loss. Porter and Mortimer, along with Tropics drummer Simone TB, join Schmidt in The Highest Order, and If It’s Real is a logical, yet no less substantial, progression from One Hundred Dollars. Finally, Schmidt’s instrumental backing has caught up to her vivid storytelling—no small feat. - Fast Forward Weekly

DANIEL ROMANO - Come Cry With Me

On this, his third solo outing, Welland, Ontario's Daniel Romano finally fully embraces his love of classic country music in the vein of George Jones, Hank Williams, and the Flying Burrito Brothers. Signed on with a new record label, Normaltown Records (a subsidary of New West), it's his most accomplished release to date, sure to satisfy his fans and make him plenty of new ones.

"In tracing the evolution of former Attack in Black singer Daniel Romano as a classic country songwriter, one can hear the steady formation of a distinct sonic landscape pulsing hard and true through the veins of that heart wrenching, '70's-era honky tonk sound. Building from his solo debut, Workin' for the Music Man (2010), to Sleep Beneath the Willow (2011), this landscape has become so vivid, so exquisitely entrenched in bygone lyricism and traditional arrangements that with a title like Come Cry with Me, listeners know exactly where Romano is taking them." - Exclaim

"Daniel Romano, hailing not from the south but the great white north—Ontario, to be exact—may not have been raised in the Tennessee countryside or Texas plains, but his knack for broken-hearted trad-county songs that pay tribute to Gram Parsons and Hank Williams is fairly uncanny for someone surrounded more by ice hockey than honky-tonks. Coming from a thin, 27-year-old Canadian whose only connection to the genre is from his grandparents (big country radio fans), and who used to play in an indie punk-band, this could all come off as a little eyeroll-inducing if it weren’t so well executed. It’s a fine line between revival and parody, and he walks it well, cowboy boots and all." - American Songwriter

TOWNES VAN ZANDT - Sunshine Boy: The Unheard Studio Sessions & Demos

From the ever-intriguing desk of Omnivore Recordings (who also brought us such recent archival finds as Darondo's Listen To My Song, Two Things In One's Together Forever and Alex Chilton's Free Again: The "1970" Sessions, with a Gene Clark White Light demos set soon to follow in late March) comes this trove of alternate versions, mixes and demos, with astute liners by Hank Williams biographer and roots music authority Colin Escott.

"Sunshine Boy will only burnish Van Zandt’s legend. Even those who think they know him will find stark new insights into his doomed genius. Unlike your typical star, shooting or otherwise, Van Zandt’s most important music, his best stuff, didn’t happen right away. Instead, it was on 1971's High, Low and In Between and 1972's The Late Great, now a bitterly ironic title. Songs from those projects (his fifth and sixth, respectively) make up the bulk of Sunshine Boy, and the bulk of the project's new revelations, as well. "Pancho and Lefty," for instance, is presented without strings or horns. His Dylan-esque pretensions are made clear during this raw take on “Mr. Mudd and Mr. Gold.” “To Live Is To Fly” takes on an even greater, devastating beauty. Maybe more interesting, however, are the stripped-down versions of earlier songs that producer Cowboy Jack Clements had dimmed with of-the-moment, overly pretty Nashville production—de rigueur at the turn of the 1970s, but hopelessly dated today. The four demos here from 1970's eponymous release and 1971's Delta Momma Blues may be the most revealing of all." - Something Else!

CHRIS DARROW - Artist Proof

Thankfully, the well of fantastic reissue finds is unlikely to dry up anytime soon; while we were somewhat familiar with the name Chris Darrow (if mainly through having once stocked Everlasting's 2009 deluxe LP boxset compiling his 1973 self-titled album and '74's Under My Own Disguise), this Drag City release of 1972's Artist Proof is a worthy official (and far less limited) introduction to the man's work—we're glad to have finally fully made its/his acquaintance!

"The history of rock and roll in the 1960s is filled with side trips and familiar names mixed together with more trips involving even more names, sometimes less known. One of those names still owed a piece of your mind is California picker, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Chris Darrow. Already a veteran of several bands and scenes on the L.A. landscape, Chris was a founding member of the west coast Kaleidoscope. He went his own way after the recording of their second album A Beacon From Mars to pursue music on his own terms...Chris' solo debut is a rich and powerful dose of California country rock, written almost entirely by Chris and played with grit and precision by a cast of great players." - Groove Attack Records

"Artist Proof is a coming together of young people testing their formative influences in the light of a new day, creating something different in the process, which is likely why the album feels so fresh! Back in print for the first time in 40 years and finally ushered into the digital realm, Artist Proof's debossed LP jacket has been carefully reproduced along with photos from Chris Darrow's archive, bringing back the time of a new feeling in American music in all its melodic, singular glory." - Drag City

DAN PENN - The Fame Recordings

Finally! An entire compilation devoted to the masterful songs of Dan Penn as performed by the man himself. These aren't the definitive versions of these songs, but they're still great and any fan of soul music needs this set in their collection.

"Dan Penn is recognised as one of the great songsmiths of the past 50 years. Music historian Peter Guralnick once described him as the 'secret hero' of 60s R&B. For many, Penn’s material defines the essence of southern soul writing, but his catalogue also retains the ability to transcend musical barriers; classics such as 'I'm Your Puppet' and'‘Do Right Woman' have scaled the pop and country charts in equal measure. With his principal collaborator Spooner Oldham, Penn lent R&B songwriting a class and eloquence that has rarely been bettered.

This much-anticipated collection, however, reveals the flowering of Dan Penn as an artist in his own right. It’s collated from the hard evidence of three amazing and educational years spent at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals as a staff writer – an apprenticeship that was as important in helping him find a voice as it was in forging the songcraft that made his name." - Ace Records

VA - Country Soul Sisters: Women in Country Music 1952-74

Another excellent Soul Jazz anthology, this time showcasing female country music pioneers whose proto-feminist songs were delivered with humour and conviction.

"Some people might buy Soul Jazz Records' most recent release thinking this is an album of country-tinged soul music; that’s not the case. For anyone looking for that type of compilation, then Kent’s Behind Closed Doors might suit their tastes. What Country Soul Sisters is, though, is a twenty-five track compilation of music from some of country music’s female pioneers. Artists including Patsy Cline, Bobbie Gentry, Tammy Wynette, Tanya Tucker, Barbara Fairchild, Nancy Sinatra, Kitty Wells and Norma Jean tackle a wide range of social subjects, some of which are radical and hard-hitting, ranging from death, sexual exploitation and bigotry to poverty and domestic violence. However, the music is celebratory and about women taking charge of their lives." - Dereksmusicblog

SONNY AND THE SUNSETS - Longtime Companion

For his third full-length leading the Sunsets, Sonny Smith (mostly) tries his hand at writing heartbreaking country songs, and succeeds wildly, resulting in maybe his best album yet, with occasional touches of flute and pedal steel that add an ornate yet unshowy elegance to these recordings, offset by Smith's endearingly yelped lines relating both deep woes ("My one and only love/My babe, the divorcée") and shallow wonders ("I want something dumb/That I can understand/Let me be a dog in the sun rollin' in the sand," a line he finds so nice he uses it twice, Lindsey Buckingham-style).

"Longtime Companion is ostensibly a country album, but it’s a testament to Smith’s singularity that it mostly just sounds like a Sonny Smith album. Sure, it shuffles along a two-step pulse and comes glazed with plenty of steel-guitar weeping. Recorded after Smith and his girlfriend separated, the record does have a noticeably more wearied sound, and the twangy accoutrements add just the right amount of heartbroken creak and moan to suit the album’s circumstances. The difference is most clear on "Pretend You Love Me," which appeared on Hit After Hit as a jangly (spiked) soda-shop ballad; here, it’s a staggered, melancholy country-rocker." - Paste

"Breakups can do unpredictable things to a guy. For singer-songwriter Sonny Smith, separating from his girlfriend of 10 years led him in a musical direction he’d never gone before. The first time his singing voice appears on Longtime Companion, a second or two into opening track "I Was Born," it’s striking how different it is from his earlier work. It’s twangy and crystal-clear, the perfect aural realization of the album cover’s hapless sincerity, but also the sort of affect and presentation that might scan as Hee-Haw in the wrong hands. Fortunately for Smith, it fits him like a snug Stetson, and only becomes more endearing the longer it plays on." - A.V. Club

LEE HAZLEWOOD - The LHI Years: Singles, Nudes & Backsides (1968-71)

Light In The Attic (responsible for releasing our number-one reissue of 2011, Jim Sullivan's U.F.O.) scores again with this collection of late-'60s/early-'70s gems by the brilliant Lee Hazlewood. This is the first in a series of releases delving deeply into the Hazlewood vaults that LITA plans to put out—we can't wait for more!

"While Hazlewood’s work may occasionally recall some of the lighter, lampoon-able aspects of the sixties and early seventies, there is definitely a serious side as well. In fact, while Hazlewood often dueted with pop-oriented female vocalists (most famously Nancy Sinatra), his own parts often evoke the other end of the spectrum: melancholy and longing. Whether he’s deriding 'the man' or bemoaning lost loves, Hazlewood’s rich baritone and 'straight man' attitude make for the ideal balancing act with his chipper leading ladies." - Reviler

"This is what you might call middle-period Hazlewood, after the big hits but before settling into the status of cult hero, being covered by everyone from Lydia Lunch to Billy Ray Cyrus. Here we find Hazlewood working up an act as a kind of WASP Leonard Cohen, or maybe Love’s Arthur Lee on Mogadon, with a range of lush, almost rococo orchestrations worthy of Rogerio Duprat or Jean-Claude Vannier." - The Line Of Best Fit