New album: Pushin’ Against A Stone
Artist: Valerie June
Label: Concord
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
“Pushin’ Against A Stone” is the first label release for Valerie June, an artist who manages to weave nearly every style of music that’s ever past through her home state of Tennessee into her work.
As stated by June herself on a recent episode of Austin City Limits, most people look at her and assume she’s going to start belting out Bob Marley tunes. Ironically, reggae is one of the few styles of music not represented on “Pushin’ Against A Stone.” June has labeled her sound “organic moonshine roots music.” If it sounds like she’s going out of her way not to call it Americana, then you’d be right, but then again her music is much more interesting than a bunch of music school graduates pretending to be hobos.
Blues, country, soul, jazz and even bluegrass weave around these songs like kudzu. The styles don’t necessarily blend, because their distinct flavors never seem watered down by each other. June’s clear-as-a-bell voice can be as country as Dolly Parton eatin’ corn bread (“Workin’ Woman Blues”), sultry as Billie Holliday (“Pushin’ Against A Stone”) and as bluesy as Etta James (“You Can’t Be Told”). June clearly has her own thing going on, but some people just have to have comparisons.
The album was produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, and his hazy, Daniel Lanois-esque style on the knobs makes for a fantastic listen. His attention to detail makes every note played interesting, thus making repeated listening a must.
Hopefully the bit of press Valerie June is getting will give her a strong enough foothold to make more albums as good as this.
Classic album: A Nod Is As Good As A Wink...
Aritst: The Faces
Label: Warner Bros.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
When Steve Marriott left The Small Faces, the remaining trio of Ronnie Lane, Kenny Jones and Ian McLagan recruited Ronnie Wood and Rod Stewart, changed their name to The Faces and toughened up their sound.
“A Nod....” was the band’s third album under their new moniker and first to yield a hit single in ‘Stay With Me.’ The loose/boozed-up feel of their previous work was still intact, but with this album the craziness seemed vaguely coordinated. With Rod Stewart recently having a solo hit with “Maggie May,” “Stay With Me” was seen by many as the follow-up even though it was a Faces track.
Ian McLagan’s superb keyboard work meshed perfectly with Ronnie Wood’s bluesy riffing throughout “A Nod....”, giving the band a sense of identity away from their closest competitors in the loose and ragged rock game, The Rolling Stones. Listening to Wood’s thick, slabby playing on “Miss Judy’s Farm” and “Too Bad” it’s no wonder The Stones poached Wood just a few years later.
Even the more earthy songs of Ronnie Lane (‘Last Orders’, ‘Debris) are given some much needed muscle by Wood’s presence. Sadly, mistakenly thinking Stewart was about to fly the coup for a solo career, Lane busted up the group prematurely, thus wrecking what could have been a long and fruitful partnership. Also, it freed Stewart to up to record “Love Touch” and a series of dinner jacket standards albums.
The Faces didn’t exist long enough to reach their full potential, but what they did accomplish is mostly great. “A Nod Is A Wink....” is as good a place as any for the curious to start.
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Jon Dawson’s album reviews appear every Thursday in The Free Press. Contact Jon at 252-559-1092 or jon.dawson@kinston.com.