TAJ MAHAL AND DOM FLEMONS WEIGH IN ON ETTA BAKER AS ‘RAILROAD BILL’ DELUXE LP REISSUE COMES OUT THIS WEEK ON MUSIC MAKER RELIEF FOUNDATION

Etta Baker’s ‘Railroad Bill’ comes out this week as a deluxe LP reissue with new packaging, an unreleased bonus track “Police Dog Blues.” It includes a digital download of her entire catalog and new liner notes. Taj Mahal and Dom Flemons weighed in on the reissue:

Americana Lifetime Achievement Award winner and Blues Hall of Famer Taj Mahal says, "Possessing a stunning beauty, Etta's husband refused to let her travel and perform away from home. She never stopped playing music! This gracious grandmother was the source of a great deal of joy and surprise when I found out that she still played guitar after I heard her early recordings in the '60s. One of the signature chords of my guitar vocabulary comes from her version of 'Railroad Bill.’"

GRAMMY winner Dom Flemons says, “For more than half a century, Etta Baker has been considered by many to be the most important piedmont blues guitar player of all time. Her delicate and nuanced playing have influenced generations of finger picking guitarists. ‘Railroad Bill’ is an excellent collection of the songs that Etta recorded for Music Maker in the early ‘90s and is still considered her finest recording to date. Anyone who might ask you to narrow it down to one album to get started needs to own this record!  A classic for longtime fans as well as new listeners!"

ETTA BAKER'S QUINTESSENTIAL FOLK ALBUM 'RAILROAD BILL' TO SEE DELUXE VINYL REISSUE WITH PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED MATERIAL ON MUSIC MAKER RELIEF FOUNDATION FEBRUARY 19th

Folk music pioneer Paul Clayton often told the tale of Bob Dylan’s 21st birthday when he traveled down to the Charlottesville, VA area to visit Paul. During this visit Paul states that he brought Dylan to visit Etta Baker in her home, so he could see one of the finest guitar players in the region. Dylan returned to New York City shortly after to pen the song, "Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright." First Recorded in 1956, Baker's eloquent finger-style guitar playing was considered to be the one of the finest representations of this rare style.

Music Maker Relief Foundation is pleased to announce a reissue of Baker's album Railroad Bill, widely considered her finest album, on February 19th, 2016 as a vinyl release. "Reissuing this seminal blues record is so important to keep the legacy of Etta Baker alive; releasing this incredible album on vinyl will engage new fans in Baker's music," says Tim Duffy, founder of Music Maker. The album will contain a previously unreleased version of Police Dog Blues.

During her lifetime Etta Baker was a recipient of the NC Folk Heritage Award and the National Endowment for the Arts’ National Heritage Fellowship. "Baker's musical career was stifled by her husband's belief in the traditional gender roles of the time - women belonged in the home," says Duffy, who worked with Baker during the last two decades of her life. At the age of 78 she released her first album and her legacy continues to circulate and influence even today.  Her unique sound and her two-finger style live on in the performances of Taj Mahal, Bob Dylan, and hundreds of other musicians.  Mahal is reverent, he comments of Baker’s songs, “(It) seems like you can see right through them back to the past.”  Etta Baker’s renown is far reaching, however, listening to her music, it is clear her roots were grounded in the local culture and regional heritage of Western North Carolina.

Recently Baker was honored with a memorial in her hometown of Morganton, NC, along with a museum exhibit. The town of Morganton is also currently raising funds for a bronze statue of her.

This deluxe reissue will include a digital download card with all four of Baker's full-length releases on the Music Maker Relief Foundation label, along with never before seen footage of Baker playing with Taj Mahal.

The Railroad Bill vinyl release will be available in record stores and on musicmaker.org on February 19th, 2016.

Etta Baker photos

Above credit: Tim Duffy, click for high res

Above credit: Tim Duffy, click for high res

Above credit: Tim Duffy, click for high res

THE AMERICAN SONGSTER DOM FLEMONS ANNOUNCES ‘WHAT GOT OVER’ EXCLUSIVE RECORD STORE DAY EP

Dom Flemons – a founding member of the GRAMMY-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops – has announced a 10-inch vinyl EP to be sold in local record stores exclusively for Record Store Day on April 18th.

'What Got Over,' which comes out on Music Maker Relief Foundation, is a collection of songs from the vault—tracks that didn’t make it onto his highly praised 2014 album Prospect Hill along with alternate versions of songs on that album. Here are two teaser videos:




NPR Fresh Air aired a full-length performance/chat on the American Songster last year.

List of stores where “What Got Over” is available.

Esquire called ‘Prospect Hill’ “finger-pickin', good-old-fashioned tin-cup barn-dance fun.”

Paste said of ‘Prospect Hill,’ “Flemons’ harmonica-heavy, foot-tapping folk makes for the perfect hot summer soundtrack.”

Peter Cooper wrote a profile for the Tennessean, writing, “Everything Flemons does as an entertainer is informed by his deep listening and study. But ‘study’ sounds like something academic, and Flemons trades on something more fun than academia. He internalizes his learning, then externalizes it, and then we hear it and tap our feet and smile.”

"No musician in recent memory has tackled so many different idioms with such sincerity and style as Flemons, making him easily the most gifted American songster of his generation." -Living Blues Magazine

"This is interracial hoedown music, irresistibly delivered with a wink and a strut, and it sounds unlike anything else on the market today." -Wondering Sound

‘Dom Flemons, American Songster, Presents: What Got Over’ Track List:

SIDE ONE
1. Big Head Joe's March
2. Milwaukee Blues
3. Clock on the Wall
4. Keep On Truckin'
SIDE TWO
1. Hot Chicken
2. Have I Stayed Away Too Long?
3. Going Backward Up The Mountain
4. Til' The Seas Run Dry
5. What Got Over

FIESTA RED RECORDS ANNOUNCES 180 GRAM LP EDITION OF 'LOWE COUNTRY: THE SONGS OF NICK LOWE' FOR SIMULTANEOUS SEPT. 18 RELEASE

Fiesta Red Records has announced a 180 gram vinyl LP edition of 'Lowe Country: The Songs of Nick Lowe,' to be released September 18 alongside MP3 and CD editions of the album. Full liner notes will be printed on the inner sleeve. A spectacular reimagining of Lowe's songbook, the album also represents the next generation of Americana, left-leaning country, and roots music artists.

'Lowe Country' LP Track Listing (different from CD/MP3):

Lately I've Let Things Slide - Caitlin Rose
Don't Lose Your Grip On Love - The Parson Red Heads
All Men Are Liars - Robert Ellis
I Love The Sound Of Breaking Glass - Amanda Shires
Marie Provost - JEFF the Brotherhood
Lover Don't Go - Erin Enderlin
(I'm Gonna Start) Living Again If It Kills Me - Hayes Carll
When I Write The Book - The Unsinkable Boxer
You Make Me - Colin Gilmore
Heart Of The City - Chatham County Line
What's Shakin' On The Hill - Lori McKenna
Crackin' Up - Griffin House
Where's My Everything? - Ron Sexsmith

Rainer Maria EPs Reissued As New Caithlin De Marrais Solo CD 'Red Coat's Out Now

With the recent release of Caithlin De Marrais' solo album 'Red Coats'' (End Up Records) release, here is another reason to cover her. Polyvinyl Records – who said on their homepage that "Rainer Maria is arguably one of the most important bands in Polyvinyl's 15-year history" – are reissuing three EPs (Rainer Maria, Atlantic, Ears Ring) by the "indie rock icons" (SPIN) on vinyl, with the collection simply titled 'Rainer Maria.' It's a limited edition of 300 on 180-gram yellow vinyl which comes with an MP3 download.

More info on 'Red Coats'

'Rainer Maria' cover art

Of De Marrais, The Village Voice said, "The former Rainer Maria frontwoman has a new solo album coming next month, 'Red Coats,' and it reduces her old band’s emo-rock blare to a quieter roar, surrounding de Marrais’ uncommonly expressive singing with tense little clicks and buzzes, slyly destabilizing where Rainer Maria once aimed to knock off socks."

Magnet is streaming 'Red Coats' in its entirety.

Caithlin De Marrais tour dates.

'Rainer Maria' track listing

Side A:

1. There Will Be No Night
2. Atlantic
3. Soul Singer
4. Ears Ring
5. Alchemy
6. Automatic

Side B:

1. Summer and Longer
2. I Love You Too
3. Rain Yr Hand
4. Portland
5. Ian
6. Made In Secret

Both albums are available for pre-order on Polyvinyl's site.