by Emmylou Harris and Roger Crowell
Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell The Travelling Kind (PBS feature record)
Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell have been making music together since Crowell joined Harris's ‘Hot Band’ back in 1975. In 2013 they released ‘Old Yellow Moon’ to critical acclaim, and it won the Grammy award that year for Best Americana Album. In 2015, they have released a follow up with ‘The Travelling Kind’. The album contains 11 tracks with the pair sharing the singing duties, and includes six new songs written by Harris and Crowell in collaboration with others. It also features new versions of older Crowell songs and interpretations of Lucinda Williams' ‘I Just Want to See You so Bad’ and Amy Allison's ‘Her Hair Was Red’. ‘The Travelling Kind’ was produced by Joe Henry.
‘The Travelling Kind’ continues on from the success of the previous album. Emmylou Harris's voice is instantly recognizable and one of her strengths over the years has been singing in harmony with a male partner. Her voice combines perfectly with Crowell's more weather-beaten croon. The combination works best on tunes like ‘Higher Mountain’ where Harris's voice shines and ‘No Memories Hanging Around’, an old Crowell song originally performed by Rosanne Cash and Bobby Bare nearly 30 years ago. The tune ‘You Can't Say We Didn't Try’ is another heart-breaker delivered with all the skill the pair can muster. Of the new tunes written specifically for this album, ‘If you lived here, you'd be home now’ is a stand-out. This song adds another chapter to an oft-explored subject in country music - the struggle for understanding between Husband and Wife!
By Myles O’Neil-Shaw – 5Ft High & Rising
Gateway Drugs Magick Spells (Featured on The Breakfast Spread)
If clean, melodic rock is your thing, then Gateway Drugs might just be the band for you. They are a new band out of the states that come from a deep musical pedigree. The band contains three siblings, Nora, Liv and Gabriel Niles whose father is Prescott Niles, the bass player from 70’s/80’s Power Pop luminaries The Knack. You can hear some similarities between the two, but Gateway Drugs have taken that basic pop/rock sound and given it a more polished sound. This is particularly evident on songs such as the single ‘Head’ and opener ‘Anu’. They stray away from this style a little on slower songs like ‘Til You Come Home’ and ‘Cavity Creeps’, but for the most part it keeps to a very rock sound that makes for a great Saturday Night record. It’s a good album but I’m very keen to hear where they go next.
By Crispi - The Breakfast Spread
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