Lucas Cook, Crazy Heart, and other musings

The first day of Spring today. Thank GOD. According to the National Weather Service, we went 94 days in a row with the high temp below 55 degrees, a streak which ended a couple of weeks ago. While I actually like Winter, I usually get tired of it after the Super Bowl, when I start longing (again) for Cardinal baseball. Here’s hoping for a relatively storm-free Spring.

Lucas Cook will be calling in from Austin this Friday (March 26th) to talk about his new cd, a 5-song EP which I think is quite excellent. Of course I’ll be sharing several cuts from the cd as well. Check him out at www.lucascookmusic.com

I picked up the Crazy Heart soundtrack this week, and I can’t remember the last time I listened to a movie soundtrack that I liked so much. Currently it’s the #1 album on the Americana chart, and the #6 Country album according to Billboard. Ryan Bingham sings the theme song, as well as a couple of others. This album is literally stuffed with great songs, including Kitty Wells – “Searching (For Someone Like You)”, George Jones – “Color Of The Blues”, Buck Owens – “Hello Trouble”, and Townes Van Zandt – “If I Needed You”.  Best Actor Jeff Bridges is a pretty good singer too. This is the ULTIMATE Americana album, and a microcosm of Interstate. Buy this album.

I also bought the relatively new Radney Foster album, Revival. I am a little embarrassed that I didn’t catch on to this record sooner, as it easily would have made my Top Ten albums list for last year. Whoops. Regardless, it is outstanding, easily Radney’s best since 1994′s Labor Of Love. (or as they say in the U.K., Labour) www.radneyfoster.com

As you may or may not recall, I talked about my periodic intense fixations on certain artists, both old and new. My newest mental breakdown focuses on Eddie Rabbitt. He was born in Brooklyn and grew up in East Orange, NJ (there is a West, South, and just regular Orange as well…commonly referred to as “The Oranges”). He scored many #1 hits, both Pop and Country, but I always liked the 1988 album “I Wanna Dance With You”. It’s been out of print, but I found a compilation that has 5 songs from that album, and songs from “Rabbitt Tracks”(1985). I have been looking for some of these songs for years, and I will share many of them with you in the coming weeks.

Thanks as always for listening to my show. I am always grateful when I receive compliments about the music, and I thank you. The Membership Drive is coming up April 1st through the 11th, and your support is what drives the station. Please call in and give us a hand: 314-664-3688.

Posted by | March 20, 2010 | Music | Comment 

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