The master of the pedal steel, Robert Randolph, has release his third album and has returned, slightly, to his roots as a musician. The album is incredibly heavy on the influence of gospel and soul music, and for this rocker, it's a bit of a departure from the sound of his first to studio albums. Also, this album is heavy on cover songs, with Randolph & band taking on songs by Bob Dylan, Prince, and John Lennon. In fact, Lennon's "I Don't Want To Be A Soldier Mama" is one of the standout songs from this album. Randolph only co-wrote four of the tracks on this album, and one in particular is one of Randolph's best released songs. Featuring Ben Harper on guitar and vocals, "If I Had My Way," is an excellent combination of heavy guitar rock and gospel influenced blues which is the closest bridge to Robert Randolph's previous work. On this album the Family Band also plays a much larger role as many of the tracks feature Lanesha Randolph and Danyel Morgan on vocals. This T-Bone Burnett produced album is certainly a great one and really showcases Randolph's pedal steel mastery and unique mix of rock, gospel, soul and blues.
Jess Harris became well known as the Grammy award winning songwriter of the Norah Jones hit single "Don't Know Why." But, what many people don't know is that Jesse Harris is an incredible musician on his own, and he has released eight excellent albums of his own music. This latest album, the first in a double album release, shows off his jazz roots with light pop music that is full of soul. "Tough As Water" and "Put It Out Of Your Mind" are the album's standout tracks. The entire collection of music is so incredibly natural and organic and is the true mark of a superior songwriter. Not only are the lyrics magical and poetic, but they are sung over a backdrop of music that is beautifully written and performed. With this album, coupled with the pending release of a fully instrumental album, Jesse Harris is showing the world why his Grammy award is the real deal, and with or without Norah, he would have won one eventually.
Foundling" is not a b-sides album. What "Foundling" has become is a collection of reinterpreted tracks from David Gray's extensive songwriting history that he felt the world finally needed to hear. He recently decided to get back into the studio and give many of these songs new life, some songs having been born right out of soundcheck jams. Other songs he felt just needed a little love via some vocals and piano. The blues of the title track and the jazz elements of "We Could Fall In Love Again Tonight" show off the album's twist from Gray's signature folk style. Although, the album is heavy on Gray standards, it features a lot less commercial friendly tracks than usual, making for an interesting mix that is straight from his soul. The oldest song of the album is a reworking of "A New Day At Midnight" which is actually where the name of David's critically acclaimed 2002 album came from. The song didn't make it to that album but finds itself right at home here. The first single from this album is "A Moment Changes Everything" actually strangely comes from the bonus disc. The fact that the last track on the bonus disc is the first single shows the lack of commercialism of the entire album, with is one of the more appealing qualities of this collection of music. David Gray has come a long way since "White Ladder" but one this has remained true: his unmatched songwriting and delivery is as perfect now as it was then.
Every now and again a musician comes along and surprises listeners with their incredible songs and music. That such musician is Lissie, and her debut full length album is full of excellent tracks. Produced by a handful of big names including Jaquire King (Kings Of Leon) and Bill Reynolds (Band Of Horses), each song takes on a bit of the producers signature style and a whole life of their own. The album's first single "In Sleep" is easily one of the ten best songs of 2010 and the guitar solo at the end of the song is unlike anything heard on an indie rock recording. "Cuckoo" and "When I'm Alone" are a couple of the other standouts, however, each song on the album can stand alone as a great song. Lissie is truly the next big thing, and her blend of indie, classic, southern, and alternative rock styles is both interesting and outstanding.
![God Willin' & The Creek Don't Rise [+Digital Booklet]](http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B003YOWU1Q&tag=thisismodernn-20)
Although he just recently released his debut album, Matt Hires has decided to grace us with a few new tunes to keep our cravings at a minimum until his next full length release. This EP features a reinterpreted version of his hit single (and downright awesome song) "Honey, Let Me Sing You A Song," which falls somewhere between the studio version from his debut album and an acoustic performance of the song. The original version also appears on the EP. This digital only release also features two brand new songs, the title track "A To B" and "Rock N' Roll Heart," both of which could have easily found themselves on the debut. These songs are the epitome of pop rock music and are exactly the style you'd expect from Hires. Nothing outrageously inventive, but nothing incredibly run-of-the-mill either, Matt's new tunes could play on the radio, but could very well become just a few fan favorites that only the die hards fall in love with. Either way, Matt Hires has proven that his debut album and the beauty of it was not a fluke and he can match its excellence with subsequent releases, even if they are only a few songs long.
