Bentley’s Bandstand: December 2022 (Part I) By Bill Bentley Johnny Adams, Only Want To Be With You. It is no accident that in his hometown of New Orleans soul singer extraordinaire Johnny Adams was lovingly called the Tan Canary. He enthused such a reverence from his many fans there that they could hardly contain themselves. […]
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To the uninitiated, Bruce Springsteen’s new Only the Strong Survive CD may come as a surprise. Aside from 2006’s Pete Seeger–inspired We Shall Overcome, this is the first album of covers he has issued in his half-century career, and its focus on soul and R&B represents a bit of a departure from the rock […]
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Christine McVie Like many baby boomers, I’ve suffered from a sort of post-traumatic stress syndrome resulting from hearing some of my favorite songs being used to hawk products. I trace it back to Carly Simon’s use of “Anticipation” in a ketchup commercial. I think I lost it when Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours era drama “Go Your […]
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Favorite album of November 2022 poll: Vote for three. Email us at americanahighways@gmail.com with “November poll” in the subject heading if we need to add your favorite to the list! Poll is open until the end of the day January 1. Top winners will be featured in our playlists. You can check out the […]
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Janis Joplin & Jorma Kaukonen – Legendary Typewriter Tape 1964 This spare 23-minute historical document recorded in the Fall of 1962 is where kindred spirits — future Jefferson Airplane guitarist Jorma Kaukonen met the young blues Texas belter, Janis Joplin. It was at a hootenanny at the Folk Theater in San Jose. Of course, life […]
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Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers – Jonathan Sings! This reissue is a 30-minute set that’s a little more serious than some previous Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers. But one has to take into consideration that Richman is an entertainer. He see-sawed between the quality of music based on what he was focused on […]
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Adeem the Artist — White Trash Revelry If I’m being honest, I started following Adeem the Artist on Twitter because folks I listen to like them, and it turns out they’re damn funny. With that surface knowledge, I wasn’t sure what to expect when the non-binary country musician’s latest album hit my inbox. Before I […]
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Last Year’s Man – Time Is A Sparrow (Self-Released) On his second release under the moniker Last Year’s Man, Tyler Fortier offers yet another beautiful sweeping folk album brimming with pain, heartache and ultimately optimism if you listen hard enough. The opening track, “Better Left Unsaid,” with his near whispered vocals laying over a mix […]
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Isaac Hoskins – Bender Recorded in Austin by Gordy Quist (backing vocals) these 10 tracks released on Bender (December 2-Independent) by Isaac Hoskins (acoustic guitar/vocals) are steeped in a deep country tradition. Musically the retro sound is highly polished despite the typical old-school approach. Hoskins manages to transcend it & use such archetypal topics/language to […]
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Flatland Cavalry – Songs to Keep You Warm Flatland Cavalry’s new EP, Songs to Keep You Warm, released Oct. 28, lives up to its name, as the six songs feel like a cozy campfire session, with a bottle of Blanton’s being passed around, keeping spirits high, distracting us from the rest of the noise. The EP […]
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