With a voice that is equal parts Rod Stewart, Van Morrison and Sam Cooke, Jon Allen has an uncanny ability to write songs that feel instantly familiar. The British singer-songwriter returns after four years, releasing his fourth album, “Blue Flames”, May 18th 2018. This album represents Allen’s growth into soul elements. The record honors classic 60’s style of Motown, with feel-good sounds accompanied by Allen’s signature raspy vocals. From track to track, Allen ventures into the feelings of joy, love, loss, and change.
Throughout his career, Allen has become a go-to favorite for US music supervisors, with his songs being featured in hit prime time TV shows such as Homeland and Bones, along with movies like The Oranges, Safe Haven and Army of One.
The first single off the album, “Jonah’s Whale” released March 9th, starts of the record with reminiscent vibes funk and soul. The upbeat single ignites the album.
On the process of writing the single Allen states:
“With ‘Jonah’s Whale’ I stumbled upon the groove and chords first and wanted the lyric to evoke the sense of joyfulness I was getting from playing it through on an acoustic guitar. I settled upon the concept of a central character, head over heels in a love bubble, blinded to the outside world’s troubles. If this song doesn’t make you feel good, I have failed.”
It was the experience of immersing himself in the production and vibe of classic recordings of the sixties and seventies from iconic record labels such as Motown, Stax, Atlantic and Chess that made Allen think it would be great to bring more of that earthiness to his sound for Blue Flame’s recording sessions.
Today, Jon Allen, is looking forward to sharing the soulful excitement of “Blue Flame”, out May 18th 2018.
Winchester-born, Jon Allen was originally discovered by Mark Knopfler in 2006 (who later offered to play guitar for him), but it was the single “In Your Light” from Allen’s 2009 debut album Dead Man’s Suit that landed him a coveted spot on “Later…with Jools Holland”. Allen’s second album ‘Sweet Defeat’ (2011) continued his rise, spawning the Radio 2 A-listed hit track “Joanna” – the song that made it onto the soundtrack of the global TV smash Homeland.
Allen toured extensively during this period, both solo and with his band, appearing with Mark Knopfler, Emmylou Harris, Seal (who would tell Jon every day he should be making soul records) and Damien Rice, amongst others. ‘Deep River’, Allen’s last album, released in 2014, received the best reviews of his career to-date from the UK’s national press and was made BBC Radio 2’s ‘Album of The Week’. After his UK tour to promote ‘Deep River’, Jon took a break to write songs with and for other artists, while also writing music for films.
Blue Flame
Track listing:
1.Jonah’s Whale *
2. Keep On Walking
3. Since You Went Away
4. It’s Just the End of the World
5. If You Change Your Mind
6. Tightrope
7. Hold You In My Heart
8. Better Day
9. Stay
10. Waking Dream
11. Blue Flame
12. You (US Exclusive Bonus Track)
Seattle acoustic blues-pop singer-songwriter and 2-tour Navy veteran Phillip Broussard has released his official lyric video for “All Over Again.”
And then you knocked on the door right outside It was a beautiful surprise I didn’t know where we should begin All I know is that I fell in love all over again”
— Phillip Broussard
KITSAP, WASHINGTON, USA, May 1, 2018 — In November 2017, Seattle-based acoustic blues-pop singer-songwriter Phillip Brousard released his debut EP, “Wavelength.” The EP was dedicated to the memory of his father. First single, “Just Wanna Believe” thrust Phillip into the national spotlight, garnering critical praise and radio airplay. Now, MTS Management Group is happy to announce the release of Phillip’s Official Lyric Video for 2nd single, “All Over Again.”
ABOUT PHILLIP BROUSSARD: Born and raised in Washington State, Phillip Broussard discovered his passion early in life, when his father brought home a guitar. His father’s original intention was to play the guitar himself, but he soon found Phillip picking up the guitar, when he didn’t think anyone was watching. Phillip grew up under the influence of his father’s favorites, Pink Floyd, James Taylor, Jimi Hendrix, and Eric Clapton. What started as just a few chords, ignited a desire to share his new found passion with the world.
Then, tragedy struck at 18 years old, when Phillip’s father, grandfather and uncle passed away within 6 months of each other.
Phillip put down his guitar and enlisted in the United States Navy, in an attempt to quell his grief. Early on in his Naval career, someone handed Phillip a copy of John Mayer’s cd, “Room for Squares”. This album reignited Phillip’s passion for the guitar. In 2007, Phillip deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. During this time, he refined his guitar skills…
Jill Barber released the video for “Girl’s Gotta Do,” the lead single from her upcoming album Metaphora (out June 22 via Outside Music.)
“Girl’s Gotta Do” premiered at CBC’s Q, and debuted at #1 on Apple Music Canada’s Singer-Songwriter Chart. Barber calls the song a “challenge to the patriarchal status quo as we usher in a new era of equality.”
The video debuted at PopMatters, who write, “If the women’s movement of the 21st century — whether it’s #MeToo or #TimesUp — needed a hashtag theme song to carry its message, this versatile vocalist who can handle jazz, pop, blues, folk and rock ‘n’ roll on any given night, delivers it with genre-fender-bender style.”
It was directed by Juno Award-winning director Christopher Mills, whose work includes videos for Modest Mouse (“Float On,”) Leonard Cohen (“Leaving The Table,”) and Broken Social Scene (“Stars and Sons.”)
A bold entrée into the world of contemporary pop music, Metaphora reveals a Jill Barber we’ve never heard before. Metaphora showcases her power and vulnerability as both an artist and a woman. Evolving over the course of many albums from folk to jazz, R&B and pop, Jill’s success is defined not by genre, but by her undeniable songwriting chops and distinctive voice. Metaphora is a continuation of Barber’s musical story that confidently tackles everything from issues of empowerment, sexual politics, the complications of love, and depression. It’s introspective and personal. It’s also a dance party.
Mutual friendships and living on the same street led Jill to sit down with Ryan Guldemond, the enigmatic lead singer of Mother Mother, for inspiration and creativity. Ryan’s commitment to Jill and unwavering enthusiasm garnered co-writing credits on four of the nine songs on Metaphora, including the instantly catchy lead single, “Girl’s Gotta Do,” a hook-filled and very timely call to arms that aims to “challenge the patriarchal status quo, as we usher in a new era of equality,” says Barber. “Writing with Ryan was a big departure for me, and very exciting. He’s extremely creative and not afraid to push my creative boundaries,” recalls Barber. “The sessions became part songwriting and part therapy because I was writing about things that felt pretty raw; politics, sexism, being a mother. I started to realize that this was going to be a very different kind of album for me. I had more that I needed to say and Ryan helped bring that out with his uncanny knack for melody and song structure.”
Metaphora’s opening track “The Woman” generates a sense of anticipation with its pounding bass drum, an urgent heartbeat for what is next to come from the fearless multi-Juno nominated performer. “It’s a song about how a woman is required to be everything to everyone, but may still be a mystery to her own self,” shares Barber. “She is part of nature, but also has a nature of her own, ever-changing and elusive.” On “Bigger Than You,” Barber explores a personal experience that she hopes may inspire others to take a stand against tactics like power plays, bullying and manipulation. “Mercy” is a striking piano ballad Barber wrote for anyone who battles daily with their inner critic, or wrestles with the beast of depression. “Hooked Your Heart,” “Clumsy Heart,” “Cage Without A Key,” “Love Is,” and “Hold On” round out Metaphora.
On the advice of trusted friends, Jill reached out to producer Gus Van Go(Whitehorse, Arkells, Terra Lightfoot), who immediately took on the project and began to craft a complete vision for Metaphora. They recorded at Van Go’s studio in Brooklyn, NY, with creative partner Werner F and multi-platinum Grammy nominated producers Chris Soper and Jesse Singer, collectively known as Likeminds, who perform all the drums, piano and analogue synths on the album. Additional tracks were recorded and produced by Gavin Brown and Maia Davies at Toronto’s Noble Street Studios.
On Metaphora, Jill Barber bursts back onto the stage with a bold and daring offering of music, confidently executed with the style and grace of a woman who knows exactly what she’s doing.
Jill Barber North American Tour Dates:
6/18 – Winnipeg, MB – Winnipeg Jazz Festival
7/6 – Montreal, QC – Jazz Festival Theatre Masionneuve w/ Leslie Odom Jr.
8/4 – Kalso Bay Park, BC – Kaslo International Jazz Festival
9/22 Chicago, IL – Schubas
9/24 New York, NY – Rockwood Music Hall
9/25 New York, NY – Rockwood Music Hall
9/26 – Boston, MA – Regatta Bar
9/28 – Ottowa, ON – Ottawa National Arts Centre Theatre
A regular artist here at TME.fm Radio John Prine released a new album this year, here is the best review I could find. It’s followed up by an excellent biography and some tracks to listen to.
On his first album of new songs in over 13 years, John Prine baits you but good.
The opening tunes to “The Tree of Forgiveness” are presented with ragged simplicity and homey cheer. Then the veteran songsmith, from an emotive standpoint, tosses you off the cliff with works full of stark, devastating resolve. Then, just as you think his world (and, perhaps, yours) has fallen into ruin, he winds the record up with a reverie of mortality that makes the hereafter sound like a street parade.
To perhaps no one’s surprise, “The Tree of Forgiveness” enlists the help of Dave Cobb, who became the Americana producer of choice during Prine’s prolonged writing absence.
Wisely, Cobb keeps things simple, even when he invites a few friends and clients – Jason Isbell and Brandi Carlile, among them – to the sessions. Their contributions provide attractive color, but Prine’s best music has never involved fuss. He tells stories succinctly, keeping his songs focused on lyrics of Mark Twain-ish worldliness with melodies dressed by the lightest and most open of folk melodies.
So it’s business as usual to hear a back porch reverie like “Knockin’ On Your Screen Door” with its sleepy summertime candor and references to sweet potato wine and George Jones 8 track tapes masking a sheepish sense of loneliness at the record’s onset. Three songs later, though, the album heads into the abyss with “Summer’s End,” a tune whose delicacy doesn’t even pretend to hide its sense of loss. “You never know how far from home you’re feeling until you watch the shadows cross the ceiling.” The song’s resulting sadness takes hold so immediately that it’s easy to overlook how graceful and gorgeous the melodic structure is.
But there has also been a mischievous slant to some of Prine’s music that regularly runs hand in hand with homespun, but very pointed social commentary. Case in point is “Lonesome Friends of Science.” It’s partly a slow-poke country rebuke of fact-denying politicos, but it’s mostly another worldly washing of hands, much in the way the classic “Fish and Whistle” was four decades ago. “The lonesome friends of science say the world will end most any day. Well, if it does, then that’s okay, ‘cause I don’t live here anyway.”
The mood is gloriously reprised for the album closing “When I Get to Heaven,” a view of the afterlife both affirmative in its abounding sense of forgiveness but ripe with show biz panache. “As God is my witness, I’m getting back into show business, open up a nightclub called The Tree of Forgiveness and forgive everybody who ever done me any harm.” But Prine saves his prime agenda for the pearly gates to the end as a chorus of laughing children and kazoos ring out. “This old man is going to town.” Sounds like heaven to me.
Artist Biography by Jason Ankeny
One of the most celebrated singer/songwriters of his generation, John Prine is a master storyteller whose work is often witty and always heartfelt, frequently offering a sly but sincere reflection of his Midwestern roots. While Prine‘s songs are often rooted in folk and country flavors, he’s no stranger to rock & roll, R&B, and rockabilly, and he readily adapts his rough but expressive voice to his musical surroundings. And though Prine has never scored a major hit of his own, his songs have been recorded by a long list of well-respected artists, including Johnny Cash, Bonnie Raitt, Kris Kristofferson, George Strait, Bette Midler, Paul Westerberg, and Dwight Yoakam.
John Prine was born October 10, 1946, in Maywood, Illinois. Raised by parents firmly rooted in their rural Kentucky background, at age 14 Prine began learning to play the guitar from his older brother while taking inspiration from his grandfather, who had played with Merle Travis. After a two-year tenure in the U.S. Army, Prine became a fixture on the Chicago folk music scene in the late ’60s, befriending another young performer named Steve Goodman.
Prine‘s compositions caught the ear of Kris Kristofferson, who was instrumental in helping him win a recording contract. In 1971, he went to Memphis to record his eponymously titled debut album; though not a commercial success, songs like “Sam Stone,” the harsh tale of a drug-addled Vietnam veteran, won critical approval. Neither 1972’s Diamonds in the Rough nor 1973’s Sweet Revenge fared any better on the charts, but Prine‘s work won great renown among his fellow performers; the Everly Brothers covered his song “Paradise,” while both Bette Midler and Joan Baezoffered renditions of “Hello in There.”
For 1975’s Common Sense, Prine turned to producer Steve Cropper, the highly influential house guitarist for the Stax label; while the album’s sound shocked the folk community with its reliance on husky vocals and booming drums, it served notice that Prine was not an artist whose work could be pigeonholed, and was his only LP to reach the U.S. Top 100. Steve Goodman took over the reins for 1978’s folky Bruised Orange, but on 1979’s Pink Cadillac, Prine took another left turn and recorded an electric rockabilly workout produced at Sun Studios by the label’s legendary founder Sam Phillips, and his son Knox.
In 1998, while Prine was working on an album of male/female country duets, he was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma, with the cancer forming on the right side of his neck. Prine underwent surgery and radiation treatment for the cancer, and in 1999 was well enough to complete the album, which was released as In Spite of Ourselves and featured contributions from Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams, Trisha Yearwood, Patty Loveless, Connie Smith, and more. In 2000, Prine re-recorded 15 of his best-known songs (partly to give his voice a workout following his treatment, but primarily so Oh Boy would own recordings of his earlier hits) for an album called Souvenirs, originally issued in Germany but later released in the United States. In 2005, he released Fair & Square, a collection of new songs, followed by a concert tour. Two years later, alongside singer and guitarist Mac Wiseman, Prine issued Standard Songs for Average People, a collection of the two musicians’ interpretations of 14 folk and country classics. In Person & on Stage, a collection of performances from various concert tours, appeared in 2010.
We’re excited to share the first taste from Nashville sing-songwriter Charlie Whitten’s new EP today! You can head over to Atwood Magazine to check out the wonderful track review they’ve done up.
— Charlie Whitten grew up during the last gasp of the 20th century, a time when grungy rock bands and teen idols ruled the airwaves. You can’t blame the guy for looking back a bit, for rustling through his Dad’s collection of vintage records and finding some better music to soundtrack his life. Years later, the Nashville-based songwriter is rolling those influences into his own sound, a mellow brand of folk-rock that tips its hat to Pink Floyd’s psychedelic swirl one minute and Simon and Garfunkel’s acoustic wistfulness the next.
Some would call him an old soul. Others would just say he’s got good taste.
“For me, the ‘60s and ‘70s were the golden age for songwriting,” he says. “That’s when songs seemed to be the real focus, and people reached outside the box. The chords and melodies used were unheard of.”
Dreaming, Whitten’s 2012 debut, channeled some of the trippier sounds that came out of those two decades, from Dark Side of the Moon to Big Star’s Sister Lovers. The album was lush. It was dreamy. Keyboards, horns, and percussion collided, creating a soft foundation for Whitten’s vocals and guitar leads. When it came time to write songs for 2014’s Hey Love, though, Whitten took the electric guitar out of the forefront and focused on a quieter, stripped-down sound. In other words: less David Gilmour, more Don McLean.
A concept album about searching for love, Hey Love begins and ends with different sections of the same song. Fashioned like bookends, the first half tells the story of a couple parting ways, each partner in search of something else. In the second, they reconcile, knowing that things might not be perfect… but at least they’re real. Whitten took a similar approach to the album itself, which was recorded during a series of live sessions with a four-piece band. Overdubs were eventually added, too, but Whitten put his foot down when it came to the use of a click track. He didn’t want that. He wanted the songs to sway, to sound natural, to sound like songs.
“Any Charlie Whitten album has to sound like a band album,” he explains, “and I didn’t want a band of session players. I wanted a group of friends, of creative thinkers who could play the songs with feeling. I think a music album should be very similar to a photo album: a series of ‘pictures’ with the people you know, things you’ve seen, and places you’ve been within a period of time.”
Maybe that’s why Hey Love sounds so comfortable, so familiar. The songs tackle big subjects, but they do so with small, laidback touches: a whistling solo here, a burst of organ there, and a whole lot of melody throughout.
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