Mike Scheidt, John Baizley & Nate Hall - Songs of Townes Van Zandt Vol. II (Album Review)

Album Type : Full Length

Date Released : Out Now

Label : My Proud Mountain/Neurot Recordings

Songs of Townes Van Zandt Vol. II, track listing :

1. To Live Is To Fly (Mike Scheidt)
2. Pancho & Lefty (Nate Hall)
3. St. John The Gambler (John Baizley & Katie Jones)
4. Rake (Mike Scheidt)
5. Waitin’ Around To Die (Nate Hall & Stevie Floyd)
6. For The Sake Of The Song (John Baizley & Katie Jones)
7. Highway Kind (Mike Scheidt)
8. Our Mother The Mountain (Nate Hall & Dorthia Cottrell)
9. If I Needed You (John Baizley & Katie Jones)

Review :

The second installment of covers of the country legend's songbook features alumni of the alternative metal scene interpreting a singer songwriter who was terminally under appreciated during his life/career but whose status has grown in death. Can the songs here live up to Steve Earle's (retracted) claim that Van Zandt was the better of Bob Dylan in the song-writing stakes?

Both To Live is To Fly and Pancho and Lefty make a convincing argument, with stripped down voice and acoustic arrangements allowing Scheidt and Hall, respectively, to put their own talent on display and stamp the songs as their own. St John The Gambler has Baizley working with a more lush arrangement and the boon of a female vocalist in accompaniment which contrasts well with his own voice.

Thereafter the album flows well- three artists of relatively disparate acts produce versions of Van Zandt's songs which are by no means samey, but which are all of a type. If you enjoy singer songwriter material of the more sombre type, you will find much to enjoy here. Nowhere near as “country” as Van Zandt's 70's filmic compatriot David Allan Coe but not as fokey as say Dylan's earlier material, I would postulate that Van Zandt pitches as a more sombre and haunted Neil Young (no comparison in voice, or even content, but the terrain inhabited is not too far away).

The content is certainly dark- Waitin' Around to Die is no easy listen and nor is The Highway Kind. The songs here reek of alcohol and missed opportunities. They clearly resonate with members of the metal/alternative community and thus I would recommend this record to any music fan and indeed, any heavy music fan. The acoustic may not be your conduit of choice normally, but you may find a lot in here that is pitch black in theme and delivery. A strong collection that may well serve to introduce fans of the artists here to reach back into the world of outlaw country and of a man who never found the success he deserved.

Words by : Richard Maw

You can get it here

For more information :

http://www.neurotrecordings.com
http://www.facebook.com/neurotrecordings
http://www.youtube.com/user/NeurotRecordings
http://www.myproudmountain.com

The Sludgelord News : Hear Mike Scheidt’s rendition of “To Live Is To Fly": SONGS OF TOWNES VAN ZANDT VOL II

The opening track to Songs of Townes Van Zandt Vol II, a solo rendition of “To Live Is To Fly” performed by Mike Scheidt is the latest audio insight into this new release. Scheidt, whose main act, YOB, recently signed to Neurot Recordings (releasing Songs Of Townes Van Zandt Vol II in the US), recalls where he first learned of Townes Van Zandt and became part of the man’s obsessive fanbase...

"I worked in a fantastic guitar shop called Mckenzie River Music in Eugene Oregon from 1996-2003,” Scheidt begins. “This dusty, cluttered guitar shop was no ordinary shop. We had the best of the best. Pre-World War II Martin and Gibson acoustic and electric guitars, vintage 50s/60s Fender guitars and amps, the most valuable and collectable gear you could buy, along with player's priced quality gear. It was Dick Gunn, the shop's senior salesman and RIPPING country picker, who first turned me on to Townes. It was a gift for Christmas, a CD with both High Low And In Between, and The Late Great Townes Van Zandt. Upon first listen, I knew I was listening to something that wasn't just great. It smacked of Truth, capital T. Whether that truth be tender and lighthearted, or take you to places so low that you could hardly pick yourself back up, it was so heavy. The way he combined language and guitar chords is one of a kind. Untouchable. Dick Gunn passed away in 2007, and I have yet to still reconcile his loss inside of myself. He taught me so much, gave me everything he had to teach as a player and a human. Listening to Townes functions on multiple levels for me. One of the most treasured experiences of listening to Townes is remembering my friend Dick Gunn, how we picked together, how we talked about Townes and knew that we knew that we knew he was THE BEST. Through and through."

http://www.myproudmountain.com

Source : Rarely Unable

The Sludgelord News : SONGS OF TOWNES VAN ZANDT VOL. II, ALBUM DETAILS AND FIRST SINGLE FEATURING JOHN BAIZLEY & KATIE JONES

In 2012 the label My Proud Mountain was established specifically to pay tribute to Townes Van Zandt. The first release, Songs of Townes Van Zandt featured Scott Kelly & Steve Von Till from Neurosis, as well as Scott 'Wino" Weinrich from Saint Vitus, The Obsessed and more, each taking on the troubadour's music.

On Monday 10th March, My Proud Mountain shall release Songs of Townes Van Zandt Vol. II in the UK/Europe in partnership with Neurot Recordings, who shall take care of the US release. This second volume features an outstanding cast of artists who front full-time bands in addition to releasing their own solo and collaborative works, these are; Mike Scheidt (YOB, VHÖL), Nate Hall (USX), John Baizley (Baroness), Katie Jones, Stevie Floyd (Dark Castle, Taurus) and Dorthia Cottrell (Windhand).

We reveal a stream of the album's closing rendition of "If I Needed You", as performed by John Baizley and Katie Jones, who both provide a mixture of heartfelt vocals to an acoustic backdrop in their remake of this beautiful yet gloomy classic.

LISTEN NOW: http://noisey.vice.com/blog/baroness-us-christmas-windhand-yob-townes-van-zandt-baizley

Songs of Townes Van Zandt Vol II Track Listing:

1. To Live Is To Fly (Mike Scheidt)

2. Pancho & Lefty (Nate Hall)

3. St. John The Gambler (John Baizley & Katie Jones)

4. Rake (Mike Scheidt)

5. Waitin' Around To Die (Nate Hall & Stevie Floyd)

6. For The Sake Of The Song (John Baizley & Katie Jones)

7. Highway Kind (Mike Scheidt)

8. Our Mother The Mountain (Nate Hall & Dorthia Cottrell)

9. If I Needed You (John Baizley & Katie Jones)

Source : Rarely Unable PR

Scott Kelly & The Road Home - 'The Forgiven Ghost In Me' (Album Review)

By: Aaron Pickford

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 13/082012

Label: My Proud Mountain/

Neurot Recordings

The songs are wonderfully spacious and Scott Kelly appears to have mastered the art of expression through emotional purging.  A truly magnificent record that penetrates your senses to the very core.  Wonderfully crafted and just a pleasure to listen too.

‘The Forgiven Ghost In Me’ CD//LP tracklisting:

1. A Spirit Redeemed to the Sun (03:01)

2. The Forgiven Ghost in Me (04:55)

3. In the Waking Hours (04:28)

4. Within It Blood  (06:51)

5. We Let the Hell Come (06:12)

6. The Sun Is Dreaming in the Soul (03:52)

7. The Field That Surrounds Me (06:59)

8. We Burn Through The Night (05:06)

Scott Kelly and The Road Home is:

Scott Kelly | Acoustic guitars, all vocals
Greg Dale | guitar
Noah Landis | Baritone guitar & Keyboards

The Review

Well, what more is left to be said about an artist, who is 30 years into a musical career?  In truth Scott Kelly has been a leading light and flag bearer in his musical endeavours, from the early recordings of Neurosis, with the roots of the band firmly influenced by hardcore, Scott Kelly and his cohorts have firmly transcended the boundaries of heavy music,  arguably starting on that journey with the release of ‘Souls at Zero’.  During the 20 yrs or so since then, Messrs Kelly, Von Till et al, have released some of the most pioneering and groundbreaking records committed to wax. 

Few can doubt, or would deny his influence on the world of heavy music, however at the same time, as with many artists, Scott Kelly has such an outpouring of influences that there is often a need to commit such writings outside the boundaries of their main band. 

‘The Forgiven Ghost in Me’ is Scott Kelly's third collection of acoustic based songs and what we get is 8 tracks of charming, heartfelt and emotionally charged songs at their most raw and pure. A collection of cryptic writings in one sense, given that, we can only surmise or interpret what these songs truly represent.  There is something to be said about the nakedness or vulnerability of these 8 acoustic tracks, in so much as there is a virtuous quality to them and the embodiment of emotional expression.  It is an album characterised by raw beauty, unpolished and powerfully expressive, without concealment, disguise, or embellishment. 

‘A Spirit Redeemed to the Sun’ is a great start to the record, starting as it would appear to be Mr. Kelly drawing breathe, before he prepares to commit himself on this musical journey.  It is sparse; in so much as it is mainly his southern tinged Marlboro soaked vocals and his acoustic guitar.  Reminding me of a soundtrack to those old Clint Eastwood western movies, perhaps the man with no name musing about his next bounty, sounding road weary and bullet ridden.  Each of the subsequent tracks is itself its own journey. ‘The Forgiven Ghost in Me’ seems to be very spiritual and whilst that might sound obvious given the name of the track, it is nonetheless a beautiful mournful and emotional track.   The overarching flavour of the song being a repeated arpeggio from the acoustic guitar and a great chorus which is greatly supported by a dual vocal delivery. 

In order to truly feel the quality and depth of these songs, you have to be prepared to immerse and commit yourself to the album.  It may sound contrived, however I felt myself closing my eyes to gain a glimpse and insight into the journey that Scott and The Road Home take us.  In fact when you truly shut yourself off to the world and you devote yourself to the music, this is when you are truly rewarded.  I felt that there was an outpouring of emotion coming from me and felt that the record was indeed taking me back or reflecting upon my own journeys I have taken and paths I have chosen, whether they be right or wrong.   

Whether it is the intention of Scott Kelly, the record feels soaked in melancholy and that is not just from the gravelled throated vocals, but from the acoustic guitar too. Seemingly used as medicine or therapy exorcising the man of his pains or being used as catharsis.  In turn creating something truly beautiful, poignant and memorable.  The songs are wonderfully spacious and Scott Kelly appears to have mastered the art of expression through emotional purging.  A truly magnificent record that penetrates your senses to the very core.  Wonderfully crafted and just a pleasure to listen too. 

Band info: Facebook | Neurot Store