Quick Picks | December 2021

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Quick Picks

Album | EP | Single

The Sound Cafe Rating

5 star = essential, 4 star = excellent, 3 star = good, 2 = fans/collectors, 1 = for completionists only

Dion: Stomping Ground

Dion is following up his critically acclaimed and commercially successful 2020 album release Blues With Friends with Stomping Ground, a new album that finds him collaborating yet again with music greats with whom he shares mutual admiration. Released November 5, Stomping Ground was produced by Wayne Hood with Dion and will be released through Joe Bonamassa and Roy Weisman's KTBA Records. Most of the album's songs were written by Dion and his songwriting partner Mike Aquilina. Guest artists appearing on tracks with Dion include Boz Scaggs, Mark Knopfler, Eric Clapton, Peter Frampton, Patti Scialfa, Bruce Springsteen, Billy F Gibbons, Keb' Mo', Sonny Landreth, Joe Menza, Mike Menza, Marcia Ball, Jimmy Vivino, Rickie Lee Jones, Wayne Hood, Joe Bonamassa and G.E. Smith with Pete Townshend's liner notes which Dion characterizes as "amazing."

diondimucci.com

Christy Moore: Flying Into Mystery

The new studio album, Flying Into Mystery, by legendary singer-songwriter Christy Moore has been released along with the single, 'Clock Winds Down'. The track arrives alongside a music video, featuring artwork by renowned Irish illustrator David Rooney, which was animated by Simone Heineck.

The single was written by Jim Page, who wrote 'Hiroshima Nagasaki Russian Roulette', famously recorded by Moving Hearts. 'Clock Winds Down' addresses the impact of climate change, with the lyrics featuring a shout-out to Greta Thunberg.

www.christymoore.com

Kiely Connell: Calumet Queen

Hailing from Hammond, Indiana and currently based in Nashville, Tennessee, Americana artist Kiely Connell blends working-class Rust Belt grit with Southern charm, defying regional classification and painting a detailed portrait of a life in modern America. On her debut LP, Calumet Queen, Connell pays tribute to her hometown near the Calumet River that shaped her personality while reflecting on the struggles one must endure to thrive in a harsh and often isolating world.

www.kielyconnell.com

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss: Raise The Roof

Recorded at Nashville's Sound Emporium Studios, sessions for Raise The Roof began in late 2019 and wrapped just weeks before the world went into lockdown. Like Raising Sand, T Bone Burnett produced the collection, which delivers a cosmic collision of early blues, country deep cuts, revolutionary folk-rock and lost soul music written by legends and unsung heroes like Merle Haggard, Allen Toussaint, The Everly Brothers, Anne Briggs, Geeshie Wiley, Bert Jansch, Ola Belle Reed, Brenda Burns and more.

www.plantkrauss.com

Jesse Cook: Libre

Jesse Cook — the multi-Platinum/Gold award-winning and internationally acclaimed producer, composer, and guitarist — has announced his Canadian and U.S. “Tempest II” tour, alongside the release of his new music video for the song 'Oran,” and another single, “Updraft”!

The two songs arrive ahead of Jesse Cook’s 11th studio album, Libre. Out Friday, December 3rd via Jesse’s own Coach House label imprint, distributed by Outside Music/Redeye, the 10-track album combines Cook’s iconic Spanish guitar flair with Algerian multi-instrumentalist Fethi Nadjem, modern trap rhythms and 808 beats.

www.jessecook.com

Willie Nelson: The Willie Nelson Family

As its title indicates, The Willie Nelson Family includes several of Nelson’s kin, including his sister Bobbi, his sons Lukas and Micah, and his daughters Amy and Paula. The album also features contributions from Paul English, Nelson’s longtime drummer and confidant, who died early last year at 87.

The record includes versions of George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass” and Kris Kristofferson’s “Why Me,” in addition to the Carter Family favourite “Keep On the Sunnyside.”

willienelson.com

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