Sugar Hill
It’s been a long two and a half years since Lee’s last release, “Heartbreak Hill,” a revisiting of songs by former employer Emmylou Harris. Still, the five-time Guitar Player Magazine best country guitarist is maintaining his improved pace, issuing three studio albums in the last four years; before that, there was a 14-year dry spell.
Western Seeds
For several years, I See Hawks in L.A. have been filling the void left in the Los Angeles country-rock scene by (the hopefully only hibernating) Beachwood Sparks.
Hungry for Music
The sheer size of this tribute speaks volumes (three, to be exact) about the peer recognition troubadour Case has.
Dualtone
When Bare slowly croons “Are you sincere?” during the opening bars of his first album in 22 years, he leaves no doubt as to his own sincerity. His slightly raspy but still intact baritone cuts clean through the low tremolo of an electric guitar that lays like a blanket over a strummed acoustic, before being joined by the tandem tinkling of piano and not-too-retro keyboard that culminate in a Roy-Orbison-esque chorus, complete with female backup singers and strings. And what’s that toward the end — a musical saw or maybe someone whistling?
