Tag: Folk
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Bob Dylan ‘Highway 61 Revisited’ (1965)
By 1965 Bob Dylan had already become one of the most important voices in American music. His poetic lyrics and sharp social commentary had elevated folk beyond simple protest songs, making it something more literary and deeply personal. In a decade filled with civil unrest and cultural change, Dylan’s words gave people a sense of…
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Milton Nascimento & Lo Borges ‘Clube Da Esquina’ (1972)
Recorded in 1972 under Brazil’s oppressive military dictatorship, Clube de Esquina represents both a musical triumph as well as a quiet act of resistance. At a time when censorship and fear defined daily life, Milton Nascimento and the 20-year-old Lô Borges gathered a collective of musicians to create something transcendent—a lush, double album that celebrated…
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Jill Sobule ‘Jill Sobule’ (1995)
Known for her contribution to the iconic 90’s comedy Clueless, Jill Sobule was a songwriter who focused on ironic story-driven character studies very much in line with the songwriting craft that dominated the 90’s. Quirky and irreverent. Bold and unique. It’s what defined her work until her unfortunate passing earlier this year. Standout Songs: “I…
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Once ‘The Soundtrack’ (2007)
In college one of my closest friends Zach and I became utterly obsessed with the movie Once as well as its soundtrack. The movie is an incredible love story that features Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová (who are also members of the band The Swell Season, which yes is kind of confusing). In the movie…
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Tony Rice Unit ‘Manzanita’ (1979)
Tony Rice Unit’s Manzanita blends traditional bluegrass roots with the free-flowing feel of folk and acoustic jazz with a loose, natural swing to it. All the stringed instruments (guitar, mandolin, fiddle, bass) dance around each other in the background while Rice’s flatpicking remains front and center. It sounds like a front porch jam session played…
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The Lumineers ‘The Lumineers’ (2012)
The Lumineers have had some pretty massive global success over the years (especially with “Ho Hey” off this debut album) and for all intents and purposes they’re massive superstars. The whole Boom-Clap suspendercore genre has been a go-to formula for artists in the last decade, combining the sentiments of mustachio’d Brooklyn hipsters riding unicycles around…
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Phil Ochs ‘I Ain’t Marching Anymore’ (1965)
Phil Ochs’ album I Ain’t Marching Anymore, released during the Vietnam War, features protest songs addressing war, racism, and social injustice, blending satire with emotional depth and capturing a pivotal time in American history.
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Fink ‘Hard Believer’ (2014)
Hard Believer is an album that has stuck with me since the first time I heard it. There’s a real pain underneath the surface of each and every song, a long forgotten wound that has been covered by scar tissue and hardened with the passage of time. Delicate acoustic guitar lines weave through shadowy atmospheric…
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Led Zeppelin ‘III’ (1970)
Led Zeppelin’s third album marked a sharp departure from the band’s first two records, blending their signature hard rock with a newfound acoustic sensibility. All this makes sense considering the historical context here– III was Zep’s third album in only a year and a half, an incredibly prolific run over such a short period of…
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Tim O’Brien ‘Rock In My Shoe’ (2006)
I’m in Nashville this week for a combo trip of work and pleasure. The Music City is such an incredible place– from the bright lights of Broadway to the mood of Music Row, every time I’m out here I have a blast. This evening I’ll be headed to the iconic Station Inn to watch famed…
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Mary O’Hara ‘Down by the Glenside’ (1958)
Mary O’Hara’s Down by the Glenside is a beautiful collection of traditional Irish songs, showcasing her whimsical soprano and delicate harp playing that bring these folk melodies to life. Her voice floats effortlessly in these hauntingly beautiful and bitter sweet renditions, capturing the deep emotion and storytelling of Irish music. One of the standout tracks,…
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Simon & Garfunkel ‘Bridge over Troubled Water’ (1970)
By 1970 Simon & Garfunkel were already household names, celebrated for their rich harmonies and evocative storytelling that defined a generation. Their previous album Bookends had solidified their place as folk rock icons with hits like “Mrs. Robinson” and “A Hazy Shade of Winter,” blending poetic lyrics with lush, genre-defining arrangements. The duo’s ability to…
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Neil Young ‘Harvest’ (1972)
Harvest would end up defining not only Neil Young’s career but also an era of introspective, folk-infused rock. At the time Young was already known for his poetic lyricism and achingly honest voice, traits that had made him a beloved figure in the folk-rock world, and his work with CSNY (specifically their masterful Deja Vu…
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Lee Greenwood ‘American Patriot’ (1992)
Today is election day in the United States and no matter which side of the political aisle you stand on it sounds like everyone feels like it’s the most important election in the history of human civilization. With that backdrop I’d say it’s probably in your best interest to get out there and vote and…
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Gordon Lightfoot ‘If You Could Read My Mind’ (1970)
Gordon Lightfoot’s has an enduring appeal that stems from a rather extraordinary gift for melody and his captivating storytelling. With a career spanning over six decades he carved a unique space in folk and pop music, seamlessly blending poetic lyrics with an accessibility that gave him an everyman type feel. He was considerate and not…
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The National ‘Boxer’ (2007)
It’s been a few years since I’ve listened to Boxer. I burned through this album during my early 20’s (it was my de facto soundtrack during my commute up highway 280 from Cupertino to San Mateo during my first job out of college) and it sounds just as great as it did back then. The…
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Joni Mitchell ‘Blue’ (1971)
Evaluating the importance of Joni Mitchell’s Blue over fifty years since it was released is a unique experience. From a contemporary listening perspective it’s a lovely folk album, filled with wonderful harmonies and rock-solid storytelling that explores the dynamics of romantic relationships and the swirling emotions that come along with them. But from a historical…
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Slaid Cleaves ‘Broke Down’ (2000)
I was first introduced to Slaid Cleaves by one of my closest friends during freshman year of high school. His father was a huge folk music fan and always had a ton of new and interesting records from lesser known artists lying around the house and would always share them with a smile on his…
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Bob Dylan ‘The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan’ (1963)
It’s taken me forever to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard in this case) on Bob Dylan for a variety of reasons— this is America’s historical orator, one of the greatest musical poets of all-time, a man of substance and supreme conviction. One of the reasons my wife and I named our son…
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The Youngbloods ‘The Youngbloods’ (1967)
Sometimes I like to dig through old 60’s folk rock bands who never really made it and check out their albums for no other reason than I enjoy the blind discovery inherent in the process but also the familiarity of what you’re going to get. So many bands in that era and genre of music…
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John Denver ‘Poems, Prayers and Promises’ (1971)
My first memory of John Denver ironically has nothing to do with his music– it was the cult classic movie Dumb and Dumber starring the iconic Jim Carrey (Lloyd Christmas) and Jeff Daniels (Harry Dunne). In the movie Lloyd and Harry are driving to Aspen, Colorado to meet a girl Lloyd has fallen head over…
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The Louvin Brothers ‘Tragic Songs of Life’ (1956)
Tragic Songs of Life is the epitome of traditional country music, featuring the aspects that has made the genre an American mainstay for the past 100 years. Two-part harmonies (one low, one high), 3/4 time signatures with a pitter patter of drum brushes, jangly acoustic guitars that skip and bounce between rapid-fire notes, and songwriting…
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Butch Walker ‘Over the Holidays and Under the Influence’ (2017)
Butch Walker is one of America’s best songwriters and producers that you’ve likely never heard of. His personal catalog is extensive and filled with his unique blend of grimy rock bangers sandwiched in between saccharine sweet love songs (The Rise and Fall of…Butch Walker and The Let’s-Go-Out-Tonites being his definitive solo album in my book)…
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Van Morrison ‘Astral Weeks’ (1968)
Every morning I try and find some time in the day to take a walk by myself. With a family of five including our dog and full-time employment this isn’t always easy or achievable, but it is something I aspire to accomplish. There’s a real calmness in the brisk morning air and the relative quiet…
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Feist ‘Let It Die’ (2004)
My first exposure to Feist was through the excellent Broken Social Scene, effectively an art collective doubling as a massive musical experiment. The group has boasted nearly 25 members over the past two decades (at one point having 16 at a single point during the early 2000’s). Feist was one of the throng, played a…
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William Wild ‘William Wild’ (2014)
Along with having an absolutely kick ass album cover (this cover is seriously great), William Wild’s self-titled debut is a rollicking fun ride through Americana, Western folk, and 70’s rock and roll. Wild’s voice reminds me a whole helluva lot of Petter Ericson Stakee from Alberta Cross with a heavy dose of Local Natives vocal…
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James Taylor ‘Sweet Baby James’ (1970)
James Taylor is one of the best-selling artists of all-time, selling over 100 million records throughout his 50+ year career. He’s best known for his sophomore album Sweet Baby James, a somber and self-reflective effort that helped to define the burgeoning singer-songwriter genre in the early 70’s and played an outsized role in the popularization…
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Nina Simone ‘Wild Is The Wind’ (1966)
When I first heard Wild Is The Wind it caught me completely off-guard. It was a beautiful summer morning in sunny Northern California, I was driving the kids to daycare, and they were in an exceptionally good mood giggling in the backseat. I was feeling inspired after a night out where I met about 30…
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Cat Stevens ‘Tea for the Tillerman’ (1970)
Cat Stevens (now known as Yusuf Islam) is a pivotal figure in folk rock history, both for his serene songwriting compositions as well as his decision in 1979 to leave his musical career at its zenith and devote himself to educational and philanthropic causes in the Muslim community after converting to the religion two years…
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Goose ‘Dripfield’ (2022)
It’s rare that a jam band can translate what makes them special throughout the course of an entire studio album. There’s something that is indelible about witnessing a live performance from a band like Goose or Grateful Dead that transcends the experience of listening of music through headphones– the buzz of spontaneity that permeates the…
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Zach Bryan ‘American Heartbreak’ (2022)
It’s not often you get a non-compilation triple album, but there’s nothing really normal about Zach Bryan’s rise to fame. A U.S. Navy veteran who enlisted at the age of 17, Bryan rose to prominence five years ago the way so many breakthrough artists are nowadays– through a viral YouTube video. This led to his…
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Nick Drake ‘Pink Moon’ (1972)
The voice of reclusive youth, Nick Drake’s music was woefully unappreciated during his short life. When he died at the age of 25 due to an overdose on antidepressants, Drake was a relatively unknown musician– just north of 50 people attended his funeral, a relatively close-knit affair. It was only after nearly a decade had…
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Justin Townes Earle ‘Kids in the Street’ (2017)
Americana has been having somewhat of a renaissance in the past decade or so, both in pop culture as well as in popular music, and the late Justin Townes Earle was a beloved figure in that sphere of the world. He possessed an unrelenting honest approach to the craft of songwriting that both celebrated the…
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Jewel ‘Pieces Of You’ (1995)
Jewel’s personal history is quite intriguing. She grew up in the wilderness of Alaska on a 770 acre homestead that lacked running water, had no heat, only possessed a single outhouse, and her primary food source was anything her family could kill or can. She had a love for music at a young age– growing…
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Bon Iver ‘For Emma, Forever Ago’ (2008)
The story behind the recording of For Emma Forever Ago is almost mythological in nature. Bon Iver (who at that point was simply known as Justin Vernon) had just gone through two particularly nasty breakups– the first with his band of childhood friends that had been together for over a decade, and the second to…
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Pony Bradshaw ‘Calico Jim’ (2021)
Taking place in the rural decay of North Georgia, Pony Bradshaw’s 2021 classic Calico Jim chronicles the lives and stories of a myriad of eccentric characters existing on the outskirts of society– sixth generation hillbillies, snakeskin-boot wearing rich men, crystal meth-addicted Mennonites, and everything in between. These are stories that exist in 21st Century America,…
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