Tag: Folk Rock
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The Wallflowers ‘Bringing Down The Horse’ (1996)
Any time your father is one of the greatest American songwriters of all-time, expectations are gonna be a little high. It’s an almost impossible scenario to carve your own niche under the looming backdrop of all-time albums like Highway 61 Revisited and Blood on the Tracks, and yet Wallflowers lead singer Jakob Dylan (who if…
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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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Warren Zevon ‘Excitable Boy’ (1978)
Warren Zevon was the king of sardonic sharp wit, one of those rare artists who was able to cover the obscene and macabre and yet leave you bobbing along with a smile on your face. The title track from Excitable Boy is a sterling example of this splendid artistry– the song details a young misanthrope…
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Jethro Tull ‘Aqualung’ (1971)
If you’ve ever listened to a man play a flute and say “goddamn that would sound dope as hell in a rock and roll band” then boy do I have an album for you. Jethro Tull’s 1971 prog-rock classic Aqualung is notable for many things– its reflection on spirituality and the sometimes fraught relationship it…
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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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James Bay ‘Chaos And The Calm’ (2014)
James Bay’s Chaos And The Calm was seemingly everywhere during the mid 2010’s– his husky emotive voice, dreamy clean guitars, and comfortably simple arrangements made him a household name, especially once “Hold Back The River” hit radio airwaves and launched him into a full blown superstar at the age of 24 years old. Bay isn’t…
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Fleet Foxes ‘Shore’ (2020)
Known for their majestic four-piece harmonies and folk wistfulness, Fleet Foxes is an indie rock darling in my group of friends. They are a band that has orbited around the sun of commercial success while never quite finding their way onto the surface, but that hasn’t kept them from weaving their way into my life…
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The Mamas & The Papas ‘If You Can Believe Your Eyes & Ears’ (1966)
Few bands can bring you back to a moment in time like The Mamas & The Papas can. Much like Credence Clearwater Revival has become synonymous with the Vietnam era, If You Can Believe Your Eyes & Ears sounds exactly like the late 60’s and the sunny periphery of the hippie movement– laid back carefree…
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Ben Rector ‘The Joy of Music’ (2022)
Ben Rector is somewhat of a singer-songwriter darling, rising to prominence in 2015 off the back of his Billboard-charting single “Brand New” which put him firmly on the map in the mainstream. A handful of world tours and smash-hits later, Rector got married and had three kids. And while he never was an artist who…
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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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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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Melissa Etheridge ‘Yes I Am’ (1993)
Melissa Etheridge and “Come To My Window” in particular was a staple for me and my first girlfriend in 8th grade. It was our record and a fixture in the mixtapes we would trade with one another to help articulate our feelings. For that reason Etheridge will always represent young love and all the naive…
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Simon & Garfunkel ‘Sounds of Silence’ (1966)
Simon & Garfunkel hadn’t yet fully reached the height of their powers when Sounds of Silence was released. In fact, the duo had toiled in relative obscurity for nearly a decade prior. The childhood friends met and wrote their first song together in sixth grade, were signed to their first record contract at the age…
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Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young ‘Deja Vu’ (1970)
From the opening moments of Deja Vu, when Stephen Stills’ iconic acoustic guitar kicks in and the three-piece harmony hits your eardrums, it’s evident you’re about to bear witness to musical greatness. Out of all the iconic protest folk rock that entered the American consciousness during the late 60’s and early 70’s, Deja Vu stands…
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Nathaniel Rateliff ‘And It’s Still Alright’ (2020)
Nathaniel Rateliff is one of my favorite contemporary singers. His voice has a real richness on the low end and when he decides too really let loose the power he delivers almost sounds unhinged. I also love his weird articulation of certain words– I don’t know this for sure, but I’m pretty sure Rateliff purposefully…
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Tracy Chapman ‘Tracy Chapman’ (1988)
Tracy Chapman began 1987 busking on the streets of Boston. She ended 1989 with three Grammy wins, a multi-platinum record, and over one million records sold in the first two weeks of this album’s release. It’s an incredible story, and one that set the stage for the singer-songwriter revolution that swarmed the United States during…
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Traffic ‘Traffic’ (1968)
The 1960’s were a wild time in music history. Take Traffic for example– in three short years from 1967 to 1970 founding member Dave Mason recorded the band’s first album Mr. Fantasy, subsequently left the group, decided to re-join in the middle of the recording this album, and then abruptly left the band for good…
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Love ‘Forever Changes’ (1967)
Love’s 1967 album Forever Changes is a cult favorite for good reason. Disillusioned with the ignorance of the 60’s Flower Power era, Love penned a poignant criticism of the excess it saw eroding the counterculture movement at the time. This album (correctly) predicted the unrest that would soon follow in the late 60’s/early 70’s, and…
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