You Crazy Dreamers

Posted: 09 May 2009 05:50 AM PDT

I first wrote about Sam here. Since that time he’s been on a successful UK tour and has also now finished recording his second album, close to home. Not actually out for another couple of months or so on Leeds’ yadig records, it’s an album of original and traditional songs mostly about Yorkshire, Sam’s home county, but unless you know before listening which are the traditional tracks you would never guess as Sam’s music is a complete nod towards that sound . Well, perhaps apart from Lonely night at JoJo’s, a song about wanting to be anywhere but JoJo’s in London’s Soho district where it’s full of posing, coke snorting networking types only there to try and look cool pretending to dig the latest scene. Living in Brighton I know exactly the type he means, they’re normally the ones talking all the way through the gig louder than anyone else.

Lay a white rose, which incidentally is the emblem of Yorkshire is a brilliant fast paced start to the album all played majestically on his twelve string guitar, Stella, in which Sam tries to sum up what it was like being brought up in Yorkshire and his pride of being so, he succeeds. The pace slows a little for The Lullaby Of Leeds of which Sam says “As much as I adore folk and roots music I adore Buddy Holly and The Ramones too. I tried to write a pop song that people could sing along to” Well with the extremely catchy chorus “she’s the kinda girl I’d like to sing to, she’s the kinda girl that I’m bound to cling to, she’s the kinda trouble that i like to get into and I hope she’d like to get into me” it definitely has you singing along that’s for sure, great stuff and a highlight of the album for me along with the afore mentioned Lonely night at JoJo’s.

A great fun track on the album is The Yorkshire Tup which is apparantly about a massive sheep that seem to be commonplace in Addingham, the part of Yorkshire where Sam was brought up but please don’t let me give you the impression that you need to be from Yorkshire or even know where Yorkshire is to enjoy these brilliant songs because you don’t. I’m not from the Mississippi delta but can still dig the blues from and about that region. It’s the story’s, the passion and the remarkable playing that brings these songs to life. Basically, anyone who is a fan of old folk/blues that was made yesteryear like Charlie Patton, any of the blind boys Mctell, Johnson etc, or the skiffle of Lonnie Donegan will love Sam’s music. For a more modern day comparison perhaps look towards the like of Charlie Parr. There’s a late night drinking feel to this album, I could imagine sitting in a remote Yorkshire pub with the huge sheep roaming around, a few locals singing into the early hours drinking some local ale and maintaining all that is traditional about this kind of music, singing and playing the way they are meant to be done. I love those kind of nights which are sadly less and less frequent now many of these pubs and areas have become weekend homes for the rich. Perhaps there’s still a few in Yorkshire, who know? Sam? I know there’s still some of these places in Ireland where I’m certain Sam’s music would go down a treat.

There’s enough croakiness in Sam’s voice to suggest he’s drank plenty of whisky in his time and had a few late nights but unlike those fakers at JoJo’s, Sam is the real deal, he’s serious.

Some guest musicians on this album worth checking out are Pistol Pete Carlill and David Broad. Both from Yorkshire and can often be seen playing alongside Sam.

For now no downloads available but you can listen to a couple of tracks in the music player until I get permission to put one or two up perhaps nearer or just after the official release. I will also let you’s know when the album is released but for now there’s a few tracks you can grab from Sam’s website too. Enjoy.

Al’s Song - Serious Sam Barrett : Play Now | Play in Popup

The Lullaby of Leeds - Serious Sam Barrett: Play Now | Play in Popup

Song of the Night: “Angel Full Of Bourbon”

Posted: 08 May 2009 06:28 PM PDT

Photo: Brennan Cavanaugh 2006

So just started listening to M Shanghai String Band - and despite the name, I am not sure if they have any real Asian influences, but I can say that they are definitely a string band. They are described as an alternative bluegrass band and I have to say they might need a bit of acoustic and honky tonk to round out that synopsis! A little backstory of this project:

The M SHANGHAI STRING BAND of Brooklyn, New York, started in 2002 as a monthly show in the basement of a local Chinese restaurant, the M Shanghai Bistro. Locals began to call the band “M Shanghai”. The name stuck. The crowds grew. Their debut album, “Up From the Ground Below” (20 songs recorded in one day in the restaurant’s dining room) set the mission in motion…

Current release is the third album by this Brooklyn troupe and it is entitled “The Mapmaker’s Daughter” and is full of everything the below description boasts:

timeless original music played with a sense of abandon, captured completely live.

Enjoy my track of the night “Angel Full of Bourbon” with it’s harmonica and acoustic beauty. Just to show the diversity, enjoy a bonus of “Muleskin Girl” with it’s true string band extravaganza!

The Mapmaker's Daughter M Shanghai String Band
“Angel Full of Bourbon” (mp3)
from “The Mapmaker’s Daughter”