EmmyLou by First Aid Kit

This might be the sweetest sounding song I have heard this year. I had earlier spoken of this band. The Lions Roar off their last album was wonderful but this song singing to a lover asking him to be her Graham or Johnny, she will be Emmylou or June just hits the spot.

Harmonies that are like a country Cranberries and name dropping legendary in love rock and rollers like Gram Parsons, Johnny and June Cash, and the incomparable, and incidentally of the four the only one still with us, Emmylou Harris one senses First Aid Kit know their music history and have a clear path they wish to follow.

A great song on all levels.

Underwater Sunshine by The Counting Crows

I have been listening to this album for three months. The Counting Crows are one the bands that are always on my list of favorites. They actually are touring this summer, but did not come close enough for us to see them, which was a disappointment.

The Crows are not making much new music, just recently they released a Live album comprised of their classic debut album August and Everything After, and this album follows that pattern. Made up of covers of bands you have not heard of, popular songs of theirs never put on an album of original material and more the album may not be new songs but the Crows make every song they sing notably theirs.

The highlights on this album are many. The two songs that any Crows fans know but that only appeared on rare albums such as the August and Everything edition are Four White Stallions and Jumping Jesus. While both are strong Four White Stallions ranks in league with the best songs the band has ever recorded. Listen to the song a couple of times and you will never hear it without singing along.

Meet Me on the Ledge, Teenage Gravity, and You Ain't Going Nowhere are typical Crow songs. Adam Duritz vocals will always be easily identifiable from his talk sing approach to hos storytelling and some of these songs have the live feel that is missing from so much overproduced music these days.

The Crows could be one of the world's best cover bands, their version of Friend of the Devil is perhaps the best I have heard of that often covered song, and on this album their version of the Pure Prairie League seventies song Amii is, again, a song that you cannot help tapping your foot and singing along. A great version.

It seems like the legacy of Gram Parsons just gets longer and longer. Seeing Elizabeth Cook live a couple of weeks ago she did a Gram cover that was a highlight and Duritz and the Crows also do so. Not taking the easy route however the boys cover " Return of the Grievous Angel." No one betters Gram Parsons but the Crows arrangement is a little more folksy, a little less sparse, and it does well. The truth is each band should cover a Parsons song so that we can make sure new generations understand how great this singer who died way too young was.

This is a great album from a still great band.

John Prine

John Prine has been making music for a long time. I have heard his name around the fringes of my music knowledge for many years. Usually indicated as an influence of other artists I had never really explored his music.

Christmas in Prison is a song I have heard a couple times at Christmas when a Deejay tired of playing the standard accepted Rock Christmas Songs but that was my only experience.

Until today. Hearing a song called Paradise on Outlaw Country this morning I was struck by what a fine song it was. I love old school country, I like lyrics that tell a story. One cannot listen to Prine and not hear Springsteen and Gram Parsons and scores of other artists that truly have been influenced by John Prine.

Spotify makes it easy to explore new artists or older artists you never gave enough attention to. Tonight I have listened to about a half hour of Prine's music on random on Spotify. Hearing Souveniers, Jesus the Missing Years, In Spite of Oursevles I feel like I have just found a diamond in a spot that I passed every day for years.

Life is busy. I read, write, watch old movies and of course listen to music. New idea for the day, find time to listen to as much of John Prine's catalog as I can. He is amazing.