1. THE LORD IS THERE, Regina Vandereijk (Royal Increase Music)
Born and raised in Western North Carolina and steeped in Appalachian styles of roots music, singer-songwriter Regina Vandereijk nowadays makes her home in Gouda, Netherlands, where she and her Dutch husband, Willo, lead a discipleship called Royal Increase Music (“a collective of international artists, spanning USA, UK, NL to Africa, dedicated to following Jesus. Connected as a creative family, on a mission with one goal: to see His kingdom come and His will be done,” says the website about the collective’s purpose) and where Regina pursues her calling as a spiritual artist seeking a greater understanding of God’s purpose in her life. Although her music is being characterized as “pop-worship,” it’s more the latter than the former of that hybrid; in feel and execution it’s also more Americana, and singer-songwriter, as you might expect from a North Carolina native who grew up admiring, well, singer-songwriters and elegant songcraft by the likes of Paul McCartney (in an online interview that has now disappeared she mentions Paul specifically and adds “more than the Beatles”), and in her genre, Josh Garrells. Much like the emotional weight her husky voice projects, the soundscape backing her, with its hints at mountain music, traditional country, country blues, Praise & Worship styles, and, on occasion jubilee anthems (most dramatically on “Mighty Waters,” the powerhouse showcase moment on the lightning strike that was her 2024 EP, Love Called Her Home and featured here along with other EP tunes on the deluxe 14-song edition of The Lord is There) is given heft by acoustic and electric guitars; piano, keyboards, organ, Mellotron, banjo, accordion, drums and various percussion, strings (cello, violins, fiddle), plus a hallelujah chorus of background singers. “Our musical influences are as diverse as our backgrounds, from folk to soul, gospel to country, we sing out the cry of our hearts: to know God, be known by Him. To know one another in Him, and make Him known.” …
There was a moment in the late ‘60s-early ‘70s when a few rock artists sent out “dual purpose” messages rooted in spirituality: the Beatles, “Let It Be”; Simon & Garfunkel, “Bridge Over Troubled Water”; Blind Faith, “In the Presence of the Lord”; Norman Greenbaum, on a lighter note, “Spirit in the Sky.” In original songs, especially “Mighty Waters,” being equal parts theology exegeses and challenging existential discourses, Regina Vandereijk offers the promise of reinvigorating rock ‘n’ roll’s dormant gospel foundation and opening the door for more in our beleaguered nation to really get over. This is truly healing music. Clara Ward would certainly know whereof I speak. Who knows? Maybe I’ve heard the future of gospel and its name is Regina Vandereijk. Follow this link to the full review, “Open Up the Doors,” in Deep Roots.
‘Mighty Waters,’ Regina Vandereijk, from The Lord Is There
Buddy Guy Ain’t Done cover
2. AIN’T DONE WITH THE BLUES, Buddy Guy (RCA/Silvertone Records)
On his first album since 2022’s The Blues Don’t Lie, 89-year-old Buddy Guy sounds revitalized even beyond his 2022 performances. Playing with purpose and passion, singing with wisdom and feeling, plumbing his biography for seasoned perspectives on his life, loves and travels, he rises above time over 18 cuts, with typically impeccable guidance from producer Tom Hambridge, the backing of musicians with impeccable resumes (including Chuck Leavell (Wurlizter-B3-piano), Tal Wilkenfeld and Glen Worf (electric and upright bass), Kevin McKendree (B3-piano), Nike Rojas (B3-keys), Max Abrams (saxophone), Steve Patrick (trumpet-flugelhorn), Michael Hicks (background vocals), and Hambridge on drums). As was the case on The Blues Don’t Lie, a few guest artists are on board to add their special heat to the festivities. These guests, though, are better suited, being steeped in blues and gospel as they are, to spice up Buddy’s musings than those in the 2022 lineup: Joe Bonamassa, Joe Walsh, Peter Frampton (anyone remember the Frampton of Humble Pie and Frampton’s Camel?), Blind Boys of Alabama, add emotional but breviloquent excerpts of their signature sounds while staying out of Buddy’s way. Follow this link to the full review, “Rising Above Time,” in Deep Roots.
‘Hooker Thing,’ Buddy Guy’s homage to John Lee Hooker, from Ain’t Done With The Blues
3. AGAINST THE GRAIN, Lance Cowan (Lantzapalooza Muzik)
So much for the fabled sophomore slump. If Lance Cowan’s debut album, So Far So Good (a Deep Roots Album of the Year last year), came out of the blue to be one of 2024’s most pleasant surprises, then his new long player, Against the Grain, tells us its predecessor was no fluke. Its 10 original songs, all Cowan solo copyrights or co-writes, once again find him looking deep into the interior lives of his characters, many of whom are battling dark nights of the soul. Even when he seems to be writing about the elements turning against him, as in “I Can’t Stand the Winter,” all casual, loping, Western-flavored, steel-rich vibe, closer examination reveals he’s far less concerned about plummeting temperatures than he is about the insidious chill engulfing him in his significant other’s absence, to wit: “I taped the windows up, threw a blanket by the door/but the cold wind still blows in.” There are Pinter-esque moments such as “Every time the lights go down, I think of her…” in the Eagles-ish lilt of “One More Chance” (a co-write with Sam Gay) in which the darkness is not an erotic memory but a metaphor for festering wounds of a failed relationship. There are artful, Jesse Winchester-like constructs framing heartbreaking memories, such as “God made a woman’s heart/a perfect work of art/it takes a foolish man to tear it apart” setting the stage for an intense mea culpa in the heated drive of “Ragged Edge of Nothing,” a co-write with Terry Clayton. Follow this link to the full review, “Being About Disconnect, Romantic and Otherwise,” in Deep Roots.
‘Love Anyway,’ Lance Cowan, from Against the Grain
4. THE WIND WILL CHANGE AGAIN, The Twangtown Paramours (Inside Edge Records)
In emerging from a period of great personal loss—of both family and friends—Twangtown Paramours Mike T. Lewis and MaryBeth Zamer found solace in songwriting. In returning with a new album, a “contemporary folk album” in their own words and their first since 2022’s Deep Roots Album of the Year Double Down on a Bad Thing, the couple is taking a rootsier approach, allowing us to hear them as we’ve not heard them before, in all-acoustic majesty, thoughtful as ever but ever more introspective, and poetic, in their feel for the human condition. They get some help from the all-star likes of Jim Van Cleve, Rick Lonow, Ed Alstrom, Rave Tesar, and Jeff Taylor; and there are a couple of co-writes with Paul Craft and Fred Koller, along with a beautiful, fingerpicked take on Jimmie Dale Gilmore’s Flatlanders classic, “Tonight I Think I’m Gonna Go Downtown,” made all the more haunting by Ms. Zamer’s sensitive, measured reading and tender Lewis-Zamer harmonizing. And lest anyone think “all-acoustic” augurs a sedate outing, well, dig the romping title tune closing the album on an optimistic, celebratory note, thanks to Ms. Zamer’s rousing vocal buttressed by a feisty guitar solo and pounding piano out of the Jerry Lee school of barnburning. Follow this link to the full review, “Of the Human Heart in Full,” in Deep Roots.
‘Stars Without a Heaven,’ The Twangtown Paramours, from The Wind Will Change Again
5. THE SPEED OF LIFE, Dudley Taft (American Blues Artist Group)
Save my soul, rock ‘n’ roll/I need that feeling. So sings Dudley on this guitar-driven blitzkrieg that sounds torn from unsparing personal reflection. As much as he addresses those in his orbit, Taft seems mostly auditing his own soul. Based on the fire and fury of the sonics supporting the gripping commitment of arguably his finest recorded vocals, missives such as “Work It Out,” all anthemic strum und drang with its pounding percussion, merciless guitar sorties and fierce ostinato chanting, in which his bold-face admonishments seem aimed as much at himself as at others when he commands, “You know this isn’t what the doctor ordered/your wheels are spinning and you burned up the motor/you need to get away, but you can’t leave/and I say work it out!”; the fiery, apocalyptic vocal buttressed by the banshee guitar wailing that is “Burn It Down” in which he bemoans “chasing the same old dream” and further counsels, “You gotta take stock, cut your losses/make a plan execute it, and quick on your feet…right now!”; and, in a bit of black humor, the sizzling “No Yesterdays” in which he observes, “The good life was shown to us on TV/but in real life it would make our credit cards bleed…no yesterdays,” well, it appears the artist is giving new meaning to scales falling from one’s eyes, as he closes with an affirmative benediction, to wit: “The road ahead doesn’t stretch on forever/take a long ride only if you are clever/and know what’s good for you and what lights your fire/don’t tear it down when you can build it higher.” Again, self-help doubling as a form of therapeutic counseling. Follow this link to the full review, “Taking Stock at the Speed of Life,” in Deep Roots.
‘No Time Left (Long Live the King),’ Dudley Taft, from The Speed of Life
6. A TIP TOE HIGH WIRE, Sierra Hull (Sierra Hull Music)
It was 2016 when Sierra Hull’s music took an adventurous and personal turn in the spare, more experimental (and tellingly titled) Weighted Mind. Come 2020 she released another gem of an album, 25 Tips, marking the first quarter-century of her life in frank, and frankly startling, terms describing a broken heart in the wake of broken trust and broken promises (by far the most personal of her original songs to that point) It was her final effort for Rounder Records, where she made her debut at age 16 in 2008. Five years later she’s returning on her first independently released album, this time with a captivating deep dive into positivity and resilience. Fueled by frequently awesome displays of instrumental virtuosity courtesy the gifted Ms. Hull’s mandolin mastery and the sublime support of her formidable touring band (especially fiddler Avery Merritt), the messages here are potent and piercing.
But it’s tunes such as “Boom,” with its low-key Bobbie Gentry spirit, counseling a pro-active stance in pursuit of happiness that unabashedly herald her emergence into a brighter world—“You gotta open up the window/you gotta let some sunlight in/‘cause it’s a beautiful day, so let the shadows have the shade/and then boom—live to love again.” On another uplifting personal story, folk flavored in an acoustic guitar-dominated soundscape (Sierra on acoustic), “Spitfire” documents her grandmother’s indomitable spirit in the face of persistent and horrific personal tragedies (a widow at 18; a baby killed in a car crash; another husband dead from addiction) and identifies with grandma’s tenacity, proclaiming, “She’s in my blood, oh, she’s a spitfire…” (being a spitfire is indeed in the family blood—Sierra, through her mother’s family, is distantly related to Cordell Hull, FDR’s controversial but productive Secretary of State for 12 years, who won a Nobel Peace Prize for his role in the founding of the United Nations). Addressing the tenor of the times, the tender, wistful reflection “Redbird” finds Sierra offering a prescription for keeping balanced amidst tyranny: “…remind me what I know/snow it will melt/and flowers grow/everything will be as it should be…” All in all, these smart, captivating songs reveal the strong, assertive 33-year-old woman Sierra Hull has become since her mid-teens debut. Fully formed philosophically and musically, she’s a truly wondrous artist. Follow this link to the full review, “Spitfire by Nature,” in Deep Roots.
‘Boom,’ Sierra Hull, from A Tip Toe High Wire
7. SONG OFFERINGS, Christopher Tin (Decca Gold)
Joy Movement is rooted in the belief that true health is a harmonious balance of mind, body, and spirit. My mission is to empower individuals to cultivate this balance through daily movement, proper nourishment, and the practice of positive mindfulness. This collective movement is a supportive community united by the shared goal of looking and feeling our best. By nature, we gravitate toward what makes us happy, and at Joy Movement, we find that happiness in sustaining a healthy lifestyle.
So writes Chanel Marie on her website introducing Joy Movement. It turns out Ms. Marie’s concept is aligned with the raison d’etre of composer Christopher Tin’s ambitious new choral work, Song Offerings. A quintet of compositions based on Nobel Prize winning poetry by Rabindranath Tagore, “Song Offerings” is paired on disc with another Tin multi-part composition, “Transfigurations,” with texts by poet Charles Anthony Silvestri, who explains (in his liner notes) his thoughts being inspired by “the idea of change from one state to another.” Both works were premiered last year, with “Transfigurations” having its world premiere in April at St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Walnut Creek, CA; “Song Offerings” was first performed on October 5, 2024, at First Plymouth UCC in Denver, CO. On the CD, the Denver-based choral group Kantorei, volunteer singers directed by the group’s Artistic Director Joel M. Rinsema provide intensely engaged readings of lyrics adapted from Tagore’s Nobel Prize winning poem “Gitanjali,” first published in Bengali in 1910, then in an English translation in 1912, a year before Tagore was awarded the Nobel Prize (the award’s first non-European recipient and the second non-European to receive a Nobel Prize after Theodore Roosevelt) in 1913.
Mr. Tin aligns himself with joy, movement or no, in his liner essay introducing Song Offerings, wherein he announces, “Joy is defiant in the face of the naysayers. It wants to be unleashed so that it might trample down the suffocating barricades of expectation and run naked through life, screaming loudly and without care. It is in that spirit of joyful rebellion that I bring you Song Offerings.”
Follow this link to the full review, “A ‘Joyful Rebellion’ for Our Times,” in Deep Roots.
‘Let My Country Awake,’ adapted from Rabindranath Tagore’s Gitanjali 33, composed and arranged by Christopher Tin, with Kantorei directed by Joel M. Rinsema, from Song Offerings
8. LIVE AT THE HOLIDAY INN, Danny Gatton and Funhouse (Gress Records)
To those familiar with the late Danny Gatton’s extraordinary guitar mastery, let’s leave it at the word of another extraordinary guitar master, Les Paul, as featured in a new Virginia Quesada-directed documentary about Gatton titled after the nickname given him with respect to the impact he had on pretenders to six-string majesty, to wit, The Humbler. In his succinct style, Paul says of Gatton: “He’ll have you for lunch. He could do anything the other guy could do—and do it better.”
For those unfamiliar with Gatton’s artistry, there are many good places to start, beginning with his 1975 debut album, American Music, but the most recent affirmation of his preternatural gifts is found on Live at the Holiday Inn, recorded with his Funhouse band during a 1987 brunch show at the Tyson’s Corner (VA) Holiday Inn. Gatton’s Funhouse lineup featured drummer Barry Hart, bassist John Previti, and Chris Battistone on trumpet. And those new to the Gatton legend should take full advantage of this album’s added-value component, namely the super in-depth liner notes by award winning music writer Dan Forte, himself an exceptional guitarist with a depth of knowledge about music history to rival his friend Gatton’s.
‘Bésame Mucho,’ Danny Gatton with Funhouse—John Previti (bass), Barry Hart (drums), Chris Battistone (trumpet)—live at the Holiday Inn, September 27, 1987. Video shot by Kinloch Nelson.
9. PARCHMAN PRISON PRAYER – ANOTHER MISSISSIPPI SUNDAY MORNING, Various Artists (Glitterbeat Records)
Given the unexpected success of, and critical acclaim for, the 2023 release Parchman Prison Prayer – Some Mississippi Sunday Morning, GRAMMY Award-winning producer and author Ian Brennan flew back to the Mississippi penitentiary to do a second album, Parchman Prison Prayer – Another Mississippi Sunday Morning.
Twelve men, ranging in age from 23 to 74, several serving life sentences, participated in the second album, which was captured over the course of a few hours, and without any additional takes or overdubs. As with the first volume, any and all artist proceeds from this album will benefit the prison’s Chaplain program. …
Clocking in at 30 minutes, Parchman Prison Prayer – Another Mississippi Sunday Morning is short but impactful. Though it is a sonic expression of the pathos of prison, and it succeeds in this, J. Hemphill puts it all in perspective in his “Living Testimony” when he sings, “I could have been dead and gone / I am a living testimony, and I thank the Lord I’m still alive.” Often the most effective form of resistance is simply staying alive. Follow this link to the full review by Bob Marovich in Deep Roots.
‘I Shall Not Want,’ M. Kyles, From the album, Parchman Prison Prayer–Another Mississippi Sunday Morning
10. DANCING QUEEN: RAMEAU MEETS ABBA, Asya Faeyeva & Lautten Compagney Berlin (Deustsche Harmonia Mundi)
Dancing Queen on deutsche harmonia mundi/Sony Classical features Asya Fateyeva (saxophones) and Lautten Compagney Berlin, musical director Wolfgang Kaschner, in the somewhat unlikely mix of ABBA and Rameau. There are ten of ABBA’s best known numbers, written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson, arranged for baroque ensemble and saxophone by Bo Wiget (Lauteen Compagney’s cellist) alongside dances from Rameau’s Les Boréades, Nais, Les Indes Galantes, Hippolyte et Aricie, Les Fêtes d’Hébé, and Pièces de clavecin en concerts: Cinquième Concert, with Fatayeva playing alongside the ensemble in the Rameau. …
It helps that Bo Wiget’s arrangement of ABBA’s songs are imaginative and do not attempt to emulate the sound that the group made. This is most definitely ABBA played by a period instrument ensemble, and Wiget delights in the array of plucking instruments available to him and creates a very detailed textural sound. Follow this link to the full review, “Wherein Rameau Meets ABBA. Yes.”, by Robert Hugill in Deep Roots.
‘Waterloo’ (Arr. for Baroque Ensemble & Saxophone by Bo Wiget), Asya Faeyeva & Lautten Compagney Berlin, Dancing Queen: Rameau Meets ABBA
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