New (And Old) Musical Talents: Music You Should Hear

[sliderocker]

I'm always searching for music I haven't heard before, old or new, and came across these two very young cuties: the MonaLisa Twins. They are sisters and they are indeed twins and their names are Mona and Lisa. They sing and play a number of musical instruments, and they do write their own songs. But, there are quite a lot of Beatle covers and other 60s covers and this one song that is most familiar to everyone on this list:



Remember, these girls are young, only about 18, live in England but from another part of England. Think they will improve as singers with age. As for being musicians, they are pretty damned good. Just check out how close they sound to the original version.

[sliderocker]

Here are a couple of more videos by the MonaLisa Twins, two of their original songs, which I think are extremely impressive, given their youth. They are actually more like 21 rather than 18, but their songwriting is such that Taylor Swift might want to take notice and try to up her songwriting skills. Mona and Lisa are younger but as songwriters, they have already bested Swift, and probably a good many other current songwriters. They are that good!

[sliderocker]

Here's a gorgeous song that is possibly the saddest song I've ever heard. And when I play this video, I feel like crying. And I'm a guy! It's the title track by Mickey Newbury, "A Long Road Home." According to the brief synopsis, Newbury was in failing health at the time and on oxygen, making this song all the more poignant. It's a long song, almost ten minutes. The video for the song is made up of photos of Mickey from over the years, and one photo features him with Emmylou. Rather than trying to describe this beautiful song, just watch and listen (and perhaps keep a tissue nearby):

[erik]

Dianna will like this: former American Idol participant Kree Harrison's new one:


Old-school honky-tonk C&W/rock heroine Margo Price with "Hurtin' (On The Bottle)":


Both Kree and Margo participated in the July 26th East Nashville 70th birthday tribute to Linda, along with Caitlin Rose, Emily West, Taylor Brashears (former contestant on The Voice), Shelly Colvin, and other "young'uns", showing that Linda's influence has spread to those born in the 80s and 90s.

[the Scribe]

Just wondering if you guys think there is anyone out there who will rise to the status of a Linda, Barbra or Ella?

[erik]

Quote by ronstadtfanaz:

Just wondering if you guys think there is anyone out there who will rise to the status of a Linda, Barbra or Ella?

Just strictly looking at this question from the standpoint of Linda's place in music history, that's a tough question to answer; and I think it puts undue pressure on a lot of good singers to reach Linda's greatness, which is a very difficult thing to do in and of itself. And when you start talking about the country-rock genre, of which she is still very much The Queen, then that's close to impossible (IMHO).

Still, if I were a betting man, I would go with Trisha Yearwood, Martina McBride, Patty Loveless, and very likely Carrie Underwood (if she could do more of what she did at Linda's RRHOF induction, and less aping of Miranda Lambert); and gals like Tift Merritt and Caitlin Rose inside the Americana/alt-country field. The number of female singers that Linda has influenced is just so enormous that it's better, in my opinion, to talk about them learning from Linda's example to be their own selves than to put the pressure on them to be as great as her.

[sliderocker]

Aug 20, 2016 20:19:21 GMT -5 the Scribe said:

Just wondering if you guys think there is anyone out there who will rise to the status of a Linda, Barbra or Ella?

There are always performers who could rise to the status of Linda, Barbra, Ella or a host of others, including Elvis and the Beatles. But I think the way the music business is run today, it may not happen in our life times and maybe not for generations. The business just takes what talent is out there, chews it up for whatever money it can get out of the performers and is then done with them. The music business is all about making money and until you can get those more concerned about the money (mostly lawyers)out of the business than concerned about music, nothing will change. Which is a shame as I think the MonaLisa Twins are brilliant young singers, musicians and composers, as are Erik's choices. The business has simply got to care about the music again as otherwise, Elvis, the Beatles, Linda, Barbra, Ella, the Beach Boys, the Bee Gees, the Byrds, Michael Jackson and all the others were just a one time thing. John Lennon sang in "God," "The dream is over," but I would hope it's only sleeping and will reawaken one day. That another Elvis or Beatles or Linda would come along one day should've been an inevitability and not a one time thing. They are out there, I feel, but their opportunities are not.

[sliderocker]

Here is someone I've liked for a long time: Anita Cochran. She is a multi-talented threat: singer, musician (lady plays lead guitar when many other female musicians play rhythm - she also plays six or seven other instruments), songwriter and produces her own recordings. Warner Bros. Records released two albums on her and then released her (or she freed herself from Warners, don't really know what happened). In a way, she reminds me of Jackie DeShannon, another talent that I feel was ignored because of being a woman who could do what men could do as a musician and songwriter, and maybe do it better. When I say she reminds me of Jackie, I mean both musically and in looks. I thought she had to be a relation. She classes herself as a country artist but she also has rock chops and probably could go in that direction if she wanted to. Sadly for Anita, she was born in 1967, which probably makes her too old these days for radio airplay and big hits. She is an example of what I meant of talent who should've caught fire with the public. And were it not for the music industry more concerned with an artist making instant money for them and more concerned with building the artist, she might have been a household name rather than a rare gem one is lucky to find.

[the Scribe]

I think 13 year old Laura Bretan may change the way we think about music if she continues at this pace. Watch for a resurgence in opera.

Here she is singing one of my favorite songs.



www.youtube.com/channel/UCjxenRTBThNrL2X12wHhJ7Q

[Dianna]

I love this girl (thanks Erik) ... I think many of the country artists mentioned are a good choice but back in her prime Linda was a rock star who (along with people like The Eagles) were singing country rock but at the time it was still considered rock and roll.. their music wasn't played on the country stations....Nowadays Linda's music would be considered new country..that was 40 yrs ago. lol. I think this girl Lindi Ortega would do well on the pop/rock stations because like Linda she was so different she sings country or rockabilly yet it's still rock and roll by todays' standards. same as Linda and The Eagles back in the 70's. I don't think you would hear Lindi's music on the new country stations of today.

[erik]

Yes, Lindi had one of the best albums of 2015 with Faded Gloryville, from which "Run Down Neighborhood" comes. And you're quite right, Dianna, she definitely could not get played on country radio today, and unfortunately the same would have to be said for Linda as well. It's unfortunate, because we are looking at a lot of great women here who are making great music, but who also cannot get any airplay because their sound is "not hip".

Or in other words, because of the number of male country artists singing/rapping about screwing girls on F-15 tailgates and guzzlin' beer on some redneck dirt road, they're getting a "Bro Job".

[Dianna]

Aug 24, 2016 13:33:34 GMT -5 erik said:

It's unfortunate, because we are looking at a lot of great women here who are making great music, but who also cannot get any airplay because their sound is "not hip".

Or in other words, because of the number of male country artists singing/rapping about screwing girls on F-15 tailgates and guzzlin' beer on some redneck dirt road, they're getting a "Bro Job".

On the contrary, I don't think bro country is hip at all.. it's shallow/superficial and dim witted. I imagine many drumpf supporters are also bro country fans... .. Lindi won't get played on newer country stations because her music is too deep and thoughtful for their shallow little minds. She also sings a lot about being an underdog and makes no apologies for it. bro country people are loud and obnoxious and stomp on the underdogs.

[Dianna]

Love this song too

[erik]

Quote by Dianna:

On the contrary, I don't think bro country is hip at all.. it's shallow/superficial and dim witted. I imagine many drumpf supporters are also bro country fans... .. Lindi won't get played on newer country stations because her music is too deep and thoughtful for their shallow little minds. She also sings a lot about being an underdog and makes no apologies for it. bro country people are loud and obnoxious and stomp on the underdogs.

Now, mind you, I am not by any means suggesting that the bro-country stuff is "hip"; personally, I think it's toxic to the genre. It's corporate country radio, that thinks this crap is "hip"; and unfortunately, their opinions seemingly count more than ours do. Only two women get played on country radio with any real frequency--Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert. Besides not being great for the quantity of women that get played, I have to say again that Carrie would do better not trying to be a clone of her gal pal Miranda with all those violent revenge songs. And of course this is the kind of attitude that ignores women like Lindi and Margo, simply because they take an "old school" approach to honky-tonk, rockabilly, and country-rock and put their own stamps on it in a present-day context. This was celebrated in the 1970s, when, of course, Linda herself could (and usually did) get away with it by doing the same thing on a regular basis, getting played on rock radio next to Led Zeppelin and her old band the Eagles, and on country radio alongside Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, and her pal Emmy.

The sad truth is, however, that that world just doesn't exist anymore, and we are all the poorer for it (IMHO).

[the Scribe]

... I think many of the country artists mentioned are a good choice but back in her prime Linda was a rock star who (along with people like The Eagles) were singing country rock but at the time it was still considered rock and roll.. their music wasn't played on the country stations....

Linda actually came out of a Folk tradition. I don't think she was considered Rock until Living In The USA came out which I supposed could be considered early prime lol. Seems like no one knew how to identify her and her peers so they were often put into the easy listening or Top 100 categories. Linda seemed to be more prominent on Country stations than Rock stations in the early days. Look at the trouble Billboard had categorizing music in the 1970's. They had to create all those new categories that crossed all over each other. Looking back there seems to be a clearer view and this is one of those interpretations:

Alternative country-rock is often simply referred to as alternative country, but the two styles are actually somewhat distinct from one another -- simply put, alternative country performers come from the country side of the equation, whereas alternative country-rock is rooted more in rock. It's considered a branch of alternative rock -- even though it may not always sound that way on the surface -- because it doesn't fit any mainstream sensibility, and also because its bands usually get their start as part of the American indie-label scene. In contrast to alternative country, which pushes the boundaries of country music from the inside, alternative country-rock is music made by outsiders who love the sound and spirit of country. They faithfully preserve traditional sounds, but reinterpret the spirit in personal, contemporary, and idiosyncratic ways that rarely appeal to straight country fans. The godfather of alternative country-rock was Gram Parsons, the single most important figure in the invention of country-rock and an enduring cult legend for his deeply emotional records. Neil Young's varying musical personalities were also an important influence, as was the progressive country movement of the '70s, particularly an Austin, TX-centered group of highly literate singer/songwriters like Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, and Jerry Jeff Walker, among others. The man who heralded the birth of alternative country-rock was Lyle Lovett, whose wit and eclecticism seemed to revitalize country's possibilities in the minds of many rock fans. But the first true alternative country-rock band was Uncle Tupelo, who at the start of their career fused punk and country in a far more reverent way than any band in the short-lived '80s cowpunk movement. Their cover of the A.P. Carter spiritual "No Depression" gave its name to their seminal 1990 debut album, the premier fanzine chronicling the alt-country scene, and a nickname to the movement in general. Uncle Tupelo soon became a more tradition-minded country-rock outfit, and following their 1993 landmark Anodyne split into two different bands, the staunchly revivalist Son Volt and the more pop-inflected Wilco; by that time, alternative country-rock itself had begun to split into several strains. One school was chiefly dedicated to reviving the Parsons/Young sound of the early '70s, sometimes adding elements of Beatlesque pop to their crunchy rockers and aching ballads. Others were sincere traditionalists, drawing from the most haunting qualities of old-time country and Appalachian folk while updating the lyrical sensibilities just enough. A related school made that old-timey sound into a soft, spare, ethereal hybrid of country and indie rock, usually featuring a female vocalist. Still other alt-country-rock bands brought a sense of humor to their traditionalist work, whether it was the good-natured wit of a twangy, rollicking bar band, or the flat-out weird irony of Lambchop. Alternative country-rock continued to produce new, critically acclaimed hybrid acts into the new millennium, with an increasing indie-rock flavor.

I still have a problem with them using Gram Parsons as a defining character. No one ever heard of him even when he was alive. He was barely known and now they are using Lyle Lovett as another measure? Gimme a break. It probably isn't worth arguing about as much as some want labels.

The first Lindi song reminds me of Elle King countrified. Now Elle seems more Rock. I like the way she is all over the map like Linda was although Linda's great and unique voice allowed her to wander into territory that will be impossible for others.

[sliderocker]

Linda actually came out of a Folk tradition. I don't think she was considered Rock until Living In The USA came out which I supposed could be considered early prime lol. Seems like no one knew how to identify her and her peers so they were often put into the easy listening or Top 100 categories. Linda seemed to be more prominent on Country stations than Rock stations in the early days.

It's true Linda came out of the folk tradition, but I sometimes wonder if during the Stone Poneys era if she had any creative say in their music? She was the junior member of the group, didn't write songs unlike Bob and Kenny. It seems odd they didn't try to bring her into the songwriting process or teach her how to write songs. And after the Stone Poneys, she quickly left from the folk music sound of the Stone Poneys to a more country-rock sound that leaned more country than rock on "Silk Purse" and "Linda Ronstadt," and then back to a more solid country-rock sound. But, I believe "Hasten Down the Wind" was her first true rock album with only two or three songs that had any kind of country sound to them. I think part of the problem in identifying her or classifying her music was because of a variation of an old music cliche: she was too country to be pop or rock, too rock to be country or pop, and too pop to be rock or country. Purists wanted their favorite music one way and one way only. No mixing of the genres. But, it must've killed the purists because Linda was good in all music genres.


I still have a problem with them using Gram Parsons as a defining character. No one ever heard of him even when he was alive. He was barely known and now they are using Lyle Lovett as another measure? Gimme a break. It probably isn't worth arguing about as much as some want labels.

Gram's legend is based on the fact he was in the Byrds briefly and a founding member of the Flying Burrito Brothers and most of all, died young. Critics all love the idea of a talent who didn't live to realize their potential, even if that talent had realized their potential much to the consternation and barbs of the critics. Blondie was a critics darling until they achieved success and then they could never do anything right as far as the critics were concerned. Had Gram lived and became a big name, his legend might not have amounted to much.

[erik]

I would like to state, before it falls under the radar, that I did find the Mona Lisa Twins' take on "Hotel California" to be a really good take on the FM Rock version of what in classical music would be called a War Horse.

As to Linda being too country for pop and rock and too pop and rock for country early on in her career--well, there's no point in arguing that. Of course, that was really the problem for the moneymen in those days who didn't understand that eclecticism wasn't something you could fit into a neat package so easily.

We really seem to like artists who are really out of left field in a lot of ways, at least according to the corporate cosmology that guides the media these days. Lindi Ortega is very much someone out of left field, whose sound encompasses everything from 50s rockabilly to 60s Bakersfield Sound to 70s country-rock (and she's a Canadian with a Mexican surname to boot, which really makes life interesting). Margo Price really sounds like someone who could have come out of the aforementioned Bakersfield scene of the 1960s, and yet she was born outside of Chicago in 1983.

And there are so many others that we can cite who, like Linda and Emmylou before them, just don't fit into a neat box.

[Dianna]

I remember this guy auditioned on American Idol in 2007 ish and made it to 24 (I think) Always wondered what happened to him. Other day I saw him audition on the voice. His name is... Sundance Head. Love his audition. His father Roy Head had a hit song in the 1960's

[Deleted]

gee. Roy Head.. I haven't heard that name in YEARS... Here he is trying out his best funky white boy moves..

[erik]

A film composer whom I've talked about a number of times here--no, not John Williams. It is Jerry Fielding, a prolific but exceptionally underrated composer whose career began in the big-band era of the late 1940s, until it was stalled by the early 1950s anti-Commie blacklist in Hollywood. But by the late 1960s, and his Oscar-nominated work for the score of THE WILD BUNCH, Fielding found himself in demand (he sadly passed away in February 1980 at the age of 57 from a heart attack). This is the main title music he wrote to British director Michael Winner's underrated 1971 psychological Western LAWMAN:

[Dianna]

Sept 24, 2016 17:12:13 GMT -5 @robertaxel said:

gee. Roy Head.. I haven't heard that name in YEARS... Here he is trying out his best funky white boy moves..

I had never heard of his dad.. but Sundance said that his father had a # 1 song back in 65 that was knocked off the charts by a little song called Yesterday by the Beatles. lol

[sliderocker]

Sept 25, 2016 1:17:28 GMT -5 Dianna said:

Sept 24, 2016 17:12:13 GMT -5 @robertaxel said:

gee. Roy Head.. I haven't heard that name in YEARS... Here he is trying out his best funky white boy moves..

I had never heard of his dad.. but Sundance said that his father had a # 1 song back in 65 that was knocked off the charts by a little song called Yesterday by the Beatles. lol

I believe the song by Roy Head that was knocked off from number one position was "Treat Her Right," the video that was included in this thread. And if memory serves (and it may not), Roy never actually had any other hits, before or after "Treat Her Right." I can't really remember if there were others; there may have been but I believe he is considered one of the one-hit wonders. Roy was also one of a number of 60s pop rock stars who tried to re-establish themselves as a country artist but I don't know how successful he was. If he was like the other 60s pop-rock stars who switched from rock to country, he was unsuccessful. Unsuccessful not because they didn't try but because many of the Nashville established stars and the Nashville establishment in general still festered a hatred for rock performers and a resentment of rock performers looking to revitalize their careers by going country.

[sliderocker]

Don't know how old this song is, probably not more than a decade as the man whose poem was used as the basis for the song, died in 2010. The group is the Crystalairs and their song is titled "Slow Down," although the poem was titled "Slow Dance." Has a 1950s doo wop feel but is a message song. I normally don't like emssage songs cos they are often pretentious, but this one is ok: