James Hunter - "'til Your Fool Comes Home"

Today's song-of-the-weekend selection is a bit of a throwback.  It's a throwback in style, however, not in time because this tune was written and recorded only about 5 years ago.  James Hunter is a 'cool-cat' British musician who creates music that will immediately remind you of classic 1950's and 60's R & B.  With his smooth soulful singing style and his classic guitar work, Hunter has garnered his fair share of accolades and awards including a Grammy nomination.  One significant boost for his career was the interest Van Morrison showed in him both early on and also later as they collaborated on recordings.  As Morrison puts it: "James Hunter is one of the best voices, and best kept secrets in British R&B and soul."
"Til Your Fool Comes Home" comes from the third of his four studio albums, the 2006 release entitled 'People Gonna Talk' which Hunter credits for making him into "an overnight success that took 20 years."
Turn it up loud and enjoy this two minutes and thirty seconds of toe-tapping genius!

James Hunter - "Til Your Fool Comes Home"
From the album 'People Gonna Talk'

Listen to "Til Your Fool Comes Home"








Click here to see James Hunter tour dates.
Watch a video of James Hunter playing the first song he ever wrote: "Evil Eye"

Animal Liberation Orchestra - "Girl I Wanna Lay You Down"

Happy Friday everyone!
In the mood to spread the good cheer of the Animal Liberation Orchestra today.  This upbeat tune features the voice and guitar of their buddy Jack Johnson.
"Girl I Wanna Lay You Down" was originally recorded by the band for the 'Fly Between Falls' album in 2004 but this version is the one that became their biggest 'hit' when it was re-recorded with Johnson and re-issued in 2006 on Johnson's Brushfire Records label.  They have been with Brushfire ever since and often tour together.  ALO has been together essentially since their days at Saratoga High School in California in the early 1990's and they have released three full length albums and a few EP's.
Favorite line from this one: 'So turn out the lights, bring out the candles, wrap your arms around my love handles.'
Have a great weekend and ENJOY the music!

Animal Liberation Orchestra - "Girl I Wanna Lay You Down"
From the album 'Fly Between Falls'


Listen to "Girl I Wanna Lay You Down"





Click here to see Animal Liberation Orchestra tour dates.

Click here to see the "Girl I Wanna Lay You Down" video.

Drive-by Truckers - "Everybody Needs Love"

Well I have myself a new theme song, or anthem if you will.  If this record had grooves, I'd have probably worn 'em out by now.  Drive-by Truckers rootsy remake of soul singer Eddie Hinton's "Everybody Needs Love" is my new current favorite and it perfectly underscores the versatility of this band.  They can rock out, country it up, or go in just about any direction they so choose. The beauty of this band is that there is no pretense to anything they do or to the songs they record.  Musically and lyrically, they just seem to leave everything out on the table without bothering to put too much polish on anything.
This fairly straight forward cover song comes from their 9th studio album, the 2011 release entitled 'Go-Go Boots' and is helping to further build their already stellar and growing reputation as one of America's most important rock bands.
As always, I do recommend turning the volume up....have a great weekend and ENJOY!

Drive-by Truckers - "Everybody Needs Love"
From the album 'Go-Go Boots'


Listen to "Everybody Needs Love"




Click here to view Drive-by Truckers tour dates.

Click here to watch a video of "Everybody Needs Love" live in Macon GA.

Tarkio - "If I Had More Time"

Our song-of-the-weekend offering is yet ANOTHER Pandora hidden gem I heard for the first time this past week.
Tarkio was a band from (believe it or not) Missoula, Montana which was formed in 1996 by Colin Meloy prior to his forming The Decemberists.
They were only around for three years (it seems they realized venues where human beings could actually attend would be a plus) and a couple of albums but I like their sound. "If I Had More Time" is from their first studio album which was released in 1998. ENJOY!

Tarkio - "If I Had More Time"
From the album 'I Guess I Was Hoping for Something More'


Listen to "If I Had More Time"