Ray Wylie Hubbard "Drunken Poet's Dream"

I am thinking about Abbey Hoffman today. For those that don’t remember, he was a rebel rouser during the days of student protest over Viet Nam in the late 60’s. He founded the Youth International Party (YIP) giving birth to the Yippees. He wrote Steal This Book, which was a counter culture diatribe on how to live basically for free.

It is within that framework that I tell you today - DO NOT BUY THIS ALBUM. Because Ray Wylie Hubbard is incensed that it is being put out. Do not be fooled by the glowing review of how "underground" it is, or how Amazon claims it is "his most sought after out of print recording." I am talking about Ray Wylie Hubbard and The Cowboy Twinkies. In fact, we found this quote on That Nashville Sound,

"I did not approve the background vocals, the mix, mastering or the artwork on this record but it got out anyway. I have nothing to do with it being re-released now. It sucked then and it still sucks. If you have any shred of compassion at all in your heart for me or any musician who got screwed by some jerk in authority at a record label, then don't buy this mistake.”

Thanks, Ray Wylie Hubbard

We bring you a tune today that Ray Wylie Hubbard graciously played during his set with Rick Richards during the 2011 Music Fog Marathon in March in the little back room at Threadgill’s. It is a tune that RWH co-wrote with Hayes Carll. Yes, they have both recorded it, and even though Hayes had it out first on a CD, that does not change the fact that they CO-WROTE it. Controversy on this has been raging on Music Fog’s YouTube channel. And so it goes. Power to the people.

-Jessie Scott

Update on 2011-07-28 04:20 by Music Fog

If your curiosity is getting the best of you, apparently a fan has setup a website where you can download Ray Wylie Hubbard & The Cowboy Twinkies tracks for free. No telling how long this will stay up. Move along. Nothing to see here.

Melissa McClelland & Luke Doucet "Glenrio"

Whoa, it has been hot in so much of the country that it makes it hard to pull oneself away from the pool or stream or beach to go back to work, and here it is Monday already. Bah humbug. Well maybe you have vacation time, and are luxuriating in the aforementioned places. I try to keep a low profile this time of year, or as we like to say, don’t get your chins in an uproar. Keeping on even keel will help you to not be hot under the collar. But sometimes, we have no choice but to rage. Like Melissa McClelland in this tune, “Glenrio.” “Revenge is a dish best served cold" The Wiki reports its earliest identified appearance in European literature is in the 1841 French novel Mathilde by Marie Joseph Eugène Sue: la vengeance se mange très-bien froide.” There is more literature cited here.

We go north of the border today for some Canadiana from Melissa McClelland, and her ‘get even’ tune, “Glenrio.” The thing about this is that she delivers it so authentically, that for sure, I wouldn’t want to mess with her. Really, “I’ve got blood on my knuckles from her pretty lips.” Yikes! The original version came out on her 2009 CD Victoria Day, and was the iTunes tune of the week in May of 2009. Of late, Melissa has been doing shows with Sarah MacLachlan, and of course with husband Luke Doucet, with whom she appears here. This is from Music Fog’s 2010 sessions at Threadgill’s South during SXSW® music week.

-Jessie Scott

John Brannen "Just Restless"

His early life reads like a Southern Gothic novel.  John Brannen’s parents met in China, when his mother was working for the American consulate.  His father was a cotton broker who died unexpectedly and under strange circumstances in Brazil just before John was born.  John’s mother moved them to the South Carolina coast.  It was through his maternal grandfather that he got turned on to classic poets like Tennyson and Longfellow.  And that kindled the flame for the words that were to be woven into John’s path as a singer/songwriter.  Coupled with that was a heavy dose of wanderlust.  By eighteen, he had already hitchhiked across the United States, surfed extensively in Hawaii, and sailed the West Indies.  Enter music, which bit him hard enough for him to only do a bit of college before he left to follow his heart.  

“Just Restless.” I relate. I know where I been, but I don’t know what is around the corner.  And I am willing to throw the dice and take the chance.  Something in John Brannen’s music lit me up a long time ago.  I didn’t know then that he was a fellow seeker, a traveler like me.  But now that I think about his lyrics, it is really no wonder.  The day he came to see us at the Americana Fest in September, he had had one of those days, which included blowing his voice out some.  The passion, the intensity, it is all there anyway.  This song can be found on the 2006 "Twilight Tattoo" CD. This here is the Music Fog solo take.

- Jessie Scott