Routes and Branches Play List 09/17/11

I had two new CDs that really stood out this week. First I was surprised to see Hugh Laurie's face on the cover of a CD in my mail box. I, like many others, would more readily associate Laurie as the main character on the TV show "House" not a musician releasing a new CD. As he writes in the liner notes of his new album "Let Them Talk" Laurie says "Let this record show that I am a white, middle-class Englishman, openly trespassing on the music and myth of the American south." He may be a white Englishman trespassing on the music of the American south, but he is not the first Englishman to do so and I'm sure he won't be the last and like the ones before Laurie comes through with the chops. A Piano player from the age of 6 Laurie was truly moved to have played piano for one of his idols, Dr. John. Laurie asked Joe Henry to produce this album and he collected an all star cast of musicians to play on it including Jay Bellerose-drums, Kevin Breit-guitars, Mandolin & Mandocello, Greg Leisz- guitar, Lap-steel, Weissenborn, & Mandola, David Piltch-Upright Bass, and Patrick Warren-Field Organ, Autoharp, Accordion and Keys. What an excellent album that I'm sure I will enjoy for years to come.

The second artist to catch my ear this week comes from closer to home,Portland, Oregon. I'm referring to Kasey Anderson and The Honkies new CD "Heart Of A Dog". I was a fan of Anderson's last album "Nowhere Nights" and I feel that this new disc picks up where that album left off with several strong new songs two of which I played on the show today.

Artist-Song-Source

3pm
Hot Tuna - Mama Let Me Lay It On You - Steady As She Goes
Robert Earl Keen - Ready For Confetti - Ready For Confetti
Ray Bonneville - Good Times - Bad Man's Blood
The Band Of Heathens - Hurricane - Top Hat Crown & The Clapmaster's Son
Payton & Crazywater - I Come From Texas - I Come From Texas
Sarah Pierce - Cowgirls Ride - Bring It On
James McMurtry - Just Us Kids - Just Us Kids
Catherine Maclellan - Stealin' - Silhouette
Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion - Never Too Far From My Heart - Bright Examples
Dan Zanes And Friends w/ Joan Osborne - Everybody's Going To Be Happy - Little Nut Tree
Dan Zanes And Friends - The Farmer Is The One - Little Nut Tree
Guy Clark - If I Needed You - Songs And Stories
John Doe- Walking Out The Door - Keeper

4pm
Hugh Laurie - St. James Infirmary - Let Them Talk
Hugh Laurie w/Dr. John - After Your Gone - Let Them Talk
Marcia Ball - That's How It Goes - Roadside Attractions
The Dirt Daubers - Trucks, Tractors & Trains - Wake Up Sinners
Ry Cooder - John Lee Hooker For President - Pull Up Some Dust And Sit Down
Lewi Longmire Band - Save Yourself - Tales Of The Left Coast Roasters
Kasey Anderson & The Honkies - Mercy - Heart Of A Dog
Kasey Anderson & The Honkies - Kasey Anderson's Dream - Heart Of A Dog
Southern Culture On The Skids - Undertaker - Zombified
Blitzen Trapper - Taking It Easy Too Long - American Goldwing
Whitehorse - I'm On Fire - Whitehorse
Robert Earl Keen - I Gotta Go - Ready For Confetti