Strike a Resilient Chord

 

Strike a Resilient Chord

A fresh americana selection of songs old and new with a few celebrated UK artists joining a predominantly North American folk roster. Folk, country & bluegrass spiced up with a likkle contemporary reggae music and even a couple of hit avent-garde rock numbers. Resilience in times of trouble fortifies the mind and strengthens the spirit. Never give up hope.

 

 

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Title inspired by a few of the track lyrics here. The long awaited album by Jamaican star Chronixx - Exile - finally dropped in 2025 to wide appreciation. Its a long and eclectic, often reflective collection of songs. Resilient is a long song in a league of its own. Stephen Marley's most recent LP Old Soul (2024) is rooted semi-acoustic reggae with overall uplifting vibes as would be expected from the Marley family maestro. Eric Clapton does the guitar licks for a fresh look at I Shot the Sheriff while Stephen makes the Beatles' Don't Let Me Down sound like vintage Studio One Bob. He teams up with Bob Weir & Jack Johnson for a Dead style jam called Winding Roads. Sensational pop diva Kate Bush storms into the mix with two huge hits; Breathing and the anti-war Army Dreamers. Unforgettable. Two wicked covers by Show of Hands; No Woman No Cry and the Peter Gabriel/Kate Bush hit Don't Give Up. Interesting early tracks by the Cowboy Junkies. Arkensas Traveler is a 1992 album by Michelle Shocked with several guest cameos. It blends various forms, from country to bluegrass to folk and back again to good effect and is a lot of fun. Recent album tracks from Eliza Gilkyson (Home 2023) and Richard Shindell (Careless). Serious lyrics on the 2011 Gillian Welch LP The Harrow & The Harvest. Two more songs from one of the greatest Ralph McTell albums Not Till Tomorrow (1972). Bert Jansch loved nothing better than to play American tunes. Poor Mouth is from 1977. Richie Havens reworks Lennon's Working Class Hero in his own unmistakable way. Guitar queen of folk-country Emmylou Harris exudes quality whatever she plays. Here are three 90's numbers here with electrifying live tour performances from 1992 & 98. It is indeed A Hard Life Wherever You Go. Two great numbers from Rory McCleod including the brilliant, gallantly subversive Criminals of Hunger.

Youngest veteran Jesse Welles is truly exceptional and the more you hear of him the more convinced you become. We've had him on real heavy rotation here as he's put a series of four relly strong solo acoustic albums out in quick succession. Witty and insightful, topically powerful and musically diverse one can't help but notice that he often sounds a hellova lot like Dylan.. and his songwriting is more than up to scratch too. He hs a good dig at his homestate Arkansas with the song Arkansaw.then is at his most entertaining for Innit to Win and That Can't Be Right. Get the album Patchwork (2024) its fab. Also featuring the long and rambling Bob Dylan track Cross the Green Mountain from 2002.

 

 

Continuous mix 2hrs30

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