radio barz

Your Monday Morning Fred Fix

Don't know about you, but I woke up this morning in need of a Fred Eaglesmith fix. Ever since we saw Fred, his band, and the Fabulous Ginn Sisters earlier this spring, I've wanted more.

Here's the video for "I Would" off of Fred's new release "Cha-Cha-Cha."

And here's an article on the making of the video for "I Would."

Finally, a few blurry photos from the last time I saw Fred, April 9, 2010, at Fitzgerald's Nightclub.

"Cha Cha Cha" will be released on June 15 and is available for pre-order now.

Also shared much of this information on my Facebook Fan Page Mike's All Night Records. If you haven't visited yet, what are you waiting for? After all, it's open all night.

Reviews for Alan Jackson's new album feature raves for Eaglesmith's "Freight Train"

Alan Jackson's new release has drawn mixed reviews. One thing critics can agree on: Fred Eaglesmith's "Freight Train," covered by Jackson is a mighty good song.

• Review: Alan Jackson in comfort zone on new CD by Michael McCall (Huffington Post): "CHECK THIS TRACK OUT: The title song, written by Fred Eaglesmith, is a hard-rolling acoustic boogie tune that gives the singer and his expert studio band a chance to fire up some locomotive power."
• Review by JOHN WIRT in 2TheAdvocate.com:  "And there’s the occasionally less comfortable song, the best of which is title track “Freight Train,” a Fred Eaglesmith song driven by a racing train beat and yearning to get out of Dodge."
• Winnipeg Free Press: "Heck, who but Alan Jackson could cover a classic from the catalogue of Canadian alt-country icon Fred Eaglesmith (the title track) and make it sound like it was something he wrote himself?"
• CD review: Alan Jackson’s “Freight Train” By Michael Corcoran: "On his latest album, which hits stores today, the Georgia native finds such originals as “Every Now and Then,” the pandering lead-off track “Hard Hat and a Hammer” and “That’s Where I Belong” (surprising only because it took Jackson this long to write a song called “That’s Where I Belong”) overshadowed by such writers as Fred Eaglesmith (title track) and Jay Knowles and Adam Wright (“Taillights Blue”). "
• Alan Jackson Roars On With 'Freight Train' by Deborah Evans-Price (TheBoot.Com)

Fred Eaglesmith and the Ginn Sisters play Friday, April 9 at Fitzgerald's Nightclub in Berwyn, Illinois, 9pm, $15 TW/advance tickets. Here's what you might expect:

New Alan Jackson album features Eaglesmith's Freight Train as title track

According to the Nashville Skyline column on CMT.com, the Alan Jackson's new album, Freight Train features a title track penned by Fred Eaglesmith, one of my favorite singer songwriters.

The original version appears on Eaglesmith's classic album Drive-In Movie. It's a rave-up roots classic featuring sharp, gritty lyrics of love lost, but not quite forgotten.

Wish I was a freight train baby 

Wish I didn't have a heart 

And you'd need a shovel for the coal 

Just to get me started 

Check out live performances by Eaglesmith on YouTube and various live versions of the song, as well as the original. And check out Alan Jackson's take on his latest album when it's released March 30 (available for pre-order on Amazon.)

This one starts with the "famous" Eaglesmith elephant joke:

Song of the day: Johnny Cash, God's Gonna Cut You Down

Powerful song. Stark, haunting video. In the middle of a dark, winter night, Johnny Cash is required listening.

New Kris Kristofferson album: "Closer to the Bone" due September 29

Kris Kristofferson releases "Closer to the Bone" on September 29. Available in multiple configurations, including:

• Limited Deluxe Edition
• Audio CD
• Digital
• 180g Vinyl

Special limited deluxe edition includes an 8-song bonus CD of Kristofferson performing live at the Olympia Theater in Dublin, Ireland on March 21, 2008; and a fold-out color poster.

Along with the release, Kristofferson's label announced the launch of a new Web site.

The Jimi Hendrix of the dobro

Weekend America delivers this great feature of Jerry Douglas. A great history of his career and the dobro in modern American music.