Recommended for Americana Fans: Amanda Ann Platt and the Honeycutters
I spend many hours exploring artists unfamiliar to me on Spotify. This week I came across this band. I’d never come across any mention of them before and thought other Americana fans here might enjoy them.
New York born and transplanted to North Carolina, Amanda Ann Platt is an excellent songwriter who’s asserted she’s as much influenced by Springsteen and Tom Petty as by Classic Country artists. Although a cursory listen might suggest the music is Country (due to the presence of pedal steel and mandolin and the overall rhythmic feel), the writing is more sophisticated and not hobbled by adherence to familiar Country tropes. In other words, it stands up to repeated listening. I particularly like "On The Ropes". On this particular record, the utilization of a Strat, incorporating bluesy bends and a Knopfler-esque tone imparts a Rock tinge that is distinctly different from Tele chicken-pickin’.
Rodney Crowell first became a National name as the leader of Emmylou Harris’ Hot Band.
I know. We saw the classic line up of the Hot Band (the one on Luxury Liner) sans EmmyLou at a tiny venue in Santa Barbara (The Bluebird Cafe) in the late 70’s. For good measure, they brought along BOTH Albert Lee AND Frank Reckard ! Rodney was the de facto leader that night, singing most of the lead vocals.
I realize Hiatt did not begin as anything close to Americana. I agree -- "Bring the Family" is a killer album. And I’d agree that in the South, the various Roots genres tend to blend together. I’m just not sure that Americana music must be Southern.
I do get what you’re saying about Hiatt being almost a genre unto himself like Dylan. Both clearly draw from Roots genres deeply. This makes sense.
Another question: how would you classify recent Marty Stuart albums such a "Altitude" that seem to mostly refer to the Byrds’ Country forays?
@stuartk: Rodney Crowell first became a National name as the leader of Emmylou Harris’ Hot Band. He played acoustic rhythm guitar and sang harmony with her, and her band included the likes of Tony Brown (later becoming a major Country music producer), Albert Lee (everyone’s favorite Tele player), Emory Gordy, Jr. (later in Dylan’s band), guitarist/mandolinist/singer Ricky Skaggs, and pedal steel master Hank DeVito (and writer of "Playing With The Queen Of Hearts", the best version being that of Dave Edmunds). Buddy Miller now serves Emmylou Harris as her bandleader.
It is my opinion that to qualify as Americana, the music has to have the "Southern" feel, as does Country. I don’t know how to characterize "Southern", but I know it when I hear it, and know when I don’t. It is conspicuously absent in the music of many of the Alt-Country artists and bands. To hear it, listen to the music containing the playing of The Swampers, the renown Muscle Shoals studio band.
There is a good book entitled Country Music: White Man’s Blues, written by John Grissim and published in paperbook in 1970. Highly recommended.
John Hiatt is almost a genre unto himself (as is Dylan, Richard Thompson, Van Morrison, and other unique and unclassifiable artists). John Hiatt’s Bring The family was for years my favorite album, and is music making at the highest level. Hiatt isn’t Country, being more of a Blue-Eyed Soul singer and writer. But remember, in the 1950’s Blues was considered a form of Folk music. In the South, all musical forms tend to get integrated. Elvis’ five Sun singles (and 78’s) contained a Blues on one side, a Hillbilly on the other. Hank Williams learned to play guitar from a local Blues street musician.
But not in the case of that Hiatt album. I wouldn’t call it Country. There’s just as much Blues influence and some Folk, too, which for me, is makes it unambiguously Americana. You can clearly hear the Roots genres it draws from, but it doesn’t adhere to any single Roots genre. As @bdp24asserted, Lucinda Williams is a great example of this.
Alt Country always sounded to me like Alternative Rock guys trying to play Country, as opposed to Classic rockers. Hard for me to put my finger on the difference, but I do hear a difference.
As a guitar player, I tend to focus on guitar. Limiting habit! But I hear what you mean, re: the drumming, now that you’ve pointed it out for us.
The "dividing line" is a hard one for me. Ever since musical genres became very mixed around the 90s and going forward, I don't feel confident in my classification skills but choose to highlight some artists here that seem to me have merit as Americana.
The Hiatt video seems to me to be more Roots/Country but couldn't that be an Americana description as well?
@stuartk: Alt-Country was to me guys who grew up on Rock, and at some point suddenly discovered Gram Parsons. Then Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, and Hank Williams. Thinking you can suddenly play Country music after growing up on Rock is delusional. The two require completely different approaches, different attitudes, different feels (many Rock drummers can't "swing"). The drummers in the original Alt-Country bands simply did not understand what the music calls for from their instrument (and not just them. Gene Parson's tenure with The Byrds is a glaring example of inappropriate drumming). I certainly didn't when I heard Music From Big Pink. The playing on that album was a foreign language to me. For about a year. Once I "got it" (the music), I dove in head first, basically starting over on how to play the drumset. As in what the music calls for, and how to play as a member of an ensemble.
Artists like Steve Earle, Marty Stuart, Buddy Miller, Lucinda Williams, Emmylou Harris (in the 70's she had the best band in the world---The Hot Band), Rodney Crowell---and all the other's "we" like---understand the commonality between Country and Rock, as well as what differentiates them, and hire players who also do. It's what separates the men from the boys.
in the below video, listen to and watch how the drummer provides the feel of the song (in the style Levon Helm referred to as the "half-shuffle". Its not a full on shuffle, but has a hint of it. It's a great feel, one elusive to do well), as well as how he responds to what the other players are doing. Then listen to how all the guitars drop out during the piano solo, until the final bar, when they roar back in, the drums leading the way with a perfect single-stroke roll. Superb Musicianship and ensemble playing!
I’ve not been a fan of Alt Country, but it generally seems to be accepted by reviewers as Americana and I haven’t felt confidemt challenging this characterization.
I don’t understand Ms Leigh’s objection. Apparently she believes Country "owns" a certain stylistic slice of American music. I’d love to hear her try to define what she means.
When I saw Kelly Willis, Brennen Leigh, and Melissa Carper about a year ago, Brennen started the evening by mocking the term Americana. She said it seemed to her to be a term used by those feeling that pure Country music wasn’t cool, by those who wanted to distance and differentiate themselves from what is called Country music. She said Country was already cool.
But of course Brennen was referring to "Traditional" Country, not the schlock now played on Country radio: "Bro Country". You know, the guys who drive down to the river in their pickup truck to drink beer with their baby. Duh.
There are those who call The Band’s second album---the s/t "brown" album---the first Americana album, and I guess that case can be made, though I don’t do it myself. I think of Americana as an umbrella under which may be collected the artists who combine elements of Traditional Country, Folk, Singer-Songwriter, Rockabilly, Hillbilly, Bluegrass---in other words, basically acoustic music played by whites. Plus maybe some Blues.
Lucinda Williams is a perfect example. Not really Country, only partly Folk, lots of Singer-Songwriter, and a fair amount of Blues. She was one of the first of the "modern" artists to include all those elements in her music, starting back in 1979, with her two albums on Folkways Records. Her later success with her breakout album Car Wheels On A Gravel Road was the first big-selling album in the "Alternative" Country genre. Earlier albums by the new breed of Alt-Country males (Steve Earle, Dwight Yoakam, Randy Travis, Lyle Lovett, Ricky Skaggs, Marty Stuart) is a different matter. They are all more purely Country, without Lucinda’s other influences.
I realize there are those whose introduction to what is considered Americana was with the No Depression gang of young fellas. Sorry, but Uncle Tupelo sounded like little boys trying to sing a man’s music. Jay Farrar of Son Volt is pretty good, but Jeff Tweedy of Wilco leaves me cold. I have a real problem with flat singing .
Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives don’t get nearly enough attention. The current best band in the world!
Uncle Tupelo -- from what I've heard, Yes. I think most would agree that Alt Country fits within Americana.
Tift Merritt is interesting. She's clearly not pure Country, Rock or Pop. What's the dividing line line between the Singer Songwriter and Americana genres? I'm not sure it's clear-cut. The fact that many singer-songwriters release recordings that vary significantly in terms of production, writing approaches, instrumentation, etc. doesn't make this any easier. The question I'd ask is: how closely does "Travelling Alone" adhere to the Roots? How does it compare to this, for example:
I think Tift Merritt deserves inclusion. I saw her my first time, on the Traveling Alone tour. Had a great pedal steel player named Eric Heywood. Was once in Son Volt. Gotta mention John Coverntino on drums
To my ears, at least, Timbuk 3 sound too far removed from Roots styles to be called Americana.
Another example: the Stones clearly display Country and Blues influences but still, I wouldn’t call them Americana.
Iron and Wine brings up the sticky nature of defining what Americana is. To me, "Our Endless Numbered days" reminds me mostly of 60’s/70’s singer/songwriters who were influenced more by Folk than Tin Pan Alley. It can seem arbitrary after a certain point but yes, FWIW, I would regard Iron and Wine as Americana.
This AI definition is in accordance with how I see it but others may have different opinions.
Americana is a contemporary music genre that incorporates elements of various American roots music styles, including:
Country, Roots-rock, Folk, Bluegrass, R&B, and Blues.
Americana music is often acoustic, but it can also use a full electric band. It’s characterized by a distinctive roots-oriented sound that’s different from the pure forms of the genres it draws from.
EXCEPT that I don’t see it as strictly contemporary.
I’m not familiar with Old 57’s but I’d say T. Joe White is Americana. He’s got Blues, R&B and maybe Cajun influences but his music doesn’t sound like "the pure forms [he] draws from".
Threads like this are like a breathe of fresh air. After giving a quick listen on the link you provided, I purchased the CD. Great well recorded music. Thanks for posting this and taking me outside of my mainstream.
Good point Stuart. One facet of learning to drum is limb independence, all four playing independently from each other (like rubbing your belly while patting your head, times two). I myself am impressed by piano players, who have to learn independence of all ten fingers (or is it eight fingers and two thumbs? ).
I didn’t mean in terms of how well the instruments partner/function together. I was thinking in terms of the fact that playing drums seems, like playing pedal steel, to require coordinating lots of things at onc. By comparison, guitar and bass, not so much.
On the other hand Stuart, bass is the natural partner to drums. In the Crowell & Harris clip, the bass player is at the back of the stage with the drummer, right where bassists belong.
From what I’ve seen on the forum so far, you’re the ideal candidate. You seem to know/care more about the genre than anyone on the forum. I second the nomination ! ! !
@stuartk: Starting an Americana thread is a GREAT idea! I’ll be tied up with a coupla matters for a few days, but if no one else has started one by the end of the week perhaps I’ll give it a shot.
For now, here’s a great performance by two Americana artists at the top of my list: Rodney Crowell and Emmylou Harris. They’re performing Crowell’s song "Ain’t Living long Like This", and the band is as good as it comes, just magnificent:
Got hooked … the second song I listened to: Blue Besides. Played on Devore Fidelity Super Nines, Luxman 550axMarkII, Eversolo streaming Amazon Music. Catchy rhythm, a a hint of Natalie Merchant in her voice. Wonder if they’ve ever played at the Continental Club. Great recommendation.
@slaw- Completely agree about the Sadies; saw them open for Black Mountain in San Francisco about 20 years ago and was blown away; been a fan ever since. Such a tragedy about Dallas, RIP.
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