Albums of the Year: Honorable Mention Edition

First of all, let me make it clear that these are not necessarily the best or most popular or most significant albums of 2015. These are my favorite albums that I have listened to more than once or twice. It's my list.

I'll link to the album spotlights and interviews from this blog. There won't be any commentary in this post.

The list would be shorter if I were genre specific or only listened to mainstream stuff. This is about good music that I like. And I don't listen to much of anything mainstream. I listed my favorite albums of 2015 and came up with 24. This honorable mention list will include the 14 that didn't make the top ten.

The artist's name will link to my posts, the album name will link to the artist's web site.

In no particular order:

Plastic Rhino - Recondition

Jonathan Tyler - Holy Smokes

Lindi Ortega - Faded Gloryville

Frankie Bourne - Californicana

Samantha Fish - Wild Heart

Koritni - Night Goes On For Days

Europe - War of Kings

Striking Matches - Nothing But The Silence

Allison Moorer - Down To Believing

Gretchen Peters - Blackbirds

Butch Walker - Afraid of Ghosts

Brandi Carlile - The Firewatcher's Daughter

honeyhoney - 3

Ray Wylie Hubbard - The Ruffian's Misfortune

Look for my top 10 coming out later this month.

Album Spotlight: Samantha Fish: Wild Heart

Singer/guitarist/blueswoman Samantha Fish has released her third record Wild Heart. It's been a little over a year since I first heard her previous album Black Wind Howlin', which I wrote about here.

Wild Heart is an evolution in the best sense of the word. This record has more texture, color, depth and breadth than Black Wind Howlin'. And that's not a knock on Black Wind Howlin', because it is fantastic. Wild Heart is everything you want in a record. You don't want the current song to end, but can't wait to hear the next one.

There is some Southern Rock style blues rockers, some blues, some country, some Americana. It's all there.

Here are couple of live versions of songs from the new record.

"Go Home"



"Bitch on the Run"

Working Women's Wednesday: Various Artists

I had intended to make to make this a weekly feature. I got through one week and then life kinda happened. Or maybe I just dropped the ball. Either way, it's my fault.

There are many women, both in rock and country, that are not getting enough exposure. Pop music tends to treat the ladies much better. My goal is to feature those that I like.

To re-kick this off, let's just take a look at some of the ladies I've written about previously:

Samantha Fish. Bluesier than rock, but rocking more than straight-up blues:




Orianthi: Pedigree includes playing guitar for Michael Jackson and Alice Cooper. Currently teaming with Richie Sambora. Guitar virtuoso.



Maggie Rose: She falls into the country genre, but is so much more.



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Where Do You Find Good Music These Days?

I'm really not sure how those that only listen to traditional radio find anything worth listening to, much less anything good, new and exciting. And before anyone crows about satellite radio, I'm not sure that's much better. Sure you can find what you want to listen to, but are you discovering anything new, or just listening to what you already like?

Let's just take a look at the past 12 months + and what I'm listening to and where I discovered them.

Halestorm: From a website totally unrelated to anything music.

Whiskey Myers: From a radio station. But a local Red Dirt/Texas station.

Blackberry Smoke: From a "Related Artists" search on Spotify.

Orianthi: From twitter. A country artist from Ohio who's a fan of VH1 Classic's "That Metal Show" tweeted about her.

Houndmouth: From a "Related Artists" search on Spotify.

Samantha Fish: From a YouTube search for the Rolling Stones' "Dead Flowers" covers. (Don't ask)

Nikki Lane: From the website SavingCountryMusic.com.

Tyler McCumber Band: From the website FarceTheMusic.com.

Unless you are actively searching for non-mainstream music, you are not going to find it. And you are missing out on a ton of good stuff. I'm not saying that the above artists are your cup of tea, just saying that if I hadn't gone outside of what the conglomerates had decided what we should listen to, I would not have been able to enjoy their music.

I would hate to be an up-and-coming artist in this day and age. It's got to be tough. Radio is a vapid wasteland. The so called music channels (MTV, VH1, CMT, GAC) have all gone headlong into "reality" based programming.

Most people won't take the time or put forth the effort it takes to find music they truly enjoy. And face it, in today's world, it takes time and effort.

I'll admit it, I'm a bit of music nerd. The kind of music I've always liked has never been easily accessible except for brief periods. That's not to say that hasn't been a lot of more mainstream music that I have enjoyed, but for the most part, I've had to do some research to find my music. I'm okay with that.

Chicks That Rock the Blues: Samantha Fish

I'll be honest, I'd never heard of Samantha Fish before yesterday. I was doing some searching on youtube for a version of the Rolling Stones' "Dead Flowers" and came across hers. I liked it, so naturally, I had to investigate further.

Hailing from Kansas City, Samantha is more blues than rock, but more rock than just blues. She also dabbles in country-tinged songs as well. At least that is what I gathered from a couple of listens to her 2013 album Black Wind Howlin', released last September.

There is a lot of stuff to like on this album, whether you are a fan of blues, rock, country or Americana. She delivers it all. Known as a blues artist, she is. But not purely. There is enough blues on the record to satisfy all but the purists, including a cover of Howlin' Wolf's "Who's Been Talking." That is the only cover on the album, although there is a song called "Heartbreaker" which I almost expected to be a Led Zeppelin cover, which could have been very interesting.

The songs are minimal in instrumentation, mostly just guitar, bass and drums with not a lot of overdubs. A classic three piece setup. There is some harp and fiddle on a couple of songs.

At times, Samantha's vocals remind me a bit of Bonnie Raitt, which is a good thing, but she also has her own style. Her guitar work is good, but she's no Stevie Ray (but then again, who is?).

For the rockers, there are tracks like "Miles to Go", "Heartbreaker" and "Lay it Down". For a bit of Louisiana country with hints of zydeco, check out "Last September". And then there is plenty of blues throughout.

This is the video for "Lay it Down".

I just can't believe I've never heard of her before. Enjoy.

Samantha Fish on Amazon.

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