Joe Bourdet – Unwritten Story
Some folks dream of becoming doctors and astronauts. Other kids, inspired by their parents’ record collection, and by the awesome artwork revealing men and women depicting themselves as outlaws, dream of becoming musicians.
If you’ve spent any time reading my work, you will know that I am not a big fan of nostalgia. Far too often, it is used as a means to capitalize on people’s weaknesses. Nowhere is this truer than in modern music. However, I am honestly touched to hear artists digging deep into the past and coming back with real treasures.
This is what Joe Bourdet’s Unwritten Story struck me, from the first moment that I heard it. The singer-songwriter is not merely channelling the past great “hippie era” folk music. He seems to be living there right now, sending out messages in musical form. An impressive showing.
Leah Tash – All You Ramblers
It all comes down to country music, frankly. Pop-rock music has had quite an incredible journey. Through the decades of its existence, it has travelled the world, found success in numerous places, and helped in cross-pollination with local music scenes to create versions of itself that no 1950s singer of classic American tales could have envisioned.
One could argue that through it all it was the Europeans that did the most the broaden the horizons of popular music. One might also argue that music infused with African, or Asian influences is the most exciting thing to have happened throughout those journeys. That’s all well and good, but modern pop music writing and performing is built on the structure of the country.
And, so, when a passionate, charming performer with a story to tell arrives to add to the country repertoire, it is hard to avoid paying attention. Just like Gram Parsons turned a host of rockers on to classical North American music, so can Leah Tash judging by the excellent All You Ramblers. It’s a song written and sang as if it has always existed, a classic being forged out of thin air.
