The Thorns: The Thorns, Aware/Columbia Records

What a concept: put three mildly successful singer/songwriters together, tell them to write songs, record an album and see what happens. They tried it in 1969 and what we got was Crosby, Stills and Nash (CSN). So why not tread a familiar path and repeat the formula?

Levity aside, Pete Droge, Shawn Mullins and Matthew Sweet have produced perhaps the most exquisite album of heavenly vocal harmonies heard this year. The material is acoustic/electric folk/rock and very much in the vein of early CSN; in fact, the comparisons are downright scary. One can almost hear Nash’s nasal British twang, Crosby’s lush crooning and Still’s brittle phrasing. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but The Thorns stands on its own effortlessly. Ok, it’s not very original, but what the heck. Good music is good music…period.

Joe Ely: Streets of Sin, Rounder Records

Texan Joe Ely has established a career as a country rockin’ storyteller outlaw and he is well ensconced within that milieu. His latest effort is loaded with the kind of desperate characters and hopeless situations that have always characterized his material. One hears tales of carnival bums, jailbird cotton farmers, wild-eyed rednecks, country folks caught in raging flood waters, and of course, lowlife sleaze balls fighting for their very lives, not to mention those tales of lost love that populate every Ely release.

The music is largely acoustic with a few electric touches, but the mood is essentially dark and low key. The final track, “I Gotta Find Ol’ Joe,” is the killer, with its jazzy chord changes and spoken vocals—absolutely chilling.

Anson Funderburgh and The Rockets: Which Way Is Texas? Bullseye Blues Records

Anson Funderburgh is one of the Lone Star State’s best blues guitarists, one who has managed to keep overt rock influences out of his playing. With blind shouter Sam Myers on lead vocals and Funderburgh’s guitar leading the way, “Which Way Is Texas?” explores the many sounds and styles associated with Texas blues, from uptempo shuffles to R&B workouts and soulful gin mill grinders.

Although I’ve found some of Funderburgh’s earlier work a tad lightweight, this one rings true from start to finish.

Hollywood Fats Band: Hollywood Fats Band, Crosscut Records

Back in late seventies Hollywood, the blues was seriously out of style, and in this difficult environment, Michael Mann, better known as Hollywood Fats, led one of the most authentic blues bands this side of Chicago’s South Side or anywhere else.

Eschewing the familiar British rock/blues style, Fats and his band went for the real thing. Their only vinyl album, released in very small quantities in 1979, has since become extremely collectible. This German reissue reprises the entire album, with its original comic book insert, plus another disc’s worth of alternate takes and never before issued gems. The music is primarily medium tempo shuffles and barrelhouse blues, and although it sounds sonically dated (the original sessions were recorded on an ancient two-track recording console to preserve the music’s raw nature), the undeniable energy of the Hollywood Fats Band shines through.

Sadly, Hollywood Fats died at age 32 of a heroin overdose on the eve of reforming the band in 1986. For more information visit crosscut.de.

Count Basie: America’s #1 Band—The Columbia Years, Columbia Legacy Records

The Count Basie Orchestra needs no introduction. It was arguably the greatest jazz band of all time, and this four-disc collection gathers up some of the lesser know full band studio tracks, Basie’s small group recordings and a spate of great live radio airshots from both pre- and postwar periods. Some of the cuts with Basie on organ sound hokey, but this is one mightily swinging affair otherwise and is recommended for anyone with a penchant for vintage or traditional swing. Drummer Jo Jones may be the star of this disc, with his forward-moving punctuations and exclamations.