The best of the unknown

One of the things I want to do with this blog is bring to light stuff you might not have had a chance to experience. Much of the best stuff in music and books comes from the small independent presses that don't have big promotion budgets and therefore isn't widely circulated. As a book, record and occasional film critic (see www.rambles.net) I see a lot of this material. Here, I'll occasionally call attention to stuff you ought to be paying attention to.
Fine music:
Americana: Fayssoux, Early. You might not know who Fayssoux is but you've heard her sing on a thousand records. She was Emmie Lou Harris harmony singer on those wonderful early Warner's albums, for example. Here she steps out in front on her own and crafts a fabulous album. Try it out. Red Beat Records, PO Box 68417, Nashville, TN 37206. Order from their website, CD baby, Amazon or many of the other major sites.
Blues: Swamp Cabbage, Squeal. I called this the best of 2008 and I'm not about to change my mind. Swamp Cabbage is a power blues trio from Jacksonville, Florida, that plays southern soul blues with a fabulous fingerpicked electric guitar, bass and drums. These guys cook. Walter Parks growls the vocals, sounding like a New Orleans street preacher after a really hard night and his playing just can't be matched. You want to know how good this guy is? His day job is playing lead guitar for Ritchie Havens. www.zohomusic.com or all the other online sources.
Books:
Southern fiction: Raymond L. Atkins, The Front Porch Prophet. In the south, nobody loves anything more than good story-telling. Three people get in the same room, one of them is going to start telling a story. It'll be a tall tale and the longer it goes on, the more it'll demand of you as a listener. Remember Eudora Welty's flying cows and Flannery O'Connor travelling salesmen who steal women's wooden legs and you'll realize that verisimilitude does not rule the region. Raymond Atkins comes from this tradition. He tells the story of people who tell stories. sure, there's a plot but it never gets in the way of the stories. This novel just won the award for being the best Georgia novel of the year, but you're still going to have to search it out. Well worth the search, though. www.Medallionpress.com or all the other online sources.
Poetry: anything from Gaspereau Press. Gaspereau is a leading publisher and printer from Canada and the house specializes in producing some of the most beautiful books you've ever seen. They are printed on fine paper, which is smyth sewn in signatures so that the books are durable and open flat without breaking. They are paperbacks but have dust jackets which are handset in letterpress type. The design of the individual volumes is gorgeous; each is a unique piece of art in itself and even more important, they have fine contents. Gaspereau publishes good poets. www.gaspereau.com
More next time.