I've been pondering the business of podcasting, production etc. this last while. And reading JD Salinger. Life's busy. So that's taking up some of my thoughts, but the main thing is to take a rundown of the prodigious output of Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, at least up to her / their superb 2011 album, The Harrow & The Harvest. This month's show gets into that. You like it? - please Share far and wide! Some Resources: Lauren Passarelli - Songwriting Process - Lesson (2023)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ga1q0OxomjsI Dream a Highway – Gillian Welch’s Song of America Explicatedhttps ..read more

Some Resources: John Prine Early Television Performance "Hello In There" (1972) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B--cUsH_1n8 John Prine – Miller & Co. interview (1992): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSsYLLtl5wQ Sessions at West 54th (2001): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mkz8TnVQSOQ Report of Fiona Whelan Prine interview for BBC Radio 4 (2020): https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2020/0514/1138366-john-prines-wife-remembers-magic-last-gig-in-paris/ Beyond Words – John Prine https://store.johnprine.com/products/john-prine-beyond-words-songbook-oh-boy-records House of Strombo show (2018) http ..read more

This here's the final episode for Season 1 of Country - What It Is, and this one's all about the grand old man of Outlaw Country, Waylon Jennings. We take a look at his progression from a high-school drop-out to truck-driver, radio DJ and performer, through his years with Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash and more, to just about the middle of his stellar career, with the Dreaming My Dreams album, and the lovely "Dreaming My Dreams With You". Please feel free to Like this episode, Follow or Subscribe to "Country - What It Is" on your podcast platf ..read more

Part 2 of our look at the work of Lucinda Williams - this is one of the most vital voices in Country, Rock and Country-Rock music. With the arrival of her autobiography, Don't Tell Anybody The Secrets I Told You, it's timely to revisit all of her music to date, even as her latest album is on its way. Please feel free to Like it on your social network, Follow on MixCloud or wherever you listen to podcasts, and Share it far and wide - thanks for your help, everyone! Some Resources: Irish Immigration to America, 1630 to 1921 (Nantucket Atheneum): https://www.nantucketatheneum.org/wp-content/uploa ..read more

Please listen, and then Like, Share, Favourite, Follow and Subscribe this episode to bits! I'd like to get this out to so many more people than are already with us on this trip. Lucinda Williams is something of an outlier - known and loved by music fans across the spectrum, and respected by her peers throughout music, but seemingly not yet occupying the pantheon of great artists after 50 years in the business and 45 of those at the top of her game - or is she? This is the first part of a trawl through her greatest work, and I'm loving it. Let me know what you think on the "Country - What It Is ..read more

Taking a look at the output of John Prine up to the 1995 album "Lost Dogs and Mixed Blessings", especially the engrossing poem/song/recitation song, Lake Marie. Thanks for listening! All Shares, Likes, Subscribes etc. are so welcome, you wouldn't believe. We'll be moving on to his later releases in the next episode. Some Resources: John Prine sings My Old Man - Celebration: A Tribute to Steve Goodman (1984): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKkFkocrCN8 Sessions at West 54th (2001):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mkz8TnVQSOQ The Story Behind Lake Marie – interview for “Beyond Words” book (2017 ..read more

It's Season 2 at last! Kicking off where we left off last season, to complete our look at Ol' Waylon from the last '70s onwards. Great you can come back, and if you're new and you like this, go back and listen from the start, they're an easy listen - you'll like them too. And of course, please Like, Subscribe and Share! Some Resources: Nashville Network interview (1984): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iLcVvZW3qY Waylon Jennings – Louisiana Women (live in Texas) with Ralph Mooney, Richie Albright, Jerry Gropp (1975): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_4mrX794ZM Willie Nelson – It’s A Long Sto ..read more

This here's the final episode for Season 1 of Country - What It Is, and this one's all about the grand old man of Outlaw Country, Waylon Jennings. We take a look at his progression from a high-school drop-out to truck-driver, radio DJ and performer, through his years with Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash and more, to just about the middle of his stellar career, with the Dreaming My Dreams album, and the lovely "Dreaming My Dreams With You". Please feel free to Like this episode, Follow or Subscribe to "Country - What It Is" on your podcast platf ..read more

It's Season 2 at last! Kicking off where we left off last season, to complete our look at Ol' Waylon from the last '70s onwards. Great you can come back, and if you're new and you like this, go back and listen from the start, they're an easy listen - you'll like them too. And of course, please Like, Subscribe and Share ..read more

This here's the final episode for Season 1 of Country - What It Is, and this one's all about the grand old man of Outlaw Country, Waylon Jennings. We take a look at his progression from a high-school drop-out to truck-driver, radio DJ and performer, through his years with Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash and more, to just about the middle of his stellar career, with the Dreaming My Dreams album, and the lovely "Dreaming My Dreams With You". Please feel free to Like this episode, Follow or Subscribe to "Country - What It Is" on your podcast platf ..read more