2007-07-23
Eilen (rhymes with feelin') Jewell checks in with her second release. She's based in Boston, but her hometown is Boise, Idaho, where dad and mom weaned her on Bob Dylan and Howlin' Wolf records. She does a Dylan number on this set (#11), but critics have most commonly compared her to Gillian Welch. I don't know that I'd go that far in comparison, but Eilen does a bit of "atmosphere" about her songs that give them a depth of feelin' (hey, that rhymes). I liked the Charlie Rich nugget "Thanks a Lot" (#4) and "Heartache Boulevard" (#5) was impressed by her putting music to the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. for the song "How Long" (#8). - MJVDWILL PHALEN
Holy Ghost Gold Coast
Billy Bragg
Mr. Love & Justice
Various Artists
Por Vida: A Tribute to the Songs of Alejandro Escovedo
John Craigie
No Rain, No Rose
Sara Jean Kelley
The Waiting Place
Todd Snider
Peace, Love and Anarchy (Rarities, B-Sides and Demos, Vol. 1)
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