Twenty two songs, electric and acoustic, mostly in a bluesy vein, although the gorgeous folk-style ballad "Up from Georgia" is also here. Talley is good with electric backing, but his acoustic country blues ("Magnolia Boy," etc.) sounds fresher and more distinctive. B.B. King puts in a welcome appearance on "Bluesman" to kick off the set, but the rest has a quiet power that's equally appreciated. The main difference between the two bodies of songs (originally off of two separate albums) is the abse   [ read more ]

CD $21.83

CD $21.83

CD $42.73

CD $21.83

Oklahoma-born James Talley gives stirring accounts of most of the 21 Woody Guthrie songs on this 70-minute CD. Richard Hardy's mandolin adds considerable color to the timbre of these well-arranged recordings, which are dominated by Talley's suitably emotive and pleasing voice. Talley evidently identifies deeply with much of this repertory and invests a lot of himself in each piece, and the backup singing melds nicely with his lead vocals. The recording quality is exceptionally good, bringing    [ read more ]

CD $16.13

For the uninitiated, placing an album like Nashville City Blues in the CD player will be a pleasant surprise. Pleasant because it is a country album that, despite its title, has nothing to do with Nashville, and pleasant because James Talley's approach to country is shot through with the blues. There are no retro-honky tonk songs in sight, and while Talley does wear a hat on the CD cover, it isn't a cowboy hat. The album kicks off with the title cut, a rocking kiss-off to Nashville and    [ read more ]

CD $16.13

James Talley is that rarest of things these days, a true country singer. Not "new country," not "alt-country," but the real thing. He writes beautifully about real people and the problems of their everyday lives, and sings his songs in a voice that could belong to Willie Nelson's brother (indeed, "Not Even When It's Over" could have been written for Nelson, so perfectly does it suit his style). He can go from a tender family ballad like "Richland, Washington" or {&"Give My Love to   [ read more ]

CD $16.13

James Talley is something of a contradiction, simultaneously refusing to water down his music for mainstream country while making a living selling real estate to the highest bidder. All a listener of Journey or other recent Talley albums needs to worry about, however, is the musical side of the equation. While Journey sounds like a career overview, it isn't. Talley's early albums on Capitol remain out of print. Journey, then, is the next best thing, a live album that features mostly    [ read more ]

CD $16.13