Remembering James Hand and Tom T. Hall

     It's been a pretty dismal 18 months now and a lot of music greats have died.  In just the last two weeks, Tom T. Hall, Don Everly, Lee "Scratch" Perry, and Charlie Watts have left us.   Another loss that I was not aware of until a couple of months ago was James Hand, the great country singer from Texas who died in June 2020.  I probably would still not have known about this were it not for Charley Crockett releasing an entire album of James Hand covers earlier this year that I highly recommend.  As a further homage to James Hand, I'm posting his out of print debut album, Shadows Where the Magic Was, a true honky-tonk masterpiece from 1997.   He's also one the first Texas Legends compilation (with Don Walser and Justin Trevino)  Since much of Tom T. Hall's output is still available for streaming and/or purchase, I'm posting the out of print 1998 tribute album: Real: A Tom T. Hall project.  As with all tribute albums, there are a few misses, but this one has a really high batting average. 

Shadows Where the Magic Was

Over There That's Frank
Baby Baby Don't Tell Me That
I Heard Mama Callin
Heart Of Mine
I Can't Afford To Go
The Banks Of The Brazos
If You Can't Tell The Difference
Little Bitty Slip
Shadows Where The Magic Was
Lord Above Can You Hear Me
Not Worth The Trouble Anymore
Merry Christmas Darlin'
Everybody Got It But Me
My Hearts' Been Cheatin' On Me

Real: A Tom T. Hall Project

I Washed My Face in the Morning Dew     Johnny Cash

That's How I Got to Memphis                 Kelly Willis

When Love Is Gone                             Richard Buckner

Don't Forget the Coffee, Billy Joe             R.B. Morris

Coffee, Coffee, Coffee                             Freedy Johnston

Old Enough to Want to (Fool Enough to Try)  Jonny Polonsky

Ships Go Out                                             Ron Sexsmith

I Miss a lot of Trains                             Iris Dement

Tulsa Telephone Book                             Calexico

Harper Valley P.T.A.                             Syd Straw & The Skeletons

Spokane Motel Blues                             Joel R.L. Phelps

Homecoming                                             Joe Henry

The Water Lily                               Ralph Stanley featuring Ralph Stanley II

I'm Not Ready Yet                                     The Mary Janes

Candy in the Window                             Mary Cutrufello

I Hope it Rains at my Funeral        Whiskeytown

It Sure Can Get Cold in Des Moines    Mark Olson With Victoria Williams

A Gaggle of Gilberto Gil

     As a kid, I was always impressed by baseball players who were able to play in four different decades - even if only meant playing in the last year of a decade and then, 21 years later, in the first year of a decade.  Now that I'm in my mid-fifties, I'm also impressed by musicians with longevity, especially those with recording careers of seven decades or more.  While Gilberto Gil may not ultimately be able to match Willie Nelson's eight decades (and I can't imagine there are too many others who can match Willie), he's had a really impressive and long career.  He's also one of those artists that I became familiar with after he stopped touring regularly, so I'm disappointed that I'll probably never get to see him live; if his many live albums are any indication, he truly shines (though I'm glad I did get to see Caetano Veloso twice).  Hope everyone enjoys the two volumes and if you want to dig deeper into his music, I'd start with Gilberto Gil (1971), Expresso 2222 from 1972, and, of course a 1987 live album, Em Concerto.

Download

Volume 1
Filhos de Ghandi
Procissao
Ensaio Geral
Cada Macaco No Seu Galho (Cho Chuá)
Minha Princesa Cordel
Quatro Pedacinhos
A Paz
Um Dia de Garoa
Eu Vim Da Bahia (Live)
Aquele Abraco
Assim Sim
Chiclete Com Banana

Volume 2
Esotérico (Ao Vivo)
Refazenda
Bat Macumba
Diga a Ela (Versão Editada)
Só Quero Um Xodó
Futurível
O Pato
Iemanja
Preciso Aprender a Só Ser
Abra o Olho (Ao Vivo)
Um Abraço no João
One O'clock Last Morning 20th April 1970