Soul

The Many Worlds of Valerie June

It’s hard to not like Valerie June and her music. Here is what Andy Gill wrote about her most recent album “In Order of Time”: “Her follow-up to 2013’s sublime “Pushin’ Against A Stone” finds Valerie June expanding her unique blend of blues, soul and mountain music to create a distinctive hybrid in which past and future coalesce with gentle power.” What is interesting to me was that the first song I liked by her is a rocker (above) and the next is a tranquil and delicate piece sang on a chair by a pond. She is that sort of artist.
Valerie June Hockett — who performs as Valerie June — was  born in Tennessee, lived in Memphis and has relocated to Brooklyn. (Click here or on the image for Amazon, here for iTunes) for more on the album.

The singer song writer mixes a lot of different genres. Her Wikipedia profile quotes her as describing her music as “combining blues, gospel and Appalachian folk, in a style that she describes as ‘organic moonshine roots music.’ ”

By coincidence, USA Today published a small story about June yesterday. She said that she now is listening to a great deal of Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn. The highlight was that June felt it a coup when the Dap-Kings, who she toured with, led her to a treasure trove of pristine vinyl Lynn albums. She also mentioned a number of current performers she likes. June clearly has her feet planted in many worlds, both in terms of today’s music and the past. There is a tremendous amount of good video available of June. I was struck by how different each of the videos seems to be. The one constant is her tremendous head of hair.

There is a tremendous amount of good video available of June. I was struck by how different each of the videos seems to be. The one constant is her tremendous head of hair. Here is how her website describes her:

From the slide guitar shuffle of “You Can’t Be Told” and heavenly harmonies of traditional spiritual “Trials, Troubles, Tribulations,” to the stark, acoustic “Workin’ Woman Blues” and the uncanny darkness of “Twined and Twisted,” June effortlessly shifts between eras and genres. She can be haunting and melancholy, singing of loneliness on “Somebody To Love,” or full of warmth and charm, fondly recalling her home on “Tennessee Time.” At one moment seductive in a sensual come-on, fragile and vulnerable the next in a display of naked honesty, June transports you to another world the moment you hear her voice.

Steve Leggett’s profile at AllMusic does a good job of describing how June–and, by extension, other talented younger acts–progress. An added bonus is a profile shot from her album. Valerie June has a lot of hair.

Above is “You Can’t Be Told” and below is “Pushin’ Against a Stone.”

In addition to USA Today, June’s site, AllMusic and Wikipedia were used for this post.

Credit: Andy Gill’s review of Valerie June’s “In Order of Time” at The Independent.

Our New Things: Links to Music Sites and Info on Analog Tech and Vinyl

TDMB has focused on music and musicians. We will continue to do that, of course. We're also expanding our coverage to include vinyl and analog equipment.

More specifically, we'll look at this huge and interesting world from the perspective of music lovers who want a better experience, not committed non-audiophiles.

Check out is some of what we've written so far:

-- Assessing the Value of Vinyl Records: An Overview

-- 7 Quick Tips on Optimizing Your Turntable Cartridge

-- Why Vinyl Records Continue to Thrive

-- Finding the Best Amplifier

-- Finding the Best Phono Preamp

-- What Speakers Do I Need for My Turntable?

Check out more articles on analog equipment and vinyl.

The site also is home to The Internet Music Mapping Project, an effort to list and describe as many music-related sites as possible.

Our Music

--A Tribe Called Quest to The Dick Hyman Trio (In other words, A to H)

--Indigo Girls to Queen Ida (I to Q)

--Radiohead to ZZ Top (R to Z)

Reading Music

The stories of the great bands and musicians are fascinating. Musicians as a group are brilliant, but often troubled. The combination of creativity and drama makes for great reading.

Here are some books to check out.

Duke Ellington brought class, sophistication and style to jazz which, until that point, was proudly unpolished and raucous. His story is profound. The author, Terry Teachout, also wrote "Pops," the acclaimed bio of Louis Armstrong. Click here or on the image.

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What else is there to say? Here is the story behind every song written by The Beatles. Click here or on the image.

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The Grateful Dead don't get enough credit for the profound nature of its lyrics. Many of the band's songs are driven by a deep and literate Americana ("I'm Uncle Sam/That's who I am/Been hidin' out/In a rock and roll band" and "Majordomo Billy Bojangles/Sit down and have a drink with me/What's this about Alabama/Keeps comin' back to me?").

David Dodd's exhaustive study tells the story, song by song. Click here or on the image.

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