You really should get Cotton's new album. Unless you are a dork. But even if you are a dork you should get it anyway on account of it has healing powers that will wash away your dorkishness no matter how heavily slathered. It's one of my favouritest albums of the year and you can pay what you want OR you can spend a little dough on the gorgeous heavyweight creamy green vinyl version. Either way you'll be super happy you own it. Get it HERE.
I've always loved Cotton's stuff and I think the reason why is because he's always changing, always growing, never static but still remaining true to himself. Each album has been a transition from the last and New American Century is no exception. Continuing on the vibe of his last album The Big Sea, which was a quite a departure from his previous work, Mr. Cotton has added a string section for a full yet simple acoustic sound ala Nick Drake. It's a gorgeous sounding recording both sonically and performance-wise. New American Century Vol One ranks quite easily in as one of my top two favorite recordings of the year. If you like the sound of the song below (a song which made a friend of mine cry) you will love the rest of the album. Available directly from Cotton via the links below:
"My best friend and persistant road manager Mike Seeba took liberties to endevour to make a music video for my new tune, The Loudest Sound. I'm still planning on making a full fledged video for this song, but in the meantime this is one of the cooler things I've seen in awhile. The footage itself is public domain; its from 1906 in san francisco three days before the earthquake and subsequent fire that destroyed most of the city. Mike thinks that my song best represents this footage, as it was silent; but there are many edits to this on the internet with many different musical works over them. We are trying to get youtube to feature Mikes version; so please give it a solid view, and rate it appropriatley per your feelings, and if you like it, please tell others about it.
Fun Facts:
This is one of the earliest, if not THE EARLIEST moving pictures in existance. At 2:20 in the clip, the trolly passes a point that is approxomatley by my estimation 3 short blocks from what would become Hyde Street Studios where this song was produced. 105 years later."
Many thanks, Chris Cotton
I posted a video of Cotton doing his new song The Loudest Sound a couple days ago, raving about it's gorgeosity. Chris was kindenough to share that song along with another new one, just as lovely titledMeandering Away. If you are familiar with Cotton's older work like I Watched The Devil Die these songs will be seen as a major departure. His previous album The Big Sea makes a good segue between his earlier piedmont-style/North Mississippi blues and what's happening now. Some might be disappointed that Cotton hasn't stuck to one thing but i'm always down with a quality progression. Chris Cotton's work never disappoints. His skills are formidable and striking yet he never allows his technical prowess to over-shadow the simple beauty of the song. Listen:
I just heard Cotton's new studio version of this song. It's simply gorgeous. This version doesn't really do it justice but will give you barely a hint as to what Cotton's up to these days. His next album is going to be the game changer for him.
Chris Cotton is working on a bunch of new stuff. He's sent me some demos over the last year and I think it's exciting stuff. Each of Cotton's albums have topped the previous and with each he has tweaked and transformed his style while remaining..well...Chris Cotton. Here's the first completed track. It's called Sun Girl.
While we wait for Cotton's new album you can download his last two from Amazon:
Yr pal Chris Cotton has a fine new video out for the song Blues and Sadness off his excellent new album The Big Sea. You can read my review of The Big SeaHERE.
Me playin' drums with Cotton at Deep Blues Festival '08. Video shot but Ol' Cuzn Wildweed. BTW Tix for DBF '09 are available HERE
photo courtesy of tiina liimu CHRiS COTTON plays THE DEEP BLUES FESTiVAL First of all let's get this straight: You can call Chris Cotton a lot of names. Call him Cotton, Slappy, Wingnut McSpazz-O-Tron, yr daddy, or Mr. Cotton, Sir. But don't call him a bluesman. And don't call his music blues, either. Gatemouth Brown suffered the same curse and carried a similar cross. What Mr. Brown played wasn't really blues either but to a lot of ears it might have sounded like it. I won't bother to go into that whole "black man playing guitar it must be blues" thing. You are smart enough to figure that out. Chris Cotton doesn't hardly sound a thing like Mr.Gatemouth Brown but both do (or in the case of Mr. Brown "did") excel at spreading their sound across a rich loamy rock-free field of music while still sounding completely themselves. Both have done all they can to dig themselves out of that shiny Tommy Bahama shirt laden blues ghetto. Here's the thing about Cotton's music. The more you hear it and the more intently you listen to it, the more you find is revealed. Cotton plays with a deceptive ease. Not a laid back hippie ease but rather that of one comfortable with himself and his instrument, his fellow players, and his skills. Skills which you'll find are utterly formidable. The comfort and ease with which Cotton's singing and playing come across makes his music feel like you're wearing all your favorite clothes at the same time. Maybe your worn old punk rock boots with your coolest dark blue country cowboy shirt with bright Pearline buttons and cigarette burns, soft old jeans you stole from your dad with the patches and holes that mark and reveal where they've been and that dirty old slouch hat with the sweat stained band you picked up in Memphis. But when you start to peel off all the layers it's still the original thing underneath. Cotton's music is organic. It's who he is. It's what he does. Without creepy wispy adaptation or precious faux affectation or special outfits or any other extemporaneous B.S.
Chris Cotton is a songster. I don't think he'll mind me calling him that. What the hell is a songster? Leadbelly was a songster. He knew all the hits of the day. Mississippi John Hurt and Furry Lewis too. They made those songs theirs. They knew blues, too, but it wasnt' all they knew. Same with Cotton's special rider man Blind Willie McTell. And just like them, Cotton plays pop music. You just don't recognize it that way. The difference is history. Cotton's musical forefathers were usually one man operations that played what was happening then and not often for a socially mixed audience, if you know what I mean. Cotton, too, is playing what's happening then. The difference is a couple hundred years of musical history. It's as if Cotton has somehow absorbed the ink from a two-hundred year long songbook and he uses that songbook for watercolor paper covering it with his own original washes and colors mixed with the original ancient ink to paint textures both coarse and fine. Textures like the sitar in the third track of the three track suite that holds the belly of the album, and the deft vocal exchanges with friend and neighbor John Henry on I'm Going Home (one of two Cotton co-writes on this ten piece album) as well as the duets with fellow west coaster(and fine artist in her own right)Paige. It's the HERE and NOW that Cotton filters the music of THEN through. The unfortunate thing for Chris Cotton is that people rarely LiSTEN to music anymore. When was the last time you put on an album and sat down on the couch and actually listened to it without some sort of multi-tasking? And LISTENiNG is what has to happen for Cotton to escape that blues ghetto and the clutch of The Dudes who care more about what gauge of strings their god Robert Johnson used on Terraplane than they do about being moved. Taken at face value Cotton will be accepted or dismissed based on blues taste makers. Just as Gatemouth Brown was. Unfortunately for Chris Cotton most of the taste the bald headed pony tailed panama hatted bluesers (or the spelling they would probably prefer "Bluezers") have is in their mouth. Blanket indictment? Damn Straight. Chris Cotton and I would be more than happy for you to prove us wrong. Cotton has assembled a dynamite album that is akin to his previous releases but a couple years stronger and deeper. An album that rewards the listener who pays attention with each subsequent play. An album that, once you hear it will cause your jaw to drop and your eyes to bug out when you find out it was recorded completely live with no overdubs. Do any of your wankin' souless bluezerstars do that? Cotton would, should, could be king. His coronation is up to you.
FUN FACTS! Actually The Big Sea contains eleven pieces including the Cotton style hill-country hidden track Farm Jam which drops at three minutes in. This track features Cotton on guitar as well as John Henry on bass and Dirty Simonson on drums. This combo does not appear elsewhere on the CD. Cotton briefly went to college where I grew up but we never met. Countless years later I got to back him up on drums at Deep Blues Festival number one.
These posts are made in order to help promote artists that I love and believe in and to hopefully twist yr spindly little bird arm into buying their stuff. Generally speaking the artists that I tend to like are not wealthy and do not usually refer to their home (or tour van as the case may be) as a "crib". So with this in mind please give them your hard earned money. They deserve it or I would not bother letting you know about them. Songs are up for a limited time and once gone they are gone. Got the rights to a file and want it removed? Give me a holler.
enough to share that song along with another new one, just as lovely titled 
makes a good segue between his earlier piedmont-style/North Mississippi blues and what's happening now. Some might be disappointed that Cotton hasn't stuck to one thing but i'm always down with a quality progression. Chris Cotton's work never disappoints. His skills are formidable and striking yet he never allows his technical prowess to over-shadow the simple beauty of the song. Listen:
