(by Jeff Giddens, The Song Survives, December 18, 2009)
I recently spoke with Michael O’Connor, a singer/songwriter/guitarist who has played with the likes of Slaid Cleaves and Susan Gibson. He and Adam Carroll are about to release Hard Times, which I covered here. Five Records is an occasional feature of artists talking about the music that inspires them. Read more of these posts here.
Alice Cooper
School’s Out
“My older brother brought this album home when I was about eight or nine years old. “School’s Out” made me want to run away from home, get my hands on a Les Paul and burn down the whole damn town.“
Tom Waits
Mule Variations
“Tom Waits’ music has got me through some hard times in my life. I never tire of this album; it’s blues, rock, gospel, country, folk, and none of these at the same time. Tom is an original — folks either get him or they don’t, and I dig that.”
Mance Lipscomb
Vol. 5 – Texas Country Blues
“Mance was from Navasota, Texas and was a master songster and guitar player. He played slide guitar with a pocket knife. You can hear him say at the beginning of the song ‘Mance’s Blues,’ ‘Alright. We don’t care about no tape now. We got the blues.’”
Townes Van Zandt
High, Low, and In Between
“I wish I had written the title track: ‘…if a shadow don’t seem much company, well, who said it would be?‘ What more can I say about Townes? I saw him play about six months before he died; it was ragged and perfect. He was a treasure and a poet.“
Ted Russell Kamp
Poor Man’s Paradise
“From the blue-eyed soul side of Americana. This is a solid production from a great singer/songwriter and fantastic musician…Impeccable.”
