Tweedy, Costello, Jones Enliven New Louvin Album
November 14, 2006, 11:15 AM ET
Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.
Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, Elvis Costello and George Jones are among the artists pitching in on country legend Charlie Louvin's first new album in more than a decade. The self-titled 12-track set will arrive Feb. 20 via Tompkins Square Records and be supported with an extensive tour.
Louvin, who turns 80 in July, recorded the album earlier this year in Nashville with producer Mark Nevers. Also contributing to the sessions were Will Oldham, Tom T. Hall, Bobby Bare Sr., Marty Stuart, The Clean's David Kilgour and members of Lambchop, Superchunk, Bright Eyes and Clem Snide.
The repertoire encompasses Louvin Brothers songs plus tracks long associated with the Carter Family, the Monroe Brothers and Jimmie Rogers. The album also includes a Charlie-sung tribute to his late brother and collaborator, Ira.
The Louvin Brothers remain a towering influence over country music; a Universal South tribute album, "Livin', Lovin', Losin' -- Songs of the Louvin Brothers," won the 2004 Grammy for best country album.
Here is the track list for "Charlie Louvin":
"Must You Throw Dirt in My Face," featuring George Jones
"Great Atomic Power," featuring Jeff Tweedy
"Blues Stay Away From Me," featuring Bobby Bare Sr., Tom T. Hall and Marty Stuart
"The Christian Life," featuring Eef Barzalay
"When I Stop Dreaming," featuring Elvis Costello, Mac McCaughan and Pete Cummings
"Waiting for a Train," featuring George Jones and Marty Stuart
"Kneeling Drunkard's Plea," featuring Alex McManus
"Worried Man Blues," featuring Bobby Bare Sr., Kurt Wagner and Marty Stuart
"Grave on the Green Hillside," featuring Marty Stuart
"Knoxville Girl," featuring Will Oldham and Marty Stuart
"Ira," featuring Marty Stuart
"My Long Journey Home," featuring David Kilgour
R.I.P. Charlie Louvin
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And No Coffee Table
- Posts: 3543
- Joined: Thu Aug 21, 2003 2:57 pm
R.I.P. Charlie Louvin
Last edited by And No Coffee Table on Wed Jan 26, 2011 11:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
Hear When I Stop Dreaming (duet w/Elvis Costello and Paul Burch on guitar)
via this -
http://songsillinoismp3.blogspot.com/20 ... first.html
via this -
http://songsillinoismp3.blogspot.com/20 ... first.html
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charliestumpy
- Posts: 710
- Joined: Thu Jan 06, 2005 7:33 am
Louvin
Ta for links/letting me 'hear' EC song yesterday pre-Feb 2007 release. I shall listen again later.
http://www.amazon.com/Charlie-Louvin-Di ... F8&s=music
Charlie Louvin (Dig)
Charlie Louvin
February 20, 2007
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/r ... lie_Louvin
Charlie Louvin
Charlie Louvin
[Tompkins Square; 2007]
Rating: 7.6
Listening to Charlie Louvin's new album of old songs is like hearing your grandfather sing hymns. The 80-year-old country music veteran has the warm and easy authority of someone who has spent his entire life with these songs; he knows every word, every melody, every implication by heart. His voice, hardened by experience, sounds worn and weary, especially compared to his popular material of 50 years ago. Most of all it sounds lonely, as if it were created by God specifically to harmonize with his brother Ira Louvin, who died in 1965.
In a perfect world, Charlie Louvin would need no introduction, but while his acolytes are well-known (his songs have been covered by Johnny Cash, Alison Krauss, Gram Parsons-era Byrds, and Uncle Tupelo, to name just a few), the Louvin Brothers themselves are perhaps most famous to a mainstream audience for the silly cover of their 1960 album Satan Is Real. Born Ira and Charles Loudermilk in rural Alabama, the brothers began singing together professionally in the early 1940s. After a decade of paying their dues, they signed with Capitol Records, lodged an impressive number of hits in the country top ten, and became regulars at the Grand Ole Opry. Their story is as epic and indelibly American as Johnny Cash's, full of tragedy and redemption. The brothers were as different from one another as could be: While Charlie remained reserved and devoted to the Christian life they sang about, Ira is well documented as being an alcoholic with a raging temper and a womanizer with four wives. Charlie split the group in 1963; Ira was finally getting his life back together when he was killed by a drunk driver.
Although he's been playing shows for decades, Charlie Louvin is, surprisingly, his first real solo album. It's mostly full of old songs like "Great Atomic Power", the murder ballad "Knoxville Girl", "When I Stop Dreaming", and the Carter Family's "Kneeling Drunkard's Plea", re-recorded in his aged voice and with a roster of admirers-- young artists like Jeff Tweedy, Will Oldham, and Clem Snide's Eef Barzalay, as well as older guard like Tom T. Hall, George Jones, Bobby Bare Sr., Marty Stuart, and Chip Young, who played guitar for Elvis. Most of these tracks stick to a midtempo pace to accommodate Louvin's vocals, but "Kneeling Drunkard's Plea" nicely slows down to sound like a hymn, with a congregation of backing voices lending the chorus a subtle solemnity. And uptempo numbers like "Worried Man Blues" and closer "My Long Journey Home" sound like front-porch jams that give the musicians a chance to show off their picking skills.
The newbies don't come across very well on Charlie Louvin. Both Barzalay and Oldham get less than a verse, ostensibly enough to get their names on the bill, but not enough to make their marks on the songs. Sounding like a city slicker, Elvis Costello brings his usual oily polish to his verse, and on the otherwise tender "Grave on the Green Hillside" Joy Lynn White belts out her lines aggressively, overpowering the gentler performances of Louvin and Tift Merritt. It's the old timers who really shine on Charlie Louvin. George Jones sings well with Louvin on opener "Must You Throw Dirt in My Face" and "Waiting for a Train", and Bare and Hall have a blast on "Blues Stay Away from Me".
But this is Louvin's show, and he doesn't need anyone's assistance selling these songs. There is real character in his voice and an instinctive grace in his phrasing. For that reason, the album's best moment is the sole new song, "Ira". A simple song that sweetly expresses Charlie's enormous loss, it's a poignant tribute not simply to Ira but to Ira's high tenor, which Charlie professes to hear in his head whenever he sings the old songs. "Ira, I still hear you, your sweet harmony off in the distance," Charlie sings, steadfast in his conviction that they'll harmonize again in heaven.
Despite the history behind these songs, Charlie Louvin never exploits his age or legend for the kind of cheap gravitas that Johnny Cash's American Recordings series occasionally lapsed into. Credit goes to Louvin as well as to producer Mark Nevers of Lambchop, who corrals all the musicians and keeps things upbeat and airy. Occasionally, his production sounds a little gimmicky-- the guitar feedback on "Great Atomic Power", the ghostly mandolin on "Ira"-- but his best decision here is to end not with a solemn number, but with Bill Monroe's quick-stepping "My Long Journey Home". A duet with Paul Burch, the song rambles amiably, showcasing Chris Scruggs' banjo picking and Louvin's earthy musicality. Title aside, the song isn't commemorative, but celebratory as it closes the album on a high note.
-Stephen M. Deusner, February 20, 2007[/img]
Charlie Louvin (Dig)
Charlie Louvin
February 20, 2007
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/r ... lie_Louvin
Charlie Louvin
Charlie Louvin
[Tompkins Square; 2007]
Rating: 7.6
Listening to Charlie Louvin's new album of old songs is like hearing your grandfather sing hymns. The 80-year-old country music veteran has the warm and easy authority of someone who has spent his entire life with these songs; he knows every word, every melody, every implication by heart. His voice, hardened by experience, sounds worn and weary, especially compared to his popular material of 50 years ago. Most of all it sounds lonely, as if it were created by God specifically to harmonize with his brother Ira Louvin, who died in 1965.
In a perfect world, Charlie Louvin would need no introduction, but while his acolytes are well-known (his songs have been covered by Johnny Cash, Alison Krauss, Gram Parsons-era Byrds, and Uncle Tupelo, to name just a few), the Louvin Brothers themselves are perhaps most famous to a mainstream audience for the silly cover of their 1960 album Satan Is Real. Born Ira and Charles Loudermilk in rural Alabama, the brothers began singing together professionally in the early 1940s. After a decade of paying their dues, they signed with Capitol Records, lodged an impressive number of hits in the country top ten, and became regulars at the Grand Ole Opry. Their story is as epic and indelibly American as Johnny Cash's, full of tragedy and redemption. The brothers were as different from one another as could be: While Charlie remained reserved and devoted to the Christian life they sang about, Ira is well documented as being an alcoholic with a raging temper and a womanizer with four wives. Charlie split the group in 1963; Ira was finally getting his life back together when he was killed by a drunk driver.
Although he's been playing shows for decades, Charlie Louvin is, surprisingly, his first real solo album. It's mostly full of old songs like "Great Atomic Power", the murder ballad "Knoxville Girl", "When I Stop Dreaming", and the Carter Family's "Kneeling Drunkard's Plea", re-recorded in his aged voice and with a roster of admirers-- young artists like Jeff Tweedy, Will Oldham, and Clem Snide's Eef Barzalay, as well as older guard like Tom T. Hall, George Jones, Bobby Bare Sr., Marty Stuart, and Chip Young, who played guitar for Elvis. Most of these tracks stick to a midtempo pace to accommodate Louvin's vocals, but "Kneeling Drunkard's Plea" nicely slows down to sound like a hymn, with a congregation of backing voices lending the chorus a subtle solemnity. And uptempo numbers like "Worried Man Blues" and closer "My Long Journey Home" sound like front-porch jams that give the musicians a chance to show off their picking skills.
The newbies don't come across very well on Charlie Louvin. Both Barzalay and Oldham get less than a verse, ostensibly enough to get their names on the bill, but not enough to make their marks on the songs. Sounding like a city slicker, Elvis Costello brings his usual oily polish to his verse, and on the otherwise tender "Grave on the Green Hillside" Joy Lynn White belts out her lines aggressively, overpowering the gentler performances of Louvin and Tift Merritt. It's the old timers who really shine on Charlie Louvin. George Jones sings well with Louvin on opener "Must You Throw Dirt in My Face" and "Waiting for a Train", and Bare and Hall have a blast on "Blues Stay Away from Me".
But this is Louvin's show, and he doesn't need anyone's assistance selling these songs. There is real character in his voice and an instinctive grace in his phrasing. For that reason, the album's best moment is the sole new song, "Ira". A simple song that sweetly expresses Charlie's enormous loss, it's a poignant tribute not simply to Ira but to Ira's high tenor, which Charlie professes to hear in his head whenever he sings the old songs. "Ira, I still hear you, your sweet harmony off in the distance," Charlie sings, steadfast in his conviction that they'll harmonize again in heaven.
Despite the history behind these songs, Charlie Louvin never exploits his age or legend for the kind of cheap gravitas that Johnny Cash's American Recordings series occasionally lapsed into. Credit goes to Louvin as well as to producer Mark Nevers of Lambchop, who corrals all the musicians and keeps things upbeat and airy. Occasionally, his production sounds a little gimmicky-- the guitar feedback on "Great Atomic Power", the ghostly mandolin on "Ira"-- but his best decision here is to end not with a solemn number, but with Bill Monroe's quick-stepping "My Long Journey Home". A duet with Paul Burch, the song rambles amiably, showcasing Chris Scruggs' banjo picking and Louvin's earthy musicality. Title aside, the song isn't commemorative, but celebratory as it closes the album on a high note.
-Stephen M. Deusner, February 20, 2007[/img]
http://download1.spinner.com/2007/05/03 ... he-saddle/
(extract)
The Alabama-born country-music legend, who turns 80 in July, has been touring extensively across the U.S. this spring and is scheduled to take the stage at Bonnaroo in June. Charlie Louvin took some time from his travels to talk with Spinner about his complicated relationship with his late brother and singing partner Ira, his influence on -- and collaborations with -- today's rock and country stars, and why it often takes two of them to add up to one Ira.
How did you find duet partners for the new record -- or did they find you?
Elvis Costello is a self-proclaimed Louvin Brothers fan, and he says he likes my music. We found him last year when he was doing Bonnaroo. He and his entire band came [to the session], and he sang on 'When I Stop Dreaming.' The other folks, I was not present. I had my part finished. I haven't gotten to meet them yet. This year, I'm playing Bonnaroo and I'll get to meet two or three of the guys. [Jeff] Tweedy is gonna be there, and one of the other guys.
(extract)
The Alabama-born country-music legend, who turns 80 in July, has been touring extensively across the U.S. this spring and is scheduled to take the stage at Bonnaroo in June. Charlie Louvin took some time from his travels to talk with Spinner about his complicated relationship with his late brother and singing partner Ira, his influence on -- and collaborations with -- today's rock and country stars, and why it often takes two of them to add up to one Ira.
How did you find duet partners for the new record -- or did they find you?
Elvis Costello is a self-proclaimed Louvin Brothers fan, and he says he likes my music. We found him last year when he was doing Bonnaroo. He and his entire band came [to the session], and he sang on 'When I Stop Dreaming.' The other folks, I was not present. I had my part finished. I haven't gotten to meet them yet. This year, I'm playing Bonnaroo and I'll get to meet two or three of the guys. [Jeff] Tweedy is gonna be there, and one of the other guys.
Re: Elvis on Charlie Louvin album
No actual E.C. content , except for the Grammy reference ; both albums sound interesting -
http://artsandfaith.com/index.php?showtopic=20546
COUNTRY MUSIC LEGEND CHARLIE LOUVIN
EXPLORES VISIONS OF
HEAVEN AND HELL ON TWO NEW ALBUMS
Tompkins Square is proud to announce that Country Music Hall of Famer and half of the legendary country duo The Louvin Brothers, Charlie Louvin will release two new albums. Steps to Heaven, due September 16th, 2008, features 10 traditional gospel classics including two Louvin Brothers songs. The release will be followed by Charlie Louvin Sings Murder Ballads & Disaster Songs, coming December 9, 2008. Both albums were produced, recorded and mixed by Mark Nevers (Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Andrew Bird, Bobby Bare Sr.).
Steps to Heaven was recorded live with a gospel choir comprised of three sisters, journeyman gospel pianist Derrick Lee, and Chris Scruggs adding doghouse bass and guitar. Louvin had never recorded with black gospel musicians before, and in doing so discovered a new musical path. "I did things on the gospel record I had no idea I could do. I'd be thinking along the way, 'How can I do things I've never done before?' And I did it."
Although some might be surprised at a thematic Charlie Louvin album dealing with death and destruction, one needn't look any further than the very first Louvin Brothers album to find a connection. Tragic Songs of Life, released in 1956, is full of emotional songs detailing heartbreak, betrayal, violence and loss. Inspired by Tompkins Square's recent Grammy-nominated 3CD box set People Take Warning! Murder Ballads & Disaster Songs, 1913-1938, Louvin reached back for a couple of songs from that first Louvins album, and pulled nine songs from the box set to create a moving and sometimes raucous new take on traditional songs of tragedy.
2007 saw Louvin celebrate his 80th birthday amidst a swirl of activity around the release of his first studio album in 10 years, Charlie Louvin. Grammy-nominated for Best Traditional Folk Album, the disc features George Jones, Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, Will Oldham, Elvis Costello and many others. Louvin toured and recorded with Lucinda Williams, made a video for the song "Ira," released a field recording of one of his many in-store performances, Live at Shake It Records, played over 100 concert dates sharing stages with Ryan Adams and Neko Case, appeared on giant festivals like Bonnaroo and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, and placed a medallion around Emmylou Harris' neck inducting her into the Country Music Hall of Fame. The self-titled album earned 4 out of 5 stars in Uncut and Mojo magazines, and sparked a bevy of great press and renewed interest in his fascinating career.
http://artsandfaith.com/index.php?showtopic=20546
COUNTRY MUSIC LEGEND CHARLIE LOUVIN
EXPLORES VISIONS OF
HEAVEN AND HELL ON TWO NEW ALBUMS
Tompkins Square is proud to announce that Country Music Hall of Famer and half of the legendary country duo The Louvin Brothers, Charlie Louvin will release two new albums. Steps to Heaven, due September 16th, 2008, features 10 traditional gospel classics including two Louvin Brothers songs. The release will be followed by Charlie Louvin Sings Murder Ballads & Disaster Songs, coming December 9, 2008. Both albums were produced, recorded and mixed by Mark Nevers (Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Andrew Bird, Bobby Bare Sr.).
Steps to Heaven was recorded live with a gospel choir comprised of three sisters, journeyman gospel pianist Derrick Lee, and Chris Scruggs adding doghouse bass and guitar. Louvin had never recorded with black gospel musicians before, and in doing so discovered a new musical path. "I did things on the gospel record I had no idea I could do. I'd be thinking along the way, 'How can I do things I've never done before?' And I did it."
Although some might be surprised at a thematic Charlie Louvin album dealing with death and destruction, one needn't look any further than the very first Louvin Brothers album to find a connection. Tragic Songs of Life, released in 1956, is full of emotional songs detailing heartbreak, betrayal, violence and loss. Inspired by Tompkins Square's recent Grammy-nominated 3CD box set People Take Warning! Murder Ballads & Disaster Songs, 1913-1938, Louvin reached back for a couple of songs from that first Louvins album, and pulled nine songs from the box set to create a moving and sometimes raucous new take on traditional songs of tragedy.
2007 saw Louvin celebrate his 80th birthday amidst a swirl of activity around the release of his first studio album in 10 years, Charlie Louvin. Grammy-nominated for Best Traditional Folk Album, the disc features George Jones, Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, Will Oldham, Elvis Costello and many others. Louvin toured and recorded with Lucinda Williams, made a video for the song "Ira," released a field recording of one of his many in-store performances, Live at Shake It Records, played over 100 concert dates sharing stages with Ryan Adams and Neko Case, appeared on giant festivals like Bonnaroo and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, and placed a medallion around Emmylou Harris' neck inducting her into the Country Music Hall of Fame. The self-titled album earned 4 out of 5 stars in Uncut and Mojo magazines, and sparked a bevy of great press and renewed interest in his fascinating career.
Re: Elvis on Charlie Louvin album
Jim Lauderdale posts to Facebook -
Aug. 7 '10
From Sonny Louvin: To everyone who has been concerned about Charlie Louvin, his surgery and his recovery, the following is an update. I brought Dad came home from the hospital on July 30. The surgery did not go as planned. He will begin using alternative methods of treatment, going forward.
He is home recuperating and gaining back his ...strength........ Please continue to keep Charlie in your prayers!!!!!!
Aug. 7 '10
From Sonny Louvin: To everyone who has been concerned about Charlie Louvin, his surgery and his recovery, the following is an update. I brought Dad came home from the hospital on July 30. The surgery did not go as planned. He will begin using alternative methods of treatment, going forward.
He is home recuperating and gaining back his ...strength........ Please continue to keep Charlie in your prayers!!!!!!
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The Deliveryman
- Posts: 58
- Joined: Tue Jun 01, 2004 3:05 pm
- Location: South
Re: Elvis on Charlie Louvin album
Thanks for passing along the update, John. Really sorry to hear this.
Re: Elvis on Charlie Louvin album
Saw him opening up for Lucinda. She did her encore at app. 11 pm and he came out to join her.
It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think that you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt
- M. Twain
- M. Twain
Re: Elvis on Charlie Louvin album
God bless you, Charlie. I'm praying for you.
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And No Coffee Table
- Posts: 3543
- Joined: Thu Aug 21, 2003 2:57 pm
R.I.P. Charlie Louvin
http://www.countryweekly.com/charlie_lo ... /news/5420
Charlie Louvin has died at age 83. He passed away at approximately 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 26. Funeral services and visitation are pending.
Charlie, who was born in 1927, and his brother Ira made up the country-gospel duo The Louvin Brothers. The duo notched a handful of country hits in the mid-1950s and '60s, including "When I Stop Dreaming" and "I Don't Believe You've Met My Baby." The duo also made numerous appearances on the Grand Ole Opry, becoming official members of the institution in 1955. The Louvin Brothers broke up in 1963, and Ira Louvin died in 1965 at age 41 in a car crash.
Charlie's first post-duo single, "I Don't Love You Anymore," hit the Top 5 in 1964, and was followed by the singles "Hey Daddy," "Off And On" and "I Think I'll Go Somewhere and Cry Myself to Sleep."
In 2001, The Louvin Brothers were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. In 2003, the tribute album Livin', Lovin', Losin': Songs of the Louvin Brothers was released, and in 2004, the album earned a Grammy for Best Country Album. Charlie's fame increased in recent years with the release two albums in 2008 and The Battle Rages On in 2010.
It was discovered in 2010 that Charlie was battling stage 2 pancreatic cancer. In July 2010, Charlie underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer, and a fundraising benefit and auction was held in October 2010 in Bell Buckle, Tenn.
Charlie Louvin has died at age 83. He passed away at approximately 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 26. Funeral services and visitation are pending.
Charlie, who was born in 1927, and his brother Ira made up the country-gospel duo The Louvin Brothers. The duo notched a handful of country hits in the mid-1950s and '60s, including "When I Stop Dreaming" and "I Don't Believe You've Met My Baby." The duo also made numerous appearances on the Grand Ole Opry, becoming official members of the institution in 1955. The Louvin Brothers broke up in 1963, and Ira Louvin died in 1965 at age 41 in a car crash.
Charlie's first post-duo single, "I Don't Love You Anymore," hit the Top 5 in 1964, and was followed by the singles "Hey Daddy," "Off And On" and "I Think I'll Go Somewhere and Cry Myself to Sleep."
In 2001, The Louvin Brothers were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. In 2003, the tribute album Livin', Lovin', Losin': Songs of the Louvin Brothers was released, and in 2004, the album earned a Grammy for Best Country Album. Charlie's fame increased in recent years with the release two albums in 2008 and The Battle Rages On in 2010.
It was discovered in 2010 that Charlie was battling stage 2 pancreatic cancer. In July 2010, Charlie underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer, and a fundraising benefit and auction was held in October 2010 in Bell Buckle, Tenn.
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Jack of All Parades
- Posts: 5716
- Joined: Sun Apr 12, 2009 11:31 am
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Re: R.I.P. Charlie Louvin
Saddened by this news. Always appreciative of the art of close harmony of which he and his brother were true practitioners. Loved that one album cover with Satan. Enjoy this link to Dylan's Old Time Radio Hour.
http://bit.ly/hdOQ6R
http://bit.ly/hdOQ6R
Last edited by Jack of All Parades on Thu Jan 27, 2011 7:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"....there's a merry song that starts in 'I' and ends in 'You', as many famous pop songs do....'
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mood swung
- Posts: 6908
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- Contact:
Re: R.I.P. Charlie Louvin
Like me, the "g" is silent.