‘Songs From The Shelf’ is a recurring spread featuring music pulled directly from The Jam Jar collection (aka the vinyls crowding my apartment) and compiled into themed mixes for your listening pleasure. Enjoy.
Featuring…
“These Drugs Aren’t Working Anymore” — The Freelancer’s Blues, Dougie Poole
With his tongue pressed hard against his cheek, Dougie Poole crafts heartfelt Millennial country tunes about the mundanity of modern American life — blowing vape clouds, dabbling in meditation, and driving U-Hauls through Jersey. A personal favorite for years, this record helped persuade me toward embracing country music and its vast manipulations.
“A Song For You” — GP, Gram Parsons
“So take me down to your dance floor / And I won’t mind the people when they stare.” A gentle, achingly intimate track on the most infamous Flying Burrito Bro’s legendary debut. Reminds me of sitting out on the back porch as autumn creeps through a perfect evening breeze.
“It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” — Kitty Wells’ Country Hit Parade, Kitty Wells
“Too many times married men think they’re still single / That has caused many a good girl to go wrong” — the Nashville-native, and proclaimed Queen of Country Music, sang this one well before its time. Thanks to Harry for showing me this brazen gem.
“Lonely Entertainer” — Wayfaring Strangers: Cosmic American Music (Compilation), Mike and Pam Martin
Numero Group has made an industry out of reintroducing songs lost to time. This compilation of small label releases dusts off forgotten ingots from the American West — the kind of soulful cosmic country defined by the work of Gram Parsons his love of steel guitar, and the unfiltered heartbreak in his quaking voice.
“I Can’t Stop Loving You” — Modern Sounds In Country And Western Music, Ray Charles
One of many hit singles on Ray Charles’ landmark record, this track highlights how The Father of Soul brought gospel, jazz and R&B to country music, creating an entirely new and infectious American sound.
