Flop Eared Mule A Country Music Death Beast and Worker in the Dylan Industrial Complex | Sydney, Australia | Est. 2004

Anyhow, "The Man from God Knows Where" instantly became one of my very favourite albums, where it remains today. It's described as an "immigrant folk cycle" which sound pretentious and worthy but is not: it is songwriting at its best, singing at its best and the story of America at its best and worst, but the worst of America has a role to play in the story of the best of America so it is all in there together. It features the guest voices of Iris DeMent, Norwegian legends Sondre Bratland and Kari Bremnes and "the Mayor of Greenwich Village" Dave Van Ronk. who has a major role in the Dylan story and I who I love now, but this was the first time I had heard of him. The driving force is Tom Russell, he co/wrote all the songs, singls most of them and it is the specific story of his Irish and Norwegian ancestors, as well as the immigrant story of the USA in general. I can't recommend it enough. It is literally one of my top five albums EVER. It is perfect.

One song from it, on YouTube. Sitting Bull in Venice. With Andrew Hardin, they have amicably parted ways now but they played together for years.

After The Man from God Knows Where, the first CD of his I bought was "The Long Way Around", a greatest hits. And all of them are greatest hits. I fell in love with "The Angel from Lyon" which he co-wrote with Steve Young, who I have had the honour of seeing twice live. The first time was in 2000 just after I discovered Tom and Steve played at the Three Weeds in Rozelle, a small pub with a tiny back room for gigs. It was not full. I got my Steve Young Cds signed (all my CD got stolen later that year) and said something really drunkenly to him about "Tom Russell is a god". Steve Young the practicing Buddhist replied, "Well .... I don't know I would say a god, exactly ..." Ha. Anyway, they're both gods to me, at least they both exist which is more than I can say for the other ones I hear about. Here is Steve Young in outakes from Heartworn Highways. He is fucking amazing and no one gives a shit. Oh well.

"Angel of Lyon" is in my top 10 songs ever.

I also like, "The Eyes of Roberto Duran"

It's interesting that if you came half way through you might think Tom should be bracketed with the Texas singer-songwriter cadre. I'd be happy if he got that exposure but there's always been a maverick western sense to the guy's output that has never fitted comfortably in there. The "Texas singer-songwriter" angle has given more than few much lesser talents a step up PR-wise, but Tom's never exactly been that. He has Texas connections, but he also alerts us to the Californian songwriting tradition where his roots lie more deeply. I know the word "maverick" has been devalued to below zero in recent times, but still I want to use it for him. He produced an album of Merle Haggard covers, testifying to his dustbowl refugee sensibilities. His version of "Tulare Dust/They're Tearing the Camps Down" on that is is electric. Here's Merle (YouTube, but embedding disabled), to give you the context. The Tulare Dust bit is brief, but the fact he appends it as a prologue to "Mama Tried" speaks volumes to the history. (All that album is worth it. Dave Alvin does a great "Kern River" one of Merle's best but least known songs -- here's Emmylou Harris's version on YouTube. )

Tom Russell is Merle Haggard and Woody Guthrie and Johnny Cash and Townes and Pynchon and Greenwich Village Folk Revival and Andy Warhol and Kerouac and a million other thing combined. He has a wide badass western outlaw streak, a romantic toughman vulnerability and the intoxicating pentameter of a .25c metronome. As a woman, he's the kind of guy I completely understand other women leaving, but that you sort of secretly think you can be the one to change.

Beyond the Blues, on the album sung with Jimmie Dale Gilmore:

He's a songwriters' songwriter. Here's Dave Alvin to tell you about that.

Maybe this is all too heavy? He can write jaunty three minute love songs too.

Here's "Outbound Plane." Look, I absolutely adore the bloke to bits -- but I admit I laugh affectionately at his cock-rock hair in this. Note that it's from "Norwegian TV", anyone whose been on country mailing lists knows how much the Scandanavians love all that American singer songwriter/country stuff. Want some obscure Kris Kristofferson outtake? Ask a Swede.

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The old folks say loves not forever anymore
Because these young people walk away
From love alone, to pace the floor
Young or old I say that love is still the same
And you may walk away from love
But you'll fall head and heel again

I don't wanna be standin' here
And I don't wanna be talkin' here
And I don't really care who's to blame
'Cause if love won't fly on its own free will
Its gonna catch that outbound plane

here is Nanci Griffith singing it, she made it a mainstream hit.

He had a series of neverendly interesting albums of various influences. I don't want to post MP3s here so people take 'em and don't buy the record. I'd rather post YouTube vids which you can listen to, be entranced buy but then go fork over the cash. Sometimes I put up MP3s -- here is one time. This is "Woodrow" fro Tom Russell's album "Hotwalker" which was a sort of sound scape/sound track of LA in the '50s and 60s. In between the songs were spoken word and found audio stuff. Lots hated it. I was entranced by it and it also provided one of favourite songs which I can't talk about T.Russell without providing, and it is not on YouTube.

So I have to give it to you. "Woodrow" about Woody Guthrie. The song starts at about 2:00 in. I love it.

09 Woodrow.m4a

"Tonight We Ride" from the particulary western heavy recent album "Indians Cowboys Horses Dogs" is the best example of the modern I-like-both-kinds-country-and-western genre. When they say "country and western" they mostly just mean "country" and forget the "western." Tommy brings it alive.

I said before the concept of "maverick" is denuded. Russell revives it. I'm a lefty pinko bleeding heart and don't deny it, but his hardscrabble, neither-left-nor-right-raw boned, evidence-based tex-mex socialist-libertarianism is something that pumps extra oxygen into my lungs.

Who's Gonna Build Your Wall:

I left the best til last.

Any Tom fan knows what I'm talking about: "Gallo el Cielo." The Greek hero epic as channeled by Marty Robbins. It's on "The Long Way Around" And instantly became one of my very favourite songs. Like, top five.

At the end of this video, listen for Eliza Gilkyson and Davie Alvin talking about Tom:

So, Tom Russell should tour here and Tom Russell should be much better appeciated amongst My Kind Of People. That is all.