Here’s a video of Ryan Adams’ show stopping performance of A Song For You at the Gram Parsons tribute concert Emmylou Harris put together in 1999, featuring Gilian Welch, David Rawlings, Steve Earle, Chris Hilman, and others.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9hNExzwlhA

hwc, thanks for that. I have to say what puzzles me is that “the kid who won” (aka Kris Allen) displays the potential of being this great. His phrasing and storytelling ability in his songs stood out to me all season. Perhaps since AI is presented on a medium (TV) where people are looking for visual entertainment, some were not able to see this. However, artists like Gillian Welsh, David Rawlings, Ryan Adams do not have the larger than life personalities, but their artistry more than makes up for it…

I agree, and I agree that she has some of the goods — cool, interesting voice, fun personality, looks. But what you wrote about her becoming a basket case is one of the reasons I’m pretty skeptical. Becoming a basket case when you aren’t getting an only half-deserved tongue bath every five minutes and you’re getting criticism, which is at least partly deserved, isn’t a recipe for doing well in show business (or the writing business, for that matter). She doesn’t seem to have a very thick skin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9hNExzwlhA

This was right around the time that Adams was recording his first solo album Heartbreaker with Gilian David and Ethan Johns (the drummer on this video) producing it. Heartbreaker was Adams tribute to the signer songwriters of the 1960s/70s with heavy influences from Dylan, Van Morrison, etc. It’s on Rolling Stones’ list of top rock albums. His sophmore album, Gold, is equally amazing, a tribute to the solid gold hits of the 1970s, inspired by Elton John, the Stones, etc.

Between the two, it’s an incredible outpouring of songwriting talent.

hwc Jun 28th, 2009 at 2:29 am

Your hubby is not alone. Jimmy Buffett covers Elvis Presley Blues on his newest album.

Gilian Welch and David Rawlings are on almost every song on Ryan Adamsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ Heartbreaker album. Rawlings co-wrote To Be Young with Adams.

Oh that’s so cool, he said he thought he saw something on her website re: Jimmy Buffet covering one of her songs.

We’ll have to check out Ryan Adams. Gotta run for now.

Gilian Welch and David Rawlings are on almost every song on Ryan Adams’ Heartbreaker album. Rawlings co-wrote To Be Young with Adams.

hwc Jun 27th, 2009 at 1:35 pm

That was kind of fun.

She can join the growing list of alt-rock punk-rock kids who are now carving out a new generation of bluegrass music, most notably Gilian Welch and David Rawlings:

O.M.G. Gillian Welch is my husband’s idol!!!! He and his partner cover some of her songs. Such a rare name to see and now I’m thrilled.

I haven’t gotten far in the comments yet, but Elvis Presley Blues is one of the songs they cover.

ETA: Perhaps this explains why Megan was a fav. of my hubby’s early on. Too bad she petered out too early, perhaps due to lack of experience. However, he is also a fan of Kris’s because sees the artist he is.

Still, since I am going to the tour this year, I would like to see Megan. If she wasn’t there I would arrive very late.

I think I have all the Steve Earle albums, too… at least all the studio albums. The depth and breadth of his output is pretty impressive. The thing I appreciate is how much he has put into learning from those who came before him. Gram Parsons, Townes Van Zandt, Doug Sahm/Augie Meyers, Guy Clark, Bruce Springsteen, etc.

I kind of like his voice. It’s not pretty. He’s a rock singer.

Have you seen his To Hell and Back DVD? Part of his parole agreement was to perform a free concert at a prison in Tennessee. This DVD is his show for the inmates at Cold Creek Correctional Facility in Memphis, shortly after his own release. It’s intense. He opens the show with an angry I Feel Alright. Then, sings a song about an executioner on death row to his prison audience, Ellis Unit One. Damn. Got real quiet in there. Then, he closes the show with a hard-rocking version of Dylan’s It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhj5Y4gG1Ss
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puYfbV5epWg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNjV5gVBH7I

Here’s a live version of Transcendental Blues in all its Hindu Alt Country Rock glory. It lacks the sitars and tabla drums of the studio version.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icaBLF2U9FI

Maybe when Megan Joy gets her bluegrass thing going, she can open for Steve Earle! Or, better yet, we need a Steve Earle week on Idol next year. I bet he could mentor the hell out of some Idol wannabees. Whatcha think?

Come to think of it, Ryan Adams would make an “interesting” mentor, too. Maybe he and the missus, Mandy Moore could mentor together.

hwc, I agree about Steve Earle. An amazing songwriter and diverse artist. I have all of his albums and he brings something different to the table with each one. But it must be pointed out that he doesn’t have a great voice. As Bob Dylan proves (well, actually everyone on the radio right now), having a great voice isn’t the be-all-end-all in the music industry. It’s the song, the phrasing, the beat, the melody, the emotion, etc. Earle’s songwriting, phrasing, passion and musical instincts are what make him great.

ETA: Scott’s interview is up now as well: http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/realityrocks/246852/scott-macintyre-on-the-scene-at-the-idols-tour-rehearsals/

The article notes: “On the tour he gets two dueling-piano moments, both with Matt Giraud, doing a bit of the Supremes’ “You Can’t Hurry Love” and the intro to the big finale number “Don’t Stop Believin’.”

I believe that Ryan Adams was 24 years old when Whiskeytown played this song he wrote on Austin City Limits:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIVVj7Zbawc&feature=related

I believe he was only 25 when he recorded Heartbreaker, one of the great songwriter albums of all time:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOuMkrL0qUY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5IOXGxHOLI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMZYRvDvgT4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kM0mjukDGRw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSX-8zQ2xOQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EawSJUF6Lng

Justin Townes Earle is Steve Earleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s son. Different, but at the same time a chip off the old block. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m a big fan of both. JTE recently came out with a new album, but I prefer his debut, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The Good Lifeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ .

I checked it out this afternoon. It’s very traditional Grand Ol Opry country, reminiscent in some ways of Dwight Yoakam. I like it. Very different from his Dad’s classic debut album, Guitar Town, that is the hard-edged rockabilly country/rock sound typical of his pre-prison days. I think Steve Earle is one of the great American songwriters. His body of work is pretty amazing. Who else is creative enough to do a country rock/Hindu Indian track like Transcendental Blues? I mean, wow. Or his country rock/reggae tune Johnny Too Bad? I mean, wow. Or his head-banging alt-rock tune, N.Y.C.? I mean, wow. Or his country rock Irish folk song Galway Girl? I mean, wow, but at least that one has some common musical roots — bluegrass and American country music being derived from Irish/Celtic folk music. And for pure humor, has anyone ever topped his “love song” to Condoleeza Rice, another counrtry rock/reggae tune?

BTW, I don’t really think that Meghan Joy is anywhere good enough to be successful in bluegrass or any of these Americana alt-country genres. This kind of music is the home of the most creative singer/songwriters in the world today. You aren’t winning over fans from Ryan Adams or Steve Earle or Gilian Welch or Jeff Tweedy with an amateur-hour effort.

Other favorites in this vein…Patty Griffin, Jenny Lewis, Brandi Carlile (a little more rockin’), Guy Clark, Kelly Willis, The Wrights (check out their self-titled EP) and Kasey Chambers (her last album with husband Shane Nicholson, “Rattlin’ Bones” was one of my favorites from last year).

If Megan Joy heads in this direction, she should check all of these out!

Interesting idea she has on recording music for junior high girls as well as children’s records. The idea for a children’s book is interesting. Rockin Robbin was a song my kindergarten class sang. It was popular on the radio at the time. Michael Jackson wasn’t even born yet

For one thing, even — I might even say especially — alternative singers have to be good musicians, need to know where the pitch is so they can go off it in the right way, ditto for the beat. I didn’t really see her show these qualities on the show.

And I don’t know that anything really stopped her from Bjorkifying a song — she’d have been a lot better off Bjorkifying something traditional than actally tackling a Bjork song, if they *had* allowed her to do it. So complaining that she wasn’t allowed to pick a piece of alternative music makes no sense to me. When you pick something that’s exactly “your kind” of song already, it’s even harder to do anything but karaoke it, and the more extreme your chosen style is, the more that’s true.

I guess she was trying to alternative things up, but her attempts seemed awfully amateurish to me. Not least her finale thing with the Steve Martin song. She didn’t sound so much alternative as she just sounded *off* to me. And my ipod is about two-thirds alternative music. I like the stuff. But gotta be better than what you’ve been doing so far, Megan.

Also, I think the judges knew *exactly* what she is trying to do. They were cheering for it. They *wanted* a “package” that could be the American Adele or some such. So saying that they didn’t get it is just plain inaccurate as far as I’m concerned (I guess Lindsay is really the one who said this.) I think that, just like me, the judges saw what she was trying to do but just thought that, ultimately, she wasn’t very good at it.

She does have the right voice for the job. But, wow, she needs a lot of work. Can’t see it happening, frankly. But I guess some people surprise you. We’ll see.

Good luck with the book Meagan as I think there are copyright issues involved with the Jacksons’ Rockin Robin song.

She is a really nice girl. Her aspirations seem really huge and I wish her luck and hope her dreams come true.

so megan is doing 2 songs. sarver 1or 2. hopefully 1 lol. then scott ,lil,anoop matt 3 songs. then allison 3 plus duet =4, danny 4 songs no duet, adam 4 songs plus duet =5, kris 5 songs no duet. pls correct me if ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m wrong.

I think you are spot on, if they have the same number of total songs than last year, the only difference will be than the 9th and 10th place will get 2 songs and we get the duet and one more song for the 3rd place.

JosieX – Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve always thought she would do great at bringing a modern edge to some jazzy standards,

ITA – she has an interesting rich voice – not the standard pop sound.

I didn’t watch much of S8. My husband liked her voice at the start. When I saw her on Regis/kelly I was impresssed with her sound. She just needs a bit more training.