David Baerwald Hellbound Train, Hard Times, Reckless Boy (2016-2018)

Hellbound Train/Hard Times/Reckless Boy David Baerwald

Released: 2016-2018 Available on Amazon: March 21, 2021 Peak: -- Sales (in millions): -- Genre: Americana

Tracks (Hellbound Train (2016): Song Title [time] Hellbound Train [3:48] Hi Ho Nobody’s Home [1:52] John Henry [2:38] Wayfaring Stranger [4:10] Omie Wise [3:30] Tracks (Hard Times (2017): Song Title [time] Down in the Willow Garden [3:24] Deep Ellum Blues [2:53] Hard Times [3:49] Banks of the Ohio [3:27] John Hardy [3:05] Long Journey Home [2:44] Pretty Polly [3:42] Drifting Too Far from the Shore [3:55] Tracks (Reckless Boy (2018): Song Title [time] Devil’s Train [2:18] Black Water Blues [3:02] Black Highway Blue [2:18] Time Is a Hunter [3:23] Reckless Boy [3:19] Vile and Blasphemous [3:04] Darkness Night [3:21] I’ll Die That Day [3:44]

About the Albums: After releasing A Fine Mess in 1999, Baerwald went on a long hiatus from releasing a proper album. Here Comes the New Folk Underground dropped in 2002, but was really an abbreviated version of A Fine Mess with three new songs. In 2004, he did release some new material on the Around the Bend soundtrack, but that wasn’t exclusively his work. In 2016, he dropped the surprise EP Hellbound Train through the A-Tone Recordings label. “All of the tracks on this album are traditional compositions with arrangements by David and…Dr. Steven Trip.” DB1 The title cut was previously featured on A Fine Mess and Here Comes the New Folk Underground, but this version is “much slower and atmospheric.” DB1 Another EP followed in 2017. Hard Times “can almost be considered Hellbound Train part 2,” DB2 considering it traverses the same territory with Baerwald dipping his toe quite convincingly into the Americana pool. Reckless Boy, released under the name The Regulators followed, although it was a collection of originals. DB3 Tracks on the latter are credited ot Baerwald, Dr. Steven Trip, and George Doering, who is “a popular session musician and a member of the bluegrass band, the Brombies.” DB3 This gave Baerwald three EPs in three years after a dozen years of studio inactivity. Collectively, the three essentially serve as a new Baerwald album, although there’s no evidence that it will be released as such. Hellbound Train and Reckless Boy are both available on Spotify and Amazon, however. All three of these EPs are available through the Extreme Music website (links below), which is “a clearing house for music available to purchase/license for movies, TV, and the web.” DB1

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for David Baerwald DB1 dbinfosource.com page for Hellbound Train DB2 dbinfosource.com page for Hard Times DB3 dbinfosource.com page for Reckless Boy E1 Extreme Music page for Hellbound Train E2 Extreme Music page for Hard Times E3 Extreme Music page for Reckless Boy Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 8/21/2021.

 

Concert: Elvis Costello

image from elviscostello.com

Venue: Yardley Hall, Johnson County Community College – Overland Park, KS

Opening Act: Larkin Poe

I missed Elvis Costello a year before and was sure I’d blown my one chance to see him. Lo and behold, he was back in 2016 and I wasn’t going to miss him this time around. With a wide catalog to work from, I was pleased to see the varied approaches he used to play the songs – a set on guitar, a set on piano, etc. The highlight of the show was “Alison,” and not just because it is arguably his most celebrated song. Armed with just a guitar and no mike, Costello wondered out into the audience to perform the song, even sitting down in the seats by a fan at one point.

The Set List:

1. New Amsterdam
2. Poison Moon
3. Accidents Will Happen
4. They’re Not Laughing at Me Now
5. All This Useless Beauty
6. Everyday I Write the Book

Set on piano:

7. Shipbuilding
8. Deep Dark Truthful Mirror
9. No Man’s Woman
10. A Face in the Crowd

Back to guitar:

11. Little White Lies
12. American without Tears (also on harmonica)
13. Watching the Detectives
14. Alison (off mic, walking through audience)

Set with Larkin Poe:

15. Blame It on Cain
16. Nothing Clings Like Ivy
17. Clown Strike
18. Burn the Paper Down to Ash (vocal by Larkin Poe’s Rebecca Lovell)
19. Vitajex
20. That’s Not the Part of Him You’re Leaving
21. American Mirror

Encore:

22. The Angels Wanna Wear My Red Shoes
23. Jimmie Standing in the Rain
24. Side by Side (on piano)
25. Blood and Hot Sauce

Encore with Larkin Poe:

26. Brilliant Mistake
27. Down on the Bottom
28. What’s So Funny ‘Bout Peace, Love and Understanding
29. A Good Year for the Roses

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In Concert: The Jayhawks

image from kansascity.com

Venue: Knuckleheads Saloon; Kansas City, MO

Opening Act: Folk Uke

The Set List:

1. Waiting for the Sun ³
2. Leaving the Monsters Behind ⁹
3. Somewhere in Ohio ⁶
4. Stumbling Through the Dark ⁷
5. Lovers of the Sun ⁹
6. Save It for a Rainy Day ⁷
7. Pretty Roses in Your Hair ⁹
8. Nothing Left to Borrow ⁴
9. Comeback Kids ⁹
10. Bottomless Cup ⁵
11. Blue ⁴
12. Ace ⁹
13. Tampa to Tulsa ⁷
14. Quiet Corners and Empty Spaces ⁹
15. All the Right Reasons ⁷
16. The Devil in Her Eyes ⁹
17. I’d Run Away ⁴

Encore:

18. Settled Down Like Rain ³
19. Angelyne ⁷
20. I’ll Be Your Key ⁹
21. I’m Gonna Make You Love Me ⁶
22. Tailspin ⁷
23. Bad Time ⁴

The Jayhawks' Discography:

¹ The Jayhawks (1986)
² Blue Earth (1989)
³ Hollywood Town Hall (1992)
⁴ Tomorrow the Green Grass (1995)
⁵ Sound of Lies (1997)
⁶ Smile (2000)
⁷ Rainy Day Music (2003)
⁸ Mockingbird Time (2011)
⁹ Paging Mr. Prous (2016)

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