We’ve lost count of how many albums Rich Hopkins has released. There are quite a few and most of them were even released on Blue Rose Records. But at some point every series ends, and this has happened with the latest work – “The Gift” is released exclusively on Hopkins‘ own label, San Jacinto Records. This is not because the masters had a falling out with his long-standing German label. The connection is still good, “best friends” so to speak, but the market has changed a lot in the last few years, musicians are founding their own record labels and marketing their new works themselves, at concerts, on their own website or even digitally via the relevant platforms. The latest figures from the music industry prove them right – just 13% of sales are generated through CD sales, with vinyl at 6% not even half of that, the rest is sold digitally. However, this is also a milkmaid’s calculation, because these proportions depend very much on the genre and the target groups, and so we cannot understand why for many artists the CD plays no role at all and sometimes only rely on vinyl. This is also the case with the new Hopkins album: It is released exclusively as a vinyl LP and we offer it exclusively in Europe via the Blue Rose mail order.

With Rich Hopkins and his wife Lisa Novak moving back and forth between their homes in Tucson, Arizona and Austin, Texas, the new album was recorded in more diverse locations and with more diverse musicians than ever before. We count a total of musicians in the album credits, including long-time companions such as Mike Therieau, Goerge Duron, Jon Sanchez, Falcon Valdez, Duane Hollis, Ernie Mendoza and Lars Goransson, who also produced the album together with Rich and Lisa. Additional singing guests included Lisa’s daughter Hannah Novak as well as Carey Bowman and Brad Brooks.

And the music? Nobody would have expected that Rich Hopkins would suddenly take different musical paths, and that’s not what happened. He puts everything into the songs again, as his many loyal fans know him. Sometimes you get the impression that the concentrated energy flows into his guitar work one last time and that he could have found a conclusion with the new album “The Gift”. But knowing Rich Hopkins, he will soon announce that he is working on a new album.

Kommentare deaktiviert für New album by RICH HOPKINS & LUMINARIOS – „The Gift“ only available on vinyl and exclusively in Europe through us!

SHIZZOE, HANK One More Day CD
€ 16,90^*

SHIZZOE, HANK One More Day 2-LP
€ 39,90^*

«One More Day», Hank Shizzoe’s 17th album, IS OUT NOW on CD, limited edition Double LP and Hi-Res-download. 13 songs, six originals, a handful of traditionals and carefully selected covers, all played by a crack band and sounding mighty fine.

«One More Day» is an Americana-album with a clear focus on songs – and guitars. Although there are only a few guitar solos on these 13 tracks, the music is driven by six string artistry. Tasteful electric guitar textures go hand in hand with expertly captured acoustic instruments, resulting in classy arrangements and sounds. The album covers a wide musical spectrum from hard driving rock to laid back foot-tappers and gentle, warm folk songs.

Hank: «My songwriting gained more depth, I work a lot more on my songs, give them time to grow. I used to write impulsively, following the initial spark. These days I tend to try out different keys, beats and arrangements. By the time we went into the studio a lot of these songs – and that includes the traditionals and covers – had seen a great variety of incarnations. We were very focused and at the same time left room for spontaneous developments. Interplay between musicians is really important, even more so when you play with masters. You move air together. Resonance is what you’re after. I think we succeeded beautifully and I’m very proud of this, my 17th album.»

«One More Day» was recorded in early 2024. One session with the full band (Tom Etter on guitars, Michel Poffet on upright bass, Simon Baumann on drums) and one session in a folk setup with Etter and Poffet plus irish singer Shirley Grimes. Guests include Luke Bulla from Austin, TX on fiddle. He was a member of Lyle Lovett’s Large Band and played with everybody from Tony Rice, Shawn Colvin and Ricky Skaggs to Alison Krauss, Rodney Crowell and Patty Griffin. The man’s a master on his instrument! The great Ben Jeger played Hammond Organ and piano, Christian Brantschen tinkles the ivories on one song. All recorded with top notch studio equipment, expertly mixed and mastered. You won’t believe your ears!

Kommentare deaktiviert für Swiss Americana mastermind HANK SHIZZOE is back with his first album since five years – One More Day !

CONTINENTAL DRIFTERS White Noise & Lightning: The Best Of Continental Drifters CD
€ 17,90^*

CONTINENTAL DRIFTERS We Are All Drifters: A Tribute to the Continental Drifters 2-CD
€ 17,90^*

CONTINENTAL DRIFTERS White Noise & Lightning: The Best Of Continental Drifters LP
€ 25,90^*

CONTINENTAL DRIFTERS White Noise & Lightning: The Continental Drifters Story BUCH
€ 24,90^*

Over the almost 30 years that Blue Rose Records has existed, many artists and bands have ended up on our label, but there are very few who have had as big an impact on us as the CONTINENTAL DRIFTERS.

Together with Pete Wells and Kate Jacobs, the New Orleans quintet’s debut album was the first that we released in this country in the fall of 1995. Not only did four more albums follow on Blue Rose (Vermilion, 1998, Better Day, 2001, Listen Listen, 2001 and Nineteen Ninety-Three, 2003), the “supergroup” around Vicki Peterson, Susan Cowsill, Peter Holsapple, Mark Walton, Robert Maché and Russ Broussard also delighted German fans with several tours (Carlo Nuccio was still on drums on the first in 1996). Another extensive European tour was booked for the release of Better Day, which should have taken the band to the next level, but 9/11 put a sad end to all the planning and hopes. Even worse – hurricane Katrina four years later scattered the band members all over the country, Mark Walton to Las Vegas, Peter Holsapple to Winston-Salem in North Carolina or Vicky Peterson to California. Only Susan Cowsill and Russ Broussard remained in New Orleans. This also marked the end of the Continental Drifters and the five musicians had to make a fresh start.

Of course they stayed in touch and ultimately the band got together every now and then in the following years for a festival or an anniversary show, most recently in May 2023 in New Orleans such as at the “Chickie Wah Wah” club (see photo). The band had lost none of their unique esprit over the years and one can once again raise hope that there could be more to come than “just” another show show here and there.

There are many people for whom the Continental Drifters is not only a very special band, but also made up of special people. Sean Kelly is one such person, a young journalist from Georgia who has taken on the task of creating a very special tribute for the band. Over several years he collected stories and facts about the band (we at Blue Rose Records were also able to contribute our experiences to him) in order to write it all down in a book. That wasn’t enough, he planned and produced a tribute album and brought in many musicians to revive the music of the Continental Drifters. The result was a double CD with 25 songs, interpreted by artists such as Steve Wynn, Debbi Peterson, Don Dixon, Marshall Crenshaw, Rosie Flores, Kim Richey, Caitlin Cary, Dayna Kurtz and Garrison Starr from Blackberry Smoke. And that’s still not enough – the record label Omnivore Records is releasing a best of album with 15 songs on CD and 11 on vinyl that covers the history of the Continental Drifters.

Sean Kelly explains: “I look at this project as a way of saying thank you to a group of people who have enriched my life for nearly 20 years as friends and family, and way longer as musical heroes. The Drifters are a band that didn’t get their commercial due, but impacted the direction of the lives of those who loved them–myself included. I hope that this will be a rock and roll story that is relatable, as music biographies often are not. There was no fame, no private jets, no chart topping. Instead, just hard working, passionate artists who belonged to each other and that’s what it was all about. To say I’m eternally grateful to the Drifters for the opportunity to tell this story would be a serious understatement. I conducted so many interviews over the past few years, and I really put a lot of care into doing this as honestly as possible. We have a great team working on this project and I am so lucky. Unbelievably gratetful to my friends Tim Lee and Susan Bauer Lee for publishing this book and putting out this tribute. I’m really proud of what we’ve accomplished and excited for what’s ahead!“

The biography book White Noise & Lightning – The Story of the Continental Drifters and the tribute CD We Are All Drifters will be released on 26.09.2024, the album White Noise & Lightning: The Best Of Continental Drifters on 13.09.

Kommentare deaktiviert für The CONTINENTAL DRIFTERS finally receive the appreciation they have deserved! Pre-Sale has started for all 4 items!

VARIOUS ARTISTS Blue Rose Collection 19 CD
€ 5,00^*

Almost a year has passed since the 18th edition of the Blue Rose Collection series was released. Now it is available, number 19. When selecting the 15 songs, we limited ourselves to the early years of Blue Rose Records; all pieces come from CDs that we released between 1995 and 2001.
As with the previous editions, every order of four articles or more at our webstore will automatically receive this number 19 free of charge, but the free item will no longer be included with every additional order of at least 4 articles, unless the purchaser expressly requests another free copy. If desired, a copy of the Blue Rose Collection No. 13, 15, 16, 17, 18 or a copy of the still available editions of the Blue Rose Nuggets series can be requested as a replacement. These wishes can be expressed in the comment field in the shopping cart before submitting the order.
Of course, this 19th edition of the Blue Rose Collection series can also be purchased for € 5.00.

Tracklist:
1. TRISH MURPHY – I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE (taken from the album „Rubies On The Lawn“)
2. CHRIS BURROUGHS – PENNY RITUALS (taken from the album „Clutter“)
3. SAND RUBIES – PRIMEVIL LOVE (taken from the album „Return Of The Living Dead“)
4. FRED HARING – THERE’S A SONG IN MY HEAD (taken from the album „This Grand Parade“)
5. TROY YOUNG CAMPBELL – A LITTLE MORE EVERYDAY (taken from the album „Man Vs. Beast“)
6. FRED EAGLESMITH – GETTIN‘ TO ME (taken from the album „50-Odd Dollars“)
7. JIMMY LAFAVE – VAST STRETCHES OF BROKEN HEART (taken from the album „Road Novel“)
8. ARTHUR DODGE AND THE HORSEFEATHERS – THE REAL ME (taken from the album „Nervous Habit“)
9. JOLENE – FIND IT LOVELY (taken from the album „Antic Ocean“)
10. THE BEL-VISTAS – LEARNING TO FIGHT (taken from the album „Pretty Ugly“)
11. RICH HOPKINS AND BILLY SEDLMAYR – AMELIA (taken from the album „The Fifty Percenter“)
12. MICHAEL HALL AND THE WOODPECKERS – TRULY (taken from the album „Dead By Dinner“)
13. JOHN P. STROHM – BALLAD OF LOBSTER BOY (taken from the album „Vestavia“)
14. DESERT BOOT – P.S. (taken from the album „Craving“)
15. HENSLEY STURGIS – SCRIBBLE (taken from the album „Open Lanes“)

Kommentare deaktiviert für New exclusive free mailorder-only CD available – Blue Rose Collection 19!

WATER AND SAND Hey Love LP
€ 19,90^*

TODD THIBAUD is a consistently convincing, reliable artist who always stays true to his musical vision. He does not change things up dramatically but finds variety in nuances of arrangement and production. After all, the consistently high quality of his songs and his mellifluous, warm voice create an irresistible and familiar atmosphere. This was already true of his first band, The Courage Brothers, in the early to mid-90s. With his 1997 solo debut Favorite Waste Of Time, the man from Vermont made his first mark on the songwriter/pop canopy. It was followed by a slew of classic Blue Rose studio albums Little Mystery (1999), Squash (2000), Northern Skies (2004), Broken (2008), Waterfall (2013), and Hill West (2019).
KIM TAYLOR is an American singer-songwriter. She has released 5 full-length records and toured with numerous notable acts including Kasey Chambers, Ron Sexsmith, Grace Potter and Over the Rhine. In 2013, Taylor starred in the Sundance and Berlinale selected Indie film, I Used To Be Darker. Her fifth full-length record, Songs of Instruction, is a 10 song collection of her signature intimate folksy narrative songwriting style.

For several years Thibaud and Taylor had the same management. Their idea was that both musicians should try writing songs together that the management could then submit to their contacts. Both finally met each other in person at SXSW several years ago and struck up a friendship.
While they were at SXSW, they made plans to get together for a writing session the next time Kim traveled to Boston from her home in Ohio. When she was in Boston they met up and actually had no luck that day writing a song, but discovered that they really liked singing together. The idea for a collaboration project came from that meeting. They talked about how interesting it would be to focus the songwriting for their collaboration on the struggles and joys of relationships/marriage etc. Both of them were busy with their own projects at the time, but they agreed to stay in touch and make this happen as soon as the time was right. After a few years had gone by without any progress, it was Taylor who took the initiative and got the ball rolling for what would become WATER AND SAND.
„We struggled coming up with a name for our project, sending each other lists of potential options, but nothing seemed to really resonate“, Thibaud recalls. „Both of us were in the process of writing songs at that time for our forthcoming album, and Kim sent me one of her new ones called ‚Water and Sand‘. I loved the song as soon as I heard it, and as the two of us discussed it, I think we both agreed that it would actually make a good band name for our project. We ran it by our management and some trusted friends/family, and everyone seemed to like it. I think for us the name relates to the balances that life imposes and requires of us. The two sides of the coin. The Yin and Yang. The life giving water and the gritty, abrasive sand. There are many joys and good times in our lives, but of course, there are also times of struggle and pain. I think the name points to those co-existing experiences.“
Weiterlesen / Read more

Kommentare deaktiviert für WATER AND SAND, side project of Todd Thibaud and Kim Taylor, are back with their third album on Blue Rose, Hey Love!

WYNN, STEVE Journeyman CD
€ 14,90^*

We are releasing STEVE WYNN’s albums on Blue Rose Records since 1997, both as a solo artist and with his band Miracle 3. Every now and then there are also CDs put out that are not sold through regular retailers, but only available at Steve’s concerts and through the Blue Rose webshop. It’s the same again with the live album Journeyman. Recorded during the most recent solo tour in Germany on May 24, 2023 at the Music Star in Norderstedt, the CD contains 15 songs that go back in time to the beginnings of The Dream Syndicate to the current Baseball Project album, and of course are also songs from his numerous solo albums not missing.
The edition is limited to 1,000 copies.

Why the album title Journeyman? Steve explains: “I am the journeyman. And I do go from town to town. Just like it says in the song. For all of the shows I have played over the years, every night remains a new adventure and a uniquely empty slate upon which to etch brand new memories. Always keep my bags packed? Sure, but while the physical one is filled with clothes and strings and various items for road survival, the metaphorical one holds songs and a mental took kit to solve whatever puzzle lays in front of me on any given night. This live recording was from one of those nights that needed no tools and had no puzzles to be solved. Smooth as silk and captured expertly by Wolfgang and the rest of the gang at the Music Star. I’m glad to have you along for the evening. The car leaves at midnight.”

Kommentare deaktiviert für New live album Journeyman by STEVE WYNN on Blue Rose – only available at his shows and at the Blue Rose webshop!

US RAILS Live For Another Day CD
€ 14,90^*

US RAILS Live For Another Day LP
€ 22,90^*

In the 2000s, the prominent quartet US RAILS was one of the most reliable and hard-working acts on the Blue Rose label. The Americans have released no less than five studio productions in the past decade alone – in addition to a number of live, cover and acoustic albums, numerous European tours have led to a constant increase in their fan base. Ben Arnold, Tom Gillam, Scott Bricklin and Matt Muir (as well as Joseph Parsons in the early days) are all strong singer/songwriters in their own right with a long list of individual solo projects. Live For Another Day is the name of the brand new release that has been eagerly awaited after the compulsory Corona break. Its ten self-written songs are bursting with zest for action, versatility and the band-typical sound of melodic rock’n roll full of guitar load and vocal bliss!

So now, after three years of US Rails abstinence, Live For Another Day is being released in time for the upcoming, most extensive European tour of the popular band. And this time nothing should come between them! The ten tracks prove that the four haven’t forgotten anything – on the contrary: Everything here shows that they had a lot of strength and creativity during the break and that they threw themselves into the recording sessions with great joy! At the start, keyboarder Ben Arnold sings the title song he wrote himself, a vehement rocker with an irresistible refrain, with his distinctive, soulful, smoky lead voice and raises the level of quality right away. This is followed by Scott Bricklin’s folk-rock, acoustic/electric arrangement ‚Can’t Let It Go‘. Not only does he function as the standard bass player for the US Rails, but also convinces as a multi-instrumentalist on various guitars and mandolin, among other things, and sings with a strong, bright voice. Backed by Arnold on accordion, this track is reminiscent of another hugely popular Philadelphia band, The Hooters. With the catchy ‚Too Much Is Never Enough‘, guitarist and singer Tom Gillam succeeds in another of his typical Rock’n Roll numbers: loud, uncompromising, unleashed rocking! It’s part of the good team atmosphere that the fourth member, Matt Muir, full-time drummer but also responsible for the sound as a recording engineer and mixer, is at the center at least once per album. Here he sings his latest composition, the compact, catchy ‚Walk Away‘, which will certainly compete with his signature song ‚Don’t Take Me Now‘ for many years, especially at the upcoming live concerts.

The creamy, soulful ballad ‚What Did I Do?‘ Scott Bricklin then provides a first well-placed rest phase, Ben Arnold on the piano and Tom Gillam on the electric slide set small, targeted instrumental hits before Arnold’s ‚No Better Love‘ gets us moving again with its easy-going rhythmic shuffle grooves. Tom Gillam’s melodic mid-tempo rocker ‚Feels Like A Heartache‘ comes across as absolutely dominant with all those layered electric guitars and mighty four-part harmony vocals before kicking off the final round with Bricklin’s ‚Lay Your Head On Me‘. On ‚Road To Hell‘ Gillam is allowed to show off his ″mean & bad ass″ rocker heart and Arnold makes a clear commitment to his favorite topic ″powerful, smooth soul rock with plenty of vintage R&B″ for the perfect finish with ‚End Of Time‘.

After the long pandemic break, US Rails quickly found each other again in their home studio in Pennsylvania and recorded a complete new album with audible joy of playing. That turned out to be ten super-fresh, consistently great songs, each of which stands on its own and really calls for enthusiastic celebrations in our clubs on the forthcoming live tour!

Kommentare deaktiviert für Blue Rose proudly presents a brandnew US RAILS album with Live For Another Day !

Now since the Black Friday/Black Week/Cyber Monday craziness/hype is over we are starting a little season campaign. Not very exciting, though, but not really uninteresting for Blue Rose fans/customers/friends. Little story ahead: In the early days of the label we once in a while sent out special promotion CDs to our media partners. These CDs (in a cardboard sleeve like our recent Blue Rose Collection CDs) didn’t contain the complete songs of the CDs but instead personal comments to the songs of band members. The following promotion CDs are included in this campaign:

– LITTLE BLUE – Straight For The Moon (release date 22.10.2001)
– ELLIOTT MURPHY & IAIN MATTHEWS – La Terre Commune (release date 19.02.2001)
– BIG IN IOWA – Green Pop (release date 28.05.2001)
– RICH HOPKINS & LUMINARIOS – My Lucky Stars (release date 27.08.2001)
– STEVE WYNN – My Midnight (release date 08.03.1999)

Included in this campaign is the promo issue of „Vestavia“ by JOHN P. STROHM which had been released on April 6, 1999 with the catalog number BLU CD0190. The record doesn’t contain comments but the complete album which is out of print for a long time. Last but not least we have a few copies available of the promo CD 2XX6 Roses – A Year In Music from 2006. It contains songs of all the albums we had released in the year 2006 – 26 songs.

All these CDs are not available to purchase, one of these items can be chosen with each order and will be added for free to the shipment. Just add the album to the comments field in the shopping cart before submitting the order. This offer is limited while supplies last.

Kommentare deaktiviert für Mailorder Christmas campaign 2022