Gift shop featured artists: Marcia Ball, The Band, Mike Blakely, The Byrds, Jimmy Day, Joe Ely, Kinky Friedman, Lefty Frizzell, Levon Helm, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Flaco Jimenez, Robert Earl Keen, Trish Murphy, Willie Nelson, Mickey Newbury, Gram Parsons, Johnny Paycheck, Elvis Presley, Ray Price, Tex Ritter, Marty Robbins, Doug Sahm, Billy Joe Shaver, Hank Thompson, Floyd Tillman, Texas Tornados, Ernest Tubb, Jerry Jeff Walker, Don Walser, Kitty Wells, Asleep At The Wheel, Hank Williams, Bob Wills, Townes Van Zandt

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{HTEXT} I'm Still The Same Bonnie Bramlett Price $ 14.99 Long known for her country-blues, the female half of Delaney and Bonnie is, underneath it all, a jazz singer. That's readily apparent on this collection of originals and covers ("Cry Me a River," "Hurt"), most of which carry the theme of strength through vulnerability. Whether performing R&B or jazzier pieces, Bramlett, like the late Rosemary Clooney, has a way of living a lyric and making even the most familiar sound new, personal, and fraught with meaning. "Superstar," which she cowrote years ago with then-husband Delaney Bramlett and Leon Russell, finally gets the tragic female reading that's missing in Karen Carpenter's rendition. But she also uses her voice as one of the instruments in her big-band accompaniment. On "No Man's Land" and "Made a Believer Out of Me," especially, she can go from a small, Billie Holliday-like whimper to a wail so brassy you'd think she's playing a horn. With so many manufactured stars relying on Pro Tools audio technology for pitch and drum loops to stir the blood, this is real music from a real woman, brimming with pain, passion, and, yes, deep soul. --Alanna Nash	{HTEXT} 12 Shades Of Brown Junior Brown Price $ 9.97 Though he's already ripping off fiery licks on his guit-steel (a unibody combo of electric and pedal-steel guitars) like he's the devil in cowboy boots, Junior Brown's songwriting chops on his debut still need a spark. Several homages to his heroes--"My Baby Don't Dance to Nothing But Ernest Tubb," for example--sound forced next to what he's done since. Still, on "Broke Down South Of Dallas," Brown nails the sound and style he's become known for, and his cover of the Ray Price classic "A Way To Survive" is a moving showcase for his great rolling rumble of a honky-tonk voice. --David Cantwell
{HTEXT} Guit With It Junior Brown Price $ 11.97 Most artists playing and staying true to traditional country styles get pigeonholed as retro acts in the 1990s. Junior Brown, on the other hand, is viewed as something fresh and vital. You'd like to think it's because of his appealing baritone drawl, deft songwriting touch, and fleet set of picking fingers, but you just know that it's the Hendrix flourishes and his "guit-steel" creation that make him "relevant" to the contemporary Nashville tastemakers. Either way, Brown's mix of Hawaiian-tinged ballads, honky-tonk weepers, steady shuffles, and boy-girl duets is as potent as country gets in the 1990s. This 1993 effort, his first for Curb, not only showcases his rather formidable guitar technique and wall-shaking voice, but also proves him to be a sneakily clever lyricist, whether being ironic, sarcastic, or honest. --Marc Greilsamer	{HTEXT} Junior High [LP] Junior Brown Price $ 5.97 If you're a big fan of AM country radio, country TV videos and country top-10; bypass Junior Brown and search elsewhere for black-hat, salon-manicured, honky-tonk wanabees. Junior's baritone is as sincere as that of Ernest Tubb (That's Easy For You To Say). And speaking of commercial country, what ever happened to goofy hillbilly music? Whatever happened to "Don't step on my blue suede shoes" fun? Try 'My Wife Thinks You're Dead' with the line "cause you're wanted by the police, and my wife thinks you're dead." Junior plays some sort of morphed electric slide guitar which allows him to pick strings while sliding alone the neck of the steel guitar. The combination is dazzling (My Wife Thinks You're Dead). 'Lovely Hula Hands' is a sweet melodic ride: Junior's loving baritone with romantic and oh-so-gentle slide guitar chords. The surprise on Junior High is the instrumental 'Sugar Rag.' Here, Junior sets the country two-step ablaze with Jimmy Hendrix and Jimmy Page freak-out gusto. The CD contains just 5 cuts - 5 compositions with a stylistic homage to the Grand Ole Opry, all delivered in the spirit of rock'n'roll.
{HTEXT} Long Walk Back Junior Brown Price $ 13.99 On Long Walk Back, Junior Brown attempts to expand upon his signature sound: He leaps off into extended guitar jams; he accentuates the retro-novelty aspect of certain songs by adding anonymous background choruses; he even tries to croon a ballad. Unfortunately, the further he moves from concise honky-tonk shuffles and crisply written country tunes, the more he strays from what he does best. Long Walk Back works wonderfully when Brown keeps a tight grip on both his talented, one-of-a-kind guitar technique and on his colorful baritone voice. But when he indulges his guitar prowess, or when his voice challenges its limitations, he leaves behind what makes him special. --Michael McCall	{HTEXT} Semi Crazy Junior Brown Price $ 13.99 Almost every article ever written about Junior Brown has compared him to Ernest Tubb and Jimi Hendrix. Brown does sing in the bottomless barroom baritone of Tubb and does pick his guit-steel (his invention, a combination of Telecaster guitar and a tabletop steel guitar) as if he were Hendrix in a brim-turned, straw cowboy hat. What few observers point out is that Brown writes songs like Roger Miller. That gift for exaggerated lyrics is more obvious than ever on Brown's third full-length album, "Semi-Crazy." Brown is less interesting when he gets serious, as on the sentimental romantic plea "Darlin' I'll Do Anything You Say." No matter what he plays, though, Brown always entertains with his buttery, deep-voiced purr and his sudden bursts of picking virtuosity. --Geoffrey Himes
{HTEXT} Cliff Bruner Cliff Bruner Price $ 125.97 5 Great discs from the "Founder Of Western Swing". Most are highlighted on this link. Cliff was one of the greatest ever. This is well worth the money. Do yourself or a friend a great favor and get this box set.	{HTEXT} 20 Essential Tracks From The Boxed Set: 1965-1990 The Byrds Price $ 14.99 During the '60s, the Byrds were one of the consistently interesting groups that expanded and changed their sound with nearly every record. This 20 track sampler of the admirable 4-CD boxed set features a good chunk of what made the Byrds an impressive bunch. From the first chiming 12-string guitar notes of "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Turn! Turn! Turn!" to the hyper-real psychedelia of "Eight Miles High" to the country rock of "Goin' Back" and "Chestnut Mare," they always found their footing. The four tracks from their 1990 reunion are for fanatics only and the absence of any excellent Gram Parsons material is disappointing. However, the rest is simply life changing. --Rob O'Connor

 

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