Folk & Bluegrass

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews "Manic Traditions," the new album by Les Miserables Brass Band. They're an eclectic group that plays brass music from around the world, as well as original works. (They're on the Northeastern label).

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a new CD collection of songs by the late Roland Hayes. Hayes was the first major black concert singer, and paved the way for performers such as Marion Anderson. (It's issued by the Smithsonian).

Singer, songwriter and guitarist Mark Knopfler (NOFFler). He's the guiding force behind the British band, Dire Straits. He's recently joined an informal group of musicians, The Notting Hillbillies. Their new album, "Missing...Presumed Having a Good Time," blends rock 'n' roll, blues, gospel, jazz-boogie and country & western. Knopfler has also written soundtracks for "Local Hero," "Cal," "Comfort and Joy," and "The Princess Bride."

Rock Critic Ken Tucker considers two New York acts who are known for their humor: folk-singer Christine Lavin, and the eclectic rock group, They Might Be Giants. Lavin's album, "Attainable Love" is on Rounder Records. They Might Be Giants' album is "Flood," and it's on Elektra.

Rock historian Ed Ward profiles the Lovin' Spoonful, who came out of the Greenwich Village folk music scene, but who owed more to Chuck Berry than to Appalachian ballad-singers.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews albums by women singers who sound like Joni Mitchell.

Record producer Daniel Lanois (len-wah). He's considered one of the premier record producers of the 80's. He produced U2'S "Joshua Tree," Bob Dylan's new record "Oh Mercy," the Neville Brother's "Yellow Moon," and Peter Gabriel's "So." He's currently on tour performing songs from his own first solo album, "Acadie" (ah-kah-dee). On it you can hear the influence of his own French-Canadian folk roots, and the atmospheric, ambient sounds he produced with Brian Eno.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a new RCA Victor recording called Marian Anderson: Bach, Brahms, Schubert. The album also includes a recording of Marion Anderson's 1955 debut performance at the Metropolitan Opera singing an aria from Verdi's "A Masked Ball".

A concert with singer and songwriter Loudon Wainwright III. He writes very personal, eccentric songs that take a darkly humorous, sometimes caustic view of life. He first gained fame with his hit song "Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road." His new album is titled "Therapy." (Interview with Sedge Thomson)

Rock historian Ed Ward profiles Bob Dylan as songwriter, focusing on Dylan's rocky transition from a folk singer into a rock and roller. The key, Ed says, was getting other people to do pop covers of Dylan's folk hits.

Musician Lucinda Williams. She's been playing the folk and country scenes for most of the 80s, but her new album, titled "Lucinda Williams," is a type of straight-ahead story telling that crosses genres. Many listeners think of Williams as a folk singer, but in this album, Williams fronts a rock band.

Pennebaker, who died Aug. 1, pioneered a cinéma vérité style of filmmaking in documentaries like Bob Dylan: Don't Look Back and The War Room. Originally broadcast in 1989.

Tom Goodkind, Bruce Paskow, and Lauren Agnelli are veterans of the New York punk scene. Their new band, the Washington Squares, plays traditional folk songs with a rock edge.

Rock historian Ed Ward says the term has been mis-applied, often describing bands that record labels saw as commercially viable, rather than the kind of music they played. He says that Bob Dylan pioneered the folk-rock sound; British bands like Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span helped it evolve.

Ken Tucker returns with his latest countdown of noteworthy songs. His list features Roachford, Peter Case, Tim Finn, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, and Elvis Costello.

Three members of the popular band join Fresh Air to perform a few songs to showcase their distinctive Louisiana sound.

Accordionist and composer Guy Klucevsek joins Fresh Air to perform a solo arrangement of a new work, and to play a recording of a recent musical collaboration. He's slated to perform at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Next Wave Festival.

The Mexican-American rock group Los Lobos, who wrote the soundtrack for the recent Ritchie Valens biopic, has a new album, comprising mostly regional Mexican music. Drummer and songwriter Louie Perez joins Fresh Air to talk about how they discovered those songs.

Part I of the Fresh Air interview. The folk-rock singer and songwriter battled drug addiction and eventually served eleven months in jail. He's now clean, and has a new autobiography about his life. He tells Fresh Air host Terry Gross about what made his bands The Byrds and Croby, Stills & Nash unique.

To help fund the Smithsonian's purchase of the Folkways Records collection, a number of artists are raising money with an album of Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly covers. Rock critic Ken Tucker says Bruce Springsteen and Brian Wilson give standout performances.