Kim Richey OOP CD's and Bootleg Megapost

In the comments section of my recent Radney Foster post, a reader made mention of Kim Richey, so I decided to take a look and see what may be out of print and available to post here. So here you go.
For me it is hard to believe these CDs are all out of print. Pitiful! Everyone of them is a fine collection of singing, songwriting and musicianship. How people like Kim, Michelle Shocked, Lucinda Williams [finally getting noticed], Tift Merrit, Kathleen Edwards and many many others slip through the cracks is beyond me. Yet we all know the very best are not, and never will be, part of the mainstream. Hell, Bonnie Raitt spent 20 years in relative obscurity so maybe it can happen to others. Anyway, here's a bunch of cool stuff from my collection of one of my favorites, Kim Richey. Hope you find something in here you like and, when she comes around you will go see her!



1. Those Words We Said
2. Here I Go Again
3. You'll Never Know
4. That's Exactly What I Mean
5. Let The Sun Fall Down
6. Just Like The Moon
7. From Where I Stand
8. Sweet Mysteries
9. Just My Luck
10. Can't Find The Words
11. That's A Lie
12. Echoes Of Love
13. Good

Richey finds her inspiration in the Southern-California country-rock of Linda Ronstadt and the Eagles, and the folk-rock of Tom Petty and the Byrds. The album is full of Beatles-esque touches, such as the string quartet on "Can't Find the Words," the odd McCartney-esque intervals on "Let the Sun Fall Down," or the open tuning and uptempo, three-part vocal harmonies on "Good." If Nashville labels can keep releasing country tributes to the Beatles, surely there's room in town for a woman who can come up with new Beatles-esque songs. And inasmuch as Richey is exploring the strain of the Beatles' music that comes straight out of the Everly Brothers and Buddy Holly, surely there's a country audience for her. --Geoffrey Himes




1. Every River
2. I'm Alright
3. Wildest Dreams
4. Straight as the Crow Flies
5. I Know
6. Fallin'
7. To Tell the Truth
8. My Whole World
9. Lonesome Side of Town
10. Don't Let Me Down Easy
11. Let It Roll
12. Why Can't I Say Goodnight

This sophomore album may suffer slightly in comparison with Richey's stunning, self-titled 1995 debut, but there wasn't much else out there in 1997 that it didn't eclipse. Richey is a stellar songwriter (with several hits by others to her credit) whose own records straddle the rock/country divide, placing her squarely in commercial limbo. But it's our loss that there isn't a niche for songs like the gorgeous "Every River," the insanely catchy "I Know," the subtly '60s-ish "Lonesome Side of Town," and the devastating "My Whole World." Richey's voice is not Nashville's most distinctive, but it communicates a full range of emotions, and she abets it skillfully by double-tracking her own harmonies. The playing, writing, and fascinatingly varied stylistic touches here are a joy to hear; Richey's career merits your undivided attention. --Ken Barnes



1. Can't Lose Them All
2. Other Side Of Town
3. Come Around
4. Lay It Down
5. Hello Old Friend
6. The Way It Never Was
7. Good At Secrets
8. Keep Me
9. If You Don't Mind
10. So It Goes
11. Long Way Back
12. Didn't I
13. I Will Be the Strength In You
14. Gravity

Maybe David Cantwell's review below is a bit premature. This album is great from start to finish!

Kim Richey's first two albums fit, one way or another, into that vague sound called alternative country, but like many other acts in the genre (Old 97's, Wilco), Richey has mostly chosen to leave country behind for the sound of pure pop. Glimmer sounds less like a poppy Steve Earle and more like a barely twangy Fleetwood Mac or Sam Phillips, which would be wonderful except she doesn't pull it off. The problem's not the absence of twang; it's the absence of any pop appeal to do her songs justice. Throughout, producer Hugh Padgham fashions similar arrangements that bury Richey's rich voice and subtle hooks in atmospheric washes: strings that never soar, keyboards that noodle, guitars that jangle prettily--the album seems textureless. Consequently, even gripping songs like "Didn't I," "Hello Old Friend," and "The Way It Never Was" come off disappointingly flat. There are glimmers of insight in these cuts, but they deserved to shine. --David Cantwell



1. Girl In A Car
2. A Place Called Home
3. Me And You
4. The Circus Song (Can't Let Go)
5. Fading
6. Without You
7. Reel Me In
8. No Judges
9. This Love
10. Good Day Here
11. Electric Green
12. Hard To Say Goodbye
13. Cowards In A Brave New World

Nashville's loss is Kim Richey's gain. Though she has written chart-topping hits for Radney Foster and Trisha Yearwood and pursued a recording career on the fringes of the country mainstream, her fourth and best album sounds like a fresh start. It certainly doesn't sound like contemporary country, as the artist and producer Bill Bottrell (who helmed similarly creative breakthroughs by Sheryl Crow and Shelby Lynne) collaborate on a sensually bluesy song cycle that shows a determination to defy categorization, follow its own musical dictates, and find its own audience. The album-opening "Girl in a Car" sounds like it could have been a highlight for Lucinda Williams, while the languid atmospherics of "Fading," "Without You," and "Reel Me In" have a seductive intimacy that is equal parts torch song and lullaby. From the Wurlitzer organ on "The Circus Song" to the bouzouki that lends an Eastern tinge to "This Love" and "Electric Green" (the latter written and sung with Pete Droge), the stripped-down arrangements accent the freshness of the material. --Don McLeese

Live On E-Town from WRNR 08-05-2000
1) "Can't Lose Them All" (4:08)
2) "Hello Old Friend" (3:54)
3) "The Way It Never Was" (3:11)

Sessions At West 54th PBS Broadcast VHS HIFI Tape
1) "Can't Lose Them All" (4:09)
2) "It Never Was" (3:22)
3) "Can't Let Go" (3:11)
4) "I'm All Right" (4:32)
5) "Come Around" (4:09)

Live In New Orleans Bootleg 06-26-2000 A+ [ebay purchase]
1) "THE WAY IT NEVER WAS" (3:15)
2) "HELLO OLD FRIEND" (6:29)
3) "OUR BIG MISTAKE" (3:39)
4) "YOU CAN'T LOSE THEM ALL" (4:17)
5) "JUST MY LUCK" (3:38)
6) "I KNOW" (3:27)
7) "EVERY RIVER" (4:06)
8) "BOUND FOR MEXICO" (4:14)
9) "THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I MEAN" (5:06)
10) "I'M ALRIGHT" (5:50)

198MB, WMA 9.1 VBR

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=GJDCGBSQ