First of all, may I offer a very warm welcome back! The place has not been the same without your insightful, occasionally passionate-to-the-point-of-apoplexy posts. Good to see you've recovered from the events of the last few terrible months at least enough to join us all again. Of course it will take a very long time before the wounds heal in any real or recognisable way, but at least the process has begun, and as you have noted yourself on many occasions, music is a great healer.
As for singer/songwriters (I see you dissed my mate Blunty there: he really is more than just a pretty face, but let that slide) I could suggest the ultimate, in my opinion, honest maverick who gives the charts two fingers and then just downs another whisky and plays the piano, creating music few people on this planet can rival: yeah, Tom Waits. An original if ever there was one, and a real example of someone gaining a following not because of record company recognition or marketing, but almost in spite of the lack of it.
I would recommend you perhaps check out Justin Townes Earle, son of Steve. Of course, there's hype because of his lineage, but rather than imitate his famous dad he's carved his own path, plays his own music and seems to be doing quite well. I think honesty is the key here; this guy did not want to be a carbon copy of his old man, yet you can see where he has learned from him, and put that knowledge to good use.
Also worth checking out is Joseph Arthur, who not only writes his own music and plays all his own instruments, but publishes his music too, on his own label. Definitely worth a listen; see my review a few months ago.
And though he's been around a long time, someone else I feel doesn't get the recognition he so deserves is Matt Johnson. A real visionary, another maverick who doesnt let anyone tell him what he should, or should not, be writing about, and for whom no topic is off limits.
Once again, welcome back man: you've been away too long!
