Friends of Old Time Music: The Folk Arrival 1961-1965

If you think you’re allergic to folk music, here’s the cure. This three-disc anthology of live recordings contains some of the most powerful, soulful music ever made with or without benefit of amplifiers. It’s not folk music in the “folkie” singer-songwriter genre—the performers are mostly Southerners born in the late 19th or early 20th century [...]

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Classical 2009

One of my favorite CDs, Classical 2009 features a variety of pieces performed by some of the biggest names in the classical and classical crossover performing world. If you are a new listener to classical music– or if you are like me and you enjoy discovering new music– you are sure to find something you [...]

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The Fame, by Lady Gaga

I had just started hearing the name “Lady Gaga” tossed around, when I heard she would playing a concert in Richmond. I planned to buy tickets, but they sold out so fast. I was shocked, wondering who is this Lady Gaga, and why are people so quick to buy tickets to see her? That [...]

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Touch Me, I’m Sick: The 52 Creepiest Love Songs You’ve Ever Heard, by Tom Reynolds

Have you listened closely to the words of your favorite love song? Listen again…
“Every Breath You Take,” that rock classic by The Police is among the top 10 songs played at weddings and funerals. Whoops! It’s about Sting’s bitter reaction to the end of his first marriage, and if you listen closely, it sounds like [...]

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Pitch Perfect, by Mickey Rapkin

Other than a brief career in the St. James church choir at the age of 10 or so, I have never been part of a large singing group. Most of my harmonizing is done in small ensembles, duets, trios, or at most a quartet. Nonetheless, I have always enjoyed listening to good a capella singing. [...]

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Songs of Joy & Peace: Yo-Yo Ma & Friends

On this album, the cellist Yo-Yo Ma joins many of his favorite artists from around the world to perform songs in honor of the holiday season. An eclectic mix of songs and styles is represented here, only a few of which are strictly associated with Christmas or the holidays. I enjoyed hearing Yo-Yo Ma [...]

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Young @ Heart

I’ve been raving about this delightful documentary about a senior citizens’ chorus. The group, led by the patient Bob Cilman, has performed across the United States and in Europe. This documentary focuses on seven weeks they spend preparing for a new concert in Northampton, Mass.
The average age of the chorus members is 81 – [...]

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Will You Miss Me When I’m Gone?, by Mark Zwonitzer

In 1927, Ralph Peer of the Victor Talking Machine Company loaded up his sound recording equipment and headed down from New Jersey to Bristol, VA on the Virginia-Tennessee border. Peer had been impressed by the popularity of “hillbilly” music among record buyers, and was seeking out new talent to include on the Victor label. [...]

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Time to Say Goodbye, by Sarah Brightman

Sarah Brightman made it big singing in Broadway hits like Cats and Phantom of the Opera. Over the past couple of years she has branched out on her own and come out with a long string of hit albums that have consistently made it to the top of the Billboard 200 and Billboard’s Classical Crossover [...]

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Positively 4th Street: the Lives and Times of Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Mimi Baez Farina, and Richard Farina, by David Hajdu

I’m always fascinated by those historical moments when everything lines up right and a small group of friends and acquaintances produces not just one famous person, but a whole group of historically important people. David Hajdu has captured one of those moments in his book Positively 4th Street.
Many people may have forgotten, but there was a [...]

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