Folk music reviews

Her voice is gorgeous, just like a songbird!!!! So sad that she is now singing with the angels, before more of her works could be published.

I heard Fields of Gold on the season finale of Everwood and thought whoever was singing it had a beautiful voice. When I hear a song I like I usually just have to find out who sings it. I did a little research and found that it was Eva Cassidy. I tried to download the song from ITunes but couldn't find it. Soooo, my next stop was Amazon. I searched for Eva Cassidy, found the CD, and bought it. I really like the whole CD. Her music is very soothing to me. My favorite songs are Wade in the Water, Over the Rainbow, and Fields of Gold. I ordered Time After Time and just received it several days ago. I've listened to some of the songs, but not the entire CD just yet. Eva Cassidy has a beautiful voice.

apparently, the good do die young....it's a shame she's gone, because eva was full of emotion, with great lungs and tune to boot.

I am a new fan of the Chicks. I mainly listen to blues, rock, jazz and jam progressive music, so keep it brief and to the point.
The Chicks are a nice listen. Thier sound is welcoming and the ladies play it like they mean it. For a listener like myself who is more versed in other genre's of music, give the Wide Open Spaces a chance. It's a real disc.

In my mind, I look at the four major-label releases by the Chicks as four parts of one body of work: this release is the innocent, somewhat naïve, playful and good-natured, introductory effort; the independent spirit is there and so is a touch of impishness. Although "Wide Open Spaces" has much going for it, for me, it does not quite hold up to the subsequent three releases. First, my gripes: It sometimes lacks the trademark Chicks sound and personality, as though they are covering someone else's music and attempting to mimic the original artist; the most noticeable examples of this are "You Were Mine" and "Loving Arms." Unlike the two most recent efforts, and even "Fly" to some extent, the songs don't sound autobiographical or personal to them, as though they own them. (The most notable exception to this is the title track) While it is technically quite proficient and well produced, it is not as mature or as refined as "Home" or "Taking the Long Way."

Now, the positive: For the most part, "Wide Open Spaces" is certainly more fun and playful than "Taking the Long Way" or even "Home;" if fun is what one wants from music, this would be a better option than those two particular releases. Highlights for me are the title track, "There's Your Trouble," "Let `Er Rip" and the last song, "Give It Up or Let Me Go," which is a rocker. Of the four major label releases, this is my least favorite personally. That is not say it is bad or not worthy of being an addition to your Chicks library. The progression in maturity, subject matter and emotional levels are clearly evident in distinct intervals from this release to the most recent. The Chicks definitely have a unique sound and deserve all the accolades they have received over the past eight years. There is a reason people have fallen in love with their music. On "Wide Open Spaces" we can definitely hear hints of the greatness to come and we also get the feel there were `six strong hands on the steering wheel' even at that point.

i'm listening to 'you were mine' right now!! i still love this album!! and all the ballads are beautiful! i esp. love 'loving arms' 'you were mine' 'there's your trouble' and everything else!!! no wonder this cd is still the biggest selling album by a country group!!

"Fumbling Towards Ecstasy" was Sarah McLachlan third album, and with classic songs like "Possession", "Good Enough", "Hold On" and the great title track it is by many considered her finest.

The album was her big commercial breakthrough, helped by several great singles. Among those are the opening track "Possession" with its controversal lyrics describing the world through the eyes of a rapist.

It's an overall quiet album ( with a few exceptions ) and most songs are likely to grow on you. My immediate favourites were the song I knew from her terrific live-album "Mirrorball" - quite interesting that some songs like "Hold On" are really quite different from the live-versions. Among the "new" songs "Mary" is becoming a favourite. By the way, I was fortunate get a version with the Joni Mitchell song "Blue" as a bonus-song.

Great album!

La voz de Sara Mclachlan es una voz inconfundible. Si pudiera definirla con una textura diría que es terciopelo. Todos sus discos son ESPECTACULARES pero para mí y mis memorias de una época de mi vida, este es el mejor de todos. Ojo con las letras.

I love this CD, I've alwayed liked Sarah, and this is one listened to everyday. Its relaxing and powerful at the same time. She is a very talented singer and this is certainly among one of her finest works. Released in 1994, thjs is her third studio cd. While Sarah was fairly unknown when this released, she has since climbed the charts and this cd has stood the test of time as one of the best -- beautiful lyrics, gorgeous vocals and soothing harmonies that touched millions of people.

I am 13 years old, and when i was going to the store a man ask if i want help, i was said i wand nick drake - pink moon.
the man told me : " you are to young for this album.
i was very mad! , i started to look after this album and when i found it i pay for him. when i heard first pink moon i was was thinking: " mayde the man was right i am to young for this but when the album started again i was kind like!
i listn to this album a lot and love him, so i said to myself: " i am not to young for this ! "
i love this cd becaus its sad , and fantastic.
i love all the songs but my special songs are : pink moon , things behind the sun and free ride!

A friend of mine told me about this album many years ago. My friend was also suffering from major bouts of depression and taking a lot of anti-depressents. He told me how the song "From The Morning" helped him when he heard the lyrics " I can't think of words. I feel no emotion about anything. I don't want to laugh or cry. I'm numb-dead inside". He discovered he wasn't alone in feeling nothing because of the medication. This album works in so many ways. It's one you can listen to at any time and it fits. The first time I heard the whole thing was while driving on the interstate in my car late at night. Perfect. Drake could have been right up there with the premiere singer songwriters of his day had he lived to record more music. Bottom line, I love this CD!

does anyone need say more about nick drake? no. but i will anyway: this is a really, really great album, best listened to after dark, best listened to... well, just best listened to period. so get it. listen to it. life can be good with songs like these in it.

I am 13 years old, and when i was going to the store a man ask if i want help, i was said i wand nick drake - pink moon.
the man told me : " you are to young for this album.
i was very mad! , i started to look after this album and when i found it i pay for him. when i heard first pink moon i was was thinking: " mayde the man was right i am to young for this but when the album started again i was kind like!
i listn to this album a lot and love him, so i said to myself: " i am not to young for this ! "
i love this cd becaus its sad , and fantastic.
i love all the songs but my special songs are : pink moon , things behind the sun and free ride!

A friend of mine told me about this album many years ago. My friend was also suffering from major bouts of depression and taking a lot of anti-depressents. He told me how the song "From The Morning" helped him when he heard the lyrics " I can't think of words. I feel no emotion about anything. I don't want to laugh or cry. I'm numb-dead inside". He discovered he wasn't alone in feeling nothing because of the medication. This album works in so many ways. It's one you can listen to at any time and it fits. The first time I heard the whole thing was while driving on the interstate in my car late at night. Perfect. Drake could have been right up there with the premiere singer songwriters of his day had he lived to record more music. Bottom line, I love this CD!

does anyone need say more about nick drake? no. but i will anyway: this is a really, really great album, best listened to after dark, best listened to... well, just best listened to period. so get it. listen to it. life can be good with songs like these in it.

Whoa. Mr. Le Bob's vocal phrasing and delivery on the acoustic numbers is truly moving, weird, mystifying, and gives these songs more (new, emphasized, different)meaning from the album versions. I love it. The electric side is just an onslaught. The bridge to "Thin Man" is spine-tingling, and "Rolling Stone" runs me over like a Mack truck.

I recently bought this after months of delay, for whatever reason. The concert certainly lives up to previous reviews expectations and it was nice to hear these songs played live. However, the second set is the most intriguing for me. At least three of the songs date from his acoustic folk days (I dont believe you, Baby let me follow you down, and One to many mornings), while 3 more are from the Highway 61 revisited album (Like a rolling stone, Ballad of a thin man, and Just like tom thumbs blues), one song that cannot be found anywhere else (Tell me mama)and one song from Blonde on Blonde (Leopard skin pill box hat). So what is so odd about this? Well the unrealesed song for one, and the fact that, apart from Like a rolling stone, no hits. Maggies Farm and Tombstone Blues are missing from Highway 61 revisited, while only 1 song is featured from Blonde on Blonde, and the hit single Positivly 4th street is missing. So I wonder is Dylan making a point and being ironic? He plays three songs from his folk days as electric songs, perhaps as a message to the audience that the folk days are numbered and to accept the electric material. Further opening up with an unrealesed song seems like an odd choice. Finally his lack of playing any hits save Like a rolling stone, seems odd. It would seem then that Dylan was playing what he wanted, rather than bowing to the hits, something to be admired. All said a good album and worth getting.

This is a brilliant concert, but perhaps needs some historical context to be fully appreciated. For those who need some history, this 2 cd set includes a beautifully written booklet describing Dylan's '65-'66 transformation from folk troubadour to electrified rock sensation, and the vilification this change inspired in some of his folk fans. This presumes, of course, that people know how to read. Otherwise listeners may be perplexed at hearing some audience members booing and heckling during the electric set (the second disk of the set).
Some of the folk fans were particularly irked at hearing some of their Dylan folk favorites electrified and rocking (Baby Let me Follow You Down), and some of his rock songs sung with only guitar and harmonica during the acoustic set (Desolation Row). The acoustic performances are beautiful, passionate and haunting, and the electic performances, with bristling backup from The Band, are blistering and furious. It is evident throughout that Dylan is wasted (both in terms of exhaustion and drug use). I suppose this might bother some listeners; to me it just adds to the poignancy of the music, and makes the brilliance of the performances even more amazing. The acoustic version here of "Visions of Johanna", one of my favorite Dylan songs,I now prefer to the studio recording on "Blonde on Blonde".
This is a historic recording that circulated on bootlegs for many years. Consult the booklet, and watch Martin Scorcese's "No Direction Home" to get a sense of the kind of pressure that Dylan was under during this watershed period of his career.
Hearing Dylan do battle with the naysayers in his audience is part of the excitement of the performance. That gutsiness in sticking to his artistic vision is one of Dylan's most admirable qualities, but this might be lost on some listeners. Newcomers to Dylan's music, or those who have trouble with performances that sound different from the studio recordings, or those expecting the smoothed out and heavily produced sound of many current recordings, may have some trouble with this one.
Well, I agree with Van. I truly pity anyone who can't appreciate Dylan's music. For those who dismiss it as "old folk's music", that's their loss. Someday they'll be old. How well will the stuff they listen to now hold up years from now, compared to Dylan's music?

A very relaxing album from Van, with plenty of great songs. Example? Try the opening one-two punch of And It Stoned Me and the title track, two of Van's most popular songs. But wait! Don't go away yet. There's also Caravan, a song that SHOULD be a classic but isn't quite, as well as Crazy Love and Into the Mystic, two songs I like but not as much as the first two and Caravan. It really is a shame about side two, since one song rises above the average level: Brand New Day, with a joyful chorus.
Oh well. Even if you have the best-of, it's still worth it for Caravan, Crazy Love and Into the Mystic.

Van Morrison's Moondance is a great, soulful record from one of the best of the late 60's and early 70's. Featuring his finest collection of songs, the album has a little bit for everyone. Romantic songs like "Moondance" and "Crazy Love" as well as energy-filled tunes like "Caravan" and just great songs like "And it stoned me" help to make this one of the finest collection of songs ever assembled.

This is early Van Morrison and Great Blues from a Well Traveled Artist. I recommend you add this to your collection if your a Real Blues collector.

This is the real thing performed with joy and depth by a
woman who was born do do nothing else.
A superb showcase for Ani's singing,guitar playing,and
overall stage mastery that is not to be missed.On this effort
she is using a crackling,popping backup band that is enjoying the performance along with her.
One of the best live albums you have heard in a long time--
both in musicianship and sound quality.
If you are an established fan of Ms Difranco,this will have you clapping with glee.If you are not---you will be after you
give this one a listen.I fall into the latter catagory.This was my first experience with Ani's music.rest assured it will
not be my last.HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Ani Difranco is, to say the least, an extremely prolific artist. I can say I've been a fan for a good chunk of years now and I *still* don't have all her albums. (i'm working on it) She just has so many! She's a rare breed in that she's an artist that seems to release an album at least once a year (if not more frequently) and I love that about her. With Ani it is truly all about her craft, she could care less about the big wigs and the commercialism of the music business. Since what, 1989-1990(?) she's been on her *own* label, (Righteous Babes Records) & done everything herself with a select group of trusted folks. In other words, A)she's far from a sell out B)She knows what shes doing, and she LOVES what she's doing

Living In Clip is **ESSENTIAL** for anyone who appreciates Ani's music. Whether you're a long time fan or someone who's only just recently stumbled upon her greatness. It has so many amazing, classic Ani songs...and even better, it's LIVE so you can literally hear her in action- with an audience, catch a bit of goofy banter & Ani-ness all at once.

The music is great here. Some of the songs are jazzed up, an old time favorite from the early 90's "Both Hands" is wonderfully remastered with a backing orchestra and it sounds amazing.

Ani Difranco is not your typical artist/musician. Some artists are "music-musicians", and some are more concerned with the words and the messages conveyed. Ani is both and she does it all so effortlessly. Her songs aren't sweet little 4 minute pieces with a chorus and an A major melody. She actually has something to say, and one way or another she gets you to listen.

Long time fans love Ani for her frankness, her fierce and sometimes snarly voice that she uses in so many different ways. She can do a melancholic jazz song--from playing the instruments to singing the notes. She can whip out an accordian and string words together like nobody's business and turn it all into an upbeat funky song, (like a lot of those on Little Plastic Castle). Bottem line, she's all about variation, being a dynamic performer...holding people's attention.

This double disc live set is her at the top of her game, putting critics in their place and giving us all a damn good set of songs in the process.

"Gravel", "Willing To Fight", "Untouchable Face", "Shameless", "Both Hands", "Firedoor", "Shy", "Napolean", "Out of Habit".... All of these are CLASSIC Ani, but of course don't skip over the rest of the songs cuz they're great too.

I have I think ALL or almost all of Ani's albums, and I am a huge fan, but this is one of the best albums she has put out. Well, truthfully, I like them all, but anyway, in this one you really get her great LIVE sound which is slightly different than her studio sound. Ani in concert is AMAZING and this gives you a glimpse into that world. You'll love her silliness and her fierce gut-wrenching renditions of her most famous songs. Listen from start to finish for a real thrill or put your favorites on your ipod. The energy on the album is wonderful. I think this is a great introduction to her music if you've never heard it. If you are already a fan, you will LOVE this one!!! Oh, and in case you've never heard her, she is kind of folk/rock/punk/funk even jazzy at times. Listen to the clips provided or check out www.righteousbabe.com. Every album has a different flavor.

no regrets,

u should get it if u truly love music. it has so many various influences that its almost a whole different genre in itself.

brandon

If you buy just one album in your entire life, and there are far too many phenomenal ones out there to narrow it down to only one, but one you should highly consider for that one album is that of Jeff Buckley's Grace. The album succeeds on so many levels one almost becomes dizzy listening to its greatness; whether through the outstanding taste for composition which Buckley possessed in his short life, the musicianship with which so few so-called greats of our time could only wish for, or the virtually seamless genre crossing, one simply cannot listen to this and find something not to like. Unless you're a Top 40 fan, of course, but then again you don't really count as a music fan anyway.

The thing which makes Grace such a wonderful piece of artwork is much more than the sum of the three things mentioned earlier, although those are certainly an irreplaceable part of the foundation. It is the thing which all of our favorite albums do to us again and again, even if we think we have gotten tired of it after awhile or simply forget about it due to new musical discoveries, yet it always takes us back to that one place or time in which you first heard it, and again enchants you with its wonders. It is the way Buckley croons on Lover, You Should've Come Over that makes us think about every love we've ever had. It's the way he writes a song like Eternal Life that makes us want to fly down the freeway at 80 mph and scream it at the top of our lungs. It is the way we are soothed onto a bed of notes and dreams of Buckley's voice in our heads when we hear Lilac Wine. For me it's the way my heart breaks in the blissful, melancholy way whenever I hear Hallelujah and want to weep or marvel at Corpus Christi Carol. It is all these things and so much more, on virtually every track, which is also a key ingredient in making a favorite album for me.

Structurally, the music is also interesting to listen to as Buckley begins many songs as a usually composed pop tune and then smoothly guides them in another direction so flawlessly we didn't even know the song part was switching, let alone changing any of the numerous genres Buckley was a master of, be it rock, gospel, folk, classical or anything else he probably could have played without a second doubt. The band required for a recording like Grace is inevitably part of the big picture, Buckley stating in interviews that they rehearsed for three weeks before the recording sessions, being the same three weeks in which they first started working together. Even some of the few remaining great rock bands of this day and age could toil at these songs for years before perfecting them.

All of the praise for Grace, unfortunately, is bittersweet. While it would have been one of the best debuts of all time, this was Jeff's only complete studio album before his untimely death, the only other releases of his own material available being a few live albums, some unreleased tunes, and the earliest stages of work for his next planned release, My Sweetheart The Drunk, which was in progress when his tragic death occurred. Although I am selfish and lament his loss because of the great music I will hear, that doesn't diminish the fact that music was his way of speaking to the world where he was coming from, and the loss of him both personally and to the music world is a tragedy which cannot be put into words. I've heard few albums of this caliber, in any genre. I doubt you will either, but let me know if you do, because musicians like this are few and far between.

I first heard "Last Goodbye" listening to KCRW in Los Angeles the day after Buckley died in a drowning accident, as announced by the radio announcer, and immediately bought the CD. I was stunned by the beauty, the evenness of the album, and the originality. Most of all the voice pulled my heart strings. That was almost ten years ago. Since then, this album remains a beloved classic and deseredly so. If you're looking for a similar melancholy emotional rush, you might consider the music of Ronderlin, Magnet, Blue Boy, Midlake, Montgolfier Brothers, Jans Lekman, My Morning Jacket, and Pernice Brothers.

Joni Mitchell's folk album, boring acoustic guitar picking backing moody songs, usually besing considered a classic but actually a soundtrack for faint-hearted. Her voice is ok but lacks intensity. If you are looking for mellow stuff it's not a bad choice but don't expect too much here.

Bye-bye, Joni, I'll stick with my Nyro, who is a truly incredible singer and songwriter.

Say you dont like introspection, then why are you staring at your navel thinking it would make a great story? Your life would be so clean if you could see it on the silver screen, "James Dean, James Dean". Ms. Mitchell is an innovative and accomplished guitar player and in her day possessed a wonderful litling voice that could carry you through your day-to-day into something unique, gliding effortlessly through octave changes, high to low. A two pack a day habit has made its mark on her voice but the legacy is there. This record is a landmark in that legacy, although earlier albums possess more of the range. After For the Roses I stopped listening for the most part. It was hard to let go of that earlier voice and the incorporated guitar. She remains unsurpassed in the genre, an icon to all who came after her, a reniassance woman in more than song. Love you Joni.

1971: I was 20 and in college. This album shaped me and most of my friends. Whether fans of Grateful Dead, Iron Butterfly, Black Sabbath, King Crimson, Bob Dylan, Doors, Uriah Heep, Jethro Tull - this album found its way into their stacks. Those who haven't made it their own, are the less for it.