Category Archives: Music

Daniel Lanois’ Goodbye to Language

Daniel Lanois’ name has become synonymous with sonic exploration. From his early electronic music collaborations with Brian Eno through his legendary production work with Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, U2 and more, to his own recordings, the Canadian-born musician has delved … Continue reading

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Y La Bamba’s Ojos del Sol

Lyrically, musically and thematically complex, Ojos del Sol represents a leap of creative faith by Luz Elena Mendoza, the Portland, Oregon-based singer-songwriter who leads Y La Bamba. Her previous efforts, including 2012’s Court the Storm have combined the rhythms, sounds … Continue reading

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Frode Haltli’s Air

I discovered fairly recently that, when you get into the contemporary music of Northern Europe, “accordion music” is not at all what we think it’s going to be. Which leads me to this recently released collection by Norwegian accordionist Frode … Continue reading

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Elias Alexander & Bywater Band’s Bywater

Elias Alexander hails from Ashland, home of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. But this piper, singer and songwriter has lived in a lot of places including Scotland, where he apparently worked as a tree planter, and New Orleans, and Vermont where … Continue reading

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John McEuen’s Made in Brooklyn

Banjo player John McEuen is one of the unheralded giants of American roots music. He was a founding member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, one of the first to blend rock and country in a new way that didn’t … Continue reading

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Lúnasa’s The Kinnitty Sessions 

Australian author and Celtic musician Paul Brandon, who wrote of one of the finest fantasy novels of recent years, Swim the Moon, has a new novel, The Wild Reel, coming out this summer. He’s also a great fan of Lúnasa, who are … Continue reading

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Lúnasa’s Sé

  Paul Brandon penned this review. It’s been nearly 10 years since I first saw Lúnasa. I had to pause after I wrote that, because, as the cliché says, I still remember it like it was yesterday. The gig, at a now-extinct … Continue reading

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Lunasa’s Lunasa, Otherworld and The Merry Sisters of Fate

Stephen Hunt penned this review. Sitting here in my house in Cornwall, on a balmy spring evening in 2003, the 1990’s feel like a long time ago. Back then I was living near Slough, one of those modern, overcrowded railway towns … Continue reading

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Oysterband’s This House Will Stand: The Best Of Oysterband 1998-2015

I begged GMR to let me review this 2-CD compilation by Oysterband because I’ve been a committed Oysters’ fan for many years and possess almost all their recordings.“Who better,” I asked myself, “to review this collection of their songs than … Continue reading

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Qntal’s Qntal III’s Tristan und Isolde

I long ago gave up apologizing for being a sloppy romantic. At my age, I figure I’m entitled. I also have a tendency, when the lists of CDs available come out from GMR, to get a little crazy and go … Continue reading

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