Category Archives: Music

Charles de Lint’s Old Blue Truck

I’m not sure what I expected Charles de Lint to sound like as a singer. Whatever it was I expected, it wasn’t what I got. We’re calling Old Blue Truck folk/trad-singer/songwriter music, and I suppose that’s as good a description … Continue reading

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Caci Vorba’s Szczera Mowa

This abundantly listenable CD of traditional Eastern European music came to us as a promotional copy in a paperboard sleeve with no liner notes.  Fortunately, I was able to find information on the ‘net.  I also got some much-appreciated help … Continue reading

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Celtic Fiddle Festival’s Play On

Alistair Brown wrote this review. Play On is the fourth release from a group of musicians who had no real intention of continuing as such beyond a one-off concert series in 1993. The enthusiasm, both on and off stage, generated … Continue reading

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Don Sebesky’s Giant Box

Don Sebesky, after starting his career as a trombonist in the 1950s, was one of the best-known jazz arrangers and conductors in 1960s and 1970s. His 1973 double album on CTI Giant Box reached No. 4 on the jazz charts, … Continue reading

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Eileen Ivers’ Eileen Ivers and Immigrant Soul

Mike Stiles wrote this review. Here’s a recording from one of the greatest pioneers of the World Sound today. If this recording doesn’t immigrate its way into your soul, you’re most likely a candidate for relocation under the turf. Eileen … Continue reading

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Tommy James with Martin Fitzpatrick’s Me, The Mob, and The Music – One helluva ride with Tommy James & the Shondells

When I was in sixth grade, I had a crush on a girl in my class. We even surreptitiously held hands backstage at the school’s Christmas musical program. But although it was beginning to be OK to admit that you … Continue reading

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Bombino’s Agadez

Omara “Bombino” Moctar is remarkable for having survived some seriously unpleasant times without giving up on his love of music. Agadez is a triumph in that respect; the album case says that two of his band members were executed “during … Continue reading

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Richard & Linda Thompson’s Shoot Out The Lights (Deluxe Edition)

What is left to be said about Richard & Linda Thompson’s swan song and masterpiece Shoot Out The Lights? It has garnered all kinds of honors in the nearly 30 years since its 1982 release, landing on more “best of” … Continue reading

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Richard & Linda Thompson’s Hokey Pokey

It’s probably going too far to say that Hokey Pokey is an overlooked gem in the Richard Thompson catalog. But this, the second of six studio albums released by Richard and Linda Thompson between 1974 and 1982, generally doesn’t receive … Continue reading

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Various Artists’ Eilean mo Ghaoil: The Music of Arran

Isle of Arran, isle of beauty, how my heart doth yearn for thee. Western winds come gently blowin’, softly speak of my love to me. Those lines have been ringing in my head since I first heard them. I don’t … Continue reading

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