Category Archives: Music

The Kingston Trio’s Once Upon a Time and Twice Upon a Time

Faith J. Cormier contributed this review. The Kingston Trio started recording the year I was born. I didn’t realize how much they and the Weavers had shaped my childhood tastes until, as an adult, I finally found out where the … Continue reading

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Arthur Lyman’s Bwana Á & Bahia, and Isle of Enchantment & Polynesia

Arthur Lyman, who passed away in February 2002 when he was 70 years old, was a vibraphone and marimba player. He popularized a weird sort of lounge Polynesian music in the ’50s and ’60s which eventually took on the sobriquet … Continue reading

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Wake The Dead’s Blue Light Cheap Hotel and Camogie’s Celtic Americana

Here are two related releases by Danny Carnahan and friends; one a Grateful Dead tribute, one an extended CD single of singer-songwriter material. Once upon a time, back when Bill Graham was alive and each coast had its very own … Continue reading

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Týr’s Ragnarok and Land

The Faroe Islands are located roughly halfway between Iceland and the northern tip of Scotland. Mostly autonomous, they are still formally considered part of the Kingdom of Denmark. Culturally speaking, the Faroese people are essentially Nordic (being descended primarily from … Continue reading

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Tom Paxton’s Comedians & Angels

Tom Paxton’s 2002 record Looking For the Moon was nominated for a Grammy award, and has been finding it’s way back onto my playlist over and over ever since. I don’t think there’s a bad song on the whole CD, … Continue reading

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Turbonegro’s Retox

Craig Clarke wrote this review. Ever since the release of its widely acclaimed Apocalypse Dudes (the album closest in their discography to a masterpiece), fans of Norwegian death metal band Turbonegro have been clamoring for a suitable followup. But the … Continue reading

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Tommy James & the Shondells’ 40 Years: the Complete Singles Collection 1966-2006

This is a two-disc set filled with (just like the title says) 40 Years of singles. That’s not 40 Years of hits, mind, but 40 Years of singles. Singles? Aren’t they those funny little seven-inch slabs of vinyl, the ones … Continue reading

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Solas’s For Love And Laughter

Mike Wilson wrote this review. The album begins with the charming sparkle of an exhilarating set of reels — the frenetic fiddle of Winifred Horan and the rippling accordion of Mick McAuley rush forth over Eamon McElholm’s strong, rhythmic guitar … Continue reading

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Daithi Sproule’s The Crow In The Sun

If the sound of an acoustic guitar beautifully played turns you on, then this is the album for you. Daithi Sproule is a superb artist and has a style of playing that would leave other lesser guitarists (including me) in … Continue reading

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Bára Grímsdóttir’s Funi

I still have much to learn about Icelandic folk music, but Bára Grímsdóttir’s Funi is an immensely enjoyable introduction. Having started singing at the knees of family members in the ’60s, Grímsdóttir is now a seasoned performer, composer and folklorist. … Continue reading

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