A Green Man Review

There’s always hope for something. Just not always… not always what we want.

 James S. A. Corey’s The Mercy of Gods

I smelled something quite enticing in the hallway out of our Kitchen. So I handed Pub duties over to Finch and got myself down there for the eventide meal, which was lamb kebabs seasoned with fennel, cumin, garlic and chili.

According to Gus, our Groundskeeper, who does oh so much more than that essential work, it turned out that we just slaughtered a lamb. The kebabs were served up with basmanti rice, steamed veggies and the best yeasted whole wheat rolls I’ve had.

We had ice cream for desert: a cardamom and ginger one, another intensely dark chocolate and peanut, and a strawberry one with some berries of the summer season. I sampled all three and can say that Mrs. Ware and her ever so talented Kitchen staff outdid themselves!

So let’s head over to my work table where my iPad is and see what we’ve got for you this evening.

Gary leads off with a review of  a recent release from James S. A. Corey, The Mercy of Gods. ‘As with the crew of Rocinante in The Expanse, “Corey” (a.k.a. Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck) has created a team of distinct individuals for the reader to identify with, each having their own strengths, weaknesses and quirks. And then put them into an unimaginably stressful situation that brings out their best and sometimes worst traits.’

So the rest of our book reviews are space operas as well. We think you’ll find something here that will please you to read, so I’ll get out of your way and let you look at these reviews.

Cat looks at Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven’s The Mote in God’s Eye of which he says, ‘Until the likes of Iain M. Banks with The Culture series and Neal Asher with the Polity series came along, quite possibly the best Space Opera of all time was this forty year-old novel that took the Space Opera novels of the 1930s and 1940s and very, very nicely updated them.’

Gary reviews a book of literary criticism about Iain M. Banks Culture series. He says Simone Caroti’s The Culture Series ‘is valuable reading for anyone who wants to move into a deeper understanding of what that series is really about, where it stands in the history of SF and literature, and why it’s important.’

Gary also reviewed a recent SF anthology called The New Space Opera: ‘Of course, “space opera” is what all science fiction used to be, up until about the 1970s or so. Thrilling tales of adventure in outer space, usually featuring huge starships, weird aliens, strange planets and battles, either physical or of wits.’

Joel reviewed Neal Asher’s Gridlinked, a space opera of sorts that’s a novel in The Polity series which has been running a lot longer than The Culture series did: ‘I’ve never been one for long series, and certainly the greater part of my reading time is spent on authors I’m encountering for the first time, rather than always going with the same old stand-bys, but what can I say? I get something new in the Polity universe and I know it will always be good. When it comes to escapist fiction, Neal Asher has become my most dependable travel guide. No surprise then I moved him to the top of my reading pile.’

Robert came up with a series that is quintessential space opera, with a twist: C. J. Cherryh’s The Chanur Saga, including Chanur’s Homecoming, and the sequel, Chanur’s Legacy: ‘C. J. Cherryh’s The Chanur Saga is an almost-omnibus edition of her tetralogy about Pyanfar Chanur and her ship, the interstellar trader The Pride of Chanur. Because of length, the “omnibus” volume contains the first three in the series . . . , and one would be well-advised to be sure that Chanur’s Homecoming, issued separately, is within easy reach, lest one be left hanging off a cliff.’

Our reviewer Pinky quibbled with some of the facts in Stewart Lee Allen’s The Devil’s Cup: Coffee, The Driving Force in History, but had praise for this book that weaves social, cultural, and culinary history into a manic travelogue. ‘Discarding chronology, Lee seamlessly weaves in past and present to explain the nuances of coffee’s influence in a region. An instance of this is the chapter “War,” where hundreds of years of Turkish history are traversed without a jolt.’k

Asher proclaims ‘Here is a tale of human folly — “Whatever the cost, do it”. Of a noble dream – “One land, one king!” Of magic – “Can’t you see all around you the Dragon’s breath?” Of its passing – “There are other worlds. This one is done with me.” And of memory – “For it is the doom of men that they forget.” Excalibur is arguably the most exciting film version of the myth of Arthur to date.’

Gary here with music. Let’s lead off with a musician interview by Daryana. She had a long email conversation with Russian composer, musician, singer, and researcher Zhenya Wind. In her introduction, Daryana says, ‘Folklore, ethnographic expeditions, and original fairy-tale songs — all of these find expression in Zhenya Wind’s work. Her music becomes a key to understanding the magic of folk traditions and stories. Joining the listeners who have chosen her songs for their playlists means immersing yourself in a true musical expedition experience — one that opens new horizons and invites you to rethink your own perception of the world.’

I have a review of the 30th anniversary deluxe edition of John Prine’s Lost Dogs & Mixed Blessings. The best thing about it is the bonus tracks including some very good demos of the album’s best songs. The original album is still not my favorite. ‘That said, if you’re in the right mood, this can be a fun album if the production doesn’t put you off as much as it does me. As with all Prine albums, the lyrics run the gamut from gut-punch sad to warmly loving to knee-slapping funny, often within one short stanza.’

Faith as always had some strong opinions, wittily expressed, in her review of a reissue of Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger’s Classic Scots Ballads: ‘So what do we have? Several Child Ballads, for starters. “The False Lover Won Back” always makes me wonder why she wanted him back. He must have been quite the lad to be worth running behind his horse halfway across Scotland.’

Lars reviewed several albums from English folk musicians Simon Mayor and Hilary James. Let’s start with Children’s Favourites from Acoustics, which he greatly enjoyed. ‘James and Mayor have the ability to write songs that appeal to children, and to the child within adults, without ever sounding childish. They do not oversimplify things; they trust their audience to be able to pick up on clever musical passages and word games in the lyrics.’

Next up Lars reviewed Music from a Small Island. ‘Many of the traditional tracks are well known, but Mayor and James make them their own. The treatment of “Such a Parcel of Rogues” for instance lets Mayor display his ability on a number of instruments, and “Rosebud in June” first gets an instrumental arrangement, followed by James’s clear soprano voice.’

Then Lars reviewed two at once: Simon Mayor and Hilary James’s Lullabies with Mandolins, and Hilary James with Simon Mayor’s Laughing With the Moon. ‘Well, you may ask yourself what the difference is between a CD made by SM & HJ and a CD made by HJ with SM. I am sorry to confess that I have not got a clue. Both these CDs seem to be proper duo albums, although they differ greatly when you consider the underlying feeling of each album, and in the fact that the duo are alone on the Lullabies and have brought in extra musicians for Laughing With the Moon.’

Peter Massey delved into an album of folk song by Peggy Seeger, Love Call Me Home. ‘I must say my favourite songs on the album were the two new songs written or updated by Peggy. The first is the opening track “Sing About These Hard Times.” It’s a great song, and Peggy has chosen to bring this old chestnut up to date with a theme of how things are now. The other is the title track, a beautiful song dedicated to the memory of a friend who died of cancer.’

Samantha was disappointed with Mick McAuley & Winifred Horan’s Serenade. ‘I expected a more thrilling ride from what are essentially two very talented artists. Solas fans may wish to buy it, if only to hear a different angle of the group. I just hope that if McAuley and Horan plan any future duet albums, they will be inspired to jolt some of the old fire back into their playing.’

Our coda is Aaron Copland’s ‘A Fanfare for The Common Man’ as performed by the Rolling Stones. Yes the Rolling Stones! A number of bands including Styx and ELP (Emerson Lake and Palmer) have adapted it for use. So here’s their decidedly offbeat version. No idea where or when it was recorded. It is known they used it to open their shows in 1975 and 1976.

If you see a faded sign at the side of the road
that says “15 miles to the love shack”
Love shack, yeah, yeah I’m headin’
down the Atlanta highway
Lookin’ for the love getaway
Heading for the love getaway

B-52s, “Love Shack”

There’s a contradance going on just now. It’s a  new contradance band here on the Estate. Drink Down The Moon is the name they’ve given themselves after the novel by author Charles de Lint. They’re comprised of Catherine, the wife of Iain our Librarian on violin and hand drums, Béla on violin, Finch playing English smallpipes, which I believe are made by the esteemed Julian Goodacre, and Gus or myself as usual on concertina. It’s Gus tonight fir reason you’ll see below.

The old Church is where we hold the dances, ironic I know as the Scots Church didn’t like dances at all, but we’ve not had Services there since well before the Great War. It was used as storage ’til the Fifties when it became a space for gatherings such as Eventide meals done buffet style where the dining space was too small for all who were invited, so we do community suppers there. And the stone floors and no seating make it perfect for these dances

My left knee, injured many decades ago, is acting out, so I decided to stay in the Pub and listen to the Neverending Session which has been playing a lot of hambos (think of them as a sort of a mazurka if you wish) this evening as I write up these notes. Gary Whitehouse as always did the music…

Cat has a confession to make about Robert Heinlein’s fiction: ‘The Cat Who Walks Through Walls is, after over thirty years of my reading works beyond count by him, my favorite novel by him bar none. There are without doubt better written novels by Heinlein that stir strong passions in readers, say Starship Troopers and The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, both of which can cause otherwise sensible readers to start hissing and spitting at each over the perceived political and social commentary in those books, and let’s not even broach the matter of Stranger in A Strange Land, as that work will really get the mojo rising in many readers!’

Another novel written in the last years of his life drew this comment from Cat: ‘Robert Heinlein’s Friday was a novel that deeply divided critics when it was published. Part of that was the gender and race politics of a male author writing a female character that got raped, part of it was the usual kvetching about every novel Heinlein wrote from Stranger in a Strange Land to the end of his writing career.’

Joel looks at a juvenile, The Star Beast: ‘Beating out The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by a good three decades, and Men in Black by over four, Heinlein didn’t just do this story first, he did it best. I’ve been enjoying the recent books in John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War series. The last few books have been much more about diplomacy than space battles, and are no less riveting for it. But who knew that Heinlein, the creator of the self-same military science fiction tradition which led to Old Man’s War, was himself quite capable of having his heroes save the day by talking and listening as well?’

J.S.S. Boyce has a long and thoughtful look at Heinlein’s otherworldly take on the post-apocalyptic novel, Farnham’s Freehold. It’s almost on the edge of science fiction and into the realm of human psychology or social satire, à la Brave New World or Lord of the Flies or even The Road.

He also reviewed three of Heinlein’s juveniles, which we’d now maybe call YA, Between Planets, Starman Jones, and The Rolling Stones. He says of the former, ‘The writing is competent, as always: straightforward and readable. The plot and characterization were a little thin for my taste. Heinlein’s moralizing has been known to get the better of him. One of the things he moralizes about is patriotism and integrity and sometimes he does a really good job at getting those ideas in there at no expense to the story, but not this time.’

He liked Starman Jones better: ‘RAH didn’t apologize for a certain degree of formula in these stories, an update of Alger’s from a century earlier: a young man from a modest background, through the virtues of hard work, a bit of luck, and (uniquely, in Starman Jones) perhaps taking some liberties with the truth to get his foot in the door, eventually proves his mettle and resourcefulness and saves the day.’

And he found The Rolling Stones quite curious indeed. ‘In the hands of a lesser author, the novel might seem somewhat meandering. The Stone family head off to visit Mars just for something to do, one thing leads to another and the journey continues. There are mini-episodes of adventure here and there, but the book as a whole doesn’t have a clear destination or anything clearly at stake.’

Kathleen has a confession regarding Time For The Stars: ‘Robert Anson Heinlein is inarguably one of the great formative writers of science fiction. His work is not only seminal, it’s good — well-told, well-plotted, with solid characterization. It’s also frequently thought-provoking, with underlying philosophy and speculation that stays with the reader for a lifetime. Most modern readers attribute these qualities to the more outré and/or famous novels, like Time Enough For Love and the iconic Stranger In A Strange Land. But Heinlein’s so-called juveniles are actually among the most thoughtful of his books.’

Leona liked everything about The Milk of Almonds: Italian American Women Writers on Food and Culture, including the cover and the introduction. ‘The Introduction in The Milk of Almonds is so packed with information that I could write a review just on it alone. It twines food and almonds and history and culture all together in a strong thread of friendly narrative.’

Remember the food-and-football coming of age film Bend It Like Beckham? Nathan does. ‘Jes comes across as a girl who doesn’t want to reject her family or show disrespect for her culture, but is also desperate to pursue her own dreams. How this is resolved is a story of Indian cooking, cultural absurdity, family love, and an abiding desire to play what the English call “the beautiful game,” all done without ever becoming preachy or saccharine sweet.

The Cats of Tanglewood Forest is an expansion of a much shorter work by de Lint and Vess entitled A Circle Of Cats which Mia says is ‘is not a novel, or a novella, or even, at 44 pages, a chapbook — those are merely convenient labels assigned by publishers and booksellers to assist them in categorization. Call Cats instead an enchantment, a weaving of words and pictures into pure magic. Charles de Lint is adept at converging the mundane world and the Otherworld: at touching them together briefly to produce intense moments and life altering episodes, and then gently letting each world retreat from the touch and settle back into its own normality, usually with both sides all the better for the experience.‘

Gary here with music. I’ve been enjoying the peaceful (though not soporific) sounds of Tom Gershwin’s Wellspring, inspired by the natural world in the trumpeter’s home state of Vermont. ‘The music is not programatic in any way, though: no timpani mimicking a thunderstorm or flutes playing birdsong, just solid improvisational jazz. However, the natural world’s inspiration likely accounts for the deep sense of spirituality I get from this music, even though it’s not really what’s known as spiritual jazz.’

From the archives, Big Earl loved Petit Fou, the second album by the group that was by then known as Matapat. ‘Largely driven by the incredible bass of Simon Lepage, Matapat mixes many outside influences to their style. There are shots of jazz, as on “Soupir de St-Albans,” or funk as on “La jolie Rochelle.” There’s even an East/West exploration on “La vieille galope,” with the band playing with Indian musicians. This is a band that’s unafraid to push their tradition, and it succeeds at every turn.’

He also was highly impressed by Music From Vietnam, a big set of Vietnamese music on CD. ‘Isolated for almost a half century by various conflicts, the music and art of these people have only been found in the Vietnamese community stores of Western cities, transported in for the local residents. Caprice Records of Sweden has offered up five volumes of a more readily available variety of this tradition, allowing those who don’t hunt this stuff down an easier opportunity to discover yet more great music from Asia.’

David reviewed Life and Times, a compilation album by fellow Canadian Ray Materick. ‘A solid slice of his past, and an encouraging chunk of the present, boding well for the future. A look at Materick’s Web site shows a large collection of relatively new material which is being made available and promises the re-issue of that first album. From those scuffling days, a man, a guitar and an empty street. Materick is older now, wiser, settled, but grounded and making some of the best music of his career.’

Judith loved Vested, an album of folk music from a local musician, Vancouver, Washington’s Tom May. ‘Tom has a wonderful voice that might remind one of Stan Rogers. I like it best on the quick songs, when it is less stylized. On the slower tunes I wish he’d keep it steadier, because I think it’s a dynamite voice, but at this point I think Tom must like it the way it is.’

But she was less than fond of Karen Matheson of Capercaillie’s second solo album. ‘Time To Fall is expertly overproduced with synthetic strings, tinkly piano, and other correctly swooshy noises by Capercaillie accordionist Donald Shaw. Most of the songs are written by Scottish singer-songwriter/guitarist James Grant, who largely ignores proper nouns, story lines, and historical and geographical references; most of the songs are about hope, hope of better days, hopes for loves, wishing well.’

Remember Matapat? Naomi reviewed Bourque, Bernard, & Lepage’s debut album, which they called Matapat, which was soon to be the name of their trio. ‘The members of this energetic trio all share a common goal, to familiarize their audiences with the unique culture of Quebec, and allow for future ambassadors of traditional Quebecois music and folklore to be able to share their talents. A very wonderful goal to have, and one I wish them well with.’

Our What Not caused Reynard to ponder something in the Nibbling Mouse Folkmnis puppet: ‘I’ve no idea where it’s been since it came in for review nearly twenty years ago, nor do I know how it ended up in the room off the Estate Kitchen that houses the centuries-old collection of cookbooks, restaurant menus and other culinary-related material but I just noticed it there, a very adorable white mouse puppet holding a wedge of cheese in its paws. Somebody had placed it in a white teacup on the middle of the large table so I really couldn’t overlook it.’

There are bands for which I’ve a deep liking for pretty much everything they done and so it is with Chicago’s ‘Saturday in the Park’ which I’ve heard playing off and on over the past forty years. It’s certainly an upbeat, feel good summer song much like ‘Love Shack’ by the B-52s. It was recorded forty years ago this August at the Park West in Chicago.

Not until then did they notice that Gandalf was missing. So far he had come all the way with them, never saying if he was in the adventure or merely keeping them company for a while. He had eaten most, talked most, and laughed most. But now he simply was not there at all! — J.R.R.Tolkein’s The Hobbit, or, There and Back Again

If you’re looking for Iain, our Librarian, he’s off again on a vacation trip, errr, I meant another short concert tour with his wife, violinist and vocalist Catherine, in the Baltic nations. While he’s gone,  Gus has the Library Apprentices, the Several Annies, assisting him with much needed gardening work, so I’m writing up What’s New this edition without their usual assistance as well.

I just remembered that I’ve got a tale of how Karen Wynn Fonstad’s The Atlas of Middle-Earth came to be a learning lesson for a group of Several Annies which  you can read here. For just how important Tolkien thought maps were to creating his world, go read our review of his epic work, The History of Middle-earth.

Jennifer reports on the class war between inaccurately-privileged fantasies in genre Regency romance and the genre’s better examples, notably Barbara Monajem’s very excellent Rosie and McBrae Regency Mystery series. The series starts when a young woman of title loses her husband, and her mother tries to have her committed to a mental institution for having obsessive-compulsive disorder. Then someone starts sending the widow poison pen letters trying to drive her to suicide. Then society’s latest and most celebrated anonymous cartoonist, who exposes dirty laundry among the Upper Ten Thousand, falls in lust with her. Wackiness ensues! And that’s just book one.

Lory notes, ‘In the early years of the twentieth century, A. A. Milne was a well-known writer of plays as well as humorous essays and poems. The Red House Mystery, published shortly before he became world-famous as the creator of Christopher Robin and Winnie-the-Pooh, is his only detective novel. In his tongue-in-cheek introduction, written after the Pooh craze had struck, he explains that “it is obvious now that a new detective story, written in the face of this steady terrestial demand for children’s books, would be in the worst of taste.” For mystery enthusiasts, this is a pity — for Milne’s take on the genre was as breezily accomplished as any of his other pursuits.’

Lory waxes about an unusual mystery in Farthing: ‘Jo Walton has a knack for genre fiction with a twist. In the World Fantasy Award-winning Tooth and Claw, she gave us a Victorian family saga — complete with siblings squabbling over an inheritance, the woes of the unwed daughters of the house, and the very important question of What Hat to Wear — with a cast of dragons, literally red in tooth and claw. Now in  Farthing, her material is the mid-century British country house murder mystery. The story is told in alternate chapters through the eyes of Lucy Kahn, a reluctant visitor to the family estate of Farthing, and over the shoulder of Inspector Carmichael, who has been sent from Scotland Yard to investigate the death of one of the other guests.

Evidence of political backbiting, personal blackmailing, and marital mismatches piles up as usual in such scenarios, but the most startling piece of all (and the most overlooked by the central characters) is that this Britain of 1949 has been at peace with Hitler for eight years, letting him take the Continent in exchange for leaving Britain a nominal independence.’

Michael looks at James Stoddard’s The High House and The False House: “Welcome to the House that God built. Evenmere, the High House, that unending ever-changing building which crosses and contains worlds. It is, and represents, all Creation, an enigma, a parable, a mystery. Within its halls and rooms, passages and basements, attics and terraces, are the undreamt worlds, the lands of dream, places like Ooz and Innman Tor and Arkalen. The House bridges upon our own world, but is far more than a house. It just Is.,

Robert finishes off a look at ‘Moonheart may very well be the first novel by Charles de Lint that I ever read. I can’t really say for sure — it’s been awhile. It certainly is one that I reread periodically, a fixture on my “reread often” list. It contains, in an early form, all the magic that keeps us coming back to de Lint. (And be reminded that Charles de Lint may very well be the creator of what we call “urban fantasy” — he was certainly one of the first to combine contemporary life and the stuff of myth.) It’s a novel that is centered on a Place, a location that is a portal between worlds.’

Jennifer offers chilaquiles for breakfast on a hot summer morning. No, really. When your ears are sweating a little, you don’t notice the heat outside so much. Your clothes smell delicious all day. Takes ten minutes. Any lucky soul who shares your breakfast with you will roll over with their paws in the air and love you for a solid week afterward.

Craig dug around in his film library to come up with the lighthearted baseball fantasy It Happens Every Spring. ‘Most films would feel a need to moralize on its characters’ actions instead of just letting them be. This film holds no such pretentions. It is simply what it is: a movie about a man who loves baseball utilizing a happy accident in the name of love. And it’s all the better for it.’

Robert has this to say about Craig Thompson’s Habibi: ‘Craig Thompson’s Habibi is a sprawling tale (that’s 672 pages of sprawling) that relates the adventures of two lostlings, the girl verging on womanhood Dodola, and the much younger Zam, a boy who she finds lost in the desert. They stumble across a ship that somehow has found its way to the desert (whether abandoned before or after it arrived there is anyone’s guess) and there make a life until through one circumstance and another each independently leaves — or is taken away.’

In new music, Gary reviews Twilight Blues by Poi Rogers. ‘This Santa Cruz based duo tossed the cowboy country western ethos of the Sons of the Pioneers with the warm tropical stylings of Hawaiian style lap steel guitar music and came up with something all their own,’ he notes. ‘It’s a winning formula that mixes roughly equal parts Western swing, cowboy campfire songs, Commander Cody and Ennio Moricone, all done with big smiles and lots of Cali sunshine. And they’re dog lovers to boot!’

Gary also reviews Invocation, the new one from Seattle Latin jazz trio Duende Libre. ‘Duende Libre’s core members — composer, bandleader and pianist Alex Chadsey, bassist Farko Dosumov, and drummer Jeff Busch — have been making music together for quite a few years now, and it shows in the tightness and easy flow of this set of eight originals rooted in the traditions and rhythms from Cuba, Brazil, and West Africa.’

From the Archives, Big Earl liked most things about a compilation of Hawaiian steel guitar music from Rounder. ‘A re-issue of a 1974 release, Hula Blues is a loose compilation of several artists who explored the possibilities of the lap steel (whether electric, acoustic or Dobro/National resonators) in the decades before the more complex pedal steel was invented. To paraphrase Ry Cooder, this music is often “highly hookey.” Cheesy pop tunes, oddball standards and quasi-hokum tunes abound. This only adds to the novelty of this disc and lends it a wonderful charm.

Christopher reviewed a couple of early discs by jazz pianist Michael Kaeshammer: Tell You How I Feel and Strings Attached. ‘Kaeshammer has a great left hand, as befits a boogie-woogie aficionado. And his right hand ain’t too shabby neither! Check out the other of his two originals on this disk, “Jivin’ with Dal,” to hear what he can do. He builds a fast and funky bottom, then begins to dance around with the melody above. Later he swaps, letting his left hand ‘solo’ while his right comps. All in all Tell You How I Feel would be impressive if it came from a twenty year veteran of jazz clubs, let alone a newcomer not yet 20 years old.’

Dean enjoyed most of the compilation and tribute album What’s That I Hear: The Songs of Phil Ochs. ‘What’s That I Hear includes 28 tracks from a wide spectrum of musicians. Regardless of style the best interpretations are those which stay true to Ochs’ spirit, and the worst are those which resort to the too-earnest whining which seems to be the default setting for folk and protest singers.’

Lars truly appreciated the traditional folk music of Magpie Lane’s A Taste of Ale. ‘Magpie Lane is a six-piece folk group from Oxfordshire. They only use acoustic, mostly traditional instruments such as assorted squeeze boxes, fiddle, guitar, whistles, flute, recorder and percussion. They have no intention of rocking up their songs or modernizing them. Instead they produce a sound with clear mediæval influences. With all six members singing, they are strong vocally as well as instrumentally.’

Mike appreciated pretty much everything about The Bluegrass Patriots’ Springtime in the Rockies. ‘Whether this band is covering A. P. Carter’s “Winding Stream,” or the Tompall Glaser/Harlan Howard hit “Streets of Baltimore,” or traditional numbers like “Down in the Valley” and “Eat at the Welcome Table,” you’re going to get that real old time sound. There aren’t that many bands of this caliber any more that promote the original sound pioneered by Bill Monroe and friends. These good old boys play it all fresh while keeping it tight and true.’

Noam had mixed feelings about Phil Ochs’s The Early Years. ‘Herein are collected twenty songs (running time a generous 74 minutes!), all from the years 1964-1966, which could easily be seen as the halcyon period of Ochs; the majority of the songs are live solo performances from the Newport Folk Festivals of those years, whereas the first five are taken from a then contemporary Vanguard sampler album.’

Our What Not is from Kage Baker who was a  storyteller beyond compare, be it in emails as Cat can well attest, at Ren Faires with her sister Kathleen serving up ale, lovingly critiquing quite old films, writing stories of chocolate quaffing cyborgs, whores who decidedly didn’t have hearts of gold,  or space raptors who are actually parrots now. So it won’t surprise you that was a master narrator of her own stories as you hear as when she reads for us ‘The Empress of Mars’, a novella she wrote. It was shortly before her death supposed to be included on a disc with a chapbook of the novella but the small press went tits up before that happened so she gave me permission to host it here.

So the Infinite Jukebox, our somewhat fey media server, has a song written and performed by Johnny Cash’s daughter, Rosanne,  that shows that she’s every bit as great covering her own material as she is covering his material as she did here. This week it’s ‘Runaway Train’ which comes from the same Bimbos concert in San Francisco that January evening. It details the end of a relationship that may or may not have been about her own such ending but it’s certainly heartfelt.