Music Recommendations
As I mention
on the Magazine page,
I periodically get an impulse to write verse of some sort. One
way this impulse expresses itself is through song lyrics. I wrote
the lyrics to the tune "Midsummer Skies" on Patrice
O'Neill's fine debut album, Elusive. If you have Real Player,
click here and you can hear it sung
in Patrice's angelic voice. If you don't have Real Player, you
will have to either
1) Go mad wondering just how beautiful Patrice's
voice is
2) Click this icon--
--and
get Real Audio for free so you can hear the tune, or
3) Click on her face right now and buy the album. Decisions, decisions...
Two albums by Ceili Rain, brainchild of musical genius Bob Halligan, Jr. Pure aural wonderfullness! Don't forget to check out their website!
Pat Metheny Group
Letter from Home
Still Life (Talking)
American Garage
Watercolors
New Chatauqua
Speaking of Now
Pat Metheny: Best jazz guitarist in da woild!
Brandenburg Concertos It was given to J.S. Bach to write God's thoughts in
music.
Two acoustic albums by one of my favorite guitarists: Phil Keaggy.
A bunch of albums by Canada's best kept secret, Bruce Cockburn. One of the best lyricists and finest musicians in the world.
Jazz and pop standards as they should be sung, by the incomparable Natalie Cole. (I once went biking to the Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery with my pal Michael and was crestfallen to find that Natalie was going to play there live scant hours after we were supposed to hit the trail for home. So close and yet so far!)
If one Natalie is good, two is better! Natalie MacMaster is Canada's other best kept secret: a fiddler who will blow you away!
John McCutcheon is a swell folk singer who does nice stuff for kids too.
Michael Card is
one of the most interesting and intelligent songwriters at work
in gospel music
Starkindler: A Celtic Conversation Across Time
Poiema
Unveiled Hope
Joy in the Journey
Brother to Brother Note: This album was made in
collaboration with...
John Michael Talbot
(who is another of the best songwriters at work in gospel music).
Cave of the Heart
The John Michael Talbot Collection: A Library Of 35
Favorite Songs
Nickel
Creek Amazing debut work from a bunch of wet-behind-the-ears kids!
And don't forget to check out solo work like...
Not
All Who Wander are Lost by Chris Thile
and...
Let It Fall
by Sean Watkins.
Sign Language Great jazz with a New Agey sort
of feel from Montreux, a band that sprang out
of an exciting live collaboration at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1984.
Darol Anger, Mike
Marshall, Barbara Higbie and friends
make magic on the
Live at Montreux album that records the birth of this fine group.
Chiaroscuro
Marshall and Anger
(founders of the Turtle Island String Quartet) team up to make
one of the best albums you've never heard of. (Trivia: Fr. John
Adams at Blessed
Sacrament parish in Seattle once did a recording with Mike
Marshall.)
Various Other Albums I Love (in no particular order)
Indigo Girls
I'm more partial to Emily's songs than Amy's but they sure can
blend their voices!
A Charlie Brown Christmas It's not Christmas
without Vince Guaraldi!
Fire
in the Kitchen The Chieftains play
host to a more or less accidental collaboration of some awesomely gifted
Canadian musicians.
Hot Dawg A beloved favorite from the
irrepressible Dave Grisman!
Morning Dance Spyrogyra
takes me right back to college!
Peace in the Puzzle A lovely piece of work from
an obscure harpist named Amy Shreve.
Glenn Miller: A
Memorial One of the great masters of the Big Band era. I grew
up listening to him and he hasn't aged a bit.
The New Nashville Cats Mark O'Connor, I am proud to boast,
comes from the area where I live. What can I say? It's the water!
Plus, he has (ahem!) a great name!
Shaking the Blues Away Rob Fisher and the Coffee Club Orchestra
were the guys who did the music for Garrison Keillor's show for a
while.
At the End of the Evening A lovely Celtic album
from Nightnoise that always
reminds me of autumn.
Time Out Dave
Brubeck's classic is another album I grew up with due to
my brother Mike's love of good jazz.
December George
Winston's music offends snobs. Tough. I like this album.
Bing Crosby's
Gold Records Once cool, then deeply uncool, now back to being
cool again!
Stephane Grappelli
is Jazz The greatest grandaddy of the jazz violin. At last! A
Frenchman we can love!
Light as a Feather Chick
Corea and Return to Forever play music that's light as...
oh, what's the word I'm looking for?
Also,
My Spanish Heart is a happy listen for anybody who likes Spanish-influenced
jazz.
Aaron Copland
I still can't hear "Fanfare for the Common Man" without
being moved.
Benny Goodman
A collection of the best from the Man Who Could Not Play a Bad
Note!
Scott Joplin
Sometimes ragtime just hits the spot!
George Gershwin
"Rhapsody in Blue" and "An American in Paris"
are still great 70 years later.
Guitar
Trio: Paco De Lucia, Al DiMeola, John McLaughlin
Fiery and passionate work from three of the world's best guitarists.
Only
Tommy Emmanuel is an amazing finger-picking
guitarist from Australia!
Stan Freberg
Presents the United States of America Vol. 1 and 2 Freberg,
along with MAD Magazine exerted a powerful influence on me in my
youth. That should tell you something.
Copyright 2002 - Mark P. Shea
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