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The Highwomen
Artist: The Highwomen
Amanda Shires came up with the idea for the Highwomen as she listened to country radio while touring America in support of her 2016 album My Piece of Land. State after state, she heard a lack of women on station after station, so she devised the notion of creating a supergroup that would address this problem directly. Shires found no shortage of collaborators. In short order, Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris, and Natalie Hemby joined her to form the Highwomen, a group whose name offers a punning send-up of the Highwaymen, the biggest country supergroup there ever was. As its lead singles (and opening tracks) "Highwomen" and "Redesigning Women" make plain, the album is designed to reflect the complex realities of modern women, a perspective that's notably absent on country radio at the tail end of the 2010s. If the singles hit the nail precisely on the head, the rest of the record is a bit looser, alternating between spruced-up honky tonk and reflective ballads. Shires, Carlile, Morris, and Hemby seamlessly trade verses and fall into harmonies but, better still, their sensibilities mesh elegantly. None of the singer/songwriters alter their distinct voices -- it's possible to hear Carlile's flinty, plaintive lyricism, Hemby's clever turns of phrase -- but the Highwomen take pains to place the collective over the individual. The message, which is implicit nearly as often as it's explicit, may be at the forefront of The Highwomen, but the record's resonance lies in its deep emotions and sense of craft. The craft isn't incidental, either. Their shared skills as writers and singers provide the supporting evidence to Shires' conceptual thesis: if country radio doesn't want to play music this good, what's the point of radio anyway?
-- from the Allmusic.com Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
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Rubberband
Artist: Miles Davis
Before Miles Davis recorded Tutu as his debut offering for Warner Bros., he worked on a funky, jazz-pop-vocal project called Rubberband in North Hollywood over a three-month period in late 1985 and early 1986. While co-producers Randy Hall and Attala Zane Giles felt satisfied, Warner Jazz boss Tommy LiPuma was less enthusiastic. It was ultimately shelved and the tapes languished for 30 years. Davis performed some of its tunes live, and later, trumpet parts from the sessions were grafted onto "Fantasy" and "High Speed Chase" for the posthumously released Doo Bop. Rubberband is almost thoroughly reinvented from its original tapes with full cooperation from the Davis estate. It was guided by Davis' nephew and drummer Vince Wilburn, Jr., who played on the original sessions. The bookend tracks "Rubberband of Life" featuring Ledisi (it was penned for Chaka Khan's voice), and a remixed version of the title track (featuring a stellar Mike Stern guitar break), were previously released on a limited five-track EP. They are easily the set's high points. Davis' trumpet playing is engaged and tasteful throughout. He delivers funky vamps, tight fills, and sometimes meaty solos.
-- from the Allmusic.com Review by Thom Jurek
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Over the Rainbow
Artist: Herb Alpert
On his latest album, Alpert began the same way he has done for all of his albums over the years: searching for great melodies. That search has resulted in the prolific trumpeter's latest offering, a collection of eleven classics and one brand new, original track. That original song, Skinny Dip, opens the album with a quirky, fun vibe before things move on to recognizable tunes from the great American songbook, which are included for various reasons close to Alpert's heart.
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Days of the Bagnold Summer
Artist: Bell and Sebastian
Days of the Bagnold Summer is Belle & Sebastian's soundtrack for Simon Bird's 2019 cinematic adaptation of Joff Winterhart's 2012 graphic novel. The band was hired by the director during a period when leader Stuart Murdoch was revisiting some of his older songs, so these tunes anchor the soundtrack album. "Get Me Away from Here I'm Dying" and "I Know Where the Summer Goes" are re-recorded for the film, while "Safety Valve" dates from 1993, when Belle & Sebastian wasn't a going concern. It is to the group's credit that Days of the Bagnold Summer sounds cohesive. These older tunes mesh seamlessly with a handful of full new songs, and they're tied together by vivid pieces of incidental music: "Jill Pole" plays with lush '60s cinematic tropes, while "The Colour's Gonna Run" is a shimmering piece of folk-pop. The individual parts fit together elegantly, even if it flirts with the ephemeral; the music deliberately floats by, leaving trace elements of melodies and vibe behind. As a Belle & Sebastian album, Days of the Bagnold Summer may be a bit slight, but as a soundtrack it is considerably more cohesive and alluring than Storytelling, all due to the group's increased mastery of texture and feel. This skill helps make Days of the Bagnold Summer the rare soundtrack that is as effective when heard outside of the context of the film as it is heard within it.
-- Allmusic.com Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
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The Butterfly
Artist: Martin Hayes & Brooklyn Rider
In a genre dominated by show-offs, Martin Hayes is something rare: a fiddler of deep thoughtfulness and exquisite taste. (Having seen him live, I can attest that he’s as technically accomplished as any other world-class Irish fiddler; what makes him different is that he generally resists the temptation to show off, especially in the studio.) On his latest album he teams up with the genre-transgressing string quartet Brooklyn Rider to perform arrangements of ten classic session tunes, one Hayes original, and one new tune by composer Peadar Ó Riada. Some of the arrangements are by members of the ensemble, and all of them are both intelligent and fun. Their take on “Mulqueen’s,” normally played as a reel, is given a particularly hard-swinging hornpipe treatment here, and their version of the title track, a lovely slip jig, is complex and exquisitely beautiful. Recommended to all libraries.
-- CD Hotlist Review by Rick Anderson
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Debussy: Of Motion And Dance - Piano Music
Artist: Jerry Wong
Because he’s such a household name–one of a handful of composers that virtually anyone can name, no matter how little attention they pay to classical music–it’s easy to forget how deeply weird Debussy’s music could be. Often characterized as “impressionistic,” it might be more accurate to say that Debussy did for piano music what Mahler did for orchestral music, in that he effectively served as the midwife for the Romantic era’s delivery of its modernistic child. This collection is organized around the idea of physical movement and dance, and finds pianist Jerry Wong interpreting a wide variety of brief pieces in a program centered on Debussy’s celebrated Suite bergamasque (which is patterned on the baroque dance suite). Wong never argues the dance idea too strenuously, but he does make clear the connections between the pieces in this highly varied set. Highly recommended.
-- CD HotList Review by Rick Anderson
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Restless Wind
Artist: George Winston
Restlessness is not a quality often associated with George Winston yet the adjective suits his 2019 album Restless Wind. Constructed as a loose impressionistic journey through America's history, Restless Wind blurs distinctions between past and present, high and low art, city and country life. Winston favors grand gestures and over-arching connections over obscurity. Many of the songs he's chosen to record for Restless Wind are familiar: Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come" is followed by Gershwin's "Summertime," Stephen Stills' "For What It's Worth" and the Doors' "The Unknown Soldier (War Is Over)" both make appearances, and he ends the album with a medley of "The Wayward Wind (The Restless Wind)" and "Que Sera Sera." What gives Restless Wind its impact is the context and execution. By surrounding these familiar items with 1915's "Cancion Mixteca (Immigrant's Lament)" and the theme for The Times of Harvey Milk -- a 1984 documentary about the gay rights pioneer -- Winston makes it clear that Restless Wind is a quiet protest against the narrow, reductive view of America in the late 2010s. What gives Restless Wind its poetry is how Winston does find the middle ground between James Booker and Steve Reich, the two musicians he cites as inspiration for his original title track. Throughout Restless Wind, Winston achieves an expansive, elastic elegance that nearly hangs suspended, yet he grounds his airier qualities with a dexterous, rhythmic left hand that gives the music force. It's a remarkable achievement that appeals equally to the head and heart.
--Allmusic.com reviewed by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
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Tachaikovsky: Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (excerpts): 9 Sacred Pieces
Artist: Sigvards Klava
Tchaikovsky's sacred music is not often performed, although he was religious (even if in a somewhat blurry way) and was willing to let himself in for a hassle by writing the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Op. 41, in 1878: it was promptly banned by the Russian Orthodox Church, which considered it too modern. Indeed, Tchaikovsky wrote a textbook on church music composition and seems to have contemplated a kind of reform of church music. That went nowhere, but this gorgeous setting of an Orthodox liturgy was performed quite often during its own time in non-liturgical settings. The abridged version here is quite effective. Sample "Dostoyno yest" ("Hymn to the Mother of God") for an idea of what he was thinking: the work keeps the opening chants and much of the traditional sound, but Tchaikovsky introduces Western harmonies with the intent of a quietly lyrical effect. Big Russian choirs have recorded the work, but the lighter sounds of the 24-voice Latvian Radio Choir under Sigvards Klava seem ideal here, probably resembling the Moscow art societies that first performed the music, and more likely in keeping with the spirit in which Tchaikovsky composed it. Also included are nine a cappella sacred pieces that really let the Latvian Radio Choir show what it can do: this group has a precision and grace that are hardly matched anywhere in the world these days. The choir may be better suited to Tchaikovsky than to Rachmaninov, whom it has also recorded, but check them out, whatever it takes. Ondine's sound engineering, at St. John's church in Riga, is absolutely exemplary. An exceptional choral release.
-- Allmusic.com Review by James Manheim
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Paris Cafe
Putumayo World Music is pleased to continue its tradition of presenting classic French music with its new collection, Paris Café. With selections by legendary singers of chanson, musette, Gypsy jazz and more, this album is a return to the bistros, cafes and cabarets of 1950s Paris.
-from Putumayo website
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Imperfect Circle
Artist: Hootie & The Blowfish
After fourteen years, Hootie & The Blowfish are back with brand new music. Along with the single Rollin, their album includes songwriting collaborations with Eric Paslay, Ed Sheeran, and Chris Stapleton
Full review from billboard can be found here.
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Vinyl Tap
Artist: Spyro Gyra
Spyro Gyra's first album of new material since 2013's The Rhinebeck Sessions, is sure to excite their worldwide fan base as well as to bring new listeners into the fold. With this release, they have decided to create an entire album of inventive jazz covers from pop favorites from the vinyl era. But these versions of familiar tunes will surprise the listener as well as entertain them.
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True Love: A Celebration of Cole Porter
Artist: Harry Connick Jr.
A burnished set of Porter standards, the album brings to mind Connick's late-'80s and early-'90s work. Helping to capture this energy is Connick's big band. On some tracks, he even brings in a full orchestra, creating a sound that evokes classic albums by his heroes Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra. The best moments on the album are the punchy, midtempo swingers like "Anything Goes," "Just One of Those Things," and the buoyant "I Love Paris," all of which showcase Connick's vocal charisma and his band's dynamic instrumental skills. The latter song also includes a bluesy solo by New Orleans trombonist Lucien Barbarin, who also guests on a roiling and sultry rendition of "Why Can't You Behave." It's also nice to hear Connick take his turn at the piano, soloing several times on the album and offering an extended Cuba-meets-New Orleans bar-style intro to "Begin the Beguine." This is a lush, languorously paced album, but it never drags; even the slower songs benefit from bluesy instrumental solos and Connick's richly attenuated arrangements. True to Porter's urbane image, Connick offers an album as romantic as it is sophisticated.
- from the Allmusic.com Review by Matt Collar
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Freegal MusicGet three free mp3 downloads per week and listen to 3 hours of streaming per day with your library card. Available via the Freegal Music app or the Freegal website.
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hooplaSet-up a hoopla account with your library card to use the hoopla app and website to stream music. You can borrow full albums for one week, up to five per month.
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Mercer County Library System 2751 Brunswick Pike Lawrenceville, NJ 08648 Phone: (609) 882-9246 E-mail: nrsupprt@mcl.org |
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