bethtexas

A Distinctive Album, Jun 19 2004

This is my favorite Happy Rhodes album.

Happy Rhodes, for folks who don't know, is a singer with an incredible vocal range. She sounds like two different people -- because in the same song, she can sing soprano, and then the deepest bass, sounding like two entirely different singers. You've never heard a range like this on a folk singer before!

Actually, she's not always a folk singer. But she is on this album, and to me, the purity of this album -- no synethesizers, just the artist -- is what makes it really outstanding.

She sings like a fairy on Wretches have gone Awry, and then like a ghost on Feed the Fire. This acoustic version of Save Our Souls is beyond haunting -- it's… Read more

I Was Delighted, Jun 18 2004

I was delighted by this box set, whose proceeds, I understand, go to charity.

Cat Stevens has one of the sweetest voices in music, and has written some of the most thoughtful songs. His work has a comforting sound, but it's never sappy. He's being just a little too honest for that. You can tell he really means the words he writes at the moment he jots them down. And he's a pretty smart guy.

I appreciate having this enormous collection suddenly at my listening disposal. If I ever hear of a Cat Stevens song I wish I had, chances are, all I have to do is look more closely at the title listings, and it'll probably turn out that I now have it. Ultimately, asking for this as a gift… Read more

Ani's Roots, Jun 18 2004

This was Ani DiFranco's debut album, and it shows exactly what later turned her into a cult-followed superstar.

This is Ani at her most basic. Very simple acoustic guitar. Very simple melodies. Only the lyrics are great.

This album happened before she became a passionate, in-your-face folk/rock artist. And long before she became a master in musical experimentation.

This album gives us a chance to see Ani in her simplest form. Singing the lyrics she loves in her most gentle voice.

Even back then, she wasn't afraid to mention her body parts, her political beliefs or her feelings, even when they're not picture-pretty. She was honest right from the start.

And though most… Read more