Best of Brenda Lee; The 20th Masters Christmas Collection CD

Best of Brenda Lee; The 20th Masters Christmas Collection songs Andrew Calhoun's fourth album (the second for his own Waterbug Records) is little different from his previous releases. The Chicago-based folksinger performs solo with acoustic guitar (Andrew Bird adds violin to one track, the lovely "Here Comes That Lady Again"), and his style is akin to that of the late Steve Goodman. Although Calhoun can be deeply earnest, as on the opening "Time," a streak of wry humor more often informs his work. This takes the form of both skewed character studies like the oddball "Sparrow" and more overtly comic material like the ironic singalong "Folksingers Are Boring" ("Folksingers have flabby buns/They all play the same bass runs/They're against the private ownership of handguns"). These songs, which were composed over a 20-year stretch, are a varied, and unfortunately variable, lot. The earlier material, as is often the case with songs by young folksingers, sounds a bit derivative and tends to strain for effect. The more recent material shows that Calhoun has found his own voice. At 21 songs in 72 minutes, however, the monochromatic voice and guitar performances are rather tiring on the ears. Some more varied arrangements, a severely trimmed running order, and possibly some more live tracks like "Boring" and the charming "Narnia Song" would make Phoenix Envy a much more interesting album. ~ Stewart Mason 21 original contemporary folk songs played solo w. guitar & a few tracks w. fiddle player Andrew Bird Liner Note Author: Andrew Calhoun. Recording information: Chicago's Lunar Cabaret; Lakeside Media, Chicago, IL. Photographer: Mary Tranter Tranter. Personnel: Andrew Calhoun (vocals, guitar); Kat Eggleston (vocals); Andrew Bird (violin); Victor Sanders (recorder). Audio Mixer: Kat Eggleston.

Best of Brenda Lee; The 20th Masters Christmas Collection CD music George Strait fans seem to appreciate the fact that he stays a little closer to his roots than some of the other new country stylists. CMH thinks so too. While a number of country legends only get "picked on" once in CMH's instrumental series, the neo-traditionalist receives a second shot with Pickin' on George Straight, Vol. 2. And since Strait has over a decade worth of hits, there's no shortage of material. There are favorites, like "Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind" and "King of the Broken Hearts," and romantic fare like "You're Something Special to Me." The countrified arrangements are fairly straightforward, more concerned with melody than fancy picking. Steel guitars and fiddles add a touch of Western swing to pieces like "Stay out of My Arms" and "Big Ball's in Cow Town," while the bouncy guitar of "Straight 8 Strut," a CMH original, fits in just fine with the other material. While the Pickin' On series usually sticks to instrumentals, a vocal is added to "Murder on Music Row," an ode to the good old days when steel guitars and drinking songs dominated country music. For Strait fans, or anyone who enjoyed volume one, Pickin' on George Strait, Vol. 2 should fit the bill. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr. Western Swing & Country Instru Mental Tribute Recorded at Sidekick Studios, Nashville, Tennessee. Personnel: Andy Reiss (guitar, electric guitar, gut-string guitar); Mark Thornton (guitar); Jesse Harris (acoustic guitar, background vocals); Johnny Cox, Terry Crisp (steel guitar); Randy Kohrs (dobro); David Talbot (banjo); Jeff Taylor (piano); J. Swanson, Dennis Crouch (upright bass); John McTigue (drums). Audio Mixers: John Jakubek; Todd Rubenstein; Mark Thornton. Recording information: Jakutone Studios; Sidekick Studios, Nashville, TN. Personnel includes: Jesse Harris (vocals, acoustic guitar); Cliff Wagner (vocals, banjo, fiddle); Randy Khors (dobro); Jeff Taylor (piano); J Swanson, Dennis Crouch (upright bass); John McTigue (drums). Compilation producers: Aretha Sills, Joel Spielman.

Best of Brenda Lee; The 20th Masters Christmas Collection buy CD music Following on the heels of his magisterial work with Miles Davis on BAGS' GROOVE, Sonny Rollins entered Van Gelder Studios with a fire-breathing quintet on August 18, 1954, resulting in four of the five selections which make up MOVING OUT. This session might just as well have been titled "Busting Out," because MOVING OUT represents a breakthrough for Rollins as a bandleader and an improviser. Rollins really stretches out on the title tune and "Swingin' For Bumsy," playing with a new-found rhythmic command and melodic authority--spreading his wings and flying with Bird-like harmonic declamations, and a dramatic flair all his own. The oft-neglected Kenny Dorham proves a brash soaring foil, but it is the legendary pianist Elmo Hope who really arouses the Heath Blakey axis. Hope's dense, dancing accompaniements prod the soloists into uncharted waters, while his limber, sprawling improvisations represent a singular school of modern piano, occupying a space somewhere between Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk. On the ballad "Silk N' Satin," Hope's brief interlude provides a dark spiritual contrast to Rollins' romantic yearning, while his blues shouts and broad harmonic brushstrokes on "Solid" inspire Rollins to really dig in and shout. "More Than You Know" is an extra track from one of the sessions which produced THELONIOUS MONK AND SONNY ROLLINS, and it is a ballad performance of enormous gravity. Under Monk's watchful eye--and thanks in part to the pianist's orchestral manner of feeding the soloist chords--you can hear the saxophonist beginning to move beyond the ballad stylings of Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young, and into a new, more personal realm of rhythmic and harmonic complexity. Meanwhile, Monk's extended solo is a remarkable roadmap of the master's harmonic devices, all in the service of the mood and the melody. Recorded in New York, New York on August 18 and October 25, 1954. Originally released on Prestige (7058). Includes liner notes by Ira Gitler. Personnel: Sonny Rollins (tenor saxophone); Kenny Dorham (trumpet); Elmo Hope (piano); Art Blakey (drums). Audio Remasterer: Rudy Van Gelder. Liner Note Author: Ira Gitler. Personnel: Sonny Rollins (tenor saxophone); Kenny Dorham (trumpet); Elmo Hope, Thelonious Monk (piano); Percy Heath, Tommy Potter (bass); Art Blakey, Arthur Taylor (drums).

Best of Brenda Lee; The 20th Masters Christmas Collection album for sale Annie Humphrey is an Ojibwe mother, singer,songwriter and visual artist who was born and raisedon the Leech Lake Reservation in Northern Minnesota. Annie discovered at the age of eight that playing thepiano and guitar came easy to her, and she beganwriting songs as a young adult. Feeling smothered on the Reservation, Annie enlistedin the United States Marine Corp at the age of 23. Near the end of her four-year tour she graduated fromPolice Academy in San Marcos, California. In 1994,Annie was honrably discharged from the Marines. Since that time, Annie has concentrated on motherhoodand music and feels her role as a mother is hergreatest accomplishment. "My children are theinspiration for all I do," says Annie. Annie's music career began out of pure necessity. With two young children to care for, she beganperforming at coffee houses and local events. Overthe years her songwriting has focused on a specifictheme with a message to "Be brave and have a goodjourney." Her first recording, The Heron Smiled, won hernational recognition as Female Artist of the Year andBest Folk Recording at the 2000 Native American MusicAwards. In 2004, her second recording, Edge ofAmerica was ereleased. The title track from thisrecording was later featured on Chris Eyre's film Edgeof America. Prior to her career as a musician, performer andrecording artist with Makoche' Recording Company,Annie also studied painting and sculpture. Today Annie has three children and is happily marriedto her husband Mark (also a former Marine). Anniecontinues to write music and perform, while alsopursuing her art creer. Her special interest isTurtle Heart, a group she founded that works withyouth in her community to promote positive lifestylechoices. Audio Mixer: David Swenson. Recording information: Hodgson Recording; Makoche Recording Company. Personnel includes: Annie Humphrey (vocals, acoustic guitar); David Swenson (guitar, keyboards); Robert Merlin, John Nyborg (guitar); Sara McMahon (piano); Jon Scalia (bass); Joseph Haegeie (drums, percussion). Personnel: Annie Humphrey (acoustic guitar, piano, background vocals); Jim Boyd (vocals, guitar); Jon Nyborg (guitar, electric guitar, slide guitar, background vocals); David Swenson (guitar, keyboards, programming); Robert Merlin, William Mitchell (guitar); Sara Softich (violin, pennywhistle); Sarah MacMahon (piano, keyboards, background vocals); Dale Heib (drums, percussion); Keith Secola (background vocals).

Best of Brenda Lee; The 20th Masters Christmas Collection CD music Track Listing of songs: Look Out Any Window; Valley Road; I Will Walk With You; Road Not Taken; Show Goes On; Old Playground; Defenders Of The Flag; Jacob's Ladder; Till The Dreaming's Done;

Best of Brenda Lee; The 20th Masters Christmas Collection buy CD music Track Listing of songs: Caras Lindas, Las; Cumbanchero, El; De Colores; Perla, La; De Todas Maneras Rosas; Nazareno, El; Suena El Bongo; Oportunidad, La; A Medias No; Me Tienes Loco; A Quilo El Bombon; Mi Son Sabroson;

Best of Brenda Lee; The 20th Masters Christmas Collection songs Perhaps best known as frontman for the Payola$ on their 1982 new wave classic "Eyes of a Stranger," Paul Hyde has spent the two decades that followed that song on the fringes of fame. But with his first-ever solo acoustic album, The Big Book of Sad Songs, his profile deserves to rise. This stellar, melodic collection of Celtic-tinged folk music in the vein of Richard Thompson and Ray Davies' Village Green-era gets underway with the haunting, stark life-observations of "Runner on the Seashore," before shifting to the contagious, bumper sticker-inspired keeper "I Miss My Mind the Most." The Yorkshire, England-raised, Canada-based Hyde's outlook on the world is as keen as it is real on "I Want You," a shimmering tribute to the irregular shaped majority residing outside of the media's obsessive eye, while gorgeously pensive moments like "Highgate" and "Forever Light Will Shine" are equally gripping. It's a rare occasion when Hyde stumbles, but the simplistic and quirky "The Smallest Coin in the Land" is one of those moments. Just the same, exemplary offerings like "The Maddest of the Mad," a reflective ode to an old punk rock drinking buddy, confirm the aging Hyde still has a lot of musical life left. ~ John D. Luerssen A native of Yorkshire, England, Paul Hyde emigrated to North America in his teens, a tough northern lad who burst on the scene in 1979 as the voice of the Payola$, a band he formed with guitarist/co-writer Bob Rock (now best known as a hit producer). The Payola$ tallied six albums, gold and platinum records, considerable airplay and four Juno Awards. After the group dissolved in 1988 (including one lp as Rock and Hyde), Hyde went solo in 1990. Celtic/British melodic folk-flavoured caustic & wry songs about drunkards, loudmouths, cemeteries, Malcolm Lowry, glory days gone by, the unloved and unwanted, the sacrifice of war; each song a perfect life in miniature of another tragic character or scenario caught in the net of the storyteller's eye for detail...* Ray Davies Village Green era melodies + the emotional vocal bite of Richard Thompson & Shane McGowan + John Prine's earthiness and way with a phrase Ex-lead singer of The Payolas, Rock&Hyde* First ever acoustic solo album (his fourth solo lp)* All new material, full lyrics & liner notes by Paul* Paul Hyde - Vocals, Guitar with Robbie Steininger - Guitar, Mandola* Paul Hyde's trademark Yorkshire accent is the honey in this fine intricately melodic blend of Celtic & British folk flavoured material* File next to: Ray Davies/Richard Thompson/John Prine/John Hiatt/Stan Rogers* His strongest, purest album to date Latest News: The song "I Miss My Mind The Most" has been covered by Russell Crowe on his debut solo lp, ONE HAND ONE HEART. Check it out. Recording information: Baker Street Studios, N. Vacouver. Personnel: Paul Hyde (vocals, guitar); Robbie Steininger (guitar, mandolin). Personnel: Paul Hyde (vocals, guitar); Robbie Steininger (guitar, mandola).

Best of Brenda Lee; The 20th Masters Christmas Collection album for sale This CD is the only current official release.

Best of Brenda Lee; The 20th Masters Christmas Collection CD music 2009 Euro ...