Reviews (2)

Great
This is one of the best Mountain Stage CD's. I agree with the other reviewer, but I want to add a little. It's too bad that you can't sample some of the best songs on this CD. Maura O'Connell's Summerfly is wonderful. My personal favorite is Kathy Mattea's Where Have You Been, it makes me cry every time I hear it! If you are not very lucky in your marriage you won't get it.

Feel-Human Music
This is one of my favorite albums. If you needed a category I guess the closest thing would be "folk," but what would that tell you? The best music engages all your faculties, yes? From the dancing shoes to the sixteenth-note-follower to the grin and the tear ducts, all at once. Then it's feel-human music.

John Prine's "Big Old Goofy World." Amazing guitar picking lays the groundwork for, well, goofy, but also touching lyrics about similes: "Mind all your manners / Be quiet as a mouse / Some day you'll have a home / That's as big as a house... There's a big old goofy man / Dancin' with a big old goofy girl / Ooh, Baby! It's a big old goofy world."

"Tank Park Salute" about a man's loss of his father.

"Summerfly"--Maura O'Connell sings the great Cheryl Wheeler song. Jerry Douglas plays his mournful, sparkling, killer-groove Dobro.

"Simply"--Sara Hickman sings: "I'll tell you simply I've / Fallen for you / I've never felt this way before / I don't need flowers and /I don't mind tears..."

Jimmy Dale Gilmore sings, "These Blues ain't nuthin' like the blues I had before I paid a little debt I owed--When I get theses blues I just look back down that road."

The singers on this album approach & sometimes cross the borders of rude, sappy, and dumb. Like human beings with things to say. And boy, can some of them play.

By the way, if you're thinking of buying the album for R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion", listen to the RealAudio version first. This performance of it is acoustic (which is interesting, sure), but also plodding and almost mechanical. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

It's Surreal!!!
Joan's voice is at it's magical best especially with songs like Sacco and Vanzetti and Blowin in the Wind. A stunningly powerful performance that left me wanting for more.

¡Fantástico!
This an incredible cd...Joan's beautiful soprano voice shines in the acoustic track "Suzanne" while Dylan's "Forever Young" captured my soul... If you are a fan you must have this... ... Read more

Album Description

1999 release, for the onetime frontwoman of Aussie folk quartet the Seekers, includes two bonus tracks, 'I LoveYou' & 'Gloryland'. 15 tracks. Warner. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Finest female vocalist of her era....better than Streisand!!
I have always felt that Judith Durham was among the top female vocalists of the past half century.As you may or may not know,Judith was the lead singer of the Seekers,a popular 1960's folk group from Australia.The Seekers gave us such memorable tunes as "I'll Never Find Another You", "A World of Our Own" and of course "Georgy Girl".As good as those songs are,Judith's incredible vocal prowess is even more apparent on other Seekers tunes such as "The Carnival Is Over" and "Morningtown Ride".In the past,I have often compared her to the legendary Ronnie Gilbert of the Weavers.
On this disc, "Judith Durham and the Hottest Band in Town", Judith returns to her first love,the music of the 1920's and 1930's.Her rousing renditions of "Alexander's Ragtime Band", "I Want To Dance To Yor Music"and "Sister Kate" will make anyone want to get up and dance.Then there are memorable versions of standards like "Body and Soul" and "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man O' Mine".Aside from being among the most gifted vocalists of her day,this disc proves that she is also one of the most versatile. In my mind,she is every bit as good as Streisand. Also, I cannot say enough about the band that was put together for this project. Recorded in San Francisco back in 1973,this album was out of print for over two decades before being reissued in Australia back in 1998.If you enjoy the blues, dixieland, or memorable vocals, then this disc is for you.My four star rating has nothing to do with the music.The total lack of any significant liner notes always drives me crazy and caused me to deduct one star.Happy listening!!!

Judith Durham & The Hottest Band In Town
This album is outstanding and shows that anything anyone else can do, Judith Durham does it better. The amazing soprano voice leaves you with goosebumps as Judith blues out the blues, jazzes the jazz and stirs your soul with some of the great jazz and blues songs of the 20th century, not forgetting a couple of her own compositions like I wanna Dance to Your Music. Alexanders Ragtime Band sounds like it was meant to be sung like jazz and not a ballad. Judith certainly jazzes it up. Miss this one from your list and you don't know what you're missing!

Better than the seekers
100% BLUES . Judith the worlds greatest singer is at her best belting out the Jazz/blues songs that gave her solo fame in the 70's . Carole's Tapestry sux compared to this .

Better than the seekers
100% BLUES . Judith the worlds greatest singer is at her best belting out the Jazz/blues songs that gave her solo fame in the 70's . Carole's Tapestry sux compared to this .

A clear powerful voice backed by a hot band.
Put out on vinyl 25 years ago, and long out of print,someone at Amazon.com is enough of a Dixieland fan to appreciate and obtain this gem for their catalogue.

Turk Murphy once featured Judith during an all too short WestCoast visit. She has a clear powerful voice that is easily the equal ofBanu Gibson's best Dixieland tracks.And, as the title says, the bandbehind her is "The Hottest Band in Town.

No one "shimmies"like Judith Durham on "Sister Kate". ... Read more

Reviews (1)

The Best
Pete is a gift to us, one that will be certainly lost when he is gone. I got to see Pete and Arlo in concert and it was the best concert I've been to (including rock/pop stuff). This album is consumate Pete because he gets the crowd singing like a choir. There is no finer Seeger album than this. Pete's autographed picture hangs in my office and it is a treasure as is he. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A good, not great, live album
This live album was recorded in Australia in 1974, when Fairport was touring behind the album "Nine". Happily, not only are there no songs from that weak album here, but Trevor Lucas is limited to one lead vocal because his wife Sandy Denny rejoined the band during the tour. "Matty Groves", "Sloth", and "Rosie" are all here, but there are better live versions of all three available on the market. The highlights are the instrumentals: "Fiddlestix", "Dirty Linen", and "Sir B. MacKenzie" (the original title of the latter once held the Guinness record for longest song title), and Denny's menacing "John the Gun".

(1=poor 2=mediocre 3=pretty good 4=very good 5=phenomenal)

Live Fairport with Denny to boot!
This is the recording that got me completely swept into Fairport and Sandy Denny. I first gave them a serious listen in 76 at the age of 19. A&M had done a retrospective that year. I was very impressed, particularly with the Denny and Thompson material. A few weeks later, I stumbled across a Fairport album in the cut out bargain bin. It was called "A Moveable Feast". It was and still is one of my all time favorite live recordings of any type of music. For years, I'd wondered why it hadn't seen the light of day on CD. I come to find out this very day that it has, under this title! The versions of Matty Groves and Sloth here are spectacular. Sandy's voice had deepened a bit and on these tracks,you really get to hear her rock with an edge that recalls Grace Slick at her best. The only weak track here is Swarbrick's Rosie, but he sure sets that fiddle of his on fire on the jigs and reels.The result is electrified Britsh Bluegrass. The duet with Sandy and husband Trevor Lucas on Somethin You Got is wonderfull. She soars all over in her call back type vocals to Trevor. Dylan's Down In The Flood is done here to perfection. The drunken sounding version on Denny's Northstar Grassman album was ok, but doesn't measure up to this at all. This recording was the first of Sandy's return to Fairport. A return that didn't last more than one more trip to the studio in 75 for Rising For The Moon. An album that was to yeild both greatness and mediocrity. There are several live Fairport albums out there. For God's sake, get this one first! You'll NEVER tire of it. In fact, I'm ordering it right now at 5 am ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Excellent CD with a minor reservation
Martin Simpson is an amazing guitar player and a fine singer. This CD shows off his talents by capturing a particularly good live show. His passion for his music really comes through.

The only reservation I would have is that the recording seems to have quite a bit of hiss in the background. I didn't notice it the first several times I heard it, but when listening through headphones it's particularly noticable.

A tour de force of finger-style guitar and passionate vocals
It remains a mystery to me how a performer of such powerful and emotional vocal mastery and guitar wizadry can remain in relative obscurity. For those of us who cut our teeth with Neil Young and Bob Dylan, Simpson's synthesis of heart-felt singing and superb guiter work will take us back to a musical age before MTV, when music had to pay its way with depth and emotion. Stylistically, Simpson's guitar and vocal work is most similar to Jorma Kaukonen's, though his vocal range is superior. Simpson throughout his career has penned his share of powerful ballads (on this session represented by the haunting "Dreamtime" and the paeon to peace, "Lilith"), he is at much or more at home as an interpreter of other's work. He has an uncanny ability to ferret out songs of stunning lyrical depth, and to infuse them with passionate vocal interpretation and truly magical, melodic guitar work. This 1994 session finds Martin at his best, with a fine blend of traditional folk songs, powerful intsrumentals (at times it seems hard to believe that all this sound is only one guitar) and originals leaping from the speakers. While there is not a weak moment in the 71 minutes plus of inspired performance, unquestionably the high water mark of the CD is Simpson's rendition of Bob Franke's "Hard Love". This powerful song (unknown to me prior to hearing this recording) shows Simpson at his most passionate best: infusing Franke's deep and powerful lyrics with heart-wrenching emotion, while those lightning fingers lay down a lilting, hauntingly beautiful melodic background. I have re-played this cut over and over since buying the CD. It is infused with the emotion of Bob Dylan's "Simple Twist of Fate" or John Lennon's "Imagine", and the lyrical depth is in the same league. It deserves to be as well-known. Martin Simpson's "Live" is a great introduction to this fine artist. I have to thank a gentleman from Leeds who took the time to introduce me to Simpson's work through his mid-80s album "Sad or High Kickin'" fifteen years ago, and opened up for me yet another musical universe of passionate excellence. As a song writer, I cannot think of another artist I would rather have performing my songs. I cannot recommend Martin Simpson's work highly enough.

Martin Simpson is an amazing guitar player!!
In the days since receiving this CD I've played it again and again. From the opening track to the finish 70 minutes later I find myself asking "how is he making those sounds?" when it is only Simpson and his acoustic guitar - live with no overdubs. His use of alternative tunings and slide guitar make every song interesting. His vocals on songs ranging from the blues to Scottish ayres (sp?) is excellent. In a music world always clammoring for a new "guitar hero" he is truly a master. I highly recommend this disc. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Humor and sing-alongs for working people
I had this record on tape for years and just about wore it out, so I was ecstatic to find it here on CD. The Wobblies' songs definitely take some shots at religion -- the sort of religion that promises "pie in the sky when you die" and advises the oppressed and exploited to wait until then to get some of it. But anyone who cares about making *this* world better needs this record.

Wobblies of the World Untie!
In some ways more of a document, this album would probably shock some people into fits. "The boss", the opening track, is, well, shocking for some people.

None the less, the song listing for this is incomplete, the title song is tehre, "sheep and goats", "casey jones the union scab", "bread and roses" and "The Popular Wobbly" are all here.

It's a collection of old Wobbly songs, and a pretty good historical liner on what a wobbly was.

Personally, I find much of the album refreshing, but I'm not typical, nor do I hold with the typical person's sanctity of religious matters.

If you're devout, it's probably going to make you twitch.

If you're not, this is a take on what happens when the common man goes chaotic.

Utah Phillips, as always, is great. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

too short, worth buying for 2/4 songs
very good version of with my own two hands/war. end of amen omen is awesome. sexual healing is boring and redundant with live from mars. brown eyed blues was a dissapointment compared to the album version. wish there was more songs from the concert on the CD.

Good Stuff
This little EP is the audio version of some of the tracks off of Ben's newest live DVD "Live At The Hollywood Bowl", and is definitely worth checking into if you enjoyed the Live On Mars album.

What's great about this is that it lets us hear some live performances of songs that come off of Ben's most recent album which came out after the last live offering. It's fun to hear the extended live cuts of the tracks which have a lot more dynamics and life to them than can be found on the album, particularly "Amen Omen" which is absolutely tremendous here and alone is worth your money.

This is a great little EP, and really makes me hope that there is another live full-length in the works. The only thing holding this back is that I wish there were more tracks on it that we haven't heard a live recording of before, but then again this is just an EP and you can find those tracks on the DVD.

Definitely worth picking up, and reminds us once again of why we all love Ben so much. He's such an amazing performer. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Not yet....
I don't own this album yet, but it's on my wishlist, and let me tell you why. I've attended the Telluride Bluegrass Festival twice, 1986 and 2002. After going last year, I wondered why I waited so long to go back, and I have ordered my tickets for 2003. Telluride is a magical place, and they focus on TALENT. This album features songs by the late John Hartford as well as by Doc Watson who is a national treasure. There's only one song by New Grass Revival, though, and they have been the backbone of this festival over the years. Though they have disbanded, former members Bela Fleck, Sam Bush, and John Cowan can be counted on to attend and jam with almost everybody. ... Read more

Album Details

Super New Mastering of her Monumental Live Set in Support of the Mingus Album. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

my shadows&light experience
i got this cd only two years ago, when i already had an almost-complete collection of joni's records. this musical exhibit is not something you can just hear while doing other things. you have to sit down, empty your ears, and let it fill you with it's exciting harmonies. the introduction is built exactly to those needs; it shoves you directly into the highly emotinal state in which you're gonna stay to the last seconds of woodstock. shadows and light is a live recording from santa barbara bowl (1979). it involves some of the best musicians in the world: jaco pastorius (bass), pat matheny (lead guitar), michael brecker (sax) and lyle mays (keyboards), don alias (drums). all those people really gave themselves to this project and you can't avoid feeling it. i do have a special sympathy to joni's cover for "why do fools fall in love" and also: "in france they kiss on main street" "shadows and lighe" "coyote" and the classic "woodstock". don't miss this cd- you'll love it. ... Read more