This weekend has been gloriously relaxing—all the stress of the last few weeks has pretty much melted away, and Andy has been letting me sleep in, and even took the kids to the movies yesterday to give me time alone in the house. My next big freelance project isn't coming until Monday, so I don't even have that nagging feeling that I should be doing something.
One thing I did was to catch up on the first two issues of "No Depression" that had been collecting dust on the coffee table. Every page I turned had me exploring someone's web site or listening on Amazon (and adding stuff to my shopping cart and wish list, of course). I discovered a sale at Signature Sounds, so of course I had to take advantage of that (two CDs by Eilen Jewell are on their way, along with the first one from Crooked Still, which I had missed).
Before all this new music shows up, I figured I ought to get some old reviews out of the way:
1. Lyle Lovett and His Large Band, It's Not Big It's Large: If you like Lyle Lovett, you can't go wrong with this one (and yes, I love him). It's more country/folk/gospel and less big-band-ish than previous releases, but that works for me too. I just can't get enough of his voice. A highlight for me is the song "Up in Indiana," which he does twice: first electric and then acoustic, joined by Stuart Duncan, Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, and Bela Fleck, among others. What could be bad?
2. Cat Power, The Covers Record: I heard Cat Power was coming out with another CD of covers, and I said "another"? Huh? So I had to get this one from 2000. To tell you the truth, it's a little underwhelming, particularly in comparison to The Greatest, which is one of my favorite CDs of all time. But you gotta love a version of "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" that never actually utters those title words.
3. Vance Gilbert, Angels Castles Covers: This is another CD of covers, from one of my favorite underappreciated singer-songwriters. While he obviously doesn't get to showcase any of his songwriting talents here, Vance Gilbert's gorgeous voice gets plenty of opportunity to shine on some of these gems. I also highly recommend his earlier CD Edgewise, which is mostly original material and all beautiful.
4. The Everybodyfields, Nothings Is Okay: This is my favorite of the whole bunch. I first heard of them when I downloaded "Aeroplane" from the No Depression site. The curious combination of vocals from Jill Andrews and Sam Quinn just works for me. I don't know how to describe the sound of their music, other than the usual "folk rock" label, so I suggest you go listen for yourself at their site (and get a load of Quinn's sideburns while you're there—yikes).
I treated myself to the latest "No Depression" (Steve Earle! John Fogerty! Gene Watson!) and the annual music issue of "Oxford American" to take to chemo this week and have really been enoying them.
Can't wait to hear the new Lyle Lovett.
Posted by: terrilynn | November 24, 2007 at 05:43 PM