a number of disparate genres including experimental music, Americana, cabaret, circus music, Appalachian string music, bluegrass music, old-time music, Southern Gospel, and funereal music. The understatedly beautiful cover artwork and illustrations, contained within the 12 page color booklet, are by Carson Ellis, best known for her work on albums by The Decemberists.  (less)

Music Maestro, they've included early Elvis, movie songs, concert versions, hard to find favorites, gospel, later hits and much, much more! If you love to sing The King's best songs to the best tracks, or know someone who does, this set will be treasured forever!  (less)

release, penning shrewd, often stunning country-folk lyrics is no longer enough. With the help of Lucinda Williams, John Prine, ex-Van Morrison guitarist John Platania, and gospel singers Audrey Martels and Deena Miller, Chip Taylor aims for the big statement, splicing in spoken samples from Eisenhower, Malcom X, Cassius Clay, and older brother Jon Voight as if his songs of temptation, outlaws, Jesus, baseball, and Marilyn Monroe weren't deliberate enough. Taylor isn't a memorable singer, but his lackadaisical drawl isn't offensive either--and when Lucinda joins him on aching, unpretentious ballads like "Could I Live with This" and "The Ship," his listeners will immediately recognize why Taylor is both a legend and a vital, contempo...  (less)

to quickly fade from sight. Now, with his sophomore album, he proves he wasn't a fluke, even if nothing here immerses itself in the baptismal fire of temptation, death, and redemption with the power of Train. His duet with Ralph Stanley, "Me and God," which Turner wrote, somehow falls short, especially since Stanley sounds so weak that he might have fallen over at the microphone. Where Turner does bring home the bacon is in moving out of the gospel area and wisely choosing four songs from the pen of the underrated Shawn Camp: "Would You Go with Me," the irresistible bluegrass invitation to forever (with lyrics that sound Biblically inspired, despite the overly romantic tone); the hilarious "Loretta Lynn's Lincoln"; the bluesy "No Rush," which...  (less)

No matter where you are in life, these melodies will hit home for you. Noé is an anointed psalmist, created by God to express his glory through song. This CD will usher you into praise, elevate you into worship and before it's all over, you'll be dancin'." Bishop George C. Searight – Abundant Life Family Worship Church "You can tell this CD was birthed out of a relationship with God. The versatility of songs are a refreshing blend with Noe's unique vocals. Truly, word based and uplifting to your spirit. I highly recommend this CD." Liz Black – Gospel Grooves WFDU 89.1 FM And Host of New Mercies Café  (less)

music. Glendas soulfulness is tied to a complete mastery of her 4 ½ octave range. Velvet restraint in one instance and volatile passion the next are hallmarks of a Glenda Rae performance.  (less)

Bookended with narration by the great casting of Charlie Daniels, the compilation is filled by low-key, solemn tracks. "Old Gray Coat," starts out bleak, then kicks into a nice little country-pop song, but the lyrics uncannily convey images of a war few of us really know much about. The best song on the compilation--the lone contribution by an African American--is BeBe Winans's "River Jordan," narrated from the perspective of the black soldiers called upon to fight in the war. It's a touching, powerful gospel number that really breaks loose at the end. Other standouts include the piano ballad "Tell My Father" by Kevin Sharp and "Missing You (My Bill)" by Deana Carter. --Aaron Tassano  (less)

Bookended with narration by the great casting of Charlie Daniels, the compilation is filled by low-key, solemn tracks. "Old Gray Coat," starts out bleak, then kicks into a nice little country-pop song, but the lyrics uncannily convey images of a war few of us really know much about. The best song on the compilation--the lone contribution by an African American--is BeBe Winans's "River Jordan," narrated from the perspective of the black soldiers called upon to fight in the war. It's a touching, powerful gospel number that really breaks loose at the end. Other standouts include the piano ballad "Tell My Father" by Kevin Sharp and "Missing You (My Bill)" by Deana Carter. --Aaron Tassano  (less)

T. Alfano (programming); Mark C. Rooney, Cindy Mizelle, Melonie Daniels, Kelly Price, Shanrae Price (background vocals). Producers include: Walter Afanasieff, C&C Music Factory, Dave Hall, Babyface, Daryl Simmons. Engineers: Dana Jon Chappelle, David Gleeson, Manny LaCarrubba. ""Dreamlover"" was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female in the 36th Annual Grammy Awards. ""Hero"" was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female in the 37th Annual Grammy Awards. Japanese edition includes the bonus track ""Fades Away."" Mariah Carey's ascension to the top of the charts is an affirmation of her deep affection for the roots of popular music, to wit, gospel and R&B. She's not the first pop vocalist to find commercial and artistic bliss in black music, but her efforts are among the most heartfelt and convincing. And with the surehanded support of contemporary music's most creative producers and songwriters, Carey has developed a smooth, brassy sound signature all her own. What makes it all happen is that luminous, vaulting voice, one of the surest most impassioned instruments in all of pop, capable of leaps in register most vocalists can't even imagine, yet alone execute. Her dark ornaments and trilling upper register cries on ""Dream Lover"" make this plain. On power pop ballads like ""Hero"" and ""Anytime You Need A Friend""--with their gospelish ""To dream the impossible dream/The greatest love of all"" cadences--Carey's over-the-top expressive range sparks these arrangements to one emotional catharsis after another. It is Carey's new found restraint--reining in her voice to suit the emotional fabric of each tune--that marks her growing maturity. The lush understatement of her singing and Walter Afanasieff's charts on the title tune, allow the tender grace of the song's lyrics to shine through--without superfluos vocal acrobatics. Ultimately it's Carey's reserves of vocal power, barely constrained on ""Never Forget You"" (with Babyface), that brings her fans back time and again.Rolling Stone (10/28/93, p.76) - 3 Stars - Good - ""...Every song on MUSIC BOX, an album dominated by huge soaring ballads, has been written and arranged as a potential home run...a sustained passion enhances the record's wedding-album feel...."" Q (2/02, p.120) - 3 stars out of 5 - ""...Loaded with big sentiments and notes that only dogs can fully appreciate, this 1993 celebration of the all-conquering power of love was her defining moment..."" Musician (11/93, p.88) - ""...This isn't the flashiest singing she's done, but it's better for its restraint..."""  (less)

T. Alfano (programming); Mark C. Rooney, Cindy Mizelle, Melonie Daniels, Kelly Price, Shanrae Price (background vocals). Producers include: Walter Afanasieff, C&C Music Factory, Dave Hall, Babyface, Daryl Simmons. Engineers: Dana Jon Chappelle, David Gleeson, Manny LaCarrubba. ""Dreamlover"" was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female in the 36th Annual Grammy Awards. ""Hero"" was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female in the 37th Annual Grammy Awards. Import edition includes a bonus track. Recording information: Electric Lady Studios; The Record Plant, LA; Criteria Recording Studios, Miami, FL; House Of Sound Studios, NY; The Plant Studios, Sausalito, CA; Axis Studios; Right Track Studios, NY. Photographer: Daniela Federici. Arrangers: Mariah Carey; Daryl Simmons; Dave Hall; Babyface; Walter Afanasieff. Mariah Carey's ascension to the top of the charts is an affirmation of her deep affection for the roots of popular music, to wit, gospel and R&B. She's not the first pop vocalist to find commercial and artistic bliss in black music, but her efforts are among the most heartfelt and convincing. And with the surehanded support of contemporary music's most creative producers and songwriters, Carey has developed a smooth, brassy sound signature all her own. What makes it all happen is that luminous, vaulting voice, one of the surest most impassioned instruments in all of pop, capable of leaps in register most vocalists can't even imagine, yet alone execute. Her dark ornaments and trilling upper register cries on ""Dream Lover"" make this plain. On power pop ballads like ""Hero"" and ""Anytime You Need A Friend""--with their gospelish ""To dream the impossible dream/The greatest love of all"" cadences--Carey's over-the-top expressive range sparks these arrangements to one emotional catharsis after another. It is Carey's new found restraint--reining in her voice to suit the emotional fabric of each tune--that marks her growing maturity. The lush understatement of her singing and Walter Afanasieff's charts on the title tune, allow the tender grace of the song's lyrics to shine through--without superfluos vocal acrobatics. Ultimately it's Carey's reserves of vocal power, barely constrained on ""Never Forget You"" (with Babyface), that brings her fans back time and again.Rolling Stone (10/28/93, p.76) - 3 Stars - Good - ""...Every song on MUSIC BOX, an album dominated by huge soaring ballads, has been written and arranged as a potential home run...a sustained passion enhances the record's wedding-album feel...."" Q (2/02, p.120) - 3 stars out of 5 - ""...Loaded with big sentiments and notes that only dogs can fully"  (less)

often simultaneously, beauty and challenge. The depth of her lyric writing and the intensity of her singing have never relented, and if her last studio album, 1000 Kisses, ended on the exultant note of the Mexican ballad, Mil Besos, every second of that exultation felt honestly earned for both singer and audience.But Impossible Dream does return her to a world of even greater emotional and social turmoil, the world in which her Truth #2 became, for her friends the Dixie Chicks, the song that spoke most clearly about what it's like to be censored. Griffin doesn't write protest music, but songs like Don't Come Easy and Cold As It Gets come straight out of a way of seeing the world with politicized eyes. At times here, Griffin sounds like one of her great influences, James Baldwin, never more so than on the opening track, Love Throws a Line, where the point is that either we catch on to the value of loving one another or we're all sunk. There really has to be a time of awakening in our civilization, she says, or we're gonna lose some things we take for granted. Most of all, we have to start paying attention to each other and the planet. Like Baldwin, Griffin makes it hard to see where the personal and the political separate-or perhaps, shows us how they really don't. For Impossible Dream probably ranks as her most personal album. From the beginning, Patty Griffin songs have spoken in the voices of others-older people, particularly, which happens again here in Top of the World (which also has been done by the Dixie Chicks) and Mother of God. But many more of the songs this time speak straight from the singer. At times, she speaks so directly, it's as if she's peering into the listener's face to measure whether she's getting through.In part, that's because she decided on this album she would edit less and return to some basic things where I started. Prominent among these: black gospel music. Seeing Mavis Staples live for the first time not long before the sessions began cinched the deal. I really love the music, Patty says. Its messages are heavy and painful, but at the end of Mavis singing something like 'God's Not Sleeping,' you feel happy. She'd moved away from that influence because at some point, I made a conscious decision not to sing that music-nothing worse than bad white blues. But tracks like Love Throws a Line, clearly modeled on the jaunty rhythms of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and Standing, with its portentous beat, knife-edge guitar licks and testifying dynamic evoking classic pre-pop Staples Singers, reflect the best kind of white adaptation of black religious music.But that's only one flavor on the record. She uses many of t  (less)