artist. Rather than a linear progression through time or genre, the four-disc set hopscotches all over the musical map, from the blues of Mississippi Fred McDowell to the bluegrass of Alison Krauss, from the Texas country of Jimmie Dale Gilmore to the Celtic fiddle of Natalie MacMaster. Some of the juxtapositions are a little jarring: the Mardi Gras chants of Bo Dollis and the Wild Magnolias give way to the Hawaiian guitars of the Tau Moe Family, while the soulful groove of Walter "Wolfman" Washington leads into the Klezmer Conservatory Band. But listeners whose tastes are as eclectic as Rounder's will find the set a treasure trove of discovery. --Don McLeese  (less)

and is survived by his family and the litany of musical heroes he called friends and collaborators. Upon learning of his diagnosis, Chris' close friend and musical compatriot Dave Alvin set forth reaching out to roots music's finest players to put together an album of Gaffney's songs to raise money for his mounting medical bills. Unfortunately, the project became a posthumous tribute after Gaffney's passing, but that only gives more meaning to these interpretations of Chris' songs from some of American music's most influential artists. The track list reads like a who's who of country, rock and Americana, with heavyweight friends like Alvin, Joe Ely, Los Lobos, Calexico, Alejandro Escovedo, Boz Scaggs, Tom Russell, James McMurtry, fello...  (less)

at the continent's rich cultural variety. Europe is home to almost 50 countries, each with its own unique culture, history, traditions, food and music. European Playground features a lively and engaging selection of family-friendly music from contemporary artists from these very diverse regions. The multilingual songs are easy to sing and dance along to, no matter what language you speak. As with all Putumayo Kids releases, European Playground showcases the ways in which musical styles become global phenomena. The universal appeal of Caribbean musical styles is evident in tunes from artists working in the Netherlands, Greece and Denmark. Similarly, the mutual influence that Scottish and Irish music and North American folk ...  (less)

Tom Frouge, The Pilgrim’s 18 songs span the breadth of Kristofferson's career - tendered by an expansive roster of artists including Gretchen Wilson, Russell Crow, Willie Nelson, Brian McKnight, Rosanne Cash and produced by Grammy winner Randy Scruggs. The Pilgrim offers testament to the truth, timelessness and timeliness of the former Rhodes Scholar, Country Music Hall of Famer and original Outlaw's work. The record features a 1970 demo from Kristofferson of "Please Don't Tell Me How The Story Ends," along with brilliantly written extensive liner notes by The Tennessean music writer Peter Cooper. The Pilgrim is a legacy of love and will be released in honor of Kristofferson’s 70th birthday.  (less)

to hip music stores in every suburb, a proliferation of teen clubs willing to take their money, and a powerhouse radio station (WLS) equally up to promoting local bands. When it came to giving local groups a shot at 45 rpm fame, no Chicago label--not even the hallowed Dunwich Records--was more prolific than USA Records. USA's Jim Golden was such a strong supporter of Midwest talent that he started up a second label focused solely in this area, Destination Records. A quarter century into the CD age, it's hard to believe these pivotal labels have never been properly anthologized. Until now, that is! Sundazed once again arrives to the rescue with an exhaustive dive into the pure, undiluted garage side of USA and Destination Records; tapping ...  (less)

esthetic made famous by Anuna, Enya, and Clannad. But there are also a good many chesty altos and big-voiced pop belters. Rita Connolly packs a clarion-like mezzo of the stripe that has made Mary Black a household name, Áine Furey¹s loosely-raveled pipes sometimes channel Stevie Nicks¹ yeasty growl, while Marian Bradfield could easily become the Irish Patsy Cline. In fact, the tunes themselves often harbor haunting parallels with American old-timey music, which was after all descended from imported Scots-Irish traditions that got land-locked in the Appalachians. With so much high-end diversity on tap, the album has a remarkably broad appeal and should delight fans of modern Celtic styles, country pop balladeers, singer-songwr...  (less)

A talented and diverse crop of singer-songwriters communicates these nuanced feelings through inoffensive, stripped-down rock tracks. Alt-country's Ryan Adams offers a subdued piano-and-acoustic ode to being torn between lovers, chanteuse Chantal Kreviazuk warbles strongly about longing, and country singer Shelby Lynne seduces with a steamy soul number. Other highlights include Andy Stochansky, sounding like Belle and Sebastian fronting Travis; Jude's warm tenor and guitar tones conjuring the best power pop of the 1970s; and Sixpence None the Richer's new track, a beautiful string-laden delicacy. Despite how easy it would be for the sticky topics of desire and love to become sappy, Senior Year largely avoids such pitfalls. Better still, the album rarely sounds b...  (less)

With 29 selections, the collection ranges from his first major-label single in 1985 to a pair of songs debuting in 2009. With 14 #1 Country hits and nine other Top 10s, I Told You So-The Ultimate Hits Of Randy Travis tells it like it is: Randy Travis, one of CMT's '40 Greatest Men of Country Music,' is one of Country music's all-time greatest artists.  (less)