6th album release Empty Frame Of Reference . This 12 song album is yet another example of Eric's incredible gift of solid, smart songwriting. Though filled with thought-provoking, heartfelt and clever lyrics, the music is infectiously catchy. Leaving the listener with his melodies stuck in their head long after the music is over. His recognizable, warm, yet edgy, strong voice creates the common thread running through this musical journey. Eric writes from the heart. The listener feels the connection. Empty Frame Of Reference is another door opened to the creative mind of Eric Stuart.  (less)

and testifying of God s Blessings are what makes the ministry of Cross Reference a true worship experience, bringing God s Word through song.  (less)

(double bass), some of the most highly regarded recording artists and musicians in traditional American country music, Bluegrass and beyond. The album includes ten previously unrecorded songs. "Sulphur to Sugarcane" and "The Crooked Line", were co-written with T Bone Burnett while, "I Felt The Chill" marks Costello's second recorded songwriting collaboration with Loretta Lynn. Costello revisits two songs from his catalogue in string band style. Both songs were originally written for Johnny Cash. "Hidden Shame" was indeed included on Cash's album, "Boom Chicka Boom". The album title makes reference to "The Secret Songs", Costello's unfinished commission for the Royal Danish Opera about the life of Hans Chr...  (less)

and the "Jingle Bells" instrumental benefits from an injection of rockabilly twang (as does Paisley's revival of Buck Owens's "Santa Looked a Lot Like Daddy"). Among the original material that distinguishes the collection, "Penguin, James Penguin" is like "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" for the higher-tech generation, as Santa enlists a "secret-agent bird" to keep computerized tabs on who deserves what. "Born on Christmas Day" features a tape of a song Paisley wrote and initially recorded when he was 13, then segues into the artist today on the same tune. The album closes with a slam at political correctness on "Kung Pao Buckaroo Holiday," with the Kung Pao Buckaroos (a.k.a. George Jones, Bill Anderson, and "...  (less)

are aligned and calibrated anew, helped by Sony's gorgeous, vibrant sonics. Notice the pinpointed unanimity of phrasing with which the pianist and chamber orchestra imbue the main theme in the D Major concerto's third movement, and follow Perahia's cannily varied articulation of chords both here and in the G Minor concerto's outer movements. A robust and dramatic F Minor concerto features tasty embellishments from the theorbo, and Perahia's energetic, winged trills and whirling passagework galvanize the F Major (transcribed from the G Major Fourth Brandenburg Concerto) into joyful submission. In sum, Perahia and company stand as reference versions for those who desire these works on the concert grand. --Jed Distler  (less)