Daniels Band's soulful rendering of "Kneel at the Cross," Amazing Grace is a real treat for fans of both secular country music and white Southern gospel. Accompanied by a full band including a bittersweet fiddle and a steel guitar, Paul Overstreet kicks up the tempo with "A Mansion Over the Hilltop," while Shenandoah's "Beulah Land" recalls both Glen Campbell's take on high-lonesome balladry as well as the tight harmonies of Alabama. And sung by the sweetest voices of the genre, two of the loveliest tracks on the record are born of the bluegrass gospel tradition: "I'd Rather Have Jesus" and "Precious Memories," performed by Alison Krauss and the Cox Family and Emmylou Harris, respectively. --Paige La Grone  (less)

tunes like "The Star of the County Down" and "The Spinning Wheel" to sentimental music-hall ballads like "Mother Machree" and "The Rose of Tralee." He also sings the inevitable "O Solo Mio" (is there a tenor born who can resist it?) and Andrew Lloyd Webber's "The Music of the Night." Patterson is joined on a number of tunes by his wife, Eily O'Grady, and her Irish Harp Orchestra. Patterson is an unabashedly emotional singer who wrings the last teardrop out of chestnuts like "Danny Boy," but he does it in such a charming manner that his performances never descend into kitsch. --Michael Simmons  (less)

in this 21-song tribute to on-again, off-again outfit, more than a few of their fans are musicians who appreciate the tunefulness, and genial spirit and humor of the heart, hail Fellows. Reaching all the way back to the YFF’s 1984 debut for Frontier Records, The Fabulous Sounds of the Pacific Northwest , executive producers Pete Hilgendorf and Ben Heege draw from the band’s proto-alt contemporaries (Robyn Hitchcock, the Silos, Charlie Chesterman) and newer faces (Visqueen, I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch in the House, Mendoza Line). Four of the five Fellows turn up here and there, paying themselves tribute, it seems. Ah, well, they’ve earned it. This One’s for the Fellows is a delight on its own terms, but one hopes it channels a few new Fello...  (less)

featuring over 50 little ditties in various musical styles that will have you either rolling on the floor, or will give you a serious case of the munchies.  (less)