How many original rock and roll artists (from the ’50s) can you name, who are still making valid contributions to music? Dion is just such an artist. He was Grammy-nominated for his acoustic blues album Bronx in Blue, just two releases ago, and that was well-deserved. After another acoustic outing, he has returned to electric [...]
Ladysmith Black Mambazo have been in world music’s top echelons since their collaboration with Paul Simon on his five-times platinum Gracelands. The spiritually-zinging And Friends (Razor and Tie) celebrates that by featuring “Homeless” and “Diamonds on the Soles of her Shoes” both with Simon and later with Melissa Etheridge and Sarah McLachlan. This excellent set [...]
When a band’s swansong is a requiem mass for its own career, you can spot from their sense of humour that they may be worth hearing, but this final release deserves far more than a cursory listen. Crowder has been gaining confidence in his exploratory outings for the last few years and this almost-over-the-top masterpiece [...]
This weekend’s Greenbelt festival features a magnificent music line-up that includes these two remarkable acts. While Washburn’s unique City of Refuge has plenty of heart, it has been made with great musical intelligence. She is a rhythmic clawhammer banjo player, married to banjo maestro Béla Fleck, but while it tips its hat to bluegrass, [...]
I wonder whether Rend Collective Experiment had any idea, when they released their 2009 début, that their honest, unpretentious songs of faith would make such an impression on the Christian music industry. This follow-up, filled with similarly authentic and singable songs, is easy to join in with and oozes exuberant joy. Eschewing cliché, celebrity and [...]
Those who have enjoyed Burlap to Cashmere’s Mediterranean-influenced brand of acoustic rock should love Del Castillo’s Infinitas Rapsodias CD + DVD package. Re-recorded versions of some of their best Latin-tinged material and a few superb new songs flow seamlessly together, with a substantial bonus DVD. They specialise in uplifting anthems, finished with flamenco fire (just [...]
These two superb modern jazz works came out on the same day, showing that ECM still has plenty of quality music to share with the world. Both are serene, instrumental works that share the label’s typically pristine sound and leave a minimalist calm in their wake. Trio Libero, by the all-age workshop of Andy Sheppard, [...]
Both of these guitarists have been high profile in Christian music for many years and both are excellent players with beautiful tone. Keaggy’s Live at Kegworth is essentially a re-recording of his greatest hits. When fans wanted to take away a memento of gigs, he had nothing to offer of a decent quality that had [...]
This collaboration is the main reason that singer June Tabor walked away with four prizes at this year’s BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. As well as being named folk singer of the year for the second time, she shared the best group, best album and best traditional track awards with Oysterband. June Tabor has always [...]
Switchfoot are nothing if not steady. Ever since their breakthrough album The Beautiful Letdown, they have been consistently strong, but consistently just short of that disc’s standard. Their last release, Hello Hurricane was nearly as good – but then they did record 80 tracks from which to whittle it down. This time they have made [...]
