Five of my favourite singers (Part Two: Male)

Here's the second half of my post, and this one's my favourite male singers. The honorable mentions, Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam), Jonsi (Sigur Ros & solo) and Dan Haseltine (Jars of Clay).

Matthew Perryman Jones
Song: Canción de la Noche (from Land of the living)
I discovered MPJ through Noisetrade and Land of the Living would be one of my top 5 albums of all time.  MPJ has an powerful & emotive voice.

Ryan O'Neal (Sleeping at Last)
Song: In the embers (from Atlas - Light EP)
If you are a fan of the Twilight Series or Greys' Anatomy you would have heard his music, as its often featured.  I enjoy listening to his music through headphones.  Really love this lyric of this song..

Like fireworks
We pull apart the dark
Compete against the stars
With all of our hearts
Till our temporary brilliance turns to ash
We pull apart the darkness while we can

The Edge (U2)
Song: Sunday Bloody Sunday - (Live from Santiago during 1998)
Was touch & go whether to include Bono or The Edge. For some reason its Edge's backing vocals which often grab me.  During the 1997/8 PopMart tour The Edge had a solo spot, and on the final few legs of the tour The Edge played and sang Sunday Bloody Sunday on his own, which as you can see transforms the song.

Glen Hansard (The Frames, The Swell Season & solo)
Song: Say it to me now (solo version, the song is also on The Frames' 1995 album Fitzcarraldo)
Glen's voice has always grabbed me because its so varied, and carries so much emotion.

Josh Ritter
Song: Change of Time (from Live at Iveagh Gardens)
Ritter is a masterful storyteller with both his music & words.

Five of my favourite singers (Part One: Female)

Been thinking of writing this post for a while. No, the order doesn't really mean anything. A couple of honorable mentions too:  Jana Horn (The Reservations), Elizabeth Marvelly and Sarah Howells (Paper Aeroplanes).

Kyler England (also in a band The Rescues - worth checking out Crazy Ever After)
Song: We Rise Like Smoke (acoustic)
I love the harmonies Kyler has with the other singers in The Rescues, but also love some of her solo songs - exhibit A).

Gemma Hayes
Song: Waiting for You (from Janie Jones Original Soundtrack)
Gemma has a rich voice bringing light & dark, joy and sadness to her songs.

Brooke Fraser
Song: Arithmetic (from What to do with daylight)
When I hear Brooke sing, I often can't seperate her words from her voice, and sometimes feels like she's singing to you. Brooke's a favourite too, she went to the same primary school as I did, grew up in the same suburb as I did, and like me - moved to Sydney. We never actually met though, until a gig in the Basement.

Sally Ellyson (HEM)
Song: Seven Angels (from Departure & Farewell)
Sally's voice has a dreamy quality about it. With the music, she grabs you, and you feel like you're floating along with her.

Amy Speace, 
Song: The Sea & The Shore (from How to sleep in a stormy boat)
Beautifully expresses each phrase, rising and falling as the tide.

I'll write another post on my favourite male voices later.

Some gems from R.E.M.

Saw a great article earlier this week listing the author's 10 favourite R.E.M. songs. So thought that I'd post a list of my own. I realise I've got 12, it was so hard to stop at 10.

Find the River (Automatic for the People) This song highlights what I love about R.E.M. beautiful harmonies and in this song sparse instrumentation. Find the River is a beautiful song, perhaps on the journey of life.

Nightswimming (Automatic for the People) 
Love the combination of the keys and Stipe's voice. Rosen's book on the story of their songs, says that this songs harks back the to the band's days in Athens, Georgia before they were famous, and the song does have a reminiscing feel about it.

Final Straw (Around the Sun) 
I am one a few people it seems who really liked this album. The album was released in 2004, and it clearly brings the years 2001-2004 back to mind. Final Straw is one of two protest songs written about the US-led invasion of Iraq.

Maps and Legends (Fables of the Reconstruction) 
A classic REM track with the shimmery guitars, and indecipherable lyrics. I've always thought of the "maps and legends" as people Stipe knew around Athens.

World Leader Pretend (Green) 
One song from R.E.M in which you don't need to decipher Stipe's vocals, as the CD has the lyrics printed inside. Perhaps one of the more political songs Stipe's written.

"This is my world And I am the world leader pretend This is my life And this is my time I have been given the freedom To do as I see fit." 

'Untitled' (Green) 
I guess one of the first 'bonus' tracks on a CD. The band actually switch instruments on the song. The song highlights the beautiful harmonies of Mills & Stipe. What a lovely innocent lyric:

"This world is big and so awake/ I stayed up late to hear your voice/ This light is here to keep you warm/ This song is here to keep you strong." 

Cuyahoga (Life's Rich Pageant) 
The song brings to my mind the early history of Australia, though it is written about a dying river in Ohio.

This is where they walked, swam, Hunted, danced and sang / Rewrite the book and rule the pages / Saving face, secured in faith / Bury, burn the waste behind you, / Take a picture here Take a souvenir / Cuyahoga Cuyahoga, gone 

The opening line - "Let's put our heads together and start a new country up", does give a glimmer of hope.

Country Feedback (Out of Time) 
Michael Stipe often mentions before playing this one live, that it is his favourite R.E.M. song. I love the stream of consciousness approach to the lyrics. It's one of those songs which takes on a new life when played live, with Buck extending the solo at the end.

Here's a link to R.E.M. playing the song with Neil Young.

Half a World Away (Out of Time) 
One of the saddest lyrics Stipe has written & possibly my favourite song on Out of Time (1991). Just beautiful harmonies between Mills & Stipe. 

Leave (New Adventures in Hi Fi) 
Beautiful intro, and haunting lyrics. 'New Adventures..' is one of my favourite R.E.M. albums as this is one of the standout tracks (and probably R.E.M's longest one too).

At My Most Beautiful (Up) 
One of the most romantic songs Stipe has written. Some lovely images and a beautiful music arrangement.

"at my most beautiful I count your eyelashes secretly. with every one, whisper I love you. I let you sleep. I know your closed eye watching me, listening. I thought I saw a smile. 

Perfect Circle (Murmur)
Another beautiful track .. and typical for Stipe, the lyric is vague, alluding to friendship and romance.

--

Sporting Memories

Was listening to Grandstand on ABC Radio today they were talking about the moments in sport we remember. The spark for the conversation being McCullum's historic 302 earlier this week. So with that in mind, I thought I'd think about some of the sporting memories which have stayed with me. I've limited it to 10.

(1) I remember Martin Crowe and Andrew Jones 467 run partnership in 1991 (which was the highest for any wicket in Test Cricket until 1997). Crowe was out for 299, which until Tuesday was the highest score by a New Zealander in Test Cricket.

(2) Sir Richard Hadlee's 400th Test Wicket, the first bowler to that mark.

(3) Nick Davis' fourth quarter in the 2005 Qualifying final against Geelong. The only one I was at the ground to see. I still can't believe Sydney won that game.

(4) That penalty in 2005 taking Australia to the 2006 Football World Cup.

(5) Manchester United's two goals in stoppage time to win the Champion's League Final in their treble season of 1998/99

(6) Arsenal's undefeated season in the Premier League (2003/2004)

(7) The All Black's winning the World Cup in 2011.

(8) The Wollongong Wolves coming back from 0-3 down to win their first Australian Soccer Title

(9) South Africa chasing down 438 to win a One Day Match.

(10) The NZ Breakers winning the NBL title in 2011, 2012 and 2013.  They are the only NZ team to win an Australian Competition.

Never tear us apart - part two.

Three things from the second half of the documentary which screened last night.

:: The worst thing about the movie is Bono.  If you know U2, you know that Bono and Michael did get on. But it just wasn't done well -they could have made so much more of it.

:: Chris Murphy, is perhaps the best thing in the movie, the passion he has for music & the band. Really intrigued to read his book.

:: Perhaps the most striking thing about the film was how it highlighted the difficult relationship Australian bands have with the Australian media, and the tensions from being in a band.

It was so much harder to watch than the first half, seeing Michael's collapse.

Finishing the post where I've started here's U2 singing 'One' in Mexico City (in December 1997).

Drive All Night - Glen Hansard

Hansard's new EP was released on the Australian i-tunes store this week (I guess in parallel to the concerts he is playing with Eddie Vedder - was such a shame to miss them).

Drive All Night is a four song EP featuring a cover of Bruce Springsteen's song 'Drive All Night' preformed with Vedder and Jake Clemens, and three of his songs. Pennies in the fountain is my faavourite. Something magical in his vocals.

What's always struck me about Hansard is that when you hear him play, its almost like you're on the street with him, and he is busking.  He's not too proud to keep the stage for himself, and knows his place in history. I saw him play in 2010, and he brought up LJ Hill onto stage to sing one of his songs.; when his band played in 2008, he sang New Partner with Holly Throsby. He is an absolutely great story-teller, both on & off the stage. During his interview with Richard Glover this week he recounted the story that during his concert in Sydney last year - he became the Pied Piper and led people out of the Opera House.

He's had an amazing career from his time in The Frames (a band who's music deserves to be heard by more people), to the Swell Season, and solo career. When you hear time talk, you know how he has struggled with how fame 'found him'.

Can't recommend the EP (and his other music) highly enough, and I think there's still tickets to see him at the Opera House on St Patrick's Day....

Generation Young - Lizzie Marvelly

No secret I'm a fan of the Kiwi singer Lizzie Marvelly. Lizzie has moved from a classical style to pop and also writing her own songs. Last Tuesday she released her video for 'Generation Young' - which is quite a catchy tune, encouraging the younger generation to be the change & create the world in which they want to live.  The video is quite a moving addition to the song.

And as a bonus she's recorded a cover of 'I See Fire', Ed Sheeran's song from the second installment of The Hobbit.

So Close - the bravest, craziest, unluckiest defeats in Aussie sport

You probably remember these.  

• Albert's try against Manly, in the 1997 Grand Final,  (and perhaps too many others by Queenslanders in the 78, 79 or 80th minute)
• that soccer match at the MCG against Iran.

What they all have in common is that they are some of the memorable moments in Australian sport. The book by Mangan highlights, some of the bravest, craziest, unluckiest defeats in Aussie sport. He argues that in fact sometimes its the defeats that leave the lasting impression in our memory.  Especially seeing as you probably aren't going to see your team win many premierships in your lifetime, its the near misses (and catastrophes which are stay in your mind. I feel very lucky with the Sydney Swans - four GF's in my lifetime for 2 wins and 2 losses.

But think Thomson & Border, Lee & Kasprowicz, Haddin & Pattinson. (Whitney & McDermott, for other reasons).  All of those Cricket Tests are memorable, for the tightness of the result, and the fight & courage showm, by both sides.

The book is a great trip down memory lane (pain street?).

A couple of others - on a global scale which I won't forget are Manchester's win against Bayern Munich in the 1999 Champions League Final, Liverpool's win against AC Milan in 2005, and Oracle's comeback win in the America's Cup last year. 

Never tear us apart

One of TV shows I had been anticipating this year, was the mini-series about one of Australia's great rock bands INXS.  The first part which screen last night took us from the formation of the band through to "when Michael met Kylie".  The show reminded you of how brilliant & erratic Michael was. Michael and the band are amazing songwriters and performers (that he wrote the words for Need You Tonight in 15mins is just one example). It was weird watching the band write and people hear the songs for the first time. Slightly humorous seeing their first manager say they weren't going to be anything.

Hard to believe that it is about 16 years ago, when I heard good friends of INXS, pay tribute to Hutch. In their PopMart concert at the Sydney Football Stadium, U2, finished with Bono dedicating One to Michael (and as they did in many of their concerts during late 1997 and 1998).

It was one of the things that highlights Bono's ability to create a moment...  there was an storm during the show, and Bono had all of the lights turned off, and the band played "One" illuminated only by the flashes of lightening, then the crowd left, singing "Never Tear Us Apart', such a moving moment.  After watching the show, the storm seems fitting for Hutchence too.

Given that the ending is known, next week's episode will be harder to watch. In the linear notes to their collection "The Years" released in 2002, Andrew Farris writes: "perhaps the people to watch out for the most, are the ones who tell you they're okay", something to be mindful of I guess.

Hutch is one of the great singers (at least of my lifetime), and last night reminded me how much poorer we are without him.

So long, 2013

A few highlights from 2013..

Sport.
Cricket - The Ashes stand at 4-3 ;) (and the urn has been returned). We farewelled some of the giants of the game with the retirements of Michael Hussey, Sachin Tendulkar and Jacques Kallis.The BlackCaps have had a few good moments this year (a little too few though).
Golf - Adam Scott (first Australian to win the Masters at Augusta National)
Yatching - Oracle comes from four races behind to win the America's Cup and defeat Team NZ.
Rugby League - NZ wins the race for second place at the World Cup. (oh and in case you missed it QLD won the state of origin, and the Roosters won the comp).
Rugby Union - All Blacks complete season undefeated and the Lion's win in Australia.
AFL - Swans lose prelim final to Fremantle who were then beaten by Hawthorn in the Grand Final. Will be very intrigueing to see how the Swans go next year

Looking forward to World Cup - inspite of the All Whites failure to qualify. The Socceroo's will have a challenge gtting out of their group.

Music: 
Listened to a bunch of good music, and its been tough picking the top five. And as usual, I've left off live albums, eps and collections. In terms of the EPs, the series Atlas by Sleeping at Last is really amazing, and worth getting into, Sarah Masen released an EP of new music too, so I'm hoping an album is on the cards. Sarah is one of the more thoughtful Christian singer-songwriters going around.
 
The two live albums which have been on heavy rotation are the ones by All Sons and Daughters and the recording of Neil Finn and Paul Kelly's concert from earlier this year, just a great collection of songs from both of their careers.

In terms of albums for the year my favourites for the year (and probably in his order) are:

1. Jars of Clay - Inland
2. Holly Williams - The Highway
3. Amy Speace - How to sleep in a story boat
4. Sandra McCracken - Desire like dynamite
5. Hem - Departure and farewell

What ties these albums together is the song-writing. Each are filled wth songs I could relate too, telling moving stories about our shared human experience.

The honourable mentions are Paper Aeroplanes - Little letters; The Paper Kites - States; Noah & the Whale - The Heart of Nowhere;

For 2014 - I'm hoping (again) for a new U2 album (though with Ordinary Love out, it appears more likely this time), lookng forward to hearing Elizabeth Marvelly's new album, hopefully more from Brooke Fraser and as always new and unexpected discoveries.

New music and books for the season...

A few new CDs have been on heavy rotation recently.  I recently heard an Irish band the Halves. From the first few listens, they definitely bring to mind both Sigur Ros, and Radiohead. Definitely worth a listen.

This week also saw the release of Sleeping at Last's second EP in the Atlas series, Light. It doesn't disappoint. I'm looking forward to the next release in this series. My favourite line is this one below.

"...with every heartbeat that I have left, I'll defend your every breath" (Light) 

If you haven't heard Sleeping at Last, you're definitely missing out.

Finally the other album which I've been listening to quite a bit is The Heart of Nowhere by the British folk rook band Noah & the Whale.

I've also being doing a bit more reading recently. I really enjoyed Tara Moss' book Assassin, which was just a great read..  beautifully paced, and quite liked how real the characters and action appeared. (I am hopeful to see them turned into a movie soon). Next up are a couple of books on Australian politics by Maxine McKew, James Button and Lindsay Tanner. 

Back on the Voice...  seems to be really tough this year.. with a couple of the favourites eliminated - Catarina Torres, Michael Paynter, and a few of my favourites (Jac Stone, Nicholas Roy, and Tim Morrison).  One thing is for sure though, we will hear more from a lot of these singers. What seems clear now, is that its taste not talent which is driving the choices & popular vote.

The Voice Season Two

My love of music has been recently pushed in another direction, and I have to admit, that a guilty pleasure of mine is The Voice. The format is what made me give the show a chance, the idea of the 'blind auditions'; that is the singers sing to the backs of four chairs with the aim of turning (at least) one of them. Stage two was the battle rounds where two singers from the same team sing the same song with one going through. (In a twist for Season Two, the singer who loses the battle can be saved by another coach).

For me, the battle rounds was one of the highlights of the show - this year, everyone is talking about the Steve Clisby battle with Mitchell Anderson (singing - Walking in Memphis), and last year it was (for me) the battle between Kelsie Rimmer & Brittany Cairns (singing - Turning Tables). What I loved about both of those, is that the really sounded more like duets and two singers competing.

Season Two is also going be remember for Abby Dobson (lead singer of Leonardo's Bride & a member of Baby et Lulu). You can read her take on the experience her facebook page. It's worth reading. As is Harry Connick Jnr's take on American Idol contestants singing the 'Great American Songbook'

My other favourites so far, not surprisingly a number of them sang songs I love, Tim Morrison (Sunday Bloody Sunday U2, which I reckon would be a risk, because its a big song, by a popular artist); Nicholas Roy (Falling Slowly, Glen Hansard), Imogen Brough (Never Let Me Go, Florence & the Machine) and  Jac Stone (Watch over Me, Bernard Fanning).

A few others to watch: Emma Pask, Luke Kennedy, Harrison Craig. (Was also sad to see Sophie Phillis go..

Anyway, the hope I have, is that many of these artists who are eliminated, will keep making music, and follow their dreams.

Review: Live - All Sons & Daughters

All Sons & Daughters are now one of my favourite bands. I guess what the bring to their music is the impression that they are making music with their souls, and I think that's something which is hard to find. The album is well put together, beginning with the plea for our brokenness to be made beautiful, and ending with lines from 'Nothing but the blood of Jesus'.  

The album includes songs from their three EPs, and a few new ones. The i-tunes version comes with a number of videos and also some of the chord charts, which definitely adds value.

In sum, its an album which will make your soul sing, beautifully expressing the wonder of the Gospel.

Hem - Departure and Farewell

Like many of the bands I listen to, I found Hem when they were a "New and Notable" artist on the Noisetrade website, offering the album Funnelcloud for download, with a number of tracks from the forthcoming 'Departure and Farewell'.

The first thing I noticed listening to Funnelcloud and Departure & Farewell was Sally Ellyson's voice. She has an amazingly expressive voice, which when paired with the music transports you to another world.

It's one of my favourite albums of the year; and I've been enjoying exploring their back-catalogue - which includes great covers of REM's So Central Rain and Johnny Cash's Jackson, along with a soundtrack for Twelfth Night as well.

You can watch a video Seven Angels here, and NPR has a video of Tourniquet. If you haven't heard them, they are definitely a band to check out.

Amid the Flood - The Outliers

I have always been a fan of hymns. I remember when growing up loving to sing 'To God Be the Glory' and 'How Great Thou Art'.  If you wanted to clear expression of our faith, the hymns are a great place to start. I recall a tweet highlighting the fact we will remember more of what we sing at church  than what we hear from the pulpit. The best way to bring a heresy into the church would be to put it to a catchy tune and sing every it week.

One band that I have been listening to a bit of lately is 'The Outliers', made up of brother and sister - Luke and Myla Smith.  Amid the flood contains a number of hymns which powerfully testify that God has rescued us. It is quite a great collection containing the recent favourite 'Come Thou Font', 'My Hope is Built' and some, sadly, that I was not so familiar with like Martin Luther's 'A Mighty Fortress' and 'I am Thine O Lord'.

It is well worth a listen, such a refreshing reminder of God's grace to us.

On music

As is becoming apparent, in recent times, my blog has turned into a music review site. So given that I thought that I would take the time to write a post on the music I love.

There's always been music in the house. As I grew up, it was classical music, opera, musical theatre to start with, then Neil Diamond, ABBA, Simon & Garfunkel and the Carpenters. While I didn't like of this at once, and definitely not at the time, I've grown to like some of these.

The first CD I owned was a recording of U2's 1993 concert in Dublin during their ZooTV tour. U2 was probably the first band I loved growing up. I have vague memories of hearing 'I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For' in New Zealand, but strong memories of hearing Rattle and Hum during a trip with church. It is still one of my favourite CDs. The first CD I bought was Bon Jovi's Keep the Faith (with a CD of Live tracks). I still wait and buy albums which come with bonus tracks, whether I buy from i-tunes or the regular shop. As I mentioned in another post, I'm wondering where they will go with the additional content on albums from i-tunes.

As I've alluded to above, while I was at school, it was U2 and not much else. The only thing that's changed is that now I'm inclined to say that U2 is one of the best bands I've heard in my life-time. They are one band which has provided a soundtrack to my life, but there other bands that I've come to love/

After I left school, I encountered Contemporary Christian Music for the first time. I discovered most of these bands through Karen Beilharz. I still have the tapes she did for me. One of the artists on this tape was Rebecca St. James, and after hearing her music I joined her forum. The members of the forum were great, they introduced me to other artists. I will be forever grateful for the person who introduced me to The Normals (and Nichole Nordman).

For a period here, I listened to 'Christian Music' exclusively. (I think at this time, I also took a break from listening to U2 too).

As an aside, I find it hard to listen to Christian radio stations, as I am not convinced they do as good a job playing Christian music as they can and I also don't buy the argument that the music that's good isn't christian, and the music that christian isn't good. Aside 2: There's a lot to discuss about the label CCM and Christian music but that's another post).

Not sure what it was that made me listen to U2 again, I think it was the release of How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, but when I did I also sought to be introduced to other bands - The Frames, Wilco, Interpol, The Arcade Fire - to name a few. I also rediscovered Radiohead and Sigur Ros at this time.

The latest stage of my musical journey (for lack of a better phrase), is through the websites - Noisetrade, Daytrotter, NPR and most recently Spotify. I'm now getting most of my new music from there. NPR & Spotify are great to be able to listen to new music or new artists before buying them. I'm not sure how I first found Noisetrade, but it has been great to get new music at a small charge (ie: a tip, tweet, facebook post and your email address). Daytrotter is slightly different - for a small fee $2 a month, you can download studio sessions from a wide variety of artists.  Will be interested to see what's next.

What hasn't changed about the  music I love is that I am a words person. There are a few exceptions - bands where the voice is a another instrument, Sigur Ros is perhaps the clearest example. I'm thinking broadly speaking my favourite type of music is folk. (If that label means anything anymore. That's where the images and words match up beautifully.

I thought that I'd finish this post with the desert island game - put simply these are the five albums you would take with you if you were going to be stranded on an island. The five I'd pick are:

1. Home - Elizabeth Marvelly 
2. Pop - U2
3. The Swell Season  - The Swell Season
4. Coming to Life - The Normals
5. Land of the Living - Matthew Perryman Jones

It's quite challenging but these are the five albums I keep coming back to.  I've picked Home because as I've send before, this album is the one which reminds me of my childhood, songs I loved growing up, songs I sang at school.  The album is a little bit of NZ.

I could have picked a few albums by U2, and in the end, I chose Pop because it contains some of Bono's best lyrics ...  Please is one of my favourite songs.

The Swell Season is a beautiful balanced album, and just about perfect. MPJ is a beautiful lyricist, and even though his album came out last year, its one which a loved on first listen, and loved more on each subsequent listen.

I always post a disclaimer with a list - saying this is accurate at 10:16pm March 3, 2013.

Amy Dickson - Catch Me If You Can

Growing up I often said that if I put my mind to learning an instrument it would be either the Violin or the Saxophone, because they are two musical instruments which have a lyrical quality about them.  The rock bands I have grown to love, include a sax or violin in them - think The Frames or Dire Straits (eg Romeo and Juliet).

Dickon's album features arrangements of music by John Williams, the late Michael Kamen (so sad that he left us at 55) and Knopfler's Local Hero.  The arrangement of 'Local Hero' is awesome.

After the last note faded, given the journey the album takes you on. I thought maybe I should revisit my dream and seek to learn the saxophone.

Review: Desire Like Dynamite - Sandra McCracken

I first encountered Sandra McCracken through the music of Caedmon's Call. Their album 'Back Home' contains some songs which McCracken wrote.  So, when I saw that one of her albums Gypsy Flat Road I did not hesitate, I downloaded it and loved it. I have been looking forward to this album.

McCracken has a unique gift to write songs that continue to impact you as you listen. During my first listen, the images and words of 'Go', 'Hourglass', 'Forgiveness' and 'Fall on Me' really hit home.

Hourglass speaks of the time when 'Every good thing will be restored / and the sea will be no more'.

Forgivenes, has some beautiful images, the 'half life of coffee wearing thin', and grace which is measured by more than need, a grace to be something other than what we are, love given free without strings, a love which we cannnot resist.  The song continues to strike me which each listen.

Fall on Me - is another song written with Matthew Perryman Jones and also highlights our relationships - You can't fight a war when you already own the soldier - Everyone needs a place to land - fall on me'

The beauty of her album and song writing is the highlight the experience of the lives we have with each other, and with our God. The album one that I've liked more which each listen,.

In the digital music age..

Recently I had decided that I needed to move from buying CDs to downloading music, be it from the artists website, Bandcamp or i-tunes.  As much as it saves space, I am missing the impact a physical book gives me, and the role it plays in enhancing the listening experience by including the lyrics to each song, sometimes the stories behind each song, and the artists 'thank yous' and messages often help you connect with the artists.

 I know digital booklets are included with some CDs, but its a little bit less accessible.

I do expect, however, that changes are coming here. I've recently seen lyrics embedded within MP3s. Maybe in the future we'll see albums as apps (including additional content, like videos, perhaps in the ability to link into live shows).  Not all of these would work as you listen on the i-pod, but I certainly like having the lyrics available on the i-pod for some CDs.

I'm sure someone is thinking these things through, and perhaps they are also thinking along the lines of what would make people more inclined to buy a physical CD.

Review: The Highway - Holly Williams

Another song on the Nashville Indie Spotlight CD was 'Without You' by Holly Williams.  I really loved  the story and lyrics of the song, along with the music. So, after that, I downloaded and Introduction from Noisetrade (you can read an interview here) and a studio session from Daytrotter. (Sean Moeller has written a beautiful post about Drinkin'. The Noisetrade session has an awesome cover of Tom Waits song Hold On.

I guess if you play the 'sound like' game, you may come up with names like Emmylou Harris or Sarah McLachlan, and you'd most likely find the CD in a country section, but her sound crosses over a few genres, and she's creating her own niche.

What I really enjoy about her music is the authenticity in her voice. You are taking the ride with her as she shares stories from her heritage about her family and her own journey.  A number of the songs bring her family to life: Waiting on June, Gone Away from Me, Drinkin' and Railroads.

Without You tells of her time travelling through Europe on a train, and her love for being on the road is also clear on the track 'The Highway', and I can kind of relate to that.

After reading more about the album I read that its Gywneth Paltrow singing the beaut harmony on Waiting on June (one of the songs which talks about her maternal grandmother).

I think my favourite line on the CD is on A Good Man, where she sings that 'Love is not as simple as it seems, But I have learned to trust the space between '. That line speaks volumes about the nature of love.

As you listen to the album her world comes alive, and its clear to me this is what she was meant to do to tell stories about real people and enable us to connect with ourselves as she does. Hopefully 'the highway' will bring her to Australia, and we'll be able to hear her share these (and hopefully other stories) from her life.

==

Holly is not only a singer songwriter she's also talking about a cooking show, and also has a blog where she talks about fashion, travel, cooking and music. Here's the link. I'm keen to look at the food section.