Pink Martini follow the around-the-world-in-a-dozen-songs thrills of HEY EUGENE! with SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS, a mellower, simpler set of small pleasures. These are relative terms, however; the group's music is still well-traveled, with China Forbes singing in five languages (English, Spanish, Neapolitan, French, and Italian) instead of the six or so on EUGENE!. However, Pink Martini opt for a more unified sound here, one that draws on the more straightforward lounge-pop of their debut, SYMPATHIQUE, and the mellowness of '60s and '70s pop. SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS' first half is especially smooth, opening with the beautifully soft Neapolitan ballad "Ninna Nanna" and the title track, on which Forbes sings "I think we should take it slow" over swooping strings, brass, and piano that resurrect the glory days of AM pop; that feeling is echoed by the cover of Joe Raposo's "Sing," the Sesame Street song that gained popularity when the Carpenters performed it (Emilio Delgado, aka Sesame Street's Luis, duets with Forbes here in Spanish and English).

The album's first few tracks are among its most playful, including the slinky yet winking "Ohayoo Ohio" and the French confection "Ou Est Ma Tete?" While Pink Martini gets almost too cute for their own good with "And Then You're Gone" and "But Now I'm Back," a pair of songs about a quarreling couple inspired by Franz Schubert's "Fantasy Piano for Four Hands" and featuring NPR justice correspondent Ari Shapiro on the latter's vocals, SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS' second half is among their finest work. "Over the Valley" is a standout, a ballad so timelessly sweet that it seems like it must be a long-lost standard the group just blew the dust off of, but it's an original; conversely, the covers of Moondog's haunting "New Amsterdam" and Agustín Lara's "Piensa en Mi," sung by Chavela Vargas, sound fresh and authentic, providing the drama HANG ON LITTLE TOMATO and HEY EUGENE! provided in spades. Though it's a lower-key set of songs than those two albums, SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS is charming in its own right.

  Legend CD
  by Bob Marley
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There are few musicians whose music has indisputably advanced humanity. Reggae figurehead Bob Marley--a songwriter, poet, activist, and visionary--is one of them. The idea that a single-disc collection could represent the depth, breadth, and power of Marley's achievement is far-fetched, but LEGEND makes an excellent attempt. Every single one of its tracks is outstanding, and the artist's different faces--revolutionary ("Get Up Stand Up"), romantic ("Is This Love"), devout Rastafarian ("Buffalo Soldier"), and prophet ("One Love/People Get Ready") are equally represented. In addition to his moving message of love and unity, Marley is a master songwriter, as the timelessness of songs like "Stir It Up," "I Shot the Sheriff," and the gorgeous, poignant "Redemption Song" proves. Of course, a true sampling of Marley's output would require some early ska material, the Wailer's debut (CATCH A FIRE), the definitive NATTY DREAD, and his later-period opus EXODUS, but LEGEND provides a highly satisfying, if brief, overview of Marley's genius. A record well suited to any location, season, or time of day, it has proven universal in its appeal. The music herein is as essential as air.
(Note: The Deluxe Edition includes two bonus tracks and an additional disc of remixes.)

This remastered version of LEGEND contains a 28 page booklet, and two bonus tracks. Recorded between 1972 and 1981. Originally released on Island (90169). Digitally remastered by Ted Jensen (2001, Sterling Sound, New York).


  A Mediterranean Odyssey CD
  by Loreena McKennitt
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Loreena McKennitt's A MEDITERRANEAN ODYSSEY collection includes an 11-track anthology of her more Mediterranean-influenced works entitled OLIVE AND THE CEDAR, as well as a ten-track live performance recorded in 2009 called FROM ISTANBUL TO ATHENS. McKennitt's transition from Celtic balladeer to worldbeat superstar began in the early '90s with the genre-hopping VISIT. Her penchant for Mediterranean/Far East/Middle Eastern instrumentation came to fruition on 1994's MASK AND MIRROR and 1997's BOOK OF SECRETS, the latter of which spawned her biggest commercial hit "The Mummer's Dance." The bulk of OLIVE AND THE CEDARis made up of material from those three albums. FROM ISTANBUL TO ATHENS mines much of the same material, but draws more heavily from 2006's ANCIENT MUSE

Photographers: Loreena McKennitt; Mark McCauley.


  In Search Of The Lost Chord CD
  by Moody Blues
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After helping lay the groundwork for concept albums and progressive rock with 1967's orchestra-enhanced suite DAYS OF FUTURE PASSED, the Moodies retrenched for the follow-up. They abandoned the orchestra but kept their sound as rich as before by playing a multitude of instruments themselves, including everything from sitar to cello to oboe. At the time, it was remarkable enough for these instruments to appear on a rock record, much less to be played by the band itself. The string-laden conceptual pieces of DAYS were replaced by shorter, more concise songs that leaned more toward Beatlesque pop and displayed a pronounced Eastern influence.

Graham Edge's short spoken-word pieces provide a properly arty framework for the Moodies' blend of swooping mellotron, haunting flute, and rich, multi-tracked harmonies. The slightly Hollies-ish "Ride my Seesaw," one of the band's strongest rockers, is a highlight. Flutist/vocalist Ray Thomas provides the quirky Britishness so essential to '60s UK pop-rock with his music-hall-on-acid number "Dr. Livingstone I Presume." The soaring harmonies of "Legend of a Mind" work in praise of Timothy Leary and his "trips to astral planes." IN SEARCH OF THE LOST CHORD is the most exotic, trippy album in the Moodies' catalog.

Includes liner notes by John Reed.


  Osee Yee CD
  by Osibisa
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2009 album from pioneering African World-pop crossover artists Osibisa

Personnel: Teddy Osei (vocals, flute, saxophone); Emmanuel Rentzos (vocals, organ); Gregg Kofi Brown (vocals); Kwame Yeboah (acoustic guitar, keyboards, drums, congas); ... Full DescriptionColin Graham (trumpet); Mac Tontoh (flugelhorn); Kofi Ayivor (congas).

  Facing Future CD
  by Israel Iz Kamakawiwo'Ole
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The late Hawaiian star Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, a gentle 750-pound giant who passed away in 1997, is an unlikely candidate for a career renaissance. But thanks to popular films such as Finding Forrester and Meet Joe Black and TV shows from Party of Five to Picket Fences, the music of the man called Iz lives on. Recording with his brother Skippy in the '70s as the Makaha Sons, Iz's high tenor and fluttering falsetto -- think Roy Orbison in a sarong -- accompanied simple melodies plucked on ukulele. His solo career began after Skippy's death in 1982, and while his lyrics remain Hawaii-centric (and often in Hawaiian) and he is usually backed with uke and slack-key guitar, Facing Future moves in more contemporary directions.

Recorded at Audio Resource, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Personnel: Israel Kamakawiwo'ole (vocals, ukulele, Hawaiian salt); Roland Cazimero (guitar, bass);
Del Beazley (guitar).
Producers: Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, Jon de Mello.


  The Divine Name - Sounds Of The God Code Audio Book CD
  by Gregg Braden / Jonathan Goldman
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A coded message has been found within the molecules of life; deep within the DNA in each cell of our bodies. Through a remarkable discovery linking Biblical alphabets to our genetic code, the “language of life” may now be read as the ancient letters of a timeless message. Regardless of race, religion, heritage or lifestyle, the message is the same in each cell of every woman, child and man, past and present.

With nearly one third of the world’s nations currently embroiled in armed conflict, such proof of a universal bond offers compelling evidence that we are greater than any beliefs that have separated us in the past. Through this newly found expression of unity we find a place to begin when our differences seem insurmountable.

 Links to all the World Music CD's. Linked by Style.
 [World Music-Top Sellers]  [World Music-International]  [World Music-New Age]  [World Music-Japan]  [World Music-Latin]  [World Music-French]  [World Music-Beats]  [World Music-German]
 [World Music-Brazilian]  [World Music-Pop]  [World Music-Celtic]