Sunday morning standouts:
Acoustic Guitar Instrumentals
- Homecoming-Andrew Gialanella (Largely welcoming guitar with a dash of pensiveness.)
The Bridge
- Wake Up Sunshine-Chicago (A fun pick-me-up and one of many highlights from the "Chicago II" album. The concluding horn part is a smart way to greet the day and leave the listener wanting more. I'd segue James Taylor's "Sunny Skies" with this.)
Chill
- Dreamcatcher-Vanilla (Techno fit for wandering through the woods while playing a flute.)
Chucho Valdes' Cuba & Beyond
- Moane-Chucho Valdes (Elegant, contemplative piano.)
- Pianolo-Perez Prado (What percolating ingredients make this tune simmer? The piano, the horns, the percussion--everything, really.)
H.U.R. Voices
- Love's In Need Of Love Today-Stevie Wonder (One of about 5,000--or so it seems--standout tracks from the "Songs In The Key Of Life" album. If you welcome these idealistic lyrics, you might also like Wonder's "Saturn." Speaking of Stevie Wonder...)
Luna
- Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing-Tito Puente (...Rhythmically, the original version is one of Stevie Wonder's best efforts. It translates naturally into a strong vibraphone-and-horns arrangement.)
No Shoes Radio
- Toes-Norah Jones (This is one of the best-sung tunes about hesitation I've ever heard.)
Siriusly Sinatra
- There Will Never Be Another You-Eliane Elias (Elias's vocals and piano playing on this standard are inviting, as usual. The trumpet and guitar add to the assured atmosphere.)
SiriusXMU
- Don't Fade Away-Beach Fossils (This March release has an '80s throwback feel in its vocals and instrumentation. The Cure came to mind as I listened.)
SiriusXMU Discovery
- Outer Banks-Tanlines (An appealing new track with '80s elements and honest lyrics about not knowing why a connection didn't pan out.)
- Angeles-Shannon Lay (A strong vocals-and-acoustic-guitar cover of an Elliott Smith song. As independent-minded as we might like to think we are, these lyrics remind us that our locale and the people around us influence our decisions more than we might admit.)
