Monday morning standout songs:
The Blend
- I Won't Last A Day Without You-The Carpenters (Karen Carpenter was the perfect choice to sing this with just the right amount of heart. Lesser voices could make these lyrics sound overwrought.)
The Coffee House
- Bloom-The Paper Kites (A nice blend of vocals, acoustic guitar, and whistling. This is an endearing way of telling someone you really want to know her.)
Luna
- Portrait Of Porto-Brandi Disterheft & George Coleman (Strong synergy between the piano and the bass in this enjoyably energetic Brazilian jazz instrumental.)
Outlaw Country
- Canadian Railroad Trilogy-Gordon Lightfoot (Too often, we take lifelines such as railroads and all the effort that goes into building them for granted. The orchestral strings and Lightfoot's guitar approximate a train's rhythm compellingly. I was glad to hear this and other well-selected tunes, along with interview segments, in Lightfoot's memory.)
Prime Country
- Outbound Plane-Suzy Bogguss (Bogguss excels at singing country crossover material. She does this Nanci Griffith song justice, as I can still hear Griffith's sensibility easily.)
Real Jazz
- Mas Que Nada-Hugh Masekela (It's interesting hearing this at a slower tempo than I'm used to on other renditions. The trumpet and piano make the tune sound more foreboding as a result.)
- Betcha By Golly Wow-One For All (This is not a straight ahead, note-for-note copy of the hit ballad by The Stylistics. Instead, it uses the melody as a springboard for exploring other tangents.)
Siriusly Sinatra
- Puttin' On The Ritz-Mel Torme (The instrumentalists backing Torme's vocals give this standard a sly, hip, jazzy feel.)
SiriusXMU Discovery
- Sad To Breathe-The Japanese House (The sudden tempo increase in this new release gives one hope that the protagonist will get over the sadness of her breakup.)
Watercolors
- Blue Horizon-Maysa (Maysa has a compelling way of singing over instrumental backdrops that throb. Also recommended: "Friendly Pressure.")
