The Library CD Shelf
Electric Moroccoland/So Below
Club d'Elf
Face Pelt Records
Rock Paper Scissors
511 West 4th Street, Suite 2, Bloomington, IN 47404
$TBA www.rockpaperscissors.biz
Rotating-member musical group Club d'Elf has created a new two-CD set:
Electric Moroccoland/So Below. The first disc of the medley draws upon
Morocco's deep musical heritage, and performer Rivard's expertise in
the three-stringed, camel-skinned, base-reminiscent musical instrument
called a sintir. The second disc blends elements of funk, dub, and
free jazz in an exciting new approach to the trance genre. Electric
Moroccoland/So Below is an extraordinary, crowning musical achievement
and enthusiastically recommended for both private and public library
music CD collections. The tracks are "Overture" (2:15), "Sand (for
mark)" (5:45), "Ghir Khoudouni" (7:08), "Madrecita" (6:44), "Sunshine
Of Your Love" (5:46), "Scorpionic" (8:44), "Mogador" (5:15), "Bendir
Done That" (3:26), "Berber Song" (5:40), "Sidi Rabi" (7:39),
"Ambib" (5:09), "Instar" (5:38), and "Rope on Fire" (5:49) for
Electric Moroccoland; "Gettin' Squinty" (5:20), "Middle
Pillar" (7:59), "So Below" (11:08), "Salvia" (6:53), "I Wish I Was In
Heaven Sitting Down" (7:03), "Trace Meeting pt. 1" (6:22), "Trace
Meeting pt. 2" (2:38), "As Above" (5:35), "End of Firpo" (7:38),
"Pharaoh" (7:41), "Propeller" (4:45), and "Taint Too" (4:26).
Mysterious Duality: Just Me
Dr. Jayanthi Kumaresh
Earthsync
c/o Flipswitch (publicity)
PO Box 2207, Bloomington, IN 47404-2207
$15.97 www.flipswitchPR.com
Mysterious Duality: Just Me is a music CD featuring Dr. Jayanthi
Kumaresh's masterful performances of India's national instrument, the
stringed veena. Mysterious Duality is not a solo album; Kumaresh
worked with a recording studio engineer to combine and align the
strains she played on the two dozen veenas she owned, in search of
just the right blend of sound. The result is a well-crafted
masterpiece worthy of the highest recommendation for public library
and private international music CD collections. The tracks are
"Mysterious Duality" (8:20), "Strings With No Ends" (12:08),
"Wandering In Dimensions" (12:20), and "Waiting At Dusk" (9:54).
The Folk EP
Sara Banleigh
Privately Published
c/o FlipSwitch (publicity)
PO Box 2207, Bloomington, IN 47404-2207
$8.00 www.sarabanleigh.com
The debut album of piano-based folk singer Sara Banleigh, The Folk EP
offers Sara's unique interpretations of five traditional English,
Scottish, and Irish folk songs, each of which is several hundred years
old. Love, murder, and death figure prominently in these ballads,
which include a song about a young women who gives her maidenhood to
her first love, only to be driven to suicide when he cheats on her;
and songs where the title character is sentenced to death by hanging
for committing a capital crime. A profoundly moving piece of musical
history as well as a captivating performance, The Folk EP is highly
recommended. The tracks are "Railroad Boy", "Mary Hamilton",
"Geordie", "All My Trials", and "Fhear A Bhata".
The Shape of Things
Josh Johnston
www.joshjohnston.com
Recorded, mixed & mastered by Brian Masterson
Shandon Records
c/o The Creative Service Company (publicity)
4360 Emerald Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80918
$20.67 myspace.com/creativeservicecompany www.shandonrecords.com
The Shape of Things is an album of grand piano music, played solo by
Irish musician Josh Johnston. Though an undercurrent of the album
evokes Irish tradition, the music also has improvisational elements
akin to jazz, as well as influence from folk and pop. An absorbing and
emotional delve into the original soundscapes of a brilliantly
creative mind, The Shape of Things is enthusiastically recommended to
piano music lovers everywhere. The tracks are "Peace (Nightsong
1)" (3:53), "FVX" (3:24), "Atlantic" (3:53), "Nightsong 2" (4:12),
"Missed Her On The Road" (4:44), "Guest" (2:57), "Nightsong 3" (2:59),
"Asylum Harbour" (4:13), "The Late Train" (3:38), "Nightsong
4" (2:49), "A Light In The Dark Of Night" (3:38), "Cimiez" (4:49), and
"Saving a Life" (4:29).
When Johnny Comes Marching Home
Anne Enslow and Ridley Enslow
Enslow Publishers, Inc.
PO Box 398, Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922-0398
9780766038677 $23.93 list / $17.95 school & library www.enslow.com
1-800-398-2504
When Johnny Comes Marching Home: Music of the Civil War brings to life
a variety of classic songs that were popular during the American Civil
War, with violin, guitar, banjo, mandolin, mountain dulcimer,
pennywhistle, flute, harp, cello, and vocal performances. The inset
booklet features not only the song lyrics, but summaries of the
history, origin, composition and purpose of the ballads. A soul-
stirring treasury of music from a bygone era, When Johnny Comes
Marching Home is especially recommended for public library music CD
collections. The tracks are "The Battle Cry of Freedom", "The Vacant
Chair", "Get Off the Track!", "The Bonnie Blue Flag", "Weeping, Sad
and Lonely", "Confederates' Polka March", "The Southern Soldier Boy",
"All Quiet Along the Potomac Tonight", "The Year of Jubilo", "Tenting
on the Old Camp Ground", "For the Dear Old Flag I Die", "Hard Times
Come Again No More / Hard Tack", "When Johnny Comes Marching Home",
"Marching Through Georgia / Lament for Georgia", "All Hail to
Ulysses!", and "Battle Hymn of the Republic". 55 min. 26 sec.
Midsummer
Uwe Gronau
c/o The Creative Service Company (publicity)
4360 Emerald Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80918
$17.29
German musician and composer Uwe Gronau presents Midsummer, an
instrumental 2-CD album inspired by the philosophical work "Tractatus"
published in 1921. Midsummer seeks to explore human understanding of
the world, and of natural forces, through the expression of music.
Most of the songs are New Age, varying in tone from uplifting to
ambient to prog-rock. The first CD features more rhythmic music, while
the second CD is softer and more gently paced. The instruments used in
Midsummer range from piano to synth, drums, organ and more; there are
even a few tracks featuring exotic contributions from instruments such
as the Celtic flute or the sitar. The result is a wonderfully
immersive and thought-provoking experience, highly recommended for
anyone who loves to lose themselves in instrumental music. The first
CD's tracks are "Steps in the Snow" (3:17), "Magic Forest" (3:22),
"Into Clouds" (3:17), "Secret Meeting 1" (3:15), "Message" (3:49),
"Poems Like Islands" (2:48), "Royal Road" (3:15), "Thought" (2:06),
"Watching the Sound" (3:20), "Dreamt of You" (4:16), "Evening
Sky" (3:07), "Secret Meeting 2" (5:59), "It Happens" (3:24),
"Silence" (3:13), "Faraway Countries" (2:55), "Left Hand" (3:16),
"Gliding Flight" (3:17), "Coming Home" (3:45), and the second CD's
tracks are "Storm Lantern" (3:09), "Big Sky Horizon" (2:43), "You
Know" (2:47), "Childhood" (3:35), "Midsummer" (3:14), "Little
Luck" (2:52), "Passage" (3:03), "Rivers Bound to Sea" (3:09), "The
Messanger" (3:22), "Thinking" (2:41), "Dream Bridge" (3:39), "Garden
of March" (2:35), "Snowy Wood" (2:56), "Heaven of Falling
Stars" (3:41), "By the Fireside" (2:45), "Roxy" (3:02), and "Brave
Heart" (2:57).
First Melancholy, Then the Night Stretch
Rick Cutler
New Dude Records
The Creative Service Company (publicity)
4360 Emerald Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80918
$19.22 www.humanrick.com
First Melancholy, Then the Night Stretch is the second original album
by solo acoustic pianist Rick Cutler, featuring elements of neo-
classical, new age, and even improvisational jazz. Superbly performed
and emotionally moving, First Melancholy, Then the Night Stretch
explores echoes of memory, reflections on the grandeur of nature, and
contemplation of dreams just out of the conscious mind's reach. An
extraordinary and beautiful work, highly recommended. The tracks are
"Isle of Words Forgotten" (2:43), "Gentle Nightmares" (3:00),
"Charlotte's Roads Before Her" (4:26), "Alien Landscape 1" (1:56),
"Debussy" (5:06), "From Then Till Now" (4:40), "Measuring
Eternity" (2:38), "Noise (for Tony Williams)" (2:38), "Alien Landscape
2" (1:46), "Song for Noel" (3:50), "Indian Sunset" (3:45), "A
Dance" (4:35), "Hymn" (3:13), "Thank You (for McCoy Tyner)" (3:53),
"Alien Landscape 3" (2:43), "Who Needs Words" (3:25), "A Song You've
Heard Before" (4:02), and "Going Home" (4:15).
Canyon Records Productions
3131 West Clarendon Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85017
www.canyonrecords.com 1-800-268-1141
Canyon Records Productions continues to enrich music CD libraries with
their outstanding offerings of traditional Native American music, and
of original albums composed and brought to life by Native American
performers. In "The Gift of Life: Round Dances and Songs of the Native
Road" ($15.99, 63:56 min.), Grammy-nominated singer Randy Wood
transforms his understanding of Cree culture and the tradition of the
Round Dance into a musical contemplation of the past, present, and
future. Dine singer Antonio Woody's "Old Style" ($15.69, 48:23 min.)
preserves and performs peyote songs meant to transfer strength,
renewal, and inspiration to new generations. Opie Day-Bedeau's "One
Love Round Dance Songs" ($15.74, 58:48 min.) gathers inspiration from
the Ojibwe culture, featuring compelling, dulcet-toned vocals that
reverberate with the compelling rhythm of round dance culture.
Cheevers Toppah delivers harmonized church hymns of the Kiowa in
"Renewed Spirit" ($15.69, 55:26 min.), an album that combines the song
structure and melodies of European-American Christian hymns with pre-
Christian Kiowa songs into an extraordinary whole that extols faith in
God and the redemptive sacrifice of His son Jesus Christ. "Breathe
Deep the Dusk Fall" ($18.34, 74:58 min.) is Dine songmaker Louie
Gonnie's anthology of songs from the fireplace of the Native American
Church; the hauntingly beautiful music represents the eternal cycle of
time, reflecting upon how the daily transformation from dusk to dawn
symbolizes the travels of the soul through its phases of existence.
Native American Music Award winner Gabriel Ayala and five-time Grammy
nominee Will Clipman combine elements of of classical guitar,
flamenco, jazz, tango, and Native American music in "Passion, Fire &
Grace" ($15.46, 45:41 min.), an album that surges with vigor and
multicultural vibrancy. The Southern Scratch group, headed by Ron
Joaquin (son of renowned waila musician Angelo Joaquin Sr.), offers an
exceptional tribute to the 50-year musical legacy of the Joaquin
family in "How Sweet the Sound" ($15.99, 48:06 min.); waila (dance
music of the Tohono O'odham of the Sonoran desert) figures prominently
in this pulse-moving album featuring saxophone, bass, bajo sexto,
percussion drums, and some vocals. All are superb contributions to
international or Native American music shelves, and public library
music CD collections.
EDITOR'S NOTE:
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All are available for free on the Midwest Book Review website at www
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Anyone wanting to submit books for review consideration can send them
to:
James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive
Oregon, WI 53575-1129
To submit reviews of any fiction or non-fiction books, email them to
Frugalmuse (at) aol (dot) com (Be sure to include the book title,
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James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
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