Hi everyone, here are our five musical recommendations for the week; four streaming suggestions* and one recommended album on CD.
(Click on the photo to stream or request the album you’re interested in!)
Freegal Streaming Suggestions*
The Essential Joshua Bell (Genre: Easy Listening, Classical):
Violin virtuoso Joshua Bell hails from Bloomington, Indiana and is a Grammy award winner who has a solo career and also conducts the Academy in the Fields Orchestra.
This collection features notable classical works and some popular songs as well, including Swan Lake, Op. 20, Act III: Danse russe, Nocturne No. 20 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. posth (Arranged for Violin & Orchestra), Songs without Words, Op. 62, No. 1: May Breezes (Arranged for Violin & Orchestra)I Got Rhythm , Ladies in Lavender and I. Cremona, The Red Violin.
Best of Cowboy Junkies (2001) by Cowboy Junkies (Genre: Traditional Folk, Rock):
The AllMusic bio of the Cowboy Junkies is spot on! Author Steve Huey describes the band thus “Canada’s Cowboy Junkies’ create a music grounded in traditional country, blues, and folk, filled with languid guitars and ethereal vocals courtesy of Margo Timmins.” And that well sums it up! This is a great band and the albums have a uniformly excellent quality to them – always in an ethereal way.
This greatest hits collection features some of their best songs from the eighties and nineties including: I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry, Sweet Jane, Sun Comes Up, It’s Tuesday Morning, Misguided Angel, Cold Tea Blues and Hard to Explain.
This is a perfect collection for relaxing weekend listening!
Greensleeves: Folk Music of the British Isles (2016) by Armonico Consort, Christopher Monks (Genre: a cappella , Classical, Folk):
I don’t usually include an entire AllMusic review in my posting; however, this review, written by James Manheim, is rather amusing and offers a good reason to listen to the set even if you’re not a classical music fan. The review starts off with a long quote by Armonico Consort Director Christopher Monk:
“I first began my fascination with folk melody whilst a music scholar at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where the choir would often sing arrangements to entertain the hoards of inebriated dons after feasts,” writes director Christopher Monks.
“These arrangements — often brilliant, eye opening, and sometimes little gems of genius — were written by my director of studies, Dr. Geoffrey Webber. Quite simply, he took on the work of Vaughan Williams and gave it a new harmonic language inspired by music from the late 20th century.”
Webber is the author of the largest number of folk song arrangements here (all are a cappella); others come from various composers including Monks himself. The title track is elegant, but a better place to start sampling to get a feel for the tonality of the music is perhaps Sweet Kitty (track six), another Webber arrangement. Several pieces, by Stanford, Thomas Morley, and Robert Pearsall, are not folk songs, but are familiar enough to be such, and they function nicely as little touchstones in a program that is far from the set of folk favorites you might imagine. Monks and his ten-voice Armonico Consort achieve a precise sound that brings out the small details that make these arrangements interesting. A rather specialized release, perhaps one for enthusiasts who love the tradition of British choral singing, but one that may also be recommended to all.”
If you enjoy vocal music – check this collection out!
The Message (2018) by The Stanley Clarke Band (Genre: Jazz):
The Message, is the brand new album by Jazz bassist Stanley Clarke whose first album, Children Of Forever, was released in 1973. Clarke has a distinct and innovated slapping style of bass playing and he is at the top of his form on this LP.
Songs in the set include: After the Cosmic Rain/Dance of the Planetary Princesss. The Rugged Treat, The Message, Lost in a World and Alternative Facts.
Recommended CD of the Week:
Live at the Fillmore East 1968 (2018) by The Who:
Live At The Fillmore East is the 50th anniversary of these legendary unreleased recordings from the Fillmore East, New York City, Friday April 5 & Saturday April 6, 1968. Features stunning extended versions of My Generation, A Quick One…, Shakin’ All Over and two ripping versions of Eddie Cochran numbers – Summertime Blues and C’mon Everybody (the latter unavailable elsewhere). The 2 CD version comes in a deluxe edition 6-panel digipak with a 12-page booklet including new liner notes and rare photos.
Additional songs in the set include: I Can’t Explain, Happy Jack, I’m A Boy &, Boris The Spider,
Videos of the Week:
She Moved Through The Fair by Armonico Consort
Eleanor Rigby by Joshua Bell
Maybe So by Joshua Bell
Sun Comes Up, It’s Tuesday Morning by Cowboy Junkies
Sweet Jane by Cowboy Junkies
Lost in a World by Stanley Clarke Band
Goodbye Pork Pie Hat by Stanley Clarke Band
My Generation by The Who
Summertime Blues by The Who
Summertime, Summertime by The Jamies
Have a great weekend!
Linda, SSCL
*A library card is required to use the Freegal Music Service. If you live in the service area of the Southern Tier Library System, which consists of the public libraries in Steuben, Chemung, Yates, Schuyler and Alleghany counties in New York State, you can get a library card for free at your nearest public library – including our own Southeast Steuben County Library in Corning, New York. The Freegal Music Service is free for all Southern Tier Library System member libraries library card holders to access.
References:
Artist Biography & Discography Information:
The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits by Joel Whitburn (Billboard Books. New York. 2009.)
P.S. If you have any questions about how to download or stream free music through the Freegal Music service to a desktop or laptop computer or how to download and use the Freegal Music app let us know! Drop by the library or give us a call at: 607-936-3713
*You must have a library card at a Southern Tier Library System member library to enjoy the Freegal Music Service. Your card can be from any library in the system, and the system includes all public libraries in Steuben, Chemung, Yates, Schuyler and Allegheny Counties and includes our own Southeast Steuben Count Library in Corning, New York!
Library cards are free if you live in our service area. And you can obtain a card by visiting the Circulation Desk and presenting staff with a form of ID that features your name and your current address.
Links to the desktop versions of the catalogs for the library system – apps for each are available in your app store:
Digital Library Catalogs:
Freegal offers streaming and downloadable music
OverDrive allows you to check out eBooks, downloadable audiobooks and handful of streaming videos
RB Digital is the place you go to check out magazines – on demand – and you never have to return them!
The Traditional Library Catalog:
You can search for and request books, DVDs, music CDs, audiobooks on CD and other physical format items through StarCat – it is the modern day card catalog!
Tech & Book Talk at SSCL 