Donna Fargo – Brotherly Love

Donna Fargo has a good voice that carries some of the golden age of country music forward. Brotherly Love is the prerequisite gospel album that all C/W artists must make. It has a few gospel standards and a few new songs. Not a bad listen.

Marianne Faithful – Broken English

Wow. Yeah, revisiting this album was a joy, and I think I will listen to it again in a couple of days. This listening was like hearing Broken English for the first time. I heard words that I had previously missed or glossed over. I heard social commentaries that I didn’t know were there. And I listened to the emotion in Marianne Faithful as she belted out songs like Why D’Ya Do It. It made me stop and allow that emotion to speak to me. Every song on this album came alive for me. I’ll hear it again in a few days and update you on what happened. It was more subdued on the second listen but still a powerful album.

LOW-RES – Därför & Varför

Some new post-punk is coming out of Sweden, a hot place for new music this year.

Maynard Ferguson – Conquistador

Courtesy of Wikipedia: Conquistador was the most successful album of Ferguson’s career, earning him his first and only gold record and a Grammy nomination (Best Pop Instrumental Performance) for “Gonna Fly Now (Theme from “Rocky”).” Boosted by the popularity of the single, Conquistador not only went to number one on the Jazz charts, but it became the first big band album to appear on the pop charts in decades, sparking a revival of interest in big band music.

When Conquistador rose to number 22 on the pop album charts, Los Angeles Times music critic Leonard Feather noted, “Conquistador earned Ferguson a unique place in the big band world: he alone was able to crack the pop charts.”

Fleetwood Mac – Kiln House

Kiln House was Fleetwood Mac’s fifth album, and Rumours was still seven years and seven more albums away. Unfortunately, many can only name one or two Fleetwood Mac albums, usually Rumours and Tusk. There is a lot more to their credit than that. This album is an excellent highlight of their blues influence. So many good British bands got their start playing the blues.This would be one of my island records, depending on how many I could take with me.

Adrian Norén: Spår av Addeyee

More Swedish music. I love it and wish I could speak it.

The Five Blind Boys Of Alabama – Oh, Lord-Stand By Me

The Original Five Blind Boys Of Alabama – Marching Up To Zion

I know they are not singing about it, but driving through Zion National Park is close to walking through the Holy Land.

Tropical Fuck Storm – Goody Goody Gumdrops

Although it is not my usual listening, I couldn’t ignore this band with that moniker.

Aukai – Aukai 

This album is pleasant, laid-back listening.

Townes Van Zandt – Live At The Old Quarter, Houston, Texas

This album is a good sampler that shows Townes at his best.

Rev. Billy Simmons & William Simmons – Rollscanhardly

I wasn’t familiar with these guys, but the Rev. part of his handle sucked me in.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Push The Sky Away

I have been a fan of Nick Cave for a long time, and I spun this album three or four times over the last month.

July 1 was Canada Day, so here is a short list of songs and recording artists celebrating this great land; I live above the 49th. I only listened to the singles for this list.

Wheat Kings – The Tragically Hip These guys are Canadian royalty. Sadly we lost Gord, but they did one hell of a farewell tour.

Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald & Canadian Railroad Trilogy – Gordon Lightfoot

We said farewell to Gordon Lightfoot on May 1, 2023. He was a patriotic citizen who sang about Canada frequently. For my friends and family south of the 49th, on July 4, 1995, the 91-kilogram bronze bell of the Edmund Fitzgerald was recovered from the ship’s wreckage. The ore carrier sank on Nov. 10, 1975, in Lake Superior, and 29 people died. The bell is now on display in Whitefish Point, Mich.

Oh … Canada – Classified

Get a little rap going.

Runnin’ Back to Saskatoon – The Guess Who Canadian rock and roll heroes. American Woman is one of their biggest hits.

Canadian Dream – Sam Roberts

Yes, Canada is a socialist country. Free medical care is the star of that parade. I feel that socialism is frequently misunderstood; it is not as evil as it is often perceived.

Four Strong Winds 

This  a song written by Ian Tyson and covered by Neil Young, a transplanted Canadian.

Song For Canada – Bob Dylan’s backing band, aka The Band, was 4/5 Canadian. I listened to The Basement Tapes today.