Staff Picks

John - There isn’t a better singer/songwriter on the planet than Shawn Colvin. A stunning singer with a deft hand at open tunings and remarkable songs. If you’re a YouTube geek, there is a full live concert at the Paradiso in Amsterdam, just Shawn and her guitar. Sublime.

Chris - Steven Wilson - The Overview - At the risk of being too predictable, it’s hard for me to NOT recommend a new Steven Wilson album when it drops. The Overview is an interesting release consisting of only two songs, both around 20-minutes long. It’s a concept record based around “The Overview Effect” and is as spacey and grandiose as the concept would suggest!

Lindsay - Twisted Pine - “Love Your Mind” - I received this album over the holidays as a gift from my older brother, Justin (a.k.a. “The Barefoot Professor” at Presbyterian College, where he heads the English Department). After languishing in my “listen-to-next” pile for a couple months, I recently performed the oh-so-satisfying ritual of peeling off the plastic packaging and gave this disc a spin. I was instantly taken with the quality of the production, which is both very full and also crisp; but, more importantly, the overall quality of the songs and the performances is impressive. Though clearly springing from some bluegrassy and jam-centric roots, Twisted Pine exhibits more sophistication than most straight ahead traditional bluegrass groups. Along that line, in listening to the album start to finish, one encounters cleverness and humor in the songwriting, as well as contemplative instrumentals complete with unexpected progressions—heck, there’s even blazing flute solos! Needless to say, I’ve really enjoyed listening to these guys (Goosebump Feeling and After Midnight are exceedingly catchy!), and I clearly owe The Barefoot Professor a debt of gratitude!

Mark - Best of Def Leppard-Def Leppard. Yeah, this may seem silly coming from a country-ish singer/songwriter like me, but I do have a love for good rock and roll. The Eighties(along with the 70s) to me, were the golden era for melodic, commercial hard rock. You had Journey, Toto, Boston and the like, but Def Leppard are my favorite for that time period. They had a sassy-devil may care attitude, and I must admit, as a wannabe producer, the Mutt Lange production was at least half the attraction. Slick, bombastic and catchy as hell, with HUGE stacked vocals.  I had lunch around 2005-2006 with their guitar tech, when they were in town, He came in to MSG (yes I’ve been here that long), and introduced himself. I told him I was a huge Leppard fan. Not sure he believed me, but when we went out to my truck, to drive to the now-nonexistent Jason’s Deli, this record came blasting out of the speakers. “Wow, you weren’t kidding”, he shouted over the music. Well, I found that CD in the gear shift console of the ol’ 4 Runner, a couple weeks back, and popped it in. The infectious nature of the tunes was just as strong as it was 40 years ago. I pumped the volume and listened all the way home (28 miles), playing steering wheel drums for the entire journey. I’m pretty sure I pumped my fist at least twice. See, that’s what made them great. Some of my serious musician friends thought they were an overtly commercial, overproduced joke. I responded, that may have been true, to an extent, but If Ya Wanna Get Rocked…..You’re welcome.

Mike - The Booze - Straight, No Chaser - This now defunct rock n roll outfit from right here in Atlanta, GA put out this album in 2008, which easily stands the test of time.  If you took an adolescent punk, fed them nothing but coffee and water, and made them exclusively listen to The Rolling Stones for 9 or 10 months, you would wind up with a record like this. Standout tracks include “Trouble in Paradise”, “Aint it the Truth” and “Callin’ Out to You”.  A truly stunning song cycle by local players that by rights should have been huge.