Him Magazine From October 2014

Raspberries are a power pop/pop rock band from Cleveland, Ohio in the United States. They had a run of success in the early 1970s music scene with their crisp pop sound, which Allmusic later described as featuring "exquisitely crafted melodies and achingly gorgeous harmonies". Collection includes: Raspberries (1972), Fresh (1972), Side 3 (1973), Starting Over (1974).

This third recording by Imogen Cooper on Chandos features some of Robert Schumann’s most characteristic and complex works for solo piano. Cooper is one of those artists who are reaching a glorious maturity in middle age; she seems to follow in the steps of her teacher Alfred Brendel, her prodigious virtuosity coexisting with lyrical and emotional wisdom. This album includes the Davidsbündlertänze which she describes as a ‘work of stirring beauty and humour that make it one of the great romantic masterpieces for the piano’. It also illustrates the journey between two sets of variations: Schumann’s first published and last composed piano pieces. While the ‘Abegg’ is ‘virtuosic, extroverted, challenging to play, and charming’, the Geistervariationen are ‘introverted and sparse, with a deep but elusive emotion’. Finally, in the two Novelletten Imogen Cooper reveals what she calls the ‘hidden narrative filaments to be discovered’ in Schumann’s music; this requires ‘a skill which is very necessary in the interpretation of scores that frequently appear disjointed and illogical’.

The son of a pastor, David Bazan wasn't introduced to secular music until after his early youth, which helps explain the Christian-influenced songwriting of his band project, Pedro the Lion. Bazan formed the group in 1995, mixing first-person narratives and nuanced indie rock with contributions from a rotating cast of musicians. Based in Seattle, the group released four albums, beginning with 1998's It's Hard to Find a Friend and concluding with 2004's Achilles Heel. Bazan stopped using the name in early 2006, but his musical aspirations continued with several other outfits, as well as a solo career.

Michael W. Smith became one of the most enduringly popular artists in the contemporary Christian music market while also finding success as a mainstream artist. The songwriter was born in Kenova, West Virginia, the son of an oil refinery worker and a caterer. He became a devout Christian at age ten and spent his teenage years around a support group of fellow believers who frequently gathered to create music. That support group split up after high school, and Smith turned to alcohol, drugs, and wild times. Meanwhile, he scraped through a couple semesters of college and began honing his songwriting skills, which led to a songwriting company's interest in his music in 1978. He moved to Nashville, where he played with a series of local bands, including Rose. He was still heavily into drugs and continued using until October 1979, when he suffered an emotional mental breakdown that culminated in his recommitment to Christ. The next day, he auditioned for a new CCM group, Higher Ground, as a keyboardist. Smith landed the gig and began to clean up his act while touring with the band.