The Best Of New Age Music Moving Spirit

Film and orchestral music composer Eleni Karaindrou has made a beautiful and moving statement with THE WEEPING MEADOW. A native of Greece, Karaindrou's influences are decidedly European, and within the music, one can hear the stamp of impressionistic composers like Erik Satie, avant garde innovators like Bartok, as well as Greek and Balkan folk forms. Karaindrou's music also traffics in 20th-century minimalism, creating tense, atmospheric spaces that feel empty and dense at once (one of the composer's frequently used motifs involves "patterns" that recall the tingling, polyphonic gestures of Phillip Glass). Although several themes are reprised throughout the album, the combination of ambient textures, folk phrasing (accordions, guitars, and violins figure prominently into several pieces), and lush orchestral work keep the music consistently interesting. The pieces are often set in a minor key, so a somber, melancholic mood prevails yet never feels forced or melodramatic, and the spacious, tasteful arrangements are in keeping with the ECM aesthetic.

Allan Taylor - Sometimes & The Lady
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 402 MB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Beat Goes On Records # BGOCD390 | Country/Year: UK 1998, 1971
Genre: Folk | Style: Singer/Songwriter

Allan Taylor is one of England's most-respected singer/songwriters. His songs have been covered by artists on both sides of the Atlantic, including Don Williams, Frankie Miller, Fairport Convention, Dick Gaughan, the McCalmans, the Fureys, the Clancy Brothers, and De Dannan. Folk Roots praised him for his "ability to crystallize a mood and evoke an era with the ease of a computer memory access, crafting perfect songs with dramatic changes in the spirit of Brecht, Bikel, and Brel." The Oxford Book of Traditional Verse felt as strongly, writing that Taylor was "one of the most literate and sensitive of contemporary songwriters in terms of words and music and one who is capable of exploring more complex subjects than most of his contemporaries." (…)

Her first English-language effort following a pair of mid-decade personal tragedies, Celine Dion's 12th set Courage is a transformative, cathartic release for the powerhouse vocalist that carries listeners through her process of healing and moving on. While the deaths of her husband and brother inform much of the album, they do not completely define it. Rather, Dion's phoenix-from-the-ashes power shines and reveals a confident rebirth as she rebuilds life and reclaims herself. Paired with its intentionally uplifting French-language predecessor, 2016's Encore un Soir, Courage continues to track Dion's grief, just with a contemporary pop angle. While the comforting Encore was suffused with traditional pop-guitar backing, Courage grasps the spirit of the late 2010s with vigor, recruiting a team of co-writers including David Guetta and Skylar Grey.

While not many on this side of the pond have noticed, Lloyd Cole, that smart, blackly humorous and self-deprecating songwriter has been assembling a nice catalog, chock-full of fine recordings. Luckily for us, his association with One Little Indian makes provisions for American releases for those who do understand that Cole is one of the most unique, tender, witty and biting songwriters out there, and he also writes a hell of a love song. Anti Depressant is the great double edge in Cole's catalog. In Cole's thinking, while it's true that an anti-depressant can make you feel better, the simple fact that you need one makes clear the appearance of depression. Many of these songs have that double edge in them.

At their best, cover albums have a strange way of galvanizing an artist by returning to the songs that inspired them; the artists can find the reason why they made music in the first place, perhaps finding a new reason to make music. Robert Plant's Dreamland – his first solo album in nearly ten years and one of the best records he's ever done, either as a solo artist or as a member of Led Zeppelin – fulfills that simple definition of a covers album and goes beyond it, finding Plant sounding reinvigorated and as restless as a new artist…