The second collaboration of Leo Kottke with ex-Phish bassist Mike Gordon finds the duo exploring breezy Caribbean sounds, with a few surprise covers. The musicians work wonderfully together, with Gordon's meaty yet malleable bass grounding and darting around Kottke's distinctive and agile fingerpicked lines. Percussion reinforces the island sound (the album was recorded at the famous Compass Point Studios in Nassau) and provides a terrific backbone for the album's tropical approach. Neither Gordon nor Kottke have great (or even good) voices – the bassist's is particularly thin – but they admirably dig into the songs, singing on about half of the tracks with a charming, easygoing quality that suits the material and shows they are enjoying this ride.
Coins of England and the United Kingdom remains the only single-volume reference work which features every major coin type from Celtic to the present day with accurate market values for every coin type listed. It is an essential guide for beginners, serious numismatists and anyone interested in British Coinage. …