Songs I Wish You Could Hear

Instead of the list containing songs you have all heard before and love or loathe, I offer you this: links that might bring you to songs by people you ought to hear.

Paul Kaplan.  Paul is based in Massachusetts, so I'm listing him first because I know many of my reading friends are in that area -- please go catch one of his shows.  If the link I am inserting works, you will be able to hear song samples off Paul's After the Fire CD, such as The Leaving of Liverpool.  I recommend Give My Bones to Greyhound if you want travelin' music, and there is no song I have ever heard that compares to So I Could Get to You for a declaration of love.  Look for Paul on YouTube, also.

Zoe Mulford.  I cannot praise her highly enough. Zoe comes second on this list only because she lives in Manchester, England, now so her US appearances are limited.  Please visit her website and see if she'll be in your area, because live music is best, but otherwise buy one or both of her CDs.  They are worth twice the price.  This link should also bring up audio samples.  I love them all, but will limit my suggestions here to Songs of Love and Distance off her Traveling Moon CD because it is a beautiful example of her crystalline voice and her wise lyrics all at once.  From Roadside Saints, I recommend Gonna Wear Red (an anthem for discarding rules) or American Wake (a true Irish wink of a song.)

Cosy Sheridan. The first time I heard Cosy, she was recording the song Hannibal Crossed the Alps for a Folk DJ's radio show.  I was enchanted: a perfect and accurate history lesson in song.  I have since read about Cosy's work in teaching young women about the traps of false standards of beauty, so while I am a devoted fan of her music, I am even more in awe of the woman herself.  For a second song, I recommend How Will the Center Hold for those who want power and The Land of 10,000 Mothers for something sweet.  I taught myself Walk On -- we all need an anthem and that one felt right.

John Flynn. If you aren't sick of hearing me recommend John Flynn, you simply haven't been reading all my comments.  That's okay -- just go and check out his lyrics.  There are song samples on John's website, but most of the music samples are of his children's songs.  (Parents: he's got some great songs for the kids!)  I love all the tracks on John's CDs, but if I had to pick just two for you to hear I'd go with Put Your Freedom Where Your Mouth Is off his Two Wolves CD and Only One off his Dragon CD.

Kim and Reggie Harris.  Each and every time I have heard Kim & Reggie, it was a transporting musical experience -- live and powerful, it felt like I'd been to an opera with a full pit orchestra, but up on stage it is only Reggie with his magic guitar and Kim's dynamic vocals: check out music samples from all their CDs here.  (I'd also like to brag here that Reggie once borrowed my guitar.)  You have never heard Follow the Drinking Gourd better than Reggie plays it on their CD Steal Away, and the song Too Many Martyrs (The Ballad of Medgar Evans) on the CD Rock of Ages is a personal favorite. Follow the link on their name and enjoy an exclusive audio file they recorded with Peter Yarrow and his daughter Bethany.  Kim and Reggie sing the title track on What's That I Hear: The Songs of Phil Ochs -- a CD guaranteed to knock your socks off.

Johnsmith. All one word for the name but he uses a lot more of them in his songs, and the pictures he paints with his words, the stories he tells, are just right for someone whose children are grown and off on their own life travels.  This age, sometimes called the "empty nest," is a time for reflection, remembrance, and renewals, and I hear all of that in John's songs.  Personal favorite songs are Survivors (which he has given me permission to present as a photo-essay!) and Kickin' This Stone, the title track of my favorite Johnsmith CD.

(And, when you visit these folks, be sure to leave them a howdy on their websites' guest books -- it's always a thrill to get feedback!)