CD-Charts Position 1
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The Essential Leonard Cohen

CD-Charts > Music > American Folk
by: Leonard Cohen

Release Date April 25, 2005
Pity they didn't include that timeless classic "Potatoes of the Night". Thanks Bill, as usual you put it all into proportion.

CD-Charts Position 2
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Raising Sand

CD-Charts > Music > American Folk
by: Robert Plant and Alison Krauss

Release Date October 29, 2007
Sadly someone obviously suggested to Robert Plant that this would be a good idea....recording a (mostly) countryesque album with Alison Krauss. They were wrong!! I have no problem with Plant (or anyone else for that matter) trying new things, but please..... this was a bad idea that should have stayed just that.... an idea!! Why on earth so many people feel the need to heap praise on this album is beyond me - it has no redeming qualities to my ears whatsoever - even if Robert Plant is involved.......come to think of it that old story of the Emporer's new clothes comes to mind!!

CD-Charts Position 3
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The Best Of The Mamas And The Papas

CD-Charts > Music > American Folk
by: Mamas & Papas

Release Date October 23, 2000
BEING A CHILD OF THE 60`s .THE SUMMER OF LOVE ,HIPPIES WITH FLOWERS IN THERE HAIR,AND THE FIRST MAN ON THE MOON.PART OF THE SOUNDTRACK OF THOSE DAYS WAS `THE MAMAS AND THE PAPAS`.THIS C.D WITH IT`S 20 TRACKS TAKES YOU BACK TO THOSE GLORIOUS DAYS. ALL THERE WELL KNOWN SONGS ARE HERE.TOGETHER WITH INTERESTING INNER SLEEVE NOTES.IF YOU HAVE`NT GOT AN ALBUM OF THE MAMAS AND THE PAPAS IN YOUR COLLECTION I RECOMMEND YOU GET THIS.PUT THIS C.D ON AND CLOSE YOUR EYE`S , YOUR ALMOST BACK TO THOSE DAYS.IT`S ENOUGH TO MAKE YOU RUSH OUT TO BUY TIE DIED TEA SHIRTS,BEADS AND FLARED TROUSERS, BUT FIRST GET THIS REALLY COOL C.D.

CD-Charts Position 4
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I'm Your Man

CD-Charts > Music > American Folk
by: Leonard Cohen

Release Date July 02, 1990
There really are not words enough to describe the sweep and grandeur of Leonard's 1988 masterpiece. Age cannot wither, nor custom stale its infinite variety. There are many common misperceptions of Mr.Cohen, but none more frustrating to a lifelong fan than that of suicidal, morbid folk-singer. My own personal vision is of the ultimate caberet crooner, the last-dance, last-chance, end-of-the-night performer, dispensing gems of wisdom sometimes with an urbane humour, but always with love and a song in his heart: a mixture of Aznavour, Brel, and Noel Coward, with a little Brecht thrown in for good measure. This album answers perfectly that call, most seductively and gorgeously in LC's reading of Lorca's 'Little Viennese Waltz' (here recast as TAKE THIS ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 5
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Various Positions

CD-Charts > Music > American Folk
by: Leonard Cohen

Release Date November 01, 1989
Cohen made three classic albums with John Lissaeur at the helm: 1974's New Skin For The Old Ceremony, 1979's Recent Songs, but at the apex of these achievements stands 1984's Various Positions, in that it paved the way for a new audience to discover Leonard Cohen afresh. This wasn't done by just adding the odd synthesised drone here and there, for there is the same continuity of themes and musical genres threaded consistently through the works (compare New Skin's 'Why Don't You Try?' or 'I Tried To Leave You' alongside Recent Songs' 'Came So Far For Beauty' or 'The Smokey Life', i.e., and you'll find they sit naturally next to tracks like 'Hallelujah' or 'Coming Back To You', whereas 'Night Comes On' and 'If It Be Your Will' would not have sounded out ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 6
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Greatest Hits

CD-Charts > Music > American Folk
by: Simon & Garfunkel

Release Date December 13, 2004

This is a good collection of Simon & Garfunkel's wonderful work, and a good place to start if unfamiliar with their music. However, I prefer their double disc 'Tales From New York'. That collection expands on what is here, particularly including some of their important early stuff, and is a better representation of the diversity of their music.

CD-Charts Position 7
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Blue

CD-Charts > Music > American Folk
by: Joni Mitchell

Release Date January 11, 1988
I have read all the reviews of BLUE on this site and they all give 5 stars. This is only because there isn't a rating for "THE BEST ALBUM OF ALL TIME". In the years since I first heard Joni's heartstrings crying out I have heard many other albums - some great - but they are all pretenders. Blue just pushes all the buttons, ticks all the boxes and speaks direct to the core.

CD-Charts Position 8
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We Shall Overcome - The Seeger Sessions / American Land Edition [CD+DVD]

CD-Charts > Music > American Folk
by: Bruce Springsteen

Release Date October 02, 2006
As a Springsteen fan of over thirty years' standing, I was wary of this album. I am not the kind of fan who follows "their" artist, right or wrong, and after witnessing a live BBC broadcast of some of this material, I was not of a mind to purchase it. The concert had Springsteen and an entourage of fiddlers, led by E Street violinist Soozie Tyrell, being lauded by an audience of bearded, out of time clapping, ageing folkies and I simply could not reconcile the performer I saw on stage that night with the author of "Thunder Road", "Badlands" and "Jungleland" ! However, upon listening to this album, I have to swallow my pride and admit I was wrong in my preconceptions. This is a truly great musical and lyrical album, and great fun to boot !

In this album one ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 9
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Fire Songs

CD-Charts > Music > American Folk
by: Watson Twins

Release Date June 30, 2008
Two years on, I still don't know which one of the Watson Twins it was that I met properly. But in a way, that just makes it all the more "hilarious" doesn't it?

Anyway, now that Jenny Lewis has gone back to Rilo Kiley, it's finally time for the Twins to properly step into the spotlight, with Fire Songs, their debut album. Their collaboration with Lewis on Rabbit Fur Coat (an album which no less an authority than my father said was "morbid beyond belief") led to a certain amount of expectation for their full-length debut but it was also difficult to gauge just what an impact they could have on their own.

At first, the over-riding impression is one that they are better suited to backing singers than front women. For the first couple of songs, at least, ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 10
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The Felice Brothers

CD-Charts > Music > American Folk
by: Felice Brothers

Release Date March 03, 2008
Although these guys have adopted the hairy bearded look of the Band and occasionally sound Dylanesque they stamp their own identity firmly on this disc - a set of 15 songs without a dud to be found. Tales of the old and new West predominate as evoked in titles like Frankie's Gun, Whiskey in my Whiskey and Helen Fry. In a strange way the sound evokes not just alt-country legends like Green on Red but also the swirling organ and heavy back beat of the Wailers at their best. This is an outstanding collection which rewards repeated listening.