CD-Charts Position 41
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Diamonds & Rust

CD-Charts > Music > Contemporary Folk
by: Joan Baez

Release Date February 20, 2003
Having bought the single way back in the 70's when it was first released and heard what seemed the fashionable comment at the time that "some records were too good for the charts" I wanted to buy the album when funds permitted. No disappointments - this is a classic that doesn't waste a track. Different in style to other albums that Joan Baez has done but more than worth hearing and at a fantastic price. Buy, play, enjoy, you will not regret.

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CD-Charts Position 42
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Pink Moon

CD-Charts > Music > Contemporary Folk
by: Nick Drake

Release Date June 26, 2000
I'll keep this review relatively short, and hopefully it'll be of use to anyone considering buying Pink Moon, Nick Drake's 3rd album.

What this album has to offer is something between Nick Drake's other 2 albums. Pink Moon isn't as upbeat and jazzy as his 2nd album Bryter Layter, but then again it isn't as depressing and gloomy as Five Leaves Left. Even if it does comprise just Nick and his guitar on all but the opening (title) track, Pink Moon doesn't necessarily leave you feeling depressed. And that's because a lot of the tracks on the album basically aren't gloomy.
For example, "Pink Moon" (Track 1) might take a while to get into, but it's not a sad song at all. Neither are songs like Road, Which Will or Free Ride. The only song ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 43
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Car Wheels On A Gravel Road

CD-Charts > Music > Contemporary Folk
by: Lucinda Williams

Release Date December 15, 2000
I'm new to this genre and I have got into Miranda Lambert and Gretchen Wilson and although I don't buy his political persuasion, Toby Keith.
I bought West and wasn't impressed but Car Wheels is something else. Maybe because I'm new to this brand of music I'm suckered but I really think that this is such a stand out CD that it merits huge praise. I've heard that it was a perfectionist effort - hence the Pet Sounds analogy - and if so it works. Right in Time and Joy -two very different pices are addictive. Maybe this is a one-off in which case play it to death.

CD-Charts Position 44
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The Celts

CD-Charts > Music > Contemporary Folk
by: Enya

Release Date November 06, 1992
Although this is a soundtrack album,this does work as a standout piece of music.It can't be considered her finest work but there is still plenty here to enjoy.It goes without saying that this is music to relax to and although some of the tracks don't linger in the memory,'The Celts' is definitely a worthwhile purchase.

Standout tracks here are 'The Celts','Aldebaran' and the fabulous 'Boadicea'.Well worth a listen but perhaps more so than her other albums it does help if you are an Enya fan.

CD-Charts Position 45
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Wide Open Spaces

CD-Charts > Music > Contemporary Folk
by: Dixie Chicks

Release Date September 21, 1998
Introducing us to their rhythmic and melodious country/rock style, and their infectiously candid and assertive manner that would later get them rather unfairly into political hot water, the feisty Dallas trio's first mainstream album is a fantastic example of country music that has been made accessible to a wider audience.

The Chicks are entertaining, they sound as if they really had a lot of fun making this album, and their performances are full of spirit and energy - they're a joy to listen to. The album also has heart and soul, there's a lot of humanity in the lyrics which might not be immediately obvious to the casual listener.

However, I did feel that they were holding something back on these recordings, there was even more life they could ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 46
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Roses and Tears

CD-Charts > Music > Contemporary Folk
by: Capercaillie

Release Date March 31, 2008
Just a warning to those hoping for the old, brilliant capercaillie; this unfortunately continues the musak style of their most recent albums. With the play list showing many gallic songs I thought I'd fall back in love with that voice but to me this music is neither here nor there. All the rough edges of traditional music are taken out and we are left with some songs that verge on the annoying.
Let me know if anyone wants to buy this album as they can have mine half price.

CD-Charts Position 47
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The Very Best of Judy Collins

CD-Charts > Music > Contemporary Folk
by: Judy Collins

Release Date September 03, 2001
Judy, Joni or Joan? Who do you prefer? They were the essential North American songstesses of the sixties folk/protest movement. Joni Mitchell was clearly the best songwriter of the three (indeed, one of the best of her generation) and the most accomplished musician. Joan Baez had the best voice; the greatest range and clarity, and the most lyrical tonality. She also exhibited the warmest personality and, yes, she was the best-looking, a real beauty.

Judy Collins is somewhere in between. Her voice is clearer and surer than Joni's, but with not quite the range and tone qualities of Joan's. And her songwriting abilities (as evidenced by four tracks on this CD) are passable but unremarkable. But when she sings other writers' songs, especially traditional ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 48
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One World

CD-Charts > Music > Contemporary Folk
by: John Martyn

Release Date April 18, 1990
Rating: 10/10

Best tracks: "Dancing", "One World", "Small Hours", "Dealer"

Don't get me wrong, Solid Air is a decent, fine album; but John Martyn's best? It doesn't come close to One World, which is a total masterpiece and simultaneously the gifted singer-songwriter's most satisfying journey into experimentation and his most accessible too. Rock, folk, dub and ambient all combine to create a luscious, quietly funky, atmospheric and dreamy work which sounds astonishing turned up loud. The lavish, inviting textures of the opening "Dealer" set the scene perfectly; layers of riffs, funky bass and synthesiser gel seamlessly, creating something that's fleet of foot, airborne and stunningly amorphous. Miraculously, the title track is even better; a deeply haunting, strange ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 49
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Grace And Danger

CD-Charts > Music > Contemporary Folk
by: John Martyn

Release Date November 02, 1989
Martyn is perhaps one of the most erratic recording artists, a reflection presumably of the ups and downs in his own life. As is well documented, 'Grace & Danger' corresponds with one of these troughs, and has resulted in an album which is staggeringly perfect in its artistic and musical execution. The mid-section 'denial' trio of songs beginning with 'Sweet Little Mystery' are ones I return to with depressing regularity. They are sublimely beautiful, and worth the price of the CD alone. Phil Collins and John Giblin are the most wonderfully intuitively rhythm section,so much so that I almost forgive Collins for being both in Genesis and writing Face Value, but nothing is quite that good. This record is far from depressing, but is both haunting and quite, quite indispensible.

CD-Charts Position 50
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The Memory of Trees

CD-Charts > Music > Contemporary Folk
by: Enya

Release Date November 20, 1995
No surprises here, of course -- Enya didn't achieve new age superstardom by challenging anyone's expectations. This album is every bit as hushed, lovely, and soulless as everything else she's ever done; like a perfect angel food cake, it's sweet, soft, and utterly lacking in nutritive substance. There's nothing the matter with angel food cake, of course, and there's also nothing really the matter with The Memory of Trees, though its Druidic theme does smell awfully trendy (nothing was quite so hip as neopaganism in 1995), and it steers so strictly the same melodic and textural course she's been following throughout her solo career that you're tempted to wonder why anyone would want to spend the money on what amounts to a complete rehash of her earlier work. While other cultural influences play a greater part ... Read More: