Jericho’s Fall – Stephen Carter

So have you ever read a book that the pages flew by,  you really wanted to find out what happens, and then you get to the end which is not really satisfying and you say, did I really like this book? That’s how I feel about book 20 of 2010 Jericho’s Fall by Stephen L. Carter. The story revolves around the dying possibly crazy ex-Director of the CIA, Secretary of Defense, National Security Advisor  – generally Mr. Everything – Jericho Ainsley.  He is at home in a mountain fortress in Colorado dying from cancer and everybody is out to kill him before he can reveal his secrets! In steps Rebecaa (Beck) DeForde his former lover and the reason for his fall from power fifteen years earlier when she was a 19 year old student and he a professor! Beck sets out to discover Jericho’s secrets and where he has hidden them!  Here what a review in The Washington Post said about the book: Read More

Blues Wednesday Delta Moon, Kirk Fletcher and Mannish Boys!

So it isn’t often that I make a list of artists to listen to load up three albums and enjoy them all! Well that’s what happened today. I checked the Living Blues chart for March and April and picked three names I didn’t recognize to give a listen. The three artists and albums (and position on April chart) were Delta Moon – Hellbound Train (20), Kirk Fletcher My Turn (9) and Mannish Boys Shake For Me (2). First up was Delta Moon and Hellbound Train and the title track whichopens the albun was enough for me to know that I was going to like this band! Here’s what they say about their music on their website: Read More

Twang Tuesday – The Infamous Stringdusters

So today I made a brief list of some bluegrass to listen to and listened to some tracks by Josh Williams not bad but not thrilling. Then I listened to a track from the Tiger Maple String Band interesting but I just wasn’t really into the music. So I finally decided to move the the top of the chart and the number one album Things That Fly by The Infamous Stringdusters and I now know why the album is number one great picking, vocals and lyrics usually make a great album and this album has all three! The album is their second following their successful 2007 debut album Fork in the Road,  The band won three awards at the International Bluegrass Music Association Awards Ceremony in 2007 including: Emerging Artist of the Year, Album of the Year for Fork in the Road (in a tie with J.D. Crowe & the New South’s album Lefty’s Old Guitar), and Song of the Year for the title track of the album. Read More

Folk Monday – Some brief listens!

Ok so over this four day weekend it has been very frustrating – see my main computer is Windows Vista and it does not recognize my mp3 player as a Sansa View. It will connect as a mass storage device but as a mass storage device you can not transfer music from Rhapsody. Usually my Sansa will connect to our other computer which is XP but this weekend it would not so I was not able to transfer any music and was not able to sit at the computer and listen to whole albums!  So I made a list from the Roots Music Chart of some names that were new to me and gave them brief listens to see if they appealed to me at all! First up was Ginny Hawker and her album After It’s Gone . I listened to the first two songs and felt that the music just wasn’t me. Second up was Rita Hosking and her album Come Sunrise music sounded pretty good some nice fiddle and dobro on the title track and the vocals were nice – this is one that I will come back and listen to more closely. Album three was The Conjurer by Dana Cooper – another one that sounds pretty good I like the vocals, music good nice harp – lyrics sound good another one that will get an extended listen. Album four is I Speak Because I Can by Laura Marling sounds a little different not really me but maybe, but not likely. The final album was Made of Stars by Sally Spring. This one is in the middle too. Seems a little slow for me but her voice sounds pretty good another maybe but maybe more yes than no. Read More

Folk Favorite – Jack Williams

This morning I decided that it was a good day to listen to one of my favorite folk artists so I qued up Jack Williams on the mp3 player and listened to his album Laughing in the Face of the Blues. If you like great guitar picking coupled with great songs about the south and common folks then you’ll like Jack Williams’ music. I first stumbled across Jack’s music in the bargain bin of my favorite used record store where I found his album Across the Winterline . I took it home listen to I think the first two songs and I knew that I had a new favorite! Here’s what others think of Jack’s music: Read More

Book 19 – The Bone Thief

So today was not a big music day more a sports day. Go Roy Halladay and Flyers. But I did finish book no. 19 for 2010 The Bone Thief by Jefferson Bass. The Bone Thief is the fifth book in the Body Farm series by the writing team of Dr. Bill Bass founder of the Body Farm at the University of Tennessee and Jon Jefferson. The series  follows the activities of Dr. Bill Brockton and his graduate assistant Miranda Lovelady and others in exploits surrounding the Body Farm. Read More

No Forgotten Vinyl – Forgotten Tapes

So tonight I didn’t go to the basement and look through the vinyl for something to listen to rather I stayed upstairs and looked through the cassette tapes for some music that I haven’t listened to in a while. The first album that caught my attention was Alison Krauss’ 1990 release I’ve Got That Old Feeling . The album was released when she was a only 19 years old. The album was her second solo release for Rounder Records and her third overall release her second was with Union Station. This is what it says in Wikipedia about the album: Read More

Friday AM – Some Jazz! – Fourmost – Jimmy Smith

Ok so one of my favorite jazz artists is the incredible organist Jimmy Smith and another is guitarist Kenny Burrell. Sit;’s no wonder that the album Fourmost is a favorite! Fourmost joins Jimmy Smith on organ and Kenny Burrell on guitar with other jazz greats Stanley Turentine on sax and Grady Tate on drums. The set was recorded live in 1990 at Fat Tuesday’s in New York City Read More

Blues Wednesday – Sean Chambers

So for the last couple of weeks I’ve had Sean Chambers second album Humble Spirits on the mp3 player and have enjoyed it. Sean is a Florida bluesman in the mold of Stevie Ray Vaughan, i.e. blues with a rock edge. Humble Spirits, was produced by Bud Snyder (The Allman Brothers Band and Gov’t Mule), and featured featured such special guests as Bernard Allison, Frankie and Dan Toler (The Allman Brothers), Bobby T. Torello (Johnny Winter) and Greg Allman band alumnus Bruce Waibel. Sean has been ranked in the Top 50 blues rock guitarists by Britain’s “Guitarist Magazine” and he can really play! I feel that his guitar playing carries his ok vocals on the album! Anyway there are a lot of decent songs on the album and it’s certainly worth several listens and will probably stay on the player for a while! Today I listened to his current release Ten Til Midnight.  I was only able to listen to a few of the tracks but what I heard sounded pretty good. If it cools off tomorrow the album will probably be playing when I run! Here’s what it says on Sean’s website about the album: Read More