Charl's CD Picks

Just a Little Lovin'
By Shelby Lynne

This new offering from Shelby Lynne, an homage to the great Dusty Springfield, never imitates and always pleasantly surprises. Hearing these songs again after so long sent me right back to my CD collection to bring out the originals, which were wonderful to rediscover. But then the strangest thing happened: Dusty was respectfully returned to the collection after a few spins, and I kept Shelby in the rotation. Her quiet, bluesy and sparingly produced Just a Little Lovin' (which also happens to contain an original Shelby composition inspired by Dusty's music) remains as one of the albums that transports me to my daily creative space. Just can't hear it enough times! Try it for yourself, you might discover a new favorite too.

When I Was a Boy
By Jane Siberry

This album is one of those rarities that actually 'found me' in the store. It is one of the few that I have ever purchased without having heard a note, purely on the strength of the cover image, the title and the song titles. And it's never let me down. The music surpassed the intrigue that the cover held. It has an amazing sprawling, cinematic quality... big, dramatic stories delivered sometimes in a fragile whisper, sometimes in an insistent chant. Always captivating.

Impossible Dream
By Patty Griffin

With the combination of her crystal clear, poignant voice and the amazing stories she weaves in her songwriting, Patty can break your heart at 50 paces! The first time I saw her was at the Beacon Theater in New York, opening for Shawn Colvin, alone in a spotlight in the middle of the stage. She tore the place up! The aural textures of this album flow between gospel-tinges, aching loss and exquisite beauty with ease and grace. She certainly rates as my most inspirational listen.

Mercy Now
By Mary Gauthier

Having only made a start in music at 35, Mary Gauthier sounds like she has been writing her whole life... and a lifetime of hardship and pain comes through in all the songs. The songs don't seem to beg for pity though, they are simply a snapshot of a part of her life presented to the listener, sparse yet dramatic. Every time I listen to this album I get totally lost in the stories... a great creative inspiration. Patty Griffin's beautiful harmony vocals on two of the tracks really kill!

Wrecking Ball
By Emmylou Harris

I had heard of Emmylou a lot before, but was never quite captivated by her music until the remarkable "Wrecking Ball," which was a real watershed in her career, crossing effortlessly between country and rock and pop, refusing to be pigeonholed. With her voice sounding a little world-weary, the album carries the sound of having been through it all and made it to the other side. Inspiration for the challenging days!

South
By Heather Nova

Heather is not nearly as renowned as she should be, which is unfortunate, because she has an exuberant joy in her music that is very infectious. I like her take on staying true to your own ideals and thoughts, when assailed by all the 'you should do this and that.' Take a listen to "Virus of the Mind" and hear how slyly she rejects those notions.

Bright Red / Tightrope
By Laurie Anderson

OK, so I have to say it... if I had half the creative brain that Laurie Anderson has, I would be a genius. I love the stories she tells on this album... from the comically bizarre "The Puppet Motel" to the absolutely heart wrenching: just take a listen to "Love Among The Sailors"... as touching an AIDS-lament as I have ever heard. Her songs actually read like those bizarre dreams that you wake up remembering, thinking how absolutely strange and outlandish they were. Imagine: you wake up finding your life has been rearranged into a theme park with ferris wheels carrying past-loves and sideshow attractions manned by dead grandmothers... sound 'out-there' enough? Listen to the rest of this amazing album. Be prepared to be transported.

Want One
By Rufus Wainwright

So, a male vocalist snuck into the pack! Rufus! Well, he is everyone's favorite gay boy. What an amazing storyteller. I love that he is not afraid of what anyone will think of him, and he writes it as it is in his life. And his seamless incorporation of Ravel's "Bolero" within a pop song, in "Oh What a World" is extraordinary. With a voice as distinctive as his style and attitude, he neatly fills one of the 'music hero' spaces in my life. His sister, Martha, who guests on a number of songs, is also well worth the time to get to know.

Mirmama
By Eddi Reader

I absolutely love the rising tide of "Dolphins"... the song ebbs and flows and swells to a beautiful vocal crescendo. Somehow it always has me reaching for the repeat button. Then there is the amazing "What You Do With What You've Got": it does not matter what you have but how you deal with what you've got that matters (Whatever 'it' may be). Listening to that song I always realize that I have enough, no matter what I may 'want'.

Persihable Fruit
By Patty Larkin

This album is special to me for a number of reasons. One of my favorites is that the song "You and Me " sums up the unique and amazing relationship that I am in perfectly. "Coming Up For Air" with backing by Jane Siberry is quite luminous and the delightfully off-the-wall concept of "The Book I'm Not Reading" is captivating.   Doesn't hurt that Patty is quite an inspirational guitarist (something I am trying to master myself.)

Tender City
By Joy Askew

Now here is a singer/songwriter/musician that should be much more of a household name than she is. Joy has worked alongside the best: Peter Gabriel, Laurie Anderson and Joe Jackson among others, and proven her worth beyond a doubt in her solo career. Her Tender City album neatly places her in the ranks of Sarah McLachlan, Shawn Colvin and Patty Griffin as a songwriter. Her "This Ring" says so much of what I feel about leaving behind family and friends to make a new life in the USA as she did. And the dreaminess of "Cool Water" is so easy to drown in. A truly transcendental album. Take a listen; this is one of the best singers you may not know yet.