July 2007 Best CDs

Of the CD's that arrived at the station in July 2007, the ones I liked best were:

• Arbo, Rani, and Daisy Mayhem, Big Old Life
• Atkins, Chet, The Essential Chet Atkins
• Atkins, Chet, and Paul, Les, Chester and Lester
• BlueHighways TV Radio Sampler - Volume One
• Lewis, Jerry Lee, A Half Century of Hits
• Morrison, Dave, A Little Further Down the Line
• Putumayo Presents: Americana
• Sass!, Album One
• Richey, Kim, Chinese Boxes
• Thompson, Linda, Versatile Heart
• Wounded Heart of America (Tom Russell Songs)

The two Chet Atkins CD's mostly contain instrumentals. They don't particularly fit with my show, or resonate with me personally, but I included them on the list because of the quality of the music.

Dave Morrison's strength is his songwriting more than his musicianship. Many of his songs touch on themes of aging and loss. We seem to get quite a few CD's by singer/songwriter types. In many cases, the lyrics are not particularly good. Dave Morrison joins Dennis Caraher and Kate Blain on the list of songwriters who impressed me.

Sass! is a duo I had not heard before. They're good musically, and have clever lyrics. Many of their songs are humorous.

Most of the songs on Linda Thompson's album didn't quite resonate with me as far as the lyrics go, but the musicianship was excellent, and she has such a good voice, a voice that is rich with emotion.