Best albums, May 2011

Of the albums that arrived in the station in May, 2011, my favorite was All over the Map by Philip Teumim.  It has humorous songs, including one about a colonoscopy, and serious songs, including "In My Back Yard" about wind power and "In the Promised Land" about hoping for peace in the Middle East.

The runner up was Thank You Tom Paxton by Tim Grimm. I like Tom Paxton songs, but I think I'd rather hear them performed by Tom Paxton himself, though Tim Grimm does a good job of it.  I was happy to hear one of my favorite singers, Joe Crookston, on one of the tracks.

Also noteworthy was A Nod to Bob 2: An Artists' Tribute to Bob Dylan on his 70th Birthday.  Since I like Bob Dylan's songwriting more than his singing, I prefer his songs to be performed by people other than himself.  The songs seemed to match the performers.  That is, the songs came across as being particularly suited for whoever was singing them, rather than coming across as being similar because they were all written by the same person.

Often, when I start listening to a song and hear just the instruments, I really like it, but then when I hear the vocals, I don't like it any more.  Such was the case with Through a Fogged Glass by Wes Swing.  I do plan to play the instrumental piece "Instrumental I" on my show, but I don't plan to play any of the tracks with vocals.  His singing has a modern, indie style.  I prefer the old-fashioned singing style of the Weavers.