What's your latest "Discovery"

The disc that has gotten the most spin-time in the last few days has been Johnny Cash's most recent disc entitled "American IV: The Man Comes Around". This is a pretty interesting disc as it sounds like the voice that we've always recognized but he's covering "Hurt" by Nine Inch Nails, Bridge Over Troubled Waters" by Simon & Garfunkel, "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" as popularized by Roberta Flack, "I Hung My Head" by Sting ( or is it "Stink" ??? ), "Personal Jesus" by Depeche Mode, "In My Life" by Lennon & McCartney, "Desperado" by the Eagles, "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" by Hank Williams, etc... along with a handful of Cash originals.

The funny thing is, Johnny has a way of taking such diverse songs as those listed above and making them sound like they were all his to begin with. The familiarity of each song with the familiarity of his voice makes them all seem like he's sung them all along. It is both an interesting and enjoyable disc from a truly classic "old timer". Check it out. Sean
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Recently I decided to pig out and get every Walker Brothers/Scott Walker (solo through early 70's) import reissue CD that I didn't already own on original vinyl, rendering my compilation CD redundant and filling in all the previously missing album cuts and bonus-track single-only sides. An acquired taste maybe, and perhaps a little excessive indulgence even for those who have it, but like eating potato chips once you've gotten hooked. If you can tolerate deep and exagerated male vocal stylings, and enjoy overblown Spector-ish pop consisting mainly of heavily orchestrated ballads, lyrics that wallow in pathos, and that big British studio 60's sound - and think every time you happen to catch "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" on oldies radio that it beats the hell out any Righteous Brothers you've ever heard - there's lots available now.

Old "Pre-Stax" Staple Singers.

Bochherini.

Dorothy Love Coates.

Chess' Boxed set of Muddy Waters.

Big Maybelle Smith, "The Complete Okeh Sessions."

Bill Charlap trio "Stardust", playing the music of Hoagy Carmichael. The CD also features special guests Tony Bennett, Shirley Horn, Jim Hall, and Frank Wess. Tracks 1, 2 (Bennett), and 10 (Horn), have now made this a test CD for me. An aside... has anyone else has ever noticed how well Shirley Horn's voice, on any of her own albums too, reveals the strengths and weaknesses of a system.

I've been listening to The Cottars-"Made in Cape Breton" a lot and am getting into Ami DiFranco-"Evolve". She is an acquired taste but this cd is growing on me. Sean, thanks for the heads up on the New Jonny Cash. I'll have to check that out.