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When Vintage Becomes Timeless

DAVID IAN did it in 2011 with Vintage Christmas, and does it again in 2012 with Vintage Christmas Wonderland: gather the combo, pare the set list to five songs and deliver a Christmas gem.
by David McGee
 

 
 
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Shimmying Down the Chimney

Not wanting to be the only artist on the planet without a Christmas album, MARIA MULDAUR delivers a holiday evergreen in MIDNIGHT AT THE OASIS, recorded live in San Francisco.
by David McGee
 

 

 
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In Which He Keeps Christmas Well

The old curmudgeon, you ask? No, NICK LOWE is now the old sentimentalist, complete with his own Christmas album, QUALITY STREET. Be ye not dismayed: it's unlike other Yule fare.
by David McGee
 

 
 
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Essential Sondheim

STEPHEN SONDHEIM's life and music, inextricably linked, are explored in captivating fashion in the new HBO documentary, SIX BY SONDHEIM, airing through December. Review herein.
by David McGee
 

 

 
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Christmas Beyond the Blue

BLUES, BLUES CHRISTMAS VOLUME 3 leads this revised and updated review of four essential blues Christmas albums, including last year's DEATH MIGHT BE YOUR SANTA CLAUS
by David McGee
 

 
 
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Very Mary Indeed

Unquestionably the top new Christmas release of 2013, A MARY CHRISTMAS, the DAVID FOSTER-produced holiday long player from MARY J. BLIGE, is an instant soul Christmas classic.
by David McGee
 

 

 
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The Game of Love

BEFORE THE WORLD WAS MADE Brennen Leigh & Noel McKay B&N In a world festering with male-female duos, Austin’s Brennen Leigh & Noel McKay have some clear advantages over the competition. For starters, their dress i...
by David McGee
 

 
 
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Union Avenue Communiqué

THE HOWLIN' BROTHERS went to Memphis's legendary SUN STUDIOS and cut an impressive six-song EP as a stopgap between their acclaimed debut album, released earlier this year, and their new CD, due in Feb. 2014.
by David McGee
 

 

 
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Cowboys, Blues and Cowboy Blues

GARY ALLEGRETTO and IAN ESPINOZA have teamed up on a debut CD of cowboy love songs, cowboy blues, tall tales of legendary characters, love ballads and even Delta blues-style originals.
by David McGee
 

 
 
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Claire in Autumn

Although Claire Lynch’s exceptional Compass label debut, Dear Sister, was released at the end of May, at the height of Spring, it has the reflective, contemplative feel of an autumnal missive.
by David McGee
 

 

 
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Samantha Fish, In Progress

SAMANTHA FISH has sidestepped the sophomore jinx on her outstanding MIKE ZITO-produced second album, BLACK WIND HOWLIN'. Still a work in progress, she's showing admirable growth both vocally and instrumentally, and is becoming ...
by David McGee
 

 
 
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And Lo, She Flies

Violinist, guitarist and master of the cwrth, EMERALD RAE emerges as a serious singer-songwriter on IF ONLY I COULD FLY.
by David McGee