August Vine Leftovers

Yesterday I had the chance to pick up a couple of additional selections from the August Vine newsletter. Continuing with my strong preference toward new music, I went for my biggest stretch selection to date. Lee Ritenour and Dave Grusin are known as jazz and classical musicians and composers. Grusin's piano work can be found in the movie scores of On Golden Pond, Tootsie, and The Firm. Their new collaboration, Amparo, is supposed to have South American and classical influences.

In addition to the CD, I picked up what sounds like a very interesting book. I have been interested in Billy the Kid ever since the Young Guns movies back when I was in high school. The historical fiction novel Lucky Billy sounded too interesting for me to pass up.

On a final note, my review of This Storm from Sonya Kitchell is now up. I thought this was a really good CD. Follow the link for why...

Until next time...
PH

Amazon Vine Review: Red Cadillac

My Vine CDs from last week showed up, and I've been putting them through the paces in preparation for writing my reviews. I just finished one for Red Cadillac by Johnny Rawls. Follow the link to get the skinny... I'm still forming my opinions on This Storm from Sonya Kitchell, but I should have it reviewed in the next day or so.

Until next time...
PH

August on the Vine

Today is Vine day for August, and I was delighted to find a couple of new CDs to give a spin. The first is the sophomore release from indie folk singer Sonya Kitchell titled This Storm. Head over to her MySpace page for a few full length songs from this upcoming CD. The second is from bluesman Johnny Rawls. Red Cadillac has been out for a few weeks, but I had not heard of it prior to today. It is a bit different than what makes up the majority of my collection, but a few of my previous Vine CDs have been too. Johnny's home page has three full length tracks on the "listen to music" page. I think both of these are going to be really good. Stay tuned for my reviews in the next couple of weeks.

Until next time...
PH

Amy Macdonald - Primed for Stardom

A few weeks ago I mentioned a CD that I had gotten through the Amazon Vine program from Amy Macdonald. Her debut CD, This Is the Life, officially came out today, and it has been met with much fanfare. Here's what the Star Telegram had to say about it. Based on my memory over the last year, this is the only selection to be met with this much publicity. It has been hovering between to 20 and top 10 in sales on Amazon for the last few days. Remember, you heard about her here first!

Until next time...
PH

Amazon Vine Review: Geekspeak

I've just finished reading Geekspeak, and my review is up on Amazon for your edification. You may find it interesting at times and funny at others, but don't expect it to be everything it's cracked up to be. Follow the link for the gory details.

Until next time...
PH

Amazon Reivew: Two Men With The Blues

Last month a couple of legends in the music industry released a true masterpiece. Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis collaborated for a live performance that someone was smart enough to roll tape on. The result is Two Men With The Blues, and you can learn more about it in my review on Amazon.

Until next time...
PH

July Vine Leftovers

I'm a bit behind with posts so this is already a little stale. A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to pick up a couple of additional items from the July Vine newsletter from Amazon. I have already posted my review of Brendan James' debut CD The Day Is Brave. It's different than the typical music I listen to, but it might be right up your alley. I hesitate a bit to mention my other selection, but here goes. They had a math related book, and I thought it sounded interesting. So I took a flier on the book Geekspeak: How Life + Mathematics = Happiness. I'm about half way through, but I have a long way to go as to what I might actually say about it. Stay tuned.

Until next time...
PH