Living in Oblivion, Vol. 4

reviewed by Jill Hill

Originally published on April 1, 1999

At this point my peculiar backseat CD player needs one more CD to fill it up. I have an attachment to eighties music, and Living in Oblivion: Vol. 4 contains such “I want my MTV” classics as “Dance Hall Days,” “True,” and “Come On Eileen.” I never bought any music from the early eighties. Somehow [...]

Dwight Live

reviewed by Jill Hill

Originally published on April 1, 1999

His popularity is in many ways baffling. He is not a great singer or a good-looking man, nor does he have good hair – things many popular country singers possess … He does have a dirty sexiness and passion for his music…

Trading With the Enemy

reviewed by Carey Dean Potash

Originally published on March 1, 1999

Xylophone players around the world are rejoicing. Seen by many as a faux instrument, lumped somewhere in the bell family, and barely ahead of the triangle in the evolutionary chain of high school band instruments, the xylophone lacks the brashness of the electric guitar or the coolness of the drums. I wonder if Barrett Martin [...]

Hourly, Daily

reviewed by Carey Dean Potash

Originally published on March 1, 1999

Hourly, Daily. That’s about how often I’ve been listening to this album. The pleasing pop melodies and harmonic simplicity have put a strangle hold on me as of late – monopolizing my CD player. These three guys from Australia fit the “rocker” stereotype like a wet rubber glove. They have enormous appetites for beer, they [...]

Whitey Ford Sings the Blues

reviewed by Jill Hill

Originally published on March 1, 1999

I drive a big new maroon and bronze two-tone Ford F-150 XLT. It gets 17 miles to a gallon, which is an improvement over the white Tahoe I just sold. The main trouble with the truck is that the CD player is in the back seat. Once I load up the six CD’s, I’d rather [...]

Human Being

reviewed by Jill Hill

Originally published on March 1, 1999

Weird sums up the liner notes on this CD. I have 20/20 vision, but I can’t read the three-point script. I am unsure if the words are lyrics, ramblings, prayers, curses, e-mail, fan letters or a combination of these things. Actually, I am quite sure they are not lyrics in the traditional sense, maybe springboards [...]

Jubilee

reviewed by Carey Dean Potash

Originally published on February 1, 1999

“Jubilee is a tasty jambalaya of whiskey-swiggin’ ragtime and Americana folk-rock (though they’re not shy about cranking up the guitars either)….”

Canticles of Ecstasy

reviewed by Jill Hill

Originally published on February 1, 1999

“Hildegard von Bingen was a visionary who lived a cloistered life in the twelfth century. She lived a life of devoted faith and saw visions of God and the cosmos that were uniquely her own….”

Rock of Ages

reviewed by Jill Hill

Originally published on February 1, 1999

“[T]he choir is on key. They sing the parts, but they sound over-rehearsed and emotionally vacant. Only the organist, who plays on the grand Tabernacle organ, sounds infused with fervor….”

Black Music

reviewed by Carey Dean Potash

Originally published on February 1, 1999

“I consider any musician with big enough malt balls to call himself Chocolate Genius to be worth checking out….”