At The Monterey Jazz Festival - Woody Herman

Advantages: A great Christmas collection
Disadvantages: Inappropriate for playing in July

...“Snowed In” is an excellent album, capturing the festive spirit of Christmas. This was recorded in a hurry which is evident in some of the songs, where normally Hanson would re-record until everything is perfect. This is only a minor detail and doesn’t affect the enjoyment of the CD in the least. The collection of songs is good, including a jazzed up version of “Little Saint Nick” with a few lyric changes. There is also a medley of Christmas carols which is brilliantly arranged and very touching as well as three new songs written by Hanson. One of these, 'Christmas Time' is excellent and deserves to become a classic Christmas song years from now. A fantastic Christmas offering from Hanson, this CD is definitely worth buying.... Read review

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Advantages: For folkies everywhere
Disadvantages: Not for rockers

...Fortune Street is Bostonian Alistair Moock's fifth album and he presents nine original songs and one cover. The album was recorded in just five days and Moock says that "it was the most fun I've had making an album". The eponymous title track opens this album and highlights Moock's slight gruff quality to his voice. It's a sedate opener, played in the open key of E that is firmly in the Americana fold. Yin Yang Blues is a quirky blues and Woody's Lament is Americana again. These gentle acoustic sounds blend into Moock's understated guitar and Sean Staples' vocal. This is a Woody Guthrie tribute with some harmony that confirms Moock's citation that "Woody Guthrie is the reason I'm a songwriter". Swing That Axe is old style folk blended with jazz and is a well executed good time song. God Saw Fit To Make Tears is a lovely title... Read review

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Advantages: Uneasy Marriage of Titles
Disadvantages: Is this the same group

...toll. Delay after delay resulted in Smile being shelved. Brian's dream lay unfufilled for 34 years until it burst onto a slightly more mature (but the same!) public. It is still ahead of its time. The expectations that were raised by the possible release of Brian's masterpiece were turned on their head by the release of Smiley Smile. Its hard to believe that anything that contained versions of Good Vibrations and Heroes and Villains could have been considered anything other than a success. They had however been major hits just recently and had figured in at least one or two album releases. 1967 had turned pop culture on its head. The Monterey Pop Festival was a watershed in the change between good time music and an inward-looking, antimaterilistic culture, acid rock and other forms of "new" music which had bubbled under the surface had... Read review

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