Two Words, One Answer.
Mockingbird
 Mockingbird $15.98 Every bit as big a firebrand as her husband, the uber-maverick Steve Earle, Allison Moorer has shown herself capable of immersing herself in very roots-oriented music throughout her careeer, usually that combination of rock, R&B, folk, and country called "Americana." Her last two albums, 2004's THE DUEL and 2006's GETTING SOMEWHERE, were tremendous examples of her approach. Her newest one, MOCKINGBIRD, continues that tradition of hers. Ironically enough, given her considerable songwriting pedigree, which would leave Nashville beet-red with her intelligent approach, only one song on this twelve-song CD, namely the title track, is written by Allison herself. Assisted here by producer and Americana master Buddy Miller, Allison largely weaves her way through favorite cover songs, including a slowed-down version of Johnny Cash's 1963 smash "Ring Of Fire", and the Joni Mitchell classic "Both Sides Now" (immortalized by Judy Collins in 1968), alongside more contemporary material like Gillian Welch's "Revelator" and Julie Miller's "Orphan Train." There's enough country instrumentation on here to give MOCKINGBIRD the required rootsiness that is part-and-parcel of Allison's approach, but there's also the Memphis/Muscle Shoals R&B influences that have informed her music too. Having one heck of a deep voice that can handle country and R&B about as well as any contemporary female artist this side of Sheryl Crow, Allison has been a genuine force to be reckoned with for a long time now; and MOCKINGBIRD continues down that path brilliantly.  To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Perennial Modern Classics) $15.99 Just revisited this gem of a coming-of-age novel after about 20 years, and it's still every bit as striking as it was back then. Scout Finch will always stay as one of my favourite characters of all time as she witnesses the goings-on of Maycomb county where she is growing up in post-Depression America way in the Deep South where prejudice against the blacks was still rampant. Written almost 40 years ago, the issues of what makes a person human, what courage means, how bigotry and ignorance begets prejudice and becomes a threat to the individual, the family and society, are all still valid issues we're grappling with today. Narrated through the innocent perspective of a child, the novel is so much more poignant for the unadulterated logic a child possesses and becomes a foil for the folly and terror of man's ways. Saying any more than this about this timeless classic would only take time away from actually reading the novel. Please read it.  Mockingbird (S.F.Masterworks S.) $30.98 I received no update on my purchase. Repeated attempts to contact seller were not responded to. I never did recieve the product. |
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