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"Myself When I Am Real" (09/10/2002) Folk Norman, Bebo, Brentwood RecordsPersonnel: Bebo Norman (vocals, acoustic guitar); Jerry McPherson (electric guitar); Ed Cash (guitar, strings, keyboards); Carl Hergsell (keyboards); Craig Young (bass); Dan Needham (drums, percussion, programming). Recorded at Ed's, Franklin, Tennessee. With a few solid and successful albums already behind him, Christian pop singer-songwriter Bebo Norman takes the title of MYSELF WHEN I AM REAL literally, splicing away any layers of sonic distraction in favor of a more roots-oriented approach that spotlights the melodies and messages of his songs. This isn't exactly a lo-fi recording; there are plenty of panoramic moments, but there's more of an organic quality to the production and arrangements, as warm-sounding acoustic guitars mix with the plangent electric instruments, and Norman's inviting voice sails over the top. While there are plenty of full-speed-ahead pop-rockers here, it's telling that Bebo himself feels one of the key tracks to be "Great Light of the World," an acoustic guitar-driven, waltz-time ballad that offers simultaneously one of the most introspective and most faith-oriented lyrics on the album.

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"Butt Naked Free" (03/14/2000) Folk Davis, Guy, Red House RecordsPersonnel includes: Guy Davis (vocals, 6- & 12-string guitars, steel bodied dobro, harmonica, tambourine); T-Bone Wolke (mandolin, accordion, Hammond B-3 organ, electric bass); John Platana (guitar, tambourine); Levon Helm (mandolin, drums); Mark Murphy (acoustic double bass); Gary Burke (percussion). Recorded at The Club House, Germantown, New York. Armed with both 6- and 12-string guitars and an engagingly raspy singing style, Guy Davis carries on the legacy of country-blues alongside a small class of younger musicians that includes Keb' Mo, Corey Harris and Alvin Youngblood-Hart. On his fourth album, Davis pens a broad range of songs that touch on broken dreams ("Raining In My Soul"), teenage femme fatales ("Sugarbelle Blue") and high-stakes gambling ("Waiting On The Cards To Fall"). Family serves as important motivation for this raconteur (whose parents are actors Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee). Results of this inspiration include the fleet-fingered instrumental "The Place Where I Come From (Butt Naked Free)" inspired by Davis' then infant son's crazy-legs dance and the jaunty "Ain't No Bluesman," written for this same child to sing when he got older. Elsewhere, Davis looked to Blind Willie McTell for a strolling version of his "Writing Paper Blues" (fleshed out by organist T-Bone Walk and drummer Levon Helm). Other highlights include the bittersweet "Let Me Stay Awhile" and "High Flying Rocket," a humorous sexual ode rife with double-entendres.

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"Return of the Wayfaring Stranger" (03/14/2006) Folk Ives, Burl, Collectables RecordsContains 11 bonus tracks. Originally released on Columbia Records (CL 1459).

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"The Very Best of Peter, Paul & Mary [Slipcase]" (08/23/2005) Folk Peter, Paul & Mary, Rhino Records (USA)Peter, Paul & Mary: Noel "Paul" Stookey, Peter Yarrow (vocals, acoustic guitar); Mary Travers (vocals). Recording information: 1962 - 2003. With their beautiful harmony vocals and gentle melodies, Peter, Paul & Mary were the most popular folk act of the 1960s. While Bob Dylan was unquestionably the genre's most influential and revered performer by the mid-1960s, it was Peter Yarrow, Noel Paul Stookey, and Mary Travers who helped him to reach a larger audience with their accessible '63 renditions of his "Blowin' in the Wind" and "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right." In addition to Dylan, the group also championed the work of Gordon Lightfoot and John Denver, most notably with the wanderlust tales "For Lovin' Me" and "Leaving on a Jet Plane" (a runaway hit in '69), respectively. All of the aforementioned tunes are presented on THE VERY BEST OF PETER, PAUL & MARY, a 25-track set carefully compiled by the trio itself. This 2005 collection focuses almost exclusively on the '60s and '70s work of PP&M, with the exception of the deceptively breezy "El Salvador" (from '86) and 2003's "Don't Laugh at Me," which finds the threesome in fine voice more than 40 years after the group was founded in New York City's Greenwich Village. Also included are three early-'70s solo tracks--one apiece by Yarrow, Stookey, and Travers--rounding out this wonderfully selected disc, which is a must for any folk collection.

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"The Gathering of Spirits" (09/17/2002) Folk Newcomer, Carrie, PhiloPersonnel: Carrie Newcomer (vocals, guitar); Alison Krauss, Beth Lodge-Rigal, David Weber (vocals); Keith Skooglund (acoustic & electric guitars); Sam Bartlett (banjo); Chris Wagoner (dobro, mandolin, violin, accordion); Mary Gaines (cello, acoustic bass); Winton Reynolds (piano, Wurlitzer piano, Hammond B-3 organ); Dan Lodgel-Rigal (piano); Jeff Hedback (electric bass); Jim Brock (drums, percussion). Recorded at Airtime Studios, Echo Park Studios, Bloomington, Indiana, Ocean Way Recording Studio, Nashville, Tennessee.

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"Firecracker *" (06/06/2006) Folk Wailin' Jennys (The), Red House RecordsThe Wailin' Jennys: Ruth Moody (vocals, acoustic guitar, banjo, accordion); Annabelle Chvostek (vocals, acoustic guitar, mandolin, violin); Nicky Mehta (vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica). Additional personnel include: Mike Hardwick (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, dobro); Richard Moody (violin, viola); David Travers-Smith (trumpet, horns, organ, percussion); Joe Phillips (acoustic bass); Christian Dugas (drums).

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"The Essential Pete Seeger" (04/19/2005) Folk Seeger, Pete, Legacy RecordingsPersonnel: Pete Seeger (vocals, 6-string guitar, 12-string guitar, banjo); The Almanac Singers, The Weavers. Liner Note Author: Dave Marsh. Recording information: 1941 - 1967. The impact of Pete Seeger's music, performances, and political activism has been enormous. In a league with Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan, Seeger lifted the torch of both traditional folk and the protest song in the 1940s, and kept it burning brightly for decades. THE ESSENTIAL PETE SEEGER sets itself the task of fitting the artist's most important recordings onto one disc. Naturally, a lot of significant material goes missing, but the 15 tracks here provide an excellent cursory overview of the man's accomplishments. This 2005 collection kicks off with one of Seeger's best-known compositions, "If I Had a Hammer," an inspirational tune that became an anthem of struggle in the 1960s. "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?," another Seeger-penned classic, is also here, while his versions of traditional songs ("Barbara Allen" and "John Henry") prove that he is as gifted as an archivist and interpreter as a songwriter. Whether singing the music of his comrades Woody Guthrie ("This Land Is Your Land") and Leadbelly ("Goodnight Irene" with the Weavers) or inspiring the masses with "We Shall Overcome," the size of Seeger's legend is justly outlined. Excellent liner notes and testimonials from friends and fans (including Joan Baez, Billy Bragg, and Roger McGuinn) help make this a fine introduction.

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"The Very Best of Judy Collins" (08/21/2001) Folk Collins, Judy, Elektra EntertainmentThis compilation features selections from 9 albums originally released on Elektra between 1964 and 1975. Personnel includes: Judy Collins (vocals, acoustic guitar, piano, electric piano); Joshua Rifkin, Jonathan Tunick (arranger); Stephen Stills (acoustic & electric guitars, bass); Eric Weissberg (acoustic guitar, acoustic bass); Steve Mandell, Bucky Pizzarelli (acoustic guitar); James Burton, Ry Cooder (electric guitar); Buddy Emmons (pedal steel guitar); Van Dyke Parks, Michael Sahl (piano); Bill Takas, Bob Daugherty (acoustic bass); Chris Ethridge, Gene Taylor, Russell George, Don Payne (bass); Jim Gordon (drums, percussion); Susan Evans (drums); Ray Baretto (conga, bongos); Allan Schwartzberg (percussion). Producers: Marc Abramson, Jac Holzman, David Anderle, Judy Collins, Arif Mardin. Compilation producers: Judy Collins, Patrick Milligan. Includes liner notes by Judy Collins and Gillian Gaar. Digitally remastered by Alan Silverman (Arf! Digital, New York, New York).

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"Songs of the Old Regular Baptists: Lined-Out Hymnody From Southeastern Kentucky Vol. 2" (09/13/2005) Folk Various Artists, Smithsonian Folkways RecordingsRecording information: 1989 - 1991.

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"Anthology of American Folk Music [Box]" (01/04/2005) Folk Various Artists, Smithsonian Folkways RecordingsThis newly remastered six-CD box set is a reissue of the six-LP set compiled by folk archivist Harry Smith in 1952. Some of the many artists influenced by this collection of field recordings from the '20s and '30s are Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Jerry Garcia, Joan Baez and Peter, Paul & Mary. The ANTHOLOGY contains a 100-page booklet that incorporates Smith's original annotations, archival photos, graphics and testimonials by well-known musical figures including Elvis Costello, Dave Van Ronk and Eric von Schmidt. The final disc of this 6 CD set contains a multimedia portion which provides a hypertext essay of images, text, and additional information. Recorded between 1926 and 1932. Includes liner notes by Greil Marcus, Anthony Seeger, Amy Horowitz, Jon Pankake, Luis Kemnitzer, Moses Asch, Harry Smith, Neil V. Rosenberg and Jeff Place. Digitally remastered by Dave Glasser and Charlie Pilzer. ANTHOLOGY OF AMERICAN FOLK MUSIC won the 1998 Grammy Awards for Best Album Notes and Best Historical Album. This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files. This six-CD box set is nothing less than a blueprint for virtually every form of 20th Century pop music. A staggering compendium of the varied but closely connected styles of early American music, the ANTHOLOGY collects folk, blues, hillbilly, and church music to present a textured and unbelievably rich tapestry. This collection's worth as both a historical document and a source of infinite delight cannot be overstated. Folk archivist Harry Smith envisioned the project and compiled these 78s in 1952. His choice of material reveals not only his impeccable taste but also the spirit of true democratic humanity, manifested and reflected in song. Recorded largely in the rural South of the early '20s and '30s, the ANTHOLOGY covers forlorn ballads of lost love, Creole chants, Christian hymns, deep swamp blues, novelty songs, political music, and innumerable tunes that dazzle with their melodic and rhythmic charms and risks. Included here are many legends of roots music, including The Carter Family, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Charlie Patton, Dock Boggs, and Mississippi John Hurt, as well as dozens of others less heard. Make no mistake. This definitive examination of the roots of America's musical family tree is of monumental importance. It belongs in every music lover's library.

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"The Wayfaring Stranger" (03/14/2006) Folk Ives, Burl, Collectables RecordsTracks 1-26 originally released on Columbia Records (CL 628).