This Weeks Play List

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band – Hammersmith Odeon London ’75 (2006)
So, now it is official: We are playing music from this heavily bootlegged concert, considered by many to be one of the great E Street shows. The energy, the excitement, the risks, they are all here. It is a great show and worth having in your collection, even if you now also own the DVD.

Melissa McClelland – Stranded in Suburbia (2004)
When I saw Luke Doucet in concert, Melissa was his partner on stage. She is also his new partner in real life and they were just so cute together on stage. Melissa has a great voice (you don’t get to sing backup on a Sarah McLachlan tour without the pipes). It might be easy to compare her songs to Avril Lavigne, but there is so much more. Listening to the songs, this appears to be a woman who knows how beautiful she is yet is still insecure. She puts on a tough outer exterior, but is scared on the inside. I believe she has a CD coming out this month in Canada. I can’t wait to see the growth over the last 2 years. You can find out more at Melissa’s site: http://www.melissamcclelland.com/

Beth Orton – Comfort of Strangers (2006)
To be honest, I first discovered Beth upon hearing “Central Reservation” from 1999. I loved the moody atmosphere of the CD and the single, “Stolen Car”. Nothing she did before or has done since has been quite like it. For many casual fans that meant disappointment. Well, it has been 7 years and it is time to put that behind us (myself included here). This new CD from Beth Orton does not have the atmosphere, and I don’t know if I’ve changed more than she has, but I love it that way. I was really surprised at how I found myself not wanting to take this CD out of my player. There are great melodies and rhythms here to keep your foot taping and your mind thinking. This may become my favorite Beth CD.

Jim Wolf – No Sleep What-so-ever (2005)
Indie artist Jim Wolf has some great tunes on this new CD. I really enjoyed it. There is a strong pop sense here with good production. Worth checking out at: http://www.jimwolf.com .