Best Traditional Folk
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"At the present moment I'm not sure what to say about this album other than that it is absolutely the Music of the Elves, and that if you're at all interested in the properties of Elf-power you'd do well to buy this recording and listen to it in whichever format fills you with the most peace and joy."
"I have been a fan of the ISB since this album came out over 40 years ago."
"Always loved this album."
"When I listen to this album, I know that even the parts of my life that haven't been a success really don't matter."
"Some other listener wrote that hearing the songs was a meditation experience, or something to that effect."
"This is a strange and beautiful classic folk music album from the '60s."
"These guys are great, and difficult to explain."
"I absolutely love this album."
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Three of Ruth's children (Mike, Peggy and Penny Seeger), four of her grandchildren (Sonya Cohen, Calum MacColl, Kitty MacColl and Kim Seeger) and Ewan MacColl, father of Calum and Kitty (their mother was Peggy), took part in the project. The first eleven tracks are about stars, shepherds, sheep and a journey to Bethlehem, so - you must wait till track fifteen (Baby born today) to actually hear about the birth. There is variety in the arrangements - some solo, some duets and some choral - with various instruments being used, or sometimes none at all."
"In the 1940s composer/folklorist Ruth Crawford Seeger assembled a collection of traditional American Christmas songs from Library of Congress field recordings, old manuscripts and WPA collections into a landmark book, "American Folk Songs for Christmas"."
"Nostalgia for the Holidays."
"Classic songs sung in a simple manner with the minimum of accompaniment - guitar, zither."
"This album contains 53 American folk songs for Christmas from Ruth Crawford Seeger's work as performed by her children Mike, Penny and Penny Seeger and their families. If you are not interested in American folk music, you may find the two cd's too much of a good thing."
"She was a composer. and friend of Aaron Copland, and she loved to collect songs and arrange them to be sung and played for and by. children and young people. Mike and Peggy Seeger and members of their families sing and play these beautiful. and mostly unknown songs in the true spirit of music, that is to say, without self-conscious reverence."
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Two great musicians having a great time."
"This was a great CD, on album by MOFI is a must in your vinyl collection."
"What a great CD! You have the great sound of Jerry Garcia which is Clasic but then adding David Grisman to the mix is unreal!"
"The songs are absolutely classics, imminently deserving of preservation."
"An awesome disc."
"Your missing some great music by these two artists,excellent disc."
"Jerry Garcia and David Grisman (who plays a mighty mean mandolin) collaborated on a number of acoustic albums together, and this one, a collection of acoustic old time folk and traditional songs, is one of the best."
"You will wear this CD out, the music is so beautiful."
Best Renaissance (c.1450-1600)
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Wonderful, relaxing holiday music."
"Gorgeous music!"
"CD had a great collection of songs!"
"Great collection."
"I gave this as a Christmas gift and the receipient was charmed by the sounds of the Middle Ages."
"A Feast of Songs is a gorgeous journey through a millennia of different cultural takes on the Christmas theme."
Best Traditional British & Celtic Folk
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Wonderful, relaxing holiday music."
"Gorgeous music!"
"CD had a great collection of songs!"
"Great collection."
"I gave this as a Christmas gift and the receipient was charmed by the sounds of the Middle Ages."
"A Feast of Songs is a gorgeous journey through a millennia of different cultural takes on the Christmas theme."
Best Contemporary Folk
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Figuring the name of the song was "Shiver Me Timbers" I searched Amazon's music and found that the song is on a 1974 album by Tom Waits called The Heart of Saturday Night, and it is titled "Shiver Me Timbers.""
"Just sit back and absorb all of the sounds of this album,the next thing you know your very relaxed and wanting more."
"when I read the discription, on this posting, that said "The SHM-CD [Super High Material CD] format features enhanced audio quality through the use of a special polycarbonate plastic" I thought this had some fantastic new sound but nowhere on this cd or the jacket(inside or outside) does it say anything about this SHM-CD."
"The sonics on this particular CD certainly reveal much that is available to the discerning (and demanding) audiophile."
"This was a gift that was much appreciated from a Tom Waits' fan."
"As good as Nighthawks at the Diner."
Best Compilations
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Wonderfully arranged CD, capturing the spirit of Christmas."
"Old world Christmas tunes played with old world instruments and some wonderful harmonies as in "What Child is This", this is a wonderful addition to any Christmas music collection."
"It has a lot of good tracks with nice acoustic guitar playing."
"Buy this!"
"Dan Fogelberg has one of the voices that is made for Christmas music."
"Beautiful, joyful, haunting, reverent -- everything true Christmas music should be: a classic of Christian spiritual music for today."
"Had no idea he had done a Christmas album or that he personally enjoyed Celtic music."
"It's old (1999) but excellent!"
Best Live Recordings
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The Vietnam War, the assassinations of public figures, and seeing part of my city burn the previous summer during riots-- it was a lot to handle. The first side of the record ends with the sad longing and fears of Old Friends, who sit on a park bench and reminisce together. The fears and sadness of 1968 are long past, but a final memory remains: As I lay in bed early that Christmas Eve, the colored glow of tree lights seeped into my room. Off in the distance were disembodied television voices of Apollo astronauts circling the moon-- they read passages from the book of Genesis, and wished well the "people of the good Earth.""
"The Vietnam War, the assassinations of public figures, and seeing part of my city burn the previous summer during riots-- it was a lot to handle. The original first side of the record ends with the sad longing and fears of Old Friends, who sit on a park bench and reminisce together. The fears and sadness of 1968 are long past, but a final memory remains: As I lay in bed early that Christmas Eve, the colored glow of tree lights seeped into my room. Off in the distance were disembodied television voices of Apollo astronauts circling the moon-- they read passages from the book of Genesis, and wished well the "people of the good Earth.""
Best Jewish & Yiddish Music
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Very clear vocals, so easy to learn the songs."
"Love this CD!"
"The liner notes provide English transliteration of the Hebrew lyrics which is also really useful for those unfamiliar with the songs."
"I needed an album just to help me renember some words to holiday songs."
"I bought it for assisted living residents and they sing a lot with it and love it."
"Here is a collection, basically Hebrew - there are some English and Yiddish songs too - for a year of Sabbaths and Holidays."
"He is a wonderful Jewish performer and singer."
"They lack the holiday spirit!"