Greetings book worms. How is your April going? Did you conquer tax season? It’s a bit hard to believe April is almost over. But so far winter here still doesn’t want to go away. We had two freak snowstorms this past week — one on Tuesday and one on Friday. I took this photo from upstairs looking out the window. Oh my. It was a lot of snow at the time, but it should all melt away over the next couple of days. We’ll be back in the 50s and 60s soon.

Despite the weather, I got out to see a movie at a theater and a concert at a church this past week, which felt so weird after being cooped up the past two years from the pandemic. Not sure people know what to make of it yet, or whether to trust it fully — as if we might be hit with another wave and more isolation, but here we are for now. 

Meanwhile, you might remember that I missed putting out a preview of new releases this month as life was busy, but I want to just list some book titles now that look good in hindsight. April has had some big-named authors with new novels out, notably Emily St. John Mandel with Sea of Tranquility, Jennifer Egan with The Candy House, and Douglas Stuart with Young Mungo. Have you conquered any of these? I have not touched them yet. But I’m also looking to try out such novels as Sara Novic’s True Biz, Bonnie Garmus’s Lessons in Chemistry, and Annie Hartnett’s Unlikely Animals. I’ve seen some reviews of these popping up around the blogosphere that make me want to pick them up. What would you recommend for April books?

Last week as I mentioned I went to the movies on a snowy night and saw the British movie drama Mothering Sunday. Our book club had just discussed the novel by Graham Swift, which was good because it seemed helpful in following the movie since the storyline jumps back and forth a bit between the present and future of the character’s life.

There’s a kind of Downton Abbey feel to the movie since its set in 1924 and is about a maid (Jane Fairchild) who is in service at a wealthy estate. She’s secretly been involved for years with Paul Sheringham, the heir of a neighboring estate whose two brothers have died in WWI. But now he’s supposed to marry a daughter of a wealthy family friend, so this is apparently Paul and Jane’s last secret rendezvous together.

Oh it’s tough saying goodbye. And there’s a lot of nudity and cigarettes in the film. That’s the first thing you’ll notice. But actors Odessa Young and Josh O’Connor, who played in The Crown and Emma, seem to pull it off well. The movie follows the novel fairly closely, though the book is still a bit better, with the character’s inner thoughts and all. Still the movie is worth seeing and let me escape for a while to the British countryside and a mansion far far away. 

Then on Thursday we saw singer Frazey Ford and her band play at the Knox Church, which is a real church in town and a cool venue. She used to be with the Be Good Tanyas but now is usually found solo when she tours. She’s Canadian and lives in the Vancouver area so not sure how well-known she is in the States, but when I lived in Virginia the Be Good Tanyas played there.

She was really good this time and it was neat to see a concert after two years of not having any. But Frazey didn’t play much from her 2014 solo album Indian Ocean, which is my favorite, though she did sing one great song off that aptly called Done. She calls it her bitch anthem, and she surely kicks ass singing it. You can hear the video version of the song here. If you get a chance, see her live sometime. Her folky rock music is often groovy and bluesy.  

Lastly here’s a review of the novel I finished lately. 

Assembly by Natasha Brown / Little, Brown / 112 pages / 2021

This is a short British novel, which I listened to twice as an audiobook. It’s about a black woman who’s worked hard her whole life to attain the success she has in the finance industry … to get a slice of the middle class. Her white boyfriend, a politician, comes from an old moneyed family and she gets an invite to attend his parents’ upcoming lavish anniversary party, which she’s pondering. She also has a choice to make after she gets a breast cancer diagnosis from her doctor and has to decide what her follow-up will be. 

I liked the tone and astute narrator of the story — who seems to be going over her life assessing what she’s gone through to get where she is and what’s around her — though I found parts of it a bit hard to follow as it jumps around a little. The story seems to be the narrator’s examination and critique of British society on such things as: race, class, wealth, gender inequality, and the effects of colonialism. Whoa she cuts to the quick about it all. And it’s obvious she’s sick and tired of what she’s seen and experienced and the system as it is. I wanted to know a bit more about her life story and how she moved up the ranks etc., though the short novel seems mostly filled with her thoughts and whether she wants to keep going in such a society. I think this is my second or third novel this year that plays out like a modern-day Mrs. Dalloway with the party at the end hanging over the character. Virginia Woolf would be pleased with her ongoing popularity in today’s world.

Pippa Bennett-Warner, who reads the audiobook, does an excellent job as the character, and I will be curious to see what author Natasha Brown puts out next. 

That’s all for now. What about you — do you know any of these artists, and if so what did you think? 

Fall officially starts on Friday and it already feels like it’s here. Temperatures have dipped and the leaves are starting to turn yellow. It must mean the literary award season is upon us, and this past week the longlist for both the National Book Awards (U.S.) were announced as well as those for Canada’s Giller Prize. Out of the 10 that made the U.S. longlist for fiction, I’m keen to read Jesmyn Ward’s “Sing, Unburied, Sing,” Jennifer Egan’s “Manhattan Beach,” Min Jin Lee’s “Pachinko,” and Lisa Ko’s “The Leavers.” From the Canada fiction longlist, I’m most curious to read Rachel Cusk’s novel “Transit,” which apparently is the second book in a trilogy that began with “Outline.” So I need to start with that first. Both award lists will be cut to five finalists during the first week of October with the winners being announced in mid-November.

Also this past week, eyes were raised when three American authors made the shortlist for this year’s Man Booker Prize, which had been a literary award historically reserved for U.K. authors and those of the Commonwealth. The Brits are none too pleased to have the Booker Prize opened up the past few years to Americans; can you blame them? And the fact that many favorites failed to make the shortlist, including the novels of authors: Arundhati Roy, Kamila Shamsie, Irish authors Sebastian Barry and Mike McCormack, and British authors Zadie Smith and Jon McGregor (even American Colson Whitehead) shocked some critics and made others quite ticked. Instead this year’s Booker shortlist for fiction includes:

“4 3 2 1” by American Paul Auster
“Lincoln in the Bardo” by American George Saunders
“History of Wolves” by American debut author Emily Fridlund
“Exit West” by British-Pakistani author Mohsin Hamid
“Autumn” by British author Ali Smith
“Elmet” by British debut author Fiona Mozley

Who would have guessed this list? I’ve read “Exit West” and wanted more from it (sorry to those who thought it sublime) so I think that leaves it wide open for George Saunders to win. But while I still need to read “Lincoln in the Bardo” (many loved it), I’m sort of more curious now to read Emily Fridlund’s debut novel “History of Wolves.” Aren’t you? I remember when it came out in January, somehow I let it pass by not sure about it, but it’s received a lot of praise since then. And it sounds like a sense of foreboding and suspense permeate the novel about a 14-year-old girl’s awakenings as she confronts a web of mysteries in the icy woods of Minnesota. Hmm, I’ve read the ending is a bit disturbing and moving, but I want to check it out.

As for what I finished this week, I read with bated interest Chrissie Hynde’s memoir “Reckless: My Life as a Pretender,” which I should have raced through when it came out in 2015. Good grief, I was a big fan of hers back in the day, when Chrissie and the Pretenders put out their first few albums. Oh their music made an impact on my high school; it was cool stuff. Remember that punk phase in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s? I can’t say I was too huge into the music of the Clash, the Sex Pistols, or Iggy Pop, but I did fall for the sounds of David Bowie and the Pretenders. So I thought her rock memoir would be an interesting read.

Her book though is a bit of a curious thing. The first half is about her life growing up in Akron, Ohio, with her parents and brother, and how the times were a changin.’ The placement of highways and the removal of stores downtown, she says, ruined things for her city, and there was a disconnect between one’s parents and the generation coming of age in the ‘60s. From early on, Chrissie seemed a bit of a rebel and a tomboy who was only good at art in school and tried to hide her carousing and behavior from her folks. With her friends, she started getting into the radio tunes of the day and bumming rides to see shows.

Despite her poor record in school, Chrissie ended up attending Kent State University, where I didn’t realize she was one of those in the crowd on May 4, 1970, when four unarmed college students protesting the Vietnam War were shot and killed by members of the Ohio National Guard. One of her friends’ boyfriends was killed that day. As college progressed, Chrissie seemed to be getting more and more into the counter-culture life (the hippies and bikers) and experimenting with drugs, sex, and rock ‘n roll. She mentions seeing shows of the Stones, Bowie, and Iggy Pop as well dozens of others.

By 1973 at the age of 21, she was ready to bolt Ohio, and wound up in London, hanging around the British punk scene. This is where you think the book is right where you want it to be — at the heart of the music. And it is interesting the milieu she talks about. You get the picture of her: loving her new London environs, scraping by to make ends meet, listening to bands, and eventually coming to know various rockers such as Joe Strummer of the Clash, and Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols. She was right there in the thick of things, but man, there were a lot of drugs. It sounds like all those around the music scene, including Chrissie were — as she says — “truly fucked up most of the time, or at best, reeling from the effects of the day before.”

It gets pretty exhausting in the book all the drug use, which she laments looking back but says it was the defining characteristic of her generation. Her story mills about quite a while during her days figuring out her direction. It’s only the last 45 pages of the book where she talks about her band the Pretenders forming by lucky circumstance, which surprised me. It only covers her life up until the Pretender’s first two albums and their touring behind them with the four original members — two of whom overdosed and died thereafter, which altered the band’s course. It doesn’t get into her later family life, her marriages, or the rest of her career with the Pretenders, argh.

Despite being cut short, I thought the memoir was quite honest and insightful and also very modest of her talents and what she came to accomplish. Her writing in the book is quite good and paints the music scene of the 1960s and ‘70s well. It reminded me a bit of Bob Dylan’s 2004 memoir “Chronicles, Volume One” since it seems impressionistic about her life, the times, and the people she meets. It felt a tinge sad about regrets she’s come to live with and changes that came to pass. I was only sorry that the book didn’t include a bit more about the songs, where they came from, and her performing of them. Still I feel I know her a little bit better now (one of my rock singer heroes) and I’m glad that she was able to become drug-free in later life.

Also last week I finished the audiobook of Jean Pendziwol’s novel “The Lightkeeper’s Daughters,” which unravels the story about a woman’s past growing up on remote Porphyry Island on Lake Superior, where her father manned the lighthouse seventy years before. The story alternates chapters told by the woman (Elizabeth), who is elderly now and nearly blind, living in a senior facility and a delinquent teenage girl (Morgan) who comes to help Elizabeth figure out her past from old journals found amid the ruins of an old shipwreck.

What’s apparent is that Elizabeth was born and raised on the island with her parents, two brothers, and a mute twin sister Emily, but the gaps in the history of what happens to them unfolds as the story goes on.

Oh I really did want to love this novel, which is popular on Goodreads and has a great cover. And I did enjoy the storytelling in Part 2 particularly, and the setting on the island with the lighthouse was great. The characters were interesting too and I did get into the woman’s life story, but as it went along I found the amount of twists and secrets in it went overboard and strained my believability. The fates that tied together and the story’s details became a bit too convenient and too coincidental for me, not to mention a bit confusing. What is it about a lighthouse story that brings everything out of the woodworks?

Still I’m in the minority on this one, so if you like plot twists and family secrets in your novels, you’d probably like this one as well. It reminded me a little bit of a Kate Morton novel, if you like her tales.

What about you, have you read any of these books — and if so, what did you think?

Looking back on 2015, I had quite a good reading year. While my stats below don’t seem that impressive, I was happy with the quality of books and the array of literary gems I found. I’ve never been a speedy reader, I like to mosey and hold on to books that I’m reading for a while, dreaming about their worlds and narration, noting passages I like etc. Nor do I rush on to the next book very quickly. I need a down day or so before leaving one behind for the next author’s voice or book’s setting that enters my head. It’s just my meandering way I guess, and I always like to take time to write a review for each book.

I’m not sure if everyone saw the New York Times article about looking back on the year in book publishing, but I found it pretty interesting. It seems e-book sales surely tapered off this year, which is true for me as I don’t read many e-books compared to regular books, and audiobook sales soared, which is also true for me, since I started to regularly listen to audiobooks for the first time ever. I found them quite nice for dog walks, commuting, gardening, and even doing laundry, though they are a different experience than the process of reading, which is impossible to replace or enumerate all of its magic ways. Anyways, the article also mentions the proliferation this year of coloring books for adults, which is a trend I haven’t understood well or can’t fathom for myself, though they do seem a de-stresser for some. What an odd trend — don’t you think? The rest of the article speaks for itself. Now on to my 2015 stats and book favorites (which weren’t necessarily published in this year.)

44 Books Completed
30 Read books
14 Audio books
11 Nonfiction
33 Fiction
25 Female Authors
19 Male Authors

My Top 5 Favorite Nonfiction Books in 2015

The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of the Donner Party by Daniel James Brown
My Salinger Year by Joanna Rakoff
Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen by Mary Norris
On the Move: A Life by Oliver Sacks
Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg

My Favorite Novels in 2015

The Enchanted by Rene Denfeld
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Sweetland by Michael Crummey
Euphoria by Lily King
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
The Transcriptionist by Amy Rowland
The Dinner by Herman Koch
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
The Dog Stars by Peter Heller
My Sunshine Away by M.O. Walsh
Circling the Sun by Paula McLain
A Sudden Light by Garth Stein
Painted Horses by Malcolm Brooks
A Constellation of Vital Phenomenon by Anthony Marra
Stoner by John Williams
The Secret River by Kate Grenville
The Jaguar’s Children by John Vaillant
Long Man by Amy Greene

As for my rating of movies below: 3 stars means they were pretty good in places; 3.5 star movies are ones I found quite enjoyable; 4 stars means there was something special about the movie, and 5 means there’s various things I found that made it one heck of a film. I plan to see more movies that are nominated before the Academy Awards airs on Feb. 28.

Notable 2015 Movies I’ve Seen:

The Big Short (5 stars)
Spotlight (4.5 stars)
Steve Jobs (4 stars)
In the Heart of the Sea (3.5 stars)
Brooklyn (3.5 stars)
The Martian (3.5 stars)
The Lady in the Van (3.5 stars)
Bridge of Spies (3.5 stars)
I’ll See You in My Dreams (3.5 stars)
Woman in Gold (3.5 stars)
While We’re Young (3.5 stars)
The Intern (3.5 stars)
Ex-Machina (3 stars)
Trainwreck (3 stars)
Remember (3 stars)
Z for Zachariah (3 stars)
Clouds of Sils Maria (3 stars)
Mad Max: Fury Road (3 stars)

Notable 2015 Movies I Have Not Seen Yet:

Carol
The Revenant
Room
45 Years
The Danish Girl
Concussion
Son of Saul
Youth
Macbeth
Learning to Drive
Suffragette
Far From the Madding Crowd

Lastly, below are albums I liked this past year. I guess the genre I generally listen to these days might be labeled adult alternative or folk/country rock or whatever else have you. Three of the ones below are from Canadians so you might not recognize them; I never did before moving here.

My Favorite 2015 Albums

Coldplay’s “A Head Full of Dreams”
Brandi Carlile’s “The Firewatcher’s Daughter”
Glen Hansard’s “Didn’t He Ramble”
Tobias Jesso Jr.’s “Goon”
Jason Isbell’s “Something More Than Free”
The Weather Station’s “Loyalty”
Great Lake Swimmers’ “A Forest of Arms”
Rhiannon Giddens’s “Tomorrow Is My Turn”
Alabama Shakes’ “Sound and Color”
Florence and the Machine’s “How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful”
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds’ “Chasing Yesterday”

How about you — are any of my favorite books, movies, or albums from this year — ones that you have liked as well? Or would you suggest others? (As for the photos above, they were taken over the weekend when we went to the mountains to go skiing.) Here’s to more good releases in 2016!

I’m still excited about seeing Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band in concert on Monday night at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, B.C. It was a big treat to myself and at some expense to go, but of course in the end it was totally worth it.

I’ve been a fan since probably the “Born to Run” album in 1975 and have seen him numerous times over his long career; the first time being in 1981 at the L.A. Forum. A friend of mine urged me to go this time saying you never know how much longer the E Street Band will be touring. So with that thought in mind I had to go, and of course I wasn’t disappointed. It was just so excellent a show, I don’t know where to begin.

Bruce played songs off of every album and kept his set list spontaneous and fresh, often taking requests from signs in the audience. He has always mingled with his fans and let people participate, but this time it was more than ever. He used a stage that went far into and around the floor to sing and dance and get people into it. He even crowd-surfed all the way back to the main stage at one point, which isn’t bad for a 63-year-old.

I still don’t know how he does it all. The energy, the songs, the passion! He plays nonstop for hours and is in his element every step of the way. I don’t think he’s ever let a fan down. Maybe he didn’t play “Atlantic City” or “The River” or “Born in the USA,” but he plays so many great songs that you’re blown away more than you could ever know.

If I try to think of a personal highlight to the show, there’s almost too many to single out. Was it when he pulled an 80-year-old onstage to dance with him during “Dancing in the Dark”? Or was it when a young girl in the audience sang with him on “Waitin’ on a Sunny Day”? Or was it the touching tribute he gave to deceased band members Clarence Clemons and Danny Federici? Or was it when he sang “Racing in the Street,” “Because the Night,” or his signature song “Born to Run”? Or was it any of the rest of his fantastic songs? I was pretty thrilled during the whole three plus hours, a tingling bunch of adrenaline dancing to every moment.

I didn’t even have a ticket before the show but wound up scalping and got a close seat diagonal to the stage. It was amazing. I could see the Man so closely, his face, his expressions, his sweat, the band. He seemed to be having a total ball, as was I. So if you get a chance to see the E Street Band even these days, don’t pass it up, even if it’s out of town. He plays a fair share of both the new and the old. So it’s just right. And the band is as good as ever, with special recognition to Mighty Max on the drums for putting it all on the line and to Jake Clemons for playing the sax just like his dad used to. Below are the songs Bruce sang in order – if you can handle them.

Set list:

Shackled and Drawn
Out in the Street
Hungry Heart
We Take Care of Our Own
Wrecking Ball
Death to My Hometown
My City of Ruins
Spirit in the Night
Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?
Red Headed Woman
Streets of Fire
Because the Night
She’s the One
Cover Me
Darlington County
Waitin’ on a Sunny Day
Raise Your Hand
The Rising
Badlands
Land of Hope and Dreams
* * *
Racing in the Street
Radio Nowhere
Born to Run
Dancing in the Dark
Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town
Tenth Avenue Freeze-out

I thought the Be Good Tanyas had broken up years ago and were done for good, but apparently they’re baaaack! I saw them in concert last evening, and they have other tour dates planned as well. The Vancouver folk-bluegrass trio had gone on hiatus around 2007/2008, after touring extensively behind the group’s three popular indie albums: Blue Horses (2000), Chinatown (2003) and Hello Love (2006). After that, the girls burnt out and opted for individual projects. Last night they seemed back in old form: Trish on the banjo and guitar, Samantha often on the mandolin and Frazey at the vocals helm (they were backed by a bass player and a drummer as well). The girls were a bit disorganized between songs, but played old favorites soulfully and as if they were happy to be back. I recognized most of their songs, though it had been a while. They produce a folky cool sound, though you often can’t understand all their words because of their impressionistic, mumbled renderings, but nonetheless the songs’ feelings shine through. Here is the set list from their May 17 concert in Calgary:
1) In Spite of All the Damage
2) Only in the Past
3) Reuben
4) Ootischenia
5) Colorado Girl (Townes Van Zandt song)
6) The Littlest Birds
7) Human Thing
8) One More Cup of Coffee (Bob Dylan cover)
9) Dogsong (aka Sleep Dog Lullaby)
10) Horses
11) Birds (Neil Young cover)
12) Waiting Around to Die
13) September Field (new song)
14) For the Turnstiles
15) Song for R.
16) Here Comes the Sun (Beatles cover)
17) A Thousand Tiny Pieces
18) Light Enough to Travel

Levon Helm (1940-1912) with The Band; a sad day losing such a legend in music.

No matter how many times I listen to The Band’s music or see the concert film “The Last Waltz,” (which I did again last night), I can’t seem to shake my focus from Helm’s voice and his playing and how he infused the music with so much. His singing on “Up on Cripple Creek,” “The Weight,” “Ophelia” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” is simply magical and forever near the top in the annals of rock-n-roll.

For two fascinating interviews with Levon, check out the 1993 and 2007 talks he had with NPR’s Fresh Air here.

Combine an awesome venue like the Birchmere with a talented songwriter with an awesome voice and you get a splendid evening. Such was the case Tuesday night with Rachael Yamagata. Her deep, sultry voice and her sad loungey-sounding songs were perfect for the intimate atmosphere of the club. She played with just two other band members in a more striped down version of her tour that is out and about backing her most recent album “Chesapeake.”

Onstage, she mixed the generally strong new material with older favorites and played especially beautiful on keyboards, lending poignancy to her often heartrending lyrics. Unsurprisingly her cover of Annie Lennox’s killer-sad song “Why” fit right in with her repertoire. The only drawback perhaps to the evening was that she had already sung earlier in the day outside at the National Cherry Blossom Festival and by the end of the Birchmere show her normally gorgeous voice was pretty whipped. Still, it was a pretty great show, so if you get a chance to see her at a small venue, don’t miss it. Here is the set list that she played on March 27:

Even If I Don’t
Why (Annie Lennox song)
Saturday Morning
Sunday Afternoon
Elephants
Starlight
Worn Me Down
Duet
Be Be Your Love
You Won’t Let Me
Dealbreaker
Meet Me by the Water
Reason Why

Leave it to Bruce to knock Adele out of the No. 1 album spot last week with “Wrecking Ball.” He is the Boss after all. Certainly the legion of his fans (including me) are listening to his latest LP, which rails heavily against fat cats and bankers for bringing down the economy and empathizes as usual with the blue-collar workingman. It’s an album that ruminates angrily about the state of the union and takes on a weightiness in about every song.

I guess first off I almost have to recuse myself from even discussing “Wrecking Ball” since I’ve been such a huge Springsteen fan since the early days with “Greetings From Asbury Park.” He is a national treasure no doubt and has so many classic, classic albums and songs. Who could ever count or measure them? He and the E Street Band are much beloved and his concerts over the years have been more than amazing.

So it’s interesting to note that the new songs have created a bit of a stir. Some such as David Fricke of Rolling Stone have given the album five out of five stars, saying it’s up with the best of his work, and yet others feel it’s heavy-handed, preachy and self-righteous and isn’t as good as many of his other efforts.

With time, the album has been growing on me. I didn’t take to the new songs immediately. For one thing, some of the album’s upbeat music seemed incongruous with its downtrodden words. The Irish/Celtic musical elements on a few songs particularly threw me. Also there was less storytelling in the songs, and I wasn’t hooked right away on the melodies. Maybe even some of his words and imagery seemed like he had used them before.

And yet the album is still good. I’m sure Bruce is held to a higher standard than mere mortals; after all we judge him by his greatness. In terms of his recent albums, I think “Wrecking Ball” compares favorably to “Magic” (2007) and “Working on a Dream” (2009), both of which I liked quite a bit, and it has the “Seeger Sessions” (2006) populist, anthemic feel to it, but it’s no “Rising” (2002) album or perhaps even “Devils & Dust” (2005), both of which I played into the ground. I give “Wrecking Ball” about 3 or 3.5 stars.

About half the songs on “Wrecking Ball” I like, and the other half not as much. Here is my list of likes:
Wrecking Ball
This Depression
Jack of All Trades
We Take Care of Our Own
Easy Money
Rocky Ground
We Are Alive

And Misfires?:
Swallowed Up
Death to My Hometown
American Land
Shackled and Drawn
You’ve Got It
Land of Hope and Dreams

Feel free to disagree and forward your complaints and list.

And if you haven’t heard Bruce’s colorful keynote speech at the South by Southwest festival, you must take a listen.

It’s quite nice now that Academy Award season is officially over and the hoopla can die down. Along with Valentine’s Day and the Super Bowl, February is now safely in the rearview mirror. Even Uggie (at left) seems relieved; as well he should be after “The Artist,” which he starred in, took home gold.

I’ve been enjoying two albums that came out recently. Have you heard the latest LP by Sinead O’Connor, “How About I Be Me (And You Be You)?”? Wow, she still seemingly has the voice and power of her former days. I’ve been a delinquent fan of her music and haven’t listened to much of it since her very first albums, “The Lion and the Cobra” (1987) and “I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got” (1989), which I must have played completely into the ground on my Sony Walkman back then. Though I also remember her “Universal Mother” (1994) album fondly with “Fire on Babylon” and a cover of Kurt Cobain’s “All Apologies.”

It’s good to see the Irish singer back, with an album that’s reminiscent of those remarkable early days. She was just 21 back during “The Lion and Cobra” and now she’s 45. Obviously much has been made of her life, struggles and outspoken statements over the years, which I can’t say I’ve followed closely. No doubt, she seems to bring a lot of it on herself but also at times receives a bad rap for following her heart, conscience and spirituality. Can’t blame her much for that. But one can dig the music on this recording without being born again or caring much about her personal life on the Twitter-sphere.

Some of the tracks on “How About I Be Me” are quite uplifting; she sounds happy; others are blunt with indignation. Favorite tracks on the album include: “The Wolf Is Getting Married,” “Reason With Me,” “4th and Vine,” “Old Lady” and “Queen of Denmark.” Check them out.

Perhaps on the flip side of that is an album I’ve been listening to by Canadian Kathleen Edwards, now 33, called “Voyageur.” Man, it’s smooth. It sounds a bit of a departure and more polished than her more country-roots-sounding albums “Failer” (1999) and “Back to Me” (2005). “Voyageur” is a journey through one troubled relationship; apparently Edwards began recording the album just months before her divorce from her musician-husband. She lays it down on the album, sounding open and vulnerable. The upbeat, opening track is especially good as she sings “I’m moving to America, moving to America, moving to America, It’s an Empty Threat.” Other favorite songs on “Voyageur” include “Mint,” “Change the Sheets” and “Chameleon/Comedian.” It’s an album that’s too good to miss.

I was lucky to get in to see Ray and the Pariah Dogs as it was sold-out and nobody looked to be selling any tickets. It seemed to be the most coveted concert of the summer in Calgary because the place was packed and people had no seats to spare. Fortunately, at the last minute, a couple had an extra ticket for sale, which turned out to be my golden ticket. It was dead-center orchestra about 12 rows back; hallelujah, it was amazing! I had missed the opening act, but it wasn’t Brandi Carlile, who had started some of the shows on the tour. It was someone else. But it didn’t really matter, the crowd was rowdy and geared for Ray. He and the Dogs didn’t disappoint; they blew the lid off the intimate concert hall with a soulful, heartfelt performance of many of his classics. He said a few thank-yous during the show but otherwise kept pretty quiet, in typical Ray-style. He let the songs speak for themselves, which they did wondrously and clear. Below is the setlist from last night’s show. My favorites were: For the Summer, Jolene, and Shelter, though it’s hard to really pick from such a great set. Keep playing the tunes!

Burn
For the Summer
Beg Steal or Borrow
Hold You in My Arms
Repo Man
Achin’ All the Time
Blue Canadian Rockies (cover)
Shelter
Devil’s in the Jukebox
Are We Really Through
New York City’s Killing Me
God Willin’ & the Creek Dont Rise
(Unknown song)
Trouble
Old Before Your Time
Jolene
Henry Nearly Killed Me (It’s a Shame)
Like Rock & Roll and Radio