The third collection of recordings culled from
Roz
and
Howard Larman
's Los Angeles-based FolkScene radio show is another varied anthology that demonstrates the diversity of musical styles bunched under the umbrella term "
folk
." Someone is singing and playing an acoustic guitar on nearly every one of the 13 tracks, but the approaches differ greatly, from
Guy Davis
' bluesy
"See Me When You Can"
(recorded January 28, 2001) to
Loreena McKennitt
's
new age
harp playing on
"Huron 'Beltane' Fire Dance."
The most recognizable name is that of
Jackson Browne
, the most recognizable song
Janis Ian
"At Seventeen"
(recorded "circa 1975," and thus the oldest track), and there are established folkies such as
Cheryl Wheeler
, the late
Kate Wolf
, and
Katy Moffatt
(duetting with
Rosie Flores
on
"Walkin' on the Moon"
), along with excellent
folk-pop
bands that are either long broken up (
the Alpha Band
, featuring
T Bone Burnett
) or at least on hiatus (
Bryndle
, consisting of
Karla Bonoff
,
Wendy Waldman
Andrew Gold
Kenneth Edwards
). All have interesting things to say with their music, and all respond well to the relatively intimate environs. This is not all people hunched over guitars in a radio studio, either. The
track,
"Lucky One,"
boasts a drummer, and the
McKennitt
track has a full band recorded in a concert hall. With more than 25 years of shows to draw from,
the Larmans
may be able to assemble collections like this indefinitely, which would be just fine with
fans. ~ William Ruhlmann