March 2006 List

Grand National: “Cherry Tree”
(Kicking the National Habit, 2004)
For unabashed fun, I’ve been listening to “Cherry Tree,” a song whose serpentine rhythm is so hot, I don’t mind not really understanding the lyrics. The chorus sounds like it was lifted from some never-released disco song circa 1975, a fusion of retro sensibilities with modern production standards.

Lewis Taylor: “Positively Beautiful”
(Stoned, 2004)
I must apologize to Mr. Robert Drayton for turning down an opportunity to see Lewis Taylor when he performed at the Bowery Ballroom some time ago (it was a bitterly cold evening and I was not as informed about Lewis Taylor then as I am now). Having come to my senses, I realize that Lewis Taylor is the sound of blue-eyed soul in the new millennium, for “Positively Beautiful” is a positively first rate production, featuring a soulful falsetto backed by a driving drum beat.

Corrine Bailey Rae: “Put Your Records On”
(Corrine Bailey Rae, 2005)
Thanks to my friend Danny Birichi, U.K. artist Corrine Bailey Rae is not an unfamiliar name to me. With the onset of spring, I hasten to accept her invitation to “let your hair down” in “Put Your Records On,” a song which simulates the sensation of a warm breeze enveloping my body during an 8:00 p.m. sunset.

Jack Johnson: “Talk of the Town”
(Curious George soundtrack, 2005)
Last month I had one of the best dreams ever: I dreamt that I had the power to fly, to levitate above the ground and soar skyward to the clouds. When I saw Curious George, the feelings I experienced in my dream were conjured by Jack Johnson’s “Talk of the Town,” which accompanies the scene where George and the Man in the Yellow Hat fly over the city while clutching a rainbow of balloons.

Jane Siberry: “Anytime”
(www.sheeba.com website, 2005)
Months ago when I saw Jane Siberry at Joe’s Pub (August 2005 blog) she closed the set with an acoustic version of “Anytime.” The recently recorded version (featured on The L Word and currently available through her website) is an exquisite addition to her canon and contains some of her most heartfelt lyrics: “Anytime I will be there/maybe in song/maybe in the wind/maybe in the rain/maybe in the sunshine.”