CD of the Week

CD of the Week - Allen Stone

by Corny O'Connell

Allen Stone is a 25-year-old soul singer who got his start singing gospel at church picnics in small-town Chewelah, Washington. His father was a preacher who shielded him from secular music until he was a teen. That’s when Stone started collecting classic soul albums from the ‘60s and ‘70s. "Soul music from that time wasn't just about bumpin' and grindin' at the club—it was a huge part of a cultural movement. That's where my inspiration comes from," says Stone, who was also schooled by folk records of the period.

CD of the Week - Old Believers

by Corny O'Connell

Old Believers, the new album from Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons brings together elements of gospel, blues and rock. Cory’s good friend Brendan Benson (The Raconteurs) produced the album. The two met while making Cory’s first album. They sat down to write a song together, and quickly found they were kindred spirits. “We had such a common language in the way we attacked music-making. Brendan is really great at bringing direction and bringing something out of me that is almost indescribable.

CD of the Week - Home Again

by Corny O'Connell

U.K. singer/songwriter Michael Kiwanuka has had over-night success with his career. Last year before he had released any recordings, he opened for Adele on tour. Then he won the prestigious BBC Sound of 2012 poll even before releasing his full-length debut album, Home Again.

CD of the Week - Rhythm and Repose

by Corny O'Connell

Glen Hansard’s story has so many wonderful chapters, from his film debut as the shy guitarist in The Commitments, to his stint fronting The Frames, to his partnership with Markéta Irglová as The Swell Season including their film Once, for which they won Academy Awards. Now Hansard begins a new chapter as a solo artist with his debut album Rhythm and Repose. All the songs are originals (“What Are We Gonna Do” takes its melody from Paddy Casey’s “Sweet Suburban Sky”).

CD of the Week - Bear Creek

by Corny O'Connell

Brandi Carlile got a good education from the high-profile producers T Bone Burnett and Rick Rubin who helmed her previous releases. “I would liken working with A-list producers to going to college,” she says. “You don’t want to be a perpetual student. At some point, you need to apply your knowledge.” So for Bear Creek, Carlile was determined to take the wheel. She chose a studio environment closer – both physically and in spirit – to her own rural home.

CD of the Week - Little Broken Hearts

by Corny O'Connell

Little Broken Hearts teams Norah Jones' sultry vocals with the production expertise of Danger Mouse (Gnarls Barkley, the Black Keys, Broken Bells). Danger Mouse (aka Brian Burton) called upon Jones last year to sing on Rome, an homage to classic Italian film score music that also featured Jack White. Norah and Danger Mouse hit it off so well that they decided to collaborate on Little Broken Hearts. For the first time Norah went into the studio without any songs in hand. The two co-wrote all of the songs on the album while they were recording.

CD of the Week - Blunderbuss

by Corny O'Connell

Jack White’s Blunderbuss debuted last week at #1 in the U.S. & the U.K. giving him his first number one album. Jack White was, of course, one half of The White Stripes which disbanded in early 2011. In addition to The White Stripes, Jack has also had a hand in The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather, and Rome an album he worked on with Danger Mouse and Norah Jones last year.