the smedley log - suburban scrawl

Tuesday night music club

No time (or expertise) to offer comprehensive reviews right now, but I wanted to mention the following three music offerings I’ve recently acquired. I’ve been enjoying all three over the past couple weeks. All three have been easy to hear, right from the first spin. (Clicking on a CD image or title below will take you to a page where you can purchase that disc.)

In order of acquisition, they are:

Ellipsis: Take What You Will
I didn’t even realize they had an active website until after I started writing a post partly inspired by an earlier song of theirs. This 2004 release is more of everything I loved from the earlier CD I purchased at the Point in Bryn Mawr several years ago, namely, Vale Jokisch’s soothing voice coupled with textured melodies fusing guitar and violin. First song to reach out and grab me: “Shine”

The group’s website is here. Their MySpace is here

John Francis: Strong Wine & Spirits
I first saw John perform at the Point not long after he made his move to Philly in 2003. I bought a copy of his earlier CD Fire in the Marrow after listening to a couple live performances. Strong Wine seems a little more bluesy, but with the same heartwrenching lyrical focus of previous efforts. First song to reach out and grab me: “Love in the Fallout Shelter”

John’s website is here. His MySpace is here.

Raina Rose: The Prophet, the Panhandler & the Moon
I haven’t had as much time with Raina’s latest disc yet, but it takes a slightly more folksy turn than her other solo disc, Despite the Crushing Weight of Gravity. First song to reach out and grab me: An untitled track that follows after the last listed song (I wouldn’t have known to even listen for it had Marisa not tipped me off).

Raina’s website is here. Her MySpace is here.

I don’t know why she hid Fiddler and a Bow at the end like that with no credit, because it is the song that people seem to like the best. Crazy girl, that sister of mine.

You have a wonderfully eclectic taste in music H.

Thanks Bice – I take a bit of subversive pride in the eclecticism of my musical tastes.

Marisa – Is “Fiddler and a Bow” the proper title to that one? Sooner or later I was bound to make up a title if nothing more authoritative came along.

For the longest time, Raina just called it her Bluegrass Song, but when it came time to record it, my dad said it had to have a real title and so they came up with Fiddle and a Bow (not Fiddler, I blame that minor slip on my flu-addled brain).