Alive on Arrival
Artist: Steve Forbert

Steve Forbert's youthful features and boyish voice certainly become misleading once his lyrics are heard. His folk-rock styled songs are usually centered around life's ups and downs and the problems of adulthood, portraying him as an artist who's just trying to get by. Alive on Arrival is an album full of earnest tunes about loneliness,... Read More

Candyfloss and Medicine
Artist: Eddi Reader

No surprises here for fans of Eddi Reader's special brand of swooningly pretty folk-rock. All the elements are in place: the melodies that are so simple that there's no reason why they should make you stop whatever you're doing and close your eyes in pleasure, the unapologetic Scots burr that colors every vowel she sings, the multi-tracked... Read More

Guitars Kissing & the Contemporary Fix - BOOTLEG
Artist: Bob Dylan
Numbers/Izitso/Back to Earth - BOX
Artist: Cat Stevens

Mobile Fidelity reissued three of Cat Stevens' late-'70s records -- Numbers, Izitso and Back to Earth -- as a box set in 1996. These records aren't necessarily among his best, but they have some very strong songs, and this is a good way to acquire them. However, fans should know that this disc costs more than buying the two records separately.... Read More

Stage Diving
Artist: Peter Himmelman

Following six non-charting studio albums on two major labels, Peter Himmelman made this solo live album on which he accompanied himself on acoustic guitar and piano, occasionally enlisting the support of the drummer from his opening act. Recorded at the Bottom Line in New York City on December 6, 1995, the performance was intimate and largely... Read More

Gimme Shelter!: The Best of Leon Russell
Artist: Leon Russell

It's a little problematic to put together a compilation of such an album-oriented artist. But unless you're very deeply into the Leon Russell catalog, this two-CD, 40-track best-of will serve as a retrospective of all that you need, largely covering his work from the first half of the '70s (a couple of songs from his 1992 Virgin album are also... Read More

Morning Glory
Artist: Tim Buckley
Dog Eared Dream
Artist: Willy Porter
Community Score: 7.00

Patty Larkin is a good female comparison to Willy Porter. Both are awesome guitarists and humorous storytellers who write and sing songs that cross genre borders, generally landing somewhere between folk, rock, pop, and blues, with the occasional soulful tinge. Dog Eared Dream was originally released independently in 1994, being reissued in 1995... Read More

Samedi Soir Sur La Terre
Artist: Francis Cabrel

Francis Cabrel is in top form for this 1994 release. While the style of the music stays in the acoustic rock category, each song is carefully crafted and infused with a variety of sounds and influences, ranging from contemporary folk ("Tot ou tard s'en aller") to cool jazz ("Le noceur") to blues-rock ("Assis sur le rebord du monde"). Cabrel uses... Read More

Galore
Artist: Kirsty MacColl

Unlike most career-spanning compilations, 1994's Galore is essential to all Kirsty MacColl fans. Not only does the 18-track collection trace her development from 1979's sublime Spector pastiche "They Don't Know" to 1993's haunting Titanic Days, it gathers two tracks recorded with the Pogues in the late '80s -- the Christmas favorite "A Fairytale... Read More

The Very Best of Elvis Costello
Artist: Elvis Costello