Riverside
Artist: Luka Bloom

Expatriate Irishman Luka Bloom cloaks his Celtic folk songs in furious strumming on his "electro-acoustic" guitar, added instrumentation, and echo effects on everything, but he is still a folkie, blowing up his feelings to heroic proportions, whether it's the autobiography of "The Man Is Alive" or the romantic fantasy of "An Irishman In... Read More

Our Turn to Dance
Artist: Livingston Taylor

Livingston Taylor has been making records for nearly as long as his more famous brother though, unfortunately, with nowhere near the frequency. A talented songwriter in his own right (and most of the album is written or co-written by him) he's a good judge of other people's songs. Two fine examples are "No Easy Way to Break Somebody's Heart" by... Read More

Songs & Crazy Dreams
Artist: Paul Brady
Fat City
Artist: Shawn Colvin

For her second album, Shawn Colvin took a temporary break from longtime collaborator and producer John Leventhal, teaming up instead with Larry Klein. And while the strongest songs -- "Tennessee," "Climb On (A Back That's Strong)," and "Object of My Desire" -- are Colvin/Leventhal collaborations, credit should be given to Klein, who incorporated... Read More

Solitude Standing
Artist: Suzanne Vega
Community Score: 9.77

The songs on Solitude Standing, Suzanne Vega's second album, had years listed beside them on the lyric sheet, so you could see that some of them dated back to 1978. But that bold admission heralded the album's triumph -- its diversity was what made it so good. Partially, that was because the old songs were the equal of anything on the first... Read More

Suzanne Vega
Artist: Suzanne Vega
Community Score: 8.00

Though early comparisons were made to Joni Mitchell, Suzanne Vega's true antecedents were Janis Ian and Leonard Cohen. Like Ian, she sings with a precise, frequently half-spoken phrasing that gives her lyrics an intensity that seems to suggest an unsteady control consciously held over emotional chaos. Like Cohen, Vega observes the world in... Read More

MacDougal Blues
Artist: Kevn Kinney

Drivin' n' Cryin's Kevn Kinney joins the folk fray with a stunning solo acoustic debut backed by the band and producer Peter Buck. The classic case of a brilliant songwriter stuck within the confines of an okay band, Kinney came bursting forth as a great new talent on the new folk scene with songs like the emotional "Not Afraid to Die" and... Read More

Trick or Treat
Artist: Paul Brady

Paul goes more commercial. Good duet with Bonnie Raitt. ~ Chip Renner, All Music Guide Read More

The Acoustic Motorbike
Artist: Luka Bloom

Having made his mark in America and moved back home to Ireland, Luka Bloom attempted to incorporate some of the spirit of the country where he spent four years into his Irish folk-rock, covering LL Cool J's "I Need Love" and the Elvis Presley hit "Can't Help Falling In Love." But in his own songs, he didn't go much beyond such surface aspects of... Read More

Live in Concert
Artist: Donovan

Like a lot of 1960s folk-rock veterans, Donovan has found his biggest modern audience in new recordings of his classic hits. This British release is one of them, a 1990s all-acoustic show running an hour and covering such material as "Sunshine Superman," "Jennifer Juniper," "Catch the Wind," "The Hurdy Gurdy Man," "Universal Soldier,"... Read More