The Best of the Baby Sitters
Artist: The Baby Sitters

Lee Hays (a former Weaver) and then-future acting star Alan Arkin led this folk quartet, whose music is a kind of children's version of The Weavers. They are playing originals, Woody Guthrie songs, and traditional material for an audience ideally aged from one to five. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide Read More

Three
Artist: The Flirtations

A new highlight in the stellar career of the legendary Flirtations. Pop/jazz vocalist Suede has joined remaining original members Jimmy Rutland and Jon Arterton in the group's best recording yet. A joy from git to go, the fabulous Flirts keep rolling on with super vocals, outrageous humor, emotional intensity and utmost musicianship. Recorded in... Read More

Black Sheep
Artist: Martin Sexton

Martin Sexton's acoustic singer/songwriter routine is just one of many flavors here; along with Motown-style R&B, sweeping pop ballads, gypsy fiddling, blues, and jazz, there's even a little rapping. The genre jumping works surprisingly well. Producer Crit Harmon sequences the switches with sensitivity and class, and gives the set a consistent... Read More

Songs from the Big Front Porch...A Celebration of American Folk Music
Artist: Bridget Ball
Our Town
Artist: Jody Stecher

This music breathes easily. The title song is Iris DeMent's bittersweet tune; other traditional tunes are made fresh again. ~ Richard Meyer, All Music Guide Read More

Mountain Snow and Mistletoe
Artist: Bridget Ball

Mountain Snow and Mistletoe features Bridget Ball and Christopher Shaw performing a variety of holiday favorites. Featured songs include "Angels We Have Heard on High," "Christmas Children," "What Child Is This?," and "The Holly and the Ivy," in addition to 11 others. Those who appreciate the featured artists or at least the folk idiom should... Read More

Library of Congress Recordings, Vols. 1-3
Artist: Woody Guthrie

Not so much an album as a historical aural document, this nearly three-hour, three-CD set chronicles three days of interviews and songs featuring a 27-year-old Woody Guthrie on March 21, 22 and 27, 1940. Alan Lomax and his wife, Elizbeth, take Guthrie through his autobiography and his reflections on the Dust Bowl, and he proves a witty, rustic... Read More

The Best of Rooftop Singers
Artist: Rooftop Singers

Sixteen songs drawn from all three of the group's albums, featuring, of course, "Walk Right In," and along with a good cross-section of their best music. Other highlights include their upbeat version of Jesse Fuller's "San Francisco Bay Blues," a sultry, folky rendition of Duke Ellington's "It Don't Mean a Thing," the traditional songs "Old Joe... Read More

Appalachian Wind
Artist: Reel World String Band
So I'll Ride
Artist: New Coon Creek Girls

This well-crafted album features a high energy level. Jesse McReynolds, Dempsey Young, Mike Stevens, Edgar Meyer, and Raymond McLain were guests on the album. ~ Chip Renner, All Music Guide Read More

The Goodnight Blues
Artist: Peter Keane

Keane steps out on his blues originals and is backed by Matt Leavenworth (fiddle and mandolin) and Darrell Scott on dobro. This release is very enjoyable. Keane's song "Jimmy Yancey" is wonderful and relaxed, as are his versions of John Hurt blues and the '60s chestnut, "Ruby Baby." ~ Chip Renner & Richard Meyer, All Music Guide Read More

The American
Artist: Martin Sexton

Martin Sexton's aptly titled major label debut finds the ostentatiously talented singer on a spirited, cross-country tour of nearly every genre the nation has ever produced. Folk, roots rock, grunge, country, soul, R&B, blues, and jazz -- Sexton pulls it all off with a voice that exhibits all the rangy flexibility of a ballet dancer. The... Read More