[FM] Top 5 of 2000

[Paul Morrison]

For anyone who may be interested in the top 5 CDs I purchased in the year 
2000, well, here it is.

5.  The Holy Fool--Chris Rosser.  This sophomore effort from Chris is the 
perfect blend of singer/songwriter/folk with instruments of the Far East.  
>From the opening strains of "Charlotte the Queen", through the (apparently) 
autobiographical "David and Marie" to the (definitely) autobiographical 
"Deeper Than My Own Name", this album never lets the listener down.  
"Christmas in the Ashram" is my new favorite Christmas song.

4.  Somewhere Near Paterson--Richard Shindell.  Richard is definitely one 
of, if not the greatest songwriter working today.  He can tell a story like 
nobody since Harry Chapin was taken from us nearly 20 years ago.  "Transit" 
is the standout here, but "Abuelita" and "You Stay Here" both haunt.  And 
his perfect cover of Dar Williams' "Calling the Moon" threatens to 
overshadow the writer's version.  But I imagine I might get kicked off the 
Shindell list if they found out I put this CD at number 4.

3.  The Capain--Kasey Chambers.  I picked up this CD in the last couple of 
weeks of the year, and it blew me away.  Kasey is a 24 year old newcomer 
from Australia, who somehow manages to sing in what I would call an Austin 
accent.  Her songs are both catchy and insightful.  "Cry Like a Baby" has 
seen recent airplay on CMT.  "This Flower" is my favorite on the CD, it says 
so much in a few short verses.  "These Pines", with Buddy Miller on backup 
vocals, is a great song.  I love all the songs, and watch out for the final 
verse of "We're All Gonna Die Someday".

2.  The Green World-- Dar Williams.  What in the green world is Dar doing at 
number 2?  Well, it's a great album, and I love it as I do virtually all of 
Dar's work.  But I can't deny the facts, I men my opinion.  Again, as always 
with Dar, a great album from start to finish.  From rockers like "What Do 
You Love More Than Love" and "I Won't Be Your Yoko Ono", to the 
aforementioned 'Calling the Moon", to the introspective "After All", you 
won't find any wasted space on this CD.  Dar took three years to accumulate 
the songs on this CD, and not a minute of that was wasted.  This is her best 
album yet, and it should be number 1, but.......

1.  Michael, Margaret, Pat & Kate--Michael Smith.  I've already used every 
superlative I know to describe this exquisite work from one of our greatest 
songwriters.  This album is Michael's autobiography and must be litened to 
in its entirety in order to get the full story.  If I was forced to give up 
every CD in my collection save one, this is the one I would keep (OMIGOD 
he'd give upo DAR!!!!!!).  This is simply the greatest folk album ever 
produced.  "I Brought My Father With Me" is a masterpiece.  OK, the entire 
album is a masterpiece.  In my review to the folk digest, I called this the 
folk equivalent of the Sgt. Pepper album.  Michael thanked me personally for 
that review, and that was one of the highlights of the year 2000 for me.  
Everybody should own this Cd.  Go get yours now.


Rediscovery of the Year:  Michael Smith.  I've known some fo MIchael's songs 
for well over 20 years, but never really knew most of Michael's music till 
this year.  He's a great songwriter, maybe the best there is.  Another 
masterpiece from Michael is "The Dutchman".  If you don't already have this 
in your collection, get it.  Oh, and he's a heck of a nice guy, too.


Greatest Unknown Songwriter:  Mark Humphreys. Mark's songs speak to me like 
no other songwriter's, with the possible exception of Cheryl Wheeler.  I 
don't know why, but there is something in Mark's songs that relate so 
closely to my own life.  Maybe it's the similarity in our ages.  Whatever, 
Mark writes all the songs I wish I could write.  It's almost like they were 
written just for me.  But they wren't, and I wish everyone who reads this 
would buy just one Mark Humphreys CD.  Go to Amazon.com, or 
markhumphreys.com, listen and buy.  Mark will thank you, I will thank you, 
and you will thank yourself.

Paul in Ce-dar City