I've never felt that I was a very good reviewer of other people's work. I never seem to be able to describe why I like a certain book or piece of music other than it touches me in some way, or makes me think, or makes me happy, or entertains me . . . I feel especially inadequate when it comes to talking about music. Like that old cliché, I don't know much about art, but I know what I like. I don't know much about music, but I know what I like. So with that caveat, this is what I like. David Knopfler With seven solo albums to date, plus two with Dire Straits, the breadth and variety of David Knopfler's music is amazing. He recently had his entire catalog remastered and rereleased, and he sells his CDs through his own website, www.knopfler.com. His music is so familiar to me that it's difficult to step back and describe it for someone who has never heard it. His voice is often described as "idiosyncratic"--warm, deep, different certainly, with an edge that keeps it from being to smooth, too polished. What genre? I don't know. Blues, rock, jazz, folk . . . He's hard to categorize. He needs his own category. DK Music. I have a hard time deciding which of David's albums is my favorite, but if pressed, would have to name Lifelines. More rock oriented than some of his other work, it still contains his trademark introspective, complex lyrics and, of course, that amazing voice.     Lips Against the Steel is the first of David's albums that I heard, and the only one that I heard for a long time. I played it so many times that when I play it now it seems like part of my cells. It's still one of my favorites, one of the more rock-focused ones.     He is definitely a storyteller, and this album points that out like no other. The Giver has more of a jazz or blues-influenced sound than some of his other albums, moving more toward an acoustic, simplified sound, although never "simple." Lover's Fever brings to mind nothing so much as a smoky, dark blues club with David on piano, the drummer playing counterpoint with brushes, a guitarist off to the side. And then the saxophone comes in . . . Another favorite. John Gorka John Gorka was born in New Jersey and currently lives in Pennsylvania in the heart of steel mill country. His songs tend to be dark, somewhat tortured stories about people whose lives are out of the mainstream--carnival workers, petty criminals, bikers--told with humor and affection. One reviewer said he "writes about the process of living," and that's as good a description as any. Many of his songs are about his family, seemingly told in a way that memorializes their stories for all time.     Jack's Crows is probably my favorite of John Gorka's six albums. He writes a lot about family, friendships and small town life--and the demise of small town life--in a way that always clutches at my heart. His records are full of "characters," as his life must be.     While just as emotionally honest as all of his writing, Temporary Road seems to be a little more upbeat, a little more hopeful, than some of Gorka's other albums. "Looking Forward," as one of the songs on this record attests, rather than looking back. Marc Cohn I don't know much about Marc Cohn's personal life; I don't know that I've ever read a biography of him. Everything I know comes from his songs. Another brilliant storyteller with the power to move hearts through his music, or at least the power to move mine . . .     Marc Cohn's self titled first album is, in my opinion, one of the best records ever made. From "Walking in Memphis," with accolades to Elvis, gospel music and W. C. Handy, to "Silver Thunderbird," a song about Cohn's father and, peripherally, his car ("If there's a God in Heaven, he's got a Silver Thunderbird"), every one of the songs on this album is worth the price of the record.     Paul Young I always liked Paul Young's music, but I was never a huge fan back in the 80's when he had a string of hits--"Everytime You Go Away," "Oh Girl," "Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home)," and probably others that don't immediately come to mind. I recently rediscovered him after a conversation with a friend prompted me to go looking for his recent work, and now I guess it's a little bit of an obsession.     Love Songs is an absolutely amazing album. I played it pretty much exclusively for two weeks after I got it, carrying it from my car to the office so that I would never be without it. Eventually, I ordered another copy. All of the wonderful love songs he's so famous for are here, along with a few obscure ones that are just as wonderful, only not as well known. If you ever liked Paul Young, this is an indispensible album, and one of my favorites.     I wasn't sure whether I liked Other Voices when I first heard it, but after listening to it several times, indeed, after putting it on endless repeat one day at the office, it's become one of my favorites. His voice seems a little rougher on this album than on some of the earlier ones, and I like that. The emotion comes through better, maybe. It's very easy to hear on this record. It sounds like a very personal one for him. Home| Journal | Archives | Notification | Random | Resources Webcam | Dreams | Mood Swings | Tea Leaves | Forum | Natterwick Books | Music | Reflections | Guestbook | Postcards | Bio | Search Copyright © 1998 Willa G. Cline