In 1986 Home in the Heart of the Beat was #1 on my list of fav albums of the year. Steve Almaas and his guys made that summer very sunny to me with their new wave influenced rock with a slight countryrock flavour in the line of other American new wave guitar bands like Green On Red or The Blasters. They combine the countryrock and rock power of early 70's bands like Poco or Redwing with a snappy, cheerful new wave feeling. Staying Out Late, it's predecessor, has a more country feeling and shows the band still searching for the style it found on 'Home'. Great music for spring and summer parties.

Small Miracles is the 11th studio album for the Canadian country-rock band in a career spanning nearly a quarter-century. There's something to be said for consistency. And Blue Rodeo are saying it. Again. After more than two decades and 11 studio albums, these Toronto twangers have become as dependable as a designated driver. You buy a Blue Rodeo album, you know exactly what you're getting: Some melodic, hooky pop from the McCartneyesque Jim Cuddy; some shaggy, trippy rock from his Lennonesque foil Greg Keelor; and nimble, impeccable performances from the rest of the band. Well, surprise: That's what you get again on the band's latest disc Small Miracles. Oh sure, they spice it up a bit here and there with dashes of '60s Beatle-pop and psychedelia, along with torchy bossa-nova jazz and even a little mellow soul. But really, that's just window dressing; underneath that, Blue Rodeo are still the same as they ever were. And, hopefully, the same as they always will be.

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When Frank Ace plays the blues on his guitar, it is a rich sound that is smooth and demonstrates his mastery of a technique that has become his recognizable signature. Catching the beat from Kenny Burrell's jazz, and Chet Atkins' country/western. As a child, Frank learned to play country/western under the unlikely tutoring of rodeo cowboys who came to his stepfather's boots and saddle shop in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He developed his love for the blues when he later lived with his grandparents. "Back then, my grandmother defined the blues for me, and I've never forgotten it," says the Arizona native. "You didn't have to have the words. Blues is a feeling; it comes from way down inside." When he attended Phoenix Union High School, he was making big bucks for a 17-year-old.

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2009 two CD release. While Rock 'N' Roll was generally influenced by Blues and Country, Lounge music was derived from Jazz and other musical elements borrowed from traditions around the world. This double disc set includes modern Jazz-based Lounge tunes that updates the genre for a new generation of fans. Features 34 tracks including cuts from Mr. Scruff (Featuring Alice Russell), Italian Secret Service, Mop Mop, Nu Tropic and others.

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Through his many fascinating and compelling documentaries, Louis Theroux has made the off-beat, the unsavoury and the less-visited aspects of life his own domain. Through his unique intimate, un-confrontational interviewing style, Louis is able to present intense and surprisingly revealing portraits of the most disparate of subjects.

Oh Susanna (Suzie Ungerleider) returns to her roots here by emphasising her voice and lyrics, and rises to the challenge with graceful ease. That voice really is a marvel, a haunting, expressive instrument that can proudly stand alongside those of Emmylou Harris and Gillian Welch in the roots elite. Sparse and subtle accompaniment comes from her A-list players, including Luke Doucet, David Baxter, Blue Rodeo’s Bazil Donovan and Bob Packwood, Justin Rutledge (who harmonises beautifully on “Pretty Penny”) and drummer/hubby Cam Giroux. Strings are used judiciously and effectively on “Miss Liberty” and powerful closer “Filled With Gold.” Lyrically, Suzie presents a rich, colourful cast of characters, telling their stories with real empathy. There’s the “beauty queen strapped to a Coke machine” and the teenager who gave up her baby then ran off to “hang my heart on a hitching post where they got clean air to breathe” on “Greyhound Bus.” Even Billy The Kid makes an appearance, via her fine cover of Dylan’s “Billy 4.” This album stresses mood and narrative over melody to stunning effect.

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This DVD features a tribute concert for the legendary Buddy Holly. Recorded in Austin in 1987, it features Brian Setzer, John Fogerty, Carl Perkins, The Crickets and others. Buddy Holly is perhaps the most anomalous legend of '50s rock & roll he had his share of hits, and he achieved major rock & roll stardom, but his importance transcends any sales figures or even the particulars of any one song (or group of songs) that he wrote or recorded. Holly was unique, his legendary status and his impact on popular music all the more extraordinary for having been achieved in barely 18 months.

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Celebrated as the European electronic music community's premier ambassador, composer Jean Michel Jarre elevated the synthesizer to new peaks of popularity during the 1970s, in the process emerging as an international superstar renowned for his dazzling concert spectacles...

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