FolkBlog

I saw Eddie From Ohio live last night at the Martin Janis Center on the Ohio State Fairgrounds as part of the Six String Concerts series. They were in fine form, as usual. I’ve not seen them in several years, so most of their newer material I’ve not heard live. They performed most of the tracks from their new CD, This is Me, as well as some older tracks, including “Quick,” “Old Dominion,” and, surprisingly to me, they opened the set with “Bleecker to Broadway,” which I don’t remember hearing them do when they were touring Looking Out the Fishbowl. They closed their set with a beautiful a cappella rendition of “Walk Humbly Son”.

Julie Murphy Wells is a compelling singer. Not only does she have the pipes to sing anything , she’s also fun to watch - she gestures with her hands, she accompanies the songs with facial expressions, she plays air drums. She’s fun to watch - even when she’s not singing. If you like EFO, and particularly Julie’s singing, you will be happy to know that her solo album of jazz standards, Sophisticated Lady, is available again (I’m pretty sure that it was out of print last time I say EFO). They were selling it at the show last night, and I’m glad I picked it up. Recorded live at the Birchmere with a crack jazz combo, Julie rips through 19 standards from the great American songbook.

I went out this morning to pick up the new Peter Himmelman at Best Buy, and to look for a record I saw on the All Music Guide new releases email a couple weeks ago - The Essential Pete Seeger. (By the way - if you want to get a spiffy email on Monday evening detailing what will be new in the music stores the next day, subscribe to the All Music Guide new releases email. It’s a great reminder. But, I digress. I would like somebody at Columbia Records to tell me why The Essential Pete Seeger is one disk and The Essential Kenny Loggins is a two-disk package. Seriously. Bob Dylan got two disks. Johnny Cash got two disks. Leonard Cohen got two disks. Earl Scruggs got two disks. Billy Joel got two disks. Pete Seeger gets one disk? Come on. This is just flat out wrong.