35 Years of Stony Plain
Various artists
Stony Plain
9-out-of-10
Regular readers will know I have something of a soft spot for the Stony Plain label out of Alberta.
The label doesn't roll out a lot of disks in a year, but the ones they do are usually as solid as you can get.
Specializing in blues, swing, and older style country, Stony Plain has endured where many smaller labels have failed, in large part no doubt to the stellar line-up of performers who have recorded for the label through the years.
So when the new compilation disk celebrating 35-years of Stony Plain music arrived I knew it was going to be golden.
Generally speaking I'm not a huge fan of compilation disks. I find they have a hard time holding together in terms of style.
In the case of what is essentially a sampler of a label's best, you have to just forget about schematics and instead focus on the strength of each cut.
In the case of Stony Plain's 35 years, there are 41-songs on a two-disk set, eight of the songs previously unreleased, three by Bob Carpenter, four by Robert Nighthawk and one by the famous King Biscuit Boy.
Among the other performers, the list is impressive with the likes of Jeff Healey, Duke Robillard, Amos Garrett, Ian Tyson and Long John Baldry.
Add in a third disk of bonus DVD videos and docs and this is a great package which will keep you entertained for hours.
Showing a bit of age in terms of how long I have been at this review stuff, I enjoyed Stony Plain's 25-year collection, and their 30-year disks, both sets being well worth being in any music collection.
This 35-year retrospective collection continues that fine tradition. A definite winner.
Check it out at www.stonyplainrecords.com
- CALVIN DANIELS
SELF-TITLED
Barbara Lynn Doran
Indie
7-out-of-10
Scarborough, Ontario, a suburb of Toronto may not seem like the place from which a country singer would emerge, but that is exactly the case with Barbara Lynn Doran.
Citing a diverse range of artists among her favourites; Olivia Newton John, Madonna, Tori Amos, Kate Bush, Sheryl Crow, it was the country influences which ultimately won out with Doran.
Doran likes her country slower. Her voice seems best suited to a country song laden with emotion.
Cuts such as Innocence and Little Misunderstood are among the best of a solid six-song debut disk.
On her website Doran notes that Little Misunderstood is in large part autobiographical. "This song is my life in a nutshell. I've always been misjudged and misunderstood and I thought it was a great title for my first single," she explained.
Doran is like a lot of country of singers these days, musically solid, but not exactly offering something which completely knocks your socks off. That said, this is a disk which holds promise of being the launching pad of a new star in terms of Canadian country.
Check it out at www.barbaralynndoran.ca
- CALVIN DANIELS
Past reviews are archived online at http://calmardan.blogspot.com/
