New tunes from the Kitchen Party

I've been collecting audio artifacts again. Fans of my radio show, The Kitchen Party should appreciate of some of these:

1) Cornbread Nation
Tim O'Brien
Sugar Hill Records 2005 (SUG-CD-4005)
Favorite songs: Hold On, Moses, Cornbread Nation, Foggy, Foggy Dew, House of the
Rising Sun. Offbeat arrangements of folk songs which lsoose none of the energy
of the originals. Can't wait to get his twin album of 2005, Fiddler's Green.

2) 3-D
Casey Driessen
Sugar Hill Records, 2006 (SUG-CD-4016)
Favorite songs: None yet, but I like the album's energy. He's a good fiddler, but
doesn't have that big of a sound live. This is an expertly produced album. I
don't mean that to be a slight to Driessen's artistry, just a comparison to what
I heard on the album to the time I heard him at the Birchmere.

4) Alberta: Wild Roses, Northern Lights
Various artists from Alberta: Corb Lund Band, k.d. lang, Ian Tyson, etc.
Smithsonian Folkways, 2006 (SFW CD 40538)
Favorite songs: None yet, but I like the whole album. There's some real dyed-
in-the-wool cowboys singing on this one. But who doesn't love Ian Tyson! I'm
finally catching up on the Smithsonian festival which I missed.

5) Due South: The Original Television Soundtrack
Various Canadian artists including Jay Semko, Spirit of the West, Sarah
McLachlan, Figgy Duff, Blue Rodeo, and the Holly Cole Trio.
Unforscene Music, 1996 (40004)
Favorite songs: Possession (McLachlan), Horses (w/ Ashley MacIsaac), Henry
Martin (Figgy Duff), and Victoria's Secret (Semko). If you've watched the show,
you probably have heard some very haunting music. Well, I couldn't resist; and
as a portrait of Canadian pop, it's a good representation of the best from the
mid 1990s.

6) Barenaked for the Holidays
Barenaked Ladies
Desperation Records, 2004 (2-40015)
Favorite songs: Deck the Stills, Hanukkah Blessings, I Have a Little Dreidel.
An album which I was prompted to pick up after listening to a number of tracks
at the Erie B&N. I love BNL and it's nice to hear some alternative holiday (both
Christmas and Hanukkah) songs.

That's all for this edition. Stay tuned for more Audio Artifacts.