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Hi all!

Nancy Wilson is one of the two goddesses of the rock group Heart. So why may you ask is she creating an album of tunes specifically meant to help lull babies to sleep? Well, why not? She’s a mom too!

Evidently, the idea of composing guitar lullabies didn’t occur to her originally. “It never occurred to me to actually try and put people to sleep with my music,” she says. “But then the idea came up when a friend had a new baby.” She tested these tunes on several unsuspecting “test babies” and many have been lulled to sleep by them. So they must work, right?

Let me put your fears to rest. These are beautiful, acoustic instrumentals, that adults or children might listen to on a lazy Sunday morning or before bed to settle down after a long day. Each of the ten songs on the CD was composed by Wilson and bandmates Craig Bartock and Debbie Shair and played by the trio as well. Wilson and Bartock played guitars and Shair helped on a concert harp. And if the music isn’t enough to get you to buy the CD, the cover and CD art were done by Ms. Wilson’s kids – Curtis and Billy.

Some of these tunes came dangerously close to putting me to sleep – including the repetitive, nearly meditative “Cozy Rain” and the slow glide of “Silky.” “Sun on the Rug” was even heard recently in the soundtrack for the Hilary Swank movie P.S. I Love You.

It’s hard to believe that Heart has been rocking the world with music since the 1970s, but they’re gearing up to mark the 30th anniversary of Dog & Butterfly, a classic multi-platinum album. And if that’s not enough, they’re also going to start work on their 14th studio album soon. With such classic songs as “Crazy On You,” “Barracuda,” “Magic Man,” and many, many others, it’s great to know that Nancy, her sister, and the rest of the band are still committed to creating great music for fans big and small.

If you, like me, are a big fan of Heart and have kids or know people with young children, you can’t miss by picking up this great collection of original acoustic guitar songs. Even if you don’t have kids, Baby Guitars might be just the thing for a lazy day. The album is only available on Amazon.com as a CD and digital download, so go order yours today!

–Fitz

p.s. Pick up this and other great CDs from Heart below!

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Hi there!

I love being a parent. It gives me excuses to check out cool educational software for my daughters. Itzabitza offers a combination of art, reading, creativity, and exploration as well as a reason for kids to get used to using a mouse! In addition, it’s fun for parents to play along with their kids – unlike far too many games I’ve played with them recently.

The general theme behind Itzabitza seems to be selecting a setting and drawing things with the mouse to interact with the setting on screen to collect stars. As you collect more stars, you unlock new settings and can do new things. The five settings or playsets are “Home Sweet Home,” “Let’s Go Camping,” “Play in Space,” “A Farm Life,” and “A VERY Scary Haunted House” (just in time for Halloween).

If you’re familiar with Scribblenauts for the Nintendo DS, you sort of have the idea. But this is aimed squarely at younger kids, probably in the 4-6 year old range (though my 8 year old liked it too). Instead of having to write words to create things on the screen, you’re given a set of words that you click to get little tasks – like draw a house, a window, a rock, and so on. So you draw a house. And even if the house isn’t great, it figures out that’s what you drew and it animates it.

Honestly for me it was the little animations that made the game work. I’m definitely not an artist by any stretch of the imagination, but my two daughters worked together to figure out each cool little thing to do at their own pace. Add to that the fact that no two sessions will ever be exactly the same and you have a definite winner.

One day after playing the game, my eldest daughter told the story of how she and her little sister (age 4) had to try and get milk from a cow. They kept clicking on it and all it did was poop, but they eventually got the milk and giggled like mad for the better part of 10 minutes. It’s little unexpected things like that which will endear this game to most kids immediately. I think the folks at Sabi Games have an amazing understanding of what makes kids tick and how to keep them entertained while simultaneously teaching them about cause and effect, reading, and how to use their creativity. It’s a great combination.

In case you think I’m gushing about this game, I’m not the only one. ItzaBitza was just named to Dr. Toy’s Best 100 Children’s Products of 2009 list. It has also received glowing reviews from parenting and technology experts and recently won a Creative Child Game of the Year Award. The game had previously won a Parents’ Choice Gold Medal Award; an Editor’s Choice and Gold Award from The Children’s Technology Review; a five-star review from USA Today; The Toy Man Seal of Approval, eco-Recognition Seal, Award of Excellence and eChoice Award; an Editor’s Choice Game Award from the Computer Times; and a “Best Tech for Kids” mention in BusinessWeek.

Honestly, the only issue I had with the game while playing with my 4 year old was after you click on a word, you get a question. And you have to mouse over the words one at a time to have the computer read them. At a certain age, I think the word-by-word option should be there, but for younger kids to not get frustrated quickly it would be nice if it read the whole question instead of a word at a time. Perhaps that can be an option on the lower, easier levels, and the more backgrounds you unlock you have to read more.

If you’re a parent looking for a creative way to engage your youngsters ages 4 and up, Itzabitza is a great way to spend some time with them and let them explore their creative side while learning. It’s only available on Windows machines (XP and up), but you can find the boxed version at Amazon.com or purchase it on Steam (http://store.steampowered.com). Be sure to get your copy today!

–Fitz

p.s. Pick up these games today!

Hi all…

Sometime in the mid 1980s, I was exposed to Monty Python. It was, of course, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which of course stunted my growth and imprinted itself upon my brain to the point where Python lines began creeping into every day conversation. My parents were appalled. Neither could stand the humorous antics of these men dressed up in costumes banging coconuts together to make clip-clopping noises.

Yes, it’s true. I’m a Monty Python addict. But nothing really prepared me for the depth of Monty Python: Almost The Truth. As a Monty Python fan, I learned things I had never known before in each and every episode. Because of this, I will recommend to all of my closest friends (most of them Python fans) that they must watch the series on A&E and pick up the DVD set.

But I’m getting ahead of myself here. So why is this such a ground-breaking documentary series? Because, like all great documentaries, it presents information that you may or may not have heard before in such a way as to make you think about things more deeply. I never knew how the Monty Python troupe came together or what they did before. It simply wasn’t something I considered prior to watching this series.

Starting with Episode 1, we learn the humble beginnings of each member of the troupe and how they found their funny bones on their own or in pairs before eventually finding their way together for Monty Python’s Flying Circus. By the time you get to Episode 4, you realize that not only are they very funny and talented, but they’ve all gone through some rough times as artists and people. And by Episode 6, you come to find that they’ve all found ways to move beyond Python and find their own ways in the world.

Some of the startling facts that I learned from Monty Python: Almost The Truth:

• Terry Gilliam had a life before Python in the magazine business.
• Monty Python and the Holy Grail was financed by a bunch of big name bands in the 1970s, including Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and Jethro Tull.
• Graham Chapman was an amazingly functional alcoholic. I always knew he had alcohol issues in the Flying Circus days, but I didn’t realize how much.

Documentaries are often long, dreary, boring affairs. But Monty Python: Almost The Truth couldn’t be further from the norm. All the way through I felt entertained and educated.

When you arrive at Disc 3, you find a collection of sketches, extended interviews, interview outtakes, and the Terry Gilliam Picture Gallery. Among the sketches are three of my favorites – “The Parrot Sketch,” “Ministry of Silly Walks,” and “The Cheese Shop.” The fact that these guys could sit down and write lines like “He’s off the twig! He’s kicked the bucket, He’s shuffled off his mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin’ choir invisible!! THIS IS AN EX-PARROT!!”, the absolutely insane list of cheeses from around the world that is somehow made funny by the fact that the proprietor of the cheese shop has no cheese at all, and then the simple yet odd physical comedy of John Cleese doing his silly walk… It makes me laugh just to think of any of them.

As I said at the beginning, this collection is a must have for any serious Monty Python fan. Rush to your favorite retailer and pick up your copy of Monty Python: Almost The Truth today. You won’t be sorry!

–Fitz

p.s. Pick up this and other Monty Python DVDs below!

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Hi there!

Back in the 1980s when I was growing up, I remember watching television shows like That’s Incredible with Fran Tarkenton and Ripley’s Believe It or Not! with Jack Palance and gaping in wonderment as these bizarre stories came to light. All of these strange events, places, and people found all over the world doing the most amazing and insane things! Just the stuff a youngster needed to be watching on television.

So when Ripley’s Believe It or Not!: Seeing is Believing was released back in August, I had to check it out. As with most books about weird, unusual, or unbelievable topics – this one did not disappoint. In fact, it provides an absolutely enormous number of facts in twelve broad categories: Strange But True, Extreme Earth, Incredible Feats, Unusual Customs, Crazy Creatures, Travel Tales, Fantastic Food, Body Oddity, Strange Sites, Artistic License, Amazing Science, and Beyond Belief.

When I would flip through the book, I would dwell on each page for quite a long time as I devoured all the tasty morsels of information. My two daughters were fascinated at the wide array of pictures and odd animal facts and would help me work my way through them all. This is the type of book that should be chewed through slowly. I attemtped to plow through the whole thing in a night and was quickly overrun by dates, figures, and names.

From the very beginning of the book, you’re bombarded with the bizarre. I grew up playing Scrabble with my Mom regularly and am still fond of the game, though I rarely play these days. However, can you imagine playing while skydiving? Or with lions or alligators watching? These people are either dedicated or insane, I can’t tell which.

Later in the book you read about a lucky dog hit by a car so hard that it became stuck in the grill. Amazingly, the dog only suffered a broken leg and fully recovered. How did the dog survive such a near tragedy and how did the Ripley’s group hear about it I wonder?

You also read about a woman in Washington State who had a birthday cake for her husband made in the shape of a dragon. Made from chocolate and vanilla with a chocolate buttercream filling – it took 12 hours to complete. I would imagine it took considerably less time to consume at the birthday party.

All told, the book is 254 pages long with beautiful full color photographs and illustrations as well as a ten page index so you can look things up. It’s beautifully laid out with a hardcover binding and should survive for many years as a reference of the weird, strange, and bizarre at my house!

If you, like Robert Ripley, have a love for the wonderful world of the weird, be sure to check out Ripley’s Believe It or Not!: Seeing is Believing at your favorite library or bookstore. I bet you’ll be amazed, grossed out, and shocked at some of the facts you find between the covers!

–Fitz

p.s. Pick up this book and others at Amazon below!

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Hi all!

Do you believe in fairies? Sheila A. Dane does, and in Fairy Hunters, Ink. you meet Ashley, Big Rabbit, Turtle, and all of the different fairies they find during their many expeditions. Though the book is subtitled “A Book of Fairies for Children and (Not So) Grown Ups”, I think Dane did a magnificent job of writing this to capture a sense of childlike wonder throughout the text.

From the very beginning, the reader follows along as this small group of Fairy Hunters explores the area around the narrator’s (a young girl) house. They find many different faeries, from the Button Fairies having parties in the narrator’s closet at the beginning of the book to the Picnic Fairies and the Gremlin of Unfinished Business at the end.

Also included are illustrations by Rose Csorba, who did a beautiful job of capturing the little absurdities of each of the fairies encountered. She also did a beautiful job on the cover, which is also included as an interior illustration.

I read through the book with my two young daughters and really enjoyed it. It’s hard to explain though – the writing is interesting at times, with little asides and odd capitalizations, made-up words and so on. But I think this lends to the charm of the book, making the reader feel as though they’re reading something written by a child.

Among our favorite fairy stories were:

• Pocket Fairies… “All Pockets have Fairies, at least until the Pocket gets a hole and your Fairy falls out…” They tend to be frazzled looking, though they aren’t generally frazzled – they just look that way because they live in your pocket.
• Sock Fairies… “It’s favorite form of Mischief seems to be going in the laundry and stealing Socks.” We have a big problem with Sock Fairies at my house.
• Button Fairies… “I either have a lot of mice [in my closet] or all my buttons fell off at once and are having parties in my closet at night. And they haven’t invited me, which I think is quite Rude.” We have a big problem with Button Fairies at our house as well – like all kids, I think they’re allergic to tidy closets or have a lot of Button Fairies causing issues when they sleep!

There seems to have been renewed interest in fairies in children’s books of late. We really enjoyed the Spiderwick Chronicles by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi, but those have a slightly darker tone than Fairy Hunters, Ink.. It’s nice to be able to share lighter fare with children to explain some of life’s little “mysteries.”

Dane has a website FairyHunters.net, where she is writing regular blog articles that will eventually become the sequel. I know we look forward to the sequel and will share it with other kids and parents as the opportunity arises. Be sure to look for Fairy Hunters, Ink by Sheila A. Dane at your local library or favorite bookstore!

–Fitz

p.s. Pick up this and other books below!

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Hi there!

Way back when the original Fame (1980) movie was released, I was really too young to appreciate the deeper social issues intertwined with the story. But when the Fame television show aired in the early 1980s, that didn’t stop me and my family from tuning in. The combination of dancing, singing, and performing tapped into my subconscious from an early age. And to this day, I probably still have a crush on Irene Cara and would be intimidated by Debbie Allen if she happened to be in a room.

So when the new Fame (2009) movie was announced, I was enthusiastic. It once again included the indomitable Debbie Allen, plus the gorgeous and talented Kherington Payne from So You Think You Can Dance season 5 – two figures from the world of dance I knew were talented in the field. Add to that an all-star cast of Megan Mullally (Will & Grace), Bebe Neuwirth (Cheers), Charles S. Dutton, Kelsey Grammer, and a whole new generation of talented singers, dancers, and performers, and you should have a great film.

I was disappointed to hear that the film opened to mixed reviews and somehow I never had a chance to catch it in the theater. I do however want to take a look when it comes out on DVD in a few months.

But how was the soundtrack, you ask? Well, it has some high points. I’m not much of a fan of hip-hop or the new R&B music, but the two voices that really stood out to me were those of Asher Book and Naturi Naughton, both relative newcomers.

The only two songs that survived between from the 1980 soundtrack to the new one were “Fame” and “Out Here on My Own.” The 2009 version of “Fame” is just ok for me – the bass is a bit much. But “Out Here on My Own” from Naughton worked for me. She has a pure, emotive voice and the simple arrangement with voice and piano really brought that out.

Asher Book however was the standout for me. I’m not sure if he played piano on the tunes on which he sang, but his voice lent itself to the pop/bluesy feel of most of these tracks extremely well. The arrangements of “Try” and “Someone to Watch Over Me” were especially potent. I hope this isn’t the last we’ll hear from him.

Lastly, I knew that Megan Mulally could sing. I had heard her belt out showtunes on television at some point. But I was pleasantly surprised to find “You Took Advantage of Me” where she was given the spotlight amidst the rest of the young talent of the film. She’s a brilliant comedic actress with an amazing voice and her character was quite apparent as she sang, providing yet one more reason to watch the movie when it’s released on DVD.

Overall this was a good soundtrack with some solid performances by Naughton, Book, and Mulally. I hope to see how the soundtrack works in the context of the film in a few months. If you liked Fame (2009) or are merely interested to hear what they’ve done with the music this time around, be sure to check out the soundtrack at your favorite retailer!

–Fitz

p.s. Check out both soundtracks at Amazon below!

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Hey there!

Tom and Jerry deserve to go down in the great cartoon duos with Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, Rocky and Bullwinkle, and Scooby Doo and Shaggy. Created in the 1940s by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, Tom is a blue-gray tomcat and Jerry is a little brown mouse who seem to have had it in for each other since they were drawn together.

Since their debut with the 1941 short “The Midnight Snack”, the dynamic duo of cat and mouse have destroyed lives, homes, and each other in more than 150 shorts between 1941 and 1967. Hanna and Barbera directed shorts in the 1940s and 50s. Gene Deitch directed a few in the 1961 and 1962. Chuck Jones directed shorts between 1963 and 1967… So Tom and Jerry have undergone a few changes over the years.

Personally, my favorites are from the Hanna and Barbera era, and all of the 14 shorts included in Tom and Jerry’s Greatest Chases, Vol. 3 collection are from that era. There were even a couple that I don’t think I’d ever seen, which is odd considering the number of cartoons I’ve watched in my life!

Three of my all-time favorite Tom and Jerry cartoons are included on this DVD, which absolutely made by day.

“The Two Mouseketeers” (1952) and “Touché, Pussy Cat!” (1954) are both set in the France of Alexandre Dumas book The Three Musketeers, featuring Jerry as a “Mouseketeer” and a young, enthusiastic mouse. In “The Two Mouseketeers”, Jerry and his young companion decide to take advantage of a lavish banquet guarded by Tom.

“Touché, Pussy Cat!” acts as a prequel to “The Two Mouseketeers,” explaining how the young mouse came to become a Mouseketeer. Sent to Jerry to train by friend François Mouse, the young mouse is originally turned away. But as with all things, the youngster proves he has the heart of a Mouseketeer and helps Jerry beat Tom in a swordfight.

My third favorite is “Pecos Pest” (1955) when Jerry’s Uncle Pecos comes to visit and practice playing his guitar before appearing on a television program. When a string breaks on Pecos’ guitar, the nearest replacement happens to be one of Tom’s whiskers, which causes all kinds of issues for Tom and Jerry.

Somehow I managed to miss “Blue Cat Blues” (1956) and “The Flying Sorceress” (1956) after all these years, but it was fun to see them appear in this collection.

Once again, Warner Brothers has done a great job of pulling together a fun collection of 14 classic Tom and Jerry cartoons in Tom and Jerry’s Greatest Chases, Vol. 3. Be sure to look for it (as well as Volume 1 and 2) at your favorite online or local retailer or rental store!

–Fitz

p.s. Pick up Volume 3 and other Tom and Jerry greats on DVD from Amazon below!

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Who was Vince Guaraldi? Guaraldi was an amazing jazz pianist who brought us the wonderful music from the Peanuts television specials in the 1960s. His life was cut far too short by an unexpected heart attack at age 47, or who knows what other jazz compositions he might have created in his career.

Long before meeting Charlie Brown, Guaraldi had been playing jazz piano. First in the Cal Tjader quintet, later in his own trios, and in a scattering of other groups like Woody Herman’s Third Herd, his quiet power and sense of joy were constant throughout. And when Lee Mendelson first heard “Cast Your Fate to the Wind,” an upbeat piano piece, he was trying to find a soundtrack for a documentary, the stars aligned and the sound for the Peanuts television specials was found.

Like many kids growing up in the 1970s, I was raised watching all the Peanuts specials that aired on television. It was almost mandatory television in those days. The Guaraldi piano themes worked their way into my mind and gave me an appreciation for jazz and good music that I hope to pass along to my own children.

So what is The Definitive Vince Guaraldi all about? This 2-CD collection brings together 31 tracks from Guaraldi’s career, both pre- and post-Peanuts. Many of these tracks I was unfamiliar with, especially on the first CD – but the second CD holds some of his classic Charlie Brown tunes. Does that mean there’s nothing on the first CD to enjoy? Heck no. It just means that it’s a great way to discover, as I did, some of the deeper Guaraldi tracks that some of us must have missed.

Also included in the CD set is a great booklet that talks about Guaraldi’s career and includes some wonderful stories about the early days. One of those stories was about the first Guaraldi trio – Eddie Duran (guitar), Dean Reilly (bass) – and their gig at Enrico Banducci’s North Beach club in San Francisco. Evidently that gig lasted more than a year and a half, but a rival act – eccentric comic Professor Irwin Corey – convinced Banducci that the trio was extraneous to the business and got them fired. Seems Guaraldi was so angry he threatened to kill Corey. That didn’t happen, it turns out. As the booklet says – “Fortunately for Corey and generations of Guaraldi fans, the Sicilian storm [Guaraldi] subsided. Instead of going to San Quentin on a murder conviction, Guaraldi joined Woody Herman’s Third Herd early in 1956…” Lucky for us, Guaraldi decided not to commit murder or we wouldn’t have all the wonderful music we have of his today.

Beginning with “Calling Dr. Funk” on the first CD, you can clearly hear the fun Guaraldi has each time he lays his hands on the keys. As a saxophone player (or ex-sax player), I loved the combination of the classic jazz sax from Jerry Dodgion and Guaraldi on piano. It just grooves right along from beginning to end. The rest of the first CD follows suit, giving us such standards as Gershwin’s “Fascinating Rhythm” and Guaraldi’s composition “Cast Your Fate to the Wind” which led to his work with the Peanuts.

The second CD doesn’t slow down any, with great salsa-influenced tracks like “Mr. Lucky,” “Corovado,” and “Work Song,” intermixed with some of his Peanuts classics – “Oh, Good Grief,” “Linus and Lucy,” the “Charlie Brown Theme” and much more.

It’s impossible to say how much of an influence Guaraldi had on my life, let alone any other other classic jazz pianists like the amazing Herbie Hancock.

If you’re a fan of jazz piano or simply want to hear more of the man who performed the music from the Charlie Brown specials through the years, The Definitive Vince Guaraldi deserves a place in your music collection. And if you’re anything like me, I’ll be wearing this CD set out far too quickly. Look for it at your favorite music retailer!

–Fitz

p.s. Pick up this CD and other Vince Guaraldi greats at Amazon below:

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It’s rare to find a book that has one of your favorite authors talking about another of your favorite authors. So to find a book written by Neil Gaiman about the long, strange road of author Douglas Adams, it was as though I found an amazing, hidden two-for-one sale at the bookstore.

Written with admiration and humor, I found Gaiman’s prose entertaining and enlightening as I learned more about the author who has written so many of my favorite books – The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, and The Long Dark Tea-time of the Soul. And Gaiman has written two more of my favorite books – Neverwhere and American Gods.

In 1971, Adams was hitchhiking across Europe with a copy of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Europe when, at the end of a harrowing day, he ended up flat on his back in a field in Innsbruck, staring up at the stars. It was then he had the thought “Sombebody really ought to write a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.” He then promptly forgot about it.

Then, in 1977, he remembered it when he was trying to come up with ideas for radio scripts. And that started a long journey of writing and missing deadlines that continued for the next 24 years. In 2001, Adams passed away when he suffered a fatal heart attack while exercising in his gym in Santa Barbara.

I have read all of Douglas Adams’ novels, including Last Chance to See, which documented his journeys around the world to see how certain endangered species were doing. I’m a huge fan of his unique way of seeing the world.

But I never really knew the bumpy road of the Hitchhiker’s radio program or Adams’ involvement with the Dr. Who franchise. And I didn’t realize that he was involved with the Monty Python troupe. All these little facts are eloquently detailed in Gaiman’s prose.

This version of Don’t Panic is the fifth edition. The first was written in 1988 by Gaiman and it’s seen updates as Adams’ journey and his legacy continued over the years.

To continue that legacy, a new book in the ill-labeled “Hitchhiker’s Trilogy” will be released to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the first publication of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Written by author Eoin Colfer, author of the successful children’s series Artemis Fowl, the new book is called And Another Thing…. I’m excited about the upcoming book, as I never really felt that Arthur Dent’s journey was complete. We’ll see how Colfer does.

Adams will be forever missed, but his legacy will last forever.

If you’re a Douglas Adams fan or a fan of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Don’t Panic is a must have for your collection. Be sure to look for it in your local library or favorite bookstore and keep an eye out for Eoin Colfer’s book – And Another Thing…!

–Fitz

p.s. Pick up any of these amazing books below!

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Brandi Carlile and her band first came to my attention a couple of years ago when they opened for Sheryl Crow at Red Rocks Ampitheater in Morrison, Colorado. Carlile, twins Tim and Phil Hanseroth and cellist Josh Neumann walked out on stage and blew me away with tunes from their album The Story, which I immediately purchased upon returning home.

Give Up the Ghost is Carlile’s third studio album, pairing her with Grammy Award winning producer Rick Rubin. The album also provided an opportunity to work with her idol, Elton John, on the song “Caroline.” As Carlile said, “when I was 11 and discovered Elton John, I realized that performers do write and perform their own songs,” and that inspired her to get a keyboard and start writing. Also featured on the album are contributors Benmont Tench, multi-instrumentalist from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, drummer Chad Smith, and Amy Ray of The Indigo Girls.

It’s hard to argue with an album with this sort of pedigree. And Carlile doesn’t disappoint, returning once again with her soaring vocals, mixed musical styles, and amazing arrangements.

In “Dying Day,” an up-tempo guitar-driven beat provides the backdrop to the harmonies between Carlile and the twins. Add to that the lyrics of a lover stranded in the world, working his or her way home again to be with their love until their dying day.

“Caroline,” the duet with Elton John and Carlile, definitely has EJ’s touch on piano and they sound great together. There’s an interesting cross in musical styles between the almost Dixieland piano of EJ and the Grand Ol’ Opry quality of Carlile’s voice.

Without a doubt, “Before It Breaks” is my favorite on the album, with Carlile’s signature effortless octave-changing vocals. Backed by piano and strings, her voice takes on an ethereal quality. Take a listen for yourself in this live performance…

Brandi Carlile, \”Before it Breaks\” on YouTube

If you liked The Story, you should love Give Up the Ghost.. Brandi Carlile and her cohorts only get better from album to album and I for one hope they make music for many, many years to come. Look for Give Up the Ghost on store shelves starting October 6, 2009.

Don’t forget to watch for concert dates in your area either… Carlile and her band are just as amazing (if not moreso) live as they are on CD, so don’t pass up an opportunity to give them a listen.

–Fitz

p.s. Pick up Give Up the Ghost and other Brandi Carlile CDs at Amazon below:

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