Best of Columbia Records Radio Hour 1
Unfortunately, the Sunday morning Columbia Records Radio Hour was not broadcast in the Boston area to my knowledge, so I have no detailed information of the radio broadcasts themselves. Nonetheless, volume one is a nice sampler, with a solid mix of folk & country based artists.The brightest moments belong to Bruce Cockburn, Shawn Colvin, Mary Chapin Carpenter and Rosanne Cash. Cockburn is benefitted by the always-tasteful upright bass of Rob Wasserman, which gives plenty of bottom to the inflective "Lord Of The Starfields" and the engaging "Lovers In A Dangerous Time." In fact, I prefer this version of the latter to the studio original.Shawn Colvin is represented by an intimate "Polaroids", where her angelic voice is complemented by a variety of interesting rhythms. Mary Chapin Carpenter add supple harmonies on the great "Shotgun Down The Avalanche", and Colvin returns the favor for a gorgeous reading of Carpenter's "Come On Come Over" that gives a prime example of the benefits of hushed dynamics. Rosanne Cash, with help from John Leventhal, turns "Wouldn't It Be Lovely" into a country/folk swing, while former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne adds ideosynchric harmonies to "What We Really Want." Peter Himmelman also fares well with the intimate feel of "Raina."Like most various artists compilations, though, the variety of music meets its limits in terms of acquired tastes. Your mileage may vary, but the Leonard Cohen songs feel out of place in comparison to the acoustic-based artists: Whereas most of the songs eschew warmth and human emotion, Cohen's are almost too cold and calculating. Darden Smith's "The Levee Song" is pleasant, but almost appears like a leftover in comparison to the other contributions.The disc closes with a classy reading of a touching "Cry Of A Tiny Babe", with Cockburn aided by Lou Reed (who handles the second verse), Rosanne Cash (providing tasteful harmonies), and Wasserman.