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Kindred Folk Volume #1

cover of Kindred Folk Volume #1

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released 2002

Each month I choose a favorite CD that I've been listening to at home and in the car and review it in the Tribes Hill News. Through the process of putting together our first compilation I've listened to "Kindred Folk Vol. 1" over and over again and have tremendous pride in the artists represented as well as our first endeavor together. The CD represents some of the finest music being made by independents in our region. The abundant talent of our regional artists becomes compounded in a single CD that speaks collectively from the soul. It is a patchwork of song...a journey of the heart.

It begins with Steve Kirkman's Nashville retro " I Gotta Know Who I Am", followed by The Kennedy's powerful and moving "Didn't it Rain"; Jenny Bruce's "St. Cloud" is a romantic masterpiece of nostalgic reverie; Gandalf Murphy's "Already Broken" could break any bad spell and heal what ails ya; Ina May Wool's "Hot Wired and Hungry" is a haunting account of desire; Rhonda Schuster's "It's Amazing(Pink Flies)" is an uplifting confirmation of the human spirit; Open Book's "Indiana" questions from whence we came and who we become; Christina Abbott, in "Trapped", sees love as a sticky business; Terence Martin's poetic imagery in "Waterproof" is compelling and melancholy; Marc Von Em's "Timebomb" addresses the frailty of the planet in a poignant song; Dan Bonis contributes a beautiful instrumental on guitar called "Waterfall"; James Durst's "Not Another Gun" is a timely social commentary which features John Sebastian on harmonica as well as Mark Murphy on bass; Kathleen Pemble's "There for You (engine 73)" is the finest 9/11 song I've yet heard; Karen Novy's "Tell Me" is a sensuous interplay of voice and pop ambiance; Cadence Carroll's "Evolve" is a joyous and affirmative incantation, Robert Hill's "Ozark Passage" brings us on a ride not to be forgotten. The CD closes with Ritt Henn's humorous and playful song "Goin Back".

- Rick Rock 3/08/2003