How much do I like this album? I've only owned it for about six weeks, and I'm already putting it on this list. This is easily Elton John's best album since 1995's "Made in England". He calls it "the most piano orientated album" of his career and his "most adult album". It's basically just a return to form, as most of the album was recorded with just piano, bass and drums. His voice hasn't sounded this good in years. I've been spending a lot of time with this record, and I would guess that if I was doing this list a year from now, this would be ranked much higher.
This is the album's opening track, "Ocean's Away" ...
In 2004, Howard Goldstein introduced me to Dan Bern, and I'm so glad he did. Dan Bern is one of the best singer/songwriters out there, a fantastic storyteller and one of my favorite lyricists. If you're not familiar with Bern, you're probably familiar with some of his work, as Bern has written songs for a number of motion pictures, including Walk Hard's "(Have You Heard the News) Dewey Cox Died". This album has become a Saturday afternoon staple in my home. And no, I'm not sure why I listen to certain albums on certain days and certain times.
Here's a recent performance of the title track, "Breathe" ...
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