Hi, here comes my tracklisting:

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Side One:

1. En El Muelle De San Blas - Maná
2. I Want To See You Again - Tish Hinjosa
3. Via Con Me - Paolo Conte
4. Closer To The Light - Bruce Cockburn
5. Storms - Nanci Griffith
6. Tears of Joy - Tuck & Patti
7. Catch Me - The Bandits
8. Freedom - Superjones
9. Fractured - Superjones
10. Le Vent Nous Portera - Noir Désir
11. Crying In The Rain - Art Garfunkel & James Taylor
12. Über Nacht - Element Of Crime

Side Two:

1. J'ai l'espoir - Roch Voisine
2. Hafencafé - Queen Bee
3. Une Dernière Semaine à New York - Patricia Kaas
4. Ich Liebe Dich - Reinhard Mey
5. L'Aigle Noir - Marie Carmen
6. The Dream Song - Joan Baez
7. Anker Werfen, Segel Setzen - Die Strombolis
8. Ce Que Sait Le Sherpa - Catherine Delasalle
9. Trois Ans Et Demi D'Amour - Patrick Bruel
10. Fire And Rain - James Taylor
11. Je Crois Toi - Céline Dion
12. Lover's Cross - Jim Croce

Looks good Annika. I cut a Patrick Bruel track from mine so good to see him included on yours. I like a bit of Paolo Conte too - we used to listen to him when I was at uni in Scotland.

And last month's Acoustic Guitar magazine had an interview with Bruce Cockburn but I've never heard any of his songs; guess I soon will!

Hi Cams,

just out of curiosity: which of Patrick Bruel's songs was to go on your CD?

Cheers,
Annika

Either Ménilmontant or Comme de bien entendu from the double CD, Entre-deux... A friend played the CD at work and it was the first time I'd heard him so I went out and bought the disc for myself. He's great! He actually does a track with Francis Cabrel on this disc, La Complainte de la Butte.

Ah, Entre Deux is the only album by Patrick Bruel which I haven't got. It's on my whish list for x-mas, though! In fact that album is quite a different style from his former ones since he covers French classics with other colleagues - for example with Francis Cabrel, as you mentioned .
I picked a track from the album he released before that one, called Juste Avant. It's a really quite different from Entre Deux, I hope you like it!

Cheers,
Annika

Dear Annika;

I want to let you know that today your tape reached to Turkey. I'll start listening to it in a short time!

best;

Zeynep

Hi Zeynep,

thanks for letting me know

Cheers,
Annika

Speaking of trees, has anybody else here not gotten their October installment yet?

Here's my review Annika:

Side One:

1. En El Muelle De San Blas - Maná

A pleasant enough pop tune with a catchy hook but not something I would rush out and buy. I wouldn't switch radio stations though.


2. I Want To See You Again - Tish Hinjosa

This one's a bit too middle of the road for me. It's sung well, lyrics are pleasant enough and the country feel permeates throughout. Just NMCOT (not my cup of tea).

3. Via Con Me - Paolo Conte

Simply brilliant. There's something about Paulo Conte that I really like. I used to listen to a couple of his albums I had on cassette when sitting playing cards with my university flatmates. This takes me back and brings a smile to my face.

4. Closer To The Light - Bruce Cockburn

I was looking forward to hearing this track as there was an extensive interview with Bruce Cockburn in a recent Acoustic Guitar magazine along with the tablature for the track Messenger Wind. It reminds me a bit of Bruce Springsteen and that's an artist some of whose tracks I love and others I don't. I'd like to hear some more of this artist so thanks for the introduction Annika. By the way, if you like I'll scan the interview and music for you and email it.

5. Storms - Nanci Griffith

This is an interesting one that didn't grab me at first but grew with repeated listening. I'd never heard of this artist before and this track has piqued my interest. I shall definitely keep my ears open for more of Nanci Griffith!

6. Tears of Joy - Tuck & Patti

Absolutely wonderful. I love jazz guitar and have much too little of it in my collection. Once again, these artists are completely new to me and that's what the tape trees are all about. I could listen to more of this very happily and may even hunt some down. From what album is this track taken? Is the rest similar to this?

7. Catch Me - The Bandits

This one doesn't grab me I'm afraid – NMCOT.

8. Freedom - Superjones
9. Fractured - Superjones

This band reminds me of REM which is indeed no bad thing. Very listenable to and worth tuning in to the lyrics – "fake guitars and a flashing Jesus dominate my living room" – great stuff. Once again, this is a new band for me and worth listening out for.

10. Le Vent Nous Portera - Noir Désir

I'm familiar with this track from another tape tree and I simply love it. I really must hear some tracks by this artist/group. Reminiscent somewhat of Mano Chao.

11. Crying In The Rain - Art Garfunkel & James Taylor

Very nice indeed.

12. Über Nacht - Element Of Crime

I like a bit of accordion and this is a nice enough track but it doesn't grab me I'm afraid.

Side Two:

1. J'ai l'espoir - Roch Voisine

This track grew on me and I quite like it now. Makes me think of a nice drive on a sunny afternoon and the windows rolled down.

2. Hafencafé - Queen Bee

Don't like this one I'm afraid.

3. Une Dernière Semaine à New York - Patricia Kaas

Nope, another miss.

4. Ich Liebe Dich - Reinhard Mey

And another.

5. L'Aigle Noir - Marie Carmen

This one I really liked at first but it's kind of lost its shine with repeated listenings. I'd need to hear more to be able to say whether I liked this artist or not.

6. The Dream Song - Joan Baez

Ah, this is one of my favourite tracks from your tape and it's only now that I've got your track listing in front of me that I realise it's Joan Baez. I always thought I'd like her but have never heard any of her music as far as I'm aware. Lovely.

7. Anker Werfen, Segel Setzen - Die Strombolis

Nope, this one doesn't do much for me. Strange to hear studenten futter mentioned – isn't that nuts and raisins? I buy that from the supermarket to nibble in the office!

8. Ce Que Sait Le Sherpa - Catherine Delasalle

I really like this one. She has a very thick voice, if that makes any sense although the guitar has a bit too much string squeak which is down to the producer to fix I reckon.

9. Trois Ans Et Demi D'Amour - Patrick Bruel

Great stuff! Not at all like the Patrick Bruel tracks I'm familiar with from Entre Deux. I could happily listen to more of this.

10. Fire And Rain - James Taylor

Superb. I really ought to hear some more of this guy.

11. Je Crois Toi - Céline Dion

I simply do not like Céline Dion. Sorry.

12. Lover's Cross - Jim Croce

Hmm, a nice enough track. I could certainly listen to more of this.

CONCLUSION

A few hits and a few misses on this one but a well put-together compilation that works well as a whole. The highlights for me would be the Joan Baez, James Taylor and Noir Désir tracks.

Thanks Annika!

Cams

Hi Cams,

thanks for your review! I wanted to put my sleeve notes on here a few hours ago - but I lost them!!! Sh*t!!
Anyway, it's good to hear an opinion and I'm glad there were some songs you liked. I guess it's natural that you wouldn't like EVERY song! To answer your questions:

Closer to the Light by Bruce Cockburn is from his album Dart to the Heart. He recently released a best-of album called anything anytime anywhere - I think it's wonderful. Very acoustic. You'd get a good overview anyway. Oh - and I'd really like to read the interview!

Storms by Nanci Griffith is on one of her later albums called Storms. Her former albums are a lot more acoustic. Unfortunately I couldn't get hold of her CD's so I copied most of her stuff from a colleague of mine, which means I only have them on tape.

Tears of Joy is definately a representive track for Tuck & Patti. Unfortunately I have never seen them play live - I have been told they're great on stage! Tears of Joy is from their album of the same name. It's the only one I have and I simply love it. There is also a great cover version of Cindy Lauper's Time after Time on it which is simply gorgeous!! I definitely wanted to put one track by Tuck & Patti on this tape and I had to choose between three...great artists!

Freedom and Fractured are indeed great tracks. I'm so glad you liked those, since Superjones is a band I know personally. Their guitarist Oli used to be my guitar instructor and is a great friend by now. Anyway - although this may have influenced my decision to put two tracks by Superjones on my tape, I really think it's fantastic stuff! I'd be happy to send you their album called things of that nature. It's between 12 and 15 Euros I guess. You could also check on their website www.superjones.com whether it's possible to order their album online. I couldn't check, because I still haven't Flash installed...anyway, it would be no problem to send it to you.

L'aigle Noir is a cover song and was originally by Barbara, a French Chanson singer. I prefer this version because of the guitar accompaniment. I bought Marie Carmen's album and was quite disappointed.

The Dream Song is indeed one of favourite songs by Joan Baez, too. It's from her album Play Me Backwards, released in 1992.

Trois Ans Et Demi D'Amour is from Patrick's album Juste Avant which is IMO his best album so far.

Fire and Rain is one of my favourite songs by James Taylor. I was surprised you don't seem to know him. He's one of the most well-known songwriters in the U.S. His best-known song would probably be You've got a friend although he didn't write that one himself.


Lover's Cross is one of Jim Croce's hits. If you'd like to check him out, I'd recommend The Definitive Collection or Love Songs.

The German songs don't seem to have caught you. That's a shame, but can't be helped. I guess that a lot of things get lost because you don't understand the lyrics. They are really beautiful. And yes, Die Strombolis mention Studentenfutter indeed! And yes, it's nuts and raisins. In this song he mentions it in the context with a cinema visit where you tend to nibble that stuff, too!
As for Céline Dion - I knew this choice would be kind of risky. But you know - when they play one of Céline's English songs, I tend to switch off the radio. It's just a lot of commercial crap. I ONLY listen to her French albums especially since she is working together with Jean-Jacques Goldman. IMHO it's entirely different music.

Anyway, thanks for this great review, Cams. Everyone should take this as an example, myself included.

Cheers,
Annika

Hi,

I finally found my sleeve notes, so here we go:

Annika's Mix
First of all I would like to say that it was great fun compiling this tape. I hadn't done this for ages so it really reminded me of my teenager days when I used to compile at least one tape per week! But this one was also a challenge - I definitely wanted to make sure I picked the right songs. I think I did - each of these songs sends shivers down my spine and leaves me in kind of a trance, either because of the lyrics, the music or both. Sometimes it's because it involves a personal memory. Anyway, I do hope you enjoy listening to this tape as much as I enjoyed compiling it! Have fun!

Side One:

1. En El Muelle De San Blas by Maná
(In A Bay of San Blas)
I discovered Maná, a Mexican band, through the German radio station SWR 3 - usually a station that does not play the kind of music I like, which is chart music mainly. But from time to time there is an exception - as it was with this song. As soon as I heard it for the first time I fell in love with it, especially with the guitar line. As for the lyrics, I didn't understand a word! By now I have a translation into German.
Basically the song tells the story of a woman in love with a sailor who leaves her and promises to return. She's waiting her whole life for him at the Bay of San Blas but stays alone in the end. Passers-by think she's gone crazy and finally decide to take her to a convent. But in fact no one can move her from that very place because her feet have become one with the sea.
Yeah - this sounds like the stuff soap operas are made of. But Maná have a great skill to write poetic lyrics - and even the translation sounds very poetic indeed!

2. I Want To See You Again by Tish Hinojosa
This is a song that involves many memories. For one thing it reminds me of a friend who introduced me to Tish but committed suicide later. In a way I feel like I want to see her again. As far as the lyrics are concerned it reminds me of my first love who I also met on a train, although I was 18 at the time, not 16. There's also a great reference to songwriting when Tish sings about the song, left incomplete. I sort of discover myself in this song.
But apart from these personal memories it is a simple, great song, not much in need for further explanation.

3. Via Con Me by Paolo Conte
This is an Italian song of which I don't understand the lyrics very well. Usually I'm not much into Jazz music either, but this song just moves me. I guess it's the light melody and yet the unusual rhythm (unusual compared to the songs I listen to normally, that is). I guess sometimes it's hard to tell why a song moves me and another one doesn't. It happens deep down in my core.

4. Closer To The Light by Bruce Cockburn
With this song both the lyrics and the music move me deeply. It's such a sad song yet Bruce connects it with some positive looking-ahead thoughts as well.
As for the music - nearly every guitar (steel strings) accompaniment that involves finger picking just sends shivers down my spine. They sound like tiny bells and have a crystal clear sound.


5. Storms by Nanci Griffith
Nanci Griffith was introduced by the same friend who introduced Tish Hinojosa to me. For a long time Nanci's music played a major part in my life. I connected to most of her songs deeply, because the lyrics as well as the music seemed to speak from my own heart.
Storms has always been one of my favourites, mainly because of the rhythm in this case rather than the lyrics, although there are some nice metaphors in them.

6. Tears of Joy by Tuck & Patti
I love Tuck & Patti because they make great music without much effort. Patti sings with a very powerful voice and Tuck plays the guitar so individually and fantastic that you just forget everything around you! Their style is somewhere between folk and jazz, a great mix if you ask me.

7. Catch Me by The Bandits
This song comes from a German film called, as you might guess, Bandits. It's a film about 4 women in jail, each convicted for a different crime. They form a band and call themselves The Bandits. Eventually they get the opportunity to break out of jail and make a career, constantly on the run from the police. The film is great in its own way, yet it's by no means a classic.
To get to the point: The soundtrack is MUCH better than the film itself. Most of the songs were written by the actresses and it is great rock music. Catch Me however is a cover which fits in the story just great - I don't know the original recording, but this version leaves me overwhelmed each time I hear it.

8. Freedom by Superjones / 9. Fractured by Superjones
Superjones is a band I know personally. I really like their music, a great combination of rock and gentle melodies. Kevin's voice is great if you ask me.
In both of these songs it's the music that knocks me off my feet. The lyrics are special, too.

10. Le Vent Nous Portera by Noir Désir
(The Wind Will Carry Us)
This is also a band I amazingly discovered through SWR3 and this song has such GREAT lyrics! The fact SWR3 only played this song twice before it was forgotten in the archives speaks for itself and proves it must be a great song...*g*.
The statement of the song is open to interpretation I guess. To me it speaks of the insecurity of life we all have to face; yet we can only make the best of it. In a way it carries the same message as in Rosemary or Gypsy, just in a wider sense, i.e. not taking one situation as an example but putting a more general - universal? - context to the lyrics.
Let me give you my own translation from German into English:

I'm not afraid of the way.
Because I want to see it.
Enjoy it to the full,
Every bend, every winding
Until it will turn out alright.

Because the wind will carry me. And you.

Like everything you want to tell the stars,
Like the ride of things
Like tenderness and the beat
Like the palaces of other days
Of yesterday, of tomorrow
A superficial impression made of velvet
And then there comes the wind and takes everything away.

It takes our genotype, our genes
Carries it high into the air
To the atmosphere
To the galaxies
Like a flying carpet

The smell of past years
Everything that asks for admittance to your door
This infinity of destinies,
of which you live one
And what remains of it?

A flood rising constantly
A memory that everyone of us has now and then
And in the heart of the shadow that remains of me
I take a trace that remains of you
Until the wind carries everything away.

I'm not at all sure whether I picked the right words from my dictionary, so maybe there would be more fitting words which make more sense. I'm horrible at translating! Anyway, I hope you get an idea what the song is about.

11. Crying In The Rain by Art Garfunkel & James Taylor
Crying In The Rain is a song I heard first by the group a-ha back in the 80s I think it was. I didn't like the song very much back then, not even knowing it was a cover. A few years later I listened to THIS version on a radio station (no, NOT SWR3!) by chance and I was absolutely fascinated by it!


12. Über Nacht by Element of Crime
(During The Night)
Yeah - the first German song by a group with an English name! Element of Crime is one of the best German bands there is. Although they started writing in English, they published their first German album in 1990 and have continued in German since. They use an interesting instrumentation such as an accordion and a trumpet apart from guitars, bass and drums. Most of their songs are ballads, like this one.
Basically in this song, which translates During the Night, Sven (singer and writer of most of the lyrics) talks about how difficult it can be to forget an ex-lover. Once again these lyrics are very poetic, but also very ironical, which makes them a little spicier.


Side Two:

1. J'ai L'espoir by Roch Voisine
(I hope)
Roch Voisine is a Franco-Canadian singer/songwriter who started off great with his two albums Hélène and Double, the latter introducing two albums, one in French, the other one in English. After that there were some mediocre albums in both languages until he came out with his best album since the beginning, Chaque Feu. He's still in the business now, but his latest album were so poor I didn't bother to buy them.
Anyway, on this tape I chose one of my most favourite songs from Chaque Feu, called J'ai l'espoir. For this song it is clearly the music and the finger picking that sets me into a kind of trance.

2. Hafencafé by Queen Bee
(A Café at the Harbour)
Queen Bee are two women, one is playing the piano, and both of them are wonderful singers. This song is a cover of another favourite German singer of mine, Ulla Meinecke. However I prefer Queen Bee's version of the song, it somehow sounds more natural (i.e. there are no keyboards!).
In fact I didn't understand the sense of the lyrics to their full extent until I once bought a live album by Ulla Meinecke on which she explains the background of this song. It's about people who emigrate to an island, e.g. Teneriffa and their inner conflicts that are involved. They moved away to run away from home but soon they realize that all their friends stayed behind. They can't go back because it would be a defeat and they can't run away either - because that's what they've done already.

3. Une Dernière Semaine à New York by Patricia Kaas
(A Last Week in New York)
Here again it is the music that I find absolutely outstanding. The lyrics are not THAT interesting really, though not flat either. Patricia Kaas asks her lover, if it were the last week of their lives, whether he would be ready to spend this week in New York with her. But there's more to it than just that. It's also about the wish to be supported and cared for to the very last moment.

4. Ich Liebe Dich by Reinhard Mey
(I Love You)
In this song it's both, the music and the lyrics that I really like a lot. Reinhard Mey is THE German troubadour and he's been in the business for over 40 years. There are only a couple of songs that are about love - as this one; most of them are political or simply talk of other aspects of society. Sometimes he tells stories about his family or other episodes in other people's lives. He doesn't make them up; most of the time they are based on a true story.
As to this song, Reinhard says that he's used so many metaphors to say "I Love You" in his life and in songs that for a change he wants to say it straight.






5. L'Aigle Noir by Marie Carmen
(The Black Eagle)
This is another cover version of Barbara's classic L'Aigle Noir. I think it's about a dream but I haven't got through to the meaning of the Black Eagle in it. IMO the bird takes her back to her childhood dreams, but this might be over-interpreting.
Anyway - as you can guess I like the music, especially the fingerpicking and the melody in this song.

6. The Dream Song by Joan Baez

This is taken from one of Joan's later albums called Play Me Backwards, released in 1992. I really like the twisted lyrics of the song which so perfectly describe what a dream can be like with bizarre pictures that don't seem to make much sense. I also like the strings, although I could also imagine a simple accordion accompaniment here.

7. Anker Werfen, Segel Setzen by Die Strombolis
(To Cast the Anchor, To Set The Sails)
Die Strombolis came out of nowhere and released only one album so far called Grete's Hits which is obviously a word play on Greatest Hits. (Grete is an old-fashioned German Christian name)
This is yet another song about the insecurity of life and the games it plays on you sometimes. In fact the singer says that only the storm has rules and that life is very inaccurate.

8. Ce Que Sait Le Sherpa by Catherine Delasalle
(What the Sherpa knows)
Catherine Delasalle is a singer I stumbled upon by mere chance. I borrowed her album Trio from the library of the Institut Français Heidelberg. Most of the songs are very sad and make me melancholic, but this one is a real diamond, speaking of both the lyrics and the music.
Let me give you an abstract of a translation I found in the CD booklet:

Beware of what glitters little girl
Trust in what you feel and what's around you
To teach you what you need to know
But don't wait for daffodils before March
And maybe one day you'll see what the blind man sees
One day you'll know what the Sherpa knows

9. Trois Ans Et Demi D'Amour by Patrick Bruel
(Three And A Half Years Of Love)
Yeah, Patrick Bruel is also another great French singer/songwriter and his album Juste Avant is simply the best!
This song tells the story about a couple that breaks up but realizes after a few months time that it wouldn't have been necessary at all and they still love each other. Again in the lyrics you find an ironic wink in nearly every line and also the music suggests this kind of mood.

10. Fire And Rain by James Taylor
This classic just had to go on my compilation. James Taylor is one of the songwriters that inspired me most.


11. Je Crois Toi by Céline Dion
(I believe you)
This is truly one of the few decent songs Céline Dion has recorded. In fact she released two French albums called D'Eux and S'il suffisait d'aimer, which both were written by Jean-Jacques Goldman, one of the finest singer-songwriters in France. I usually turn the radio off when they play a song by her, but these two albums are really amazing!
This song speaks of the lack of confidence we often suffer from. I find myself in this song. Apart from that I really like the fingerpicking accompaniment.

12. Lover's Cross by Jim Croce
Jim Croce is one of the songwriters that inspired me from the first hour. I think the songs speaks for itself and somehow reminds me of my first break-up nearly 2 years ago.


Thanks for reading through my very long sleeve notes.

Annika

Thanks for the sleeve notes Annika - it's nice to have a bit of context after having heard the music and it seems you're very passionate about the music - no surprise to a fellow fan of Suzanne Vega's music I guess, but always nice.

And again please let me comment on your flawless command of English - simply amazing and a whole lot better than a lot of native speakers that I know! If my Russian were that good I'd be overjoyed!

Hi Cams,

you make me blush! I hope my "flawless command of English", as you put it, will help me survive my very last course at university which is all about dubbing, subtitles and translation. I find this very interesting, yet VERY hard to do!

Apart from that you're right, I really am passionate about the music I'm listening to. Music is my life!

Cheers,
Annika

"Music is my life!"

Mine too! My biggest passion in life is playing acoustic guitar - I just can't get enough of it! And it seems you're a bit of a fan of fingerstyle guitar too - there are many, many artists I could recommend if you were so inclinded, some of whom you've already heard on the first CD I sent you. Bert Jansch is one such player who also writes songs, and seeing as you seem to enjoy well written lyrics too, you should check him out.

I'm just getting into Celtic fingerstyle guitar, having been inspired by Tony McManus. I saw him in concert at the Open Strings Festival in Osnabrück and was moved almost to tears by his music. Must be the Scot in me!

Peter Finger is worth checking out too - he's from Osnabrück and is actually the organiser of the OS Festival as well as the head of the Acoustic Music label in Germany and the Acoustik Guitarre magazine <sp>. No doubt you'll be familiar with him already but if not, there's a track on my Towie Tree so you'll hear it when it finally gets to you!

And I'm sure you'll do just fine on your university course. I attended a weekend seminar on dubbing/subtitling during my Masters in translation and there is indeed a lot more to it than meets the eye. It's quite a fascinating subject, and from hereonin you'll begin to notice how bad some subtitles really are! Best of luck on your course!

Cams

Hi Cams,

thanks for the recommendations! There are SO many great songwriters out there who I haven't heard of yet!
As for Bert Jensch - yes, I remember his track from the former CD you sent me. He's great! I also love the other track called Chasing Love. He sure is on my list of artists I want to check out - but I recently spent so much money on CD's again that I have to cut back a little . There are never enough CD's....*sigh*
Besides I want to save up a little for some recording equipment. I have jobs from time to time and there's no point in spending it all on great CD's when there's nothing left for the equipment I so desperately need! You know, my own music is my life, too, regardless of how many great musicians there are.

Cheers,
Annika