Ivan

My brother's grandson, at our recent family reunion.

Reeds and Water Surface

On the lake near my country place.

Sun and Clouds

A few days ago across the street and in the heavens.

Fave CDs of All Time

I can't possibly name only 5 of my all-time favourite CDs / albums.. so I will name 10, with the first five being my choices for best of the best. An interesting note: I saw all 6 of the artists in my 5 faves in concert. Yes.. even John Lennon! And I saw several of the other 5 as well. I've put the venue and date of the concert(s) at the end of each review.

Here goes:

IMAGINE -- John Lennon (1970).
John is one of my all-time heroes. The title song of the album is hauntingly full of philosophical / spiritual challenges.. and Lennon excruciatingly bares his soul throughout the rest of the songs.
(Varsity Stadium, Toronto, July, 1970)

THE FUTURE -- Leonard Cohen (1992)
I thought he was an awesome poet in the early sixties, then he turned to music. Been following him ever since. This album is the culmination, for me of his poetic lyicism and astonishly great musicality. And his deep gravelly voice is killer. "There is a crack in everything... that's how the light gets...": a lyric/poetic line that still blows me away.
(Sony Centre, Toronto, June, 2008)

HARVEST MOON -- Neil Young (1992).
I've been a huge fan of Neil Young since his days as a folksinger in Yorkville and then with Buffalo Springfield in the late 60s and his time with Crosby, Stills and Nash. I played this CD almost daily in 1992, the year it was released.
(Massey Hall, 1978; CNE Stadium, 1986)

WAVELENGTH ( 1978) / A SENSE OF WONDER (1984) -- Van Morrison.
My third choice is two albums by Van Morrison -- I couldn't decide between them. Van's been around forever ('Brown-eyed Girl': '64?). He's a musician's musician and a songwriter's songwriter. I have almost all of his albums. He's the coolest.
(CNE Stadium, 1990)

LINDA RONSTEAD AND EMMYLOU HARRIS: WESTERN WALL / THE TUCSON SESSIONS -- Linda Ronstead and Emmylou Harris (1999).
Two amazingly beautiful voices interweaving in song after song. Thirteen terrific tracks including Leonard Cohen's 'Sisters of Mercy' and Sinead O'Connor's 'This is to Mother You'. And a real nice Canadian connection with the Cohen song and help with music and vocals on 2 different tracks by Neil Young and the McGarrigle Sisters. I was teary-eyed with emotion after almost every song the first half-dozen times I played this CD. And it still gets me years later.
(Linda at CNE Grandstand, 1982 and Emmylou at O'Keefe Centre, 1982)


My 2nd set of 5 is
GONE -- Dwight Yokum (1993).
This is an extraordinary album by an incredibly talented, hard-core country star. It is musically solid with echos of everything from the Beatles to Asleep at the Wheel. In spite of the twang and the attitude, Dwight's the greatest.
(O'Keefe Centre, 1988)

ABBEY ROAD -- The Beatles (1970)
The last of a great run of superb collaborations by the Fab Four. Scarily creative.

LEGEND -- THE BEST OF BOB MARLEY
Credited as the creator of reggae, but truly a "legend" in the history of music. ANY Bob Marley album is worth owning. This collection is "the best of the best". One long wonderful groove...
(Had a chance to see him at Maple Leaf Gardens, back in the 70s, but decided to see him next time he came to town. Still kicking myself..)

MANIFESTO -- Roxy Music (1979)
While the 70s was in the doldrums of disco and "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown", Roxy Music was making suave, sophisticated, sensual music. 'Manifesto' is the apex album by a hugely talented
group headed by the smoothest of the smooth, Bryan Ferry.
(Massey Hall: 1981, Maple Leaf Gardens, 1983)

ARMED FORCES -- Elvis Costello (1981)
The "Angry Young Man" of the "New Wave", in the late 70s, Elvis made a string of great albums, each with twice as many songs as anyone else's.. This album epitomozes his edginess and inventiveness.
(O'Keefe Centre, 1980)

YOURS?

Spider Hangs From Juniper...

...just outside my door.

Leonard In Toronto

Leonard Cohen was merely AWESOME in concert in Toronto last night. I was overwhelmed by the genius of his words and music, often finding myself shaking and in tears with the bliss of cosmic recognition and connection to his unique soul.

LEONARD COHEN FOR BUDDHA!!

Photo taken with $8 Aiptek pencam. Yes, that's LC in the middle!

Hydrant and Flowers

Near Belleville, Ontario.

Pink Trillium, Maxwell Settlement

The trillium is the provincial flower for Ontario where I live. This is the pink version -- typically the woods at this time of year are full of the white ones, but they also range from maroon through various reds to pink. This is another smallish painting for the art festival I will be in at the end of June. Oil on canvas, 18" x 24".

Street Abstract

...on a street near my house.

Three Horses at Sunset

Hwy 28 near Lakefield, Ontario