Monterey Folk, Venus de Milo and Some New Releases

The weekend of May 17, 1963 was significant in that the first Monterey Folk Festival was held. There, the fest hosted Bob Dylan, Peter, Paul and Mary, Pete Seeger and others. The festival became the impetus for Monterey Pop, Altamont and the mega-festivals which followed. It is a very important event in music history, for those wondering why the program is our splash image this month.

This is a short column this month, and I just want to mention a few releases. The new Ron Sexsmith, Retriever, is spectacular. The imagery in his lyrics is almost without parallel. Romantic and stunningly vivid, here is a sample:

Tomorrow in Her Eyes

I see tomorrow in her eyes
And where my future lies
So I don't need a crystal ball
At all because I've seen tomorrow
In her eyes

Whenever life tears us away
I'll hold on to the words we say
And if I have to wait awhile
Then I'll be dreaming of tomorrow
And her smile

Someday soon love
Someday soon love
There'll be time for you and I love

And time shall hold no sad surprise
More hellos than goodbyes
So I don't need my fortune told
I know because I've seen tomorrow
In her eyes

No, I don't need a crystal ball
At all because I've seen tomorrow
In her eyes

I've seen tomorrow in her eyes

Just beautiful stuff. To be worthy of these lyrics, his subject must be a women with the qualities to inspire such a Venus de Milo-level song.

Another release of note is The Magnetic Fields: i. On i and all of his recorded output, Stephen Merritt strikes me as a private man of exceedingly deep emotion. Merritt's glib, erudite wit, combined with his sense of melody and arrangements, combined with what, at its source, is raw feelings, pervades this recording. Easily one of the best releases of 2004 so far.

Last but not least, the new Marah, 20,000 Street Under the Sky excels. All that needs to be said is that this recording is a return to the stunning power of their debut, one of the finest releases of the last few years. Visit yeproc.com for mp3 samples and you be the judge. Another best of 2004 release.

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