As a fan of a wide variety of popular (and not-so-popular) music from the 1950s (and sometimes even earlier) up through the present, one of my bucket list projects for years has been to put together a list of my 100 favorite songs of all time. At some point I decided that, once I got around to figuring that out, I could put it out on a blog, for the infinitesimally small proportion of the Internet world that might be interested. So, here we are. While the Top 100 will be a major focus, I also plan to post on a variety of other musical (and occasionally non-musical) topics, in which you may or may not be interested. (If a particular posting doesn’t ring your bell, you’re only a few clicks away from a dancing cat video on YouTube.)

Saturday, April 18, 2020

LP #31 Dar Williams – The Beauty Of The Rain (2003)

The first time I saw Dar Williams live was at Wolf Trap on June 12, 1998, a triple-header with David Wilcox and Richard Thompson. Most recently, I caught her in July of 2011, on the Marina Stage at XPNFest. However, the show that made the biggest impression on me was October 26, 2003, at the Lincoln Theatre in Washington, where she appeared as part of a singer-songwriter tour with Mary Chapin Carpenter, Shawn Colvin, and Patty Griffin. The four of them were side by side, each with a guitar, taking turns on their songs, with the others adding harmonies, and plenty of chatting in between.
 
Her performance of “Mercy Of The Fallen” really pulled me in, and I purchased this album shortly thereafter. There’s not really a weak song in the bunch, with a great mix of ballads and more uptempo tunes. I didn’t enjoy the material in her next two studio albums nearly as much, but can highly recommend both 2001’s Out There Live and the the 2010 two-disk compilation Many Great Companions.
 
Favorite tracks:
 
Your Fire Your Soul
The One Who Knows
Closer To Me
Whispering Pines
The Beauty Of The Rain

Friday, April 17, 2020