At Home With Friends

When I worked for a major symphony orchestra, I got to attend every performance. I loved being surrounded by beautiful music, and I loved those moments when the sheer passion of the musicians created something so extraordinary it brought tears to my eyes.

When I was given a copy of Joshua Bell's new album, At Home With Friends, to review, I discovered it is full of those very sames types of moments. You see, Joshua is well known for holding ‘musical soirées’ at his Manhattan residence – parties with musicians, actors, comics and authors who get together just for the sheer joy of sharing their art. So with this new album, Joshua fulfilled a life-long career dream of recording a CD of instrumental and vocal duets with an amazing roster of musicians and friends. And the love of their crafts shines through on every track.

Even if you're not a fan of classical music, this CD is well worth adding to your collection. It's simply gorgeous.

Your Songs

When I was given the opportunity to review the new Harry Connick, Jr. album "Your Songs" I did a little happy dance in my chair. Because the fact of the matter is, if it's Harry Connick, Jr., you know it's going to be good.

Fans of Harry are not going to be disappointed by this album. It has everything you've come to expect: fantastic arrangements, great orchestration, amazing music, and of course, Harry's own smooth-as-silk voice tying it all together in a neat little bow. The album pulls together some of the best-known songs from some of the best known artists of the last few decades. I loved his version of Billy Joel's "Just the Way You Are" the best, but all of them are great.

So if you're looking for some sweet, smooth and sexy tunes, you can't do much better than Harry Connick, Jr. and "Your Songs." Thanks, One2One Network, for the chance to do this review - I loved it!

BHB

When I heard that Mark Ballas and Derek Hough, two professional dancers, were putting out an album, I was skeptical, to say the least. But then I heard them on t.v., and I was pretty impressed. Their band's first album, BHB (that's Ballas Hough Band) is out now and well worth a listen.

For one thing, these guys can sing. Their voices, together with that of the lovely Emily Grace, form a nice, smooth harmony that's a pleasure to listen to. The album is an eclectic mix of styles and every tune is a catchy one. This is great workout (or dancing!) music. I could definitely see them performing "Do You Love Me" on Dancing With the Stars, while some of their pro friends danced along to a cha-cha. Or "Longing For" performed with a sexy rumba.

I'd have to say my favorite song is "Devastated." I find myself humming it long after I've turned off the music. Of course, if you visit Amazon, you can listen to samples of all the songs and decide for yourself which one you like. I'm even going to leave the link in my sidebar for a while so that when you can't get that song out of your head, you can come back here and order it. You're welcome.