So if you’ve ever been invited to a potluck dinner, you know you’re likely to find a little bit of everything there including some of your favorite foods and maybe some things that are new to your palate. If you’re lucky and your friends can cook, you’ll enjoy a feast even if some dishes seem to be just a little different from what you might ordinarily expect. After all, a real buffet should be a little more than just meat and potatoes. You’re definitely not going to walk away hungry, and all bets are off on sticking to your diet!
Listening to the Blue Coast Collection 3 on the Blue Coast Records label, it occurred to me that this sampler album subtitled, Songs We Love, is a musical potluck dinner, and we’re invited to the feast. Better yet, the cooks serving up this feast are all exceptionally talented musicians. There’s just no reason to walk away from this collection without feeling musically satisfied.
About the Collection
Cookie Marenco, the producer, and owner of Blue Coast Music pulled together a few Blue Coast artists and a handful of favorite songs, and the end result sounds like a group of friends who got together to jam and have a good time. While the genre is listed as Acoustic, ESE (Extended Sound Environment), the results are a collection of very listenable songs that are exceptionally well-recorded. And, while there are a couple of the songs in the collection that were popularized by others, the Blue Coast artists grab hold and make them distinctively their own.
Starting off the collection is the lovely and wistful voice of Meghan Andrews, a folk singer, and guitarist and a voice I hadn’t heard previously. Meghan’s solo is followed by Tony Furtado with some lively banjo picking on a tune called “Angelina the Banker.” It may be because I’m from Nashville, but I heard a country music vibe with this tune.
Another stellar number in the collection is Jenna Mammina and Rolf Strum with a folk number called “Wicked Games.” Jenna has an exceptional and expressive voice and handles the slow pace of this song without letting it drag. Next comes, “Rolling In The Deep,” a foot-stomping number by the Blue Coast All-Stars that livens up this listening session for some good old fun. Fiona Joy follows with a happy piano piece that just made me smile. An exceptional talent, I reviewed a couple of Fiona’s albums a few weeks ago, so I was glad to see her contributing to this collection.
For me, the back half of this collection was special, especially Derek Jones’ rendition of “You Were Always On My Mind”. Then, the phrasing and emotion behind the words of the song “Francine” by Jenner Fox make me glad to make his acquaintance. Garrett Brennan’s delivery of “I Will Walk” leaves me wanting to know the story behind this particular song, I mean, with that kind of emotion, there’s got to be a story.
The final two songs in the collection are both acoustic solos. The very familiar “Shenandoah” played by Alex de Grassi on a sympitar is haunting. The vibrations of the strings with this instrument seem to echo the yearning of this particular tune. The collection ends with “Mexico,” a James Taylor classic played by John R. Burr on piano.
About Blue Coast
While the talent is remarkable, the quality of the recording helps to make this music shine. If you don’t know Cookie Marenco, she cut her chops at Windham Hill and is now doing her own thing at Blue Coast. This music is recorded live on 2″ analog tape or DSD and mixed through an analog console to DSD256. Cookie then offers it in WAV, FLAC, or DSD formats and three different download resolutions. The Blue Coast website includes tutorials for downloading music and test files so that you can determine which format and resolution suit your taste best.
This collection of songs can be bought separately or as part of a Blue Coast PRIME membership that offers special savings. This membership is available on an annual basis or as a three-month trial. You can find out more about PRIME here. Through June 30, Blue Coast is offering a 50% discount on PRIME Membership using the code PRIME50, so if you are interested in expanding your digital music library with really high-quality recordings, this is a great opportunity.