Thursday, May 29, 2014

Summer Soundtrack- A Music Review

When I was little, weekends were all about music--my parents' music.  They were music lovers.  Whatever record they were really into at the time was the soundtrack of our weekends, our lives.  Lionel Richie's Easy Like Sunday Morning was big.  My dad went through a huge Willie Nelson phase and Blue Eyes Cryin in the Rain still brings tears to my eyes and all kinds of emotion to my heart.  My mother loved Kenny Rogers.  They both were into SuperTramp, big time.  Remember Take The Long Way Home?

I loved looking through their record collection, lip syncing and putting on shows with my brother and sister to our favorite songs, long family meals filled with stories and laughter and their music, our music.

Music is still a huge part of my life and my children's lives.   I wonder if they will remember the songs I love, and if they will look back fondly on our weekend soundtracks.

Now that it's almost summer, our weekends are full of long breakfasts on the front porch, baseball games, nature hikes, playgrounds and swimming pools.  It's my favorite time of year.  It's all active and sunkissed, happy and exhausted, big puffy clouds, adventure and running and what's next and I get to stay up late and vacation, road trips and I hope it never ends. 

Wade has one speed in the summer--fast. 
Nature hikes = grand adventures and discoveries.
And most importantly make believe.

JT conquering the mountain (er, hill).

Some of the music I am loving right now is the newest from David Gray called Mutineers



To be completely honest, I had never heard of him until I got a chance to write this review of his latest album.  I downloaded the music and it instantly became my summer kick-off soundtrack.
Looking for treasures under the rocks.
JT has fallen in love with fishing.

The music is intelligent and beautiful.  Most of the songs are haunting in the most happy of haunting ways.  The first track, Back In The World, is one I have on repeat.  "Everyday when I open my eyes it feels like a Saturday" is how it starts, which is exactly how I feel about summertime.  

The song is joyful and light and hopeful.  It is the perfect song to have playing when I watch my kids play in the backyard or when I sit on my front porch and reflect on how grateful I am for so much goodness in my life.
Our front porch, the center of our world in the summertime.

Another favorite song of mine from the album is Last Summer, which has a beautiful blend of David Gray's voice and an orchestra.  It's daydreaming music.  It's storytelling music.  It's sort of magic.

The whole album is like this.  It's the kind of music I hope my kids remember as our music.
This sort of looks like it could be an old school album cover.

The album is available for pre-order on iTunes and Amazon.

You have a chance to win a David Gray, Mutineers CD (ARV: $14.99)!  Leave a comment below about your favorite music or what you love best about summertime and you could win.   The giveaway ends on June 8 and is open to people in US and Canada.  

***** For this review, I received a free download of the album to review from One2One Network. All opinions in this review are mine.****

16 comments:

  1. Really great music, thank you for the intro, Angela!

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  2. This summer I am looking forward to blogher14! no school is fun also, time to read and relax

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  3. I love that line from the song! It is so perfectly summertime.
    I love sunny walks and campfires and stargazing best in summer. And ice cream and roadtrips and the beach. Really, I could go on and on. Summer is my favourite.

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  4. I'm excited to hear this. I love finding that perfect summer soundtrack!

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  5. sounds like the perfect summer background music! I love mellow music like DMB or Jason Mraz in the summer. But I also like some classic rock like CCR. It's happy, grilling music!

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  6. I LOVE storytelling music the best. Thanks for bringing this to us.

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  7. Storytelling music? Awesome! I also think Pharrell's Happy is a great song any time of the year :)

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  8. I'm not a huge music fan, but my husband is and my kids love dancing to it! I have heard David Gray before, and he is very good!

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  9. I got stuck at the part where you said you never heard of David Gray before. Say it isn't so, Angela! Go listen to "Be Mine" - one of my favorites by him ever!!

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  10. I love finding new music and artists to follow, so thank you! (I too hadn't heard of David Gray). "Joyful and light and hopeful" is a perfect description.

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  11. Thanks for sharing this music you have found - love new summertime music!! Love, love, love music for any season of life! I can't wait to listen to the ones you have suggested! Hope you have a great day/summer Angela!!

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  12. Thanks for sharing this music you have found - love new summertime music!! Love, love, love music for any season of life! I can't wait to listen to the ones you have suggested! Hope you have a great day/summer Angela!!

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  13. I cannot believe there's a new David Gray album and I hadn't heard of it!...til now. Thanks, Angela, for the good news:) I expect tonight with the Avett brothers to be one of my summer music highlights!!

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  14. Finding my Summer Soundtrack is one of my favorite parts of summer. Creating lasting memories with our extended family on our MI beach vacation is probably the trip I'm most looking forward to. Looking forward to checking out the new David Gray album.

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  15. SUMMER MUSIC for me is all tones British - old gems from George Michael, fresh numbers from Bastille's BAD BLOOD album and now David Gray's brilliant BACK IN THE WORLD song from his brand-new album. Zingy, lively, tinged with optimism and symbolizing the stretching of the soul after a long and afflicting winter!

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  16. I love how you describe your summer. My parents' music is among my favorites, too, for all the same reasons yours is for you. I hope my kids grow to love it, too.

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