NPR: All Songs Considered: Episode 89

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Episode 89

Listen to the entire show

A life in slow motion from David Gray
Solo acoustic work by Richard Thompson
Face to face with guitarist Adrian Belew
Old world folk by Baltimore's Madagascar
Celebrating 90 years with Les Paul
An ultimate collection from Billie Holiday
Neil Young covered by singer Lizz Wright
Multi-instrumentalist Erin McKeown
The Sea and Cake frontman Sam Prekop

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This is a special sneak preview of Gray's latest album, which is due out September 13. After producing much of his work himself at a home studio, Gray turned to producer Marius DeVries for this album.

David Gray

CD: Life in Slow Motion
Song: "Disappearing World"
Label: RCA

Listen to "Disappearing World"

Hear a full, live concert by David Gray online. All Songs Considered will stream Gray's performance from the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC. on the NPR Web site on Saturday, August 6. The following night, on August 7, we'll stream a full concert by Lucinda Williams. Keep watching the All Songs Considered Web site for details.

This is Richard Thompson's first new collection of solo acoustic songs in nearly 25 years. He plays all the instruments on the album and recorded it at his home studio in Los Angeles. Thompson says the "The production on this record is the kind of thing the audience actually asks for. They ask for simple; they don't want the frills in the way. They don't want glossy, hi-fi production. They wouldn't know what to do with it."

Richard Thompson

CD: Front Parlour Ballads
Song: "Let it Blow"
Label: Cooking Vinyl

Listen to "Let it Blow"

Hear Richard Thompson perform in NPR's Studio 4-A for Weekend Edition Sunday.

Adrian Belew is known mostly for the experimental guitar sounds he played on collaborations with Peter Gabriel, David Bowie, The Talking Heads and other artists. This year Belew is releasing three new solo albums, titled Side One, Side Two, and Side Three. It's his first new solo work in nearly 8 years.

Adrian Belew

CD: Side Two
Song: "Face to Face"
Label: Sanctuary

Listen to "Face to Face"

Madagascar is a new group with an old sound. Based in Baltimore, the four-piece band performs a creaky style of old-world folk on glockenspiel, ukulele, accordion, musical saw and other acoustic instruments. This is their debut album.

Madagascar

CD: Forced March
Song: "All That Spring You Could See Haley's Comet"
Label: Western Vinyl

Listen to "All That Spring You Could See Haley's Comet"

Les Paul celebrates his 90th birthday this year with a new collection of greatest hits from Capitol. It includes some of Paul's earliest recordings from the CBS radio program he hosted with his wife Mary Ford in the 1940s and '50s. Later this year Paul will release an album of all-new work featuring collaborations with Sting, Keith Richards, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and others.

Les Paul

CD: Best of the Capitol Masters: 90th Birthday Edition
Song: "In the Mood"
Label: Capitol

Listen to "In the Mood"

Billie Holiday was born Eleanora Fagan Gough in Baltimore, Maryland in 1915. Through her tumultuous life, Holiday was a drug addict, a prostitute and in and out of jail. She suffered a series of abusive relationships, depression and battled discrimination against not only her race but also her unorthodox singing style. Holiday died at the age of 44 in a hospital bed with policemen posted outside her room. Almost 50 years after her death, Holiday's remarkable body of work, remembered on this new CD and DVD collection, ranks her among the greatest jazz singers of all time.

Billie Holiday

CD: The Ultimate Collection
Song: "'Taint Nobody's Business if I Do"
Label: Hip-O

Listen to "'Taint Nobody's Business if I Do"

Watch a video sample from The Ultimate Collection DVD, featuring Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday performing "The Blues Are Brewin'."

When singer Lizz Wright released her debut CD Salt two years ago, she was hailed as one of the most gifted new voices in contemporary jazz. Her new album includes a mix of original songs and cover tunes by artists like Joe Henry and the track featured here by Neil Young. Wright tells NPR, "You strip a song down to just lyrics and the story that's inside the lyrics and the first feeling that that provokes in you, you have something personal, and you build from there."

Lizz Wright

CD: Dreaming Wide Awake
Song: "Old Man"
Label: Verve

Listen to "Old Man"

Hear an interview with Lizz Wright from All Things Considered.

Hear Lizz Wright perform on World Cafe from NPR member station WXPN.

Erin Mckeown is a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Fredricksburg, Virginia who's drawn comparisons to Beth Orton and other new-folk or experimental acoustic artists. For her latest CD, she collaborates with artists like Soul Coughing bassist Sebastian Steinberg and Argentine electronic musician Juana Molina.

Erin McKeown

CD: We Will Become Like Birds
Song: "The Golden Dream"
Label: Nettwerk

Listen to "The Golden Dream"

Sam Prekop is as a major pillar of the Chicago underground music scene. He was the frontman for a band called Shrimp Boat as well as The Sea and Cake and has collaborated with artists like Jim O'rourke. This is Prekop's second solo album, coming six years after his self-titled debut.

Sam Prekop

CD: Who's Your New Professor
Song: "Something"
Label: Thrill Jockey

Listen to "Something"

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