• • • RECORDINGS

The Dang It Bobbys
• Big Trouble
... reviewed by Jerome Clark.

Elephant Revival
• Break in the Clouds
... reviewed by Jerome Clark.

Ian Siegal & the Youngest Sons
• The Skinny
... reviewed by Michael Scott Cain.

Audie Blaylock & Redline
• I'm Going Back to Old Kentucky
... reviewed by Jerome Clark.

Laurie Lewis
• Skippin' & Flyin'
... reviewed by Jerome Clark.

• • • FICTION

Kelley Armstrong
• Women of the Otherworld
#6: Broken
... reviewed by Cherise Everhard.

Mark De Castrique
• The Sandburg Connection
... reviewed by Michael Scott Cain.

V.A. Stuart
• Hazard's Command
... reviewed by Tom Knapp.

• • • GRAPHIC

Life with Mr. Dangerous
... reviewed by Mary Harvey.

• • • GHOSTS

Christopher E. Wolf
• Haunted Highways & Ghostly Travelers
... reviewed by Michael Scott Cain.

• • • CINEMA

Super 8
... reviewed by Mary Harvey.

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• • • RECORDINGS

James Armstrong
• Blues at the Border
... reviewed by Jerome Clark.

• • • PERFORMANCE

Glen Campbell, with Instant People
performing in Worcester, Mass.,
... reviewed by Corinne H. Smith.

• • • FICTION

Jack McDevitt
• Firebird
... reviewed by Michael Scott Cain.

Dennis Palumbo
• Fever Dream
... reviewed by Michael Scott Cain.

Barbara Sullivan
• Ripping Abigail
... reviewed by Cherise Everhard.

• • • GRAPHIC

Modesty Blaise:
Bad Suki
... reviewed by Mary Harvey.

• • • HAUNTINGS

S.E. Schlosser
• Spooky North Carolina
... reviewed by Lee Lukaszewicz.

• • • INTERVIEW

Victoria Wyeth
• Andy's girl
... interviewed by Tom Knapp.

• • • CINEMA

Crazy, Stupid, Love
... reviewed by Molly Ebert.

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• • • RECORDINGS

Cheyenne Brown
• Parallel Latitudes
... reviewed by Chris McCallister.

Declan O'Rourke
• Big Bad Beautiful World
... reviewed by Nicky Rossiter.

Tianna Hall
• Never Let Me Go
... reviewed by Dave Howell.

• • • PERFORMANCE

Vishten
performing in Cape Breton,
... reviewed by Kaitlin Hahn.

• • • FICTION

Orrie Hitt
• The Cheaters
• Dial "M" for Man
... reviewed by Michael Scott Cain.

Patrick Shannon
• Letters to Wheatfield
... reviewed by Becky Kyle.

Kelley Armstrong
• Women of the Otherworld
#5: Haunted
... reviewed by Cherise Everhard.

• • • GRAPHIC

Logicomix:
An Epic Search for Truth
... reviewed by Mary Harvey.

• • • CINEMA

The Muppets
... reviewed by Becky Kyle.

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• • • RECORDINGS

Good Lovelies
• Let the Rain Fall
... reviewed by Jerome Clark.

Wing & Hollow
• Frozen Trees
... reviewed by Chris McCallister.

Willie McCulloch
• Auld Tales & New
... reviewed by Nicky Rossiter.

• • • INTERVIEWS

Indian Summer Jars
• holding on to feeling good
... interviewed by Tom Knapp.

• • • FICTION

L.A. Meyer
• Jacky Faber #9:
The Mark of the Golden Dragon
... reviewed by Tom Knapp.

Florence Ditlow
• The Bakery Girls
... reviewed by Corinne H. Smith.

• • • HAUNTINGS

Karen Laven
• Cincinnati Ghosts
... reviewed by Lee Lukaszewicz.

• • • NON-FICTION

Mark Hudson
• Fire Management
in the American West
... reviewed by Barbara Bamberger Scott.

• • • CINEMA

Arthur Christmas
... reviewed by Becky Kyle.

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• • • RECORDINGS

Cormorant's Fancy
• Here & There
... reviewed by Nicky Rossiter.

Snyder Family Band
• Stages
... reviewed by Jerome Clark.

• • • INTERVIEWS

Mary Anne Ballard
of the Baltimore Consort
• ancient pop
... interviewed by Tom Knapp.

• • • FICTION

Stephen King
• 11/22/63
... reviewed by Corinne H. Smith.

V.A. Stuart
• Phillip Hazard #2:
The Brave Captains
... reviewed by Tom Knapp.

Megan Bostic
• Never Eighteen
... reviewed by Becky Kyle.

• • • HAUNTINGS

S.E. Schlosser
• Spooky Montana
... reviewed by Lee Lukaszewicz.

• • • NON-FICTION

Benjamin J. Luft
• We're Not Leaving:
9/11 Responders Tell Their Stories
of Courage, Sacrifice & Renewal
... reviewed by Dave Townsend.

• • • CINEMA

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• • • RECORDINGS

Louisiana Red & Little Victor's Juke Joint
• Memphis Mojo
... reviewed by Jerome Clark.

Sal Valentino
• Dreamin' Man
... reviewed by Michael Scott Cain.

Lookin' for some Christmas music?
Check out our selection of
holiday reviews right here!

• • • PERFORMANCES

Celtic Colours
International Festival
• Piano Summit
... reviewed by Kaitlin Hahn.

• • • INTERVIEWS

Sarah Blacker
• land of opportunity
... interviewed by Jason Mundok.

• • • FICTION

Scott Alarik
• Revival: a Folk Music Novel
... reviewed by Michael Scott Cain.

Carolyn Turgeon
• Mermaid: A Twist on the Classic Tale
... reviewed by Jennifer Mo.

Colleen Houck
• Tiger's Quest
... reviewed by Charissa Jelliff.

• • • CREATIVITY

Mark Levy
• Accidental Genius
... reviewed by Becky Kyle.

• • • CINEMA

Need a few good Christmas movies
to set the holiday mood?
Check out our selection of
holiday reviews right here!

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• • • MUSIC

Jed Marum
• Rejoice
... reviewed by Nicky Rossiter.

Need a little more Christmas?
Check out our selection of
holiday reviews right here!

Paul Geremia
• Love My Stuff
... reviewed by Jerome Clark.

• • • PERFORMANCE

Roger Daltrey, with Paul Freeman
performing in Hartford, CT
... reviewed by Corinne Smith.

• • • FICTION

Kat Richardson
• Downpour
... reviewed by Becky Kyle.

Diane Duane
• Omnitopia #1:
Omnitopia Dawn
... reviewed by Janet Anderson.

Jim C. Hines
• Princess Novels #1:
The Stepsister Scheme
... reviewed by Charissa Jelliff.

Mitzi Szereto
• Pride & Prejudice:
Hidden Lusts
... reviewed by Whitney Mallenby.

• • • GENDER

Birute Regine
• Iron Butterflies:
Women Transforming Themselves & the World
... reviewed by Paul de Bruijn.

• • • CINEMA

The Secret of Kells
... reviewed by Tom Knapp.

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• • • MUSIC

Chad McAnally & Shawn McBurnie
• Blackbird from the Willow Sings
... reviewed by John R. Lindermuth.

Mary Flower
• Misery Loves Company
... reviewed by Jerome Clark.

Mark T. Small
• Blacks, Whites & the Blues
... reviewed by Jerome Clark.

Dale Watson & the Texas Two
• The Sun Sessions
... reviewed by Jerome Clark.

Needin' a little Christmas?
Check out our holiday offerings
right here!

Want to do your Black Friday shopping
from the comfort of your own home?
Just use one of our links to Amazon
and your purchases help support this site!

• • • FICTION

Nancy Holzner
• Bloodstone
... reviewed by Becky Kyle.

Chris Van Allsburg
• The Chronicles of Harris Burdick:
14 Amazing Authors Tell the Tales
... reviewed by Jennifer Mo.

Myke Cole
• Shadow Ops:
Control Point
... reviewed by Michael Scott Cain.

V.A. Stuart
• Phillip Hazard #1:
The Valiant Sailors
... reviewed by Tom Knapp.

• • • CINEMA

Drive
... reviewed by Heather Sharpe.

You think we're done? Ha!! Come back for more next week. (Meanwhile, browse through our vast archives of past editions and find some good stuff you might have missed over the years. We have more than 10 years' worth of our work online for your perusal, totaling more than 13,000 reviews!)

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• • • MUSIC

Rita Hosking
• Burn
... reviewed by Jerome Clark.

The Cash Box Kings
• Holler & Stomp
... reviewed by Michael Scott Cain.

Ricky Skaggs
• A Skaggs Family Christmas, Vol. 2
... reviewed by Michael Scott Cain.

If that puts you in a Christmas frame of mind,
check out our other holiday offerings right here!

• • • INTERVIEW

Eddie Pennington
• fingers 'n' thumbs
... interviewed by Tom Knapp.

• • • FICTION

Merrie Haskell
• The Princess Curse
... reviewed by Jennifer Mo.

Holly Black
• Modern Faerie Tale No. 3:
Ironside
... reviewed by Becky Kyle.

Patrick O'Brian
• The Surgeon's Mate
... reviewed by Tom Knapp.

• • • GRAPHIC

Batman:
The Widening Gyre
... reviewed by Tom Knapp.

• • • CINEMA

Horatio Hornblower:
Loyalty
... reviewed by Tom Knapp.

You think we're done? Ha!! Come back for more next week. (Meanwhile, browse through our vast archives of past editions and find some good stuff you might have missed over the years. We have more than 10 years' worth of our work online for your perusal, totaling more than 13,000 reviews!)

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• • • MUSIC

Hayley Griffiths
• Celtic Rose
... reviewed by Michael Scott Cain.

Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out
• Prime Tyme
... reviewed by Jerome Clark.

Maria Muldaur
• Steady Love
... reviewed by Jerome Clark.

• • • PERFORMANCE

Celtic Colours
International Festival
• Collectively Celtic
... reviewed by Kaitlin Hahn.

• • • FICTION

Colin Meloy
• The Wildwood Chronicles,
Book I: Wildwood
... reviewed by Jennifer Mo.

Alafair Burke
• Long Gone
... reviewed by Ann Flynt.

Richard Woodman
• Nathaniel Drinkwater #1:
An Eye of the Fleet
... reviewed by Tom Knapp.

• • • GRAPHIC

Ice Haven
... reviewed by Mary Harvey.

• • • CINEMA

Renegades
... reviewed by Becky Kyle.

You think we're done? Ha!! Come back for more next week. (Meanwhile, browse through our vast archives of past editions and find some good stuff you might have missed over the years. We have more than 10 years' worth of our work online for your perusal, totaling more than 13,000 reviews!)

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• • • MUSIC

Qristina & Quinn Bachand
• Family
... reviewed by Dave Townsend.

various artists
• Close Kin
... reviewed by Jerome Clark.

Sean Chambers Band
• Live from the Long
Island Blues Warehouse
... reviewed by Jerome Clark.

Shane Dwight
• A Hundred White Lies
... reviewed by Jerome Clark.

• • • PERFORMANCE

Celtic Colours
International Festival
• A Taste of the Festival
... reviewed by Kaitlin Hahn.

• • • FICTION

Mark Keating
• The Pirate Devlin
... reviewed by Tom Knapp.

Mickey Spillane & Max Allan Collins
• The Consummata
... reviewed by Michael Scott Cain.

• • • MEMOIR

Catherine E. McKinley
• Indigo: In Search of the Color
That Seduced the World
... reviewed by Jennifer Mo.

• • • CINEMA

X-Men Origins:
Wolverine
... reviewed by Mary Harvey.

You think we're done? Ha!! Come back for more next week. (Meanwhile, browse through our vast archives of past editions and find some good stuff you might have missed over the years. We have more than 10 years' worth of our work online for your perusal, totaling more than 13,000 reviews!)

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• • • MUSIC

Della Mae
• I Built This Heart
... reviewed by Jerome Clark.

Jessica Gall
• Little Big Soul
... reviewed by Becky Kyle.

Mara & David
• Sixteen Secrets
... reviewed by Nicky Rossiter.

• • • INTERVIEW

Dietrich Strause
• poetic perspective
... interviewed by Jason Mundok.

• • • PERFORMANCE

Starting next week:
• Celtic Colours International Festival
... reviews by Kaitlin Hahn.

• • • FICTION

C.E. Murphy
• Urban Shaman #6:
Spirit Dances
... reviewed by Jennifer Mo.

S. Thomas Russell
• A Battle Won
... reviewed by Tom Knapp.

Tammy Kaehler
• Dead Man's Switch
... reviewed by Chris McCallister.

• • • ART

James H. Nottage
• Generations
... reviewed by Michael Scott Cain.

• • • CINEMA

Daybreakers
... reviewed by Mary Harvey.

You think we're done? Ha!! Come back for more next week. (Meanwhile, browse through our vast archives of past editions and find some good stuff you might have missed over the years. We have more than 10 years' worth of our work online for your perusal, totaling more than 13,000 reviews!)

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• • • MUSIC

John York & Kim Fowley
• West Coast Revelation
... reviewed by Michael Scott Cain.

Nell Robinson
• On the Brooklyn Road
... reviewed by Jerome Clark.

• • • INTERVIEW

Brooke Annibale
• being quiet
... interviewed by Jason Mundok.

• • • FICTION

Colleen Houck
• Tiger's Curse
... reviewed by Charissa Jelliff.

John Stephens
• Books of Beginning:
The Emerald Atlas
... reviewed by Jennifer Mo.

• • • GRAPHIC

The Golem's Mighty Swing
... reviewed by Mary Harvey.

• • • SCIENCE

Frank Ryan
• The Mystery of Metamorphosis:
A Scientific Detective Story
... reviewed by Jennifer Mo.

• • • CINEMA

The Adjustment Bureau
... reviewed by Mary Harvey.

You think we're done? Ha!! Come back for more next week. (Meanwhile, browse through our vast archives of past editions and find some good stuff you might have missed over the years. We have more than 10 years' worth of our work online for your perusal, totaling more than 13,000 reviews!)

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• • • MUSIC

Patrick Clifford
• American Wake
... reviewed by Michael Scott Cain.

Donna Ulisse
• An Easy Climb
... reviewed by Jerome Clark.

Bill Bourne & the Free Radio Band
• Bluesland
... reviewed by Jerome Clark.

MonkeyJunk
• To Behold
... reviewed by Jerome Clark.

• • • INTERVIEW

Alyson Greenfield
• striking tinder
... interviewed by Jason Mundok.

• • • FICTION

Cherie Priest
• Clockwork Century:
Ganymede
... reviewed by Tom Knapp.

Mitzi Szereto
• Red Velvet & Absinthe
... reviewed by Cherise Everhard.

Kenneth Fenter
• The Ruin
... reviewed by Chris McCallister.

• • • GRAPHIC

The Life & Times
of Scrooge McDuck
... reviewed by Mary Harvey.

• • • CINEMA

Rango
... reviewed by Mary Harvey.

You think we're done? Ha!! Come back for more next week. (Meanwhile, browse through our vast archives of past editions and find some good stuff you might have missed over the years. We have more than 10 years' worth of our work online for your perusal, totaling more than 13,000 reviews!)

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• • • MUSIC

Samantha Fish, Cassie Taylor & Dani Wilde
• Girls with Guitars
... reviewed by Jerome Clark.

Ray Bonneville
• Bad Man's Blood
... reviewed by Jerome Clark.

Eddi Reader
• Peacetime
... reviewed by Nicky Rossiter.

• • • INTERVIEW

Douglas September
• ambient textures
... interviewed by Jason Mundok.

• • • FICTION

Christa Faust
• Choke Hold
... reviewed by Michael Scott Cain.

Gordon Williams
• The Siege of Trencher's Farm
... reviewed by Michael Scott Cain.

Kathryn Stockett
• The Help
... reviewed by Carole McDonnell & Becky Kyle.

• • • GRAPHIC

Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• #8: Last Gleaming
... reviewed by Tom Knapp.

• • • CINEMA

Red Riding Hood
... reviewed by Tom Knapp.

Invictus
... reviewed by Becky Kyle.

You think we're done? Ha!! Come back for more next week. (Meanwhile, browse through our vast archives of past editions and find some good stuff you might have missed over the years. We have more than 10 years' worth of our work online for your perusal, totaling more than 13,000 reviews!)

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Indeed, it does. Let me be brief: Time is not the luxury it once was, and the time devoted to keep this website running is considerable. For the time being, at least, because of personal matters that are taking up a great deal of time and energy, I am doing what I can to streamline the process, allowing me to keep posting new reviews without spending quite so much of my week preparing them. And really, do you need me to summarize each review for you? Nah! Just follow the links and read 'em for yourselves! I hope you don't mind this new approach.

Oh, and just a reminder: It really helps when you use the Amazon links on this site to make purchases. It doesn't cost you a nickel more to make your purchases through us; just follow any of the many links and buy whatever you want. A tiny portion of your purchase price goes to support operations here, and man, we do appreciate it!

• • • MUSIC

Brian Molnar & the Naked Hearts, Of the Fall: reviewed by Jerome Clark.

Jackie Johnson, Memphis Jewel: reviewed by Jerome Clark.

Mystefy, Me: reviewed by Dave Howell.

• • • PERFORMANCE

The Charlie Daniels Band, with the Davisson Brothers Band and the Truck Stop Troubadours in Webster, Massachusetts: reviewed by Corinne Smith.

• • • FICTION

Catherine Gilbert Murdock, Wisdom's Kiss: reviewed by Jennifer Mo.

Peter Rabe, The Return of Marvin Palaver and The Silent Wall: reviewed by Michael Scott Cain.

• • • BIOGRAPHY

Lin Pardey, Bull Canyon: reviewed by John Lindermuth.

• • • GRAPHIC

Adam Gallardo, Nuria Peris and Sergio Sandoval, Gear School: reviewed by Tom Knapp.

• • • CINEMA

This week at the movies: Rise of the Planet of the Apes, reviewed by Mary Harvey.

So, what do you think of this new, stripped-down format? Love it? Hate it? Drop me a note and let me know your opinions!

You think we're done? Ha!! Come back for more next week. (Meanwhile, browse through our vast archives of past editions and find some good stuff you might have missed over the years. We have more than 10 years' worth of our work online for your perusal, totaling more than 13,000 reviews!)

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• • • MUSIC

Charlie Zahm sings Songs of Highlands, Islands & Home on his latest release. "If you haven't heard him sing before, let me tell you something about Charlie: He loves music, he truly delights in performing, and his enjoyment reverberates through every syllable he utters and spreads quickly to anyone lucky enough to be in hearing range. Oh, and he's got a great voice, rich and smooth," Tom Knapp says.

"Zahm has about two dozen CDs under his kilt -- so far -- and there's not a duffer in the bunch. Songs of Highlands, Islands & Home is an outstanding addition to my Zahm musical library -- and helps fill those irksome gaps between live performances."

Tango Siempre has a new fan in John Lindermuth, who reviews the band's self-titled CD, Tango Siempre. "Even if you don't care to dance, there are myriad reasons you might want to play this CD," he says.

"These are seasoned musicians who offer a beautiful and diverse program with all styles of tango, from the traditional to the nueva style. Close your eyes and listen as Tango Siempre transports you from Paris in the 1930s to pre-Castro Cuba, through the seasons in Argentina and around the world to upscale salons in Britain."

Mace Hibbard shares a little Time Gone By. "Hibbard's music selections are generally mainstream, but you can hear enough of Hibbard's influences, such as John Coltrane and McCoy Tyner, to give depth to his compositions," Dave Howell says.

"Hibbard gives a lot of space for solos to his band members: Melvin Jones on trumpet, Louis Heriveaux on piano, Marc Miller on acoustic bass and Justin Varnes on drums. They are a tight unit, especially when Hibbard and Jones play lines together."

Lucy Angel "is a contemporary country trio consisting of mother Kate Anderton and her two daughters, Lindsay and Emily. Together, they pump out commercial country that is not only designed to hit the charts but is a reflection of what is already there," says Michael Scott Cain. "Their harmonies are fresh, their voices as sound as just about anybody's currently out there, but if this self-titled, five-song EP is any indication, they've got a ways to go with their material and approach."

• • • MUSIC INTERVIEWS

Jason Mundok explores the forest with the Trees. The Static Trees, specifically, a band that just cannot stay out of the recording studio. Listen to the podcast to hear more about this prolific duo!

• • • FICTION

Kenneth Oppel revisits a classic in This Dark Endeavor: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein. "For the same reason it was hard for some of us to watch Star Wars episodes 1-3, it's a little hard to read about young Victor Frankenstein when you already know what happens to him," says Jennifer Mo.

"But Kenneth Oppel, author of the fabulous and under-appreciated Airborn, can write circles around most young adult authors, and This Dark Endeavor: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein succeeds on many levels."

S. Thomas Russell is sailing Under Enemy Colors in this recent release from the heyday of the British navy. "During the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars that followed, the British navy was a crowded and heroic service. Now it's time to count Lt. Charles Saunders Hayden among the likes of Hornblower, Aubrey, Easy and Ramage, as well as other fictional seamen who regularly and with great resolve foiled the efforts of the French fleet," Tom Knapp says.

"I'm writing this review while very, very tired. For this, I have Russell to blame; Under Enemy Colors is a hard book to put down, and I found myself reading late into the night on a few too many occasions. I offer that as a compliment to the author and look forward to Hayden's next adventure."

• • • GRAPHIC NOVELS

Chester Brown tells (and illustrates) a slice of Canadian history in Louis Riel: A Comic-Strip Biography. "Brown acknowledges both in his introduction and in his copious index notes that he can only present a version of what happened. For many, Riel is a folk hero and a rebel. For many others, he was a mentally unbalanced murderer and traitor. Riel was no saint, though he often believed himself to be one in his less mentally sound moments," Mary Harvey says.

"Brown takes care to include as many points of view as he can in what is ultimately a compressed-to-the-point-of-simplicity biography, but the medium he uses fully embraces those contradictions while illuminating the real story of what human sacrifice can achieve in the name of self-determination. When you are dealing with a person as complicated as Riel was, sometimes the gift of illustration can impart a meaning that words simply cannot."

• • • MOVIES

Daniel Jolley trembles at the Rise of the Dead. "Rise of the Dead actually proved to be a more interesting film than I anticipated. Unfortunately, the ridiculous premise and the weird and disturbing ending (and I mean weird and disturbing in a totally not cool, yucky kind of way) are too much for any film to truly overcome," he says.

"A misleading box cover and description (we're not really talking about the undead here) doesn't do much in the way of promoting viewer satisfaction, either. Don't blame the independent filmmakers for falsely marketing this as a zombie movie, though -- that cinematic sin was committed by the film's unscrupulous distributors. I hope horror fans will just give this film a chance."

You think we're done? Ha!! Come back for more next week. (Meanwhile, browse through our vast archives of past editions and find some good stuff you might have missed over the years. We have more than 10 years' worth of our work online for your perusal, totaling more than 13,000 reviews!)

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We here at Rambles.NET HQ have spent a busy week dealing with various issues, the most time-consuming of which is Tropical Storm Lee, which plowed right through this region of southcentral Pennsylvania, so this week's reviews have been postponed. The water damage here -- coming from both above and below -- is annoying and costly on a personal level, but our sympathies lie more with those who lost their lives in the storm, as well as those who lost homes, businesses and possessions that cannot be replaced. Those who believe climate change is a myth may laugh, but science warns us that extreme weather events, including tornadoes and hurricanes, are likely to become more common. So let's all be careful out there, and be prepared.

Meanwhile, we would be remiss not to mention that Sept. 11 marks the 10th anniversary of the terroristic attacks that destroyed the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City and damaged the Pentagon in Arlington, Va.; the heroic passengers of Flight 93 forced an additional jet down near Shanksville, Pa., saving another target from destruction. Nearly 3,000 people died in the attacks, and they must not be forgotten.

Charlie: Check back next week, my friend!

• • • MUSIC

Kate MacLeod and Kat Eggleston are at the Lost & Found. "Lost & Found has a confidence and maturity given voice in a strong musicality untainted by false steps, bombast or exhibitionism," Jerome Clark suggests.

"This is the sort of recording that, in common with other worthwhile ones, may not leap out at you immediately. Around the second or third listening -- or perhaps the first careful one -- it will start to feel like something you'll want around for the duration."

Rodney Dillard & the Dillard Band tell listeners, Don't Wait for the Hearse to Take You to Church. "If bluegrassers Flatt & Scruggs -- products of mid-century commercial country music -- and the 1960s urban folk scene sort of adopted each other, the Dillards were a creature of that scene. A hip, knowing, wisecracking outfit, the Dillards may have been raised in the Ozarks, but they found their way at first chance to the Los Angeles music world," Jerome says.

"While I have reservations about both Mayberry values and evangelical theology, I have no trouble liking Don't Wait for the Hearse to Take You to Church. I've never met the man, but at least on his albums, Rodney comes across as a personable, low-key kind of guy who harbors sincere convictions but doesn't wallop you over the head with them. Most of all, he has a way with a song, and Don't Wait has a supply of engaging ones."

Michael Martin Murphey invites you to enjoy some Tall Grass & Cool Water. "Doing bluegrass versions of cowboy songs sounds about as appealing as a peanut butter and liver sandwich, but that's what Michael Martin Murphey is doing here and he's done it twice before on previous albums," Michael Scott Cain forewarns.

"Strange as it may seem, for the most part, Murphey's continuing experiment works. This might be because he has been able to gather the prime movers of modern bluegrass, people like Sam Bush, Pat Flynn, Andy Leftwich and Ronnie McCroury, to help out. These pickers know what they're doing and Murphey, who has been recording since the '70s, has picked up a trick or two himself."

• • • MUSIC INTERVIEWS

Jason Mundok goes on a seasonal bender with The Winter Sounds, an indie rock band that based its last album on themes from Gone with the Wind. Listen to the podcast and see what makes this band tick!

• • • PERFORMANCE REVIEWS

Peter Frampton performed in Boston this summer, and Corinne Smith was on hand for the magic. It's hard to believe, she says, "that 2011 marks the 35th anniversary of the release of the double album Frampton Comes Alive! Weren't we just breaking open the cellophane seal on that fresh new vinyl copy for the first time in our college dorm room, like, sometime last month? It certainly seems that way."

For her review of the concert, click here!

• • • FICTION

Kelley Armstrong keeps her readers Spell Bound with another visit to her popular Otherworld. "I have had this series on my To Be Read bookshelf for far too long. Jumping into this series at book No. 12 has left me hungry for more and angry with myself for having not read these books sooner," Cherise Everhard says.

"Armstrong has proven herself to me to be a master at her craft. She held me as a willing captive in her world from page 1, and at the end of this story she has me impatiently awaiting book 13."

• • • GRAPHIC NOVELS

Mary Harvey has a few things to tell you about Stuck Rubber Baby. "Howard Cruse's lovingly told, beautifully illustrated 1995 masterpiece was re-issued a few years back, in a better format and with a higher price tag that is absolutely worth it. This is one of those graphic novels that's so full of detail and so emotionally rich that it's hard for a review to do it full justice," she says.

"Stuck Rubber Baby has often been compared favorably to Maus. It's the same sort of epoch-spanning, time-capsule sort of narrative of a point in history that is almost unimaginable to us today."

While we're on the subject of comics, this is the week that DC Comics begins to reboot pretty much everything with the much-ballyhooed New 52 line. Will it work? It's too soon to predict! But while you're here, take a look back over some of DC's past successes (and failures) here!

• • • MOVIES

Mary Harvey is scanning the Source Code for errors. "Anyone who saw Duncan Jones' debut film, Moon, is in for a treat because Source Code is a solid follow-up. A sci-fi thriller in exactly the same mode, Source Code is a tightly plotted movie," she says.

"Comparisons with Groundhog Day, Inception and Total Recall are not wide of the mark. Source Code has a sense of humor, some surprisingly great human drama, and a Philip K. Dick story ('The Adjustment Team') as a background. I'm not sure that there has been another writer whose work has been so deeply and so completely assimilated by Hollywood, and with good reason."

Becky Kyle is ready to reveal The Invention of Lying. "There are portions of this film that are just brilliantly funny. The first half had me roaring throughout," she says.

"The second, admittedly, had its moments as well, but the pacing was both slower and less laughable. Still, The Invention of Lying definitely was an entertaining way to spend a quiet Saturday afternoon."

You think we're done? Ha!! Come back for more next week. (Meanwhile, browse through our vast archives of past editions and find some good stuff you might have missed over the years. We have more than 10 years' worth of our work online for your perusal, totaling more than 13,000 reviews!)

Support Rambles.NET every time you make a purchase through Amazon by clicking the links in our reviews or simply following this link here. It doesn't cost you a nickel extra but helps cover the costs of running this site. We appreciate your support!

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• • • MUSIC

Dala wants to introduce you to the Girls of the North Country. "Dala, consisting of Sheila Carabine and Amanda Walther, is, for those of you who don't watch PBS fundraising specials, a folky acoustic Irish duo from Canada who are coming up fast. This CD is the soundtrack from their 2010 PBS special," says Michael Scott Cain.

"Their harmonies are fine. They remind me in fact of a more polite version of the Indigo Girls, and I'm aware that statement might sound a trifle disparaging but it isn't meant that way at all. ... If there is a problem with the music of the Dala, it lies in the very thing that must have made them attractive to PBS in the first place. They can sometimes be too gentle, too fey, substituting charm for rigorous, deeply felt music."

The Blind Boys of Alabama are ready to Take the High Road. "Nowadays, it's not unusual for a veteran artist to bring in guest artists for an album; when singers begin to lose a little of their luster, it's a natural inclination try to polish up the surface a little," Michael says.

"Actually, the question of whether the guest star idea was a genuine attempt to perform with people they respect or a cynical ploy is irrelevant. What matters is the music, and it is everything you expect from the Blind Boys: joyous, stirring, beautiful, soulful and amazing. In fact, the guest stars pretty much disappear, for the most part sucked into the Blind Boys' style like dust into a vacuum cleaner."

Ricky Skaggs is playing some Country Hits Bluegrass Style. "If it matters to you, Country Hits Bluegrass Style is more the former than the latter," Jerome Clark says.

"Meanwhile, the fusion that Skaggs put together decades ago seems even now pretty much sui generis. It may not be deep, but it's always sweet."

Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne is An Old Rock on a Roll. "Think Fats Domino, Professor Longhair, Roosevelt Sykes and Champion Jack Dupree, and then add Kenny 'Blues Boss' Wayne, a living master in the tradition of blues and boogie-woogie piano," Jerome Clark says.

"On a scene dominated by very loud electric lead guitars in the hands of white men (and now some women) with roots in 1960s rock, Wayne reminds us of another approach, one so rarely heard today that exposure to it is not only a pleasant memory jog but something of a psychic shock."

• • • MUSIC INTERVIEWS

Jason Mundok speaks with Morgan Erina and Guy Russo, members of the Pittsburgh-based band Broken Fences, in a new podcast from the Wood Stove House. Have a listen!

• • • FOLKLORE/GHOST STORIES

Theresa Bane and Cynthia Moore Brown build a little atmosphere with Folktales & Ghost Stories of North Carolina's Piedmont. "The Piedmont is the central area of North Carolina between the mountains to the west and the coastline to the east. This beautiful region is not renowned for ghost stories and folktales like other areas of the country, but that's what's so interesting about this book -- its stories are unexpected and completely open to discovery," says C. Nathan Coyle.

"While this may not be the scariest collection of ghost stories and folktales, it is nonetheless an interesting grouping of stories, especially if you have even a passing familiarity with the locale. Add in the context of how these stories have typically been told, Bane and Brown certainly succeed in fostering an appreciation for the storytelling tradition."

• • • GRAPHIC NOVELS

Tom Knapp follows through on his movie review by taking a look at Cowboys & Aliens, the graphic novel that inspired the film. "It's not often I'll say this, but so far as Cowboys & Aliens is concerned, the movie exceeds the source material," he says.

"The story lacks any real character development. The action is hastily conceived and resolved. The art is fair to middlin', but unremarkable. Fortunately, someone saw this book -- or at least its title -- and thought, 'Hey, cowboys and aliens? That could be a cool movie!'"

Check out Tom's previous review of the Cowboys & Aliens film, too!

• • • MOVIES

Mary Harvey and Molly Ebert assemble a party of Bridesmaids for your viewing pleasure. "Yes, it's an Apatowian-inspired comedy that mines the same territory as the vastly underappreciated The Sweetest Thing and the good but not quite completely fulfilling The Hangover. It has the same buddy-bonding pathos and the same gross-out gags; however, the film is thankfully lacking in sexist, racist and homophobic gags," Mary says.

"The film does delve into painful moments," adds Molly. "Since Annie's life is already broken when the film begins, watching everything fall apart for her as maid of honor becomes difficult and cuts deeper than expected -- being told that you just aren't cut out for that exalted role practically means you aren't worthy of your gender. Which is a really silly concept, but if it's so ridiculous then why do we take it so seriously?"

Tom Knapp had some time to pass on an unpleasant morning. Fortunately for him, Despicable Me was there. "Despicable Me follows a formula that isn't hard to write. There's nothing hugely original about the story, nor has the level of computer-generated graphics made any giant leaps forward for this production," he concedes.

"But the movie succeeds because it has vastly entertaining characters and a sly sense of humor that works," Tom adds. "This movie made me laugh -- a lot -- on a day I really needed a few chuckles, and that makes it a winner in my book."

You think we're done? Ha!! Come back for more next week. (Meanwhile, browse through our vast archives of past editions and find some good stuff you might have missed over the years. We have more than 10 years' worth of our work online for your perusal, totaling more than 13,000 reviews!)

Support Rambles.NET every time you make a purchase through Amazon by clicking the links in our reviews or simply following this link here. It doesn't cost you a nickel extra but helps cover the costs of running this site. We appreciate your support!

Want to be a reviewer? Drop us a line!

On this date in history: In 636, Arab forces led by Khalid ibn al-Walid took control of Syria and Palestine away from the Byzantine Empire in the Battle of Yarmouk, marking the first great wave of Muslim conquests and the rapid advance of Islam outside Arabia. In 1000, this date marks the foundation of the Hungarian state by Saint Stephen. In 1858, Charles Darwin first published his theory of evolution through natural selection in The Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London, alongside Alfred Russel Wallace's same theory. In 1866, President Andrew Johnson formally declared the American Civil War over. In 1882, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture debuted in Moscow. In 1920, the National Football League was founded in the United States. In 1938, Lou Gehrig hit his 23rd career grand slam, a record that still stands. In 1940, exiled Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky was fatally wounded with an ice axe by Ramon Mercader in Mexico City. In 1975, NASA launched the Viking 1 planetary probe toward Mars. Two years later, on the same date, NASA launched the Voyager 2 spacecraft toward the outer solar system. In 1988, a cease-fire was reached after almost eight years of war between Iran and Iraq.

There are 133 days remaining until the end of the year.

Support Rambles.NET every time you make a purchase through Amazon by clicking the links in our reviews or simply following this link here. It doesn't cost you a nickel extra but helps cover the costs of running this site. We appreciate your support!

Want to be a reviewer? Drop us a line!

• • • MUSIC

Jonathan Edwards assures us that My Love Will Keep. "Jonathan Edwards will be forever associated with the gargantuan 1971 hit 'Sunshine, Sunshine,' which helped usher in an era of singer-songwriters spawned by the nearly comatose folk revival of the previous decade. The song's upbeat melody clipped along in notable contrast to its solemn message that evoked, albeit light-handedly, the miseries and uncertainties of young men waiting to be drafted into a detested war. Since then, Edwards has maintained a career at lower visibility," Jerome Clark tells us.

"Seasoned pro that he is, Edwards is sure-footed at what he does. What he does is compose his own and interpret others' melody-rich folk-flavored pop songs and pop-flavored folk songs."

The folks at Stony Plain offer up a little Strictly Whatever from Harry Manx and Kevin Breit, as well as 35 Years of Stony Plain. "Founded by Holger Petersen, who remains at the helm, Canada's Stony Plain has championed roots sounds in good times and bad. It has stayed committed all the while to excellence in music even when that music has little chance of topping the charts that track what passes for mass taste," Jerome reveals.

"Here's your chance to seek out a couple of distinctive musical voices. It'll be well worth the effort, and besides, you'll be doing your part to help Stony Plain gear up for the next 35 years."

Rory Block is ready to Shake 'Em On Down. "As a teenaged guitarist and blues freak running around Greenwich Village, Rory Block met and studied with all of the old Delta blues masters: Son House, Mississippi John Hurt, Skip James, Bukka White, the Reverend Gary Davis and, of course, the man to whom this album pays tribute, Mississippi Fred McDowell," says Michael Scott Cain.

"This is stuff Block can do while she figures out her income tax quarterlies; she is so schooled in the Delta blues that it comes naturally to her. Her guitar work, both slide and fingerstyle, is superb and her voice soars through these songs."

• • • FICTION

Rachel Caine pulls No. 6 in her Weather Warden series out of Thin Air. "The story opens with a woman awakening nude and freezing in a forest. A man she knows as Lewis comes to rescue her, but she doesn't know her own name or whether this man is a friend or the person who put her in her current predicament. Ooooh, that's a very good start!" enthuses Becky Kyle.

"While Thin Air isn't precisely my favorite or the best in the series, it's back on track with the original stories that I totally loved. I definitely will be anticipating the next book in the series."

• • • ZOMBIE POETRY

Ryan Mecum empties his brain of Zombie Haiku. "I mean, how could this idea not work? Haiku, that beautiful and delicate Japanese poetic form, as written by a zombie -- I mean, that's creative gold," Tom Knapp says.

"But the book by Ryan Mecum -- which is, with the exception of some notes hastily scrawled by the zombie-beset guy who found the journal, entirely made up of haikus -- doesn't succeed as well as you'd hope at first glance." Oddly, this strange little book is Tom's 2,500th review!!

• • • GRAPHIC NOVELS

Mary Harvey provides a little color commentary on Whiteout. "This is really more of an action story with two unique twists, the first being the choice of location, a vast wilderness that one woman sees as more of a refuge than a hellhole; the second is having two strong women as the protagonists," she says.

"The best aspects of the story are the art and the interplay between the two women. Setting the story in Antarctica makes for an interesting twist on what would have been a rather familiar theme, while allowing the two leads to be women puts it a grade above standard cop stories. Visually speaking, Antarctica is little more than a vast expanse of monochromatic bleakness that suits the black-and-white art perfectly."

• • • MOVIES

Tom Knapp settles down with some popcorn for a game of Cowboys & Aliens. "It was a fairly straightforward Western movie. Until, very suddenly, it wasn't," Tom says.

"I'm not familiar with the source material, which like so many movies today is a comic book, so I can't say whether or not the comic-book fans will be pleased. I enjoyed it for what it was, an entertaining mashup of Western and science-fiction tropes that gave Harrison Ford another cool role to play. My wife liked it because Daniel Craig had his shirt off. Man, I hate Daniel Craig."

Molly Ebert passes a pleasant Midnight in Paris with Woody Allen. "Allen's use of Hemingway and the Fitzgeralds is brilliant and proof that, even though his writing and directing career has spanned decades, his imagination is as inventive as ever," she says.

"This is the kind of film that was made to be relished on a theater screen if only for the still frames that capture the beauty of Paris shot with an adoration that is distinctly Woody Allen."

Becky Kyle is out and about in Zombieland. "The moment I saw the trailer for Zombieland, I knew I had to see the film. Of course, I knew some of the best bits were in that short ad, but I laughed so hard in those few minutes, I was hoping the rest of the film would be half as good," she says.

"I'm not generally a fan of horror, but the trailers to this film sucked me in and I'll honestly say Zombieland was just as funny as the trailers promised. There are heavy sections of zombie-splatter, but nothing disturbed me badly enough to leave. By the time the film was done, I had laughed so hard my sides ached and I just left for the mundane world feeling a whole lot lighter."

You think we're done? Ha!! Come back for more next week. (Meanwhile, browse through our vast archives of past editions and find some good stuff you might have missed over the years. We have more than 10 years' worth of our work online for your perusal, totaling more than 13,000 reviews!)