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This blogger, Richard Gehr, is not an employee of AARP. The opinions expressed in the blog are not necessarily the opinions of AARP and AARP assumes no liability for the content posted by Mr. Gehr or any other participant

Richard Gehr | March 13, 2007

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Pat Metheny and Brad Mehldau, Quartet (Nonesuch)
Guitarist Metheny and pianist Mehldau expand upon the 2006 duo release Metheny Mehldau with this lyrical and nuanced sequel containing four duets of its own. While Metheny switches between electric, synthetic, acoustic, and 42-string guitars, Mehldau is a bottomless well of fluid harmonic ideas. Download "Towards the Light" for a convincing sample.

Graham Parker, Don't Tell Columbus (Bloodshot)
With his band the Rumor, raspy-voiced Graham Parker split the difference between Elvis Costello and Bruce Springsteen three decades ago in punk-smitten England. Don't Tell Columbus brims with tough, unflinching first-person considerations of middle-aged hope and disappointment on both sides of the Atlantic in tunes like "I Discovered America," "Total Eclipse of the Moon," and Bullet of Redemption."

The Roches, Moonswept (429/Savoy)
"I'd like you to think of me as somebody you'd put your teeth in for" is the sort of wryly sweet reflection on mature love that only the Roches could get away with. And the sisterly folk-pop trio does so repeatedly on their eleventh wise and witty album.

Stax 50th Anniversary Celebration (Stax/Concord)
If the nine-CD Complete Stax-Volt Singles 1959-1968 and four-CD Stax Story beyond your record-buying budget, and you can't work up the patience for the single-disc best-of that's undoubtedly in the works, then this two-CD, 50-track distillation of America's greatest Southern soul music factory is the package for you. I mean, don't you kind of need to hear Johnnie Taylor's "Jody's Got Your Girl and Gone" right now? It comes with an informative photo-rich book, too.

Neil Young, Live at Massey Hall (Reprise)
Always more eager to flail in the electric Crazy Horse hurricane, I warmed slowly to solo Neil Young. But this live album documenting a 1971 Toronto homecoming has cemented my loyalty. Young introduced "Old Man," "Needle and the Damage Done," and "Heart of Gold" at this astoundingly intimate show (you can hear a pick drop between tunes) recorded between After the Gold Rush and Harvest.

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