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November 16, 2013 · 1:52 am

Elizabeth Mitchell, “The Sounding Joy”, Christmas & Solstice Songs From American Folk Tradition CD Review & Givaway!!! 2 Winners!!!

I recently was given the opportunity to preview The Sounding Joy a CD by Elizabeth Mitchell and friends filled with Christmas and Solstice Songs from American Folk Traditions. When I started playing it my little ones started coming into the kitchen dancing and trying to sing along. My husband asked me what it was and he liked the sound very much and as a musician himself I would take that as great praise. I thought it was very well done and definitely filled with joy.

You can get a free download of the song, Children, Go Where I Send Thee by clicking HERE!

Elizabeth Mitchell & Friends – Peggy Seeger, Natalie Merchant, Dan Zanes, Aoife O’Donovan & more – explore the Ruth Crawford Seeger Christmas songbook on ‘The Sounding Joy’ from Smithsonian Folkways

GRAMMY-nominated recording artist Elizabeth Mitchell releases The Sounding Joy, an exploration of Christmas and solstice songs from the American folk tradition. Drawn almost exclusively from the often overlooked but deeply influential songbook of revered composer and anthologist Ruth Crawford Seeger, these songs evoke an era before mass media and the commercialization of Christmas, when sacred song, dance, contemplation, and gathering were prized above all else during the holiday season. Mitchell’s fifth album for Smithsonian Folkways, The Sounding Joy features husband Daniel Littleton, daughter Storey, and special guests Peggy Seeger, Natalie Merchant, Amy Helm, Aoife O’Donovan, Gail Ann Dorsey, Larry Campbell, Dan Zanes, and John Sebastian, among many other family, friends, and neighbors. This gorgeously reverent 24-song collection attempts to save these traditional American holiday songs from an “unmarked grave,” as Merchant puts it in her essay included in the liner notes. The Sounding Joy is truly for listeners of all ages and is Smithsonian Folkways’ first holiday album in more than a decade.

Sneak Peek at The Sounding Joy: Listen to “Children, Go Where I Send Thee (Little Bitty Baby: A Cumulative Song)” and

http://www.folkways.si.edu/radio/sounding_joy_preview/little-bitty-baby.html

While recovering from surgery four years ago, Mitchell spent a Thanksgiving weekend thinking about the project that would eventually become The Sounding Joy. A longtime fan and champion of Ruth Crawford Seeger’s work, Mitchell soon found herself thoroughly immersed in Seeger’s third and final songbook, American Folk Songs for Christmas. Seeger, mother of musicians Mike and Peggy Seeger and stepmother of Pete Seeger, died from cancer at age 52 in 1953, the very same year American Folk Songs for Christmas was published.

The guest artists on The Sounding Joy are impressive. Amy Helm leads a rousing version of “Last Month of the Year” through a groove and vocal quartet style that invokes the early Staple Singers with guitar figures reminiscent of Malian desert blues. Natalie Merchant lends her vocals on the haunting “Joseph and Mary (The Cherry Tree Carol),” and also contributes an essay to the liner notes, while writer/artist Brian Selznick (author of The Invention of Hugo Cabret) provided illustrations for the album package.

Although the songs presented are specific to the Christian tradition, Mitchell’s husband Daniel Littleton cites the inclusive nature of the project, describing the assembly of musicians as an “ecumenical summit” of sorts, with participants of many religious and non-religious backgrounds coming together happily to bring the songs to life. Mitchell sums up the spirit of the album best in her notes: “However you and your loved ones celebrate the last month of the year, I hope it is filled with the sounds of joy.”

Smithsonian Folkways is sponsoring a giveaway on Mommy Ramblings! Two lucky blog readers will win their own Sounding Joy CD! Thank you to Smithsonian Folkways for the review CD and for sponsoring this joyous giveaway on Mommy Ramblings!!! Open to US residents.

The Sounding Joy CD Giveaway on Mommy Ramblings Rules:

Please enter the giveaway using the Rafflecopter widget below. Good Luck!!!

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Tagged as "The Sounding Joy", 2 Winners, American Folk Tradition, Cd, Christmas & Solstice Songs, Elizabeth Mitchell, Givaway, Mommy Ramblings, review

October 6, 2012 · 10:30 pm

Elizabeth Mitchell, “Blue Clouds” Traditional Folk and Classic Rock For Kids CD Review & Giveaway!!!

Smithsonian Folkways Will Release Elizabeth Mitchell’s

Blue Clouds

Traditional Folk and Classic Rock… for Kids

Available October 23rd

Washington, DC, fall 2012 – Over the course of six beautiful albums in nearly 15 years, Elizabeth Mitchell has invited listeners to join her, husband Daniel Littleton, their daughter Storey, and other friends and relatives to become part of an extended musical family. On Blue Clouds (out October 23), she raises her special kind of family-centric music to new heights by bringing clarity and beauty to a surprising range of songs. Breathing contemporary heart into traditional folk songs, and transforming classic rock songs by David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix, Van Morrison, and others into folk songs, Mitchell continues to grow that family of listeners with each album and concert. And while the family has grown, with well over 100,000 of her records bringing comfort and joy, Blue Clouds still makes Mitchell’s audience feel like they are part of a small picnic jam session.

The recordings on Blue Clouds are illuminated by elegant and simple arrangements, with acoustic guitars, harmoniums, banjos, pianos, fiddles, glockenspiels, and gentle drums and bass creating a soulful atmosphere forMitchell’s clear and loving voice. The songs range from new compositions (“Rollin’ Baby,” “Arm in Arm”) to traditional tunes (“Hop Up, My Ladies,” “Froggie Went a-Courtin’”), to several unexpected covers. Mitchell looks to her childhood memories of 1970s radio on road trips in the family station wagon, and the resulting versions of “Kooks” by David Bowie, “May This Be Love” by Jimi Hendrix, “Blue Sky” by The Allman Brothers Band, “Everyone” by Van Morrison, and “I Wish You Well” by Bill Withers display Mitchell’s care in presenting popular material in a family music context.

On an album full of moving performances, perhaps the most beautiful is “Circle of the Sun,” recorded in honor of Storey’s cousin, Destry, who tragically died at just four years old. “Blue Clouds,” the title track, was written by Daniel Littleton as a lullaby for Storey when she was only three and is a fitting way to close this loving collection.

Mitchell is also a founding member of the veteran indie rock band Ida and is one of Smithsonian Folkways’ best-selling artists alongside Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Ella Jenkins. Her previous Smithsonian Folkways releases are Little Seed: Songs for Children by Woody Guthrie (2012), Sunny Day(2010), and You Are My Little Bird (2006). Starting with the album You Are My Flower, recorded in 1998 in a single afternoon as a gift for friends and family, Mitchell has developed into an accomplished artist with a devoted fan base and critical acclaim.

Mommy Ramblings Thoughts:

I was thrilled to review this CD. My kids are a little different than most being children; with a guitarist father who is passionate about Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, The Allman Brothers and more, they are the few kids that go to preschool singing Foxy Lady, Me and Baby Brother, and Smoke on the Water. Beyond that we are a very musical family and they are constantly gathered around my husband as he plays the guitar every day. I was anxious to hear how Elizabeth Mitchell arranged the Hendrix, Bowie and Allman Brother’s songs. I was very pleased as was my husband with the whole CD and the kids liked it to. I really liked the Arm in Arm track which is an octopus love song that is too cute with kids vocals that make it endearing. Kooks is rather funny and this Bowie song is arranged very nicely. Hendrix’s May This Be Love is absolutely marvelous and The Allman Brother’s Blue Sky is arranged perfectly for kids. You will not be disappointed in this CD. You can listen to 3 Tracks HERE.

The Giveaway:

Sugar Mountain PR is sponsoring a giveaway on Mommy Ramblings. One lucky blog reader will win their own Blue Clouds CD. Thank you Sugar Mountain PR for the review CD and for sponsoring this great giveaway on Mommy Ramblings. Open to US residents.