To speak of music and books as sources of stress reduction is to diminish them, and yet to lose yourself in words and music, can be the balm which brings "surcease of sorrow" in the words of Edgar Allan Poe (or at least make sorrow sweeter and more manageable).

David Olney "Deeper Well" Philo - CD PH 1117
I saw him at he Vancouver Folk Festival, and he has about as much stage presence as Al Gore but he writes great songs and sings them well. The album has barely a weak song, and is made transcendent by the fiddle playing of Mark O'Connor, who is one of the greatest violinists in any style on this planet. To hear the full range of Mark O'Connor's brilliance try his record of "Heroes" in which he plays with the violin giants from throughout the musical spectrum.

Stan Rogers "Northwest Passage" Fogerty's Cove Music 1981
A quintessentially Canadian record. I envied him and his ability to capture a country in song. I accept Stan's vision of the farmer, the mariner, and just about everything else.

Christine Lavin "Live at the Cactus Cafe" Philo CD PH 1159
Christine is funny, sensitive, intelligent, and a delight to listen to. If given the opportunity to see her perform live, grab as many tickets you can and take anyone who knows how to laugh. Anyone who writes positive songs about "Bald Headed Men" gets my vote.

Townes Van Zandt "Rear View Mirror" Sundown records SD CD 2100
I have very little luck turning people on to Townes, but there are Townes fans out there, and there's a long list of great artists who have sung and recorded his songs. He's a cult figure whose songs 'demand and reward attention'. He's a primitive poet, intelligent, but not formally educated. I treasure the memory of seeing him perform in Dallas, not long before he died.

Mary Chapin Carpenter "Stones in the Road" Columbia CK 64327
An uplifting, insightful set of songs with the right combination of strong lyrics, good melodies and fine performance.

Laura Smith "Vanity Pressed - A Collection" Universal UMSD-81099
Canadian women like Celine Dion, Shania Twain, and Alanis Morrisette have been winning a lot of awards and selling vast numbers of CD's. But in my, not so humble, opinion Laura Smith is better than any of them. Her songs are filled with imagery and poetry, and her voice adds dimension and depth to her lyrics. To modify one of her lyrics, "She's a beauty".

So there you have it, 3 men and 3 women, 2 Canadians and 4 Americans, 2 dead and 4 alive and 60 or so wonderful songs. I've generally stayed out of the main stream and hope that I'll lead you into the joy of discovering some of the great talents that lie outside the HOT 100's and Nifty Fifties of the CD charts.

The difficult part of this list was leaving people out. (6 is not enough). I didn't even include Bob Dylan, to whom I have been listening to for 37 years. There will be future lists of books, discs, and videos. By all means send some of your favourites to WELL.