My love affair with music began when I was first exposed to a recording of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles. I didn't own the record, so I would go over to a neighbor's house who I didn't even like and ask repeatedly to play that entire album. The last track, "A Day in the Life," simultaneously intrigued and haunted me. It was light, dark, simple and complex, all at the same time. I was forced to think and feel outside my environment. Music is a gift. It lifts you up during times of crisis, or settles you down when calmer thoughts should prevail. I am not a trained musician, just an audiophile. I love music for the support it offers when I least expect and most need it. Out of this love of music, I have decided to write a monthly column. I hope my reviews will be helpful in narrowing the choices you have to make when purchasing music, and inspiring you to find and listen to pieces you may not have otherwise. Enjoy.

Current Releases
We Shall Overcome, The Seeger Sessions — Bruce Springsteen

From the opening notes of We Shall Overcome, The Seeger Sessions you notice this is no ordinary Bruce Springsteen record. Yes, it has the depth, the exuberance and the passion of an E-Street Band album, but it also has a reverence about it. It's an homage to a time and day long passed. Each song is a reworked arrangement by Springsteen of traditional folk songs, African-American spirituals, church songs, Irish antiwar ballads and political protest songs.

This time, instead of being backed by the usual rock 'n' roll gang, he is surrounded by new musicians who bring accordions, trumpets, banjos, tubas, even washboards to the recording. At the center of this hurricane of sound is gravelly-voiced Springsteen, inspired, alive and excited about making music again. Gone is the despair of his last solo record, Devils & Dust, and in its place is the youthful exuberance of a man exploring roots that perhaps even he wasn't aware of when he began his musical journey over 30 years ago. This record is a success in a way that records should be. The music is vital, important and poignant without beating you over the head with its message. Yes, there are antiwar songs here, but they're from 1815. There are spirituals that could be sung in churches now and there are lovelorn songs that apply to any century. The album was inspired by folk artist Pete Seeger's music of the '50s and '60s, but the music is as timely and alive today as it was then, or even further back in time, when it was written. It feels as though Springsteen is searching for answers to our present complexities by consulting his elders.

Always a wise way to approach real life ... or soap life.

Classic Corner
Kind of Blue — Miles Davis

There are certain pieces of art that define a movement. Kind of Blue by Miles Davis solidified and established an art form all at the same time. It was heralded as a landmark in modern music by the public, critics and jazz peers. To this day it is the best-selling jazz record of all time, selling about 5,000 copies a week.

For the casual music fan who's not sure if they like jazz, compare this record to your best rock, hip-hop or classical record and notice that passion and intellect balanced with intuition and musicianship are at least as exciting.

Miles Davis walked into the studio in 1959 with a sketch for an album that required the musicians to start from a place of exquisite simplicity and then improvise solos. Kind of Blue is an amalgamation of six of the top musicians of the time brought together under Davis's leadership, sharing their personal discoveries and their willingness to experiment. All of the musicians are at their best on this recording, and with names like John Coltrane, "Cannonball" Adderley and Bill Evans, that's a good thing. If you don't have it, buy it!

This article originally appearred in the September 19, 2006 issue of Soap Opera Digest.