moral and as ethical a life as possible, I think these
guys are trying to do that.
Melissa Manchester:
Best known for Top
10 hits 'Midnight
Blue," "Don't Cry
Out Loud" and
"You Should Hear
How She Talks
About You."
JN: Leonard Cohen might also have been an inter-
esting interview.
SB: Its funny. At a Shabbat dinner a few years ago,
my rabbi asked me to tell what I had been doing.
After the dinner, this woman comes up to me and
asks if Leonard Cohen was in the book.
I told her that I understood that he was a
Buddhist now and that he should be in my book,
but I wasn't going to worry about it.
She said, "No, he's Jewish again. He came back
down the mountain and is one of us again. I
should know. I'm his sister."
Rami Jaffee
of the
Wallflowers
on his bar
mitzvah day
JN: Which recording artist did you find to be one
of the most observant?
SB: Melissa Manchester's a great one. Her mother
was Orthodox and her father was an atheist, but she
practices being Jewish because [her father] made her
go to temple.
JN: Are you keeping track of current Jewish talent
in the music industry?
SB: Yes. I'm still trying to keep my eyes on rising
Jewish stars of David because the beat goes on.
❑
Marcella Detroit, circa 1992: The singer/song-
writer/guitarist born Marcella Levy in Detroit
sang backup for Bob Seger and was part of the
England-based duo Shakespeare Sister:
players are irresistible reasons to con-
sider Columbia/Legacy's upgraded
rollout of several remastered and
remixed Bob Dylan albums: Another
Side of Bob Dylan, Bringing It All
Back Home, Blonde on Blonde, Blood
on the Tracks, Slow Train Coming and Love and Theft.
Rock Around The Dreidel
New pop CDs make perfect Chanukah gifts
MARTIN NATCHEZ
Special to the Jewish News
jr
•Virtuoso violinist and enchanting vocalist Lili
Haydn, most recently seen on a PBS-TV special
with Josh Groban, celebrates her rediscovered Jewish
soul on Light Blue Sun (Private Music). In particu-
lar, the song "Denied (performed with jazz great
Alice Coltrane), directly adapts portions of the Yom
Kippur service into a captivating confessional.
•On the soaring wings of being a guest judge on
American Idol Neil Sedaka has delivered Brighton
Beach Memories: Neil Sedaka Sings Yiddish (Sameah
Music), featuring his renditions of "My Yiddishe
Momme," 'Anniversary Song," "Exodus" and several
all-Yiddish-sung classics. Also, two ultra-rare Hebrew
versions of Sedaka's hits "Oh! Carol" and "You Mean
Everything to Me" have been reissued in an 8-CD
Bear Family-label box set, Oh! Carol: The Complete
Recordings 1956-1966
•All the hits behind the musical reunion of the
year are compiled in The Essential Simon &
Garfinkel (Columbia/Legacy). Although nothing
is previously unreleased, the double-CD set con-
tains more than two hours of classic fare and rar-
ities from the duo's recently remastered catalog.
ust as sure as it's dreidel time again, gift giv-
ing for music lovers can start your head
spinning. Rushing to the rescue, here is a
shopping guide for pop-music CDs by various
Jewish artists whose music will add to the glow of
the Festival of Lights.
•Michael Feinstein's first foray into the pop-rock era
finds the singer-musicologist in a fresh environment
on Only One Lifi• The Songs of
Webb
(Concord Jazz). His teaming with the renowned '60s
composer offers mostly saloon-styled interpretations
of new and vintage Webb tunes, bolstered by an
enhanced CD video about the making of the album.
•The lure of 5.1 Surround Sound and super audio-
phile CD quality through SACD-compatible DVD
•With the 60th album of her long career, Barbra
Streisand's The Movie Album (Columbia) scores
another thematic triumph that replays incomparable
croonings of "Smile," "Moon River," "How Do You
Keep the Music Playing?" and "The Second Time
Around." Special limited-edition packages of the CD
add a bonus DVD of two music videos and track-
by-track audio commentary by the legendary singer.
•The curtain rises on another witty passel of paro-
dies from Lenny Solomon and crew on Shlock Rock
Almost on Broadway. This latest parade up the Great
White Way revamps "Maria" from West Side Story
Folksinger Janis Ian:
"Being Jewish means
everything to me."
into "Tekia"; "Summer Nights" from Grease
becomes "Sukkot Nights"; and "Tomorrow" from
Annie hails a new minyan anthem, "To Ma'ariv."
(Available with free shipping at
vvww.shlockrock.com or by
calling (800) 233-9494.)
•Touting all-new recordings
of "She Don't Want Nobody
Near" and "Friend of the
Devil," in addition to tallying
10 years of success since its
infectious MTV video "Mr.
Jones," Films About Ghosts:
The Best of Counting Crows
(Geffen) packs a solid retro
spective by the San Francisco
group, fronted by Jewish lead
singer Adam Duritz.
•Neil Diamond fans get a
front-row seat and a back-
stage pass to more than 80
unissued concert perform-
ances, in a deluxe boxed set
titled Stages: Performances
1970-2002 (Columbia). Five
CDs retrace highlights of the
Jewish singer's past world
tours — including three
recorded at Pine Knob in
1978. A bonus DVD adds
two hours of concert
footage, backstage happen-
ings and a feature documentary, Welcome to
Diamondville.
12/19
2003