Album Review: Joshua Bell at home with friends

When the One2One Network asked me to review Joshua Bell's new album, At Home With Friends, I hesitantly said yes. I love beautiful music, and yes...there's even a time and place for beautiful classical music. And maybe in the chaos of motherhood, I could use more. My children could definitely use more. When I got the CD in the mail, Parker was thrilled. He dragged his boom box into the kitchen, and I decided there was no time like the present to get a taste for the music of this very accomplished violinist. While the CD wouldn't normally be their first choice, the kids actually loved it. They stomped and pranced around the house to the soothing tunes.

The playlist looks like this:

I Loves You Porgy featuring Chris Botti, trumpet
Come Again featuring Sting, vocals
Oblivion featuring Carel Kraayenhof, bandoneon
Cinema Paradiso featuring Josh Groban, vocals
Para Tí featuring Tiempo Libre, various
My Funny Valentine featuring Kristin Chenoweth, vocals
Maybe So featuring Edgar Meyer Sam Bush and Mike Marshall, strings
Grieg: Sonata No. 3 featuring Sergei Rachmaninoff (Zenph re-performance)
Eleanor Rigby featuring Frankie Moreno, piano & vocals
O, Cease Thy Maiden Fair featuring Nathan Gunn, baritone
Il Postino featuring Carel Kraayenhof, bandoneon
Left Hand Song featuring Regina Spektor, piano & vocals
Chovendo Na Roseira featuring Dave Grusin, piano
Look Away featuring Edgar Meyer, bass and Chris Thile, mandolin
Variant Moods: Duet for Sitar & Violin featuring Anoushka Shankar, sitar
I’ll Take Manhattan featuring Marvin Hamlisch, piano
Left Hand featuring Regina Spektor, vocals

Impressive list of friends and musicians, no? And actually, it wasn't as classical as I thought. There was a great mix of genres and styles. So...while I probably wouldn't personally go out and buy this album tomorrow, if you love any of the featured artists, or love the violin, it's a good one.

Here's his website. Or become a fan on facebook.