Easy Listening music you will love

Easy Listening

style / mood

Editor's Picks (see more)

EDGARDO MORENO: Travelling Guitars
Good filmic music will generally fill you with a sense of place. But rarely does it invite the listener to inhabit several worlds at once. Toronto composer Edgardo Moreno has created an instrumental album that is comfortable with its own contradictions and colliding influences. The sound is cold and glacial, and yet it steams with the warmth of a barren desert expanse. It pulses like the buzzing streets that twist beneath a city of glass and neon, and yet it feels as placid and serene as a summer picnic in the forest of dreams. Each piece centers on trance inducing acoustic guitar patterns. But the meditative effect is tempered by tasteful counterpoint of syncopated, minimalist electric guitar figures that would make Steve Reich and Philip Glass proud. Moreno also introduces enough varied textures and instruments (Hawaiian slide and slack key guitar, charango arpeggios, synth and cymbal swells, coily Afro-Pop guitar tones, and miniature, crystalline electro-beats) to lend an exploratory feel to these restrained tunes. “Travelling Guitars” is similar to the Eno/Byrne masterpiece “My Life in the Bush of Ghosts” in that they are both imaginary soundtracks with sweeping cinematic feel, but without having to subordinate the music to any moving images. Instead, you’re left to create the movie in your mind.
CD price: $12.97 / MP3 price: $12.97
BRANDON STERLING: Fresh Out Of My Mind
Managing to be extremely personal without saying a word, this ten song collection of solo piano pieces is really an accomplishment for this young man. By shaking off traditions and branching out ever so slightly, he's able to really extract palpable warmth and intimacy from the keys, slyly going in directions while deep in the middle of a song that weren't even hinted at when it began. The opening track, "Ripples," starts the album off on a bright note, washing over with lush progressions that are brought to an apex then cooled down. Songs like "Breathe Deep" and "Broken" take a more serious tone, beginning with slight melodies and eventually building to a controlled climax. While it's instrumental, this isn't "background music." These are compositions with emotional depth and vision, not to mention a quality recording that makes it all the more effective.
CD price: $12.97
STEVE HAUN: Impressions of the Rocky Mountains
Blending the rich natural sound tapestries of the Rocky Mountains such as bird calls, wind, and trickling streams with expansive and soaring strings, piano, guitar, woodwinds and orchestral coloring, Steve Haun's inspired music lifts and brightens the spirit and soul with elegance. Capturing the grand and dramatic landscape of Colorado, his music is so full of imagery, sensation and imagination that one feels as if they're watching an IMAX film in their mind, having a three-dimensional experience of sound, sight, smell and taste. Drawing from classical compositional technique and integrity, and creating broad and tastefully accessible textures, "Impressions of the Rocky Mountains" is absolutely unforgettable. This composer has found a way to bridge easy listening, new age and classical genres with sophistication, intelligence, emotion and craft. Haun's music not only redefines these genres but infuses them with new possibility and vision. This album is a gorgeous and moving full-body experience.
CD price: $10.97 / MP3 price: $10.97
WOMEN ON THE MOVE: Beautiful
Featuring 14 songs by a diverse group of artists, this compilation is filled with individual voices, each with a unique style, that are all united for a worthy cause. Domestic violence isn't the simplest subject to tackle as far as songwriting goes, but these women manage to face it head on with grace and sensitivity. While a song like "Freedom" by Evonne Rivera adopts a positively upbeat approach that kicks off the album wonderfully, "Close To My Limit Of You" by Linda Geleris uses a more somber approach, putting the listener inside the mind of a woman who is at a dire crossroads in her life. The other songs follow suit, some strikingly hopeful and optimistic, others empathetic and understanding of how hard it can be to make sense of these tragic situations. While the tracks all differ in their lyrical and topical approaches, the women wisely used the same studio and top notch backing musicians for all of the songs, giving the record a fluidity that is rarely seen in compilation records. Taking on rock, folk, blues, and hints of country, these talented singers, songwriters, and musicians never miss a beat. In the spirit of these sincere and heartfelt songs, a percentage of proceeds from the sale of this album will be donated to domestic violence shelters.
CD price: $15.00 / MP3 price: $15.00
JOEL BOCK: The Beckoning Winter
Much more than just background or mood music, this solo piano album is notably strong in its composition and more than capable of evoking feeling from even the casual listener. A native of the Pacific Northwest, Bock writes songs that reflect a stark yet deceptively lush atmosphere, a place where comfort is often left to those who choose to seek it for themselves. Handling the entirety of the production and recording duties himself, these works can't help but contain a tangibly personal touch, one that comes through clearly in the soft but poignant notes that he plays with delicacy, carefully mapping out each run so it never falls into the trap of mechanical lulls. Note by note, the tracks rise and subside, cascading with smoothly executed transitions. While these songs do seem to point towards an inevitable cold front, they're not filled with dread or fear. Instead, they're almost a declaration of independence and confidence, a warm welcoming of change and a look towards future prosperity.
CD price: $11.99 / MP3 price: $9.99

Top Sellers (see more)

PROZAK FOR LOVERS: Prozak For Lovers
A mellow lounge duo doing classic hard rock cover songs. Bowie and The Clash as bossa nova? The ultimate lounge party CD. Dripping with sarcasm, dusted with irony, drowned in cynicism. You HAVE to hear the sound clips.
CD price: $10.00
THE WEEPIES: Happiness
Cool Folky Pop collaboration from singer/songwriters Deb Talan and Steve Tannen
CD price: $11.99 / MP3 price: $11.99
INGA SWEARINGEN: Learning How To Fly
Inga revives the art of scat-singing, imbuing these jazz standards with a rare vitality
MP3 price: $9.97
KENNY RANKIN: Silver Morning..."Limited Edition" with Bonus Track
Easy Listening
MP3 price: $19.00
REBEKAH DEL RIO: All My Life
"Mulholland Drive" Club Silencio singer "La Llorona De Los Angeles" 10 English/Spanish songs from Easy Listening to Latin Jazz and traditional Mexican Boleros. The sultry style of Ms. Del Rio's voice will surely have it's way with you.
CD price: $20.00
MAUDE MAGGART: With Sweet Despair
The heartbreaking voice of Maude Maggart breathes new life into classic and contemporary American standards. She is accompanied by piano and strings.
CD price: $18.00
MAUDE MAGGART: Look For The Silver Lining
This debut CD of Maude Maggart's is a collection of songs written in the 1920's, beautifully interpreted through Miss Maggart's haunting and ethereal voice.
CD price: $18.00
MAUDE MAGGART: Maude Maggart Sings Irving Berlin
Here is the beautiful and haunting voice of Maude Maggart as she sings Irving Berlin. The critics, mom and dad, and now their children have discovered this amazing singer of songs. She will break your heart and you'll thank her.
CD price: $20.00
JAKE COCO: Broken Hearts and Fairytales
Jake Coco Performed, Produced, and Wrote the entire Album "Broken Hearts and Fairytales" all by himself...
CD price: $13.97 / MP3 price: $13.97
JOHN O'HURLEY AND MARSTON: Peace of Our Minds
An elegant compliation of O'Hurley's sweeping piano compositions overlayed by Marston's soaring electronic cello lending a classical fusion feel.
CD price: $24.95 / MP3 price: $24.95