VARIOUS ARTISTS
Mother, Queen Of My Heart (Sugar Hill)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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I got this one too late for a Mother's Day review, and on reflection, this might not be a good one to get for mom after all, unless you're fortunate enough to be blessed with a mom with a sense of humor and perspective. While it's not universally complimentary to the institution of motherhood to be the perfect Mother's Day gift, it's full of enough great music for me to recommend it to any music lover with a mother, which is a pretty broad category.

Among the highlights: a vocal duet by Emmylou Harris and Linda Rondstat backed by Seldom Scene on "The Sweetest Gift," the hilarious slacker sendup "Forty Years Old And I'm Livin' In My Mom's Garage" by the Austin Lounge Lizards and the plaintive "Unwed Fathers" by Tim and Mollie O'Brien, but there's not a bad track among the 14 included. Whether or not you think your mom would love this one, it remains an excellent collection of some of the best American music by some of the best American performers.

Track List:

Mother, Queen Of My Heart/Lonesome Standard Time * The Sweetest Gift/Seldom Scene * Peter Pan/James McMurtry * I'm Goin' Back To Mom And Dad/Bad Livers * Use A Napkin (Not Your Mom)/Kathy Kallick * Forty Years Old And I'm Livin' In My Mom's Garage/Austin Lounge Lizards * Momma Don't Allow No Music/Doc Watson * Unwed Fathers/Tim & Mollie O'Brien * She Sews The World With Love/Darrell Scott * Thank God For A Mama/Lonesome River Band * If I'd Had A Mother Like You/Don Rigsby * Mom's Old Picture Book/Lou Reid * Are We There Yet Momma/Walter Hyatt * Shake Hands With Mother Again/Laurel Canyon Ramblers

© 2002 - Shaun Dale