Rachel Sweet - Alive In AmericaBorn in Akron, Ohio, Rachel Sweet began her singing career at the age of three. She began recording country music in 1974, but with little success beyond one minor hit. Switching to rock and roll, she signed to Stiff Records and released her first album, Fool Around, in 1978. At Stiff Records, nothing was sacred; often the label's slogans and unorthodox promotion were as memorable as the truly inspired music they released. With teenage Rachel Sweet,

faxes to/from band members

The original arrangements set these tunes in grooves ranging from classic ska to reggae

The early 2000s saw the band reform with a different lineup

this depressing overview of mostly uncirculated tracks will make you wonder how you ever survived being a hormonal teen

all the more so under his own musical direction

But elsewhere

an active listen

dating back to the 1930s

a cross-section of central German culture of the mid-19th century

best known as Terence Blanchard's drummer

Robert Gerhard (1896-1970) and Xavier Montsalvatge (1912 -2002): composers whose extensive output has been performed and received international recognition

We'll Get Over