January  2001

I remember in my teenage years of the 80s with dyed blue hair, dog collars and torn leopard skin jackets, being told to listen to this group. The singer had no hair and wore eye make-up like Gary Numan, but the sound was fantastic . MTV was playing the videos (back in the day when they played music videos) so I went out and bought the LP by Classix Nouveaux. Included were the songs "Run Away" and "Guilty", which I played on my radio show. I found out that they were ex-members of one of my favorite bands, X-ray Spex (They made one of the best albums of the 1970s). They had a new name and a new lead singer named Sal Solo. Classix Nouveaux was making it big on the European charts and in dance clubs here in the US.  Sal Solo was ahead of his time with the music called New Romance, now known as Gothic. Funny how life, time and God's will changes people. Here I am working for the Catholic Music Network and Sal Solo is making Catholic Music.
Sal got out of the popular music business, but if you listen to his current CDs you know he NEVER lost what made him popular and got him so many #1 hits in Europe. If you want a taste of Sal Solo, pick up Pilgrimage: The Gospel Best Of Sal Solo. "No Other God" is vintage Sal Solo of the early days with a wonderful message. The song that recently hit me was "Father's House." On the last day of 2000, the feast of the Holy Family, the reading during the Mass depicts Mary and Joseph looking for a young Jesus and finding Him in "His Father's House". This song is about that passage. 
Catholic Music Network recently sat down with Sal Solo for a a breathtaking interview with him. Give it a listen!! (You'll need Real Player to hear it).

New postings

As the snow and ice fall around me while I write, it's nice to have the warm sounds of Bernie Choiniere. His CD RSVP is G-R-E-A-T!  The title track "RSVP Natalie" has the sounds that made Stray Cats Brian Seltzer famous. It's a song about a girl named Natalie who keeps avoiding the call of the Holy Spirit. Bernie's songs stress a personal relationship with Christ. His lyrics also present a challenge to action and service. "We Are The Church" offers an upbeat anthem to Christian identity, and "Can You Hear the Angels Sing" speaks of the invaluable gift of life and the suffering that accompanies it, with a special plea for the unborn. Choiniere comments, "To be Catholic doesn't mean to be comfortable. I wanted to write songs that would inspire the listener towards change for Christ and his people."  One of the best songs on the CD is "Radical Love". "There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for a friend.. Radical love like Jesus..." Anyone who does a cover song of reggae music star  Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds" deserves to be heard!  It will warm your day up! ( By the way, this guy is Audrey Santo's music minister!)  Buy RSVP ASAP! 

We were watching Catholic TV recently and saw the next artist.  We knew we had to get her.  Liz Kelly began her career in jazz while attending the University of Kansas. During that time, Liz performed with various ensembles throughout the United States and Europe, including the Montreux Jazz Festival, Montreux, Switzerland, and the North Sea Jazz Festival, Den Hääg Holland. Her CD, Anima Christi, is smooth jazz through and through. I was blown away by the vocals that this girl can reach. As a professional jazz singer she can caress the words with an intonation that will put Sade to shame. "All Consuming Fire" is a love song on the CD that touches the soul, because it is a love song to God.  The cut "Gospel Tune" is just that; it changes the speed of this jazz CD to that of jazz gospel. "You feel bruised by life's cruel game, But you can't lose if you call His name...Praise the Lord! " The horns on this one are fabulous. The title track "Anima Christi" will really stir you. It was this prayer and Rosary (along with the many prayers of her parents) that lead Liz back to the Catholic Church: "..one of the most profound moments in my life--to discover that it's never too late, no matter how deeply we have been wounded. Jesus' Real Presence is available to heal and transform us!  That is the heart of the Anima Christi and why I made it the focus of my CD."-- Welcome home Liz! 

We are also glad to offer Liz Kelly's contemporary jazz CD "It Seems To Me."  This EP contains nine traditional jazz favorites including "Inchworm," "They Can't Take That Away," and "Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby". C'mon, you remember that last one from the old Tom and Jerry cartoon!