Summer Soundtrack- A Music Review

When I was little, weekends were all about music--my parents' music.  They were music lovers.  Whatever record they were really into at the time was the soundtrack of our weekends, our lives.  Lionel Richie's Easy Like Sunday Morning was big.  My dad went through a huge Willie Nelson phase and Blue Eyes Cryin in the Rain still brings tears to my eyes and all kinds of emotion to my heart.  My mother loved Kenny Rogers.  They both were into SuperTramp, big time.  Remember Take The Long Way Home?

I loved looking through their record collection, lip syncing and putting on shows with my brother and sister to our favorite songs, long family meals filled with stories and laughter and their music, our music.

Music is still a huge part of my life and my children's lives.   I wonder if they will remember the songs I love, and if they will look back fondly on our weekend soundtracks.

Now that it's almost summer, our weekends are full of long breakfasts on the front porch, baseball games, nature hikes, playgrounds and swimming pools.  It's my favorite time of year.  It's all active and sunkissed, happy and exhausted, big puffy clouds, adventure and running and what's next and I get to stay up late and vacation, road trips and I hope it never ends. 

Wade has one speed in the summer--fast. 

Nature hikes = grand adventures and discoveries.
And most importantly make believe.

JT conquering the mountain (er, hill).

Some of the music I am loving right now is the newest from David Gray called Mutineers. 

To be completely honest, I had never heard of him until I got a chance to write this review of his latest album.  I downloaded the music and it instantly became my summer kick-off soundtrack.

Looking for treasures under the rocks.

JT has fallen in love with fishing.

The music is intelligent and beautiful.  Most of the songs are haunting in the most happy of haunting ways.  The first track, Back In The World, is one I have on repeat.  "Everyday when I open my eyes it feels like a Saturday" is how it starts, which is exactly how I feel about summertime.  

The song is joyful and light and hopeful.  It is the perfect song to have playing when I watch my kids play in the backyard or when I sit on my front porch and reflect on how grateful I am for so much goodness in my life.

Our front porch, the center of our world in the summertime.

Another favorite song of mine from the album is Last Summer, which has a beautiful blend of David Gray's voice and an orchestra.  It's daydreaming music.  It's storytelling music.  It's sort of magic.

The whole album is like this.  It's the kind of music I hope my kids remember as our music.

This sort of looks like it could be an old school album cover.

The album is available for pre-order on iTunes and Amazon.

You have a chance to win a David Gray, Mutineers CD (ARV: $14.99)!  Leave a comment below about your favorite music or what you love best about summertime and you could win.   The giveaway ends on June 8 and is open to people in US and Canada.  

***** For this review, I received a free download of the album to review from One2One Network. All opinions in this review are mine.****