Joshua Bell “At Home With Friends” CD Review

For those of you unfamiliar with Joshua Bell, he is a famous violin player who has been playing since the age of 14. His musical collaborations and intense passion have earned him respect in the classical music arena as well as receiving the 2008 Academy of Achievement award for exceptional accomplishment in the arts.

I was lucky enough to receive a copy of the latest album, At Home With Friends, which showcases his talents along with vocal duets by Chris Botti, Sting, Josh Groban, Kristin Chenoweth, and many more.

At Home With Friends, is such a relaxing and fun CD. It is one of those CDs where you get a different vibe in each song. I can’t really say which one is my favorite, but I do like the song with Sting. I also like the collaboration with Regina Spektor. He even has a cool Sitar-Violin mix thrown in, and a nice opera piece with Josh Groban.  You can check out a sample of each song, here.

This CD really has something for everyone, and is great as a background to a nice evening with friends. In fact, it has so much energy in the songs, it is probably a great CD to play while cleaning up the house or having a romantic candlelit dinner.

Other links:
Joshua’s website: http://www.joshuabell.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Joshua-Bell/62686889648?Ref=ts
Joshua’s Widget: http://bit.ly/JoshuaBellWidget

Album Tracklisting (Originally performed by):
I Loves You Porgy featuring Chris Botti, trumpet
Come Again featuring Sting, vocals  
Oblivion featuring Carel Kraayenhof, bandoneon  
Cinema Paradiso featuring Josh Groban, vocals
Para Tí featuring Tiempo Libre, various
My Funny Valentine featuring Kristin Chenoweth, vocals
Maybe So featuring Edgar Meyer Sam Bush and Mike Marshall, strings
Grieg: Sonata No. 3 featuring Sergei Rachmaninoff (Zenph re-performance)
Eleanor Rigby featuring Frankie Moreno, piano & vocals
O, Cease Thy Maiden Fair featuring Nathan Gunn, baritone
Il Postino featuring Carel Kraayenhof, bandoneon
Left Hand Song featuring Regina Spektor, piano & vocals
Chovendo Na Roseira featuring Dave Grusin, piano
Look Away featuring Edgar Meyer, bass and Chris Thile, mandolin
Variant Moods: Duet for Sitar & Violin featuring Anoushka Shankar, sitar
I'll Take Manhattan featuring Marvin Hamlisch, piano
Left Hand featuring Regina Spektor, vocals