"When Will I Be Loved" - Originally recorded by the Everly Brothers and made an even bigger hit by Linda Ronstadt (#2, 1975), this gutsy girls' tune will be a super showcase for your SSA group. "Blue Bayou" - Linda Ronstadt flew to number three on the charts with this Roy Orbison hit. Feature a soloist or your soprano section in this relaxed arrangement by Mac Huff. "Tracks of My Tears" - Smokey Robinson and the Miracles first introduced this pop-hit in 1965 and Linda Ronstadt had a huge hit with it in 1975 followed by numerous singers thereafter. It's a soulful, laid-back arrangement that works well for women's groups. "It's So Easy" - 10-time Grammy Award-winning singer Linda Ronstadt has performed it all: rock, country, opera, jazz and Latin. This Buddy Holly-penned single Ronstadt released at the height of her career in 1977 will easily sit with a choir looking for a country rock staple that sings with ease!

Songlist: When Will I Be Loved, Blue Bayou, Tracks of My Tears, It's So Easy

Flying Pickets : Volume One   

First the original Flying Pickets are not the same quintet that are frequently thought of to be the Flying Pickets; in another example of the machinations that occur between band members, there are in fact two different groups entirely. This CD was released in Europe in 1994, and features a new version of "Only You," their 1983 #1 hit. In terms of sound, the differences between the two Pickets are well, not in name only, but are negligible; uncomplicated arrangements of rock hits ("Smells Like Teen Spirit," "Sign Your Name," "When Doves Cry" etc), performed in a candid style. The name of the group links directly to its working-class origins (a picketer is a striking union worker), and their music is similarly raw and unpretentious. One can imagine them singing at the local pub and having a beer with them later.

Songlist: Under The Bridge, When Doves Cry, Sign Your Name, Smells Like Teen Spirit, Wonderful World, Here, There And Everywhere, Tracks Of My Tears, She Drives Me Crazy, Only You (And You Alone), When You're Young And In Love, Dance The Night Away, Road to Nowhere, Take My Breath Away

Fretless : All The Things We Are   

Fretless chose its name to represent the freedom, and challenge, of making music with a fretless instrument, the human voice. These five (3 men, 2 women) multitalented singers sharpened their chops performing with many other jazz and classical groups, particularly those performing in the Boston area; they began singing together in 1999. "All the Things" is a finely-crafted, varied collection of 18 covers ranging from the classical and sacred (Palestrina's "Exultate Deo," Debussy's "Dieu! Ou'il La Fait Bon Regarder!," Durufle's "Ubi Caritas" and "Brahms' Lullaby") and rock (Loggins & Messina's "Your Mama Don't Dance" and the LaBelle hit "Lady Marmalade," to pop and R&B ("James Taylor's "Lonesome Road," Randy Newman's "Short People" and Smokey Robinson's "Tracks of My Tears") reggae (Jimmy Cliff's "Many Rivers to Cross") show tunes (Hammerstein's "All the Things You Are" and Gene Krupa's "Some Like It Hot", arranged by Mel Torme) and jazzy blues (the Lambert/Hendricks/Ross arranged "Moanin'"). We particularly enjoyed soprano Anna Choi's solos on "I Can't Make You Love Me," "Tracks of My Tears," "Many Rivers to Cross" and "Lady Marmalade." An impressive, very entertaining debut CD from talented Fretless!

Songlist: All The Things You Are, Your Mama Don't Dance, I Can't Make You Love Me, Exultate Deo, Brahams' Lullaby, Short People, It Must Be Me, Tracks Of My Tears, O My Love Is Like A Red, Red Rose, Dieu! Qu'il La Fait Bon Regarder, Some Like It Hot, Let Them In, Peter, That Lonesome Road, Cry Me A River, Many Rivers To Cross, Ubi Caritas, Moanin', Lady Marmalade

Longtime Harmony Sweepstakes fans like us experienced a curious sense of deja vu while watching the Finals of NBC's "The Sing-Off." This was not surprising, of course, because the show was directly inspired by the Harmony Sweeps, but watching the first Champions, Nota, some of the singers looked very familiar. Searching the Sweeps website, we had to go back to the 2004 Finals, where a 7-man group from Puerto Rico named "Alpha", winners of the L.A. Regional, failed to place but impressed a lot of us in the audience. Since that evening "Alpha" members Edgar Rios, Johnny Figueroa and Ludwig Henderson joined with friends Jose Angel Rodriguez, Juan Eli Diaz and David Pinto to form the beautifully-named Nota, and the reaction of the tv audience, studio audience and judges underlined what everyone could tell from the first few notes-Nota ranks among the best, most entertaining a cappella groups in the world! There are 11 cuts on "Nota," covers of Lil' Wayne's "I Gotta Feeling," Jay Sean's "Down" (which has a marvelous salsa segueway), William "Smoky" Robinson's "Track of My Tears" and "My Girl;" Marc Anthony's "I Need to Know" and Maroon 5's "This Love;" and originals such as "You Own My All," by group member David, "Con mi nota en do" and "Solo sin ti" by Edgar, Ludwig, David and Eduardo Reyes, "Que tengo que hacer" and "Todo cambio." We're going to list the first cut, "I Gotta Feeling" as our favorite because listening to it we knew how good Nota is, and, as we expected, the other 11 cuts are all joyous, bilingual musical treats. Listen to the faux harmonica on cut #7, "My Girl," the faux electric guitar solo on cut #6, "This Love" or the faux horn section on "I Need to Know." Look and the amazing performance photos of the group in the liner notes, or go to YouTube and check out a couple live Nota performances. Then, like us, you'll be a huge Nota fan, turning on your friends to this sweet-singing, big fun group of a cappella champions!

Songlist: I Gotta Feeling, Down, Can Mi Nota En Do, You Are My All, Tracks of my Tears, This Love, My Girl, Todo Cambio, Que Tengo Que Hacer, Solo Sin Ti, I Need To Know