Something of a "greatest hits" collection, this CD contains several tracks from previous Evenson albums, as well as several new pieces. What sets Sound Healing apart from most recordings of its ilk is that the pieces are musically sound; instead of wandering from place to place, they have a musical starting point and destination, which makes them enjoyable to listen to. Of course, this doesn't detract from Evenson's intended purpose; Sound Healing is an excellent accompaniment to meditation, with its blend of flute, harp, guitar, and natural sounds such as crashing waves and birdcalls. Whether you use them as part of a healing program or just to relax, the gentle melodies and cinematic soundscapes of Sound Healing are an evocative treat. -Genevieve Williams.

Alex Gopher's debut is full of late-night house music in the images of smoochy jazz, Prince-styled funk and the romantic airs of 1990s revisionist disco. The most immediate tracks are party pleasers with butt-oriented beats and strident vocals demanding that you get down and get with it. Elsewhere Gopher is more considered-even melancholy-sampling Billie Holliday on "The Child" or collaborating with AIR for the intimate alt. ballad "Ralph and Katy" (a swooning track with poetic vocoderisms and fragile airs). Much of the album shows Gopher's credentials as doyen of the French house movement-like Bob Sinclair or AIR (both of whom debuted on the Solid imprint co-founded by Gopher), he makes a version of house/electronica that is metropolitan and urbane. He also holds a warm nostalgia for the lost world of Studio 54 and remakes disco as a luxurious modern music-a winning approach. -Tony Marcus As a French DJ, Alex Gopher faces inevitable comparisons to Daft Punk, France's principal exporter of urbane electronic disco. While the comparison is not unjust, YouMyBaby&I inclines more towards organic, sweaty funk than the robotic metronome beats of France's other prodigal sons. Though he is too mannered to indulge in the raucous hip-hop inflections of American electronica icons such as Fatboy Slim, Gopher is nonetheless in hot pursuit of your booty and your libido. This is most obvious on "Party People," a full-on international funk rave-up that is already a dance-floor staple in European clubs. [+]

Reformed jazz buff Harold Budd has played with a variety of musicians ranging from tenor saxophonist Albert Ayler to Brian Eno. Raised near the Mojave Desert, Budd developed an great appreciation for expansive silence and unconventional sounds. This record includes instrumental contributions from guitarist Bill Nelson, pedal-steel guitarist B. J. Cole, harpist Susan Allen, and viola player Mabel Wong, who adds a particularly dramatic tone to the recording. Budd plays keyboards, interspersing his contemplative soundscapes with delicate poems ("The Place of Dead Roads" refers to the book by William S. Burroughs). Delicate and pastoral, By the Dawn's Early Light is an exceptionally beautiful recording. -Mitch Myers.

Number five in Windham Hill's Celtic Christmas series, this may be the best of the lot with evocative compositions and arrangements that don't slip into seasonal sentimentality, better known as schmaltz. Produced by Micheal O'Domhnaill, the guitarist and founder of Nightnoise, the disc centers on members of that band. Nightnoise gives a Celtic chamber music feel to the traditional Irish carol, "The Flight into Egypt," while also offering up the serene original, "No Room at the Inn. " Nightnoise singer Triona Ni Dhomhnaill duets with her sister Maighread on the quavering harmonies of "Barbara Allen," while Micheal O'Domhnaill joins fiddler Paddy Glackin on "The Green Fields of Amerikay. " William Coulter and Benjamin Verdery provide dual acoustic guitar filigree on "Flow Gently Sweet Afton" and Nightnoise flutist Brian Dunning joins Jeff Johnson on "Down the Chimney. " There's something about that Celtic lilt, the sound of low whistles, cranky uilleann pipes, and Turlough O'Carolan tunes that instantly conjure up the warmth, quiet, and mysticism of Christmas. And it's all on A Celtic Christmas: Peace on Earth. -John Diliberto.