RNZ: New Horizons

William Dart takes a look at American country singer Gillian Welch's recent album, Boots No 1, which releases demos, outtakes, alternate versions, and alternate mixes of the songs from her first album Revival.

Two British folksingers - at 81, Shirley Collins has released her first new album in 38 years; and the younger Fay Hield brings one out after a gap of only four. William Dart is a sucker for this sort of earthiness.

William Dart pays tribute to Leonard Cohen by looking at his genius with word and melody and the way he could build a simple idea to transcendence.

William Dart looks at Steve Abel's past recordings and gives his take on the new album Luck/Hope.

Spurred on by a new release from the North Carolina band Mandolin Orange, William Dart explores a number of other choice slices of plucking heaven featuring Bill Monroe, David Grisman and Chris Thile among others.

William Dart celebrates the Shakespeare anniversary year by looking at two recent releases - one from Paul Kelly and one from Rufus Wainwright - with settings of the Bard's sonnets.

William Dart surveys the recording career of Freakwater, the alt-country band from Louisville, Kentucky fronted by Janet Bean and Catherine Irwin, including their recent release Scheherazade.

William Dart reviews Shayne P. Carter's new album Offsider in the context of his previous releases and conversations between the two men about classical music.

William Dart revels in a remastered reissue of The Kinks' 1972 album Everybody's In Show-Biz, and takes a quick look at James Blake's new album The Colour in Anything.

William Dart pays tribute to recently-departed Auckland singer Grant P. Chilcott and leads up to that by considering the issues of good songcraft - Brian Wilson and Randy Newman serve as exemplars.