Paul McCartney, Richard Thompson Top Musicbox-Online.com’s List of Readers’ Favorites During 2nd Quarter 2007

Popular magazine The Music Box has released the ranking of its readers’ favorites for the second quarter of 2007. Topping the list is Paul McCartney’s Memory Almost Full and Richard Thompson’s Sweet Warrior. Trailing these albums are Loudon Wainwright III’s Strange Weirdos: Music from and Inspired by the Film “Knocked Up”, the soundtrack to Catch and Release, and Jefferson Airplane’s Sweeping up the Spotlight: Live at the Fillmore East. Said The Music Box’s founder John Metzger, “With the help of Starbucks’ Hear Music label, Paul McCartney put together a remarkably successful marketing strategy to plug his new album. He wouldn’t have been able to sustain his initial momentum, however, if Memory Almost Full wasn’t such a sterling outing. Therefore, the big story isn’t that he jumped off the major-label bandwagon. It’s that he has become more engaged in the process of writing and recording music.” These rankings are compiled from sales and traffic statistics through The Music Box’s web site.

The Music Box, which is in its 14th year of operation, covers a wide array of music, including blues, jazz, country, bluegrass, folk, and the many configurations of rock ’n‘ roll. Subscribers to The Music Box’s e-mail list and regular visitors to its web site are treated to reviews of the latest albums, DVDs, movies, books, and concerts as well as in-depth interviews and articles, daily music news, and concert listings. In addition, members of its e-mail list are eligible to win a variety of items. This month’s giveaways include Chris Salewicz’s biography Redemption Song: The Ballad of Joe Strummer and Strange Weirdos / Knocked Up CDs and T-shirts. Each year, several million guests visit the site, which recently surpassed 3,800 pages of information.

Readers' Favorites - 2nd Quarter 2007:

1) Paul McCartney - Memory Almost Full
2) Richard Thompson - Sweet Warrior
3) Loudon Wainwright III - Strange Weirdos / "Knocked Up" Soundtrack
4) Various Artists - Catch and Release: Music from the Motion Picture
5) Jefferson Airplane - Sweeping Up the Spotlight: Live at the Fillmore East

6) Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
7) Leonard Cohen - Songs from a Room
8) Sean Lennon - Friendly Fire
9) John Mayer - Continuum
10) Neil Young - Live at Massey Hall

11) Son Volt - The Search
12) Warren Zevon - Stand in the Fire
13) Howard Fishman - The Basement Tapes: Live at Joe's Pub
14) Anjani - Blue Alert
15) Page McConnell - Page McConnell

16) Lee Johnson - Dead Symphony, No. 6
17) Joss Stone - Introducing…Joss Stone
18) Kings of Leon - Because of the Times
19) Grateful Dead - Live at the Cow Palace: New Year's Eve 1976
20) Carlos Santana & Wayne Shorter - Live at the 1988 Montreux Jazz Festival

21) Bob Dylan - Modern Times
22) Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, & Ray Price - Last of the Breed, Vol. 1 & 2
23) Various Artists - Monterey International Pop Festival
24) The Beach Boys - The Warmth of the Sun
25) Gill Landry - The Ballad of Lawless Soirez