Maria Muldaur

After eight years of the Bush administration, it ain’t easy to promote hope in this country. Just ask Sen. Barack Obama, a man whose attempt to resuscitate hope has been met with a nonstop subterranean barrage of lies in the blogosphere. There are lots of Americans who prefer darkness and fear to light and hope. Maria Muldaur isn’t one of them, however, and her new album (her 35th) raises lots of voices in a fervent assertion that things can get better. Singers—Bonnie Raitt, Phoebe Snow, Odetta and Joan Baez, among others—are backed up by the Women’s Voices for Peace Choir. It’s a secular revival meeting, with music to nourish souls seeking solace. The backup band, the Free Radicals, is as tight as a face-lift. This is a fine piece of work. Play it loud and rejoice.