Mark Knopfler
“The RagPicker’s Dream”

Price: $12-$16

I was milked on Dire Straits during my awkward tenure as a teen. Lead man Knopfler and company branded the 80’s psyche with hits like “Money for Nothing” and “Walk of Life.” The late 70s hit “Sultans of Swing” turned meek individuals into strutting air guitarists, and their legendary concerts (the best example of which can be found on the live, “Alchemy”) furthered the Strait’s reputation as both a studio and live tour de force. They were a premier rock band, selling 83 million albums worldwide.

No one would blame Mark Knopfler — principal songwriter, lead vocalist, and guitar shaman for the Straits — if he became lethargic on his laurels. However, once his band became nonexistent, Knopfler went back to work as a solo for hire. He worked with the Irish band, the Cheftains, as well as putting out a brilliant album with country legend Chet Atkins.

Beginning in 1996, he released two albums, “Golden Heart” (1996) and “Sailing to Philadelphia” (released in 2000 and featuring James Taylor on the title track). Both releases signified an artist who was merely using the Dire Straits name for recall purposes. His sound was completely different from his old band, and proved that Knopfler was brimming with creativity.

“The Ragpicker’s Dream” may be his most imaginative so far. “Dream” is a concept album; a kind of Dust Bowl era rendering that tells the stories of poor but proud characters that remember triumphs instead of hardships, although darkness peers in from time to time. Critics have called it a folky album, but it’s layered with a collage of sounds that defies any genre.

The album is like a sunnier “Grapes of Wrath,” telling stories of circus people, train hoppers, shoe salesman, and hoboes. Genres are spliced with the Hawaiian and country renderings on “Quality Shoe,”Western Swing does a few circles on “Daddy’s Gone to Knoxville,” and Celtic and rock have an unholy union on the powerful “Why Aye Man.”

“The Ragpicker’s Dream” may be the best album of 2002. Mark Knopfler has come a long way, and it looks like he’s on the road to ascension. It’s going to get scary when this guy “matures.”

The Be Good Tanyas
“Blue Horse”

Price: $12-16

My friend likened the Be Good Tanya’s voices to a cherubim; a trio of angelic throats that also channel some heavenly goodness through their instruments. The three ladies— Samantha Parton - guitar, vocals, mandolin, banjo, Frazey Ford - guitar, vocals, Trish Klein - electric guitar, banjo, vocals - first met in British Columbia. The musicians shared a common love for the high and lonesome sound as well as keen interest for acoustic adeptness. The story goes that they holed up in a Chinatown house, sharing stories, music, and wine until the sound of the trio adhesed. The name — Be Good Tanyas — was a song penned by songwriter Obo Martin —”cus we’re both gypsy souls and it’s time for me to roll and I’m askin’ do you wanna come along, cuz I gotta get away to sing my songs and you got a song to sing don’t you? Be good Tanya, Tanya be good ...”

In 2000, The Canadian triumvirate took America by storm in a mild mannered 1977 Dodge Van. Crowds were glossed over by voices as crystal as a glacier lake, instrumental prowess that would make the Dixie Chicks sweat, and haunting stories about the great frontier. Their first album, “Blue Horse” is full of verdant music that seems birthed on a wind-spackled back porch. Their take on traditionals —”Oh Susanna” “Rain and Snow” — is reverential, and their originals — “The Littlest Birds” will be a repeat button culprit — suggest that this trio knows where to plunder the purities of music.

“Every so often you come across a sound that stops you in its tracks and simply makes you listen,” said David Grierson of CBC Radio. “ It’s Hypnotic. Simple, in the very best sense. Direct. I’m afraid to think what they’ll sound like in a few years ... I have a weak heart.’

The Herbie Hancock Box

Price: $60-$65

Warning: If you get this gift for your loved one, remember that damages may ensue. Once the paper is torn away, the lucky receiver will find a transparent cube with Herbie’s music frustratingly tucked away in its puzzled innards. There are three U-shaped sides, and the only way to open it is to pull them apart.

This may prove difficult for the excited music lover who will see four discs inside, each detailing a certain era in Hancock’s long career. Discs one and two recall Herbie’s acoustic career from 1976-1981. Until now, this music was only available in Japan and it contains portions of the pianist’s stint with his super band, V.S.O.P.

Disc three covers the Fender Rhodes years when Hancock made electric chic in jazz. Disc four shows Herbie’s influences on today’s youth culture and the trends he started.

Remember to tell your loved one to take a deep breath and remind him or her that the cube is their friend, a treasure chest that contains some of jazz’s wealthiest doubloons. Also remind them that “lesser mortals” won’t be able to infiltrate the case and use Herbie for their own evil doings.

Doc Watson and David Holt “Legacy”

Price: $24.98

Everyone in Western North Carolina seems to have a Doc Watson story. The Deep Gap native has a high visibility factor, and many braggarts (including myself) have seen him out in his yard, at department stores, or plucking for a crowd of 40 at Deep Gap’s local restaurant. He has national fame (recipient of the National Medal of Arts and five Grammy awards), yet he’s as local to Watauga County as the mailman.

But, most people have only caught smidgens of Doc, a dollhouse window into a musician who practically invented the art of playing mountain fiddle tunes on a flattop guitar. For those who want the innards of Doc, one needs to either be a picking prodigy and/or a family member. The rest should consult, Doc Watson and David Holt “Legacy.”

The three CD collection traces Doc’s life from his beginnings (Disc one) to his life in music (Disc two) and all the way up to his live concert with Holt in Asheville in 2001 (Disc three). The three discs include interviews with Doc who reveals his love of music as well as insight into his upbringing. In between interviews, Doc plays some of his old time favorites with the trademark lightning picking.

Grammy winner David Holt has become a local marquee as multi-instrumentalist, storyteller, historian, and the host of PBS’s “Folkways.” His most remarkable attribute is his thirst for rooting out old time musicians and then bringing their traditional ways to the public. He befriended Doc almost 30 years ago, and he always had the “Legacy” project in the back of his mind.

“I combined a lot of the things I’ve learned over 30 years,” Holt told the Smoky Mountain News in a past interview, “the first being a good enough musician to play with Doc Watson, and then being a good enough interviewer to pull something out of Doc — because he’s never really told his life story before.”

Besides the comfy hearth of Doc’s voice and guitar, the set comes with a 72-page booklet. Interviews with folks like Joan Baez, Ry Cooder, Pete Seeger, Earl Scruggs, and Sam Bush talk about Doc’s mastery of the guitar and as an honest and sweet human being.

DVD: Widespread Panic
“The Earth Will Swallow You”

Price: $25

The filmmaking team of the Hanson Brothers fulfilled the ultimate “spreadhead” wet dream —following and filming the rock band, Widespread Panic, on their summer 2000 tour. Stops included Red Rock Amphitheatre, the Warfield Theatre in San Francisco, and the Redneck Redrocks, aka Oak Mountain Amphitheatre in Birmingham. The two and a halfhour DVD includes candid interviews as well as live performances that will send any Panic fan into craving chills. Fans will also slobber in ecstasy with the bonus footage on the DVD, including live versions of “Holden Oversoul” and “Pigeons” from Red Rocks.

The inception of the film included stops at concert halls, breweries, and movie houses. After each showing, a live band would perform for the lucky filmgoers.

“The Earth Will Swallow You” has an almost home movie look, which furthers Panic’s reputation as a band that leads by example rather than glitz.

It also has touching moments like when guitarist/vocalist John Bell concreted a long time dream by playing “Genesis” with Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna veteran Jorma Kaukonen. In addition, the scenes with guitarist Michael Houser — who passed away in August after a bout with pancreatic cancer — are emotional, especially when Hanson follows the guitarist to a beloved baseball game.

Folks who don’t even listen to Widespread Panic told me that they liked the movie because it gave them a profound understanding of what the band was like. The film shows them as humans rather than idols basking in a fanatic glow.

“My favorite story is about their driver, Donnie,” producer Geoff Hanson told Smoky Mountain News in a past interview.

“When Donnie first got on tour with Panic, he couldn’t figure out for the life of him who was in the band. Finally one night he decided to go to a show just so he could see who the six guys were in the band. That to me defines what Panic is all about. They didn’t do this to become stars. They’re in it to play music.”