Three nominees, expressing different kinds of longings, in no particular order: (1) "Hard Times Come Around No More", a Stephen Foster tune sung by James Taylor on Yo-Yo Ma's "Appalachian Journey" CD. The song captures the wistful hope of better times I see in a friend and neighbor of mine, a desperately poor, elderly disabled farmer living in a shack here in the northern reaches of the Appalachia. (2) Roberta Flack singing "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" for the evocation of the complete, single-minded rapturous joy of the mind and senses upon discovering one's true love (3) Laura Love's soulful rendition of the traditional folk song "Shenandoah" on her "Fourteen Days" CD, for expression of the deep and simple love of any beautiful place one calls home and ache of separation from it. And there's so many more... the joy of high end audio is that the emotion shines through.
