You can ring my bell.

I've been a CD-reviewing fiend as of late. I'm not sure what that's all about but I'm not asking any questions. I get free music in exchange for honest opinions. Sometimes I even get paid for these opinions. You know what that means! TATTOO MONEY.

My latest project is Joshua Bell's "At Home With Friends." Honestly? When I got this in the mail, I was thinking, "Uhhhh. No." Hello. Look at the cover. He looks like a socially awkward musical genius. Anyway, he's a violinist (albeit Grammy Award-winning) and generally this is just not the sort of thing I'd pop into the CD player and listen to on my own free-will. But I'm supposed to listen with an "open-mind" (which I'd like to think I have but sometimes I don't) so that's what I did.

I looked at the playlist and noticed one name that stood out like a homely, sore thumb; JOSH GROBAN. Ugh. You know how I feel about him. And sorry. But I listened to that track with a totally biased opinion. Meaning; it sucked. But the rest of the album? Not bad.

I initially listened to this CD while I was driving, and that's pretty much something I wouldn't recommend doing. The sounds of a violin combined with Sting singing in Latin is not something I want to listen to while I'm driving. It annoyed the crap out of me so I had to take it to work instead. Muuuuch better as this is one of those "serenity now" CDs.

I have a secret love for musicians like Chris Botti, so this was kinda right up my alley. I'm not so crazy about the tracks featuring the opera singers and/or the classically trained vocalists. I don't have the patience for this and it gives me a headache. But the ones featuring just the violin or more contemporary artists are actually pretty beautiful. This CD makes for really great background music, though it does remind me of the kind of stuff you'd hear in a store selling a lot of candles and shabby chic decor.

I'm torn on a recommendation. Most of my friends aren't gonna dig on this just because they aren't. Not because the CD sucks (which it doesn't). I'm actually going to keep this CD and not run it over with my car (like I did the "Rock of Ages" soundtrack), so take that information and do with it what you will.