For this issue of Muse, my fellow staffers and I really got to know Dennis Warner on a personal level. Not only is he an accomplished folk singer and songwriter, but also a first-time author, and the creator an educational and creative school project with a simple yet powerful anti-bullying message. I had never gotten to know Dennis Warner the musician, however, until I started listening to his new album, “Live! Volume One.”

Dennis' first-ever live concert album was recorded last year during his annual performance at the Pioneer Place in downtown St. Cloud. The disc begins with a rousing, audience-participating song called “Mother Earth,” where the singer, his fellow musicians, and fans give loving, heartfelt thanks to the environment around them. This first song really sets the tone for the entire album, as it resonated the peaceful, inviting, easygoing mood that the concert seemed to revolve around.

There are a few songs like “Biscuit Man” and “I'm My Own Grandpa” filled with tongue-in-cheek humor that listeners of any age can enjoy. There are also some intensely emotional, more adult-themed songs like “Beautiful Fool,” an homage to the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and “First Thing,” which happens to be my favorite track on the album. From the first listen, I was ensnared by the mellow blues groove of this particular number, while I simultaneously pictured Dennis in my mind's eye as he wrote this song, never letting his eyes waver from his one true love.

The album also features “Beads on One String,” another fan favorite. I've grown to like this song, not because of the children's book and school project of the same name, but because of the simple, positive message it portrays: although we may look and feel different, we're really all “beads on one string.” My friends in the Queue and I also relate to the song's line “we're one world” in more ways than one!

This is a great song to take along on a long weekend family drive, or just relaxing indoors with family and friends. Dennis Warner fans should obviously pick up this disc, but even if you're not, pick one up anyway! It's a great album for anyone looking for music that's not profane or controversial, and is filled with positive messages that listeners young and old can appreciate again and again. After all, we're all “beads on one string.”