With a voice that has been compared to Dar Williams and Natalie Merchant, Gale Mead sings with honesty and heart. Her new CD, “Common Good,” released in September 2008, features nine original tunes and three covers, ranging from unabashedly political songs such as “The War Goes On” to the cheerfully pop-like “Lucky Dime.” Optimism glows in songs like “Hope Mountain” and the title track, “Common Good,” but Mead is unafraid of taking on even the most painful of subjects. Her song “Miguel,” brings home the anguish of military personnel and their friends and family coping with the effects of war, while her heart-wrenching interpretation of Warren Zevon’s “Keep Me in Your Heart” confronts death and loss with exquisite tenderness. The CD concludes with an ethereal tribute to the ocean, “Where I Go,” in which the songs of humpback whales are woven through delicate guitar, soaring saxophone, and Mead’s wistful vocals.

“Common Good” features a stellar cast of musicians including Amos Garrett, Eric McFadden, and Dave Weeks on guitar, John Allair and Tim Gorman on keys, and Ysanne Spevack on violin, all expertly brought together by veteran producer Terry Bradford and recorded by genius engineer Oz Fritz at the Prairie Sun recording studio. It is available at www.cdbaby.com/galemead3, iTunes, and through numerous other digital music services.