title: Here On My Own (Lighter Shade Of Blue) is just amazing!!

text:
I can't believe that there aren't any reviews for this CD. First things first, this is a single CD by the group Sweetbox, during Jade Valerie's days in the group. Here's a tracklisting of the album:

01. Here On My Own (Lighter Shade Of Blue) (Radio Version)
02. Here On My Own (Lighter Shade Of Blue) (Japanese Album Version)
03. Here On My Own (Lighter Shade Of Blue) (H-Run / Dadas Remix)
04. Here On My Own (Lighter Shade Of Blue) (Instrumental)
05. One Kiss - Acoustic Version

Track 1 is also know as the European Version, while track 2 is the regular version off of the Jade album. "Here On My Own (Lighter Shade Of Blue)" is actually a really great song to listen to! The remix on this album is also great too! This CD is definitely worth buying, and listening to. Even though this CD don't come with a booklet, at least it comes with a sheet with details. The case is really interesting, because it not your average CD Jewel case, or your average slim cases from now and days. There's not even a back cover that actually goes on the back, usually beneath the CD, which is weird. But, anyways, Sweetbox has so many great songs, that I couldn't possibly tell you which is my favorite album. I will tell you, however, that I can listen to their "After the Lights" album, straight on through to the end of the last track. They come out with great music, that it's so much better than Katy Perry and Lady GaGa combined. It's even better than Britney Spears, and so many other people's music.  I find myself listening to them a lot often, and more than anyone else, really. I didn't find out about Sweetbox until 2007, when I bought the FFX-2 theme songs, for th English Version of the game. I didn't fully research about them until November, 2010. The only downfall about Sweetbox is that they don't release their music in the US, and that it is EXTREMELY hard to buy their music. It's a lot easier to just download them freely, rather than to buy them, but we want to support Sweetbox, so just buy this CD, and countless other great albums. You should also check out Jade's newer groups Saint Vox, Eternity, and under her own name Jade Valerie. Overall, this is a really great album, so take my word for it and buy it already!! : )


title: Five Stars

text: Came fast and loved the posters that came with it.


title: great

text: took a week or two for it to ship but it came in great condition and it works great its got the full song of mr sadistic night and it has the short for the t.v show and it has the off vocal.


title: Great reminder of a good film... yet, great on it's own.

text:
This album is a wonderfully crafted disc. It combines some of the greatest tracks from the moive. When I listened to it I initially had fond memeories of a great film. After repeated listening I began to enjoy several of the pieces on their own (such as Track # 10). This album I proudlt pum loud with the windows down and the sunroof open. It also, introduced me more to Indian music. A perfect place to begin fot the virgin listener, you get a mix of traditional and current popular dance styles.

**********************************

Loved this album, started the increased depth of my past shallow love for Inidan music.


title: Passable

text:
By now you probably have heard or read that film book is an Indianized version of the original English story,
Pride and Prejudice." The book worked well in the English version, but does not translate well in the Indianized version. I was  disappointed by the film, and the sound track since I have seen all of Gurinder Chadha's films and have enjoyed all of them. This film tried to do too many things, and in the process the end product was not all that good.

The funny thing is I cannot recollect any of the songs in this track other than the "Balle Balle" song. I would probably listen to the songs once more, but am not sure if I would want to possess this track.


title: Great Songs

text:
This is probably A.R. Rahman's best music track for a film. All the songs in this track are memorable. Besides composing the music for this film, Rahman has also sung the title song.

You will not be disappointed with the songs, and this is a great selection to have in your collection.


title: Alternate Source for this Concert

text: This same concert, and probably the same recording of it, is also available as the bonus CD on the recent 2-CD  [[ASIN:B00HQLZC7C Elvis Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis (Legacy Edition)]]. Check it out to see which is the better deal for you.


title: Interesting and Funny Spoken Recordings of Elvis in the 70s

text:
I've been a fan of Elvis Presley's music for a long time, but it wasn't until about 2 years ago that I also started collecting CDs of Elvis's spoken recordings, some with him speaking and some with others talking about him. However, there seem to be very few spoken Elvis recordings from the 1970s, other than the press conferences he gave in 1970 at the Houston Astrodome and in 1972 at Madison Square Garden in New York. So I was very glad to find this ELVIS PRESLEY: REFLECTIONS OF THE 70s, and there's a lot of interesting material on here. This CD includes the press conferences that I just mentioned, as well as 2 other press conferences, phone calls, comments Elvis made on stage, interviews, and more. (I should mention that the Madison Square Garden Press Conference on here is a short version that runs 1:16, while a version that runs 8:01 can be found on the CD [[ASIN:B000003SJ7 The Elvis Presley Interviews]] - check my review on there for details about that.) The total run time of this CD is a very generous 77 minutes 44 seconds.

Some of this is amazingly rare stuff, like I never would have guessed that anyone recorded phone calls with Elvis, and there are no big revelations in these phone calls with his friends but they're still interesting. Most of this is good to very good material. For instance, I'm pleased that Elvis's Jaycees speech is a longer version than I used to have on an LP, and most of the on stage comments are interesting and/or funny. I was surprised that the "Tour-end Party" from 1976 is so funny, and it's primarily Elvis's producer Felton Jarvis impersonating Elvis as he pokes fun at several of the Memphis Mafia while he's being interviewed by comedian Jackie Kahana (this segment has got lots of foul language, so be careful who you play it for). Also, the 2 tracks "About John O'Grady....." and "Tabloids and Movie Magazines" from 1974 are Elvis complaining on stage regarding lies told about him in the media, where at one point he says if he catches a certain author "I'll tear his %*!@*# head off!"

There are a few tracks that are not all that relevant, but the only segment I was very disappointed with was the Aloha Press Conference that Elvis gave in November of 1972 to discuss the upcoming "Aloha from Hawaii" satellite concert the following January. The problem is that it was recorded very poorly - sounds like bad microphone placement - so that it's hard to understand a lot of it. Luckily, though, almost all the other recordings on here have good sound and are easy to understand. By the way, the "Las Vegas Hilton Press Conference" from 9/5/72 is also a discussion of the upcoming Aloha concert, and it's got good sound.

If you have any interest in ELVIS PRESLEY: REFLECTIONS OF THE 70s you'd better get it soon, though, because the case says "limited edition of 500 copies," and from what I've seen on Amazon the CDs issued by this Elvis for Everyone fan club in Holland do go out of production soon.


title: Great Cuban Music

text: I bought CUBA FIESTA TROPICAL on clearance at a nearby bookstore last week, and I've been very pleasantly surprised at how much I've enjoyed it. Some instrumental and some vocal tracks, with Tito Puente on here several times, and included too are Perez Prado, Ramon "Mongo" Santamaria, Benny More, and Elmer Ferreira, as well as many others. This set includes a lot of traditional Cuban songs as well as lots of mambo and cha-cha dances. Disc 3 is quite different from the first 2 in that it's romantic vocal "lounge" music, although I like it too. So this set has 3 CDs, each running from 66 to 76 minutes, so it's a LOT of music. The sound quality is very good, although oddly the back cover says it's AAD, which means it hasn't been digitally remastered, but the booklet inside says it IS digitally remastered! Sounds like it probably is remastered, and although it's not clear from the included information when these were recorded, they are good stereo recordings with low distortion. I know more about Latin jazz than I do about specifically Cuban music, so I can't compare this to other Cuban recordings, but to me these sound like very good performances and are lots of fun.


title: Pretty Good Pop Songs

text:
I've been collecting Sixties songs for several years, and I generally like this "AM Gold" series so I've bought several. This 1962 edition of it is a fairly good one, with most of it being kind of a light pop, usually with lyrics about romance. That was the predominant style at the time, although there was other music going on too, like rhythm & blues, Tin Pan Alley, classical, jazz, folk, cajun, and so on. There are 3 or 4 R & B songs on here, like "You've Really Got a Hold On Me" by The Miracles, and "Up On the Roof" by The Drifters. And there's a strong country representative with "It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin" by Johnny Tillotson. Out of a very generous 22 songs, there are just maybe 4 that I don't like, so that's certainly a good batting average. And I was very happy to get ahold of "Johnny Angel" by Shelley Fabares since that's a really pretty song, and I'm a fan of her.

Actually, another Time-Life CD called [[ASIN:B000FPI6O2 Time Life The Rock 'N' Roll Era 1962]] has a little better quality songs and more R & B than this one. Or you could add variety to AM GOLD 1962 by also getting a great R & B disc like [[ASIN:B000EIEJIM Atlantic R&B 5: 1961-1965]], and great Sixties folk music with [[ASIN:B000000EBF Folksingers of the 60's]]. For some Tin Pan Alley singers you might check out Peggy Lee or Frank Sinatra in the early '60s.

By the way, this "AM Gold" series is the same as the "Super Hits" series, both made by Time-Life, just with a different title and graphics. I actually have the "Super Hits" version of this disc, and the sound quality on mine is quite good, though I'm not sure if any of the songs have been remastered and the liner notes don't say. Therefore, you might check out [[ASIN:B004NG24B0 1962 Superhits Time Life]] to compare prices to see which is the best deal at the moment.


title: Pretty Good Pop Songs

text:
I've been collecting Sixties songs for several years, and I generally like this "Super Hits" series so I've bought several. This 1962 edition of it is a fairly good one, with most of it being kind of a light pop, usually with lyrics about romance. That was the predominant style at the time, although there was other music going on too, like rhythm & blues, Tin Pan Alley, classical, jazz, folk, cajun, and so on. There are 3 or 4 R & B songs on here, like "You've Really Got a Hold On Me" by The Miracles, and "Up On the Roof" by The Drifters. And there's a strong country representative with "It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin" by Johnny Tillotson. Out of a very generous 22 songs, there are just maybe 4 that I don't like, so that's certainly a good batting average. And I was very happy to get ahold of "Johnny Angel" by Shelley Fabares since that's a really pretty song, and I'm a fan of her.

Actually, another Time-Life CD called [[ASIN:B000FPI6O2 Time Life The Rock 'N' Roll Era 1962]] has a little better quality songs and more R & B than this one. Or you could add variety to SUPER HITS 1962 by also getting a great R & B disc like [[ASIN:B000EIEJIM Atlantic R&B 5: 1961-1965]], and great Sixties folk music with [[ASIN:B000000EBF Folksingers of the 60's]]. For some Tin Pan Alley singers you might check out Peggy Lee or Frank Sinatra in the early '60s.

By the way, this "SUPER HITS" series is the same as the "AM GOLD" series, both made by Time-Life, just with a different title and graphics. Therefore, you might check out [[ASIN:B000OP2W9I AM Gold 1962]] to compare prices to see which is the best deal at the moment.


title: Poor Arrangements and Lethargic

text:
In a way I hate to write this mostly negative review, because I have numerous CDs with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and I normally enjoy hearing that fine group of musicians. Most of their recordings that I own are of classical pieces, but I also enjoy the several of theirs that I have of music from movies and musicals. However, "Classic Movie Themes I" I find to have poor arrangements and to be overall quite lethargic. Part of the reason that it's lethargic is that all the movie themes on here are slow, and often romantic, pieces to begin with. I would prefer a disc with more variety, some faster and some slower pieces, but some people enjoy discs of all slow pieces because they're relaxing. However, even considering the type of music these are, I still think they're unusually lethargic, partly the fault of the conductor for going too slow with some of them.

But much worse is that the arrangements are so bad that in most cases all the life of the music is drained, and they become insipid "elevator" music. For instance, I love the original recording of Lara's Theme from the film "Dr. Zhivago," and indeed I enjoy that whole soundtrack. But here even a lovely piece like that is rendered mostly lifeless and not like the original at all. In constrast, I very much enjoy the Royal Philharmonic's CD [[ASIN:B00000ICP2 James Bond Themes]], which is very vigorous and well-arranged, and I love their CD Leonard [[ASIN:B00000ICP0 Bernstein - Overtures to Candide, Symphonic Dances from West Side Story, Symphonic Suite from On The Waterfront]], so I wonder why there was a breakdown with "Classic Movie Themes I"? Oddly, no conductor is given on the packaging, which is very unusual for the Royal Philharmonic CDs, so perhaps that's a clue that this recording was not made with as much care as usual. This is a decent sounding digital recording using Super Bit Mapping, but I can't find a year on it. Also, I am pretty sure that all of this CD is re-recordings, and not from the original movie soundtracks, although the packaging does not address this. I have no problem with re-recordings if they're well done, but I do NOT recommend this CD.

I notice that the Amazon page for this does not list the tracks at all, so I'll briefly do that: 1.Tara's Theme (from "Gone With the Wind"), 2.Edelweiss ("The Sound of Music"), 3.Some Enchanted Evening ("South Pacific"), 4.Secret Love ("Calamity Jane"), 5.Over the Rainbow ("The Wizard of Oz"), 6.Summertime ("Porgy and Bess"), 7.Where Do I Begin? ("Love Story"), 8.Somewhere ("West Side Story"), 9.Lara's Theme ("Dr. Zhivago"), 10.Moon River ("Breakfast at Tiffany's"), 11.The Way We Were, 12.As Time Goes By ("Casablanca"), 13.Theme from "A Summer Place," 14.Blue Velvet, 15.True Love ("High Society"), 16.The Summer Knows ("The Summer of '42"), 17.When I Fall in Love ("One Minute to Zero"), 18.Hopelessly Devoted to You ("Grease"), 19.Arthur's Theme, 20.True Love Ways ("Buddy"), 21.Pachelbel Canon ("Ordinary People"), 22.The Sounds of Silence ("The Graduate"), 23.Someone to Watch Over Me, 24.People ("Funny Girl"), and 25.Evergreen ("A Star is Born").


title: Wide Variety of Christmas Styles

text:
CHRISTMAS LADIES STYLE contains a wide variety of musical styles, as well as all being sung by ladies, as the title implies. Two songs are performed in a  soul style, three as country, two as "traditional" Tin Pan Alley, one as blues, one as folk, and a couple I'm not sure how to categorize. I like four of the performances a great deal, four of them I like quite well, and two I'm not crazy about. Not a bad batting average! "Merry Christmas Wherever You Are" and "Christmas At Our House" are interesting finds for me, since I like them a lot although I had never heard them. The CD runs rather short at just 37 minutes and 10 songs. Sound quality is fine. There is no booklet, just a cover page. Anyway, here are the songs and the singers:

1. Santa Claus is Coming to Town - Pointer Sisters

2. Christmas At Our House - Barbara Mandrell (cover says "Mandell")

3. Do You Hear What I Hear? - Gladys Knight & the Pips

4. Toyland - Lorrie Morgan

5. Merry Christmas Wherever You Are - Judy Collins

6. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Kim Carnes

7. Blue Christmas - K.T. Oslin

8. Hard Candy Christmas - Dolly Parton

9. The Christmas Song - Maureen McGovern

10. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen - Julie Andrews

Enjoy!!


title: A Few Good Songs But Sloppy Middle

text: I like several of the CDs in this "Classic Sixties Collection" series, but I'm not crazy about this 1968 one. Strangely, the CD begins and ends with some very good recordings, like "Born to Be Wild" by Steppenwolf, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" by Marvin Gaye, and "Chain of Fools" by Aretha Franklin, but the middle section of the CD gets pretty sloppy with several mediocre songs and performances. You can listen to some other 1968 compilations, such as [[ASIN:B000E3DT7Y AM Gold: 1968]] to hear that there were plenty of better recordings that could have been put on here, songs like "Do You Know the Way to San Jose?" by Dionne Warwick, "Wichita Lineman" by Glen Campbell, "Stoned Soul Picnic" by The Fifth Dimension, or "If I Can Dream" by Elvis Presley. However, as is true of the whole series, the graphics on the CD case and in the booklet look really groovy, and the booklet provides quite helpful information too. In sum, while I think this CD is OK, I like the [[ASIN:B000E3DT7Y AM Gold: 1968]] CD a little better. As I mentioned, though, I DO like this series quite much, so some of my faves in the series are [[ASIN:B000KCLT30 The Classic Sixties Collection: 1964 Cd! Hits That Rocked a Whole Generation!]], [[ASIN:B000KBJ6SG The Classic Sixties Collection: The Hits That Rocked a Whole Generation]] (1965), and [[ASIN:B000KZO0GK The Classic Sixties Collection: 1967 Cd!]].


title: Paul Kelly, Stollen Apples Live (dvd/cd)

text: Being a Fan of Paul Kelly music, and this DVD/CD being so easily acquired through Amazon, the outcome was obvious from a continued satisfied customer. I have played it loud several times already, much to the entertainment of my household, and possibly neighbourhood, as there has been no complaints thus far.


title: One of my favorite memories

text:
I found this LP in a stack of old ones a couple of days ago, and my BF is going to try to record it in to an mp3. I sure hope it comes out playable, especially with the help of Audition software to clean up the pops and scratches, because I absolutely loved the songs on it. I played it into the ground for years after school until my parents came home and demanded silence in the house. It was just such a feel-good experience! "One Foot, Other Foot," from the musical "Pipe Dream," especially, inspired my imagination and got me retrospecting to my own toddlerhood, and i think it is why my memory of it is so vivid - I did spend a lot of time reflecting back to the images of that time and place in the parent-imposed silence of later afternoons.

Great album!


title: Exceptional harping.

text: I got this decades ago as an LP and finally now as a CD, and have loved it all along. I can't count the hours I've spent relaxing to it.


title: Won't leave you thirsty.

text: I've loved this album since getting the LP decades ago, and the CD is just as great. Perfect blend of Irish music a la Chieftains.


title: Attack of the Groans

text:
I was hoping episode II would not be as bad as episode I. I was not disappointed. Other than some flat acting and cliché-ridden dialogue, the movie was pretty good. In a plot neatly lifted from "Romeo and Juliet", "The Gladiator", "We Were Soldiers", plus a few scenes borrowed from several Maxfield Parrish paintings, and we are off for the ride of our lives.
Anny Skywalker and Queen, now Senator, Amidala find love on the eve of a major galactic war. I had an attack of the groans when Jar Jar Binks appeared in the opening scenes and spoke a few lines. Fortunately, he disappeared early on and I settled back to enjoy what I enjoy most about the Star Wars saga; the creatures, the costumes, and the special effects.
Late in the epic Christopher Lee, a villain's villain, encounters Obi and Anny. After quickly dispatching the two Jedi he goes mano a green-midget with Master Yoda in what proves to be the best scene in the movie, and probably the most excellent sword fight, light-saber, sequence I have ever seen.
Everyone should see this one. I totally enjoyed myself.


title: The New Heifetz is here.

text: Sarah is simply the new Jasha Heifetz.  l love all her playing. However the recording process is not always the best. The violin is occasionall overwhelmed by the orchestra. This was never true of Heifetz. Even though I already owned some of these CDs, it was an excellent bye. I will acquire all of Sarah's recordings. She is a rare gift to the world.


title: The singer of Lain anime.

text: The group that did the music of LAIN anime start credit. Title: Duvet 🎶And you don’t seem to understand ...🎵(not on this LP tho) The very nice voice of Jasmine Rodgers.


title: Love it

text: Love it!


title: One of the Most Obscure, Curious Items in the 'Pink Floyd: Solo' Catalog

text:
In 1984, Pink Floyd's erstwhile keyboardist Richard Wright (who had been acrimoniously ousted from the group for a few years by this point) teamed with Fashion member Dave Harris for a one-off album, "Identity," released oddly under the moniker Zee. Before re-joining Floyd, Wright would call "Identity" a mistake; "the quiet one" of Pink Floyd had often been critical of his own efforts in and out of the band, but many fans would agree with him this time. "Identity" was purely-1984, bathed in synth and keyboards and other production techniques that make the album sound quite dated in 2013 (though let's be fair - if "Identity" is dated because of its musical sound, fellow Floyd member Roger Waters' 80s efforts are just as dated for their discourses on Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher).
However, if a diehard Floyd fan dives into the album knowing it's a curious venture in studio-sterile synth-pop, and if you're into that sort of thing, it's not as bad as its obscurity suggests. The vocals are strong throughout, and there are surprisingly more than a few worth-repeating moments. The album's best track is, not surprisingly, the most Floydian, 'Cuts Like a Diamond,' while even its least Floyd-like piece, 'Private Person' is worth listening to.
It would be twelve years before Rick Wright released another solo album, but the wait would be worth it - 1996's "Broken China" ranks with Syd Barrett's two albums as the most intriguing solo releases from a Pink Floyd member.


title: Pentagon Summer Album

text: The poster is huge, everything in the album was in great condition.


title: Better than I initially expected...

text:
I will admit that upon listening to the leaked promo of "Subliminal Genocide" I was disappointed with what seemed to be an album full of b-sides from To Violate the Oblivious. When all is said and done, Subliminal Genocide surpasses Xasthur's last two albums. People who are already fans of Xasthur's music will not be disappointed here because Xasthur remains "trve" to his original vision. Of course, if you have heard this band before, then you should know what to expect here -- reverb drenched discordant guitars and processed vocals. It is pretty much impossible to hear what Xasthur is playing with these dreadful mixes. What is different here is that the production is once again muddy and dirty. However, it is still a step above the first three records. In the end, this seems to be the culmination of Xasthur's sound, and quite possibly Malefic's fully realized vision for this band. These songs are bleak and dissonant. It sounds like you are moving through the consciousness of a really messed up, demented person on the verge of (hahaha, you guessed it) committing suicide. The songs play out like a slow moving funeral procession. They start with a raw distorted riff and go through a breakdown and start up once again just when you think the nightmare is over. The riffs are still grim, cacophonic, and dark. They are processed through fuzz, reverb, and whatever else Malefic decides to pile on top. The ominous keryboards are still present, but they are mixed low. The drums on the last Xasthur record were more in your face, but they seem to be buried here.

In the end, this album is grim and dirty. It seems that Malefic is finally starting to get some recognition (possibly due to his appearance on Black 1?). But, this music is still guaranteed to polarize most listeners, so people who are worried about this no longer being "kvlt" should just relax. I don't think you are going to see Xasthur on Ozzy's second stage anytime soon, but of course I could be wrong (if he permanently joins Sunn o))), that is). However, I think that Subliminal Genocide pushes Xasthur's sound to the limit. I would like to see Malefic go into a "completely" different direction on his next release... Because, even though this is another strong offering of trance inducing black metal, there is nothing new here.

Edit (January, 2007):

I have to admit that the more I listen to "Subliminal Genocide" the more I am impressed. This is without a doubt Malefic's best material yet. Sure, Nocturnal Poisoning was a fine album and all, but after listening to Subliminal Genocide over and over again for the past five months, I am only beginning to pick up on the sheer amount of detail and effort that went into this release. Malefic is the Kevin Shields of the black metal world. No doubt.

And for the people who call this "black metal for normals:" Let me ask you this, are there any bands out there that really sound like this? Of course, you could say Manes and Mütiilation but, as far as I am concerned, Malefic has evolved Xasthur into his own distinguished vision over the past couple of years. Subliminal Genocide is a testament to this vision... This IS a strong release. You want "black metal" for normals? Check out Dimmu Borgir and Cradle of Filth. Like I said before, Xasthur has remained true to his original vision. There are no valid reasons to call him a sell out other than the fact that he jumped onto Hydra Head records where, according to Malefic, he could make music without the usual record company hassles. Sure, it is a "hipster" label, but who really cares when the releases are still as strong as this?


title: Great Music, Unfair Price

text: The music is incredible. I just can't give five stars for an album with only five songs wrapped in paper. I thought for the price I'd at least get a plastic case, but it's just a paper sleeve. The price really, really needs to be decreased.


title: Maravilloso es DIOS

text: Los Himnos de Alabanza a DIOS son Hermosos


title: Five Stars

text: great


title: Five Stars

text: awesome


title: Slow Roosevelt is Rock Music

text: This is the first CD released by Slow Roosevelt. These guys put on an incredible show live and never disappoint. This album is a necessity for any hard rock fan.


title: Catch their show!

text: Modoc is probably the most powerful new band in the universe.  Their live show is not to be missed.  Whether they open for Kings of Leon, headline their own show, or fill out a festival ticket, they are the band to see.  I saw them at a family wedding years ago and knew they were going to be big someday. They are big. See them!


title: Pop fun

text: If you are into pop music, this is the CD for you. It all the best music hits of 2014.


title: A Solid Must Have For A Serious Jazz Library

text:
One of the true unsung artist of his era. This is his second album as leader and is on the renown Blue Note Label. Trying to find this on vinyl is all but impossible. But thankfully Blue Note finally found the lost tapes and reissued this on vinyl sometime back.

Track Listing:

1  Good Old Soul
2  Up Tight's Creek
3  Theme For Doris
4  True Blue
5  Miss Hazel
6  Nothing Ever Changes My Love For You

The Sextet:

Tina Brooks - Tenor Sax
Freddie Hubbard - Trumpet
Duke Jordan - Piano
Sam Jones - Bass
Art Taylor - Drums

Recorded 1960 on the Blue Note Label. This reissue carries catalog number 4041.

Review:

As with Minor Move and Back to the Tracks, Tina Brooks' True Blue is an album of hard bop excellence. Recorded in '60, it finds the tenor saxophonist accompanied by Freddie Hubbard on trumpet (a week after Brooks helped Hubbard on his debut album, Open Sesame), Duke Jordan on piano, Sam Jones on bass, and Art Taylor on drums. The six original compositions by Brooks are well-crafted, though none are stellar. The group's cohesive sound, its consistent blues-induced jazz groove, and the numerous well-defined solos are the album's strengths.

You'd never know it from listening to his distinctive tone and melodic attitude, but Brooks never made it big. Though he recorded four albums for Blue Note, True Blue was the only one that was released during his lifetime. I'll health and drugs eventually took their toll and he passed away in '74 at 42 years of age.

There is a terrifically pensive blues cry in every Brooks solo on this release that is mesmerizing. While he's often shadowed by trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, the two gracefully bring out some profoundly thoughtful improvising from each other. None of the five tunes (and two alternative takes) are exactly inspiring tunes. But Brooks packs a lot of raw emotionality and innovative musical craft into his solos. Although the liner notes makes much of the Sonny Rollins influence, I actually hear a lot more of a tone I'd connect to Booker Erwin, Ornette Coleman, or Brooks' companion in the Blue Note recording studio, Jackie McLean. Anyone who enjoyed the dramatic support Brooks gave McLean on Jackie's Bag should treasure this, the only album Brooks released under his name as leader during his lifetime. Brooks sounds like a desperately driven musician wanting something beyond the bop of 1960 and never quite making the breakthrough to freedom that McLean found through his association with Ornette Coleman. The rhythm section of drummer Art Taylor, bassist Sam Jones, and pianist Duke Jordan simply never push him that hard to explore new musical territory. I wonder who Brooks would have become had he worked with a drummer like Eddie Blackwell or Elvin Jones.

What True Blue gives generously is a full blooded musical portrait of a hard-working and distinctive sounding tenor man with a blue cry stuck in his throat and heart. It is an achievement to treasure.

End Review:

I could not agree more with the above two reviews. If you do not have Tina Brooks in your jazz library, you have missed on of the all time greats. While Tina Brooks does not have a large body of work and he ceased recording in 1961, "True Blue" remains on of those tour de force recordings to be treasured forever.

View the pics and decide for yourself. This belongs in any jazz library of substance.


title: A Tour De Force

text:
Lincoln Mayorga - Brahms/Handel/Chopin This Direct to Disc Recording was released by Sheffield Lab Records LAB 4, released 1976 an early audiophile LP that was sold in high end audio salons of the day.

Sheffield Labs were noted for their attention to detail and sonics and produced some of the finest analog recordings. This one is no exception to that statement. Now difficult to find. You will have this extraordinary music in your permanent rotation, it is just that good.

This album features Lincoln Mayorga (piano).

The track listing includes:

HANDEL: Air With Variations
BRAHMS: Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel
CHOPIN: Mazurka In A Minor, Op. 17, No. 4 Lincoln Mayorga - Brahms/Handel/Chopin


title: A Solid Performance Of A Classic

text:
This performance by the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leonard Slatkin of Dvorak Symphony No. 9 New World is nothing short of a masterful tour de force. Somehow the word spectacular falls way short of recounting the performance recorded here in this Lp record.

Weeks of preparation and rehersal went into this project before the actual recording was undertaken. By this time Telarc was becoming a leader in the Digital to LP domain and had won numerous awards for thier technical merit in this realm.

All knew well in advance that they had only one real shot at this, due to the early digital equipment they were using. All had to be spot on from start to finish, as the early equipment did not provide for editing, plus the use of compression, limiting and equalization could not be employed. This event was recorded in real time and was entirely transformerless.

Slatkin carefully chose the members of orchestra as it would be their skill and artistry that would make or break this session. The place chosen for this recording was the Powell Symphony Hall, home of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. Only three microphones were used and were placed outside the shell to capture the fine acoustics of Powell Symphony Hall. Threshold Corporation supplied the amplifiers and ADS provided specially modified speakers and as was the case the Soundstream digital recording system was used.

On April 3, 1980 all was in place. The tension and anticipation in the hall was thick enough to cut with a knife. Failure was not an option. A break was taken prior to the recording to check all the components once again and to ease the tension of the moment. Then the thumbs up was given to Leonard Slatkin.

What ensued was the performance your about hear on this vinyl disc. Dvorak's Symphony No.9 in E minor OP.95

From the opening notes to the last this piece was played with a verve and authority that few if  had heard at that time and remains to this day as one of the finest if not the finest score to be put to record. Dvorak himself would have been impressed.

Upon last note played a hush fell over the hall and everybody kinda looked at each other with some dismay, as though did we really pull this off? Then slowly it hit all of them, that they had made a bit of musical history. The Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra performed a such a lofty level, I think some of them were surprised, but not Leonard Slatkin, he knew what they were truly capable of turning in, even with the pressures of the moment.

A word of caution here. As this was recorded in real time without compression or limiting of any kind, use due caution upon inital playback to set volume levels that will not over tax your system. This is one of the finest digital to LP records you will put on your turntable.

Here it is some 28 years after release and this remains as one of the definitive Dvorak works ever recorded. This is one of those classical recordings that have enjoyed immense crossover to those in the jazz genre. Whatever your musical taste, this recording is a must have for a serious music library. It seems that most every audiophile has gravitated to this once in a lifetime masterpiece recording. If you don't have this, it is time to get on board and hear what you have been missing. Playable issues of this dwindle each year in vinyl, so get it while you can.

There is to my mind only one other recording of Dvoraks Symphony No.9 that can come close to this and it is extraordinarily rare and for all practical purposes impossible to find.

attachment_type: IMAGE


title: Explosive Rendering

text:
The infamous reading of the "1812" Overture from Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is quite a treat for the lover of Tchaikovsky's famous piece. This overture is quite a grand and dramatic work, and given the nature of this piece, it was only appropriate to go to extreme lengths to incorporate spectacular effects, which would increase and accentuate the dramatic aspects of this work.

Even as the gently pulsating stringed instruments issue in the Russian hymn, we already sense a dramatic and expressive intensity. Throughout the piece, you will hear bits of the French National Anthem, as that represents the French in the tale. For the explosive finale, we are treated to the first few canon shots, directly before a dramatic, beautifully overwrought descending-zigzagging progression on the Ionian. After this ends, we are treated to the second appearance of the Russian hymn: only this time, it is played much louder, and the grand, encircling striking of the bells appear as well, which add to the grandeur of the whole thing. This then gives way to the famous march. And what follows, are more explosive canon shots: before the final explosion of the canon, there is a beautiful, grandiose contrapuntal melody which takes place, and shortly after, the piece ends just as it began: on a dramatic note.

Heed the warnings listed in the sleeves: there were *real* canons used on this recording, and if this piece is played too loudly while these canon shots are fired, there is a good chance of ruining your stereo -- and your eardrums. (It's listed in the sleeve that the sound of the final round that was recorded was *so* powerful, it actually shattered some windows of the College from which the canons were recorded. It was 100-feet away!

If you are looking for an LP that will clearly push the limits of your audiohphile system, this is it. The combination of the orchestra playing full out, combined with the bells and digitally recorded cannons makes for a real challenge for any system. Be sure to heed the warning on setting a reasonable level during playback. Not doing so guarantees a trip to the stereo repair shop and perhaps also to an audiologist.

Telarc DG-10041

Side One: "1812"

Overture, Op. 49. This digitally recorded and mastered LP from 1979 is reputed to have the highest velocity grooves ever produced on a commercially available record. The cannon shots' initial "cracks" lie in the area between 2,000 and 3,000 Hz. The "booms" contain components as low as 6 cycles.

Side Two:

Capriccio Italien
Cossack Dance From Mazeppa

Over the course of a year I get about 10 of these. Of that only about 2 or 3 are truly playable. Most have been wrecked by turntables that cannot track this "tour de force" recording.

This recording was played on my VPI HW19 MK IV turntable with Audioquest PT 7 tonearm with the Pete Riggle counterweight using a Lyra Clavis moving coil cartridge. This is offered only as a reference to the turntable used to play this recording. I have no doubt there are a many other turntable,tonearm,cartridge combinations that will play this recording as well. If you are the winning bidder on this LP, I urge you to use due diligence upon first playback and to be careful. I have seen over the years some very fine and high end tables that have given up the ghost trying to playback this demanding LP.

One final thought, if you have any reservations about your system being able to handle this recording, then you should get the CD release as opposed to this LP. With that being said, to hear this recording in LP is a rare treat not often heard.


title: A Pleasant Trip Back

text:
For many of us that came of age in the late 50's and early 60's just before the British invasion of the Beatles and Rolling Stones, these were the songs that impacted us on a daily basis.

So here its is many years later, and these songs still have meaning to many of us that lived, loved and played in that era. In many ways reflecting on these songs now is hearing a time when the world was right for the most part. Although few of us would have envisoned what the 60's would eventually bring us.

This is the genesis of rock and roll as the baby boomers knew it.


title: A Must Have Of An Obscure Album Not On CD

text:
Recorded December 3, 1962, live at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. The recording was not immediately released. Dave speaks about that in the liner notes stating that " I knew CBS had recorded it, but the tapes had gone into the vaults and had subsequently been almost forgotten." One of the tracks "The Real Ambassador" showed up on the "Great Concerts" CD CK 444215 but they list the year of the concert as 1963, which is incorrect.

The vinyl LP is long gone now, only the remaining copies in circulation is all that remains of this great concert. This is why you kept your turntable or returned to analog playback for gems such as this. Very highly recommended.

Tracks

Since Love Had Its Way
King For A Day
The Real Ambassador
They Say I Look Like God
Dizzy Ditty
Cultural Exchange
Good Reviews
Brandenburg Gate

The Quartet:

Dave Brubeck (piano)
Paul Desmond (alto sax)
Eugene Wright (bass)
Joe Morello (drums)

Recorded December 2, 1962 on Columbia and is catalog number CS 9897 (stereo). Released in 1968.

Review:

One of the Dave Brubeck Quartet's lesser-known albums, this LP features the group performing six instrumental versions of songs from The Real Ambassadors plus "Dizzy Ditty" and a 12-minute rendition of "Brandenburg Gate." Brubeck, altoist Paul Desmond, bassist Eugene Wright and drummer Joe Morello seem inspired during this concert by the fresh material, making this hard-to-find album a bit of a collector's item.

The quartet's concert in Amsterdam had gone down in my memory as a happy experience. I knew CBS had recorded it, but the tapes had gone into the vaults and had subsequently been almost forgotton. Paul would occassionally ask, "whatever happen to the tapes of that good concert in Amesterdam?"  We were recording so many albums in those days, it was hard to keep track.

When I recently rediscovered and played back the tapes, the circumstances of the recording came back to me. Our original concert in Amsterdam had been cancelled, because Holland was in mourning after the death of Queen Wilhelmina. The only time our concert could be rescheduled while we were in Europe was to announce a midnight concert, beginning the moment the official mourning period had ended. I was skeptical.

"Sunday Night?" Who's going to come to a concert when one has to go to work early the next morning? Nobody will show up!

The Dutch promoter assured me, "They will come." And they did. I've always said that the audience was the fifth member of the quartet - the unknown ingredient whose presence can tip the balance from just another concert to an experience that is unique. The tone of the particular audience at the concert-gebouw acted as a catalyst that caused each of us to react; and as we reacted, they responded, creating a spiraling effect of tension and release. I think the musical experience has meaning far more that just those of us who happen to be at the Concertgebouw past midnight. At least tha's why, after being kept under wraps for almost six years, this album is now being released.

Dave Brubeck 1968

End Review:

One of the great and obscure recordings in the canon of The Dave Brubeck Quartet. This is a very special recording of their historic concert in Amsterdam and should be in every jazz library.


title: Soild Second Outing

text:
How does a band follow the greatest selling debut album in history and avoid becoming a "One Hit Wonder"? It's done by releasing another solid album which stands on its own to this day.

BOSTON's self-titled debut was an absolute smash and hit the music world by surprise in 1976, but 1978's Don't Look Back is a worthy album in its own right. Building off of their first album and the sound which continues to inspire, Don't Look Back had many hits including `Don't Look Back', `A Man I'll Never Be', and `Feelin' Satisfied'.

The lineup was headed by lead guitarist and musical mastermind, Tom Scholz, an MIT graduate whose hobby as a guitar player turned into an obsession. An avid perfectionist in the studio, Scholz meticulously harmonized instruments as much as he could, sometimes having two or three guitars playing the same lick. In addition, the pure Rock vocals of Brad Delp were the perfect compliment to Scholz guitar work. The rest of the lineup was rounded out by Barry Goudreau on rhythm guitar, Fran Sheenan on bass, and the versatile Sib Hashian on drums. And Boston was so proud of the work on this album, they proclaim that no computers or synthesizers were used on this album.

Don't Look Back's first track `Don't Look Back' is clearly the best song on the album. It showcases every aspect of BOSTON's sound from start to finish. The signature driving opening riff leads into a more melodic verse, which leads to a sharp chorus that features Scholz and Goudreau's double melodic guitar licks. Delp's ability to hit harmonies on command gives Goosebumps during the song's final climactic chorus.

`The Journey' is an eerie instrumental which leads very nicely to the easy rocking `It's Easy', which is a lighter song that's not centered on specific riffs such as `Don't Look Back', but nicely showcases Scholz's improvisational skils.<br /><br />The A-side is rounded out by the ballad, `A Man I'll Never Be', which is a soft but solid track that is once again centered ar
ound a double guitar riff, which almost acts like a chorus in itself. Again Delp's creamy vocals are incredible as he puts all of his emotion into his voice.

Being pressed by their record label, Epic, Scholz felt rushed in creating the album and admits that it wasn't the perfection that he had hoped for. Ultimately this perfection cost BOSTON as their next albums took many years to produce and suffered in record sales. It's worth saying that the B-Side has a couple of good tracks such as `Feelin' Satisfied' and `Party' and is rounded out by minor songs `Used to Bad News' and `Don't Be Afraid'. However, some of these B-sides closely resembled tracks on BOSTON's first album and cause some to argue that this album is just the same formula repeated over again. This clearly is not the case for the whole album as BOSTON expanded the melodic sound that they originated in '76, and created a monster A-side, which arguably rivals BOSTON's first album.

Overall, Don't Look Back was a very strong follow up effort for BOSTON in 1978 and cemented their status as a staple in rock history. As mentioned above, the A-side is phenomenal, with about 20 minutes of Tom Scholz finest guitar work and the best of Brad Delp on vocals. It is truly an album which stands on its own, even though it will forever be in the shadow of BOSTON's 1976 debut.

Tracks Are:

1. Don't Look Back
2. The Journey
3. It's Easy
4. A Man I'll Never Be
5. Feelin' Satisfied
6. Party
7. Used To Bad News
8. Don't Be Afraid


title: Audiophile 45 RPM Recording

text:
This extraordinary Brazilian guitarist, composer, and arranger was introduced to music by his mother, a concert pianist who gave him his first lessons. Like his sister, however, he would eventually choose the guitar as his primary instrument. As a teenager, Almeida witnessed, and participated in, a great deal of civil unrest; the experience galvanized him and fueled a lifelong passion for the politics of his native country. At age 19, he became a performer aboard the Brazilian ocean liner Cuyaba, which enabled him to travel to Europe, hear the legendary Django Reinhardt in Paris, and experience a great deal of foreign culture.

In Brazil, he formed a guitar duo named Cordas Quentes with Garoto, who he met at Radio Mayrink Veiga in Rio de Janeiro. In 1947, he went on tour with singer and actress Carmen Miranda's band. This led him to Hollywood, where he performed on film soundtracks and appeared in concerts with violinist Elizabeth Waldo; he also composed the first of his more than 800 scores for movies and television series. He was to win Oscars for his soundtracks to The Old Man and the Sea (1958) and The Magic Pear Tree (1970). He soon joined the innovative Stan Kenton Orchestra and became a featured soloist. After three years, he established permanent residence in Los Angeles and began an astonishingly prolific recording career that was to earn him ten Grammy awards.

Almeida's palette of stylistic and emotional expression was wide-ranging. His early '50s Brazilliance albums with Bud Shank helped establish the bossa nova style in the States several years before the craze hit. He also recorded and toured with the Modern Jazz Quartet and was equally at home with classical and modern concert music, such as Gnattali's Concerto de Copacabana and the Guitar Concerto of Villa-Lobos.

From 1974 through 1982 he was a member of the chamber Jazz group The L.A. Four. It was during the 1960s when he enjoyed his greatest recognition, winning several Grammy Awards for his work. In 1961, he won Grammy Awards for Best Engineered Album, Classical and Best Chamber Music Performance. The following year he won Grammy Awards for Best Classical Performance - Instrumental Soloist or Duo and Best Contemporary Classical Composition.

In 1965 he won Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Jazz Performance - Large Group or Soloist with Large Group.

Track Listing:

Yesterday
Jazz-Tuno At The Mission
Late Last Night
Radames Gnattali:
Sonata For Guitar and Cello
1. Allegretto Comodo
2. Adagio 3. Com Espirito

Recorded 1977 on the Crystal Clear Labe and is catalog number CCS 8001 on white vinyl.
This was recorded Direct to Disc at 45 RPM

Jacket is white background with embossed foil on the artist name, guitar and title of album. This jacket process is no longer done as it was very expensive to make.

From Laurindo Almeida

A recent recording of mine that came out very well is a 45 rpm direct- to- disc album on the Crystal Clear label, called "Virtuoso Guitar". They claim the sound is better at 45, you know. The first side is in popular idiom, with "Yesterday" by Lennon and McCartney, and two of my compositions-- one of them written jointly with a guy who was born in England, Leonard Feather, who lives there in the Valley. The other musicians with me on these are Clare Fischer on piano, Chuck Domanico on bass, Chuck Flores on drums, Emil Richards on vibes and marimba, and Aime Maurice Vereeck on percussion. On the second side I recorded the Sonata For Guitar And Cello in three movements, again by Radames Gnattali. The cellist was Frederick Seykora; I wrote some percussion effects to be played by Chuck Flores in addition-- a little cymbals and things here and there.

The direct- to- disc thing is very difficult to do, because it's not done on the tape-- it's done on the disc. You start each side from the beginning, and if you make a mistake you've got to start the whole thing all over again. It's very, very demanding.


title: Pre-celebration

text:
1. Seen It All
2. Look At The Club
3. Dolla Billz
4. 20 Below
5. On My S***
6. Where Ya Panties At
7. Exotic
8. I Am
9. Light One
10.Gotta Be Seen
11.Rough Out Here
12.Outta There
13.Epic Night
14.Maybe
15.Gangsta S***
16.Bandana


title: Five Stars

text: Received in good condition.


title: Lives up to the highest expectations

text: Wonderful. What else would you expect from Brendel


title: Easy on the ears while you're wow by her delivery.

text: Her lyrical content is decent, yet refreshing on the ears.  I even liked the fact that she allowed one of her daughters to have great contribution *instrument wise* on this album.  Her daughter, Sky plays the bass, piano and sings through out the album and is a very great mixer.  Otherwise, this album is worth your every penny and even though I have the digital copy, I'm getting the physical copy as well on here which I'm glad they are letting Amazon ship their cds in their behalf.


title: 5-star pop rock music in a 4-star presented CD.

text: I like their music very much - 5 stars. 4 stars is because of the cut-out cover of the CD, which I do not think is fair to sell. I get much more pleasure of a CD with the cover intact. As it is it will not be played as much as it could have been. I get much better `vibes`of looking at a cover that is as it should have been while I`m listening to the music. All the best, Snorre Fjær.


title: PLEASE RELEASE THIS ON CD.  SOMETIME IN THE 21st. CENTURY

text: This is really a non-review; but a series of thoughts.  I don't know if it's a licensing problem; or what?  This might be one of the greatest explorations into the urban blues scene of the sixties.  I've worn my vinyl down.  I'm fortunate to own the vinyl.  Whomever owns the rights to this album....please release it on CD.  Various artists albums seem hard to make the leap to CD.  Downtown Blues is my favourite track.  It's great to have Bob Landy backing Geoff Muldaur; on piano.  Whose Bob Landy?  Just scramble the letters.


title: At long last.

text: I used to play this piece of vinyl on my radio show; in the early 70's.  Been looking for it ever since.  Discovered it on Amazon through a third party seller.  I'm sorry I just don't have their name handy.  I even wrote them a note about sending vinyl.  I was worried about that.  Packaged wonderfully.  The product came in perfect condition (across borders no less).


title: Music to my ears!

text: Sounds great ! I have the original album but it’s worse for the wear...<br />The CD brings back the original perfection!


title: Five Stars

text: no comment


title: great :D

text: great :D


be careful of buying ... i got beatles NOT CARPENTERS  ordering thos ... picture is wrong for prodict and sellers is picture to send product.


o.k. but if youre expecting just panpipe arrangements ... 2 HAVE vocals. i didnt like that ... i like to relax without vocals.<br />track 14 (island in the sun) on CD 1 AND track 1 (a day in the life) on CD 2 have vocals ... and they do NOT NEED THEM .day has some low buzz guitar which could have been panpipe instead.


if you do not like disco type music this is not for you. classic music with drums . this is NOT electronic music.


title: interesting sounding ... it is  live and possibly dances from romania (based on auto translator language detection)

text:
interesting sounding ... it is live and possibly dances from romania. all tracks have a lot of clapping at end.
there is guitar? mandolin, drum, panpipe and maybe flute.
presumably the panpipe is played by zamfir.

ignore the schlagerperlen picture it is NOT for this CD


text: NOTE: listing title is incorrect !!! if youre expecting ABBA dont order with this listing ... you will NOT get ABBA.<br />originally this listing had a picture of beatles . which is what youll get.


title: Better than the debut!

text:
Wow!  I bought this CD on a whim, and I have to say it is just as good, if not better, than the Dresden Dolls self-titled debut album.

This CD really captures the angst and emotion of Palmer's voice,and there are eight new songs on this CD.  Eight!  And the live versions of "Missed Me" and "Coin-Operated Boy" just sound better on this live disc.

If you can find this through a third-party seller on Amazon, buy it now!  You will listen to it over and over in your car, if you're anything like me...


title: Three Stars

text: I've heard better quartets than the ones on this CD


title: great music cd

text:
Good music cd.
Like most of the songs.
Anybody who likes Gaga will buy this cd.
crazy cool cd image!


title: Five Stars

text: Even the German version is sweet.<br />Then again, anything by Dagmar Krause..


title: Five Stars

text: Was as expected


title: They are

text: one of my favorite bands! Jasmine Rodgers, the singer, is now a solo artist. I truly love this album, and it was a long time in the making. It sounds like the alternative rock they were making back in the 90's as if they picked up right where they left off. truly awesome album, get it!


title: Pure and utter genius. As profound as it gets.

text:
I have this 1983 set on cassette. It's a terrific performance by The Cleveland Quartet. I'm not sure if it is available on cd but I do know that this ensemble have recorded all Beethoven's quartets for cd (whether or not they are rerecordings, I don't know). See link.
To quote Paul Katz from the liner notes, "no composer has expressed Man's deepest emotional states as profoundly as Beethoven" and in these later quartets while probably acutely aware of his own mortality, the great man takes us to levels hitherto unplumbed by any one. It is essential that you listen to these works while you can. This music is fundamental, transcendental, the whole human experience. There are passages here so sublime that mere words cannot do them justice: the adagio from Op 127; the Cavatina from Op 130; the lento from Op 135; and always there are the great tunes we so associate with Beethoven. According to the man himself:  "those who understand my music must be freed by it from all the miseries that others drag about with themselves."
You need these.

[[ASIN:B000003D2W Beethoven: String Quartets (Complete)]]


title: 3.5AD

text: This is a good introduction to the music on the 4AD indie label. There's no Dead Can Dance and This Mortal Coil (probably the most famous 4AD stable mates), but there is the Cocteau Twins, Brendan Perry, The Breeders and Mojave3. The tracks are strong and it's a sampler you can listen to all the way through without hitting the skip button. If you're familiar with this label then you probably have some of the wonderful Dead Can Dance in your collection, but may I also recommend you seek out (if you haven't already) the 74 minute 4AD masterpiece that is Filigree and Shadow from This Mortal Coil.<br />[[ASIN:B006K70A66 Filigree & Shadow]]


title: Great purchase for my needs.

text:
The seller only had the front cover and a CD that was in very good condition. That was actually all I needed as I didn't have a place for the back cover in a slim style CD case which I was going to store the disc in after ripping it to my PC. Great low price. CD was in perfect condition. As for the music content, if you enjoy analog synthesizers and all the other necessary gizmos needed to produce quality music before home computers became common place, then this release is a must have. I have blown out speakers having turned up the volume to concert levels so it was my own fault but the 15 inch woofers were pumping the moving bass lines flawlessly while the super tweeters handled the sweeping high frequency passages beyond the range of human hearing until it fried the speaker. My first experience with this release was on vinyl. I was and still am blown away by the ability of my turntable to accurately reproduce the extreme highs and lows, simultaneously, especially notable on the title track. The CD does a very good job of replicating all of the frequencies without any gaps in coverage. I have never been able to detect the so called missing "warmth" of vinyl as opposed to the content of CDs. Considering this album was recorded and mixed, for the most part, in Larry's basement, the quality set the standard for me for electronic music as a stand alone genre. Headphones listening is great for picking up the delicate background features and subtle harmonies but nothing is more exciting than cranking up the volume and let the sound rip into your flesh with some mammoth woofers and metal super tweeters!

All of the compositions are original with the exception of Larry's cover of the classic "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue". Only this first release was primarily analog except for his digital recordings that he used to mix down the final productions. Beginning with his second album, "Sequencer", Larry was able to afford more digital equipment and nicer studios to work in but the trade off lost some of the minor analog glitches in MIDI timing errors that gives this first album more of a "home made" quality. With each release, Larry Fast / Synergy® improved his quality of music while reaching into the future with his themes. As a sidebar to the first few releases, Larry released a totally digital version of some of his early analog classics and it is very interesting to hear the significant differences between the two versions being played the same way on his 2002 release entitled "Reconstructed Artifacts".


title: Haunting and melodic

text:
"'New Age Wolf' combines the field recordings of audio artist Bob Baldwin and the work of respected contemporary composers like Simon Park, Dwight Mikkelsen and Paul Harmann.  The wolf recordings were captured on the finest available digital recording equipment.  These vocalizations range from the lonesome cry of a solitary wolf to the spine-tingling harmonizing of a full pack." [Liner notes from the CD itself]

This is actually a frightfully, (I couldn't resist the pun) relaxing CD. It doesn't come across as "Fright Night" or the soundtrack to some "B movie". With the exception of the fifth track ("Hungry Predator") which sounds EXACTLY as if if were written for a scene in a scary movie. Rather, it is a pleasant combination of the wolf vocalizations, keyboards, synthesizers and some very light percussion.  My only wish were that the "audio artist" had captured more, varied wolf cries as there seems to be a limited number of samples used.

"Autumn Season" opens with a babbling brook and various pack cries then moves into an up-beat melody played on guitar and flute.  Still, the opening song, "Embraces", is worth more than the current asking price for a used recording. The sixth track adds some owls hooting and Spring Peepers (frogs) to the opening of the song which came as a pleasant surprise which help to offset the weak music performed on what sounds like a cheap Casio keyboard with electronic drum touch pads. "Tiger Attack" unfortunately sounds like something rejected from a Flashdance  ("She's A Maniac") try-out. Very dated sounding. Some of the songs are little more than very simple tunes but more of the CD is easy on the ears, than not. It makes for an interesting addition to ones music collection and is sure to turn a few heads at the next gathering!


title: SOUND IS GREAT!  Official Remaster!

text: Nice liner notes ... it would be great to get the second unreleased Black Rose out of the vaults!  This sounds so good today!  This may be the beginning of Cher getting her due as a recording artist!!!!


The mystery of why these are not available in the US is confounding.  Cher owns the rights and doesn't like them?  It makes no sense.  She loved STARS and liked I'd Rather Believe In You.  Who cares - they are brilliant - each of them.
STARS is Cher's magnus opus - her vocals, soul searing expression on the title track along with "Just This One Time" are a one in a lifetime recording.  "I'd Rather Believe In You" is a perfect pop rock confection and CHERISHED?  I love it!  It IS cheap and trashy!  So what?  I remember hearing PIRATE on the radio on WPIX in NJ!  It's all part of Cher's amazing lexicon of work.  Each of these records are more cohesive than her KAPP/MCA days (with the exception of DARK LADY which is actually a fantastic record that needs a remastered box set! - well - all of her albums do! ---  AND this is BELIEVE's 20th anniversary so we should get a vinyl box!)
These recordings are part of Cher's legacy - and they are all simply, Cher.


title: GREAT SONG bad mixes

text: How to remix such a power pop masterpiece like "Womanizer" ?  Slow it down - that's what the mixes are on this single - and they are dreadful.  Great for Brit collectors - but this is very lackluster.  They could have done a great Giorgio Moroder style fast long mix.  Alas, not here.  The album cut is where it is at.  Extra star added because this girl has a great spark.


title: Five Stars

text: Doesnt get any better than this.


title: Still Avant Garde After All These Years

text:
Not shocked to see this isn't in the top million sellers.  It's a bizarre modernist collage of odd noises, gurgling, babies crying, and a smattering of conventional and unconventional musical instruments.  Martirano was at the forefront of experimental music in the 60s-- this may be his best-known and best-distributed work.

If you trip over this somewhere, give it a listen.  It's still challenging and frankly unpleasant.  In college, we used to blast it from the speakers in the windows of our off-campus house on Halloween.  None of the kids stopped to trick-or-treat.  It had the desired effect....


title: Firesign Solo Project Satisfies

text:
In the early 70s, the Firesigners wandered off for a bit to record solo outings (in the case of Proctor & Bergman, a duo record).  David Ossman's "How Time Flies" was the most impressively packaged, with great art and even a cut-it-out-yourself 3-D diorama, as I recall.  (I cut it out myself.  That's why I recall it.)  The record is one story told on two sides-- Mark Time returns from a space voyage to find the world utterly altered.  The narrative isn't as inspired as many of the Firesign's best efforts, but the performances and engineering are inspired, and some of Ossman's writing is still hysterically witty all these years later.  Learn what happened in the world in the 70s and 80s and 90s and into the new millennium!  Ossman predicted things much better than Criswell ever did, and he's much funnier-- the Jim and Nelly Houseafire routine is brilliantly put together.

Firesign fans both new and old won't be disappointed.


title: First Cousin of Firesign Theatrics Amuses

text: This late-60s/early-70s gem is a headphones-mandatory comedy riff on television and old movies, mostly.  It's disjointed and deeply weird, being the adventures of several old men spinning yarns and spitting into the fire in mindless reminiscence.  Martin is a genius at engineering every little sound to heighten the experience, and his voice is gravelly and cornponish as the old geezer and bombastic and supercilious as the Senator.  The writing and performances and engineering stack up to a seriously warped and genuinely engaging artifact of the time, some truncated tributary from the river that was Firesigniana/Credibility Gappery/National Lampoon Radio Hour absurdity.  For my money, it also includes the best recording ever of the National Anthem as our broadcast day comes to an end....


title: Five Stars

text: Love this


title: Spiritual reflections

text: Good recording and enjoyed hearing


title: It`s a French Analogue of Kraftwerk

text:
It may seems strange for you but back in the first half of 1980s this French-Italian band was one the most popular bands, which played electronic music, behind the Iron Curtain, in the USSR (of course, we heard only bootleg records, Western pop music, with little exeptions, was a kind of banned music in the USSR). For me it`s hard to rate them because of this sentimental feelings. So don`t take 5 stars close to the heart. Of course it`s not the music of same quality as Rick Wakeman or ELP.
For that time Rockets were very original.
Their music - a kind of techno-pop (they sang in English via vocoders with strong accent; albums were released mainly in Italy) with sci-fi lyrics and with a little touch of guitar rock sound. "Atomic" (1982) is their best album. Some beautiful instrumentals would remind you of early Jarre, songs - of Kraftwerk.
If you are devoted lover of European techno of the 80s - you could try this CD.


title: Appreciated gift

text: This was a present to someone who loved it.


title: 4.5 stars performance and 5 stars recording

text:
Rameau's Pieces de Clavecin en Concerts are playable by the harpsichordist alone but generally a violin or flute is added plus a viola da gamba per Rameau's score. Rameau is probably the greatest classical composer of dance music in the Baroque and maybe of all time so these pieces are meant to dance! Unfortunately this is where many performance falter as all the musicians don't get in sync properly with a light touch. In my experience French or some few English players are the only ones to have performed these successfully idiomatically up to now. Laurence Boulay, Les Domino and Trio Sonnerie are good places to start.

This recording of a performance of the Pieces de Concerts by Il Gardellino soloists on period instruments is excellent albeit with a very slight Germanic or Dutch style of playing. I emphasize very slight because it is nothing like the numerous very Germanic performances of this quintessential French music. Otherwise there is nothing to nitpick. The soloists and continuo are all excellent and with a light touch that never drags even in the slow movements. I would single out the harpsichordist Sungyun Cho for very nice playing, with strong rhythmic drive on fast movements and flexible support on the slow movements.

As for the recording it is exemplary with fine balance between the instruments. It's a shame all recordings of these pieces are not recorded as wonderfully.


title: poor debut album unfortunately from The Innocence Mission - get Glow instead

text: This was the debut album for Karen Peris and the Innocence Mission and a surprisingly poor effort all around. I wonder why the label let them release it as is? Karen's singing is almost unintelligible and she engages in some odd quirks on some of the songs that should have been edited out. The arrangements are banal and repetitive. One song blurs into another.  This album may have scotched their commercial chances which is a shame as the next couple albums were much better.


title: A great work by Dufay

text: A superb album of one of Guillaume Dufay's greatest works. The Hymns alternate plain chant with beautiful three part polyphony. They are arranged in the yearly sequence. The performers are excellent and the sonics are fine with deep soundstage.


title: An excellent Debussy ballet Jeux by Baudo and the Czech Phil

text:
This is a compilation disk, but I want to single out Serge Baudo's recording of the ballet Jeux,  concerning a flirtatious trio of a man and two young women on a tennis court at evening.. This ballet was performed shortly before The Rite of Spring in Paris so its fall into relative obscurity was not that surprising. However Debussy's score was as original as Stravinsky's albeit in a more subtle elusive way. The absence of conventional themes or song melodies have often led to conductors aimlessly plowing through the score. While there are few awful performances there are almost no great performances. Baudo however turns in one of the best ever here with fine attention to phrasing. He also did a fine performance of Jeux with the London Philharmonic.

Jeux despite its lack of obvious themes does have structure but quite different from the sonata/rondo or atonal forte dynamics based structure that conductors usually lean on. With Jeux, Debussy takes about 20 different accompaniment motives and endlessly varies them. They are organized typically in 2-measure groups that are extended sometimes out to 4 or 6 measures. Within these brief groups of measures there is more repetition of the motives. The longer 6 measure groups function in lieu of cadences.

.


title: An excellent Debussy ballet Jeux from Serge baudo


title: Brahms doing a little Wagner on the sly??

text:
Review for Brahms Rinaldo/Abbado, King

Brahms started this Cantata, Rinaldo, in 1863 based on a poem by Goethe on the liberation of Jerusalem in the Middle Ages. He did not finish it until after his Deutsches Requiem was premiered though. Interestingly the text and the ecstatic music is not so very far from early Wagner. The text describes a knight diverted from his duty by a Circe (Venus?) like woman before being rescued by his crew. It has the melodic and rhythmic freshness of his Orchestral Serenades. James King sings it in firm clear fashion and the text doesn't demand too much psychologizing from him. Abbado is also at his youthful best with a vigorous performance. Excellent sonics. It is paired with the Schicksalied.


title: Excellent English Suites by Baroque specialist Alan Curtis

text:
Alan Curtis is perhaps best known now for his conducting of Baroque operas. In the earlier part of his career though he was a specialist in Baroque harpsichord music, He recorded a set of Francois Couperin's Suites for the Vox label. This performance of the English Suites was issued by Teldec in 1980. Curtis has always shown a gift for lyrical phrasing and he is well suited stylistically to play these fairly early Suites by Bach.

The English Suites of course are not English. Actually they are modeled after the French suites of the day in the inclusion of a prelude as well as the customary dance forms.
The English Suites have a delightful melodic impulse also seen in the early Capriccio on the Departure of a Beloved Brother and are not as serious in tone as the later Partitas or even the French Suites. Thus the more serious Leonhardt performance while technically brilliant rather misses the spirit apart from the questionable lack of repeats. Curtis has the measure of these works technically but is not afraid to go with the melodic flow and open up a bit. He is extremely well recorded. The harpsichord has a pleasant full bodied tone, neither boomy or tinkly. Although this issue also includes the French Suites they cannot be recommended due to the lack of repeats. They seem like a tacked on effort to the stellar English Suites. I also recommend the English Suites performed by Christianne Jaccottet. If one is seeking a slightly more reserved performance, then the version by Helmut Walcha should satisfy.


title: revelatory performance of the Bach suites

text: The Linde Consort's performance of the Orchestral Suites of J S Bach is a worthy counterpart to their Brandenburg Concertos issued a few years earlier. It was more revelatory to me when it came out because I had always thought the Suites to be a rather dull collection of leftover movements, with a few scattered warhorses like the Air, compared to the titanic Brandenburgs. The Brandenburgs could survive even soggy orchestral performances although I preferred either lively modern instrument versions or selected period performances. Not so the Suites. The 70s era recording of the Suites by the Collegium Aureum indicated that the Suites required period performance interpretations to sing. However I had to wait for these performances by the Linde Consort to hear the Suites so perfectly in the manner I'm sure that suits them best. The Linde Consort performs these suites impeccably, spicing controlled exuberance with the occasional heartfelt slow movement. The time flies by and I no longer find the Suites tedious or uneven. There is no scratchiness or sour intonation to the playing. The recording is fairly early digital. I would not call the sonics warm but neither is there any digital hardness or graininess. At worst, instrumental textures are slightly opaque. A real winner all around


title: a wild hyper romantic opera featuring fabulous singing and playing

text:
RE: Korngold - Violanta. Janowski, Munich Radio Orch. S. Jerusalem

Folks who like Hollywood film scores as well as romantic operas might like this wonderful performance and recording of Korngold's short opera written while still a teenager.

Erich Korngold is probably best known for Golden Age Hollywood film scores (an Oscar for Adventures of Robin Hood) but he started out as a hyper romantic and successful opera composer. This is a completely wild but lushly scored short opera about a woman who sets out to avenge her sister's suicide instigated by a sociopathic Machiavellian type prince. As he is about to be assassinated though she falls in love with him too! Great singing from the outstanding cast. Marton and Jerusalem are both in fine voice. Even the usually pedestrian Janowski is inspired here to fluid and exciting conducting. The sonics on this German pressed vinyl are excellent.


title: A period style Brandenburg with excellent musicality

text:
RE: Bach - Brandenburg Concertos. Linde Consort. EMI

This was one of a number of historically informed performances (HIP) of the Brandenburg Concertos that came out in the early 80s. This is the only one that I still get enjoyment from though, because of its consistent musicality and above average recording. The period instrument playing is also above average with almost none of the scratchiness or sour intonation heard with many others. Linde was an excellent flautist and specialist in Baroque style. His flute playing here is outstanding. (He also did a fine performance in the late 70s of Bach's Flute Sonatas.) The recording, given that it was early digital, is excellent. I think the minor problems noted were just a result of the digital equipment used at the time. This is a far better recording than the Pinnock or Goebel editions. In addition, it has far more ingratiating tempos and rhythmic nuance. If you like everything played prestissimo and aggressively then the Pinnock, Goebel etc issues will be to your taste. Anyone else though will probably find this musically excellent recording will produce more long term enjoyment. The vinyl edition can still be found with a little hunting and is sonically excellent.


title: an excellent Bayreuth Hollander from Sawallisch

text: This 1962 Bayreuth performance by Sawallisch was one of his better efforts with Wagner. His conducting is alert and well paced if a bit faster than some others and has a good chorus. Unfortunately neither he nor Wagnerian singers have improved since then. This performance has the well suited and effective singer Franz Crass as the Dutchman. While not the most outstanding singer technically, he is very good and has not only a good dramatic instinct but also a vocal timbre that fits the part very well. The recording is better sonically than the other Sawallish performance at La Scala with Crass and Rysanek. Here Senta is sung by a young Silja, While not dulcet toned she is dramatically effective and not unpleasant sounding as she could be later in her career. The lesser parts are not brilliantly done by Greindl, Uhl but don't get in the way. On balance I find this the second best stereo version after the Keilberth 1955 Bayreuth recording with Uhde and Varnay. NB: The Keilberth was originally issued in mono so not all editions are in stereo.


title: Symphony 14 may or may not be a symphony but Rostropovich intense and exciting,

text:
Shostakovich and to a much lesser extent Prokofiev tended to have an overly broad definition of Symphony. This was probably for promotional reasons as symphonies were accorded more status than cantatas, suites, song cycles and the like. The Shostakovich Symphony 14 is a series of poems on Death sung by two soloists with a backing string orchestra with prominent percussion. In concept not much different than Das Lied von der Erde. Of course Mahler also wavered about calling that a symphony so we shouldn't get too hung up about it.

This recording by Rostropovich with his wife Vishneskaya and Mark Reshetin dates from the early 70s so Vishneskaya is in good voice (albeit characteristically slightly hard on high notes). Nevertheless that is to the good here. It is useful to remember that the Russian musical approach to portraying death has a more biting sardonic edge than was characteristic of Western music. Mussorgsky's songs are a case in point. Rostropovich et al are anything but languishing or maudlin in these songs. Some may find that unsettling but it is what it is. The singing and conducting are very well integrated and the performance is never dull. Listen to the xylophone in On the Alert and Look Here Madame. The recording is rather good for Melodia. It was originally issued on a CBS LP.


title: Gould's first US recordings of the Sym 2 and 3 rousing and brilliant

text:
These two early symphonies from the 1920s by Shostakovich had few performances outside of the Soviet Union because of their Communist associations. The Symphony 2 was a paean to the October 1917 revolution by Lenin while the Symphony 3 was meant as a tribute to May 1. Actually though these works were not well thought of inside the Soviet Union either because they seemed too compositionally adventurous. I'm sure the Soviet bureaucrats found them unsettling and not the kind of humdrum musical celebration they really wanted.

  In fact the Sym 2 is a very intriguing and bold work and can be enjoyed as an expression of youthful ardor in a hopeful cause. The Sym 3 while less well constructed than the Sym 2 still is quite enjoyable and is short enough to not wear out its welcome. It was not Shostakovich's fault that Stalin and the other thugs brought the Soviet Union to ruin nor could he have predicted it when these works were written.

Morton Gould made the first US recordings of these works in the 1960s at the height of the Cold War. Interestingly, Gould had the good sense to concentrate on the musical excitement and play the propaganda hymns straight without any satire. He produced exciting and vivid interpretations that can be enjoyed as youthful music from Shostakovich.  In many ways these two concise works cohere better than the Symphony 6 and have more substance than the Symphonies 9 and 12 and maybe even #11. The recording is reasonably good RCA dynagroove. Along with the recordings of Rozhdestvensky these performances can be highly recommended.


title: Boulez doing The Water Music ?? Yes and amazingly well,

text: This is one of those albums where you say who would have thought it would be good? But it is if you can tolerate Handel's Water Music being played by a slimmed down NY Philharmonic. Boulez drops the atonal music for one of the oldest warhorses of all and does a great job at it. He must have a fondness for it since he recorded the Water Music back in the 1960s with a Netherlands Orchestra (Nonesuch Records). This one was done in the mid 70s. What is surprising is how apt and felicitous are the little rhythmic nuances and phrases Boulez brings out. This is not fustian or dry and angular but full of life. Note that this record was also remastered for SACD by Sony. The SACD is out of print but used copies can be found. Amazing, and well done Pierre!


title: Harnoncourt delivers an engaging performance of Poppea but a thin recording,

text:
Re:Monteverdi's  L'Incoronazione di Poppea . Haarnoncourt, Soderstrom, Concentus Wien.

Recordings of Monteverdi's great opera L'Incoronazione di Poppea grapple with more issues than do almost all other operas in the repertoire. The 3 main ones are a) 2 separate editions exist from Naples and Venice. The Venice edition was first but the Naples edition is a bit more complete and tracks the libretto more fully; b) the instrumental scoring (orchestration) was very sketchy. The orchestration is mostly written for continuo. While the basic instrumentation available then is known, it is not clear how the continuo was performed; c) the parts for Nerone and Ottone were intended for castrati soprano and alto men and therefore have to be sung by women or transposed down for tenor or baritone. The part for Nerone is particularly tough because Monteverdi wrote the part so that it intertwines melodically with Poppea's. However the soprano line was to be sung by a male castrato who did not sound like a woman and could maintain dramatic effectiveness. To use a woman is right musically but wrong dramatically while transposing it for a man is right dramatically but wrong musically. Another important point to remember is that Monteverdi wrote these operas when the Renaissance modal system was fading but before major minor tonality had been codified. The vocal line is somewhat looser, more relaxed and does not have the same tonal shape that it had for say Lully, Handel, and Rameau 50 to 75 years later. Therefore it is not stylistically good to sing it either as a Renaissance chanson or as Handelian or later opera.

Over the past 50 years conductors have adopted idiosyncratic solutions to these three issues in their recordings making the listener's choices quite confusing. I thought it might be useful to present a survey of the main recordings to help interested opera fans decide which recordings best fit their tastes. I have prepared a short summary of how each one handles the three issues noted plus a short review of each recording under its listing. In roughly chronological sequence they are: 1. Ewerhart 1962; 2. Pritchard 1963; 3. Curtis 1966; 4. Harnoncourt 1974; 5. Curtis 1978; 6. Rudel 1978; 7. Harnoncourt 1979; 8. Malgoire 1984; 9. Zedda 1988; 10. Hickox 1989; 11. Jacobs 1990; 12. Gardiner 1993; 13 Bolton 1997; 14. Cavina 2010.

Grouped by edition, Curtis 1966 and 1978, Malgoire, Gardiner and Cavina mostly or fully use Naples while the rest use Venice. Grouped by orchestration, Pritchard, Rudel, Zedda and to a lesser extent Harnoncourt modernize and thicken the scoring while the rest conform more to period practice. The performers of Nerone are tenors for Ewerhart, Pritchard, Rudel, Harnoncourt 1979 and Malgoire and a countertenor for Bolton. The remaining recordings had the part of Nerone sung by a woman.

More often than not Harnoncourt tends to the rhythmically forceful even driven side of performance style. Here however he is atypically flexible and gentle in his approach. This creates a more lovable performance, although it diminishes the drama a bit in consequence. (In his second recording of Poppea for a film with Tappy and Yakar as Nero and Poppea, Harnoncourt returned to his usual dramatic style.)The singers are quite excellent and mostly sing in an idiomatic style. Soderstrom and Berberian are a bit more high operatically inclined but they rein it in quite a bit. The other singers keep Monteverdi's lyrical arioso lines relaxed and well phrased. There is a bit of a dramatic oddity of Soderstrom's Nero sounding more womanly than the Poppea of Donath but this is the casting dilemma described above. Esswood is a light but lyrical countertenor Ottone.The one casting glitch is the boy soprano as Amore but quite frankly I am not an enthusiast of the whole Prologue anyway.

Harnoncourt came in for some criticism from the HIP advocates for embroidering the continuo beyond the bounds of what Monteverdi would have heard. While accurate, the departures are not that major and most listeners won't be bothered by it. Those who are more comfortable with high opera may welcome it. The continuo is certainly within the bounds of later Baroque practice and not romanticized as Karajan and others were wont to do.

The recording unfortunately is mediocre in the Teldec manner. At least on the LPs the instruments are recorded more consistently than the voices. In the Prologue and first scene the voices have a slight grainy edge to them and sound thin, which lessens in succeeding scenes until it evaporates by the second act. I have to assume they were adjusting mic'ing as they went. Depth of field also varies erratically for a studio recording, again probably a function of mic adjustment. At least the last 2/3 of the opera sounds clearer although not particularly rich sounding. Bass is quite limited. Not having heard the CD I don't know to what extent changes were made from the LP. In summary, a musically pleasing interpretation that still holds interest because of the effective singing. 4 or 4.5 stars depending how you feel about the recording.


title: excellent music and transcendent conducting by Rozhdestvensky,

text:
RE: Prokofiev Symphonies 1 and 7. Rozhdestvensky, USSR Sym.

Prokofiev's first and last symphonies require modest forces and are considered as lighter works. Certainly the Symphony 1 has been a perennial concert favorite with is tidy Haydenesque dimensions and cheeky wit. Supposedly Prokofiev likened it to a tourist driving past the sights of Paris. The key issue is avoiding a mechanical reading. While avoiding cliches there aren't any soaring themes to latch onto or dramatic outbursts to revel in. Everything depends on providing alert phrasing and carefully judging tempos.

Rozhdestvensky is competing with many other noteworthy ones starting with Koussevitsky and continuing with Bernstein, Ormandy and Malko. He adopts faster tempos than most others except Koussevitsky but somehow they don't seem that fast. Part of the reason is that he adds a bit of Russian vodka to the figurations making them appear a bit ruddier than usual. This is a good strategy since it keeps the music from becoming either too cute or too polished.

The Symphony 7 (1952) has had a spottier history than the first. It was written when Prokofiev had become a physical invalid and it has a very enigmatic mood. It should be remembered that Prokofiev had been viciously attacked in 1948 by the Stalinist "culture" ministers (who really do deserve quotation marks). It features less dramatic and more lyrical sets of themes than Prokofiev used in his fifth and sixth symphonies. Sometimes it almost exhibits a childlike insouciance which at another angle might be a mask. Prokofiev had even altered the ending of the symphony, adding an energetic upbeat coda to please the commissars. It is often played in a light but warmly lyrical way such as Weller or Previn do or Malko with his more idiomatic phrasing.

Rozhdestvensky however, interprets the childlike pose as indeed a mask for the Soviet authorities. His interpretation doesn't disdain the lyrical, but he does add a darker dramatic edge to it. This is evident in the first movement whenever the brass section enters. The tinkly bells later in the movement are soft and ostensibly toylike. However they assume an even more enigmatic cast since they appear after such a quietly ominous buildup. In the next movement, the Allegretto is kept within modest expressive bounds, but occasionally Rozdestvensky brings out a sardonic smile. The slow movement is kept warm and nostalgic but the final movement returns to the mood of the first even more strongly and almost seems to be building to an outburst which it never quite does. Instead the tinkly bells suddenly reappear and can't be dislodged bringing an unexpected close to the symphony. Rozhdestvensky pointedly omitted the upbeat coda Prokofiev had been pressured into adding. An essential performance for all fans of Prokofiev.

The recording is rather good for the Russian label Melodiya (and its Western issues on EMI and Angel). There is excellent depth to the orchestra and the bells seem at the back of the stage adding to their mystery. There is adequate treble extension and air as well which benefits the strings. The one problem is a bit of congestion and graininess when the music becomes loud.


title: Martinu's opera Julietta is memory and longing disguised as a dream

text:
I enjoyed reading the other reviews here but I wonder if people unfamiliar with the work might be misled by the constant reference to dreamscapes. A dream doesn't only mean the alternate reality that appears when we sleep. Sometimes to "dream of something" implies that you long for it to come true in reality. Just as importantly, the opera also revolves around memory or the lack thereof. You can only dream of something if you can remember it clearly. The most vivid memories are often from childhood and these often play a large role in what we dream of while awake. Sometimes a place that one hasn't seen for a long time changes so much that there is bitter disappointment that the people no longer remember them and their own memory no longer matches what they see.

The action or plot doesn't have the outright bizarreness of an actual dream or nightmare. It's more the dislocated unreal feeling one might have if most but not all memory was clouded or absent for no apparent reason. The setting is fairly prosaic: a salesman Michel returns to a seaside village on a sentimental visit to locate a beautiful woman he heard singing from a window. But the townspeople have trouble remembering clearly anything about their own town such as where a hotel is. Michel's memory starts to get vague along with the townfolk. One of the villagers tries to abduct Michel so that Michel can provide him with childhood memories. The villager wants Michel or anyone else who has any childhood memories to relate them to him so he can have some to call his own. The fact that the childhood memories are someone else's is immaterial to filling that terrible void. Eventually Michel does find that beautiful woman who is named Julietta or at least thinks he does and various complications follow. I hope this provides a bit clearer idea of the basic story Martinu was setting.

As other reviewers have noted, the opera contains some of Martinu's most inspired music. The opening has a high bassoon wailing away in a manner totally different that the opening of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring. This segues into the arrival of Michel at the village where someone plays an accordion and you are soon drifting through a series of nominally realistic but slightly disturbing interactions between the characters who have trouble remembering things in the most awkward circumstances. The music captures this mood perfectly with its varied scoring that is always sliding in different directions without being harsh or chaotic. The musical performance and singing are idiomatic and emotionally committed.

The recording as noted in other reviews does have a slightly hard treble and a bit of light graininess. Unfortunately for modern listeners the monaural version of the LP recording was a bit better than the stereo version now the basis of CD transfers. Quite frankly digital transfers rarely make an LP with slightly ragged treble any sweeter, usually they make it worse. It is not to the level of annoyance however. I would recommend those with turntables to seek out the original LPs whether stereo or mono.


title: Dvorak's charming comic opera

text: Kate and the Devil is Dvorak's most consistently judged opera. This is a comic fairy tale about a woman mistakenly carried off by a devil to Hell where she makes life uncomfortable for all the other devils. Dvorak skillfully endowed the music with varied and folk flavored rhythms and melodies so that the music doesn't flag as in his other operas. It has rather the buoyant mood of his 5th symphony. I find this a worthy counterpart to Smetana's Bartered Bride. The performance by a Czech company led by the experienced conductor Pinkas is quite charming as long as you are used to the particular characteristics of Slavic voices.


title: A finely sung Poppea but a bit languorous in the middle

text:
RE: Montervi's Poppea conducted by Malgoire

Recordings of Monteverdi’s great opera L’Incoronazione di Poppea grapple with more issues than do almost all other operas in the repertoire. The 3 main ones are a) 2 separate editions exist from Naples and Venice. The Venice edition was first but the Naples edition is a bit more complete and tracks the libretto more fully; b) the instrumental scoring (orchestration) was very sketchy. The orchestration is mostly written for continuo. While the basic instrumentation available then is known, it is not clear how the continuo was performed; c) the parts for Nerone and Ottone were intended for castrati soprano and alto men and therefore have to be sung by women or transposed down for tenor or baritone. The part for Nerone is particularly problematic because Monteverdi wrote the part so that it intertwines melodically with Poppea’s. However the soprano line was to be sung by a male castrato who did not sound like a woman and could maintain dramatic effectiveness. To use a woman is right musically but wrong dramatically while transposing it for a man is right dramatically but wrong musically. Another important point to remember is that Monteverdi wrote these operas when the Renaissance modal system was fading but before major minor tonality had been codified. The vocal line is somewhat looser, more relaxed and does not have the same tonal shape that it had for say Lully,  Handel, and Rameau 50 to 75 years later. Therefore it is not stylistically good to sing it either as a Renaissance chanson or as Handelian or later opera.

Over the past 50 years conductors have adopted idiosyncratic solutions to these three issues in their recordings making the listener’s choices quite confusing. I thought it might be useful to present a survey of the main recordings to help interested opera fans decide which recordings best fit their tastes. I have prepared a short summary of how each one handles the three issues noted plus a short review of each recording under its listing. In roughly chronological sequence they are: 1. Ewerhart 1962; 2. Pritchard 1963; 3. Curtis 1966; 4.  Harnoncourt 1974; 5. Curtis 1978; 6. Rudel 1978; 7. Harnoncourt 1979; 8. Malgoire 1984; 9. Zedda 1988; 10. Hickox 1989; 11. Jacobs 1990; 12. Gardiner 1993; 13 Bolton 1997; 14. Cavina 2010.

Grouped by edition, Curtis 1966 and 1978, Malgoire, Gardiner and Cavina mostly or fully use Naples while the rest use Venice. Grouped by orchestration, Pritchard, Rudel, Zedda and to a lesser extent Harnoncourt modernize and thicken the scoring while the rest conform more to period practice. The performers of Nerone are tenors for Ewerhart, Pritchard, Rudel, Harnoncourt 1979 and Malgoire and a countertenor for Bolton. The remaining recordings had the part of Nerone sung by a woman.

Malgoire's cast is well chosen and sings in fine fashion throughout the work. Malgoire uses the Naples edition and has a rather spare continuo augmented occasionally by an expanded ripieno section. Although adhering mostly to period practice he does have a tenor sing Nerone, the estimable John Elwes. This works dramatically but it does pose the usual musical issues for his duets with Poppea, The travesty parts are sung by tenors while Ottone is a countertenor. The only real drawback to this performance are the very indolent tempos that appear around Act I Scene 8 and continue to Act II Scene 9. Fortunately the singers keep enough rhythmic and phrase articulation to keep it from going totally slack. The pace picks up a bit after that to the close. The recording on the LP edition is quite good for early digital. I assume the CD version is above average as well. Worth seeking out for fans of Poppea.


title: an excellent  hollander from sawallisch


title: Finally, to hear songs about Jesus in an Indian ...

text: Finally,to hear songs about Jesus in an Indian style-transcendental bliss-all the mystical beauty of India,for the praise  and to reflect the mystery of Jesus!


title: Big Fan of the Mills Brothers

text: I bought this record album for one main reason . . . it is the only place I could find their recording of Idaho . . . I generally like the Mills Brothers whatever they sing, so getting this album wasn't that big a deal . . . but I searched for their recording of Idaho everywhere and this was the only place I found it.  Listening to these guys is like listening to Sinatra or Nat Cole or many of the other great artists of the big band era . . . you can't go wrong.  They have a huge songbook and a great sound . . . glad to have it.


title: "All Aboard" this atmospheric and thrilling historical ride!

text: "All Aboard" this atmospheric and thrilling historical ride along the Speyside line. Perfectly captures the essence of the era, region and lives dedicated to the railway. Hamish Napier is a mega-talented musician, composer & tutor with proud Scottish Highland roots that flow throughout his creative, inspired music, and often collaborates with other premier Scots musicians, enhancing his work. The Railway is stunning from beginning to end and is one of my all-time favorites.