title: Great gift

text: I gave this as a gift for my granddaughter who will be going to see the production. She is very pleased with it.


title: The Most Poignant Work Of Roger's Music

text:
When I first bought this CD in 1992 it took many times through the entire album without pause to gauge the true depth of just how much of our past, present and future Roger Waters observed and put into artistic form.

Premise: Fictional alien archeologists are trying to understand what caused the extinction of the human race.

The music is stunningly beautiful, balancing the dark impetus of our worst nature while giving us hope through insight into how to avoid a terrifying possible fate.

On the Wall Album when you hear, "are there any queers in the theater tonight?" I knew instantly they were calling out homophobia at a time in our history when that was not being done by many.

When you listen to this album, remember the way Roger Waters turns satire into the most powerful of weapons against bigots, warmongers, and those who have surrendered to fear.

Through this lens, this album can be truly heard again and again.


title: Pleased

text: Product arrived as promised and was in good condition


title: Love it

text: Love this album!!


title: Bought it for one track but listen to whole album.

text: Very nice album


title: Collector item

text: Great find


title: Memories

text: Memories


title: The voice of the century

text: Beverly Sills had the greatest coloratura voice of the last half of the 20th century bar none.  She had good looks, could act, had gray enunciation.  She saved the New York City Opera, the Lincoln Center and the Metropolitan Opera from bankruptcy by raising untold millions of dollars.  She deserves a statue in Lincoln Center.  Just listen to her sing the two arias at the end of the first act of La Traviata.


title: Great CD

text: Unique CD. Music is mellow and upbeat. I love it. Friend's wanted to know where I got it from.


title: Beware of track listings on CD!!!

text: I'd give a zero rating if it reflected back onto Amazon.  I find it shocking that they decided to remove track listings from the website.  So, in the case of this CD, I only received 20 tracks vs the 40 you would get with the MP3 version.  Now, after the fact, I see that the MP3 version is listed as "Deluxe", while the CD has a date attached.  I guess that means you have to spend a good amount of time doing research before buying - I won't be buying until/unless Amazon brings back track listings, along with the option to sample songs without going through a link to a separate area. What a hassle it's become to order here. Grrrr.


title: Great Music and Voice

text: I love Demi and this album is amazing!


title: I recommend that you pick this one up

text: If you are a fan of Osibisa this is a classic, very upbeat and Osibisa.  I recommend that you pick this one up.  Osibisa, Cymande and Mandrill all were hot at the same time, so if you got a chance to see all three in person then you will remember them as a big treat in 1989. They were really big at the colleges (Howard U, Bowie State, Virginia State, NC A& T, etc. A must buy.!!!!


title: Order was on time as promised very good but I order it for someone else so I ...

text: Order was on time as promised very good but I order it for someone else so I don't know how please they were yet.


title: Good

text: Good


title: Not so silent praise

text: I loved this album when it came out but after over 20 years that cassette went to the big recorder in the sky.  However, I did not want to lose the music so I found this album.  It is an inspirational praise album with songs being performed by some favorite artists of my youth.  The fact that this album is brand new and still wrapped is a bonus.


title: Peter Noone + some Rembrandts = decent '80s Rock

text: This was a short-lived group fronted by Peter Noone of Herman's Hermit's and a couple of the latter band, the Rembrandts.  Much of the 80's tunes are lightweight but are still very fun and entertaining.  A stand-out track is a cover of "Green Shirt" by Elvis Costello.


title: Glorious collection

text: This is a glorious collection.  Lots of Vivaldi, but that's not a complaint.  Oddly, at first disks 1-3 wouldn't play without skipping or stopping, as one other reviewer here also experienced.  The same was true with one of the Brandenburg disks too.  Inexplicably to me though, the disks all play perfectly now.  I'm very glad of that, since I had actually gone so far as to ask for a refund from Amazon, and Amazon had sent me a return postage sticker, but then I discovered the disks all played when I tried them again.  I would have hated to return this set because it is wonderful.  I'd ordered it after I heard its performance of the third Bach orchestral suite on the radio, which is now already my favourite recording of that suite.


title: Cute

text: Something you need to add your collection. I would like it without the flock cause it gets a little messed up. Other than that, it's great.


title: Nice way to start an autograph collection

text: Great cd! I have begun collecting these signed cd's from Amazon. I feel confidante in their authenticity. The cd's come with two liner notes, the top one being signed.


title: Love Jason Aldean

text: I love Jason Aldean and was so excited when I saw this as a lightning deal. The actual signature comes on a seprate cd liner which was great. I keep telling my husband that for christmas all i want is it framed and matted :)  But of course he didn't. This was a great purchase for under $20!


title: Great music-still.

text: Great CD, really enjoying these songs. Gave it only 4 stars since one track was damaged and I didn't want to bother returning it. Will try and download that one song.


title: This is the Blue version of Modern Rock: Dance

text:
There are TWO versions of Modern Rock: Dance - one is Blue, the other is Orange. I have both versions (I'm a collector of the Modern Rock series). They are similar to each other, except that a few of the songs are replaced by others.

The tracklisting that Devin Melancon has written is for the Blue version.

Here is the listing for the Orange Version:

Disc 1:
1. "Call Me" - Blondie
2. "Walk Like An Egyptian" - The Bangles
3. "What I Like About You" - The Romantics
4. "Mickey" - Toni Basil
5. "Electric Avenue" - Eddy Grant
6. "99 Luftballons" - Nena
7. "The Politics of Dancing" - Re-Flex
8. "Tainted Love" - Soft Cell
9. "Rock This Town" - Stray Cats
10. "The Look of Love" - ABC
11. "Break My Stride" - Matthew Wilder
12. "Der Kommissar" - After the Fire

Disc 2
1. "Lies" - Thompson Twins
2. "Never Say Never" - Romeo Void
3. "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" - Wham!
4. "She Bop" - Cyndi Lauper
5. "I Could Be Happy" - Altered Images
6. "Goody Two Shoes" - Adam Ant
7. "Sex (I'm a...)" - Berlin
8. "Dance Hall Days" - Wang Chung
9. "Shout" - Tears For Fears
10. "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" - Dead Or Alive
11. "Oh Yeah" - Yello
12. "The Honeythief" - Hipsway

Anyway, both versions are pretty good, though I like the Blue one better - I love "The Safety Dance" and "Love Shack". But I also like "The Honeythief", which is on the Orange version. Also, the Blue one has more pictures - 3 full page pics of Tears For Fears, Cyndi Lauper and Toni Basil. The Orange one only has 1 full-page pic of Stray Cats. Both versions have smaller pics of varying sizes of other bands/album covers. The back cover of the booklet for the Orange one has the advertisement for the other CDs in the Modern Rock series, suggesting that this version came out later. Anyway, take your pick, or buy both versions if you like. Also, when ordering this CD, ask the seller which version they have - I contacted sellers before buying and some of them had the other one.

attachment_type: IMAGE


title: great

text: great


title: The Speer Family, sing along with them, and feel your spirit rise.

text: Wonderful old traditional songs. The Speer Family, I love to listen in my car.


title: The sound quality of this cd is better than commercial one

text: I bought the cd while they were performing in the subway on 59th Street for $10 last month. The outside of this cd is nothing special, but get ready once you hit play... you will hear full bass, guitar and bass with live feel!  Much better than a commercial cd. All 10 tracks are fantastic!!! Thank you mucho for lively music, Gimagua!!!


title: A superb recording

text: First class Andrew LLoyd Webber recording. First got the CD at the original show! Lost it over the years, glad to replace it!


title: Faun through the years....

text: Here it is....all the best and more of one incredible group of musicians. The songs truly show the different growth stages of Faun, but moreover, allows us, the listener, to now select whatever song is what we are wanting or needing to hear at any given moment. In a world that seems head over heels at times, what a welcome moment of calm, or cheer, or uplifting difference. Keep making the music Faun...we will follow you along this journey.

user_id: AEGPAFBJWOPDWGWRYFZHWQLKYVQQ


title: Five Stars

text: good worship!


title: Five Stars

text: This CD makes me happy


title: A great introduction to Buddy Holly for anyone who has not ...

text: Recordings are very clear.  It brought back many memories. A great introduction to Buddy Holly for anyone who has not heard him.


title: EXCELLENT

text: I liked the beautiful Christian songs.  I believe the song arrangements are truly gifted and spirit filled  . The downloading process was easy.


title: Good for lungs

text: As a singer this really helps to keep me breathing right, open my lungs up and help me to hold those long notes. For weight loss? Well.....can not say it has ever helped with that. But great if your a singer, have COPD or any kind of lung or oxygen problems.


title: The Early Works

text: A good reminder of the way we all were. I purchased the cd to help them in the rebuilding of their home after the Nashville flood.


title: Absolutely Beautiful!

text:
A complete collection of all the poems from the "Lord of the Rings" put to music. This box set includes 4 cd's and a very nice book that gives information on the performers, the history of the project, and lyrics for all the songs/poems, including illustrations and little descriptions and excerpts from the book to get a feel on where you are in the story.

The Tolkien Ensemble and Christopher Lee did a wonderful job pulling together the atmosphere of the book into each song. It really makes me want to re-read The Lord of the Rings and play the songs when I reach the poems in the book.

Just a "for example" on how well the songs fit the context of the book, on Disc 3 #13"Galadriel's Song of Eldamar" is sung in a beautiful soprano in Quenya. Now in the book, Frodo heard Galadriel singing this song as the Fellowship was leaving Lothlorien, but he did not understand Quenya, so didn't know the meaning of the song.  In later years, Frodo is able to translate this song from memory. So the next song on the CD is the same song repeated but this time with a male singer(Frodo)in English, with the soprano, Galadriel, humming in the background. Very nice!

My one complaint with some of the songs are those in the book that were spoken by Legolas. The songs "Nimrodel" and "Legolas's Song of the Sea" are both sung in a deep baritone. They are nice, but, just didn't catch the flavor of the book. Do elves do baritone? Ummm, maybe, but surely not Legolas.... ;-)

The tone of these CD's take you from happy, clap your hands walking songs, to beautiful and sad elven songs, to the deep and scary - Christopher Lee does an awesome Ring Verse in Black Speech.

I guess the best compliment I can give this set of CDs is I was trying to pick out some of my favorites to burn on a disc for the car, and ended up having to burn all four CDs complete. That's a first for me. Thumbs up to the Tolkien Ensemble for a job very well done!


title: Ted has another hit album

text: Ted is THE Messianic artist that everyone is raving about - Wow what a talent he has been given !


title: Ray Charles Fan

text: Great cd of all of Ray Charles hits.


title: CASCADE/MIRCLE

text:
THIS CD IS VERY HIGH ENGERY DANCE MIX (NRG)
I'AM GLAD TO HAVE PURCHASED THS PRODUCT
IT ONE OF HER BEST MIXES , SO I DO SAY
YOU NEED TO EXPERIENCE THIS GREAT SOUNDING CD FOR YOU SELF...
  BEST REGAED'S MIKE STONE


title: Songs of the Islands

text: Again pleased to know a favorite lp is available on cd.


title: Five Stars

text: Love it.


title: Jammed in my car CD player on first use!

text: The CD is poorly molded and unusable in car CD players - unless you want to ruin yours.


Fran Jeffries is a beautiful and talented singer (and actress); I am so well pleased with this CD; too bad that the United States does not carry this, but worth the effort to have this even if I purchased from overseas.


title: very impressed and wonderfully surprised with the other compilations that this song was ...

text: Didn't know I could actually get this song in CD!  Very, very impressed and wonderfully surprised with the other compilations that this song was done.  I am very tickly satisfied.  THANK YOU for having this song in CD format!


title: fania  always superior

text: Louis Rameriz: Salsa  Tito Puente: Watu Wasuri  nothing better since


title: Bonus Tracks, Not Worth Full CD Price

text: I just bought the Big Pink version of the CD for the bonus tracks.  So basically what I paid for are 6 previously unreleased studio tracks (unreleased as far as I know).  Two of the other bonus tracks are just single versions of existing album tracks, with one being previously available on the original Anthem CD release.  The remaining 3 bonus tracks are poor sounding live tracks, which have been previously available on several different bootlegs.  Bottom-line is and if I had it to do over again, I would not waste my money and pay FULL price for the Big Pink release just to get the bonus tracks.  The audio quality does not really sound any better than the original Anthem CD, which has one of the single bonus tracks,  and the 6 previously unreleased studio tracks and the 3 live tracks just are not that good.  Of the 6 previously unreleased studio bonus tracks, Nicks sings lead on most of them and I have never been a big Nicks fan beyond the original Buckingham Nicks release.  So if you already have the Anthem CD and think you have to have those 6 bonus tracks, I would just just try to locate digital copies of those particular tracks, which would probably be a lot cheaper than paying the full price of the Big Pink CD.


title: Nice CD

text: Nice CD, and definitely nothing wrong with the sound quality of my copy, which is the 2005 Red Fox Records (RF 655) version.  To my knowledge this is the original CD release and contains the 1st side of the Good Times A' Comin' LP as bonus tracks.  I can't speak to the legality of this release, i.e., whether a bootleg copy or not, but it does say "Made under license by Dick James Music Limited", the original record company.  Another reviewer described this I believe as a CD-R using a vinyl record as the source with poor sound quality.  All I can say is that my copy does not look like a CD-R, and if vinyl records were indeed the source, it is the cleanest transfer I have ever heard and sounds as good as any legal record company release of the time that would have used the original source tapes.


title: Fairly Unimpressive Early 1970's U.S. Prog

text:
The 3-star rating is based on just one listen at this time, so maybe it will improve after another listen or two.  I only got this CD after hearing the Zoldar & Clark CD, which I really liked.  Although I think the JW release predates the Z&C release, it was suppose to include some of the same individuals as found on the later Z&C.  To keep it short, the JW release sounds pretty dated; and the songs just don't sound as good as the tunes on Z&C.  Additionally, the CD audio quality does not sound very good.  Don't know what the source was, but wouldn't surprise me to learn it was vinyl.  I mean you do not hear any vinyl type noise (e.g., clicking, popping, etc), but the sound is I guess just somewhat on the muddy side and uneven (to my ears anyway).  The JW release I got is a 2009 'Flawed Gems' copy (from Sweden, I believe).  There may be another import CD version available that might have better sound quality(who knows), but I won't be trying to track it down, unless the songs grow on me after another listen or two.

A day later and an additional comment or two:  Have listened to this a couple more times, but still don't think I can go any higher than 3 stars.  If there were a decent sounding remastered CD that I could hear, I might go as high as 4 stars.  On the positive side the tunes do reflect a pretty good variety in style ranging from more acoustic melodies to more intricate uptempo workouts.  The musicians do appear to have pretty good chops on their respective instruments, and I do like the flute used throughout.  I see a lot of references in reviews comparing the sound to a mix of Moody Blues and Yes.  I guess I can hear a little bit of Moody Blues, and the higher pitched vocals w/harmonies do remind a little of Jon Anderson with Yes.  However, the overall sound reminds me more specifically of an old British band by the name of Fantasy, whom I think just released one album while they were together (I think what was supposed to be a second LP was eventually released quite a few years after it was actually recorded).


title: Clean

text: Beautifully recorded and mastered.


title: Beautiful Designs, many ideas

text: Looking to remodel our kitchen and plenty of ideas here.


title: Shorty Long ? Isn't that an oxymoron?

text: Why did I consider this disk essential to own ? Maybe I am a bit curious or friends with the family, but ,in truth, his vision of "Devil With A Blue Dress" great lyric and was rhythm and blues to boot. it beats the hell out Springsteen's version and ,though I attended school  near Detroit in the late sixties , Mitch Ryder's version was the one I performed in my early bands.Shorty's version is worth taking another look. His other gems are good, but,it is in this musician's opinion, he couldn't compete with the other illustrious hit-makers that the Berry-Gordy's Motown had. It was Shorty's vibe that was wrong, he even tried the "Steve Cropper" rhythm guitar funk-soul approach but his star went up only for a few sides . Schmaltz is not my bag baby and when I hear rhyhm n blues get schmalzy, baby, I crawl under a rock. But Shorty Short was an original and I give him that.(and you're talking to someone who dug "The Ravens".)


title: Love it!

text: Awesome concert!


title: Awesome cd!

text: Love this cd! Great music!


title: Great

text: Grew up in this time. This is our music.


title: GREAT

text: I love the CD and listen to it almost every day.  The quality of the product is great and it delivered on time.  Would definitely use this seller again.


title: Wonderfully Beautiful Compilation of Hymns.

text: I have always enjoyed Marvin Goldstein's panino playing and John Canaan's voice.  Now here they are together.  This is a wonderful CD and every LDS music library should have a copy.  Whether you are using the CD for calm relaxing background music or actively listening to every word and cord you will love this music collection.


title: Soul Filled Renditions of Favorite LDS Hynms

text: This CD is filled with soul stirring renditions of some of my favorite LDS hymns plus some really great new songs.  Songs like Teachings from The Trek, Adam Ondi Ahman, New Jerusalem, Come Come Ye Saints, If You Could Hie To Kolob, and many more.  This is really a great CD and I have listened to it many times.  It really deserves a spot in your music library - buy it!


title: Five Stars

text: Great music. Plenty of waltz's and good quality. Price is better than buying directly from Andre Rieu.


title: Great stuff!

text:
Wanted to get a taste of the 20s/30s jazz era.  'Paper Moon' music, 'Sleeper' music.  This fits the bill!

Since buying this record I have picked up several more compilations of the same artists.

Fun stuff!


title: West Africa does it again!!!!

text: Wonderful selection of songs. I am Nigerian and was fortunate enough to have a friend from the Ivory Coast tell me what magic System was singing about. Really funny and real life stuff..


title: Whisper-Style

text: I love her whisper-style of singing. I love the opening song 'on Poppy hill'. It sounds so...soft..


title: She Cried Tears of Joy

text: I have a Very Happy Daughter


title: Five Stars

text: Got this for my Mom for Christmas. She loves Elvis and Gospel music.


title: Ian Curtis Lives

text: Fabulous cd deluxe set with a live show recording that is a must for any Joy Division or Ian Curtis fan. Sound quality is superb.


title: Returned!

text: Super thin, poor quality. Glad the return process was easy, refund was issued immediately.


title: UNFORGETABLE

text: One of the reviewers wrote that there were few Europeans that have found Asaf Avidan, well there are even fewer of us Americans that have discovered this unique talent.  I enormously enjoyed all of his previous releases with the Mojo's and this is definitely a totally new and very unique break from that music.  After the shock of the change wore off and I've listened more to this new work I've enjoyed it more and more and discover a new element in it with every listen which distinguishes Asif as a true groundbreaking artist.  For those that enjoyed the Mojo's the drummer has formed a new group LFNT which I also enjoy even missing Asif's unique talent.  More than ever I hope that the world listens to Asif Avidan and falls in love with his music.  Thank you Asif Avidan !


title: An artist of Asaf Avidan & The Mojos gone his own way

text: I originally purchased because of this album being listed as Asaf Avidan & The Mojos, but it's the drummer of the group going on his own way following the breakup.  I was very pleasing surprised by the quality of the album and it deserves a listen.  I think I have another favorite group !  Thank you Ran Nir and hopes for more to come.


title: simple and pure

text: Since Asaf Avidan is one of my favorite musicians I did another search on Amazon for him. I don't know why I hadn't ordered this album before, probably because the songs are on his other albums with the Mojos. It is a precursor to his forming Asaf Avidan and the Mojos. I'm VERY glad that I finally ordered it as it has a TOTALLY different sound from Asaf Avidan and the Mojos recordings. Think of it as the 'unplugged' version. I find it totally AWESOME ! I can never get enough of Asif Avidan. I just wish more people in the United States knew of him so that he could tour the US. Maybe someday I'll be able to hear and see him in person. Thank you Asaf and also Music4Sure for allowing me to purchase his albums from the United States. No one should have any doubts about dealing with Music4Sure as they are a high quality business.


title: Hey!

text: This was a great Christian rap album!  It really took me back.  It message was so straight on.  I really miss this group.


title: Love BTS

text: I am ARMY!!!!


title: LOVE G Dragon

text: I am huge fan of G Dragon and Big Bang! I however could not play the thumb drive in my car or on my laptop, but I have it and love it


title: Kpop rules

text: I love Kpop and I LOVE Taeyang


title: Love love love!

text: Met this musician this last summer. Love his music!! This is a very nice cd.


title: Great for kids nap/rest time

text: We use this during afternoon quite time for our kids. Calming lovely sounds.


title: gift

text: great quality and price


title: 99X, how we miss you

text: This was next to last 99X LIVE X and was a perfect transition toward the end of the series. Fantastic music, excellent content, and performances from 99X that will never see the light of day again. You gotta get this one!


title: 99X is awesome!

text: If you live or have lived in Atlanta at any time in the last 15 years then you remember the amazing hilarity and excellent music that was 99X. Why not relive the days when radio didn't suck and when DJ's were more than just mouthpieces for corporations. It IS Brain Surgery is a fantastic throwback to great radio, wonderful pranks, and smart broadcasting.


title: Five Stars

text: very good


title: ... to fully realize what an absolute perverted creep Mike Love is.

text: One need listen to nothing else other than 'Rockin The Man In The Boat' to fully realize what an absolute perverted creep Mike Love is....purchase for entertainment value only.  It is pure rubbish.


title: This is the REAL 3 Doors Down!!!!!

text: If you've ever heard these guys-the first time you heard Kryptonite by 3 Doors Down- you probably thought it was them like I did.I bought their first album in 90, and damn it rocked!!!! They were the first of the 1990-91 bands that you couldnt figure if they were a hair band or alternative?? Seemed to be the perfect mix of both-pure fun. I could never understand why these guys never broke in the U.S.-they were absolutely brilliant. Listen to C'mon, Better, and pretty much anything off the All For One album, and hear some REAL ROCK.The lyrics on C'mon say it all------I hear the radio and the songs they play, makin my stomach turn, i just wanna hear some rock and roll,and watch my radio burn!!!!!!!!


title: Where's Eep Opp Ork Ah Ah?!?!

text: A good set if you can find it but it's puzzling that they would leave out something as iconic as Eep Opp Ork Ah Ah but would include some hokey new voices of Fred Flintstone and REALLY AWFUL Snagglepuss answering machine and birthday messages. They even have quite a few of the sound effects on here twice - once individually and a second time in one long track.


title: Wow, how time changes everything!

text:
I first owned this vinyl album in the 70's.  I was in high school and it was NOT my favorite McCartney album, but I bought it for my collections.
Some 20 years later, as I finally got around to replacing my McCartney vinyl with CD's, I wasn't sure that I would buy, Wild Life.  It just wasn't a "must have."
When the remasters came out with the bonus tracks, I figured it would be worth it just to have "Give Ireland Back to the Irish."  Well, was I in for a surprise.  Maybe its because I am in my 30's now, as Paul was when he wrote and recorded this album with his group, but it speaks to me now more than ever.  "Tomorrow" has become one of my favorite tracks from the band (and with its inclusion on Wingspan, it must one of Paul's favorites too.)  I am not offended by the lyrics to "Bip Bop" and find singing "Mary had a Little Lamb" along with my niece truely fun!  Who knew home spun, simple music would appeal to me in my young adulthood?  Maybe I had too many hormones ragin in high school.
Finally, as stated above Give Ireland Back to the Irish is on of Paul's best, most fun songs.  Yeah, I know its political, but it also happens to be a great rocker!


title: Somewhat disappointing

text: There are some great songs here but also some songs that I have never heard before and don't like at all.  I am pretty sure that there are better 90's rock compilations out there!


title: The Maroon 5 CD that we've been waiting for!

text: I was a little concerned about the quality of the CD before I received it since it was imported but the sound quality is great!  This is one of my favorite CDs.


title: Wonderful

text: Very good . I wish there were more than the two albums.


title: Wonderful

text: Love it


title: Gift

text: This was a gift.


title: A Great Relic of The Past

text:
For all intents and purposes, the cassette format is dead.  Many, if not most people, don't seem to miss it either.

But the format does have something of an underground following that consists of fans that use very expensive high-end cassette decks.  This CD was apparently released for quality-conscious users who were not technically inclined but had at least moderately good decks.

Narrated by a VH-1 DJ, the CD includes complete songs of different genres and somewhat abbreviated but usefully informative and easy-to-understand instructions on tape quality, tape deck maintenance, Dolby noise reduction circuitry, bias adjustment, and setting recording levels along with recording samples and test tones.  For Generation Y and younger consumers, this information means absolutely nothing.  But for Generation X and Baby Boomers, this CD will be a good buy for posterity or nostalgia, if nothing else.

The CD includes a set of test tones that is ambitiously intended to enable users to very quickly set recording levels according to musical genre and TDK tape formulation (SA, SA-X, or MA).

What limits the usefulness of these tones is that they apply only to the TDK formulations of 1990 through 1991.  The tones do not work as well with TDK formulations from older and newer years because of their different overload/distortion characteristics.  Also, while the recording level instructions state that the user should set the recording level to display "0 dB" on the deck's meters when monitoring a test tone, this is not necessarily an accurate practice because the number scales on meters are arbitrarily set by manufacturers.  And even then variations in meter calibration exist between models within the same brand!  A better instruction would be to use the aforementioned "0 dB" indication only if no Dolby symbol (Double-D logo) exists on the meters.  This Dolby symbol is referenced to an absolute level so it is better to refer to this instead.  When Dolby level is used as a reference, the recording level should be set 2 dB higher, which equals the official 0 dB DIN level.  Moreover, the tones themselves cannot and do not account for the loathsome practice of dynamic range limiting (extreme volume compression between soft and loud passages of music) that many producer-mandated studio recording engineers performed beginning in the early 90s.  Coverage on noise reduction is also a bit on the sketchy side, especially when dbx noise reduction is not covered at all.  This is the reason for my one-star deduction.

Still, TDK has to be given a lot of credit for releasing an ambitious recording aid.  Be that as it may, TDK has been sold a few years ago to Verbatim so TDK is really history.  Like I said, this CD is a good buy for posterity or nostalgia.


title: Amazing...

text: This cd is like listening to a photo album of spectacular landscapes. Each piece of music paints such a stunning and vivid picture of some far away land that each track is an escape. Just beautiful!


title: Queensryche's Best Effort

text:
After Nirvana & Pearl Jam exploded in the early 90s, the pressure was on nearly every band that was even loosely associated with "hair metal"/"pop metal."  Of course, Queensryche were obviously neither of those things, but try telling that to the 13 year old boys and girls who bought _Empire_ cos they liked "Silent Lucidity" just as much as they liked Poison's "Every Rose Has Its Thorn."  Yet, Queensryche stuck to their progressive roots with _Promised Land_ and it proved to be their best album.
Since their debut, QR got better and better with each release.  _Operation: Mindcrime_ was a stunning success in terms of musicianship, songwriting, production, and execution.  Although some of it could be considered dated, it still holds up as an excellent reflection of 80s greed.  _Empire_ improved upon _Mindcrime_ by focusing more on songwriting, and _Promised Land_ took it to the next level - an impressively cohesive album that offers everything from typical QR rock ("I Am I" & "Damaged") to acoustic-tinged slower numbers ("Bridge" & "Lady Jane") to their masterpiece, the sprawling title track.  The production is top-notch on this album - you'll be hearing new things with each and every listen.  This is one of the only albums that comes close to feeling like a "modern" progressive rock album without feeling forced or featuring aimless noodling.
Of course, _Promised Land_ didn't do as well as _Empire_ and QR subsequently lost their ground with their next release, _Hear in the Now Frontier_, a weaker effort that finally did find the band trying to fit in with the music that was going on around them rather than being unique.  DeGarmo subsequently left and the band released the immediately forgettable _Q2K_.  DeGarmo was the driving force behind the band and hopefully he'll be back someday.  Until then, pick up this along with _Mindcrime_ and _Empire_.


title: If you like The Beatles -Tomorrow Never Knows, then this is the album for you

text: This album took me about 3 listens to totally get it. I have concluded it as a total masterpiece. Very psychadellic but not over done. Lots of layers and really great hooks. Opening song BE ABOVE IT has the most unique song arangement. A lot of emotion in this album and lyrically spot on. Highly recommended


title: Why the high cost ?

text: This was the very first vinyl that I ever bought back in 1973. With the passage of time, the vinyl was lost and after 45 years I got the vinyl again. Recorded over 2 nights at the Paramount theatre in Seattle features some popular hits like American woman, running back to Saskatoon & new mother nature among others. Pure nostalgia revisited. A used vinyl cost me $ 26 ....gulp....


title: Pleasing array of Stars

text: What impressed me most about this CD is the wide array of stars that appear on it. What did not impress me however is the fact that it's out-of-print & not easily available. But if you're lucky then both listeners of pop/jazz will find this effort by Mandoki as a novel one. Mandoki heads the wagon wheel on vocals & percussion supported by Ian Anderson, Jack Bruce, Nik Kershaw, Al Di Meola, Steve Lukather, Steve Khan, Anthony Jackson, Brecker Brothers & many more. The best track is track no2.which features Chaka Khan.


title: Not on the oficial discography, but, who cares!

text: Excellent cd, documenting the 1983 ARMS concert loaded with heavy blues guitar heroes. I don't know why it's not an oficial release, but the sound is amazing and the set list is beyond belief. Go grab one!


title: Strong S/A Songs of Harmony and Rhythm

text:
If you are fond of South African Mbaquanga/Towship Jive music (that nation's version of Rhythm and Blues), you can't go wrong with this one.

The Dark City Sisters were among the pioneering ""girl groups" of Township Jive, after Miriam Makeba's Skylarks and the beloved Mahotella Queens. Their vocal harmonies are breathtaking;y beautiful whether the songs are fast (as most are on this set) or slow. This collection of their tunes, mostly from the 1960s I gather, bring joyful smiles to faces and movement to the feet. Interestingly, I've read where Black South Africans who came of age during the horror of apartheid, have fond memories of The Dark City Sister's music and its effect on their souls.

Some highlights here are 'Sekusile," an amusing number warning men to get up to work as the rooster crows (nice effect). A shuffling slow dance tune called "Tomati Yo Yo,"  Langa More," a popular dance of the day," Mokupi," a tune that sounds rather funky and joyful- then you read the translation of the lyrics that reveal it to be about a beggar shunned by society. "Izinto Ezinhle" and "Eleven Year Anniversary" both deal with the sisters facing jealously and hatred over their fame (apparently, this was a real problem for them).  The James Brown of South Africa, Mahlathini, joins forces to contribute his growling voice to the proceedings as he would later do with the Mahotella Queens, to good effect here also.

Two of the tunes here are done by a competing girl group, The Flying Jazz Queens, who can hold their own against The Dark City Sisters.  They contribute their own version of "Langa More" and a tune called "Retswa Gauteng,"  the latter is a fun song that describes the dance scene in Johannesburg in 1966.

If you are new to South African Township Jive Music, I would usually recommend the various compilations of various artists of the genre, but I think this is accessible to the novice to this kind of music. Good for what ails you.


title: Never a dull minute

text:
Whatever your opinion of Minister Louis Farrakhan, he was certainly an interesting orator in his prime. Here he speaks (judging from the context of the events of which he speaks, such as allusions to then-President Jimmy Carter, who he calls "The born again hypocrite" and Iran's then leader Ayatollah Khomeini) during the summer of 1980 at Jack the Rapper Gibson's then -annual black music conference.

He gets quite raw, giving his occasionally entertaining but jaw-dropping outlook on race relations. He pays considerable attention to the corruption of black music by drug money and outside influences (Fans of Public Enemy will recognize parts of this speech that were sampled on PE's "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back" Lp eight years later).  It is important to consider that what we would now call hip hop music was then in its infancy and that music of what he says about Soul and Disco music of that time would not need much change in context to the modern listener. However, be prepared for his usual no holds barred rhetoric on white people and some slurs against gays that may shock some today. The album also includes an updated version of his 1960 recording "White Man's Heaven is a Black Man's Hell" with classic accompaniment whose firey lyrics belie the soothing instrumental backing.

One thing's for sure, never a dull moment on this purchase. Those who are interested in other examples of Minister Farrakhan's oratory before he became a household name and gained fame (infamy?) in 1984 will also want to hear the 1974 album "Black Family Day" and the book "Seven Speeches by Louis Farrakhan" that came out that same year.


title: Early example of Redd Foxx BS (Before Sanford)

text: This is an old school party album from 1960 (Judging by the Nixon/Kennedy joke) of a fairly young Redd foxx (then 37) doing his thing in an LA nightclub. he effortly tosses off sone pretty funny tales and clever gags that in some cases require a second listening to fully "get." Some good stories that you want to memorize for your next party or down time at the office include The Hillbillies, The Girl with the Speech Impediment, Oh George, The Man With the stiff Neck, The Armless Drinker, The Girl Who Didn't Want to Wear Panties, etc. These stories were considered quite raunchy for the times, but there is little actual profanity and while they clearly contain adult material, they are more witty than vulgar, as double entendre was Redd's thing at the time. Aside from the dated Kennedy and Nixon gag, this album wears well and will still entertain a party of friends with plenty of beer and pizza as it did over a half century ago.


title: The Great "Lost" Louis Jordan Album

text:
This 1964 album is somewhat of a lost treasure on the wish list of hardcore fans of the sultan of saxophone, jazz comedian, and grandfather of soul Louis Thomas Jordan (1908-1975).

First the backstory. In 1962, the legendary jazz comic Louis Jordan had seen better days. His hitmaking days of the 1940s were well behind him. His sound was dismissed as outdated (and his reliance on comedy as "Uncle Tommish" by hard core milly-tants) and he was without a record contract. Ray Charles, who like Little Richard, Chuck Berry, and James Brown were greatly influenced by Jordan, signed him as an artist on his Tangerine label. He recorded some really wonderful material for the label as well as this album "Hallelujah Louis Jordan is Back." Unfortunately, the 45 rpm singles did not do well (except among hardcore British Jordanites-a few have been posted onto a certain popular website featuring video and audio clips) and the album itself was underpromoted and sank like a stone and by 1966, Jordan was living primarily off of personal appearances.

Unlike his classic work of the 1940s (and even his mediocre remakes of the 1950s which are among the few instances of Jordanism not worth bothering to find), the Lp is largely lost and almost impossible to find today. It was never reissued in any format and is only rarely found today on Internet sites such as ebay and amazon. Well, as a hard core Jordanite I happily found one here last week for a relatively reasonable price for such a rare collector's item. Here's my verdict.There are a couple of fillers (such as El Camino Real and a quick remake of the 1949 Jordan classic story-song "Saturday Night Fish Fry) and the background music is very much of its era (provided by the Ray Charles Orchestra), but while the album itself is not exactly a lost masterpiece or the holy grail of Jordanites, it is a rather pleasant and  enjoyable if not outstanding listen.

The album covers a good range of Jordan's talents. There are a couple of sweet and serious ballads (Don't Wait Too Long and My Love and Devotion) which is comparable to the popular crooners of the day. Some fine sax work is on the pleasantly midtempo "You Can Depend on Me." and the faster "Honey Bee." Jordan's trademark comedy story songs are on display on "The Troubadour (Poor Willie)"-a comic tale of a vengeful wife and infidelity, and a magnificent blues "My Friends," which is lyrically similar much-covered Bessie Smith chestnut "Nobody Wants You When You're Down and Out" (which Jordan himself recorded nearly 20 years earlier).

Jordanites need to be aware that there is also a British version of this album, which largely dispenses with the ballads and replaces them with more funny story songs. These include the preaching blues' "Hard Head" and the lyrically odd "You're My Mule" (what kind of man would tell his lady something like this-but I digress), along with his hilarious spin on Ray Charles's "What I Say" with Jordan's own wacky lyrics, and a funny if somewhat morbid blues "Don't Send Me Flowers in the Graveyard," about a man who knows his wife only wants his insurance money.

On the whole, while this album is certainly a collector's item, the causal listener should enjoy its whimsical and often wildly funny story-songs and midtempo ballads as something to make you smile after a long hard day at work or school. However, its pleasant tunes need to be brought back before the masses to enjoy as opposed to the occasionally lucky record collector, so whoever owns the rights to Ray Charles' Tangerine records needs to get with it with an album/ Cd/Mp3 of "Hallalujah Louis Jordan is Back."


title: Amazing debut, some glimpse into what was to come

text:
In 1968, Stevie released "Eivets Rednow", which  was an album of jazz and easy listening standard instrumentals, mostly based around his lovely Chromatic Harmonica. Most people thought it was something different for Stevie. It wasn't. This album, which was Stevie's first, was a predecessor.

While it received little attention when it was released in 1962, the title was no exaggeration. These jazz and easy listening instrumentals (his vocals were in transition and aside from shouting numbers such as Fingertips Pt. 1 & 2, were too cracky for mass appeal until he was around 15) are beyond what one would expect from the first recordings of a performer of that age.

The version of "Fingertips" that appears here is not to be confused with the exciting live Chromatic harmonica rave up so loved by Stevie's fans and is available elsewhere. This is an early instrumental with a flute playing lead instead of the Chromatic (which incidentally is my favorite instrument) and it takes a few seconds to recognize the tune as the predecessor to its most famous version.

There are a couple intriguing percussion workouts. "Manhattan at Six" sounds like a Caribbean street festival while the Marvin Gaye penned "Soul Bongo" is a real toe tapper and staple of Steveland's early performances. There is a nice danceable organ workout called "Wondering" (not to be confused and no resemblance to the midsixties Stevie vocal and harmonica hit of the same name).

At this early stage, Stevie's Chromatic Harmonica was his main draw, and his harmonicizing was astonishing. Sort of a younger version of Toots Thielemans at this point. "Some Other Time" is a moving solo while "Bam," "Paulsby," and "The Square" are uptempo jazz workouts. Fans of Stevie's early harmonica work would also enjoy "Stevie at the Beach," (1964) which contains several such  instrumentals.

Overall, this album is more than a historical document. It's good music regardless of the age of the performer. Incidentally, some versions of this CD (such as "Boy Genius" and "Introducing Stevie Wonder") include parts 1 and 2 of Stevie's very first record, "They Call It Pretty Music but the Old People Call it the Blues." This is a wonderful, charming tune about young Stevie interrupting his lessons in school with his harmonica and turning the classroom into a party. Part 1 includes Stevie narrating the story mentioned in the last sentence along with some excellent harmonica riffs and part 2 has Stevie blowing a bluesy solo far beyond his years.


title: Great, except for one detail

text:
When I was a child, my parents told me of a white man named Dick Reeves who would come on the local radio stations and tell stories in the Gullah dialect. I recently found this in a second hand record store.

I have to give Harold "Dick" Reeves some credit. He worked for the Social Security office here in Charleston SC and was very familiar with the patios of local blacks, and was a gifted teller of tales in his own right. He combined these skills to make a good side living as a local radio performer and popular storyteller of Gullah tales. This album, recorded in 1963, shows Reeves' prowess at his craft. Between the tales that he tells to an unspecified live audience, he displays an impressive knowledge of the history of the dialect along with his skill at telling these yarns (which are actually quite authentic and some of which I remember hearing from black Gullah speakers as a child, such as the classic deer story).

Ironically, while he makes clear at the outset that his purpose is to educate and entertain without giving offense, this album is marred for modern listeners by the constant use of terms that were even then considered grossly offensive in reference to black people (and I don't mean "Negro, "colored,' or "black" either, but Amazon will probably censor me if I spell them out). So if you want to hear some good Gullah tales, they're here, but be warned before playing this album before mixed company that may not be alble to put this in historical context.


title: Very amusing, lots of fun!

text:
Until very recently, this album contained the only known recordings of the Popeye radio shows of the 1930s.

These shows have been dismissed by critics as being purely juvenile and off-putting for its use of other actors (excluding the legendary Jack Mercer-the most famous of Popeye voices), a kid named Matey in place of the infant Swee Pea (which made sense for radio since Swee Pea couldn't talk), and the substitution of a forgotten breakfast cereal called "Wheatena" (apparently similar to Cream of Wheat and the sponsor of the show) for spinach.

In spite of these facts, I enjoyed these shows. The actors, musicians, writers, and sound effects folks do an excellent job of creating entertaining adventure tales where our man saves the day with spin-OOPS! I mean Wheatena. The stories always close with Popeye giving Matey some kind of moral, which is ok since these are preceded by some pretty amusing adventures (the one involving Popeye and the runaway train is particularly suspenseful). The actors who play Olive Oyl and Wimpy in particular give good adaptations of the characters, albeit different from what the cartoon fans are accustomed. The Wimpy character in particular is even more comical than in the cartoons, spouting snappy lines that provide good humor for adults.

If you enjoy the radio adaptations of Superman, the Lone Ranger, the Green Hornet, et. al, you should also have a field day with these radio Popeyes. I read recently where 16 other recordings of episodes have been found. I hope they will also be available to the public soon.


title: Interesting for historical reasons

text:
In the 1970s and 80's Rev. Jesse Jackson was the hottest black orator out there. His rhyming and catchy motivational talks drew crowds to their feet as a somewhat hipper version of his mentor Martin Luther King (I heard him speak at a youth rally in 1978 and could attest to this). The JJ that you'll hear on this album is not quite there yet.

In 1969, JJ was a rising movement star who marketed himself as the heir apparent of the recently fallen Dr. King. He had the charisma to come close to pulling this off, but this album (recorded in front of a live audience at the Capitol theater in Chicago) reminds you of going to a speech or sermon where the crowd hangs on to the speaker's every word, but when you read a text or hear a recording of that same speech later, you'll say "What the heck?"

JJ is all over the place here and the sermons here are often incoherent. You get the impression that he is in love with the sound of his own voice. "Know Your Enemy" starts off strong with an early version of "I Am Somebody," but JJ goes into a rambling tirade about interracial sex and race relations that is downright bewildering until he winds to his conclusion on Side B. "The Great Divide" is where he does an interesting turn on Malcolm X's "House Negro/Field Negro" monologue, saying that the orginal homily (without mentioning  Malcolm by name) offered no solutions and he offers one here, although he takes too long to make his point. There is an amusing line in this sermon about the conditions in Black America affecting all Black Americans "whether pimp, punk, or Phd." Other than that, this is not one of his more memorable efforts.

"Quarter on the Dime" is a really awkward attempt at metaphor. He uses a strange analogy comparing ghetto conditions to that of a quarter being placed on top of a dime. You have to hear this to get it, and even then you may not get it because the sermon stops abruptly in the middle of the message obviously due to space limitations on the album.

So at this embryonic stage, the album is interesting in parts and mostly because of historical reasons. It shows that JJ had a way to go before mastering the art of oratory. To see JJ as he later improved his delivery, see the film "Wattstax" and recodings of his speeches at the 1984 and 1988 Demoractic conventions when he was at his peak.


title: A classic

text:
If you are not familiar with the radio broadcasts of A&A, this is the second-best place to start aisde from the legendary Christmas episodes.

The set beings with some ultra-rare 1929 episodes regarding Amos being framed by a croooked cabbie named Earl Dixon who committed a bank robbery. Six of these eps appear on the disc and I have heard the entire surviving episodes of this particular stories elsewhere and some of the more amusing ones were nto included due to space. The other pre-1943 story (the year the series expanded to 30 minutes and was recorded regularly) is the famous and touching 1941 Christmas story, which was done immediately after Pearl Harbor (which is mentioned in passing). Most fans of the show consider that story to be their best.

From there, we have a few really good stories involving Andy's complications with a New Years Eve party, a pretty funny bit with pianist Jose Iturbi, a tale about Andy's nephew attempting a WW2 furlough for Thanksgiving 1943, a "Kingfish cons Andy" story about KF selling our man a "French car," and some nice business with Jack Benny & Rochester.

A real classic is a 1952 episode that is a retrospective of the series that about midway tranforms into a remake of the 1931 "Breach of Promise" tale. The show begins with how A&A met, the Kingfish's debut, and Amos' courtship and wedding of Ruby Taylor. After all of this is deftly handled, the show moves on to Andy's jilting of Madam Queen, with the notorious Algonquin J. Calhoun (Johnny Lee as a kind of precursor to Sherman Helmsley's Deacon Frye character in "Amen.") serving as Andy's counsel.

We also have a rare 1959 story of the real A&A creators Gosden and Correll interviewing their famous creations. This is a testament to G&C's talent, as the two men manage to convincingly sound like 5 men (G&G, Amos & Andy, and the Kingfish) talking. Much has been said about the "racism" of A&A. I'm black myself and while the show occasionally makes me wince, one cannot deny the creativity of G&C's skill in comedy characterizations and it s a sight better than "Soul Plane," gangster rap, and black oriented "reality shows" of our time.

The set closes with the last radio episode of A&A from 1960. Not all that funny, but interesting for historical reasons. Enjoy.

This is extremely funny stuff that is well acted by the show's ensemble. I recommend this for a good laugh on a long drive.


title: Ignore the cover and enjoy the album

text:
Yeah, the cover is unfortunate (A&A creators Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll in blackface), but the contents range from interesting to quite funny.

Very few recordings of Amos and Andy radio shows survive from about 1930 to 1943 (when they expaned to 30 minutes). This is an interesting and largely entertaining cross section of what the original 15 minute radio show was like.

From 1936 is an episode where A&A run out of gas on a trip to California and happen upon the home of a friendly stranger, who happens to be a popular movie actor of the day. Later that year, we have a rare episode of a minstrel show performed by Gosden and Correll (as well as some guest performers including a black vocal group known as the 4 Vagabonds who appear here as the Mystic Knights of the Sea Quartet, making this the first truly integrated episode). This latter show is interesting because it is a precursor to the 1940s episodes where A&A's antics would become buttressed with black vocal groups serving as a Greek chorus to the action.

From 1939 comes the wedding of Andrew H. Brown. Nice business in the first half of the story where Kingfish and Amos try to calm Andy's pre-matrimony jitters. Finally, from Dec. 1941 comes the famous Christmas story where Amos reads and explains the Lord's Prayer to his daughter, which most fans of the show consider to be the best in the series' history.

I have heard a few other rare 1930-1943 episodes, such as a 1937 story where Andy writes a travelogue while vacationing with Amos and the Kingfish, a really funny 1939 tale of Andy taking singing lessons (and being angry over the "crickets" (i.e., critics) panning his performance), and a 1941 story of Andy and Kingfish's efforts to promote a dancer called "The Wow Girl." Both of of these shows should be in this collection if it were to be updated onto Cd or MP3, as these do not usually appear on the Mp3 or Cd collections of A&A radio shows that abound on the internet.

There are considerable differences between the pre-1943 episodes and the later ones that most old time radio show collectors are familiar with today. These early shows usually include just Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll doing almost all the voices and a really charming organ solo at the beginning of each show. Some modern listeners have dismissed these episodes as "boring conversations," but to me the older stories have a very relaxed, gentle, character based humor as opposed to the wild, bombastic, belly laugh inducing clowing of the 1943-55 tales that are better known to modern audiences (I enjoy the later episodes too, but on a different level). Interestingly, minor dialect aside and the now-offensive cover of this album nonwithstanding, there is no overly racial humor in the episodes included here, not even in the minstrel show segment! Only the most hardcore and bitter PC types would dislike these recordings.

So for an amusing and interesting history lesson, close your eyes to the cover and enjoy the shows.


title: Frantic and joyous rap predecessor

text:
This wonderful tune from Bunker Hill was a raw, lively, frantic, and joyous predecessor to rap music. Imagine Little Richard meets the Sugarhill Gang and you get the idea.

Crudely recorded, as if it were at a live dance at a black high school or college party gym in the late 1950s or early 60s, Bunker Bill raps in a raspy voice to almost no musical accompaniment other than a strong drum beat, "I went down the road/the road was muddy/stubbed my toe/and it made it bloody/ two pounds of washing powder/two bars of soap/all who ain't hid/better holler Billy Goat" with call-and response from the happy crowd. Sort of a nonsense secular sermon (I have read elsewhere that the real "Bunker Hill" was actually a pseudonym for a then-popular gospel singer who caught lot of flak for this). This precedes rap music by about 20 years. There is a great scene in the original movie "Hairspray" where Rikki Lake shakes her thing to this with a group of black kids in a Baltimore soul record store. Really captures the atmosphere of the song.

I remember hearing this song on a late night radio show when I was a small child and again a few years ago on a similar show on Spartanburg SC's rare rhythm and blues station WASC-AM. It was probably a big R&B hit at the time, but its current scarcity (Pts 1 and 2 remain VERY hard to find on CD today) is unfortuante. Find yourself this lost piece of classic soul and its good for what ails you. If you've never heard it, you'll wonder where its been all of your life. Trust me, I guarantee you will not be able to sit still or listen to this less than twice.


title: Que Pasa People Que Pasa HIT ME!

text:
In the Summer of 1972 when I was 7 going on 8, I heard this all over the place! I was visiting relatives in Harlem when it hit on WWRL-AM & when I returned to Charleston to begin 2nd grade, WPAL-AM (of blessed memory) had picked it up and it rocked house parties, family gatherings, and transistor radios. Even my then 50 year old Dad bought the 45! This was the ANTHEM in Black neighborhoods that summer and my introduction to JB the Godfather.

The song begins with the Godfather speaking the above pseudo-Spanglish and some of the BADDEST bass and guitar known to man and some really clever Godfatherese protorapping (I say the long haired hippies & the afroed blacks/they all get together 'cross the tracks/and they PAARRTY, and dance on the Good Foot)! Side 2 continues with some James Brown Spanish and an organ solo on top of the funky beats. Everyone was doing the Good foot that summer and you will too!!!!


title: Classic Oldschool storytelling rap

text:
One can be forgiven for mistaking this for Jimmy "Superrhymes" Spicer (the two were in fact related, sounded somewhat alike, and were sometime musical partners-both excelled in multiple voices and brilliant imaginations), but like the better-known Superrhymes, this is excellent oldschool storytelling rap. Here, he tells the tale of honing his craft at the "college of rap technology," being discovered by "Rick (Dick) Clark," and encountering a detective named Barnaby Bones who wants to rock the microphone. All in one record, mind you. Really creative and imaginative stuff, but quite funky.

I Got the C for the crazy way I kill my time
I got the O from the girls (Female voice-"Oh Gee He's Fine")
UN for the peace I bring to the world
I took a T from the tune called "Duke of Earl"

This kind of imaginative stufff is rare in rap records today. Unfortuantely, this stuff was not well promoted back in the early 80s and remains unknown except for those of us who were black teenagers on the East Coast at the time. Kids today tend to find this kind of stuff corny, but get it if you can find it and you decide.

CC also released a CD of this and some other classic stuff sometime in the 90s, you're a VERY lucky person if you can find it.


title: The Holy Grail of Satch Fans

text:
Folks, hardcore Satch fans have known for years that the great Daniel Louis Armstrong was the first Black host of his own sponsored radio show back in 1937, but only one recording of that has surfaced-until now!

This CD is an absolute joy to listen to! It has all of the earmarks that made the beloved Satchmo so wonderful. Unlike much of the stiff recitations so common of singers and radio hosts of the era, improvisation is the key here. Satch banters with the audience and clowns and jokes while putting his own spins on songs not usually associated with him such as "The Love Bug" (familiar to this generation through Alfalfa in the Our Gang Follies of 1938) as well as more familiar tunes such as "You Rascal You". It is clear that the man loves what he is doing and the band is first rate to boot (especially the drummer).

There is a particularly nice teaming of Satch with the Mills Brothers doing "Darling Nellie Grey." Our man is abit more subdued than usual and if you listen closely to the lyrics, you'll see why. This is a thinly disguised song about a slave who loses his lover to a slave sale

Disc 2 consists of our man at home telling stories, playing along ot old records, and in the best two sequences, telling a story to his little neice and closing on his philosophy of life. You are less likely to listen to this stuff more than a couple of times, but it's nice to hear.

Now why do I give this 4 stars and not 5? It's because whoever edited this thing is in need of a triple dose of Swiss Kriss (Satch fans will dig). These are cut versions from different episodes (which were originally variety shows with other performers-some mentioned in the introduction but do not appear on disc). Instead of the disc of Satch's home recordings (which is admittedly nice in its own way), there's no reason that this cannot be released as a series of the shows in their complete, original form. From what the liner notes describe of what's missing, it really sounds fascinating. The Mills brothers teaming mentioned above is the only guest act segment used here, while many other sremain on the original broadcasts. I HATE when record companies do this stuff! I hope the editor reads this and wises up for future releases!

That aside, it will truly bring joy to your spirit (though some minor surface noise will annoy the audiophiles). Satch lives again live and in his prime! A history lesson with a beat! This makes me want to get some recordings of Satch's other radio shows (such as the "Jubilee" show that he occasionally hosted in the 40s available elsewhere on the web). Listen and enjoy.


title: Raw and uncompromising at his peak

text:
How much you will enjoy this depends largely on how you feel about Min. Louis Farrakhan. As one who subscribes to the teachings of the likes of Dr. King, Nelson Mandela, and Barack Obama, my feelings about this are mixed.

Here, Farrakhan is in his prime as an orator. As he often did during this period, he preaches the virtues of Black unity and following Nation of Islam patriarch Elijah Muhammad, who was still alive at the time. he points out that all of the other civil rights organizations of that era had faltered by that point (although the NAACP and Jesse Jackson's Operation PUSH were actually doing quite nicely at the time, but.. oh well) while Elijah Muhammad and the NOI were the only real hope for blacks. Oookay.

He dismisses all criticism of the NOI to be the work of traitors influenced by whites. Then in discussing the Zebra Murders of 1973-74 in San Francisco of whites by renegarde NOI members, he says, "Big Deal!"

These kinds of problematic messages aside, what he says about Black men respecting Black womenm and children and the need for positive pooling of resources is good and worth listening to today. Plus, Minister Farrakhan was a very entertaining speaker in those days-even more so than Jesse Jackson at this same time. He was an excellent mimic, which is quite effective near the end when he imitates the voices of Blacks from different countries in discussing the need for Pan-African Unity.

It is said that the NOI felt it necessary to put so much "mess in their message" to bait and attract the lower elements in the black community that would not be moved by simple appeals for unity and clean living. Perhaps, but this kind of thing also attracted hardened criminals to the NOI which led to the corruption and fratracide that Farrakhan dismisses "Black traitors" and "Negro reporters" in this speech for publicizing. Fortuantely, most people today are intelligent enough to seperate the good from the bad in speeches of this kind.

The speech ends with the audience chanting "Long Live Muhammad! Long Live Muhammad." Ironically, Elijah Muhammad would die within months of this recording.

In either case, given Minsiter Farrakhan's present age and heatlh problems, this is good as a historical piece as he was ten years away from major mainstream atttention.


title: Jimi Live in '65

text:
The sound leaves something to be desired, but if you're not too particular about that, I would strongly recommend this CD of soon-to-be famous Jimi Hendrix (with second-rate R&B man Curtis Knight and his Squires) performing live at George's Club in Hackensack, NJ, on Dec. 26, 1965. This is one of those historical CDs that have equal entertainment value.

Oh what FUN! This is one of the better CDs that capture a "night in the life of a ghetto juke joint" during the classic "Chitlin Circuit" era. Hendrix and Knight jam on an original tune called "Driving South" ("Look out Jimi there's a tree in the road!") as Hendrix plays bluesier and bluesier while Knight calls the names of cities deeper and deeper in the Southern US. Knight was admittely a second rate Soul man, but this could have easily been a hit at the time. The rest of this consists of some pretty nice covers of R&B hits of the day, such as "Shotgun," "I'll Be Doggone," "Bright Lights Big City," and a really wild "What I Say" ("Everybody with a whiskey glass-come on and shake your---").

One of those parties you're really sorry you missed. Pick up this CD, have some friends over, pop open the beers, and LET THE PARTY BEGIN!


title: Ideal for the "Kingologist"

text:
One of my first memories of any news event was watching Dr. King's funeral with one one of my aunts on television when I was almost 4 years old, so personally I treasure this.

Essentially, it consists of a few words spoken over Dr. King along with some hymns, and a tape is played of Dr. King's "If I Can Help Somedbody" (orig. recorded two months earlier in Feb. 1968) in accordance to Dr. King's wishes. For those who don't know, this was the sermon where Dr. King eerily preached his own funeral. Quite chilling when this is all put into context.

So why don't I give it 5 stars? Well, this is clearly a recording done directly from the original television broadcast and the sound is quite poor as a result. But that aside, it's an important piece of history.


title: Watershed Message form Malcolm

text:
This Cd, originally recorded in Detroit near the end of 1963, shows Malcolm as he was edging away form the "mad scientist" rhetoric and dogma of the Nation of Islam and evolving into better analysis of the problems of Black Americans.

The speech is filled with fascinating imagery which speaks well to M/X's ability to captivate his audience. The allusions to novicaine, hot coffee, and guerilla warfare (when I first heard this speech on a Black radio station when I was 10 years old, I imagined gorillas shooting each other in the jungle!) will stay with you for a long time afterward.

One major flaw I found in this speech is that he begins by warning of the dangers of Black disunity and exhorting his audience never to air their disagreements in public, but in the last third of the speech, he dogs out Martin Luther King and the other leaders of the 1963 March on Washington. Say WHAT?

This aspect aside, it's still an important listen. Sort of the flipside to "I Have a Dream."


title: Interesting  for historical purposes

text:
This CD is worth buying for historical reasons-Jimi Hendrix playing backup for an early rap record (a few of his trademarks are heard, such as his making the guitar do a "wolf whistle").
But other than that, not much to speak of. Lightnin' Rod's rap in 1960s hustler slang of the tale of a prostitute and her pimp is an ugly forerunner to the "gangster rap" of two and three decades later, as the pimp "Gypsy Fair the drugstore millionaire" is the hero of the tale for his ability to control his prostitute, Miss Fontaine. No thanks.
However, there is also a moving tune called "OD" a sad but beautiful soliloquy to the sound of Buddy Miles' organ of the death of a heroin addict. Aside from the novelty of this being a rap record recorded in 1969 and the fact that Jimi's drummer Buddy Miles is playing the organ, this tune is really worth listening to.


title: Lovely and easy going

text:
I first purchased this back in 2009 and I have over 19 Lifescape CD's I enjoy them for long road trips or to just have in the background while I am cooking or to help me sleep. This happens to be one that I will play on repeat... that says much because I don't usually need to hear one of these over again :)

There are other instruments that are on this compilation especially some strings which I always smile over. Need a gift for your Mom, Wife, Friend or Sister if you are doing a 'relaxing' basket or in time for Valentine as well? I highly recommend that you add this to it.

Respectfully Reviewed


title: What a peaceful collection of selections

text:
I have 19 Lifescapes CD that I own. This one get's played the most. From the beginning track to the last this CD is gentle and very lulling. Pulls you in with just enough instruments to relax you but not be over bearing if you have it playing in the background. I have had this CD since 2005 and still find it often in my car as well as my home. If you like music for the Spa when you are getting a massage to something to play on a nice easy day while you are reading a book I can't recommend this one enough.

Respectfully Reviewed


title: Bien Hecho

text: Llegó bien. Les agradezco mucho.


title: Catchy first single, but forgettable first album!

text: I liked the first single "I Wanna Be Bad" the first thousand times the local radio station played it!  "Did 'Ya Understand That" is also catchy as well, but the rest of the songs really don't want to make me play this album again.  They don't have the substance that grabs you by the throat and makes you want to play them incessantly(ie: Britney, Christina, Jessica).  "Tender" is a pretty ballad, but it's so much like everything else out there by all the other unknown pop artists (ie: Mikaila, Amanda, Brooke Allison).  Anybody can sing that song!  And another thing:  The song "Tired" sounds great, but I think Willa should've saved it for a future album!  "I'm tired of the clones that look like me, tired of the people saying 'Britney'...tired of the crap I take each day"  I don't think an artist should brag about how much better they are than other singers on their first album!  Because they could be here today, and gone tomorrow!  Wait a minute....oh my gosh!  That sounds a lot like Willa Ford!


title: The Power of Two

text: Ready for Italiano (and perhaps a French surprise or two)? This is a great single - well-written with a memorable chorus. The intricate though appealing arrangement (ah, that dissonance!) is creative and exciting, made all the more listenable by the outstanding performances of the supporting instrumentalists.  For good measure, the session is then wrapped up tightly in an expert production package.<br />Oh- but did I forget to mention the singers? Since Gigi D'Alessio is comfortable with this type of material, it is not surprising that he is at the top of his game. As soon as the  magnificent Belgian chanteuse Lara Fabian enters, however, the sound takes on an even greater presence. The characteristically round and full quality of her voice provides a fitting complement to Gigi's typically quieter and thinner stylings. But ultimately, the true magic occurs when these two dissimilar artists alternately exchange lines (and language), then become an impeccable tandem of matched timing and phrasing on the choruses. Deftly negotiating the maze of key changes, they breathe life into the undulating melody by seamlessly delivering the expressive lyrics within the cadence of the steady Latin rhythm. The result is both a powerful and moving musical statement. Un Cuore Malato is truly something special. Bravissimo!!  and C'est magnifique!!


title: Five Stars

text: thanks for the mems


title: Five Stars

text: Thx.


title: Five Stars

text: Returned.


title: Very good condition.

text: Thanks! Very good condition.


title: Finally!

text:
I remember when this came out on record,then disappeared into air. THIS IS THE BEST JEFF BERLIN CD
EVER! It brought so many beautiful memories back. ( I am that kind of guy). But Berlin's playing is fresh and full of energy. Compared to his new stuff,which is very ,very predictable. These musicians
he assembled,not only play fantastic ,but do more than just compliment each other. This is
going to be a hard find. I got my copy from a good friend that knew I had been looking for this record for some 10 years. It is worth every penny. No if your looking for the jazz fusion,like
for example Weather Report IT IS NOT. It was a true representation of Jeff Berlin as he started to be a "bad ass" bass player. I think the rest of his collection is very different,kinda boring.
But like I said it might take you some time to track this jewel down,but well worth it!


title: The band I have been looking for................

text:
I remember getting this band in high school, when I was discovering
jazz fusion. At that time I listening to anything that was considered
jazz. This band came out of nowhere! It was refreshing,alive and full
of good melodic melodies! The band was tight! I am sad with the other guy who wrote a very nice review on this band. I had to buy the album.
Since I work in a recording studio, I re- ran it into a digital tape machine,then had to burned into a cd. This album should be picked by another record company and put out on cd! Amazing group! I am still
listening to this Cd now and am not tired of it. So if you find on Lp,
take it to your local recording studio they will re-record it to digital
and possibly make you a cd. Good hunting. Thank you Amazon for at least
having this rare treasure!


title: My newest musical discovery - this his first release, not nearly as good as  second one

text: Discovered this artist on Pandora, had to buy his cds to give him a good listen. Nice ambient music with fun mixes, good melodies and a variety of vocalists and styles.


title: Well Worth Buying!!!

text: This is one of those CDs that I only listen to about half the songs, but the half I listen to are well worth the money spent on this release.  I absolutely love the progressive-rocker "I am I", very intelligent lyrics and very artistic rock.  I love "Damaged" even more, very great guitar and bass riffs.  I am also amazed at the sensitive, intelligent, and thought-provoking look at mentally ill people within institutions in the song "Out of Mind" - I listen to this song the most.  It really makes you stop and think.  Another great progressive-rocker is "Disconnected" - an absolute gem in artistic music and vocals - which awesomely give credence to the song title 'disconnected'.  "Lady Jane" is a decent song, and I also love the rocker "My Global Mind".  The rest of the disc I listen to once in a while, but these songs I have listed are gems and some of the best progressive-rock songs you'll hear today.  I highly recommend this CD - especially to those who like variety and intelligent lyrics.


title: It's pretty good...BUT

text: Teen queen wannabe Willa Ford scored a near-Perfect 10 for effort with the girl's debut.  The formula for a successful hit-maker was everywhere in her record, from the so-good-it's-bad "I Wanna Be Bad" to the temptuous you-be-my-man ballad "Prince Charming."  But the record's big flaw was the fact that everything on her album was a rip-off of infamous first-female-teen-pop-sensation Britney Spears, from the sexual groans to the sound of most of the tunes themselves.  Though a probable karaoke queen, Ford's vocals weren't nearly as powerful as Christina Aguilera's, nor as distinctive as Britney's.  That said, Willa Ford's first is a worthwhile listen.


title: Best of Toto CD is great...

text: If you are a Toto fan but didn't buy all the albums, this is a great sampler of the biggest radio hits plus lots more cuts. It is worth the cost of the double CD just to hear Steve Lukather's phenomenal guitar work alone. Lots of great songs here with 31 total tracks.


title: After the Rain by Nelson is good...

text: After the Rain by the band Nelson was a multi-platinum hit many years ago. The CD I ordered came early and was packed superbly to prevent damage. I would definitely use this seller again.


title: yayayayayaya

text: yayayayayay


title: perfect

text: yessss


title: Five Stars

text: Fantastic! Love this album.


title: Five Stars

text: Absolutely love it.


title: Four Stars

text: Very nice.


title: Great!!

text: Absolutely fabulous!! I have played this cd at least 20 times since receiving it.It all started with hearing a commercial with Audra Mae singing an old Nina Simone song.I liked her voice and ordered this cd without sampling it first. I was not disappointed.


title: amazing edit, the Chic "I want your love" edit ...

text:
amazing edit, the Chic "I want your love" edit is the standout on this. Late Nite Tuff Guy's edits are always top notch, I recommend "Disco Tech Edits Vol 2" to play along with this, comes with Zapp and Roger LNTG edit and Tony Orlando's "Don't let Go" disco tech edit that works great with this record.

Cheers


title: KNDD knows music

text: What do you get when a radio station which was born in the crossfire of the biggest music movement of Generation X decides to release private recording sessions? You get EndSessions. A CD full of well produced, intimate recordings mixed by the station - in many cases better than the original studio mixes simply because the KNDD sound crew isn't interested in 'car fidelity'. Acoustic is the primary delivery method of most tracks, but some (eg Gorillaz, obviously) are fully plugged as well. The overall quality is wonderful and most songs are a marked departure from their studio counterparts. One of the biggest gems on the album is Tenacious D's Tribute, which includes the nod to Stairway to Heaven - missing from the studio release due to copyright issues. Maps is a treat as well. If you like rarities and alternates, End Sessions volume 4 is worth a listen.


title: Vol 1 is Spanish. For English, order Vol 2

text:
Vol 1 is in Spanish.  Vol 2 is English.  As I speak only English, I prefer Vol 2.

Now you know!


title: BEWARE!!! Not the original songs

text: You might think that you are getting your favorite Beatles songs here, but beware that most of them actually are rehearsal versions, different takes (some of them partial), there are several different takes of the same song here and there, and sadly, some of the most popular songs' original versions are missing (again, replaced by annoying rehearsal versions). You are MUCH better of buying separate albums than collecting this hodgepodge of "takes"


title: Five Stars

text: good cd


title: As expected

text: Already had this LP on cassette (yes cassette) and was very pleased to find it on CD.  it's like no other fusion I have heard.


title: Bogus album!

text: This album was bogus, as it was copied over another artists recordings, Very disturbing and it was returned!!


title: This post is a lie and a half

text: I paid $20 for a CD. Literally this item is tagged as an Audio CD. What I received was a tiny deck of photocards. Absolutely no physical CD. I attached an image so ya'll can see before you get ripped off too.


title: Five Stars

text: A great music CD.  Wonderful to listen to!


title: Still believe

text: A great CD with music that draws one closer to God and energizes your faith, good music for everyone, don't miss it.


title: Love this group.

text: I found this group in an unusual way. Their song "Through the Looking Glass" is at the end on the audio book "The Looking Glass Wars" From then on I have always loved this group. I have all their CDs and they are one's I listen too often. Try it you'll like it.


Play this every day for my 3rd graders to sing along and complete a drill sheet to.  It works GREAT every year and the kids love it.  PLUS...it has another song that sings the facts minus the answers, so once they get good you can throw in that curve ball.  Its a must have for the classroom in my opinion!


title: YOUR GONNA LOVE IT

text: I LOVE IT!!!


title: Great CD, my wife enjoys it every day.

text: Very well balanced but not too heavy. Just right for home use.


title: Very educational and fun

text: Bought for grandkids.  They love it.


title: Great music

text: The only thing I didn't realize was it had the original version of the CD as well included. Seller marked up the price a little high for the fact that the outside had stickers all over it making the cover ugly. Other than that, the music was great.


title: Anything that has Melissa Etheridge

text: It has Melissa Etheridge on it so it's automatically good. However, the other artists are good too!


title: CD case

text: The case was smashed and stickers on the case you could not remove.


title: Good luck. You can call it remastered

text: I see a hefty price tag for this (over $100). Good luck. You can call it remastered, repolished, and reshined, but it's still a bootleg recording masquerading as an true album. There's no way to remaster something like this. It can be enhanced only through packaging (artwork, liner notes).


title: Great music!

text: This is a great CD with amazing music!


title: Old school

text: Very entertaining!


title: Christmas

text: A great Christmas CD


title: Five Stars

text: ok


title: Four Stars

text: She has a beautiful voice!!!


title: great album just not enough on the DVD

text: I love this cd and would reccomend it to any fan of the band. Shannon Larken's drumming on this CD without question is the best he's ever done. every song is great and if your gonna download the CD get the whole thing it's totally worth the money. now the issue the DVD is a rip off because theirs not nearly enough on it. The DVD is WAY TO SHORT so that's the MAIN reason it can't get a five star review. great album none the less and it's worth it believe me. I also wish both the bonus tracks were on the physical CD and not on the DVD.


title: Good Title Song

text: Overall this is not one of my favorite albums by Geoff Moore and the Distance.  However I do love the title song Home Run.  I could listen to Home Run over and over but I could live without some of the other songs on this album.  Overall I would still give this album 3.5-4 stars.  Check out some of their other better albums like "A Friend Like U" and "Evolution."


title: An Enjoyable Collection

text:
This is a fun collection of Apologetix hits. It features songs in various genres and covering a wide range of musical history.

For those who are unfamiliar with them, this group parodies songs in popular music of different types and does it to Christian lyrics. This particular album contains mostly remakes of classic rock songs.  The songs generally have Scriptural references for the listener to review.

The lyricist, J. Jackson, does an incredible job of reworking a wide variety of songs with Christian lyrics. His skill level is amazing. One must hear this group to really appreciate just how good they are. Jackson is not only great with the words, he is also able to make the vocals sound very much like the original artists.

Some of my favorites on this CD include remakes of the following: 'You Really Got Me' by The Kinks and Van Halen, 'Start Me Up' by the Rolling Stones, 'Round and Round' by Ratt, and 'Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting' by Elton John.  There are many other very good ones as well.

I recommend this for anyone who enjoys the sound of well known secular songs but not necessarily the lyrics.


title: Barry At His Most Whimsical!

text:
In some ways, this new deluxe edition is an embarrassment of riches; nearly forty minutes of previously unreleased score in much-improved sound, one vintage pop song new to the collection, and breezy annotation of the film's history make this a must-own for Barry fans.  It could, however, have been even better...

  For one thing, there's a fair amount of repetition of the main theme, and while it's one of Barry's loveliest and most whimsical works, interspersing the period songs throughout the program would have been preferable to lumping all the score tracks together and would have improved the flow of the album considerably.  The addition of Marshall Crenshaw's version of "Peggy Sue" between Buddy Holly's title tune and the first score track ("Blood Drive") would have made for a smoother transition and retained the continuity of the film as well; the spooky "Blood Drive" feels especially out of place following Holly's exuberant album opener.  One also wishes The Champs' cheery toe-tapper "Tequila" had been added to this release, and its omission seems rather strange considering that "The Dance of the Polovtsian Maidens" is new to this edition.  Another oddity is "Unused Fanfare;" I really can't imagine where this was to be used in the film as it's an action cue better suited to a James Bond adventure than a whimsical romantic comedy...

Still, it's wonderful to finally be able to enjoy this overlooked masterpiece from Barry in its entirety.  This limited edition club title from Varese Sarabande is a marked improvement over the original album -- and it only took 28 years for a proper release!


title: ELVIS' MASTERPIECE!

text:
It's been said many times: "There's Elvis...and there's everyone else."

When Elvis entered American Studios in January of 1969 he was still hot off the success of his NBC Comeback Special. If the "'68 Comeback" restored the sheen to a musical legacy jeopardized by a decade of recording largely fifth-rate movie soundtracks, then the album he was to create at American was to redefine him as a performer and cement his legend to near-mythic proportions. Simply put, FROM ELVIS IN MEMPHIS rates as the single greatest artistic rebirth in the history of popular music; it is a masterpiece!

As a young Elvis so astutely commented when he walked into Sam Phillips' Sun Studios for the very first time, "I sing all kinds," and no album offers greater validation of this claim than FROM ELVIS IN MEMPHIS. Clearly inspired, Elvis digs deep and delivers crunching, blues-infused rock 'n' roll ("Power of My Love," "After Loving You"), passionate, gospel-tinged soul ("Wearin' That Loved On Look"), and smart and classy pop ("Gentle on My Mind" and his exquisite cover of Burt Bacharach's "Any Day Now"). He also follows up the '68 Special's powerful "If I Can Dream" with another "message" song, "In the Ghetto," -- an instant classic.

Not forgetting his country roots, Elvis turns in a sensational performance -- and a rare harmony vocal! -- on the graceful, lilting ballad, "True Love Travels on a Gravel Road," and emotes plaintively on "It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin'," a traditional country and western weepie.

Still, it's the magnificent "Long Black Limousine" and its seamless and effortless blending of country, rock, gospel and blues, that takes top honours; this is Elvis at his most soulful and dynamic -- it's why "there's Elvis and then there's everyone else."

Elvis had a few more triumphs to come as he entered the 1970's, but never again would he record an album of such remarkable depth and purpose; FROM ELVIS IN MEMPHIS is Elvis' best.


title: Five Stars

text: Great, thanks


title: Rock Out!

text: Wow! These guys can really tear it up!  I have a new favorite band.  Really enjoyed this album, good, solid, hard rock you can count on.


title: I didn't know they had Dunes in Switzerland

text:
This is the unlikely Brother duo (and their drummer friend) hailing from Sweden, making music out of Paris, and enraptured with all things America.  So Dune's "Switzerland Heritage," is truly an international affair.  All they need is to mix another country in the fold to really diversify...perhaps a fiercely neutral country...say Switzerland and badda boom, we've got something.

"HD Rider," the CD's track 2 is a unique one.  Picture a Hare Krishna chant replete with chanting, bongos and a mantric lyric outpouring, "from my window to the west," and you've got it.  The uniqueness doesn't stop there my friend.  There's the minor keyed and oh so lovely "After Y2K."  Remember that non-event?  A slight electric guitar strum, a plodding simple drum snare beat, and the interchanging Andre and David-Ivar smooth and high vocals give this song a feel, a scene, a soundtrack to one's life.  "Would I hide here / the trunk of your car / or the bathroom / Would I hide here / from the bottom of your sorrow / or under your sheets / would I hide here?"  OK, so maybe it's not a soundtrack to your life unless of course you were kind of a twisted, tortured soul-type, living in Paris and distinctly Swedish.  It's a beautiful mood-setting song none the same.

Then there is the album's highlight, the mega indie hit, "The Speed of a Star."  It starts with an early REM-ish jangle and kicks in with the drums and vocals, "Baby, you see / you made a lonely man of me / I can't stand to look at your face / and when you move your legs with grace."  It's not quite a love song but the Ivar brothers high and lonesome Swedish whine works and works well.  There's enough musicality here to fit in Franz Ferdinand's tour van...heck let's say their Euro-trash semi for that matter.  These Dune'rs are gifted.

Forget about Volvos and ski jumps, Ikea's minimalist crap furniture, and let's not mention the meatballs...can there be something more grossly Swedish?  But Herman Dune transcends and goes all the way to Switzerland to do it.  So a legacy to Abba and Ace of Base?  The Dune isn't that.  But they are something oh so much better.  An infinitely listenable group hailing from that beautiful country up north.  Don't miss out on the Herman Dune craze.  What ya waiting for North American...get this CD yo!  ...mmw


title: Greagt CD

text: Excellent CD, ranks right up there with others of the Oaks


title: Sensitive and nuanced performance of Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsodies

text: The pianist Alfred Brendel is a sensitive and nuanced interpreter of Catholic composer Franz Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsodies. For depth and tonality, this album is one of the best recordings you will find, particularly if you're looking to perform Liszt yourself. Brendel is no flashy or risk-taking performer, but an accomplished and relaxed master of the keyboard, which comes through very strongly in this listening experience. His performance is confident and robust, but also balanced and consistent, remaining faithful to the music as Liszt wrote it. The sound on this CD recording is a bit quiet at times and may require some volume boosts, but overall it is a highly satisfying rendition. I recommend it for all lovers of Liszt and all lovers of great classical pianists.


title: Four Stars

text: The music is quite good and I always enjoy a mix of pipes and other instruments


title: The Daily Flash

text:
I have not heard this CD, but I once owned the two original singles recorded by the Daily Flash in the mid-Sixties, and I have a cassette recording of some of this material given to me by Steve Lalor, the band's lead singer.

The Daily Flash were Seattle's first folk-rock/psychedelic band who played gigs and festivals up and down the West Coast with the Grateful Dead, Big Brother and the Holding Company, and the Byrds (to name a few).

They were known for their precise Beatles' covers, for interpreting Dylan (as many bands did in that era) and for taking the audience on jazz influenced extended jams.

Their first single featured Dylan's "Queen Jane Approximately," done in an electrified uptempo mode. The B side featured guitar feedback on "Jack of Diamonds." The second single, recorded in L.A. featured "The French Girl," originally performed by Ian and Sylvia, done in a style reminiscent of the Beatles' "In My Life." The B side was Dave Van Ronk's "Green Rocky Road."

There's lots of information on the web about the Daily Flash, and the band has recently been reformed around the leadership of Steve Lalor. The other members are veterans of other Northwest bands such as the Kingsmen.

This CD is hard to find, which is why I'm not able to review it directly. So, while I don't know what the sound quality is like, the musicianship of this band was superb.


title: Gorden Jenkins' Seven Dreams

text: I was overjoyed to be able to listen to Seven Dreams again.  We used to have it on vinyl when I was a kid, and it is much loved by my entire family.  Upon hearing it for the first time, my stepdaughter asked me to leave it to her in my will!


title: Great music

text: Great CD


title: Funny

text: Git-r-Done!


title: KISS!

text: KISS!


title: Sunrise.

text: New music from Jeff Kashiwa, I highly recommend this CD


title: Club music

text: very good cd. old school jams


title: Al DiMeola's greatest hits

text: Fantastic cd!!


title: Nice to have this on CD. Classic soundtrack.

text: I’ve loved this soundtrack since I first got it on vinyl 50 years ago. Nice to have it on CD.


title: Five Stars

text: love uplifting music


title: Five Stars

text: love to listen to uplifting music.  this is great


title: Five Stars

text: love these beautiful hymns


title: Four Stars

text: great relaxing music


title: 1 Direction

text: Another great lp


title: 1 Direction

text: Another great lp by the boys


title: Music of George Harrison

text: Another great George Harrison album. So talented and gone too soon.


title: Five Stars

text: Love the album andDuff McKagan


title: I wasn't disappointed! Thanks Duff

text: Bought this cd on a recommendation from Duff McKagan ( one of his favorites). I wasn't disappointed! Thanks Duff!


title: ... haven't found a record player yet but expect to love the music

text: I haven't found a record player yet but expect to love the music, I remember hearing it many, many years ago and this music is really unique.


title: Five Stars

text: Enjoyed


title: Five Stars

text: Awesome Soundtrack!!!


title: Incomplete.

text: Good--as far as it goes. In my opinion, it is still incomplete. There is more music on the film that is not on the 2cd version of the soundtrack. Some scenes are completely ignored. Compare the rejected score of Gabriel Yared. If you just want it because it's by James Horner, it will be a decent buy; better than the ost. However, if you want a reasonably accurate and full score, you will be disappointed.


title: The musical equivalent of "Cliff's notes."

text: Too much missing music. Three cds that should have six. What's here is good but there are too many gaps and what's even more annoying, songs that should have had a place in the main soundtrack sequence are thrown in as extras on disc three. Also, there are the ubiquitous "alternate" takes that the record companys think everyone wants to hear and are used to fill up disc space without contributing anything to the overall product.


title: How badly do you want it?

text: I really like the main theme, which is carried along through most of the tracks. However, there are difficulties to really enjoying it. 1. It's too expensive for what you get. The "Limited Edition" moniker is nothing more than a marketing gimmick  2. There really isn't enough music to cover the storyline, e.g., the preacher's demise, some tracks are only seconds in length and many are barely a minute long--a trait common to Goldsmith scores. Comparing the "original" [there seems to be more than one original version; you tube lists a "complete" album that is only 28 minutes long] to this version yields the following differences: about 11 more minutes of music(54v43) partly by the adding of one track: "last battle", splitting the song "here they come" into 2 parts [which are shorter than the single track that is re-added as a bonus track], adding a totally meaningless 45 seconds of "four styles", and providing an alternate "end credits" as a final bonus. By the way, the 43 minute version has 2 bonus tracks of its own so I'm not really sure what passes for "the real soundtrack." The real plus for this cd is that the score is really upbeat [rousing if you prefer] and the tempo is maintained throughout. What's on the cd is great but........as noted above.


title: Disappointing!!!

text: Disappointing!  Ther only really good song is the main theme. Other songs didn't seem to fit or convey the scope of the accompanying scenes. Also, they are too discordant and tend to flow together.There is still a lot left out, judging by the song titles. For example; nothing relating to rendevous is scored. The two "bonus" tracks could have been put into the main score as "music at rendevous"-similar to the below decks music in "Titanic" but they weren't. Neither is there anything relating to Brian Keith's demise or to Heston's final fight. Shootout at the river could have been better scored to show the death of Brian Keith's character. The same for Heston's final fight and salvation by the woman who loved him. All in all, a really poor effort by Intrada-especially compared to other complete score releases. I rate this cd at 21/2 stars MAX!


title: Could be better

text: When I first heard samples of this cd, I thought that it could be a companion disc/series for Solitudes. After listening to the entire cd, I'm not so sure. The music, per se, is good. However, I found that most of the natural sounds were placed between tracks and that there were even dead spots of no sound. I expected a seamless transition, from song to song, and a better mix of the natural and instrumental.


title: Nice

text: The music is standard fare. Several, perhaps all, songs have been previously released. I especially enjoyed the songs that had harp accompaniment. If you are familiar with Tingstand & Rumbel, you won't find anything really new, however, that, in no way, detracts from the quality of the music.  It is still like being with an old friend. The purpose of the album is the best reason to buy it. As the album cover states, it benefits the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. How does one say no to that?