title: THE BEST VIVALDI EVER RECORDED.

text:
These Columbia/Odyssey LPs of Max Goberman's Vivaldi were originally released as part of a very expensive private label subscription series. The Odyssey remasters were excellent. Never released on CD (What a crime!), they are SIMPLY THE BEST VIVALDI EVER RECORDED, in my humble opinion.

This recording of the mandolin concertos may be the best of the bunch.


title: SIMPLY THE BEST VIVALDI EVER RECORDED!

text: These Columbia/Odyssey LPs of Max Goberman's Vivaldi were originally released as part of a very expensive private label subscription series.  The Odyssey remasters were excellent.  Never released on CD (What a crime!), they are SIMPLY THE BEST VIVALDI EVER RECORDED, in my humble opinion.


title: Great and not-so-great performances

text: The Glenn Gould, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Arthur Rubinstein, Fritz Reiner, Jascha Heifetz, Bruno Walter and George Szell performances can rightfully be called "definitive".  The rest range from mediocre (Bernstein, Horowitz & Ozawa) to pretty good (Stern & Munch).  If you're a beginner (or want to upgrade from worn old LPs)  This set's worth the price.


title: A must have...

text: It's the very best of Andy Williams, wonderful quality at a fablous price.


title: Five Stars

text: start to finish its great if you appriciate good drumming


title: Calming tunes

text: Beautiful, calming string music.  Arrived quickly and would recommend.


title: Still enjoyable after so many years

text: I bought this CD to update my old vinyl/cassette collection. Glad it's available on CD.


title: Five Stars

text: Great item !


title: Jethro Tull - Songs From The Wood: The Country Set 3 CD + 2 DVD

text:
Another wonderful Jethro Tull box set re-mixed by Steven Wilson. This 5.1 mix is far more immersive than Wilsons usual Tull mixes. I'm hearing flutes pan across the rear speakers, guitars pan around the 4 speakers,making this album even more enjoyable in a very tasteful mix. Brilliant effort again to the guys from Wilson & Co !
The unreleased song 'Old Aces Die Hard' is an absolute classic!

The live discs are ok, don't sound as good as the studio mixes but are good solid performances. The love & care plus the exceptional value for money makes this an extremely satisfying purchase.

Oh....and the booklet included has exceeded the usual expectations with 96 pages of fascinating info on the album and the people involved.
Great value, great music and a wonderful book & info.


title: Higher! 5 CD box

text:
When this box set finally arrived the other day I was instantly struck with the beautiful packaging this box set has. The colours and 10" box set look great as is the superb colour booklet that contains many pictures of the band. As well as very comprehensive info on the tracks on the CDs.
The first CD I played was the bonus 5 song EP. This is a superb disc in its own right. The medley track is a revelation as is the instrumental bonus song Dust To Dust.
The track selection on the 4 main CDs is going to disappoint some purists and fans of Sly Stone, but I have enjoyed the many songs that are not that familiar to me, especially the many sessions from 1967 included in this box set. 1967 was a very prolific time for Sly and the band.
The Mono Singles included are interesting with a different sound and feel to the stereo versions. What impressed me is the sound quality of these tracks, they sound fresh and with more dynamics.
I am also impressed with how good Sly's later music is. He continued to produce good music up to the mid 1970s despite his issues with drugs.
Sadly he has not produced anything like the music Sly made from the tracks on this box set. We are lucky to have a box set of some great music that has a happy vibe and great melodies that I am enjoying immensly.


title: FUN FUN FUN

text: Kids (& my wife for that matter) all love this disc!!


title: I really wanted this in my collection, but this verified bootleg is just so-so. Read on and learn.

text: I wanted to like this CD. I have the DVD and CD of Hell Freezes Over for many years and are among my favorites. However, upon playing this CD, (both discs) I could tell something was amiss. The music was not too bad but the vocals were all scratchy, enough annoyingly so that I cannot see myself listening to this and not being distracted by the fact this is a bootleg CD. Easily verified if you Goggle the record label and CD title. plainly says "Bootleg". Mind you I have many bootleg CDs collected over many years but few as bad as this remained in my collection. I can see by all the positive reviews that I am in the minority here and thats OK that there are fans that will collect certain music, no matter how poor, for their collection. I have done so myself. At this stage in my collecting, I prefer music that I can enjoy and not lament every time I listen to it. The release label is "Good Ship Funke" ???. who?? Good Ship what?? Goggle it yourself. Maybe I just got a bad disc. But 2 bad discs? I don't think so. I still love the Eagles, just beware. My bad for thinking this was a real studio release.


title: Five Stars

text: great


title: Great Artist

text: Rubicon 7 is a great artist that I stumbled across back in 2001 at a Christian music festival. They have a good sound & good message with their lyrics. If you like pop/dance & are looking for a Christian artist I highly recommend them.


title: Five Stars

text: One of the best albums of all time.


title: Love them great music. 👍

text: Great music 🎶 🎵 👌 I love them.


title: not the one I thought it was

text: I heard her music in China and wanted to buy the album.  This is the only one offered so I "assumed" it was the one.  NOT.  It's good, just not as good.  The Chinese bootleg Chinese CDs and DVDs as well as American so it's hard to find an album in China.  If you are looking in a store in your neighborhood, her name is Lu Xiou Li, phonetically, loo sha-o lee.


title: Beetle boy

text: Brings me back to my younger days. Awesome singer and song writer


title: A beautiful CD. I had the cassette

text: A beautiful CD.  I had the cassette, but it broke.


title: Five Stars

text: gift


title: Legendary artists...

text: One word describes this album from one legendary  artist to another legendary artist.


title: Great example of Gould's preference for piano regulation

text: I got this to hear the bobbling hammers of Glenn Gould's favorite piano, the Steinway CD 318. It appears (see A Romance on Three Legs by Katie Hafner) he and his tuner made the touch so light and the repeat so rapid that the hammers would frequently bounce back up and damp the string after the initial strike. Gould called them hiccups and seemed at home with them.<br />Yes, I can hear them. In fact, those bobbling hammers are so distracting that I had trouble listening to the recording once I learned to hear them. I hope they are not a feature of all Gould's recordings on CD 318.


title: Good Stuff for all

text: always entertaining.  enjoy something beyond TV and let your mind imagine the serene forest tales


title: Delves more into philosophy

text:
Vol 6 of Mobile Suit Gundam UC, probably has the fewest mobile suit action sequences of all the volumes that have come out so far, and probably less then what number 7 will have. Instead it focuses on the other great aspect of Gundam, the philosophy of why humans keep going to war with one another. Additionally we finally learn Full Frontal's plans for Laplace's Box.

So yeah...there is a lot of dialogue in this one.

However there is still a high level of tension throughout the episode, stemming from the fact that the crew of the Nahel Argama have to work with Neo Zeon in order to survive being chased by the Earth Federation ship General Revil. As you can imagine the Federation crew is not happy working with the group responsible for the death of their comrades. It does not help that the majority of the Neo Zeon group criticize and treat the Federation crew as inferiors. I won't say how it ends but by the end of the episode it is established where everyone's loyalties lay.


title: Five Stars

text: Great!


title: talent and humor

text: A serious effort to bring the traditional to the current.  Done with talent and humor.


title: again fast shipping nice

text: This song is one of my favorites,  again fast shipping nice price


title: Five Stars

text: thanks


title: Truly Relaxing Piano Selections from the EMI Vaults

text: Here's an EMI classical piano compilation that's truly relaxing. It starts with a sublime performance of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata and proceeds to include choice selections from Chopin, Liszt etc. along with the adagio cantabile movement from Beethoven's Pathetique sonata. It's suitable for relaxation or sleep.


title: I am very happy with my order

text: I never order any CD on line. I have ordered movies through Amazon so I thought why not Music.<br />I am very happy with my order.


title: Great cd

text: Perfect condition


title: nice reboot but view the original

text: great adaption of the original Last Man on earth with Vincent Price


title: Batucada Fantastica! Vol. lll

text: Fabulous!


title: Mambo!

text: Cool!


title: Best Alternative Album and Best Engineered Non-classical album well-deserved.

text: I love this record.  Really something to listen to and enjoy.  It's no wonder it won Grammys for Best Alternative Album and Best Engineered Non-classical album.


title: Love it!

text: What’s to say? It’s the ROLLING STONESat their best. Loving every note!


title: Mozart, a bit unsuitable for standard meditation practice

text: I am mostly mad for Mozart, & always looking for good meditation music.  I was disappointed with some of the selections, as they were too loud & distracting (horns, too up-beat for real meditation, etc.).  It didn't sound like the typical Mozart, so I was disappointed not to hear more familiar pieces.  It's all a matter of taste; you may love it; I just tolerate it, & can't use it to meditate.


title: I'm trying to avoid writing a review that says "Yeah ...

text:
I'm trying to avoid writing a review that says "Yeah Baby!" in it. I'm really trying.

I apparently failed.


title: Superb Paris

text: Discovered this cd in Paris recently. Just love the different types of music on it. It is a great reminder of<br />my trip last May. It instantly takes me back to Paris.


title: Superb.

text: Can't get enough of Laura Smith, her material paired with her voice can not be beat if you enjoy a deep bluesy sound with clear cut messages to the female psyche.


title: The way country sounds

text: To paraphrase my favourite cut, this is the way country sounds. Old school country sounds with stories from today.


title: Not His Best Work

text: Not Tony's best work as this album starts off strong and ends with a mix of favorites and songs Tony seems to struggle to single. To me it does not seem to be Mr. Bennett's fault rather that of whoever may have produced this album.


title: When I first heard I Know You Care during the ending credits of Now Is Good it hooked me

text: I first heard the song I Know You Care during the ending credits, I simply loved it, maybe it was from just watching this amazing movie which I also loved. I listened to it a few times then went to Amazon to find the album and ordered it. I am listening to for the first time, something I love is hearing something for the first time. I love this album so much. Great music played wonderfully and the sound is simply amazing. Now this may not be for everybody I know we all have different tastes. Each song is something a little different from the last one of course Ellie's voice is the same but she has a pleasant sounding voice, reminds me of someone that right now I can't put my finger on it.. I Need Your Love sounds like a club song, if that is still a thing, look give me a break I'm 70 year old Vietnam Vet who is a jazz drummer but I love all kinds of music. Another thing I really like is Ellie wrote the music and plays throughout the album which is a big plus in my book. Maybe after I listen to this in my car I'll something on this. Yeah so it sounds a little poppy at times but that can be good music if played well. I'll tell you I fell in love with I know You Care when it came on and I remember why I ordered this album and I am happy I did.


title: Incredible collection of Grateful Dead shows one from every year

text: I love this collection, I bought the digital box when it was first available and then turned around and bought the music only cd's,  to me it was worth every penny or should I say dollar I spent. There is so much great music, I know one thing that really shines is that no matter the year there is something to love about this band. So many great shows that I have grown to love, for one to have the 1981 Cornell show, I have had an audience copy of this one for years but now have an excellent sounding copy. Jeff and Dave do an amazing job with the sound of these recordings, the sound is wonderful. Another stand out for me is the 1974 European show, I heard it on the Grateful Dead hour but to have the whole show once again sounding wonderful is such a treat. I have listened to this collection aside from the Spring 1990 shows more then any of the other box sets and yes I have them all. If you were to get any one box set this is the one to have at least I think so. Each show is it's own jem, plenty of each version of this wonderful band. I have loved everything that has been released, yes I have all of the Dick's and the Dave's picks along with every other official release along with my own collection of tapes but as I said this one out shines them all. I really love this box set, it is a shame that some people only buy these releases to make money later selling them but for us Deadheads we love this music and personally this is priceless to me, I'm glad I got it.


title: an old time classic favorite of mine

text: This is one of those great groups that I have been into since the beginning and one of the groups that helped me get through Vietnam. Music helped to keep my mind from completely going off track, seriously. These guys have been just a little different from the rest of the bands, a beautiful blend of so many forms of music blending jazz, folk, rock and whatever else they could throw into the mix. Great song writers and great musicians. This is the original four members, covering the years 67-68 their BBC sessions. I for one love that these BBC sessions are making their way out to us. Growing up in Philly PA the local FM station would broadcast a BBC session every Sunday called Sunday Music Hall, and I loved them all some were new groups to me others favorites. It was the late 60's early 70's the station was WMMR Philly radio ok enough with that walk down memory lane.<br />This is some great music from the beginning of this great group showcasing their early music. All their great songs are here and  yes we do have two Dear Mr. Fantasy and Feelin' Alright. The playlist is from the first two albums which at the time were their only albums so far but nonetheless great stuff. I guess in many ways Traffic was a very early what we now call jamband since they blended so many forms of music. It amazes me how young Steve and really the rest of the band are at this point. Sadly Chris and Jim are no longer with us but Steve and Dave have stayed active through the years and as of this date are still touring. I really love this of course the sound is a little dated but considering all things is a great find, thank you Amazon.


title: A treasure found by MG in Jerry's private collection sees the light of day and comes to our homes.

text: Just got this in the mail today, I ordered it from Deadnet. What a wonderful addition to my collection. For the most part this is an acoustic outing, they played under the name Mickey Hart and his Heartbeats/Bobby Ace and his Cards for the Bottom of the Deck. the liner notes say they did this so to play what they wanted. I love it there are some real treasures I Know You Rider, Don't Ease Me In and one song I have always loved Silver Threads and Golden Needles all done acoustic. There are a number of songs would later appear on two of their greatest albums Workingman's Dead and American Beauty, love New Speedway Boogie Cumberland Blues. The real treat here is the set by Pigpen just Pig and his guitar, yes Pigpen could play the guitar. The sound is wonderful the set is fun. I love this stuff, a great treasure sees the light of day.


title: this is a great find for me one of my favorite groups of the jazz/rock era.

text: if started back in the very beginning of the 70's in the midst of the rise of the jazz/rock bands. The one thing that sets if apart of the other bands is their horn section was two electrified sax/flute players along with some strong guitar solos with some nice hammond b-3 added for flavour. I have been a fan since their first album. The recordings here are live in the studio sessions there are four one from 1970 two from 1971 and the last 1972. I remember hearing one of these sessions as part of WMMR Philly PA radio's Sunday music hall. I've had a cassette of it over the years but now I have not only a better recording of that one but so much more. These sessions cover their first five studio albums. Now these guys can play and here we hear them doing what they do best playing great songs in a wonderful way. This is such a treat to me because I really like this group. You may want to check out their studio albums which are all available now here on Amazon. Persoally I love live recordings and this is a great outing for this group.


title: Five Stars

text: Absolutely beautiful voice!


title: Magical memories

text: Anybody who went through their teen age years in the 50s will love this CD set, but I loved it for an even better reason.  My mother loved all those old songs. She's nearly 100 years old and has Alzheimers and remembers very little, but she can sing all the lyrics to most ofthose songs.  It's like having normal moments with her again!


title: Thank you

text: We love Trace Adkins and I thank the vender for mailing it safely!<br />My mom and I had no idea that Trace Adkins was going to be around, so we saw his Christmas Concert and brought this CD as well.


title: Classical Music CD

text: I am a very big fan of Classical music, and this is all legendary pieces. This was a highly rated CD in my stereo magazine, but i did not find it exceptional, but rather, just very nice.


title: Live Recording not very well engineered

text: This is a live recording re-hashing a lot of Pink Floyd material, which is always good. The problem is that the usual meticulous separation you get in Pink Floyd recordings is totally missing. Virtually all the sound is in the center and not as clear as I might be. They can do a lot better than this.


title: Lincoln Mayorga is a master

text: This album should be in every serious collection!


title: Rei Momo cd

text: a great cd


title: On the Go!

text: Great music to play when driving or walking. keeps you energized nd moving. The arrangement is creative and the sound is amazing.


title: The very best of Cliff Richard

text: After awhile all Cliff Richards songs sound nearly the same.  This his very best.<br />Well worth the purchase and you will never tire of it.


title: A Heartbreakingly Great Work

text: Buy this especially for the instrumentals.


title: Five Stars

text: Big fan of trio jazz. This one though somewhat old is a goodie. Well worth getting !


title: Five Stars

text: Great music love the trumpet, very melodic


title: Hard to find item in perfect condition.

text: This is a rare find since you have to download this now. I wanted it for my commute and to play on my CD player. It was a bit pricey but worth it for me as I got exactly what I wanted and in perfect condition. Nice!


title: Beautiful voice, beautiful album

text: Matthew Long has an amazing, beautiful voice.  And the selection of (mostly) English songs are lovely.  I purchased the CD for the Ralph Vaughn Williams song Orpheus and his Lute.  I enjoy listening to all the songs, some of which I'm discovering for the first time.


title: Poor Recording

text: The sound quality is seriously disappointing.  With the fine alternative performances available, this is a CD you can skip.


title: This is a wonderful set. Sensitive yet powerful interpretations by a distinguished ...

text: This is a wonderful set.  Sensitive yet powerful interpretations by a distinguished pianist, conductor and orchestra.  Nicely recorded, too.


The performance may be interesting, but the quality of recording is so bad that it's hard to tell.  Of the hundreds of CDs that I own, this one may have the worst sound.  Note that these recordings are "AAD," not "ADD."  They have not be reprocessed, and they are bad.  Shame.  These are potentially worthwhile performances by a great conductor and distinguished orchestra.


title: One for Two

text: Number two, the familiar one, is very nice, but number 1 is uninteresting.  At a bargain price, this may be worth it.


title: OK

text: This is a nice collection of a "Big Band" approach to Mozart.  Personally, I prefer the Bernstein or Menuhin performance of the 40th and 41st.


title: Love it

text: Great music!


title: Great Nelson Riddle songs sung by one of the greatest female voices ever.

text: Linda Ronstadt is a treasure that had the voice and the ability to make any song writer or producer look like a genius. If you loved the late 40s and 50s Nelson Riddle songs, no one ever did them better than Linda Ronstadt did them.


Not what I expected from two of my Favorite Guitarist of all time. As a musician, the production is pretty average and the Song writing? Well, let's just say that they just started jamming out to some basic twelve bar blues and that pretty much sums it up. There were a few tracks 6 & 7 that had potential to be great songs if they really worked on them. But realistically it sounded like two great players just got together for a weekend and said, what the hell! Let's jam and make a record. Neither of them are Showcasing their skills!


title: The 20/20 Experience

text: Great CD.  I was not a real Justin Fan after this album I would defiantly recommend this . I say go out a purchase this cd.


title: Brand new

text: Great collection of my favorite music


title: Five Stars

text: What's not to like about this wonderful and talented singer! Loved the entire album!!!!


title: Good buy

text:
Great example of good music from Israel.
Shipment was in time and in proper conditions.
Smooth and calm music for everyone.


title: From the West End to Wales

text: Huw Priday is a highly trained tenor. His voice is known in the west end and in churches in Wales and even the USA. I love his renditions of standard hymns . I heard him in concert in a large church in Breakfast Hill, NH. I have all his cds and I love listening to him sing.


title: I Hear America Singing

text: This is a good variety of the songs that began the Folk music era, and led us into Rock and Roll.  A good work!


title: Great!

text: Great recording, great concert! Arrived quickly in good condition!


title: Love JJ Goldman and also this album

text: Love JJ Goldman and also this album.  Buy any album of his which contains "Puisque Tu Pars," my fave song by him.


title: Mickey is the best of the best

text: the is only one harmonica player this good,,,great selection of "homey music" shipped fast and well packaged wish there were more CD from him


title: My Favorite CD

text: During the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, when we had no internet or TV, we started listening to old CD's and discovered this one is now our favorite.  The music and arrangements are excellent, very soothing and I'm glad the hurricane introduced it to us.


title: Resumen excelente

text: Me gusto mucho esta novela, fue una buena inversión. La e visto varias veces ya que es una historia que te atrapa. ❤❤❤


One of Michael's best CD's--actually 3 CD's!  The best of the best, and a lot of new songs I hadn't heard before, and they're all lovely. Don't pass up this set-well worth whatever you paid for it--I lucked into an excellent used set, which doesn't appear to have any problems. If you are limited on funds, I would suggest this set, Songbook, another set named Encore, and last but not least the new CD of Michael and Alfie Boe called Together!.Between the 7 CD's you've got all the bases covered.


title: Good easy listening music delivered quickly!

text: I use it for relaxation.  Excellent selections!


title: I love IL Divo's music!

text: I had about given up on some of the new music till IL<br />Divo came along.  Now I collect everything they come out with and for the first time go to concerts.


title: fantastic singers

text: Il Divo has been around for 7 years now, they just get better and better.  This is from soccor finals several years ago.  Any c/d, or dvd by this group is excellant quality.  I have everything by them and been to 2 concerts and plan to go to more in 2012.


title: Disappointed

text: Very disappointed with this item. Only realised that I now have two coppies of the two CD set and both of them are missing the songs on the second disc. All you get are a rehash of 10 of the first CD songs. I dont know what DECCA  were doing when they released this set.


title: Hwppy with purchase

text: I have been looking for this CD for a long time. I bought the vinyl Lp when it came out. I think they only recently released it on CD. Product was delivered earlier that expected. Good buy fram a good seller.


title: CD 1 is OK, CD 2....too gospel

text: In CD one we find really good music. CD 2, too gospel for my taste. They pick up hymns "classics" and transforms them in a loud "revival hymn", as if one was attending a Harlem Church. Sorry to say that, I prefer calm music,  hymns included. Sheila Walsh was a nice surprise to me... I never heard her before. she sings beautifully 'How great Thou Art".


title: a journey to old days, and good music

text:
One of the best albuns in the 60s, it has a wonderful version of TONIGHT, from West Side Story, plus "Exodus", that marvelous theme
by Ernest Gold, from the movie EXODUS (directed by Otto Preminger, in 1960), "You'll Never Walk Alone" and other great tunes by
RICHARD RODGERS. Now it is available in CD (I have my copy). Just 12 tracks...but all of them....great music,


title: A classic soundtrack

text:
The movie is great....and I had the LP soundtrack....So, after 50 years, to have it on CD is really to celebrate. But don't expect
any "extra track", any 'bonus".The CD features the same tracks of original LP. But....then again...you have JORGE BOLET, a
wonderful pianist playing the wonderful music of Franz Liszt... A curiosity: I learned piano with a Hungarian teacher, in Brazil,
and she had as professor...in Budapest...a Liszt pupil, Major Giula...


title: Why not make it available on CD?

text: I remember listening to the radio these tracks...in Brazil...but at the time I didn't purchase the LP album...Now I long for it...<br />Maybe one music company, like Sarabande, will release this gem on CD. I hope so.


title: Not at all what I expected

text: I tried listening to and meditating with this CD.  I would get relaxed and then the man's voice would blare out again, jerking me out of relaxing.  Very disappointed.  Only tried it once.


title: Such a great band from Washington DC

text: Such a great band from Washington DC, Get Your Hyaa-Hyaa's Out was the band's first full length LP and was only available on 12" vinyl. This album will knock your socks off, put them back on and then knock them off again.


title: A Treasure

text:
Listening to these recordings by William Appling, I feel as if I have finally found a pianist who understood what Scott Joplin was really getting at.
Appling has clearly thought deeply about all the elements of Joplin's pieces-their overall structure, the dynamics, the gorgeous melodies, the inner voices-and I found myself genuinely hypnotized by how much he was discovering in each piece and, consequently, how much I myself was discovering.
I've purchased a number of recordings of Joplin's music over the years and have found that most are, at least in my opinion, pretty superficial.
Part of the problem is that Joplin's music, while by no means easy, is certainly playable for many pianists.
Far too many think they are up to the task when they really aren't.
They may be able to negotiate the notes, but it's clear they have very little idea of how profound Joplin's music is and the wide range of emotions he's expressing.
Because ragtime is often thought of as this light-hearted, carefree music, most pianists just pick a nice brisk tempo, and they're off and running. It may get your "toes to tapping," but that's about it.
Appling takes many of the pieces at a pretty deliberate tempo, even more so than Joshua Rifkin and several others. While some may feel this is not "correct" or "proper" ragtime, these performances speak to me in a way no other versions do.
There may also be a few other matters which others may complain about, like the lack of much pedaling  (apparently due to an illness), but any possible negatives are outweighed by how completely Appling connects with Joplin's music and how much he is able to express.
If you have strict rules about how your Joplin "must" be played (as some "experts" apparently do), perhaps this recording isn't for you. However, if you want to hear a truly fine musician's approach to some of the most beautiful and interesting ever written, I urge you to get it.
At the very least, you will hear new versions of many of Joplin's rarely recorded pieces and, if you're like me, you will discover a wonderful pianist who has given us an extremely thoughtful and deeply musical document.


title: Wonderful  Poulenc

text: Fabulous! Pascal Roge is an incredible performer of French piano music. Poulenc’s affinity and creativity for melody is rarely surpassed in the 20 th century. I highly recommend these discs.


title: Great list of song

text: Kiss forever


title: Great cd!

text: Love Bon Jovi!  Great cd, was delivered in a timely manner and was pleased with it.


title: Arrived perfect!

text: Arrived packaged very nicely and just as described. Works perfectly thank you so much!


title: Love their music! Went to their concert last month in Appleton, WI!!

text: I went to see them in concert in November of 2022 in Appleton, WI. Love their music and I really enjoy listening to this CD.


title: and the music is wonderful..

text: I knew what this disc contained when purchasing it, and the music is wonderful...But the disc came with a couple of scratches.  I'm not pleased with that at all.  Some Quality Control on the sellers end would be appreciated.


title: Finding stuff

text: Love this cd glad i found it


Really am pleased with both Performance Tracks I ordered.  Eye of the Storm by Ryan Stevenson and Trust in You by Lauren Daigle.


title: Good music

text: All the songs are great, love it


title: Thanks

text: Awesomeness


title: Great experience

text: Perfect packaging with very high quality item.


title: Five Stars

text: Wonderful! !!


Very happy that I got this one  when I did. I'm really going to miss him .


title: Emotional. Wistful. Glorious harmonies.

text:
I heard their song "Panama" on Pandora and immediately dropped what I was doing (grading papers) to look it up on youtube. Then I came here.

On the basis of that one song (and after listening to it over and over and over on youtube), I decided to buy one of the two copies of this CD available here. Though there are only five songs on the disc, if they're even close to the quality of "Panama", I will have stumbled on a treasure.

I am puzzled as to why I've not heard *anything* at all about this band before now. The music is wonderful, as are their voices. They weave a deft tale that is both emotional and intelligent.

With anticipation, I am looking forward with pleasure to hearing the rest of their songs. I'll update my review when I do.


title: Building my collection up again

text: Always loved this group


title: Great CD.

text: Great CD. Every single song is great. I've been a fan of Nagi Yanagi for a while as well as Key and I've Sound and all that stuff. I was a bit skeptical to hear Nagi Yanagi with a composer other than ryo/supercell but I figured if anyone else could do this, Maeda-san could. And the result is great. Very happy with this purchase.


title: Not what I had thought it would be

text:
Maybe I was spoiled with some older self hypnosis cassettes....wish I could find them again....
this was just OK....the others took you "down" ....and then deeper and deeper.....I really responded to those!

I didn't find this guys voice to be real calming....just ok!!


title: GREAT CDs

text: These two CDs are  just want we wanted.  Floyd Kramer as we knew him in the 50s and 60s. The CD case was severely damaged  but the CDs suffered no harm.  No damage in the sound.  CD cases work well at protecting CDs!!  If you like Floyd Kramer's music from the 50s and 60s, get these.  They are fantastic!!!


title: The best Scrooge movie

text: This is the best Christmas movie and Scrooge movie. Awesome soundtrack.


title: Imperdible

text: El único y singular Maestro Camilo Sesto


title: Five Stars

text: Totally Hot music and great dance music too


title: which i considers her best.

text: At last a STEREO copy  of  this  album, which i considers her best.


title: Finally available at a reasonable price, so I grabbed ...

text: Finally  available  at  a  reasonable  price,  so  I  grabbed  it.  It  was  innovative  for  it`s  time  with  the  voices  being  used  as  instruments.<br />Still  works  today  without  seeming  to be dated.


title: Jennie at her best

text: This STEREO CD showcases Jennie at her best singing top notch material (some recorded by Johnny Mathis about the same time).  Ray Ellis does the orchestrations on this her second album with him.  The first was JENNIE on RCA.


title: good quality

text: This album didn`t grab me either.  NOT STEREO as probably originally recorded. I especially disliked the silly Gravy Waltz. Since the album was about her appearances on the Steve Allen Show I suppose they felt it necessary to include it. She`s a fine singer and the orchestrations are good, but she doesn`t come across as special.


title: different orchestrations

text: There are different orchestras behind Miss Bergen on this disc which I think is her only album. The transfer is great in Mono as originally recorded.  Accomplished  performer with well chosen material and orchestrations that  blend together well for a pleasant light jazz  experience.


title: big band with vocals

text: This is an EXCELLENT album of big band classic themes.  Most of the selections  are vocals acting as instruments rather than singing them with words.  This album was a real innovation for it`s time and is still a stand out. I want the CD but not at this scalper`s price.  Anyone got one with a more reasonable offer?  I have the record which was recorded in MONO, but prefer the CD.


title: More than I thought

text: This CD contains the original album plus a lot of other material taken from the soundtrack.  It is NOT IN STEREO as the original LP states.  It never was recorded in stereo even for the movie as explained in the phamphlet.


title: One of Sands best

text: This is one of Sands best albums with Nelson Riddle conducting.  Good choice of material, singing and orchestration.  Why all his LPS  have not made it to CD is a shame when so many lesser artists are available.  No more compilations please, his best work is on his albums, not his singles. SEPIA please come to the rescue for all us Sands fans. Also TOMMY EDWARDS LPS while you`re at it.


title: A great album

text: This is a Peggy King album not to be missed.  There`s not a lot available on her, but to me this Japanese import is her best recording.  In STEREO, forget the Lp. I purchased a used import repressing of the Lp which had an extreme amount of surface noise, so beware of it.


title: Much ado about a little.

text: I don`t know why there is such a fuss over this singer and why her material is so expensive. She does swing with a jazz accompaniment, but the tone of her voice annoys me somewhat, especially wnen she hits such low notes unnecessarily.


title: a bit lack luster

text: I wasn`t too sure about purchsing this CD, because I was not impressed with another lp album by her.  I think she relied a lot on her looks rather than her talent.


title: excelent, excelent!

text: This is a rare treasure, that shows just what Betty can do with good material and a good arranger (DICK JACOBS).  Originally recorded in MONO. Not a lemmon in the bunch and with excellent sound. This Japanese import contains four bonus selections from her Mad About Madigan album, none of which impressed me, but since her material on CD is so rare, I was more than glad to have them.  Sepia, if you`re out there, let`s have more of Betty, especially her singles. Why so late in releasing her material? She is long overdue.


title: some new material

text: A lot of old material that has already been on CD, however there is some new material and the song LOVE IN A HOME which I have been looking for. That`s the main reason I bought it.


title: luann never sounded better (STEREO LP)

text: This is an excellent album by Lu Ann Simms singing the songs of Harry Warren with orchestra conducted by Dave Terry.  Most of the material released on CD by Lu Ann is not that good, but this album is excellent and I hope will be on CD soon. She was a good singer, but either chose or was given poor material to record.  With her conservative appearance she didn`t stand out, but this album proves what a fine singer she was when given good material.


title: I want more of Vic Dana

text: This is an excellent album, as were most of Vic`s early albums. I want more albums of Vic Dana at a more reasonable price.  Why are they so slow in releasing his albums to DVD? No more compilations please!


title: adam wade

text: THE SOUND QUALITY IS EXCELLENT AND IN STEREO.  A REAL FIND EVEN THOUGH THE COVER ART WORK IS POOR.


title: kids music that isn't horrible!

text: Being a musician myself, I am easily irritated by the cheesy recordings passed of in the name of our children.  There will be no barney in my house.  I am a firm believer that kids music does not have to suck, be irritating, or be dumbed down for kids.  This cd is absolutely beautiful.  excellent arrangements played tastefully by actual instruments.  The music selections are excellent as well.  focusing on classic lullabies and folk songs.  I highly recommend this album for any nursery.


title: Beautiful music

text: We heard this album being played during a recent visit to Switzerland.  It was very reminiscent of Astrid Gilberto and the Brazillian music of 30+ years ago.  LOVE IT!!!


title: Great CD!!!

text: Great music -- awesome CD!!!  It is so hard to find great music like this nowadays, so I was blessed to find this.  I highly recommend it.  It is anointed music.  Great mix, new tunes.


title: Good Stuff

text: Very good music, i will recommend it to all the electronic music lovers. Sad they are no longer together :(


title: Sing for me

text: Love him.


title: Great Collection

text: Early 70s British Folk and R&B. Well-played (esp. Kenney Jones and Ron Wood).


title: Guilty Pleasure

text: First 3 tunes on the disc are great dumb-dumb mid-70s music. The ballads are awful.


title: Five Stars

text: Because James Cobb actually wrote it, it was 5 stars!


title: great

text: one of Seeger's best


title: LoveLov

text: Love her music


title: Lovely

text: My kids love sleeping to this cd.


title: Five Stars

text: other great cd by nellie


title: A rich treasure

text: It started out with a love of Big Band music. Recently I've been listening to the UK 1940s radio station. One voice appealed to me - Vera Lynn. I like her arrangements, inflections, rich tones and lovely sentiments in the songs. So pleased to have 5 CDs worth of her songs.


title: It's fun to hear the old songs.

text: Nice product with lots of songs on it.  Some we like, some we don't - just like when we were kids.


title: the most wonderful voice ever

text: I came late to finding this wonderful singer.  I love this music.  I'm looking for more.


title: Too  small for my female Golden.

text: According to size chart, 2XL should have fit but it was too small.


title: Great tunes, bad packaging

text: Case broken,  CD ok


title: Grown-up mainstream pop

text: This is an engaging set of songs with lush piano-dominated arrangements and deeply felt lyrics. The ethos is mainstream pop -- if you like Fleetwood Mac, you might like this. The CD is somewhat high priced as I write this but you can snag the MP3 version for under ten bucks.


title: Nina Simone

text: Was looking for the magazine with Nina simone on cover oxford southern sampler. Seen it and went to purchase it, it was no longer there


title: Four Stars

text: I liked it but it was not what i thought it would be.


title: Five Stars

text: who doesn't love the 80s?


title: I promise you will like Steve Conn’s music. Just try this one then explore his other albums!!

text: For listening pleasure.


title: A Memory Is A Memory Forever! Lovely!

text: A beautiful piece on good solid wood. Large an will last forever with proper care. Very bright pigments used and actually appear brighter than on our monitor!


title: Fresh and yummy

text: i like it a lot, is a wonderful combo for my Rack of Lamb


title: 2 CDs and a DVD!  What a bargain!

text: He is a wonderful entertainer.  Great voice, very charming and high energy.  Not to mention handsome beyond words!


title: The vibrant authentic sound of Greek overtones, Passionate guitar

text: both my cd,s are scratched, but this price is too high,  will keep searching


title: Wonderful Latino Music

text: I purchased this CD for my 85 year old aunt. She's enchanted & loves it.


title: Just an opinion

text: I've always been an Aurele Nicolet fan.  Who is your favorite flutist is a totally subjective matter.  I like Nicolet because I love the tone of his flute and his trills; he doesn't put in too much decorative notes, and he doesn't play fast movements too fast.


title: too fast to study

text: it’s very accurate but way too fast for someone that needs to study


title: Nice music. Alan Jackson is great.

text: Licked the music, wished Mr. Jackson would have played more on the DVD.


title: Love Always

text:
I love it!
I listen to it everyday on my way to work.
A great easy listening tape. Totally enjoyable.


title: I didn't buy it because it didn't show song list on purchase sight!

text: Would be nice to show a song list.


title: Thought about purchasing, but no song list.

text: Didn't like the way it was presented for purchasing.


title: I ordered it for my daughter to play for my ...

text: I ordered it for my daughter to play for my grandson to soothe him when she put him to bed.  It has helped calm him tremendously so he can sleep.


title: Five Stars

text: Love Prince and the CD came as advertised.


title: one of my favorite albums!

text: one of my favorite albums!! You can't get this album anywhere, not even from the ministry that first produced it, which is still in operation. They offer almost all of the rest of his albums, but this one is special and I'm so glad I got it!!!!


title: Great 45 ,picture sleeve and tee shirt

text: The quality of the 45 and picture sleeve and the t shirt are excellent.They were delivered in great condition.Overall,I am very pleased with the sleeve and the 45 that I have displayed on my wall


title: Most of their Hits

text: Great CD with most of their hits.The one song I didn’t care for was The Porpoise Song from Head..I’ll just skip over that one when I play the CD.Highlights include:The Monkees theme,Last Train to Clarksville,I wanna be free,I’m a believer,Valleri,Daydream Believer,For Pete’s Sake,Pleasant Valley Sunday,Words,I’m not your stepping stone,A Little Bit Me


title: Fluffy and Sticky

text:
I love Triumvirat.  I deeply appreciate the artistry of Fritz’ compositions.
They still move me deeply after all this time.  I have a teenage granddaughter who dances ballet.
I chauffeur her from her daily classes.
On the drive home I play music on the CD.  She adores classical music so I tried Thijs Van Leer’s “Introspection”
which she loved. Then Focus‘ works especially “Hamburger Concerto” which she at first abjured but at length warmed to.  She requests it now, and laughs with me at the yodeling.  Selections from Triumvirat are her latest faves, and I’d so hoped this would find favor, but we neither of us like it, despite the ballerina cover art. Maybe you will, as there’s no absence of virtuosity certainly in composition, nor in execution, but it’s just so much electronic cotton candy for us.  Spartacus it ain’t, though Old Loves do Die Hard, even after a Double Dimple.  If you never thought of Mozart as musical candy floss this may pleasantly surprise. If you like the first 30 seconds you’ll love it all.
And I won’t think less of you for it, though my granddaughter well may.
Teen girls being what they are...
At least I know she actually likes my other selections having seen her reaction to this one.  The look on her face was worth the $28.


title: amazing

text: Tipton was the flute professor.  I don't know about the piano or cello players, but this record is just amazing.


title: Great!!!!!

text: If you are aLaw and Order fan, this is a must have.....That simple!


title: JIm Rohn at his best

text: The man who brought you such memorable lines as "Easy to do--Easy not to do!" brings you an hour of wisdom about how to build your business. The stories really touch the heart and stick in the mind. A must if you are in network marketing!


title: GET THIS IF YOU CAN !!!!!

text: Listening to The Beginning of My End is like watching a Lana Turner movie--break out the Kleenex.  I'm sorry I can't remember this group, but thanks to Felix Hernandez, I finally know who they are.


title: Lots of Noodling

text: There are some interesting techniques here - he knows how to play guitar for sure. What he's playing is much less interesting - sounds like noodling rather than actual songs w/structure. Not much to hold my interest.


title: unhappy

text: I purchased this product for my husband for Father's Day. We were both very disappointed because the singers were studio singers and not the original artists.  I would give it a zero star rating, but the least you can select is one.


title: Five Stars

text: great dancing music


title: Five Stars

text: great song selection


title: Five Stars

text: Great album, fantastic seller.


title: Five Stars

text: An excellent selection of Adam's compositions. I enjoyed this album from start to finish.


title: eclectic slack

text: kinda like fountains of wayne meets slobberbone. good band. like jane's addiction and the fugees, they wisely hung it up at their zenith and thus will burn high and bright in the rock-n-roll firmament forever.


title: A real snoozer.

text: Whatever downer he's on, I wish he'd get off of it, or get some new musical influences. Nothing else Emancipator has done comes close to matching his debut, Soon It Will Be Cold Enough, but his two or three immediate follow ups to that classic at least had some high points (check out Siren on the album Seven Seas). This album hits a new low for sleepiness, with a complete lack of verve or dynamism. Very disappointing. It's a trend that Doug's been on since his first album, but this is its culmination. Would it really hurt him to get some beats going again, and some rawer instrumentation? Listening to too much Bonobo, another artist who has hit a serious rut with his recent work. A real snoozer.


title: Five Stars

text: excellent


title: Beautiful

text:
This is a beautiful version of the Goldberg Variations, and I've been listening to it over and over again.

The sound quality is superb and the interpretation thoughtful and artistic.

I also love the fact that this was funded through Kickstarter as an effort to make a great version of the score available as an open-source project.


title: Best ZZ Ever

text: You are not going to get a better ZZ Top album than this one!  The boys at their grittiest and finest.  One of my top favorite albums of all time.


title: Mod Squad Peggy

text: I bought this LP when I was very young and I have still held on to it.  The music is surprisingly good and Lipton's vocals are husky and plaintive.  I wish this was on CD.  It seems as though there is just one vinyl copy left and it is very expensive, but this is more than just a TV star's attempt at cashing in.  It's very tender and authentic.


title: Perfect Marriage

text: Long time fan of Raw Kass, and relatively new to Apollo Brown's beats, this album is like finding a belated Christmas present. In terms of marrying a talented producer and MC together for an album length project, this is up there with Nas & Primo or Dre & Snoop, or more accurately for these guy's style Murs & 9th Wonder. Straight fire, and will stay in the rotation for a long time. When someone complains hip-hop is dead, point them straight in the direction of this (or Rass' Soul on Ice 2) or Royce 5'9's Book of Ryan and that'll get them to realize there's more out there than weak materialists rhyming in autotune over trap beats out there.


title: Save Your LPs

text:
The music industry is now making big money selling "Digitally Remastered" CDs of pop albums to Baby-Boomers who desire improved CD versions of their old pop records.  Most classical releases are also CD versions of recordings by famous old virtuosos. Unfortunately, the recordings here by longtime Ringling-Brothers-Barnum-&-Bailey bandmaster Merle Evans and the New England Conservatory Band, have not received the "Digitally Remastered" treatment. According to the liner notes, the transfer to CD was hampered by an "Inability to obtain the original tapes." (What? Somebody lost them? The owner of the tapes wanted a fortune to use them? What?)

So these CDs were made from someone's LPs, and it sounds like it. The sound is not terrible, but with circus music, you want a bass drum that will rattle the windows. You want shrieking high frequencies that will torment dogs. You want ferocious brass that will cause your neighbors to hide in the basement.

You get none of that with these CDs, because analog sound faces the same problem that an analogue photo does. If you make a copy of a photo, it will appear similar to the original, but if you make a copy of the copy, there is a noticeable difference from the original.  These CDs are a copy of some LPs which were a copy of the original tapes, and as soon as I put the first CD on, I knew exactly what had happened. If you are elderly and are hanging on to your 1964 Maggotbox console, you might find the sound acceptable (it's amazing how lovers of classical music seem to actually >prefer< bad sound reproduction), but if you're into high-end audio, this set of CDs is not for you.

When these recordings were first released in 1970, they came as a five-LP set, and the collection was a national treasure. A landmark. America has always been known for its jazz, ragtime, dixieland, bluegrass, rock & roll, blues and Texas swing -- all of which came from the South and achieved world popularity. Here, however, was evidence that Northerners and caucasians were also capable of making exciting music! The factories hadn't turned us into soulless robots, and we too, could play music that would make your hair stand on end!

As a bonus, the fifth LP of the original set contained an interview with Merle Evans (who lived until 1987), and he has some great stories to tell.  One is about some Holy Rollers (as Fundamentalist Christians were then called) who were gathered in a park near the circus camp one evening, expecting the Second Coming to occur that very night (this was before The Rapture was invented).  So ol' Merle and another trumpet player sneak onto the railroad bridge with their horns and . . .

Well, with this CD set, you won't find out what happened.  Too bad. So instead, buy the LP boxed set. Pay any price for it.  It sounds better, and you'll get the complete recordings.

For those who are curious to dare listen to circus music, I recommend the superb-sounding, superbly-played [[ASIN:B000002SKA Under the Big Top: 100 Years of Circus Music]].  Practically every circus number ever written (and the practice of calling a song or piece a "number" originated with the big book of music that circus musicians played from; Evans would shout to the band what they'd play next by calling a number; as I recall, Karl L. King's "Barnum & Bailey's Favorite" was number 555 in the book) has been recorded by the [[ASIN:B000R00R5G South Shore Concert Band]]. Their earlier releases are a mite rough-around-the-edges (which may make them more authentic), but their conductor, Richard Whitmarsh, has whipped them into shape, and they now issue recordings better than this set.

As for whoever possesses the original master tapes to A Tribute to Merle Evans, if you have either allowed the tapes to deteriorate through neglect or refuse to share them, I place the most terrible of curses upon you. You shall be forced to listen to the music your teenage granddaughter likes for ALL ETERNITY!


title: Bathos, American Style

text:
In my youth, we used to get stoned and put on Art Linkletter's 45-RPM single, "We Love You, Call Collect," in which he beseeches his runaway daughter to return. Only, we'd play the record with a normal 1/4" spindle so that it was waaay off center, thus causing the sound to vary with what was then called "wow," where the pitch is unsteady. At the end Art actually gets choked up, and we thought that was the funniest thing we'd ever heard. It was the perfect example of how "the squares" (especially parents) were so sanctimonious and preachy. Yes, we no-gooders laughed at Art's emotional display. (I always wondered how many takes it took to record the sobbing just right.)

At the time, I had a Revox A77 MKII open-reel recorder that I could do tricks with, and my masterpiece was a great tape I made (with excessive echo, reverb, feedback and flanging effects) where I mixed in the Shangri-Las singing their [[ASIN:B0000073R4 Myrmidons of Melodrama]] hit, "I Can Never Go Home Anymore" with Art's sobbing. It was a far superior artistic and technical creation to Karlheinz Stockhausen's: [[ASIN:B000025R06 Gesang der Jünglinge]].

Curiously, the B-side of this single features his late daughter Diane, and her track (not quite as ghastly as Art's) is titled "Dear Mom & Dad." After her untimely demise, Linkletter (as the apocryphal story went) was testifying before some House committee where Timothy Leary was also to testify. Linkletter pointed an accusing finger at Leary and shouted, "My daughter killed herself because of you!" (Linkletter had claimed that his daughter had been induced into suicide because of LSD, but the toxicology report showed no evidence of any drugs in her system.)

Leary is said to have responded, "Don't kids do the darnedest things?" (This line was used in Rolling Stone, then a tabloid newspaper.)

What Art had neglected to mention was that his daughter had led a troubled life long before her suicide, and she had eloped at the age of 17. (Art used his influence to get the marriage annulled.)

This record went on to sell 275,00 copies in eight weeks (I had purchased ten or so to give to my cynical buddies), and it won the 1970 award for Best Spoken Word Recording. (Do the Grammys yet make such an award? I may qualify!)

Art Linkletter died on May 26, 2010, no doubt thinking to the end that he had done his part in keeping America clean and wholesome.


title: Best

text: The best!


title: Walter Klien Plays Schubert -- 2

text:
When I was young, my love of classical music was formed by the many inexpensive recordings on Vox and on related labels.  Among the performers on these recordings was the Austrian pianist Walter Klien (1928 -- 1991).  Klien's extensive recordings included the complete piano concertos of Mozart, the piano works of Brahms, and the complete piano sonatas of Franz Schubert. Klien's Schubert recordings date from 1974.  By that time Schubert's sonatas had emerged from a long period of obscurity but were still not well-known to many listeners. Schubert's sonatas are long, reflective, meandering, and full of song. They lack the careful formal structure and the drive of Beethoven's sonatas. I have loved Beethoven's sonatas for a long time and came to love the sonatas of Schubert somewhat later.

Schubert's sonatas are good to hear in private and they have been bringing me comfort lately in Klien's performances.  With many wonderful recordings to choose from,  Klien brings a lyrical, self-effacing character to his interpretations. His playing is light, simple, and clear without mannerism or the tendency to over-dramatize. The depths of Schubert's music comes through in the unforced lyricism of Klien's performance.

Klien performs six sonatas on this set, which includes two early works, in E major, D. 157 and C. major, D. 279, together with works written later in Schubert's short life, including the A major sonata, D. 664, the sonata in A minor, D. 784, the sonata in D major D. 850, "Gasteiner", and the posthumously published sonata in A major, D. 959.  I was moved by the beauty of the music in Klien's performance.

I have played two of the sonatas on this recording for myself. The "little" A major, D. 664, is Schubert's best-known sonata and is filled with melody from its opening theme through its quicksilver, shifting finale. I have heard many readings of this work and was inspired to hear it through Klien. The A minor sonata, D. 784, is a darker, more difficult work to play that has many admirers.  The work constrasts dramatic, foreboding opening themes with secondary themes of lyricism and hope. Unlike most sonatas, the second themes in the outer movements come to receive the most emphasis.

The A major sonata D. 859, is the middle work of Schubert's final three works in this form. Klien performs it with beautiful clarity and feeling. The highlights of the sonata include a sad, flowing slow movement with a dramatic middle section and a wonderfully extended and elevated rondo for the concluding movement, my favorite single movement of the sonatas.

I was taken with the "Gasteiner" sonata, D. 850, which I hadn't known as well as some of the others.  The Gasteiner is a long, virtuosic, dramatic sonata, perhaps in its virtuosity resembling the "Wanderer" Fantasy. The work is much more in the manner of Beethoven than are most of the other sonatas.  Both the sonata and Klien's performance have received mixed reactions. I read some of the reviews of D. 850, both of Klien's performance and of the performances of other artists.  Although I have heard the work before, I don't remember loving and drawing inspiration from it as much as I did here.  It was something almost new and the highlight of my listening.

I listened to these sonatas through streaming on Amazon Music. They brought back memories of the old days of LPs and of my love for music and for Schubert.  Klien's performances brought me solace and inspiration during a difficult time.

Total Time:  Two Hours and Thirty-Two Minutes

Robin Friedman


title: Musical Americana from Washington, D.C

text:
"Foothills" is an immediately accessible work of about 14 minutes by the American composer Scott Pender (b. 1959). Pender studied composition as a graduate and undergraduate at Peabody Conservatory before receiving a Fullbright grant to study with English composer Gavin Bryars.  He has composed in a variety of genres and his music has been performed to critical acclaim in the United States and Europe. Pender has lived in Washington, D.C for 35 years, and "Foothills" is performed by the Takoma Ensemble, a chamber orchestra located in Takoma Park under the direction of Victoria Gau. Pender and I have become friends through activity in a classical music club in Washington, D.C., and I was pleased that he offered me the opportunity to review this new work which was recorded at the Peabody Institute in February, 2014.

"Foothills" takes a lovingly nostalgic look at rural America in both its music and its background. The work was commissioned by the North Georgia Chamber Symphony which premiered the work in 2013 in Dahlonega, Georgia, under conductor Laurin Smith. The work will be featured as the soundtrack to an upcoming documentary "Pieced Together", scheduled for release in early 2015. The film describes the development of quilt squaring trails which can be found rural areas in 40 states.

Scored for small string orchestra and piano, the work is in four short movements with strong suggestions of American folk music. The work is lyrical, rhythmical and dancelike. The orchestra predominates in the early part of the work but the balance between orchestra and piano shifts gradually so that the solo piano, performed by David Iskowitz, has the lead role in the final movement.

The work opens with a fast vigorous movement in which plucked strings contrast with a lyrical theme. The second movement, "languorous, not hurried" has a flowing theme in the strings over a quiet rippling piano, which has a larger role than in the opening movement. The third movement, "slow, lyrical" has a melancholy cast in which strings and piano are evenly balanced in a duet.  The final movement, "Lively, Swinging" is joyful and triumphal in character. After a brief, angular introduction from the orchestra, the piano is featured in the conclusion over a string background. I found "Foothills" simple, emotive, and endearing.

This is a short CD consisting only of the 14-minute "Foothills" and is probably intended to introduce Pender and his new composition to a broader audience. I hope it succeeds in its aim. I enjoyed getting to know "Foothills" and Scott Pender's music in this brief CD.

Robin Friedman


title: Beethoven's Early Sonatas For Piano And Violin

text:
Beethoven wrote ten sonatas for piano and violin, the best known of which are the "Spring" and the "Kreutzer" sonatas. The fame of these two works has tended to result in neglect of the remaining sonatas. This is unfortunate because Beethoven's remaining eight sonatas for piano and violin include much great music. The set of 10 works is of an appropriate size to warrant exploration of the entire group for those with a passion for the violin or for Beethoven. It includes an appealing mix of familiar and unfamiliar music.

This 2-CD disc includes the first five of Beethoven's sonatas in this genre played by violinist Henryk Szeryng and pianist Ingrid Haebler. They are all early works and will reward listening.

Beethoven composed his first violin and piano sonatas in 1797-1798 when he was 27 and published them in a three-work set as his opus 12. The works are in D-major, A-major, and E-flat major and each consists of three movements. The D-major sonata's opening movement features a wealth of themes which follow rapidly on one another. It is lively and exuberant, beginning with the loud chords with which it opens. The second movement is a theme and variations, which foreshadows Beethoven's use of this form in the slow movement of the Kreutzer sonata. The A-major sonata opens with a humorous, boisterous first movement followed by a surprisingly poignant slow movement. The E-flat major sonata too has an expressive slow movement. The first movement features long brilliant downward runs in the piano with the violin accompanying on top. The third movement of each of these works is a lively rondo. Although this music is delightful to modern listeners, a contemporary reviewer criticized these works as difficult to hear. "Learned, learned, always learned" he complained, "no naturalness, no melody!"

The next two sonatas, opus 23 and opus 24 appear to have been written as a contrasting pair. The three-movement opus 23 sonata in A-minor is, in my view, a neglected masterpiece. This is a spare, linear and angry work. It is in 6/8 time and opens with a sharp theme introduced by the piano followed by a softer middle movement, and intensely lyrical writing for the violin in the development. The second movement opens with a halting, reflective theme stated by the piano with the violin on top followed by a quicker, fugal section. The final movement returns to the intensity of the first movement with the violin melody over repeated tremolos in the piano. Large chords in the piano under the violin lead to a quiet close. This outstanding work is similar in many ways to the better-known "Kreutzer" sonata.

The final sonata on this disc is the "Spring" sonata, in F-major opus 24 which has always been Beethoven's most beloved work in this form. The sonata is in four movements and is lyrical throughout. The first movement features a singing, extended melody which has given the work its nickname. The second movement features a more intense lyricism which foreshadows Schubert for many listeners. The third movement is a brief, rhythmically complex scherzo and the finale returns to the long lyrical line of the opening movement.

This disc also includes Beethoven's two early Romances for violin and orchestra played by Szeryng and the Royal Concertgebourw Orchestra conducted by Bernard Haitink. These are probably early works and may have been intended as the slow movement for a violin concerto.

Szeryng and Haebler offer wonderful renditions of this music. The piano and the violin are balanced and play as equals, as Beethoven intended, with neither instrument trying to overshadow the other. Szeryng plays with a rich tone that comes through beautifully in the "Spring" sonata. The "Spring" is taken at a slower tempo than is sometimes the case. The recordings on this compilation date from 1978 and the CD sells at a reasonable price.

This disc, and its companion disc of the later five sonatas, constitute an excellent compilation of Beethoven's piano and violin music. They are an outstanding way for the listener to become acquainted with these works.

Robin Friedman


title: This is a protest album.

text:
I first saw Derek Zanetti performing under his nom de guerre as a singer/songwriter. He calls himself “The Homeless Gospel Choir”. I wasn’t at the show to see his band. He was the second of four bands, and I had left my wife at the rail so I could use the restroom and get a beer because I knew that after the second act, there would be no leaving that spot.

I came back with a full Fosters and confused about where the rest of the Gospel Choir was. There was this guy with a guitar.

But this guy with a guitar was all I needed. He sang these songs that I had never heard before. A couple of his songs made me cry, because he was so earnest and funny and just commanded the stage as he sang his protest songs. These protest songs.

And they're good. Real good. You will listen to them over and over in his plaintive wail. You will want the world to be better, and he makes it so you think for once that it could be better.

And then he plays another song, and you want to sing along even though this is the first time you've heard it, the song comes from a deep place. A place where we all know the words, but Derek just had to give them shape. And when he finishes, you wish he had more songs, and more truth to tell...


title: The FIRST of the Irish Rovers

text: This LP was fabulous!  I bought it in '66 and played it forever.  I certainly wish they would reissue this on CD because it has so many songs on it you cannot find on any of their other compilations.


Five Stars


title: Excellent recording

text: Also have this on CBS SQ quadraphonic surround sound recording.


title: Nice !

text:
Secret Garden are living proof that - contrary to what certain people would have you believe - something good can come out of the Eurovision Song Contest. The duo - Fionnuala Sherry, a violinist, and Rolf Lovland, a pianist - won the competition for Norway in 1995. Rolf was one of Norway's most successful songwriters before forming the band. Fionnuala is actually Irish and had played with the RTE Philharmonic Orchestra for ten years before joining the band.

"Dreamcatcher" is a compilation album, covering the band's first three albums. It was released in 2000 and contains 18 tracks, the majority of which are instrumental. The overall style is like a mixture if Celtic and classical - in some parts it reminds me of some of Enya's songs, in others it sounds closer to "Riverdance". The album opens with the band's Eurovision winning entry, "Nocturne". Gentle and relaxing, it's an absolutely beautiful track. By and large, though, I tend to prefer the livelier tracks. "Elan" are "Moving" are among the tracks that remind me of "Riverdance". Another favourite is "Dawn of a New Century". It includes a 'narration', that reminded me a little of Jeff Wayne's "War of the Worlds" and is also one of two tracks to feature Anuna. (Anuna also provided some tracks to the "Riverdance" show). Their other performance is on "In Our Tears", which is sung in Latin and feels a more formal , choral style track. For me, "Sona" is a better track that this one - sung in Irish by Fionnuala, it also features some nearly Gregorian-style backing vocals. Anuna are not the only guest performers - another is Davy Spillane, one of Ireland's best known uilleann pipers. He features on two tracks - "The Rap" ( a lively, though short, number) and "Hymn to Hope".

As a largely instrumental 'new age' act, this probably won't be to everyone's taste. However, if that is your sort of thing, this compilation is a very good place to start with the band. My recommendation ? Go on - buy it !


title: Put the band back together !

text:
Released in 1998 and, barring what seems to be an unlikely reformation, this album will sadly go down in history as the only one released by Sophie Ellis-Bextor's former band. Sophie, of course, has gone on to find fame as a solo artist - and while her solo releases are hitting higher chart positions I must admit to preferring what theaudience had to offer.
theaudience had six members and, as an indie-guitar-pop band, were lumped in with the Britpop movement. I bought the album in a fit of curiosity after hearing 'Groovejet', discovering it to be a definite 'grower' - the more I heard it, the more I grew to like it. The songs managed to be lyrically clever, without sounding pompous, tuneful, without any gratuitous guitar / keyboard / drum solos and totally lacking in vocal histrionics. I find it a bit confusing that an album of this quality was relatively ignored.
As far as I know, four singles were released by the band, all of which are included on this album. A Pessimist Is Never Disappointed and I Know Enough (I Don't Get Enough) were probably catchier than the others (I Got The Wherewithal, If You Can't Do It When You're Young), but for me there better songs on the album - especially Mr. Doasyouwouldbedoneby, Keep in Touch and You Get What You Deserve.
An album to listen to while relaxing late at night - not one I ever expect to get tired of !


title: Five Stars

text: I have enjoyed this story many times.


title: A Serious Heroic Tenor in His Wheelhouse

text:
Augusto Scampini (1880-1939) has not - at least up until very recently - fared well in the digital era - to the best of my knowledge this Malibran issue offers only the second Cd of his singing. Hugely talented and with plenty of voice, Scampini debuted in smaller Italian opera houses in 1905. His vocal prowess quickly caught the attention of impresarios - always on the lookout for heroic tenors - and by 1907 he was singing on major stages in South America and Italy, where in Rome late in 1907 he sang the lead in Aida with Boninsegna and Amato. From that point his career took off, and Scampini sang not only in all the major Italian houses, but also Spain and Russia. Among these was a highly regarded appearance at La Scala in a revival of Verdi's dark political masterpiece, Simon Boccanegra.Two years later in 1912 he was one of the stars of a gala production of Aida at Venice's La Fenice. Critics of his day lauded his performances of Samson, Radames, and Manrico. His fame reached the point that during a winter season at the Prague Opera Scampini was hailed as the probably successor to Caruso. However, Fate stepped in - although already 34, Scampini joined the Army, and during a posting along the Alpine front suffered a terrible wound, resulting in the loss of his leg. No longer able to sing on stage, the despondent Scampini moved to Barcelona, where he taught singing until his death in 1939.

Scampini made recordings for the Gramophone Company between 1907and 1908. He also recorded for Pathe between 1908 and 1913. To my surprise Scampini apparently never recorded for the Italian Fonotopia Company. These selections on this Malibran Cd show Scampini in fine fettle - there are several moments when he holds a note a bit too long - but given the quality of his vocal resources who would want less? It's a big voice, and definitely over-sized for Puccini - an Otello in Manon Lescaut rather overwhelms the poetry - but even there one cannot doubt the effect Scampini would have made in the opera house. His Meyerbeer comes across as serious and noble, and never undernourished, while Manrico's declamatory singing suits him to a T.  The aria from Donizetti's Poliuto stuns - such reserves of power from an Italian tenor I certainly never encountered in modern opera houses.

The Cd also offers as bonus 12 more cuts of a group of Italian tenors from the Twenties. They are not without interest, but Scampini is the shining light here, and I'll leave any purchasers of the Cd to decide on their merits. Ederle is a light lyric with a nice sense for light and shade - quiet a contrast following the voice of Scampini. Ferrara, also no heavyweight, shows a hint of vibrto, but is extremely charming and had a long career. Solari sounds a bit old fashioned - somehwat reminiscent of minor Bonci, with a more pronunced vibrato and wavery fortes. Not the most attracive voice, either - he specialized in bel canto roles. I could not find anything about a Paolo Lo Giudice - possibly this is another like named tenor, Franco Lo Giudice? In any event his voice runs heavier than the previous group - more a singer for Andrea Chenieror or the aria here from La Gioconda. The next tenor Allesandro Granda comes by way of Peru, and probably had the most impressive career of all of these. He was in the first full recordings of Butterfly and Gioconda, and has a full rich lyric voice which he handles with ease and assurance. Lastly, Giovanni Manurita sings with a strong insistent vibrato and his recordings probably should be left to specialist collectors.


title: Berlioz Writes a Concerto for Viola, and the Result is a Concerto for Orchestra with Viola Obbligato

text:
After over half a century of trying to wrap my brain around this music I've finally conceded defeat. Throughout most of the work Berlioz insists on obliterating the poor soloist with the full arsenal of his heavy artillery - there are sections of relative balance between forces, but in general this is more a concerto for orchestra with sections of viola obbligato than anything else. The last movement gives me the impression Berlioz had enough with fooling around - he simply throws in the towel on any pretense of balance, allowing the forgotten soloist but a momentary cameo in the closing measures before finishing off everything with a rousing crash. Perhaps most striking is how so often the orchestra gets all the juicy showy virtuoso writing, while the violist more often just hems and haws along with simple phrases.
If you hear the music in this way it's probably best to focus your attention first on the orchestra side and not the soloist. I've heard a few top violists - notably de Pasquale - as well as first chair violists given a moment to shine, and frankly the latter are underwhelming when their modest sounds are put up against this sort of sonic backdrop, while even the top performers only sporadically can shine. Attempts such as Gardiner's to utilize the smaller sound of a period viola are frankly so hideously underhwelming on the solo side as to be little more than an abomination.
Which brings us to this performance from 1983 - almost a historical performance - with Maly as violist and František Jílek leading the Czech Philharmonic. Right off the back it's clear Maly is a sensitive performer - what's also clear is how impossible a task he faces - the Czech orchestra plays with great vigor and generally quite puts the poor solist in the shade throughout the proceedings. Maly will play a few middling phrases at a modest tempo, then BLAM - the orchestra attacks with a brazen ourpouring of colors and speed. Giving praise where due, the Denon engineer cannot be faulted, and conductor František Jílek leads well enough to further convince me he was underrated as a symphonic conductor during his hey day as an opera specialist.
I remain convinced this music is best treated as a massive symphonic poem - and you're best bet among recordings is picking out your favorite Berlioz conductor.
Richard Strauss resolved these tricky issues to perfection in his tone poem Don Quixote. And Rimsky-Korsakov treated the idea of incorporating the solo string into a tone poem with marvelous effect in his most successful work, Scheherazade.


title: The Great French Heroic Tenor in a Full Sampling of His Recorded Legacy

text:
Léonce-Antoine Escalaïs was a French heroic tenor of memorable skills who recorded at the beginning of the 20th Century. Born in 1859, Escalaïs began his career at the Paris Opera in 1883 tackling the killer tenor part of Arnold from Rossini's Guillaume Tell. Critics raved, claiming the young tenor was the long awaited successor to the legendary tenors Nourrit and Villaret. The mantle of the most challenging tenor leads in French opera fell on Escalaïs's shoulders - despite being short of stature there was no denying the voice and he was soon singing Raoul in Les Huguenots; Vasco da Gama in L'Africaine; Eléazar in La Juive; and in the role made famous by Nourrit, Robert in Robert le diable. After half a dozen years the star tenor left the Paris Opera and appeared around France. Hugely welcomed at La Scala, Escalaïs handled many of the roles given up by Tamagno, who began concentrating exclusively on Otello. Italy eventually became a major center of his performances, singing many of his roles there in Italian: Indeed, for the next decade and a half Escalaïs spent more time there then in France. And it was while in Italy between 1905 and 1906 that Escalaïs recorded his two dozen plus records for Fonotopia in Milan. In 1908 Escalaïs returned to the Paris Opera, where he remained for many years as a major artist. The great singer died in November 1941 in occupied Paris.

The wonderful collector and critic, Leo Riemens, describes the voice as it recorded; "Clear and bright, it rang out with incredible intensity of sound and his top, which remained intact until the end of his career, was brilliant. He was the ideal interpreter for Meyerbeer and Halévy, for whose works we are short of adequate tenor voices nowadays, even in France. {Quite an understatement, this last observation!} A worthy successor to Duprez and Nourrit...in Italy he was compared to the great Tamagno, but the Frenchman's voice was more beautiful and had a fuller sound, also he could produce the most beautiful lyrical phrases. Unsurpassed are his brilliantly ringing top notes, which like a laser-sword cut through the trio from Guillaume Tell or the septet from les Huguenots."

Lebendige Vergangenheit offers 22 selections of the Fonotopia recordings - there's about 30 in all. While early acoustics rarely offer acceptable sound to modern ears, these might be said to be exceptional, with the tenor's clarion notes coming through with remarkable and surprising fullness and intensity. Since many of these early shellac surfaces were largely destroyed by over playing the exciting high notes it's extremely important the various records sourced for the Cd transfers are as pristine as humanly possible for century old sound artifacts. To a great extent this is the case - which gives this issue even more desirability - fine condition original records - they were mostly two-sided - run well into many hundreds of dollars.
Thus a Cd not only offers the curious the chance to hear a famous singer from the last century - or two! - but at a ridiculously inexpensive cost. Just HOW rare are some of these 1905 and 1906 Escalaïs records? The premier collector of the last century, Dr, Harold Wayne, noted that "no single archive in the 1960's could boast more than three or four discs."

Not everyone thinks Escalaïs enjoyed a beautiful voice - to my ears his color and his tone do not represent what makes him so remarkable and worthy of attention. What is quite incontrovertible: his high notes were unique among all tenors in power and their shattering brillance - recalling the stories about Tamagno's tremendous high notes causing the great chandeliers of opera houses to shake. In the notes to the Symposium Cd of Escalaïs, John Freestone gives copious notes to the various recordings - and well captures the athletic nature of the tenor in this description - "He quite obviously revelled in his upper register and often launched his top notes with the almost explosive accuracy of a marksman aiming at his target with perfect precision. If at times he sacrificed the shape of a phrase to increase the dramatic effect, the results were always thrilling."

Anyone who enjoys this Cd should also seek out the Symposium Cds, The Harold Wayne Collection Volume 14, all Escalaïs, and Volume 15, with 6 more selections along with some wonderful recordings by Litvinne and Maurel. Freestone's notes are quite just, with reasonable caveats, while still crediting the tenor's genuine greatness.
[[ASIN:B000009JSQ The Harold Wayne Collection, Vol. 14: Leon Escalais]]


title: Ruszkowska and Krushelnytska!

text:
Since Amazon erased my last review when I tried to add an umlaut, I won't even bother to attempt any fancy script here.

This historical Cd set features the prominent Ukranian soprano Krushelnytska (1872-1952) and the little known but superb Polish soprano Ruszkowska (1878 or 1879 -1948). The former was a great beauty who, after a few years singing in various parts of Poland, established herself as a major singer in Italy - taking the stage name Salomea Krusceniski. Her career was a series of highlights; she sang all over the world, from the Russian steppes to Chile in South America. A tall, striking beauty, Krushelnytska commanded attention and made a fabulous figure on stage. She performed the first Salome at La Scala under Toscanini and then premiered Elektra in Italy - she also was a star at La Scala. There she was highly praised for her stage presence, with Gatti-Casazza finding her Salome, "Better than all the others." At the height of her fame she took on Wagner, singing the leads in Isolde and Die Walkure and even singing Gotterdammerung under Toscanini during his last go at the opera in Buenos Aires. These were all, of course, in Italian. Yet despite a tremendous career Krushelnytska is remembered only in the Ukraine, where she is venerated not only as singer, but a great patriot who fought for Ukranian rights. The opera world remembers Krushelnytska as the soprano who rescued Puccini's Madama Butterfly after the disasters of the opening version, helping send Madama Butterfly on its amazing journey throughout the world's opera houses.

Krushelnytska made a little over thirty records, most come from the dawn of sound recordings, and require a great deal of indulgence - modern stereo they are not! Fortunately these include many of her best, most famous roles, and so we can hear her singing short selections from Boito's Mefistofele, this done twice; forgotten Polish operas; Puccini's Tosca and Madama Butterfly; Verdi's Aida and La Forza del Destino; Catalani's La Wally; two arias, one twice, from Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur; Catalani's Loreley; two arias from Die Walkure; and two from Meyerbeer's L'Africaine. There are also several songs, including two by Tosti - plus four Ukranian folk songs recorded after the singer's retirement, made 16 years after the last of her opera records during her campaign to promote Ukrainian culture.

Krushelnytska shows herself to be a grand singer, though also not always at ease with the early recording process. It has to be understood that everyone, from the engineers who cut the shellac recordings to each singers who sang into the horn, was a beginner at all this - everything was new and there were no standards. Generally what ensued was a lot of confusion on the part of the artists, who often were grabbed and moved about during the actual recording to avoid blasting, even asked to step several feet away from the horn. One soprano relates that the engineers bodily turned her completely around to face the back wall during her forte passages! Despite these trying limitations there are a number of qualified successes from the efforts of these long ago singers and record engineers. Krushlenystka manages to overcome the inherent obstacles of the crude early process to do quite well in several selections. These include the La Wally aria, and the aria from Loreley and "Povero fiori from Adriana Lecouvreur are stand outs, as is the Tosti song, "Ti rivedro". You can also hear the first Butterfly, at least first in the revised version. I would urge collectors who like these early singers to consider this set, especially given the rarity of several of the selections, not to mention the extreme unlikeliness anyone in the future will go to so much trouble as Marston did here. I would venture this is a one chance offering.

The other singer on this 2 Cd set, the Polish soprano Elena Ruszkowska, had a less illustrious career than Krushelnytska. She sang secondary roles at la Scala in 1908 and an Aida as early as 1906 in Vienna - it became her signature role, and she sang it to great acclaim in Italy, Spain and South America. By 1915, however, her career centers on Warsaw, where she remained as leading prima donna at the Warsaw Opera through 1928. Always allowing that these recordings represent a very small sampling, to my hearing she is slightly more impressive on records than her great Ukranian counterpart. Ruszkowska had a slightly lighter voice, and though it's still quite dramatic, she's not the sort to sing heavy Wagnerian roles. (Though she did essay a Kundry alongside the great Italian Wagnerian tenor, Guiseppe Borgatti, whose rare records can now be found on a Preiser Cd) [[ASIN:B004K5ABIC Legendary Voices: Giuseppe Borgatti]]Ruszkowska made only a few recordings and few solos -half of them are found on a partial set of Aida selections, mostly duets with lesser artists.

Ruszkowska's solo work is a real eye-opener! The Cd set includes Ruszkowska singing the Inflamatus from Rossini's Stabat Mater - a deservedly legendary recording with the soprano hitting all the notes with ever increasing brilliance, her attacks exceptionally alive and vibrant. She gives a memorable performance of Tosca's famous aria, Vissi d'arte, as well as great Verdi singing, too, with a superb reading of 'La vergine degli angeli' from La Forza del Destino. Trust me - you may not have heard of Ruszkowska - but she's the real deal!

This set includes long notes about the two singers with the emphasis on Krushelnytska. Michael Aspinall takes several pages discussing each of both artist's recordings in his usual highly opinionated but knowing way, and there's also a few pages by Mark Bailey on Krushelnytska of a more biographical nature, stressing her culture ties to her homeland. Also included are several pictures of Krushelnytska, but only one picture of Ruszkowska. The various recordings all receive careful informative datings and matrice numbers. Marston's transfers compare very well to the (few) originals I own of the singers and easily supersede my old Rubini Lp of Ruszkowska and a fading two Lp Russian Meloydia Lp of Krushelnytska.


title: Charming Selection make this Lp worth a Search

text:
Satie is Satie - if you like his music, the several selections on this Lp are well played, well recorded, and offer some less known - though by no means lesser - examples of the composer's idiosyncratic but charming corner of the musical universe.

There's some confusion on the order of the performances, so I'll detail the items, merely adding that pianist Frank Glazer also elsewhere recorded the piano music - a fairly priced two Cd set.[[ASIN:B000001K23 Satie: Piano Music]]

Side One - Trois Morceaux en forme de Poire of 1903.Piano four hands.
  Trois Mélodies of 1916.
  Trois Poèmes d' Amour
  Quatre Petites Mélodies of 1920.
  Ludions of 1923.

Side Two - Music Hall songs, Je Te Veux, Tendrement, Intermezzo Américaine.
  Choses Vues à Droite et à Gauche (sans lunettes). Violin and piano.
  Asperçus Désegréables of 1908 for piano four hands.
  En Habit de Cheval from 1911 for Piano four hands.

  Frank Glazer and Richard Deas play the music for piano four hands.
  Elaine Bonazzi sings the songs to Glazer's accompaniment.
  Millard Taylor plays the violin with Glazer in Choses Vues...

A nice keepsake calling up not one, but two bygone ages; Satie's turn of the century France, and my own Bay Area in the Sixties.


title: Tremendous Opera!

text:
This budget 2 Cd set of sensational Verdi performances by Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic is indeed just as the previous reviewer states, a regular DG offering. It differs from The other DG Verdi Overtures by Karajan and the Berlin on DG [[ASIN:B000001G87 Verdi: Overtures and Preludes]] by adding as a bonus a second Cd of early lesser works from what the composer ruefully termed his Galley Slave days! Music from "Un giorno di regno"; "Oberto"; "Givoanna d'Arco"; "Alzira"; "Attila"; and "Aroldo". Both of these sets - as of the date of this review - are available new over on Amazon's sister site in Germany. The single Cd version can also be found on the Amazon Uk site as an import. I apologize for not being able to give you a direct link, but you can easily go there simply be going to the bottom of Amazon's page where the overseas sites are listed, and searching in music. Europeans sites are not really difficult at all once you try them, and the postage rates, though steeper than domestic, are not too bad from the UK. (Though French postal costs, especially for DVDs, can be brutal! For those who don't know - a basic Cd, unlike a DVD, is region free.)

Karajan was always at home in opera, and these forceful readings make the greatest possible case (and excuse) for listening to Verdi overtures. The only downside is we don't have the opening music to Otello here, by that point Verdi has completely transformed his curtain raisers - he was well on the way by his middle period -  into a highly integrated combination of chorus and orchestra and vocalists. Curiously enough, at the same time Verdi was jettisoning the traditional overture to the same ash heap where he had left the cabaletta, Wagner had moved all the way back to the idea of the full opening overture in "Parsifal'. Great composers, always impossible to pin down!


title: The Musical Equivalent of a Morning Stroll Through La Jolla

text:
This 1715 set of 12 concerti by Tomaso Albinoni includes four solo oboe concerti and four concerto for two oboes, the very first oboe concertos published by an Italian composer. The oboe concerti showcase a remarkably happy musical affinity between Albinoni's traditional Venetian string orchestra and the new to Italy northern double reed instrument with its fresh, quirky, marvelous piquant sound.

The Venetian Baroque composers are, like their great predecessors in the field of painting, Titian, Giorgione, and Bellini, extraordinary colorists, and in his Opus 7 Albinoni effortlessly scatters a rich palette of dulcet harmonies. The overall effect sparkles like the reflections off the canals of Venice in the surrounding magically lighted atmosphere of La Serenissima, while pulsating below a bright forward energy enlivens the many graceful cantabile melodies flowing out from each of Albinoni's concerti.

I Musici never made a sunnier recording, and if you're not up for conquering the world this music's grace and charm is the perfect background to enjoy a state of dolce far niente.

The excellent notes discuss the music in greater detail than most such reissues. They describe all of the selections and give many helpful suggestions for better appreciating Albinoni's approach to the forms of his day.

Heinz Holliger, and Maurice Bourgue in the double concerti, play with what appears ridiculous, even effortless ease. Oboes shouldn't sound so easy to play, and Holliger certainly deserves his fame as a soloist. Albinoni was also a highly regarded opera composer, and throughout the set he treats the listener to beautiful long melodies. Throughout his writing a light touch prevails, not at all an admonition: it's a rare artist who can carry seemingly straighforward accompaniments with such an engaging buoyancy, echoing the ever present ebb and flow of the island Republic's gentle tides.

Finally a very fine digital restoration - always an important aspect when talking about violins, violas, cellos, a bassoon and of course the perky crown princes, the oboes. If not the Beethoven 9th, Albinoni's Opus 7 Concerti are welcome pleasures to a tired soul. They are redeemed by qualities even the most ambitious compostions must never turn their back on - an appreciation for the listener's need to find in music true delight and lasting joy.


title: Beethoven Playing That Beggars Criticism

text:
Richter's playing here rises to levels far beyond anything I would dare say anything against. The first of the three sonatas, the C major,Op.2 No 3, is given the sort of reading even Beethoven himself would have applauded.
Recorded in the seventies in Moscow the piano sound is surprisingly good.

It just doesn't get better than this - maybe different, but not better.


title: Some fine pianism though some inconsistencies

text:
Sofronitsky is not a household name to most contemporary Western classical music listeners. Which no doubt explains why this Excellent CD has become unavailable. Sofronitsky was born in Russia at the turn of the Twentieth Century. A child prodigy on the piano, he became aware of his gifts at an age where most children are still struggling to learn to ride a bicycle. On graduation from the Petrograd he became a tremendously popular concert artist. Right before the Depression he married a daughter of the composer Scriabin. His recordings not surprisingly find him an avid and persuasive champion of Scriabin's piano music. The German invasion of Russia in June of 1941 found him trapped in Leningrad. He remained in the Soviet Union till his death in 1961.
  Sofronitsky was a pianist of redoubtable technical and imaginative skills. At his best he is assuredly a 5 star artist. Despite inconsistencies perhaps occasioned by his preference for live recordings he can be an entrancing artist. Years of concertizing are revealed in the easy way he carries and supports his large tone. Soft sections are magically rendered, the piano rarely losing its best qualities of tone and color - an enviable skill. A Sofronitsky concert must have been a great draw! In the Schumann he gallops along like a great equestrian showing off what his mount can do. If some of the sections are not the equal of the best interpretations the majority of the recording captures very distinquished pianism. Sofronitsky shares with the greatest pianists the ability to spin out a melody like a great singer, and his easy flair at the keyboard carries a lilt to these, some of Schumann's finest works.
  Very recommended to anyone interested in discovering an overlooked great pianist. The sound, clean and carrying mono, is from 1952 studio performances and a concert given in 1959 near the end of his life in Moscow.


title: To be fair I am an Oprah and Deepak fan ...

text: To be fair I am an Oprah and Deepak fan.  Oprah does the opening for each meditation and then turns it over to Deepak.  Each meditation does not take very long.  Well worth it as it works.


title: Classic Dexter!

text: This book is classic Dexter.  There are more blind alleys and corners throughout than you usually find in two or three books, let alone just one.  This case causes Morse to use all his skills and abilities when he tries to unravel this mystery. It starts out with a headless torso turning up in a nearby river.  Morse and his faithful Lewis have to identify this body as well as find the killer.  More bodies keep turning up and it soon appears that they don't have any suspects, let alone an identity to the first murder victim.  Once uncovered though, it's a grand tale of deception and plotting all bound up in the ivory tower of an established, highly-regarded school of learning.  Good stuff.


title: Rare album.

text: My all-time favorite artist with great back-up. Rare album.


title: GREAT RECORDING

text: The recordings were excellent. The artist really brings back the sounds of yesterday.  Great voice. True tenor. I just wish it was on a CD format.


title: Extreme coolness.

text: Brown is a fine guitar player (see his performances and clinics on youtube) and unlike many guitar players, his singing actually compliments the music.  But after many listens, I realized that what I like best is how he knows when not to play.  If you listen to first few seconds of Baby Its You, when he hits that single harmonic, its fantastic.  Everything about his playing and singing says "I don't have anything to prove".  On his other disc, he does some nice turns on Jimi Hendrix but, you know,  everybody does that.  Don't get me wrong; he has the coolness to carry it off.  I just think he's got too much going on to be re-working Hendrix.


title: In very good shape and a terrific throat singing CD

text: Good old Tuva!


title: Love it!

text: I love everything joyce does!


title: Beautiful songs

text: Beautiful songs from Sonny Kamahele.. definitely worth to have it.