title: Too "Sunday school" to be cool

text:
Back when I purchased this CD, I had thought it was pretty good because it was one of the first contemporary Christian CDs to try and approach a real dance pop sound (she, Kim Boyce and Renee Garcia were some of the pioneers in the style). But listening to it now, I can see the "square peg/round hole" syndrome.

Angie Alan just was never really cut out for singing dance diva vocals...she almost never injects any real fire. And the tracks sound more 80s than 90s. La-la-la vocals give a Sunday school air to "Let's Get Busy". "Until We Meet Again" has a lovely arrangement, but Alan is shown up by it. Instead of soaring over it, you kind of wish they'd mix her out so you could hear the BGV's better. Nonetheless, two tracks here made the Christian radio charts: #12 "The Bottom Line" and #16 "Never Givin' Up".

HIGHLIGHTS:
The best cuts are probably the title track, love ballad "Heaven Sent" and "The Biggest Lie" (a song about temptation).

BOTTOM LINE (no pun intended):
Overall this CD is too forgettable for me to suggest it. If you're looking for a Christian dance pop CD of this era, I'd suggest Mad at the World's self-titled debut instead. It's synth heavy new wave a la Depeche Mode.

1 1/2 stars


title: The best demonstration of the Beatles/George Martin genius

text:
Genius is not simply being creative...it's not simply making heretofore unheard sounds...it's knowing what needs added and maybe even more important...what should be LEFT OUT. Over and over as I listen to experiments tried and discarded here, I say "Thank goodness they had the sense NOT to..". The saxes on "Lady Madonna", cavernous echo on Paul's voice for the middle section of "A Day in the Life", the rapid "Anybody got a little bit of money?" backing vocals that MIGHT have replaced "Ha Ha Mr. Willlll-son, Ha Ha Mr. Heath" on "Taxman". It's worth having this, the 2nd in the Anthology series, for those moments alone.

One big annoyance has to be addressed though: the phony "alternate takes" found here. Again and again on the SGT. PEPPER tunes, the compilers weren't happy to just issue an unused take as is..instead they created "composites"..mixing some of this unused take with an overdub of a vocal from another..maybe a little guitar from the master take. It's hard to justify this being done this way. On Anthology 1, they didn't attempt anything more creative than saying "What if this take..the 2nd best one..hadn't broken down?" by combining just a tiny section onto a near complete take. But on 2, they're actually engaged in RE-MIXING. The SGT. PEPPER sessions aren't nearly as revelatory as they should be for that reason. What's probably really needed (eventually) is a series of nominally priced box sets (a la the PET SOUNDS box) with intact session takes, chatter, a nice booklet, etc for what is one of the most often discussed albums in rock (and indeed music) history. On the good side, they've done away with the spoken bits many felt detracted from ANTHOLOGY I.

HIGHLIGHTS:
Even though it's obvious "Act Naturally" was a better choice and I'm glad that's what ended up on "HELP!", Ringo's "If You've Got Trouble" is a nice tune for him. I'm glad it's out of the vault. A live version of "Yesterday" here, where the screaming girls apparently paused for breath, is clear and listenable. An alternate take of "I'm Looking Through You" sounds nearly 'unplugged' it's so spare. While I still prefer the official version, this is a nice departure and extremely listenable. "Got to Get You Into My Life" is also a nice 'different' listen in an alternate take..very nearly vaudeville without the horns so many reviewers have decried as "blaring". It's obvious now that they MAKE the song on REVOLVER. An early version of "I'm Only Sleeping" is very pretty, but a pale imitation of the finished version with its backwards guitar and crooning backing vocals from the other Beatles. A stripped piano only demo of "Fool on the Hill" is great even with an unfinished lyric. A persistent snare drum makes "Your Mother Should Know" almost into a march on an alternate version. (A second alternate has a very choppy drum part..I'm glad it wasn't used).

LOWS:
The word "masochist" was invented solely to describe anyone who's actually WANTED an extended version of "You Know my Name (Look Up the Number)". It's easily the weakest number in the Beatles catalogue (yes, INCLUDING "Revolution 9"!) I also doubt many are that interested in instrumental tracks only versions of "Within You, Without You" or "Eleanor Rigby". "Tomorrow Never Knows" is a fairly boring song stripped of its otherworldly sound effects and processing. I'm glad Lennon didn't choose to leave it in its unfinished state here.

Again, the SGT. PEPPER material falls here because of the doctoring...even though there are interesting 'bits' scattered among them.

BOTTOM LINE:
This is arguably the peak of the Beatles recording career (only ABBEY ROAD comes close to matching PEPPER) and what's done with the phony alternate composite and remix "takes" for SGT. PEPPER is unconscionable. It's the equivalent of painting a moustache on the Mona Lisa. There's still plenty here you'll HAVE to have if you're a diehard fan, but if you're buying for the PEPPER material alone, you're better off with a bootleg.

3 1/2 stars


title: Important historically if not so much musically

text:
I'll take it as read that you're more than a casual fan if you're bothering to dig into collections of demos, outtakes, and live rarities so I won't bother telling you "Don't buy this if you want hits". Proceeding from this assumption, there's enough here that's really interesting to make it one you'll have to own. At the same time, really bad sound quality on some of them (everything on Disc 1 up until the Decca audition is really subpar..you're getting them because that's what's available, not because it's good sonic quality) and less than great material mean that you probably won't haul this one out that often.

HIGHLIGHTS:
Disc 1 has only a few great moments. It begins with the ballyhooed 'reunion' song "Free as a Bird", accomplished by George, Paul and Ringo overdubbing onto an unreleased John Lennon song to which they added a new bridge. It doesn't stand alongside their best stuff but it's equal to, say, a "Help!" album cut. "That'll be the Day" is probably the Holy Grail of Beatle rarities. It comes from a 78RPM recording of the group in their Quarrymen skiffle days. The sound quality is TERRIBLE...more from the recording quality probably than the source. (I've heard better sounding material of that vintage, such as Elvis' first recorded song on his 50s boxset). The instrumentals are pretty smooshed together without a lot of definition as though you're in the back of the hall where they're playing. But it's the only surviving copy of the performance, so you take what you can get.
"My Bonnie", though it contains Tony Sheridan rather than any of the Beatles singing, is a kinetic version of the old lullaby. You can see how it got Brian Epstein's attention. Of the tunes from the failed Decca audition, only their cover of the Coasters "Three Cool Cats" holds any real appeal. Based on this, it becomes easier to sympathize with the man who turned down the most successful rock and roll group of all time. Probably its greatest interest is the chance to hear the Fabs with Pete Best behind the drum kit. As heard there, the spark just isn't evident. "Cayenne", an early McCartney penned instrumental, sounds like a cross between surf music and Spanish flamenco. It's not among their finest work, obviously, but it has its charm.A 5 song set recorded in 1963 for Swedish radio is charged with energy. The guys do "I Saw Her Standing There" and "From Me to You" along with versions of "Money (That's What I Want)","You Really Got a Hold on me", and "Roll Over Beethoven" that top the official studio releases.

Some of Disc 2's highlights are, again, more for historical reasons than musical ones. The Royal Command performance where John makes his infamous "rattle your jewelry" comment is here, as is the Ed Sullivan Show performance of "All My Loving". You also hear the boys doing a cover of 60s classic R&B number "Shout!". But the best stuff here are alternate takes, demos, and unreleased material: "Leave my Kitten Alone", an outtake from "Beatles for Sale", trumps some of the stuff that made the cut. It's nice to have it out there. "No Reply"'s demo has an unfinished lyric. Two interesting alternate versions of "I'll Be Back" (one a waltz style) are also presented. Alternate versions of "Eight Days a Week" have vocal intros/codas instead of the familiar guitar fade-in.

LOW SPOTS:
I'd love to tell you that the two earliest vocal compositions from Beatles here ("In Spite of all the Danger" from the Quarrymen 78 and "You'll Be Mine") are at least decent tunes. But sadly, they're not. You haven't been missing anything there. "Searchin'" and "sheik of Araby", both corny novelty numbers from the Decca audition, are no great shakes either. A never before heard George composition on disc 2 ("You Know What to Do") was right to have been left in the can. It's unremarkable compared to better John-Paul material. A slower "You Can't Do That" suffers for it. As many have mentioned, the spoken bits break up the music and probably could have been done with quotes in the liner notes instead.

BOTTOM LINE:
You won't play this often because a lot of it simply is poor sound quality. Some of the better "sounding" stuff is just weak material. And a lot of the tunes here in live versions have already turned up from other venues on "Live at the BBC". But the historical value makes several of these invaluable. Buy it, listen to it once or twice, and marvel that the choppy guys you hear on "That'll be the Day" end up making "Sgt Pepper","Abbey Road","Rubber Soul" and "Revolver".


title: Doesn't catch fire often enough

text:
Longtime Christian music fans may recognize Jimmy Abegg (Jimmy A) from the band Vector and as 1/3 of the Charlie Peacock Trio. Here, he steps away from the fold for a solo outing. While it's better than many debuts, it's not going to make anyone forget his "day job".

The album's strongest track by far is in essence a reunion of the group. Peacock himself and Vince Ebo (who did the vocal arrangement) join him for "Thin but Strong Cord", trading lines with him in what amounts to almost a vocal "cutting contest". As each tries to better the others, Abegg puts in his strongest vocal of the CD. Christian radio listeners concurred, making this one a #2 hit (and the only charter).

Overall, uptempo tracks like his ode to a lady love ("Touch of Love", the other radio hit) and the struggle with temptation tune "If I Give In" fare best.

Ballads like "Everything Changes" suffer from less vocal passion despite a nice loungey track including vibes. "The Passion of Creation", where Abegg insists that in making art we better understand God, the ultimate Creator, he seems just the opposite...dispassionate. "Contemplate the Emptiness" is noteworthy as the exception, a midtempo number that cooks (largely thanks to "backing" singer Vicki Hampton, who actually handles significant parts of the song...)

There are enough tracks of promise here that I hope Abegg will one day record again (right now, he makes his living as a painter and in photography). But there are enough lackluster tracks here that it can only be called average.


title: Wow, I  cant beleive this is available!

text: I saw these guys a couple of years ago, playing a happy hour at my university.  I remember really liking them, though, I dont know how much of that had to do with the beer.  At any rate, they were definately a cut above most of the acts we had playing.  I remember commenting to a friend that they sounded like the doors if they had been a rockabilly/swing band... only to have them rip into a song that sounded EXACTLY like "Love Her Madly" about 15 seconds later.<br />This is among my favorite CDs that I picked up during these sets.  "Blue Eyed Devil" is brilliant, and everyone should hear it at least once.  3 years ago (during the swing revival), that song would have made these guys famous if a radio programmer had picked up on it.  "Gift From God" is pretty good too.  Check it out if you get the chance.


title: Five Stars

text: If you are looking for GOOD CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN MUSIC then I consider this song a DEFINITE MUST HAVE!!!;


title: This CD pretty much met my expectations

text: This CD pretty much met my expectations.  I was a little disappointed that this CD was missing a few tracks that I expected it to have (Blow away AND Faster).  But that may have been because I ordered the wrong version of the CD, (There are MULTIPLE versions of this CD available on the Amazon.com website.  I wound up buying the EXTRA TRACKS from Amazon.com on MP3 though.


title: Great CD-----Good Seller!!!!!!!

text: Very overlooked band.  Great CD (album when released).  "No Time To Lose" is an excellent song with a great book.  If you are my age (48) and watched MTV when it first aired, then you saw the music video for "No Time To Lose" with the roller skating at Venice Beach.


title: Nothing Short of an Epic Fantasy in Music, Art, and Story

text:
After the release of RELAYER (November ’74), between 1975 and 1976, each member of Yes released a solo album, some better than others, but all of them had at least an inkling of semblance to Yes music, in part, within those solo works.  Jon Anderson though, as the main creative thrust of the group, and the “voice” of course, would create a spectacle that truly seemed like a “Yes” album, both in scope and in ideas (as well as album art, featuring artwork by the artist David Roe) all of which paid homage to the artwork of Roger Dean who had been building a fantasy world through Yes album graphics.  Jon would even dedicate the album to Dean.  On July 24, 1976, Jon Anderson released OLIAS OF SUNHILLOW, a musical fantasy epic on which Jon plays literally every instrument, writes every word, and sings every verse, including multi-tracked vocals for chorale effects.  OLIAS is dense, rich, and ebullient, a new-agey adventure that realistically preceded the “new age” genre coming soon.  It is a complex album with sometimes indescribable musical textures that envelope you while listening.  A fantasy story from beginning to end with a plot driven purpose, the album even included a multi-page spread of written storyboard and beautiful artwork (this is wonderfully preserved in my Japanese Import copy of the CD).

What Anderson did proved his central role in the Yes discography thus far and it even, to borrow a phrase, “charted his course” for the future, including his collaborative works with Vangelis and later Kitaro.  Like FRAGILE, CLOSE TO THE EDGE, TALES FROM TOPOGRAPHIC OCEANS, and RELAYER, the ambitious OLIAS is full of mystical swirls, classical layers, and lush orchestrations (all provided electronically).  The mysticism derives from magical shamans of a science fiction world, in a storyline familiar to many Sci-Fi writers and film-makers, but Jon makes it a special sojourn, a journey across the space time continuum.  As the cover of FRAGILE suggests, a beautiful planet is about to explode, and as the subsequent artwork in COSE TO THE EDGE and YESSONGS portray, the seeds of that origin world will land across the universe in other places.  Anderson employs a long list of synthesizer electronics and tape looping (including, I suspect the mellotron), Asian and Celtic strings, and a host of percussive sounds, all weaving a tapestry of instrumental works and an underlayment for multi-tracked and solo vocal workouts.  The result both reaches back to the sonic experiments of We Have Heaven and look forward to the beauty of Wondrous Stories.  He claims he spent five non-stop months in the studio working on this project, even sleeping there for the last two of those most nights.

I can’t separate this work into a track by track evaluation as the whole is just a continuous journey divided into two sections that were sides one and two of the LP.  From the Ocean Song opening the story through the Flight Of The Moorglade closing side one, we are introduced to and remain enslaved by an otherworldly sound that enchants and reveals.  Solid Space, opening side two (track 6) begins the largest movement and most beautiful second half, melding into the magical Moon Ra – Chords – Song Of Search with its far eastern influences; and finally To The Runner (track 8) gives us pause to reflect how far “Yes” has come and will go, the perfect ending to a perfect musical journey.

I can’t stress enough how “cosmic” this album truly is and even if you are not a Yes fan, per se, if you love the textures of so-called new age music, the fusion of Indian, far-Eastern, near-Eastern, Celtic and Mediterranean, you will most likely love this CD.  OLIAS OF SUNHILLOW was actually the most successful of the Yes band members solo works, reaching #8 in the UK charts and breaking into the US Top 50.  The next best was Chris Squire’s Fish Out of Water, a moderate commercial success upon its release, reaching number 25 in the UK and number 69 in the U.S., harboring the FM staple Lucky Seven, a jazzy departure from Yes.

Audio?  I would steer you towards any of the Japanese imports available from the 90’s to now.  My copy is Atlantic, AMCY-18, made in Japan, CD comes with 8-page booklet and Japanese insert and OBI wrapper, from 1990; clear gorgeous remastered sound, no high or low punchouts, just sonically perfect as my original vinyl LP.  There is an Audio Fidelity SACD, Hybrid release from 2014, but I have had mixed results with SACD releases, some very fine, some lacking, and I cannot speak to this one.  All of my Japanese imports however, have been excellent and in some cases even better than the original recordings!

Lastly, if you are of storyline interested, OLIAS OF SUNHILLOW tells the story of a magical alien race and their need to journey to a new world as a planetary catastrophe is about to unfold. Olias is the chosen architect of the airship/space-glider Moorglade, which will be used to fly his people to their new home. Ranyart is the navigator for the ship, and Qoquaq is the Shaman leader who unites the four tribes of Sunhillow in their exodus.  Beautifully told in storyboard, art, and music, the enchantment is nothing short of modern fantasy epic.  Enjoy it!


title: The SACD replaces my 2010 Columbia Legacy Remaster (by Sony)

text:
ILLUMINATIONS:

Iridescent and fluid, lustrous, meditative and then engulfing, ILLUMINATIONS creates photons of light out of dark matter, playing like heavenly symphony for guitar and harp.  Santana plucks at the strings, holding notes which vibrate on an unearthly yet universal frequency.  Saxophone and sometimes flute, flitter and erupt in free flights of elegance dancing around guitar and harp.  Three angels of diverse personality, Air, Water, Sunlight, anchor the heavily Eastern influenced (drenched in Indian chordal complex structures) compositions; the last angel (Sunlight) rises on the Eastern Oriental shore, illuminates the chaotic free form progressive jazz world and like a renewed battery floods the landscape with direct current that electrifies the spirit world.  "Bliss" and "Illuminations" provide the soul with rest and transformation after having looked upon the faces of these angelic beings.  "Love is God's Life Breath within us" (Guru Sri Chinmoy Aphorism).  ILLUMINATIONS, as the title implies is Light in this Music.  The frequency of vibration he elicits from his guitar does "something" to your spirit when you listen to it.  Carlos calls this The Universal Tone and entitled his recent autobiography thusly.  He says in that book that the works of this primarily jazz period are the purest expressions of his musical vision and calls the music "his most personal".

Remember that Santana flourished under the guidance of Bill Graham and after three monstrous albums that set up guitarist and band as a powerhouse in Columbia Records, Carlos was nearly free to write his own tickets.  Starting with CARAVANSERAI in '72, Santana embarked upon a path of both spiritual discovery (along with spirit mate John McLaughlin, his wife Deborah, and drummer Michael Shrieve), and of musical discovery.  Both paths brought him to crossroads with jazz greats (Miles and McLaughlin, Coltrane and Joabim) and so his music reflected both the influences of the art, and influences of the spirit.  WELCOME and BORBOLETTA were jazz triumphs, LOTUS was a holy grail, LOVE DEVOTION SURRENDER with Mahavishnu John was a Eureka Moment for Carlos.  All the while, Bill Graham sweated bullets and thought CARAVANSERAI should have been entitled CAREER SUICIDE.  But the culmination of Carlos' musical and spirit path would collide like asteroids with Alice Coltrane, widow of the great experimentalist jazz sax maestro!  Alice was also into Self Realization but was not a follower of Sri Chinmoy (she named herself Turiya from "The Highest Song Of God").  Together with Tom Coster in the production line, and greats like Jules Broussard, David Holland and Jack DeJohnette in "the band", and a full orchestra cleansed in Indian musical scales, Carlos and Alice created this bold and beautiful work of art.  Carlos' guitar is an angelic being in and of itself in this drama, Alice not only flourishes her signature harp strings and arranges the grandiosity of the work, she breaks out in free form Wurlitzer gone space explorer exchanging the madness with Carlos and Jules in Angel Of Sunlight!  However you love it, if you are a devotee of Carlos Santana's soulful string bending, of his sustained vibration, of the giant works of Coltrane, of Miles' Agharta/Panthalassa period, if your musical needs include a different kind of "soul music" or your definition of "new age" includes the astral plane, this is a Masterpiece, a Work Of Art, and Transcendental Phenomena!  One might also consider, that where LOVE DEVOTION SURRENDER was the mystic province of two masculine axe-wielders powering their way into the divine light, ILLUMINATIONS sails on waters of balanced Feminine and Masculine devotionals and ultimately offers up a more rewarding religious experience, at least if that is what you have in mind.  I think that Carlos and Alice would agree that this project was nothing short of inspirational.

Band Credits:
- Carlos Santana / lead & rhythm guitars, wind chimes, finger cymbals, co-producer
- Alice Coltrane / piano, Wurlitzer, harp, string arranger & conductor, co-producer
- Tom Coster / acoustic & electric pianos, Hammond, finger cymbals, co-producer
- Jules Broussard / flute, soprano saxophone
- David Holland / double bass
- Jimmy Bond / bass
- Jack DeJohnette / drums, cymbals
- Armando Peraza / congas
- Phil Browne / tambura
- Phil Ford / tabla


title: Advancements In Primal Rock Therapy

text:
In 1973 I had pretty much had my fill of power rock / blues based rock / etc (I was full up on Zeppelin, Who, Hendrix, and more than a few others) and was excitedly swimming in “progressive rock” music; this was when a friend who was solidly into Cream, Clapton, Yardbirds, you know the drill, gave me a simply titled album called AEROSMITH.  Well horn-swoop-me-buffalo-pony-dog-sled-on-ice I was hooked on first listen to side one of the record; especially that wild One Way Street where he does That Thing with his voice, incredible, so who were these Boston dudes that looked like creepy gypsies, they drag you right in with their Make It introduction, win a contract for your soul with Dream On and reel you in with One Way Street.  By the time you’ve finished walking the dog all you want is more, so you have to wait almost 15 months for another fix and in the meantime you literally wear out the grooves on the debut album.  Enter GET YOUR WINGS.

Because the debut album slayed me, and then enslaved me, GET YOUR WINGS became my 2nd favorite Aerosmith album and over all these years has easily maintained that valuable also-ran slot, even though many critics think it is a better album than AEROSMITH.  I can see why they say that, from a musical intellectuality you can make a strong case, so I will present the evidence, continue to love the sophomore release, and continue to adore the debut as the goddess Isis.

What makes both albums work so well, and to a certain degree the third, TOYS IN THE ATTIC as well, is the full bore hard rock edge delivered with astounding talent which never devolves into pyrotechnical solo indulgences.  The group, all five men, deliver a first rate quality product full of emotional satisfaction, even when the emotion is self-aggrandizement, or sloppy sexual innuendo.  They are rough boys, they played rough from the start and they know how to make rough look really well polished.  On AEROSMITH and GET YOUR WINGS Steven Tyler maintains an ecstatic control over his voice that is purely pleasing and avoids the extravocular exercises he erupts into later in the bands career.  By that definition, I am a 70’s Aerosmith fan.  They get my kudos for the clean-up act return, post-80’s (PUMP), but after 1980 there was a bruising and the music has never been quite the same for me.  I felt the decline begin as early as ROCKS, and I believe most Aerosmith fans who were on board from the beginning will agree that the initial trilogy is their altar of worship.

Just like with the first dining experience, Aerosmith serve up an 8 course meal, four a side starting with rock solid appetizer blazing through delish desert.  If anything, GET YOUR WINGS is even tighter than AEROSMITH, especially in places like Spaced which exemplifies Whitford’s ability to emulate (without copying) Pete Townshend, thus augmenting Perry beautifully.  The band’s ode to their roots, Yardbirds’ Train Kept A Rollin’ is perhaps the greatest rendition ever of that classic, even better than the original in my ears (oh well) You GET: an original arrangement which spaces and segues into a (false) live rendition which then cuts to a near perfect Yardbirds arrangement, the engineering and mastering of the subject is simply amazing, nothing short of that.  Seasons Of Wither is our first introduction to Tyler’s ability to arrange heavy rock into orchestral balladry which works so well as both hard and soft rock delicately balancing as it swings from one side to the other.  If you like your rock served up like a full course meal prepared in brick fire furnaces, this is your meal ticket.  That other group from Boston, the one that decided to peel the name off the city and affix to their bumper, they are built on patent leather spit-shine polish, whereas Aerosmith walk in well-worn comfortable but wholly holey shoes!  This somehow feels so much more natural and organic.

Rolling Stone magazine originally described Aerosmith best in very succinct terms: “They think 1966 and play 1974 — something which a lot of groups would like to boast”, at the time this was a huge compliment, but to advance it further, Aerosmith has not aged at all with time and their music also remains current and exciting!  Now go rock out!


title: The Elephant In The Room

text:
Okay, let's address the elephant in the room.  Everyone else has.  It is 1974.  ELP and Yes are on hiatus.  College kids are looking for the next Prog Rock door buster.
And what have we here?  We have a keyboardist with wizard fingers, a bass/guitar player on lead vocals, and a drummer who can match the keys and time signature changes with astounding accuracy.  Is it a blatant attempt at cashing on a tried and true supergroup's success or is it circumstance?  Let's see.  Emerson's bent is at fusing classical music with concert rock.  Jurgen Fritz, not so much, more interested in jazz fusion interlacing.  Lake's lyricism is for the most part bombastic or humorous ("someone get me a ladder"??? really?).  Fritz and Bathelt wrote much more sensible, sincere, and accessible lyrics.  In fact they are closer to Supertramp in nature than ELP.  Helmut Kollen in fact has a more diverse delivery than Lake.  Bathelt's prowess on percussion and timing easily matches Palmer and he seems more at home with fusion jazz than classical rock.  Yes you can draw comparisons, but that is all you can do.  My geeky progressive rock college crowd and I ate this (and Spartacus afterwards) up without a single dart being thrown at ELP.  Someone here who reviewed this said he found them more in line with Yes than ELP.  To a certain degree this is true, except for the lyricism, entirely different animals.  Triumvirat wrote  working class song lyrics, Yes experimented with stream of consciousness writing that went deeper than simple sentences and rhyme scheme.  As stated earlier, I find the "message" in the music to be more closely aligned to Supertramp or even to Genesis (Selling England By The Pound comes directly to mind).  SPARTACUS will be a triumph of concept art, but for pure unadulterated entertainment, the money and prize goes to ILLUSIONS ON A DOUBLE DIMPLE.

Triumvirat sometimes suffered from the same regaling which accompanied Starcastle, a Midwestern American progressive rock group which was insufferably called a Yes clone.  I love their first two albums, the singer does have a Jon Andersonish voice and the musical composition has a definite similarity to Yes, but at the same time the overall "feeling" of the music is bright, much lighter, and much more "Amercian" than Yes' music.  In the same vein, Tiumvirat, a German group, has a "feeling" to it which is as far away from Emerson Lake & Palmer as Kansas is.  Their muse is sociopolitical and very continental European for that time, but with a backbone that reached into the American social consciousness as well.  That being said, one could more easily compare them to Pink Floyd, Supertramp, and yes Genesis or Tull, but only lyrically.  The music is Triumvirat, all theirs, and quite remarkable on its own.  After SPARTACUS the light would unfortunately fade as OLD LOVES DIE HARD began a downward spiral where the muse seemed to all but vanish.  POMPEII was a valiant effort at recapturing the SPARTACUS magic but it fell short and after that, fans drifted away.  The predecessor to ILLUSIONS was a 1972 effort called MEDITERRANEAN TALES which was a bit disjointed and only showed a hint of the promise which would be fulfilled with ILLUSIONS.  It grabbed some late sales from the curious who were looking for more double dimples, but ultimately failed in the hope as one quickly discovered a keyboard driven disjointed experiment.

This sophomore album and it's followup were the peak of creativity for the band as all three members seemed to be interlocked in perfect sync with each other.  Especially on this album, the creative juices simply made a superb cocktail (well of course!  A double dimple is a high ball drink with peach schnapps, rum, and fruit juices; and Dimple in the UK is a brand of Scotch so make mine a double!).

So back to the elephant in the room.  Is Triumvirat an ELP rip-off, a "poor man's ELP", a blatant attempt at musical one-upmanship?  No.  Not even close.  All you have to do is close your eyes and listen...


title: A Different Perpective (2016 Review)

text:
I will try to keep this simple since there are a lot of long reviews here and I want to approach the review a little differently.

I generally write long detailed reviews of albums and try to embed a historical or relatable FYI around the prognosis, usually because as I rebuild my classic rock collection from vinyl to CD, a project which is quite daunting itself, I find myself taking a long second look at music that was key in my early years.  College kids in the early to mid 70's were (and still are today, I believe) very experimental and willing to subscribe to investigating and investing in their music.  The era and genre we now call progressive rock was full to brim with every fusion you could think of.  Miles Davis was gone electric and psychedelic and funk, other jazz stalwarts were taking their instruments not only into prog-rock fusion, but exploring Indian musical notation, and even dissonant cacophonies that required rapt attention.

In the midst of all this, Yes, ELP, and Renaissance (initially) were fusing classical styles to their folk and/or rock experiments.  Many other acts would tumble out of this particular Yahtzee cup.  Actually, precursors to this movement were The Moody Blues and Electric Light Orchestra, as well as King Crimson, The Nice, and others who produced the superstars of Prog Rock.  Oh yeah, and enough of other reviewers like to lump Genesis into this stew as well, though I don't quite see Genesis as fusing classical music into the mix as much as Old English folk and drama.  Yes actually drew from multiple wells: Classical, Folk, Jazz, and a few other spices.

Like most fans, I came to Yes with FRAGILE strictly through the dormitory hallways of early 1972.  By the fall of the same year CLOSE TO THE EDGE had everyone with intellectual curiosity going Ga Ga and it was decided this was some sort of masterpiece.  Well, several decades later I have to admit that it was and still is.  There is really nothing like at all.  Except for maybe... TALES FROM TOPOGRAPHIC OCEANS.  After initial exposure, more than a few of us back tracked to THE YES ALBUM and TIME & A WORD and maybe even YES.  You could track the natural progression of a group that was steadily moving from a post-psychedelic brandishing towards a sophisticated philosophical introspection and even science fiction story boarding.  Those first three albums are, well...surprisingly good.  But with the personnel changes that resulted in the FRAGILE/CTTE crew, they very nearly achieved a godhead in musical talent that was at once cohesive and individual.  I honestly do not believe Wakeman would have had the success he did with Six Wives Of Henry VIII and Journey To The Center Of The Earth if it had not been for his name recognition in association with Yes.

CLOSE TO THE EDGE was vast, incredibly epic in a tapestry of sonic perfection which cannot be put adequately into human words.  As thoughtful as the poetic lyricism and musical explosiveness is, it evades description other than to call it a work of art.  So between 1972 and 1974 Yes travelled the world on the crest of a wave doing concerts on a rotating stage with Roger Dean landscapes and pastel laser lightshows, captured effectively on the three LP monster live album YESSONGS.

In the meantime, Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, and Steve Howe, and whole lotta college kids like myself were reading The Autobiography Of A Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda (Santana, McLaughlin, and a host of others were getting into Self Realization which of course motivated fans).  The same Shastric Scriptures of Hinduism which perked up our curiousity were capturing the artistic leanings of Anderson.  The project then became monumental:  shruti, smriti, purana, and tantra.  The shrutis are the revealed scriptures, the Vedas (The Revealing Science Of God).  The smritis or remembered lore was written down in a remote past as the world's longest epic poems, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana (The Remembering).  Puranas are ancient allegories (The Ancient); tantras rites or rituals we use to remember and to teach.  This then became the ambition of Yes.  Unfortunately Bill Bruford had had enough of this kind of religiosity in the music and turned his drum set over to Alan White.  Bad timing since percussion solos were in the offing here, and Alan, capable enough, could not match what Bruford would have done with it.  Wakeman thankfully held on through this effort until the end and we have some incredible textures painted by him.

TALES requires a dedicated Yes fan, a musicologist philosopher, or an attentive youth with a bent towards free form art who can appreciate what has been created here.  This is CLOSE TO THE EDGE taken to the precipice of The Edge.  Your choice to drop or just look.  It is a beautiful work.  It has moments of sheer profundity both musically and lyrically.  It also grows on you with time.  I did not like it as much in 1974 as I do now.  CTTE was instant.  TALES took some time.  I now consider them near equals in ambition and scope.  These two albums are the pinnacle of what Yes would ever achieve.  I do like later albums, some more than others, even some of the new things, but FRAGILE, CTTE, & TALES are a triumvirate of progressive rock perfection.

A final thought.  One of the landmarks of classic Yes is the stream-of-consciousness philological writing style which Anderson employed in lyrics from Fragile through Relayer.  His poetry requires study to get every meaning and intent out of it.  This then was a sign of the uniqueness of Yes that combined with the classical and avant garde fusion jazz weavings of their music.  To be true, they were "progressive" before this, and certainly after this, but what most people call "classic" Yes is the pinnacle of their art found here on three albums that are indeed pinnacles of the entire movement.  They deserve to be held in the same regard with Dark Side Of The Moon, Wish You Were Here, ELP's Pictures At An Exhibition and Trilogy, and in my mind the Pangea/Panthalassa releases of Miles.  This is high art for both student and audiophile.  If you are looking for easy pop tunes, it is far and away from here.

Some notes on what follows (if you are interested):

RELAYER followed 11 months later.  RELAYER and I never got along very well, it had it's moments but it seemed like Mahavishnu Orchestra on steroids and other than To Be Over, the twinkle seemed to have gone out (for a moment) of Yes.  Patrick Moraz was an "adequate" replacement for Wakeman and did his job okay, but I think that Anderson and Howe made an epic war film here and it didn't fit into the mold of what I wanted from Yes.

OLIAS OF SUNHILLOW, a solo project by Anderson released a year after RELAYER was more of a return to the classic Yes sound, beautiful, epic in scope, with a sonic brilliance which belonged in the Yes catalogue.

GOING FOR THE ONE a year after that ('77) returned Wakeman to the fold and other than the title track (simply awful) the album has shining moments and some great songs, including Parallels by Chris Squire, a bassists dream of songwriting perfection.

After this, Yes begins to mutate into something which eventually becomes a composite of Yes and The Buggles which produces an actually terrific pop album called 90125 after a debacle called DRAMA.  The next best stop to make is ANDERSON BRUFORD WAKEMAN HOWE a non-Yes Yes project which for all purposes is Yes during some legal wrestling with Buggles aligned Yes mates or rather the execs at the label.  REUNION is also a solid late entry that combines literally all of the Yes factions into somewhat a cohesive whole.  The "adult oriented pop" of the recent HEAVEN & EARTH with a Jon Anderson sound-alike sent tremors through me.  It took great will and a fans heart to try it out and find that it was all that bad.  Just NOT YES as far from Yes as one could imagine.


One of the following:

USA release, 1994 Virgin/Rolling Stones Records 7243-8-39498-2-3

Euro Import/made in Japan CK 40492 (“Grammafoonplaten”) remastered and released in the 90’s

Both of these (I have the latter import version) have good quality sound equal to the original vinyl.  Neither of these are censored in any way (an unusual practice in the new millennium, don’t you think?) nor are they missing any of the original album art!

In 1973 I decorated my wall with a cardboard insert poster which came with this album.  It was actually a pretty tasty looking soup which had been grotesquely spoiled with a freshly severed goat head laying on top.  Perhaps this was the meaning of the album in general.  After all, side one, first 5 tracks of the CD, was darkly depressing, rank with death, solitude, withdrawal, violence, and poverty.  Two more songs on side two follow this path.  Only the Silver Train, Can You Hear The Music, and Star Star finale hold out any other offering, and the last is an all-out raunchy, verbal affront on an unknown (some speculate Carly Simon but improbable) female with untidy habits and a penchant for movie stars (hence the real title Starf****r which you can discern from the lyrics).  Keith Richard’s Chuck-Berry guitar leads and licks are incredible and the album’s finale ends up being the rock song on the disc!

So a lot of people, some fans and many critics did not like this album, especially since if followed the golden trail ending with Sticky Fingers and Exile On Main Street.  They accused the Stones of having “slipped into decadence and rock star excess with Goats Head Soup” (All Music) which I find is almost diametrically opposite the lyrical intent of the album!  For me this was the last great Stones album and should be included in any collection which includes the former two mentioned and Let It Bleed and Beggars Banquet.  These five albums are THE five Stones albums to own.  In my youth, you were either Beatles or Stones, it said something about your character if not musical tastes and most people did fall into one or the other.  Good boys, Bad boys routine.  Yes there were plenty who sat on the fence and declared both!  But inside, everyone knew you were one or the other.  I was Beatles.  I only owned two Stones albums, magnificent pieces I thought, on initial release:  Sticky Fingers and Goats Head Soup.  From there I went to Hot Rocks and then backed into the other three of the five I have mentioned.  But this was well into college as I just was not a “Stones fan” per se.

GOATS HEAD SOUP is actually a delicious main course of some of the more heartfelt and empathetic Stones songs in their catalogue.  It kicks back past EXILE to the more serious tracks on STICKY FINGERS before, and draws from the same well that created  Wild Horses and Sister Morphine.  If you like that side of The Stones, then GHS is for you.  Contrary to popular opinion there is no “excess” or “opulence” on this album and with the possible exception of TATOO YOU (which contains mainly material written and/or performed during this period), GHS will be the last “great” Stones effort.  If you are looking for Stones “Excess” go to IT’S ONLY ROCK ‘N ROLL, EMOTIONAL RESCUE, SOME GIRLS.

For those of you who love Rolling Stones blues-based music, 100 Years Ago, Coming Down Again, Heartbreaker (a politically motivated song which stills echoes today with police shootings of youth), the country-fried Silver Train, Hide Your Love, and Winter will all satisfy your taste in the SOUP.  And of course there is the heart-rending poverty-stricken ballad Angie, a #1 chart topper in ’73 which preceded release of the album.  This is perhaps the most dramatic single by Stones, after Wild Horses.  Can You Hear The Music is something akin to the Japanese-y sounds of Moonlight Mile on STICKY FINGERS, an oriental influenced vocal-overdub-rounds that works well as a catchy tune, which along with Silver Train and Star Star, is the only other “upbeat” song.

That leaves Dancing With Mr. D, perhaps the song which garnered so much hate-mail from the critics.  The fact that it leads off the album is probably why GHS became infected in ’73.  A slow-funk rocker fully laden with desiccation that reflects the Goats Head Soup poster, some have called this the reason that “This is where the Stones' image began to eclipse their accomplishments” (All Music again).  Jagger’s usual in-your-face prominence doesn’t help the fact that this song deals with both Death and with a protagonist who is about to engage in some sort of necrophilia.  But whatever your thoughts, this is after all the bad boys, The Stones, the ragged excesses of rock and roll, rolling over into the unfortunate 70’s.  And this song in a way, introduces us to The Stones of The 70’s.  You’ll get it.

So if “your Stones” you might not rank this album so high, but if “your Beatles” you will probably rank it a lot higher, up there next to FINGERS which was probably IMO their masterwork.


title: (2014 Review) of Maybe The Greatest Pink Floyd Album

text:
Depressingly mixed reviews from the time of initial release in 1971 through to 2014, MEDDLE has been both commercially successful and critically successful, even though some of the reviews over time have painted a picture of “transition” between the older space-rock Floyd of Ummagumma and Atom Heart Mother (immediately preceding this album), and the spacey social experiment which began with Dark Side Of The Moon (immediately following this album).  I have my own personal favorite album of the group and it is not this one, but MEDDLE does come close and included in the great montage which is MEDDLE, DARK SIDE OF THE MOON, WISH YOU WERE HERE, and ANIMALS, it should be considered as standing equally, head and shoulders with all.  THE WALL and FINAL CUT are great stupendous Pink Floyd albums, but I do not include them here because they stand on their own as a separate Pink Floyd entity, mainly an autobiographical/psychological excursion by Roger Waters with Gilmour and crew in tow.  No, I  meant what I said in the header to this review, MEDDLE may well be Pink Floyds greatest achievement and here is why:

Over 500 reviews on Amazon and counting and I became tired of looking for someone who said different from the host of others, including published critics.  The “Discovery” series release of Pink Floyd’s discography, beginning in 2011, was intended primarily to introduce “new” listeners to the body of work of a work of art in their own right.  I think the new packaging and the re-mastering have done that quite well, and obviously there is a whole new generation of fans sporting Floyd t-shirts and blasting Floyd from their car stereos and campus dorms.

I have owned three and four copies of many Pink Floyd albums, the original US release, then the import vinyl releases a few years afterwards (on Harvest labels) and then CD releases and reissues.  My Ummagumma, Meddle, and The Wall are all 2011 discovery reissues.  The quality of sound on the 2011 mastering is nothing short of perfection.  ‘Nuff said about that.

Before MEDDLE, Pink Floyd had quite nicely carved out a niche for themselves in an area of real estate which was very sparse in population.  Some critics and fans called them “space rock”, others called them “random space noise”, and for lack of a better word, they were often tossed in with the “psychedelia” as effortlessly as the tosser had taken the time to really listen.  From SAUCERFUL OF SECRETS, through ATOM HEART MOTHER, Pink Floyd was making Avant Garde Art to various degrees of success culminating with the full album side title track of Atom Heart Mother, a modest attempt at creating a mural in sound which, though not as successful as Echoes, would serve as a kicker for trying it again, resulting in, yes, Echoes.  Some idiot called this a “concept” album.  What this album really is, though, is the first (and possibly last) total group effort at building a masterpiece of a mural.  From the opening wind to the final pings, the organic and natural progression of music across the landscape of MEDDLE creates a journey (and journeys were important to all members of The Floyd), one sojourn which intricately involves every member of Pink Floyd in building the path upon which you walk.

There is a freedom in the walk from One Of These Days to A Pillow Of Winds and Fearless which you don’t often get in a Pink Floyd album, it feels natural and effortless which is what a good artist can do to make your experience feel at one with the artist.  Then we get to San Tropez and Seamus which too many people (I think that casual fans and people who are “singles” oriented, and not comfortable around the concept of Album Oriented Rock don’t get it) have digested erroneously over the years.  These songs are light, yes, a bit humorous (another foreign word to Floyd fans), yes, but even more so, they naturally evolve out of Fearless.  Get a sense of what Fearless is about, how it “feels” and suddenly San Tropez makes perfect sense and so does Seamus.  One, a light jazz shuffle (someone called it lounge music) has just been explained in Fearless if anyone cared to look!  The other, a blues grind with a howling dog “singing” along is both the natural extension of what Waters was saying in San Tropez, and is a fitting end to side one of the vinyl record (originally).  It gives you a bit of a comfort and a chuckle before treading on in your journey, you fool.  Because now you have turned the vinyl over and plopped down that needle and here is where 98% of listeners and fans get it wrong (including All Music, Wikipedia, Rolling Stone, etc).  Look at the original (UK) album cover if you can (the CD is so small).  What have you got there?  An ear?  Yes.  An ear under water?  Yes!  (exactly what the band asked for after Storm Thorgerson tried to sell them on using a close-up of a baboon’s anus for the cover)  and those ripples are obviously sound waves underwater.  So what does the ear “hear” underwater?  That my friends is the journey you are about to take.  The pings which start the song are the “echoes” of the title, sonar, the means of echo-location used by many mammals who have taken to the sea.  Overhead the albatross hangs motionless upon the air.  Now where do you find an albatross and where would your point of reference be to see one seemingly hanging in the air?  From there, take the journey downward, into the abyss and when it gets scary, and those idiots try to sell you on the sounds of “crows”, pshaw!  Those are NOT crows!  Use your undersea imagination and enjoy the descent into the maelstrom.  Once you return, again using your powers of echo-location you might have finally decrypted the rest of Gilmour’s lyrics, abstract though they are, and you might have just decided that this indeed IS the best music from beginning to end, that the Pink Floyd constructed into one solid work of art.

So if you evaluate DSOTM and WYWH as whole works of art, both being (in my estimation) the pinnacle of Pink Floyd, there is not one flaw to be found as a group effort, other than the fact that Roger Waters had already begun his run of lyrical dominion starting on those and culminating with ANIMALS where he usurped all power from Gilmour, Mason, and Wright.  Don’t get me wrong, as I said, I dearly love those albums, but this one, MEDDLE, this is the one album which can truly be called a Pink Floyd album in evaluating all parts of the body of the band, and in as much as it is a true group effort, it is also the greatest of all the group efforts, and it has a sense of being enjoyed.  After this, Roger and crew had nothing but bad news.  Up to this point, the eclectic experiment provided a lot of gas, a lot of fun, and a lot of exploration, but it was mostly in the form of individual directions pointed at all degrees of the compass.  Here, on MEDDLE, there is a whole unity, and organic cosmology, and a perfection in each note, each instrument, each lyric, and each artist.  That, by definition, means this album is about as perfect as you can get.  And that is why this just might be the greatest Pink Floyd album of them all.


title: I Got No Kick Against Beatles Covers

text:
Within a month of the release of Abbey Road, George Benson was in the studio bending the Abbey Road masterpieces into a work of pure genius, released as The Other Side Of Abbey Road.  If you are a jazz lover AND a Beatles lover, you better run right to it and pick it up now!  It is the album which introduced me to George Benson proper and mutated me from a jazz fan to a jazz lover and as a byproduct, got me hooked like heroin to Creed Taylor’s CTI label.  You’ll want that incredible fantastic work of art before this one.  But… don’t wait around too long before coming back to this one.  Originally released in ’95 on Gruisin’s GRP label (I don’t know if he and Rosen had given up ownership by this time, but what does it matter, this album is still a Gruisin fellowship with many of his former associates).  Yes I collect pretty much anything even remotely linked to Beatles, which means I have a fair share of maudlin items, kitsch, and hum-drum.  However, it is a pleasure to recommend this album as a great work to anyone, so long as they have at least a fair appreciation for at least smooth jazz and have an appreciation for The Beatles music, a genuine pioneering music which changed the face of rock and roll and instantly lends itself to crafty interpretations.

George Benson follows up his astounding Abbey Road exploration, after a quarter of a century with a rendition of The Long And Winding Road which is very nearly better than the original Let It Be release (and which was thankfully reposed into the correct masterpiece it should have been by Paul and George Martin on Let It Be… Naked, stripped of that god-awful Spector-ization).  Here, Benson has materialized the song that Paul McCartney had hoped it would be.  Something everyone should know:  Paul initially wrote the song with Ray Charles in mind as performer.  After he had recorded it, and heard what Phil Spector had done to it, he was truly outraged and within 9 days of that, he announced the breakup of The Beatles, and he even used it as one of his six legal points during the court proceedings for the legal dissolution of the group.  You can say that The Long And Winding Road was the straw that broke The Beatles back.  What George Benson has accomplished is nothing short of pure perfection in the rendition of a Beatles masterpiece.

And there are a few others on this album!

Coltrane and Blue Note’s one-time jazz impresario pianist McCoy Tyner turns in a spectacular chord voicing approach to She’s Leaving Home, it will simply saturate your soul with joyful bubbles, sometimes I just wash, rinse, repeat, repeat, repeat…

Groove Collective, a contemporary jazz outfit, somewhat in the arena of Acid Jazz, has offered up a delicious funky-fried I Want You with a dash of Latin spice.  For you folks who like to linger over a cup of Joe-jazz in a black and white smoke filled film noir club while watching a full color lava lamp on the table, I think this will be your speak-easy, not all the way out in the trip-hop realm of Portishead or Massive Attack, but fits nicely with Mr. Scruff, Jamiroquai, and The James Taylor Quartet.  This one is refreshing fun.

But speaking of film noir, smoke filled joints, and just-plain Lauren Bacall The Look sultriness, OMG is the only response necessary from Diana Krall’s velvet-voiced And I Love Her!  Her piano fingers are as usual, just plain awesome but her vocal interpretation of this 1964 masterpiece is nothing short of stunning, lay-back and enjoy the ride.

Ramsey Lewis is always clever and intriguing in his performances, he surrounds the melody with atmospheres and pathways you would have never found in any imaginings.  Michelle becomes an adventure, a stroll through paradise.

Lee Ritenour, one of the best guitarists in the world, and highly underrated by many critics gives A Day In The Life a treatment one can compare with the amazing cover by Jeff Beck in another package elsewhere.  While Beck scorches the song with blues, Lee impromptu’s a Wes Monty inspired slice of a Beatle masterpiece.

Chick Corea, Eleanor Rigby, what more can you ask?  It’s piano improv with magic fingers to make you feel alright, and you don’t even have to stick in a quarter.

Rippington’s Russ Freeman you might expect to go blues to the wues on While My Guitar Gently Weeps, and to a certain extent he does, but he has added both soul, R&B, and a trippy electric sitar to the mix, quite different from what I expected and for that reason, quite refreshing.

And then there is Blackbird, like Yesterday an over-covered Beatles masterpiece which often goes stale.  In the hands of the magnificent Arturo Sandoval, the song never sounded so good since the days I first laid ears on the twittering speakers from a plain white album…  Blessed Masterpiece by a Blessed Master in the Afro-Cuban-Jazz tradition.  Just wait until that horn starts speaking volumes to you!

Mentions:  Okay and usual in the package, Tom Scott’s Fool On The Hill, Nelson Rangell’s Let It Be (my least favorite track due to lack of inventiveness), Spyro Gyra’s In My Life, David Benoit’s Here There Everywhere, and Gruisin’s own cover of Yesterday which won a Grammy nomination that should have gone to George or Diana.

This album is a winner for anyone with even the slightest interest in contemporary jazz and classic rock from The Beatles.  And if you have this and want more better, please go find The Other Side Of Abbey Road…


title: Don't Stop the World - I Don't Want to  Get Off

text: Saw this play when it was on Broadway in the 60's & loved it and its stars Anthony Newley & Anna Qualle.  I was delighted to purchase the CD & play it frequently while driving.  Thank you Amazon for giving me the opportunity to go back 40 years and relive the enjoyment of this play


title: must have

text: Excellent music  great packaging


title: go get it

text: Excellent music  great packaging


title: must buy

text: Excellent music  great packaging


title: Must have

text: Excellent music  great packaging


title: I love these Italian Rockers!

text: I watched this band win Eurovision and have followed them since. They are young, fresh, and talented... and Italian. Some of the songs in Italian are so beautiful that I don't mind not knowing what they are saying. They are sexy. I love them.


title: Good collection of Laxmi Pyare songs

text: Good collection of Lacmi Pyare songs.  Couple of songs had problems playing.  Audio & video quality pretty good.


title: Just lovely little renditions

text: Lovely


title: Catholic Childcare

text: Excellent age appropriate for Catholic teaching and dancing with joy songs!  I use these very often with the children starting from their infancy! Highly recommend for home fun, car singing etc..


title: Best Cover Band Ever

text: I just received my copy of this CD and I must have listened to it 100 times. Spike and Kaci can pull off the vocals of so many people it's like listening to the originals. I just hope I get to see them Live sometime.


title: Bickersons

text: The recording quality is great.  The Bickersons are funny as heck; especially listening to it with your spouse.  It makes for some pretty good laughs & finger pointing.


title: Fun blues music

text: Good group, local to my area. The music is original and blues inspired.


Dreamy sounds. Great music. Always love secret garden music!


title: Music/CD

text: Love the songs.


title: Thirteen great tracks for quiet times

text: Every track is wonderful. It doesn’t get any better than this in this genre. I seldom write reviews about music but this is a five star collection.


This series is not gender-correct nor racially inclusive. However, it does teach sounds and sound blending nicely.


title: Amazing!

text: Just amazing.


title: Perfect experience

text: Great CD. Great order fulfillment!


title: Perfect!

text: Happy customer


title: A Moodies Classic!!!

text: I have this on vinyl, but not on cd.  It is a classic and the extra tracks are a plus.


title: Kongos does is again.

text:
It's disappointing that this has a Parental Advisory but they still swallow the language. But that cannot detract that this is another fantastic release by Kongos. The lyrics are a little more world-weary than they were on Lunatic, and they have a lot they want to say. The tone moves from irreverent to soul-searching, and the music is top notch.

If you have Lunatic then you need this. Now.

If you haven't purchased one of their CDs and are curious about Kongos, then what in the world are you waiting for??


title: Perfect

text: Sounds great


Bought this as a gift for my Daughter. Arrived on time and was a great surprise!


title: Great album to drive to

text: Love listening to this album while on a long drive.  Songs are great, the singer's voice is great....just a great experience listening to this CD over and over.


title: An excellent set

text: This set of performances has an individuality which sets it apart from other sets, from the great and the lesser known.


title: Timeless classic

text: Great assembly of musicians. Well played and recorded.


title: too much vocal and not enough instrumentation.

text: played some nice horn. I like this CD kind of 50-50.


title: Showman CD

text: The music for this movie is outstanding.  Listen to it all the time.


title: Great Laserdisc!

text: The film transfer is dark and not so great, but the concert and the digital audio are fantastic.


title: Great!

text: Great as advertised!


title: Fantastic album

text: Thank you! What a wonderful piece of music!!


title: Five Stars

text: bueno


title: Great listening

text: This is a very good listening experience


title: Had to question if God was really first in my life after hearing this song

text: This CD touched my heart and encouraged me to put God first and get rid of the idols in my life


title: Good deal good product

text: The CD was in perfect shape


title: It’s Mancini!!

text: The cds were real quality.  The great Mancini sound came through with great definition and quality.


title: Really good

text: Thought it was very good


title: I just love it

text: GREAT, AMAZING AND MOST IMPORTANT GREAT PRICE AND BRAND NEW


title: Missing "The Voice"

text: Probably the very best song by the Moody Blues is "The Voice"......Regardless of the potential argument on that topic, EVERYONE would agree that you can't have a Best of the Moody Blues Collection without that song....


title: Shipping fue malo!

text: El grupo es excelente! La música de ellos me encanta. Las cajas de acrílico de los CDs llegaron todo rotos como si hubiesen sido aplastados! Doy gracias q los discos estaban bien.


title: Great to play during trick or treat.

text: So happy to have this. Ours came up missing. We play this during trick or treat night. The kids love it.


title: A pretty cool cd - I picked it up because EVH ...

text: A pretty cool cd - I picked it up because EVH is one of the 'friends' on this release.  It  has some good tracks on it and I enjoyed hearing the different sounds from these musicians.  From Brian May, you can definitely hear that Queen style sound on some of the songs, and when Eddie Van Halen plays, well, there's no mistaking his style.  The duelling guitars on Blues Breaker is worth the price of the cd, in my opinion.  How often are you going to get an opportunity to hear two artists like Brian May and Eddie Van Halen jamming and playing the blues for pete's sake?


Awesome!  Received as promised in perfect condition.


title: Awesome! Received as promised in perfect condition


title: Five Stars

text: Sounds great.


title: Mavericks

text: In great condition and how I expected it to be


title: Teaching not leading you through

text: Good ideas but therapist keeps interrupting the guided meditation to teach about the process. That definitely spoils the meditation


title: Excellent cd

text: An excellent cd. Nice sound


title: Excellent vintage Eric Clapton.

text: This is an excellent recording of some of Eric Clapton's best collaborative early work. I highly recommend it to '60's music aficionados.


title: Excellent sound!

text: The record was slightly warped, but i remembered every note and the clarity was good. Thank you so much!! I've looked for years!!


title: Amazon should stock this!

text: A must-have for any organ enthusiast. Beautiful videography of the towns and churches/cathedrals in which this true genius did his work. Excellent surround sound on the 3 DVD's included with the set, that allows you to truly hear the organs that are being demonstrated, and some of the best organ music ever written and recorded, played by some of the best organists of our time. Very interesting look into the life and work of a man who not only built some of the finest pipe organs in existence, but also encouraged composers of the time to write the fantastic literature of organ music that his organs so perfectly showcase, of the French Romantic era. His personal contacts with the likes of Charles-Marie Widor and Cesar Frank not only encouraged the writing of music to suit the brilliance of his organs, but gave him ideas for improvements and tweaking of his instruments, leading eventually to his final masterpieces, that were truly "symphonic" organs. There is even a short "extra" that takes you to a pipe builder's shop, showing the steps in building an organ pipe, from the pouring of the "tin" into a sand covered bed, rolling the pipes around a pole to shape them, and the building of the foot and mouth of the pipe. As an amateur organist, but lover of good organ music, I can highly recommend this set. It's a bit pricey, but well worth the investment!


title: Great

text: Nice music to listen to.  Quite relaxing!


title: All Greased Up

text: I got it in good condition did have a crack on the cover.  May have come from package and handeling.


title: Good Condition

text: Received in good condition and will put you to sleep


title: A Joyous Ride!

text: I love Toby Keith, his voice and lyrics are magical.  He knows how to write a touching ballad and/or a foot-stomping country rock tune and has the vocal pipes to mesmerize.  I actually went back and bought this CD because I missed it when it first came out.  I listen to all his music when I travel in the car to and from work because it makes the time fly-by with much joy.


title: Five Stars

text: I didn't think I would ever find this!


title: Glad to know Ed is still wowing us with his music.

text: Ed, my brother and I used to sing in coffee houses in San Francisco a long time ago.  It was great learning that he's still putting out wonderful music.


title: TOP NOTCH

text: Another gem from these VERY talented men !  ALWAYS a pleasure.


title: Excellent!!!!!!!

text: VERY GOOD ARTIST I AM CURRENTLY ORDERING MORE


title: Item as described, played perfectly.

text: This was a gift. The person receiving this item was thrilled. She indicated it was received in perfect condition & played without any problems. Thoroughly enjoyed the music.


title: Five Stars

text: Outstanding sounds.


title: Great version

text: This was a great version of Sweet By and By


title: Not available from Perfect web site on 2/19/2014

text: This product is apparently no longer being offered by Perfect Fitness. I have been using the Perfect Pushup tool for years and like the results.


title: Five Stars

text: Very happy with my CD, no issues.


title: Four Stars

text: Very happy with my overall purchase. It came exactly as described and in a quick fashionable timing.


title: Incredibly great sounding Christian worship music!

text: I vaguely heard of Brandon Lake until I watched him on video on a Facebook feed.  I decided to buy the CD and just love it.  I play it often and loud and love the constant feedback in my mind!  Great CD!


title: Excellent

text: Some of my favorite songs recorded very well.


title: Five Stars

text: Great selection of songs. I highly recommend it.


title: Five Stars

text: Replacing a well worn earlier purchase.


title: I bought it for one song and the song was ...

text: I bought it for one song and the song was there.  It's been a long time since I listened.  Sort of all sounded the same after a bit.


This was a gift and it is being enjoyed.


title: One great entertainment

text: Very nice hard to find


title: Buy this!

text: I forgot how good this record is. Great ensembles, great soloists. Swings like mad!


title: I loved this album

text: I loved this album, but I left it in my car after my accident.  I went to purchase it again and they want $99 - $125.  Are they kidding????? I didn't love it that much.  I went on the Anthony Kearns website and got it for $20.


title: Nice machine

text: Obviously sone people dont know how to read the manual. Directions are easy to follow. I have used the pressure cooker, no problem.


title: A Vibe Master at Play

text: Cal Tjader ... The Vibe Master.  I just recently discovered his music and now I'm hooked.  Right there with Lionel Hampton.  Fun up beat music ... in a world that is upset about Everything ... It's Nice to Chill With the Vibes Master, Cal Tjader.


title: I'm shocked there are no reviews for this incredible disc.

text:
Brilliant collection, from start to finish. The melodies range across the cultures of Europe, the musicianship is top-notch and tight, and the sound transports me.

This is one of a very few albums which I never tire of. This is a gem. Why are there no other reviews?


title: CLASSIC PRESLEY!

text: Love this! If you're a fan of Elvis Presley & gospel music, do yourself a favor & get this!


title: Blessed to have the album

text: One of my favorite albums. I missed old school choirs like this.  So glad I found this on amazon.  I love this choir from my childhood seeing them in their afternoon and evening programs.  Arrived on time with no scratches.


title: Great band & album

text: Long jams played very well.


title: good mixture of music

text: This is a great compilation of classical movie themes good quality vinyl record and recordings, loved listening to themes rarely heard these days


title: Amazed

text: I was amazed at the quality of this; the vinyl record is in excellent condition hardly any scratches and the book inside was not even opened, this was the best item I have ever received for the money


title: Stinker

text: Man is this a bad CD - most songs are mediocre the rest are just bad. Save youor money and pass on this.


title: As described

text: Great cd


title: Great sampler

text: I like the realism for recording. Now I have to find some country tracks!


title: OK, but...

text: The playing is first class, the recording quality, mixing and production also first class. Too bad almost every song sounds the same, in my opinion. Great players and some really fine solos but after the first couple of tracks I felt like everything was a rehash. sorry.


title: Five Stars

text: Enjoyed this album.  Jackie Evancho has an incredible voice.


title: High Quality

text: I was concerned about buying used vinyl from a new vendor but I really wanted this recording of Marianne Faithfull's breakout album and there were very few available. The sleeve was worn but the previous owner  must have been really careful. There is very little hiss and crackle and only one minor skip on the last track on the first side. The audio quality is amazing- this is a piece of history. I listened on a clear audio system designed for high end headphones with headphone pre-amp and amp- they are very unforgiving. This album passed with flying colours. Highly recommended.

attachment_type: IMAGE


title: Opps wrong album

text: I was looking for the first album "Free" had produce.  And although "All Right Now did have some of the songs on it, it was not the correct album.


title: Five Stars

text: Awesome


I have liked every item I have ever ordered .  I was surprised at how easy it was to order ,get the correct item. Thank you so much


title: Gaither Vocal Band

text: I had a previous copy that was worn out.  This was a replacement copy for me.  We enjoy this tape.


title: Good music

text: doesn't have her song with the chainsmokers on it


title: Imagine Dragons

text: not a bad second cd


title: Love Neil Young

text: love Neil Young music


title: Five Stars

text: good cd of all her old music


title: Five Stars

text: Nice product, as described.  Quick shipping, no problems.  Would buy from again.


title: Five Stars

text: thx


Love all of Marty Goetz's music and songs. Down to earth a great musician!!! All of his music is awesome!!!


title: Five Stars

text: WONDERFUL


title: THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES

text: Great reminder of the time spent at the Fabulous Follies. Well worth seeing and remembering. Sorry that the review is closing.


title: Big Hit

text: Great CD!


title: Five Stars

text: Great Thank you


title: Loved this record

text: Loved this record.  Amazing to be listening to a record more than 60 years old and still in pretty good condition.


title: My dad loved it.

text: plays in truck for daily jonts. What I wanted for him. Thanksthats all I wanted to say . My Dad loved it.


title: wonderful

text: The Phil Lynott CD was a real treat and we are so pleased to have it in our collection...it is a masterpiece and he was another  special performer gone long before his time. Too bad we can't turn back the clock and bring his excellant sound to the airwaves for more listeners to enjoy.


title: Excellent Overview

text: ELP may not have the 'timeless appeal' of some other bands from the era, but, if you were there, this is a most satisfying anthology of a very talented band.


title: Still as fresh as ever.

text: Still, one of the very best post-punk rock albums; a desert island must-have!


title: Thank You, Ladies!

text: A Hidden Gem for Christmas!


title: Four Stars

text: This was helpful but I need more info on how to adjust it to my hands,


title: Four Stars

text: Love this guy's ideas


title: Excellent Collection, another Rhino Thumbs up!

text: Bought this to round out my collection, basically to fill in some gaps, in the end I'm more thne pleased with the quality and selection. There were lots of songs I had fogotten about and was really happy to hear again, sound quality is very good as well. This is yes for sure!


title: Everything I Was Hoping For

text:
"Your Hearbeat Lullabies CD was everything I was hoping for. We have been struggling horribly to get our baby to sleep every night. She just doesn't want to go to sleep and is also very fretful starting early evening every night. Your CD worked within 12 minutes the first night and is now helping her achieve sleep usually within 5 - 10 minutes now. If I play it while she is feeding, she is much calmer and falls asleep after the feeding and doesn't wake up even when I transfer her to her crib. (This never happened before) Even my husband, who ridiculed me for ordering the CD, saying I had fallen for a scam, is now telling friends and family about the CD and how it has improved the quality of all of our lives in regards to getting the sleep we all need.

  Another thing about the CD is that it is the prettiest lullaby music I have ever heard. The singers have beautiful voices. Even if it wasn't guaranteed to put the baby to sleep, the lovely music alone is worth the price. Thanks so much!" (Laura Einstein, Columbus, OH)


title: Great album

text: Arrived quickly. Great album (what more can I<br />say if you're a Pink Floyd fan). Get it


title: Great music

text: Arrived within two days.<br />Just what I  expected (early


title: Too much difference in volume between tracks

text: The volume levels are too drastic so if you turn up a quiet track you'll get blown away with the loud stuff


title: The best of soul train live

text: Loved it. Brought back memories! My kids enjoyed the beats and back then you could even understand what the words were being sung. Miss Corenelias.


Just as advertised.  I ordered the complete set of 16 CDs - got them in the normal two cases plus the booklet (which now includes set 1 & 2 combined in one booklet).  Certainly appears new just as if ordered from publisher and everything plays fine.


title: A major source guidance and comfort.

text: Every one of Kirtanas CDs move me immensely. When I am challenged or feeling disconnected her words and music ground me and bring me back to my Self.


title: I love this man's teachings.

text: don't you just love this man!?  Keeps my mind in the right place


title: This excellent band just keeps getting better !

text: A fine selection of well crafted songs...,Stimulating and relaxing at the same time....one of this group’s best albums !


title: Have a good time...

text: One of the best "under the radar" albums of it's era. Very good songs, and great production by Hunter-Ronson. Recommended.


title: Not great albums, but still Bill

text: These are not Bill's best known or strongest albums, but still Bill Withers, which makes them a lot better than many.


title: word for word the Psalms

text: Beauiful music of the PSALMS,,  Very enjoyable.


title: watch out, Michael Buble!

text: Seth McFarlane is one talented man! This CD is mellow, rich and delicious! This is a great choice for enjoyment.


title: Demis Roussos has a great voice

text: Demis Roussos has a great voice.  My favorite song of his is "The Wedding Song" but all the others are nice as well.


title: Five Stars

text: superbly done


title: Great Scripture Music!

text: Love these CDs! Lyrics are exact Scripture verses and music is so cheerful. Great way to teach verses to little ones!


title: Five Stars

text: Nice.


title: Wish I made purchase much sooner

text: Didn't care for the 1st one all that much so ignored the other 2 when they came out. Big mistake, finally decided to get it and loved it. Love the alternate versions .


An outstanding concert from Billy Joel's songwriting and performing peak!!!  Excellent quality for a 'bootleg' concert; it is technically a recording of a radio broadcast, so the overall quality is excellent, but some may say it lacks the polish and fidelity of a true studio album.  This is not necessarily a bad thing though, as it gives the recording an underappreciated grittiness that can add to the listener's enjoyment.  It's almost like a true "Songs In The Attic" find!!

A MUST HAVE for any true Billy Joel fan!


title: Five Stars

text: Donohue is the premier American fingerstyle guitarist


Excellent music and it was in very good condition. I also received it in a very timely fashion. Thanks so much.


title: Nice songs

text: Nice songs


title: No simple flashback

text: Very good blues/rock. The band as a whole is quite good. Definetly reccomend. Sounds as good as any thing today in same genre.


title: Turn it UP

text: John Lee Hooker, Van the Man, Gloria, It's all here.<br />Best rendition of Gloria I've ever heard. Well worth the wait.


title: so I would say if you like the samples

text: Album quality leaves a lot to be desired, aside from that, it was ok. Music and sound are subjective, so I would say if you like the samples, take a chance; I've cautioned about the quality.


title: Touching the past in music

text: One cannot say enough about the work of the New Scorpion Band. This is history brought to life in song. Don't pass it up,


title: My grandpa is in it.

text: My grandpa was on an offshore rig that sunk in a hurricane.  This magazine shows an photo of him floating on a life raft.


title: Good CD, but don't buy at this price

text:
I have always bought my CD directly from the Gateway Church so this review is mostly centered on the music. The music is good live worship music, mixes both orginal and classic styles to a well put together high energy CD. CD is best enjoyed Track 1 to the end in one shot. I commute 2 hrs each day and this CD helps mold my mind towards God and loving others.

I would not recommened you buy from Amazon, the price looks way to high I only paid $8 for my copy directly from Gateway I suppose you are paying for middle man costs and shipping is free so that makes up for it.


title: Two Stars

text: it had an australian dvd code so i was unable to watch it


title: Muy buen CD

text: Exelente llego en lo indicado buena calidad


title: Beauregarde, Ahead of His Time!

text:
I should preface that I might be partial to any work by Beauregarde--- he was one of the heels who wrestled at the first pro wrestling show I attended when I was a kid over thirty years ago. He got disqualified for strangling Kim Duk with his belt, making my buddies and I glad his evil-doing was thwarted by the referee. Beauregarde, the quintessential pro, sold it beautifully, acting devastated over such a minor loss.

Fast forward ten years, and a friend of mine shows me the artwork of the LP that Beauregarde released in the mid 1970s. I'm told there's a slim chance of finding the LP itself, as it had a brief run in the Pacific Northwest, and faded into obscurity. I figure that it's one missed memorabilia opportunity, and eventually allow it to fade from the vast pop-memorabilia memory bank in my mind.

So imagine my surprise when I check onto The Wrestling Observer website recently and find that the album is back in circulation. I ordered it right away, determined not to let the CD reissue evade me like the LP did. I have heard some great novelty music by wrestlers like Freddie Blassie (who sang "Pencil Neck Geek" penned by Johnny Legend) or Adrian Street ("Mighty Big Girl" and "I'm Only Happy Breaking Bones"); and I've heard some lukewarm serious attempts at music by wrestlers (Jimmy Valiant, Michael Hayes, or Hulk Hogan, anyone?). So I came across yet a few more surprises when I listened to this CD for the first time.

I was initially stunned to hear how good the opening track, "I Got Something" sounded, and double-stunned as I perused the jewel case info to see that Greg Sage, before his Northwest glory days began, played lead guitar on this album. To top things off, the lyrics of "I Got Something" brought back memories of the great interviews Beauregarde cut during his brief run in Los Angeles in '73. He's not trying to wax poetic in this tune, but also not merely mimicking tired old pop lyrics. Throw in that the music itself is incredibly progressive for its day, and you will find that Beauregarde ---as a wrestler turned musician--- was actually way ahead of his time.

I won't go as far to say that Beauregarde's lyrics ring of Mick Jagger or Leonard Cohen, but for a first project, Beauregarde wrote some colorful tales that fall somewhere in between his bad-boy wrestling persona and despairing blues-boy. I have no idea whether Beauregarde intended this album to be a one shot deal or not, but I can't help but wonder what he would have eventually cooked up if he continued scribbling away in the prose department.

The only criticism I have of this release is that I would have liked to see something more in the way of liner notes, especially after clicking onto Greg Sage's website. Sage devotes a whole section to Beauregarde on his site, and writes about his days playing guitar for him. He illustrates how Beauregarde operated as a heel in front of rabid Portland wrestling fans, and how even-tempered and down-to-earth he was in the recording studio. I guess it's unlikely that there will another reissue of "Beauregarde," but if there is, the Greg Sage write-up would make it complete.

And if by slim chance Beauregarde ever reads this--- thanks for igniting me and my pals' rage at The Olympic Auditorium in 1973, you helped make my first live wrestling card sweet and memorable!


title: Five Stars

text: Gift.


title: Five Stars

text: great


title: A very good album for fans of this particular band

text: This album has plenty of my favorite songs by heart. I especially like the fact that it’s available on the thicker vinyl.


title: Great renditions of traditional Christmas hymns.

text: These two musicians are exceptional.  Track #7 combines "Wonder as I Wander" with "What Child is This?" (Greensleeves) and, were it the only piece on the album, would be worth the price of the entire CD.  The service level of the seller is great.  Paul Baragona - Pittsboro, NC


title: Love & Care Required....

text:
Dolores amazing irish angelic voice very unreal & sametime heavenly good & could be a haunting  vocal in a scary movie like resident evil movie if they do another one... her voice is also majestic and grabs your attention like a magnet.!
Mr. T.A.B.1./ ACE.1

P.S.
I will leave this or give as gift to my sons to remember her and her work singer & songwriter with unrelenting passion and  emotion most likely from the emotional highs & lows in her life & possibly many unanswered questions and hearrbreaks or loss & part emptiness from family & absense of related to running away and being on road for multipke years just in hands of strangers to trust & ponder all of this this which could of added to her depression or anxieties which either are dangerous to mental health if not aired & vented with major support from your family or significant other is key to.win this trajic illness  and instant recovery is more likely & kept away with close
Love & Care..  I would never wish this on anyone this sickness... I know very well & personally have seen the depth of this illness... people who know please never anandon your love & care for any these people in trajedy you are key to repair..!
(Close & Personal Care Recommended!)

Sincerely & Love Always....
Mr. T,A.B.1./ Mr. Blue.


title: Five Stars

text: Another Great CD from Alabama.


title: A Bootleg

text: Probably a good cross-section of Yma Sumac's music but this CD is a bootleg so better to get one of the legitimate compilations such as The Ultimate Yma Sumac Collection. While its music is legitimate, it did plagiarizer my biography about her without permission but it does have a good cross-section of her music that was selected by her manager, Alan Eichler who also stole my text for the booklet.


title: A Bootleg

text: There are two different versions of this CD and both are bootlegs. All the material contained is available legitimately so don't support the bootleggers by buying this!


title: Bootleg Release

text: The 2013 CD and vinyl LP reissues are bootlegs, made after being expressly prohibited, improperly indicate that I was the producer and used my notes without permission. I did not produce the 2013 reissues and I am working to have them withdrawn since they were made in violation copyright laws. Additionally, the notes credit photos that are not in the booklet and over all, the layouts are quite amateur with the CD's back tray showing the LP's tracks. Only the original 2006 release and the 2012 reissue of [[ASIN:B000J3Q0NE Recital]] are legitimate.


title: Yma Sumac's Early Recordings

text:
Odd the Xavier Cugat references to Yma Sumac here and on other sites. While they may have met once or twice, he certainly didn't "discover" her.

Anyway, this LP contains some of Yma Sumac's earliest work which was recorded in Argentina in 1943 on the Odeon label under her original name of Imma Sumack. These were recorded before she ever came to the United States and are wonderful in their authenticity. If you are expecting the Queen of Exotica as she later became known during her Hollywood recordings for Capitol Records, you'll be disappointed but to hear her at the very beginning of her career, especially in her imitation of instruments, it is fantastic. Even at such a young age, she showed her range when it suited the instruments she was mimicking.

My rating of this LP has nothing to do with its quality or condition, nor of the content. It is based solely on the fact that this 1952 LP was limited in that it had only a few of the songs available from the same sessions due to the nature of the format. Note that it isn't clear whether this as the 7" EP 2-disk set or the 10" LP.

Be sure to get the new CD release containing all 18 of Yma Sumac's 1943 cuts and other instrumentals and vocals from the same sessions by the Compania Peruana de Arte fully remastered, in pristine quality remastered in stereo with 21 cuts.


title: Great Peruvian Music Collection

text:
Although listed as an Import and labeled on the booklet as having been made in Peru, the disk itself is clearly labeled as having been made in the U.S.A. This ambiguity of country origin seems to point to it being a bootleg (at least in the U.S.) and the printing quality appears to confirm the possibility. The cover photo is a scan of an old LP complete with a hand-written and unreadable dedication. Peruvian CDs (if it IS a Peruvian CD), though, often have these irregularities so it's difficult to say with any certainty.

That aside, it is an interesting collection with a number of tracks featuring an unnamed vocalist who sounds very much like the famous Peruvian coloratura Wara Wara (Judith Acuña). Sol del Peru was a popular Peruvian orchestra that often recorded on the Peruvian Sono Radio label (and with Wara Wara and others or solo) but it is not clear if the title refers to that orchestra or if it's simply the name of the CD, which is also subtitled Peruvian Sun. Sol del Peru means Peruvian Sun. The booklet lists only the song titles with no other information.

However, after writing this review and discussing the possibility of the vocalist being Wara Wara, she may actually be a more recent singer named Gloria Ramos. They sound similar but other recordings by Gloria Ramos seem to be identical to some of those here.

Whatever its origins the sound quality is excellent and it is a good collection to have in any music library where one enjoys good Peruvian music. My only wish is that it might have had better packaging and details about the artists and performances.

Don Pierson, Yma Sumac Homepage and Archives - SunVirgin dot com


title: Bootleg - Do Not Buy

text: Although professionally made and shrinkwrapped, this CD was made from a cassette copy of the original LP that was recorded in Bucharest, Romania, not Russia and has poor sound quality. Not only is the title misleading, but no one benefits from buying a bootleg except for the bootlegger! If you like Yma Sumac and want to hear this concert, then buy the CD called [[ASIN:B000J3Q0NE Recital]] (the 2006 or 2012 reissue only: the 2013 CD and vinyl reissues are also bootlegs), which is the same show but made legitimately from the original master tapes and even includes one more song!


title: Daughter of writer, recorder and singer of Old wagon

text: My dad Wlll bolfa wrote  and sings and recorded  my old wagon !!!. The credit does not belong to uncle Dewey ,his brother. I hope that will be corrected now!!  I am the only daughter of Will and Euna  Bolfa. My email is oldgal3487@gmail.com. My name is Mary Jane Bolfa Cormier.  I have a brother James Balfa  . My dad also sang and recorded The Balfa waltz. Uncle Dewey is often given the credit for that song.  I know it is by mistake that this happens,  People do not bother to read the information  correctly. Yes my dad spelled his name Bolfa not Balfa . Some of the family spill Balfa with a o today. Thanks Jane  best song


title: Great purchase

text: This is an amazing cd. Extremely encouraging and uplifting. Liver the lyrics and the music as well.


title: I never received the album

text: I love this album. I sent it to my father as a surprise and he never received it. No explanation from the seller, I just received a refund w no additional details. Bummer. Poor customer service.


title: Perfectly professional

text: I love one of the elitists and I love the music


title: wonderful cd for children!

text: Great cd!


title: Five Stars

text: superb!


title: ... look at the mighty herb and all of it's wonderful properties. A very creative set of tunes

text: Sooooooo many memories from this comical look at the mighty herb and all of it's wonderful properties.A very creative set of tunes.I personally enjoyed every thing referred to in this album,a complete and utter joy for me.Lots of smiles along the way. thank you.


title: GREAT

text: Great.....not disappointed at all.


title: Awesomeness

text: This is the best live Merle Haggard I’ve ever heard..Him and his band sounds so good on this..Awesome quality


title: THEY ROCK

text: This isn't Molly Hatchet from the 80's, but just as good..Rockin' songs! Just great sound if you're a southern rock fan..


title: "Rise" by Herb Albert Vinyl(used)

text: I've had this record more than once, I'm simply building back my old collection. Jazz, easy listening, this is a must. It shot up to #1 in 1979. It still sounds great today. When I received it, the LP cover was in good shape, but no sleeve. I was only disappointed the seller did not clean the record, it had smudges, etc. After cleaning it, it spun flat, even with no warps and sounded great.


title: Possibly the ultimate Baroque collection.

text: If you are looking for a collection of beautiful Baroque music to listen or meditate to, whether that is in the bath, bed or chair, this CD will provide you with, if not the perfect solution, then at the very least an equisite sampler to wet your appetite.


title: Its Yes, what else do I need to say

text: Its Yes, what else do I need to say


title: Great Album, limited low end

text: Great album but the bass is lacking.


title: Great

text: Good tunes, good sound. No complaints. Good addition to my collection.


title: Great

text: Great Album. No complaints. Case wasn't even broken.


title: Great Album

text: Brought back memories.


title: Five Stars

text: Love it


title: Awesome CD

text: Paul Rogers at his greatest.. This CD rocks.. It's a 2 disc. Collection of some real good music..


title: Great CD

text: Anything Diamond Head is Great.. Picked this up for the song Am I Evil.. You Just have to get this CD.. Every  song is a Hit.. This CD rocks..


title: Early Ravi Shankar not to be missed!

text: Nice vinyl. Has morning raga on side 1 and  evening raga on 2. I love the slow, Moody evening raga at any time of day! Perfect for relaxing.


title: Replaced lost cd

text: Exactly what I wanted


title: great

text: love it


title: This Ol’ Cowboy

text: Good price for the CD. But it didn’t have my Favorite Song **This Ol’ Cowboy **. Had plenty of room on CD to recorded it. Oh Well.


title: Five Stars

text: Good cd


title: Pour Some Sugar On Me!

text: Just in time for the summer season we get a Sugar Ray hits package.This will be playing alot at the parties and beaches.Most of your favorites are here.But of course they always leave off a couple favorite hits.Mine would be "Abracadabra",the Steve Miller cover.At 54 minutes this cd could've been longer.You get two cover songs Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time" and Joe Jackson's "Is She Really Going Out With Him?".The new single "Shot Of Laughter" is a really summer hit for sure.It has a Beach Boy-ish vibe to it. The weakest song here is "Psychedelic Bee". Maybe because im not into punk all that much. Go out and get this cd and get down to the funky jams of Sugar Ray!


title: Five Stars

text: Matt Goss is the best singer I have heard in a very long time.


title: Five Stars

text: great


title: The first of a long overdue Anthology series

text:
What you have here are songs that are outakes or unfinished in one way or another.

Several are historical songs of the Beatles very early on that were recorded on Tape Recorders and do not have the sound quality.

What is interesting is that you get to hear them do songs by their idols, such as Buddy Holly and others.

The songs on the CD are from the early parts of their career.

Most of the songs with minor changes are very much like they appeared on their perspective albums.

Freebird is also on here and along with Real Love is the first new Beatles recording in 26 years. That alone is worth the price of the CD.

Another song of note is the recording of One After 909.

This version in my opinion is actually better than the one that appeared later on Let It Be.

There are some live recordings as well.

If you are into the historical aspects of music this is a must for any Beatles collector. And for Rock and Roll historians this is a must also


title: The second of three

text:
All three of the Anthology albums are outstanding. This is the second of the three. These are the songs from the middle of their career.
Like Anthology 1, there are many outtakes and unfinished songs as well.
Personally this is my favorite era of Beatles music, so this is my personal favorite of the three.
Real Love opens the CD and is finally finished after several years in a vault. Its good to hear the Beatles do 2 songs after 26 years apart.
There are many songs of note, I am simply going to hit the highlights. You've Got To Hide Your Love Away and with minor changes sounds very much like the original, only difference is that again it is unfinished and does not have the ending the way we hear it on the CD.
You also hear Paul walking the band through a very early version of Yesterday. It is so new that before the song he is instructing John and George of what the chord progression is.
The lyrics are finished. The only difference is that we dont hear the cellos and violins that they later used.
There is also a very good version of Norweign Wood that will catch your attention. It has much more sitar than the recording we know. Taxman is also of note, again very much like the original, third verse has added harmony of note.
Got To Get You Into My Life is in the early stages and does not have the horns that were added later.
I'm Only Sleeping is played on an acoustic guitar and in its early stages as well.
Strawberry Fields shows the progression of the song from an acoustic guitar to the finished project. The evolution of this song is very interesting.
A Day In The Life is in its very early stages also and it shows you how George Martin was able to put the song together in stages. There are also songs that show the Beatles laughing during the recording such as And Your Bird Can Sing. I have only hit the highlights. Any Beatles collector needs to buy this as well as the other two Anthology albums


title: Great addition to Music Library.

text: A must have for your Earl Thomas Conley music collection.  I have been very happy with the CD and highly recommend it.


title: My heart.........

text: Although I have my Monkees albums, a boxed set of the CDs along with the individual CDs, this is perfect to keep at work 💔❤


title: Smile................

text: Such pretty, calming music!  Who would have thought that Victoria's Secret music would be a mood soother?  I certainly never did!