title: Worst music I have ever heard

text: Worst music I have ever heard, this woman is now Tennessee politician who thinks we want to hear her cater wail her rendition of "God Bless America".


title: Five Stars

text: Met expectations and am satisfied.


title: Five Stars

text: SUBLIME


title: Five Stars

text: MARVELOUS!!!


title: Five Stars

text: i love it!!


title: What Are We Fighting For?

text: I think Mr. GTA left no stone unturned with this great gem of a disc. You get the demo which is where the G.D.M.F.S.O.B. track for "Not So Quiet On The Western Front" was lifted from, a surprisingly well recorded live set and the phenomenal and sadly forgotten 12" EP. Only two little letters separate buy or die!


title: I'm on the edge!!

text: You know I forgot up to know how cool I thought Dave Mellow was as a bass player. What you have collected here are the demo sessions from Mox Nix and Plain Wrap! A split CD by GTA! What's the connection you say? One guitarist by the name of Don Burnet my fellow chum! Mox Nix was a bit rawer hardcore wise and had one Harry Bowles on vocals who sadly R.I.P. is no longer with us. Plain Wrap! on the other hand is the more seasoned brew on this disc. Don Burnet does both vocal and guitar duties on these tracks and Dave Mellow before joining Uniform Choice plays bass guitar. The CD is worth all your greasy pennies alone for the anthem opener "This is Punk Rock!" and it sure was Don. The Plain Wrap! tracks are my heroes on this disc. The only thing missing "sniff, sniff; sob, sob" are the tracks from the Plain Wrap! LP that came out on Enigma Records.


title: Wonderful Album!

text: This album is my favorite by VIXX. The photobook included is also really nice. I highly recommend!


title: Far More Than Pretty, Perky

text: Superb renditions of Kern's gorgeous material. King is a very underrated singer who deserved far more recognition. Would reccomend this highly.


title: Old-time favorite

text: Brought me bck to years ago when my mother sang  these songs. Those were happy times and this cd brought it back


title: A Modern and Edgy collection of re-makes of some classic French melodies. Eclectic, well recorded and very well accomplished.

text: Giving this eclectic modern collection a single star is quite harsh in my opinion. A friend of mine sent this out of the blue as a birthday present. If you are looking for a Paris accordion type street sound of the quaint 1950s, then do not purchase this CD. That having been said, know this is an edgy, yet melodic collection of songs that simply gets better and better with every playing. The track La Mer is accomplished with a synthesizer bass line that is the single best test song for high quality speakers (and subwoofers) that I know of with some content down to 12 Hz. Not quite as synthetic as the group Erasure, not quite as melodic as Carly Simon ballads, not much to dance to, it would pair well as a following album to any CD by Pink Martini. New compositions and instruments of some French classics that is just a joy to listen to over and over and would be an excellent choice for background music at any kind of casual dress or higher after hours party.


title: Five Stars

text: Great


title: Best Album

text: I love this album. I used to have it. I hope they get it again.I will be first to get it!!


title: I love this.

text: I am a big Enigma fan! This set is awsesome.


title: Five Stars

text: Great singer songwriter


title: Valentines gift

text: She LOVED the CD!


title: I've waited years for this!

text: It would be perfect if only the songs wouln't cut as short at the end.


title: Tomasito el bori

text: Not better than ORO SOLIDO


title: Worth the Import

text: The lead singer of this German band has a voice like warm honey: sweet and smooth.  The album has enough variety to keep every song from sounding the same, but there is a distinctive "chill" character to the collection.  Think "Sade" with a touch of European sultriness.  Perfect for a cocktail party, dinner with friends, or an evening in.


title: Only contains 2 tracks

text:
The Ni no Kuni Wrath of the White Witch Wizard's Edition Special Music Selection CD has only two tracks. Thus, I have submitted a grade of 1/5 as a rating of value. Right now, 3rd party sellers are trying to sell this for as high as 60 U.S. dollars.

I'm also submitting this review to inform those fans who might try to buy this CD anyway because of the limited availability of the version within which this CD was included. This CD came with the North American version of the Ni No Kuni limited edition release, known as "Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Wizard's Edition".

The two tracks on this release are:

1) Ni no Kuni Main Theme (length: 3:38)
2) Kokoro no Kakera (length 4:12)

Both of the tracks described above will be available in the full 2 CD soundtrack release that is being made available exclusively from Wayo Records. Track 2 of this Special Music Selection CD will be available in both English and Japanese versions in the 2 CD soundtrack release from Wayo Records. Search the internet for "Wayo Records ni no kuni" to find where to order the soundtrack from Wayo Records directly.

I make mention of the purchasing information because Amazon isn't carrying the official soundtrack directly, though a 3rd party through Amazon might be ready and willing to sell it to you for a ridiculous markup price.

If you need to see proof of the soundtrack going up for sale from an official source, please see Level 5's website for the announcement. I'll post a link in a follow-up comment to this review.


title: Everything was in side

text: Everything included


title: Elton John "Diamonds" The Ultimate Greatest Hits Collection

text: Elton John Diamonds 3 cd set is the ultimate Elton John greatest hits collection. It's the perfect collection for any Elton John fan. 51 tracks spanning his career. I can't stop listening to this collection.


title: Classic fun Jewish Kids album!

text: Classic Jewish childrens album. Fun for all ages-even if your 92! Great messages, melodies and love throughout. Parents enjoy it as well!


title: but the cd was fine (Y)

text: The cover was damaged by the post office :(, but the cd was fine (Y)


title: Rock on

text: Great value.<br />Good collection and tribute to a legend.


title: Everything about this purchase is just the best.

text:
I purchased this album recently (physical copy) after accidentally discovering the band while reading about actual sunfish, stumbling upon a couple tracks online. I was unable to find much information about the band, so I bought the album here hoping to learn more. This is the first I've actually purchased music in about ten years, and it is easily one of the best albums I've ever had the privilege of listening to!! Pure gold, from beginning to end, no exaggeration. If you dig the 90's garage type sound, bluesy-grungey-not overly refined-type stuff, then you will love this band. The album arrived in a padded bubble envelope, well protected, and in a very timely manner.

Also, when I purchased this album, it was $.99 or something really cheap... As of now the only remaining physical copy is $361.09. I'm beginning to think I stumbled upon a real treasure!!


title: Five Stars

text: Love this cd, and will order more again! Very nice.


title: Sound quality is good.

text: Songs listed on insert incorrect, name of cd is correct.  Just so happens the song I needed, which is also the title name of the CD is on the cd.  Sound quality is good.


title: Awesome

text: Who doesn’t love “I need a ghost”.  So good I’ve purchased a digital as well


title: I stiill enjoyed it but thought it was a Album with them ...

text: I thought that Bobby Bare & Waylon would have some songs on this together. Waylon's music is first then Bobby's is next. No duets? I stiill enjoyed it but thought it was a Album with them singing together


title: too expensive

text: You are asking way to much for this CD..This price is ridiculous!!!!!!!!!!


title: Five Stars

text: Great


title: Beautiful music

text: This DVD has some of my favorite hymns


title: Five Stars

text: Love these albums.


title: Good country singing

text: Would like to see some of his renditions of Elvis's songs.


title: Good

text: My husbands boss recommended this to us. Exceeds expectations


title: The vinyl was in good shape.

text: My wife's fave song!  The vinyl was in good shape.


title: Five Stars

text: IT IS OK


title: Five Stars

text: I LOVE IT


title: Five Stars

text: I JUST SAID I LOVE IT


title: Five Stars

text: IT IS GOOD


title: Carelessly Assembled

text:
I bought this compilation many years ago.  It is an unfortunate CD set due to the careless track labeling, as was mentioned by the previous reviewer.  To its credit, as the previous reviewer also sated, the quality of the recordings is generally quite acceptable.

The selection of bands on these CDs is quite a hodgepodge, and some ensembles are featured quite heavily, where others are only given a single token tune. There seems to be little rhyme or reason to the organization of the tunes in this set, but there are, nonetheless, some very nice songs included on these CDs.  In fact, there are a few fantastic tunes that one rarely finds in compilations.

My thanks to the reviewer that corrected the track listings.  As I listened through the recordings, I've agreed with all his labels.  I'll add my findings to assist anyone else who is searching for the correct titles.  I believe the correct labels for the tracks he has listed with question marks are:

2 11 A Foggy Day - Artie Shaw
2 12 Skylark - Harry James and His Orchestra with Helen Forrest on vocals

I hope that this, in conjunction with the previous review, helps anyone else searching for the correct track labels, as I was.


title: Water, water, everywhere

text: This is one of my favourites of the Solitudes series.  No annoying New Age music, just nature sounds.  Track 1 has the roaring background of the falls fading in and out, as soothing as the sea, with babbling brooks and running rivers.  Track 2 is just running water, from streams to rivulets, ending with a return to the falls.  There are the inevitable birds; my one criticism is that in this CD as in all the series they tend to be a bit too obtrusive IMHO.  This is one of the most peaceful of the Solitudes series, in fact one of the most peaceful CDs I know.  Highly recommended for those who like pure nature ambient.


title: Why is this out of print?!

text:
Typical of our American music market, hardly anyone has heard of Aneela or her world famous duo Toy-Box (with friend Amir El-Falaki). They burst onto the music scene at the same time as Aqua but their US distribution team failed to release the album on time/at all (they had a runaway hit "Tarzan" in Europe that was delayed for a US release to coincide with the Disney Tarzan movie, but the US team botched the release). Even now, their music is frequently mistaken for Aqua's with videos on Youtube mislabeled.

Aneela's solo work is almost entirely in Hindi. Many of the songs on this album were huge Bollywood hits appearing in movies, on soundtracks, and in collections, but again Aneela's work did not get US distribution. Even though some of these songs appear on multiple Bollywood collections, or even on other artist's albums (the drummers in the songs are famous, too), you can still only get her album as an import.

Aneela's songs are getting new public play with the Bhangra and Zumba (Zoomba) dance-fitness crazes. Both aerobic dance styles use Hindi, Bollywood, Bhangra (Indian folk-style hip-hop music), and bellydance moves. Zumba also incorporates a large variety of Latin style music and dance, hip-hop, and pop. Of course Aneela never gets credit for her music when it gets played. The dance/exercise directors usually say that they got the music from another instructor and that they have no idea who does that high energy dance song.

[[ASIN:B00000JWC5 Fantastic]]


title: They paid heavenly bills...

text: Must have album.


title: Great music

text: Great songs!


title: $20 bucks from David Lindley

text: Buy this cd Directly from David Lindley for $20 along with all his others on Amazon for too much $!!!!! Seriously go to his [...]


title: Must have music video

text: One of Pink Floyd's video cd's ever


title: Best new artist!!!

text: Shara Strand is purely amazing! I heard her sing in NYC and I knew she would be a singing sensation. Not only is she gorgeous and a beautiful person inside out, her music is tantalizing! I can't stop listening to it! My all time favorite is Jekyl and Hyde! Be sure to watch out for this incredible upcoming singer!!! You will LOVE her!


title: ok

text: it plays so I guess that's what matters. but my boyfriend was disappointed about the amount of scratches and the condition of the case


title: Not what I expected.

text: A series of short episodes and not all stories have all the episodes.  Low sound quality to my ears.  I was expecting a series of shows.


title: Great music

text: Great music


title: Three Stars

text: Only 2 songs and a DVD...wish there was more material here.


title: Three Stars

text: It's ok, nothing too special, probably won't listen to it again.


title: Vigourous and Very Lively, but Perhaps Too Agressively Assertive, Performances of Schumann's Lovely Symphonies

text:
Schumann's symphonies are among this listener's favourite works in that form. When someone like Bernstein (in his New York studio recordings) or Dohnányi or Szell in their respective Cleveland studio sets (in Szell's case the earlier of his two), Levine (in his early recording of the works in Philadelphia) conducts them, these masterpieces by Schumann are undeniably sublime. I recall that Sir Adrian Boult directed Schumann's symphonies, at least some of them, marvellously well, too, but I have not heard the Westminster vinyl documentation (as released in North America) of Boult's way with this composer in a very long time; Boult's set has remained available in the U.K., as transferred to CD, on the Nixa label. All of these conductors (unlike many others) presented Schumann's orchestration as the composer left it, at least for the most part, and with too few minor adjustments, where they do occur, to cavil about, refraining from introducing numerous alterations simply to suit, arbitrarily, predilections about how they would prefer to have things. Of those who have recorded the works with various degrees of emended orchestration, the recording with Leipzig's great orchestra as Chailly, a very fine maestro, leads it, has used Mahler's ingeniously conceived and usually quite deft revisions, which is well worth investigating for that reason.

There is a woeful lack of dynamic contrast in Wolfgang Sawallisch's E.M.I. recordings, something which for me, at least, spoils the effect that these recorded interpretations make. There is little playing, as recorded, other than at mezzo-forte to forte levels or beyond, only at times (and at that, too occasionally) at mezzo-piano. Mostly these performances make a generalised roar, which, for lack of sufficient variety in volume, tires the ear. I hardly can believe that this would have been Sawallisch's intention. Rather, this, suspiciously, would suggest having been the result of some recording engineer's "riding the dials and levers" to keep things at an even dynamic keel, as if he were recording a swing band or rock group rather than a symphonic orchestra playing Romantic Period classical music, a repertory in which dynamic variation and range from quite soft to thunderously loud is the norm, even as that kind of range is NOT so usual most of the time in popular music, which only rather seldom has that particular kind of variety within it.  The strange balances between orchestral sections, either too highlighted inappropriately, or too subjugated to a general din at other times, with the strings not leading as one would expect them to do so most of the time, suggests excessive resort to too much close microphoning and, thus perhaps, to yet more tampering from the engineer's dials and other controls.

Where Sawallisch really excels musically is in the buoyancy and exuberance with which his tautly sprung rhythms propel the symphonies along with irresistible vigour and drive. The conductor's tempi also tend to be decidedly fast, perhaps even slightly too rushed, but that is preferable to the kind of somber, sluggish goo to which all too many conductors reduce Schumann's inherently exciting music. (That, of course, is a factor which any respectable or even minimally responsible, competent engineer neither would tamper with artificially nor be likely to alter.)

What would be needed to rectify these problems (as I, at least, perceive them) is to go back to the masters and to re-engineer them, but who will undertake such a project? (Perhaps such reëngineering already has occurred but I simply happened to obtain a less ideal issue of these recorded symphonies.)  Anyway, there are several other fine sets of recordings, as already noted. These works, alas, simply elude most conductors, for whatever reason. I really do want to get the Bernstein N.Y.P.O. set and the earlier of Szell's two complete Cleveland sets, of both of which I have LP editions, on CD. As for E.M.I.'s recording, Sawallisch's bracing energy is the factor, as well as the extraordinarily virtuosic and sumptuous playing of the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, that in the end, and despite all else, endears this recording for at least occasional future playback on my sound equipment.

There is a whole new rash of complete sets of Schmann's symphonies, works which at last are surging in popularity in concert programming and on CD recordings of them, coming out pell-mell at present from the record companies. Among them, Nézet-Séguin, the Québecois conductor, has been greatly lauded for his recording of the symphonies, Sir Simon Rattle, on the other hand, has been taken to task for his. There are so many recordings of this music but few that really satisfy. Alas, I don't have the time and the expendable cash to buy them all, even those among these recordings which at least promise more than most of the others do so, to have the opportunities to give each of them a listen! Sawallisch's set, however, is "in the running" among recordings on the market, but only as a secondary choice (for a collector who likes to have alternative recordings in his personal collection) to one or more of the other recordings which this review mentions.


title: Most of the Recordings in This Three-CD Set Are Very Much Worth Hearing, Especially Those Which Count John McCormack Recorded

text:
The contents of this tin case of three CDs (Madacy Entertaniment TC-2-52839), laid into overlapping flaps of cardboad inside the metal box, differ from what Amazon.ca and other Amazon national WWW sites (as accessed on 1 Jan. 2010) list. Amazon's listing for what is on these discs does not correspond well with what is included on the discs of the set as I purchased it, albeit packaged as in the Amazon entry's illustration! The Irish tenors which this set features, are:

(1) the great Count John McCormack (1884-1945), the classical opera singer and recitalist (whose noble title of knighthood was conferred upon him by the Papacy, not by a British monarch), who recorded these and so many other Irish specialty songs on 78 r.p.m. discs (of both the earlier acoustical and subsequent electrical technologies);

(2) Josef Locke (pseud. of Joseph McLaughlin, 1917-1999), the so-called "Singing Bobby" (i.e. policeman), vocally a decently endowed but rather blowsy Ulster Irish tavern tenor who sings with tasteless schmaltz at drearily slow tempi, here recorded before a live audience;

(3) John Kerr (d. 2006), a pleasant tenor of real tang and charm who sings the same kind of repertoire as the others, but with country-music instrumental and vocal back-up.

Well, since Amazon.ca rather "got it wrong", here are the real contents of this set:

DISC 1 (John McCormack): The Star of the County Down; The Holy Child; Love's Old Sweet Song; Maggie; Silver Threads among the Gold; The Rosary; The Rose of Tralee; Mother Machree; I'll Walk beside You; Bonny of Coleraine [i.e., Bonnie Wee Thing]. -- DISC 2 (Josef Locke): Blaze away; The Old Bog Road; Slievenamon; I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen; Danny Boy; Little Grey Home in the West; Sweet Sixteen; The Bold Gendarmes; The Town I Loved So Well; She Moved through the Fair. -- DISC 3 (John Kerr): Donegal Danny; Foggy Old London; Long before Your Time; Tonight I'm Singing for Killarney and You; A[n] Handful of Earth; The Old Dungannon Road; My Green Valleys; Hills of Glenswilly; My Days in Old Donegal; My Name Is Barney Brannigan.

The recordings by John McCormack, those acoustically recorded as well as the later electrical discs among the 78 r.p.m. originals, are very pleasingly listenable as sonically restored; the transfers manage to retain the lovely quality of this great tenor voice without a loss of presence from the sonic reprocessing. McCormack's singing is remarkably distinguished, even in this kind of light repertory; this is one classical singer who knew how to sing popular and folk music idiomatically and with the same aristocratic taste which he lavished on his operatic and Lieder recordings. McCormack's technical expertise still astonishes, for the purity of tone, impeccably clear (Irish accented) enunciation, breath control and the consequently sustained phrasing that such control enables. The set is worth it, at the low price for which it sells (even given the short total playing times per disc), if only for McCormack's disc (the first of the three) within it.

Understandably enough, some listeners may prefer to have a single CD or audiocassette of McCormack without the recordings by the other two singers which also serve as components of Madacy's triple-disc product. The R.C.A. (and B.M.G.) company holds the masters for the recordings which Count McCormack made in the U.S. Victor studios; there have been numerous reissues from R.C.A./B.M.G. of these Irish song recordings; just be sure to avoid those which have been "enhanced" for stereophonic effect. Those CD reissues of the same and other Irish material tend to have larger selections of Count McCormack's recordings of Irish repertoire than the disc in Madacy's set happens to include.

However, John Kerr's very different performances, the country-western tang provided by the musical collaborators who back up Kerr's singing (in decidedly Celtic-accented English), provide the extra "measure of pleasure" that lets one leave the disc of tiresomely dreadful and tasteless run-throughs by beery-voiced Josef Locke rest in the box unloved and unplayed, without undue regret at having paid for two good discs along with Locke's dud as the third unwanted one.

The songs mostly are the kind of Irish ethnic specialty songs which were written and composed by commercial songwriters (many of them of NO Irish descent at all!) in the U. S. of A. (those of the so-called "Tin Pan Alley" New York City song-mills and publishers of pop sheet music) and in Britain. Such songs were devised for use in vaudeville, burlesque, and variety shows, and in other popular entertainments of "turn of the century" (late 19th and first half of the 20th centuries), as well as for domestic use the piano-dominated parlours of average citizens' homes. The fact that Madacy's presentation neglects to mention or to cite these songwriters (composers and lyricists) is no indication of their obscurity; their identities are readily verifiable through perusing well-researched song lists and bibliographies, also published copyright registers. Madacy well may have omitted the information about theese songs' true origins in order to imply that the bulk of these songs truly are "traditional" (folk) songs, which just is NOT the case for most; the lovely brochure inside the box with the CDs, "The Music of Ireland" deals with traditional song and dance types, instruments, etc., of Ireland, most of which have very little to do with what is recorded on the three CDs!

However, for what it is, the set (aside from the brash vulgarity of Josef Locke's performances on his disc) is a pleasure to hear. Buy and enjoy!


title: Her best yet, I enjoy every song!

text:
Yes the price sucks, go to target and it's cheaper.

This album is TERRIFIC.  As a fan of Lindsay  up until this point her first album was best, imo.  But that all ends here.  The problem (I think) with her second album was having the ability to work with other artists, but getting their style to mesh with her violin, and the cohesion suffered.

But in this 3rd album I'm blown away.  Her skills on the violin work terrifically alongside the vocals of her cooperating artists.  I've a different song stuck in my head every day, and that includes the vocal notes AND the violin notes, it's wonderful.
<3 this girl, she is so talented!


title: good

text: came with all the inclusions, i didn’t get pobs sadly but that not supposed to be definite

attachment_type: IMAGE


title: Five Stars

text: great


title: Five Stars

text: Love listening and reading about these discs


title: Five Stars

text: this cd was a great value!!!!!!!!!!!!


title: PORTRAIT LYNDA CARTER

text: This is not on CD. I have it on CD because someone recorded it on CD for me. Lynda is my favorite singer. TOTO ( DON'T IT FEEL LIKE PARADISE) is my favorite song. This record needs to be on CD. It is a very good record. Lynda has a very good voice. If you can find a copy buy it. You wont be sorry. You be glad you did. Lynda needs to record a CD. She is the best actress and singer of all time. I also have Lynda's 5 specials from the 80s on CD. They should also be on CD and DVD.


title: Great CD!,

text: Great CD for just sitting back and listening to some wonderful music.


title: Only the best music!!!

text: Even if you don't know anything about Bose this is a must have for anyone who apreciates really good music and the very best singers,in spanish as in italian. Bottom line it's worth every dollar you pay for it!!!


title: Fantastic!

text: This album is awesome! I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys solid praise and worship, done in a contemporary way!


title: Five stars

text: Wonderful music. Have it in my car.


title: An excellent recording of a great performance

text: Anyone looking for a great performance and recording of the Nutcracker need look no further than this.  John Lanchbery may not be a household name as a conductor, but he had many years experience at the top of the ballet world, and it shows in his recorded work.  The recording is early stereo vintage, but sounds great.  The orchestra (the Philharmonia) is in great form.  The performance is nicely balanced, rhythmically adroit, and benefits from a light touch.  The only other "big name" recording of this music I am familiar with is the one by Andre Previn.  I think this one is every bit as good.  If there are other ones out there that might be better, the differences would probably be small, and they would probably be significantly more expensive.


title: Four Stars

text: very happy!


title: Please realease this

text: I bought Avenue Road some 40 years ago, and never knew about the 2nd album.  If it is as good as Avenue Road, somebody please release both albums on CD.  It has been long enough.  I am nearing 60....


title: Great Australian band.

text: Upbeat music!


title: Cant go wrong

text: Got this for my husband and he was very pleased with it. However i thought it was a little high.


title: she loved! I also bought a copy as well

text: I bought this for a friend when her baby boy was born, she loved! I also bought a copy as well, very soothing music.


title: Great price and amazing condition

text: The album was brand new and a really good price for what came with it. It shipped and arrived really early.


title: More pink than expected, but still great.

text: It doesn't look quite like the picture; it's really more pink than purple, and the marbling isn't that noticeable, but it still looks really cool and the sound quality is absolutely amazing, no clicks or pops. the actual quality was great as well, it's not warped or dirty or anything. One of my favorite albums in my collection.


title: Five Stars

text: Great work from Trent


title: A Must have re-issue of two great LPs on one CD for the first time.

text: I'm pleasantly surprised at how good this CD sounds.  I thought that being released by a company called Tone Arm Records that it would be mastered from vinyl, but it isn't.  I bought both these albums on vinyl when they came out in 1980 and 1983 respectively, and always liked them.  I was at a record store in Ann Arbor, MI, in 1980 and they were giving a way a Gus 7” single that had ‘One More Border to Cross’ on one side, and ‘Sweet Delight’ on the other.  That’s what introduced me to Gus, and buying the first album.  Tunes such as 'I'm not Finished' and the cold war classic 'The Russians are Coming' (fitting in a cyberspace way at the end of 2016!) are fantastic, and the reggae influenced 'Southern Most Part of my Soul' sounds better than ever.  Also, who else ever wrote a song criticizing the Japanese government for ‘busting’ Paul McCartney for marijuana possession?  The low end on the Convicted! mastering is stunning, with bass and drums loud and clear.  I would love to hear an album mixed like this right now, but it's amazing that this is 36 years old!  I write this review after listening to it on CD for the first time last night at full volume driving through the desert at night in Arizona, from Tucson to Phoenix, and was blown away at how good it sounds.  It’s too bad it’s out of print and so expensive here.  I found it on the other auction sight for ten, so I feel lucky.  Hopefully it will be re-issued soon…


title: Very pleased. Vibrant

text: Had an ancient cassette of this CD and never expected to find this!  Very pleased.  Vibrant, magical songs.


title: ... interesting? Uh, not-so-much

text: Hmm, let's keep things clear, and concise. As a dead-ringer for his Dad, Ron Perlman, this kid should pursue acting. He's no one's Dj by any stretch as evinced by this nonsensical drivel.<br />This disc goes in no rhythmic direction whatsoever. I have no idea what kind of experiment he was aiming for, but this thing is, in summary, bizarre. Save your cash, folks.


title: Worth it

text: Mixed good and so so music, like any album.


title: Four Stars

text: Very nice. Thanks.


title: Five Stars

text: Love, love, love this CD!  It's been playing in my car constantly since I bought it!


title: Customer rates Brodsky's Beatles Symphony

text:
Vadim Brodsky's 'Beatles Symphony' is a fine work, suitable for both Beatles fans and lovers of orchestral music. Naturally, the symphonies primarily feature the violin (Brodsky is a violinist). Most of the pieces are soothing, relaxing, and tranquil. Chronologically speaking, Brodsky covers a wide range of Beatles music, but most of the pieces chosen are love songs, which are not the only categories of Beatles music suitable for symphonic interpretation. Nevertheless, the music is carefully arranged, well mixed, and well recorded. Customers will be pleased with the sound quality of this collection.

Need some accompanying music for a romantic fireside dinner? This recording will serve you well. But you will probably never make time to listen to Vadim Brodsky's 'Beatles Symphony' at the expense of everything else in your life.


Jo was the person who introduced me to the Chakras and helped me to start my journey of working with them. I use her Chakra Meditation Kit daily and find her recorded meditations to be as powerful as the ones I have participated in during her workshops. You won't find meditations with the Chakras that are better then Jo's. Her voice is perfect for these sorts of things but what it really is is her passion for her work, her belief in the power to heal and her connection to the Divine that helps move you to a better place.


title: Very good.

text: The sound is fantastic,enjoy...


title: Wonderful vocalist

text: He sings the songs so well…he could be in any broadway musical!


title: Two Stars

text: it gave no stability to finger.


title: Five Stars

text: Very good for a import.


This is a fine collection, bringing together many otherwise hard-to-find (in the USA, anyhow...) songs...
Since, for some reason, only the CDs on the French label "Chant Du Mond" ("Le Monument" and "Le Vol Arrete") seem to be widely available in the USA, and since all of the songs on those CDs feature only guitar and voice, it was interesting to hear all of the various orchestrations in this selection...

The compilers have evidently taken some care to include songs which represent all these various styles (grand orchestrations, jazz-ish songs with trumpets and piano, simple guitar and voice songs... many different styles... I am pleased and surprised at the variation...) of composition, even grouping them together in sections (for example, tracks 17-22 on the first disk are voice and guitar only, tracks 23-28 on the first disk feature a different vocalist, and other sections may feature similar rhythms, melodic structures, or instruments, etc., grouped together...)...

Overall, (and I make this review on THIS compilation alone, and on the assumption that you are familiar with Vysotsky already but want more information on this specific product...) though some of the musical styles don't suite my tastes, this is an excellent representation of Vysotsky's range, and his voice, together with the many other styles more than make up for any failings (and you may well disagree with me as to whether there are even any failings...)...

Recommended, especially to those who may wish to hear a wider selection of styles (oh these styles... which I have mentioned so many times!) than are widely available in the USA (though now, with the internet...). It has everything.


title: It is not on compact discs! It is on cassette tapes

text: Not as advertised


title: Well Worth Your Time

text: I was at the original CD release at Westminster Presbyterian Church many moons ago and have loved this CD for years, I was sad when I lost my copy, and I'm thrilled to have a replacement.


title: Wonderfully Entertaining 30's Style Radio Show Horror!

text: Dark Adventure Radio Theater does it again with a creepy and mesmerizing take on H.P. Lovecraft's tale of a police officer's investigation into a New York cult and its otherworldly attentions.  I highly recommend this atmospheric series as a must for fans of Lovecraft and radio show entertainment.


title: Finned Pilot

text: The sampler was pretty weak with the exception of "Here We Go Again" by Finned Pilot. The recording on the sampler is a better production than the band's self produced album of the same name. This song makes the sampler worth buying online; the rest is pretty forgettable.


title: Love but no photocard!

text: It came pretty quick and was in really good condition but I didn’t get a photocard :(


title: Disc 2 Held Accountable For Brief Love Affair With Trance Genre!

text:
Bought this album the week it was released in 2000.  This was still during the days when I had no idea what the difference between electronica's multiple genres were.  I liked electronic music and my usual pattern in buying electronica albums was to hear a track at a club or on the radio, find out the name and buy a two disc compilation album just for the sole reason that that one recognizable track name was listed on the back.  Come on...most of us started like this right?!

Well this album was my first "I don't recognize any of the listed tracks" / "What the hell is trance anyway?" impulsive electronica purchases.  A two disc album featuring two different trance DJ's that was suppose to represent America's unique style and sound of trance during that time period.

Disc 1 is mixed by Taylor.  Not much to get excited about with this set.  Mixing is not overly impressive either.

Disc 2 is mixed by Jimmy Van M and created much more of a buzz for me.  Even when I listen to it today, I'm still incredible impressed with the sound and feel than Jimmy Van M conjured up for the first 2/3rds of this set.  As the title states, I was sold on the idea that trance was going to be my preferred genre after listening to this disc.  "Way of Love" by Jericho was my favorite track for nearly a year.  It's not all good though.  That fantastic sounding trance groove established over the first seven tracks disappears to a more generic trance sound by track 8 till the end of the set.  Very dissapointing.

Although my tastes in electronica have changed, I sometimes wonder if I would have stayed a trance fan longer if more commerical trance albums included sets like this one.  I still go back and listen to a lot of older trance albums that get these rave reviews (e.g. Tranceport by Paul Oakenfold) but I'm never as impressed as I was initially with disc 2 of Trance Nation America.

Disc 1 gets 2.5/stars and Disc 2, 3.5/5 stars.


title: The Best of the Back to Mine Series

text:
More well known and loved for his hard progressive trance sets, Dave Seaman is featured on the second album of the "Back to Mine" series.

Quickly approaching a decade since its release, Back to Mine by Dave Seaman is still the best of the series that I've listened to so far.  This album and disc 1 of Seaman's Renaissance: Desire album remain my favorite commercial sets with his name on the front cover.  Kinda odd since Back to Mine is downtempo electronica and Renaissance: Desire is mostly house/progressive house.  Both genres that he is not well known for.  Just shows his great versatility as a DJ.

Seaman concentrates on mixing together a set of ambient tracks that mix well together individually and as a whole album. Thankfully, he steered clear of adding any trippy sounds, noises, or voice clips like Nick Warren did on his.  Despite a release date of 1999, the album lack any wrinkles.

Hard to not like this one.  A must have for those wanting a great downtempo/chillout album that is mixed and/or those curious to see a glimpse of Dave Seaman's lighter side.

4.5/5 stars.


title: Lou reed

text: Great


title: For my money, This is the recording

text: I have heard many recordings of the Planets over the years, some fabulous, some not so good. I was very surprised when my cd arrived and I put it in my stereo, at the brilliance of this recording. I am a fan of the BBC Philharmonic, finding that they always play with a real strength and urgency when required but also with appropriate subtlety at the right times. They also do English music very well. This is no exception and it has all the ingredients to make it my favourite recording and the recording I would recommend to anybody who wants to hear a `cracking good' recording of the work. It has the excitement of a live recording without any of the annoying `extras' that so often mar a good recording. So...Try it out, you won't be disappointed.


title: Exceptionally good - but they could have packaged it better.

text:
These recordings of the nine symphonies by Ralph Vaughan Williams were made by RCA (now Sony) between 1967 and 1972, during which period rival E.M.I. (now Warner) were producing a similar set conducted by Sir Adrian Boult.  For years afterwards, the Boult and Previn sets were the only available VW symphony series available.  Both are still around, and both are very good. There was also an earlier Boult set from Decca made in the early 1950s, but it was not complete, missing the 9th — only the 8th was in stereo; a stereo 9th did appear, but it was on the Everest label.

It can be reported that after over 50 years these Previn recordings still sound wonderful and are worth looking into by anyone interested in a Vaughn Williams symphony cycle.  Each individual symphony may not be the very finest ever done, but none are less than good and several are outstanding.  In later years Previn would re-do the 2nd and 5th on Telarc, but the results were not great improvements.  Symphony 7 includes the optional spoken introduction to each movement.  This present incarnation also includes the Concert Accademico for violin, The Wasps overture, 3 Portraits from The England of Elizabeth, and the Tuba Concerto.  The audio of everything is of high quality and the music of Vaughan Williams is truly done justice on these recordings.

On the down side, this particular release features wretched packaging with all 6 CDs in one double size jewel case, which makes the discs hard to remove and the case easily falls apart and only goes back together again with trouble, given that it does not break in in the process.  Recordings are made in CD-R format.  The enclosed booklet provides no information on the music, only track listings.  A set like this of musical and historical value deserves better.

Anyone with the stereo Boult recordings may not want to bother with this set (that one is also very good), but between those two, I believe I would opt for this Previn as a first choice.


title: Outstanding

text: This is an outstanding recording of mid-19th Century music for band.  Buffs of the American Civil War should be pleased.  I have a couple of other recordings by this organization and find this one to be the best.


title: Early Music Superlative

text: This CD is great.  No other commentaries  necessary.  If you can find it, get get it!


title: Get Berglund's earlier recording

text:
Sibelius:  Kullervo Symphony; Paavo Berglund and the Helsinki Philharmonic, recorded June 1985 -- only the second recording of this work ever made.  The first had been this same conductor's performance with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, for E.M.I., made Nov. 1970.  That earlier one sounds fresher and provides, I feel, a more vital experience of this work.  Of the two, the version with the Bournemouth is the one to have.

This second go at the work is a bit more dynamic with improved audio quality, but the freshness just is not there and leaves one a bit cold.  Still, a very good musical product.

My nod for the best would be one of those conducted by Lief Segerstam, the blockbuster job from Esa-Pekka Salonen on Sony. or the 1970 Berglund.


title: This is what Mahler is supposed to sound like

text:
Review problems for this item -- the disc under consideration here is Mahler Symphony No. 5, Hermann Scherchen/Vienna State Opera Orchestra, and that is the item I am reviewing.

Recorded July 1953 on the Westminster label, the audio quality is MUCH better than one would expect for a product of this age.  And the performance is of the highest order.  This, and a recording of Symphony No. 7 with same conductor and orchestra from about the same time, will inform any listener what the music of Mahler is supposed to sound like.  I can think of none which exceed these.  For Mahler, this is what is all about.  Check them out.


title: best Satie song collection to he had

text:
A recording of the "complete" songs by Erik Satie.  This composer actually compiled hundreds of songs, many not original and most now lost or existing in just rough sketches.  This, and other discs of the Satie song repertoire, will give you the complete art songs, those known as "Mélodies", which are his more serious works intended for concert performances.  The issues come into play with the vocal works written for the cabarets, or the "Chansons"; these items, sometime bawdy, often satirical, were many in number but only a few ever published, and of those others which have seen the light of day, some of the lyrics are now missing.  This last group represents work the composer did in order to survive, and he felt his writings for the 'Café de Concert' to be a humiliating task -- it is too bad he felt that way, as most of them make for fun listening.  The baritone vocalist on this recording, Holger Falk, certainly gets the most out of them.  With 41 tracks, and at over 79 minutes, this CD is one of the best filled.  Great music from the Velvet Gentleman!

So, what is on here, and what is not?  First, the omission -- a bizarre little 20 second piece of Easter 1893 for his only known love affaire "Bonjour Biqui" (so short, it could have been fit onto this CD, but, alas it is not here).  The only known commercial recording I am aware of which has this item is disc 9 of the large 'Tout Satie!" set [[ASIN:B014E89SE2 Erik Satie: The Complete Works (10CD)]] (that disc is also generously filled with performances by various vocalists including Mady Mesplé, Gabriel Bacquier, and Nicolai Gedda, among others, and most also feature Aldo Ciccolini as pianist).  But, this one short song is the only missing item which I know has been recorded by others (it can also be heard on the internet).

There are two "songs" on this disc for which words may not have ever existed and are played as piano solos, "Le Picadilly" (an often recorded item) and "Imperial-Oxford" (of which this is the only known recording I am aware of).  Another item which is possibly unique to this disc is the song "La Chemise" (though it is thought to be incomplete).  Two items, "Les Oiseux" and 'Marienbad" are sung here with lyrics which were long thought to have been lost -- though the words employed here may represent only surviving fragments of the originals; a third item "Rambouillet" which does not have recovered lyrics is whistled.  So, this disc does succeed in presenting a bit more material than any competing release, even with that one missing item.

The pianist on this disc is Steffen Schleiermacher who, back about 2001-02 made 5 CDs of Satie's music on this same label, MDG.  That was no where near a complete traversal of the Satie piano music, even some of the most famous items were undone, and many of the works were performed at the ultra-slow tempi which numerous other modern pianists take with this composer.  The present disc, made May 2015, shows no inclination to drag.  The audio quality is clear as a bell.

Holger Falk sings these about as well as anyone I have heard and has real feel for the Chansons, though he does not bring off the Mélodies with quite the same aplomb.  For those wishing to hear these by a female vocalist, check out Anne-Sophie Schmidt, if it can still be found [[ASIN:B01KBHO21E Satie: Complete Songs and Melodies]] , only slightly less extensive than Falk.  A collection by Jane Manning, while very well performed, is a tad short on the number of songs offered at only 32 [[ASIN:B00002657L Satie: Complete Piano Works 9]] .  If anyone would be interested in a top-notch, though a bit oddly rendered, recording which includes only the Mélodies, look to Marjanne Kweksilber [[ASIN:B000GIX9WW Piano Music [3 CD/DVD Box Set]]] (though, this looks to be yet another outstanding release which generally unavailable). Based on availability, it looks like the only real choices at this time are this one -- and a great choice it is -- and that included in the 10-CD 'Tout Satie!' set linked above.  This one is most highly recommended.


title: Great - but unavailable

text: If this ever becomes available again, get it; one of the best Mahler performances ever made!  Per the cover, it is with the Cleveland Orchestra, though it was made at a concert in Berlin 21 April 1967.  The vocal soloists, Maureen Forrester and Richard Lewis, performed Das Lied von der Erde together a number of times, including the commercial recording on RCA with the Chicago Symphony under Fritz Reiner.  For a live recording of this date, the sound is fairly acceptable.  This particular release on "Living Stage" is from 2003, and I have not found any other issues for this material.  Hope it shows up again.


title: Rare Ravel, very well done

text:
Herein is some music by Maurice Ravel in arrangements that are seldom to be heard, being a complete (?) assembly of items either composed or (mainly) arranged for either two pianos, or piano duet.  The performers are Ingryd Thorson and Julian Thurber, who deliver excellent performances in beautiful sound, originally made in Denmark in June 1987.  The contents:

Introduction and Allegro, originally composed for harp and a small ensemble, here in a reduction for 2 pianos with one piano doing a transcription of the harp part and the second piano doing the accompaniment (the original is a lovely work and is much preferred to this reduction).

Rapsodie espagnole, for 2 pianos; apparently, the famous orchestral work and this were composed at the same time, but this arrangement was completed first and was first performed in this setting.  This is a real find and hearing the work in this manner makes one wish it was more ofter presented this way -- it does not replace the orchestrated version, but is a real compliment to it.

Entre clochs, for 2 pianos, one of Ravel's earliest compositions and only 3'42" long.  Its premiere was a failure and it was forgotten, not being published until long after the composer's death.  Interesting as an historical piece, OK listening, but nothing great, definitely not mature Ravel.

Bolero, arranged for 2 pianos.  Why Ravel would make a later arrangement for keyboards of a work that is most characterized for its orchestral colors is a puzzle.  The playing is fine, but there is not a lot to recommend a setting like this even if you are a Bolero fanatic.

Ma Mere l'Oye, for piano duet.  In this case, this was the original version of the work, written for children (soon after, it would be given brilliant orchestration, and then turned into a ballet with additional movements which would about double its playing time).  This is more familiar to me than anything else on the set and one of the few items which has been recorded before.  As with the Rapsodie espagnole, good listening to music in another form than in which it is normally heard.

Fanfare, for piano duet.  The very short (1'15") work written as the first movement in the collaborative composition (10 different composers) L'Eventail de Jeanne.  This is a poor item, the piano reduction gains nothing but much is lost.

Ouverture de Sheherazade, for  piano duet.  Reduction of an early orchestra composition which flopped and was withdrawn by the composer, not to be published until 1975.  There are a few recordings out there of this work in orchestral form, unfortunately it does not amount to much (DO NOT confuse this with the magnificent work of three songs for soprano and orchestra which bears the same title!  This is an earlier and far, far inferior work!). The orchestrated version of this is better, but both are pretty much bottom-drawer Ravel.

Frontispice, for two pianos, five hands (with the extra hand by David Gardiner).  Perhaps Ravel's strangest work, and very short at under 2 minutes.  It was written in 1918 while he was suffering from shell-shock from his experiences during World War I.

La Valse for 2 pianos.  Very interesting to hear in this setting, the playing is outstanding.

Really, this set is for major Ravel fans who think they must have everything, though that does not distract from the quality of playing one will experience.  Both CDs in the set are rather short, only about 45 minutes each.  It is worth having for the fine renditions of Rapsodie espagnole, Ma Mere l'Oye, and La Valse; the addition of the bizarre Frontispice is an added bonus.  I like the set.


title: Late recordings by Charles Munch

text:
If you are a fan of Charles Munch, AND if you can find this item, grab it.  The source of these items was is a murky subject, apparently a record club with the name Guilde Internationale du Disque (in France) and Concert Hall (in the U.K.).  In America they got picked up by such labels as Nonesuch, Everest, Turrnabout, and others.  The listing below shows the original LP releases, which are all included on this 4 CD set, except for a couple as noted.  Most recorded with the ensemble then known as the ORTF, again, except as noted.

SMS 2.494, Albeniz: Iberia.  Debussy:  Iberia. (rec. ca. Oct./Nov. 1966)
SMS 2.495  Bizet:  Symphony, Jeux d'Infants, Patrie! (Oct./Nov. 1966)
SMS 2.511  Borodin:  In the Steppes of Central Asia.  Moussorgsky:  Khovanschina, 3 orchestral excerpts. Rimsky-Korsakov:  Russian Easter Orverture and 2 exceprts from Le Coq d'Or (of the whole bunch, this vigorous Russian program is my favorite!)
SMS 2.519  Franck:  Symphony (Rotterdam Philharmonic, Oct./Nov. 1966 -- the commercial recording Munch made of this with the Boston Symphony is far better).
SMS 2.527  Beethoven:  Symphony No. 6 (Rotterdam Philharmonic, ca. Nov. 1966 -- Munch observes some of the repeats in this work which he does not do on several other commercial and live recordings he made of it -- for that reason, this in some ways is my preferred version of it).
SMS 2.579  Debussy:  La Mer and Three Nocturnes (Feb. 1968 -- NOTE, the Nocturnes are NOT on this set!  they can be found here [[ASIN:B0048M4OZ8 Hommage a Charles Munch- Debussy: La Mer, Iberia, Trois Nocturnes]] .  This is Munch's 3rd commercial recording of La Mer, and he does NOT observe the additional trumpet fanfares near the end -- these can be heard in his BSO recording.
SMS 2.761  Debussy:  Prelude ... faune.  Smetana:  The Moldau (rec. Feb. 1968 -- the Smetana work NOT included in this set, in fact, I can not find were it has ever been released except on LP and never in America -- very rare item, I have never heard it).

In all cases, Munch here had a lesser orchestra than in Boston and the audio quality a lot less than achieved by RCA.  There are some interesting items in this set, especially the Russian works, the Albeniz pieces, and the Bizet (though, he made a lot better job with the Symphony with the Royal Philharmonic).  A number of these, such as the Debussy works, have also appeared on other CDs.  Current availability of this material is unknown.


title: Good old, live concert performances

text:
This release on Memories Reverence (of Milan, Italy) I must rate a bit higher than some of their other live Munch concert releases -- it is very good and interesting.  All these were done live with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

CD 1 -- Mozart: Symphony No. 35, concert of 10 Oct. 1958; Symphony No. 40, 11 June 1959.  Beethoven, Symphony No. 7, 8 Oct. 1960.  Munch's Mozart was standard for the time, large orchestra, no repeats, etc., but still done well and fairly enjoyable -- also see here [[ASIN:B01G4CWQHW Mozart:Symphony No. 31 & 35 & 36 & 39 & 40 & 41 Requiem Charles Munch by Charles Munch]] (the No. 40 is the same on both, the No. 35 is from a completely different series).  The Beethoven 7 is well done and better sounding than another live one found here [[ASIN:B01170SM5G Beethoven: Complete symphonies Charles Munch/Boston Symphony]] .  Munch's only commercial recording of this was the first he made with the BSO back in late 1949.

CD 2 -- Mahler, Symphony No. 10 Adagio only., concert of 5 Dec. 1959.  Brahms, Symphony No. 1, 7 Nov. 1961.  Munch doing Mahler is certainly a rare item, the only other works by this composer I am aware of being the 2 song-cycles he conducted for RCA [[ASIN:B01NBJJOVY Mahler: Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen & Kindertotenlieder]] .  The performance of the Adagio here is very moving and lovely, really captures the spirit.  The Brahms No. 1 was a work Munch did well, though I do not really care that much for the RCA recording he made of it.  I do love, however, the version from the Orchestre de Paris, which is my favorite of any [[ASIN:B00JBJWH7K Brahms: Symphony No.1]] .  This live one is also excellent, has acceptable sound, and is a joy to listen to -- really good!


title: Munch conducts Bruckner

text:
Live BSO recordings from Memories Reverence of Milan, Italy.

CD 1 -- Mozart, Symphony 31, concert of 2 April 1954.  Mozart, Symphony No. 41, 26 Dec. 1952.  Features Mozart played the way it commonly was back in those days, by a large orchestra without too much regard for period playing practices and not much in the way of repeats.

CD 2 -- Bruckner, Symphony No. 7, concert of 8 Feb. 1958.  Better sound on this offering, but inauthentic version (common at that time) and heavily CUT; a shame considering that the playing is with spirit and drama.  Good performance of a bad version, which in not a good report.  I think this was the only Bruckner work which Charles Munch conducted during his 13 seasons in Boston.


title: Historic Munch

text:
Historic recordings under conductor Charles Munch.  What is here:

CD 1 -- Brahms, Violin Concerto with Ossy Renady, with the Concertgebouw, recorded for Decca 1948 (an old recording of an often done concerto, nothing special).  Beethoven, Symphony No. 7, Boston Symphony, recorded 1949 (the first recording Munch made in his 13 years in Boston, OK, but nothing great).

CD 2 -- Beethoven, Gratulationsmenutte, a short work recorded as a filler on the odd sides for the 78 and 45 rpm releases of the 7th Symphony, one of the very rarest of the recordings Munch made in Boston, from 1949 (never on LP).  Berlioz, Symphonie fantastique, the first Munch made of this work, with the ORTF in 1949 (while not as good sounding as the two versions later to be made in Boston, this may be the most dynamic performance he made of the the work).  Tchaikovsky, rehearsal of the first movement only of the Violin Concerto with Michele Auclair in 1951 (a real novelty!  Munch speaks and even sings along!  It is too bad that they never made a commercial recording of this collaboration.)

Mainly only for Charles Munch fans.  The real important item on here is the Berlioz.  The Beethoven minuet probably had not been available anywhere for well over 50 years, good to have that, but hardly vital.


title: Charles Munch in Chicago

text:
An interesting assembly for the label Memories Reverence of Milan, Italy here with my favorite conductor Charles Munch leading, this time, The Chicago Symphony Orchestra.  All these are live performances from the summer Ravinia Festival where Munch appeared as a guest in the years after he retired from leading the Boston Symphony for 13 seasons.  These are somewhat better than other releases this label has made in that the source material is of better quality and is in stereo sound.  The items made in 1966 are decent sounding, while those from 1967 are really good making for some enjoyable listening.

On this set:
CD 1 -- Mozart, Concerto for Two Pianos with Vitya Vronsky and Victor Babin, concert of 2 July 1966.  Franck, Symphony in d, 2 July 1966. Roussel, Bacchus et Ariane Suite No. 2, 5 July 1966.
The Mozart is sort of a novelty, can't say it is my favorite Mozart, but interesting to hear now and then.  The Franck was a Munch staple, he made 3 commercial recordings of it, the most notable in Boston; this one holds up well against those and is definitely worth having.  The Roussel was another constant Munch stand by getting a very fine reading here.

CD 2 --  Ravel, Piano Concerto, Nicole Henriot-Schweitzer, piano, concert of 5 July 1966.  Berlioz, Symphonie fantastique, 5 July 1966.  Two more Munch staples.  The pianist in the Ravel was Munch's niece and he made several studio recordings with her, including 3 of this same work; this one is OK, the version from Boston sounds better, though my favorite was made in Paris 2 years later and proved to the the last thing he ever recorded before his death.  The Berlioz is a typical Munch performance, 4 or 5 commercial and several live ones are out there -- none of the others approach the 1962 marvel from Boston [[ASIN:B000024HIJ Berlioz: Romeo Et Juliette Symphonie Fantastique]] .

CD 3 -- Debussy, Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune.  Debussy, La Mer.  Robert Schumann, Symphony No. 4.  All recorded 15 July 1967.
The La Mer exists again in at least 3 commercial versions, with numerous live ones as well; here, with its excellent sound, could be his best one, save for the fact he not observe the extra brass parts which should sound their fanfare towards the end of the last movement (on his best known recording of this, that with the BSO [[ASIN:B000003FEG Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3 "Organ Symphony" / Debussy: La Mer / Ibert: Escales (Ports of Call)]] , those trumpets ARE included, though he more ofter left them out).  My favorite Munch version of La Mer was a live one made 1965 in Moscow [[ASIN:B00QW8CSC2 Charles Munch in Moscow]] .  The Schumann is also well done.

Altogether a very nice set for the Munch fan.  For those wanting more Munch in Chicago, there is also a wonderful video from a 1963 telecast [[ASIN:B00008AWTI Chicago Symphony Orchestra -  Historic Telecasts with Pierre Monteux & Charles Munch (Beethoven / Berlioz / Ravel / Wagner)]] .


title: Beethoven Symphonies for the Charles Munch fanatic

text:
A highly interesting, and highly variable release from Memories Reverence of Milan, Italy -- a 5-CD set of the complete Symphonies of Beethoven under my favorite conductor, Charles Munch.  As a rabid fan, had to have it -- non fans may have other opinions. This is a mix of broadcast concerts and some rather elderly commercial recordings.

First a note on interpretation.  Munch was not known to be a fan of observing repeats, and he ignores them to a major extent in all of these, so do not assume any of these is going to be to note-complete -- this aside, he was, in general, an excellent conductor of Beethoven.  Neither is one going to get particularly fine sounding performances.  This is for sure for collectors of Munch, and there are some rare items contained therein.  During his 13 seasons in Boston, Munch made commercial recordings of 7 of the 9 Symphonies, all on the really big box set [[ASIN:B01FQSUR8K Charles Munch - The Complete RCA Album Collection]] .  In prior years, several of these were also released on individual CDs.  All items on this set with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, except as noted.

CD 1:  No. 1, commercial recording made by RCA 27 Dec. 1950.  So-so performance and dim sound, has previously appeared with the commercial version of No. 3 [[ASIN:B00000E6PE Symphonies 1 & 3]] .
No. 4, concert of 18 April 1961; this work Munch never recorded commercially, though there is another live version of him doing with the French National Orchestra several years later (this, [[ASIN:B000050T7M Overture "The Consecration of the House", Symphony 4, 7]] , and others).  He brings off the 4th quite nicely, lovely job.

CD 2:  Symphony No. 2, concert of 17 Oct. 1953; reportedly this was the only time Munch was known to ever conduct this work and there are no other recordings of him doing it, so this may be unique, and it is good in the performance department.
No. 5, concert of 3 Nov. 1959; this is up against a fairly good studio version of a few years earlier, excellently done though disfigured by the utter lack of anything resembling a repeat [[ASIN:B0009U55RY Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 6]] .  Repeats aside, the Munch take on the 5th is highly dramatic and powerful and has long been one of my favorites.  The live version here is not an improvement.

CD 3:  Symphony No. 8, Orchestra of the Paris Conservatory, original commercial recording for Decca made Sept. 1947;  Munch also made this one in Boston in far better sound [[ASIN:B004K7SDFI Beethoven: Symphonies No. 7 (November 19, 1949, Boston) & No. 8 (November 30, 1958, Boston) (The Art of Charles Munch, Vol. 5)]] , though I think I may slightly prefer this earlier one from a musical stand point.
No. 3, concert of 30 Nov. 1957 -- the 'Eroica' Munch conducted many times and there are several live versions of it out there, this being one of the better ones.  There was a well received studio effort which has appeared a couple of times on CD, such as [[ASIN:B00000E6PE Symphonies 1 & 3]] but I have heard none in which he does not do an awful chop job on the 3rd movement, as well as leaving out all the other repeats as well.  The studio version is the best of the lot.

CD 4:  No. 6, concert of 8 Dec. 1956; another work which Munch conducted many times and commercially recorded twice, once with Boston (joined with No. 5 on that release), and again in Rotterdam towards the end of his life [[ASIN:B004LXORR4 Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 Pastoral, Op. 68 / Fantasy for Piano, Choir & Orchestra, Op. 80]] ; note that on the Rotterdam version, Munch DOES observe the 3rd movement repeat his shunned in other performances, though, otherwise, it is not a particularly good recording, one of my least favorites of everything this ever did.  The 'Pastoral' on this set is a decent job in substandard sound and only one of several live performances by Munch of this work which can be found out there.
No. 7, concert of 15 Oct. 1954.  This work was the first recording Munch made in Boston, back in late 1949, and can be found on CD coupled with No. 8 as linked above.  A better sounding live BSO recording is available here [[ASIN:B00C9SQ956 Charles Munch: Boston Symphony - Brahms, Mozart, Beethoven]]  .  There is also another live recording with France's National Orchestra, see linked above under No. 4.  The live one on this set is OK, but my preference is for the Orchestre Nationale, even if it is a lesser assembly than the BSO.  I do not have a real liking for any Munch recording I have ever heard for either Symphony 6 or 7, he just never did them the way I prefer.

CD 5:  No. 9, concert at Tanglewood of 10 Aug. 1958.  One of the glories of the Munch years in Boston was his studio recording of this work, which I can recommend without reservation [[ASIN:B003YI3CXC Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 In D Minor , Op. 125]] .  This live reading was made not long before that one, but the cast of vocal soloists was a bit different;  if anything, I actually like this live one better than the RCA studio job in terms of interpretation, but there no comparison when it comes to audio quality, and this one is just too edgy, and the RCA is just so grand.  This the one Beethoven Symphony by Munch which everyone should hear (I could say the same for the 5th, if it were not for all those cuts).

In short, Munch fans will want this.  Others just looking for Beethoven will certainly want to search elsewhere (when not just out to love Munch, I tend to some of the H.I.P. versions, which is probably a minority opinion such as:  [[ASIN:B0000057EO Beethoven: 9 Symphonies]] , and, especially [[ASIN:B00005A9O0 Beethoven - Symphonies 1-9 · Overtures / London Classical Players · Sir Roger Norrington]] .  The best advice is to dispense with the sets and look for individual recordings of the works as no one is probably going to get everything right for you.  Feel free to prowl though my other (extensive) reviews for my takes on some of the individual works.


title: Excellent "Requiem"

text:
"A Mass of Life" is a really massive work from a composer better known for his miniature tone poems.  For chorus and orchestra and running almost 100 minutes, the work is no "Mass" at all, taking its lyrics from Friedrich Nietzsche's "Also sprach Zarathustra"; it dates from 1904/05.  I must admit, this is one of my least favorite Delius compositions as it goes on interminably.  Even the early recording by Beecham could not do much for it as a work of music [[ASIN:B00005B1CN Delius: A Mass of Life (2-CD Set)]] .  This edition by Hickox does at least have wonderful sound.

The other item on this 2-CD set is another matter.  "Requiem" was actually started just prior to World War I, completed in 1916, and dedicated to those fallen in the War.  It was first performed in 1922 and then sank into oblivion.  The text of the "Requiem" has been described as pagan, but atheistic would be more correct, and the work contains a number of strange little twists.  While the least known of all Delius' major works, I find it to be highly compelling and it holds my attention throughout (something which the over-windy Mass of Life completely fails to do) -- one of my favorites by this composer.  What is more, I am only aware of one other commercial recording, under Meredith Davies -- and while I may slightly prefer that one from a performance standpoint, it may now be out-of-print [[ASIN:B000066CQV Delius: Requiem, Idyll, Songs of Farewell, Davies, Sargent]] . (There is also a live Liverpool concert from 1965 conducted by Charles Groves which may still be around. [[ASIN:B000Y8Z2CE Delius: A Mass of Life/Del Mar & Requiem/Groves]] )  Again, Hickox captures the work in magnificent sound and aural quality.  While I could give this review 5 starts for "Requiem" alone, I must admit "Mass" also has its merits and this release is a must for Delius admirers.


title: Great Liszt Collection

text:
For a complete collection of the Symphonic Poems / Tone Poems of Franz Liszt, this 5-CD set from Hungaroton should be placed at the top of the list.  Recordings made 1984/85 in good audio, with just enough of a raw quality to bring out the best in this music.  Other notable collections of all 13 of the Tone Poems include those by the Gewandhausorchester / Kurt Masur (originally for EMI), where they are now packaged in a larger collection with other Liszt, and can be highly recommended [[ASIN:B00564WMV0 Liszt: Orchestral Works, Works for Piano & Orchestra]]; and a set by the London Philharmonic / Bernard Haitink (Decca), which I cannot recommend without a lot of reservations [[ASIN:B0033KR5ZC Liszt: Complete Symphonic Poems]].

All entries on this set are authoritative performances presented in a manner as to get the most out of these works which are often of questionable musical quality (what I am saying is that while many music specialists regard this stuff as more or less junk, Joó does his best to make them sound like something worth listening to).  Conductor Árpád Joó is one of the few who does not take a hefty cut in the final march section of 'Mazeppa' (recordings made by Masur and Iván Fischer also play the music complete).  'Héroïde funèbre' is taken at an incredibly slow tempo, lasting over 24 minutes (Masur does it in under 18 minutes, and looses the entire harrowing effect; Haitink extends his performance to 27 minutes, but just does not get it right). The Tone Poems occupy discs 1-4, with #5 being given over to other Liszt orchestral pieces, including the two scenes from Lenaus' Faust -- the famous Mephisto Waltz receives its usual loud ending, not the rarely heard fade-out alternative (check out a disc under Conlon for that [[ASIN:B00000E8SG Liszt: Les Preludes / Mephisto Valse / 2 Legendes]] ); plus, there is the 2nd Mephisto Waltz, and 'Szózat und Hymnus'.

I have written elsewhere that these particular works, while not the best music to be found and which earn a high schlock quotient, can prove to be very addictive.  This set should show why.


title: Fair to Good (and, liking it better)

text:
Recorded ca. 1984, these are Satie's piano works for 2-hands.  Armengaud also contributed with D. Merlet to a disc of the works for piano 4-hands [[ASIN:B000005WCS Satie: Complete Works for Piano Duet [L'oeuvre Pour Piano a Quatre Mains]]], and was accompanist on a recording the the 'complete' songs [[ASIN:B000025ZLI Satie 'Melodies And Songs: Complete Recording Including Hitherto Unpublished Works'. (Anne-Sop]] (I find these other two discs to be more well done than this 4-cd set of the 2-handed works).  The enclosed booklet for this particular issue has some interesting material, including the humorous texts which Satie wrote into the scores of some of his piano suites -- and which he specifically ordered performers not to recite during concerts.  Musically, these are only of a fair quality, just ho-hum playing, no extraordinary or exceptional insights, And at the best only mediocre sound sound quality, not even very good for the mid-1980s when they were made) -- in fact, the audio on some of these is quite gritty and somewhat unpleasant to listen to. These do not really approach the excellent performances of the second traversal of Satie's piano works made by Aldo Ciccolini [[ASIN:B008DK3PLU Satie: Piano Works]].  Another, generally very good, series was recorded about the same time by France Clidat [[ASIN:B002MA5JVG Erik Satie: Complete Pianoworks by France Clidat]] which has somewhat better sound, but not really a complete series, a few major items as missing.  Yet another very much outstanding (though, again, not complete) series which may offer the most authentic playing of all is to be had from Jean-Joel Barbier (4-disc set from France, if you can find it, recorded 1969/71).  I recommend the Ciccolini, which is also closer to being a "complete" collection.  Much of the Ciccolini, with additional, and new, recordings by Armengaud of material which he did not record on this set can be found on the 10-CD "Tout Satie!" release, a generally recommendable collection [[ASIN:B014E89SE2 Erik Satie: The Complete Works (10CD)]] ; but read my review of that one as to what is and what is not assembled on it.

March 2019:  I have added a star.  A re-evaluation and comparison with other performances gives me pause to consider and upgrade my  previous opinion.  J.-J. Barbier is probably the most authentic and best, at least in considering material that Satie himself had authorized the publication of; the content though, is limited.  Ciccolini, who includes a lot of additional works published from 1967 on, probably comes in a No. 2.  I still regard Ciccolini as the "standard" Satie, and he includes a lot more music than either Barbier or Armengaud.  To date, Ciccolini is about the only main-stream, virtuoso pianist to have ever taken a major interest in this composer.  This Armengaud set, even with its omissions, maybe ranks No. 3.


title: Perhaps the top

text: This may be the finest recoding of "La Damnation de Faust" ever made.  There have been many, so that may be a extreme statement; at least, this might be the most enjoyable.  The orchestra is the Boston Symphony, which had previously recorded the work under Charles Munch [[ASIN:B00000E6GM Berlioz - La Damnation De Faust ; Debussy -La Demoiselle Élue (2 CD) (RCA Victor)]]; on that recording, it was captured in early stereo, but those tapes were lost and only now may be had in good mono (it is one of the classics).  The 1959 Markevitch on DG [[ASIN:B0018O8CXY Berlioz: The Damnation of Faust; Harold in Italy (2 CDs)]]is also in the running and I also rank it at the top, maybe even above this Ozawa, but it is marred with a couple of small cuts; but, it was the first in stereo.  There have been any number of others worth mention, including Charles Dutoit on Decca, Inbal from Frankfurt, and a couple from Colin Davis, if you must.  All things considered, performance quality and audio concerns, this one from October 1973 holds its own against all challengers.  The item shown here was issued by the Musical Heritage Society, it is also available elsewhere.  Wherever, get a copy if you are in the market for this work!


title: Melodies from an interesting source.

text:
A full CD of songs by Erik Satie.  These are about 50:50 art songs, some among the very earliest of his compositions (1886/87), and songs written for the cabarets of Paris where he earned a meager living for years as a piano player for various artists of the café set.  Recorded Oct. 1995, these are beautiful as a whole and well executed, an outstanding CD which I cannot recommend too highly.

The only other collection of Satie's songs I am aware of is included as CD 9 of the 10-CD set "Tout Satie!"[[ASIN:B014E89SE2 Erik Satie: The Complete Works (10CD)]] -- on that one, Aldo Ciccolini is the principal pianist, with the voices of Mady Mesplé, Gabriel Bacquier, and Nicolai Gedda.  7 of the songs on that collection also happen to be taken from this Schmidt/Armengaud disc under review, plus it contains possibly the only recording available of the absurdly short "Bonjour Biqui" (not done by Schmidt), and an alternate version of 'Je te veux', making for a total of 40 songs (the Schmidt/Armengaud disc only having 38).  Even at this, it appears all of Satie's songs have not yet been published, 3 items (available on both collections) involve humming due to the lyrics being lost, and other known songs are also reported to be in whole or part lost.

Anyone having the "Tout Satie!" set will probably disregard this disc, but I find I tend to enjoy Anne-Sophie Schmidt's singing in all the songs and, on the whole, prefer this disc to what is on the large set; she has more of a "feel" for the material.  The booklet with this CD does provide all the lyrics, but only in French; the slim booklet with the set provides nothing.


title: Very nice Liadov program

text: There are any number of CD programs out there of the orchestral miniatures of Anatol Liadov (alt. Lyadov), this being one of the nicer ones for two reasons:  1)  Only one known to include his 3 Fanfares, though together they only account for less than 2 1/2 minutes playing time; 2) Fine playing with very good sound.  Besides the Fanfares, this recording includes 2 Polonaises, Opp. 49 (in Memory of Pushkin) & 55 (for the Unveiling of the Statue of Rubinstein; the orchestra setting of 8 Russian Folk Songs, Op. 58; The Enchanted Lake, Op. 62; Baba-Yaga, Op. 56; Kikimora, Op. 63; Ballade, Op. 21b (also known as 'About Olden Times'; and A Musical Snuff-Box, Op. 32.  Played by the Mexico City Philharmonic, these may not have an authentic Russian sound, but very pleasant none the less.


title: Nice and peaceful

text: A very nice reissue of an LP, recorded January 1977 (playing time limited to 47' 22").  Norman Del Mar captures much of the enjoyable spirit of these tiny symphonic pieces.  Nothing major here, but relaxing and peaceful -- music to sip tea in the garden by.


title: Best of three

text:
This is what I consider the best of the three recordings Antal Dorati conducted of that holiday favorite, Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker”.  [first of many asides here:  The work’s premier was 18 Dec. 1892 and was part of a double billing; a shorter ballet and a shorter opera, “Iolanta” — the opera is virtually unknown in the West, as is the rule for most Russian operas].

Dorati’s first go with Nutcracker was with the (then) Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra for Mercury Living Presence [along with the other two Tchaikovsky ballets, and packaged as the first complete recordings for all of them, released back in 1953; as far as I know, only the “Swan Lake” ever made it to CD [[ASIN:B004SV3194 Tchaikovsky Three Great Ballets First Complete Recording: Swan Lake - The Sleeping Beauty - The Nutcracker Minneapolis Symphony, Antal Dorati ,Conductor (6 LP Boxed Set, Leaflet included)]]].  This one was in a dim mono sound, not quite as good as Mercury was getting with other releases during the same time period, Dorati’s tempi were quick, somewhat mechanical, high on precision, not so great on charm.  Still, this was a major accomplishment in its time, and Mercury later decided that a stereo re-do was needed.  That one would come with the London Symphony Orchestra, July 1962, and would be slick performance, slightly tamer tempi, with high audio quality,  (and would be issued on CD by Mercury in 1991);  BUT this time Dorati would employ a female chorus, not the called-for children’s chorus as he had used in Minneapolis; and recordings which do this are always going to get a demerit from me!  [[ASIN:B00DEBRD70 Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker; Serenade for Strings (2 CDs)]].  The third recording here, with the Concertgebouw Orchestra, comes from June 1975, made by Philips, and here Dorati gets just about everything right in regards to pacing, with more charm than chill, lovely sound [and reverts to a boys’ choir!] with great engineering, in all making this Dorati Nutcracker I prefer to listen to, though I am not opposed to giving the two earlier ones a spin now and then.  This one is a contender in a crowded field for the best Nutcracker out there, though it may not be my all time favorite and there are plenty others to choose from.  The two other works on this set are the Orchestra Suites Nos. 3 and 4; I find these inclusions are something of a waste, because any lover of Tchaikovsky will want recordings of all 4, which Dorati did do, and which have been released together on a 2-CD set [[ASIN:B0000041F1 Tchaikovsky: Complete Suites for Orchestra]].

Other Nutcracker recordings of note include:
Ernest Ansermet/Suisse Romande, from Decca, in nice stereo from the late 1950’s.  Children's choir?  Of course!  This may be the loveliest of them all, a recording for the ages! (several issues have been made, see here:  [[ASIN:B002BAODTQ Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker / Suites Nos 3 & 4]])

Two reasonably good versions conducted by Andre Previn, both on EM (both have appeared on CD, but I am only familiar with them on LP).  The first was with the London Symphony Orchestra, released in 1972 and I consider this to be the better of the two, not only in musical terms, but in sound quality as well  [[ASIN:B00JBJWKCM Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker]], or here [[ASIN:B002Q85A22 Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker]].  [Previn also made outstanding recordings of “Swan Lake” and “Sleeping Beauty” during the same time frame, both of which have suffered the loathsome practice of being pared down, even though ever-so slightly, so that they could be fit on to 2-CD sets — yes, that means cutting out part of the music! horrid!  part of the reason I have kept my LPs!].  It was decided that Previn needed a Nutcracker re-do in digital sound, and this was made with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, issued in 1986;  this recording, while I can recommend it, is just not up to the same musical standards that Previn obtained 14 years previously, and I have never found the digital sound to have been a real improvement, either (in fact, I am not sure that it doesn’t actually sound less good) [[ASIN:B000002RNR Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker, Op. 71]].

In the mid-1980’s John Lanchbery conducted the Philharmonia Orchestra in all three of the Tchaikovsky ballets, again for EMI, all of which I consider among the very best recordings ever made.  The Nutcracker here has the added joy of having an originally deleted item (a Gigue/English Dance from the Divertissement — all 42 seconds of it and orchestrated by the conductor — restored to its rightful place.  [Once again, EMI issued the “Swan Lake” and “Sleeping Beauty” on 2-CD sets that made noisome cuts in order to fit;  fortunately, these were also all released by the Musical Heritage Society on 3-CD set, without these cuts, and those are the issues which should be sought out by anyone interested in this music] [[ASIN:B000NYROO8 Tchaikovsky The Nutcracker, Op.71 Philharmonia Orchestra John Lanchbery, Conductor [2 CDs]]].

I also like that from Mark Ermler/Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (though, not as well as I enjoyed his performances of the other two ballets) [[ASIN:B002MUAIY4 Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker]].  A less interesting version came from Richard Bonynge/National Philharmonic Orchestra (Decca, April 1974) [[ASIN:B00000427I Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker / Offenbach: Le Papillon]].

Hard to recommend a No. 1.  Ansermet, this Dorati, or the earlier Previn are right up; but, as I indicated, the field is crowded and there is much to choose from.


title: Good performances and good sound

text: Good performances and good sound.  One of the better "Antar" recordings available (I have read somewhere that this is supposed to be the 1897 version, not the compromised text published in 1903 which is used on many other recordings of the work;  cannot confirm this).  R-K's Symphonies 1 and 3 are not well known, and are really not all that great, but are certainly worth a listen now and then.  Also not that well known is the Piano Concerto, but I find it to be a fine work and is well presented here.  "Sheherazade" as presented here is not bad, but the competition from the likes of Reiner, Beecham, Monteux, Stokowski, and numerous others pretty much leave this one behind.  Of the other "big-3" R-K orchestral works, these of the Capriccio Espagnol and Russian Easter Overture hold their own with the best.  Of the rest of the works on this 4-CD set, the Suite from "Pan Voyevoda" stands out; it is not often recorded, and is not included on the Jarvi (on Chandos) set.  The Suites from Tsar Saltan, Christmas Eve, and Snow Maiden are also available from Jarvi and others, but, I find these Bakels performances to stand up well  -- not necessarily better, but very enjoyable in their own way.  This set also includes decent versions of Sadko (the musical picture, not to be confused with the opera of the same name), Tsar's Bride Overture, Overture on Russian Themes, and Fantasia on Serbian Themes.  In all, an excellent collection.


title: Poor

text: Sound quality vey low


title: Music for a Hellenistic World

text: This is truly the most inspirational music I have ever listened to.  Spanoudakis, having read Renault, understands the man about which the music is concerned: Alexander.  You cannot understand the concept of Alexander  (and Spanoudakis' interpretation of him) without having listened (and  meditated) to this CD.  A divine collection, it's for those who are  interested in Hellenism and the Byzantine beat in general.


title: I Love It

text: Fortunately, there's a radio station in Phoenix, 103.9, that played one of the songs on this album (Mr. Hangman) that I really liked, so I listened to the entire thing on Rhapsody and now I'm buying it.  It is so good - I just love it.  Straight up rock and roll, the blues, guitars, vocals, drums, bass - the Stone Foxes have it all going on.  If you are a lover of old school rock and roll and the blues, you'll like this.  My favorites are Stomp, I Killed Robert Johnson, Reno, Little Red Rooster, and Hyde & Pine.  This will take you back to the good old days, when music was killer good.  It'll make you smile and bring a tear to your eye, all at the same time.


Thanks to the Met for sending me the Christine Schaffer Lulu, a valuable addition to my Alban Berg collection, and the beloved Teresa Stratas Bartered Bride.  Both recordings are currently my tops of the pops.  Bless the Met, that great gothic church in Lincoln Center.


title: We Interrupt This Program...

text:
H.P. Lovecraft's seminal short story 'Dagon' gets blended with an original sequel to the story 'The Shadow Over Innsmouth' (previously adapted as an audio drama by the HPLHS), and the result is another outstanding tribute to both Lovecraft and the era of Old Time Radio.

Those familiar with the Lovecraft Society's previous Dark Adventure Radio Theatre presentations (as well as their independent films) will be delighted by the internal references and in-jokes that get thrown in. But these bits of humor never distract from the suspense; that's a harder balance to maintain than you might imagine.

Taking its cues from the most famous radio play ever broadcast, Orson Welles' "The War of the Worlds', 'Dagon:War of Worlds' begins as a reading of the Lovecraft story, and is swiftly interrupted by a 'breaking news' alert about a world-wide attack from The Deep Ones, a race of undersea creatures determined to end man's dominance of the earth.

Those unfamiliar with the works of the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society would do well to listen to some previous Dark Adventure Radio Theatre presentations before diving into 'Dagon', like 'At the Mountains of Madness' (for background with Worldwide Wireless News) and most especially 'The Shadow Over Innsmouth'. Of course, I'd recommend all the HPLHS' works.


title: The Gold Standard Among Greats

text:
Schubert's Impromptus are among my most favorite piano music.  Schubert is unique among composers in that he can evoke the most complex emotions out of the simplest and most irresistible melodies, and the changes of mood even within the space of a few bars are staggering in these pieces.  To me they are the greatest measure of a pianist's heart, because while the technical challenges of the Impromptus are not enormous, a pianist must possess the kind of empathy necessary to follow the music's journey into the depths of human heartbreak and joy.
Because I love this music so much, I either own or have borrowed from libraries many interpretations--Perahia, Uchida, Zimerman, Pires, Kempff--yet Brendel remains the standard against which all the others must be measured.  His approach to the Impromptus is deceptively direct, never overwrought and precious, and he just lays bare their infinite richness without holding back or muddying their overall effect.
My other favorite is Perahia, who is a little more restrained in his playing, and who is in his own way every bit as impressive as Brendel, so I'd have to say it is difficult to choose between the two. In the end I suppose it just comes down to personal preference, and here I have to go with Brendel, because his interpretations seem a shade less mannered and communicate to me the improvisatory (ie. the impromptu) nature of these compositions.  Better though to own both, and hear for yourself the kinds of divergent responses these masterpieces cvan evoke.


While the songs are the same, they have done some reworking of the dialogue and script.  The voices and drama are not what we remembered and enjoyed.  we are going to be returning this item.


title: Five Stars

text: I enjoy listening to Joyce Meyer's products.


title: Pretty fun evening

text: Good jazz anime covers. Somewhat inventive, but stays close enough to the original material that the themes are allowed room to sing. Piano, bass, and drum instrumentation only.


title: Pretty much what you would expect.

text: Very nice smooth piano covers of Ghibli themes. Nothing very special, just nice piano. Makes great study music.


title: Great song selection

text: Great song selection, great band, really nice performance.  But it is obviously sourced from a lossy version - probably 128k mp3. If your ears are used to telling the difference between vinyl and cd and mp3 then read on.  Otherwise buy this because it is a really great performance etc.  Now if you can hear the difference between low bit rate mp3 and lossless FLAC compression, or CD or vinyl, then do not buy this.  Everything above about 5 khz is barely there.  The cymbals sound swooshy and the mid range is full of compression artifacts. The bottom end is pretty weak and thuddy.  I am REALLY disappointed and I am going to return it from where it came.


title: Speachless

text:
I think previous reviewers said almost all about this TURANDOT.

I agree that this is THE TURANDOT RECORDING and is difficult that in the future will be a better one. Nilsson and Corelli at their best with a great sound, and the best is that you can really appreciate the great volume and versatility of the voices of both singers because it is a live performance (non edited recodrding). The only one missing here to make the most perfect Turandot ever, is the great Renata Tebaldi as Liu. Moffo sings a wonderful Liu but for me there is no liu as Tebaldi's. Seems that Puccini composed Turandot thinking in Nilsson and Corelli.

This recording is really unbelievable, and each time I listen it, makes me feel something that rarely experience listening opera : perfection.


title: Good!

text: It’s prefect but It didn’t come with the preorder benefits :( I got Chaer and Ryujin!


title: Five Stars

text: 'po,okxw


title: Bait and switch fake advertisement.

text: Cd only in the description it look you got everything ????


title: Five Stars

text: Like the idea behind album

user_id: AFLWSIPEVCWIZWHMIKREHDGHQNXA


title: Five Stars

text: this is an awesome collection


title: Love it!

text: Very peaceful and soothing. I love it!


title: Lame garbage.

text: Pledge Of Defiance was a great album, but this is just lame phoned-in trash. They should have stuck with the metallic thrashy punk they started out with, because they do it well.  This terrible simulacrum of '77 punk and '80s oi is just boring, weak-sauce, and try-hard.


title: The best Bible Songs for children

text: The best Bible Songs for children. These are straight scripture. Memorize Bible verses as you sing songs with your kids.<br />Must have for Christian parents of young children.


title: Very disappointed!

text: It came abridged which we were not expecting. Very disappointed!


title: Really good survey of Today's New Orleans Music

text:
Mystery Street Records is an affiliate of the fan-funded Threadhead Records, that was established after Hurricane Katrina, as a way for lovers of New Orleans, its food, culture, architecture and music, to assist in the recovery of the city and its musical scene. Mystery Street has just issued the second anthology of New Orleans music, "Vieux Carré," that presents a wide range of music that might be heard in The fabled French Quarter. 14 selections from a variety of sources (not simply Threadhead productions) make for a throughly entertaining hour or so of listening.

Just to give a sampling of the contents there is an engaging rendition of Smiley Lewis' "Hook Line and Slinker," by the Creole String Beans, Ingrid Lucia's sultry "Midnight Rendezvous," John Boutté, Bill Lynn and Paul Sanchez joined by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band for a cynical look at BP's response to its Oil Well spill, "Nobody Knows Nothin'," Tricia Boutté and the Norwegian Ytre Suloens Jass-Ensemble on a stirring gospel "Keep Your Hands On the Plough" (I downloaded the underlying CD "Oh Mahalia" after hearing this), Holley Bendtsen & Amasa Miller on a wonderful song about missing New Orleans, "Creole Moon," Ensemble Fatien's African-jazz reworking of "St. James Infirmary," Paul Sanchez and friends including Shamarr Allen recounting the horrors of the levees breaking on the previously unreleased "Home," and Matt Clark and others (Sanchez, Allen, Ivan Neville, and Teedy Boutté) letting us know their spirit is "Bent Not Broken," and that New Orleans will be coming back.

This is such a marvelous sampling of the diversity of New Orleans music. "Bent Not Broken" and "Nobody Knows Nothin'" were previously issued as digital singles and the other material is generally from recordings that can be obtained from amazon.

This review appeared in substantially the same form on my blog, [...]


title: I love Lionel Richie music  a great singer !

text: I love his music 🎶


title: Mix This / Output Recordings Mixed By Trevor Jackson

text:
Track list:
1 Kreeps – All I Wanna Do Is Break Some Hearts (Mungolian Jet Set's Exit To The Jaja Mix)
2 Pink Lunch – My House (Playgroup Remix)
3 George Demure – Take Time To Make Time
4 DK7 – Where's The Fun (Sten Remix)
5 San Serac – Tyrant (Strangers Slightly Molested Mix Remix)
6 Lopazz – I Need Ya (Brennan Green Remix)
7 Colder – To The Music (Engel Remix)
8 DK7 – Life Is Everywhere (Paul Woolford Dub Of Death)
9 Lopazz – Blood (Tiefschwharz Remix)
10 Black Strobe – Innerstrings (No Shuffle Mix)
11 5 Mic Cluster – Basildon Lover
12 Colder – Crazy Love (Rework's Crazy Love)
13 Dead Combo – You Don't Look So Good (Jackson Remix)
14 Luke Abbott – B,B,B,B,B,B,B,B,B
15 Kate Wax – Beetles And Spider


title: Overlooked masterpiece

text: I completely agree that this vinyl LP should be remastered and reissued.  It shows Mario Lanza at the zenith of his vocal power.  I have the LP version and have been looking in vain for years for a CD version.  Some bright producer should take a hint from Mario Lanza's many fans and bring this masterpiece into the digital age.  Perhaps additional tracks from other neglected Lanza LPs such as "The Vagabond King" would make this more desirable.  Such a reissue would surely fly off the shelves.


title: New $16.99 version rip-off!

text: Was sent 2006 edition instead of 2022 @ +$8.  Turns out all reviews are of old CD.  Recording OK, but technology has improved since 2006.  Until issue clarified buy the old version.


title: Playful, smart, hip, and free enough but not too

text: Ahh. This is Fumio Iitabashi and Kazutoki Umezu's project, recorded awhile back, I think live at the Shinjuku Pit Inn mebbe in 1990 or so. Iitabashi is a terrific, eccentric (t'watch, anyway) piano player who has also recorded with the Katayama Hiroaki Quartet and done a buncha other stuff. He's a composer, as well. His stuff tends toward a busy, playful freeish lyricism, very expressive, but well on the inside of Cecil Taylor, say; very listenable (not that there's anything AT ALL wrong with Cecil, I just understand why some folks get scared). He is quite perfectly paired with Dr.Umezu, alto sax player and deadpan genius, a man who has been around for quite some time, has worked with Marc Ribot and Tom Cora and others, has recorded on Knitting Factory, and has varied cool side projects, including Komatcha Klezmer, a Japanese klezmer unit (yep). He's got a sense of humour that I guess I could compare (to switch instruments) to that of the late Lester Bowie, tho' he's not as quote-y or po-mo. Actually, that's a mediocre comparison but it's a place to start, I guess. The two of them together -- both composing, tho' Iitabashi is obviously dominant here -- set up and explore quirky, occasionally downright wobbly, structures with each other and then kinda see how far they can take them, letting them fall apart from time to time and then rallying. And since this is a trio, there's a drummer, too, I guess, tho' I don't actually, um, remember his contributions (sorry). It actually isn't the best stuff either Umezu or Iitabashi have done - they were more fun to watch live, but I prefer to spin Katayama stuff or stuff Umezu led, than this one, if I wanna here either of their contributions -- but it's still a great find, to be able to get this on Amazon. If you're interested in Japanese jazz, check it out.