title: The Who Put The Boot In Again

text:
One of the very first bootleg LP's I bought way back in 1972 was one by The Who from The Swinging Pig label of a famous gig the band played at the Fillmore East in New York City in April, 1968 and it started me down a dark path of collecting bootlegs of many rock bands and acts over the next four decades and as The Who had only one live album available in the early 1970's I scooped up every concert disc and tape I could find of my favorite band doing what they do best...Playing live.

On June 27th, 2002 John Entwistle joined Keith Moon to play in that great gig in the sky and this tragic event happened within days of a forthcoming Who tour of America. Pete made the call to bassist Pino Palladino to step in and play John's parts for the tour. Without John the sound of The Who would forever be altered and Pete has stated no one can replace John but the show did indeed go on and this authorized bootleg is from two months later as the tour of the USA rolled on.

Chicago, Illinois - September 23, 2002:
DISC ONE:
1. I Can't Explain
2. Substitute
3. Anyway Anyhow Anywhere
Pete introduces the band
4. Who Are You
5. I Don't Even Know Myself
6. Baba O' Riley
7. Sea & Sand
8. 5:15
9. Love Reign O'er Me
10. Eminence Front

There is no information found on this set other than the band's name and the location and date of the gig. Zak Starkey, has been the band's drummer since the mid-1990's and he is pretty damn great and a real good fit for The Who. Ringo, has great genes! Pete's little brother Simon plays guitar and sings and Rabbit is in the keyboard spot. Sound quality, is about what you would find on a medium quality bootleg and it has the sound of a two-track recording so if sound quality is your major concern these discs may not be of your liking as the sound is indeed rough and when you crank this puppy up it goes into an area of major distortion quite like you would experience at an actual rock concert.

Pete plays as much electric guitar at this show as he does in his normal role as an acoustic player and Pete is having a good night as the power chords are HUGE and the leads blister outta the gate like a swarm of angry wasps. Pete Townshend has improved with age and is indeed quite a great guitarist. Roger, is in fine voice on this and not having the problems with his vocals that would effect his singing later in this same decade. Pino, is heard well in this mix and he plays some great runs and he doesn't go with Entwistle's raw power (John, was often a lot louder than Pete!) but he is a first-class player that knows this music very well. Again, I am a fan of Zak's playing and he is playing a storm on this night in Chicago.

DISC TWO:
1. Behind Blue Eyes
2. The Kids Are Alright
3. My Generation
4. Won't Get Fooled Again
ENCORE
5. Pinball Wizard
6. Amazing Journey/Sparks
7. See Me Feel Me/Listening To You

The set list speaks volumes as these songs are bigger, louder and more jammed out than anything the band ever layed down in a studio and for geezers of this advanced age to play like this is really special. (The band always plays a great show in Chicago) These two CD's contain one of the best live concerts you are gonna hear from anybody still threading the boards these days. There is still a lot of magic to be found on this bus and only because of the sound quality (the performance is an 11) I rate this one:
Four Stars!


title: Dead At Work

text:
The backstory of this set has happened over and over again as people really do find boxes of tapes of vintage Grateful Dead shows in storage and for some strange reasons they are delivered to the band's doorstep in Marin County. When Dave got his hands on this box of tapes of complete shows from late 1969 and early 1970 he had found lost treasure and he was wise enough to share his booty with other misfits that live for this sorta adventure.

An interesting thing is presented over the course of 4 CD's as many tunes are found here that are played in each night of live music performed and now we are able to compare just what happens from night to night with the same song. There are two different versions of: "Hard To Handle" "New Speedway Boogie" "Lovelight" "Black Peter" "China>Rider" "Good Lovin" "Cumberland Blues" "St. Stephen" & "Dark Star." A new song (that was only played a handful of times) is featured on this set three times and that one is entitled: "Mason's Children."

DISC ONE: This St. Louis set of 2/2/70 is an amazing find as Jerry Garcia has the turbos going in full force and is playing like he was glued to his guitar. Somehow, I know if a "Dark Star" is gonna be a favorite of mine right from the opening notes and with this one it happened again. This: "Dark Star" is a very pretty one and there are some delicate lines played with Phil and Bobby countering perfectly every note Jerry plays. "Dark Star" isn't the only reason that Dave picked this show but it's a stunning center piece in St. Louis in 1970. The only crowd noise I detected early on here was a cheer that goes up with the opening notes of: "St.Stephen" and I found this fan favorite to be slightly off and I had my answer why it was different when it suddenly blasted perfectly smack into: "Mason's Children" before it had arrived at it's normal ending. We got lucky with this treasure being found as this is a classic night from 43 years past.

DISC TWO: The ending of the St. Louis show and we are back in San Francisco for a Fillmore West show from 12/20/69. Pigpen tells you to: "Get yer' hands outta yer' pockets" in fine fashion and a touch of gospel sends the happy hippies of the Midwest home to dream about all of this and then it's back to the city by the bay. "Dark Star" is good this time up but St. Louis got the better one. "St.Stephen>The Eleven" is a monster and again it's Jerry playing every note in the book with the power of a forest fire and it's great to hear huge lightning bolts of energy from these youngsters.

DISC THREE: Pure Pigpen for your pleasure! The huge (35 minute) "Lovelight" is Pigpen's spotlight and this will soon be regarded by all that witness it as one of Pigpen's finest moments. "China Cat>Rider" is fine but what I would like to see is the look of some of the hippies faces when the band played "High Time" and "Me And My Uncle" as there is no way that they could have expected these romps through the rodeo while trippin' on Orange Sunshine.

BONUS DISC: Some folks didn't get one of these and they missed out as it's my favorite of the 4 CD's found here. "Smokestack>New Speedway Boogie" is a wonderful pairing done proper as the band is turning on a dime making big things...Well...BIGGER! A sweet: "Dire Wolf" is one of the best I have heard and if there is such a thing as "Acid-Folk" it would sound like this in your head. "Black Peter" is again so fine to my ears it is very welcome to hear two fantastic Peter's played so close together from these special times. The meat of the Bonus Disc is this version of: "The Other One" that goes right in Dark Star territories like a pyscho-safari looking for the biggest game.

The Packaging: The cover of the Bonus Disc sure does look like a tee-shirt to me and I hope to see it over at the band's official website real soon. The essays from Tom Constanten and Dave are excellent and the story of the tapes is included in great detail. The newspaper clippings added to the flavor of the times in right good fashion.

This set sold out faster than anything that came before and it's contents are golden.
FIVE STARS!!!


title: They Built a Tower To Heaven

text:
The final release in 2012 from the "Dave's Picks" series (Williamsburg, Va * 9/24/76) was a most excellent show with many highlights and while folks were still able to score that goldmine of a show word appeared from cyber-deadland that the Pauley Pavillion show of 11/17/73 was next up to bat and as I thought Dave was real good at what he was doing this new release shows he has listened to us and knows just what we want.

When I first met Grateful Dead tape traders live and in person in Virginia back in the early 1980's the Pauley Pavillion show of November 1973 was mentioned as a must-have tape by two of the first three traders I met. Stuff like: "For a band that lives for the moment, this show sounds like the band was reheasing for a week prior to this" and "You might think they overdubed the entire show - It's TOO perfect" were spoken and I wondered just how in the world could you get studio overdubs on a live tape from an audience cassette. Was this possible in this strange world of Grateful Dead live tapes (and even stranger people!)

Well, I ended up with three tapes of the second set of this night and they all started with "Playing In The Band" and those tapes would end before that entire 50 minute sequence was over as they were always on 45 minute a-side cassettes and I never did hear just how that spacey Playing reprise ended but getting past the crowd noises it was easy to hear just how "on" the band was in Los Angeles on this night. The vocals are as great as any official "Europe 72" versions and next to nobody had ever heard The Grateful Dead sing and play this well anywhere else (Heck, Donna doesn't even mess this one up!) I never came across a tape of the first set from this night on trader's lists but after playing CD one from this set over the past few days I sure wish I had as there is a a killer "Here Comes Sunshine" with a "China Cat>Rider" and "Brown Eyed Woman" that are as great as those songs can be played and this is one of the best first sets of Grateful Dead music to ever appear on a CD and it only took 30 years for me to hear it.

Well, the second set shows that the energy level is way off the ground and a different drumbeat is featured in "Row Jimmy" and I really enjoy what Billy is playing this night on his kit and if anyone doubts his abilities as a great drummer this set shows he elevates the music up higher with much swing and sometimes big power and as Jerry is plays so many great runs I could hear Billy, Keith and Phil loud and clear on this collection as this isn't from an audience source tape any longer and if this is a two-track master I say thank you as it is a great mix that (for my ears) only leaves Bobby's guitar hard to hear in spots but there is great clarity and separation found on this set and I wonder that if it was played on the Wall Of Sound in 1974 it could have made heads explode as this is indeed very powerful stuff.

"Playing" is the third song on disc two and this is where the fun really starts as the jams are unreal and you can forget about gravity as this beast is heading for Jupiter and the music is indeed playing the band for the next 50 minutes as "Playing" melts into "Uncle John's Band" and that drops perfectly into "Morning Dew" that keeps building and building and right before Jerry sings the final line of "Dew" it's fuses perfectly back into the coda of "Uncle John's" and has another fine jam building that bleeds right back into a more cosmic finish of "Playing." Yeah, it only took 30 years but, now I get to hear this entire sequence of music without a tape-cut before the end of "Playing In The Band." This is magical stuff and I'm very impressed by how well it has been presented here.

Disc three is almost like a coda to the first set as it's back to songs played perfectly and with much more punch than you have heard them before and Bobby gets to sing his fourth Cowboy song of the night with a late appearance of "El Paso" and get's to scream out the set closer "Sugar Magnolia." The encore? Well, it's gotta be "Casey Jones" and it's time to ride that train home as this 3 hour plus concert is now over.

13,000 of these sets were produced and 13,000 have already been sold...I hope you didn't miss out!
FIVE STARS!!!


title: Steal Your College

text:
The fourth set of the "Dave's Picks" of live concerts closes out 2012 in fine style as the band returns to the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia  on September 24, 1976. The band had restarted the road journeys on June 3 in Portland, Oregon and with Mickey Hart back on drums with Bill Kreutzmann the band was showing more might and stomp than they had prior to the 18 month hiatus.

The first set is above average for this year with "Sugaree" and "Row Jimmy" being the early standouts. To end the first set The Dead begin: "Playing In The Band" and at three minutes into 'Playing' the band heads into a cool spacey jam that finds Keith and Jerry getting way out there and co-sharing wicked lead runs between the piano and guitar and the very pretty jamming makes this one of the better versions captured on tape. At almost 12 minutes in 'Playing' melts perfectly into: "Supplication" and it's a bit shoter than normal and still evolving as a concert piece but it's great to hear it away from "Lazy Ligthning" and this was quite different as it morphed right back in "Playing In The Band" for a short reprise to close out set one.

Set two begins with Bob telling the crowd to take a step back and then he adds: "Just go like this with your elbows and give the guy behind you a sharp jab and he'll be forced to move back!" Not quite the pacifists this Grateful Dead. The band starts into "Might As Well" and you will notice the energy level of The Dead has increased a bunch and the dragon is breathing fire now. Bob, is spitting out the lyrics to: "Samson & Delilah" with the roar of a southern faith-healer and a cool "Loser" gives you a chance to take a breath before: "New Minglewood Blues" takes it back into overdrive.

The center of this second set starts with: "Help On The Way>Slipnot>Drums>Slipnot>Franklin's Tower" that is 30 minutes of pure Dead magic and the tempo is rushed in the reprise of: "Slipnot" but that can happen when the energy level goes out towards Jupiter on nights like this. "Franklin's Tower" is one of the best versions yet and goes into: "The Music Never Stopped" and then a faster than normal "Stella Blue" that almost sounds upbeat and this is another departure from what you normally get once again as this set is a one-off kinda deal.

"Around and Around" raps up set two and "U.S. Blues" is the encore but at more than two hours and 3/4 this is a long and mighty two sets of Grateful Dead music and a real special night for the band and the audience. I had this show as a low quality audience cassette and I don't have any problems with the source tape of this show as it really has a warmth in it's core that you do not find in the sounds of today's digital. This set like the three before it sold out over at dead.net long before the release date and they will be releasing more "Dave's Picks" in 2013 but you had better get your subscription early because these sets are crazy popular and will continue to sell out very quickly. "Dave's Picks" continues the demand for live Grateful Dead music and will not fade away.
Four Stars!


title: A Must Own

text:
When "Dead Letter Office" was released in 1987 it contained much of the 'other' R.E.M. material that had escaped their first five albums and it had some really interesting alternative tracks that (almost all) had only been never been released in the United States. Well, the second disc of the two CD edition of "Best Of - In Time - 1988-2003" is the "Dead Letter Office - Part Two" and it is another (cheaper!) and better way to collect all of the hard-to-find odds & ends of this great band released in weird places of the world and have them all together in one place.

Disc One: The greatest hits disc is a good value with 18 tracks included with a few rare tracks tossed in to throw you a bit of a curve ball. For me this approach works as the best way to present R.E.M. because a little bit of weird is always interesting. "Everybody Hurts" the well known mega-hit can be found right after "All the Right Friends" a song that dates from 1979 that was recorded in Seattle just prior to a concert there in less than three hours time and the song was included on the soundtrack for the "Vanilla Sky" film in the late 1990's. The band started writing the song "Bad Day" in 1986 and finished it up in 2003 and it makes it's very-late appearance on this set.

Yeah, all the normal stuff is found here ("Man On The Moon" "Losing My Religion" "Stand") but the inclusion of "Electrolite" "The Great Beyond" & "Nightswimming" does make you wonder why these great songs didn't become bigger than they did. Disc one covers a decade and a half and it does so in fine fashion and is a great introduction to the middle-years of R.E.M.

Disc Two highlights the alternate stuff and it's really fun to hear because you know the band was loose and happy when they were putting these 'other' tunes down on tape. "Turn You Inside Out" was featured in "Tourfilm" a movie about the 1989 "Green" tour where R.E.M. became a world-power. Peter Buck has been quoted to say that "Fretless" should have been on the "Out Of Time" CD because it is far better than any track found on that disc. This version of "Star Me Kitten" with the William Burroughs rap included on it must be heard to be believed. A live version of "Country Feedback" is a hidden gem and I'm very glad the band included this one on here.

"Beat a Drum" is a song from an acoustic record that could have been released as the same time as the "Reveal" album. "Why Not Smile" was a giveaway in a magazine Oxford American that I don't know of so it's a new discovery to me. "Chance" (Dub) is a cast-off track that is not great but, in typical R.E.M. fashion they threw it out for us to hear in all it's glory. "The Lifting" is presented in demo form but it's a good song and I'm glad it appears here in any form. Disc two is a very interesting listen and it reveals the core of this band as four (and then) three friends that enjoy making music together and a lot of heart is found here that is really fun to hear these jokers and serious musicians at play and work. There are 15 tracks found on disc two.

I have never been much of a greatest hits guy because I listen to everything on the albums they pull the singles from and the folks that put this collection together are on that very same wavelength and I thank them for it.
This is really what R.E.M. is all about...There are the hits and then there is the other stuff.
This is what 'best' really means as this one will hold your interest and it is full of surprises.
FIVE STARS!!!


title: Dave's Long Hard Rough Summer

text:
First of all,
To all subcribers of the "Dave's Picks" series that still haven't received this third edition of the series you must call Rhino Records and leave a message on the phonelines over there as Grateful Dead Productions are not handling the shipping of this hard to get your hands on set. I called Rhino on Wednesday of this week and they returned my call in less than two hours and the guy told me on that return call that there is no tracking information available on the large number of discs (hundreds? thousands?) that were lost and never delivered to the folks that ordered the series and the others that ordered this set on it's own merits and caused the "Dave's Picks" to sell out long before the original ship date of: 1 August 2012. After my phone call with a real live person from Rhino I plucked "Dave's Picks - Vol. 3" outta my mailbox three days later on Saturday and now I'm back in "Dead Nirvana" listening to this fine addition to a already great series of live Grateful Dead music.

REMEMBER: If you don't call Rhino they will have no knowledge that you never received this third volume in the first place and no replacement is gonna be coming your way! CALL!!!

Now, the review:
This four part series of live sets of Grateful Dead music has visted 1974 and 1977 prior to this third edition from Chicago in October 1971 and these are Keith Godchaux's second and third shows as a member of the Grateful Dead on his very first tour. The first night of the stand in Chicago was an FM broadcast that was a stable of tapers lists (remember those days?) and the entire contents of the third disc of this Dave's Picks is taken from that first night.

This second night in Chicago is from a beautiful theater in downtown Chicago with fantastic acoustics and to be lucky enough to see the Grateful Dead in a venue this amazing could only have happened back then in the early seventies as the band's popularity would very soon outgrow these wonderful types of small theaters as "Grateful Dead" (aka: "Skull & Roses") had just been released and would serve as the band's first gold record and the scene was about to become so very much bigger within months as the Dead Heads were growing into a force now and this li'l band was to become global in the Spring of 1972 when Europe got to see them perform.

"Bertha" opens the first set and it's a touch longer than the standard version found on "Skull & Roses" and it shows Jerry is outta the gate and feelin' fine with a cool fire found in his fingers and the band is right there with him. Billy, hold down the drums on his lonesome as Mickey Hart had left the band as 1971 was dawning and Mister Kreutzmann had now become an even  better drummer than before. Cowboy Bob gets to ride again with: "Mexicali Blues" and "Me & Bobby McGee" and a once stately Chicago auditorium is very quickly transformed into a wild west rodeo in proper Dead fashion. Phil Lesh, shines through in the mix and leads the charge through a mighty 28 minute version of: "The Other One" that is center piece of disc two.

Keith, is heard well on this but he is still making baby steps in his playing at this early stage as a member of the band. The Grateful Dead is now a much different band than it was just a few months earlier when Pigpen was singing the blues and playing that harp and laying in his funky organ parts. The new band is driven by the song and not the jams and brand new tunes like: "Brown-Eyed Women" are piano ditties that Keith was born to play and he is about to breakout as a major force of what made this new edition of the band so great.

Almost every song that a Head wants to hear in concert is a part of this third "Dave's Pick." You are getting: "Dark Star" "Truckin" "Sugar Magnolia" "St. Stephen" "Casey Jones" "Playing In The Band" "Jack Straw" and: "Johnny B. Goode." This newest: "Picks" is as close to a greatest-hits set as The Grateful Dead is ever gonna play and the sound in HDCD is how it was always meant to be heard. Thirty one songs of live Dead spread out over three hours on three compact discs is quite a treat for the ears. You are gonna have fun with this one!
Four Stars!


title: Wall of Joy

text:
Back in 1974 The Grateful Dead hauled around the largest and best sound system of any touring rock band on the planet.
This beast was called: "The Wall of Sound" and it was a huge monster that tested the strength of stages throughout America since it first appeared at the "Sound Test" at the Cow Palace in March. The secret of the WOS was that it (because of it's size) could be played at a lower volume than normal systems of it's day and have a much more reflected sound that surrounded you and made every seat in the venue the best seat in the venue. By the time the Grateful Dead reached Dillon Staduim on the last day of July 1974 they had 21 shows under their belts touring with this sound system and a month earlier their excellent album: "Mars Hotel" had been released.

This set from Hartford, Connecticut is a three and a half hour show of three sets of music (Phil and Ned's: "Seastones" segment performed between sets two and three is not included.) There are three full CD's of music found from this second "Dave's Pick" collection from a great summer show performed outside to let the Wall of Sound have a bit of breathing space.

Set one begins with a new song: "Scarlett Begonias" from Mars Hotel, and it's a great start with two things that are of notice. First is Keith who is heard loud and clear in this mix and second is the playing from Phil that directs the jam found here. Every instrument of the band has a home of several speakers up on the wall (Phil, has a different speaker for every string on his bass guitar!) and separation and clarity of the sound is as good as it will get in the band's 30 year run of concerts. Also of note is the playing of Jerry Garcia who goes that extra mile on each song (30 of them!) found in this concert.

Set one features many regular GD tunes ("Beat it on Down the Line" "Me & My Uncle" "Mississippi Half Step") that are played very often but here at Hartford they have just a bit more bounce and drive and are all great versions played before a festival crowd. A fantastic and jammy: "China Cat Sunflower" is the highlight of the first set with the piano and Jerry's guitar having a wonderful interplay that is typical 1974 for the GD but, really quite amazing to hear in 2012. Phil Lesh lead many of the jams from this show and he cuts through the mix found here like a sharp knife: "Lesh is more!"

"Bertha" is the first song found in set two and it's close to the version found on the: "Skull & Roses" record from 1971 as it's not as jammed out as later versions. "Eyes of the World" is a full-on 18+ minute ride into the bright sunshine as Jerry sounds so young here and again Phil leads the charge throughout the jams found on this one. A full "Weather Report Suite" concludes the second set and it's a complex number that is played like a semi truck with no brakes and stuff like this is not heard at concerts by anyone today but, it's just another night for The Grateful Dead!

The third set is my favorite part of the show and it isn't because of the fantastic: "Mind Left Body" or "Spanish Jam." The strange and wonderful discovery found here is from a slow Jerry song that I have always found to plod along slower than a snail entitled: "To Lay Me Down." I have never heard TLMD performed like this before or since as it's the best version by far I have found in a live Grateful Dead event and it is just so excellent in what Jerry plays and he (believe it or don't!) croons this tune like he's the velvet-smog in a smoky lounge room in the late 1940's. This is the standout track (for me) on a collection that is full of standout tracks. "Spanish Jam" is a piece of music that band performed throughout their thirty year run of concerts and it's always played differently at every show. This version of "Spanish Jam" features Jerry playing a deeply fuzzy wah-wah thing that is really out there and very cool. These jams of set three are 'keepers' as they sound fresh and have a brand shine at this show.

The ending is: "Wharf Rat" "U.S. Blues" "One More Saturday Night" and a brief: "Uncle John's Band" encore to close down this long afternoon in New England. This isn't even considered one of the best shows of 1974 from the Grateful Dead and still this one has so many hidden treasures to be found and it sounds so much better than any show I have listened to in ages.... Dave, is getting there now!
FIVE STARS!!!


title: Back From The Fields

text:
News of the Lifehouse Chronicles began appearing on the Eel Pie website in late 1999. The official story was that Pete was putting together a box set and collecting all the Lifehouse music into one place and the size and scope of this project was gonna be huge (6-8 CD's.) Well, after 28 years of Lifehouse talk this was another: "I'll believe it when I see it" situation that I didn't want to get sucked into and then see the entire project being another false promise that wouldn't make it to the finish line like the many others that came before.

In the summer of 2000 I got real lucky and scored a ticket to see The Who play way out in the fields at the Sacramento Valley Amph. near Marysville in row 10 seat 7 that was up against the stage on Pete's side of the action. I had never gotten a ticket right up next to the stage for The Who so a roadtrip was in order for August 22 to travel the 175 miles to see the band out in the farmland of the upper Sacramento Valley. I did arrive a full two hours before the 7:30 start time and I parked in the nice dusty dirt lot and walked right in and checked out this newest Bill Graham venue built for concerts. This place was brand-spankin' new and very nicely layed-out with big bar areas, food vendors, and Who product being sold here. I was enjoying the hot afternoon sun when I spotted it....."Lifehouse Chronicles" was available for sale in a small stall pretty close to the entrance to my front section. I wish I could remember what the asking price was but, I do know it was well over a hundred dollars for this grey box of 6 CD's that was to be only available for a short time with a very small limited release. I was not happy with the price of this thing and was trying to justify this major purchase as an event that was gonna happen as I knew I HAD TO HAVE THIS! So, I bit the bullet and pulled out the Visa card and gave Pete Townshend his blood money and got my mitts on my copy of Lifehouse Chronicles.

Well, I kept that boxset glued to my body for the entire show as I didn't see another sucker carrying this bulky grey thing around that looked like plastic fence material (the slipcase really does look like that) and I thought I'd get attacked and left for dead from some chowderheads that wanted to separate me from "Lifehouse" for a real low price (free!) Well, I took my seat and had to sit through some "New Romantics" type band that Pete had brought over for the tour that sucked greatly for close to an hour on that high stage right infront of me. My mind was 50% on the show and the other 50% was watching this boxset but, when The Who took the stage it got a whole lot easier to concentrate on the show. The Who did almost three hours on stage and you couldn't have thought up a better set list for the band to play as it was almost like 1971 all over again with all of the Lifehouse material being staged and performed in all of it's might and glory, right in front of me for the entire show. Somewhere midshow Pete was lookin' right at me and I held the Lifehouse box over my head and whooped like a monkey that needs to take a leak. Pete, gave me a big grin, jumped real high and went right into "Goin' Mobile" a song I never thought I would ever hear the band play  in my lifetime and if I would have dropped dead at that exact moment and checked-out of this life, I still would have been a happy guy!

Needless to say this show was the best I had seen the band play since 1976 at Anaheim Stadium when Keith was still on that stage being rock music's finest showman, so I had a pretty good feeling about this weird grey 12" X 12" boxset of music that was driving home with me to my high-mountain home. "Lifehouse Chronicles" contains two discs of Pete's demos of 24 songs and over 130 minutes of music on disc one and two of this six disc package. It's a bit strange to hear: "Slip Kid" performed right  after: "Let's See Action" but, Pete has always stated he was writing Lifehouse songs long after the release of: "Who's Next" in 1971. The demos lack the fire of the Who's renditions of the same material but with the rare tracks: "Teenage Wasteland" & "Greyhound Girl" being a part of this and it all grouped together (at last) all in one place to tell the story Pete stuck with his demos as the most uniformed way of presenting this music and it works in that manner very well.

Disc three and four are my favorite CD's of this package. Disc three is entitled: "Lifehouse Themes and Experiments" and contains many "Baba" variations such as "Baba M1" "Baba M2" & "Vivaldi ~ Baba M5" that are great synthesiser experimental pieces that show that Pete was looking towards the future and electronic music as it's core center. The: "Who Are You" remix with rapper Hame is really great and reinvents that song as something brand spankin' new and fresh, a wonderful find! This third disc really showcases Pete's huge imagination and adds scope to an already large project, there is great new music being presented here. Side four: "Lifehouse Arrangements & Orchestrations" features  the music of Scaratti, Corette and Townshend, and almost half of the disc is set aside for Purcell's: "The Gordion Knot Untied" that was a huge inspiration for Pete to compose Lifehouse music. Disc four is far removed from: "My Generation" but Pete wanted the world to know where his ideas were coming from and that explains it's inclusion here.

Disc's five and six are the: "Lifehouse Radio Play" that was first broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on the 5th of December 1999. I have never listened to the play so I cannot comment on it.

"Lifehouse" was the Pete Townshend opera that slipped away from him in 1971 as it was so very far ahead of it's time. This music  was impossible to produce four decades ago and even harder to explain! Pete, was never happy with: "Who's Next" as the music found there was taken outta context from something that was so very much bigger than the record that came forth in it's place. Maybe, just maybe this nice package of six CD's, a 44 page book all enclosed in a nice box will (at last!) make it all right. "Lifehouse Chronicles" is an expensive package but, it's high-quality product that is well produced and worthy of the music it contains.
Four Stars!


title: You Started Listening

text:
Back in 1989, I was a bit of a bootleg junkie and a couple of record store owners in Providence, Rhode Island kept my phone number on speed-dial and called me up whenever a new rare boot arrived at their shops. It was fun to find bootleg CD's of: The Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, The Who and Dylan tucked behind the checkout counters at these little stores waiting for my dollars. I was quick on the draw to adopt more than a few of these less than legal discs.

"Supertramp Live '88" is no bootleg but, it's so rare it might as well be called a bootleg. The story behind this disc manufactured by A & M Records in Canada, goes like this: "Live '88" is a 60 minute CD that features 13 tracks from Supertramp's early tours of winter/spring of 1988 in South America, Canada and then on to Europe. In the middle of the European dates Rick Davies had a two track cassette tape recorder plugged directly into the mix board for his own personal listening experience. Rick, was quite pleased as how good his band sounded on this low-fi cassette.

"You Started Laughing" opens the show and it flows directly into: "It's Alright." Old favorites: "Bloody Well Right" "Breakfast in America" "From Now On" "Oh Darling" "Just Another Nervous Wreck"  "The Logicial Song" & "Crime of the Century" are found right here. Newer songs: "Not The Moment" & "Free As a Bird" share space in the set and sound just as great as the older material found here. The big news to report about here is that this disc features music not writen by Supertramp members as the blues numbers: "I'm Not Your Hoochie Coochie Man" & "Don't You Lie To Me" (by Willie Dixon and Hudson Whitaker) are a part of this set and as weird is this may sound they are a special highlight as they are so diferent from the normal Supertramp tunes that you would expect to hear.

So why isn't this a five-star review? It's simple...SOUND QUALITY!
This is as close to flat-recorded board tape as you are ever gonna hear. The band sounds distant and the dynamic range is not very wide. The qualities of this tape are much to Rick's liking as he compares it to a Jazz or Blues field recording from the 1940's and it's raw form appeals to him over any digital recording that Supertramp would use in a pinch to capture the might of their live shows. I transfered this CD to a casette tape back in 1989, and played in my Walkman where it sounded great. Today, on my home stereo on Bose speakers it's a much different story as it leaves a lot of sound to be desired that ain't gonna reach my ears due to the low audio of this un-doctored two track source tape.

The simple fact is that if this were recorded on 48-track mobile recording truck and the entire show has been included we would be listening to a five-star double disc set of a really tight edition of Supertramp playing at their peak live. This is a band that kept going after many line-up changes (no Roger Hodgson found here!) But, it shows that drive and spirit that took this band to the top of the pop charts in the late seventies. I still like this set but it's best played on a cheap boombox for the best audio results.
Three & 1/2 Stars!


title: Never In Your Dreams

text:
I took the wife to see The Moody Blues on one of their annual visits to our mountain town and spotted this at the t-shirt table before the show began. A solo Justin Hayward show? I hadn't heard of this CD so out came my money and this was safely tucked into my wife's purse while we enjoyed the show.

This 18 track CD is 79 minutes in length from the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano in April 1998. The show begins with Justin solo performing: "Your Wildest Dreams" "Lost and Found" "Land of Make Believe" and "Blue Guitar." The band: Mickey Feat: bass guitar, Paul Bliss: keyboards and Gordon Marshall: drums, keyboards, flute & percussion join in on song number five: "Children of Paradise." This band isn't as heavy handed as The Moody Blues but, as Paul Bliss and Gordon Marshall have been  members of The Moody Blues touring band for many years now they have played these songs and they know them to perfection. The versions of "Tuesday Afternoon" and "Nights in White Satin" sound almost as if they were being played by the Moody Blues.

Justin, is in fine voice, and this live CD spotlights his great guitar skills as you have seldom heard them. This is a solid mixture of acoustic and electric music with rockers as: "The Story In Your Eyes" sharing space with beautiful ballads such as: "Watching & Waiting." There is a video of this show as well, and it is well worth seeking out as well. This was a lucky find for me to spot this amazing CD on that t-shirt table (and I had to fight my way through the blue-haired sixty year old groupies to get near this!)

The bottom line is this, if you like the Moody Blues and enjoy their live concerts, this CD is a must-have. The spotlight is on Justin, and he delivers above-and-beyond the call of duty. Every Moody Blues fan should own this, it's a wonderful set of some of the best music there is to hear. Justin Hayward live in concert, these people were very lucky to have attended this show.
FIVE STARS !!!


title: PROMOTIONAL ONLY - NOT FOR SALE

text:
The Backstory: A few years back a family friend who visits us in the high mountains from time to time, always brings me some music as his vacation rental fees for lodging. On one such trip after a stop at his favorite music store in Sacramento he grapped up some promo discs that are always piled up at the checkout counter and ignored by most of the college students that sneer and make funny faces at the likes of artists such as Billy Joel.  So this disc along with about five others was offered up for my listening attention.

The Contents: This is a four track CD of one new studio track, and three live selections from a Madison Square Garden show in New York City held in 2006. As Samplers go this is a lot better than most that are given away (or maybe they aren't given away anymore!) This CD clocks in at 17:46 minutes in length, and is contained in a simple cardboard sleeve.

"All My Life" begins with a very pretty piano introduction that brings the orchestra to life little by little with an elegant grace that harkens back to the big band days of the 1940's and 1950's. This is slow swing music that was the popular form of six decades past. This arrangement is just plain gorgeous, and any singer of standards worthy of voice to sing a song this good should be taking notice (not you Rod Stewart!) but, say somebody in the same league of Tony Bennett, would do well introducing this to the show. This track has great weight and is 5:19 minutes in length.

Tracks number two through four are the concert songs from MSG back in 2006. "You're My Home" is the type of love song for America that became popular to perform after the horrible events of 9-11-2001, and as other songs fall short as smarmy or overly crass, Billy has tastefully penned a beautiful tune of his love for the good ol' USA. Next up are the opening notes from that grand piano of: "Honesty" that receieve a roar of approval from the crowd in New York City, and it's as good as it always has been. This song is a classic and it reigns still as a good one. The finale and rocker of this collection is the lively: "Stiletto" that brings this disc to close. This is a very good version of another older tune that hasn't been forgotten by the fans of Billy Joel, it rocks and rolls and gets the behind's of the older folks outta their seats and screaming like youngsters. Good concert placing would put this song near the end of a concert set and it is in the correct position on this promo EP of music.

A real nice free giveaway of the music of Billy Joel this disc is, and I do hope somebody hands you this free disc of music to enjoy today. Whatta wonderful world we live in!
Four Stars!


title: Like Running Real Fast For Seven Minutes

text:
This short (7:18 minutes in length) EP is most likely taken from the show held at La Casa De La Raza in Santa Barbara, Ca on 14 January 1984. It blasts forth with a tune entitled: "The Breakdown" which does not appear on any early album from Los Lobos. "Breakdown" is brisk and bouncy and stomps along like a runaway train. Steve, gets a 13 second saxophone solo in the middle of it all, and before the two and half minute mark it's already reached a fever and rapped up.

I have listened to the live version of: "I'm Sorry" on the 4CD box set: "El Cancionero" for years now, and as the mix on that one is different from the one included here, it is a difficult call to identify if this one is from the same source tape used there. The box set version keeps the "grinder" vocal introduction intact and it's edited out here before the song begins. This mix brings up Conrad's bass guitar up more on top and right where it belongs.

The finale to this brisk seven minutes of music is the wild Cesar Rosas showcase entitled: "We're Gonna Rock" that appeared on the LP: "L.A. Rockabilly" in 1983. It has all the ingredients of a set closer as it starts up fast and gets hotter from there onwards. Fingers are flying and verses are flown at you like tommorrow just ain't gonna make any difference. This is down and dirty Rock 'N' Roll as it would have sounded in 1957, and it still sounds great in 2010.

That's the rundown of seven minutes of live Los Lobos from another night in California in 1984. This CD sampler is short, short...SHORT. And a note on the back says that the full 25-track live 1984 show is available from LosLobos.org. Well, maybe it was in 2006 when this EP was made available in limited supply to a select few record stores, but it isn't to be found there today in 2010.
Wonderful live Los Lobos.
Four Stars!


title: At No Other Place

text:
This CD single contains the long version of: "Something's Always Wrong." There are other versions of this greatest of Toad The Wet Sprocket songs out there, and this one is my second favorite version of my favorite Toad tune, that I have found. (the killer version is on: "Acoustic Dance Party") But, the bonus attraction to be found here are tracks two and three. Two songs from the "Pale" CD are here as live renditions, not found anywhere else in the land of Toad. "Don't Go Away" and "Corporal Brown" are rockin' and stompin' as heard at the Anaconda Theater in Santa Barbara, Ca. played at Toad The Wet Sprocket's Christmas shows there in December 1991.

This single CD is for Toad completists, but if this was to be your first earful of this great band, it would serve as a fine starting point and introduction to the music of Toad The Wet Sprocket.
Four Stars!


title: Seven The Hard Way

text:
This EP of seven tracks by Glen Phillips, (lead singer & songwriter of Toad The Wet Sprocket) is a different turn down an already uncrowded back road. When I gave this music a first listen, it struck me as a bit too weird from what I had already heard and enjoyed by this artist. (a favorite of mine for almost 20 years now) So I was ready to dismiss: "Unlucky 7" and store it in the back forty of my music collection.

Well, in fairness to Glen and his music, I gave it another spin in the CD machine, and I do think I was too harsh in original opinions concerning this music. "The Hole" is gonna sound weird, no matter how many times I play it, but it does show that Glen is still willing to experiment with sound and colors. "Relavator" stood out as the best track upon my earlier listen to this CD and it sounds better today, a good song that one is. "Brain Trust Kid" has a Beatles thing going on, and with a bit more production, it would be an excellent addition to one of Glen's future albums.

"Chapel Perilous" is pure Toad music, that needs the band's musical might to transform it to bigger and better places. The fifth selection, the haunting: "Black Dog Beside Me" has a 13th Floor Elevators sound of an ink black night. "Black Dog" is a great one, and if it's out there as a download, you better grab it up. This is another musical adventure that needs to be heard. "Let's Ruin Everything Tonight" (fantastic title) sounds like a b-side, and it hasn't grown on me yet. The final track: "The Innocent" is just Glen and couple of acoustic guitars, bass and a piano that appears near the end. And as I like where this is going, it sounds as if we have only half the song here. I wish there was at least another two minutes of words and music produced for lil' gem.

Well, that's the story about this 28 minute EP. I'm the biggest fan of the music of Toad The Wet Sprocket & Glen Phillips that you are gonna find on my street. But, "Unlucky 7" isn't the long lost forgotten jewel I was hoping for. I ain't complaining today because more Glen Phillips is so much
better than no Glen Phillips.
Three Stars


title: Bare Naked Music

text:
I discovered this CD back in 1993, when I was living in Japan, through a  music magazine...well, it was half of this CD. I had found a mail-in offer for a seven song acoustic set from: The Allman Brothers Band, live in Los Angeles. Acoustic Allman Brothers? Yeah, count me in on this!

Well, that short seven track CD of live Allmans with acoustic guitars, quickly became one of my favorite discs. This updated version adds a seven song acoustic set from Amy Ray & Emily Saliers, known to the world as The Indigo Girls, and doubles the length of the CD to 69 minutes.

The live set of The Indigo Girls is outstanding. At the time of this show at the Radio & Records Convention on: 06/11/92, the girls had been touring to support their recent release: "Rites Of Passage." The sound of this show is amazing, as if the Indigo Girls are playing in your living room. With two guitars and two voices, these great songs: "Joking", "Welcome Me", "Ghost", "Galileo", "The Water Is Wide", "Three Hits" and that big Hit: "Closer To Fine" have never sounded better. 5-Stars for The Indigo Girls half of this CD.

The Allman Brothers, have never released an official live acoustical record, so this half of the CD is very unique. From the opener: "Come On In My Kitchen" throught to the closing chords of: "Melissa", its all bright and crisp, as versions of: "In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed" and "Seven Turns" have a wonderful sound clarity, new life is brought onto these old favorites. Gregg, sounds like he had a home in a Mississippi cotton field in 1932. Dickey Betts, is always relaxed in an acoustic setting, and on this, he is at his best.

The Allmans, are a full band for this performance, and even un-plugged, they are still a force to behold. "Midnight Rider" is one of their best, and this is the best live version that I have heard. The lead guitars of Warren and Dickey, play of each other as only string wizards are able to accomplish. I loved this CD in 1993, and it has doubled in greatness, with the addition of Amy & Emily's set added on.

This is a Five-Star CD... but, I have lowered the rating to: Four-Stars, because it is so rare and so hard to find, and if you do locate this, you are going to have to bring in a bag of gold to equal the purchase price.
This CD needs to be released officially by the record corporations, it is too good to hide from the music fans any longer!


title: Support Your Local Savage

text:
The summer of 1990 was a hot one in Rhode Island. My friend Mike said that a road trip was needed, to visit some of friends and party. I was in total agreement to this, and we headed of to the wilds of Winsor Locks, Conn. What I didn't know was that I was about to meet up with the legends of the New England, bar/club scene...The Savage Brothers Band!

We ended up at the home of the Savage Family in Winsor Locks, and had a great ol' time. The big deal was that the band was playing somewhere in Hartford that night, and we were going. We got to the place, {club name lost for the ages!} and we saw a crowd of New England's happiest/drunkenest go beserk to the one of the greats...The Savage Brothers Band...Mark, Tom, Steve & Mike along with a fantastic guitarist: Frank Cook and holding it all down: Ed Roland on bass.

Was it 3 sets? maybe 4...I Can't say, but it was really a show. The might of the: Big Three: Mark on trumpet, Steve on trombone, and Tom on tenor sax was a force. Brother Mike, was a madman on those drums as well. Great covers of: "Kansas City", "Saturday Night" & "Born To Be Wild" into "Rock n' Roll All Night" were mixed with original tunes: "Without You", "Rock Around The Block" and "Ain't No Substitute". Great vocal work by everyone went right along with the amazing playing of this bunch, these guys are entertainers and know how to put on a show.

This CD is a fair representation of that night. There is much more to the show, but this is a bit of what it was all about. The Savage Brothers were stars...No, they didn't get to play Madison Square Garden, or ride in a private plane to get to the gigs. What they did do was: ROCK !!!

If you like rock with a bit of jazz tossed in, these guys should be your guys. There: "Ain't No Substitute."
Four Stars !!!


title: Soothing

text: In a world of stress, noise, interruptions and distractions we need some quiet. This is one of the ways. thanks.


title: Cooke is still the best

text: I picked this up (at a ridiculously high price) just to compare this version of the 10th to the other six completions I have. While this is the worst (that's Carpenter to be sure) it's still not as good as Cooke. Too many times you find yourself saying, that doesn't sound like Mahler - in fact, sometimes it sounds more like Bruckner. There are some interesting ideas, to be sure, but too many times the arrangers just add a bass drum roll for no good reason and it sounds out of place. Some of their harmonic choices are questionable, at least compared to the Cooke or Wheeler. The orchestral playing is ok, nothing really wrong, but you won't mistake this orchestra for the Berlin or Philadelphia. Martin Sieghart is a fine musician and conductor and moves the music along well. Now, one serious flaw: about 4 minutes into the finale, the sound suddenly fades out and then after a pause comes back in. Like someone tripped over the power cord to the recorder. It's not a flaw in the CD but in the master recording or something. Buyer Beware!


title: "Thats what living is" is one of my favorite song. Marty is a great talent- a San ...

text: "Thats what living is" is one of my favorite song. Marty is a great talent- a San Diego treasure<br />.


title: old rock and roll

text: If you are into old rock and roll and love steppenwolf this is the one to get.  i recommend getting this.  i put it on my mp3 player and listen to it all the time.


title: Classics! Love these CD’s!!!

text: I’m still going through these as I drive. I will be listening to them many time again in the future. Exceptionally well done! Love the author. Filled with wit and wisdom.


title: Great!

text: Great!


title: Nice, lot's of talent,,

text: Charlie Dee does a fantastic version of many of Joni Mitchell's songs that I was previously unfamiliar with,  Enjoy it!


title: An AWAIR Pick!!!

text:
Sidi Yassir Chadly has been performing traditional Moroccan music since 1972. This is his first solo CD and includes Moroccan-Sufi spiritual melodies as well as fusion pieces that incorporate Moroccan rhythms with American jazz elements. Yassir is also an associate professor at the Star King School for the Ministry and the California Institute for Integral Studies in Berkeley California.

Teachers/Librarians - a wonderful addition perhaps as background music while students are working on an Islamic Art project from Doorways to Islamic Art or an art lesson from The Arab World Studies Notebook?


title: Five Stars

text: RARE - COLLECTOR ITEM


title: No Super Deluxe Edition

text: Buyers beware. There is NO "Super Deluxe Edition." There is a "Deluxe Edition" (2 CDs and a DVD) which is THIS item. There is a "Limited Super Deluxe Edition" that comes with all of the above in a standard DVD-size sleeve and book format. That is NOT this item.  Thought I was getting the LSDE with this purchase, but this was still a good deal and worthwhile purchase.


title: Not one of my "favourite" CDs

text: While Alfred Brendel is very popular, and said to be very good, and this CD set has many of the more famous Beethoven sonatas, this CD is terrible. The only reason I gave this two stars was because of the number of famous sonatas. Brendel's playing itself, however, is so unbelievably mechanical and "dry," I don't know how anyone can like him. He uses no pedal, which I had never heard before on a Beethoven CD, and have concluded that it sounds horrible. The only reason someone would buy this would be to at least have one, fairly cheap, copy of the famous Beethoven sonatas.


title: Five Stars

text: My favorite Cher album and a very underrated one.  Check it out...


title: This order arrived on time and in good shape. I am not really thrilled with the ...

text: This order arrived on time and in good shape. I am not really thrilled with the songs but it is easy listening and I hope they will grow on me.


title: A little disappointed

text: I was looking forward to a new album of Andreas to listen to his voice, and when I got La Boheme, I was disapponted only because I did not know it was a full opera with all the other singers doing their part.  I was expecting to hear only Andrea as in his other albums.  I know this is one of his favorites so do not want to discourage anyone who likes opera.  Just know that you hear very little of him in this album.  The words and storyline are there if you want to get familiar with the story.  But as far as just listening, I prefer to hear only Andrea or an occasional duet. I will be forever a devoted fan = I say when you have perfection (for me he is) why listen to anything else.,  I do, but not often His music takes up most of my music listening time and after 2 1/2 yrs I have still not grown weary of it, nor do I think I ever will.


title: One star is harsh

text: I didn't buy the album but listened to it on Tidal streaming.  It sounded good. I then listened to some of the other albums. I do see that they decided to go a different direction in this album but definitely not worthy of a one star. So when considering this album and while reading these reviews keep in mind some of the reviewers are more reviewing their disappointment in their style change.


title: Good series

text: Love the series


title: Almost Great

text: I do really like this live album by Chicago at Tanglewood 1970. The show covers a number of tracks off their first two albums. Musically it is fantastic. The horns, keyboards, and percussion are all spot on. The highlight is Terry Kath’s great guitar work. His solo during “25 or 6 to 4” alone is worth the purchase. My only issue is that Pete Cetera’s lead vocals are very thin on some tracks, most likely due to the recording process. But if you’re an early Chicago fan like me, do pick up this album.


title: Classic Genesis

text: An excellent Peter Gabriel early Genesis era album.


title: Outstanding in Many Ways!

text: Couldn't be more satisfied. Whereas these CD's were advertised as "Used" they show ZERO signs of use. There isn't a mark on any of the CD's. If they came wrapped in cellophane I would have thought they were "New." Shipping was prompt. Excellent variety of performances.


title: Five Stars

text: Great CD if you like Theatre Organ. Nice TO style and songs. Even his singing is OK.


title: Awesome Sounds

text: Excellent condition for a vintage LP


title: Great Service

text: Love this record.


title: A Piece of Nostalgia

text: This live DVD brings back memories from my teen years, and I find myself enjoying it along with other media from Malice Mizer as it all has a timeless quality.  This DVD is basically just a digital transfer of the VHS.  None of Malice Mizer's DVDs have a very high resolution, but this is on par with a *good* VHS transfer.  I still enjoy it over and over again though.


title: Not really the BEST of Malice Mizer

text:
Not the actual best of Malice Mizer by any stretch (in my opinion).  I love each singer and style of the band.  This CD only captures songs from the Gackt era, and I would probably choose different songs.  Of course, this is all a matter of personal taste and preference.

Still it's Malice Mizer and it's overall a great CD with a very eclectic sound.


title: Strange and Unforgettable

text: Such a unique sound...  It almost feels cinematic.  Truly a unique yet obviously 90's tune.  The B-side track 月下の夜想曲 de L'image has an even more unique sound.  The final track is 月下の夜想曲 Instrumental which is wonderful for karaoke.  The single is displayed in a neat vertical case.  The 1st press edition's cover looks worn and old-timey which perfectly suits the atmosphere of 月下の夜想曲.  I thoroughly recommend for any Malice Mizer fan!


title: Crushing Disappointment!

text:
Verdi's Requiem is my all time favorite piece of music and I was thrilled by the promise of hearing it as recorded by these stars.  But it really is poor.  I blame Gergiev.  Overall, the soloists do not deliver the passion this music deserves - and the passion is what makes this work so wonderful.  Perhaps Gergiev feels that a quieter interpretation is somehow more reverent - I disagree.  The only place where the stops are pulled out are in Fleming's Libera Me, and not with a good effect.  I love her and I know she could have delivered this music better than anyone ever has before, but she seems to be sputtering with anger instead of trembling in awe and fear.
Good points are the chorus, which is really exceptional, and the incredible beauty of vocal tone by both Fleming and Borodina.
Is this recording worth owning?  Of course! But if you are only going to have one recording of the Requiem you might want to try the '64 Ormandy (my personal favorite) with Tucker and London, or the wonderful Toscanini or Giulini.


title: A Little of Shakira Before the Next Big Release

text:
I got this CD/DVD last night and I was very surprised by it - in a good way. The CD and DVD are both highly enjoyable, especially the DVD which I found myself unable to turn off I was so into it.
THE CD
Shakira's CD of 10 selected live songs wasn't really what I expected. Here we see a more rockish Shakira. The first song 'Ojos Asi' didn't sound like any version I had heard of the song before because it hs almost 2 1/2 minutes of a rock introduction. I didn't really like it for Ojos Asi because it isn't really a song where rock should overshadow because it's more of an Arabic-influence song. One of my favorites is Poem to a Horse, which a video was just released for. A very good song w/ a very different new twist to it. Ciega, Sordomuda is enjoyable as is Underneath You Clothes. Objection is basically the same version as Shakira did for the 2002 MTV VMAs but hey I like that version so it works for me. Back in Black was okay but not many people see Shakira as a kind of AC/DC person and either people will love it or see it as a big joke (as my sister did!). I recommend the other songs on the CD in addition to these, but, I was dissapointed to see many of my favorite Shakira songs not on the CD. I think MTV Unplugged is a better live Shakira CD.
DVD
I love this DVD! What the CD doesn't make up for is filled by this great DVD of Shakira off the stage. From her extensive pains because of the excessive dancing to her opinions on Latin-American politics to the status of Colombia to the 'porn channel' coming on on the tour bus to Shakira's stubborness as she insists on going to Argentina and even the war-torn Middle East I highly recommend this DVD to see the real Shakira (and even catch her swearing once or twice!). I also liked how we got to see what Shakira's childhood was like such as her friends saying she sang like a goat to her choir teacher not letting her into the choir at her school to the unfortunate death Shakira's family suffered when she was 2. Anybody who wants to see Shakira and not underestimated singer who everybody thinks can just dance well should see this DVD. And we can't forget the performances. I love how she's so connected to her audience and the crazy and abnormal things she does such as the huge cobra snake in Ojos Asi to the Bush - Hussein puppetry video during Octavo Dia to even the video of the mongoose and cobra at work w/ one another. Got to love Shakira!


title: Jazz is not his favorite music style

text:
My husband had this disc when he was younger and he remembered really loved it. When he saw it was available on Amazon, he couldn't wait to get it. It's funny how we have great memories of our past, only to be surprised hour our tastes change. He got it, he listened to it, and realized that he didn't like it as much as he used to.

Not that it's bad or anything. The way that he described it to me was "cruise ship jazz". He gives it three stars and he feels that it "It's okay" describes it perfectly.


title: Cover Looks Old, Songs as Good as Ever

text: I taught kindergarten last year at a Christian school. I taught these songs to my children in my class and they LOVED them. There are many good songs on here, all tied in with scripture. I wish they'd update the cover some, looks old, so people may think the music is old, too, which it's not. Jana Alayra seems to be a great Christian-she's a master of her trade. Kids have loved her music for many years. I love how Biblically based it is.


title: CD Looks Dated, Kids Still Love Music

text: Athough this CD looks dated, the kids love it. We used these in kindergarten last year and the kids loved it. The music teacher liked it so much, he chose some of the songs for the spring program, which the parents throughly enjoyed. :) Very nice CD. Worth every penny.


title: Five Stars

text: Great music and lots of great conversation between Wille and Johnny.


title: Four Stars

text: Some nice songs.


title: OperaBabes: Beyond Imagination

text:
syn·er·gy  n. pl. syn·er·gies
"The interaction of two or more agents or forces so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects."
This definition perfectly describes the OperaBabes. Their voices (soprano and mezzo-soprano) are perfectly matched and come together for some gorgeous harmonies that are a joy to the ear. The CD is also superbly mixed -- music and voice always in perfect balance. The mixing of classical opera with popular music really worked - not a small feat, but the OperaBabes do it effortlessly.


title: IS GREAT!!

text:
The music of this cd is great!!
Some of the song lyrics was written by one of the member of opera babes, Rebecca Knight(soprano).
Mezzo Soprano and Soprano match up perfectly


title: One of the best

text: and one of my favorites.  Robert Carver may not be very well known - as well known as Deprez or Palestrina - but his compositions are as good.  Alan Tavener conducts the Capella Nova, performing six selections - 61:42 minutes of excellence.  This cd belongs in every collection of renaissance polyphony.


title: A delicate fusion of classical and folk timbres

text: Turlough O'Carolan (1670-1738), a blind, itinerant harper from Baroque-era Ireland, is noted for his enduring compositions, which combine the best of continental Baroque sensibilities with the traditional music of his native land.  In "O'Carolan's Harp," noted early music artist Andrew Lawrence King and his Harp Consort offer a graceful, nuanced interpretation of that fusion of elements.  Sparkling metal-strung Irish harps join with violins and viols, citterns and gitterns, flutes, bagpipes and occasional drums to produce a glittering period sound tending towards the pensive or quietly mournful, but periodically erupting into bouyant joy.  For this recording, The Harp Consort comprises no less than thirteen musicians, including King on harps, David Douglass on violin, Paul O'Dette on theorbo, cittern and guitar, Pedro Estevan on percussion, Belinda Sykes on shawm and bagpipes, and singers Caitriona O'Leary and Nigel Rogers.  Other gentle interpretations of O'Carolan's music include Narada's compilation albums: "Celtic Treasure" I and II.  For more early music by Andrew Lawrence King and The Harp Consort, try the ebulliently spicey "Spanish Dances" and "Missa Mexicana," or the modal medieval beauty of "Miracles of Notre-Dame."


title: Mysterious, haunting and delicately dark

text: "Deluge" contains the music written by Jocelyn Pook for a performance by a Canadian dance company, designed to "[link] up the two millenia - the year 1000 and the year 2000 - by means of myth, legends and fears about the end of the world."  She "wanted the music to embody ideas and influences from both these ages, and to draw upon cultures as diverse as Hinduism and Christianity, Judaism and Islam."  The result is a broody, eclectic and at times minimalistic fusion of medieval chant motifs, lush modern harmonies, childlike lead vocals, traditionally nasal world folksongs and chamber-style strings that alternately drone menacingly and pulse like heartbeats.  It's an interesting and effective mood, though a bit laid back for a depiction of the end of the world.  But to listen straight through can get a little monotonous sometimes, so "Deluge" might be one of those albums whose tracks are better appreciated when mixed up with others.  That said, "Blow Thy Wind" is a gently winning song that is engagingly developed, and the drum-laden "Goya's Nightmare" also stands out from the rest.  The songs of "Deluge" were later re-released or remixed by Jocelyn Pook at the request of Stanley Kubrick, to serve as the soundtrack for his film "Eyes Wide Shut," and those versions are available on the CD entitled "Flood." Try Pook's other work, like "Untold Things" and the soundtrack for "The Merchant of Venice," and compare with James Newton's haunting, emotive soundtrack for M. Night Shyamalan's "The Village," and also (speaking of the end of the world) Richard Gibbs's laid back, minimalistic soundtrack for the "Battlestar Galactica" miniseries.


title: Just lovely!

text: This uplifting compilation CD from Imaginary Road Records, actually the soundtrack to the public television special "Celtic Harpestry at Lismore Castle, Ireland", is simply beautiful.  Especially wonderful are the five numbers by the Belfast Harp Orchestra, an ensemble of 12 harpists who demonstrate remarkable intonation and stunning coordination as they play together on instruments that are difficult enough just to play alone.  What a great concept, and what great musicianship!  Also featured are individual performers such as Maire Ni Chathasaigh on Irish harp, Rudiger Oppermann on wire-strung harp, Cheryl Ann Fulton on a contemporary lever harp, the harp and song duo Sileas, and Deborah Henson-Conant on a "Camac `Baby Blue' Celtic electroharp".  Other instruments, including Uilleann pipes and whistle, violin, viola and concertina, occasionally join in, but the focus is on the harp itself.  In all its many forms and combinations, the harpestry on this recording remains soothingly delicate in timbre while at the same time scintillating in technique--in short, a pure delight.  If you enjoy "Celtic Harpesty", you're sure to like it's companion release, "Harpestry: A Contemporary Collection", featuring more of a worldwide assortment of harpers.  Another great harp compilation CD is "Faces of the Harp" from Narada.


title: Beautiful

text: I love Odell, a super nice man who for years has introduced so many to the NA Style Flute. This recording is important to me because it lets me know where he was coming from in the 1990's regarding his own musical aspirations on the instrument. I always like hearing the makers play. Ken Light plays awesome, Butch Hall, plays great, Billy Crowbeak is a master, so many, and it's inspiring, and hearing Odell in this setting is something I personally appreciate.


title: Nice mix of trad. And modern styles

text: I really like his playing. He has a very nice mix of traditional music with improvisation. Very good IMHO


title: Very nice

text: Excellent recording by an excellent proponent of this amazing instrument.


title: Great Flute Solos

text: Early solo recording by Robert Cody. Beautiful flute solos.


title: Classic Feel Trio

text: IMHO, this should be considered a classic. The level of listening and use of such strong, clean musical technique and ideas to make communicative, joyful, feeling musical conversation is on such a high level on this recording, it could definitely be a study in this kind of creative energy playing. Highest recommendation.


title: Sounds like your standing next to Chick Webb!!!!

text: Worth every penny to be able to hear Chick's drumming clearly. Incredible remastering, this is the place in jazz history where groove and swing come from!!!


title: Worth Every Penny!!!!

text: Out of this Mosaic series, I have the Lunceford, Goodman, Crosby and Webb/Fitzgerald sessions. As a drummer, it is great to be able to really hear clearly the brush and cymbal work of Chick Webb, Jimmie Crawford and Don Lamond. The remastering is incredible, and, what can I say? It sounds as if you are in the studio with these great musicians who helped shape the future of swing and be-bop. Amazing and worth every penny...I should also mention the great booklet included with amazing photos.


title: Outstanding

text: Wonderful duo! Joey Baron listens so deeply that the drums really orchestrate around the great guitar lines....ad vice versa! Outstanding.


title: AWESOME

text: One of the best solo drum set recordings ever, and with no overdubbing,  which is saying a lot when you hear what Fritz Hauser does by keeping an ostinato with one limb and then improvising with the remaining ones....he also plays very cleeanly and melodically. Awesome work, a MUST for drummers.


title: Quick ship, thanx

text: Nice cd


title: Everybody wins is Right!

text: Chicago band puts on a good show with this CD.  Lots of energy, great instrumentals, well crafted songs (NOT the same lyrics repeated over, and over)and professionally produced. Class act! Hard to classify it but they refer to themselves as "Americana" so I'll go with that. A wide age span would enjoy this group.


title: Fun if You've Seen the Series

text: Awesome compliment to the two-song soundtrack of the first three seasons of "The Tribe".  Favorites include: "Tribe Spirit"; "Abe Messiah"; "Everywhere You Go".  Caution: Jacket is in German.


title: Prelude & Deodato 2

text: Great idea to have two albums together. Sound quality is good but not great. It's clear but the base, balance of over all sound is on the thin side.


title: Five Stars

text: Straight up '80s Heavy Metal.  enough guitar and bass to test your system and piss off the neighbors.


title: Five Stars

text: great it


title: I loved it!!!

text: Why are all these moralists making such a big deal out Christina's new image.I admit,it is far a far stretch from when she first started.but #1She's young,let her have some fun with herself(it's not like she's posing nude)and #2what does it have to do with Christna's music.I loved the song.It is so feel-good, so juicy, and Christina sings it wonderully.Go Christina, and don't pay attention to all the people who r too concerned looking at what ur wearing to take you into terms as one hell of an amazing artist!!


title: The Best Songwriter Canada Has Today

text: Singer-songwriter pop doesn't get much better than this. One of 2004's best.


title: "Crankin' Out" or "Phonin' In" Would be Better Title

text:
Boy, I thought this was a great idea when I first heard about it.  Brilliant!
I wish the musicians on this collection had spent as much time thinking through the arrangements as I did between the time I ordered it and first heard it.  A rich trove of very unique songs to be mined, and I could just imagine how bluegrass' rich vocabulary of sounds and feels might give them new life.
These are lame, lifeless reproductions.  Not incompetant, not unpleasant.  But some tunes seem to have been thrown together from memory or a single listen, and none really capture the elements that make the songs special. "Tribute"?  Baloney. "Cash in."
After looking around a bit, it seems to me that this gang mass-produces this kind of stuff.  It's January, time to do Pink Floyd.  It's February, time for Jo Dee Messina... Zep, U2, you name it, they can cover it.
Save your money, listen to the original "See Emily Play," and use your imagination instead.  You'll hear something sparkling inside your head.
Better yet, imagine Bela Fleck leading his Flecktones through the Floyd canon, or Yes' "Siberian Khatra" or ELP's "Tarkus" or Peter Gabriel or Kate Bush. Imagine... but stay away from this CD.


title: Great

text: Love the Beatles and this is very good.


This is a very tastefully done CD. Every song is an in depth review of Michaels devotion to the guitar. The musicianship on this represents a very high level of skills on all instruments. Jazzy, Latin, Michael covers these genres beautifully.


title: Star Wars forever

text: Six times and counting.  Yes I have seen this film six times so far and will probably see it again.  The fight scenes are breath taking and you got to love Count Doku.  This movie has it all, action, suspense, humour and yes even romance.  I love seeing Palpatine at work behind the scenes creating chaos in order to further his master plan.  If you now watched episode I and II back to back you will see how these two films are lincked.  Everything was stunning and I can't wait for episode III.  Thank the force there will be a series of books to move the story along during the next three years while fans. wait.  As for the bad reviews; folks, you do not, repeat do not go see a Star Wars film for great acting but for the action and story; its all about that.  As for the romance, was Han and Leia's much more beleivable?  Was the dialogue less wooden in the original trilogy?  I think not.  And do not forget, those films had different stories and circumstances.  This new trilogy is a whole new batch of plots and subplots and while it paves the way for the previous three films its a story that can stand on its own.  Its a pity that fans must bash a film to death because it lacked this or that; wasn't how it was done in the original trilogy.  that was a different time; this is now.  Star Wars is a six part epic and it delivers on every account.  I can't wait for the final installment to come out.  So simply go and enjoy it for waht it is; two plus hours of escape from the real world.  After all to be fair, each episode has its good and bad points.  on the whole though this saga is one hell of a story.  may it live forever.


title: Not a bad recording

text: This live Jackson Browne cd is worth listening to but probably won't play it very often. There's a lot of talking and the performance isn't that memorable. For die hard fans only.


title: Great cd for music purists.

text: I first saw this trio in New Orleans on a street corner (believe it or not) and was impressed with their talent and cohesiveness. I bought the cd they had for sale for 10 bucks (what a bargain!) took it home and it became one of my favorites. This cd is actually better- it has more material and is more dynamic. Keep in mind it's all instrumental with a mostly Jazz feel to it although I wouldn't call it Jazz. It really is very unique blend of Jazz, Classical, and a hint of Latin. Highly recommended for anyone looking for excellent quality up tempo instrumental music.


title: Five Stars

text: Excellent product, excellent seller, A++


title: On The Fence

text: Just saw this band tonight, listened to their cd a few times...As technicians, they sure have their sh%t down. Interestingly enough, their drummer impressed me the most for sheer musicianship - but their guitar player, who it seems could give Petrucci a run for his money with acrobatics, seemed to lack a bit in emotion. Could easily be referred to as the DT of their genre, A+ musicianship with questionable musicality. And I don't understand the need to have a hot keyboard chick who just stands there. With a solid piano aspect these guys would tip the scales towards greatness, but talented soprano aside, there's not a whole lot of originality here. I could go either way. To be determined...


title: can not believe

text: I can not believe this album is not out on cd.First the  biggest hit of the group was on this album.Second it was released on RCA so the masters should be available.Finally the lead singer Cuba Gooding is the dad of the oscar winning actor Cuba Gooding,jr.Hopefully it will return as it was truly a treasure.


title: Don't waste your money...

text: This advice is given to those who aren't familiar with Supertramp(the ones who are,already know).Poorly put songs and criminally cut.Supertramp is one the best bands ever and this collection does a horrible job on showing it!


title: Who needs Electricity?

text:
I recently heard a couple of goofballs on a Salt Lake City sports station wandering into the area of "Who is the best guitarist ever?"  Of course, they went right into Hendrix v. Van Halen.  Nothing against these two fine players, but I began thinking of all the guitarists that these two radio sports guys have prpbably never heard, guys like John McLaughlin, Buddy Guy, Duane Allman, Chet Atkins, Junior Brown, Wes Montgomery, Jim Hall,let alone some of the classical monsters.  The reason I say monsters is because one of the best, Eliot Fisk, does things on guitar that not only can I NOT do, but I have no idea what the heck he's even doing.  If I can't play a run by Van Halen, I at least know somewhat what's he's doing, just like when I see Mike Powell long jump--I know what his feet, legs and arms are doing; I just can't jump as far.  With Fisk, you listen, and you think, how on earth did he do that?  It's enough to make you blink in amazement.

What's more amazing is that Paganini, who was purportedly the second-best guitar player in Italy (but who said that the guitar was kept by himself only to spur musical ideas--in truth, Paganini was probably jealous of that best Italian guitarist), wrote these pieces for violin (Paganini was the best violinist in Italy, and one of the best ever).  It was thought that these Capricci could not be rendered on guitar.  The skeptics are wrong!  Not only are they rendered, they come to a life that many traditional violinists could not give these pieces.  The dynamics available on classical guitar give Paganini's work a new dimension that Paganini, with his "take no prisoners" approach to playing violin, had originally intended.

I will quote Ruggiero Ricci from the CD packet:

"Astounding.  Even Paganini wouldn't have believed that it could be played on the guitar.  An enormous accomplishment that will raise the level of guitar playing.  Has to be heard to be believed."


title: Fantastic album

text: Love it


title: Five Stars

text: Great cd Fast shipping A++


title: it is ok

text: didn't do anything for me


title: some great artists

text: the washboard should have been left at home.


title: Five Stars

text: Great recording!


title: quality packing

text: I must say the packaging for the record was great.  and the record was in awsome shape for being 50 years old.  Thanks guys!!


title: Memories

text: I had this cassette in the 80's and played it all the time in my car. If I bought it I'm sure my kids could sing right along.


title: Marvelous! Fantastic! Beautiful!

text: We're so familiar with the music for decades.  Thanks for Frank's book shop, Amazon and Reader's Digest.  You have brought me a lot happiness.


title: A Gem!

text: Excellent!


title: World heritage!  Priceless!

text: We love those songs forever.


title: A gem from US!

text: Thanks for the seller, Amazon team and Reader's Digest.  I and my wife are very happy to have this album. All music are our very good memories while we're young.


title: Wow! I got the gem!

text:
My friend brought it back for me from LA yesterday. I saw a totally  new album of old stocking. It should be edited at least 4 decades ago. I just listened to  3 discs.  The sound is clear and wonderful .  The songs are pleasing
they can make me relaxing and comfotable.
Thanks for Reader Digest and Amazon. They  have done a great job for human culture .


title: A rose is a rose!

text: The old vinyl is vinyl. The sound is beautiful although the discs were produced decades ago.<br />Reader's Digest has done a great job for human culture. Thanks.


title: Beautiful! Impeccable!

text: I would like to stand up for ovation. A masterpiece! Thanks a lot for Amazon's  fast delivery.


title: A rose is a rose,a rose.

text: We should respect and appreciate all Reader's Digest has done a lot great achievement for human culture. This LP box set shows its brilliant success in musical collections.


title: A gem from Amazon! Impeccable!

text: Thanks a lot. Reader's Digest had done a great job in 1988. Excellent sound and music.( An another star should be sent to Amazon for excellent service)


title: Great artist - embarrassingly mastered album

text: I love Ella. Most people do. I purchased this album on vinyl to add to my collection, and unfortunately the quality between tracks is all over the place. Some of her older stuff sounds muddy while the later stuff has the crisp high end you'd expect but still with some harsh 'S' sounds (this problem likely doesn't exist on CD). Overall, good mix of songs, but given the quality of the mastering I'd steer clear and find another Ella where more care has been given to the final product. :(


title: Unappreciated

text:
It is so strange that there are only two reviews for this album.  I don't understand why Eric Taylor isn't much more appreciated.  My tastes are not very unique, and yet no one else seems to know about this guy.  He's one of only a few artists whose cds don't end up collecting dust on the back of my shelf, I can listen to him again and again.

Now, I'll admit, I'm rarely exactly sure  what Taylor's saying in his lyrics, but it always really feels like he's really saying something.  (Anyway, a hell of a lot of major, popular artists prove that lyrics don't exactly have to be completely lucid).  His lyrics are dark and edgy, his melodies haunting, he's got a rough, powerful, tuneful voice and does fine instrumental work.  This guy sounds like he could take on John Hiatt and Guy Clark in a bar fight, leave them bloody on the floor, and when he walked out into the night, no one would know who the hell he was.

Check him out.


title: Five Stars

text: Love tarkan.


title: Good

text: Good


title: Happiness

text: Happiness


title: Five Stars

text: Great


title: Five Stars

text: I'm a fan.


title: I'm a big fan.  Loved it.

text: I'm a big fan.  Loved it.


title: Great!!!

text: Great!!!


title: Truly a "God Chaser"

text: I actually thought I was buying the book on CD! I love the surprise of the inspirational praise but I need this book on CD!


title: Five Stars

text: Incredable collection


title: Very, Very good if not amazing

text:
This is the sort of music that stays with a person through out their lifetime.  Such songs as "Sand-clock" (hour-glass) is some of the best arranging and writing every produced in any genre and from any country.  This music is more than just "K-Pop" - this is, at moments, legendary and unforgettable in every way.

I miss the Beatles but I can at least listen to Standing Egg and know someone is still making great music.


title: More Please!!!!!!!!!!!!!

text: What a great record!  Lloyd McNeill is probably the most under appreciated artist to ever pick up a Flute.  Using subtle and deeply thoughtful notes that resonate right into the depths your Soul, he paints musical images that can only be described as beautiful.  The deep resonating Bass of Marshall Hawkins adds a solid foundation for Mr. McNeill to float and soar above.  His bowing is impeccable.  This music is well thought out and played to perfection.  That it was recorded in 1969 is another awesome point.  I can hear direct connections to Eric Dolphy and Yusef Lateef in McNeill's playing.  Great duets are rare these days.  Finding this treasure was a real treat.  Now if some forward thinking record company could capture and release "Treasures" and "Tori" from Lloyd's back catalog, my collection of vintage Jazz would be complete.  Thank you Soul Jazz Records for making this treasure available!  Peace!!


title: Five Stars

text: great wit


title: Five Stars

text: Wonderful music!!


title: Your musical pleasure... Forever Changed!

text:
Top 20 of my 552 CD's collection( and yes, above The Beatles and Pink Floyd...), because of the sublime inspiration of a man called Arthur Lee.
 Songs like the strong pop-rocker "A House Is Not A Motel", the melodic "Old Man", the dark and ceptic "The Red Telephone", the epic "Live And Let Live", the ironic "Alone Again Or" or  the "perfect pop song" "The Good Humor Man..." are examples of the most genuine and total creativity in "Forever Changes". But the truly gem of this record is "You Set The Scene", a complex, sad and sublime song. The obvious "stroke of genius" of the whole album...
 What more can I say about this greatly 2001 edition of the original "Forever Changes"(1967). It reached only No. 154 on the Billboard charts. However, if you are a true music fan, I can assure you that we are talkin' about an essential and basic record for your collection. Pleasure for sure!


title: Puts life into your exercise equipment!

text: I have Cardio Coach workouts 1 thru 8 on CD.  I love them all!  I use them on the elliptical and it actually makes me use my (otherwise unused) equipment even more.  These workouts put pizzazz into what would typically be a mundane and boring hour on a machine. This workout has 2 challenges that involve sprints and one that involves hills.  The first challenge you are supposed to get at a level 3 perceived exertion (on a 1-4 scale), although advanced exercisers can push it to a level 4.  Oh my!  Even though I may not feel like I have the 'umph' to do an all out workout when I get on my elliptical, it almost never fails that Sean will push me to do even more than I had planned.  This workout runs just shy of an hour - about 54 minutes on the machine and a stretch at the end on the floor.  I typically log just over 5 miles on my elliptical with this workout.  I'm sure if I was just on the elliptical (going at my own pace) I wouldn't come close to that, nor would I increase my cardio stamina.  Sean makes the time I spend on the machine actually count for something.  The time just flies by and I am drenched with sweat when I'm done.  These workouts will definitely improve your fitness and you'll have a huge sense of accomplishment when you are done.  Of coarse, you can skip over a challenge if you want to decrease the workout time, but his first 3 workouts are shorter (about a half hour) if that's what you are looking for.


title: Companion to the Filmore.

text: A relaxed performance that go's great with the more intense Rocking the Filmore concerts showing another side of the band.


title: must have

text: A must have for the fans of the Alice Cooper Group.


title: Songs

text: If you want to sell an item, the least you can do is list the songs on it! This helps sell the item!


title: Outstanding music

text: This song has been overlooked over the years. It should be included in the lost 45s that many companies have put out cd's, like eric records, ace, etc. It is a beautiful version and I love the way Sajid Khan sung it. So why is it not on a cd by now I don't know. Get busy record companies, and include it in your next series of hard to find 45's on CD.


title: better than i expected

text:
I have been a huge t.A.T.u. fan since my friend Alex introduced me to them in 2005. I had both of their CDs and loved the mvs, as well as was excited about the prospects of a movie based on the fabulous duo. But as for the third CD...I honestly expected to wait for their English version. I just felt that other than You and I, Running Blind and Fly On the Wall, ( the English songs) I wouldn't be able to feel the power of the songs unless I could -ahem- understand them. I was quite wrong.
Maybe t.A.T.u.'s newest songs will be even more meaningfull when I hear them in my own language, but they're pretty good now, too. You can get a sense of the meaning just from their music and from their way of singing, tone of voice. I guess I shouldn't have lost faith in t.A.T.u.

One thing you have to admit is that Happy Smiles has a different feel than the first two CDs. With exceptions like You and I and Beliy Plascik (forgive my sp?), t.A.T.u. has taken a new, more 'futureistic' sound. It's just as good as their old sound- but in a different way.

If you haven't heard t.A.T.u. before, you might want a 'sounds like' section of this review...but unfortunately and fortunately, t.A.T.u. has their own, entirely unique sound- as I'm sure all their fans would agree.

I highly reccomend buying Happy Smiles, even if you don't speak Russian.


title: Finally, replaced the old vinyl

text: I have loved this music since it first came out. Finally able to replace the old vinyl with this CD! Happy collector here.


title: very Nice

text: This Prayer Cd is very good. It immediatley puts me in a calm state of mind. I am able to see things in a clear way and I'm in a great mood after listening to it. It just feels plain good to the soul.


title: Fabulous!

text: Jim Haskins is a genius pianist....his music creates an unforgettable mood, of a smoky late-night liason, of the vintage high-end Manhattan nightclubs after midnight, great for dinner or mood music for evening or anytime....truly, this is the best series of cocktail piano I have ever heard....he has many in the series.....visit [...]  for the whole series and sound-bytes....


title: Tanzwut grows on you with every album

text: Tanzwut's third studio album, and their best yet. I learned about the group from a fairly common way, by being steered there through bands like In Extremo and Subway to Sally. Tanzwut creates a unique sound, mixing the Neo-Medieval, or Volke-Metal, or whatever they call the fusion of Hard Rock with Medieval Folk music with influences from electronic and indstrial. Tanzwut's strongest element is their highly effective choruses, and this album is a good example. But they also expand beyond the scope covered by their first two efforts, particularly with Fatue and Campona. Fatue is hard guitars mixed with great choral chanting reminicent of gregorian chants. The album starts off with Wieder da, a great song and good start that gradually builds to personal favorites like Track 4: Meer and Track 5 Zaubern. Overall a great album that shows Tanzwut at their best.


title: This is a must

text: I stumbled upon Jim Fyhrie while at the Christmas Crafts festivle at Knott's Berry Farm.  His music could be heard throught Ghost Town.  It was both very soothing, emotional and Unforgettably enchanting.  My love for the instrument he plays... The hand hammered dulcimer is a passionate one.  Thanks to Amazon.com I can purchase others and sugguest that you give Light Dance or any of his other CD's a try.  You will not regret it.


title: DVD audio does not equal DVD video.

text:
I am at a lost for words.

I was looking for a DVD-audio disc, so under "format" I had amazon list those discs that are formatted in DVD-audio. After receiving my purchase only to find that I have a DVD-video in my hand (you know, like a movie.) Sure enough, my car's DVD-audio player doesn't recognize this format.

I then realize that there are other DVD-videos of music conerts/show listed under DVD-audio.
I don't know if the sellers are choosing "DVD-audio" under format because they thought: hey it's a dvd and it's got music.
or if amazon is messing up the listing and listed a DVD-video that contains music artists' performances under "DVD-audio"

In either case, I am largely disappointed in both the sellers' and amazon's lack of knowledge in their products to let this happen.


title: Perfect!

text: Fast delivery and played it all the way home from the post office.


Great stuff. If you want different but good, get this. Some pop elements but not the traditional stuff you hear everyday


title: Bloody Mary Bad Kids Marry The Night

text:
I hated this cd when it first came out and I think it was mostly because of all the hype and haters going on and on about how much she copies this person or that.
But over all this is a pretty decent release even if it's not as good as the Fame or Fame Monster.
Mary The Night is probably my favorite song followed by You & I.
I'd say this is worth at least a listen once all the way through.


title: Prefect

text: Very relaxing music and let's you go into the meditation and beyond in relaxing


title: The Best 'Non-Violent' Movie Of The Year

text: In a year full of dramas loaded with violence and adult content.  Chocolat was perhaps the cleanest, and one of the best movies of the year.  Chocolat is a very heart-warming story of a mother and daughter who travel from place to place with the North wind.  But they always leave their mark on each town using their ancient, exotic chocolates.  It's not a rip-roaring comedy, nor an intense drama.  Chocolat is just out there; it has no political message, or hidden meaning.  It's just a nice story brought to life by great acting on the parts of Juliette Binoche, Judi Dench, and a cast of other loveable characters.  The filming location is in a tiny village in France, which provides an excellent, atmospheric backdrop to the plot of the story.  The film also contains perhaps the best original score written for a movie in 2000.  Juliette Binoche plays her first big American film since 1996's The English Patient, and earns her second Academy Award nomination. (For Best Actress In A Leading Role)  All in all, Chocolat picked up five Oscar nominations including Best Picture.  And it has been a critical success as well, winning the hearts of audiences all across the globe.  Apparently one taste of Chocloat is all it takes.


title: Catchy, and a sign of better singles to come?

text:
Lorie is a cute blue-eyed blonde teenage girl mostly unknown outside of France. 'Près de moi' is a catchy tune, although it doesn't quite reach the excellence of some of the other tracks on her debut album 'Près de toi' such as 'Tout pour toi' or 'I love you'.
Lorie can't really be compared with the other recent teenage newcomer to the French pop scene, Alizée. Whereas Alizée's songs are about dark corners and lolitaesque encounters, Lorie's songs are about holding hands and strolling in the park.
This is a fun single, and has enjoyed some success in France, although is unlikely to make waves elsewhere while Britney Spears dominates the charts. If you like intelligent French pop music, this is well worth a listen, if you can stomach the import price.


title: Great ideas, great talent, a great band.

text:
I don't hear it that often, but when I do, I love this album. Snuzz have a very fresh and direct sound on this album. Some might say it's a bad thing but it really sounds as if you've got the band right in the room playing  with you. Their riffs are all clean, drums crystal clear and the vocals are  pleasing.
At first glance, the songs are a bit juvenile, but it quickly  becomes apparent that this is deliberate. It's a wonderfully light hearted  take on mixing college, country and progressive rock into one.
Some  tracks are a total blast, like "Facing Out", a great song to  throw a smile on your face. Some of the tracks are a bit rough around the  edges, but there are also romantic moments on this CD, such as  "Somewhere Out There".
In closing, this is an incredibly laid  back CD but with a crisp feel to all of the tracks. They mix seriousness,  light heartedness and true talent all the way through this album. It's not  my favorite CD at all, but I do love it.


title: You've got to be kidding me!!

text: I can't believe that so many people actually think that Willa Ford is talented!!! Have you listened to her songs closely? The girl can't sing! Even on Joke's on you, it sounds like the producers put the emphasis on the music and the background vocals to make her horrible singing less apparent. She's conceited, self-centered and has no writing or singing talent whatsoever. Even if it makes her sick to her stomach, she's going to have realize that her only claim to fame is her relationship with Nick Carter; had she not been his girlfriend, she would have sold 0 album. And even though she claims the contrary, she's a manufactured Britney clone. Her voice is almost even more annoying than Brit's, who's really hard to beat when it comes to weak-singing. If you want some really good female pop/r&b, buy any Aaliyah CD instead.


title: Do not buy this dvd!!! The picture ...

text: Do not buy this dvd !!! The picture of the dvd is not what you get!!!!!!What you will get is the red box version of the 75 at Earls Court. Not the pictured dvd which is what I wanted!!!!!!! Why don't you take down this false picture of this dvd,and put the right one up.It pisses me off to spent my time and money on fake stuff!!!!!!!!


title: Do not waste your money on this cd

text: Do not waste your money on this cd!!!!!!! The sound on this cd is terrible!!! Again do not buy this cd,you will hate yourself for not listening to me!!!!!