Tall Tales

Amazon.com
From the first visceral instant when Elana Fremerman drags bow across fiddle, you know Tall Tales is already an improvement over Hot Club of Cowtown's fine debut Swingin' Stampede. New producer Dave Stuckey (formerly of the Dave and Deke Combo) charges every scratch, twang, and pop from this swingin' fiddle-guitar-doghouse bass trio with the tactile punch of a live gig. The result is that the band's virtuoso mix of old-time fiddle tunes, hot jazz, Western swing, and early-century Tin Pan Alley--everything from "Sally Goodin'" to the Burke and Van Heusen standard "Polka Dots and Moonbeams"--finally comes off as gritty as it is sweet and, consequently, better than ever. Tall Tales confirms that this Hot Club is the only emerging swing-revival band to compare favorably to the masters of swing. And, most impressively, when the group expands beyond a trio by adding trumpet and piano (particularly on an original torch song called "When I Lost You"), its bright future comes into clear focus. --David Cantwell

Tall Tales,Hot Club of Cowtown,Hightone Records,Pop,Popular Music,Retro Swing,Rock,Rock/Pop

Average customer rating: 2 records on 1 cd.One is super other is a mess. Uh, wait a minute! Not the original albums!

He'll Have to Go/Tall Tales and Short Tempers Jim Reeves Manufacturer: Bmg Int'l ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Country | Styles | Music Nashville Sound | Traditional Country | Country | Styles | Music General | Traditional Country | Country | Styles | Music General | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music General | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music Country | Imports | Stores | Music Similar Items: Talkin' to Your Heart/Touch of Velvet Up Through the Years/Distant Drums Moonlight and Roses/Jim Reeves Way Girls I Have Known/Intimate Jim Reeves International Jim Reeves/Good N Country ASIN: B0002QPRTQ Release Date: 2004-08-23

Tracks:

1. Am I Losing You
2. He'll Haveto Go
3. Have I Told You Lately
4. How's the World Treating You
5. I Love You More
6. 'Till the End of the World
7. I've Lived a Lot in My Time
8. Oklahoma Hills
9. I'm Getting Better
10. Bimbo
11. Blizzard
12. Streets of Laredo
13. That Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine
14. Rodger Young
15. Fool's Paradise
16. It's Nothin' to Me
17. Mighty Everglades
18. Danny Boy
19. Letter Edged in Black
20. Tie That Binds
21. Wreck of the Number Nine

Album Description

UK twofer combines the country legends 1962 & 1961 albums. BMG.

Album Details

Digitally Remastered Two Original LPs on a Single CD from the Heyday of the Velvet-voiced Country and Western Singer who Died Tragically in a Plane Crash in 1964. "Tall Tales..." Was Originally Released in 1961 and "he'll have to Go" Came Out in 1962. Among the Great Tracks Are his Rendition of "Danny Boy", "Oklahoma Hills", "The Streets of Laredo", "am I Losing You", "How's the World Treating You" and the Title Track of "he'll have to Go", One of his Biggest Hits Ever.

Customer Reviews:

2 records on 1 cd.One is super other is a mess........2004-12-12

The album"Tall tales and short tempers" is one of Jim Reeves best album.Only available at Bear Familys giant 16 cdbox.
The other half"He`ll have to go" is not the same as the one released in 1959.
Somebody at RCA/BMG messed it up.
Only a few songs is from "He`ll have to go"
Buy it because you will probably not gonna buy "Tall tales and short tempers" this cheap elsewhere.

Uh, wait a minute! Not the original albums!.......2004-11-21

bMG made a big mistake in reissuing these two albums! Shame on you BMG! The album He'll Have To Go is not the 1959 album which is the original version it and has songs such as I'm Beginning To Forget You, Home, Partners, After A While, He'll Have To Go and others! This album is simply a useless compelation of live radio broadcasts which are on several other CD's and the Tall Tales And Short Tempers album!The version of Danny Boy is not t he released version with the Anita Kerr Quartet! BMG you should check before you release albums like this! I of course havve all of these albums on the big 16 CD box set but do not and I'm warning all fans out there, do not buy this album because they are not the original albums!

Average customer rating: Hot Club of Cow Town Fun playing, but hold the vocals This is the best one HC rocks my world! music for the happy side of your soul

Tall Tales Hot Club of Cowtown Manufacturer: Hightone Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Country | Styles | Music Western Swing | Country | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Retro Swing | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music Similar Items: Swingin' Stampede: The Hot Club Of Cowtown Playing Hot Jazz & Western Swing Ghost Train Dev'lish Mary Continental Stomp Elana James ASIN: B00000JNIQ Release Date: 1999-08-03

Tracks:

1. Draggin' The Bow
2. Emily
3. Darling You And I Are Through
4. I Can't Tame The Wild Woman
5. When I Lost You
6. You Can't Take It With You
7. Wildcat
8. Always And Always
9. I Laugh When I Think I Cried Over You
10. Joe-Bob Rag
11. There'll Be Some Changes Made
12. Red Hot Mama
13. Bonaparte's Retreat
14. Polkadots And Moonbeams
15. Sally Goodin'

Amazon.com

From the first visceral instant when Elana Fremerman drags bow across fiddle, you know Tall Tales is already an improvement over Hot Club of Cowtown's fine debut Swingin' Stampede. New producer Dave Stuckey (formerly of the Dave and Deke Combo) charges every scratch, twang, and pop from this swingin' fiddle-guitar-doghouse bass trio with the tactile punch of a live gig. The result is that the band's virtuoso mix of old-time fiddle tunes, hot jazz, Western swing, and early-century Tin Pan Alley--everything from "Sally Goodin'" to the Burke and Van Heusen standard "Polka Dots and Moonbeams"--finally comes off as gritty as it is sweet and, consequently, better than ever. Tall Tales confirms that this Hot Club is the only emerging swing-revival band to compare favorably to the masters of swing. And, most impressively, when the group expands beyond a trio by adding trumpet and piano (particularly on an original torch song called "When I Lost You"), its bright future comes into clear focus. --David Cantwell

Customer Reviews:

Hot Club of Cow Town.......2006-08-06

I first heard the group "Hot Club of Cow Town" in Aspen some years ago. My friends and I followed them to the Tractor Tavern in Seattle a few years later, keeping this extraordinary group in our sights ever since.

Elena Fremerman (sp?) makes a violin do things that certain currently influential groups would lose control of basic body functions over. Her interpretation of classic folk, country swing, show tunes and other great music has been honored recently by other great artists.

I've heard her voice described variously as "clear" and "smoky". I understand both descriptions, embrace them, and add "and a whole lot more."

I recommend the music of Hot Club of Cow Town and Elena Fremerman to people who like the genres, "country swing", "Show tunes","folk", (at this point I'm over my head) Just fun music.

Fun playing, but hold the vocals.......2003-11-17

Bold, joyous playing, at times precise, at times reckless, make this a treat to listen to. But be prepared for some weak vocals (by two of the three band members). Lovers of old country are not sticklers for staying on key, and know there's a great deal of expressive power in the deliberate roughness of Bill Monroe. Vern Williams and others. But crooning that goes flat provokes more wincing than dancing. Still--a talented and fun group gets my qualified yeehaw.

This is the best one.......2003-08-14

Fun swing music and great group. If you are only going to buy one album, this would be my pick.

HC rocks my world!.......2002-02-04

This CD is awesome! It's by the nicest and best group ever! They were just in my town and I performed with them and they are the coolest! They need to keep turning out spectacular CDs like they already have! HC rocks!

music for the happy side of your soul.......2001-10-29

I dunno, like the music a lot, but then i almost like every swing-revivel cd out there. This is the first review i write, i'm writing it because i feel i have to explain why i gave this wonderful cd "only" four stars. Well, thats because i discoverd "andrew bird's bowl of fire" before i've discovered "hot town". Their album, "trills' is kind of above all ratings so i cannot get myself to rating this album as high as theirs. If you like this album, you're gonna adore "thrills".

Average customer rating: pleasant listening to fine crafted songs Against their best albums, this LP suffers Like it for what it is. What Is This Album? The End of a Great Run through the 70's....

Short Stories/Tall Tales Horslips Manufacturer: Diablo Records UK ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music British Folk | Traditional British & Celtic Folk | Folk | Styles | Music Irish Folk | Traditional British & Celtic Folk | Folk | Styles | Music Folk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music Hard Rock | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Rock | Imports | Stores | Music Similar Items: Tracks from the Vaults Live Drive the Cold Winter Away Greatest Hits ASIN: B000058A1C Release Date: 2001-03-13

Tracks:

1. Guests of the Nation
2. Law on the Run
3. Unapproved Road
4. Ricochet Man
5. Back in My Arms
6. Summer's Most Wanted Girl
7. Amazing Offer
8. Rescue Me
9. Life You Save
10. Soap Opera

Album Description

Reissue of the folk/rock/progressive act's final studio album, originally released in 1979. Remastered at Abbey Road from the original tapes with repackaging from the band. Standard jewel case. 2001 release.

Album Details

This was Horslips' ninth & final studio album, originally released in 1979. Remastered at Abbey Road from the original tapes & with re-packaging by the group themselves.

Customer Reviews:

pleasant listening to fine crafted songs .......2006-10-01

After a first listen you may wonder if this is the same band that delivered the folk laden "Drive the Cold Winter Away", "The Tain" and "Book of Invasions - a Celtic Symphony", but give it a few tries more and you are taken away with a strong collection of well crafted songs in a modern setting of electric guitar and keyboards plus rythmesection. Only the splendid "Rescue Me" is on acoustic instruments and a fine popballad it is. Overall not bad, certainly not, every song has his own distinguished melody and stands out among the others. Odd that the keyboardpattern in "Summer's Most Wanted Girl" and far more so in "Amazing Offer" do remind of that of the Cars on the first albums. It is clearly an indication of the new direction of this band after having made completely different albums, with a strong Irish folk background. Now they tend far more towards pop/rock. "Guests of the Nation" is a fine example. Well this (alas last studio)album has not dissapointed me, although I hoped for a little bit of that classic Horslips' folks/rock sound, it stands on its own and shares a place with earlier albums "Aliens" and "The Man Who Built America". Sit back and enjoy, thet owe it.

Against their best albums, this LP suffers.......2006-08-10

I rate this 2 out of 5 only by comparison with the band's finest albums, Tain, Book of Invasions, and Happy to Meet--5 stars; Tracks from the Vaults: 4; Dance Hall Sweethearts: 3; and the closest equivalent not in sound but in effect to SS/TT: the Unfortunate Cup of Tea. I am a Horslips fan, but to be honest, this album is a letdown.

Fans of Aliens and Man Who Built America would like this most. Those eager for more of a progressive folk style should stick to the earlier triumphs, for they will find almost no trace of the band's best songs and stirring concepts on SS/TT. For a band that long had suffered under Tull comparisons, this does, true, mirror the stage reached by the early 80s with Tull. But, fans of both bands generally would have to admit that this period was not the peak for either the Irish band or their English peers.

Followers of the fab five tend to mark this low; the reviews on Amazon rate it overall higher than other critics have. Yes, it does have a sparkly keyboard and sprightly guitar combo. The guitars are the most recognizable feature, the one instrument that despite genre changes by the band, still has a distinctively identifiable Horslips sound. You'd never guess if you had not been told, however, that the final studio track by Horslips here, "Soap Opera," with its synth hiss fadeout, is by the same band that began their first album with a cough and tin whistle and wheezy concertina.

So, this is the end of the line. The concept of matching lyrics to short stories, evident still from the title, seems to have been (as was the Carolan comparison for "Dance Hall") jettisoned. Two F. O'Connor stories do survive as titles and their storylines can be dimly discerned in Flannery O'C's "The Life You Save May Be Your Own" in the lyrics here, and a bit less allusively in Frank O'C's considerably grimmer than the song here's attitude, "Guests of the Nation." Guests is the standout tune on the LP; "Rescue Me," with its tender folk return to the band's roots, shines as well and stands here as a poignant reminder of the spirit that infused the band at its peak.

The other songs? Well, none reach the nadir of the opening track on Dance Hall, "This Is What You Want," although even that celtic disco fusion from '75 at least tried to be different enough to stick in your memory a bit--for better or worse. The same problems the band had mid-70s when they veered into mainstream hard rock repeat at the end of the decade. On SS/TT, the other eight songs shuffle along into MOR rock circa 1980. This final phase of the band has been labelled "new wave," but this is in the same league as when Dire Straits and Huey Lewis were marketed with that same musical category, after bar bands had cut their hair and jumped on the post-pub rock bandwagon.

None of the eight songs sink totally, and this is to the credit of the consistent vocals that had always distinguished the band's accomplished singers. The guitars do chug along with echoes of an Irish trad influence however faint, and the drums can be as thunderous as they were on previous LPs. But, the energy has dissipated. It's a brief ten songs, barely over 35 minutes, as if the effort to come up with five-a-side did the band in. Added up, the total lacks dynamics. If the band had kept at it, had taken their time to write stronger songs, and had sustained their earlier innovation, perhaps the promise of "Rescue Me" and the force of "Guests" could have sparked other and stronger songs for the rest of the LP. But, sadly, the creative flame burns low and here eight times out of ten only flickers barely above the nondescript embers.

Like it for what it is........2006-08-08

I'm amazed at the bad reviews this album gets! Yes, I understand; they changed thier sound. They tried to appeal to a wider audience. But this album is very good!
Being a huge Jethro Tull fan, I was happy to be introduced to the "old" Horslips. I loved anything that was a mixture of rock and some form of traditional or classical music. A while later, but still in the "vinyl" days, I found Short Stories Tall Tales in the cutout bin. Having not yet heard The Man Who Built America, I thought, "Are these the same guys?" But I loved it immediately.
Thier later sound needs to be taken on it's own merit, not by looking back on the way they used to be. When I first heard this album, I thought, "The FM rock radio stations ought to be clued in to this; this would take off!" But we all know they are too stupid to try something off the beaten path.
If you really love the "old" Horslips, and don't like pop, then you won't like SSTT. But if you like early 80's rock, you should enjoy this. It's good simple rock.

What Is This Album?.......2004-10-27

... UNDERBLINKING RATED THAT'S WHAT!!!! I recently heard something like the company making the Horlips CD's were going bankrupt or something, so I thought I'd better get the albums I didn't own now. I'd already looked at this, read the reviews, and essentially got the message it was alright but just bland. THAT IS NONSENSE!!! I've listened to this several times and although it isn't the Irish Folk rock of old, it's damned good. It's not even pop rock... if you enjoyed The Man Who Built... then you'll enjoy this too. Think Jethro Tull, Crest of a Knave, and you've got the sound.... this is a very good album, and well worth the money, but it on, relax, tap your foot (if drunk dance stupidly) and enjoy...
... Hope this has been useful... Toodle Pipski.. THIS IS HOW YOU SPELL IT!!!! YAY! Sorry, private thing there

The End of a Great Run through the 70's...........2004-07-04

If this album had been my introduction to the band, I doubt I would have become the Horslips FANATIC that I am. Horslips went through three distinct phases during the 70's: their initial folk/prog phase where they resembled Steeleye Span; their middle prog rock/Celtic phase in which they resembled Jethro Tull; and their final phase in which they went for a more modern, streamlined sound.

Unfortunately, their final phase was their least interesting period as there were so many other bands doing the "skinny tie" pop/punk thing so much better (like THE JAM!)

SS,TT was their final studio album, and it just lacks the character and uniqueness of their earlier recordings. Even their other "final phase" album, the previous "Man Who Built America" had some driving tunes that stood on their own without the need of much traditional Irish music imbellishment. But they just sound tired and uninspired. Yes, there's a few things to like on this record, but they won't win any new converts. Get 'em listening to Book of Invasions - that's the record that first hooked me on Horslips when I heard it on a local FM station way back when...

Average customer rating:

True Stories, Tall Tales & Lies Randall Hylton Manufacturer: Copper Creek ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Country | Styles | Music General | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music General | Country | Indie Music | Stores | Music Bluegrass | Country | Indie Music | Stores | Music ASIN: B000000B3T Release Date: 1996-07-09

Tracks:

1. Cecil and the Cement Truck
2. Lee Berry Rye
3. Restless Woman
4. Widow of the Glade
5. What Kind of Deal Is This
6. World Is Waiting for the Sunrise
7. Delta King
8. Pulleybone Garden
9. Down by the Old Trout Stream
10. Deacon Eddie Wilson
11. Twenty-One Miles
12. Country Poor and Country Proud
13. Sawmill Road
14. Mayberry
15. One Man Band

Average customer rating:

How I Learned to Love Liver: and Other Tales Too Tall To Tell Joel Ben Izzy Manufacturer: Old City Press ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items: Buried Treasures: A Storyteller's Journey The Beggar King and Other Tales From Around The World The Green Hand: And Other Ghostly Tales From Around The World Stories From Far Away The Beggar King and the Secret of Happiness: A True Story ASIN: 096311297X Release Date: 1997-01-01

Tracks:

1. How I Learned to Love Liver
2. Brian, Who Loves Watermelon
3. Brian, Who Hates Watermelon
4. One Bright Day
5. Short Snippets of Tall Tales
6. Three Travel Tales
7. Moose Turd Pie
8. Paula Bunyan (A True Story)

Book Description

Travelling storyteller Joel ben Izzy takes us for a wild ride in this collection of tales about his liver lovin' days, train hopping hobos, moose-turd pie and more. As with Joel ben Izzy's other CDs and tapes, this one is a mix of classic tales with his own adaptation. The title story tells how his overall disgust when, as a child, he was told he would have to eat liver (yuck!) and how went from there to loving liver, becoming obsessed with it, in fact, leading eventually to his life of crime.... You'll also hear the famous watermelon stories (remember, don't put watermelon seeds up your nose) and even the story of Paula Bunyan. (That was her real name.)

The bouncy carnival music fits the stories perfectly, making this CD one that you, your family and friends will listen to again and again - and that's the truth!

Average customer rating: Legg takes a few gambles, but remembers from where he came superhuman talent, coupled with humility...what a concept Finally a live track Very disappointing Awesome guitar work; mood-altering textures

High Strung Tall Tales Adrian Legg Manufacturer: Relativity ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Jazz | Styles | Music General | New Age | Styles | Music Solo Instrumental | New Age | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music New Age | Indie Music | Stores | Music | Ambient | Celtic | Environmental | General | International | Jazz | Meditation Music | Piano | World Dance General | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music 4-for-3 New Age | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music CDs $7 - $10 | Jazz General | Jazz | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music All Bargain Titles | Jazz General | Jazz | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music CDs $7 - $10 | New Age General | New Age | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music Similar Items: Waiting for a Dancer Inheritance Wine, Women & Waltz Guitar Bones Fingers And Thumbs [ENHANCED CD] ASIN: B000003BXW Release Date: 1994-10-11

Tracks:

1. Celandine
2. The Crockett Waltz
3. The Cool Cajun
4. Song For Di
5. Sweetheart
6. High Strung Suite: Meditation
7. High Strung Suite: Hispanic Theme
8. High Strung Suite: Thirds
9. High Strung Suite: Major Theme
10. Naive II
11. Silent Night-The Movie
12. Live At The Tin Angel-Philadelphia, February 5, 1994: Mud & Jigs
13. Live At The Tin Angel-Philadelphia, February 5, 1994: Paddy In The Synagogue/ The Pregnant Folksing
14. Live At The Tin Angel-Philadelphia, February 5, 1994: Sharon Puckett's Knees
15. Live At The Tin Angel-Philadelphia, February 5, 1994: The Irish Girl
16. Live At The Tin Angel-Philadelphia, February 5, 1994: Profiles In Hormones
17. Live At The Tin Angel-Philadelphia, February 5, 1994: Queenie's Waltz
18. Live At The Tin Angel-Philadelphia, February 5, 1994: Two Duties
19. Live At The Tin Angel-Philadelphia, February 5, 1994: Meditation Reprise
20. Live At The Tin Angel-Philadelphia, February 5, 1994: Nasenhaarmechismus

Amazon.com

Adrian Legg comes out of the British "baroque folk" guitar tradition of Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, and Richard Thompson, and like his predecessors, Legg plays the Anglo-Celtic roots of folk, country and classical "early music" with a chamber musician's ear for precision and harmony. On his new album, "High Strung Tall Tales,'' Legg displays a rare knack for combining strong melodic lines with arpeggiated harmonies in such a way that they flow with a graceful unity. Guitarists love him for his ability to pull off these one-person "duets," but lay listeners will love the sheer beauty of melodic and harmonic interplay.

"High Strung Tall Tales" serves up a generous serving of 20 tracks, covering all the far-flung aspects of Legg's career. You have the improvised, unaccompanied guitar of "Naive II"; the six studio collaborations between Legg's acoustic guitar and various other musicians; the four movements of his classically influenced "High Strung Suite"; and a sampling from a live show in Philadelphia in February, including four solo guitar tunes and five monologues delivered in his deadpan British delivery.

The collaborations include a lovely guitar-and-snaredrum duet, "The Crockett Waltz," and an irreverent garage rock mugging of the Christmas carol, "Silent Night." The suite captures Legg's playing at its most intricately virtuosic, and the live tracks document the wild humor and musical simplicity that make his concerts so special. --Geoffrey Himes

Customer Reviews:

Legg takes a few gambles, but remembers from where he came.......2002-12-10

About the time that High Strung Tall Tales was being released, Adrian Legg admited that he was paranoid about that reactions the CD might receive. There are a few deviations of style here, but Legg stays rooted in his winning formula. And rarely have you heard guitar music sound this good.

It's rather hard to describe the power of the music because it gently walks the line between impressive guitar work and impressive melodies. How can you have both? Well Legg shows us how it's done with the High Strung Suite, a four movement piece (and a reprise towards the end) that gives us varations on a theme. The theme may sound conventional, but the variations are modern.

Naive II and Silent Night are a bit puzzling (I'll assume that the latter is a joke?), but the remainder of the album really does serve up the goods just as well as the suite. Throwing in a keyboard here, a wind instrument there, a dab of drums, there is lots of nicely arranged music for your money. The song Sweetheart can melt the coldest of hearts.

And we get a concert excerpt too. It's a real treat for me (since I've never seen him perform) to hear this, even if the live songs total to only three. The rest are his witty banter (like Leo Kottke, just replace the midwestern wryness with British wryness).

To call High Strung Tall Tales a bummer is really underscoring all that is going on, surface and otherwise. If you like your guitar music, and I mean REALLY like your guitar music, you owe it to yourself to hear High Strung Tall Tales.

superhuman talent, coupled with humility...what a concept.......2001-11-10

If you've ever seen a picture of Adrian Legg...he's a pretty unassuming-looking guy. He possesses, however, a huge guitar talent. Not only is he a monster fingerpicker, but he also makes extensive use of a guitar technique that you would bet $ couldn't work--while the right hand is busy with intricate fingerpicking, the left hand will suddenly leap off the guitar neck and start to detune certain strings with a speed and precision that seems impossible. Between this detuning and the actual fretting of strings on the neck with the same hand, beautiful melodies are created. In waltz time, no less. If you've ever held a guitar long enough to mess with the tuners, you can imagine how difficult it must be to zip up to various tuners at lightning speed and move them to exact new locations so that the open string plays a different note. This is while alternating back and forth playing chords, etc. on the neck! While the right hand is making sense of it all with complex fingerpicking patterns! AND, you have to write a piece that can make use of this startling trick. I saw him do this live, repeatedly and with apparent little effort, as the opening act for the G3 Tour (Vai, Satriani, Johnson) in the mid-90s. The crowd was a bunch of testosterone-poisoned chuckleheads who swilled Miller Lite, chest-bumped each other and totally ignored Legg's set, which was a pity because he was the most interesting thing in the whole show. The live cuts on this CD show, to anyone who doubted, that it is technique and not trickery that creates his unique sound. His stories between the live cuts are priceless--sublime and ridiculous (a'la Python) tributes to dry British wit. I would give this CD five stars, but I'm not as enamoured of waltzs as Legg is.

Finally a live track.......1999-12-17

There are a couple of live tracks on this CD. I quite honestly didn't believe he was as good as he sounds on the previous albums and I own them all. You can't fake live and it is as amazing as it is beautiful. The album seems to be an experiment with a few tunes in the beginning that seem to be variations on a theme. It allows you to hear how an artist of this caliber can take a melody in different directions. A very worthwhile investment.

Very disappointing.......1999-09-06

After buying Mrs Crowe's Blue Waltz and Guitar for Mortals, I was hooked...was. Sorry Adrian this one's a bummer and I won't take a chance on you again. :-(

Awesome guitar work; mood-altering textures.......1999-04-20

Adrian Legg can provoke almost any human physiological response with six strings. This album runs the gambut from Irish jigs to smooth New-Age(ish) melodies. I am as impressed by his virtuosity as I am pleased with, and soothed by, the textures he creates. Even the between-song patter on the live tracks is highly entertaining.

Average customer rating: Some of the best fiddle playing I have heard in a long time

Tall Tales Manufacturer: Kalos ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | International | Styles | Music ASIN: B000CAFKA8 Release Date: 2004-06-15

Tracks:

1. Harry Bradshaw/The Torrent/Take My Heart
2. East at Glendart/Hag Wtih the Money/Seton's Ceilidh Band
3. Isla Bryn's Cradle Song/Munster's Cloak/Waiting for Isla Bryn
4. A Fond Kiss/Highland Lassie'O
5. Miller of Drone/Largo Law/O She's Comical/Largo Law Reel
6. Old Man
7. Generation/My Sweet Lil
8. Dusky Meadow/Gillie Calum/Pigeon On the Gate/Morning Haggis
9. Tom Lyon's Limerick Waltz
10. Old Dutch Churn/Drops of Brandy/Colonel Macbean/Neil Roy
11. The Mathematician
12. President Garfield's Hornpipe/Fisher's Hornpipe/The Scholar
13. Hector the Hero
14. Funland/Pundit's Folly/Go Down to the River

Customer Reviews:

Some of the best fiddle playing I have heard in a long time.......2007-01-06

This is an excellent album with some great fiddle playing. Ryan is amazing to watch when he plays in person. You can feel the emotion he puts into each song.

Average customer rating:

Short Tales and Tall Gilli Smyth & Daevid Allen Manufacturer: Voiceprint UK ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Rock | Styles | Music Progressive Rock | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Rock | Imports | Stores | Music Similar Items: Parade Dreamin' a Dream ASIN: B0009GUT92 Release Date: 2005-06-13

Tracks:

1. The Owl & The Pussycat
2. Childrens Tale Of Zero
3. The Horned Women
4. Captain Shaw & Mr. Gilbert
5. You Are A Bum
6. The Curious Story Of What Happened To Mr. Camembert Ah Yes
7. Leprechauns
8. The Garden Of Tuatha De Danann
9. The Fabel Of A (Over Fredfish Heard)
10. The Sprightly Tailor
11. The Poppykettle
12. Descent To The Underworld
13. Araby Soja (?) (Excerpt)
14. The House That Jack Built

Product Description

1. Owl & The Pussycat
2. Children’S Tale Of Zero
3. Horned Women
4. Capt. Shaw & Mr Gilbert
5. You Are A Bum
6. Curious Story Of What Happened To Mr. Camembert When He Visited His Son In A Do
7. Leprechauns
8. Garden Of The Tuatha De Dannan
9. Fable Of A Fredfish Overheard
10. Sprightly Tailor
11. Poppy Kettle
12. Descent To The Underworld
13. House That Jack Built

Format: CD

Average customer rating: A unique combination of various 1970's progressive sounds. One Of The Best Prog Albums Of The 90's Superb, 70s-Style Progressive Rock Tall Tales Righter:3stars,1/2,as an excessive ref. to Wind&Wuthering

Tall Tales Crucible ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Rock | Styles | Music Progressive Rock | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music CDs $7 - $10 | Progressive Rock | Rock | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music All Bargain Titles | Progressive Rock | Rock | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music General | Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music Progressive | Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music ASIN: B00000HZ6J Release Date: 1998-10-01

Tracks:

1. Over the Falls
2. The Poet Liar
3. Find the Line
4. Lords and Leeches
5. In Ancient Tongue
6. The Salamander
7. Land For Sale
8. An Imps Tale

Album Description

Classic/Progressive rock with the sounds of the 70's Melodic keyboards with great vocals

Band members:
Tim Horan
Chris Vescera
Bill Esposito
Dan Esposito
Tony Cappellina

Customer Reviews:

A unique combination of various 1970's progressive sounds........2007-05-17

Start with a sound foundation of Gabriel-era Genesis, substitute the vocals with Triumph's Rik Emmett (with little or no vocal harmonies by the way), sprinkle in some Kansas-like guitar riffing, add some Jethro Tull flute, and finish it all with a much crisper modern sounding production, and you have the basic feel of Crucible's hard-to-find "Tall Tales". But more than merely "derivative" of early prog, this album succeeds by throwing in a lot of different atmospheres and instrumental changes from song to song, along with the usual time signature changes and complex arrangements we've come to expect from classic prog. Occasional comparisons to Rush also emerge with the Emmett-like vocalist singing lyrics in the storytelling tradition of Rush's "Trees"; but I did not find the lyrics as interesting or magical as the classic standby stuff (sometimes dealing with modern day things like...mortgages and deli meat?!). Great drumming on the album though, and you'll find yourself humming along on some of the better refrains after just a few listens. I wish they hadn't made such blatant rip-offs of various sections of Genesis' "Supper's Ready" during their own 20-minute epic "An Imp's Tale"; but overall, this is an enjoyable album on which most traditional prog fans should find many moments of real enjoyment.

I value interesting music that is played and recorded well. This cd's rating was based on:
Music quality = 8.4/10; Performance = 8.6/10; Production = 9/10; CD length = 10/10.
Overall score weighted on my proprietary scale = 8.7 ("4 stars")

One Of The Best Prog Albums Of The 90's.......2007-01-04

"Tall Tales" is one of my favorite prog albums of the 90's. I remember seeing this band live at ProgDay 97 right after this album had been released. They totally blew me away and I picked up the album at the show. The band's sound is similar "Wind And Wuthering / Trick Of The Tail" era Genesis. The band definitely fits into the neo prog vein, but they do the style as well as any of our current modern day prog bands. Every member of the band stands out on their respective instruments with keys man Tim Horan and drummer Tony Cappellina especially shining throughout. The vocals are provided by Bill Esposito, and what a vocalist he is. His vox soars throughout the disc with a sound that I find similar to Rick Emmet from Triumph. The songwriting is all top notch. The first half of the album features shorter songs all of them great. "Over The Falls", "Poet Liar", "Find The Line", "Lords And Leaches", and "Land For Sale" all are highlights. The real meat of the album though, is found in the 20 plus minute epic finale, "An Imps Tale". It all comes together on this one with great lyrics, music, and vocals. There is really nothing I can find negative to say about this album. The bottom line is that if you are at all into neo prog, this is one of the best albums of the genre you will find.

Superb, 70s-Style Progressive Rock.......2006-04-25

If you like 70s-style symphonic prog, you need to get this album. It's excellent: the writing, musicianship, and engineering are all terrific.

The best comparison would be mid-70s Genesis, in particular the mellower end of 'Trick of the Tail' and 'Wind and Wuthering'. While it's not quite as good as those albums, it also doesn't have those albums' low points, such as "Your Own Special Way," etc.

A couple comments from other reviewers that I must simply correct: first, some criticize this album for being derivative. So what. Derivative is a negative word. The fact is this album is 70s-style progressive rock, and it does it very well. Would someone criticize a classical composer for being derivative of 18th century Germanic composers? No! It's simply a style of music, and Crucible is masterful in its genre.

Second, the band is compared to Kansas and Styx - very dangerous. There is no "Babe" or "Play the Game Tonight" here. Any comparison to Kansas or Styx is tangential at best, and must be limited to their earliest, most proggy work.

Finally, it's also dangerous and misleading to compare the singer to Geddy Lee of Rush. The main difference: Lee has a lousy voice that is screechy and goat-like. While Bill Esposito's voice has some similarities to Lee's, it's only favorably, and Esposito also has hints of Jon Anderson, Peter Gabriel, and others.

Bottom line: if you like 70s-style Prog rock, chances are you'll love this album.

Tall Tales.......2004-02-15

5 stars aren't even enough for this masterpiece.

I have been listening to prog. rock for over 30 years, and have searched, mostly in vain, for a "new" progressive band that would serve the ARTISTS of the seventies (you know 'em, Genesis, YES, ELP, Gentle Giant, etc.) I've bought and listened to the Flower Kings, Glass Hammer, etc., etc. but, they always fall short of the mark.

Well, good things come to those who wait (and that can find this CD!)

This is a "landmark" CD for those seeking deep, moving, and expressive ART rock. No week links in the Crucible line-up. Incredible drums, vocals, keyboards, guitars, bass.

One important thing to keep in mind, as with any music at this level of complexity and performance, it takes SEVERAL listens to really begin to appreciate the song writing here. This is not a "back ground" or casual listening CD.

Tall Tales really "peaked" with me at about my 40th listen, and it just keeps getting better and better with each listen, as new subtleties are continuely exposed.

These guys should be proud to join the ranks of the revered super-prog groups of our time. Fantastic!

Righter:3stars,1/2,as an excessive ref. to Wind&Wuthering.......2003-03-12

Well the singer doesn't resemble the style of the vocalists from Genesis,instead the music structure is often in the vein of "Wind & Wuthering", expecially into the last suite "An imps tale". The other songs are very melodic, by means of 70's keyboards and some music passages reminding me of Kansas,but according to a diverse approach, very similar to that one of Spock's Beard! There's a certain passion in the execution, but the songs are not so amazing ... it depends on our tastes naturally, but of course I prefer for example Babylon as a derivative band ... well make your choice !!

Average customer rating: Not His Best Stories, But That Doesn't Say Much

Moscow Hold Utah Phillips Manufacturer: Red House ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Folk | Styles | Music Traditional Folk | Folk | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music General | Folk | Indie Music | Stores | Music Traditional Folk | Folk | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Good Though The Telling Takes Me Home Past Didn't Go Anywhere Fellow Workers ASIN: B00000JWDZ Release Date: 1999-08-17

Tracks:

1. Railroading On The Great Divide/Moose Call
2. Will Rogers
3. Egg Sittin' Horse
4. Job Action
5. Shark Fishing
6. Oliver And The Fork
7. Ant Language
8. Natural Resources
9. Oatmeal
10. The Moscow Hold
11. Blackie's Fridge
12. Oliver's Outhouse
13. Hallelujah I'm A Bum/How I Became A Buddhist

Amazon.com

Vagabond, raconteur, sometime Ani DiFranco fellow traveler, and unrepentant political lefty, Utah Phillips happily admits, as he interrupts his performance of "Railroading on the Great Divide," that no one plays much real folk music anymore because, when you get down to it, folk music is boring. Phillips may well have a point, but then again, Phillips isn't so much a folksinger as a storyteller in the folk tradition. And his stories, whether sung or spoken, are anything but boring. More often than not, they are absurdly funny. With a warm, craggy tone that sounds as familiar as a grandpa's voice, Phillips strings together a crazy-quilt collection of slightly surreal tall tales that cover everything from IWW union drives to big-time wrestling competitions to the fecal fantasies of ants. In many ways a best-of collection (the 13 cuts on this CD were gathered from over 20 years of live recordings), Phillips' stories have a way of ending unexpectedly. And where they end up is a very good place, indeed. --Percy Keegan

Customer Reviews:

Not His Best Stories, But That Doesn't Say Much.......1999-08-19

Utah Phillips is many things. An absolutely wonderful storyteller is one of them. This disc collects a bunch of his stories from various and sundry live shows over the past twenty some-odd years. While this would usually be call for massive celebration, this album collects a bunch of stories that, frankly, might have been better off left uncollected. Many of the endings are predictable, and Phillips resorts to the crude punchline a few too many times for my taste. But through it all, he is still a marvelous storyteller, and he understands the timing and craft of humor as well as the best standup comics. If you've heard him before, and you want some new stories, grab it. If you're new to him, try "The Past Didn't Go Anywhere," his collaboration with Ani DiFranco, or "Loafer's Glory," his collaboration with Mark Ross.

Music Album:

1. The Best of Patsy Montana
2. The Complete Capitol Hits of Faron Young
3. The Complete MCA Recordings
4. The Drifter
5. The Early Rebel Recordings: 1962-1971 [Box set]
6. The Essential Marty Robbins: 1951-1982 [Box set]
7. The Fabulous Johnny Cash [Original recording remastered]
8. The Gilded Palace of Sin [Import]
9. The Instrumental Hits of Buck Owens & His Buckaroos
10. The Mavericks [Live]

Music Album