Almost Home

Amazon.com
"I was raised in the old Primitive Baptist churches, and a lot of my people were old Baptist preachers," the good Dr. Ralph told Amazon.com, "and I inherited that sound. It's a sound that unless you do inherit it, I think it's hard to get." Fittingly, it was Ralph Stanley who introduced a cappella quartet gospel harmonies to the bluegrass repertoire, and no other artist can come close to matching Stanley's emotional intensity. This hair-raising CD collects a dozen a cappella gems recorded between 1971 (with Keith Whitley and Ricky Skaggs) and 1992; you'll be hard-pressed to find sacred music that's more genuine or a voice that's more chilling. --Marc Greilsamer

Almost Home,Ralph Stanley,Rebel Records,Bluegrass,Bluegrass-Gospel,Country,Pop,Traditional Bluegrass

Average customer rating: Lerner & Loewe Songbook Wouldn't it be lovely? A Successful Sequel Delightful Listening

Lerner & Loewe Songbook for Orchestra Frederick Loewe , and Erich Kunzel Manufacturer: Telarc ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Theatrical, Incidental & Program Music | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Musical Theater | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Orchestral Pop | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music Similar Items: Rodgers & Hammerstein: Songbook for Orchestra (Orchestral Suites) Rodgers & Hammerstein - The Complete Overtures ~ Opening Night / Hollywood Bowl Orchestra · Mauceri Puttin' on the Ritz: The Great Hollywood Musicals Classics of the Silver Screen Beautiful Hollywood ASIN: B000003D0E Release Date: 1994-01-25

Tracks:

1. I Wonder What The King Is Doing Tonight - The March To Welcome Guenevere - Et Al.
2. Wouldn't It Be Loverly - With A Little Bit Of Luck - Et Al.
3. The Night They Invented Champagne - Waltz At Maxim's - Et Al.
4. They Call The Wind Mariah - I Still See Elisa - Et Al.
5. Sword Dance - Down On MacConnachy Square - Et Al.

Customer Reviews:

Lerner & Loewe Songbook.......2006-02-24

If you like Percy Faith's music, you'll like this one. He quit recording and died much too young. But while he lived, he recorded some great music.

Wouldn't it be lovely?.......2005-09-26

This CD represents some of the best of Broadway done in a great pops style. There are five orchestral suites, one each for the following: 'Camelot', 'My Fair Lady', 'Gigi', 'Paint Your Wagon', and 'Bridgadoon'. They are all arranged for orchestra by Robert Russell Bennett, save that for 'Paint Your Wagon', which was arranged by Cincinnati Pops Orchestra director Erich Kunzel.

The works of Lerner and Loewe were a mainstay of Broadway for decades in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, but it was during the late 50s and early 60s that their true glory days took hold. The presidential term of John F. Kennedy gained the nickname 'Camelot' in part because of the influence of the Lerner and Loewe production going on at the start. The songs contained in these suites are instantly recognisable by many, as the Lerner and Loewe songs have become so well known that many know the songs better than the musicals or the composers from which they come. 'I Could Have Danced All Night' and 'Wouldn't It Be Lovely' come from 'My Fair Lady', 'Thank Heaven for Little Girls' from 'Gigi' - these are but the most of famous of the familiar tunes.

There are a lot of pieces here that the listener will appreciate, both in remembering old pieces or in learning new nuances to the tunes.

This particular disc by Telarc has a feature called 'Spatializer', which gives a three-dimensional quality to the sterophonic sound, enhancing regular players and working well with surround-sound systems, too. The Cincinnati Pops are expert at this kind of music, having produced dozens of CDs of popular music and modern composers of musicals, film music, and pops-oriented major compositions.

This is a fun disc to have.

A Successful Sequel.......2005-08-03

This CD is a follow-up to the Rodgers & Hammerstein Songbook for Orchestra (1991) from the same team. It is a thoroughly successful sequel: I believe anyone who enjoyed the R&H will enjoy this one as well. If I am very slightly less enthusiastic about this one than the R&H, it's not because of any shortcoming of Kunzel, the Cincinnati Pops, or Telarc, all of whom are at the top of their form. Rather it's because Frederick Loewe, for all his undoubted expertise, is not quite in the same class as a composer with Richard Rodgers. But that's asking a lot, since Rodgers was the American musical theater's leading light. Lerner & Loewe's musicals were second only to R&H's during the golden age of the American musical, and their My Fair Lady is by any standard one of the best musicals ever staged. If Loewe did not create as many unforgettable numbers as Rodgers, he nevertheless wrote many delightful songs and much enjoyable music. This CD features five orchestral suites, ranging in length from 9 to 18 minutes (total playing time 68:06), from Brigadoon (1947), Paint Your Wagon (1951), My Fair Lady (1956), Gigi (film 1958; staged 1973), and Camelot (1960). The arrangements (all but one by Robert Russell Bennett) are expert. The performances are masterly (if perhaps lacking in just a tad of the infectious brio that the same team brought to R&H). And Telarc's robust sound (recorded 1993) would be hard to improve on. Warmly recommended.

Delightful Listening.......1998-12-05

Some of the nicest and nearly forgotten music (Paint your Wagon & Brigadoon) is nicely compiled here. It will make you want to listen to the full soundtracks again, but for a quick tour of Lerner & Lowe, it is very nice.

Average customer rating:

Almost Home Jono Manson Manufacturer: A&M ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Rock | Styles | Music Similar Items: Little Big Man ASIN: B000008Q9N Release Date: 1995-12-05

Tracks:

1. The First One's
2. Big Daddy Blues
3. Talk To You
4. Move Along
5. One Horse Town
6. Hanging Out For Your Love
7. I've Been Down
8. Sad State Of Affairs
9. Miss Fabulous
10. Almost Home

Average customer rating: The definition of Musical Genius Epistolary reflections on Costellian themes... Beauty? Truth? You Can't Handle Either!! Deep and moving music from Elvis Costello. Give it a Try

The Juliet Letters Manufacturer: Warner Bros / Wea ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Chamber Pop | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music Adult Alternative | Pop | Styles | Music Baroque Pop | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music Similar Items: For the Stars North Brutal Youth All This Useless Beauty When I Was Cruel ASIN: B000002MI4 Release Date: 1993-01-19

Tracks:

1. Deliver Us
2. For Other Eyes
3. Swine
4. Expert Rites
5. Dead Letter
6. I Almost Had A Weakness
7. Why?
8. Who Do You Think You Are?
9. Taking My Life In Your Hands
10. This Offer Is Unrepeatable
11. Dear Sweet Filthy World
12. The Letter Home
13. Jacksons, Monk And Rowe
14. This Sad Burlesque
15. Romeo's Seance
16. I Thought I'd Write To Juliet
17. Last Post
18. The First To Leave
19. Damnation's Cellar
20. The Birds Will Still Be Singing

Amazon.com

Good on Elvis for risking the ridicule of a blinkered pop world with this unprecedented (for him, certainly, and most anyone short of Kurt Weill) and quite lovely album of bitchy, wise, and funny art songs accompanied by strings. His freshest, most evolved work in years. --Jeff Bateman

Customer Reviews:

The definition of Musical Genius.......2007-05-22

If/when this ever is reprinted you MUST purchase it. It is beautiful in ways that I can't describe. For a writer/musician who is known for writing some amazing pieces, this is his pinnacle.

You will sob. You will laugh. You will rage. You will be haunted.

From a purely musical perspective, when you listen to this CD you are in the presence of great genius.

Listen to it alone, at least at first. Listen in the dark and let the imagery flow over you like fog.

Epistolary reflections on Costellian themes..........2006-01-16

Elvis Costello (Declan MacManus) has done his fair share of collaborations in the past decade. From the Grammy-award winning project with Burt Bacharach in 1998 to 2001's subdued "For the Stars" with Anne-Sophie von Otter Costello has branched out from his rock roots in diverse directions. "The Juliet Letters" from 1993 was the first in a long line of such collaborations. Costello and the Brodsky Quartet were brought together by mutual appreciation (Costello went to Brodsky Quartet concerts while the Brodsky Quartet attended Costello concerts). And Costello's now ex-wife Cait O'Riordan provided the epistolary theme for the project. She spotted a newspaper article about a professor that responded to letters addressed to "Juliet Capulet". Costello then presented the article to the quartet for inspiration. The group of five ended up writing all of the music and words (though much of the music is credited to "MacManus"). The results fall somewhere between classical song cycles and Beatle-inspired "string rock" (a la "Yesterday" and "Eleanor Rigby"). Feelings of melancholy and anger pervade most of the songs. The strings punctuate these feelings perfectly. Fans of Costello's rock music probably won't find much to appreciate here. But the album contains many of the same classic Costello themes and vocal styles utilized in his rock.

Like a Richardson novel, letters provide the basis for the project. Failed and frustrated relationships abound. "Thank you for the flowers / I threw them on the fire / And I burned the photographs that you had enclosed / GOD they were ugly children" Costello sings venemously on the driving "I Almost Had a Weakness". After all, nothing seeps loneliness more than an unanswered love letter. But more than love gets the treatment here. Other songs include a suicide note ("Dear Sweet Filthy World"), a letter from a soldier to a stranger ("I Thought I'd Write to Juliet"), a bizarre experiment in selective exhumation ("Damnation's Cellar"), a reflection on separation ("Why?"), and a letter full of hope in the face of despair ("The Birds Will Still Be Singing"). Many songs explore the sad one-sided nature of letter writing. And no song responds to any other song. This fills the songs that deal with ineffable questions with an almost desparing isolation. But not everything is doom and gloom. "This Offer is Unrepeatable" picks up the mood with a humorously exaggerated letter from a scam artist (and it more than a little resembles the Tom Waits' classic "Step Right Up"). The final song injects some hope into the stark themes in the manner of "Old Man River": "Banish all dismay / Extinguish every sorrow / If I'm lost or I'm forgiven / The birds will still be singing". So in the end, things aren't as bad as they seem. The world goes on regardless of our ephemeral concerns. And as long as the world goes on hope exists.

This CD contains a lot of very beautiful and moving music. Two violins, a viola, a violincello, and voice provide all of the instrumentation. Costello branched out into something very different here. And not all of his fans appreciated it. Regardless, in retrospect "The Juliet Letters" pointed to the future. This year Costello will tour orchestra halls. Not only that, he also wrote a full orchestral score ("Il Sogno"). Strings appear more frequently in his recent music. And year by year he seems to embrace "classical" music more intensely. Still, he hasn't abandoned rock and pop (as "When I Was Cruel" and "The Delivery Man" testify). Though this early collaboration remains somewhat underappreciated, it nonetheless fully showcases Elvis Costello's diverse, adaptable, and broad musical scope. Costello will doubtless appear somewhere on the list of accomplished twentieth and twenty-first century musicians.

Beauty? Truth? You Can't Handle Either!!.......2006-01-06

The reason the Costello/Brodsky collaboration "Juliet Letters" is such a difficult listen is also why its the MOST SINGULARLY BRILLIANT ALBUM IN THE ENTIRE ELVIS COSTELLO DISCOGRAPHY! And this declaration is coming from a man who could write a thesis on "Armed Forces" and "Imperial Bedroom" in his sleep! The idea of setting "letters" to music has certainly been done before, but Costello sticks his neck out, both as a composer and singer in ways he'd never done before. Accompanying yourself with just a string quartet (no snarling guitars or euphonious keyboard filigrees,) is the surest way to test your mettle as a vocalist. And sure, sometimes Costello's voice isn't exactly the strongest, but like say, Billie Holliday it always seems to occur precisely when the lyric calls for it: check out "Who Do You Think You Are?" or "The Birds Will Still Be Singing" and you'll hear exactly what I mean. Even his ode to a chain letter, "This Offer Is Unrepeatable" serves up a cheeky bit of satire worthy of "Three Penny Opera." Of course, you can only experience this album sporadically - could anyone watch "Death Of A Saleman" or "Long Day's Journey Into Night" repeatedly without losing one's mind? Emotionally-wrought exercises like "Letters" take a lot out of you, even when you're merely the observer (or listener,) rather than the participant. But that's what makes the journey, however bittersweet, one worth taking.

Deep and moving music from Elvis Costello........2005-06-18

The Juliet Letters is a moving colaboration from Elvis Costello and the Brodsky String Quartet. His deep vocals are complemented by the string quartet. This album is
neither fish nor fowl (classical or pop) it's just a musical
exercise. The strings are some of my favorite compositions,
(viola, cello and violin). Elvis Costello not only got the Brodsky Quartet a bigger audience but he inspired them to
write their own music (a third of the songs are composed by the Quartet).

While it might not be everyones cup of tea, the music is brilliant and Elvis reaches octave levels I thought I would never imagine he could ever attain. Maybe sometime in the near future he'll work with them again. I applaud him for taking such a bold step in making a non-commercial album.

Highly recommended.

Give it a Try.......2004-03-03

I've been listening to a lot of Philip Glass and Steve Reich lately,and its caused me to go back to this album to give it another go.Previously I thought that it was an interesting experiment which hadn't worked out very well.Now I think that it is a good album for rockers and classical music lovers to use to stretch their ears a little.So called crossover albums are usually horrifying-does anyone else remember that album that Procol Harum did with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra? Elvis flatly denounces the concept in the liner notes.And not everything on this album works.It isn't the brilliant work that some of the other reviewers seem to think that it is.But it is a worthwhile experiment and a work that should be given a fair chance.Rockers and classical music lovers tend to be snobbish and dismissive of one another.This is a good work for them to live with for a while.When Elvis and the Brodsky's click-on "Jackson Monk and Rowe" or "Romeos Seance"-the results are as beautiful and valid as anything either of them have ever done.
Three stars because some of this simply doesn't work. But this is a work anyone who likes Elvis or the Brodsky's should have in their collection.

Average customer rating: This is a must have

Almost Home Jon Regen Manufacturer: HiTone ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Jazz | Styles | Music Modern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Pop | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music General | Adult Contemporary | Pop | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music General | Pop | Indie Music | Stores | Music 4-for-3 Jazz | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music 4-for-3 Pop | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music 4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music ASIN: B00027P9P2 Release Date: 2004-06-15

Tracks:

1. A Hundred Days
2. Hold-Out Your Heart
3. What Am I Supposed To Do From Here
4. Little One
5. Better Than Before
6. I Will Be Here
7. Only My Credit Card Remembers Where I've Been

Album Description

A seven-song EP in the tradition of singer/songwriters like Sting, Billy Joel, and Randy Newman, `Almost Home' finds Jon Regen singing, playing piano and Hammond organ, and producing as well. With music and lyrics penned by Regen himself, the CD is a musical homage to home, by a performer with an unmistakable, individual voice.

Customer Reviews:

This is a must have.......2005-03-28

I bought this album after seeing Jon Regen live in London.
It is absolutely brillant with powerful tunes like "Hold on to my heart" or "Only my credit cards remember where I've been".
Jon regen is said to be one of the best young jazz pianist in the world... This album is a must have.

Average customer rating: Chapin has done it again! Mary brings it all the way home. This CD is great I cried the first time I heard it! this song is very inspirational to me

Almost Home Mary Chapin Carpenter Manufacturer: Sony ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Contemporary Country | Country | Styles | Music General | Country | Styles | Music Outlaw & Progressive Country | Country | Styles | Music Contemporary | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music General | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | CD Singles | Pop | Styles | Music Country Folk | Country | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: State of the Heart Shooting Straight in the Dark The Calling Between Here And Gone Time* Sex* Love* ASIN: B00000IL4R Release Date: 1999-04-13

Tracks:

1. Almost Home
2. Dancing In The Dark (Live-Madison, WI)

Customer Reviews:

Chapin has done it again!.......2000-04-10

Chapin's collaboration with Annie Roboff & Beth Nielsen Chapman makes for another great song. "Almost Home" is another of her looks at life that lifts you up and gives you courage to keep going. If you have her Party Dolls recording, this one is worth getting for the live cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing In The Dark". Chapin is the greatest!

Mary brings it all the way home........2000-01-25

This is as close Ms. Carpenter has come to touching the soul of the listener, myself included. She takes a little introspection, a toss of lost love and then just moves the whole damn thing into a near spirtual, wanta dance, wanta sing, great thing.

This CD is great.......1999-10-09

Mary Chapin Carpenter has outdone herself with "Almost Home" This is truly an ispirational song.

I cried the first time I heard it!.......1999-06-18

I think that she really gets to your heart. And she has a wonderful voice. To anyone who has ever been in a situation where you didn't know what to do, the song "Almost Home" really helps. I couldn't have said it a better way than Mary has. I just know that she is going to be a star!!!!! I loved it.

this song is very inspirational to me.......1999-06-16

i love this song because it is the story of a homecoming of the hear

Average customer rating: Bill Medley's Soul

Almost Home Bill Medley Manufacturer: Vesper Alley ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Christian Rock | Christian & Gospel | Styles | Music General | Christian & Gospel | Styles | Music Gospel | Christian & Gospel | Styles | Music Blue-Eyed Soul | Soul | R&B | Styles | Music General | Soul | R&B | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music ASIN: B000005XGX Release Date: 1997-11-04

Tracks:

1. Almost Home
2. Don't Know Much
3. Burning Deeper
4. Love's The Power
5. I Believe
6. Live For Thee
7. Love Can Change
8. You'll Never Walk Alone
9. Precious Lord
10. There's A Spirit
11. Going Home

Customer Reviews:

Bill Medley's Soul.......2004-10-24

I loved every song on this CD, many of which were actually written by Bill Medley - so they came straight from his heart. They are beautifully done. Burning Deeper, he explains - was when he found God, at one of the most desperate times in his life. Going Home - was written some time after his first wife's death, and was very touching. He explains on the jacket what prompted each song, which makes them that much more special. They are all wonderfully performed.

Average customer rating:

Almost Home Lovetrain Manufacturer: Burning Bright Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music ASIN: B000CAE7SE Release Date: 2000-04-25

Tracks:

1. Lazybone
2. Almost Home
3. Typical Man
4. Lovers of the Past
5. Tomorrow Clock
6. Separate Ways
7. Sinking Down
8. Cautious
9. Call on You
10. Turn Your Head Around

Average customer rating:

Almost Home Troy Cassar-Daley Manufacturer: Rajon ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Country | Styles | Music General | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music Country | Imports | Stores | Music Similar Items: Brighter Day Long Way Home/Borrowed and Blue ASIN: B000CY3U4W Release Date: 2006-01-30

Tracks:

1. Almost Home
2. Big River Country
3. True Believer
4. I Wanna Go Back
5. Bitter Tears
6. You Can't Take The Country Out Of The Boy
7. Other Side Of Lonely
8. Dream Out Loud
9. Working In Blues
10. V8 Town
11. Six Stringer
12. Bar Room Roses
13. Wind Blows Over (The Lonely Of Heart)
14. No Regrets
15. Ramblin' Man
16. Texas Swing
17. All Over Town
18. Beyond The Dancing
19. My Hometown
20. It's Never Too Late
21. Good Woman's Love
22. Under Your Spell Again
23. When A Small Town Dies
24. Ladies In My Life
25. Trains
26. River Of Sorrow
27. She Wants
28. Little Things
29. Good Time Friday Night
30. They Don't Make 'Em Like That Anymore
31. Original Australian Working Man
32. Time To Say Goodbye

Album Description

Brand new title in the hugely successful "Black & White" range, from Troy Cassar-Daley, one of Australia's most popular country artists. Troy is nominated for 7 golden guitars at the CMMA awards in Tamworth, January 2006. The Almost Home 2CD set contains a number of tracks that have been unavailable for some. Rajon. 2006.

Average customer rating:

Almost Home ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Soul | R&B | Styles | Music ASIN: B000FTL08M Release Date: 2005-11-01

Average customer rating:

Almost Home Willie Nininger ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD ASIN: B000PHKA6W

Product Description

1 When I Was a Kid 2 Save the Life of My Car 3 My Friend Dan 4 On the Other Side of the Moon 5 Keep Your Eye on the Moon 6 Long Nights on the Prairie 7 Almost Home 8 Nobody Said 9 I'm Not Going to Drink Tonight 10 Out on the Town 11 To Ride the Carousel 12 I'm Proud to Be a Moose 13 On a Winter's Night

Music Album:

1. Because You Believed in Me//Beautiful Country [Import]
2. Behind the Scenes
3. Best of Bobbie Gentry [Import]
4. Best of: King of the Road [Import]
5. Beyond Time
6. Black & White Hillbilly Music: Early Harmonica Recordings from the 1920s & 1930's [Import]
7. Bluegrass Bonanza [Box set]
8. Classic Country Gold [Original recording remastered]
9. Come Along with Me
10. Comfort in the Curves

Music Album