Heart of a Singer

Amazon.com
Hazel Dickens has one of those voices that grab you with the first note and never let go. Vastly influential if far from famed, the robust West Virginian here is the centerpiece in a trio in which her two younger singing partners--Virginian Ginny Hawker and Kentuckian Carol Elizabeth Jones--are clearly under her sway. Backed by a crack crew of acoustic players, the complementary trio split up lead-vocal duties, with Hawker stepping to the fore on five selections, while Dickens and Jones each take center stage on four numbers. Dickens contributes a couple of originals, and Jones chips in one of her own, but the threesome mostly dig deep to come up with choice covers, with Woody Guthrie's "Forsaken Lover," the traditional "Times Are Not What They Used to Be," and the Civil War lament "Not a Word of That Be Said" standing out. This is mountain music that's as old as the hills and as fresh as spring water. --Steven Stolder

Heart of a Singer,Ginny Hawker,Carol Elizabeth Jones,Hazel Dickens,Rounder Select,Bluegrass,Country,Neo-Traditional Folk,Old-Timey,Political Folk,Pop,Progressive Bluegrass,Traditional Folk

Average customer rating: If you only could have one Jimmy Buffet CD this is it! This is the one that hooks you Parrotheads Unite! Perfect recipe for summer Not the best collection.

Songs You Know by Heart Jimmy Buffett Manufacturer: Mca ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Pop | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music Soft Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music General | Adult Contemporary | Pop | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Country Rock | Rock | Styles | Music Contemporary | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music $9.99 and Under | Blowout Music | Stores | Music Pop | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music Rock | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music Country | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music All Blowout Music | Blowout Music | Stores | Music $9.99 and Under | Prices | Blowout Music | Stores | Music More Titles at Least 25% Off | Blowout Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Meet Me In Margaritaville: The Ultimate Collection License to Chill Changes in Latitudes Changes in Attitudes A-1-A Living and Dying in 3/4 Time ASIN: B000002O2B Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

1. Cheeseburger In Paradise
2. He Went To Paris
3. Fins
4. son Of A son Of A Sailor
5. A Pirate Looks At Forty
6. Margaritaville
7. Come Monday
8. Changes In Latitiudes, Changes In Attitudes
9. Why Don't we Get Drunk
10. Pencil Thin Mustache
11. Graperfruit-Juicy Fruit
12. Boat Drinks
13. Volcano

Amazon.com essential recording

Critics have always been singularly unkind to Jimmy Buffett. Or at least they have since the singer became immune to their jabs, commanding a nation of Parrotheads who sell out his shows, snap up his records and books, and eat and drink in his nightclubs in Key West and New Orleans. By now, you've made up your mind as well: To paraphrase Buffett himself from his song "Volcano," you either lava him now, or you lava him not. Songs You Know by Heart is a friendly little best-of collection that features concert perennials such as "Margaritaville," "Fins," "Cheeseburger in Paradise," and the immutable "Why Don't We Get Drunk." If by some chance you've not yet been introduced to Buffett's music, this album is the best way to say hello. --Daniel Durchholz

Customer Reviews:

If you only could have one Jimmy Buffet CD this is it!.......2007-06-11

All the best songs, a must have if you don't have any Jimmy yet. And a great addition to your existing Jimmy collection, and a great spare with all the great songs for the car CD, and what would Jimmy do? You guessed it! Go for it, you will not be disappointed because there is no bad Jimmy Buffet songs.

This is the one that hooks you.......2007-03-24

I've been listening to Jimmy for quite a few years. A friend recommended I get this album, and after that, I had to have everything else. If you've read my reviews, you know I've been rough on Jimmy's incessant string of repetitive live albums. This is the good stuff- All the songs are pulled from Jimmy's (non-Barnaby) albums up to but not including Coconut Telegraph. It skips the album Havana Daydreamin' entirely. I agree with other reviewers that the song selection leaves out a plethora of great Buffett tunes, but you'll find them eventually. This is a sampling of the artist in his prime, and if you like it, it's safe to say you'll enjoy the larger body of his work. If you don't like it, none of his other work is going to do it for you. I always thought Jimmy would come through with a greatest hits vol.2, or at least a double cd encompassing his larger body of work. That's what "Meet Me in Margaritaville" was supposed to be, but that collection just isn't coherent and definitive as Songs You Know By Heart. After becoming a hard-core fan, I have to say that this collection is really going to be the pinnacle of his compilation albums. So, if you're interested in trying out the works of Jimmy Buffett, start here. I'll bet you won't be disappointed. This stuff is solid gold. Thank you for reading my review!(note to Jimmy- why not consider putting the title track to "havana daydreamin'" on this as a bonus track for future pressings of the cd? It's a heck of a song, and it's from the era. It would fit right in.)

Parrotheads Unite!.......2007-01-13

Truly songs we all know by heart. Great music - hard to pick a song that doesn't go well with a Corona or Margarita, and hard to pick a song since that he's done that would push one of these off the CD. The song vividly captures the spirit of Margaritaville - we are turning into the people our parents warned us about, or so we would like to believe.

Perfect recipe for summer.......2006-10-07

Step one: buy this cd
Step two: buy new blender
Step three: buy lots of rum and fruit mixes
Step four: mix the rum and fruit
Step five: pour the mixture into a glass
Step six: put on the cd
Step seven: repeat steps three through six as often as needed

If you don't drink alcohol then you'll still enjoy this greatest hits collection. All the early hits are here and it's really all you need to know about the guy. But there is a lot more good stuff out there. Make sure you give it all a listen.

Not the best collection........2005-12-13

When I started listening to this CD, I was surprised that I found it devoid of the energy I associate with Jimmy Buffett. His newer material (both studio-recorded and live albums) have an enegry that is lacking in this older collection.

If you enjoy a more mellow JB form 20 years ago, or if you just like him for his radio hits, this is the album for you.

But if you're into the hard-core, serious partying, spontaneous, energetic JB, if you call yourself a Parrothead, skip this album.

I recommend _any_ of his live albums or "Meet Me in Margaritaville" instead of this one. You'll be getting more music for your money, anyway.

Average customer rating: "I know you can't resist, trying to re-open a sore..." afterglow Another great CD from Sarah McLachlan love it Classic Sarah

Afterglow Sarah McLachlan Manufacturer: Arista ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Contemporary | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music Adult Alternative | Pop | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Pop | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music Rock | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music Alternative Rock | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music All Blowout Music | Blowout Music | Stores | Music More Titles at Least 25% Off | Blowout Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Surfacing Fumbling Towards Ecstasy Mirrorball Wintersong Solace ASIN: B0000C6E4D Release Date: 2003-11-04

Tracks:

1. Fallen
2. World on Fire
3. Stupid
4. Drifting
5. Train Wreck
6. Push
7. Answer
8. Time
9. Perfect Girl
10. Dirty Little Secret

Amazon.com

Is Sarah McLachlan a secret punk rocker? To be sure, her rebellion is hushed. On Afterglow, her first studio album since 1997's Surfacing, McLachlan's music is as tempered as ever; at times even the piano chords at the heart of the sound are tucked neatly beneath layer upon layer of strings and overdubbed voices. Listen to what's being sung within this soothing aural bed, though, and hear the just-before-sleep murmurings of the quietest riot grrl: "I'm a train wreck waiting to happen.... a wildfire born of frustration," "How stupid could I be.... you're no good for me, but you're the only one I see," "I have to push just to see how far you'll go." The latter song ("Push") resolves itself with the assurance, "You complete me." Ultimately, McLachlan fans will be comforted again by what turns out to be her reliably untroubled aesthetic. --Rickey Wright

Album Description

"Afterglow" features all new songs including: "Fallen", "Stupid", "World on Fire", "Drifting", "Answer", "Trainwreck", "Perfect Girl", "Time", and "Push".

Album Description

Limited edition reissue of the singer/songwriter's hot 2003 album includes a bonus live EP with four tracks, 'Fallen', 'Answer', 'Dirty Little Secret', & 'Building A Mystery'. Arista. 2004.

Album Details

Limited Edition Asian Version featuring a Bonus CD with Four Live Tracks: "Fallen", "Answer", "Dirty Little Secret", and "Building a Mystery".

Customer Reviews:

"I know you can't resist, trying to re-open a sore...".......2007-05-08

Afterglow by Sarah McLachlan is surprisely moving and wonderfully produced. I am not normally a McLachlan super-fan but some of her songs before this album are quite engaging. I decided to give this album a chance, standout tracks include: Time, Perfect Girl, Dirty Little Secret, Stupid, and Answer. Sarah's voice has improved and her lyrics are at its strongest. I could listen to the track, Time all day long, it sucks you in after the first 20 seconds, amazing! So whether you hate or love her, Afterglow will have you bathed in it for awhile. Enjoy!

afterglow.......2007-03-27

delivered in good shape and timely. and I love the cd its great music.

Another great CD from Sarah McLachlan.......2007-02-20

I particularly enjoyed this CD - as inspired an endeavor as Mirrorball.

love it.......2007-02-15

I know that this review won't be very helpful, all I can say is that I love this album. Been listening to it for a couple of years now, and it's a fave when I'm in a mood to be mellow. I am giving this five stars so that amazon will recommend more music like this in my personal recommendations. Same with Fumbling Toward Ecstasy.

Classic Sarah.......2007-02-06

I can listen to this CD over and over and still find it refreshing and beautiful. Sarah's songs are soothing to my soul.

Average customer rating: Eva is pure pleasure! Songbird - Eva by Heart Albums Eva by Heart Great!!!! UPLIFTING

Eva by Heart Eva Cassidy Manufacturer: Blix Street ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music General | Folk | Styles | Music Traditional Folk | Folk | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music General | Adult Contemporary | Pop | Styles | Music General | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music Adult Alternative | Pop | Styles | Music General | Folk | Indie Music | Stores | Music Singer Songwriters | Folk | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Time After Time Live at Blues Alley Songbird Imagine American Tune ASIN: B000009PO3 Release Date: 1998-07-28

Tracks:

1. I Know You By Heart
2. Time Is A Healer
3. Wayfaring Stranger
4. Wade In The Water
5. Blues In The Night
6. Songbird
7. Need Your Love So Bad
8. Say Goodbye
9. Nightbird
10. Waly Waly
11. How Can I Keep From Singing?

Album Description

1997 album for the late folk singer/songwriter. 11 tracks including her classic cover of Christine McVie's 'Songbird'. Blix Street.

Amazon.com

Like a stateside Sandy Denny, Eva Cassidy's voice managed to be ethereal yet soulful, haunting yet warm, and evocative enough to make you believe--at least during those moments when you're listening to it--that she's the best singer you've ever heard. The purity of the late Washington D.C. singer's voice, set against tasteful strings and her own angelic backing vocals, shines on the opening "I Know You by Heart," catches fire on "Wade in the Water," and never fades throughout this 1997 studio album. And while Cassidy's gorgeous vocals may be best served by quietly reflective tracks such as "Nightbird" and "Waly Waly," it's still fun to hear her attack "Time Is a Healer" with a melismatic fervor that could kick Whitney and Mariah's asses. If you're new to Cassidy, either this CD or the Songbird compilation would make a fine introduction to a great American artist. --Bill Forman

Customer Reviews:

Eva is pure pleasure!.......2007-05-12

Eva Cassidy is one of the most gifted and versatile voices I have ever heard. She has more moods than the weather. Her voice is by turns, blissfully light and tender, salty, jazzy, but always pure and true. I love this singer, and I have a huge collection of female singers. She is among the best. What a terrible loss that she is no longer with us.
Stella Reinwald

Songbird - Eva by Heart Albums.......2007-05-07

Eva Cassidy has a voice like a bell. Her music is presented with instruments that do not overpower her voice and the final product is one of perfect balance.
Everyone I have introduced to Ms. Cassidy is totally captured by her albums.

Eva by Heart.......2006-11-10

This is a great CD. She was a very talented artist.

Great!!!!.......2006-07-22

I love all of Eva Cassidy's CDs. She is my favorite music artist. "Songbird" is a great CD too! Buy every single one of her CDs, it's worth it.

UPLIFTING.......2006-01-21

This CD is definitely an uplifting arrangement of her musical renditions of some beautiful favorites! "Waly Waly", "I Know You By Heart", and "Blues In The Night" are beautifully sung by this amazing artist! She belts out Blues like you have never heard it before. You can hear not just a voice, but also her emotion all through her music. This is a phenomenal compilation of pop, soul, R&B, jazz, blues, gospel as well as folk music. Even though this talented and remarkable artist and musician is no longer with us, she is still very much alive in our hearts through her music!

Average customer rating: THE MAN IS A POET Mark Knopfler-Golden heart-CD A Trifle Boring Disappointing Golden Heart for the Heart

Golden Heart Mark Knopfler Manufacturer: Warner Bros / Wea ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | New Age | Styles | Music Meditation | New Age | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music General | Adult Contemporary | Pop | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock Guitarists | Rock | Styles | Music Album-Oriented Rock (AOR) | Classic Rock | Styles | Music Similar Items: The Ragpicker's Dream Sailing to Philadelphia Shangri-La All the Roadrunning One Take Radio Sessions ASIN: B000002N25 Release Date: 1996-03-26

Tracks:

1. Darling Pretty
2. Imelda
3. Golden Heart
4. No Can Do
5. Vic & Ray
6. Don't You Get It
7. A Night In Summer Long Ago
8. Cannibals
9. I'm The Fool
10. Je Suis Desole
11. Rudiger
12. Nobody's Got The Gun
13. Done With Bonaparte
14. Are We In Trouble Now

Customer Reviews:

THE MAN IS A POET.......2007-07-16

Mark is truly a thinking man's song writer. His music is exceptional but the lyrics in his songs is what impresses me the most.

Mark Knopfler-Golden heart-CD.......2007-06-18

This is a really fine CD. I'm a big fan of both Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits. This CD, in my opinion, is one of the best of Mark Knopfler.
Favorites of mine on this CD are Imelda, Golden Heart, Vic and Ray, and Rudiger. The songs on this CD are more moody, reminiscent of "You and your friend", "Fade to black" off the "Brothers in arms" CD.

A Trifle Boring.......2007-01-30

Maybe it was because I was listening to Golden Heart on a short road trip when I also had White Stripes and The Go-Betweens in the player, but this CD comes off a bit boring and too comfortable to me. I have no quarrel of course wtih Mark Knopfler as an outstanding musician and Dire Straits as a great genre-bending band, but, OK, what have you done for me lately (or at least lately as in 1996)? Not much -- three songs utilizing Celtic pipes is two songs too many, and then there's the couple of cuts that sample riffs from Money for Nothing, and making fun of Imelda Marcos was already a decade old at the time this was recorded, and who needs a sympathetic take on a lonely autograph hound? But all that occupies space on this CD. Far from a different direction, Golden Heart sounds more like re-warmed Dire Straits than anything else to me. Not a bad thing, but nowhere near a great thing, either. For the record, favorite cuts are Golden Heart, Cannibals, and the sweet love song, Are We in Trouble Now?

Disappointing.......2007-01-10

I am a big fan since the Dire Straits days but It seemed like he was trying for a different sound, which is OK but I fiund it trite & slightly annoying.

Golden Heart for the Heart.......2007-01-10

Easy Listening music very Dire Straits style. Excellent for listening to while working or entertaining. A good addition to ones library of music.

Average customer rating: Essential I love Tom Waits. i never saw the sun till i stayed up all night Yet another poetic classic by Tom Waits Really, the heart of Tom. At least his 70's version. His artisitcally true debut masterpiece.

The Heart of Saturday Night Tom Waits Manufacturer: Elektra / Wea ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Album-Oriented Rock (AOR) | Classic Rock | Styles | Music Heroes | Warner Brothers Records | Stores | Music Similar Items: Closing Time Small Change Nighthawks at the Diner Blue Valentine Heartattack and Vine ASIN: B000002GXS Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

1. New Coat Of Paint
2. San Diego Serenade
3. Semi Suite
4. Shiver Me Timbers
5. Diamonds On My Windshield (Looking For)
6. The Heart Of Saturday Night
7. Fumblin' With The Blues
8. Please Call Me, Baby
9. Depot, Depot
10. Drunk On The Moon
11. The Ghosts Of Saturday Night (After Hours At Napoleone's Pizza House

Amazon.com

The Eagles might have covered his song "Ol' 55," but Tom Waits was cut from a different cloth than California's other singer-songwriters--he suggested a scruffy beat poet who'd walked out of a forgotten scene of Jack Kerouac's On the Road. Waits's beatnik schtick could get old, and he developed into a much more musically adventurous songwriter in later years, but his second album contains some of his best early work, including the sweet romantic blues of "New Coat of Paint" ("You wear a dress baby, I'll wear a tie"), and his best hipster recitation, "Diamonds on My Windshield." Two songs are enduring classics: the doleful, dirge-like "San Diego Serenade" ("Never saw the morning till I stayed up all night") and the touchingly sweet "(Looking for) The Heart of Saturday Night" ("Stoppin' on the red, goin' on the green, `cause tonight'll be like nothin' that you've ever seen"). --John Milward

Customer Reviews:

Essential.......2007-07-05

An absolute indesputable classic. Among the best of the songer/songwriter, Pop/Rock albums - ever. And in the midst of the flowering of the best of that genre - quite a feat. Tom Waits never topped this masterpiece - though Small Change was close. His voice is moving and genuinely emotional - long before he later became a parody of himself. This folks, is great songwriting.
My one caveat is that the recording could use a re-mastering to contemporary standards. Obviously the CD is a direct transfer from the original record master - dull and thuddy. But dispite this, Waits' early genius shines through.

I love Tom Waits........2007-05-05

My step-dad told me around Christmas time that he was a Tom Waits fan. He had never told me this before, and I was pleasantly surprised. I pin-pointed him as more of a early Tom Waits music kind of guy, so I bought him Heart of Saturday Night. It's a beautiful, fun, jazzy album that never goes out of style. We all had a great time listening to it together as background music. But, as avid Tom Waits fan, I like to sit down and listen to every one of his lyrics. They are stunning and spectacular. This album is a must for anyone who knows what's good for them.

i never saw the sun till i stayed up all night.......2007-03-15

this is it folks waits at his smooth, sleek, jazzy, smoke laced best pumping out the easy tunes for those late nights sitting in the dark drinking or whatever this one sets the mood. highly recomended

Yet another poetic classic by Tom Waits.......2007-01-02

The title track is in the vein of early Springsteen, while other tunes pay homage to jazz and blues greats. Yet THE HEART OF SATURDAY NIGHT stands as pure Tom Waits: a lyrical masterpiece of honesty and true-to-life storytelling.

The characters are all down-on-their-luck castaways, as per Waits's usual lineup, but this time there's a self-conscious hope about them. "This'll be the Saturday you're reaching your peak," Waits consoles. And: "I never heard the melody until I needed the song...I never spoke I love you until I cursed you in vain." There's hope for the present, and hope for the future: "I'm leavin' my family, leavin' my friends/My body's at home but my heart's in the wind/And the clouds are like headlines on a new front-page sky/Shiver me timbers, I'm a-sailin' away." Is is this anxious hopefulness underling these songs that makes HEART a standout, even in Waits's usually-depressing catalogue. Still...I wouldn't make this the soundtrack at your next wedding.

Really, the heart of Tom. At least his 70's version. His artisitcally true debut masterpiece........2006-03-25

Yeah, it's not his actual debut but Closing Time is almost a semi-professional release. Not yet ready. This album, his second, is what Tom was all about in the 70's. Small Change and Nighthawks at the Diner are the trio, throw in One From the Heart soundtrack if you like, of the meat of his 70's work.

I'm not sure how many times I've heard this album. Probably over 100 since I first saw him on the Mike Douglas Show in 1974. After that I was hooked. And I don't often listen to any album, even over 3 decades, 100 times or more. It's just a coincidence that he was from San Diego County (Chula Vista/National City). What's cool, least for us here, is that he's got San Diego Serenade, and Diamonds On My Windshield which is about the drive from San Diego to L.A. It's nuttin' but a pure delight to drive that, at night of course, and hear that song on your car stereo. I mean, it's a rush. His world and yours come smashing together.

I do have strong opinions about his 4 basic phases.
The 70's. Lovely. Though, I'm quite surprised at myself, the last few years I've sorta found myself leaving that period in favor of:
The 80's Rain Dogs/Swordfishtrombones/Frank's Wild Years/Big Time. Really, the Beautiful Maladies hits package of essentially his 80's work really does it for me now. It's definitely a next musical sound and stage. More complex.
The 90's wasteland. Black Rider, Alice, is too sterile. Too dry, too dark. I keep expecting to learn to love it and the love never comes.
The good news is, there's light at the end of the 90's tunnel.
The 2000's. Yup, essentially, Real Gone. He's back, like finding the best of his musical heart from the 80's and maybe a dash from the 90's and possibly a hint from the 70's even, possibly. There's hope baby. Who knows what he can crank out next.

I've always considered his 70's material to be excellent (night) driving music. There's just something about it. Occasionally in one of his live shows he'll make the sound of cars driving by, I mean it's a real fun sound to hear and I don't think he's ever put that sound on one of his records. Makes you feel the connection to the road even more. In fact, in a few shows, he'll make the sound of trying to get the engine to turn over, hopelessly. Beautiful sound effect, again, I don't believe, on any album release.

New Coat Of Paint is possibly my least favorite song on this album and it's still a winner.
San Diego Serenade has some of the finest lyrics of any song, ever. I'm not much into lyrics. Very few ever reach me or have much meaning for me. At church praise lyrics with a good melody, that can move me, in fact, well, there was a SMASHING PUMPKINS type rock band blazin' it at the youth church service and the lyrics were all about a good God thing and I was just crying. But, that's an aside. This song, whew doggy, let's put it this way, when I was in a multi-cultural in 17th grade as part of my 5 minutes to say who I was, I played this song. Semi Suite is such a love song. Working man's. Real.
Shiver Me Timbers always gets a smile from me.
Diamonds On My Windshield (Looking For) will always be precious to my heart.
The Heart Of Saturday Night ends up meaning just a little more to me when I realize it's about National City here but it's definitely universal. One of the great songs. Period. I get a real feel of true America listening to this one.
Fumblin' With The Blues conveys his character so well, sad, lovelorn, semi lost. You feel it baby.
Please Call Me, Baby. Man, I think I get choked up every single time I hear this song.
Depot, Depot somehow had a bigger impact on me when I was at the San Diego Train station one evening.
Drunk On The Moon another example of how Tom is a wordsmith, weaving hearts and minds together in artistry.
The Ghosts Of Saturday Night (After Hours At Napoleone's Pizza House). I can't believe how perfect this is, ending the album as a sort of postlude. Even better, after 20 years of hearing the album and this song, along with its companion piece, I finally, doi, decided to see if Napoleon's Pizza was still around. Boy is it. Right there in National City. A picture of a returned Tom with the proprietor. A very simple place. It's clearly not changed since the 70's. A fine Provelone sandwich and tasty pizza all at remarkably reasonable prices. Really sorta are stuck in a bit of a time warp. It's like Tom willed the place to stay a living shadow/memory/testament to his days working there in the 70's (and I think late 60's). Feels good bein' there. Brings the album to life in a subtle way. Like the other dimension we don't often get to experience with an album.

I consider a few albums to be masterpieces, that is, perfect, no weak songs and the ability to still sound great 10, 20, 30 years later:
CAT STEVENS Tea For the Tillerman
SANTANA s/t
STEEL PULSE Reggae Fever
HALF JAPANESE The Band That Would Be King
and Music to Strip By
JIMI HENDRIX Axis Bold As Love
and Electric Ladyland
COCKNEY REJECTS Greatest Hits Vol. I
RED ROCKERS Condition Red
UNDERTONES s/t
The BOBS s/t and My I'm Large
CREAM Disraeli Gears and Wheels of Fire
YOUNG MARBLE GIANTS Colossal Youth
The JAM In the City and The Modern World
DAN HICKS and HIS HOT LICKS Where's the Money
LED ZEPPLIN I & II
The BEATLES White album, Rubber Soul and Abbey Road
CROSBY, STILLS and NASH s/t
PERE UBU Dub Housing
GANG OF FOUR Entertainment
The ROCHES s/t
(I left off 10 hardcore punk albums, wrong audience)
TOM WAITS Heart of Saturday Night, Small Change and Swordfishtrombones are, for me, on this short list. chrisbct@hotmail.com

Average customer rating: The start of a good tradition Not so Poor Cow Unique!!!!! A stand out debut album of the 80's oboe in TOMS

Ancient Heart Tanita Tikaram Manufacturer: Reprise / Wea ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Similar Items: Everybody's Angel Lovers in the City Union Ultimate Collection The Best of Tanita Tikaram ASIN: B000002LGK Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

1. Good Tradition
2. Cathedral Song
3. Sighing Innocents
4. I Love You
5. World Outside Your Window
6. For All These Years
7. Twist In My Sobriety
8. Poor Cow
9. He Likes The Sun
10. Valentine Heart
11. Preyed Upon

Customer Reviews:

The start of a good tradition.......2007-01-22

A mere 19 years old at the time she recorded this, Tinita Tikaram cut a great album on the first try. With an earthy, mature voice and moody sensibility, the song "Twist In My Sobriety" caught the attention of all who heard it back in 1988. This was during the period when Sade and other exotic chanteuses were striking it rich, and Tikaram was being aimed at that same audience.

"Ancient Heart" is the best of her several albums. From the upbeat opening of "Good Tradition" to the statement of the artist as a young woman ("Preyed Upon") that ends the disk, "Ancient Heart" was a terrific document of a woman discovering herself minus the jailbaiter mentality that pervades so many current young female artists. There are more than a few echoes of Joni Mitchell and Joan Armatrading to be found here, and "Ancient Heart" is worth the fourth star just for "Twist In My Sobriety" alone.

Not so Poor Cow.......2005-11-04

For all these years, the song that has stuck in my head from this ravising debut is Cathedral Song and Poor Cow, the former because the heartbreakingly beautiful instrumental version was used as the introduction to a TV documentary about Tikaram (basically the song without the vocals, played over the opening credits, this fantastic helicopter-shot, a panoramic flight over a bleak landscape - a shame that it is not available on record as far as I know), and the latter because of its wry lyrics, bouncy melody and quirky rhodes accompaniment. Is it a plea for vegetarianism or animal rights? Who knows. More handsome than beautiful in the Britney Spears sense, she was obviously not your ordinary teenybopper, and the poor cows on the plate and butterflies in the bowl probably continue to sing her praises. So do I.

Unique!!!!!.......2005-02-25

They don't make albums like this anymore. Truly an original and gifted musician, and this album is near perfect. There might be a few songs that are not my style normally, but she just makes each song sound good with her unusual voice. I hope she makes another good album like this one again, if not we have this one to listen to. If you possess a mind with original thoughts and ideas towards music, get this one. Sort of reminds me of Joan Armatrading. Twist in My Sobriety is definetely the best song with beautiful oboe improvising with her voice. I also enjoyed the use of instruments like the flugelhorn on the track, for all these years. Take my advice-get this album; especially if you are sick of today's saturation of pure, hyped up crap that sounds very UNORIGinal!!!
The 80's were not so bad after all. WWWWWoWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!

A stand out debut album of the 80's.......2004-03-08

" I've discovered yoga " declared Tikaram in an interview back in 1998 in her effort to explain the uplifting character of her then just-released new record " The Cappuccino Songs " . That was probably the last thing we've heard from her .

Almost ten years earlier the strikingly beautiful singer with the exotic name managed to gain everyone's attention with " Ancient Heart " , a debut full of elegant pop which , among else , included an instant classic , the haunting " Twist In My Sobriety " . That song remains until today the highlight of her career , not that the album's good moments end here . The dark " Preyed Upon " , " Valentine Song " , the jazzy " He Likes The Sun ' and especially " I Love You " ( " ... the reasons why are not to be said " ) are other great tracks for the listener to cherish . The album sold an amazing 4 million copies not because of some aggressive advertise campaign but only thanks to Tikaram's virtues as an artist . She is blessed with a deep , distinctive voice and her songwritting revealed wisdom and sensitivities beyond her years .

Despite all that though it's difficult to say whether Tikaram is as criminally underappreciated as some claim . Unlike Suzanne Vega or Tracy Chapman who also appeared during the late 80's yet continued to release compelling work after their debuts , Tanita followed her starling first album with less sharp and interesting recordings . Scared gospel efforts ( " Deliver Me " ) and moody daydreaming ( " You Make The Whole World Cry " ) suggested she hadn't deceided towards which direction she wanted to go to . Still , her fifth offering "Lovers In The City " was a killer and even on her sixth one , the uneven " Cappuccino Songs " there where moments where she offered stunning love ballads ( " Amore Si " , " Stop Listening " ) which deserved to get her to the top 5 once again . Who knows ? Maybe for her next album she has an ever bigger suprise for all of us ...

oboe in TOMS.......2003-02-20

I bought this as tape in 1990 and as a cd when it came out because I fell in love with "Twist of My Sobriety" especially the way that oboe toots then weaves and waffles in and out around the melody. It sends shivers all over. Oboes are not used that much in popular music. When combined with the song writing artistry heard here and the throaty voice of Ms. Tikaram, that oboe riff is outstanding.Also I can listen to "The World Outside Your Window" all day it has such a clean, bouncy sound. I don't understand why Tanita Tikaram doesn't get the accolades she deserves. I hope that changes.

Average customer rating: I love Van...but this isn't my favorite. So beautiful and haunting Couldn't connect to this one Soulful and lilting: my favorite Van Morrison ever Enduring Favorite

Inarticulate Speech of the Heart Van Morrison Manufacturer: Warner Bros / Wea ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Pop | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music Soft Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music General | Adult Contemporary | Pop | Styles | Music Folk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Album-Oriented Rock (AOR) | Classic Rock | Styles | Music General | Classic Rock | Styles | Music Similar Items: Beautiful Vision Into the Music Common One No Guru, No Method, No Teacher A Sense of Wonder ASIN: B000002KYV Release Date: 1990-12-29

Tracks:

1. Higher Than The World
2. Connswater
3. River Of Time
4. Celtic Swing
5. Rave On, John Donne
6. Inarticulate Speech Of The Heart No. 1
7. Irish Heartbeat
8. The Street Only Knew Your Name
9. Cry For Home
10. Inarticulate Speech Of The Heart No. 2
11. September Night

Customer Reviews:

I love Van...but this isn't my favorite........2007-04-09

I think Van is sleepwalking through this one a little bit, but Van sleepwalking is better than almost anyone else at full effort. Several other reviews say they find it spiritual...if that is what you are looking for, I think "No Guru, No Method, No Teacher" is better.

So beautiful and haunting.......2005-12-28

You can start to hear a flatness in Van's voice--a strain that afflicted him for several albums--but this is a masterpiece of restraint and release. It's a genuine stand-out in a career filled with many 5-star albums.

Couldn't connect to this one.......2005-05-06

I was a Van Morrison fan back in the late 60s and early 70s. This was my first foray back to his music in 30 years, based on the album reviews, I expected to find the strong songwriter with the great voice, perhaps gone in some new direction. I didn't find that.

So I should start with some encouraging words for others who might want to explore this. Listen to the samples! I didn't. At best, this is an album of mood music, something to play in the background. It has some pleasant melodies, some artistic aspirations, and Van Morrison's voice has lost none of its appeal. Other reviewers find spirituality in his music, perhaps you will too.

That having been said, this really isn't quite as good as I rate it. I listened to this album off an on for weeks before deciding I wasn't going to get it. There is a great deal of repetition within songs and so no musical development. If the songs were spiritual, I would expect to go on a journey, not around in circles. The music has so little punch that it almost seems designed for anonymity. The potential exception is Irish Heartbeat, but it is spoiled by a very poor mix, as if it is chained down to be as mediocre as the rest of the album. His voice needs to stand out!

But I will come back some day and pick another one, he hasn't lost this fan yet.

Soulful and lilting: my favorite Van Morrison ever.......2005-02-22

This is one of my "ten CDs for a desert island" albums: I've been in love with it since it came out in the mid-Eighties. It's aged well, too. Van definitely explores his mystical side here: he's a strong poet and singer.

Aside from his beautiful vocals, which are masterful as usual, there are several instrumental pieces on this recording. Back-up singers (gorgeous, full-voiced women) supply uncommon depth; the dreamy piano and guitar, breathy saxophone, and delicate bass work make this (honestly) the best "lie in bed all day Sunday with your lover" music I can think of.

It's an exquisite recording. I can't count the number of friends I've gifted with it. It's deep, and it's broad.

To quote him, "I'm just wild about it. I can't live without it" (the inarticulate speech of the heart).

Enduring Favorite.......2003-09-06

I too have been listening to Inarticulate Speech of the Heart for over 15 years. I have both LP and CD versions and enjoy both. While I have a number of Van Morrison works, ISOTH continues to be my all-time favorite and I never tire of it. If I were stranded on an island and could only have 10 CD's to listen to for the rest of my life, ISOTH would be on my list and probably near or at the top. If you don't own this work, get it - you will not be disappointed. You will hear somethine new everytime you listen to it.

Average customer rating: fabulous A wonderful collaboration Six Stars Would Be More Appropriate. One from the Heart **really 4.5 stars** Who cares about the movie?

One from the Heart (1982 Film Soundtrack) Tom Waits , and Crystal Gayle Manufacturer: Sony ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Contemporary Country | Country | Styles | Music General | Country | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music CDs $7 - $10 | Country General | Country | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music All Bargain Titles | Country General | Country | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music CDs $7 - $10 | Contemporary Country | Country | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music All Bargain Titles | Contemporary Country | Country | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music CDs $7 - $10 | Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music All Bargain Titles | Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music 4-for-3 Country | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music 4-for-3 Pop | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music 4-for-3 Soundtracks | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music 4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Foreign Affairs Big Time Orphans [Fold-out Digipak with 24-page booklet] Blue Valentine Heartattack and Vine ASIN: B00016XO6A Release Date: 2004-01-27

Tracks:

1. Opening Montage - Tom Waits, Crystal Gayle
2. Is There Any Way Out Of This Dream? - Crystal Gayle
3. Picking Up After You - Tom Waits, Crystal Gayle
4. Old Boyfriends - Crystal Gayle
5. Broken Bicycles - Tom Waits
6. I Beg Your Pardon - Tom Waits
7. Little Boy Blue - Tom Waits
8. Instrumental Montage - Tom Waits, Crystal Gayle
9. You Can't Unring A Bell - Tom Waits
10. This One's From The Heart - Tom Waits, Crystal Gayle
11. Take Me Home - Crystal Gayle
12. Presents - Tom Waits, Crystal Gayle
13. Candy Apple Red - Tom Waits
14. Once Upon A Town/Empty Pockets - Tom Waits

Amazon.com

Apocalypse Now is widely considered director Francis Ford Coppola's Waterloo, an ambitious personal vision that nearly wrecked his fabled career, health, and sanity. In fact, it was the director's equally Quixotic 1982 Vegas-themed musical One From the Heart that forever cast a pall over his Hollywood future, sounding a death knell for his once-promising American Zoetrope studios in the bargain. Hindsight being 20/20, it's now easy to see Heart's visual conceits as the glorious cinematic antecedent to Moulin Rouge, its smart, lounge-savvy score by musical odd couple Tom Waits and Crystal Gayle easily 15+ years ahead of the retro-hipster revival it preceded--and outclassed at every turn. Now brightened by a sparkling digital remastering, it remains the most accessibly mainstream--and ironically idiosyncratic--music of Waits' storied career. Constructed as a dialog between lovers in a fitful emotional spiral, Waits raspy growl is the perfect counterpoint to Gayle's own gutsy, surprisingly bluesy diva turns. Backed by the spare, deftly lugubrious production of Bones Howe and key contributions by jazz vets Greg Cohen on bass, saxist Teddy Edwards, and the key, mournfully lyrical trumpet of Jack Sheldon, Waits' score has long since taken its rightful place as a modern classic, a perfectly realized romantic daydream that never forgets the wistful, broken hearts stacking up beneath the Vegas neon. This edition features the previously unreleased Waits vocal outtake, "Candy Apple Red" as well as an early, discarded version of the opening montage "Once Upon A Town/Empty Pockets," rejects that only underscore the strength of Waits' musical hand. Enhanced CD also features a newly-edited video montage by Coppola's son, Gian-Carlo. --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews:

fabulous.......2007-05-25

Tom Waits is, of course, unique. But Crystal Gayle isn't bad either - her vocal talent just isn't celebrated enough. But it's certainly shown to perfection here where her clarity and range works beautifully with Wait's gruffness. They are perfect together, and Wait's original and poignant soundtrack comes to life.

A wonderful collaboration.......2007-01-09

This album is most certainly a Tom Waits record...he wrote the tracks, and is the obvious creative force behind the music. However, Waits reigns it in some, allowing room for Crystal Gayle to sashay her way in and croon alongside him. The result in an album of love--a realistic album of a realistic love-story.

Gayle's vocals are a welcome addition; she can croon with the best of them, and knows how to perfectly pronounce Waits's nuanced lyrics. Waits himself takes his turn at the mike frequently (including a handful of beautiful duets), adding his emerging macabre presence here and there, creating an artistic album that is both commercial and beautiful. I won't go so far as to say that this is one of Waits's best, but it has to be right up there.

Six Stars Would Be More Appropriate........2006-11-02

This has the word genius all over it...with sublime rich melodies that only Mr. Waits, and others before him like Harold Arlen and Hoagy Carchimael are capable of. The arrangements that go with these songs are some of the best you will ever hear, and the choice of Crystal Gale as Tom's foil is a stunner. I never bought an album of her's before, but what a voice and what an interpreter...no just another country pretty face here...a real pro. So, the combo of all these elements becomes larger than each of them in the most attractive, sublime soundtrack I own. This is smooth Waits over super lush scoring...a match made in heaven. The inclusion of the last cut (really a suite) on this edition has the great missing song of Tom's....Empty Pockets...which I saw him sing in a video of a London show around 1980. I almost fell over....a song that classic...and nobody ever heard it. This song finally released with this score is easily the best song of the year...but no one will ever nominate it. Everything on this album is classic...way beyond the drivel of pop material that surrounds us now. Makes me think of when I found the then rare soundtrack of Elevator To The Scaffold, with the Miles Davis score. Like finding a diamond in your pocket. As soon as the first track starts, it's so different than any other Miles, and so moody and evocative...you know you've been on the right track all along. I should mention...get the Elevator soundtrack that has the original reverb...some reissues have none...
See you back here after the Orphans 3 CD set from Tom comes out.

One from the Heart **really 4.5 stars**.......2006-08-25

The music on this album is phenomenal; Tom Waits has created a jazz influenced lounge masterpiece musically, his lyrics are incredible, but personally Crystal Gayle's vocals don't sit well with me. I must say that I like them much better than I did when I first heard them, the problem is, that I bought this album for Tom Waits, and I personally don't think her voice compliments his as well as Bette Midler (from "Foreign Affairs"). Her singing is not bad by any means, I simply prefer Tom Waits by himself, and there are solo Tom songs on this album which make it well-worth the cheap cost of the album. Overall, something that should be viewed separately from Tom Waits' other albums, but that is not to say that it should be ignored, this is a great bunch of songs, I just personally can't get into Crystal Gayle. But I recommend it to any Tom Waits fan.

Who cares about the movie?.......2006-08-08

This shockingly good album is one from Tom Waits' "authentic jazz" mode. It creates a heady mood all its own, which I can only imagine has little to do with the movie.
The band is swinging (in the Frank Sinatra sense) and the songwriting is top class (in the Cole Porter sense). "Old Boyfriends" and "Broken Bicycles" are two of the most brilliantly poignant combinations of words and music you'll ever hear.
Tom Waits' vocals are at their smoothest, and while Crystal Gayle does a good job, to my taste she does sometimes tend to "over-emote" a bit. A petty quibble, but I can't help greedily imagining if, say, Roberta Flack had done the female vocal parts...
Still, this one's pure class.
The remaster is excellent, and the extra tracks are good enough to be considered part of the album.

Average customer rating: An album that deserved a bigger audience. A splendid return to greatness! GOOD! This Album Is An Inside Look At A More Mature John Denver A Music Fan from Mullingar, Ireland

Seasons of the Heart John Denver Manufacturer: RCA ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Country | Styles | Music General | Pop | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music Soft Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Folk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music CDs $7 - $10 | Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music All Bargain Titles | Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music All Bargain Titles | Oldies | Pop | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music 4-for-3 Country | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music 4-for-3 Pop | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music 4-for-3 Rock | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music 4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: I Want to Live Spirit Some Days Are Diamonds It's About Time Farewell Andromeda ASIN: B000002W6H Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

1. Season Of The Heart
2. Opposite Tables
3. Relatively Speaking
4. Dreams
5. Nothing But A Breeze
6. What One Man Can Do
7. Shanghai Breezes
8. Islands
9. Heart To Heart
10. Perhaps Love
11. Children Of The Universe

Customer Reviews:

An album that deserved a bigger audience........2007-05-27

John Denver's star was on the wane and his marriage to Annie was either ending or just over when this album was done. Just as "Duke" (Genesis) became Phil Collins' response to his divorce, so this was John's.

And it is a brilliant album, although probably John's darkest since "Take Me to Tomorrow". It deserved more exposure and should have reached a larger audience. But, since John was at the point where he would "only" sell about 500,000 albums RCA did nothing to promote it. John was dropped by RCA after his next album, "Wind beneath My Wings". People have discovered this gem over the years. If you haven't, give it a listen. Better late than never.

A splendid return to greatness!.......2005-07-26

After wandering for five years in search of a new sound, JD goes back to writing and singing a nice collection of tunes. Some of this material reflects his recent travels to distant lands, especially the delightful Top 40 ballad "Shanghai Breezes." Other standout tracks include "Islands", with the fragrant tropical tradewinds blowing through my mind as I listen, and "Opposite Tables", a medium-speed soft rocker with some great backup vocals by Denver himself. That one is a political plea for an end to the cold war, which was still plaguing the world at that time. A couple of sunny, laid-back pop tunes with irresistable melodies and artistic production work also got my attention: "Dreams" and "Relatively Speaking."

The songs here are fresh and different from most of his previous albums, and John puts his unmistakeable stamp of quality on all of them. If pressed to find fault, I could only say that "Heart To Heart" goes on a little too long at the end, and I miss the kind of songs that JD does better than anybody, namely, nature songs. But how can I complain, when he explores new territory with the style and confidence of one who's been there before?
This is an indispensible addition to any collection of 80s pop music.

GOOD!.......2004-06-01

"All this Joy" and "Alaska and Me" are the best tracks. I liked this album because of the pure and innocent joy many of the songs represented. I still have the LP but have not played it for awhile because I haven't had a working turntable for over ten years. John had a way to make people feel connected after listening to his songs, a rare talent indeed, in this day and age of fragmentation in society.

This Album Is An Inside Look At A More Mature John Denver.......2003-06-28

I recently purchased this CD and have played it endlessly. I have been a John Denver fan since his career began. With the exception of It's About Time , I have always enjoyed John's music.
At one point, later in his life , John commented on how he was just learning how to sing . The songs about the mountains and the ocean have always been John's signature . Other than Annie's Song , little is said about John's songs about life and love .
This album is a complete expression of John's psyche . With John's marriage ending , the death of his father, and the decline of his ability to top the charts, he is definately reaching deep into his soul . Perhaps Love ( without Pavoratti ), Seasons of the Heart , and Relatively Speaking are three of my favorites . Opposite Tables is John experimenting with a new sound . I have not been too pleased with John's experiments with different sounds, but John hit the mark with this album .
Anybody who says that John Denver was just a fad , or that he was not a serious artist with real talent , should listen to this album with an open mind . Probably his best studio album ever .

A Music Fan from Mullingar, Ireland.......2001-04-30

An incredible collection of songs that truely touch the heart. John was an incredible songsmith who composed many beautiful songs none better than what he penned on this CD. Classic !!!

Average customer rating: Defective Liner Notes Essential Sill in one package Best thing in 2006 judee Judee is magical...

Abracadabra: The Asylum Years - Judee Sill / Heart Food Judee Sill Manufacturer: Wea International ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Folk | Styles | Music Traditional Folk | Folk | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Folk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music Country Rock | Rock | Styles | Music General | Traditional Country | Country | Styles | Music Similar Items: Dreams Come True In My Own Time Judee Sill John the Wolfking of L.A. Chariot of Astral Light ASIN: B000FS9KS0 Release Date: 2006-06-26

Tracks:

1. Crayon Angels
2. Phantom Cowboy
3. Archetypal Man
4. Lamb Ran Away with the Crown
5. Lady-O
6. Jesus Was a Cross Maker
7. Ridge Rider
8. My Man on Love
9. Lopin' Along Thru the Cosmos
10. Enchanted Sky Machines
11. Abracadabra
12. Pearl [Original Version][*]
13. Phoenix [Original Version][*]
14. Ridge Rider [Alternate Version][#][*]
15. My Man on Love [Alternate Version][#][*]
16. Intro/The Vigilante [*]
17. Lady-O [*]
18. Enchanted Sky Machines [*]
19. Archetypal Man [*]
20. Crayon Angels [*]
21. Lamb Ran Away with the Crown [*]
22. Jesus Was a Cross Maker [*]

Tracks:

1. There's a Rugged Road
2. Kiss
3. Pearl
4. Down Where the Valleys Are Low
5. Vigilante
6. Soldier of the Heart
7. Phoenix
8. When the Bridegroom Comes
9. Donor
10. Desperado [*]
11. Kiss [*]
12. Down Where the Valleys Are Low [*]
13. Donor [*]
14. Soldier of the Heart [*]
15. Phoenix [*]
16. Vigilante [*]
17. Pearl [*]
18. There's a Rugged Road [*]
19. Donor [Alternate Mix][#][*]

Amazon.com

Judee Sill
Judee Sill was just 35 when she died of a drug overdose in 1979, never having extended what seemed to be an unlimited potential on this, her debut record, released just eight years before. With the wits of a poet and the intonation of an angel, the post-hippie Californian laced her original compositions with astral and religious imagery--and feelings of hopelessness--and then executed them with the pop lavishness of Karen Carpenter. Sill's contemporaneous acoustic folk is sparely backed, while her multitracked vocals add to the redemptive eeriness of supernatural songs like "Lopin' Along thru the Cosmos," "The Phantom Cowboy," and "Enchanted Sky Machines." That Graham Nash produced the minor radio hit "Jesus Was a Crossmaker" (and later saw it covered by his former band the Hollies) attests that Sill was running with the right crowd. But despairing lyrics like "Guess reality is not as it seems / So I sit here hoping for truth and a ride to the other side" ("Crayon Angels") suggest that Judee Sill was conscious that her life could be brief. Thankfully, she left this behind. --Scott Holter

Heart Food
Judee Sill's follow-up to her 1971 self-titled debut sadly also turned out to be her final album, yet Heart Food stands neck and neck with its wondrous predecessor as a near-flawless slice of 1970s pop-flavored Laurel Canyon folk. The production and arrangements here are much grander then on Judee Sill, with her original piano- and guitar-driven songs enhanced by strings, church organ, harmonica, pedal steel, kettle drums, and even male vocals. But no matter the song--be it the Brian Wilson-influenced "The Vigilante," the country-flavored "There's a Rugged Road," or the piano-solo delight "When the Bridegroom Comes"--it all comes back to Sill's virginal voice, which twists and teeters in varying octaves and moods, sometimes within the same track. Sadly, her deliberate songwriting style denied her any chance at a third album. Drugs claimed Judee Sill's life just five years after Heart Food, which can serve as an alluring introduction to this brilliant artist or as a proud bookend to her more-appreciated debut. --Scott Holter

Album Description

2006 two CD compilation from this under-rated folk artist containing both albums she recorded for the fledgling Asylum Records label (Judee Sill from 1971 and Heart Food from '73) plus 19 bonus tracks. This collection combines both Expanded Versions of her albums, originally issued in limited quantity by Rhino Handmade in 2004.

Album Details

UK Collection of the Acclaimed Seventies Singer / Songwriter's Elektra Recordings and Rarities. Her Two Beguiling Albums Are Here with Numerous Outtakes, Demos and Live Performances. "Judee Sill" Has 10 Additional Tracks, Including "The Pearl" and "The Phoenix", Left off in Favor of "Jesus was a Cross Maker" plus Its Demo, One of her Best Known Songs. The Rest were Recorded Live at Boston Music Hall in 1971 by Bill Halverson, Concurrently as He Recorded the Headliners David Crosby and Graham Nash. Nash Produced "Jesus was a Cross Maker". "Heart Food" Adds the Previously Unreleased Outtake, "The Desperado" Along with Eight Solo Demos, Recorded in Hollywood.

Customer Reviews:

Defective Liner Notes.......2006-12-06

I love the music, but the copy I received (from Amazon) was missing some pages from the liner notes. I wanted to exchange it for another copy, but Amazon said no. I tried contacting Rhino, and they never did anything. How can I get the liner notes without having to buy a whole new CD?

Essential Sill in one package.......2006-08-19

Regardless of the shoddy slipcase that totally LOOKS budget (and really, I didn't buy this set for the slipcase) - this is an essential item in any serious music collector's library. Judee Sill went overlooked in her lifetime and it really is dumbfounding as to why when listening to these CDs. She's got a plain, yet completely touching voice -- slight twang, and remarkably similar to the motherly Kate McGarrigle -- and this voice cannot lie when lyrics are sung through it. She believes what she is singing about, and I love that. Everything you've read about her arrangements and tunes are true: they are grand, understated at times, overstated never, and utterly get under your skin even after just the first play. To get her brilliant two albums in one set for a very low price is a gift. The booklet is fabulous, great photos of Judee with sensitively written liner notes and great detail into the mastering of these CDs (particularly about 'preserving' the distortion in the masters.) The material on these discs are the exact same as the two Rhino Handmade discs released a few years ago. [and believe it or not, a bit of a better mastering job!] so stop staring at those $50+ copies here on Amazon -- unless you are a true Judee Sill COLLECTOR in the sense that you need every edition pressed ever, this is what you want. You get her two timeless records, and those great great demos and that STELLAR live performance all here for next to nothing. Lovely, brilliant, about time!

Best thing in 2006.......2006-08-08

I discovered Judee Sill in internet activities. Buying this 2-CD set was my first opportunity to hear her singing at a volume and sound quality that I can appreciate. On some Warren Zevon web page, I found words and chords for "Jesus Was a Cross Maker," a Judee Sill song that was on his `Mutineer' CD in 1995. The original version by Judee Sill that I found at MySpace.com introduced me to her abilities as a Gospel pianist, which are particularly powerful on the renditions of "Enchanted Sky Machines" that are on Disc One of this set.

"Crayon Angels" has one of the lines that gives me one of the biggest Judee Sill laughs I've had in the last month. After the false prophets caused her heavenly visions to disappear:

"the angels came back and laughed in my dreams,
I wonder what it means."

judee .......2006-07-20

a complilation like this should have been assembled by rhino years ago. instead, rhino handmade released limited editions of sill's first and second asylum recordings as individual packages, both of which included studio "demos", and live performances as added bonus cuts.
the reissue producer gives a technical statement of how this compilation differs from all previously released versions of both albums in terms of distorted vocal levels that were/are part of the existing master tapes. for those familiar with the recordings, the distortions were part of the mixing and mastering process, and thus cannot be corrected. enough said.
the music is some of the most gorgeous, powerful, and haunting recorded material i have heard from anybody. let the music of judee sill take you away. the packaging is beautifully assembled. for those of you who could not buy the rhino handmade series, here is your chance to have most of what was issued on those limited releases.
at the price of this admission, you must pick up a copy immediately.

Judee is magical..........2006-06-21

I bought her first album when it was released years ago. This was the age of Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, and so many other wonderfully talented singer-songwriters. I thought Judee would be a star right along all the rest of them. Her spaced-out spirituals were haunting and mysterious to me. Her troubled life ended her singing career after two albums, however, and she seemed to disappear. I never purchased her second record and looked for it for years in used record stores. I continued to listen to the album I had and later read about her early death. It made me sad. I was happy, however, to learn that she wasn't forgotten when I saw her two albums re-released with great additional tracks on CDs a few years ago. Now Judee's music continues to take me to far away places. She is a classic hippie-chick songwriter of the early '70s. Listen to songs like "Lopin' Along Thru the Cosmos" or "The Phoenix" and you'll get the flavor of the times. These folk spirituals are colorful and lyrical. Her voice is pure and simple.

Music Album:

1. Hearts on Fire
2. Hep
3. Hits Of The Judds (Karaoke)
4. Hold to a Dream [Original recording remastered]
5. Howard & David
6. I Want to With You / When I Get Lonely [CD-single]
7. I Wonder Where You Are Tonight
8. If You've Got the Money
9. In Full Color
10. In Pain [Live]

Music Album