Basta [Import]

1. Muralla

2. Plegaria a un Labrador

3. Carabina

4. Carta

5. Coplas de Baguala

6. Mina No Voy

7. Bola

8. Canto a la Pampa

9. Tururururu

10. Porque los Pobres No Tienen

11. Bella Ciao

12. Patron

13. Que Dira el Santo Padre

14. Cueca de Joaquin Murieta

15. Pueblos Americanos

16. Milonga de Andar Lejos

17. Basta Ya

Tracks:

Vorrei spiegarvi, oh dio!
Exsultate, jubilate
Il re pastore: L'amero, saro costante
Basta, vincesti...ah non lasciarmi, no
Un moto di gioia
Ch'io mi scordi di te...non temer, amato bene - Scena And Rondo
Misera, dove son!...ah! non son'io che parlo

Customer Reviews:

Magnificent soprano!.......2007-03-28

Kathleen Battle is one in a line of incredibly talented American born sopranos including Anna Moffo, Renee Fleming, Leontyne Price, etc. She has a beautiful voice and perfectly suited to sing Bach, Handel and Mozart. This disc will open your eyes to the beauty of Mozart if you do not already appreciate his work. The standouts here are "Vorrei spiegarvi" which will send chills up your spine, "exsultate jubilate", "l'amero saro costante", "un moto di gioia", and "misera, dove son". Andre Previn does an outstanding job at the conductor's helm.
I was terribly saddened that this great diva's career was sidetracked by supposed temperament difficulties. I'll not fault her too much because we only know the Met Opera's version. Besides, Battle is forgiven for the sheer gorgeousness of her singing. Mozart himself would be so pleased if he heard this cd.

Vintage Mozart!!.......2007-01-12

I was not familiar with Kathleen Battle's voice prior to listening to this recording. I am now, and what a beautiful and talented voice she has!! She has reinforced my belief that Mozart is one of the greatest composers. I never tire listening to Mozart; I listen to this recording often. I am pleased, as I am sure you will be, to have this recording by Ms. Battle in my music library.

Bel Canto.......2006-12-30

The date on my copy, and I assume it is the recording date, I bought it very many years ago, is 1985. It used to be one of my favorite CDs. I won't call Battle an angel because there is no such thing, and I don't know how one would sound if there were. But her voice is warm and smooth and quintessentially beautiful. I love it. I was sorry to read in a review of another CD of hers that she is a gorgon. It diminishes my love greatly, as it did my liking for Callas, who had a poorer voice to begin with. I like to think well of my heroes. This compliation of Mozart is bel canto, but with not so much coloratura. It is deeply pleasurable and soothing. It is sublime, with the meaning that 100 years of Tin Pan Alley and pop tune lyric writers have given it (perfectly pleasurable and agreeable), not the meaning that the word originally or actually had/has (awesome). Compare this Mozart recital with Sutherland's collection of Mozart arias in her Art of collection. (I'm writing these comments under Battle's CD because Sutherland's is in a 6 disc collection that I just opened last night, the only disc I've listened to from it is the Mozart.) I do not like Mozart's operas. That's a fact, and that's all there is to it. Take it or leave it. They bore me green. However, some of his tunes (art songs) and some arias from his operas are divine. And Battle and Sutherland sang some of them. Sutherland's disc is coloratura all the way. It too is exquisitely beautiful, as I expect the whole collection to be. I don't know which I prefer. Must I choose? I perfer Sutherland's disc. Battle's selections are soothing and dreamy. Sutherland's are soothing but arousing at the same time. But that's just my preference. Bel canto (which means beautiful singing) is of course very beautiful (that's redundant), but I prefer coloratura singing, which comes from bel canto, and which many consider an excess, or at least that it can be an excess. I am not one of those. I love the ornamentation. It delights and pleases me. Mozart and the Italians of the 1st half of the 19th Century are considered the bel canto and coloratura masters (though there are instances of coloratura if not bel canto (?!) through the history of music). Notes. I paid full price for my Battle when it came out. Now it's available for a song. If you like just beautiful female music that can make an entire 6 or 7 minute piece with one word for a lyric, I highly recommend it. And if you do want it, and Newbury Comics is an Amazon Marketplace seller of it, you'd be in safe hands and save even more money buying it from them. Likewise the Sutherland Art of 6 disc set. I think I got that from Newbury Comics, and I saved $20, and by spending an extra $2 postage (for expedited shipping), had it in my hands in about 3 days. 4 wonderful things. Mozart's tunes, Battle, Sutherland, and Newbury Comics. I recommend them all.

Sublime.......2006-12-27

If there is a more exquisite CD in my collection, I don't know what it is. When I went shopping for stereo speakers years ago, I used this CD to test the high range. Mrs. Battle's voice is otherworldly in its purity, clarity, and delicacy. This recording is artistically, programmatically, and technologically flawless.

Steve

Why I love Kathleen.......2006-09-21

This album was the reason I fell in love with Kathleen Battle. Her voice is clean, beautiful and pure, just the right type of voice for Mozart.

Average customer rating:

Handel: The Masterworks (Box Set)

Manufacturer: Brilliant Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Trios | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

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Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

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Anthems | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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Hymns | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Oratorios | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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Blowout Box Sets | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music

More Titles at Least 20% Off | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music

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Vivaldi: The Masterworks (Box Set)
Haydn: The Masterworks [Box Set]
Mendelssohn: The Masterworks [Box Set]
Dvorák: The Masterworks [Box Set]
Schubert: The Masterworks [Box Set]

ASIN: B00062FLI8
Release Date: 2004-11-30

Average customer rating:

Great!
An Essential Volume of the History of the Future of Music
The Future Yesterday
Raymond Scott History Lesson and Look to the Future
How to knock a listener over...

Manhattan Research, Inc.

Manufacturer: Basta Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

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General | New Age | Styles | Music

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Reckless Nights & Turkish Twilights
Microphone Music
Soothing Sounds For Baby: Electronic Music By Raymond Scott, Vol. 1, 1 To 6 Months
Soothing Sounds For Baby: Electronic Music By Raymond Scott, Vol. 2, 6 To 12 Months
The Unexpected

ASIN: B00004SYD6
Release Date: 2000-07-11

Tracks:

Manhattan Research, Inc. Copyright
Baltimore Gas & Electric Co. (Instrumental, Take 4)
Bendix 1: 'The Tomorrow People'
Lightworks
The Bass-Line Generator
'Don't Beat Your Wife Every Night!'
'B.C. 1675' (The 'Gillette' Conga Drum Jingle)
Vim
Auto-Lite: Sta-Ful (Intrumental)
Sprite: 'Melonball Bounce' (Instrumental)
Sprite: 'Melonball Bounce'
'Wheels That Go'
'Limbo: The Organized Mind'
'Portofino' 1
County Fair
Lady Gaylord
Good Air (Take 7)
IBM MT/ST: 'The Paperwork Explosion'
Domino
Super Cheer
Cheer: Revision 3 (New Backgrounds)
'Twilight In Turkey'
Raymond Scott Quote/Vicks: Medicated Cough Drops
Vicks: Formula 44
Auto-Lite: Spark Plugs
Nescafe
Awake
'Backwards Overload'
Bufferin: 'Memories (Original)
Bandito The Bongo Artist
'Night And Day'
Baltimore Gas & Electric Co. ('395')
K2r
IBM Probe
GMGM 1A
The Rhythm Modulator

Tracks:

Ohio Plus
'In The Hall Of The Mountain Queen'
General Motors: Futurama
'Portofino' 2
'The Wild Piece' (a.k.a. 'String Piece')
'Take Me To Your Violin Teacher'
'Ripples' (Original Soundtrack)
Cyclic Bit
'Ripples' (Montage)
The Wing Thing
County Fair (Instrumental)
'Cindy Electronium'
'Don't Beat Your Wife Every Night!' (Instrumental)
Hostess: Twinkies
Hostess: Twinkies (Instrumental)
Ohio Bell: Thermo Fax
'The Pygmy Taxi Corporation'
Baltimore Gas & Electric Co. (Announce Copy, Take 1)
Baltimore Gas & Electric Co.
Lightworks (Slow)
'The Paperwork Explosion' (Instrumental)
Auto-Lite: Ford Family
Auto-Lite: Ford Family (Instrumental)
Raymond Scott Quote/Auto-Lite: 'Wheels'
Bufferin: 'Memories' (Demo)
'Space Mystery' (Montage)
'The Toy Trumpet'
'Backward Beeps'
Raymond Scott Quote/Auto-Lite: Sta-Ful
Lightworks (Instrumental)
'When Will It End?'
Bendix 2: 'The Tomorrow People'
Electronic Audio Logos, Inc.

Amazon.com

The goofy chamber jazz of bandleader Raymond Scott lent itself perfectly to cartoon soundtracks ("Dinner Music for a Pack of Hungry Cannibals," anyone?), but, at heart, Scott was a serious composer. His electronic-music forays have been previously documented (the three volumes of Soothing Sounds for Baby), but nothing captures his diverse sound creations as well as Manhattan Research Inc. This previously unreleased two-CD collection features Scott's handmade electronics, top-secret creations he'd use to create ambient-sounding commercial jingles, as well as the odd soundtrack with budding filmmaker/Muppeter Jim Henson. Scott was impossibly ahead of his time: a snippet for "Baltimore Gas & Electric Co." could have been written by Terry Riley; "Limbo: The Organized Mind" is a hint at musique concrete; and 1960's "In the Hall of the Mountain Queen" could easily fit on an Aphex Twin disc. Gorgeous packaging, previously unreleased photos, and liner notes by Irwin Chusid, Robert Moog, and others make this a must for fans of electronic music. --Jason Verlinde

Customer Reviews:

Great!.......2006-10-30

Loads of info in the booklet (with photos and ads,etc),and more importantly....LOADS OF FUN LISTENING!
This is furturistic music that influenced people from Moog ,to Henson,to Stevie Wonder(and Mowtown)!
A treat to hear,read ,and see! Just GREAT!

An Essential Volume of the History of the Future of Music.......2005-01-30

This is absolutely necessary for anyone who regards himself or herself as an authority on matters of electronic and avant-garde music. To call this music experimental discredits the genius of Scott. Experimental is "try this and see what happens". This music is purely extracted from Raymond Scott's mind. A vast majority of musicians (particularly in the field of electronica) are limited in their creativity by the technology of time. To remedy this, Scott invented his own incredibly advanced proto-synth instruments. This man was the mentor to Bob Moog himself.

But enough drooling hero-worship.

This album is not for everyone. I played it for a class of my peers (largely republicans) and they declared it "the worst music in the world". For the sake of historical compilation, it is the second longest album i own (defeated by Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness). And because this is not actually an album, it has no flow or direction. So, there's no real reason to listen from beginning to end (although it can be a mind-blowing experience). Also, the quality of several recordings can be very aggravating. During MT/ST the sound of feedback makes me think my cell phone is ringing. There isn't a ringing sound, I mean it makes the same sound as when my phone rings near my CD player. Feedback. And in several other tracks there is a background sound that can best be likened to the buzzing of a printer that begins to print and finds itself out of paper. These minor grievances hardly detract from the sonic genius of the music. But i digress...

This compilation is music in its purest form: art. Most of it was never heard by the public, it was made for Scott's whims and fancies. Unrestrained by musical trends, corporate evil, or the limits of technology, this album is anything but Pop.

The Future Yesterday.......2003-10-17

This is more than 2 cds worth of the most charming, fun, electronically generated music you are ever likely to hear and a lot more. It is also a lavish 142 page history of Scott and his amazing adventures in music and sound, illustrated with beautiful, sometimes unbelievable photos. It is a historical document of Scott's part in the evolution in electronic music and it is a beautiful object.
The music is playful, inventive and often beautiful, as is Portifino or Scott's short take on Cole Porter's Night and Day. Scott's ad jingles for Sprite, Baltimore Gas & Electric Company and Bufferin (with a young pre-Muppets Jim Henson) are both inspired and crazy.
There is the makings of a great film here but now be satisfied with and wonder at the amazing sounds contained within.

Raymond Scott History Lesson and Look to the Future.......2003-08-13

Could this man be from the future? He certainly pushed the envelope with ALL his music. From the musical madness generated by his small groups to the unusual music to sooth babies in the 1950s to this illimitable collection of futuristic music/advertisements, Raymond continues to prove that he was a sheer genius with a vision singularly lacking from 99% of the other composers of his day. Personally I cannot tell if this package is a history book with an accopmanying CD or the other way around. In either case it is a release worth owning simply for the fact that it is a precurser for what was to come musically in our society. I was stunned when I first listened to it...the recordings simply could not have been from the era that they were. Raymond Scott owned the musical crystal ball hands down.

How to knock a listener over..........2003-06-05

If the listener doesn't like electronics and machinery, he or she will be knocked over by the sheer volume of information and fotos in this package, and be able to come to rest listening to the contents of the CD's. If he or she DOES like this part of it, sitting down BEFORE starting to read the "booklet" is recommandable too. One would say that, probably due to the "paranoia" of Scott, being afraid of having his ideas and inventions stolen and therefore never having published anything, he has always been out of sight when the history of elctronic music was discussed: now we'll all be glad to give him his place amongst Moog, Buchla and others. Oh, and the sheer sound quality of those tapes, some of which are over 40 years old... Yeehaaaaaaa!

Soothing Sounds For Baby: Electronic Music By Raymond Scott, Vol. 1, 1 To 6 Months

Average customer rating:

Not so great as lullabyes but
my baby loves it (no joking!)
Great for baby, hard on mom and pop
Birth of Electronik
The worldýs first 'ambient' synthesizer record

Soothing Sounds For Baby: Electronic Music By Raymond Scott, Vol. 1, 1 To 6 Months

Manufacturer: Basta Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

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Soothing Sounds For Baby: Electronic Music By Raymond Scott, Vol. 2, 6 To 12 Months
Soothing Sounds For Baby: Electronic Music By Raymond Scott, Vol. 3, 12 To 18 Months
Manhattan Research, Inc.
Reckless Nights & Turkish Twilights
Microphone Music

ASIN: B000001YCG
Release Date: 1997-12-30

Tracks:

Lullaby
Sleepy Time
The Music Box
Nursery Rhyme
Tic Toc

Amazon.com

Alongside apple-cheeked watercolor paintings of infants, the original cover design for the Soothing Sounds series of records bore the charming inscription, "An Infant's Friend in Sound." Composer Harry Warnow was already legendary (as "Raymond Scott") for his whimsical electronic and big-band novelty musics. With this 1962-63 series, Scott turned his astonishing array of invented and modified keyboards and recording techniques toward pure electronic music with an infant-friendly spin. Intended as "aural toys" for the nursery, Soothing Sounds' deceptively simple "tic-tocs" and unthreatening seesaw melodies play on the calming properties of repetition--much like music boxes, Fisher-Price's mobiles, and the comforting "Again!" video mentality of the Teletubbies. Despite endorsement from the Gesell Institute of Child Development, the records sold poorly. But they had a curious afterlife, prefiguring such "adult" descendents as ambient music ("invented" by Brian Eno in 1975) and the mechanical pop-tronic textures of Kraftwerk and Gary Numan. --Gil Gershman

Customer Reviews:

Not so great as lullabyes but.......2006-10-29

These have got to be the best RINGTONES on the planet. With the right conversion tools and a little bit of editing, you'll have people thinking your telephone is receiving calls from the future!

my baby loves it (no joking!).......2001-11-05

I bought this album for my six week old baby girl, hoping to find a Kraftwerk for infants. And while i have't been disappointed in the least i am actually quite surprised that she likes it as much as she does. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that my girlfriend listened to Computerwelt incessently back when that little tyke was still swimming around in the womb. Still though, some of these songs seem anything but soothing to me. One song in particular sounds like it has a alarm clock blaring continuously throughout its ten minute running time. But what did my baby do but sleep soundly through it. You may object and say that a baby that age, when asleep, would slumber through anything. But i have put this on in the middle of screaming fits and it calms her right down. We love it! Raymond Scott makes me proud to be a parent! I just can't wait now until she is old enough to appreciate Bruce Haack.

Great for baby, hard on mom and pop.......2001-08-09

I gave this CD to some new parents. They reported that on a long car trip, whenever their two-month-old son got fractious, this CD quieted him down every time. But they are starting to hate it. It has a jangly, grating undertone and a monotonous melody that gets old fast. So 5 stars for meeting its promise, 3 stars for musical merit -- 4 on average.

Birth of Electronik.......2001-07-16

I had the random chance of hearing the first two tracks of this ingenuous set one late night while listening to my school's radio station. Kind of intrigued by the history of the creator (who also created the first Moog-type keyboard for his daughter who wanted to be able to play piano without lessons), I HAD to hear the tracks that would be played from this album. Well, this album isn't just for babies....the tracks repeat simple melodies arranged in a loop of sorts with little change throught the track. Now, this may seem monotonous, but it isn't much different than what a lot of Baroque music does....this isn't Baroque, by any means, but the effect is the same.....peace achieved through soothing simplicity....and you can't get enough. This album is on my "Must Buy" list...not only for my love of electronic music, but also as it is a cornerstone to today's musical stylings of the world's best producers of electronic music.

The worldýs first 'ambient' synthesizer record.......2000-08-13

Here's something to annoy your infant with. If you let your infant listen to this he's likely to think he's on another planet. Not that he knows what this planet is all about . Your job is to confuse him even more; make it hard for him to learn how to cope with the snot-nose Disney brats he's likely to meet in nursery school. This will make him a rebel of sorts in the future and unfit for the traditional type of what is called a `job.' This will be the basis of all his future happiness. Think of it as a sort of vaccination against all the bad music he's likely to hear in the future. All us grown infants who could use a bit of infant wonder back in our heads also very much dig this music. It's great stuff. In fact, I prefer this to the two ENO discs I have which tend to make things a little too lethargic. This puts you in a relaxed but demented zone, not too far from the Twilight Zone. It sounds like a PONG gone surreally melodic. This is what you put on in the background when you're ready to read `War and Peace.'

James Scott: The Complete Works 1903-1922

Average customer rating:

Glad it was done, but some qualms
Mixed review
These interpretations have life
Sheer magic!
Great Scott

James Scott: The Complete Works 1903-1922
Guido Nielsen
Manufacturer: Basta Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Traditional Jazz General | Traditional Jazz & Ragtime | Jazz | Styles | Music

Ragtime | Traditional Jazz & Ragtime | Jazz | Styles | Music

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Complete Stark Rags of Joseph F. Lamb
American Beauties: The Rags of Joseph Lamb
Scott Joplin: The Complete Rags, Marches, Waltzes & Songs
The Greatest Ragtime of the Century
Complete Piano Music of Scott Joplin

ASIN: B00005OW5Z
Release Date: 2001-10-16

Tracks:

A Summer Breeze
The Fascinator
On The Pike
Frog Legs Rag
Kansas City Rag
My Girl From Anaconda
Grace And Beauty
Great Scott Rag
Valse Venice
The Ragtime "Betty"
Sunburst Rag
Sweetheart Rag
Hilarity Rag
Ophelia Rag
Hearts Longing
The Princess Rag
Quality Rag
Ragtime Oriole
The Suffragette

Tracks:

Climax Rag
Take Me Out To Lakeside
Evergreen Rag
Honeymoon Rag
Prosperity Rag
Efficiency Rag
Paramount Rag
Dixie Dimples
Rag Sentimental
Springtime Of Love
New Era Rag
Peace And Plenty Rag
Troubadour Rag
The Shimmie Shake
Modesty Rag
Pegasus
Don't Jazz Me Rag (I'm Music)
Victory Rag
Broadway Rag

Amazon.com

Ragtime has its loyal fans but doesn't get much attention from most modern listeners. It's often thought of as the generic saloon music you hear in Westerns and other period movies. But ragtime was one of the building blocks of early jazz, and the form is far from artless. Composer, arranger, and pianist James Scott was born in 1885 in southwestern Missouri, a ragtime hotbed. This beautifully packaged, finely annotated double CD traces Scott's development as a composer of piano rags. The earliest pieces, "A Summer Breeze" and "The Fascinator," date from 1903 and show the influence of ragtime legend Scott Joplin on the then-18-year-old Scott. Just six years later, Scott wrote "Grace and Beauty," an elegant piece that demonstrates the young composer's strong command of structure. Later pieces show Scott subtly expanding the form. "Rag Sentimental" strikes the ear with its minor key sonorities, while the quirky "Pegasus" should do much to dispel the uninformed notion that all rags sound alike. Throughout the album, Dutch-born pianist Guido Nielsen brings his virtuoso talents to this jaunty and physically demanding music. The Complete Works is a must for ragtime collectors and an eye-opener for all kinds of music lovers. --Fred Cisterna

Customer Reviews:

Glad it was done, but some qualms.......2005-08-29

I have been waiting for more than twenty years for this recording. I first heard James Scott's works in the 1970's, and hoped that there would be a "complete works" recording. So, I am very glad this has finally happened. First, let me say what I like about this recording.
1) It covers all of Scott's compositions (at least the ones we know of, and that are completely by him).
2) The notes that come with the recording are very well done and interesting.
3) The discs themselves are quite attractive (much effort went into this whole endeavor to give it a complete and consistent look and feel).
4) The sound on the recordings is very good.

Now my qualms. I tend to agree with the review that felt Mr. Nielsen's range of expressiveness is too limited. After hearing these pieces played by others (recorded and live), it seems that the pianist here simply has come up with a rather rigid formula for interpreting Scott's rags (the songs and waltzes are allowed a bit more freedom). For some of these rags, this jaunty, rather chipper style works well. For others (I'm thinking particularly of the Troubadour Rag and "Modesty" here - both of which have received richer, more nuanced recordings elsewhere), it doesn't. While Scott is clearly not as varied and subtle a composer as Joplin or Lamb (there is no frequent thread of melancholy, striving for innovation, or a sense of the "outsider looking in" quality I find in much Joplin and some Lamb), his later works allow for much more variety of interpretation than we get here. Sometimes, especially on the second disc, it sounds uncomfortably like a player-piano.

So, I would recommend this to anyone wanting to learn more of the core Classic Ragtime literature, but I hope that other recordings will eventually be made to explore this repertoire from a slightly more nuanced perspective.

Mixed review.......2005-06-15

I've been playing this music since the revival began circa 1970 with Joshua Rifkin's Nonesuch recordings, and it would later become an integral part of my music studies as I pursued a PhD. From a performance standpoint, I have to say that I'm disappointed. To my ear, Mr. Nielsen plays the notes, but that's about it. His playing reminds me of the technically proficient students who majored in piano performance and could knock out Chopin and Mozart with their eyes closed but couldn't master the performance subtleties of ragtime.

Bottom line: The playing just doesn't swing. To be fair, I come from a school of thought that believes these itinerant composers took their work seriously as compositions but played them with greater syncopated vigor than what I'm hearing in this recording. You can play those 8th and 16th notes literally and be perfect, or you can give them the triplet jazz feel that lifts them from the page to make you tap your feet. It's especially a disappointment with Mr. Scott's music as he was undoubtedly the best performer of the classic ragtime trinity and there's no way he couldn't have been exposed to the budding jazz music that was happening all around him. Surely, he didn't intend these pieces to sound like a march.

Compare Mr. Nielsen's performaces, for instance, of "Efficiency Rag" and "New Era Rag" to William Bolcom's from his now out-of-print Nonesuch recording of rags by James Scott and Artie Matthews. Bolcom's performances literally crackle with energy and brilliance; Scott's writing often calls for that kind of vigorous performance. Nielsen falls painfully short. Perhaps the difference is that one person is playing the notes, the other is making music.

The same comparison is even more grating with the more down-tempo numbers, the Troubador and Modesty rags. Bolcom's performances are rich, shaded, dynamic. Again, Nielsen just sounds like he's playing the notes and little else.

That's harsh, I realize, but either you have it in your fingers or you don't. With Mr. Nielsen, I feel like I'm watching a silent movie; with Mr. Bolcom (Max Morath is another who comes to mind), I feel like I'm listening to a real performance. Nonesuch would do well to re-release Bolcom's ragtime recordings on disc (including the wonderful Heliotrope Bouquet LP).

That said, this is still a valuable recording for any ragtime aficionado's collection. The extensive liner notes are matched only by the bountiful photos of the period, including sheet music covers with their rich color artwork. Scott is vastly underrated by scholars and fans and sorely underrepresented by recording artists. Anyone willing to undertake his entire output deserves credit and for that, a tip of the cap to Mr. Nielsen. One wishes he could've sounded more athletic and less clinical.

These interpretations have life.......2004-11-17

I play most of Scott myself and I realised pretty soon that his music cannot be approached in the same way as Joplin's. His accomplished keyboard style inclines people to go flat out as if they were playing a sort of syncopated Liszt study. While this is good fun it fails to transmit his musical personality which, in my opinion, combines earnest energy with endearing naivety. After a while you realise that the trick is to take a light approach, even if the writing is heavy. Take this too far though, and you lose the energy, not far enough and you lose his lyricism in a blur of notes - it's a delicate balance.

The first thing that impressed me was how well Mr Neilsen achieves this important balance. The life force in Scott's music is evident in abundance but there is never any of the heavy-handed thumping sometimes brought to bear on these rags by technically good players. He varies the tempo interestingly from piece to piece and his accents catch the ear. The piano sound is full and clear but never overwhelms with a lot of noise and pedal, which fault is a sure way to kill Scott.

While the Scott rags are not really hard piano music in the strictly physical sense, they do have, in places, a certain mild awkwardness under the hand which is difficult to describe in words. To play them well it is necessary to accommodate this awkwardness musically and with rhythmic fluency; again, this is something Mr Neilsen does very well indeed.

The liner notes are among the best I have read for any CD, with copious and interesting discussion of each rag and of Scott's music and life.

Speaking as one who has played these pieces for many years, this CD gives me much to think about and learn from.

Sheer magic!.......2003-12-13

Wow! That's it. Wow! This is a REMARKABLE two-CD set collecting the complete works (rags, waltzes, and songs) of James Scott--except for "Calliope Rag" which has been attributed to Scott (and Bob Darch who supposedly finished the piece from an incomplete manuscript). Others here have likened Guido Nielsen's interpretation of Scott's music with the legendary recordings Joshua Rifkin made of Scott Joplin in the 1970s, and that's certainly appropriate. James Scott has been ignored by those recording ragtime for too long, possibly because his pieces are so difficult to play (I play a few of them myself). Guido Nielsen plays these rags so gracefully! He plays the music as written (no embellishments), and proves that the pieces have plenty of pep and richness on their own. This is exciting ragtime music, played in concert style on a full-sounding piano, NOT some rinky-tink out-of-tune bar room piany. The accompanying booklet is worth the price alone. Its 36 pages are printed in full-color with the most extensive liner notes I have ever seen for a two-CD set (many thanks to Mr. Galen Wilkes!) We get the most complete biography of Scott available today, and detailed commentaries on each piece, along with a healthy dose of color reproductions of original sheet music covers. This entire production is top-notch, obviously a labor of love. Anyone with an interest in ragtime, early jazz, or classical music (and YES, I would consider this a type of classical music) should have this set. I can't begin to fathom the work that went into the production of this set, and I am extremely grateful to those involved for such an amazing tribute to James Scott that is long overdue.

Great Scott.......2003-05-29

James Scott seemed almost like a rumor . . . you could read about the legend in They All Played Ragtime and subsequent histories of the genre, and you could hear piano rolls (not even made by Scott himself) and even an occasional recording on a miscellaneous ragtime collection . . . but it just didn't seem possible to get an adequate overview of the man's works.

Until now. Guido Nielsen has performed a huge favor for fans of classic ragtime by recording the complete works of this important but neglected composer. The sound is great, the playing is invigorating, idiomatic, and first-rate, and the liner notes are an ample and informative bonus. You simply couldn't ask for a more ideal tribute to this marvelous composer. If you love the great recordings of Joplin's music, this two-disc set should be an automatic purchase.

No, Scott isn't *as* great or original a figure as Joplin, but his work is distinctive--typically livelier and more virtuostic than Joplin's. Scott tossed off such fare as the Liszt Hungarian Rhapsodies while still a teenager, and his principal devotion was to the extroverted style of "The Maple Leaf Rag" rather than to that of Joplin's later, more subtle and refined works (e.g., "Gladiolus Rag", "Solace", "Magnetic Rag"). But Scott does have his intimate moments . . . and unerring taste.

Like Joplin and Lamb, Scott's genius seemed perfectly suited to the strict ragtime form, even if in his later works Scott tends to favor three rather than the typical four strains. At least half a dozen of his rags--"Frog Legs", "Grace and Beauty", "The Ragtime Betty", "Quality", "Troubador", and "Broadway"--rank with the very best (and heaviest!) ever written. (Every Scott fan will probably want to add a few more to the list . . .)

Tracks:

Tempo Block
The Happy Whistler
Toy Typewriter

Amazon.com

The essential reissues of Raymond Scott's music continue with this second volume of his Soothing Sounds series. As the infant grows both mentally and physically, less of the day is spent in sleep. The senses awaken, the muscles strengthen, and the child's rapid cognitive development demands more sophisticated amusements. Scott was concerned that the appeal of Soothing Sounds would grow along with his audience, and volume 2 is in every way a progression from the lullabies heard in volume 1. These pieces are more percussive, more animated, and more stimulating--"Toy Typewriter" explores complex tip-tap and click-clack rhythms so engrossing that children of all ages are sure to be amused and amazed. --Gil Gershman

Customer Reviews:

Not just for baby..........2000-05-02

This is wonderful. It makes you rethink what a melody is, a string of code reiterating itself to you until it has replicated inside you. There is no longer an 'it' -- there is only you again. It makes you wonder if anyone whose parents actually played this stuff to them when they were a baby might somehow come across a copy of this CD, and put it on, and unknowingly allow it to trigger old, old memory-strings, and be turned, suddenly and perhaps only for an instant, back into a cribbed infant...

It's very soothing to work to, as well. I leave it on repeat when I'm writing, and fall calmly into a work-trance. It seems to help me concentrate. My dog stops dropping slobbery tennis balls in my lap when it's on, and instead lies curled in his dog-bed, staring at a spot on the ceiling and making small wet dog-sounds to himself. Hours pass. No one minds. Sssshhhh. It's bedtime already, and we still don't have to turn it off.

The World's First Ambient Electronic albums!?.......1998-07-22

Composed & performed by RAYMOND SCOTT on primitive home-built electronic instruments which SCOTT began to design & build in the 1940s. As ambient electronic music, these albums predate -- yet are comparable to; BRIAN ENO/FRIPP, PHILIP GLASS, APHEX TWIN, & KRAFTWERK. The 3 vinyl albums were originally released by Epic & had been out-of-print for over 35 years!

Average customer rating:

Joseph F Lamb's music is a revelation
Probably as close to perfect as anyone will come
Move over Scott Joplin
Gorgeous renditions of the most beautiful rags ever written

Complete Stark Rags of Joseph F. Lamb
Guido Neilsen
Manufacturer: Basta Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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James Scott: The Complete Works 1903-1922
American Beauties: The Rags of Joseph Lamb
The Greatest Ragtime of the Century
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Classic Ragtime from Rare Piano Rolls

ASIN: B00000IJIB
Release Date: 1999-04-06

Tracks:

Sensation
Excelsior
Champagne
Ethiopia
Contentment
American Beauty
Reindeer
Top Liner
Cleopatra
Patricia
Nightingale
Bohemia

Amazon.com

Between 1908 and 1919, when ragtime was at the height of its popularity, composer Joseph Lamb held a publishing contract with the John S. Stark Company. The relationship would yield 12 gorgeous rags, influenced by Scott Joplin but completely unmatched in their harmonics and structure. Guido Nielsen, a member of the Dutch ensemble the Beau Hunks, performs each Stark-published rag with a clean, angular style and quick tempos. He lacks some of the delicacy of Virginia Eskin, but--for Lamb fans--this is still required listening. The great liner notes feature color reproductions of each original sheet music cover, along with annotations. Great sound. --Jason Verlinde

Customer Reviews:

Joseph F Lamb's music is a revelation.......2004-07-30

I have been a ragtime fan since the 1970s revival. I have not had much exposure to Joseph Lamb, so wanted to fill the gap in my collection. I was in for a very pleasant surprise. I think Lamb is on a par with Joplin, although their styles are somewhat different.I would say Lamb's compositions are closer to those of James Scott than to Scott Joplin. Lamb is rather more of an acquired taste than Joplin, however it is worth the effort.
The playing, by Guido Neilsen, is masterly . Ragtime is often wrongly played too fast and in a honky-tank style but Nielsen never falls into this trap. His playing manages to be pleasing..robust when required, delicate at other times.
My personal favourite is Excelsior Rag.

Probably as close to perfect as anyone will come.......2003-05-05

It goes without saying that the music itself is excellent, but the written score means nothing unless the performer can execute it properly. Guido Nielsen does this. He plays these pieces smoothly and he doesn't play them too fast; and I have heard, in listening to this recording, absolutely *no* liberties taken by him to "jazz" up these works. He lets them speak for themselves instead of adding his own embellishments. This recording really is worth five stars and is probably as close as anyone will come to perfect in a ragtime recording. The information in the booklet that comes with this C.D. is also great; full-color reproductions of the covers of the sheet music to these pieces (and descriptions of each piece), and a short (but sweet) biography of Joseph Lamb.

Move over Scott Joplin.......2001-08-04

Only the most superlative of superlatives suffice to describe Lamb's rags. His music is melodious, lyrical and enchanting. A friend who heard only two cuts from this album begged me to order him a copy. What more can I say? This album is superb!

Gorgeous renditions of the most beautiful rags ever written.......1999-04-26

Nielsen does a splendid job of interpreting the works of Lamb. Neither exceedingly maudlin nor sugary sweet, Nielsen plays Lamb's "Nightingale," "American Beauty," and "Sensation" with a dearth of treacle and swoon. Nice Chris Ware cover too.

Average customer rating:

SILLS GOES FOR BROKE -------- AND SHE TRIUMPHS
Enough!
The best set available - wonderful
A great Anna
I've had it!

Donizetti: Anna Bolena
G. Donizetti , and Beverly Sills
Manufacturer: Decca U.S.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Donizetti - Roberto Devereux / Rudel, Sills, Alexander, New York City Opera

ASIN: B00005AWIL
Release Date: 2001-04-10

Tracks:

Anna Bolena: Sinfonia
Anna Bolena: Act One, Scene One - Introduzione
Anna Bolena: Act One, Scene One - Ella di me, sollecita
Anna Bolena: Act One, Scene One - Si taciturna e mesta
Anna Bolena: Act One, Scene One - Deh! Non voler costringere
Anna Bolena: Act One, Scene One - Copme, innocente giovane
Anna Bolena: Act One, Scene One - Legger potessi in me! Non v'ha sguardo
Anna Bolena: Act One, Scene One - O! qual parlar fu il suo!
Anna Bolena: Act One, Scene One - Si: l'avrete
Anna Bolena: Act One, Scene One - la mia fama e a pie dell'ara
Anna Bolena: Act One, Scene One - Ella pure amor m offria
Anna Bolena: Act One, Scene One - Ah! qual sia cercar non oso
Anna Bolena: Act One, Scene Two - Chi veggo?...in Inghilterra
Anna Bolena: Act One, Scene Two - Da quel di che, lei perduta
Anna Bolena: Act One, Scene Two - Ah! cosi nei di ridenti
Anna Bolena: Act One, Scene Two - Desta si tosto
Anna Bolena: Act One, Scene Two - Io sentii sulla mio mano
Anna Bolena: Act One, Scene Two - or che reso ai patri i lidi
Anna Bolena: Act One, Scene Two - Questo di per noi spuntato

Tracks:

Anna Bolena: Act One, Scene Three - E'sgombro il loco...
Anna Bolena: Act One, Scene Three - Ah! parea che per incanto
Anna Bolena: Act One, Scene Three - Basta...basta...tropp'oltre vai...
Anna Bolena: Act One, Scene Three - Anna! - Riccardo!
Anna Bolena: Act One, Scene Three - S'ei t'aborre, io t'amo ancora
Anna Bolena: Act One, Scene Three - Ah!...per pieta del mio spavento
Anna Bolena: Act One, Scene Three - Alcun potria ascoltarti
Anna Bolena: Act One, Scene Three - Tace ognuno
Anna Bolena: Act One, Scene Three - Il quegli sgardi impresso
Anna Bolena: Act One, Scene Three - In separato carcere
Anna Bolena: Act Two, Scene One - O! Dove mai ne andarono
Anna Bolena: Act Two, Scene One - O mie fedeli
Anna Bolena: Act Two, Scene One - Dio, che mi vedi in core
Anna Bolena: Act Two, Scene One - Sul suo capo aggravi un Dio
Anna Bolena: Act Two, Scene One - Dal mio cor punita io sono
Anna Bolena: Act Two, Scene One - Va, infelice, e teco reca

Tracks:

Anna Bolena: Act Two, Scene Two - Ebben? dinanzi ai giudici
Anna Bolena: Act Two, Scene Two - Scostatevi...il Re giunge...
Anna Bolena: Act Two, Scene Two - Ambo morrete
Anna Bolena: Act Two, Scene Two - Al Consiglio sien tratti
Anna Bolena: Act Two, Scene Two - Sposa a Percy
Anna Bolena: Act Two, Scene Two - Per questa fiamma indomita
Anna Bolena: Act Two, Scene Two - Stolta! non sai...
Anna Bolena: Act Two, Scene Two - Ah! pensate che rivolti
Anna Bolena: Act Two, Scene Three - Tu pur dannato a morte
Anna Bolena: Act Two, Scene Three - Vive tu, te ne scongiuro
Anna Bolena: Act Two, Scene Three - Nel veder la tua costanza
Anna Bolena: Act Two, Scene Three - Chi puo vederla
Anna Bolena: Act Two, Scene Three - Piangete voi?
Anna Bolena: Act Two, Scene Three - Al dolce guidami castel natio
Anna Bolena: Act Two, Scene Three - Qual mesto suon?...
Anna Bolena: Act Two, Scene Three - Cielo, a'miei lunghi spasimi
Anna Bolena: Act Two, Scene Three - Coppia iniqua

Customer Reviews:

SILLS GOES FOR BROKE -------- AND SHE TRIUMPHS.......2006-04-17

I, being a great admirer of Callas, Caballe', Sutherland, and Sills, cannot understand why people so vehemently bash one of them in favor of the other. This does nothing to further the interest of music, and it reduces great operatic singing to the level of ice hockey. "Anna Bolena" is an opera that requires a very special type of soprano. It is, essentially, a florid bel canto opera for a considerably heavier voice than that associated with such bel canto heroines such as those encountered in "Puritani", "Sonnambula", and "Lucia". A great "Anna Bolena" should also be able to command Norma and Rossini's "Semiramide". Beverly Sills had a basically small voice, and she herself has admitted repeatedly that her undertaking Donizetti's Three Queens (Anna Bolena, Maria Stuarda, and Elizabeth in "Roberto Devereux) probably shortened her career by a decade. She was, of course, right. She certainly makes Anna Bolena a convincing vocal creation, and she sings with great conviction and involvement. But even so, there are moments when you know that she's pushing her resources to the virtual end of their endurance. She manufactures low chest tones that are completely out of allignment with the rest of her voice, and some of her top notes are nothing more than pitched screams. Of course, her passion and sincerity compensates for a lot of these deficiencies, and she emerges with a great success. I respect Sills, and have always felt that she was a little undone by her publicity machine, as well as the constant shadows of Callas, Sutherland, and Caballe. Truth to tell, all three had voices far more suited to these heavier bel canto roles. I'm not going to enter any fray and state any opinions here. Beverly Sills put forth a tremendous amount of skill and effort into roles like Anna Bolena, and she paid a vocal price, as one can hear on this recording. Still, I wouldn't be without this performance. Shirley Verrett is an outstanding Jane Seymour (she certainly could have sung Anna Bolena!), though I'm not sure that she and Sills blend all that well together. Whatever the case, let's give all these great sopranos a break and stop bashing them. My message to the bashers is: Callas, Sills, Caballe' & Sutherland have BEEN there and made it. What have YOU accomplished?

Enough!.......2006-01-25

Will this awfully mellow coloratura chirper ever stop shrieking? Sills couldn't fit the role of Anna less! Maria Callas, La Divina, has always been, and will always remain the role's owner.
Incidentally, how can some people blatantly dare show their absolute ignorance? How can somebody call -and get away with it- Callas' soloists Nicola Rossi-Lemeni, Giulietta Simionato, and Gianni Raimondi "second rate"??? I guess you've neither listened to any of them nor heard of their superb and much acclaimed qualities as musicians!!!

The best set available - wonderful.......2005-03-27

This is one of my favourite operas. I have heard the Callas, Sunderland (CD and DVD performances) and Gruberova (not to mention some live recordings).

Callas was breathtaking in her live performance from the 50's (especially in Act 3) BUT the sound quality is very poor indeed and the other soloists are second rate. The performance was also heavily cut. I only wish she had recorded the whole opera in the studio, instead of one or two arias.

Sunderland was well past her prime by the time she recorded her performance on CD. Her diction, never a strong point for her, is particularly 'woolly' and she has problems sustaining the higher register without strain. It is a pity she didn't record it much earlier in her career. Boynage conducts in a pedestrian manner too (compare the overture from Boynage and Rudel, Rudel makes the overture exciting and vibrant. Boynage conducts a somewhat flat and one dimensional rendition).

Gruberova's recording on CD is from a live performance and is truly aweful in places. I actually think it is one of the worst performances of anything I have ever heard 'recorded'. Don't touch it with a barge pole.

Then there is Sills performance. OK, I wish the voice was a little heavier at times but her singing is, as usual, beautiful. You feel that Anna Bolena is a role she loved, she conveys dramatic sincerity throughout. Rudel conducts his orchestral forces with such energy. Indeed, he is a major selling point of this set for me. He injects the performance with flair and gusto. Verrett, Burrows and Plishka don't put a foot wrong. A wonderful performance. I love this recording above all the others. Buy it. This set leaves the competition standing, (although, if you can tolerate the appalling sound, Callas' performance is fantastic too, however overall this set is far superior).

A great Anna.......2004-05-20

I'm sorry if I hurt anyone. I was just so mad and angry because Callas got bashed so many times by a Sills-Fanatic. I deeply apologise. Sills has a very beautiful voice, one of the best lyric coloratura voices out there. I hope Bev's fans will forgive me. This is one of the best Annas ever.

I've had it!.......2004-05-20

A Sills-Fanatic keeps bashing Callas with one star reviews in a row! I warned him that our patience is at its end! Now we'll retaliate! Sills is AWFUL as Anna Bolena, thin, sour, glassy and fake with no middle. A stupid coloratura chirper. Stop singing, Sills! My ears hurt, stop shrieking!

Raymond Scott: Chesterfield Arrangements 1937-1938

Average customer rating:

Hunks or Nothing
A little too stiff, disappointing
A splendid sound, but a little too "polished" at times
The genius of Scott in broad color!
New and Clean recordings of amazing music

Raymond Scott: Chesterfield Arrangements 1937-1938
Metropole Orchestra & Beau Hunks Saxtette
Manufacturer: Basta Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Kodachrome
Reckless Nights & Turkish Twilights
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Microphone Music

ASIN: B00002SWK0
Release Date: 1999-11-16

Tracks:

Powerhouse
Mexican Jumping Bean
The Penguin
Dinner Music For A Pack Of Hungry Cannibals
Reckless Night On Board An Ocean Liner
Egyptian Barn Dance
The Toy Trumpet
Tia Juana
Christmas Night In Harlem
Celebration On The Planet Mars
The Happy Farmer
Bumpy Weather Over Newark
War Dance For Wooden Indians
Suicide Cliff
Minuet In Jazz
Siberian Sleighride
Twilight In Turkey
Powerhouse

Customer Reviews:

Hunks or Nothing.......2006-12-31

Raymond Scott's original recordings are still the definitive, impossible-to-replicate versions of his music. You cannot do better.

It's wonderful, though, to hear the sparkling recording quality here. Hunks clearly loves the material (this is not the only version of Scott Hunks has done) but the technical stuff is too demanding for the Hunks players.

Think about it.

Would you want to plat this material??

A little too stiff, disappointing.......2006-05-11

One of the things about playing music is knowing the style and being comfortable in it. The Metropole Orchestra obviously has played music like this before, but they are just a little too stiff in these arrangements. The running passages in "Powerhouse" actually sound labored. The Warner studio musicians in the forties, knew how to lean into the rhythms, and what to accent, etc. Obviously these are not Carl Stalling's reworkings, but the rhythmic figures are there.
Some music simply requires that you know the idiom (Chicago Symphony under Reiner or Solti, playing Bartok, as opposed to Karajan and Berlin).
I went back to the "Carl Stalling Project".

A splendid sound, but a little too "polished" at times.......2006-04-04

This is, to my knowledge, the only recording of these orchestrations of Scott's works. They are lavish and very enjoyable - evoking an era, as well as hinting at some of the composers later musical ideas. Most of the pieces here are available in smaller arrangements on other recordings, but others seem purpose-written for this larger pallet (Christmas Night in Harlem - a very enjoyable song - and Tia Juana, in particular, comes to mind here).

As with the other Beau Hunks recordings of this music, my only criticism is that these performances are, at times, a bit too smooth. The Scott style is simultaneously unstable and finely-wrought, making for a certain tension in listening. Some of the cuts on this disc, particularly The Penguin, have the rhythms polished to lapidary perfection, but the sense of amazement that it all fits together is lost in the process.

This is, however, a very small censure. The overall effort - as with their other Scott recordings - is extremely well done and well worth purchasing. This small renaissance of Scott's early compositions is great to see. I only hope that an American ensemble will try at some point have the courage to try these arrangements!

The genius of Scott in broad color!.......2003-06-05

This review would have been titled "They did it again", if this CD hadn't been released BFORE the "Kodachrome" CD... Conclusion: hey, they did it BEFORE! Great sound, giving a "full color" dimension of the already outstanding original compositions. Even if one doesn't always agree with those arrangements, made in the late thirties for Paul Whitman's "Chesterfield Orchestra", the overall result is splendid, and the legendary Beau Hunks are omnipresent as featured soloists...

New and Clean recordings of amazing music.......2002-08-05

Raymond Scott was an innovator of high order, bringing something a little wacky to the controlled world of written musical composition. This stuff is Amazingly hard to play, say the Musicians, and this recording shows the intricacy and skill of the arrangements in a way the original recordings could never do because of the limited recording techniques of the day. Although not as energetic or frantic as some of the originals, repeated listenings don't seem to wear you out like so many other novelty Jazz recordings. Try listening to an hour of Spike Jones for instance. Instead this stuff grows on you, leaving you wanting more.

Average customer rating:

A reckless night aboard musician-ship!
FANTASTIC STUFF!
One of the best RS albums out there!
Gems, gems & gems
Quintessential Scott collection

Microphone Music
Raymond Scott
Manufacturer: Basta Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000086B8X
Release Date: 2003-02-04

Tracks:

Egyptian Barn Dance
The Penguin
Christmas
Pretty Petticoat #1
Square Dance For Eight Egyptian Mummies
Moment Whimsical
Devil Drums
A Little Bit Of Rigoletto
Hypnotist In Hawaii
Dinner Music For A Pack Of Hungry Cannibals
The Toy Trumpet
Suicide Cliff
Siberian Sleigh Ride
Steeplechase
Peter Tambourine
Celebration On The Planet Mars
Brass Buttons And Epaulettes
Bumpy Weather Over Newark
Pretty Petticoat #2
Turkish Mish-Mush
Bonus Track 1

Tracks:

Microphone Music
Twilight In Turkey
New Year's Eve In A Haunted House
Tobacco Auctioneer
The Girl With The Light Blue Hair
Sleepwalker
The Happy Farmer
Oil Gusher
Boy Scout In Switzerland
Reckless Night On Board An Ocean Liner
Swing, Swing Mother-In-Law
Girl At The Typewriter
Yesterday's Ice Cubes
Pretty Petticoat #3
War Dance For Wooden Indians
Dead End Blues
Harlem Hillbilly
The Quintet Goes To A Dance
Bugle Call Rag
Powerhouse
Bonus Track 2

Customer Reviews:

A reckless night aboard musician-ship!.......2004-02-09

"Once again, Basta Records presents the Raymond Scott Quintette...in another collection of their ultra-modern musical specialties, many presented for the first time anywhere!"

Thank you, Mr. Announcer...and now just a word to say why no Raymond Scott fan anywhere should be without this, the definitive, the supreme, nay, dare I say the canonical representation on record of this sublime supergroup. That's right, folks...no re-creations or reinterpretations here, just Ray's own reference recordings of the original Quintette, made at his own expense in the late 1930s and presented here in extra-crisp period fidelity.

A good number of these tracks first appeared on "The Raymond Scott Project" (Stash Records, 1991), but that's been hard to get for years now, and what's more, there's still other great stuff that hasn't previously seen the light of day. If your tail twitches at titles like "Turkish Mish Mush," "Square Dance for Eight Egyptian Mummies," or "Yesterday's Ice Cubes (are water today)"...well, this CD two-fer is the set for you.

If, on the other hand, you're still wondering what the big hairy deal is with five prehistoric radio studio musicians and one lovable tyrant of a pianist-composer-kook...I say, listen and be amazed! These cats could play music as challenging as stapling Jell-O to a greased pig and still stay tighter than Pee Wee Herman's bow tie. Johnny Williams's infectious proto-swing drumming was key to the Quintette's super-charged machine-age ricky-ticky. Pete Pumiglio made the impossible sound easy on the clumsy old Albert System clarinet. And the stuff Dave Harris could kick out on an ordinary tenor saxophone will have your head spinning on your shoulders.

Then, of course, there's ample opportunity to hear the madness of Raymond Scott himself as he literally composes "on" his musicians (including some work-in-progress recordings of tunes that never quite gelled). Much more than zing-boom animaniac music is afoot here. Ray's "out" harmonic sense was almost unequaled in those pre-bop days, as is evident on numbers like "Suicide Cliff," "Bumpy Weather Over Newark," and a radical recasting of the old war horse "Bugle Call Rag" (about the only standard this group ever played!).

To Basta, I say, "È NON BASTA!" Take us back to Aquackanack, where the sky is green and Raymond Scott and his quazy quintette forever mystify, enthrall, and groove hard.

FANTASTIC STUFF!.......2003-08-22

Here are two discs of this eccentric genius' music that sometimes will be more familiar than you'd expect! A bunch of his compositions were used in Warner Bros. cartoons!(ren & Stimpy,etc...also!) So,you see we were all pleasantly introduced to Raymond Scott at an early age!
His compositions are as lively as the cartoons we all remember so well,although not all of his music was used for that purpose.His music conjures up strange and wonderful mental pictures with the use of all sorts of zippy instrumental patter between the players.(His drummer was totally amazing!)
Not only that ,but there are pieces here that no one had heard in years because they were recorded and put "in the can" so to speak! So,now all of us luck listeners are gifted with this beauty of a set! A joy to behold and hear!
Please also look into his electronic recordings too!(Through the "Manhatten Research..."CD.) Raymond was an "unknown influence" on a young man named MOOG too! It's just that Mr.Scott liked to keep his innovations slightly out of public eye-shot.
Meet this amazing man and his music and you'll slaver for more and more! INCREDIBLE!

One of the best RS albums out there!.......2003-06-08

This CD is truely a fantastic addition to any Raymond Scott or cartoon fan's collection. This was the first Raymond Scott CD that I purchased, after learning that his melodies were used in many Carl Stalling scores that were in Looney Tunes and Merrie Mellodies cartoons. The songs are very catchy, and I'm sure anyone who's seen a Looney Tune cartoon in their life can recognize the jazzy tune "Powerhouse". A great collection.

Gems, gems & gems.......2003-05-15

This definitive RSQ collection does two jobs: exposing the quality of Scott and his Quintette, AND putting a spot on the quality of The Beau Hunks reconstructions (on their CD's "A Celebration on the Planet Mars" and "Manhattan Minuet", also BASTA releases). Beautifully laid out too, this must-have...

Quintessential Scott collection.......2003-03-02

Raymond Scott's late 1930s whiplash-jazz was more than just over-the-cliff soundtrack fodder for Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. As Scott's adherents often point out, Scott (many of whose compositions were adapted by Carl Stalling in classic WB 'toonery) never wrote a note for a cartoon in his life. His stuff just screams ANIMATION. With titles like "Dinner Music for a Pack of Hungry Cannibals" and "Square Dance for Eight Egyptian Mummies," who could resist thinking Scott (1908-1994) had cartoons on his mind when he wrote these? But he didn't -- he was advancing the frontiers of pop music in his own visionary way.

This 2-CD, 42-track set is the definitive collection of Raymond Scott Quintette recordings. It is more comprehensive than 1992's Reckless Nights and Turkish Twilights (on Columbia Legacy). Any Microphone Music tunes that also appeared on Reckless Nights are different versions, sometimes drastically so. Microphone Music contains unreleased titles, radio performances, first-rate rehearsals, and forgotten gems by Scott's idiosyncratic Quintette. The audio quality is exceptional, and the 32-page accompanying booklet features excellent liner notes by Scott authority Irwin Chusid (who produced the package), as well as photos, interviews, and reproductions of vintage magazine articles about the Quintette.

Besides the usual controlled chaos and ingenious rhythmic twists, these recordings feature tasteful solos by Scott's virtuoso sidemen; the savvy (and largely under-appreciated) percussive snap of the great drummer Johnny Williams; and even some less-animated works (e.g., "Girl With the Light Blue Hair," "Suicide Cliff") that display a more restrained (but never bland) side of the RSQ. The album title refers to Scott's penchant for considering the microphone a "seventh member" of his six-man "quintet." His pioneering studio and technical explorations reached greater fruition later in his career when Scott invented and recorded with electronic instruments. Learn more at RaymondScott.com.

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Pop Music