| 1. Di Krentise (The Well) |
| 2. Ikh Shtey Unter a Bokserboym (I Stand Beneath a Carob Tree) |
| 3. Ergets Shitl/Baym Taykh (Softly Somewhere/At the River) |
| 4. Ver Es Hot (One Has Got) |
| 5. Ovnt Lid (Crepuscle) |
| 6. Malekh Veynt (An Angel Weeps) |
| 7. Bay Nakht (At Night) |
| 8. Vek Nisht (Don't Waken) |
| 9. Kh'vel Oyston Di Shikh (I'm Going to Take off My Shoes) |
| 10. Mayn Shvester Khaye (My Sister Khaye) |
| 11. Umetik (Lonesome) |
| 12. Di Elter (Old Age) |
| 13. Velkhes Meydl S'nemt a Bokher (Any Girl Who Takes a Boyfriend) |
| 14. Di Goldene Pave (The Golden Peacock) |
| 15. Zayt Geznur (Farewell) |
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Loneliness, loss, displacement, and death loom large among the topics covered in the 15 Yiddish poems set to melodies by popular Israeli folk singer Chava Alberstein, and arranged by New York's exploratory Klezmatics, on this deeply sad and beautiful album. Anyone familiar with the Klezmatics' more rambunctious side will be impressed by the inventive delicacy and subtlety they bring to these elegant vestiges of fading Yiddish culture, virtually reanimating it with tangos, Hasidic melodies, polkas, and festive freylekhs that recall its vibrant past. Alberstein's low voice meshes beautifully with Lorin Sklamberg's high tenor, adding extra emotional resonance to a series of poems in the middle of the album that evoke the genocide twilight that enveloped the writers' world half a century ago. Their tragedy is redeemed in The Well. --Richard Gehr
If you have not seen him in concert it is a real treat - he is a master musician and his wonderful sense of humor makes your concert experience a fun one.
This CD arrived very fast. I listen to it constantly and really like it. I appreciate that Amazon.com sold it to me for considerably LESS than Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, Target, Silver Platters or any other retailer where I had priced it at.
Thanks, Amazon!
Jennifer L. Nance
Seattle, WA
CD. My favorite is "When I Get Where I'm Going"
Perhaps I'm being too critical, and that song to me is a 15 on a 10 scale and should not hold a bias for me when judging the rest of the songs on this album. The problem is that some of the songs don't have much of a connection with me, instrumentally or lyrically. At times I enjoy the edgy guitar riffs but for the most part I felt like a lot of these songs just float by instead of reaching out and grabbing me like "Saturdays" did. The song "Well enough Alone" is memorable as its razor sharp opening leads into some emotional singing, and again I am excited in hoping there are more on the album like it.
Then I started giving it time to grow on me, and it did. The song "Humanoid" has some great changeups with regards to varying riffs and also a song that seemed to stick with me at its very first listen. The song "Paint the Seconds" is stoic at times and although the riffs on this particular song seem to be too familiar in connection with other songs on the album, the chorus has a great crescendo to it that makes it different enough to add to the overall driving power it has. The song "I get it" is also very likable and puts the songwriting and vocals a bit more in the forefront, including an infectious beat found throughout.
Chevelle has managed to stay visible on the front lines of new rock bands that have emerged in this decade among the remnants of a "rock" industry that is always trying to find a new identity, but all too often having its poster child fall off a cliff as the assembly line pushes forward, not heeding that the bridge is out ahead. There is still enough talent within these guys to blaze new trails and I look forward to their next release, while continuing to enjoy albums in their past discography.
As anyone should have expected the new Chevelle cd is perfect. Yeah, they lost a member (brother). But the member (brother-in-law) is such a perfect fit that I doubt anybody even notices. As long as Chevelle keeps pumping out the great cd's that they have been, I foresee another great band. Go ahead & purchase this cd, you will not be let down.
Confident yet not lazy in their niche in today's rock scene, Chevelle has a satisfying 3rd major label LP with Vena Sera. You think Pete Loeffler has run out of fingers to point? You think wrong. He, brother Sam, and brother-in-law Dean have yet to run out of ways to manipulate their signature booming, detuned sound to condemn the masses and sell rock records that stand head and shoulders above their contemporaries in their intensity and quality songwriting.
Unlike parts of TTOT, this record proves easily listenable from beginning to end. The middle offers the most intense and creative songs. "Straight Jacket Fashion" manages to switch with fluidity between a punk beat and their oft-reliable and smooth ¾ groove, the place the song comes in for its landing. "The Fad" and "Humanoid" are the darkest cuts on the album, the latter employing an old-school rhythm and turning it into a blistering hook reminiscent of a quicker "Family System". Second single "I Get It" deserves a mention as well for its prominent acoustic guitar (believe it or not) in the verses and its seething, sarcastic tone throughout.
Don't think you're going to gain any new insights into the meaning of the songs nor who the arrows are aimed at - just like the past records, Pete's lyrics are inscrutable. Even so, you have to admit that he manages to create some of the catchiest choruses in radio rock, even if you have little idea who he's pissed at. It's actually rather nice, especially in Chevelle's genre, to have some mystery in the meanings of the songs. (And isn't that the point of art anyway, to interpret it for yourself?)
Critics have always come down on Chevelle either for Tool/Helmet imitation or just for lack of deviation from the nu-metal masses. While Vena Sera is not likely to silence the critics, those who do "get it" should be very pleased...Chevelle at least is not trying to break into the Top 40 like other rock bands going through identity crises.
My brother visited me recently and noticed it right away. That will be another order for this fabulour music.
Also, it really helped being able to listen to parts of the music before purchasing.
While "Chess" may be a document of an era that no longer exists, there's a lot more going on than the surface metaphor. It holds up very well indeed. When it aims for humor, it generally succeeds, and likewise when it aims to devastate. What more can you ask for?
This concept album is the main reason why the show has so many ardent fans until this day. Tim Rice wanted to write the show with the main plot revolving around chess for years and after his long time partner Andrew Lloyd Webber remained uninterested, he found the new collaborators in Ulvaeus and Andersson. The subject matter follows two international chess players in a championship, a Russian (Tommy Körberg) and an American (Murray Head) and a woman called Florence (Elaine Paige) who is a manager to the American but falls in love with the Russian. The story also draws a parallel between the game of chess and the cold war/real life situations.
This concept album was recorded in 1984, two years before the original London production took place. As the authors noted in the accompanying booklet, it was a work in progress and thusly the story is not quite readable here from the musical numbers alone. Despite that fact (which is amended by the synopsis included in the booklet), this album remains a winner. The score (played here by the London Symphonic Orchestra) itself makes an intriguing bland of the famous ABBA sound, the classical; the rock and the pop enhanced by the orchestral solo passages and the strong choral parts. The lush orchestrations add an epic touch to it and on the whole it is melodic and hummable, packed with great tunes. Some of the songs achieved huge success outside the musical: `I know him so well', a duet between Elaine Paige and Barbara Dickson, held the number one spot on the UK singles charts for 4 weeks in February 1985 and won Ivor Novello Award as the Best Selling Single; Murray Head's `One night in Bangkok' became one of the biggest dance hits of its time, often heard today. Some other notable tunes include `The Anthem' (Russian's deliberation on his homeland); the soaring rock songs `Where I want to be' and `Pity the child' (in the former, the Russian reflects upon his life under the spotlight; in the latter, the American ponders about his own unhappy childhood) or the gentle `Heaven help my heart' (in which Florence weighs up her relationship with the Russian).
A special reference must be made to Tim Rice's excellent lyrics. With `Chess' he managed to keep up to the high standards he set himself in `Jesus Christ Superstar' and Evita'. Again in this case he shows he is a lyrical wizard, with his familiar cynical touch. `The story of chess', in which he gives a history of the game in a couple of crafty verses, is a pure masterpiece. The same can be said of the song `I know him so well', where the two women reexamine their relationship with the same man. As a whole, `Chess' owes a lot of its appeal to Tim Rice's written word.
The cast on this album ranks the high standard of the material. The principal parts (sung by Elaine Paige, Tommy Körberg and Murray Head) are delivered in a strong and impeccable fashion.
This 2-disc edition comes with a booklet containing a note from the authors, a text about chess, a full synopsis and a libretto, together with the photos of the principal singers.
Anyone interested in the modern musical theatre should find `Chess' to be a great score with great lyrics, which should be enough to satisfy any aficionado.
With most Broadway musicals, the musical numbers tell the basic story of the show. If you listen to the recordings of Phantom, Mama Mia, Beauty and the Beast, you can discern the basic storyline of the show. Listening to this particular recording of Chess, though, will leave you wondering "What was that?" The Broadway arrival of Chess saw a much needed reworking of the storyline and arrangement of the musical numbers. This recording seems too much like a mish-mash of songs that don't really relate to each other.
For musical fanatics (like myself), I say "yes, you should have this recording in your collection", if only to understand how much work went into the show before it opened on Broadway.
If you are only buying the album because of "One Night In Bangkok", purchase the Broadway recording instead; you'll be much happier with the performance by Phillip Casnoff rather than Murray Head.
I've tried meditating but my mind always wanders. This cd was excellent in helping to keep my focus on my breathing. After a session I feel absolutely renewed!
I had a good friend who was in the show for one summer, maybe 79 or 80. Just a sad staging in a little town in Appalachia trying on some Paris. We had a dinner theater in our town, which meant an old building , some tables, small area and a stage kind of and some curtains. Rather ambitious for the town, they staged summer shows of Brel. And other things too, finally. My girlfriend as she often did hooked me into her evenings and I made drinks there as well as gave a few musical efforts and some easily forgotten attempts at choral support. On nights someone didn't show. You actually also made the food and sang the show, in those days for your audience, who tended to tip fairly poorly and be the local lawyers and med school doctors dragged out by wives seeking a cultural night of dinner theater. It was a kind of starving kids for ten bucks sing, act, cook, serve vodka/tonics, smoke and tell you the story of Boheme life while mixing blue cheese from packets of powder and creme in a frenzy preparing to figure out who plays the piano well enough as the player won't being pissed over low wages and a remark made about his big derrière. That kind of a summer. Songs probably wasted on the young.
All that said, it was/is a lovely collection of songs. Even better an experience when you learn and sing the French and can then argue incessantly about the translations and "feel" of the shows on two continents. I loved then to sing them, and find a tune floating in my head tonight from no where-just there- when "No. Love You're Not Alone" actually woke me. The American film was awful, the show best seen in revival and smoky nights in clubs. Then, in 1980 or so, it made my life richer, it's probably a good thing Susanna was such a friend...though I didn't understand, we dragged ourselves to a lot of meaning.And that rather odious experience in the Bahamas.
I think this worthy of time and listening. And a big moon would be cool, to walk on the shore and hear it once more. Think I'll slip out awhile.
Unbeknownst to them, about the same time Elly Stone heard her first Brel recording, Mort Shuman was undergoing something of a revelation across the Atlantic. In the midst of a successful career writing rock and roll songs (including hits for Elvis Presley, and the ubiquitous teenage anthem, Save The last Dance For Me), Mort Shuman had been wandering restlessly around Europe, and came to settle for a time in Paris. There, he became acquainted with Brel's music, and, later, with the man himself, and the two became close friends. Shuman convinced Brel that he should be allowed to translate some of his better-known songs into English, and bring them to America. More on the strength of their friendship than Shuman's reputation as a songwriter, Brel agreed, but a problem soon emerged. Although Shuman had mastered French surprisingly well, he was finding the task of translating Brel's songs quite daunting. After several attempts, Shuman found his English versions sorely lacking. He realized that it was not only that he had become too enraptured with Brel's work to find the objectivity required to do them justice, but it also became apparent that Brel's songs reflected too much of the French philosophy and politics to appeal to an American public largely besotted on syrupy, trite love songs.
Shuman returned to America, vowing to find a way to introduce Brel's songs to an English speaking public. By this time, Nat Shapiro had heard Elly Stone perform Eric Blau's first translations of Brel, and wanted more. In November 1966, Nat Shapiro persuaded Mort Shuman to hear Elly Stone perform at Julius Monk's Plaza 9, despite Shuman's reluctance, which derived from his belief that only a male singer could do Brel justice. At a table with Shapiro and a very nervous Eric Blau, Shuman applauded politely. "She's good", he told Blau, "the translations are real good". It must have rankled him somewhat that it was Blau and not Shuman who first successfully translated Brel to English.
Nat Shapiro also had the idea for the perfect venue to introduce Brel to America - an off-Broadway show. Not exactly a revue, since that implied that the songs had been heard before, what eventually took shape was the first "libretto-less" musical, Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris. In addition to Elly Stone and Eric Blau's enthusiasm for Brel's music, Elly's amazing talent had won Shuman over and convinced him to work with Blau on the translations. Two years later, their labor of love finally introduced Brel's songs to an American public that was as ready for Brel, as Brel's songs were ready for America.
I am somewhat puzzled by the negative reviews by those who insist that Brel's songs can never be appreciated in anything but the original French. When Eric Blau realized, as Mort Shuman had earlier, that Brel's songs could never be translated exactly to American English (steeped as they were in French life and politics), they agreed to go for the next best thing. They opted to translate Brel's songs as closely as they could, but, when this was not possible, they kept Brel's melodies while attempting to retain the spirit of his writing, if not his actual words. What resulted were often very good translations indeed. One only has to compare the French text of songs that became Jackie, the Old Folks, Brussels, the Middle Class, Madeleine or Amsterdam to realize that, for the most part, the narrative and spirit (and sometimes even the lyrics) closely matched Brel's originals. Two additional translations, Song For Old Lovers and My Childhood, which also resembled the originals, were recorded by Elly Stone on her (now very rare) self-titled Columbia album. Miss Stone also recorded Goodbye My Friends for her second album, which was arguably a superior version of Brel's Le Moribond than the dreadful version by Rod McKuen, Seasons In the Sun.
In other cases, the translations altered Brel's songs in such a way as to make them more palatable to American tastes, while retaining Brel's concept. Thus, Jef, a song in which a man tries to cheer up a drinking buddy who has lost a great love, becomes a love song, in which one partner attempts to bolster the melancholy spirit of their beloved. In fact, some would argue that the beautiful prose of No Love You're Not Alone not only equals the poetic imagery of Brel's original lyrics quite adequately, they are actually an improvement. Conversely, When We Only Have Love was transformed from a love song to an anthem for brotherly love, yet did not destroy Brel's concept or his "poetry", but successfully built on it. Brel, by the way, often pointed out that, in his culture, it would be unforgivably vain for a songwriter to compare himself to a poet. To the French, poetry is not only a much higher art form than songwriting, Brel did not consider songwriting an art at all, but merely "a craft". All told, there are, in fact, only a few songs in this show where the lyrics, content, spirit, tone and / or subject matter were completely altered from Brel's originals.
When the show premiered in Canada, the creators were terrified that they would be taken to task by the French Canadian press for daring to present Brel in English there, as Brel is highly prized in Canada. Instead, it was the English Canadian press who savaged the show. But the French Canadian journalist, Rudel-Tessier (a bi-lingual writer, quite familiar with Brel in French) stated flatly that, although in translating the work, some of Blau / Shuman went in and some of Brel came out, he found it marvelous to have Brel in English at all. And, he gently chided his peers by pointing out that, while Shakespeare is quite popular in French, the Bard will never be quite the same in French as he is in English. So, to those who say you cannot appreciate Brel's songs in anything but French I reply, this show was written for those who never have, and never will, understand a single word of French. Does anyone really think that those who only speak French should be deprived of Shakespeare?
Even if none of this were true, I would like to point out that Jacques Brel himself, armed with exact French translations of the English lyrics, personally approved every song that was written for the show before the decision to produce it was finalized.
Besides, the passion and reverence that these performers feel for Brel and this material is evident in every song, and to those who claim that this show is an insult to Brel, I answer that it's an insult to the efforts of this fine cast to suggest that they had anything but his best interests at heart, and, as someone who is quite familiar with Brel in French, I believe they succeeded brilliantly. And as fine a songwriter as you can argue that Brel is in French, well, Elly Stone is equally as fine a singer in any language, and I bemoan the fact that she virtually squandered the balance of her career championing Brel's work, when she could have made a major name for herself, based solely on her own talent. Having seen Elly Stone perform live many times (in and out of this show), I will attest to the fact that, in her prime, she had the most impressive voice I have ever heard in a concert hall.
And in the end, it was Brel himself who gave the supreme complement to this effort. At one point, Eric Blau fretted when, in order to more closely translate Brel's lyrics to la Mort (My Death), he and Shuman had to alter Brel's melody. When they sent the new song to Brel, he responded, "You have improved it; it's better than mine". A year after the show opened, Brel flew in to New York to see it. That night, he led a standing ovation for the performers, and modestly told Blau and Shuman repeatedly that they had not only exceeded his expectations, in many instances, they had improved his work. He also told Elly Stone that she was, "the finest lady performer" he had ever seen (including Piaf, whom she was often compared to unfairly) and he told her that he wanted to write new songs specifically for her. Unfortunately for us, he never had time, but it was a testament to her talent and artistic integrity that Brel offered.
And if Brel himself was pleased with the translations featured in this glorious production, why should anyone quarrel with that?
Andrea Bocelli has a very gorgeous voice that is a gift from above. His voice is not affected or braggadoccio but naturally magnificent. I could and do start my day listening to this spiritually uplifting CD almost everyday. It is a wonderful way to get off to a pleasant peaceful start, but also a nice way to come home in the evening if you have a CD player in your car. I highly recommend it to all.
I have noticed one concern with the CD. I have heard several clicks scattered here and there in the songs -- but the CD is clean and I feel confident it is not the machine. Has anyone else noticed this?
Yours sincerely,
Peter Tuason
Bill Peterson
The variety of styles represented on this CD is great. He does some serious screaming, some great ensemble stuff, some wonderful improvisation and just flat out plays well with others :-) ...
I can pretty much assure you won't be disappointed. If you are, write to Wayne. He's promised a triple refund of the purchase price for those not completely satisfied with this CD. Well, maybe not, but I'm pretty sure he'd be able to and never have to send a cent.
Get it. Listen to it. Be inspired (he really is good). Be nauseated (he's so good it'll make you sick). Enjoy (music made with such passion, polish and power is an absolute pleasure to hear).
The Classical stuff is great but The pop stuff is some of the wrose pop stuff he has even done.
I was not familiar with some of the covers, but Sisters of Mercy, Starshine and You Were on My Mind are all old favorites and I was knocked out by her recreation of them. The musicians who played on this CD with her, whom she gives much credit to in the liner notes, are amazing. The arrangements in combination with that voice that ranges from country to jazz to folk to broadway and back in husky, whiskey-hued, high and bright, sailing, well...you get the idea.
If you like variety this CD gives you everything from blues to protest, from ballad to show tune. You wont listen to a more evocative CD this year.
Oh yeah, and she writes her own stuff too, three of the tracks are hers and stand shoulder to shoulder with the covers.
Loneliness, loss, displacement, and death loom large among the topics covered in the 15 Yiddish poems set to melodies by popular Israeli folk singer Chava Alberstein, and arranged by New York's exploratory Klezmatics, on this deeply sad and beautiful album. Anyone familiar with the Klezmatics' more rambunctious side will be impressed by the inventive delicacy and subtlety they bring to these elegant vestiges of fading Yiddish culture, virtually reanimating it with tangos, Hasidic melodies, polkas, and festive freylekhs that recall its vibrant past. Alberstein's low voice meshes beautifully with Lorin Sklamberg's high tenor, adding extra emotional resonance to a series of poems in the middle of the album that evoke the genocide twilight that enveloped the writers' world half a century ago. Their tragedy is redeemed in The Well. --Richard Gehr
Well,The Klezmatics & Chava Albertstein,Xenophile Records,Hebrew,Int'l & World Music,Israel,Jewish,Jewish Music,Jewish: Trad. & Klezmer,Klezmer,Middle East,Pop,World Music,Yiddish
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Time Well Wasted
Brad Paisley Manufacturer: Arista ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD  General
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ASIN: B000A2APUS Release Date: 2005-08-16 |
Tracks:
- The World
- Alcohol
- Waitin On A Woman
- Ill Take You Back
- Shes Everything
- You Need A Man Around Here
- Out In The Parkin Lot (with Alan Jackson)
- Rainin You
- Flowers
- Love Is Never-Ending
- The Uncloudy Day
- When I Get Where Im Going (Featuring Dolly Parton)
- Easy Money
- Time Warp
- Time Well Wasted
- Cornography (featuring James Burton & the Kung Pao Buckaroos)
Amazon.com
Brad Paisley's previous release, Mud on the Tires, was the sort of landmark album nearly every artist has difficulty topping. Not so this time. On Time Well Wasted, Paisley's voice--never overwhelmed by overmixed instruments (a problem dogging many current vocalists)--remains keenly focused. There's quality material in abundance, heavy on originals and delightfully quirky bonus tracks. The album's first hit, Paisley's self-penned "Alcohol," has the potential to become a lasting anthem in a genre where booze songs long ago became an art form. Guy Clark's "Out in the Parkin' Lot," a duet with Alan Jackson, sounds more organic, less contrived than most Music Row pairings. The same applies to "When I Get Where I'm Going," a spiritual duet with Dolly Parton. As in the past, Paisley's country-jazz Telecaster prowess (phemonenal on the dazzling instrumental "Time Warp") remains remarkable, as does his insistence that his sidemen get ample space to shine. Such assets set Paisley apart, as does his ability to make real creativity commercially successful in a Nashville concerned mainly with the latter. --Rich Kienzle
More Brad Paisley
Who Needs Pictures |
Part II |
Mud on the Tires |
Album Description
Time Well Wasted reunites Brad with producer Frank Rogers for a 16-track collection sporting 10 selections from Paisley's pen, including first single, "Alcohol," the fastest-rising chart single of his career. Look for multiple guest stars, including Dolly Parton (featured on "When I Get Where I'm Going") and Paisley labelmate Alan Jackson, who duets on the Guy Clark/Darrell Scott gem, "Out in the Parkin' Lot."Customer Reviews:
Another Fine Piece of Music for Your Collection.......2007-07-19
If you have not seen him in concert it is a real treat - he is a master musician and his wonderful sense of humor makes your concert experience a fun one.
Bright Paisley.......2007-06-24
Time Well Wasted- Brad Paisley.......2007-06-13
This CD arrived very fast. I listen to it constantly and really like it. I appreciate that Amazon.com sold it to me for considerably LESS than Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, Target, Silver Platters or any other retailer where I had priced it at.
Thanks, Amazon!
Jennifer L. Nance
Seattle, WA
Quality listening.......2007-05-15
CD. My favorite is "When I Get Where I'm Going"
love this cd.......2007-05-12
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Vena Sera
Chevelle Manufacturer: Sony ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General
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ASIN: B000NJLM3C Release Date: 2007-04-03 |
Tracks:
- Antisaint
- Brainiac
- Saferwaters
- Well Enough Alone
- Straight Jacket Fashion
- The Fad
- Humanoid
- Paint The Seconds
- Midnight to Midnight
- I Get It
- Saturdays
Customer Reviews:
Decent - Some songs superior and strong, others forgettable.......2007-07-18
Perhaps I'm being too critical, and that song to me is a 15 on a 10 scale and should not hold a bias for me when judging the rest of the songs on this album. The problem is that some of the songs don't have much of a connection with me, instrumentally or lyrically. At times I enjoy the edgy guitar riffs but for the most part I felt like a lot of these songs just float by instead of reaching out and grabbing me like "Saturdays" did. The song "Well enough Alone" is memorable as its razor sharp opening leads into some emotional singing, and again I am excited in hoping there are more on the album like it.
Then I started giving it time to grow on me, and it did. The song "Humanoid" has some great changeups with regards to varying riffs and also a song that seemed to stick with me at its very first listen. The song "Paint the Seconds" is stoic at times and although the riffs on this particular song seem to be too familiar in connection with other songs on the album, the chorus has a great crescendo to it that makes it different enough to add to the overall driving power it has. The song "I get it" is also very likable and puts the songwriting and vocals a bit more in the forefront, including an infectious beat found throughout.
Chevelle has managed to stay visible on the front lines of new rock bands that have emerged in this decade among the remnants of a "rock" industry that is always trying to find a new identity, but all too often having its poster child fall off a cliff as the assembly line pushes forward, not heeding that the bridge is out ahead. There is still enough talent within these guys to blaze new trails and I look forward to their next release, while continuing to enjoy albums in their past discography.
Nothing short of awesome!.......2007-07-16
As anyone should have expected the new Chevelle cd is perfect. Yeah, they lost a member (brother). But the member (brother-in-law) is such a perfect fit that I doubt anybody even notices. As long as Chevelle keeps pumping out the great cd's that they have been, I foresee another great band. Go ahead & purchase this cd, you will not be let down.
"Take a ride in the new Chevelle!" (possibly the dumbest review title possible).......2007-07-13
Confident yet not lazy in their niche in today's rock scene, Chevelle has a satisfying 3rd major label LP with Vena Sera. You think Pete Loeffler has run out of fingers to point? You think wrong. He, brother Sam, and brother-in-law Dean have yet to run out of ways to manipulate their signature booming, detuned sound to condemn the masses and sell rock records that stand head and shoulders above their contemporaries in their intensity and quality songwriting.
Unlike parts of TTOT, this record proves easily listenable from beginning to end. The middle offers the most intense and creative songs. "Straight Jacket Fashion" manages to switch with fluidity between a punk beat and their oft-reliable and smooth ¾ groove, the place the song comes in for its landing. "The Fad" and "Humanoid" are the darkest cuts on the album, the latter employing an old-school rhythm and turning it into a blistering hook reminiscent of a quicker "Family System". Second single "I Get It" deserves a mention as well for its prominent acoustic guitar (believe it or not) in the verses and its seething, sarcastic tone throughout.
Don't think you're going to gain any new insights into the meaning of the songs nor who the arrows are aimed at - just like the past records, Pete's lyrics are inscrutable. Even so, you have to admit that he manages to create some of the catchiest choruses in radio rock, even if you have little idea who he's pissed at. It's actually rather nice, especially in Chevelle's genre, to have some mystery in the meanings of the songs. (And isn't that the point of art anyway, to interpret it for yourself?)
Critics have always come down on Chevelle either for Tool/Helmet imitation or just for lack of deviation from the nu-metal masses. While Vena Sera is not likely to silence the critics, those who do "get it" should be very pleased...Chevelle at least is not trying to break into the Top 40 like other rock bands going through identity crises.
Sublime Work: Hardness & Feeling.......2007-07-09
Ok.......2007-07-08
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The Most Relaxing Classical Music in the Universe
Tomaso Giovanni Albinoni , Johann Sebastian Bach , Ralph Vaughan Williams , George Frideric Handel , Gustav Holst , Samuel Barber , Edvard Grieg , Jean Sibelius , Antonin Dvorak , Franz Liszt , Charles Gounod , Fryderyk Chopin , Alexander Borodin , Maurice Ravel , Antonio Vivaldi , Satie, Erik , and Various Artists Manufacturer: Denon Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Pavanes
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ASIN: B00008RH16 Release Date: 2003-04-08 |
Tracks:
- Canon - Pachelbel
- Eine Kleine Nachtmusik-Andante - Mozart
- Fur Elise - Beethoven
- String Quartet #1 - Tchaikovsky
- Clair De Lune - Debussy
- Idyl for Strings - Adagio - Janacek
- Adagio in G Mnor - Albinoni
- The Girl with the Flaxen Hair - Debussy
- Air on a G String - Bach
- Greensleeves - Vaughn Williams
- Largo from Xerxes - Handel
- Prelude in C - Bach
- The Planets - Venus - Holst
- Goldberg Variations - Aria - Bach
- Adagio for Strings - Barber
Tracks:
- Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun - Debussy
- Fur Elise - Beethoven
- Holberg Suite - Sarabande - Grieg
- Valse Triste - Sibelius
- Concerto in F Minor - Largo - Bach
- Serenade for String - Moderato - Dvorak
- Liebestraume - Liszt
- Ave Maria - Bach/Bounod
- Etude in E Major - Chopin
- String Quartet No 2 - Nocturne - Borodin
- Arabesque - Debussy
- Pavane for Dead Princess - Ravel
- The Four Seasons - Largo - Vivaldi
- Gymno0pedie 1 - Satie
- Moonlight Sonata - Adagio - Beethoven
- Piano Concerto No 21 - Andante - Mozart "Elvira Madigan"
Customer Reviews:
the most relaxing classical music in the university.......2007-05-12
My brother visited me recently and noticed it right away. That will be another order for this fabulour music.
Relaxing Classical Music.......2007-01-08
Also, it really helped being able to listen to parts of the music before purchasing.
Stress-freedom.......2006-03-14
Greatly enjoy!.......2006-02-23
the most relaxing classical music in the universe.......2005-09-21
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Chess
Bjorn Ulvaeus , and Tim Rice Manufacturer: Decca Broadway ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General
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ASIN: B000002GLR Release Date: 1996-07-23 |
Tracks:
- Merano - The Ambrosia Singers/Anders Eljas/Murray Head
- The Russian And Molokov/ Where I Want To Be - The Ambrosia Singers/Anders Eljas/Tommy Korberg/Denis Quilley
- Opening Ceremony - The Ambrosia Singers/Anders Eljas/Bjorn Skifs
- Quartet (A Model Of Decorum And Tranquility) - Elaine Paige/Tommy Korberg/Denis Quilley/Bjorn Skifs
- The American And Florence/Nobody's Side - Elaine Paige/Murray Head
- Chess - LSO/Anders Eljas
- Mountian Duet - Elaine Paige/Tommy Korberg
- Florence Quits - Elaine Paige/Murray Head
- Embassy Lament - Tommy Korberg/The Ambrosia Singers/Anders Eljas
- Anthem - Tommy Korberg
Tracks:
- Bangkok
- One Night In Bangkok
- Heaven Help My Heart
- Argument
- I Know Him So Well
- The Deal (No Deal)
- Pity The Child
- Endgame
- Epilogue: You And I / The Story Of Chess
Amazon.com
Chess is a musical that sounds like it shouldn't work but instead succeeds surprisingly well. This is the original concept album that was recorded before the musical was staged in London. Chess is the story of a love triangle told against the backdrop of an international chess tournament during the height of the cold war. The composers are Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus (the Bs in ABBA) and the lyrics are by Tim Rice, who supplied the words for Andrew Lloyd Webber's Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita, as well as Disney's Aladdin (with Howard Ashman), The Lion King, and Beauty and the Beast. The six-member cast does a beautiful job with the songs, which are a combination of ballads, rock, and operatic choruses. Murray Head's version of "One Night in Bangkok" became a surprise hit in the mid-'80s and it still turns up on the turntables in dance clubs around the world. --Michael SimmonsCustomer Reviews:
This should never have worked at all.......2007-06-18
While "Chess" may be a document of an era that no longer exists, there's a lot more going on than the surface metaphor. It holds up very well indeed. When it aims for humor, it generally succeeds, and likewise when it aims to devastate. What more can you ask for?
A GREAT AND OFTEN OVERLOOKED MUSICAL FROM THE 80-IS.......2007-03-04
This concept album is the main reason why the show has so many ardent fans until this day. Tim Rice wanted to write the show with the main plot revolving around chess for years and after his long time partner Andrew Lloyd Webber remained uninterested, he found the new collaborators in Ulvaeus and Andersson. The subject matter follows two international chess players in a championship, a Russian (Tommy Körberg) and an American (Murray Head) and a woman called Florence (Elaine Paige) who is a manager to the American but falls in love with the Russian. The story also draws a parallel between the game of chess and the cold war/real life situations.
This concept album was recorded in 1984, two years before the original London production took place. As the authors noted in the accompanying booklet, it was a work in progress and thusly the story is not quite readable here from the musical numbers alone. Despite that fact (which is amended by the synopsis included in the booklet), this album remains a winner. The score (played here by the London Symphonic Orchestra) itself makes an intriguing bland of the famous ABBA sound, the classical; the rock and the pop enhanced by the orchestral solo passages and the strong choral parts. The lush orchestrations add an epic touch to it and on the whole it is melodic and hummable, packed with great tunes. Some of the songs achieved huge success outside the musical: `I know him so well', a duet between Elaine Paige and Barbara Dickson, held the number one spot on the UK singles charts for 4 weeks in February 1985 and won Ivor Novello Award as the Best Selling Single; Murray Head's `One night in Bangkok' became one of the biggest dance hits of its time, often heard today. Some other notable tunes include `The Anthem' (Russian's deliberation on his homeland); the soaring rock songs `Where I want to be' and `Pity the child' (in the former, the Russian reflects upon his life under the spotlight; in the latter, the American ponders about his own unhappy childhood) or the gentle `Heaven help my heart' (in which Florence weighs up her relationship with the Russian).
A special reference must be made to Tim Rice's excellent lyrics. With `Chess' he managed to keep up to the high standards he set himself in `Jesus Christ Superstar' and Evita'. Again in this case he shows he is a lyrical wizard, with his familiar cynical touch. `The story of chess', in which he gives a history of the game in a couple of crafty verses, is a pure masterpiece. The same can be said of the song `I know him so well', where the two women reexamine their relationship with the same man. As a whole, `Chess' owes a lot of its appeal to Tim Rice's written word.
The cast on this album ranks the high standard of the material. The principal parts (sung by Elaine Paige, Tommy Körberg and Murray Head) are delivered in a strong and impeccable fashion.
This 2-disc edition comes with a booklet containing a note from the authors, a text about chess, a full synopsis and a libretto, together with the photos of the principal singers.
Anyone interested in the modern musical theatre should find `Chess' to be a great score with great lyrics, which should be enough to satisfy any aficionado.
Chess.......2007-01-15
One of my favorites!.......2007-01-12
Concepts get better with practice.......2006-11-27
With most Broadway musicals, the musical numbers tell the basic story of the show. If you listen to the recordings of Phantom, Mama Mia, Beauty and the Beast, you can discern the basic storyline of the show. Listening to this particular recording of Chess, though, will leave you wondering "What was that?" The Broadway arrival of Chess saw a much needed reworking of the storyline and arrangement of the musical numbers. This recording seems too much like a mish-mash of songs that don't really relate to each other.
For musical fanatics (like myself), I say "yes, you should have this recording in your collection", if only to understand how much work went into the show before it opened on Broadway.
If you are only buying the album because of "One Night In Bangkok", purchase the Broadway recording instead; you'll be much happier with the performance by Phillip Casnoff rather than Murray Head.
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Relaxation Body Scan & Guided Imagery for Well-Being
Manufacturer: Carolyn McManus ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B0000AGUCJ Release Date: 2003-06-01 |
Tracks:
- Relaxation Body Scan
- Guided Imagery for Well-Being
Album Description
The ability to relax your body and calm you mind is necessary for health and well-being. This recording helps you discover your capacities for relaxation and inner calm.Relaxation Body Scan introduces you to simple breathing exercises that relax your body and calm your mind. Guidance to relax each muscle group in your body is provided. The program concludes with awareness of your entire body resting in a state of relaxation.
Guided Imagery for Well-Being begins with a brief relaxation body scan, followed by a guided journey to a calm and peaceful place. You are invited to experience peace, balance, well-being and any positive feeling or quality you would like to strengthen within yourself. The program concludes by guiding you to experience these positive feelings and qualities in your body in the present moment.
Customer Reviews:
Extremely Relaxing!!!.......2007-02-14
I've tried meditating but my mind always wanders. This cd was excellent in helping to keep my focus on my breathing. After a session I feel absolutely renewed!
Better of the relaxation CD's I've tried.......2006-01-18
expert quidance in relaxation.......2004-05-20
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Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris (1966 Original Off-Broadway Cast)
Jacques Brel , Ocr , Elly Stone , and Mort Shuman Manufacturer: Sony ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD France
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ASIN: B000067AS5 Release Date: 2002-05-28 |
Tracks:
- Marathon
- Alone
- Madeleine
- I Loved
- Mathilde
- Bachelor's Dance
- Timid Frieda
- My Death
- Jackie
- Desperate Ones
- Sons Of.
- Amsterdam
- The Bulls
- Old Folks
- Marieke
- Brussels
- Fanette
- Funeral Tango
- The Middle Class
- You're Not Alone
- Next
- Carousel
- If We Only Have Love
Amazon.com
At the time of this show's 1968 Greenwich Village debut, French singer-songwriter Jacques Brel's body of theatrically insightful ballads was already an obscure but deeply influential treasure trove for many American musicians. The revue's success would go on to influence artists as diverse as Leonard Cohen, Bowie (who covered "Amsterdam" shortly thereafter), and Sinatra, and it may even be responsible for one-hit wonder Terry Jacks's revival of "Seasons in the Sun".More important, the pioneering musical-without-a-book helped introduce Brel's oft-brooding, ever evocative art to a wider American audience--and arguably had an evolutionary influence on Broadway itself. This complete reissue of the 1968 boxed set cast album offers up a rich cross-section of Brel's songs about life, death, and love--and typically sharp-eyed observations about the human follies that season them--deftly performed by a cast that includes Elly Stone, Alice Whitfield, Shawn Elliott, and, crucially, rock pioneer, Brel associate, and co-producer Mort Shuman. This new edition fleshes out the set with the sessions' only unreleased song, a sprightly take on the deliciously cynical "The Middle Class." --Jerry McCulley
Customer Reviews:
Jaques Brel still lives.......2007-04-02
Fabulous Show.......2007-02-22
Jacques Brel lives on through English Translation of his songs.......2007-02-12
A Little Night Music...........2007-01-23
I had a good friend who was in the show for one summer, maybe 79 or 80. Just a sad staging in a little town in Appalachia trying on some Paris. We had a dinner theater in our town, which meant an old building , some tables, small area and a stage kind of and some curtains. Rather ambitious for the town, they staged summer shows of Brel. And other things too, finally. My girlfriend as she often did hooked me into her evenings and I made drinks there as well as gave a few musical efforts and some easily forgotten attempts at choral support. On nights someone didn't show. You actually also made the food and sang the show, in those days for your audience, who tended to tip fairly poorly and be the local lawyers and med school doctors dragged out by wives seeking a cultural night of dinner theater. It was a kind of starving kids for ten bucks sing, act, cook, serve vodka/tonics, smoke and tell you the story of Boheme life while mixing blue cheese from packets of powder and creme in a frenzy preparing to figure out who plays the piano well enough as the player won't being pissed over low wages and a remark made about his big derrière. That kind of a summer. Songs probably wasted on the young.
All that said, it was/is a lovely collection of songs. Even better an experience when you learn and sing the French and can then argue incessantly about the translations and "feel" of the shows on two continents. I loved then to sing them, and find a tune floating in my head tonight from no where-just there- when "No. Love You're Not Alone" actually woke me. The American film was awful, the show best seen in revival and smoky nights in clubs. Then, in 1980 or so, it made my life richer, it's probably a good thing Susanna was such a friend...though I didn't understand, we dragged ourselves to a lot of meaning.And that rather odious experience in the Bahamas.
I think this worthy of time and listening. And a big moon would be cool, to walk on the shore and hear it once more. Think I'll slip out awhile.
Fine Singer / Actors Do Brel Justice.......2007-01-15
Unbeknownst to them, about the same time Elly Stone heard her first Brel recording, Mort Shuman was undergoing something of a revelation across the Atlantic. In the midst of a successful career writing rock and roll songs (including hits for Elvis Presley, and the ubiquitous teenage anthem, Save The last Dance For Me), Mort Shuman had been wandering restlessly around Europe, and came to settle for a time in Paris. There, he became acquainted with Brel's music, and, later, with the man himself, and the two became close friends. Shuman convinced Brel that he should be allowed to translate some of his better-known songs into English, and bring them to America. More on the strength of their friendship than Shuman's reputation as a songwriter, Brel agreed, but a problem soon emerged. Although Shuman had mastered French surprisingly well, he was finding the task of translating Brel's songs quite daunting. After several attempts, Shuman found his English versions sorely lacking. He realized that it was not only that he had become too enraptured with Brel's work to find the objectivity required to do them justice, but it also became apparent that Brel's songs reflected too much of the French philosophy and politics to appeal to an American public largely besotted on syrupy, trite love songs.
Shuman returned to America, vowing to find a way to introduce Brel's songs to an English speaking public. By this time, Nat Shapiro had heard Elly Stone perform Eric Blau's first translations of Brel, and wanted more. In November 1966, Nat Shapiro persuaded Mort Shuman to hear Elly Stone perform at Julius Monk's Plaza 9, despite Shuman's reluctance, which derived from his belief that only a male singer could do Brel justice. At a table with Shapiro and a very nervous Eric Blau, Shuman applauded politely. "She's good", he told Blau, "the translations are real good". It must have rankled him somewhat that it was Blau and not Shuman who first successfully translated Brel to English.
Nat Shapiro also had the idea for the perfect venue to introduce Brel to America - an off-Broadway show. Not exactly a revue, since that implied that the songs had been heard before, what eventually took shape was the first "libretto-less" musical, Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris. In addition to Elly Stone and Eric Blau's enthusiasm for Brel's music, Elly's amazing talent had won Shuman over and convinced him to work with Blau on the translations. Two years later, their labor of love finally introduced Brel's songs to an American public that was as ready for Brel, as Brel's songs were ready for America.
I am somewhat puzzled by the negative reviews by those who insist that Brel's songs can never be appreciated in anything but the original French. When Eric Blau realized, as Mort Shuman had earlier, that Brel's songs could never be translated exactly to American English (steeped as they were in French life and politics), they agreed to go for the next best thing. They opted to translate Brel's songs as closely as they could, but, when this was not possible, they kept Brel's melodies while attempting to retain the spirit of his writing, if not his actual words. What resulted were often very good translations indeed. One only has to compare the French text of songs that became Jackie, the Old Folks, Brussels, the Middle Class, Madeleine or Amsterdam to realize that, for the most part, the narrative and spirit (and sometimes even the lyrics) closely matched Brel's originals. Two additional translations, Song For Old Lovers and My Childhood, which also resembled the originals, were recorded by Elly Stone on her (now very rare) self-titled Columbia album. Miss Stone also recorded Goodbye My Friends for her second album, which was arguably a superior version of Brel's Le Moribond than the dreadful version by Rod McKuen, Seasons In the Sun.
In other cases, the translations altered Brel's songs in such a way as to make them more palatable to American tastes, while retaining Brel's concept. Thus, Jef, a song in which a man tries to cheer up a drinking buddy who has lost a great love, becomes a love song, in which one partner attempts to bolster the melancholy spirit of their beloved. In fact, some would argue that the beautiful prose of No Love You're Not Alone not only equals the poetic imagery of Brel's original lyrics quite adequately, they are actually an improvement. Conversely, When We Only Have Love was transformed from a love song to an anthem for brotherly love, yet did not destroy Brel's concept or his "poetry", but successfully built on it. Brel, by the way, often pointed out that, in his culture, it would be unforgivably vain for a songwriter to compare himself to a poet. To the French, poetry is not only a much higher art form than songwriting, Brel did not consider songwriting an art at all, but merely "a craft". All told, there are, in fact, only a few songs in this show where the lyrics, content, spirit, tone and / or subject matter were completely altered from Brel's originals.
When the show premiered in Canada, the creators were terrified that they would be taken to task by the French Canadian press for daring to present Brel in English there, as Brel is highly prized in Canada. Instead, it was the English Canadian press who savaged the show. But the French Canadian journalist, Rudel-Tessier (a bi-lingual writer, quite familiar with Brel in French) stated flatly that, although in translating the work, some of Blau / Shuman went in and some of Brel came out, he found it marvelous to have Brel in English at all. And, he gently chided his peers by pointing out that, while Shakespeare is quite popular in French, the Bard will never be quite the same in French as he is in English. So, to those who say you cannot appreciate Brel's songs in anything but French I reply, this show was written for those who never have, and never will, understand a single word of French. Does anyone really think that those who only speak French should be deprived of Shakespeare?
Even if none of this were true, I would like to point out that Jacques Brel himself, armed with exact French translations of the English lyrics, personally approved every song that was written for the show before the decision to produce it was finalized.
Besides, the passion and reverence that these performers feel for Brel and this material is evident in every song, and to those who claim that this show is an insult to Brel, I answer that it's an insult to the efforts of this fine cast to suggest that they had anything but his best interests at heart, and, as someone who is quite familiar with Brel in French, I believe they succeeded brilliantly. And as fine a songwriter as you can argue that Brel is in French, well, Elly Stone is equally as fine a singer in any language, and I bemoan the fact that she virtually squandered the balance of her career championing Brel's work, when she could have made a major name for herself, based solely on her own talent. Having seen Elly Stone perform live many times (in and out of this show), I will attest to the fact that, in her prime, she had the most impressive voice I have ever heard in a concert hall.
And in the end, it was Brel himself who gave the supreme complement to this effort. At one point, Eric Blau fretted when, in order to more closely translate Brel's lyrics to la Mort (My Death), he and Shuman had to alter Brel's melody. When they sent the new song to Brel, he responded, "You have improved it; it's better than mine". A year after the show opened, Brel flew in to New York to see it. That night, he led a standing ovation for the performers, and modestly told Blau and Shuman repeatedly that they had not only exceeded his expectations, in many instances, they had improved his work. He also told Elly Stone that she was, "the finest lady performer" he had ever seen (including Piaf, whom she was often compared to unfairly) and he told her that he wanted to write new songs specifically for her. Unfortunately for us, he never had time, but it was a testament to her talent and artistic integrity that Brel offered.
And if Brel himself was pleased with the translations featured in this glorious production, why should anyone quarrel with that?
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Andrea Bocelli - Sacred Arias / Myung-Whun Chung
George Frideric Handel , Giulio Caccini , Charles Gounod , Franz Schubert , Cesar Franck , Gioachino Rossini , Giuseppe Verdi , Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , Richard Wagner , Pietro Mascagni , Louis Niedermeyer , Franz Xaver Gruber , John Francis Wade , Jean-Paul Lecot , Myung-Whun Chung , and Andrea Bocelli Manufacturer: Philips ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General
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Bocelli, Andrea
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ASIN: B00002ND9N Release Date: 1999-11-09 |
Tracks:
- Caccini/Mercurio: Ave Maria
- Mascagni: Sancta Maria
- Gounod: Ave Maria
- Schubert: Ave Maria
- Franck: Panis Angelicus
- Rossini: Cuius animam
- Verdi: Ingemisco
- Mozart: Ave verum
- Wagner: Der Engel
- Handel: Ombra mai fu
- Niedermeyer: Pieta signore
- Rossini: Dominus Deus
- Schubert/Mercurio: Mille Cherubini in coro
- Gruber/Mercurio: Silent Night
- Wade: Adeste Fideles
- Gloria a te, Cristo Ges
Amazon.com
When he was growing up, Andrea Bocelli recalls finding inspiration in a favorite recording of sacred music performed by tenor legend Franco Corelli. Bocelli--who in the meantime has come to inspire millions of fiercely loyal fans himself--returns to the genre as the guiding theme of Sacred Arias, the release of which coincides with the first English-language biography of the singer. These performances are filled with the singer's phenomenally well-known vocal signature: his flair for long, sweetly floating high notes and the gentle sense of cadence he brings to a melody. It's a mistake to compartmentalize Bocelli into a singer of "operatic" versus "popular" styles: in truth his approach is at heart the same. Lack of color and control in his phrasing remains a drawback, but the emotional empathy Bocelli evokes is never in doubt. The arias collected here sample some of the most famous devotional pieces: Schubert's "Ave Maria" and Mozart's transporting "Ave Verum," as well as an arrangement of "Silent Night" in which Bocelli tries out his English. There's also a decidedly odd choice of bedfellows for a program of "sacred" music, such as a song from Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder (whose "angel" is the object of an overpoweringly erotic attraction) and Handel's figurative ode to a tree, "Ombra mai fu." Still, Bocelli sings with an unfeigned directness that is sure to expand his already enormous following even further. --Thomas MayCustomer Reviews:
Beautiful music.......2007-01-12
Andrea Bocelli has a very gorgeous voice that is a gift from above. His voice is not affected or braggadoccio but naturally magnificent. I could and do start my day listening to this spiritually uplifting CD almost everyday. It is a wonderful way to get off to a pleasant peaceful start, but also a nice way to come home in the evening if you have a CD player in your car. I highly recommend it to all.
Andrea Bocelli-Sacred Arias.......2006-08-25
An "experience" of sacred arias more than "listening" of sacred arias.......2006-04-28
amazing talent.......2006-03-25
Perfect arias for the perfect voice.......2006-03-04
I have noticed one concern with the CD. I have heard several clicks scattered here and there in the songs -- but the CD is clean and I feel confident it is not the machine. Has anyone else noticed this?
Average customer rating:
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Plays Well With Others
Wayne Bergeron Manufacturer: Concord Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General
| Jazz
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Contemporary Big Band
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ASIN: B000G73UDG Release Date: 2007-01-09 |
Tracks:
- Endless Torture (Tortura Sin Fin)
- Maynard & Waynard
- Scheherazade
- You Go To My Head
- Georgia
- Samba Brassiliero
- High Clouds And A Good Chance Of Wayne
- Requiems
- You Hid What In The Sousaphone?
- The Hipster
Amazon.com
A trumpeter with chops from here to San Diego, a no-nonsense approach to soloing, and an 18-piece band that hits and swings hard, Wayne Bergeron is a classic product of the West Coast studio system. The patron saint of Plays Well With Others is the late Maynard Ferguson, whose appearance here on the comparatively toned down "Maynard and Waynard" was one of his final recorded efforts. Bergeron, who has been heard behind countless pop artists, is not the stratospheric threat Ferguson was, but he embodies the same brash aesthetic in leading his well-drilled ensemble through a program that ranges from driving originals by the likes of Big Phat Band leader Gordon Goodwin to a rhythmic awakening of "Georgia" to go-for-the-throat ballads like "Requiems" to a frisky reading of Rimsky Korsakov's "Scheherazade." Those who like a bit more subtlety or wit in their mainstream big bands might want to look elsewhere. But for those who like these sounds straight up and fancy free, this is a good place to be. --Lloyd SachsCustomer Reviews:
Wayne...Wow!.......2007-05-12
Absolutely splendid!.......2007-04-11
Simply the best of everything.......2007-04-05
Yours sincerely,
Peter Tuason
wayne Bergeron's new CD.......2007-03-18
Bill Peterson
He Really DOES Play Well with Others :-) ..........2007-03-15
The variety of styles represented on this CD is great. He does some serious screaming, some great ensemble stuff, some wonderful improvisation and just flat out plays well with others :-) ...
I can pretty much assure you won't be disappointed. If you are, write to Wayne. He's promised a triple refund of the purchase price for those not completely satisfied with this CD. Well, maybe not, but I'm pretty sure he'd be able to and never have to send a cent.
Get it. Listen to it. Be inspired (he really is good). Be nauseated (he's so good it'll make you sick). Enjoy (music made with such passion, polish and power is an absolute pleasure to hear).
Average customer rating:
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Encore
Russell Watson , and Leonard Bernstein Manufacturer: Decca ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Leoncavallo
| Leoncavallo, Ruggiero
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ASIN: B00006JI9W Release Date: 2002-10-01 |
Tracks:
- Va, Pensiero (Verdi)
- Volare
- The Prayer
- 'O Sole Mio
- Ave Maria
- Mattinata (Leoncavallo)
- You Are So Beautiful
- Somewhere
- Che Gelida Manina (Puccini)
- E Lucevan Le Stelle (Puccini)
- Magic Of Love
- Catch The Tears
- Is Nothing Sacred?
- Bohemian Rhapsody
- Celeste Aida (Verdi)
- Where My Heart Will Take Me (from "Enterprise")
Amazon.com
Following up on the release of his debut CD, The Voice, Russell Watson is back with Encore, another mix of opera favorites and popular songs. By now Watson has become virtually a household name--he sells out large concert venues and remains on the top-seller charts. On Encore, we find Puccini and Verdi sharing the billing with Lulu and Lionel Ritchie on the CD's 16 tracks, which range from the much-loved Bach-Gounod "Ave Maria" to "Where My Heart Will Take Me," the theme for Enterprise (the latest Star Trek TV series). Indeed, a more fitting title might have been The Voices, since Watson explores opera, sacred works, film, television themes, and pop songs. The orchestral arrangements on tracks such as "Va, Pensiero" may not win him any fans from the opera contingency, but Watson reveals a captivating sound on pop ballads, including "You Are So Beautiful" and "Somewhere." If you enjoyed The Voice, you're certain to want an encore. --Rebecca AgnewCustomer Reviews:
awsome CD.......2007-06-09
Versatile Singer.......2007-03-30
il divo ancora music.......2006-11-10
Amazing..........2006-05-05
His wrost CD.......2005-01-12
The Classical stuff is great but The pop stuff is some of the wrose pop stuff he has even done.
Average customer rating:
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If Your Memory Serves You Well
Serena Ryder Manufacturer: Back Porch ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General
| Alternative Rock
| Styles
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Folk Rock
| Rock
| Styles
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General
| Rock
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ASIN: B000OYC7JE Release Date: 2007-06-05 |
Tracks:
- Sisters of Mercy
- This Wheel's on Fire
- My Heart Cries for You
- Some of These Days
- Quand Les Hommes Vivront d'Amour
- It Doesn't Matter Anymore
- (Take Me for a Walk in The) Morning Dew
- Boo Hoo
- Coconut Grove
- You Were on My Mind
- Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream
- Weak in the Knees
- Out of the Blue
- Just Another Day
Customer Reviews:
An Amazing Voice and Masterful arrangements.......2007-06-22
I was not familiar with some of the covers, but Sisters of Mercy, Starshine and You Were on My Mind are all old favorites and I was knocked out by her recreation of them. The musicians who played on this CD with her, whom she gives much credit to in the liner notes, are amazing. The arrangements in combination with that voice that ranges from country to jazz to folk to broadway and back in husky, whiskey-hued, high and bright, sailing, well...you get the idea.
If you like variety this CD gives you everything from blues to protest, from ballad to show tune. You wont listen to a more evocative CD this year.
Oh yeah, and she writes her own stuff too, three of the tracks are hers and stand shoulder to shoulder with the covers.
Pop Music:
- Zen Spirit
- Zydeco Dance Hall
- All the Best from Hawaii, Vol. 2
- Architextures
- Band Room Masters Solo Drumming Competition
- Belle Epoque
- Best of Italy, Vol. 2
- Booniay!!: A Compilation of West African Funk
- Celtic Moods [Import]
- Classics
