Hotel [Import]

Product Description
Japanese deluxe 2 CD edition of Moby's 2005 album, includes the bonus track 'Put On The Headphones' and a second CD Hotel-Ambient with 11 tracks. Virgin.

Tracks:

I am Trying to Break Your Heart
Kamera
Radio Cure
War on War
Jesus, etc.
Ashes of American Flags
Heavy Metal Drummer
I'm the Man Who Loves You
Pot Kettle Black
Poor Places
Reservations

Amazon.com

Named in honor of the three-word codes used by short-wave radio operators, Wilco's fourth album sounds like a late-night broadcast of some weirdly wonderful pop station punctuated by static and the sonic bleed of competing signals. Songs that begin with simple, elegiac grace--"Ashes of American Flags" and "Poor Places"--end in a cathartic squall of distortion. The results can be initially jarring, but it's these tracks more than the sturdy jangle pop of "Kamera" or "Heavy Metal Drummer" that demand, and reward, repeated listens. Mixed by studio experimentalist Jim O'Rourke and produced by the band, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot harkens back to a time when the words "pop" and "sonic adventurism" weren't mutually exclusive. The Beatles and Kurt Cobain knew this, and clearly so do Jeff Tweedy and company. --Keith Moerer

Album Description

11 songs about America that echo and update some of the themes heard on early albums by The Band, Bob Dylan, and Neil Young. Enhanced format features exclusive live footage, band photos, and a trailer for the film 'I Am Trying to Break Your Heart'. Slipcase. 2002.

Customer Reviews:

Classic.......2007-06-20

I bought this album because, using my Rhapsody account, I had listened to "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart" and really, really liked it. I still love this track. However, songs I didn't like at first (a surprising amount of the album, god knows why), such as "Kamera", "Radio Cure", "War On War", "Jesus, Etc.", and "Heavy Metal Drummer" (gee, that really is most of the album) I have grown to really, really like too. "Kamera" is a nice, fairly poppish tune accentuated by relatively unusual production and a very catchy melody. "Radio Cure" has sort of a drifting beginning, but it all fits together and has one of the most addicting choruses(?) (I dunno if it's truly a chorus) of all time. "Oh, distance has no way/of making love/understandable". Simple, perhaps even cliche. But in Wilco's hands, lovely. "War on War". Stylistically similar to "Kamera", really, but sounds a lot different. Again, a grower for me, but oh so addictive once I started to like it. "Jesus, Etc." is basically Wilco's alt-country roots breaking through, with non-sappy violins and sort of a mellow vibe adding to this feel. Kind of emotional. As others have said, this could almost be about 9/11 if it wasn't. "Tall buildings shake/voices escape/singing sad sad songs/tuned to chords/strung down your cheeks/bitter melodies/turning your orbit around". Yeah, pretty much sounds like the Twin Towers aftermath. It makes this song sort of sad. I think it was intended to be, though, anyway. "Heavy Metal Drummer" is basically another pop tune. Big frickin' deal. Great song, good lyrics about the cheesy metal days of either Tweedy's actual or just the character in the song's childhood. I'm willing to bet it's the character's, why would these guys reminisce (sp?) about KISS?
Yes, these songs are totally the highlights. But again, like most of the albums I've reviewed lately, there's not a dud to be found here.

Album of the year: 2002.......2007-03-15

Wilco had already been around for many years when they released this record and had received their fair share of critical plaudits. But nothing in their back catalogue sounded as good as this record. "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" combines excellent songwriting with spare, effective production to create one of the best records of the decade so far. Alienation is a recurring theme in these songs and there are times when the slightly deadpan vocals or bursts of dissonance aim in the same direction but overall the sound of this album is warm and personal. The guitars have a clean, warm sound and the songs are written more from the heart than the head. A word that springs to mind is likeable: this is an easy album to like and keep coming back to.

I love this album........2007-02-08

I've been listening to music for 40 years, and it's rare for me to write fan mail. However, I can't think of any other group that does to me today what the Beatles did 40 years ago--Wilco makes me wish I could walk up and shake their hands and say "Thank you". That's how much I like this album. It's innovative, beautiful music that doesn't have a bit of extra crap thrown in. Unlike some bands, Wilco even makes "noise" sound like an essential part of the music--it isn't artsy-fartsy at all. Anyway, you get the point--buy this album, listen to it 5 or 6 times, and you'll want more.

Solid pop music........2007-01-07

I actually understand where many who don't like this come from. This isn't really the most energetic album I've come across at all, but it's not about being heavy or intense -- it is neither of those things. Also, I agree that the excessive hype made me hesistant and I still think Wilco are a very overrated band, however, this is one time when they actually do impress me. If you followed them before, this might not seem as "groundbreaking" as other critics kept calling it. There are a bunch of great songs, and one thing I also disagree about it people talking about how the record's esoteric. It's not. These are mostly pop songs, although in cases like "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart," the electronics of the track come in, kind of like a new element to their song. Also, the group transcended from alt-country long earlier in their career, arguably as far back as "Being There" from '96. Jeff Tweedy is not an amazing vocalist, but is listenable and fits with the music fine enough. I may also note that his voice doesn't exactly sound uplifting, either. The emotion/character and the songs are what make "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" a great record. It did not seem unnecessary to me like the re-hash of older works put through new age music (in my terms) known as "A Ghost Is Born," and the songs do more for me than on "Summerteeth," actually.

If I could make any complaint, it's that "Reservations" could have ended about three minutes sooner. That was a completely unnecessary and draggy ending. That being said, it is a minor complaint, and if you're into hooks, give it some time for them to sink in because they are there. This record is a winner and while I'm not huge on Wilco, I am a fan of "YHF".

In Defense of Wilco.......2007-01-02

I wholeheartedely and unappoligetically love Wilco. I love ever album that they have ever made, and even love the DVD's that they have released. I also do not consider myself a pretentious intellectual with an indier than thou mentality. I love all kinds of music, but Wilco just happens to be my favorite band, and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is my favorite album.

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was released four years ago and I still listen to it all the time. There is not a weak or wasted moment on the entire album. YHF starts off with possibly the bleakest song in the Wilco catalogue, the haunting and poetic I Am Tring to Break Your Heart. Right from the get go, if your a fan of Wilco's earlier material you might be turned off by the noise and production techniques on this album. I Am Trying to Break Your Heart features plenty of noise and dissonance to go along with the haunting lyrics. I urge you to give it a chance and listen to it a few times, because the material is complex and it takes time to sink in.

From there the album lightens up, with songs that are catchy and warm, even a bit romantic. The most surprising part of this album is that it is incredibly catchy despite all the noise and dissonance in the production. Heavy Metal Drummer is a nostalgic tune about getting started in rock and roll, Ashes of American Flags is a slow and touching ballad with a great soundscape.

Overall I feel that this album is a classic and the best album to come along so far this decade. Some have critcized the production by claiming that it takes away from the songs and is distracting. I feel completely opposite. I think that the noise and production enhance the songs. As Jay Bennett said about the production "we didn't want to make just a bunch of folk songs, we wanted something more." So I recommend this to Wilco fans and fans of groups like Radiohead, Pink Floyd, and Brian Eno. But I urge you to give it a chance, even if you struggle with it in the beginning.

Average customer rating:

Welcome to the Hotel California
4 1/2 stars.
This isn't Wasted Time
Can't check out
Eagles at their absolute height.... bring back Felder!

Hotel California
Eagles
Manufacturer: Elektra / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Eagles - Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975
The Long Run
Desperado
Hell Freezes Over
Rumours

ASIN: B000002GVO
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

Hotel California
New Kid In Town
Life In The Fast Lane
Wasted Time
Wasted Time (Reprise)
Victim Of Love
Pretty Maids All In A Row
Try And Love Again
The Last Resort

Amazon.com essential recording

It's no accident that The Eagles Greatest Hits might one day pass Michael Jackson's Thriller as the best-selling album of all time-- the Eagles made great singles. By contrast, their albums could be spotty and strained by self-conscious artistry. Hotel California was arguably the band's best single album--it was certainly the Eagles' biggest original disc-- and it also underscored the band's need to make a big statement. The title tune reflected the album's theme of paradise lost in California, painting this picture with a musical arrangement that punctuated strumming guitars with dramatic drums, and perhaps the band's most famous lyric: "You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave." "New Kid in Town" was an equally fine albeit much more traditional Eagles ballad. "Life in the Fast Lane" aspired to hard rock but largely gunned its engine without taking off. The rest is okay, but nothing more than secondary Eagles songs that happened to be nestled into the album that came to define the `70s supergroup. --John Milward

Album Description

From the original master tapes on 24 karat Gold disc. Booklet includes complete original artwork. Standard jewel case.

Customer Reviews:

Welcome to the Hotel California.......2007-06-10

This is quintessential Eagles. The CD is chocked full of tunes that made the Eagles famous. A fine collection any fan of the Eagles would enjoy. One of my favorite CDs in college. You can check out, but you can never leave. A classic line that really brought back my days of struggling through my first year adjusting to college and being away from home. A great CD, in my humble opinion.

4 1/2 stars........2007-04-07

the hotel california, baby. in my neck of the musical woods (been listening to a lot of john coltrane lately) you are supposed to dislike the eagles. pure snobbery. i will have none of it. this is a fantastic album. the closing number, "the last resort," is reason enough alone to have this thing in your home. an absolutely beautiful song. seven minutes and twenty-five seconds of exquisite songcraft. not really a dud song anywhere on the album, in fact. this is the eagles masterpiece. no doubt. commercial music that is heartfelt, emotional, and fine. don't be a snob. check it out.

This isn't Wasted Time.......2007-04-01

This is one of the Eagles two best albums(the other being Desperado) and that doesn't mean that their other albums weren't good, however, both of these albums really are great from beginning to end. Okay so the first three songs were/are played to death on the radio. This is another album that surprises me that it was a hit because it's so dark for the most part and doesn't sound like the other stuff that was being played on the radio at the time. A song like Wasted Time reminds me of an updated tourch song and not really anything like the Bay City Rollers or Tony Orlando And Dawn(big hits at the time). Originally this was going to be the last Eagles album but the record company had other ideas. This is also the first with Joe Walsh in the band and his main song on the album Pretty Maids All In A Row is the best song he's ever written. Randy should be pointed out for his tune Try And Love Again which is also the only song on here in which the band does it's country/rock thing. Once again, I would suggest going with the box set and getting the mini lp sleeve version.

Can't check out.......2007-03-13

Time has passed Bachman Turner Overdrive, Ted Nugent and thankfully, The Hansens by, for reasons that only the gods and Robert Hilburn know. Bands may have their peak, but they don't often stay at the summit for decades to haunt the listener with a new nuance or an unheard overtone or a lyric that takes on new meaning or a vocal that pulls a tear when years before it generated a giggle. Time proves the mettle of the band in the maelstrom of public opinion and in the pop culture mindset of society.

A review of Hotel California in the classic sense of a track-by-track critique is folly. It's like going to the symphony to discover that Mahler should be capable of more subtlety, or to take issue with the color of the Golden Gate Bridge. The CD (or the "album" as we remember it) is now a part of us. To take it down to its component parts is like pulling the cornerstone from the Chrysler Building out for inspection. Pick it apart all you like, but there's no replacing a masterpiece of memory. It's not going anywhere. It's the Petrified Forest of rock.

Great music, music that transcends, that transports, is for all time, and messing with the components risks an awakening of evil spirits, a cacophonous clash of cultural traps, a probable trip to the edge of the abyss. DON'T GO THERE. The Eagles are as they were, an aural collection, and recollection for the ages.

Eagles at their absolute height.... bring back Felder!.......2007-03-09

The title says it all. I scrouged $5 of pocket money from my parents in 1977 to buy the vinyl LP and it stayed on my turntable for about a year (only occasionally to be replaced for a breif moment by other greats such as Dark Side of the Moon). This is the Eagles at their peak and not a throwaway track on the album. 30 years later it is on my iPod. The title track is haunting and the ripping guitar solo at the end is a simply brilliant guitar interplay between two of the most under-rated and genius rock guitarists about, Joe Walsh and Don Felder. The album is a nice blend of hard ripping rock (Felder's solo on Victim of Love is simply "wicked" - supposedly done "live in the studio" with no overdubs) and lovely melodic softer tunes (I really like Randy Meisner's often passed over "Try and Love Again"). Only bands of the quality of the Eagles can do this variety on one album and pull it off. The guitars are alternatively, haunting (like Henley's vocals), melodic (like G.Frey) and hard edged. Lyics are bitingly cynical and still relevant today... how many people still say the famous line "...you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave?"
Eagles are also brilliant live. If you like this you will also like Joe Walsh's "You Can't Argue with a Sick Mind" CD and The Eagles Farewell 1 Live DVD (it's great except there's no Felder [boo-hoo], but otherwise Joe is great....). Try also Jay Ferguson's "Thunder Island" for more cruisier stuff from the same year.

Average customer rating:

All goes on and on and...
YUM
Best Album Ever.
Meh.
Mangum's voice

In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
Neutral Milk Hotel
Manufacturer: Merge Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0000019PA
Release Date: 1998-02-10

Tracks:

The King Of Carrot Flowers Part 1
The King Of Carrot Flowers Part 2 & 3
In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
Two - Headed Boy
The Fool
Holland, 1945
Communist Daughter
Oh Comely
Ghost
Untitled
Two - Headed Boy Part 2

Amazon.com's Best of 1998

Just from the opening seconds of Neutral Milk Hotel's second album, you know it's going to be special: the acoustic guitar strum is catchy beyond belief, and Jeff Magnum's intonation lends credibility even to a line like "When you were young, you were the King of Carrot Flowers." Listening to In the Aeroplane is like stepping through Alice's looking glass; you enter a fantastic new universe that, while it doesn't always make sense logically, feels like the home you never had. --Randy Silver

Amazon.com essential recording

Led by Jeff Magnum, In the Aeroplane over the Sea finds the Neutral Milk Hotel assemblage loosely performing a series of narratives backed by folksy acoustic guitar. But from that springboard, a quiver of instruments (horns, organs, accordions, saws, banjo, zanzithophone, etc.) are layered into a sometimes rootsy, sometimes lo-fi, and often psychedelic mix. Contrary to most pop experimentalists, NMH songs stretch way past the two-minute mark: "Two Headed Boy" transforms from a Guided by Voices-ish romp into a New Orleans big band funeral march, "The Fool" is as catchy as anything Poi Dog Pondering ever produced, and "Holland" builds up to a crescendo of saw, Uillean pipes, a chorus of voices, and fuzzed-out guitar. Simply irresistible. --Jason Verlinde

Customer Reviews:

All goes on and on and..........2007-07-15

It's great. There's not much else to say in 2007 that hasn't already been said already...certainly one of the top ten of the last decade.

If there's one track that I don't think gets enough love it's the Untitled track. No lyrics but just an awesome blast of bagpipes and organ.

YUM.......2007-05-11

I cannot help but feel this is the most _indie_ album in my collection. Each song, in general, uses little more than an acoustic guitar and carefully paced vocals, yet each song attains an atmosphere and, in some cases, intensity not easily achieved even with more complex instrumentation. For instance, the first track 'The King of Carrot Flowers' begins with an oh-so simple acouatic guitar strum, yet the tight rhythm and easy flow of the chord progression is immediately enticing. Add to this the somewhat oblique lyrics (which fit the style of music and vocal delivery to a tee), and a brilliant building structure culminating in the second part of the track, and you have a veritable tour de force in the first two songs!

The stark and deliberately simplistic nature of the music could be offputing, but there is actually a fair deal of diversity and the unexpected present here. 'Oh Comely' my favourite track, does begin with the trademark acoustic strum, yet unfolds into so much more over eight minutes, with horns, vocal crescendos and sparse interludes all incorporated. Also, the suprisingly rocking 'Ghost', the excellent untitled instrumental (which revamps certain musical themes from throughout the album) and the dreamy psych of 'Communist Daughter' complement the more conventional 'Two Headed Boy' the title track, and 'Holland, 1945'.

What I want to get across then is the fact that, even though the musiacl approach is almost deliberately simplistic, and the lyrics rambling and nebulous, the sheer weight of songwriting here carries the whole thing through. The record is just unbelievably consistent, the melancholy, slightly deranged atmosphere is unique and interesting, and the songs have an insular, personal quality that ensures they are very endearing. So yes, I think it's a classic.

Best Album Ever........2007-05-09

The previous reviewer implies that when Mangum yells out "I love you Jesus Christ", he is making an ironic joke. This is not a joke for the listener to be in on, it is one of many challenges presented to the listener (the liner notes and other interviews make this clear). That Mangum does love Jesus Christ and is willing to put this on the line is a part of this album's genius. This album is wrought with metaphor, symbolism, surrealist imagery, fear, and compassion. One thing it does not contain in irony. Mangum, unlike some of his peers, is beyond this as a lyricist.
The first several times you may hear this album you may want to dismiss it. Many people dismiss the Diary of Anne Frank as some book you get assigned in [...]. Mangum did not dismiss it as such. The book made him immensely sad. He had many questions about the Holocaust and why it had to happen; why Anne had to die? It was with these questions that he sat down with his guitar to write this album. I think he got some answers...

Meh........2007-04-15

Neutral Milk Hotel's 1998 album seems to have gotten a second wind over the past two or so years. Judging by some of these elitist reviews, the culprit of influence is none other than our good buddies over at[...], every pretentious hipster's favorite website in the whole wide world.

I mean, just LOOK at some of these reviews. You'd think these people found Jesus or something. But, no. It's just a bunch of skinny nimrods with bed-hair collectively tainting whatever reputation this album had with their masturbatory essays. I agree with the reviewer below me: GET OVER IT, PEOPLE.

The truth is, this isn't a great album and it's not a bad album. It's just something good to listen to every once in a while. Hey, at least it's better than the Shins (who outright suck).

The thing is, if this is your favorite album, you desperately need to discover more music.

Mangum's voice.......2007-04-11

I just wanted to nitpick a little... though the reviews for ITAOTS are mostly gushing (as they should be), it surprises me how often people mention that Jeff Mangum "doesn't have a good voice," or somesuch. True, he doesn't have a voice I'd cast an opera around, but his phrasing, warbling (for lack of a better term), and intensity are superb, he's fun as hell to sing along to, and he has the lung capacity of a sperm whale (threw in that sperm reference just for you, Jeff). I just wanted to bring that up and make the point that the vocals are one of the album's greatest strengths, not its only weakness. As the featured review says, they become endearing after awhile.

Average customer rating:

FABULOUS
the best Costes CD since #6
Back on track
Some of the best lounge music I've heard!
One of the better ones

Hotel Costes, Vol. 9
Stéphane Pompougnac
Manufacturer: Pschent Music
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Hotel Costes, Vol. 8
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ASIN: B000GUJY74
Release Date: 2006-10-02

Tracks:

The Ballad Of Sacco And Vanzetti - Stephane Pompougnac
No One In This World - Neobe Adani Wolf
All I Want - Jehro
Hostel Costes - One-Ohm/Bruno
Emotional Rescue (2 Many Beats Remix) - Freedom Due
Different - Gotan Project
Con Mi Sombra - S-Tone Inc
Kiss Me Twice - Parov Stelar
You Ain't Really Down (Jazznova'S Hey Baby Remix) - Status IV
Little White Roses (With Todd Ivy) - Paul & Price
Free For All (Soudstream Remix) - Rythmn & Sound
Bluebird - One Self
Et Ecoute Ces Choses - Rouge Rouge
Demain Matin - Djako
Womb - Niko
Belle - Alif Tree

Album Details

The Ninth Volume of Compiled Music by Parisian Tastemaker Stéphane Pompougnac Once Again Offers an Impeccable and Intimate Mix of Exclusive Tracks that Recreate the Unique Spirit of the Hôtel Costes.

Customer Reviews:

FABULOUS.......2007-04-21

This album is so very fabulous - great for parties. The more you listen, the more you'll love it. Reminiscent of early Pompougnac - thankfully!

the best Costes CD since #6.......2007-03-24

With this mix Pompougnac goes back to the roots and re-introduces a richer Paris lounge flair, abandoning the more disco-hipster types of rhythms and themes. This may be in response to an exploding market of global lounge music from the frequent flyer series to the destination lounge sets. The album reestablishes Pompougnac as one of the original godfathers of lounge, his picks and his mixing are unique and impeccable. A great album.

Back on track.......2007-01-28

I have all the Costes series, so I guess I'm in a position to compare. I was quite disappointed with vols 6 & 7, so nearly didn't bother with vol 8, but in the end was glad I did. Vol 9 shows that the series is now securely back on track and I agree with a previous reviewer that this is almost on par with Etage 3. Definately worth a listen if you have enjoyed this series of albums at all.

Some of the best lounge music I've heard!.......2007-01-19

There is only one track I'm not excited about and about six that are among my favorites of all time. (The least favorite track is Emotional Rescue, though my wife loves it. My favorite track is One.) This album is really great, very easy to listen to. It inspired me to pick up other music from Stephane Pompougnac, which is also good, but this one is my favorite.

If you like this type of music, you might also consider albums from Monsieur Claude, or at a distant third, possibly Erotic Lounge or even Bar Grooves.

One of the better ones.......2007-01-11

I have been a fan of the Hotel Costes series since I heard Vol 3. I now have them all. Some are definitely better than others and some (like vol 8) are not really worth listening to.

This one is quite good. It definitely takes about 3 listens before it grows on you. When it does, you will listen for a long time. Check out track 7, it's amazing. Then pay attention to 2, 8 & 11.

Average customer rating:

I have to disagree with Jerry below........
Not the original Horrible ruined Classic !
Morrison Hotel, Brilliant & Uneven
Here's an idea
I think I know the reason but I cant spell it

Morrison Hotel
The Doors
Manufacturer: Rhino / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Waiting for the Sun
L.A. Woman
The Doors
Strange Days
The Soft Parade

ASIN: B000MG1ZG0
Release Date: 2007-03-27

Tracks:

Roadhouse Blues
Waiting For The Sun
You Make Me Real
Peace Frog
Blue Sunday
Ship Of Fools
Land Ho!
The Spy
Queen Of The Highway
Indian Summer
Maggie M'gill
Talking Blues (Bonus)
Roadhouse Blues (11/4/69, Takes 1-3) (Bonus)
Roadhouse Blues (11/4/69, Take 6) (Bonus)
Carol (11/4/69) (Bonus)
Roadhouse Blues (11/5/69, Take 1) (Bonus)
Money Beats Soul (11/5/69) (Bonus)
Roadhouse Blues (11/5/69, Takes 13-15) (Bonus)
Peace Frog (False Starts & Dialogue) (Bonus)
The Spy (Version 2) (Bonus)
Queen Of The Highway (Jazz Version) (Bonus)

Album Description

MORRISON HOTEL, released in 1970 in the wake of Morrison's infamous indecency bust, hit #4 and introduced "Waiting For The Sun," "Roadhouse Blues," and "Ship Of Fools." Insightful liner notes from David Fricke. Ten bonus tracks include eight previously unissued takes of "Roadhouse Blues, a run-through of Chuck Berry's "Carol," a jazz version of "Queen Of The Highway," and the previously unreleased "Money Beats Soul."

Customer Reviews:

I have to disagree with Jerry below...............2007-07-15

I will first say the only DOORS I ever purchased was the vinyl Greatest Hits and the early CD greatest hits. I am not a DOORS affectionado as many others on here are. Actually I wouldn't even consider myself of being a big DOORS fan until I bought the Soft Parade in this new re-mixed and re-mastered form. I thought that the sound was excellent and wondered why so many DOORS fans were not happy with it. I know all the arguments of horns etc... Please take this review of Morrison Hotel from this perspective. As far as sound quality, I immediately compared it too the DOORS first album done in HDCD. There was not much of a loudness issue between formats but there was a sonic and clarity issue. Everything on Morrison Hotel was very clear. The crashing on the symbols, the keyboards, bass lines and guitar sounds were searing. The DOORS HDCD wasn't bad but not comparable in my opinion to this new technology. Also, since I have literally no DOORS on album or earlier CD, the changes in the music themselves doesn't bother me at all. Now when Roadhouse Blues started, you could certainly hear a couple of things that have not been on a standard greatest hits. It didn't bother me one bit. I very much enjoyed Morrison Hotel. I especially like Peace Frog. What a great tune. I also liked the Soft Parade and now am purchasing all these new DOORS CD's in their new technology. I guess for those who have been devout followers all these years that the new sound or masters are a problem. Not to me. Now, if it was another catalog of one of my personal favorites that I know every note sound for sound. Maybe I would have the same problem. In the end, I will purchase the others. The sound is as good as anything I have heard in any technology out now. That includes SACD and DVD-Audio. By the way, I am not part of the young crowd. I am 47.

Not the original Horrible ruined Classic !.......2007-07-14

I needed a new copy of this album due to my cassette tape is worn out,boy I was totally surprised when I heard all the original songs are revamped with new music over Jim Morrisons original vocals it sounds terrible with the new added guitars etc. how can they ruin a original album like this ! I think they wanted to modernize it but for who ? the young crowd today will not know about this if they never heard this album but know this music it is like taking a original muscle car from the 1960s and putting in a modern motor in it,what have they done to this it is shameful do not buy it look for the original soundtrack and album very ,very, disappointing ,now what can I do I suppose they messed up L.A.Woman too I will never sell my older remaining cds of these albums the extras on this cd are fine but they should have left the original tapes intact of the original albums songs and riffs it is a modernized ruin unbelievable I am frustrated about this just awful period.

Morrison Hotel, Brilliant & Uneven.......2007-05-08

This latest release of the remastered tracks in Morrison Hotel and the ten bonus tracks is astounding in some places and dull in others. But one could never expect the near-perfection of their first two albums to be rivalled by the follow-ups. But still, Morrison Hotel, especially this remastering, is a great spiritual victory for Doors fans and for the surviving band members, producers and engineers.

The long liner-notes are a must read for those of us too lazy to read whole books on the doors. Indeed, if one reads the liners to all these re-releases, one will get a tremendous and condenced and poetic sense of the doors and their mission. Just because the Doors were egomaniacs, and just because they were rather primitive musically, does not mean that they were not giants. Critics often make the mistake of believing that skill, professionalism and accurate self-assessments are some profoundly determining factor in art. They are not. Many of the most competent and sane folks on the planet are also the dullest and finally the most discouraging.

Doors believers, of which I am one, having been a real member of the now dormant "Church of The Doors," can truly take solace in this re-release series. The focus on the multiple takes of Roadhouse Blues reveals not only a certain lack of technical talent, but also a wonderful and child-like curiosity and experimentalism, which, finally, is more important that excellent craftsmanship. Sorry, you classical music didacticians and cynical, nihilist rock critics.

One great gift on this album that bears retelling is the simplistic and Wagnerian "Waiting for The Sun." The song was dumped from the album which bears its name, and one can see why, because it's a rather half-complete concept. However, as the graces would have it, many projects in which the gods cut us short are the best ones. This song, had they thought it out too much, would have lost its wondrous simplicity. True, they only put it on this record because they were in a bit of a slump, but, astounding, it's rather fun and has an almost early british invasion meets the Ventures kind of all-wrongness that comes out just magestically.

Another forgotten and underated song is "The Spy," which is really fantastic even though they could only think of one verse and simply repeated it over and over again. But, as one commericial songwriter I know, one who has sold tens of thousands of albums once said, "The problem with certain songs is that they only have one verse, but that often ends up being the whole genius of them."

Indian Summer is another almost Half-Song which, if the Doors had felt like they were on a hot streak, might have never let see the light of day. But, as it is, the song is nearly a nursery rhyme, one that is amazingly powerful in its innocense.

The truth was, Jim Morrison was not really a singer. And, as snobby literary critics love to point out, was not the great poet that he thought he was. But, as Cosmic Fate would have it, had he been a true professional at either, the whole force of Jim Morrison's massive, albeit flawed, character would never have created the half-century stir that they have. Genius is not what great craftsman do with their natural talents, it's what people with big gaps in their talent do to make up for it. (A concept I stole from Vonnegut's Bluebeard.)

Morrison Hotel caught The Doors right in an awkward middle of their career, but even so, this re-release is just a fabulous gift to us all.

Here's an idea.......2007-04-25

I am a Doors nut. The movie came out when I was 13 and I have been addicted from that point on. I digress. I wanted to suggest to those Doors fans who are angry about the music being re-mastered to buy the re-mixes because they are interesting and pretty affordable. You probably already have the 1999 re-masters, (and for that matter records, reel to reel, 8-tracks, cassettes, and the 1990 cd versions), well maybe you're not that much of a Doors nut, anyway I digress again. What I have done when I have bought these re-masters is to listen to the re-mix version first, then listen to the 1999 re-masters immediately afterwords. I have always been interested in music production and engineering and I love the new re-mixes, but I will not get rid of my 1999 re-masters because I want to have both versions of these great albums. I know it sounds crazy, but I would like to have re-masters of "Other Voices" and "Full Circle" too.
Why not, they are not bad albums, just without Jim. I think that if you're going to re-master and re-mix your album catalog, you should complete the task.

I think I know the reason but I cant spell it.......2007-04-17

I've always loved the DOORS, have their albums, their LIVE shows, sheet music, books, poems, DVDs, reunion films, offically licenced products, you name it. But, here comes a remix/remaster of one of their best works, with NEW bonus tracks, outtake photos, and the lyrics. So, more product the Door's fans are going to grab. On one of the outake photos from the photoshoot for the cover, JIM wrote in chalk behind him, "I think I know the reason but I cant spell it." WOW. I'd put the money out just for these outtake photos, cos of the little bits of insight even they reveal. (A picture is worth a thousand words, but i'll limit it to 20-30.) However, let's look at the whole product objectively, if such a thing is possible, after fourty years of books, band reunions, the various films, and modern pop mythology clouding our reaction to changing the sound on songs, that for some of us, are sacrosanct in the canon of rock and roll history. The biggest change in the mix, is that the bass parts are VERY loud, and Jim's yips and yelps during the instrumental parts of the songs, are not edited out. I wonder if Jim would have wanted all that personal yelping in place, or if he might have wanted some of his handclaps, (The Spy), guide vocal bleed thru (Blue Sunday?), or pre-take chatter (Land Ho!) removed? On one take, I think it's Ship of Fools, you hear Paul Rothchild say "16" at the beginning of the song. (meaning take 16 obviously.) Its said over the instrumental vamp that starts the song, and hardly ads anything noteworthy to the song, other than a Cinema veritie vibe. I like to look for the outtakes, and alternate takes, for my Cinema Veritie view of work process. Also, on another song, for some strange reason, the organ and the guitar parts were interchanged between channels. Again, i cant for the life of me figure out WHY that would have been nessacary. I hope, i really do, that this remix wasnt just balanced, leveled, and then allowed to run, without editing out extraneous noise and studio sounds, unconsidered guitar lines, or vocalizations by Jim, which were mixed out when the offical mix was made for valid esthetic reasons. This remixed version, as good as the sound density becomes from the louder bass part, shouldn't replace permenantly the mix made for the album when it was first released. After all, the time, and consideration put into the mix at the time, is just as important, as any other part of the recording process. So, does Jim want his extra vocalizations in the mix? Obviously he is not around to give his imput on this, and personally, I'm tired of hearing Ray tell people what JIM wanted. Only Jim understood Jim, or should ever be expected to speak for him. Think I'm wrong? Dont forget how Jim reacted to the car commercial that the other Door members allowed LIGHT MY FIRE to grace back in the late 60s, and how betrayed Jim felt over that. Jim almost seems to be commenting on the situation, in one of the outtake photos. In it, Jim is in a closet posed over a TV set, that is playing HOLLYWOOD SQUARES. I'm sure that Jim had a lot of conflicts in his life, with "Hollywood Squares".
As for the song alternate takes and outtakes, I can only say that, at least for this edition, they are fantastic. Everyone of them is worth listening to, and definately show the process involved in the band's creative process. As far as I know, no bootlegs have EVER surfaced of the DOORS unused studio outtakes. So this is definately a welcome addition. I do have one last criticism, and it's a big one. With the technology of DUALDISC, I cant understant why the Doors didnt allow the 5.1 DVD mix of these songs, which were included on their third, and latest box set from last year. It would have been nice, to have the 5.1 remix, along with some videos, included with the CD. I have no idea how those 5.1 remixes sounded. Maybe they were not very good, except for those albums recorded on 8 or 16 tracks. I would have gladly paid a couple extra dollars to have that DUALDISC technology involved with this project. Overall, for a true Door's fan, I suppose you are suppost to shell out $200 for the newest BOX SET to get those 5.1 DVD mixes, or live with the 2007 version. Well, fine for the famously rich. So, why did the band release these album remixes, with alternate takes? "I THINK I KNOW THE REASON BUT I CAN'T SPELL IT". ($$$-how do you THAT?)

Average customer rating:

Sorry, Michelle...
Great Music
My Fave
Bad News - Good News
Hotel Paper

Hotel Paper
Michelle Branch
Manufacturer: Maverick
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The Spirit Room
Be Not Nobody
Stand Still, Look Pretty
Harmonium
Let Go

ASIN: B00009LI14
Release Date: 2003-06-24

Tracks:

Intro
Are You Happy Now?
Find My Way Back
Empty Handed
Tuesday Morning
One Of These Days
Love Me Like That
Desperatly
Breathe
Where are You Now?
Hotel Paper
Til I Get Over You
It's You

Album Description

2003 follow-up to the platinum 2001 album, 'The Spirit Room', includes the featured track, 'Are You Happy Now?'. The CD is also enhanced with 6 videos - Making of Hotel Paper 'In The Studio', 'Are You Happy Now?', & 'One Of These Days' and Live Performance from Sessions @ AOL 'Find Your Way Back', 'Empty Handed' & 'Hotel paper' plus Michelle Branch photo gallery. Maverick.

Customer Reviews:

Sorry, Michelle..........2007-06-06

But this CD isn't very good at all. I remember back in 2004 when I first got it, I was very happy with the purchase. But these days, lyrically, this CD just doesn't cut it. It's really angsty which she can't pull off very good.

My favorite song here is definitely Hotel Paper. I could totally relate to that awesome song. But I'm wondering what happened to Michelle between the time she first came out and now. It's not like she is dressing inappropriately or anything, but with the heartache came many, MANY bland songs.

I understand the point of Tuesday Morning, and the lyrics are decent, but it's just a boring song. Just like a lot of the other ones.

Top 4
Hotel Paper
It's You
Where Are You Now?
Are You Happy Now?

I don't think this CD does Michelle any justice, really. Just get her "first" CD, The Spirit Room and just wait for her next.

Great Music.......2007-03-04

I am a big Michelle Branch fan.
It never ceases to amaze me the powerful sound
that comes out of this womans vocal cords.
I enjoy listening to this and the rest of her CD`s.

My Fave.......2007-02-13

This is my fave CD ever. If you like real music, this is it!

Bad News - Good News.......2006-11-20

Bad news is that I wasted my time listening to this whinefest.
Good news is that I bought it used.

I give it two stars because there are two tolerable songs on the CD and she is a cutie.

More good news. I re-sold it for my purchase price.

Hotel Paper.......2006-10-27

I LOVE HOTEL PAPER!!! This album is much better than "The Spirit Room" because it's more raw and honest...and it's a lot less digital too. Here's my review of "Hotel Paper":

1. Intro- She really could have chosen something better than circus music (Not Graded)
2. Are You Happy Now?- YES I'M HAPPY NOW!!! Awesome rock song and great first single! (A+)
3. Find Your Way Back- Pretty nice pop song...it's got a great summery feel to it (A)
4. Empty Handed- Whoa...that's all I can say about how amazing this song is, just...whoa (A+)
5. Tuesday Morning- This is a very beautiful song and I can't understand why it wasn't sent to radio...Michelle sounds so passionate on it and it would have done great! (A+)
6. One Of These Days- Very beautiful lyrics, and nice, mellow piano parts...an overall great ballad (A+)
7. Love Me Like That (w/ Sheryl Crow)- Well I love Michelle Branch, and I love Sheryl Crow...this is an example of how 1+1=2,000...this song is awesome! (A+)
8. Desperately- This song is very unique and cool...the guitars and vocals are so breezy and great (A+)
9. Breathe- Without a doubt, my favorite on this CD!! It's so catchy and upbeat, and a great summer song! (A++)
10. Where Are You Now?- It took me awhile to like this song, but when I did, I couldn't stop listening to it! (A)
11. Hotel Paper- My third favorite on this CD. It's a great song with a killer chorus! (A+)
12. Til I Get Over You- My second favorite on this CD. The way Michelle sings it just makes you want to bawl your eyes out over an ex (A+)
13. It's You- This is a pretty decent love song...a little repetitive, but still nice, though I have to say it is my least favorite on this CD (A-)

OVERALL GRADE: A (5/5 Stars)

Average customer rating:

A Work of Staggering Genius
"You'll Never Gain Weight From A Doughnut Hole"
queue the choir...
Great Tori!
If only I could be a Choir Girl...

From the Choirgirl Hotel
Tori Amos
Manufacturer: Atlantic / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Boys for Pele
Under the Pink
Little Earthquakes
To Venus and Back
Scarlet's Walk

ASIN: B0000062S6
Release Date: 1998-05-05

Tracks:

Spark
Cruel
Black-Dove (January)
Raspberry Swirl
Jackie's Strength
i i e e e
Liquid Diamonds
She's Your Cocaine
Northern Lad
Hotel
Playboy Mommy
Pandora's Aquarium

Amazon.com

For Tori Amos, sex can be a weapon, a spiritual offering, or an act of protest; it's certainly been the singer-pianist's big subject since her 1989 debut, Little Earthquakes. But where her earliest compositions tried to punch every emotional hot button at once and came off merely overblown, From The Choirgirl Hotel packs a greater punch by toning down the mock-symphonic excess in favor of stark, haunting tracks that contain their own veiled mysteries. Love cuts both ways on Choirgirl. Songs such as "She's Your Cocaine" and "cruel" view relationships as vicious, sexually-charged power plays, while the protagonists in "playboy mommy" and "Northern Lad" are desperately seeking salvation in the form of some emotional connection. Hypnotic, affecting, and frequently gorgeous, From The Choirgirl Hotel is Amos' most accomplished album to date. --Marc Weingarten

Customer Reviews:

A Work of Staggering Genius .......2007-05-23

This is Tori Amos' greatest album right after "Scarlet's Walk".

Though "Boys for Pele" is far more allegorical and purposely deeper than this album, "Choirgirl" is far more listenable and likely to be one record that pulls in more Tori fans from the mainstream. Part of this records' allure is the fairly simple song-writing (as simple as Tori can get - however, compare this to her weird lyrics on "The Beekeeper" and you'll find that she has become less coherent and comprehensible over the years), as well as the stellar production (certainly the best on an Amos record to date - yes, even better than her remastered "A Piano" collection from 2006).

"From the Choirgirl Hotel" is a decade old now, and it holds up infinitely better than some of Tori's works from this decade ("The Beekeeper" and "Strange Little Girls" being the usual suspects). It's a beautiful record, yes, but also the most melodic - in fact, the melodies here are more stark and obvious than her debut "Little Earthquakes" (which I consider inferior to this - am I in a minority?). Prime example of this is a song here called "Northern Lad" - a track where instrumentation, vocal, rhythm and melody all converge into one glorious package (replicated by her only years later on a track called "A Sorta Fairytale"). Its not an obvious choice for "best track of the album" but its pretty close.

The singles released from the album are generally wonderful - "Spark" which supposedly speaks of a miscarriage is a beautiful song both with and without its' message, and "Raspberry Swirl" is the first time Tori did electronica (this record in patches sounds more DJ Tiesto/Tricky than you'd expect) and it works. However, my favorites are the ones that are standard `album' tracks, often overlooked. Here are the best of the lot:

1. "Black Dove" - Any casual listener will find themselves fascinated by this quirky song. It has a very definite verse and chorus, but the message is not immediately clear. However, the line "And I have to get to Texas!" holds multiple meanings for various followers of Amos - I have my own interpretation of this. This song just works, don't ask me why.

2. "IIeee" - The unpronounceable song title aside, this is the best track, musically, off the album. Based on Native American chanting, Tori marries it to a thumping club bassline and the result is sheer magic.

3. "She's Your Cocaine" - This seems like something the Velvet Underground would have released - its that acidic and groundbreaking.

4. "Pandora's Aquarium" - Famous for the line "Ripples come and Ripples go, and Ripple back to me", this is the most undecipherable song on the album. As an album closer, its long (though not as long as "Yes, Anastasia" from "Under the Pink") - but I can't quite imagine the album working without this track.

There are so many albums (Tori Amos albums included) that don't work because of their length. Prime example of this would be "The Beekeeper" which is the only Tori album I have tried to love (so many times, in so many ways) - but that just didn't work because it was a weak album any way you cut it. "Choirgirl" on the other hand is a short and succinct album, one that you can put on repeat and find new ways to love everytime you play it.

This is one album where there is no filler or weak track, nor is there any sense of desperation or pretentiousness. Coming as it did after her masterwork "Boys for Pele" it showed us a new side of Tori, and won new legions of fans over. The great part is that even in this day and age, it holds up beautifully, and is a necessary document should you wish to track the progress of alternative music.

Finally, I would like you to understand that Tori Amos is primarily a pianist, not a vocalist, and this works to her advantage on this record. One reviewer got it right when he said that this album reeked of Rachmaninoff and Mahler (I would add Dvorak and Mozart to that list) because it bases its tunes and meter on classical symphonies, and adds rock instruments and the piano in a layered effect to create something totally new and different.

Take a chance on this album, and discover a whole new genre of music to embrace. In her vast catalog, this remains a most unique animal.

Five Stars. Recommended for listeners of all types of music.

"You'll Never Gain Weight From A Doughnut Hole".......2007-05-17

Interestingly, in her first book, Tori Amos: Piece By Piece (2005), Amos admitted that her songwriting at the time of From The Choirgirl Hotel (1998) was not at its strongest.

The truth is that From The Choirgirl Hotel represented a radical shift in both Amos' songwriting and musical output. The primary focus of her first three albums, Little Earthquakes (1992), Under The Pink (1994), and Boys For Pele (1996) had been Amos herself. Deeply intimate, brazen, visceral, direct, and often unique in their simultaneously illuminating and bleak visions, the albums quickly attracted a rabid fan base that seemed to sense that, on songs like 'Cornflake Girl,' 'Past The Mission,' 'Bells For Her,' 'Blood Roses,' and 'Father Lucifer,' they were coming into contact with aspects of life and human nature rarely if ever acknowledged or expressed anywhere else.

The very important difference on From The Choirgirl Hotel was that Amos had largely subtracted her personal, intimate self from the mix. While the album was written after a painful miscarriage (a direct or indirect theme on several of the tracks, including the only genuinely outstanding composition, 'Playboy Mommy'), Amos had radically distanced her 'self' from her material.

From The Choigirl Hotel, which often sounds forced, is dominated by its music, not its vocals or lyrical content, but ironically, the music is less distinct, less original, and less beautiful than the instrumentation on her earlier works. Many of the songs have little meaning; the ballads are shallow and anemic, the 'rockers' shrill, absurd, and embarrassing.

Whereas the songs on Little Earthquakes, Under The Pink, and Boys For Pele often sound as if they were forged in a cauldron of spontaneity, inspiration, desperation, and reflection, those on From The Choirgirl Hotel sound concocted, manufactured, and assembled piecemeal.

While Amos would intermittently rear her genuine and intimate face on later albums To Venus and Back (1999) and Scarlet's Walk (2002), 2004's The Beekeeper would find Amos releasing almost an entire album of musical pastiches, an ongoing trend which also hobbles much of American Doll Posse (2007). After Boys For Pele, Amos began replacing emotional immediacy and honesty with politics, opinions, and awkwardly executed 'concepts.'

Amos would also begin perversely leave her most vital compositions off her albums. From The Choirgirl Hotel would have been vastly improved by the inclusion of the miraculous 'Cooling,' the wise, melancholy, and lyrically clever 'Purple People,' and the rousing 'Bachlorette,' all of which found meager existences as b-sides. In the years to follow, Amos would continue to deflect a number of her finest songs from public scrutiny, including 'Indian Summer,' 'Apollo's Frock,' 'Tombigbee,' 'Garlands,' 'Peeping Tommi,' and 'Dolphin Song.'

For some listeners, anything that Amos produces is satisfactory; others hugely prefer--and miss--the intimate, emotionally open-minded creative genius of the early period. From The Choirgirl Hotel was the pivotal crossroads at which Amos started producing more doughnut holes than doughnuts.

queue the choir..........2007-04-08

I found this album a great way to get back into the swing of listening to Tori. It had been years since I'd bought one of her albums, and so I decided to pick up the action here, where I'd left off. I enjoyed many of the tracks, though the album is an experience to be had in totality, as with her other albums. I expect I'll be picking up another Tori album in the coming year.

Great Tori!.......2007-03-03

I love Tori Amos, even though sometimes she misses. This was a definate hit. Favorite Songs: Spart, Black Dove (January), Playboy Mommy, Jackie's Strength. Anytime you like this many songs on an album... you know it's a keeper.

If only I could be a Choir Girl... .......2007-01-09

This album is a must have for any Tori fan. My personal favorite is Liquid Diamons, and Pandora is a dear friend of mine.

Jason McCarley
Salt Lake City, Utah

Average customer rating:

Most Def A Good Live Cd
Yikes!!!
A mixed bag.

Sweat Hotel
Keith Sweat
Manufacturer: Shout Factory
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Something To Talk About
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If Only

ASIN: B000OPO6V0
Release Date: 2007-06-12

Tracks:

I Want Her
Something Just Ain't Right
Don't Stop Your Love
I'll Give All My Love To You - with Monica
Lose Control - Silk
Freak Me - Silk
Make It Last Forever - with Jackie McGhee
Right & Wrong Way
How Deep Is Your Love
Let's Chill - Charlie Wilson
Get Up On It - with Kut Klose
Twisted - with Kut Klose
(There You Go) Telling Me No Again - with Akon
Just Got Paid - with Johnny Kemp, Teddy Riley, Charlie Wilson, Silk, Kut Klose and Jackie McGhee
Nobody - with Athena Cage

Album Description

R&B superstar Keith Sweat, pioneer of new jack swing, reunites with other chart-topping R&B artists and opens the Sweat Hotel Live: starring Teddy Riley, Charlie Wilson, Jackie McGhee, Silk; featuring Lil' G, Kut Klose and Johnny Kemp; with special guest appearances by Monica, Akon, Da Brat and Athena Cage. With an array of talented entertainers on a single stage, Keith Sweat brings back the magic of some of the most memorable music recorded in R&B history to this new live CD.

Customer Reviews:

Most Def A Good Live Cd.......2007-07-03

If You Like Keith Sweat & You Into His Music.. Get It...You Know Keith Sweat Is Best At Breakin It On Down...I Love The Cd..Keep It Comin Keith...

Yikes!!!.......2007-07-02

This disc started off very rough, Keith vocals were horrible on "I Want Her", I had to do a double take to make sure that it was actually Keith Singing, but he they manage to get somewhat better as the disc goes on. I guess his voice had to warm up? Charlie Wilson sounds fantastic on "Let's Chill" This CD brings back a lot of memories, classic Keith, but honestly, The studio version of his greatest hits is a better buy.

A mixed bag........2007-06-15

Keith has finally returned to the scene with a new label, new management and a new record. Was it worth the wait? Well, let's just say he's headed in the right direction after some misses albums.
The songs on "Hotel" are fairly good and very well-produced.
He brings back the magic of some of the most memorable music recorded in R&B history to this new live CD.
He has always been a producer's artist, so he needs direction in the studio to get a solid performance with his vocals. That's here, but there is no great single that makes her shine and really gets him back out there.
He sounds enthusiastic, but has too much help in the background, which sometimes drowns out his vocals.
Keith needs a pop hit to get back on top. Let's hope the next album delivers a hit.
Close....but no cigar.
Personnel include: Keith Sweat (vocals); Mashanda Favors Huskey, Rahbi Hines, Kristi White, Lewis Hill, Antoine Tatum, Calandra Glenn (vocals); Adam Ledgister, Dave Evans (keyboards); Andre Harris (bass instrument); Randy Hutchinson (drums). Additional personnel: Jackie McGhee, Johnny Kemp, Akon, Kut Klose, Monica, Silk, Athena Cage, Teddy Riley, Charlie Wilson (vocals).

Average customer rating:

Interesting
Not as powerful, but worth checking out
Transitional, but still NMH
I Want to Marry This Album
Truly a wonderful record

On Avery Island
Neutral Milk Hotel
Manufacturer: Merge Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Live at Jittery Joe's
Neutral Milk Hotel's In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (33 1/3) (33 1/3)
Everything Is
The Crane Wife
Keep It Like a Secret

ASIN: B0000019OD
Release Date: 1996-03-26

Tracks:

Song Against Sex
You've Passed
Someone Is Waiting
A Baby For Pree
Marching Theme
Where You'll Find Me Now
Avery Island April 1st
Garden Head Leave Me Alone
Three Peaches
Naomi
April 18th
Pree Sisters Swallowing A Donkey's Eye

Customer Reviews:

Interesting.......2007-02-16

The first thing I noticed about 'On Avery Island' was the fact that almost all the songs are buried under a thick layer of noise. However, once (if) one gets past that, there are some good songs beneath. The entire album has a strange, somewhat surreal feel to it; previous reviewers have described it quite well as 'carnivalesque'. Jeff Mangum, regardless of what one may think of him as a songwriter, is NOT a good singer. His voice takes a bit of getting used to. I don't mind it now, but at first it seemed rather jarring. (note to previous reviewer: just because one doesn't think Mangum is a good singer doesn't mean they're a mindless pop music drone.)
In short form, 'On Avery Island' is a decent but not brilliant album. The production will (understandably) be unlistenably abrasive to many.

Highlights:
Where You'll Find Me Now
Naomi

Not as powerful, but worth checking out.......2007-01-10

I purchased On Avery Island after hearing and loving In an Aeroplane over the Sea. While On Avery Island doesn't measure up to the album from Neutral Milk Hotel that followed, I'm glad I got it and enjoy several tracks from it.

Transitional, but still NMH.......2007-01-10

As long as you're not expecting Aeroplane, you can appreciate this album as coming from Neutral Milk Hotel. This album is clearly the stage in between the Everything Is EP and Aeroplane. Everything Is, here, represents quintessential Elephant 6, psych-pop fare and Aeroplane marking the culmination of Neutral Milk Hotel's abilities with Mangum's lyrics/vocals, Spillane's horns, the group's natural chemistry, their skillful arrangements and effectively varied instrumentation. On Avery Island reflects some aspects of both albums. Mangum is coming into his full potential lyrically and vocally and the instruments sound more like what listeners hear on Aeroplane. Nevertheless, musically, the album (except for the vocals) still shows a strong Elephant 6 affinity. All in all, a handful of the songs could use a little more musical variation from each other. But everything is still pretty solid in regards to instrumentation, lyrics, catchiness, innovation, etc.

I Want to Marry This Album.......2007-01-06

You can't compare the two Neutral Milk Hotel Albums. Really you just can't. Each is a totally different being. So I don't want to say this is a better album then Over the Sea because I don't think it is and I also don't think it's not as good in any way either. I don't think you can really say what album is better. For myself personally this one does it for me more. There is something so raw and original about this album that I don't know what to do with myself when I hear it. Words seem stupid when trying to describe this so I'm going to stop here and just say that this is a piece of art worthy of the attention of all.

Truly a wonderful record.......2006-10-26

Wow. What to say about this album? It's truly a wonderful disc, containing some of the most beautiful songs I've heard. From the get go you can tell it's going to be a thought provoking ride. The one standout track I have to mention is Naomi. It is so achingly beautiful that I would buy the CD explicitly because of it. Some awesome stuff here, if you've come here because of In The Aeroplane Over The Sea, then by ALL MEANS get this CD. It's amazing. You won't regret it.

Average customer rating:

Dinah does it right
She Swings and Sings
A superb performance with an incredible band to back it up!
swingin Miss D
Foot tapping, beautiful Quincy and Dinah, FUN!

Swingin' Miss 'D'
Dinah Washington
Manufacturer: Polygram Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Classic Female Vocal Blues | Blues | Styles | Music

Traditional Blues | Blues | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

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

Vocal Jazz General | Vocal Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

Traditional Vocal Pop | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music

Traditional Pop | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: Best of Dinah Washington
Back to the Blues
Dinah Jams
The Essential Dinah Washington: The Great Songs
What a Diff'rence a Day Makes!

ASIN: B00000AFF0
Release Date: 1998-09-22

Tracks:

They Didn't Believe Me
You're Crying
Makin' Whoopee
Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye
But Not For Me
Caravan
Perdido
Never Let Me Go
Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby?
I'll Close My Eyes
Somebody Loves Me
I'll Drown In My Tears
You Let My Love Grow Cold
Bargain Day
Relax Max
Tears To Burn
The Kissing Way Home
I Know

Customer Reviews:

Dinah does it right.......2007-06-08

This CD by Dinah Washington has some great tunes on it...the title Relax Max just makes you want to smile and is actually very timely in that a major hotel chain is currently featuring it in there TV ads! Really nice CD -- Dinah left us way to soon !!

She Swings and Sings.......2007-06-08

This is an excellent album with Dinah backed by Quincy Jones and his Orchestra. Some of the highlights include "They Didn't Believe Me," Makin' Whooppee," and "Relax Max". But you will enjoy each and every tune on the album. Dinah has a voice that captivates from to start to finish. And when she's done singing, you wish she'd sing some more!

A superb performance with an incredible band to back it up!.......2007-05-22

I stipulate to all the other comments already made in previous reviews... but since I didn't see this information on this page... thought I'd pass it along. Dinah's performance is indeed incredible... not a bad song on the entire CD... but the orchestra (big band) that backs her up is also incredible... and is it any wonder... with Quincy Jones (conductor); Hal McKusick (alto saxophone, flute); Anthony Ortega (alto saxophone); Jerome Richardson, Lucky Thompson (tenor saxophone); Danny Bank (baritone saxophone); Don Elliott (trumpet, mellophone, vibraphone, xylophone, bongo); Bernie Glow, Jimmy Maxwell, Ernie Royal, Doc Severinsen, Charlie Shavers, Clark Terry, Nick Travis, Joe Wilder (trumpet); Jimmy Cleveland, Urbie Green, Quentin Jackson (trombone); Tommy Mitchell (bass trombone); Clarence "Sleepy" Anderson (piano); Barry Galbraith (guitar); Milt Hinton (bass); Jimmy Crawford, Osie Johnson (drums). This was recorded in 1956 with 23-year-old Quincy Jones arranging. Nothin' like the sound of a real BIG BAND and a singer who's got the pipes to compete with all the horns... fantastic...

swingin Miss D.......2007-05-13

This is a very good CD and and the hotel chain TV ad introduced me to Miss Washington.

Foot tapping, beautiful Quincy and Dinah, FUN!.......2007-05-09

I am listening as I write, will try to get through the whole album before I finish this review. The sound on this album is very rich for an old, restored album...amazing, really; the sound is as good as a newly produced album. It has 18 songs on it; the original only had 12. Has anyone seen the Doubletree ad with the wonderful graphics...and Dinah singing "Relax Max". Well, that's what got me onto this album, and it was not a mistake...this album is truly a winner. Lots of foot-tapping joy, with some nice ballads to calm you along the way. I'm so glad my mother wasn't a fan of Quincy and Dinah, so I can enjoy this as new, with no offending memories attached. I will not name a song that is better than any other...they are ALL good. Well, on second thought, "i'll drown in my tears" is a very old fashioned bluesy song, so great! "you let my love grow cold" is very swingy, irresistable. I must stop my review at this point, but this album is a winner. The songs on it are ALL winners. The best of the best of this genre.

Rock Music:

Rock Music