Take This!

Product Description
Reissue of the Bad Company/ Mott The Hoople guitarist's 1984solo album with 10 bonus tracks added, the previously unreleased cuts 'Rock N Roller' & 'All Across The Nile', a demo version of 'Another Lovely Day', and working mixes of 'All It Takes', 'Give You My Love', 'On The Run', 'When The Revolution Comes', 'Rock N Roller', 'All Across The Nile' & 'Last Chance Saloon'. 20 tracks total. 1998 Angel Air release.

Tracks:

Tell That Mick He Just Made My List of Things to do Today
Dead On Arrival
Grand Theft Autumn/Where is Your Boy
Saturday
Homesick at Space Camp
Sending Postcards from a Plane Crash (Wish You Were Here)
Chicago is so Two Years Ago
The Pros and Cons of Breathing
Grenade Jumper
Calm Before the Storm
Reinventing the Wheel to Run Myself Over
The Patron Saint of Liars and Fakes

Album Description

Take This to Your Grave is Fall Out Boy's debut full-length CD. Featuring 12 tracks, it tells the tales of the obstacles that come with true friendships and the trials and tribulations of growing up. Drawing influences from a healthy wealth of rock, pop, and hardcore, Fall Out Boy has constructed a distinctive sound of unforgettable melodies, clever lyrics, and multifaceted guitar hooks. Fall Out Boy's diverse roots have helped them share the stage with such bands as Taking Back Sunday, OkGo and Less than Jake.

Customer Reviews:

Ok its emo but its actually good........2007-07-01

So much for the 'emo' tag this is a damn good CD.

Powerful music well put together with lyrics that actually mean something. I wasnt too keen on getting this but after the first listen I realised that this was well worth the risk. You always know a good band when the lyrics stick in your mind and you find yourself singing along when you play it again.

If you have not heard Fall Out Boy before or you have but are not sure where to start, this is proably the best place to do so.

Amazing!.......2007-06-28

I think this is definately their best album! I own all their albums and didn't really care for "From Under the Cork Tree", but this one is amazing! All the songs are upbeat and make you dance. I never have really liked this genre, but I have really enjoyed their music. I would recommend this album as well as their new one "Infinity on High". It's good stuff!

Pure Love.......2007-05-08

I'm a huge fall out boy fan and when i say huge i mean HUGE
I've been to their concerts
I listen to them everyday
They are awesome
And so is this album.. its a great introduction to Fall Out Boy as it shows their "true" style (even though i still love their infinity on high stuff)
Favourite Tracks?
Reinventing the wheel to run myself over
dead on arrival
saturday
calm before the storm

love from a diehard

awesome cd.......2007-05-03

it is an awesome cd a must have for any true FOB fan

Their best.......2007-04-26

This is their best cd and will always be. The best song on it is calm before the storm. I dont like saturday that much but everything else is awesome. I cant wait till they make their new cd

-your hardest goodbye

Average customer rating:

One of the best ever!
Kristen Chenowith
Has its moments
Great CD!
This woman has what it takes, and then some...

Let Yourself Go
Kristin Chenoweth , Jule Styne , George Gershwin , Richard Rodgers , Jeanine Tesori , Kurt Weill , Jerome Kern , Vincent Youmans , Ricky Ian Gordon , Richard Dworsky , Lawrence Ellington Duke / Brown , Harry Warren , Bobby Troup , Jason Alexander , Irving Berlin , Rob Fisher , and The Coffee Club Orchestra
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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WICKED: THE GRIMMERIE, A BEHIND-THE-SCENES LOOK AT THE HIT BROADWAY MUSICAL

ASIN: B000059T4T
Release Date: 2001-05-29

Tracks:

Let Yourself Go
If
How Long Has This Been Going On?
My Funny Valentine
Hanging Around with You (with Jason Alexander)
The Girl in 14G
I'll Tell the Man in the Street
I'm a Stranger Here Myself
Nobody Else But Me
Nobody's Heart Belongs to Me/Why Can't I?
Should I Be Sweet?
He's Just an Ordinary Guy
Going to the Dance with You
On a Turquoise Cloud
You'll Never Know
Daddy

Amazon.com

Kristin Chenoweth won a Tony for the supporting role of Sally Brown in the 1999 revival of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, made a memorably vampy Lily in the 1999 television film of Annie, and had an NBC sitcom created for her, Kristin! Now she grabs the spotlight in Let Yourself Go, her first solo recording. She mixes torchy standards ("My Funny Valentine," "How Long Has This Been Going On?") with Faith Prince-style sauciness ("If"), gets to show off her operatic and scat chops in the miniplay "The Girl in 14G," and shares a light duet with Jason Alexander (reviving his musical theater career post-Seinfeld). Perhaps her "Stranger Here Myself" isn't the weightiest you've ever heard, but this is an enjoyable album with a good deal of old-fashioned class, expertly accompanied by Rob Fisher and the Coffee Club Orchestra. --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews:

One of the best ever!.......2007-04-24

Do I mean the best album or the best singer? You are correct if you said both! I saw Kristin Chenoweth on a PBS show "Broadway's Best at the Pops," (though it was not the first time I had heard her) and decided to check out the offerings here. This is a collection of the kind of music and performances I love. She has a great range, a precise pitch, and a great style that is at the same time true to the music and to herself. In an era when singers try to outdo each other re-interpreting the composer's original work, not usually with great success, she is a blessing!

Kristen Chenowith.......2007-02-26

I bought this CD for the Girl in 14G. Yes, it's that good...

Has its moments.......2007-02-19

After watching Candide endlessly and going to see Ms. Chenoweth in The Apple Tree, I was hungry for something more portable to listen to. At times this fits the bill, but what surprised me the most is how thin her voice comes across on this recording. Perhaps it was the joy of seeing her live that has ruined this listener; perhaps I need to upgrade my aging music system. Then again, maybe the recording is just not as good as Ms. C singing Bernstein or as good as staring at Ms. C command a Broadway stage.

Great CD!.......2007-01-19

I truly enjoy listening to this CD. Kristin Chenoweth's vocal style and abilities are very well-matched to the songs selected for this album. If you enjoy classic, older-style Broadway/popular tunes, I would highly recommend this CD. Ms. Chenoweth has a bright, expressive voice and does a fantastic job with this material.

As with any full-length CD, there are a couple of songs I am not as crazy about, but that has to do with the songs themselves, not Ms. Chenoweth's vocal performance. Overall, I love this album and have listened to it several times now, since receiving it as a Christmas gift last month.

This woman has what it takes, and then some..........2007-01-12

Kristin Chenoweth brings new life to some timeless Broadways tunes while introducing a few wonderful new ones. This high pitched vocal goddess effortlessly provides for a nearly flawless and easy listening experience. I definitly recommend this CD for anyone who enjoys jazz vocals, showtunes, or just a new spin on some old classics.

Average customer rating:

Trailer Park Musical a good hear.
A Tornado of Fun!
One Of My Favorite New Musicals In Years
The show (and Recording) ROCKS
Wasn't That Funny

The Great American Trailer Park Musical

Manufacturer: Ghostlight
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000CNE13M
Release Date: 2006-01-17

Tracks:

This Side Of The Tracks
One Step Closer
The Buck Stops Here
It Doesn't Take A Genius
Owner Of My Heart
The Great American TV Show
Flushed Down The Pipes
Storm's A-Brewin
Road Kill
But He's Mine/It's Never Easy
That's Why I Love My Man
Panic
Finale
This Side Of The Tracks (Remix)

Customer Reviews:

Trailer Park Musical a good hear........2007-05-15

This musical is a good laugh and can bring up the spirits of any musical theatre buff. The voices are excellent and they showcase a great characterization of the personages represented in the show. It is a CD that entices the listener to go ahead and get tickets to the show and go see it. Also a personal acquaintance of mine Leslie Kritzer does a phenomenal job on the CD.

A Tornado of Fun!.......2007-04-10

This seems to be my year for finding recordings of lesser known musicals that are just awesome. It started with buying Zombie Prom, and continues with The Great American Trailer Park Musical!

But this show is just all-out fun! The tunes are catchy (I got one of them running through my head, right now) and the lyrics are quite clever. The three main ladies become the Greek chorus, telling us about life in their trailer park, Armadillo Acres, located in Starke, Florida. The show then focuses on one agoraphobic housewife who hasn't left her trailer in 20 years, and her husband who has had enough and starts fooling around with a stripper who is on the run from her boyfriend. Sound crazy? It is! And a whole lotta fun!

Yes, there are some explicit lyrics, but nothing excessive. So do yourself a favor and give this album a listen. You might just want to move into your own "manufactured home" before you know it.

One Of My Favorite New Musicals In Years.......2007-01-31

When I tell people about this show, I tell them it is far better than it had to be... With a title like that, the audience draw is already built in, but with great songs and a very clever story (without ever being offensive or degrading) this musical is a fun hit. And while it is not the old-school "Okalhoma" style musical, there are a lot of musical niceties about the show - layered melody lines, tight harmonies and clever clever phrases and lyrics. I fully recommend it.

The show (and Recording) ROCKS.......2006-09-26

The whole point of theatre, even in a tongue-in-cheek satire like this one, is to have some sense of truth. The "Great American Trailer Park Musical" completely hits the target dead-on. With it's ridiculous pop culture references, use of white trash musical pastiche (honky tonk country, corporate rock, wedding disco, and the like), and general use of bad taste in a visual (and audio) aesthetic, the show is one loaded joke that never tires. And the over the top performances, all grounded in this evident truth, provide an evening of Laugh after Laugh - more so than similar pieces like "Urinetown" and "Altar Boys".
Sure the language, for those who have expressed concern in above reviews, can be strong at times. But never is the language used in a matter of fact fashion. For those who have ever even remotely hung around a trailer park (as it quite Clearly states in the TITLE) or even around those who inhabit a Sociologists Jackpot of research, You know that crude humor and strong language are staple of the norm.
"Oklahoma" and "Cats" this show is not. However, "Great American Trailer Park Musical" is a definite piece to listen and pay attention to. With the general climate of new musicals to be either repackaged musicals from movies (Wedding Singer, Hairspray, Footloose, etc) or jukebox musicals (Mamma Mia, All Shook Up, Hot Feet, etc) - there is a new genre that is emerging, the "in-joke" musical. Trailer Park, Altar Boys, Spelling Bee, and title of show are examples of this. These are shows that blur satire and exaggeration with real life all the while dealing in a specific subject matter.
"Trailer Park" is a hip, new and exciting piece of music theatre, even if not groundbreaking. For those who like to play it safe may I suggest the "20 Great Broadway ShowStoppers" CD - all songs are from 1932 to 1949. You will be sure no profane language will infect you there.

Wasn't That Funny.......2006-07-29

I gave this a good listen, but did not find it all that funny ... or memorable.

Average customer rating:

Handel: The Masterworks (Box Set)

Manufacturer: Brilliant Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00062FLI8
Release Date: 2004-11-30

Stand Ye Steady: Songs of Courage & Inspiration

Average customer rating:

bowersreview
USMA Glee Club scores a real hit
Reverent, Full of Love
Good CD
A real disappointment...

Stand Ye Steady: Songs of Courage & Inspiration

Manufacturer: Curtain Call Prod
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Stand Ye Steady: Songs of Courage & Inspiration
In The Presence
We Were Soldiers: Original Motion Picture Score
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We Were Soldiers

ASIN: B000ATQYVU
Release Date: 2005-09-06

Tracks:

Men Of Freedom
The Longest Day
Into The Fire
Rise Up, O Men Of God
On Great Lone Hills
Lest We Forget
Mansions Of The Lord (Interlude)
Mansions Of The Lord
Jerusalem
Via Dolorosa
Non Nobis
The Star-Spangled Banner
Take Me Home (With I Am A Soldier)
America (My Country 'Tis Of Thee)
Men Of Freedom
This Christmastide

Customer Reviews:

bowersreview.......2007-01-04

Exceptional CD. Inspirational and motivational. Highy recommend this for anyone seeking great quality music.

USMA Glee Club scores a real hit.......2006-11-14

This album is awe-inspiring. I bought the album after hearing an out take from "Men of Freedom", the tune is from an old Welsh battle song. You will recognize the tune if you saw Zulu Dawn with Michael Caine. Many of the other songs are equally powerful and mesmerizing. The only songs I didn't like were when the Glee club used guest soloists. They were less impressive and, in my opinion, took away from the strength of the group.

I liked the multiple verses sung from America, I wished they would have given the Star Spangled Banner the same treatment. The Mansions of the Lord is powerful and supremely reverent, as is Rise Up. I would dearly like to hear more from this talented group of soldiers.

Reverent, Full of Love.......2006-09-26

When I saw and heard this music broadcast Veteran's Day on TBN and my friends serving in our Armed Forces in Iraq saw it broadcast on Armed Forces Network, I was so happy to find the stereo CD and companion Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound DVD on Amazon. I cannot stop listening to it! The 60 minute musical program, reminiscent of the great concept albums of years ago, is one of the most reverent, intelligent and passionate portrayals of America's character ever produced. It contains many styles of choral music - all superbly performed by the world famous Cadet Glee Club of West Point arrayed in breathtaking formation on the altar of the massive 100 year old Cadet Chapel. There are richly textured vocal a capella songs such as "Rise Up O Men of God", "Manisons of the Lord", one of the most popular new hymns written, and "America (My Country `Tis of Thee)". Your buttons will burst with pride when you hear the brand new song "Men of Freedom" introduced by a single Cadet then followed by a cascade of additional voices building to a unified and thunderous declaration of defiant freedom in a style reminiscent of the great Welsh Male Choirs. Four songs highlight the power and majesty of the largest church organ in the world. You'll have to fight the urge to stand at attention when you hear and feel its power kick in on "Lest We Forget", "On Great Lone Hills", "Jerusalem" and "This Christmastide". The musical variety is further enhanced by the addition of brass and percussion for the rousing marches, "The Longest Day" and "Non Nobis". When was the last time you heard these two songs - one by world famous singer, songwriter and teen idol, Paul Anka and the other a medieval celebration of thanksgiving sung in Latin! The rich background vocals of the Cadet Glee Club musically frame two songs that underpin the message of this album - Bravery and Sacrifice. "Into the Fire" by NYPD's Daniel Rodriguez made me want to immediately rise up and rush to anyone's aid and when he holds that note at the end - wow! Tony Award Winner Lea Salonga's performance of the classic Christian hit, "Via Dolorosa", (one of the top 50 Christian songs of all time), is "The Passion of the Christ" embodied in a 5 minute song. You will alternate between tears and goose bumps. Her performance of the Spanish stanza will overwhelm you. Finally, Irish song writing master, Phil Coulter's wistful "Take Me Home" is accompanied by beautiful piano and guitar and introduced by a new poem entitled "I Am A Soldier" that is sobering reminder of the oath our soldiers swear to and the actions they are bound to take. God bless them!

A great bonus of the CD and DVD is that they both include a stylish lyric booklet as well as commentary by the producer on why he chose each song.

On the back cover of the CD and DVD cases is the statement that this production was created to honor the men and women of our Armed Forces, past and present, and the great values of America that they defend. This it surely does!! Also, it states that the producer is contributing a portion of his wholesale proceeds from its sale to organizations assisting our wounded soldiers. Bravo, Mr. Coppi.

Good CD.......2006-07-19

Wonderful songs and wonderful renditions of the songs. I must say, though, that the numbers would have been better if they were performed with more "ooomph" (for instance, "The Star Spangled Banner" could have been sung with more power and the arrangement could have used more creativity). The wisest decision on this CD was the inclusion of the numbers from Ms. Lea Salonga (whose hauntingly beautiful voice is able to effectively draw listeners in) and Daniel Rodriguez, one of America's newest tenors. Overall a good CD.

A real disappointment..........2006-06-10

I was so excited to stumble upon this album when a local music store was going out of business and selling CD's at great discounts. I love Glee Club music, I love patriotic music, and I love cathedral/chapel accoustics. Unfortunately, this album did not live up to its billing.

My primary complaints with this recording are twofold: the overuse of unison singing and the unnecessary inclusion of guest soloists. The beauty of glee club music is the rich chords, which are thankfully heard in many songs. To my dismay, though, there are many songs that mostly or entirely omit the beautiful harmonies that make glee clubs great.

As for the guest soloists, I don't understand why a singing group which obviously has many wonderful voices would bring in outsiders for an album like this. Actually, I do know why they would do it, and it's obviously a marketing thing that has financial implications. As reasonable as this may seem, it just cheapens the experience for me. Another great feature of glee clubs (and college choirs more generally) is the lack of polished, perfect, professional singers. There is something raw, authentic, and refreshing about a bunch of college kids singing together. Why bring in random people with no particular connection to the group?

To be fair, "Rise Up, O Men of God" and "Mansions of the Lord" are fantastic. I'll continue to play this album to listen to those songs. However, much of the remainder is somewhat forgettable.

Average customer rating:

Loved this CD
I LOVE this CD!
Costello Partners with Hubris and Yields Variable Results
what's so funny about peace, love, and understanding?
No life in her (pop) art

For the Stars
Anne Sofie von Otter , and Elvis Costello
Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00005A46I
Release Date: 2001-04-10

Tracks:

No Wonder
Baby Plays Around
Go Leave
Rope
Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)
Broken Bicycles / Junk
The Other Woman
Like An Angel Passing Through My Room
Green Song
April After All
You Still Believe In Me
I Want To Vanish
For No One
Shamed Into Love
Just A Curio
This House Is Empty Now
Take It With Me
For The Stars

Amazon.com

At a time when popular music has been micro-marketed to the far side of ad nauseam, Declan MacManus, a.k.a. Elvis Costello, has traded on his reputation as the brightest songwriter to emerge from the new wave era to foster any number of delightful, cross-genre/generation musical surprises, including soundtracks and collaborations with the Brodsky Quartet, Paul McCartney, jazz artist Roy Nathanson, and songwriting legend Burt Bacharach. The latest fruit of that generous, insatiably curious artistic spirit is this elegant partnership with Swedish mezzo-soprano Anne-Sofie von Otter. Though an admitted pop novice, Otter couldn't have picked a better confederate than Costello, an artist whose taste in songs has seldom been tainted by trend.

Together, they weave material from disparate sources--including a slate of compelling Costello material, a pair of Brian Wilson's evocative "Pet Sounds" confessionals, a Tom Waits song from Francis Ford Coppola's One from the Heart (oddly, though effectively, coupled in medley with McCartney's "Junk"), an Abba song, and the Beatles' "For No One"--into a musical tapestry of stately power and grace. Costello sparingly uses his voice as seasoning throughout, though his masterful touch is everywhere. Otter's novice pop singing reveals an easy knack for jazz phrasing that should tempt further explorations and a warmth that belies the rigidity that's so often a byproduct of classical training. Most gratifying of all, this album ultimately achieves what's become one of the loftiest plateaus in Pop music: common ground. --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews:

Loved this CD .......2006-06-13

Who would pair Costello and an opera singer?? Elvis, and somehow it works. I really love the tone and moodiness of it and lyrics that talk about love and life, failure and success. It's soulful, in a contemplative way, music for those tucked away, rainy days .

I LOVE this CD!.......2005-09-01

Finally, an opera singer who knows how to channel her Classical training into a sound that is, as one critic aptly described it, "what pop singers would sound like if they could actually sing"! Although Elvis Costello does not join Ms. von Otter very often in the vocals, when he does they harmonize beautifully. With great melodies (some beautiful, some catchy) and sensitive (but not sappy) lyrics, this album makes a fine addition to any CD collection.

Costello Partners with Hubris and Yields Variable Results.......2005-05-08

Having just heard Elvis Costello's masterful collaboration with Burt Bacharach, "Painted from Memory", for the first time this past month, I had high hopes for this equally unusual partnership with mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter released in 2001. This time, however, Costello acts as arranger and producer, and it is von Otter who is front and center on vocals. She is among the most revered of singers on the opera and recital stages, and she has impressed me in the past, in particular, with her Dejanira in the 2002 Marc Minkowski-led performance of Handel's "Hercules", among many other roles she has embodied. Here she is called upon to be a pop chanteuse, and while the beauty of her voice is inarguable in any setting, her ability to interpret the diverse lyrics in these songs is far more debatable. This is where a Marianne Faithfull, a Blossom Dearie or even a Joni Mitchell could capture more of the underlying feeling with a fraction of the vocal power von Otter can provide but with twice the nuance. There is a rather sterile sameness to the performances here, somewhat jazz-inflected in a cocktail lounge manner at times and at other times, rather morose and dirge-like.

Take, for example, her rendition of Brian Wilson's "Don't Ask (Put Your Head on My Shoulder)" from the legendary "Pet Sounds" album. It moves so glacially that it actually extricates the romantic subtext almost surgically. The same can be said for Jessie Mae Robinson's "The Other Woman", which has at least Magnus Persson's vibraphone to provide relief from the tedium. She's better on the other "Pet Sounds" classic, "You Still Believe in Me", where she cannily soars with the chorus, though Costello damages it by adding some odd, muffled rapping in the background. Ironically, it is on the Costello compositions where the recording most noticeably flails. The opener "No Wonder" starts as a "Greensleeves"-like madrigal and then turns into Beatlesque pop; "Baby Plays Around" seems to suffer from exhaustion by all parties; the two Fleshquartet collaborations, "Rope" and "Just a Curio", sound somewhat like extraterrestrial hymns done in a series of minor keys; and the closing title track, "For the Stars" includes peppy, Beach Boys-sounding harmonies which escape her grasp. In fact, "Just a Curio" would have been a more appropriate title for this entire recording.

On the other hand, the Gallic flavor of Benny Andersson's accordion effectively informs her rendition of Tom Waits' "Broken Bicycles", which melds perfectly with Costello's vocal on Paul McCartney's "Junk". Speaking of Andersson, a fellow Scandinavian, von Otter admirably covers a piano-led ABBA ballad, "Like an Angel Passing Through My Room". She also displays a meticulously casual bounce on Lennon-McCartney's "For No One", though it stops rather abruptly. Von Otter acquits herself surprisingly well on the jazzy "Shamed into Love", written by another unlikely duo, Costello and Rubén Blades, and performed as almost a smokier variation of Bacharach's "Alfie". And speaking of Bacharach, she does a nice turn on the lovely "This House Is Empty Now" from the 1998 Bacharach-Costello disc. Costello and von Otter are masters of their craft, but I think some of the collaborations reflect simply irreconcilable differences. While Costello seems to have an insatiable desire to expand musically, his hubris here appears to constrain the often preternatural vocal skill von Otter displays on the opera and recital stage. Consequently, what we have here is a nice album, a generous one with eighteen tracks, that doesn't seem to capitalize on either contributor's talent fully.

what's so funny about peace, love, and understanding?.......2004-04-22

Nothing's funny about this boring duo. I picked this up FREE at my library and it didn't take me too many tracks to see why it was donated. The musical arrangements are hapless and dull, and her voice is Dion without the Vegas power finale. Come to think of it, the lyrics remind me of Dion; they are as saccharine as anything Dion has ever sung. I wasted a blank CD on this limp, sleepy pairing of two otherwise good artists.

No life in her (pop) art.......2004-03-15

I am a big fan of both artists and wanted very much for this combination to work. It avoids the traditional trap of "oversinging" the pop material. But a few years after its release, in these American Idol era, is that really such a terror for pop music any more? So-called oversinging seems pretty popular these days!

The big problem is that von Otter has not found a way to communicate any emotion in this scaled-down form of singing. All her classical techniques are stripped away, and there's nothing to replace them. Sure, her voice is gorgeous, but it sounds exactly the same no matter what the lyrical content. The songs could have been made up of nonsense syllables for all the emotional life she communicates.

Tracks:

Kaddisch
Laudate Dominum
Ave Maria
Amazing Grace
Breit' Uber Mein Haupt
L'assedio Di Corinto: L' Ora Fatal S'appressa... Guisto Ciel !
Pie Jesu
Der Vierjahrige Posten: Gott! hore Meine Stimme!
Sanctus
Maria Stuarda: Preghiera Di Maria
Lacrimosa
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue: Take Care Of This House - Sumi Jo/Phil Chor Koln/Susan Graham
Nun's Chor/Casanova: Laura's Song
Gigi: Say A Prayer For me Tonight
Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child

Amazon.com

This program seems designed primarily to display soprano Sumi Jo's fabulous singing and famous stylistic eclecticism. However, it also exhibits an admirable religious inclusiveness, encompassing expressions of faith from the Latin liturgy to Negro spirituals; there is even a Richard Strauss song that is essentially a paean to love. An incongruous note is struck by a nun's song from an operetta by Benatzky that is a corny Viennese waltz and by a soundtracklike arrangement of a 16th-century Ave Maria. Ranging from Mozart to Broadway, this musical mix is held together by Sumi Jo's ravishingly beautiful, pure, warm voice and the way she can color and inflect it, and by her mastery of every style (though not every language; her German in particular is unintelligible). Her intonation is impeccable, her breath control incredible. Jo's top notes soar triumphantly, and she can sustain them indefinitely, with enough power left to make a crescendo at the end. Highlights include Ravel's "Kaddisch," which sends shivers down the spine; arias from operas by Rossini and Donizetti; and arias from sacred works by Gounod and Fauré. Of two spirituals, the second one is simpler and more convincing. The accompanying forces are excellent; James Conlon doubles as pianist when not conducting. Susan Graham also makes an appearance in the moving invocation "Take Care of This House" from Bernstein's 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. --Edith Eisler

Customer Reviews:

Nice Voice.......2007-05-06

Sumi Jo has a beautiful voice but her renditions of Motherless Child and Amazing Grace were not impressive at all. The vibrato was too uncontrollable. The Ave Maria was so,so. I did not hear the richeness others have declared in their assesments. Don't get me wrong, the instrument is quite beautiful but only in some selected selections.

a voice teacher and early music fan.......2007-02-17

"Music and poetry emerge from man's desire to give thanks, to praise and to pray to his gods. One of the magical powers of the human voice is that it can fly, on the wings of songs (a la Mendelssohn) to heaven and appear to be in direct communication with God." Therefore, it is no surprise that prayer is omnipresent throughout the history of music. Sumi Jo has chosen an excellent representation of songs including most styles and periods which include : Baroque (Caccini)-Classical (Mozart)-Contemporary (Preisner)-Romantic Opera (Rossini,Donizetti)-German 'Singspiel'(Schubert)-Lieder (Richard Strauss)-French church music (Gounod ,Faure)-traditional music (spiritual)-Jewish melodies (Ravel)-Viennese operetta (Johann Strauss) and the American musical (Bernstein).

Sumi Jo, born in Korea,is a much sought after coloratura soprano, having triumphed on stage, and in recitals all over the world. Not being fond of coloraturas, I make an exception for her voice, because of its depth along with the very high register. She shows a great deal of sensitivity to all of her varied selections on this disc, and each delivery is a 'gem' unto itself.

I must personally comment on those works that I particularly enjoy. Hearing her sing Mozart's 'Laudate Dominum' was a real treat; it doesn't matter how often one hears that lovely piece, just like all of his music, it 'wears' well. The 'Pie Jesu' was absolutely stunning as Sumi Jo sang it, and it is a pleasure for me to hear the selection from "GIGI" by Lerner & Loewe; not being a great broadway fan, I have always liked that specific musical. I think because it was well-done when I saw it years and years ago.

This disc is abolutely totally enjoyable. There is something for all musical tastes, and the conductor/pianist James Conlon does a great job pulling it together!!!!!

Sumi Jo- coloratura supreme.......2006-04-09

One word: Lacrimosa. It haunts you and will stay with you long after you hear it. I actually forced several if my coworkers to listen to it many of which are not opera fans and even they could not argue the beauty of it. One of my coworkers was actual on the verge of tears by the end of the song.

The rest of the album is enchanting as well as breath taking. I am a harsh critic when it comes to singers so I do not give those compliments very often, nor am I easily moved by singers but Sumi Jo has certainly done that with this album.

My only complaint is that I would have liked to hear her take of "Ave Maria" by Schubert which, while recorded many times over, would complimented her voice perfectly due to it's simplicity. "Sing low sweet chariot" would have been another great one to hear but as far as spirtuals are concerned I was very happy with her acepella version of "Amazing Grace." I was never a huge fan of "Amazing Grace" since it's been done a thousand times over but she brought such seetness and emotion to it. Of course I am kind of biased becuase I offically hate the "belting" version of this song and that's how it's usually done. It's nice to hear a simple, straight forward version.

My last comment is that it's nice to hear Sumi Jo sing less operatic pieces considering most opera singers are rarely bold enough to sing anything other than classical pieces, excluding Renee Fleming of recent.

Prayerful and beautiful.......2005-11-14

It is a refreshing change to have a collection of arias on a CD with a title that actually bears some relevance to the contents. This is indeed a prayerful collection. That means, of course, that you have to be in the appropriately contemplative mood in order to appreciate it.

Another nice change is that the orchestral accompaniment enhances the singing rather than just tagging along as an afterthought, which often seems to be the case. It is fitting that James Conlon gets equal billing here. This is splendid singing to splendid music.

Sumi Jo is comfortable in any language and in a broad range of styles. I was uncertain how she would tackle songs like Amazing Grace and Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child. I need not have worried. In the latter she reveals a soulfulness that fits the lyrics perfectly.

The only track not worthy of this collection is Bernstein's Take Care of This House. I suppose, as it is a prayer, it was an obvious song to include, and Jo sings it very well, but it is just a very poor song. That still leaves 14 excellent tracks that, if you are a lover of good singing, you will want in your collection.

A spectalce of voice and vocalization.......2004-12-29

I bought this used from an Amazon.com dealer and it came with a cutout on the left side of the CD box. Can this specacular CD possibly have gone out of print by Christmas 2004? If so we have lost one of the benchmark recordings of this splendid artist.

Never is there a weak moment in this incredibly beautiful collection of classical bleeding chunks and spirituals. I don't think you'll confuse Sumi for your favorite spiritual singer in "Amazing Grace" and "Sometimes I feel like a motherless child" but she is magnificent singing the complete and incomplete tunes elsewhere on the CD by famous classical composers including Mozart, Richard Strauss, Rossini, Schubert and Donizetti, to name some of them.

She is in wonderful voice and fresh-faced for the Loewe-Lerner "Say a prayer for me tonight" and does an equally nice job with Susan Graham accompanying Leonard Bernstein's "Take care of this house" from "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue". I'm not much for this kind of music -- I bought this exclusively for her rendition of Mozart's "Laudate Dominum" -- but it adds a dimension to the concert that brings it into the realm of popular Broadway tunes.

This is a wonderful concert of familiar and not so familiar songs from a singer whose voice is eloquent, beautiful and rich, with significant range and span from PPP to FFF. Sumi Jo controls her voice well throughout the concert, giving everyone something to think about regardelss of musical preference. This might have been improved if she'd included a Beatles tune -- maybe "Elenor Rigby" or "Yesterday" -- accompanied by the orchestra and James Conlon's direction. But it stands with any similar collection by any singer as it is.

Average customer rating:

A really mixed bag... Very Good and Very Fake
great interpreters
sunny days of past and present
A somber tribute to John Denver by alternative artists
The Artists They Selected Are Very Good.

Take Me Home: A Tribute to John Denver
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Badman Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00004SG4K
Release Date: 2000-04-18

Tracks:

The Eagle And The Hawk - Bonnie Prince Billy
Follow Me - The Innocence Mission
Poems, Prayers, And Promises - Rachel Haden
Fly Away - Red House Painters
Around And Around - Mark Kozelek And Rachel Goswell
Looking For Space - Hannah Marcus
Matthew - Granfaloon Bus
Annie's Song - Sunshine Club
Whispering Jesse - James Hindle
Leaving On A Jet Plane - Tarnation
Back Home Again - Low
I'm Sorry - Red House Painters

Customer Reviews:

A really mixed bag... Very Good and Very Fake.......2006-08-19

John Denver was a really complicated guy. Real highs and abyssmal lows. His music is already beautiful, so if you also cringe when you are relaxing around a campfire when the acoustic guitar appears, there are songs here to skip.
Will Oldhams' version of 'The Eagle and the Hawk' and the Red House Painters "I'm Sorry" cover the cost of admission twice over. They are the most moving songs on the album. You have to buy the album for those two songs. Brilliantly done. The Innocence Mission pulls off 'Follow Me' hauntingly well. If you have an afternoon to adjust your equalizer the Low version of 'Back Home Again' is excellent as well.
I wish I had never heard the Tarnation version of 'Leaving on a Jet Plane'. How can you make a bad song so much worse? The Rachel Haden song has an artificially sweetened bubble-gum feel with over-the-top horn that places it in a bad Japanese cartoon. The other Red House Painter's/Kozelek songs are very well done and are solid. The other songs on the album are very easy to forget. They are blown opportunities by bands that were trying to make the songs more beautiful than they already are by adding gimmicks and overproduction. There is no depth of feeling that grace the originals. If thats your thing maybe you should search out "The Boston Pops play John Denver"....

great interpreters.......2005-12-30

This quirky CD is the perfect example of the fact that there is an endless number of great songs out there in search of a great interpretation. I did not realized until listening to this CD what a beautiful song "Annie's Song" is. The music industry needs people like this-- people with great voices and interpretive talent to record the already existing great songs. It reminds me of Al Green's version of To Sir With Love. Who would have thought....

sunny days of past and present.......2005-11-04

My mother used to have a well loved and beat-up copy of a two lp john denver live album. She would always play it on saturday mornings when she was cleaning the house. I associate songs like Matthew, the Eagle and the Hawk, Poems Prayers and Promises etc. with morning sun, the smell of pine-sol and lemon pledge and my mother's strong alto pulling me into another childishly happy morning.

I discovered Mark Kozelek through his work as Sun Kil Moon. Their first album was an instant favorite. Right from track one, standing at a listening station in a Borders bookstore back home in Indiana, I knew I needed this music.

John Denver counts as a guilty pleasure for alot of people beacuse he was so resolutely uncool. He was an optimist, a new age-ey mystic AND a country flavored folk singer.
His craft though, at its height, was undeniable. His melodies are absolute human classics and his lyrics bear a soul that may not have ever been in danger of being hip but seemed genuinely good.

Kozelek and his gathered cohorts pay wonderful tribute to that fact on this sincere and fitting collection. Each song stands as a coherent interpretation and a pleasent re-invention.

This collection is likely the closest John Denver will ever get to being "hip" and perhaps he's not entirely out of place.

A somber tribute to John Denver by alternative artists.......2005-03-03

The first concert I ever went to was to see John Denver and to this day when I drive through the Rocky Mountains I have to listen to his original "Greatest Hits" album. We first heard about John Denver for writing "Leaving on a Jet Plane" and singing "Take Me Home (Country Roads)," but he became identified in my mind with Colorado and "Rocky Mountain High." But there was more than the glorification of nature in his music, and my favorite John Denver songs are "Poems, Prayers and Promises" and "Rhymes and Reasons," which can certainly be accused of being more spiritual than commercial in essence.

I stumbled on "Take Me Home: A Tribute to John Denver" because I was going on one of my periodic searches to find interesting covers versions of songs I like and I stumbled across the Rachel Hayden cover of "Poems, Prayers and Promises" on this album. In contrast with the moody and somber approaches taken by most of the artists on this album, Hayden provides a rather perky pop take on the song, with some interesting harmonies in the chorus. It is very different, but that is what is interesting.

That approach is clear from the opening track of the album, "The Eagle and the Hawk" by Bonnie Prince Billy. The shortest of all John Denver songs, this is another personal favorite because of the guitar introduction. But Billy just sings the song a cappella in a simple haunting manner that gives you no other options but to listen to the lyrics this time around. As soon as he starts singing you know that this is a tribute album to someone who has died too song. The other defining element is that these are not artists that you would think of as being anything remotely close to John Denver. But they must have listened to him in their youth and compelled them to pay their respects to his music in their own manner.

For example, it seems the Red House Painters only sings songs of haunting sadness as a means of purging emotions, and their two tracks her are decidedly in that spirit. The sparse instrumentation and Mark Kozelek's introspective vocals emphasize the confessional aspects of "I'm Sorry." But the group relies entirely on almost wall of sound instrumentation to turn "Fly Away" into a dirge (A commentary on the circumstances of Denver's death? Perhaps). At the other end of the spectrum there is "Follow Me" by the Innocence Mission, where Karen Peris' vocals remind me of Melanie (the folk singer, not either of the Spice Girls).

Despite the often quite moody approaches often taken to Denver's songs (e.g., Low's "Back Home Again"), I think many of his fans will be open to what these artists are doing with his songs. Granted, chances are they will not find everything here to their liking. But there will be a couple of songs here that will catch their fancy. Most of these songs might be somber and moody, but they are certainly respectful and I cannot help but thinking with many of these tracks that these artists are literally performing them as if they were at the funeral (cf. "Take Me Home, Country Roads" by Jason & The Scorchers or "Rocky Mountain High" by the Yonder Mountain String Band ).

The Artists They Selected Are Very Good........2004-11-24

What's with the reviewer who said it's suddenly ok to like John
Denver ??
Hey sweetie..
We have all loved him for years..you were the one who missed out.

Average customer rating:

Most beautiful music

Menuhin & Grappelli Play...

Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Jazz in Paris: Oscar Peterson-Stephanie Grapelli Quartet, Vol. 1

ASIN: B0002Z83LG
Release Date: 2005-02-15

Tracks:

Fascinatin' Rhythm
Soon
Summertime
Embraceable You
Liza
A Foggy Day
'S Wonderful
The Man I Love
I Got Rhythm
He Loves And She Loves
They Can't Take That Away From Me
They All Laughed
Funny Face
Our Love Is Here To Stay
Lady Be Good
These Foolish Things
Laura
April In Paris
Autumn Leaves
Autumn In New York

Tracks:

Cheek To Cheek
Isn't This A Lovely Day?
Change Partners
Top Hat, White Tie And Tails
I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm
Heat Wave
The Way You Look Tonight
Pick Yourself Up
A Fine Romance
All The Things You Are
Why Do I Love You?
I Get A Kick Out Of You
Night And Day
Looking At You
Just One Of Those Things
My Funny Valentine
Thou Swell
The Lady Is A Tramp
Blue Room
Jealousy
Skylark

Customer Reviews:

Most beautiful music.......2005-08-17

This is happy music.
Just plain happy, instrumental music.
Highly recommend to everyone.

Average customer rating:

Timelessly Innovative
Outstanding!
Michigan Swing Dance Association!
sophistication and downhome grease
Anytime

I Want

Manufacturer: www.WomenInRock.com
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00000IYI6
Release Date: 1998-12-15

Tracks:

Be Glad
I Want
**4 in the Morning**
Unfinished Business
How Many
Leave Me Alone
Why Don't You See Me
Tallow Shuffle
Please Stop Seeing that Girl
I'm Your Girl
See You Tomorrow
Blues Singin' Alcoholic
I Want your Mother to Know/Rotten B
Suffer
Blues Psalm

Customer Reviews:

Timelessly Innovative.......2005-12-17

It is well known that this album has inspired many women to enter into the blues music industry. I recently purchased this smart cd-- I am sorry to say that I waited so long to do so. Between the sheer anger of the song "Suffer" to the soul-full desparation of "*4 in the morning", I am completely impressed, and a permanent fan.

Outstanding!.......2002-12-03

Outstanding! Really made my day. Cathy Jean's not only the best looking female blues singer in the biz, but her voice can make the hair on my back stand up. She and her band got it going on.

Michigan Swing Dance Association!.......2002-02-10

This is another in the fine outings by the very sexy Cathy Jean. The emotion she displays is certainly displayed on the Louisiana style cut, "Unfinished Business". "Leave Me Alone" is a song of an entirely different style being that it's more bluesy in the traditional sense. Dancers will be knocked out by this hard driving tune along with "I'm Your Girl" which is just a bit quicker but with the same power to make you get up and dance.

sophistication and downhome grease.......2001-12-19

Cathy Jean is a singer/songwriter out of Baltimore, Maryland. This is her second CD, and her sound has moved towards a sophisticated blues and rock, with some contemporary influences. She has a voice that is well suited to this eclectic approach, capable of crooning in one song, and belting out a hard shuffle in the next. The music kicks off with "Be Glad", a hard shuffle, followed by the title track, a crisp blues rocker. Cathy and band then move into some jazzy funk in "**4 in the Morning**", a little of the Bo Diddley beat in "Unfinished Business", then back into the funk with "How Many". "Leave Me Alone" is a rocker with a definate soul feel, which gives way to "Why Don't You See Me", a jazzy ballad. The band then cranks out a sharp shuffle, that recalls the 70's Albert Collins sound, followed by "Please Stop Seeing That Girl", a funky acoustic blues that showcases yet another facet of Cathy Jean's voice. Dancers in the crowd are served next with the catchy rocking blues, "I'm Your Girl", then comes the sultry "See You Tomorrow", and the acoustic country-blues of "Blues Singin' Alcoholic". Next up is the New Orleans style rocker, "I Want Your Mother To Know/Rotten B." which Cathy belts out with authority. This CD closes with a nice slow blues and a gospelish blues that is a inventive synthesis of genres. SUMMARY: Cathy Jean has come up with an energetic set of blues, jazz and contemporary-blues that fits the 90's to a T. She has real fire in her voice, and all of the music here is driven by a genuine sense of passion that makes the songs literally jump out at you from the speakers. A great mix of sophistication and downhome grease. --Al Handa, Delta Snake Daily Blues

Anytime.......2001-11-24

I am a manager of a public library and also play blues harmonica. I bought her CD, "I Want", for the library... it kicks. Listening to her and looking at her is a deadly combination, makes my head swim.

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