In the Plain [Import]

Product Description
Japanese limited edition reissue of the Danish progressive rock act's 1969 album, packaged in a miniature LP sleeve that's limited to 5,000 copies. 2004.

Amazon.com

This recording has been unavailable for too long. Recorded in 1970, a solid year-or-so before Beverly Sills' voice began to show the damage caused by singing Elisabetta I in Donizetti's Roberto Devereux, this is the finest all-around recording of Manon on the market. Sills, in addition to being fresh-voiced, is so thoroughly in the part that we can chart Manon's downfall step by step; her girlish singing is as right on as her sassy, showy coloratura in the thirds act, and her St Sulpice scene is truly seductive. She's the perfect Manon. And Nicolai Gedda's Des Grieux, sung, as is Sills' Manon and the rest of the cast, in impeccable French, is passionate, madly in love, and ultimately tragic. Gabriel Bacquier's Count is imperious and authoritative and Gerard Souzay's Lescaut is smooth. Julius Rudel's leadership sparkles when it should and his sense of French suavity is unfailing. The score is given more than complete - as an appendix, there's an aria for Manon that Massenet added later. This is a desert island disc. --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews:

5-stars!! Sills owned this role!.......2007-07-18

Until I heard Sills sing Manon in the 1970's I have to admit that it was not one of my favorite operas. This recording certainly does her justice, capturing the complexities of this role. It is an outstanding recording! (as an aside, if you have not seen it, go to youtube's recording of her farewell recital, where, as in all of her recitals, she closes with a Portugese folk song taught to her by her famous teacher Estelle Liebling. If this doesn't bring tears to your eyes, nothing will!).

SILLS and a Perfect MANON............2007-07-07

Enough has been written about Beverly Sills and the role of Manon that you already know that she OWNED the role for a long time.

This recording was originally issued on EMI, and I find it unusual that it should have disappeared from that label and it now appears on DG. Although it is strange, we need not worry about that; the main thing here is that the recording is again available to us.

You only really need two copies of Manon...the Victoria De Los Angeles one under Pierre Monteaux, and this one with Sills, Gedda, Bacquier, and Souzay under Julius Rudel. All participants here are simply wonderful, and all in very good voice as it happens! Usually we get a weak link, but somehow, the god's smiled on this effort, and everything came together wonderfully.

This is one of Gedda's efforts that I heartily commend! Simply a great des Griux! Souzay's Lescaut is really a wonderfully smooth, and mellow, performance that you need to hear. Gabriel Bacquier, AS ALWAYS turns in a magnificently commanding performance as Count des Griux. This of course brings us to the role of Manon. Simply stunning would be a great way to say it! Sills is just so real-life-bubbly girlish, and so lovely, that we are swept up in the swirl of mad love, right up to tragedy that comes to her, and the heart-wrenchingly sad finale.

This recording belongs in everyone's collection, right beside the Victoria De Los Angeles one! Enjoy! ~operabruin

For Sills fans, mainly........2006-01-16

As good an ensemble as could be assembled in the more recent past, well conducted by the seasoned Rudel, this 1970 performance stands or falls by one's perception of the two principals.

Nicolaï Gedda (né Ustinov,) b. 1925, half-Swedish, half-Russian, was a fine musician with a highly developped vocal technique. His manner was rather cold, however, and at 45 his lyric voice had lost some of its original bloom. I find his des Grieux rather grim and emphatic, lacking in romantic élan. I much prefer the poetic Henri Legay in the definitive Monteux recording (TESTAMENT.)

Beverly Sills (née Silvermann,) b. 1929, American, studied with Estelle Liebling, a pupil of the legendary Mathilde Marchesi, teacher of Melba, Eames, Kurtz, Alda and many an other French stylist.

Sills new exactly how to sing this music and had the perfect voice and technique for it. Many years of repertory singing in the provinces, often in inappropriately heavy parts (Tosca!) however, had made Sills' voice thin and unsteady by the time she made this recording at age 41. Her interpretation is intense, heartfelt and full of telling dramatic detail, but often heavy-handed and unpleasant on the ear. She is also rather short on the elegance and chimeric charm that characterises the best interpreters of this part (Vallin, Heldy, Féraldy, de los Ángeles.)

The airplane hangar ambience of the recording studio (talk about overresonant!) does not help, either.

Incidentally, the rôle of Lescaut is sung (well) by Gerard SOUZAY.

Gabriel Bacquier sings comte des Grieux--very well indeed.

A Great Recording of an Opera That Should Be Performed More Often.......2005-10-08

Massanet's MANON is a work that is no stranger to the stage in New York City where it has had a glorious history at both the Met and the New York City Opera though this is not the case around the world. Its frequent New York performances may make it Massanet's most staged opera. For those familiar with the work, it is a favorite. It has all the elements that make French opera great, but it is not a work that has familiar excerpts. As a matter of fact, Massanet's bets known melodies are from lesser known works, such as the "Meditation" from THAIS and Porquoi me Revelier" from WERTHER. Yet when MANON is broadcast from the Met or if one takes out a recording, it's easy to understand why this work has been a favorite of so many for over a century and begs the question `Why isn't this work performed more often?'

Like great French opera, MANON is a work that is a bit larger than life, requires exquisite orchestral playing, and of course great singing. This set, originally released by Westminster in the 1970's and re-released by Duetsche Grammophon has it all. The vocal abilities of the three leading performers: Beverly Sills, Nicolai Gedda and Gabriel Bacquier as Manon, des Grieux, and Lescaut respectively are each in top vocal form. Sills herself states that Manon was a role she loved and one that she believed her voice was well suited for, and there can be no disputation when listening to this set. As a conductor, Julius Rudel is at his best. He has great control over the New Philharmonia Orchestra, creating lush sounds that make the recording spectacular and an added, but essential plus would be the outstanding choral performances by the Ambrosian Opera Chorus and the great performances of the smaller roles.

Just about every reviewer, from Amazon reviewers to the critics who write for OPERA NEWS have heralded the new availability of this recording. Listen to it, and you will understand why and echo the many praises of this set.

Enjoy!

Beverly Sills Signature Role.......2004-12-17

Beverly Sills once said that if she was to be remembered for anything, it should be for "Manon". This is the role that catapulted her to opera superstardom. And she made this recording in 1970, when her voice still had all its youthful freshness and vigor, and shows just why Beverly Sills had such a great reputation. It has been said that Massenet wrote for his soprano, and nowhere is that more true than in the title role of this opera. And Sills does the role complete justice, vocally demonstrating in her singing the downfall of Manon from young innocent girl to demimondaine to despair and death. Her rendition of the great aria "Adieu, notre petite table", is incredibly moving. And the rest of the cast is excellent as well. Nicolai Gedda is supremely stylish as Des Grieux, Gabriel Bacquier strong and forthright as his father, and one gets to hear the late Gerard Souzay, famous primarily as a concert artist, singing a rare opera role as Lescaut, Manon's cousin. Julius Rudel conducts cleanly, making the most of Massenet's lush orchestrations. This recording belongs on the shelf of every opera lover.

Average customer rating:

A Breath of Fresh Air
Excellent Tunes
Perfect
Pure Alberta Country !

Hair in My Eyes Like a Highland Steer
Corb Lund
Manufacturer: Stony Plain Music
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Country | Styles | Music

General | Traditional Country | Country | Styles | Music

Traditional Folk | Folk | Styles | Music
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Five Dollar Bill
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ASIN: B000ARKVIE
Release Date: 2006-09-19

Tracks:

Hair In My Eyes Like A Highland Steer
The Truck Got Stuck
Always Keep An Edge On Your Knife
The Rodeo's Over
Hurtin' Albertan
Big Butch Bass Bull Fiddle
All I Wanna Do Is Play Cards
The Truth Comes Out
Counterfeiters' Blues
Good Copenhagen
Trouble In The Country
Little Foothills Heaven
The Truck Got Stuck Talkin' Blues

Product Description

1. Hair In My Eyes Like
A Highland Steer
2. The Truck Got Stuck
3. Always Keep An Edge
On Your Knife
4. The Rodeo's Over
(featuring Ian Tyson)
5. Hurtin' Albertan
6. Big Butch Bass Bull Fiddle
7. All I Wanna Do Is Play Cards
8. The Truth Comes Out
9. Counterfeiters Blues
10. Good Copenhagen
11. Trouble In The Country
12. Little Foothills Heaven
13. The Truck Got Stuck Talkn' Blues
(featuring Ramblin' Jack Elliott)

Format: CD

Amazon.com

Corb Lund and his crackerjack band, the Hurtin' Albertans, lassoed a pen full of awards in the recent Canadian Country Music Awards (and the Western Canadian Music Awards), and for anyone just coming to Lund's brand of ranchin' and ropin' tunes, this album (ironically recorded in Nashville) serves as a fine introduction. The baby-faced Canuck blends a prairie upbringing with 10 years as an indie rocker in his last group, the Smalls, and throws in a smattering of acoustic blues, folk, rockabilly, ragtime, and country-rock to balance his traditional cowpoke leanings. While his subject matter generally hangs around the chutes and the plains, or follows the white line down the highway, Lund is so lyrically and rhythmically inventive that special guests Ian Tyson, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, and Riders in the Sky's Ranger Doug and Too Slim probably begged to ride herd. Put your boots up, pull out a can of chew, and get acquainted with the brightest new star under the western moon. --Alanna Nash

Customer Reviews:

A Breath of Fresh Air.......2007-05-21

I first got hooked on Corb Lund after purchasing his last release ( Five Dollar Bill) and have been anticipating more.
Well, "Hair in my Eyes Like a Highland Steer", does not dissapoint to say the least.
Lund and the Hurtin' Albertans mix the introspective ( The Truth Comes Out, The Rodeo's Over) with the witty ( The Truck Got Stuck, Hurtin' Albertan) to produce a great album full of hooks you will be humming all day.
As a Texan and a rancher, I find it reassuring our "neighbors to the North" share many of our experiences and outlooks. "The Truck Got Stuck" in particular caught my ear, as I have had similar experiences in muddy pastures ( minus the canola seed.)
While these are mainly "cowboy" songs, I think anyone with a love of the West and rural life will find them enjoyable.

Excellent Tunes.......2007-01-15

If you are all about real country music then,you would love this CD!!!
I was very impressed that it was here before the scheduled date of arrival.
Thank you so much
BUY IT ALL YOU COUNTRY PEOPLE!!!!
Shelia Sale/VA

Perfect.......2006-07-09

I heard Corb Lund described as Canada's answer to Cake, but that's not really true. The Corb Lund band is as rooted in Alberta as Cake is in California, and both have smart lyrics, but (even though I don't much like country music) I have to give the nod to this album. Great musical hooks, wonderful lyrics, songs that get stuck in your head and make you smile for days afterward.

I think I'd compare Corb Lund more to Steve Earle, with a catchier bass/banjo line. BRILLIANT album.

Pure Alberta Country ! .......2005-10-18

I was in Canada this weekend and heard the 'The Truck Got Stuck" and I was hooked. I bought the CD and laughed and smiled from the beginning until the end. Buy this CD and ENJOY!

Average customer rating:

In Good We Trust
Harry Manx , and Kevin Breit
Manufacturer: Stony Plain Music
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Blues | Styles | Music

Slide Guitar | Blues | Styles | Music

General | International | Styles | Music

General | Reggae | International | Styles | Music

World Dance | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
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ASIN: B000NQDN28
Release Date: 2007-04-05

Tracks:

I'm On Fire
Sometimes
Bottom Of the Hill
Better Man's Waltz
Death Have Mercy
Steal 6
Ship Of Fools
In Good We Trust
Hang On
Don't Swim Float
Sisters

Average customer rating:

This one'll get ya going.
TIME TRAVEL
Interesting variety
A trip through history
Overrated

Music Of The Crusades

Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

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The Decca Records Store | Specialty Stores | Music
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Sinners & Saints: The Ultimate Medieval and Renaissance Music Collection
Music for a Medieval Banquet
Codex Faenza: Instrumental Music of the Early 15th Century
Music of the Troubadours
Medieval Dance Music

ASIN: B0000041XJ
Release Date: 1991-04-05

Tracks:

Music Of The Crusades: La quinte estampie real
Music Of The Crusades: Pax in nomine Domini!
Music Of The Crusades: Parti de mal - Third Crusade
Music Of The Crusades: Chevalier, mult estes guariz - Second Crusade
Music Of The Crusades: Chanterai por mon corage - Third Crusade
Music Of The Crusades: Danse real
Music Of The Crusades: Sede, Syon, in pulvere
Music Of The Crusades: Palastinalied - Sixth Crusade
Music Of The Crusades: Condicio - O nacio - Mane prima
Music Of The Crusades: O tocius Asie - Crusade of 1248
Music Of The Crusades: La uitime estampie real
Music Of The Crusades: Cum sint difficilia - Crusade of 1248
Music Of The Crusades: Li noviaus tens - Le Chatelain de Coucy - Third Crusade
Music Of The Crusades: Fortz chausa es (Gaucelm Faidit) - Lament On The Death Of Richard Coeur - de - Lion
Music Of The Crusades: Je ne puis - Amors me tienent - Veritatem
Music Of The Crusades: Ahi! Amours - Third Crusade
Music Of The Crusades: La tierche estampie real
Music Of The Crusades: Ja nus hons pris - Song Of Captivity
Music Of The Crusades: Au tens plain do felonnie - Crusade fo 1239

Customer Reviews:

This one'll get ya going........2007-05-19

For early music people, this is another great compilation of stuff you just like to put on in the background while doing your daily routine. Good times.

TIME TRAVEL.......2006-08-15

LIKE A TRIP BACK IN TIME. FROM THE FIRST NOTES, I WAS TRANSPORTED.

Interesting variety.......2006-03-28

One of the problems I have with many early music CDs is an emphasis on one place in a time period. This reissue manages to avoid that flaw by including minnesinger, troubador, trouvere, and instrumental pieces, though the liner notes could easily have told us which of the pieces were troubador, and which trouvere, instead of just the tantalizing "two are troubador (written in langue d'oc)" without identifying which.

As a sampler, it is excellent, though the vocal pieces tend to be somewhat slow--not all the lyrics seem consistent with that delivery, so this is probably an artist's choice. It would be interesting to hear the same pieces performed now, 30 years later, with 30 years of new scholarship. Ah well, nothing is perfect!

A trip through history.......2005-09-29

The time of the Crusades spanned several centuries, from the time Pope Urban II called upon Christendom to fight for Jerusalem until the thirteenth century (this does not include the numerous minor, unnumbered crusades, sometimes against other Christians). The Crusades became for many in the Middle Ages a romantic ideal; the appeal for those who would join the Crusades was two-fold, both riches in this world and salvation in the next.

In this collection, the texts of the songs are primarily contemporary with the Crusades, although a few come from later troubadour and folk songs. Some songs here directly relate to the Crusades in content (for example, Pax in nomine Domini!), whereas others are songs contemporary with and popular among the Crusaders, but have no direct relation to the Crusades. 'Ja nus hons pris' is one such song, which has origins attributed to one of the most famous of the Crusaders, Richard the Lionhearted.

One of the problems with music from this time period is that very little written material exists. What music notation there is often is reminiscent of Gregorian chant - there are markers for pitch, but nothing for rhythmic values, melodies, etc. Similarly, the types of instruments are often not listed for particular songs, so it becomes educated guesswork as to the instruments used - lutes, rebec, wind instruments, percussion, etc.

The performances here are wonderful and full. The Early Music Consort of London recorded this first for vinyl in 1970; this CD is a reissue, well engineered. David Munrow was the director as well as performer on recorder, fluet, shawm, crumhorn and bagpipes. Munrow's talents are well suited to this kind of medieval music. Among the other performers are soprano Christina Clarke, counter tenors James Bowman and Charles Brett, tenor Nigel Rogers and baritone Geoffrey Shaw. Musicians include Eleanor Sloan on treble rebec, Oliver Brookes on bass rebec, James Tyler on lute and citole, Gillian Reid on the bells, Christopher Hogwood on harp, organ, nakers and tabor, and James Blades on nakers and tabor.

This recording is superb, a great addition to an early music library, and a joy to have as a CD - I had the vinyl of this, but over time it warped in storage, and I was very sad to have lost such a brilliant collection of music. Here it is again, restored and full of power and life.

Overrated.......2005-03-03

Note that I am a harsh reviewer, especially for music... but there are a lot of problems with this CD and there are better other there.

It is certainly interesting music and it does have historical value, but it is by no means unique.

Here are my criticisms:

1)
All of the 19 tracks are short. They range from 1-4 minutes with an average of around 2 1/2 minutes per track.

2)
This wouldn't be all that bad, except that none of those 19 tracks really stood out. They are all slow-paced and generic with little feeling of variety. Essentially, despite being a fan of the genre, I just couldn't get 'into' any of the music. It was not at all inspiring.

3)
One of my favorite things about medieval/renaissance music is the excellent balance and combination of voice talent and instruments.
This CD did not come through at all in that area, however.
The majority of this CD was the mellow, slow-paced singing that many people associate with the genre.
However, whenever the singers got going, the relatively few instruments all disappeared entirely, leaving you with just the singers (who weren't powerful enough to carry the show alone).

If you are a fan of the genre, then you might want to add this to your collection just because it isn't very expensive.

However, if you are merely interested in trying out the archaic music genre, then I defintely would recommend:
"Sinners & Saints - The Ultimate Medieval and Renaissance Music Collection"
*instead* of this one.
I gave Sinners & Saints a 5/5 - It was the CD that this one should've been.

Average customer rating:

one listen and you are hooked...
Songwriter's Dream
Wow...This is Great!!
Go Richard Shindell!
A Folk Tour De Force: Shindell's Poetic Magnum Opus

Somewhere Near Paterson
Richard Shindell
Manufacturer: Signature Sounds
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

Singer-Songwriters | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

Traditional Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B000040JCT
Release Date: 2000-02-08

Tracks:

Confession
Abuelita
You Stay Here
My Love Will Follow You
Spring
Wisteria
Waiting For The Storm
The Grocer's Broom
Merritt Parkway, 2 AM
Transit
Calling The Moon

Amazon.com

Richard Shindell saw his fervid following expand thanks to Cry Cry Cry, an album of covers he recorded with fellow folk stars Dar Williams and Lucy Kaplansky. But fans are keen to take him straight up, and folk's Velvet Fog has obliged them with Somewhere Near Paterson. His fourth release is in fact a return to form after the uneven Reunion Hill. Still, longtime fans--and those lucky to come upon this singer-songwriter for the first time--should cherish almost everything here. In the jingle-jangle opener, "Confession," a Wall Street type is desperate for pharmaceutical grace. Some will consider this monologue a chip off the Michael Stipe-ish block, yet its compound of irony, sympathy, and slant observation is Shindell's own. Other great tunes include "You Stay Here," narrated by a war-zone Everyman, "Waiting for the Storm," featuring another of the disc's quiet outlaws, and "Spring." Though this cut's Celtic-style coda has its longueurs, few would be without its paradoxical chorus: "Maybe will be certain / You can take it as a vow / Winter's just the curtain / Spring will take the bow." Shindell insists that his dramatis personae exist only in "songland," but his best work makes one beg to differ. And no one does dynamics and drop-D tunings better. --Kerry Fried

Customer Reviews:

one listen and you are hooked... .......2007-06-14

there I was in Cedar Rapids, Iowa the night before my own one-man show was set to take center stage and I was invited to attend a concert being given by the foks of Legion Arts. That was my first introduction to the music of Richard Shindell. I bought this CD that night after the concert. A unique singer-songwriter with lyrics that run deep. Beautiful music, one of the great unknowns of American music with a loyal, dedicated following. Listen and you'll know why. My wife became a fan after I played it for her and it is still one of my most played cd's that I own. Confession, You Stay Here and My Love Will Follow You are my favs.

Songwriter's Dream.......2007-02-26

Richard Shindell explores a variety of personal emotions in his work. Every song is interesting and most will stick with you. I believe "You Stay Here" is one of the best songs ever written. It packs a huge, unspoken story into such simple lyrics.

"Wisteria" ids also a favorite of mine. "The Grocer's Broom" is moving.

Shindell is probably too introspective for some, but if you're in a contemplative mood, you won't go wrong with this one.

Wow...This is Great!!.......2005-11-09

"Confessions" and "My Love Will Follow You" are the strongest tracks. There is also the poignant "You Stay Here," about survival and family, and "Transit." Shindell has a knack for crafting haunting and compelling stories and music. This is a very gifted singer/songwriter. "Lately I've been thinking, something has to give....I left the doors ajar, sitting here in this rocking chair waiting for the storm." Powerful. I cannot believe I'm just discovering his music now. I just received this CD and have been playing it over and over in the car, feeling more enriched after each listening experience. I've ordered his live CD "Courier" which I understand is even better! I look forward to seeing him in concert some day soon too.

The lyrics are very meaningful and not like the tripe we see in commercial music nowadays. The excellent music enhances the lyrics, taking them to another level. There is almost a blunt honesty in his music that shines through very graciously. As one reviewer said, this is "great music to listen to on a summer night in the car with the windows open." Congrats on an excellent recording Mr. Shindell :) Your music is a true treasure.

Go Richard Shindell!.......2005-10-17

I loved this CD! It was almost like sitting at one of his concerts. The songs are poignant, and the music is diversified, some mellow and reflective, some just fun. Richard's music is story-telling at its best!

A Folk Tour De Force: Shindell's Poetic Magnum Opus.......2001-04-12

If anyone questions Richard Shindell's place in folk music, he/she need only listen to this glorious, passionate tour de force and all doubts will vanish. Shindell has created a collection of astounding beauty and heartfelt tenderness. With this cd, he has raised the poetic simplicity of "Blue Divide" to astonishing heights of insightful commentary (Confession, Transit), poetic wistfullness (Wisteria, Thr Grocers Broom), and sumptuous music (Spring, Merritt Parkway). This is some of the fimest folk music ever recorded. His warm vocals and depth of spirit will at once break your heart and make you shout on the rooftops for joy.

Average customer rating:

love love love
A very good album.
Another hit for Drive Thru
Good sissy punk
decent considering the genre

Life in Dreaming
Hidden in Plain View
Manufacturer: Drive Thru
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Emo | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Punk-Pop | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

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Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
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ASIN: B0007KTAYA
Release Date: 2005-02-22

Tracks:

Bleed For You - Hidden In Plain View
Ashes Ashes - Hidden In Plain View
A Minor Detail - Hidden In Plain View
The Point - Hidden In Plain View
Twenty Below - Hidden In Plain View
Garden Statement - Hidden In Plain View
The Innocent Ones - Hidden In Plain View
American Classic - Hidden In Plain View
In Memory - Hidden In Plain View
Top 5 Addictions - Hidden In Plain View
Halcyon Daze - Hidden In Plain View

Tracks:

Bleed For You - Hidden In Plain View
Sydney - Halifax
Better Love - Steel Train
Decoration - The Early November
Shimmy Shimmy Quarter Turn - Hellogoodbye
D2 - Allister
Cross My Heart - Home Grown
The Best Happiness Money Can Buy - I Can Make A Mess Like Nobody's Business
Eastern Homes And Western Hearts - Day At The Fair
Tonight (The Process) - Self Against City
The Doctor - Socratic
Unnoticeable - An Angle
Symphony (Six The Hard Way) - I Am The Avalanche
Exit Emergency - Houston Calls
A Over B Squared - Morning Call
Talk Radio - The Track Record
Attention - Adelphi
Jamie - Jenoah

Album Description

There are a thousand ways for the world to cut you up and cut you off. On their Drive-Thru Records debut full-length CD Life in Dreaming, Hidden in Plain View explores a few of them. A brutal rape in a back alley. A car wreck on the turnpike. Standing alone on a high rooftop and contemplating the fast way down. Unafraid to confront such dark impulses, the hard-rocking New Jersey quintet ultimately makes an eloquent hard-rocking case for the human spirit.

Produced by Jim Wirt (Incubus, Something Corporate) and mixed by Josh Wilbur, Life In Dreaming rips the head off of most rock & roll conventions. A good example is "Bleed For You," a searing account of a date rape. Sings lead vocalist Joe Reo: "The cold concrete cuts against her back/and her spirit spills with blood onto the pavement/hands tied so tight behind her neck/and a silence falls and everything changes." Notes lead guitarist/lyricist Rob Freeman, "Two friends of mine were rape victims, and seeing how much pain they were in I wanted to relieve them. It's one of the rawest things I ever wrote and when I played it for one of them, she had tears in her eyes, and she said 'You nailed it.'"

"Ashes, Ashes" is a crushing rocker that shines light on what the band calls moral suicide. "It's about being true to yourself," says Rob, "and not taking things for granted." The neo-symphonic seven-minute-long "Garden Statement" traces the anguished reflections of a soul on fire. "They broke you down and now you're broken/And it's sadder than the saddest movie/I ever saw but without the beauty/So I stopped watching I stopped caring," sings Joe Reo.

Other songs, like "Twenty Below" and "A Minor Detail," keep up the pressure. Says Joe of the band's songwriting process, "When we get together, we sit in a circle with our amps plugged in and we share ideas. If we like an idea we jam on it." Adds Rob: "We write the songs together. The best stuff always comes from what you're feeling."

The track "In Memory" carries that notion further. "Rob's grandfather had passed away," says Joe, "and a friend of mine was dying from cancer. So we were looking at it from the same point of view, which gave the song more emotion." Songs like "Halcyon Daze," with its string flourishes, show a more intimate side, while "Top 5 Addictions" and "American Classic" showcase HIPV's ability to blend power with melody. Says Rob, "'American Classic' is about growing up and the friends you grow apart from. You go to college, life takes over. Things aren't as sincere as when you're young."

Customer Reviews:

love love love.......2007-06-21

when i started to listen to this cd. i couldnt stop. hipv has an amazing sound that makes you just want to rock out. i could listen to them for days. they are just everything i hoped for and more.

A very good album........2006-08-03

This album is very good. A lot of people don't like Joe Reo's voice because it sounds like Jordan Pudnik (sp?) from New Found Glory. While those people are right, you still have to like it.

Anyway, here are my ratings for each song:

1. Bleed for You - A good starter, but not as good as the version of the song that came out before this full length. 7.5/10

2. Ashes Ashes - I never really liked this song, but it grows on you. 7.0/10

3. A Minor Detail - A great song with good lead guitar playing. 8.5/10

4. The Point - My dad really likes this song for some reason. I like it too. 8.5/10

5. 20 Below - An amazing song. I have not heard an emo band like this use double bass pedals so effectively. 10/10

6. Garden Statement - Another really good song. 8.0/10

7. The Innocent Ones - Another awesome song. Ranks up there with 20 Below. 10/10

8. American Classic - A lot of people say this was butchered. I have not heard the other version, so I wouldn't know how it sounds. For now, this deserves a 7.5/10.

9. In Memory - A good song. 8.0/10

10. Top 5 Addictions - Decent. Just decent. 6.5/10

11. Halycon Daze - A slower song. But still good. 7.5/10

Another hit for Drive Thru.......2006-05-04

Have to admit I'm a Drive-Thru junkie. HIP-V is definitely a hit. Joe and Rob are fantastic on vocals. This is also one of those rare bands that is amazing live--check them out if you get a chance!

Good sissy punk.......2005-12-21

I saw these guys opening for Slick Shoes a few years ago, and I was completely blown away by their energy. They are still my most favorite live act. Anyways, I bought this CD, which turned out to not really sound anything like their live stuff. At first I wasn't too fond of the album, but the more I listened to it, the more it grew on me and now I play it regularly. I would say that it is similar to other sissy punk bands like NFG or MxPx, but HIPV seem to pay more attention to the artistic aspect of music. The vocals are meaningful and metaphoric; the music is layered and well thought-out. This isn't an aggressive skateboarding CD. It is more of a hanging-out-and-enjoying-the-moment CD. You won't find any of these songs on any Punk-O-Rama, but true to the Drive-Thru label, it is a melodic and well-produced work of art.

decent considering the genre.......2005-11-12

I saw this CD at wal-mart and thought: What the heck it's on Drive thru and the label says it sounds like TBS. It can't be that bad.

My first impression was good. The first track: "bleed for you" really got me pumped about this band. Sure, it sounded like a lot of other emocore bands, like matchbook romance and Early november but in a good way. It's a lot moe pop-punk that those bands. This can be taken good or bad depending on your taste. The chord progression and vox is almost NFG like, but heavier. There's occasional screaming and intensified drumming that make this CD very emocorey. HIPV does a great job of melding this softer pop-punk sound with a slightly hardcore vibe.

I found that this band has many pros and cons, so the best way to visualize them would be in just that way...

PROS-

-better than average drumming. It's not often we see double bass in the kind of music. That's awesome.

-HIPV has a nice rythm section, but who doesn't in this genre?

-good screamer, Rob Freeman gets the job done.

-Good job melding of genres that usually don't work well together

CONS-

-the singer sounds like jordan pundik... EW

-There's a lot of potential for this band to grow into something more but they don't show it.

-lyrically this is sub-par.

-It sounds redundantly like other related bands.

-over-produced

-i could have done without the acoustic songs

This Cd manages to outdo recent bands in the same pool, like armor for sleep and Matchbook romance, but it comes nowhere near to matching up with TBS's Tell all your friends.

Average customer rating:

Time Capsule
Unexpected
An album to treasure
A classic recording of American songs
The sessions of sweet silent thought stirred

Songs by Stephen Foster, Vol. 1-2

Manufacturer: Nonesuch
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Polkas | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Stephen Foster Songs: Parlor & Minstrel Songs, Dance Tunes & Instrumentals
Stephen Foster Song Book
American Dreamer: Songs of Stephen Foster; Thomas Hampson; Jay Unger; Molly Mason
Swanee: The Music of Stephen Foster
DOO-DAH: Stephen Foster and the Rise of American Popular Culture

ASIN: B000005IYE
Release Date: 1992-05-28

Tracks:

Songs By Stephen Foster: Jeanie With The Light Brown Hair
Songs By Stephen Foster: There's A Good Time Coming
Songs By Stephen Foster: Was My Brother In The Battle?
Songs By Stephen Foster: Sweetly She Sleeps, My Alice Fair
Songs By Stephen Foster: If You've Only Got A Moustache
Songs By Stephen Foster: Gentle Annie
Songs By Stephen Foster: Wilt Thou Be Gone, Love?
Songs By Stephen Foster: That's What's The Matter
Songs By Stephen Foster: Ah! May The Red Rose Live Alway
Songs By Stephen Foster: I'm Nothing But A Plain Old Soldier
Songs By Stephen Foster: Beautiful Dreamer
Songs By Stephen Foster: Mr. & Mrs. Brown
Songs By Stephen Foster: Slumber My Darling
Songs By Stephen Foster: Some Folks
Songs By Stephen Foster: We Are Coming, Father Abraam, 300,000 More
Songs By Stephen Foster: Linger In Blissful Repose
Songs By Stephen Foster: There Are Plenty Of Fish In The Sea
Songs By Stephen Foster: Come Where My Love Lies Dreaming
Songs By Stephen Foster: The Soiree Polka
Songs By Stephen Foster: Better Times Are Coming
Songs By Stephen Foster: Katy Bell
Songs By Stephen Foster: The Hour For Thee And Me
Songs By Stephen Foster: Summer Longings

Customer Reviews:

Time Capsule.......2006-11-30

The voices and instruments, like the songs, are straight from the mid-19th century. If you want to be transported back in time 150 years to a wonderful parlor performance of Foster's songs, this is the album to do it. The voices are marvelous and trained, and one must imagine that the strict phrasing and style are what one would have expected at the time. The cheap upright piano is perfect.

But the one perfect moment for me is the ONLY good extant rendition of "Was My Brother in the Battle?". Accompanied on a harmonium or pump reed organ, if this song doesn't tempt a tear, you simply aren't a romantic.

Very highly recommended.

Unexpected.......2005-11-26

Quality of this recording is fantastic! Performances are superb! However, they don't fit being an example of Foster's music and times. I was expecting banjos and a Mississippi Sound - therfore, very, very disappointed in this CD and consider and a waste of money. Be sure to LISTEN to a few examples to match what you are looking for and what the CD offers. I, unfortunately did not listen before I bought. I rate this low only because my expectations were shattered. This IS a fine CD if opera styles are ok for an example of this southern, 1800's composer's work.

An album to treasure.......2004-09-23

The landmark Library of Congress album, now on enhanced CD. Years
ago, I went on a six-months field assignment to a remote area of
Africa, where I could take only what music I could carry in a vest
pocket. I chose a tape player and two albums: a recital by Perlman
and this album on tape, and was content. If you love American
music, sung poetry, beautiful singing and deeply moving musicality,
this is an album you will treasure for a lifetime.

A classic recording of American songs.......2004-08-22

What can I say that hasn't already been said below? I only wanted to reiterate how wonderful this album is and assure the reader the sound is spectacular on CD. This is a live recording, and intentionally so, as the idea was to create a "parlor" experience as these were parlor songs to be sung by family and friends around the old upright piano. I especially liked the comment about the upright piano which, indeed, does croak and clank throughout the performance adding a note of "authenticity" without becoming obtrusive.

If only Ms. DeGaetani had graced my parlor...

The sessions of sweet silent thought stirred.......2003-11-22

I have never heard such unadulterated extraworldy sound emanate from two human voices and what would otherwise be firewood (the period instruments played by Gilbert Kalish). It stirs profound patriotism and a deep sentimentality for our early days when a civilized people pined to find virtue by examining its own body-- the north and the south, the small town, the simple flag, and the beauty of gentile manly and womanly love expressed through equisite song. There is no other music I would rather hear 'when summoning up the remembrance of things past.' The ghost of the early American parlor will prick your skin through these simple hymns and you may escape for a moment our troubled and busy times.

Average customer rating:

Adventures in Jazzland
Jeff Healey
Manufacturer: Stony Plain Music
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Classic Rock | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Among Friends
It's Tight Like That
The Jeff Healey Band - Live at Montreux 1999
10 Days Out (Blues from the Backroads)/ (CD/DVD)
Get Me Some

ASIN: B000I2KPOG
Release Date: 2007-01-08

Tracks:

Bugle Call Rag
My Honey's Lovin' Arms
Emaline
I Never Knew What A Gal Could Do
If I Had You
Three Little Words
My Blackbirds Are Bluebirds Now
Someday Sweetheart
Keep Smiling At Trouble
Mine-All Mine
You're Driving Me Crazy
Poor Butterfly
You Brought A New Kind Of Love To Me
Indiana
Little Buttercup

Album Description

Reissue of the self-released 2004 album from multi-instrumentalist Jeff Healey. Initially known as a Blues guitarist, on this release, Healey picks up the trumpet and explores traditional American Jazz of the '20s and '30s. Backed by his new band, The Jazz Wizards, this is a remarkable release by an artist who continues to surprise and inspire. 15 tracks including 'Bugle Call Rag', 'I Never Knew What A Gal Could Do', 'Three Little Words' and more.

Average customer rating:

Resolution
Hidden in Plain View
Manufacturer: Drive Thru
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Lies for the Liars

ASIN: B000ROALLW
Release Date: 2007-07-24

Tracks:

Bendy
I Don't Wanna Hear It
Like an Ocean
Heavy Breathing
Walk Harbour City
Circles
Our Time
Off My Shoulders
Interlude
Something Needs to Change
Lake House
Hear Me Out

Album Description

Drive-Thru Records' recording artist, Hidden In Plain View will release Resolution on July 24th, 2007. Resolution is the follow-up to 2005's Life In Dreaming and sadly, Resolution is the final release from this beloved New Jersey band. Resolution proves HIPV learned much from their time together by and through years of performing live. The album kicks off in grand HIPV style with Bendy possibly the best song by HIPV to date, catchy and charming as hell. The rest of the album charges with big rock numbers, like Like An Ocean and Heavy Breathing and slower paced but powerful songs like The Lake House. Touted as one of the greatest bands to emerge from the North Jersey music scene, HIPV couldn't have ended on higher note than Resolution. With Life In Dreaming and a self-titled EP, HIPV has a combined sales history of more than 86K records sold.

Average customer rating:

STRINGS DIPPED IN PERFUME
The transition is painless
Something different from your usual Nirvana
Something different
well put together

String Quartet Tribute to Nirvana
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Vitamin Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Compilations | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

String Quartet Tribute to Nirvana's Nevermind
String Quartet Tribute to the Red Hot Chili Peppers
The String Quartet Tribute to the Beatles
String Quartet Tribute to Coldplay
In the Chamber: The String Quartet Tribute to Linkin Park

ASIN: B000086B9H
Release Date: 2003-02-25

Tracks:

Rape Me
Come As You Are
Smells Like Teen Spirit
All Apologies
On A Plain
Polly
Heart Shaped Box
Penny Royal Tea
Something In The Way
Lamb Fed Child (Original Composition)

Product Description

1. Penny Royal Tea
2. Rape Me
3. Come As You Are
4. Smells Like Teen Spirit
5. All Apologies
6. Polly
7. Heart Shaped Box
8. On A Plain
9. Something In The Way
10. Lamb Fed Child

Format: CD

Customer Reviews:

STRINGS DIPPED IN PERFUME.......2006-06-29

I love this album. They should make a movie based on the book PERFUME and call it SCENTLESS APPRENTICE and then they should use the music from the CD as the basis for the movie soundtrack. I could imagine writers of fantansy or medieval stories might find this music inspiring to listen to while they write.

The transition is painless.......2006-02-12

I'd recommend this for any rock fan, even those who haven't heard Nirvana. (You probably have and just didn't know who it was.) Nirvana's artistic genius truly shows through this string quartet. Although I'm not ecstatic about Tom Tally's cover of "Something in the Way" it's not something I don't enjoy listening to. Todd Mark Rubenstein, however, does a fantastic job interpreting Nirvana. Or any band I've heard him do so far.

Although at first you may be put off by the idea of hearing your favorite rock in string quartet form, this CD should dispell any doubts. When done well, a string quartet tribute is at least as - if not more - valuable than the original.

Something different from your usual Nirvana.......2005-03-29

I heard this CD played in my friends car, and even though it was just some violins, I enjoyed it alot. I asked who it was, and they said "Nirvana". I was surprised, and looked around online to see that it was something called a String-Tribute. This is an awesome CD, with songs like Rape Me, Come As You Are, and Smells Like Teen Spirit remade with that orchastral feel to it. It's different, but in a good way. If you're not into this kind of thing, well, neither was I.

Something different.......2005-03-04

I have listened to many of the SQTs but this one is one of my faves. The renditions of Polly, Rape Me, Smells Like Teen Spirit, Come As You Are, and All Apologies are interesting, but the rest are just decent. One of my rules of buying a CD is if they have three songs you like then it is permissible to buy the CD. The people who impulse-buy b/c of a hit song like "The Macarena" are total numb-nuts. But that's my opinion. But for Nirvana fans I hioghly suggest this is you want to hear Nirvana transposed into orchestra.

well put together.......2005-03-04

I listen to nirvana frequently and when i heard this randistion of it i was pretty impresses. You can expect a band like nirvana to be well translated into instrumental. Or at least there more laid back songs. All in all i recomend this to anyone who would like to try somthing different. I thought it was well put together

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