Take Two

1. What I Like About You - The Romantics

2. She's Got Everything - The Romantics

3. Open Up Your Door - The Romantics

4. In the Nighttime - The Romantics

5. Rock You Up - The Romantics

6. When It's Over - Loverboy

7. Lady of the 80's - Loverboy

8. It's Your Life - Loverboy

9. Oueen of the Broken Hearts - Loverboy

10. Destination Heartbreak - Loverboy

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:

Back in catalogue, again

Take Two
Marvin Gaye , and Kim Weston
Manufacturer: Umvd Import
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The Motown Anthology
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Knight Time/A Little Knight Music

ASIN: B000LV6W32
Release Date: 2007-01-22

Tracks:

What Good Am I Without You
Baby Say Yes
It Takes Two
When We're Together
Baby (Don't You Leave Me)
I Want You 'Round (Single Version)
Heaven Sent You I Know
It's Got To Be A Miracle (This Thing Called Love) Single Version
Love Fell On Me
Baby I Need Your Loving
It's Me
I Couldn't Help Falling For You (1995 The Master Version)(Mono)
Exactly Like You
Til There Was You
Let's Do It (Let's Fall In Love)
Love You, Yes I Do
Secret Love
Teach Me Tonight
You've Got To Be Real (Previously Unreleased)

Album Description

Originally released in 1998, this collection of all known tracks recorded by Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston has been out of print since the year of release! 19 tracks including 'What Good Am I Without You', 'It Takes Two', 'Baby I Need Your Loving' and many more. Spectrum. 2007.

Album Details

Compiled Back in 1998 the Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston Master Series CD Consisted Then of the `complete' Recorded Works of Marvin Gaye and his Singing Partner, Kim Weston. Copies of the CD, which Seemed to Disappear from Both the Shops and the Record Company Catalogue in the Twinkling of an Eye, Started to Fetch Vast Sums of Money on Internet Auction Sites - If You Could Find it at All, that Is.

Customer Reviews:

Back in catalogue, again.......2007-04-09

Marvin Gaye enjoyed his parallel career as a duettist with Motown's favoured ladies, and enjoyed commercial success with each, but was always ultimately unlucky with his vocal partners. First, Mary Wells left the label for Twentieth Century Fox, then Kim Weston left with husband-producer Mickey Stevenson to sign to MGM, and finally Tammi Terrell collapsed in his arms onstage with a fatal brain tumour, at which point he pledged never to pair up again.

Mary Wells' sudden departure caused seismic waves at Motown. It is well known that some new songs she had recorded were reassigned to other singers, notably a reluctant Brenda Holloway, but it now appears that in May 1964 work had also begun on another record with Marvin Gaye. The evidence is the song You've Got To Be For Real which was assigned to Marvin and Mary, and is released here for the first time, with Mary's vocal having been replaced in September 1964 by that of Kim Weston.

After Motown had caught its breath, the choice of Kim as Marvin's new singing partner must have been quite swift as the B-side of their first joint single, What Good Am I Without You/I Want You 'Round, was cut in July 1964. It must have been a natural choice as Kim had been a supporting artist on the Marvin Gaye Revue concerts that year.

I Want You 'Round was a Smokey Robinson song that Smokey had tried out with Mary Wells the year before but not released. Another early try-out was James Brown's I Love You, Yes I Do which Kim Weston had recorded alone in April 1964 and to which Marvin Gaye added his new vocals that September. Although a few tracks were recorded during 1965, and a one-sided acetate of Baby Say Yes was circulating towards the end of the year, after the failure of What Good Am I Without You in the charts no follow-up single appeared until December 1966, when It Takes Two became a huge smash.

It remains the song for which Kim Weston is best known, and was the only single to be taken from the album Take Two, released a couple of months earlier. It looks from this as if the sessions of March 1966, during which It Takes Two was completed, marked the last time Kim Weston recorded for the label.

The album veered slightly awkwardly between the trademark hot Motown groove of the in-house compositions, many co-written by Mickey Stevenson, and the standards thought by Berry Gordy to appeal to the more "adult" buyers - songs like 'Til There Was You and Secret Love, blessed though they were by some modern arrangements and brilliant playing from the Funk Brothers. Kim's vocals were strong though, and were the foil that coaxed some competitively inspired performances from Marvin. The piecemeal recording process, however, stretched over more than two years, gave a lack of cohesion to the album.

In 1998 the album was released on CD in the Motown Master Series, in an expanded and re-mastered form, under the title Take Two Plus. It sold out quickly, was not re-pressed and has apparently been in strong subsequent demand. Mixed among the twelve re-sequenced tracks (eleven in stereo, I Love You Yes I Do in mono) were a further six mono contemporary duets that had been debuted on various posthumous compilations. The liner notes suggests that these had been intended for a further album tentatively titled Side By Side, though as all six tracks were recorded between 1964 and 1965 apart from I Couldn't Help Falling You (from the March 1966 sessions) it looks as if such an album would have been largely leftovers.

They include three further standards - Exactly Like You and Let's Do It (both borrowing from Nina Simone's versions) and Dinah Washington's Teach Me Tonight, which further weigh down the album. Furthermore, the out-take Teach Me Tonight is another old Mary Wells backing track to which Marvin and Kim had recorded new vocals either in 1965 or, more probably, 1964. One wonders why the bonus tracks were not placed at the end of the disc to retain the integrity of the original album.

The compilers of this 2007 reissue, which differs from the 1998 release only by virtue of one further previously unreleased mono track from 1964 (the excellent Ivy Jo Hunter song You've Got To Be For Real), seem unaware that Take Two was re-mastered entirely in stereo and in the correct running order, and re-released in 2001 in the affordable 2 Classic Albums 1 CD series as Together/Take Two, coupled with the 1963 album Marvin Gaye made with Mary Wells. Buyers of Take Two therefore now have the bonus choices of either seven tracks with Kim Weston or a ten-track album with Mary Wells. Don't ask me to decide, though; I bought both.

Goldilocks (1958 Original Broadway Cast)

Average customer rating:

A beguiling album
Broadway FLOP yields a HIT original cast album
a classic cult musical
Straight from Broadway's Golden Age: It's Goldilocks!
Worth your investment - A real delight!

Goldilocks (1958 Original Broadway Cast)
Joan Ford , Walter Kerr , and Jean Kerr
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The Leroy Anderson Collection

ASIN: B0000027WO
Release Date: 1992-05-19

Tracks:

Act I: Overture
Act I: Lazy Moon
Act I: Give The Little Lady
Act I: Save A Kiss
Act I: No One'll Ever Love You
Act I: Who's Been Sitting In My Chair?
Act I: There Never Was A Woman
Act I: The Pussy Foot
Act II: Lady In Waiting
Act II: The Beast In You
Act II: Shall I Take My Heart And Go?
Act II: I Can't Be In Love
Act II: Bad Companions
Act II: I Never Know When
Act II: Two Years In The Making
Act II: Heart Of Stone

Customer Reviews:

A beguiling album.......2004-10-31

Someone had a brilliant notion in getting Leroy Anderson to write a show. (It wasn't the first time; he was hired for "Wonderful Town" but was ditched in favor of Leonard Bernstein.) That it didn't quite work may owe to the fact that he was largely written out, the best of his imperishable vest-pocket tone poems long in the past. Still, this is an utterly captivating score, superbly interpreted. If you want a complete idea how it sounds you might want to get MCA's budget two-disc anthology of Anderson conducting his own music, including several of the show's dance numbers; they almost make you forget how great Arthur Fiedler was with this master of the pops.

Broadway FLOP yields a HIT original cast album.......2004-02-13

This is another splendid original cast recording from Goddard Lieberson and Columbia records. Great score by Leroy Anderson by a fine cast headed by Elaine Stritch who is in great voice here. Don Ameche is her nemesis/love interest and Pat Stanley nearly steals the show with her first act number "The Pussy Foot."

The record is short (45 minutes) and does not include the dance pice "The Town House Maxixe" which can be heard on MCA's Leroy Anderson collection. What is on the CD is quite delightful and Sony has done a first rate job coaxing excellent sound from the early stereo tapes. The booklet gives a good essay on the history of the trobled show and a detailed plot summary.

a classic cult musical.......2002-10-19

GOLDILOCKS is one of my all-time favorite 'lost musicals'. It struggled through three months and 161 performances on Broadway, only to close after scathing reviews and dwindling audiences.

GOLDILOCKS was written by theater critic Walter Kerr as a love-letter to the silent movies that had captivated him as a child. The story concerns sardonic silent-actress Maggie Harris (Elaine Stritch) who has a stormy love-hate relationship with her cocky director (Don Ameche). Complications arise in the form of beautiful Lois Lee (Pat Stanley), who sets out to steal him for herself. Maggie decides to make one more picture under the assumed name of Goldilocks, and makes one last grab at romance...

The reason why the show failed so miserably was the weakness of the book, which was magnified a thousand times over by the greatness of the score; which features "Lazy Moon", "Lady in Waiting", "The Pussy Foot", "Where is the Beast in You?", and my personal favorite "I Never Know When to Say When".

Through its lovely cast album, the musical has a devout cult following and no wonder. Elaine Stritch in her first Broadway leading-role (after years of supporting work in revivals of PAL JOEY and ON YOUR TOES) and the sparkling score of Leroy Anderson is fantastic stuff. Highly recommended.

Sony Music.

Straight from Broadway's Golden Age: It's Goldilocks!.......2001-06-29

I first discovered Goldilocks through the double draw of Leroy Anderson and Elaine Stritch. Elaine Stritch I already knew as Joanne in Company singing "The Ladies Who Lunch", and Leroy Anderson was one of my favorite composers, known for such light programmatic and novelty orchestral pieces as The Syncopated Clock, Belle of the Ball, Bugler's Holiday, The Typewriter and Plink, Plank, Plunk. That combo of names caught my eye as I was flipping through the record bins one day, and as I scanned the album cover I saw the names Don Ameche, Nathaniel Frey and Margaret Hamilton which absolutely clinched the deal. I left the store with the record and went straight home to play it. From the moment I dropped the needle (yes, I've had it that long) I was captivated, and it has since become one of my perennial favorites.

The score is top notch, particularly in the material for Stritch and the perfectly cast Don Ameche. It does sag a bit in the material for the secondary couple, but I think that's because it's the primary couple who are the comedians while the secondary couple gets stuck with the sappy side of romance. Yes, there are book problems. Walter Kerr later admitted that they kept beefing up the comedy at the expense of the love story, and reading through the book (which through an incredible stroke of good fortune I found at a local Half Price Books) that's a fair criticism. But this weakness doesn't overwhelm the show and make it unworkable. I have to agree with the assessment that with The Music Man already running featuring a slightly more lovable con artist and a sweet rather than brassy leading lady, Goldilocks wasn't able to measure up to the competition. Taken on its own terms though, Goldilocks works wonderfully.

To mention particular favorites of mine in the score, I have to start with Stritch's Act 2 torch song, "I Never Know When To Say When". Why didn't this become a standard? It stacks up with the best Broadway has to offer. You can hear the pain in Stritch's voice as she laments the mess she's made of her relationhips. "Give the Little Lady" near the top of Act 1 doesn't really cover much in the realm of plot, but it's just so much fun, and "The Beast In You" never fails to get me laughing. All of these feature Stritch alone or with the chorus, but her duet with Ameche, "No One'll Ever Love You", is just as good, and Ameche's solo number, "I Can't Be In Love", in which he discovers to his astonishment that he is indeed in love, is priceless. Then on top of that is "Bad Companions" for Don Ameche's shady sidekicks Nathaniel Frey (an excellent comic character actor who appeared in many better known shows such as Damn Yankees and She Loves Me) and Margaret Hamilton (the Wicked Witch of the West sings!) which is a hoot from start to finish. These are the standouts in my book, but the whole score is eminently listenable, pleasant and tuneful. Of course with Leroy Anderson writing the music it couldn't be anything else.

I sometimes wish I had been born 30-40 years earlier so I could have actually seen what I am only able to get the barest hint of from reading the libretto and listening to the cast album. I strongly recommend to anyone who has had enough interest to wind up here reading these reviews to make this show a permanent part of your collection. More people need to know this show!

Worth your investment - A real delight!.......2001-01-14

Having learned about the life of Leroy Anderson through the recent PBS story on his career,I was very interested to hear this famous composer's only Broadway show.

This original cast recording is a gem. The majority of the songs are first rate, the perfomers are all first rate and the recording quality sounds as fine as anything on the market today. What a shame that the show had such serious problems, such as a weak book and opening with such hits as West Side Story and Music Man already running on Broadway.

Tracks:

H.M.S. Pinafore: Ov - Orch Of The D'Oyly Carte Opr/John Owen Edwards
H.M.S. Pinafore: We Sail The Ocean Blue - Tom McVay/Gordon Sandison/Yvonne Barclay
H.M.S. Pinafore: Never Mind The Why And Wherefore - Tom McVay/Gordon Sandison/Yvonne Barclay
The Yeomen Of The Guard: When Maiden Loves She Sits And Sighs - Janine Roebuck
The Yeomen Of The Guard: Here's A Man Of Jollity - Chor Of The D'Oyly Carte Opr
Iolanthe: Tripping Hither, Tripping Thither - Yvonne Patrick/Madeliene Mitchell/Chor Of The D'Oyly Carte Opr
Iolanthe: The Law Is The True Embodiment - Richard Suart/Chor Of The D'Oyly Carte Opr
Iolanthe: When I Went To The Bar - Richard Suart
Iolanthe: Strephon's A Member Of Parliament! - Chor Of The D'Oyly Carte Opr
Iolanthe: When Britain Really Rul'd The Waves - Lawrence Richard/Chor Of The D'Oyly Carte Opr
Iolanthe: Finale Act Two: Soon As We May - Chor Of The D'Oyly Carte Opr
The Pirates Of Penzance: Ov - Orch Of The D'Oyly Carte Opr/John Pryce-Jones
The Pirates Of Penzance: Poor Wand'ring One - Marilyn Hill Smith/Chor Of The D'Oyly Carte Opr
The Pirates Of Penzance: I Am The Very Model - Eric Robertson/Chor Of The D'Oyly Carte Opr
The Pirates Of Penzance: When The Foeman Bares His Steel - Simon Masterton Smith/Marilyn Hill Smith/Patricia Cameron/Eric Robertson/Chor Of The D'Oyly Carte...
The Pirates Of Penzance: With Cat-Like Tread - Gareth Jones/Chor Of The D'Oyly Carte Opr
The Mikado: If You Want To Know Who We Are - Chor Of The D'Oyly Carte Opr
The Mikado: The Flowers That Bloom In The Spring - Bonaventura Bottone/Eric Roberts/Deborah Rees/Thora Ker/Malcom Rivers
The Mikado: On A Tree By A River - Eric Roberts
Patience: The Soldiers Of Our Queen - Donald Maxwell/Chor Of The D'Oyly Carte Opr
Patience: If You Want A Receipt For That Popular Mystery - Donald Maxwell/Chor Of The D'Oyly Carte Opr
Patience: Am I Alone And Unobserved - Simon Butteriss
Patience: If You're Anxious For To Shine - Simon Butteriss
The Gondoliers: We're Called Gondolieri - David Fieldsend/Alan Oke
The Gondoliers: From The Sunny Spanish Shore - Richard Suart/Jill Pert/Elizabeth Woollett/Philip Casey
The Gondoliers: For Ev'ry One Who Feels Inclined - David Fieldsend/Alan Oke/Chor Of The D'Oyly Carte Opr
The Gondoliers: Take A Pair Of Sparkling Eyes - David Fieldsend
The Gondoliers: Dance A Cachucha - Chor Of The D'Oyly Carte Opr

Customer Reviews:

The best? I think not........2004-01-11

This disc includes some songs that, while I like them, are not what people might consider the "best" of G&S. Of course, anything by G&S is good, it's still not the "best of the best."

There has got to be something that better represents the G&S canon.

can't understand the words.......2004-01-08

Don't know about those other reviewers, but I just can't make out very much of the lyrics. Maybe those folk have better CD players or better hearing, but it's pretty much a blur to me. I strongly recommend "The Ultimate Gilbert and Sullivan" instead.

Toru Takemitsu: Quotation of Dream (20/21 series) - London Sinfonietta / Oliver Knussen

Average customer rating:

More of the bland stagnance of Takemitsu's later symphonic work
Really enjoying this one
A fine collection of late works and an ideal introduction
Another world
Takemitsu draws you into his dream world

Toru Takemitsu: Quotation of Dream (20/21 series) - London Sinfonietta / Oliver Knussen
Oliver Knussen , Paul Crossley , Peter Serkin , London Sinfonietta , Sebastian Bell , Michael Collins , Andrew Crowley , Gareth Hulse , Joan Atherton , Rebecca Hirsch , and Timothy Lines
Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Takemitsu: To the Edge of Dream / Folios for Guitar / Toward the Sea / Transcriptions for Guitar

ASIN: B00000I0L6
Release Date: 1999-02-09

Tracks:

Quotation Of Dream: Day Signal
Quotation Of Dream
Quotation Of Dream: How Slow The Wind
Quotation Of Dream: Twill By Twilight
Quotation Of Dream: Archipelago S.
Quotation Of Dream: Dream-Window
Quotation Of Dream: Night Signal

Amazon.com

Sometimes, even while you are listening, it can be very difficult to understand how Takemitsu created such exquisitely beautiful music using so much dissonance. As the brief Day Signal opens the disc, for example, you're more likely to think of the glory of sunrise than of the discords. And Quotation of Dream, which quotes freely from Debussy's La Mer, is nearly as beautiful as its source. Rather than waste time figuring out how Takemitsu's spacing of notes and imaginative scoring influences our perceptions, it's much more rewarding just to relax and let the music wash over you. Knussen, who leads amazing performances here, has programmed the disc for a continuous listening experience, although the novice should probably listen only to a couple of pieces at one sitting. --Leslie Gerber

Customer Reviews:

More of the bland stagnance of Takemitsu's later symphonic work.......2007-06-03

It's inexplicable that so little of Takemitsu's extraordinary film music has been released in affordable editions outside Japan, while compilations of his boring, overtly derivative late orchestral output have enjoyed inclusion on releases by the likes of DG. Then again, DG hasn't had a good string of releases since the late '70s, so I don't expect too much from that fallen giant.

"Quotation of Dream" is easily one of Takemitsu's worst compositions and an absolute waste of time: a meandering exercise that tediously quotes Debussy's "La Mer" and recycles portions of Takemitsu's own "Dream/Window." Technically, this piece is as expertly constructed as all of Takemitsu's work, but that doesn't make it any less counterfeit of its' source material, or any less embarrassing for it. Why should I listen to this tiresome pablum when the compositions it borrows from are readily available?

"How Slow the Wind," "Twill by Twilight" and "Archipelago S." are typical examples of Takemitsu's late orchestral works: they assume a lovely sound and were composed with ingenious design, but that doesn't make them even remotely interesting or memorable.

There are a few works on this disc that are worth hearing. The aforementioned "Dream/Window" is a brilliant, beautiful twelve-tone composition that's infused with the drifting, dreamlike sonority common of his works - an aesthetic which is almost anathema to the rigorous character of most serialist compositions.
Also notable are "Day Signal" and "Night Signal," a pair of dissonant, evocative fanfares that bookend the album's content. These brass-voiced compositions seem almost facile to the ear at first listen, but repeated plays distinguish the cleverness of these little pieces as antiphonal movements.

None of the negative comments of this review should obscure the fact that Takemitsu was a truly gifted and intuitive composer. But it's inexplicable that so much of his best (and in many cases, most accessible) works of film, piano, chamber and electronic/tape music remain either out of print (often since being released on LP) or entirely unavailable for domestic consumption of his North American and European listeners when the least of his orchestral oeuvre is readily on hand.

There's nothing that I can say against these performances by Knussen conducting the LS. They're excellent, informed executions of mostly mediocre compositions. However, I'd much rather hear Knussen performing the best of his own small (but distinguished) oeuvre!

The production is decent: as transparent and pristine as most of the best digital recordings. These compositions don't demand any venture into extreme registers, but the soft passages are capably, audibly reproduced without any loss of their inherent subtlety.

Really enjoying this one.......2006-04-29

I have only recently begun listening to Takemitsu. Was introduced at a guitar recital. I have been slowly accumulating more of his compositions. For me, this is possibly the best.

Composition intrigues me perhaps more than any other aspect of music, and this fellow was clearly inspired. I would liken his music to that of Alan Hovhaness, but without some of the more brash moments of that composer. I can also hear the influence of Debussy, but Takemitsu takes the listener in many enjoyable directions throughout this CD.

The playing and recording are also top-notch.

A fine collection of late works and an ideal introduction.......2004-12-11

QUOTATION OF DREAM is the first of Deutsche Grammophon's several collections of pieces by late Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu, who thankfully has been getting ever-more attention since his untimely death in 1996. Takemitsu was a mainly self-taught composer, and because of this there seems to be little that connects him to his serialism- or minimalism-inspired colleagues. Nevertheless, Takemitsu's own path is fascinating, exploring Japanese and Western compositional principles in isolation and in combination and striving to transcend them both. These pieces, several of them related by shared thematic materials. are lovingly performed by the London Sinfonietta conducted by Oliver Knussen, who was a friend and admirer of Takemitsu.

The disc is framed by two antiphonal fanfares written in 1987, "Day Signal" and "Night Signal", together called "Signals from Heaven". They are closely related, both using dissonance to suggest the changing of the skies, but with one inverted from the other to suggest an opposite tone.

A quip of Takemitsu was "I am self-taught, but I consider Debussy my teacher." The first major work here, "Quotation of Dream - Say sea, take me!" (1991), is a tribute to Debussy using quotations from his "La Mer" as if the composer was trying to recreate the piece he had just woken up from dreaming. The title also refers to its use of some material from "Dream/Window", an earlier composition present on this disc. "Quotation of Dream" is a lovely tribute to the composer's greatest inspiration, but the majority of the work comes only from Takemitsu. His use of a zig-zag of harmony, of orchestral colour that comes forth and recedes like waves is nothing you have ever heard before in orchestral music.

"How Slow the Wind" (1991), inspired by a poem by Emily Dickinson, is rather more brooding. It's most interesting moments occur toward the end, when cascading woodwind sounds and the faintly mechanical notes of two Swiss cowbells transform the work into something different. This is one of Takemitsu's most impressive works,

"Twill by Twillight (in memory of Morton Feldman)" (1988) is an experiment with a musical "tapestry", where a theme "weaves" through the piece. The piece is pretty music, but does little to make itself memorable and for me remains the low point of this collection.

The title of "Archipelago S." for twenty-one players (1993) refers to the landscapes of Seattle, Stockholm, and the islands of the Sato Inland Sea . The piece has an innovative stage layout, with the players grouped into five "islands": a five-person brass group, two mixed seven-piece groups, a clarinet sitting to the right, and a clarinet sitting to the left. The effect is indeed somewhat nautical and this recording exploits the space well.

"Dream/Window" (1985) is probably the most important composition on this disc. Every note of this piece is of the greatest delicacy, and the work as a whole is so crystalline and fragile that one feels one will break it just by listening to it. Though Takemitsu's later works are impressive, they have never seemed to me to acheive the perfection of "Dream/Window". What is surprising is that this work is true twelve-tone music, yet with Takemitsu's skill it does not sound dull or scientific.

If you ever think that modern-classical music is written only by dispassionate ivory-tower robots like Pierre Boulez, the works of Takemitsu will show you that contemporary techniques can, under the right hands, touch the emotions as much as the intellect. While it takes some time to get used to (nearly six months for me), this is probably the single best introduction to the music of Toru Takemitsu. And one should certainly listen to this before getting the other DG "20/21" discs, which are rather more specialised (with, for example, one having traditional Japanese pieces and the other flute and guitar works).

Another world.......2003-10-18

Toru Takemitsu was one of the late 20th century's most individual composers whose scores use primarily the traditional instruments of western classical music. Perhaps in part because he wrote film scores in addition to concert pieces, his art is highly communicative and un-academic. It has the double merit of being about as far as you can get both from gnarly, dissonant modernism and from pretty-pretty New Age ear candy.

Quotation of Dream includes seven pieces from the last decade of Takemitsu's life (he died in 1996), including the premiere recording of the title piece. The disc begins and ends with fanfares that, while perhaps effective as aural bookends, are to my ears undistinguished. The music that lies in between, however, is extraordinarily compelling.

Takemitsu's style in these works is generally meditative, with frequent slow, quiet passages, strings predominating. But there are dramatic incidents and color as well: flaring brass, rising like a mountainous island from a tropical sea; raindrops of chimes; drawn-out woodwind lines weaving sinuously through swirls of massed violins. The music sometimes pivots around silent pauses, like the empty spaces in Zen painting. In Quotation of Dream, twin pianos (played by Paul Crossley and Peter Serkin, respectively) dominate the foreground with gentle cascades of notes while orchestral clouds form in the background.

The musical language is often reminiscent of Debussy and Ravel; in mood (though not in technique) it can resemble the slowest and most mysterious moments in music of the second Viennese school (Schoenberg, Berg, Webern et al.). The subtlety and elusiveness probably owe something to the composer's Japanese heritage. But this is no cut-and-paste job; the overall impression is startlingly original.

I have not read the liner notes, and have no idea of what Takemitsu is trying to "say," or what these scores "mean." I would also suggest that those considerations are pretty irrelevant: the important thing is the sound world that he has created, which is both other-worldly and bracing.

Oliver Knussen, a contemporary British composer and a friend of Takemitsu, conducted the London Sinfonietta in these recordings. It is apparent that that he helped the players, who sound expert, get "inside" the music.

Anyone who already knows and appreciates Takemitsu's sensibility need not hesitate to acquire this disc. It can also be recommended for all but the most determinedly "mostly Mozart" classical devotees.

The presentation is not ideal. Deutsche Grammophon has never excelled at digital recordings, and the sound of this disc, while detailed and transparent, is a bit bright and clinical. The disc is contained in one of those cardboard containers that some labels are now trying to get you to accept in lieu of the standard jewel case because it's cheaper to produce (but not cheaper for you to buy). The atmospheric sepia-toned photo on the cover has a fat round sticker on it that shouts "World Premiere Recording"; if you try to peel off the sticker, it leaves ineradicable shreds. The plastic tray with the central claw ring is glued to the cardboard. Take care not to break the plastic, because there is no way you can replace it.

Takemitsu draws you into his dream world.......2002-04-07

These pieces from Takemitsu's maturity represent the pinnacle of achievement for this gifted composer. Without regard to trends and fashion in contemporary music has has created his own sound universe. A peaceful, yet oddly non-somnolent, serenity informs virtually every bar of these wonderful pieces. The music is beautiful, lush and imaginative at every turn and despite strong ties to the French impressionists it is creative and unique and infused with Takemitsu's personal stamp and his nature-mystical aesthetic. The sound and the performances are first rate and Oliver Knussen must be congratulated on doing such a fine job in bringing these excellent pieces to life. If you love Takemitsu, you will love this CD. If you are new to Takemitsu, this is a wonderful introduction to one of the 20th century's finest composers.
Recommended without reservation.

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Patinkin Live
Sondheim recital
Also a very dissapointed fan
Adequate performance; poor entertainment
a very disappointed fan

Sings Sondheim
Mandy Patinkin
Manufacturer: Nonesuch
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Dress Casual
Mandy Patinkin
Experiment
Oscar & Steve
Kidults

ASIN: B00006JP2C
Release Date: 2002-10-29

Tracks:

Opening
Lesson #8
Another Hundred People
When?
Someone Is Waiting
Johanna
Green Finch and Linnet Bird
Pretty Women
Finishing the Hat
If You Can Find Me, I'm Here
Live, Laugh, Love
Live Alone and Like It
Everybody Says Don't
Rich and Happy, Part 1
Our Time
Broadway Baby
Rich and Happy, Part 2
Uptown, Downtown
Liaisons
Send in the Clowns
Live, Laugh, Love (reprise)
You Could Drive a Person Crazy

Tracks:

Free
Company
Waiting For The Girls Upstairs
Pleasant Little Kingdom/Too Many Mornings
Not While I'm Around
All Things Bright and Beautiful
It Takes Two
In Someone's Eyes
Beautiful
Losing My Mind
Take the Moment
Sunday

Amazon.com

Recorded live at the Prince Music Theater in Philadelphia, this double CD is one heck of an extensive tribute to Stephen Sondheim. Backed only by Paul Ford on piano, Mandy Patinkin gets through nearly three dozen songs penned by the Broadway master. Some are obvious (excerpts from Sunday in the Park with George, in which the singer created the title role), others less so ("If You Can Find Me I'm Here" from Evening Primrose). Patinkin is often mocked for his shivering falsetto, but here, it's actually when his voice explores a lower register that it falters. What's more interesting is when he tackles songs usually sung by women, such as Follies' "Broadway Baby" and Company's "Another Hundred People" and "You Could Drive a Person Crazy"--the latter hammed up so much that you can hear the chewing of the scenery. A distinctively mannered interpreter, Patinkin remains an acquired taste, but fans of his will be in heaven with this set. --Elisabeth Vincentelli

Customer Reviews:

Patinkin Live.......2007-07-19

I am a huge Mandy Patinkin fan, and this is, without a doubt, one of the best CDs in my collection. The transitions between songs are excellent and seamless, plus the song selection was top-notch.

Sondheim recital.......2007-01-22

Probably the best way to approach these disks is to treat them like a recital in a concert hall. Rather as you would listen to a Schubert or Schumann song cycle. Taken together this way, we come to hear Sondheim as one of our finest composers, serious, comic, manic, depressive, always dead on target no matter what the subject matter. And Patinkin is perfect for these songs; he understands the meaning and value of every note and every word, just as a fine concert singer would do, and he makes his listeners understand, too. One of the most intriguing concept albums in recent memory, and a joy all the way through. Bob Finley, Palm Springs, CA.

Also a very dissapointed fan.......2003-08-22

I too LOVE Mandy and Stephen Sondheim and own just about everything both has ever made! I also have been to 6 of Mandy's live performances. This was truly a big dissapointment to me. Every concert I have seen Mandy in has been filled with emotion and his personality just grabs hold of you for an evening of wonderful escape-ism. This to me was very un-entertaining and I actually became irritated after awhile of listening to it. It seemed to drone on with out the wonderful feelings and emotions and soaring voice that Mandy typically puts into his music. I gave this as a gift too (since my friend and I had missed Mandy at his Sondheim review in DC last year) and felt badly that I had. There are so many other great recordings of Mandy...Kidults, Saturday in the Park with George, The Secret Garden, Mandy sings Rogers & Hammerstien and Sondheim. This one has just sat on my shelf after I played it through twice hoping to warm up to it...while my other recordings are very worn out with years of playing!

Adequate performance; poor entertainment.......2003-05-04

I received this disc the same day a "Philip Quast Live at the Donmar". The Quast disc has its own flaws (and I dont wish to compare the two performers) but it has been strung together in a more thoughtful manner, with witty imagination and using a more dangerous in the choice of songs, which is really where this disc fails. The songs here are generally enjoyable though rather standard, and the lack of cohesion (running the songs together doesnt count) means I just dip into the discs listening to a few favourites, rather than enjoying the whole show.

a very disappointed fan.......2003-02-05

I have every recording Patinkin appears on, even if he's only on one track; I adore his voice, his flair, his emotion, his ability to deliver a song.

But (much of) this recording is disappointing, mainly because Mr. Patinkin's voice in the lower range sounds muddled and forced, as though he's lost ability to control it (however, the more falsetto sounds are as clear and sharp as ever).

And I don't care for the format of this performance. Live recordings should have live audience reactions: one (often unrelated) song after another without applause had me wondering when--if ever--was the audience was going to be allowed to react.

Also, while I've never had the privilege of attending a Patinkin concert, I imagined that--above all-- he would be passionate. Perhaps he was. But what (mostly) comes across on the CD is a somber--almost technical--performance.

I hope he's healthy, that mixed quality of singing on this recording was just a fluke, and that his next CD will be a Five-star as all his previous ones have been

Unsung Musicals - The Ultimate Collection
Average customer rating:

Great gems from musicals that dissapeared

some gold mixed with dross

Unsung Musicals - The Ultimate Collection

Manufacturer: Varese Sarabande
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
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Unsung Musicals II (Studio Cast)

Unsung Sondheim

Lost in Boston: Songs You Never Heard From

110 in the Shade (2007 Broadway Revival Cast)

Lost in Boston, Vol. 4

ASIN: B00005K9SG
Release Date: 2001-06-05

Tracks:

Smile (from "Smile") (Hamlisch-Ashman) - Harry Groener et al.
Hero (from "Babe") (Menken-Ashman) - Debbie Gravitte
Didin't Leave It Here (from "Brownstone") (Larson-Rubins) - Kristine Fraelich and Jolie Jenkins
Starfish (from "La Strada") (Lawrence-Charnin) - Judy Kuhn
Sherry! (from "Sherry!") (Rosenthal-Lipton) - Christine Baranski and Jonathan Freeman
Smashing New York Times (from "A Broadway Musical") (Strouse-Adams) - Jason Graae
Silverware (from "We Take the Town") (Karr-Dubey) - Lee Wilkof and Timothy Jerome
Hundreds of Hats (from "Diamonds") (Sheffer-Ashman) - Jason Workman
At the Same Time (from "Freaky Friday") (Rodgers-Forster) - Tammy Minoff and Patrick Levis
When It Happens to You (from "The Red Shoes") (Styne-Stryker) - Lynne Wintersteller
Lawyers (from "A Broadway Musical") (Strouse-Adams) - Gregory Jbara and Lee Wilkof
At My Side (from "Welcome to the Club") (Coleman-Hotchner) - Sally Mayes and Michael Rupert
In a State (from "A Wonderful Life") (Raposo-Harnick) - Brent Barrett
Disneyland (from "Smile") (Hamlisch-Ashman) - Jodi Benson
Reveille Sun (from "Here's Where I Belong") (Waldman-Uhry) - Glory Grampton
The Memory of Tonight (from "Arthur, The Musical") (Skloff-Kauffman-Crane) - Carolee Carmello and Gregg Edelman
Stomp the Blues Away (from "Honky Tonk Nights") (Valenti-Allen-Campbell) - Melba Joyce et al.
New Words (from "One, Two, Three, Four, Five") (Yeston) - Liz Callaway

Customer Reviews:

Great gems from musicals that dissapeared.......2004-11-30

Songs from 1987's "Smile" make this well worth the price. The previously unreleased material from the late, great Howard Ashman deserves to have it's moment in the spotlight.

Also, there's Judy Kuhn's beautiful performance on "Starfish", Christine Baranski's vampy turn on "Sherry".

Finally, there's" New Words" from "One, Two, Three, Four, Five". This show has been restaged, by small theatre groups, under the title "History Loves Company". "New Words" is by far the best number of this show and Liz Callaway's voice fills with love as she sings this lullaby.

For a consummate musical theatre fan who's heard it all, this disc is a refreshing look at what has been lost over the years.

some gold mixed with dross.......2003-12-21

Some of these songs desrve to be unsung. But then you get a showstopper like Sherry and you wonder how could this show have flopped? That number alone makes this cd worth purchasing.I also enjoyed Marvin Hamlisch's toe tapping title song - Smile.There are also a few other lovely melodies which makes this cd a nice addition to a Broadway collection.

Average customer rating:

Sounds of the Seventies 1979: Take Two

Manufacturer: Time Life Music
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
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Sounds of the Seventies: 1978 (Time-Life Music)
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Sounds of the Seventies: 1979
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ASIN: B000EY1VGE

Product Description

The Cars:Let's Go Foreigner:Dirty White Boy Blondie:One Way or Another Rickie Lee Jones:Chuck E.'s In Love Smokey Robinson:Cruisin' Doobie Brothers:Minute by Minute Raydio:You Can't Change That Earth, Wind and Fire:After the Love Has Gone The Knack:Good Girls Don't Peter Frampton:I Can't Stand It No More Foreigner:Head Games The Babys:Every Time I Think of You Hot Chocolate:Every 1's a Winner Ashford and Simpson:Found a Cure Bell and James:Livin' it Up (Friday Night) Peaches and Herb:Shake Your Groove Thing Village People:Y.M.C.A. Joe Jackson:Is She Really Going Out with Him Bonnie Pointer:Heaven Must Have Sent You Nicolette Larson:Lotta Love

The Vintage Recordings of Cliff Edwards (Ukulele Ike)

Average customer rating:

Early Cliff Edwards
One of the 1st jazz singers, and a ukulele great
Ukulele Ike was great

The Vintage Recordings of Cliff Edwards (Ukulele Ike)
Cliff "Ukulele Ike" Edwards
Manufacturer: Take Two Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Blues | Styles | Music

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General | Jazz | Styles | Music

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

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

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Singing in the Rain
Plays Hawaiian Guitar, Banjo, Ukulele and Guitar
How About Uke?
Tip-Toe Thru' the Tulips
Uke of Ages

ASIN: B0000250J9
Release Date: 2005-09-13

Tracks:

Homesick
I Want Somebody to Cheer Me Up
I'm Crying 'Cause I Know I'm Losing You
Half-Way to Heaven
That's My Weakness Now
Together
I Can't Make Her Happy That Old Girl of Mine
It Goes Like This That Funny Melody
Good Little Bad Little You
My Old Girl's My New Girl Now
Singin' in the Rain
I'll See You in My Dreams
Hush My Mouth If I Ain't Goin' South
Love Is Just Around the Corner
One Little Kis
Somebody Loves Me
It Had to Be You
Love Like Ours
Hold on to Your Heart
My Melancholy Baby

Customer Reviews:

Early Cliff Edwards.......2007-03-09

These recordings are more of historical interest than musical. The sound quality is OK, but seems to cut off at the highs and lows because of the recording technology of the day.

One of the 1st jazz singers, and a ukulele great.......2005-04-01

Cliff Edwards took a scat chorus on record before Louis Armstrong ever did, and he was a great "hot" vocalist often leading dixieland style combos(with his Hot Combination) in the 20's(several examples of that here). This cd also features Edwards exellent ukulele strumming, and novelty songs. This cd covers from the mid twenties thru the 1940's. Great music, and a great singer, and a superb ukulele player. A great CD!!! I can't wait until a complete set of his "Hot Combination" recordings comes out.

Ukulele Ike was great.......2004-10-24

In the twenties, there were a dozen or so people who became millionaires in show biz: Chaplin, Mary Pickford, D.W. Griffith, and Cliff Edwards (Ukulele Ike). It is difficult for most people today to relaize that this near-forgotten star was as huge as he was in the twenties. He was a great crooner and played the ukulele with great skill (he didn't strum it; he mastered it). Ike helped to popularize jazz and interpret it for mainstream America. He sang and crooned beautifully. Unfortunately, he couldn't change his style when swing came into vogue. He also gambled and drank a lot. He died in obscurity (alhtough he had a brief revival playing Jiminy Cricket in Disney's "Pinocchio.) These recordings are just a sample of work from his heyday. Excellent.

Charles Ives: Three Quarter-Tone Pieces; Five Take-offs; Hallowe'en; Sunrise

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Visionary Ives

Charles Ives: Three Quarter-Tone Pieces; Five Take-offs; Hallowe'en; Sunrise

Manufacturer: Naxos American
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

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4-for-3 Classical | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

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Ives: Holidays Symphony

ASIN: B0007ORDZ4
Release Date: 2005-03-22

Tracks:

The Housatonic At Stockbridge
Soliloquy, Or A Study In 7ths And Other Things
On The Antipodes
The Gong On The Hook And Ladder (Original Version)
Hallowe'en
In Re Con Moto Et Al
Sunrise
Remembrance
Aeschylus And Sophocles
The Seen And Unseen? (Sweet And Tough)
Rough And Ready Et Al. And/Or The Jumping Frog
Song Without (Good) Words
Scene Episode
Bad Resolutions And Good WAN!
Largo
Allegro
Chorale

Customer Reviews:

Visionary Ives.......2005-06-01

This review is dedicated to the memory of Bob Zeidler who shared on this site his love for and knowledge of the music of Charles Ives.

The Naxos "American Classics" series offers an unparalleled opportunity to get to know the music of the great American composer, Charles Ives (1874-1954). Prior CDs in the series focused on Ives's larger works, such as the symphonies, violin sonatas, and the Concord piano sonata. In contrast to the earlier releases, this CD includes a mix of shorter works performed by Continuum, a wonderful group of musicians based in New York City specializing in the performance of modern music. The CD had been released some years ago on Musical Heritage Society, and the release on Naxos was funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Charles Ives Society, Inc. There is every reason to be grateful.

Much of the music on this disk will be unfamiliar to many listeners, and it bristles with difficulties. Yet, unlike the case with other avant garde music, there is an unmistakable joyousness to these pieces -- a zest for life, a feeling for the United States and its potential, and a transcendent vision. An inspiring CD indeed!

There are three broad sections to this disk. The first section consists of nine short unrelated pieces, beginning with Ives's well-known song "The Housatonic at Stockbridge." The section also includes an eloquent short song, "Remembrance" which Ives wrote upon the death of his father, his mentor and inspiration. The works on this section are filled with raucousness and lyricism, often at the same time. Besides the two works mentioned, the highlights include "Halloween, for chamber ensemble, which begins quietly and works itself into a frenzy, and Ives's song "Sunrise" for voice, piano, and violin obligato which was his last completed work.

The second section on the program consists of Ives's "Five Take-Offs" for solo piano performed here by Joel Sachs, co-director of Continuum. Ives composed these pieces in 1909, but they remained unperformed until 1968. These pieces juxtapose with great effect the traditional and the outrageous. The first piece, "The Seen and the Unseen", for example contrasts a line with an almost blusey feel (shared by other pieces on the CD) with a background of clangorous chords in the piano. The next piece, called "Jumping Frog" again begins quietly but works itself up to a frenetic pace over a huge piano accompaniment. The third piece, "Songs without (Good) Words" draws on Mendelsohn for inspiration. It remains quiet and lyrical throughout while the harmonies become more complex. The final two pieces, "Some Episode" and "Bad Resolution and Good WAN" are mostly reflective and quiet, with the exception of a riotous passage at the close -- the good resolution.

The third work on this CD is Ives at his knottiest. The "Three Quarter-Tone Pieces" dates from 1924 and was composed for two pianos tuned one-quarter-tone apart. This is again the language of the blues as well as the language of modernity. The pianists here are Cheryl Seltzer and Joel Sachs, the co-directors of Continuum. The opening Largo contrasts deep banging chords on the piano against light swirling figures in the treble. The second movement, "allegro" has a ragtime feel as clashing chords alternate with swirling filigree in the pianos' upper register.
The finale, "Chorale" works itself into an intense climax based upon themes from "America" with a hint of "La Marseilles" at the end for good measure. This is invigorating, difficult and rewarding music.

The CD is somewhat short (less than 50 minutes). It will introduce the listener to some of the wilder creations of America's greatest composer.

Rock Music:

Rock Music