The mother of them all. Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam with Full Force's "I Wonder If I Take You Home" is often cited, along with Shannon's "Let the Music Play" and Jellybean's "The Mexican," as one of the first freestyle tracks to gain recognition. Ms. Lisa's winsome bleat is the perfect expression of the hard teenage realities she faces in the song, which is a more lyrically graphic update of the sturdy themes in "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?" Meanwhile the melody (such that it is) and the beats goose the track into a giddy, cosmopolitan distillation of urban youth. The huge single "All Cried Out" follows up on "I Wonder If I Take You Home": she did take him home, and lived to regret it. Also contains the essential early freestyle smash, "Can You Feel the Beat." --John Sanchez
Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force,Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam,Sony,Club/Dance,Dance Music,Dance-Pop,Freestyle,Pop,Soul/R & B,Soul/Reggae/Rhythm & Blues
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The Drowsy Chaperone (2006 Original Broadway Cast)
Sutton Foster , Bob Martin , Danny Burstein , and Beth Leavel Manufacturer: Ghostlight ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000FJA9YI Release Date: 2006-06-06 |
Tracks:
- Fancy Dress
- Cold Feets
- Best Man for the Job
- Show Off
- As We Stumble Along
- Adolpho
- Accident Waiting to Happen
- Toledo Surprise
- Message from a Nightingale
- Brides Lament
- I Remember Love
- I Do, I Do in the Sky
Amazon.com
Under its enigmatic title lurks a remarkably entertaining little show. The Drowsy Chaperone is a droll Canadian import that's part homage to the musical theater, part spoof. Narrated by the unnamed Man in Chair (Bob Martin), the show basically reenacts a 1920s musical named "The Drowsy Chaperone." This allows the creative team to match an inspired collection of familiar 1920s types---the flapper (Sutton Foster), the cad (Troy Britton Johnson), the zinger-slinging diva (Beth Leavel), the Latin lothario (Danny Burstein), the zany character actors (Georgia Engel, Edward Hibbert)---with witty, well-crafted pastiches of songs of that era. Penned by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison, the tunes are instantly hummable, while the ensemble cast is uniformly superb---you know the standard is high when the awesome Sutton Foster doesn't even stand out that much. Thankfully, the "meta" concept doesn't lead to arch-irony and detachment. A genuine affection for what makes musicals so fun shines throughout, making this a real keeper of an album. --Elisabeth VincentelliMore of the Big 2005-06 Musicals
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Customer Reviews:
Clever and funny.......2007-07-23
Hysterical! Genius! A Treasure!.......2007-06-27
Hysterically hilariously funny.......2007-06-20
awesome!.......2007-06-17
Fantastic!.......2007-06-10
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Mamma Mia! The Musical Based on the Songs of ABBA: A Decca Broadway Original Cast Recording (1999 London Cast)
Benny Andersson , Julian Poole , Jenny Galloway , Nicolas Colicos , Paul Clarkson , Bjorn Ulvaeus , Lisa Stokke , Eliza Lumley , Melissa Gibson , Siobhan McCarthy , Louise Plowright , Jenny Galloway , Bjorn Ulvaeus , and Stig Anderson Manufacturer: Decca Broadway ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000031WEN Release Date: 2000-10-17 |
Tracks:
- Overture/Prologue
- Honey, Honey
- Money, Money, Money
- Thank You For The Music
- Mamma Mia
- Chiquitita
- Dancing Queen
- Lay All Your Love On Me
- Super Trouper
- Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!
- The Name Of The Game
- Voulez-Vous
- Entr'acte
- Under Attack
- One Of Us
- S.O.S.
- Does Your Mother Know
- Knowing Me, Knowing You
- Our Last Summer
- Slipping Through My Fingers
- The Winner Takes It All
- Take A Chance On Me
- I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do
- I Have A Dream
Amazon.com
Put together by Abba's own Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, Mamma Mia! manages to cram over 20 of the Swedish supergroup's songs into a threadbare plot. It goes a little like this: Young Sophie is getting married and she's trying to identify which of three men is her father. That's about it. Wisely, the musical doesn't mess around with the songs, save for the insertion of some dialogue or for having some of them performed by a man (it works amazingly well). Abba fans will jump on this import of the London production, but traditional fans of musical theater should consider it as well. After all, Andersson and Ulvaeus's songs have always felt as if they were more than isolated pop gems and actually belonged to a longer narrative. --Elisabeth VincentelliCustomer Reviews:
Mamma Mia.......2007-03-22
Mamma Mia Musical CD.......2007-03-21
JUST GREAT MUSIC.......2007-03-08
Mamma Mia.......2007-01-29
Not good at all.......2007-01-09
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Gladiator: Music from the Motion Picture
Lisa Gerrard , and Hans Zimmer Manufacturer: Decca U.S. ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B00004STPT Release Date: 2000-04-25 |
Tracks:
- Progeny
- The Wheat
- The Battle
- Earth
- Sorrow
- To Zucchabar
- Patricide
- The Emperor Is Dead
- The Might Of Rome
- Strength And Honor
- Reunion
- Slaves To Rome
- Barbarian Horde
- Am I Not Merciful?
- Elysium
- Honor Him
- Now We Are Free
Amazon.com
Most modern Hollywood films have musical "temp tracks" laid in as they're edited, usually classical standards or music from other soundtracks that helps shape the dramatic and emotional intentions of works in progress. Sometimes these temp tracks become the score (as in "2001"), but more often they serve as a template for the film's eventual scorer. That said, we'll boldly climb out on a limb and opine that director Ridley Scott was listening to a whole lot of Holst's The Planets as he was cobbling together his modern gladiator epic. Credit Hans Zimmer for taking "Mars, the Bringer of War" and hammering its familiar harmonic and rhythmic Sturm und Drang into something serviceably fresh; cohort Lisa Gerrard generally handles the more ethereal, atmospheric passages. As epic in scope as its thematic inspiration (and with enough occasional nods to "authenticity" to make it work), this is nonetheless a work of often surprising nuances, and one that recasts the traditional heroic orchestral score in deliciously dark and ominous tones. Warning: repeated listening may inspire the invasion of neighboring countries. --Jerry McCulleyCustomer Reviews:
Not as good as I had hoped.......2007-06-11
Could give it 10 stars.......2007-05-16
Could have been sooo much better!.......2007-05-11
Awesome.......2007-03-19
Gorgeous ethereal, period-evoking music.......2007-02-08
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Lisa
Celtic Woman , and Lisa Kelly Manufacturer: Manhattan Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000CNF4L0 Release Date: 2006-01-10 |
Tracks:
- Siuil A Run
- Carrickfergus
- Life The Wings (From Riverdance)
- The Soft Goodbye
- Dubhdarra
- Home And The Heartland (From Riverdance)
- May It Be (From Lord Of The Rings)
- Homecoming
- The Deer's Cry (From The Pilgrim)
- Send Me A Song
- Now We Are Free (From Gladiator)
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Singer.......2007-07-23
Lisa Kelly.......2007-07-13
Would give this 6 stars if I could..........2007-07-12
Wonderful!.......2007-07-06
I like having nice music to listen to at work, and this album is one of my favorites. While working, I love the angelic sound of Lisa's voice sweeping out of my speakers. Overall, I found this to be a great album, one that is always wonderful to listen to. I give it my highest recommendations!
Lisa! The best of the Celtic Women!.......2007-07-04
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Great Handel
Manufacturer: EMI Classics ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000PFU9LK Release Date: 2007-07-17 |
Tracks:
- Air Where'er You Walk
- Accompagnato Comfort Ye
- Air Ev'ry Valley
- Accompagnato Frondi Tenere
- Arioso Ombra Mai Fu
- Aria Cosi La Tortorella
- Air Love Sounds Th'alarm
- Air Love In Her Eyes Sits Playing
- Duet Happy We!
- Aria Scherza Infida
- Aria Dopo Notte
- Air Total Eclipse!
- Duet As Steals the Morn
- Accompagnato Hide Though Thy Hated Beams
- A Father, Off'ring Up His Only Child
- Air Waft Her, Angels
Amazon.com
Listening to these very diverse arias, it's easy to understand why Beethoven is reported to have esteemed Handel above all other composers. The program includes three of his greatest hits: "Ev'ry Valley," "Where'er You Walk," and "Ombra mai fu." The other arias, taken from operas and oratorios and in Italian and English, are less familiar but no less great. They display Handel's versatile, multi-faceted genius and his ability to express every human mood and emotion through purely musical means. In his liner notes, Ian Bostridge traces his Handelian roots back to his childhood. Indeed the style seems natural to him. Bostridge even makes the arias written for castrati persuasive, despite the difference in key and color. His coloratura runs are brilliant, while his intonation and diction impeccable. However, the baroque orchestra's flat tuning sometimes forces Bostridge into an uncomfortably low register, and his habit of starting notes without vibrato and swelling them tends to become mannered, disrupting the melodic flow. The orchestra is excellent, but with sparing vibrato and straight-forward phrasing seems to inhabit a different stylistic world. Moreover, it sounds distant and subdued, as does soprano Kate Royal, who joins Bostridge in two duets. The program, though compiled for maximum contrast, may be most enjoyable in moderate doses. --Edith EislerCustomer Reviews:
Two Great Handel Tenors.......2007-07-20
Just when the torrent of Handel recitals seemed to have slowed, we get two great tenor recitals in less than a month. Mark Padmore and Ian Bostridge double up on only a few airs - Where'er you walk, Total eclipse, As steals the morn, Waft her, angels. Padmore is more dramatic, with longer scenes; Bostridge more lyrical. I usually listen to them back to back, but if I only have time for one, it is the Bostridge that gets chosen. His "Waft her, angels" pierces the heart.
Bostridge in best form in Handel arias.......2007-07-17
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Rome: Music from the HBO Series
Manufacturer: Rykodisc ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000MGVBQE Release Date: 2007-02-20 |
Tracks:
- Rome Main Title Theme
- The Forum
- Terrible News
- Niobe's Theme
- The Battle Has Begun (Caesar's Theme)
- Octavian & Octavia's Themes
- Riot In The Senate, Pullo Finds The Gold
- Caesar Reunites With Servilla
- Janus Breaks
- Marshall Law, The Temple
- Caesar's Seizure
- Hell Hath No Fury
- Vorenus Made Evocati, Servillia's Curse
- Farwells, The Storm
- The Raft
- The Death Of Pompey
- Octavia Seduces Octavian
- Cleopatra Seduces Caesar
- Triumph
- Mark Antony & Atia
- Vorenus Saves Pullo
- The Murder Of Julius Caesar
- Niobe's Fate
Amazon.com
After Carnivàle, Jeff Beal has given HBO another Emmy-nominated score, this time for the tale of sex, politics, and togas known as Rome. There's a long history of fabulously grand scores in the sword-and-sandals genre (Miklós Rózsa's Ben-Hur, Alex North's Cleopatra) but according to Beal HBO wasn't interested in classic big orchestral compositions, so he worked on a smaller--yet still lush--scale that emphasizes the ethnic instruments that could be found in the farther reaches of the Roman Empire. A Middle Eastern influence, for instance, can clearly be heard on "Rome Main Title Theme," "The Forum" and "Janus Breaks," among many others. If there's one signature sound on the CD, it's the recurring use of the flute, which can suggest emotions ranging from romantic ("Octavian & Octavia's Themes") to melancholy (paired with strings on "Farewells, the Storm") to dread (combined with percussion on "Caesar's Seizure"). The album starts running out of steam about two thirds of the way through, however, making one pine for a bit of orchestral bang for one's buck. --Elisabeth VincentelliAlbum Description
Rome: Music from the HBO Series features a dramatic score by Emmy award winning composer Jeff Beal (Pollock, HBO's Carnivale). A haunting album of ancient sounds and rhythms, the album perfectly complements the HBO series that chronicles the epic times that saw the fall of a republic and the creation of an empire.Customer Reviews:
Incredibly beautiful and haunting........2007-05-23
You Won`t Be Disappointed!.......2007-05-15
Brings you back to the first episodes!.......2007-05-14
The Rise and Fall of Rome.......2007-05-12
The score composed by Jeff Beal also added great texture and mood to the show. Using mainly instruments that existed at the time of Julius Caesar, Beal's themes remain present, yet do not draw attention away from the image.
The tracks are all compiled from the first 12-episode season and follow in a chronological order. However, there is no need for a second season soundtrack because many of the themes were recycled in very creative and useful ways. A highlight is definitely the track 'Riot in the Senate/Pullo Finds the Gold;' towards the end of the track there is sound and dialogue, (as HBO has done with several other soundtracks), of Caesar and Antony entering Rome with their army, as the musicians play a "cheerful" triumphant song for their arrival. The soundtrack overall is a great addition to HBO's list of series soundtracks.
The essence of Rome.......2007-05-07
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The Silver Tree
Lisa Gerrard Manufacturer: High Wire Music ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000O78L32 Release Date: 2007-05-08 |
Tracks:
- In Exile
- Shadow Hunter
- Come Tenderness
- The Sea Whisperer
- Mirror Medusa
- Space Weaver
- Abwoon
- Serenity
- Towards The Tower
- Wandering Star
- Sword Of The Samurai
- Devotion
- The Valley Of The Moon
- Entry
Amazon.com
Few artists last long in the rarefied terrain occupied by singer Lisa Gerrard over the last quarter-century. She shares a passion with composers like Arvo Pärt in the unrelenting pursuit of the divine. In fact, Gerrard evokes Pärt a few times on The Silver Tree, her first non-collaborative solo release since The Mirror Pool in 1995. The Silver Tree is an album of ancient echoes, ghostly refrains, and hymns to the heavens. On "Abwoon," she intones the Lord's Prayer in Aramaic, orchestrating her own voice in choral harmonies that unfold beneath her like winds on waves. But "Spaceweaver" sends chills through the soul as Gerrard unlocks this peculiar nasal, back-of-the-throat snarl that she only adopts on such tracks, with a menacing blues groove that recalls "Meltdown" from her score to The Insider. You can hear much of Gerrard's soundtrack work mirrored here: "The Sea Whisperer" picks up at the spirit-affirming end of "Now We Are Free" from Gladiator. And I suspect that the 10-minute opus "Towards the Tower" might be her rejected overture for the film Constantine. With Ligeti-like voices, suspended glissando strings, and ominous percussion shifts, it certainly would work in the cinematic context of a supernatural thriller. The album has been available for half a year in Australia (worldwide via digital download), so as a bonus, the American release tacks on a bonus track, "Entry." Its thudding electronic drum loop and sketchy vocal makes for a disruptive exit. But until you get there, The Silver Tree is an embracing experience. Whether singing Aramaic, English, or that language of her imagination, Lisa Gerrard makes the most heavenly music heard on earth--and maybe beyond. --John DilibertoAlbum Description
The title of the album is "The Silver Tree", not Silver Tree.
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Man on Fire
Manufacturer: Varese Sarabande ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B00028HOB8 Release Date: 2004-07-27 |
Tracks:
- Una Palabra - Carlos Varela
- Main Title
- Taxi
- El Paso
- Creasy's Room
- The Rave
- Pita's Sorrow
- Nightmare
- Bullet Tells The Truth
- Followed
- Smiling
- You Are Her Father
- No Mariachi
- The Drop
- Angel Vengador - Gabriel Gonzalez
- You Betrayed Me
- She's Dead
- The Crime Scene
- Pita's Room
- Gonzalez
- Oye Como Va - Kinky
- La Nina
- Creasy's Art Is Death
- The Voice
- Sanchez Family
- The Rooftop
- The End
- Man On Fire (Remix) - Hybrid
Amazon.com
Director Tony Scott's tale of an ex-Marine-turned-bodyguard (Denzel Washington) who responds to the kidnapping of his young charge and her family with a violence-drenched cycle of revenge and torture is driven by the filmmaker's typically manic visual sense. English composer Harry Gregson-Williams, whose conjured similar action-oriented synth-symphony fusion scores for The Rundown and Spy Game, deftly expands the dimensions of that bi-polar musical sensibility here, infusing it with gentle ethnic folk touches and the ever-savory sonic contributions of Lisa Gerrard. The composer matches Scott's visually jarring action sequences with a melange of strangled guitar riffs, metallic rhythms and aggressive electronic soundscapes, contrasting them masterfully against quiet piano passages and brooding symphonic pastoralism. Contemporary Latin ballads by Gabriel Gonzalez and Cuban singer/songwriter Carlos Varela help cement the score's foreign intrigue, while Gerrard (arguably the MVP of soundtrack utility players) contributes a smart remix of the title track and collaborates with Gregson-Williams on the haunting "The End," which also features her distinctly exotic vocals. The result is a spiritual cousin to Hans Zimmer's similarly compelling brew of electronica and world music for Black Hawk Down. -- Jerry McCulleyCustomer Reviews:
excelent soundtrack.......2007-05-14
Easy to the ears.......2007-01-09
THE RAVE .......2006-07-29
I'm touched..........2006-05-20
Per Jonsson
Malmö, Sweden.
not the music I expected from the showtrack.......2006-03-25
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The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (2005 Original Broadway Cast)
William Finn , Rachel Sheinkin , Derrick Baskin , Dan Fogler , Jesse Tyler Ferguson , Deborah Craig , Lisa Howard , Celia Keenan-Bolger , Jose Llana , Jay Reiss , and Sarah Saltzberg Manufacturer: Ghostlight Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B0009A1AMS Release Date: 2005-05-31 |
Tracks:
- The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
- The Spelling Rules/My Favorite Moment Of The Bee 1
- My Friend, The Dictionary
- The First Goodbye
- Pandemonium
- I'm Not That Smart
- The Second Goodbye
- Magic Foot
- Pandemonium Reprise/My Favorite Moment Of The Bee 2
- Why We Like Spelling
- Prayer Of The Comfort Counselor
- My Unfortunate Erection (Chip's Lament)
- Woe Is Me
- I'm Not That Smart (Reprise 2)
- I Speak Six Languages
- The I Love You Song
- Woe Is Me (Reprise)
- My Favorite Moment Of The Bee 3/Second
- Finale
- The Last Goodbye
Amazon.com
When was the last time you heard a musical with a truly hilarious book? Rachel Sheinkin has concocted such a thing for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, one of the most unexpected hits of 2005. Unfortunately, Sheinkin's wit is mostly lost on a cast album; fortunately, the show's songs are by the great William Finn. Set at the titular event, the musical never looks down on the competiting kids (played by adult actors), instead portraying them as endearingly nerdy but also smart, and endowing them with real personalities rather than predictably spelling-bee tics. The cast is uniformly superb, although personal faves include Sarah Saltzberg, playing Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre with a delicious lisp ("Woe Is Me"); Jesse Tyler Ferguson, bringing sweet innocence to Leaf Coneybear ("I'm Not That Smart"); and Dan Fogler, in a breakout comic performance as William Barfee ("Magic Foot," sounding like a sly tribute to Kander & Ebb). This show may be small in scale, but it's a huge winner. --Elisabeth Vincentelli
Other Great Musicals of the Season
Spamalot |
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels |
The Light in the Piazza |
Little Women |
All Shook Up |
Altar Boyz |
Customer Reviews:
Great fun, but not for the little ones!.......2007-03-15
Love it!!!!.......2007-03-08
Good but not great.......2007-02-06
Upon first listening I have to say I was slightly disappointed. The style of singing is all the same: strong and loud and the melodic movement of the songs is generally all the same with lots of long notes that generally get prety annoying after awhile.
Some positives though...The songs move through the progression of the bee quite nicely with the "Goodbye" Songs and "My Favourite Moment From the Bee" songs adding a nice theme to the whole score.
"The I Love You Song" is still a personal favourite but "Woe is Me" is also a strong song and parts of "Pandemonium" with it's upbeat rhythm are toe tapping and enjoyable.
The characters are varied but their songs don't really do them justice.
Good but not great.
Charming musical.......2007-01-10
TERRIBLE........2007-01-04
Sorry guys, it was AWFUL. The music was semi-decent, there weren't really any standouts although the I love you song tugs at your heartstrings a bit. But the heart of the matter is, there was NO STORY and NO PLOT whatsoever! I was so disappointed! It stayed in act 1 the entire show and never climaxed. The plot was "once there was a spelling bee. A bunch of kids competed until one of them won" (and really, nothing more happens than that.)
In comedy, things are more flexible and you don't necessarily have to have any structure to your story (although it generally makes for a better and more memorable show) but in this case, it wasn't even funny! I think I laughed twice throughout the whole show, and they were sort of halfhearted chuckles, like, wow, I can't believe they just told that overused joke... again.
I think that's the only reason they bring people in from the audience to improv a little bit (but don't leave much room for improv, anyway) - because if they didn't it would be so boring and pointless that people would be leaving the theater. I only stayed around because I kept thinking, "there has to be some point to this. There has to be some interesting twist at the end that makes it all worthwhile. Maybe nobody wins, and somebody learns something." And then it ended, and I was sorely disappointed.
Again, the music wasn't bad, but it certainly wasn't anything special. Most of the songs just blend together and sound the same. William Finn doesn't understand the concept of musical variance. The majority of the songs describe the characters' history but NOTHING EVER HAPPENS to any of them. That's not a story.
Anyway, enjoy the music if you're into it, but don't go see the show. It's a waste of time and money.
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Catch the Moon
Lisa Loeb , and Elizabeth Mitchell Manufacturer: Sheridan Square ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000L22WZ8 Release Date: 2007-03-27 |
Tracks:
- Big Rock Candy Mountain
- Little Red Caboose
- Oh Susanna
- Catch The Moon
- La Manita
- Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
- Stop And Go
- New Morning
- Oh Groundhog
- Butterfly
- Donguri/Rolling Acorn
- Free Little Bird
- Fais Do Do
Customer Reviews:
lovely cd for baby and parents.......2007-07-28
Perfect roadtrip music for kids and parents too.......2007-05-02
Album Review:
- Lisa Stansfield
- Live in San Francisco at Stern Grove [Live]
- Loose Fingers
- Luminal
- Magnifico!
- Mea Culpa, Pt. 2 [CD-single] [Import]
- Middle of Nowhere
- Modern Talking - Greatest Hits 1984-2002 [Import]
- Mugimama Is This Monkey Music?
- Next
Album Review
Elvis: 30 #1 Hits [Original recording remastered]
Doppler: Compositions for Flute
Esquina de Minas, Vol. 2 [Import]